this is bbc news, i'm victoria derbyshire. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan�*s explosive claims in that tv interview. meghan�*s dad, thomas markle, said he was disappointed with the interview and said this about the claim that an unnamed royal family member asked how dark archie's skin might be. i don't think the british royal family are racist at all. i don't think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist, but i don't think the brits are. harry says in part the couple left the uk because of the bigoted british tabloid newspapers. has he got a point or not? let me know what you think. the suspect in the death

of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a contribution in his memory, her lawyer says. sports coaches and priests who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law, under new government plans to close legal loopholes. and coming up this hour: the film world awaits this afternoon's bafta nominations, amid efforts to make the line—up more diverse after last yea r�*s #baftassowhite controversy, when the four acting categories were all white and no female film—makers were nominated for best director for a seventh consecutive year. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. crisis meetings involving senior royals have taken place following the duke and duchess of sussex's interview with oprah winfrey. buckingham palace still hasn't

commented on the interview, which was broadcast last night on itv. in the programme, meghan said, before their son was born, an unnamed member of the royal family voiced concerns about how dark his skin colour might be. prince harry later clarified to winfrey that the comments were not made by either the queen or the duke of edinburgh. this morning, meghan�*s father, thomas markle, said he thought the question about skin colour was just a dumb question and he didn't think the british royal family is racist at all. meghan also said she had suicidal thoughts but didn't receive support from the palace. keith doyle reports. viewers in the uk got to watch the full interview last night, and the fallout this morning is nuclear. the headlines could not be worse for the palace. turmoil and crisis. they are no less forgiving on the other side of the atlantic. tonight, oprah's interview with the duke and duchess of sussex just aired for the first time

in the uk. now britain braces for fallout... despite being previewed, teased and dominating the news, the claims made and heard in the context of the full two—hour interview are still able to shock. claims that meghan was driven close to suicide and that a member of the royal family discussed the skin colour of the duke and duchess�*s soon—to—be born child. in those months when i was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, "he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title." and also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born. what? throughout the interview, the picture painted was one of an uncaring and unsupportive institution, at odds with the image of being at the head of a multicultural

country and commonwealth. in america, this summer, wejust went through the black lives matter movement and the killing of george floyd. now, what we see, when we see this monarchy, we see an institution that we revere, and now we find out that you guys have the same issues of racial and racism, systemic racism, that we do in the united states. so, yes, it does hurt us. it almost seems like a fairy tale shattered for many of us. overnight, there's been no comment from buckingham palace which is sure to be reeling from such explosive claims by those at the very heart of the royal family. all eyes and the media spotlight is on here today to see how or if it responds. i don't see buckingham palace as being like the kremlin. on the whole, they are a very civilised organisation. but i also don't think that they are likely to engage in this kind of war between two parties, which, of course, the tabloid press would greatly enjoy.

the harry and meghan love story was a fairy tale and brought young, modern vitality into the royal family. this interview has brought up real issues that can't easily be ignored — security, mental health and trust. just a few years on from the fairy tale, and for buckingham palace, all that has turned to crisis management on an epic scale. keith doyle, bbc news. i've been speaking to our royal correspondent daniela relph about if and when we might hear a response from buckingham palace. i think it is hard to see how they can't say something. it is now more than 2a hours since the interview first aired in the us, and there are two substantive allegations that are a real problem for buckingham palace in the interview, the allegations of racism and around the support given to meghan when she felt suicidal. can they really ignore those allegations, especially when you look at the headlines, the kind of comments that are being raised

around the interview, is it really something they can ignore? yesterday there were a number of meetings, as you would expect, within the palace walls, involving senior members of the royal family, including the queen, the prince of royals, the duke of cambridge, and they will have to make an assessment on what they say next. will they deal directly with the allegations made during the interview, or will they make a statement that is more general about support for harry and meghan and what happens next and what they do going forward? that is hard to assess, but my gut feeling is that we will hear from them in some form today. this morning, we have heard from thomas markle, who was given an interview this morning, where he talked about a number of areas around their relationship

it could just be that simple, it could be somebody asking a stupid question, uh, ratherthan being a total racist. and thomas markle there speaking from his home in mexico, where he lives. but it is interesting, looking at the reaction to the interview from the us more broadly, and there is a huge amount of sympathy for harry and meghan

there, and also a huge amount of criticism of the royal family at the highest levels in the us. you know, we have said a spokesperson forjoe biden praise meghan�*s courage, and we also heard from hillary clinton saying, look, this is 2021, perhaps they monarchy needs to look differently at how it addresses some of these issues. i am just wondering what the palace could say by way of explanation or mitigation about the conversation meghan claimed was hard regarding how dark archie's skin would be. what can you say to defend that? yeah, i don't know, victoria. it is really difficult, because we don't know who the person was that was that said that, and there is this terrible game of who the person was that said that, and there is this terrible game of whodunnit going on in terms of the identity of will want to get into any kind of tit—for—tat around that or in any way identify that person. but is there anything they can say more broadly about the royal family's position.

it is difficult to see how they would address the specifics of that in any great detail. let's speak now to the author nadifa mohamed, who has written a piece for the guardian newspaper here in the uk on meghan markle�*s racism allegations. nadifa mohamed, hello. this claim that an unnamed member of the royal family wanted to know how dark are cheap�*s skin might be, what does that tell you about the british monarchy? —— how dark archie's skin might be. monarchy? -- how dark archie's skin miaht be. , . monarchy? -- how dark archie's skin miahtbe. ,~ ., . ., might be. they are scared of change, the are might be. they are scared of change, they are not — might be. they are scared of change, they are not interested _ might be. they are scared of change, they are not interested in _ might be. they are scared of change, they are not interested in making - they are not interested in making they are not interested in making the royal family more diverse, they are interested in keeping it the

same as it has always been. i do not know who said it added what context so opinion on the statement has to be limited, but it speaks to a group of people who are raised, and i think still believe, in a sense of separation from the rest of the country. d0 separation from the rest of the count . ,, ~ separation from the rest of the count . i. ~ _, , country. do you think context is important? _ country. do you think context is important? a — country. do you think context is important? a black _ country. do you think context is important? a black woman - country. do you think context is important? a black woman to i country. do you think context is i important? a black woman to me country. do you think context is - important? a black woman to me said yesterday, we have had conversations in our family about yesterday, we have had conversations in ourfamily about how dark yesterday, we have had conversations in our family about how dark the skin of our unborn child might be. we have had white guests say we all have older grandparents who are a bit out of touch and say ignorant things like this. i bit out of touch and say ignorant things like this.— bit out of touch and say ignorant things like this. i wouldn't accept that kind of _ things like this. i wouldn't accept that kind of conversation - things like this. i wouldn't accept that kind of conversation in - things like this. i wouldn't accept that kind of conversation in my . that kind of conversation in my family and i think people are asking these questions notjust out of curiosity but because of the power dynamics around how you look, how you are perceived in the world, when you are perceived in the world, when you were —— when you walk into a

space, bsa shop, restaurant or university, you look at how you are treated. to say it is just a curious statement, and one that elderly people... and harry has said it was not his grandparents, that is not really an excuse.— not his grandparents, that is not really an excuse. earlier we spoke to the executive _ really an excuse. earlier we spoke to the executive editor— really an excuse. earlier we spoke to the executive editor of - really an excuse. earlier we spoke to the executive editor of the - to the executive editor of the society of editors who said british tabloids are not racist, i gave him a couple of headlines which might have suggested otherwise, for example the straight out of compton and what was the other one, the daily star, marrying into gangster royalty. ian murray said they were not bigoted, which is what harry has claimed, they were just relaying the facts as the reporter saw them at the time. ~ ., ., i. , ., ., the time. what do you say? i do not acce -t the time. what do you say? i do not accept that- — the time. what do you say? i do not accept that. the _ the time. what do you say? i do not accept that. the way _ the time. what do you say? i do not accept that. the way that _ the time. what do you say? i do not accept that. the way that diane - accept that. the way that diane abbott has been treated, black

footballers, musicians, harmless people have been treated and stereotyped as thugs and embarrassing or unworthy of certain positions, it shows there has been a recurring and persistent racism from the british tabloids, and notjust the british tabloids, and notjust the tabloids, british newspapers as a whole. ~ , , ., the tabloids, british newspapers as a whole. ~ , ,, ~' the tabloids, british newspapers as a whole. ~ , i. ~ ., a whole. why did you think that is? the are a whole. why did you think that is? they are either _ a whole. why did you think that is? they are either reflecting _ a whole. why did you think that is? they are either reflecting a - a whole. why did you think that is? they are either reflecting a wider . they are either reflecting a wider bigotry in the country all they are fostering it and keeping it alive, and for a newspaper such as the daily mail to have such an aggressive to anyone non—white, especially the vulnerable, asylum seekers and people in detention, shows this is a political stance, it is not accidental, they want to keep it alive in this country. what is not accidental, they want to keep it alive in this country.— it alive in this country. what do ou want it alive in this country. what do you want from _ it alive in this country. what do you want from buckingham - it alive in this country. what do i you want from buckingham palace it alive in this country. what do - you want from buckingham palace now?

i am a republican, so what i would want and what i would get are two different things. they need to reach out to harry and meghan, at the end of the day they are a family, we are bystanders, witnesses to this drama, and there is room for some sort of reconciliation and the strange attitudes within the royal family, not just on attitudes within the royal family, notjust on race but on various levels of discrimination, to be tackled and for something more positive to emerge. i tackled and for something more positive to emerge.— tackled and for something more positive to emerge. i wonder whether the interview— positive to emerge. i wonder whether the interview could _ positive to emerge. i wonder whether the interview could lead _ positive to emerge. i wonder whether the interview could lead to _ positive to emerge. i wonder whether the interview could lead to a - positive to emerge. i wonder whether the interview could lead to a debate l the interview could lead to a debate on the nature and size of the monarchy. the queen is the longest serving mother, she became queen in the early 1950s, society has changed dramatically and maybe her lifetime a dedicated service obscures the big demand on those younger than her in the family who might find themselves

trapped, to use harry's words. for. trapped, to use harry's words. for, and i trapped, to use harry's words. for, and i completely— trapped, to use harry's words. fri", and i completely understand what he said, and i would feel trapped, keeping young people in the zoo or dish where they are watched constantly, and they have had to develop this relationship with the tabloids are giving them so much so they will not take everything. but a very privileged _ they will not take everything. but a very privileged zoo, _ they will not take everything. but a very privileged zoo, as _ they will not take everything. but a very privileged zoo, as you - they will not take everything. but a very privileged zoo, as you put it. it is not something i would ever want for somebody that i cared about, so i think harry is pretty brave to escape from that, and i am sure that somewhere there is a desire for all of them to escape that. . ~ desire for all of them to escape that. ., ~ , ., desire for all of them to escape that. ., ~' , ., , desire for all of them to escape that. ., ~ i. , . desire for all of them to escape that. . ~ ,, , . ., that. thank you very much for talkin: that. thank you very much for talking to _ that. thank you very much for talking to us _ that. thank you very much for talking to us today, _ that. thank you very much for talking to us today, thank - that. thank you very much for| talking to us today, thank you. nadifa mohamed. the american woman accused over the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a contribution in his memory, according to her lawyer. 19—year—old harry died when his motorcycle was involved

in a collision with a car near an raf base in 2019. anne sacoolas, who was driving the car, later returned to her home in the united states and claimed diplomatic immunity. her lawyer has told the bbc she won't return to the uk to stand trial. this kind of an accident, had it occurred in the united states, would not be prosecuted criminally. so in the united states, these cases are only prosecuted where there is evidence of recklessness that rises to the level of close to intent. so drunk driving, distracted driving, or a hit—and—run situation, or excessive speeding. but there was none of that here. the family of harry dunn have launched civil action against anne sacoolas and her husband in the us state of virginia. harry's mother, charlotte charles said she would continue to push for ms sacoolas to return to the uk to stand trial. i made a promise to harry the night that he died thatjustice would be done. there are no circumstances at all that are going to make me break that promise.

this campaign has been all about accountability and ensuring that nobody is above the law. she needs to come back. if she wants to resolve this, like she says she does, then it's easy. face the uk justice system, get this done and dusted. she can then move on with her life and we can start to rebuild ours. burmese activists trapped in apartment blocks in myanmar�*s main city, yangon, say the military has called off its search and they've now managed to escape. but as many as 50 are believed to have been detained during the operation against activists protesting against last month's coup. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head has the latest. it's become an established tactic where the military throughout neighbourhoods where they want to arrest people, they will go in and smashed outdoors and try and grab people from houses. in case, we know the two sons

of a man they wanted, an nld figure, were taken on saturday, and they've got no obvious political connections, yet they've disappeared into the notorious insein prison. no—one's had any contact with them. i think this fits a pattern of overall terror, and also an attempt by the military in a rather blunt way to try to capture as many people as they can who may be involved in organising the civil disobedience movement. i mean, they've already arrested, by correlated numbers we have, more than 1800 people since the coup, but it's quite possible those numbers are higher. we are hearing of very large numbers, for example, arrested today in the far south of myanmar. this is going on. what we saw in this neighbourhood last night was well documented and well filmed, and you could really feel the fear of all these locals coming out, trying to pass word about where the military were. at times, useful soldiers going through the streets yelling abuse, yelling really unpleasant things to women, threats, firing their weapons and trying to sort of scare people out,

and this goes on for several hours each night. you can imagine how short of sleep people are. so i think it's a bigger tactic than just capturing people. they did get nearly 50 people last night in this one neighbourhood. it's all about this dreadful war of attrition that is now going on between the population in almost complete open rebellion across the country against the coup, and a military thatjust won't accept that its rule is not acknowledged by the people and is determined to stamp its authority in every possible way. there isn't another armed forces i can think of, not in this region anyway, perhaps outside north korea, that has such a complete disregard for human life in the way it tries to enforce its authority. the headlines on bbc news: silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan's explosive claims in that tv interview. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a contribution in his memory, her lawyer says. sports coaches and priests who have sexual relationships

with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law, under new government plans to close legal loopholes. let's talk more about that. sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law, under government plans to close a legal loophole in england and wales. it's one of a number of new crime measures being introduced in parliament today, including tougher sentences for murderers. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. ellie gould was 17 when her life was taken by a former boyfriend after she ended their brief relationship. her killer, thomas griffiths, was the same age and a fellow student. he went to ellie's home and stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife. griffiths was sentenced to a minimum of 12 and a half years. ellie's mum, carol, is relieved that under the new measures, griffiths won't be able

to have his sentence reviewed. it's a huge relief to us as a family because it means in four years' time we don't have to go through the anguish of writing a victim impact statement and worrying that he could potentially get his sentence reduced. at least we know, at least for the next ten years, he will remain behind bars. the measures being introduced today are being billed as a justice overhaul, and one of the areas they're focusing on is the protection of young people from sexual predators. while the age of consent is 16, in future, sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds in their care will be breaking the law. they'll be under the same rules as teachers or social workers. it will make a significant difference in terms of the confidence that young people can have that adults in positions of power and authority over them can't take advantage of those positions of authority to engage in sexual relations with them.

so it's a really important protective measure. and as part of the shake—up, police will have greater powers to restrict nonviolent protests described as disrupting the public or access to parliament. the human rights organisation liberty said the new powers risked stifling dissent. june kelly, bbc news. let's speak now to andrew fellows, associate head of policy at child protection charity the nspcc. how do you respond to this? we are incredibly pleased, _ how do you respond to this? we are incredibly pleased, this _ how do you respond to this? we are incredibly pleased, this is _ incredibly pleased, this is something the nspcc has been calling forfor ten years, something the nspcc has been calling for for ten years, joining lots of other organisations. we have heard from many young people who went through this, and one of the aspects

of this not being recognised in the law was that they were told nothing wrong happened to them and that it was, ultimately, theirfault and they should have done something different. it is a fantastic step forward, and it means young people will not go through what too many have had to experience over the last few years. flan have had to experience over the last few ears. . , ., have had to experience over the last few ears. ., , ., , ., ., have had to experience over the last few ears. ., i. , ., ., ., few years. can you explain to our audience what _ few years. can you explain to our audience what the _ few years. can you explain to our audience what the situation - few years. can you explain to our audience what the situation is - few years. can you explain to our audience what the situation is at | audience what the situation is at the moment right now when it comes to... it depends what you call it, sexual relationships, grooming, abuse. we sexual relationships, grooming, abuse. ~ ., ., abuse. we would call it grooming and abuse, and abuse. we would call it grooming and abuse. and at — abuse. we would call it grooming and abuse, and at the _ abuse. we would call it grooming and abuse, and at the moment _ abuse. we would call it grooming and abuse, and at the moment there - abuse. we would call it grooming and abuse, and at the moment there are| abuse. we would call it grooming and | abuse, and at the moment there are a range of positions where an adult has both access to children and young people and kind of significant influence over their lives, and they are not to use that to have sexual relationships, so teachers, social workers, people who work in youth justice. and that is now being applied, the proposal is to applied to sports coaches, religious leaders, and we have seen, over the last few years, a number of very

tragic scandals that highlighted how sports coaches have really significant power and influence over children and young people, who they know often for many years. so we have spoken to young people where the sexual contact started after they turned 16, but this was someone they turned 16, but this was someone they had known since they were eight or nine years old. bud they had known since they were eight or nine years old.— or nine years old. and you call that a sexual abuse? _ or nine years old. and you call that a sexual abuse? absolutely, - or nine years old. and you call that a sexual abuse? absolutely, in - or nine years old. and you call that a sexual abuse? absolutely, in the j a sexual abuse? absolutely, in the same way that _ a sexual abuse? absolutely, in the same way that positions _ a sexual abuse? absolutely, in the same way that positions of - a sexual abuse? absolutely, in the same way that positions of trust i a sexual abuse? absolutely, in the j same way that positions of trust by a teacher or social worker would be abuse. we understand far more about grooming now, we understand how adults are able to come over a long period of time, use their position to manipulate, to groom, to exploit children and young people, but we have also worked cases where children and young people who went through this were not able to take a

prosecution forward because the defendant said, well, i waited until the young person was 16. and it becomes a defence that can be used in different circumstances as well. it is extraordinary that it has taken at least four years for this to happen, because it was raised certainly my former footballers who were abused when they were nine, ten, 11, they were telling me about these four years ago, that sports coaches could have relationships with 16—year—olds, and it seems extraordinary that it has taken this long, that sports coaches and religious leaders, you know, people from the faith could have such relationships.— from the faith could have such relationships. absolutely, and as baroness tanni _ relationships. absolutely, and as baroness tanni grey-thompson, | relationships. absolutely, and as l baroness tanni grey-thompson, in relationships. absolutely, and as - baroness tanni grey-thompson, in her baroness tanni grey—thompson, in her report in 2017, set out across a range of sports, the appg on safeguarding and faith, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse have all highlighted how this can be exploited by perpetrators and people to sexually

abuse children. the last four years have been an extremely difficult time in politics, and the ministry ofjustice undertook a review into this law, the findings of which were delayed by the pandemic in. so it has taken longer than it should have done, but it is important, particularly now, children have missed out on these activities for a year now, and they are going to be going back and restarting the activities they have been missing out on, and after a really difficult time, it is really vital that they are able to do that without having to worry about orb are confronted by sexual grooming or pressure from the adults that they are looking to for guidance and support thank you very much, andrew. guidance and support thank you very much. andrew— much, andrew. thank you. andrew fellows from _ much, andrew. thank you. andrew fellows from the _ much, andrew. thank you. andrew fellows from the nspcc. _ italy has surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths — the second highest total in europe after britain. a year ago today, the country announced the world's first national lockdown. hospitals in the northern region

of lombardy were soon overwhelmed. but a year on, there's talk of another national lockdown and a plan to speed up vaccinations, after a slow start. mark lobel has the story. injecting hope for hundreds in one of italy's new vaccination hubs at rome's main train terminal. but it's far from the end of the line for the virus here, with cases once again rising. translation: we have to bring down infections as variants _ make the infection more difficult to manage as it spreads faster, so we must remind everyone to be as cautious as possible because the weeks ahead will not be easy. the green light has now been given here to the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine for people aged 65 and over. injections of it at italy's main airport now taking off after its health ministry initially granted approval, doubting its effectiveness in the elderly.

translation: we are trying | to give the maximum number of inoculations every day. obviously, as you can see, the stations are full. we have an average of 100 doctors and nurses working here. this was a year ago in northern italy's lombardy region, a stark warning to the world of how overwhelmed hospitals could become. now, though, back in the capital, there is a train to the rescue. carriage upon carriage of life—saving equipment that can be deployed around the country at a moment's notice. taking up to 21 patients at a time. translation: it works the same way as a hospital icu. _ every shift, we have two intensive care physicians and four specialised nurses for each carriage. but, for now, in the worst affected cities, like naples, lockdowns are once again served up.

normal life at a standstill. a year on from its deadly first wave, this virus still able to shock. translation: we would never have thought that a year later— we would find ourselves facing a similar emergency, and that the official death toll would approach the terrible threshold of 100,000. we must make a commitment to respect the memory of the many citizens that lost their lives. but, a year on, the difference being there is a way out. mark lobel, bbc news. ten months ago, jake vujovic from london almost died from coronavirus and was in hospital for 107 days. he's now recovering, but suffers from debilitating fatigue. jake is one of a growing number of people who struggle to shake off symptoms weeks and months after contracting the virus. our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports.

my chances to survive covid were very, very low. i'm much, much stronger now. jake vujovic feels he's been given a second chance at life. he almost died last year, spending three weeks on a ventilator. covid ravaged his body, damaging his lungs and his limbs. ten months on, the 56—year—old has only partially recovered. my feet are still paralysed and basically, i can't go anywhere without crutches. it's quite risky. the other thing which still remains is a fatigue. it's something that,

itjust hits you from nowhere.

it could be 18 months before jake knows if he'll walk again without crutches. he remains resilient and optimistic. i do believe that one day i will be back completely, 100%. my leg will recover, my feet will recover, my breathing will recover. and i will be old jake, working full time, enjoying the life, going out and not be limited by anything. the headlines on bbc news... silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan's explosive claims in that tv interview. meghan's dad, thomas markle, said he was "disappointed" with the interview, and said this about the claim that an unnamed

royal family member asked "how dark" archie's skin might be. i don't think the british royal family are racist at all. i don't think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist, but i don't think the brits are. harry says in part the couple left the uk becasue of the "bigoted" british tabloid newspapers — has he got a point or not? let me know what you think. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, her lawyer says. sports coaches and priests who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law under new government plans to close legal loopholes. when talking about the rift in the royal family, prince harry said one of the saddest parts was when more than 70 mps called out the colonial undertones of some of the press coverage of meghan, "and yet no one

from my family ever said anything over those three years" — "that really hurt" he said. i've been talking to one of people who signed the letter, labour's diane abbott, the uk's first black woman mp. we could not understand why the british media was seeking to tear down meghan for no apparent reason. and we also pointed out some of the colonial overtones in some of the commentary. so there are at least 70 british members of parliament who think the media coverage of meghan was highly problematic. why did you think it was, as you put it, problematic? others would say racist? well, for instance, if kate middleton... i've got nothing against kate middleton, but if kate middleton liked avocados, the tabloids just run the story as a charming pregnant woman's little food fancy. if meghan liked avocados, the same tabloid ran the story as meghan somehow supporting devastation and climate change. meghan can do exactly the same

things as white members of parliament data and get criticised for then, but if it was other members of the royal family, there was nothing said. i've actually got those headlines. both stories were from the daily express. "kate's morning sickness cure. prince william gifted with an avocado for pregnant duchess." so, again, in the daily express, "meghan markle's beloved avocado linked to human rights abuses and drought." are you saying clearly that the headline about meghan markle and the way that was written up was because she is of mixed heritage? well, you have to say, what was the difference between the two pregnant

women? i ask you and to make up their own minds.— women? i ask you and to make up their own minds. well, one is white and one is — their own minds. well, one is white and one is of— their own minds. well, one is white and one is of next _ their own minds. well, one is white and one is of next heritage. - their own minds. well, one is white and one is of next heritage. thanki and one is of next heritage. thank ou. that and one is of next heritage. thank you- that was _ and one is of next heritage. thank you. that was not _ and one is of next heritage. thank you. that was not a _ and one is of next heritage. thank you. that was not a random - and one is of next heritage. thankj you. that was not a random story, there were so many stories like that in the tabloids media. there was a story criticising meghan markle for having her hands in her pockets when there were photos of the queen with her hands in her pockets. you have to jewel conclusions from the way meghan was systematically criticised and attacked, for things which other white members of the royalfamily could get away with. i am white members of the royal family could get away with.— could get away with. i am speaking to the head — could get away with. i am speaking to the head of _ could get away with. i am speaking to the head of the _ could get away with. i am speaking to the head of the society - could get away with. i am speaking to the head of the society of- to the head of the society of editors are just after 9:30am, he says that british tabloids are not rated, these stories are not examples of bigotry and he wants prince harry to give him the evidence of racist tabloid coverage. clearly this gentleman cannot read.

you can cite story after story where meghan was treated differently from white members of the royalfamily. when they were engaged, they talked about her mother being straight out of compton, gangster overtones. the man can't read. i am not saying, of course, that every single tabloids or broadcastjournalist is racist, but there is no doubt the newspapers and the media have been involved in peddling racist stereotypes, not least about meghan. i5 peddling racist stereotypes, not least about meghan.— peddling racist stereotypes, not least about meghan. is that because there is such — least about meghan. is that because there is such a _ least about meghan. is that because there is such a lack _ least about meghan. is that because there is such a lack of _ least about meghan. is that because there is such a lack of diversity - least about meghan. is that because there is such a lack of diversity in . there is such a lack of diversity in media newsrooms up and down the country? it media newsrooms up and down the count ? , , media newsrooms up and down the count ? , i. media newsrooms up and down the count ? , country? it is partly about the lack of diversity. _ country? it is partly about the lack of diversity, over _ country? it is partly about the lack of diversity, over 30 _ country? it is partly about the lack of diversity, over 30 years - country? it is partly about the lack of diversity, over 30 years ago - country? it is partly about the lack of diversity, over 30 years ago i i of diversity, over 30 years ago i actually worked in television news and i have to say, 30 years later, there are hardly any more black and brown people in the newsroom than when i was a young woman. diane abbott. i've been speaking to ian murray, the executive director of the society of editors,

which says it fights to protect press freedoms, and i asked whether he thought some british tabloid newspapers are bigoted. no. they are not. what we are seeing here is a tragic story of a family at war, as we know, your heart goes out to the duchess in particular due to the mental health problems that were there, but the accusations that harry and meghan said they left britain partly because of racism towards them, the accusation that this was caused by sections of the british media who are racist, i am afraid it is not true and not borne out by the evidence of the coverage. the daily star ran a headline asking whether harry would be marrying into gangster royalty. the mail online had a headline which declared meghan was almost straight out of compton. well, compton, iam not completely

familiar with areas... i think that may be in california. it is familiar with areas. .. i think that may be in california.— may be in california. it is a black unanster may be in california. it is a black gangster stereotype, _ may be in california. it is a black gangster stereotype, do - may be in california. it is a black gangster stereotype, do you - may be in california. it is a black. gangster stereotype, do you think those headlines are racist? victoria, if you will not even let me answer you when you have asked the question, the question is basically saying it is a rags to riches story, it was the same with anyone coming in from outside the royalfamily, audibility, that it is written up in that way. you must look at the context, is this saying that the coverage given to meghan in particular but to the duke and duchess of sussex, any perceived negative coverage, and this follows a huge groundswell of positive coverage when meghan first started dating him, they got engaged and were married, and amazing amount of positive coverage reflecting the warmth the british people towards

this couple. then there was some negative coverage that came in when the couple began to set out their stall, i do not want to use the word preached, about things close to their hearts, questions being asked about whether they are living to the ideals they are putting forward? to say that that was racist, and particularly targeted because meghan is a woman of colour, i am afraid thatis is a woman of colour, i am afraid that is not borne out by the truth, you just have to look at the way the royal family has been covered for decades, it is not as though the royal family has been given an easy ride. they and others have been held to account and you cannot say that the coverage and the investigations into princess and connor edwards and sophie, andrew and sergei... the dail star sophie, andrew and sergei... the daily star asked whether harry would

be marrying into gangster royalty. i am not going to defend one headline. both talk at once. please may i ask the question. mr murray, you can continue talking over metres murray, you can continue talking over metre— murray, you can continue talking over metre , ., over metres somebody might point to this and say--- _ this and say... both talk at once. you told me the british tabloid press was not bigoted, i have given you some examples, you are denying those examples are racist in siam asking why you are denying that. i am not defending individual things here and there, when you say someone might make one comment, and we're not saying whether they were or racist... both talk at once. i never get the chance to finish my point. when you label someone as bigoted, one disputed example, and

you are not taking the whole thing into context, i am afraid that if you keep on looking you will find that needle in the haystack. but you 'ust said that needle in the haystack. but you just said the — that needle in the haystack. but you just said the british _ that needle in the haystack. but you just said the british press _ that needle in the haystack. but you just said the british press is - that needle in the haystack. but you just said the british press is not - just said the british press is not racist and now you're saying you will the racist needle in the head —— in the haystack, so are those headlines racist? i -- in the haystack, so are those headlines racist?— headlines racist? i will not say whether they _ headlines racist? i will not say whether they are _ headlines racist? i will not say whether they are or _ headlines racist? i will not say whether they are or not. - headlines racist? i will not say. whether they are or not. why?! headlines racist? i will not say - whether they are or not. why?! you are the society _ whether they are or not. why?! you are the society of _ whether they are or not. why?! you are the society of editors! _ are the society of editors! both talk at once. let me give you some context, please. let me give you some context. the headline which suggested that meghan was almost straight out of compton, anthony says prince harry's new girl, sits star meghan markle, is from crenshaw, la, which has endured 47 crimes in the last week including murder. had the neighbourhood as their territory. murder. had the neighbourhood as theirterritory. her murder. had the neighbourhood as their territory. her social work among doria ragland lids in the

rundown area and her aunt is in nearby ghana selected inglewood. are they racist stereotypes? —— in a nearby gang—afflicted area. i do they racist stereotypes? -- in a nearby gang-afflicted area. i do not know whether _ nearby gang-afflicted area. i do not know whether they _ nearby gang-afflicted area. i do not know whether they are _ nearby gang-afflicted area. i do not know whether they are factually - know whether they are factually correct or not, it is saying that is the background of meghan markle. in 2016 a report by the european commission against racism and intolerance found that hate speech ljy intolerance found that hate speech by media, particularly tabloid newspapers in this country, continues to be a problem. do you not see that at all? do i continues to be a problem. do you not see that at all?— continues to be a problem. do you not see that at all? do i agree with the findings? _ not see that at all? do i agree with the findings? i _ not see that at all? do i agree with the findings? i have _ not see that at all? do i agree with the findings? i have not _ not see that at all? do i agree with the findings? i have not read - not see that at all? do i agree with the findings? i have not read that i the findings? i have not read that report recently, i will not say i completely agree with their findings. i would completely agree with their findings. iwould have completely agree with their findings. i would have to look further into it. it is what they are basing this on. ian further into it. it is what they are

basing this on.— in india, the ancient religion of zoroastrianism is under threat. i hope i said that correctly. there are fewer than 60,000 believers in the country and their numbers are projected to fall further. the un has warned the 3000—year—old religion could become instinct. our reporter sodaba haidare reports. in india, a small community of zoroastrians known as parsees are fighting for their religion's survival, and the un is worried about the future. it is a very sharp decline. yes, the prospects are that the community could be extinct in the not—too—distant future. zoroastrians fled religious persecution in ancient persia millennia ago. when they first arrived in india, they made a promise not to convert others to their religion. but that's limited how much the faith can grow and now india's parsee population is plummeting. there are fewer than 60,000 believers, that's half as many as in the 1940s. so what are parsees doing to save their ancient

religion? some say dating and marriage within the faith is a solution, but with a small pool of potential partners, finding the one is tough, and that's where this woman comes in. for the past ten years she's been working for free, matching parsee zoroastrian singles in the hope they will marry and have children to increase their numbers. i have matched 85 couples so far. considering that ours is a very small community, these figures are ok. this 25—year—old is one of her clients. he is an only child, so the continuation of his family's parsee line depends on him. i'm just doing my bit, trying my level best to get somebody within the community, to protect the religion that you've been born with. over the past eight years, the indian government has been funding the jiyo parsee, initiative which gives free fertility treatment to parsees so they can have more children. charmaine and raymond have had two sons through this scheme.

but under indian law, women that have married outside the faith can't take part in thejiyo parsee scheme. this 20—year—old thinks relaxing rules like this could help the faith survive. i think the parsee community is declining mainly because of the restrictions on parsee women. if a parsee woman marries a non—parsee guy, their child cannot be raised as a parsee. so it has to be raised according to the religion of the quy- but for some parsees, calls to relax marriage rules are too much of a departure from their core beliefs. there is something unique about us, and we would like to keep that uniqueness. if we are married outside then all this uniqueness would have been lost.

despite these differences, zoroastrians in india all agree the priority is to ensure there faith lives on. —— all agree the priority is to ensure their faith lives on. the younger generation are smart, they will figure out a way. the human race is tough and parsees are tougher, so we will survive and we will prosper. let's speak now to professor almut hintze, professor of zoroastrianism studies at soas university. hello, professor tell us more about this religion, what do followers believe? ., , ., , this religion, what do followers believe? ., ., , , ., believe? zoroastrianism is a monotheistic _ believe? zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion, - believe? zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion, theyl believe? zoroastrianism is a - monotheistic religion, they have one vote who also has an opponent, which is evil, external to god. —— they have one god. as he said in your programme the religion is more than 3000 years old and was originally

practised in iran, then after the arab conquest of the run in the seventh century of the christian era, zoroastrians migrated to india and became settled in india, where they became known as the parsees. they have preserved their religion, as hudson zoroastrians back in iran. and what you think about the fact it is under threat now? it is and what you think about the fact it is under threat now?— is under threat now? it is indeed the case that _ is under threat now? it is indeed the case that in _ is under threat now? it is indeed the case that in india _ is under threat now? it is indeed the case that in india it - is under threat now? it is indeed the case that in india it is - is under threat now? it is indeed the case that in india it is so - the case that in india it is so because of the higher education of women, zoroastrians are very keen on education and were at the forefront of female education during the 19th century. nowadays many young zoroastrian women are professionals and have other priorities, so that is one reason. another reason for the decline of numbers of zoroastrians in india is migration,

so many zoroastrians leave india and prefer to live in an english—speaking country, usually the us or australia. english-speaking country, usually the us or australia.— english-speaking country, usually the us or australia. there's eight a smarter followers _ the us or australia. there's eight a smarter followers decline? - the us or australia. there's eight a smarter followers decline? does i the us or australia. there's eight a smarter followers decline? does it | smarterfollowers decline? does it matter if it becomes extinct? it matters hugely, because the zoroastrian religion is one of these significant religions in human history. it has massively impacted on judaism history. it has massively impacted onjudaism and later on on judaism and later on christianity, onjudaism and later on christianity, ideas about heaven and hell, judgment after death, the resurrection of the body, they were first formulated in zoroastrianism, so it has a very strong historical significance in the history of religious thought, but not only that, zoroastrianism is a major player in the formulation of iranians identity. 50 player in the formulation of iranians identity.— player in the formulation of iranians identity. player in the formulation of iranians identi . ., ., iranians identity. so what would you su: est iranians identity. so what would you

suggest are — iranians identity. so what would you suggest are ways — iranians identity. so what would you suggest are ways to _ iranians identity. so what would you suggest are ways to make _ iranians identity. so what would you suggest are ways to make sure - iranians identity. so what would you suggest are ways to make sure it i iranians identity. so what would you suggest are ways to make sure it is | suggest are ways to make sure it is not diane? it suggest are ways to make sure it is not diane? , ., , , ., . not diane? it needs to be protected, it is an endangered _ not diane? it needs to be protected, it is an endangered cultural - it is an endangered cultural heritage and zoroastrians need to be educated to be aware of their precious heritage.— educated to be aware of their precious heritage. thank you very much for talking _ precious heritage. thank you very much for talking to _ precious heritage. thank you very much for talking to us, _ precious heritage. thank you very much for talking to us, professor| much for talking to us, professor almut hintze. mps are questioning the government's scientific advisers on how decisions are being made to release the lockdown measures in england. greg clark, who is the chair of the science and technology committee, asked if measures could be relaxed sooner than planned. if it were to be driven by data, does it follow that if the data is better than anticipated we could bring forward some of those? i think what sir patrick _ bring forward some of those? i think

what sir patrick laid _ bring forward some of those? i think what sir patrick laid out _ bring forward some of those? i think what sir patrick laid out at _ bring forward some of those? i think what sir patrick laid out at the i what sir patrick laid out at the beginning was the fundamental reason for having _ beginning was the fundamental reason for having the particular five—week -ap for having the particular five—week gap between each of the stages, and the reason _ gap between each of the stages, and the reason is that it takes at least three _ the reason is that it takes at least three weeks, possibly four, to get their data — three weeks, possibly four, to get their data and analyse it properly, remembering there is at least a ten day light— remembering there is at least a ten day light before we see cases coming through. _ day light before we see cases coming through, and the prime minister and ministers _ through, and the prime minister and ministers had said they want to give people _ ministers had said they want to give people a _ ministers had said they want to give people a week's notice before major changes— people a week's notice before major changes are taken, so that people can make — changes are taken, so that people can make proper preparation and do not have _ can make proper preparation and do not have to — can make proper preparation and do not have to do handbrake turns all sudden _ not have to do handbrake turns all sudden start from nowhere. if you do that and _ sudden start from nowhere. if you do that and you — sudden start from nowhere. if you do that and you do not want to reduce the time, — that and you do not want to reduce the time, and then if you look at the time, and then if you look at the steps. — the time, and then if you look at the steps, each is step quite a big step. _ the steps, each is step quite a big step. so— the steps, each is step quite a big step, so this first step, only all of the — step, so this first step, only all of the schools, and that is a lot, plus— of the schools, and that is a lot, plus other— of the schools, and that is a lot, plus other areas to be opened up, including — plus other areas to be opened up, including the decision for people to

meet _ including the decision for people to meet outdoors, much, much lower risk as sir— meet outdoors, much, much lower risk as sir patrick _ meet outdoors, much, much lower risk as sir patrick said, but not zero risk _ as sir patrick said, but not zero risk it— as sir patrick said, but not zero risk it is— as sir patrick said, but not zero risk. it is quite a big step. step two, _ risk. it is quite a big step. step two. it— risk. it is quite a big step. step two. it is— risk. it is quite a big step. step two. it is a _ risk. it is quite a big step. step two, it is a very long list of things. _ two, it is a very long list of things, the high contact things indoors — things, the high contact things indoors such as gender, retail, a very— indoors such as gender, retail, a very long — indoors such as gender, retail, a very long list of things under very significant — very long list of things under very significant step, you would want to see what— significant step, you would want to see what the combination of skills plus all— see what the combination of skills plus all of— see what the combination of skills plus all of those being open is. —— gyms, _ plus all of those being open is. —— gyms, retail _ plus all of those being open is. —— gyms, retail. it's anotherfive weeks — gyms, retail. it's anotherfive weeks. then there is another significant step. in some sense the last step _ significant step. in some sense the last step is — significant step. in some sense the last step is smallest, which is taking — last step is smallest, which is taking all— last step is smallest, which is taking all restrictions away, you would _ taking all restrictions away, you would want to be confident that we were safe — would want to be confident that we were safe to do this. lots of people might— were safe to do this. lots of people might think— were safe to do this. lots of people might think it is all over, i would encourage — might think it is all over, i would encourage them to look at continental europe at the moment where _ continental europe at the moment where lots — continental europe at the moment where lots of countries are going back— where lots of countries are going back into — where lots of countries are going back into rates going up and closing

things— back into rates going up and closing things down again, having not been in that— things down again, having not been in that situation before. it is very easy— in that situation before. it is very easy to _ in that situation before. it is very easy to forget quite how quickly things— easy to forget quite how quickly things can turn bad if you do not keep— things can turn bad if you do not keep a _ things can turn bad if you do not keep a close eye. one historical point, _ keep a close eye. one historical point, i— keep a close eye. one historical point, i know it is not a —looking boxing _ point, i know it is not a —looking boxing hut— point, i know it is not a —looking boxing but i_ point, i know it is not a —looking boxing but i it illustrates the point, — boxing but i it illustrates the point, the data from yesterday, 65 deaths. _ point, the data from yesterday, 65 deaths. a — point, the data from yesterday, 65 deaths, a lower rate because it was fun sunday— deaths, a lower rate because it was fun sunday but excellent that things are going _ fun sunday but excellent that things are going down and we feel very pleased — are going down and we feel very pleased it — are going down and we feel very pleased it is going on the right way, _ pleased it is going on the right way, if— pleased it is going on the right way, if we _ pleased it is going on the right way, if we look at the same date one year ago. _ way, if we look at the same date one year ago. dh — way, if we look at the same date one yearago, dh eight way, if we look at the same date one year ago, dh eight of march, there were _ year ago, dh eight of march, there were two— year ago, dh eight of march, there were two deaths in total in the uk and by— were two deaths in total in the uk and by the — were two deaths in total in the uk and by the 23rd of march we were in lockdown _ and by the 23rd of march we were in lockdown in— and by the 23rd of march we were in lockdown in a very difficult situation.— lockdown in a very difficult situation. ., , , . , in the fight against coronavirus, there's no doubt protective equipment, or ppe, helps save lives. but it also creates a huge waste problem, with masks, gloves and other coverings, polluting the environment. our manila correspondent howard johnson has visited a coastal area in the philippines to see

the scale of the problem. surgical facemasks are washing up on philippine coral reefs. it follows reports by environmental groups of covid—19 personal protective equipment strewn along the country's coastline. we joined a team of divers to take a closer look at the problem. my name is shayla. and i'm oliver. we are dive professionals here. there is this area, the dive site is wonderful. it's like my first time again there after the lockdown. it's gotten worse. there's more stuff like the ppe. just ten minutes in the dive we saw around 10, 12 masks. and we never had that before. when i saw the blue ppe masks i honestly felt sad and guilty about it. because i've used a blue ppe mask

that's easy to throw away. take a look at the rubbish that was brought back by the divers, you can see here blue facemasks, lots of them. there's a face shield here, plastic bottles, tarpaulins. the question is now, "what happens to this rubbish?" well, lots of it will go back to landfill and could eventually make its way back into the sea. and that's a problem, because polymers inside the surgical mask are breaking down into microplastics, easily consumed by marine wildlife in the coral reefs that nurture them. the government is currently cleaning up waterways in and around manila, but admits more must be done to tackle the growing medical waste generated by the pandemic. our policy is not ready for implementing the programme along the coastal areas. there is really a need to strengthen our policy because, of course, clean oceans start from home. but greenpeace philippines say that part of the problem

is that the public don't know how to correctly dispose of their medical waste. it really would be important to start getting that information out about ppe at home and also ensuring that they get the right facilities where they have the equipment and the knowledge of managing infectious waste. personal protection equipment has been one of the key tools in preventing the spread of infection during the pandemic. now it's highlighting the detrimental effects of our dependency on throwaway plastics. howard johnson, bbc news. several meteorite fragments have been recovered from a fireball that lit up the sky over southern england at the end of last month. a man in gloucestershire first alerted experts after noticing a pile of charred stone in his driveway. other members of the public have since come forward with their own finds. researchers say the fragments are extremely rare and consist of a stony material that retains

unaltered chemistry from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. amazing. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. the weather over the next few days will turn much more unsettled, much windier than we have been used to. and there is heavier rain coming our way at times as well. it could be disruptive in some parts, gales even inland, severe gales with exposure. we have an area of low pressure in the atlantic with its attendant weather fronts coming our way, but before it does there is a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine. a weak weather front takes cloud and the odd spot of rain with it, but in light breezes with temperatures between about 11 and 13, it will feel quite pleasant.

in northern ireland and western scotland, rain by mid—afternoon and strengthening winds. these black circles represent the strength of the wind gusts and they increase as we go through the night. gusts of up to 75 mph across the north—west of scotland as the rain advances south and east. the rain will clear over scotland and northern ireland, some showers, some of which will be wintry on the hilsl and mountains. —— some of which will be wintry on the hills and mountains. wet for england and wales tomorrow, more rain to northern ireland, pushing into scotland, eight degrees in aberdeen to about 12 towards cardiff. we are still looking at gusty winds. the gusts will strengthen over the overnight period into thursday morning, which you can see by looking at the squeeze on the isobars. inland gales and severe gales around exposed coasts. there will be large waves in the west and through

the english channel. through thursday the rain moves away but has left a lot of showers behind, some wintry on the tops of the hills further north. although the wind will ease a little, it will still be very windy. gusts of wind of 72 mph in the english channel, for example, 58 around anglesey. the unsettled theme continues on friday and saturday, although the winds will not be as gusty, they will still be gusty.

this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines at 11am. silence so farfrom buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan's explosive claims in that tv interview. meghan's dad, thomas markle, said he was "disappointed" with the interview, and said this about the claim that an unnamed royal family member asked "how dark" archie's skin might be i don't think the british royal family are racist at all. i don't think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist, but i don't think the brits are. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a �*contribution' in his memory, her lawyer says. sports coaches and priests who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be

breaking the law, under new government plans to close legal loopholes. police searching for missing 33—year—old sarah everard — last seen walking alone in clapham, south london — say they remain �*open minded as to all possibilites.�* crisis meetings involving senior royals have taken place following the duke and duchess of sussex's interview with oprah winfrey. buckingham palace still hasn't commented on the interview, which was broadcast last night on itv. in the programme meghan said before their son was born, an unnamed member of the royal family voiced concerns

about how dark his skin colour might be. prince harry later clarified to winfrey that the comments were not made by either the queen or the duke of edinburgh. this morning meghan's father thomas markle said he thought the question about skin colour wasjust a dumb question and he didn't think the british royal family is racist at all. meghan also said she had suicidal thoughts but didn't receive support from the palace. keith doyle reports. viewers in the uk got to watch the full interview last night and the fallout this morning is nuclear. the headlines could not be worse for the palace. turmoil and crisis. they are no less forgiving on the other side of the atlantic. tonight, oprah's interview with the duke and duchess of sussex just aired for the first time in the uk. now britain braces for fallout. despite being previewed, teased and dominating the news, the claims made and heard in the context of the full two hour interview are still able to shock.

claims that meghan was driven close to suicide and that a member of the royal family discussed the skin colour of the duke and duchess's soon—to—be born child. in those months when i was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title. and also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born. what? throughout the interview, the picture painted was one of an uncaring and unsupportive institution, at odds with the image of being at the head of a multicultural country and commonwealth. in america, this summer, wejust went through the black lives matter movement and the killing of george floyd. now, what we see, when we see this monarchy, we see an institution that we revere, and now we find out that you guys

have the same issues of racial and racism, systemic racism, that we do in the united states. so, yes, it does hurt us. it almost seems like a fairy tale shattered for many of us. overnight there's been no comment from buckingham palace which is sure to be reeling from such explosive claims by those at the very heart of the royal family. all eyes and the media spotlight is on here today to see how or if it responds. i don't see buckingham palace as being like the kremlin. on the whole, they are a very civilised organisation. but i also don't think that they are likely to engage in this kind of war between two parties which of course the tabloid press would greatly enjoy. the harry and meghan love story was a fairytale, and brought young, modern vitality into the royal family. this interview has brought up real issues that can't easily be ignored. security, mental health and trust.

just a few years on from the fairytale, and for buckingham just a few years on from the fairytale, and for buckingham palace, all that has turned to crisis management on an epic scale. keith doyle, bbc news. speaking to itv�*s good morning britain, meghan's father, thomas markle said he did not believe that the royal family were racist. i have great respect for the royals. and i don't think the british royal family are racist. at all. i don't think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist. but i don't think the brits are. uh... the thing about... the thing about, uh... "what colour will the baby be?" "how dark will the baby be?" i'm guessing and hoping it'sjust a dumb question from somebody, you know. it could just be that simple,

it could be somebody asking a stupid question, uh, ratherthan being a total racist. with me is our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. no response from the palace. i expecting one? i think they have got to say something. i sense they may have drawn back last night on the "let's sleep on it." i would imagine that the debate would go something along the lines of should we make a statement which is purely conciliatory sympathetic or should we in any sense just push back gently at the sussex narrative which is filling the airwaves in this country and everywhere around the world because you can be sure that they will simply not recognise parts

of the sussex narrative. i think there will be a feeling of frustration and indeed of exasperation because i think the palace tried terribly hard, they picked officials mostly led by women to assist meghan and so forth but this is not the moment for buckingham palace to to be seen to be mixing it with a war of words so they've got to steer a very sensitive and careful line and i would imagine that the view that we must reach out and be seen to be sympathetic is the view that prevails but we wait to see. thea;r prevails but we wait to see. they have been _ prevails but we wait to see. they have been here _ prevails but we wait to see. they have been here before. - prevails but we wait to see. they have been here before. there have been high—profile interviews within the family before and each time, it feels like a completely different situation with a tailor—made response. we also know they are really private and with prince

philip in hospital they have not wanted to say too much. what do you think will be played out in public with this? i think will be played out in public with this? ~ , think will be played out in public with this? ~' , ., , with this? i think they will say as little as possible, _ with this? i think they will say as little as possible, as _ with this? i think they will say as little as possible, as little i with this? i think they will say as little as possible, as little as i with this? i think they will say as little as possible, as little as is l little as possible, as little as is appropriate in the circumstances of this and the most difficult area for them is going to be the suggestion of a racist slur which, by any accounts, is completely unacceptable but how do they address at? i know that thomas markle has said perhaps it was a dumb remark but we simply don't know. palace will have to steer this careful line. the particular point, i know some of the officials and itjust seems inconceivable that had they realised that meghan was in this state of emotional distress that they would

have mentioned it. she says she went to the palace hr department and perhaps this was not the best course of action but my suggestion of that is completely contrary to what she said but yes, they need to address this and taking it, as i am sure they are, absolutely seriously. joining me now is lisa bent, an author whose book explores what it means to be a black woman in britain. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what is your reaction to that interview?— what is your reaction to that interview? ., ~ ., �* ., ., interview? you know, i'm not that shocked. interview? you know, i'm not that shocked- i— interview? you know, i'm not that shocked- i am _ interview? you know, i'm not that shocked. i am not _ interview? you know, i'm not that shocked. i am not that _ interview? you know, i'm not that shocked. i am not that shocked i interview? you know, i'm not that i shocked. i am not that shocked that meghan and harry said what they said. it is really sad that, you know, what came to light actually happen but i am not shocked. i think what surprised me the most that was harry's feelings of feeling trapped

and his emotional state. but when i look to harry, i thought, are they having an existential crisis? everything that he ever knew is literally drawn out from under his feet and he is looking at the world in a totally new way because he is married to meghan and what they both went through. you know, harry and meghan said what they said and it just feels like it's easier to labour it a lie because the gravity of the truth is too hard to swallow and so what is happening now, in the media, is that everyone is nit—picking or doubting what they have both said. this is their experience and i always wondering why, when people stake their experiences, why itjust can't be heard and listened to. what is happening right now is a massive reaction and ijust happening right now is a massive reaction and i just wonder what place we could be in if we were to listen to people's concerns and their experiences, because many

times, for example when black people speak, we are shutdown, not heard. the flight orfight speak, we are shutdown, not heard. the flight or fight scenario always happens. the racial stamina which britain has, i don't think we have the rachel —— racial stamina to cope with it and i think if we could have that then we could progress. likening the monarchy to a firm or a workplace, this would not happen, you know, someone has come in so they have a mental health issue that they have a mental health issue that they feel, why and said and they looked for support and there was none. diversity and inclusion in the workplace and health and well—being is massive and should be on every

workplace's agenda, but this institution has failed. we have to believe people when they say what they are saying. because this hashtag, be kind, just feels like a buzzword. why can't we believe people when they say things and it is... yeah, it really baffles me. no matter what lens you are looking at this through, where racial empathy? i don't have to be harry to understand where he coming from, that he had a real feeling that he fell that affected both of their lines. —— lives. so i have to ask everyone who is reacting, where is your empathy? why is it immediately when a mixed—race or black woman talks, why is it immediately alive? we have to be able to face difficult conversations. 50. we have to be able to face difficult conversations.— conversations. so, as you are describing _ conversations. so, as you are describing there, _ conversations. so, as you are

describing there, when i conversations. so, as you are i describing there, when allegations are thrown out, it can obviously lead to a defensive response and that then can further entrench positions and polarise things, making it harder to come to a joint position. it's notjust the royal family who are accused of racism, it's also the media, the society of editors is put out a statement saying that it's just not true that sections of the press are bigoted. it is simply the case that sussex couple feel that they are, then they are mistaken and then it goes on to make the point that there was universal supportive coverage in the uk media which reflected their warmth of the couple by the british people. but, that does not mean that the press should not investigate and comment on the couple's lifestyle and actions. there is a lot now

because happiness. is it about culture as much as anything else? it is but it is also about people just being aware that we are all in the same reality but have different realities based on the colour of our skin. i don't understand why that is so difficult to fathom. it's all about whatever lens you are looking out and the media, in terms of their writing style, there is definitely tone that can... we can call racist which is there but is there only if people want to see. there is work to do across—the—board and, do across—the—boa rd and, unfortunately, do across—the—board and, unfortunately, fortunately, what this interview has shown is those cracks. the monarchy is no different from the rest of society. in society, we can acknowledge racism exists but we cannot talk about racism. it is there. the tone is there. i can feel it. the headlines

are wild and... yeah, itjust seems to be meghan's fault. harry says a lot of interesting things in that interview which has not really been highlighted. he felt trapped and he said the institution survives on deception. i said the institution survives on deception-— said the institution survives on decetion. ., ., ., ., deception. i wanted to ask you about the questions — deception. i wanted to ask you about the questions around _ deception. i wanted to ask you about the questions around what _ deception. i wanted to ask you about the questions around what colour- the questions around what colour archie's skin would be. thomas markle has suggested it may be that it was a dumb question, stupid question, ratherthan it was a dumb question, stupid question, rather than a comment from a total racist. whatever end of the spectrum the comment like that is on, whether it is malign intentional just stupidity, what's the best way to deal with that? i just stupidity, what's the best way to deal with that?— to deal with that? i don't have the answer. to deal with that? i don't have the answer- it's _ to deal with that? i don't have the answer. it's upsetting. _ to deal with that? i don't have the answer. it's upsetting. i— to deal with that? i don't have the answer. it's upsetting. i don't- to deal with that? i don't have the i answer. it's upsetting. i don't know

why matter is, but the fact that the very question was asked shows you that this is a race issue and therefore, it matters. you can't hide from it. it is there. meghan is of mixed heritage and, yeah, and the child is also, you know, mixed heritage as a result of that. skin colour is definitely within this and to deny that is to deny a conversation about how we best move forward. i don't have all the answers. it's a very difficult situation. it is tough but we have together better having the race conversation. it would make things easier for people to move forward. thank you very much forjoining us, lisa. the american woman accused over the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, according to her lawyer. 19—year—old harry died when his motorcycle was involved

in a collision with a car near an raf base in 2019. anne sacoolas, who was driving the car, later returned to her home in the united states and claimed dimplomatic immunity. her lawyer has told the bbc she won't return to the uk to stand trial. this kind of an accident, had it occurred in the united states, would not be prosecuted criminally. so in the united states, these cases are only prosecuted where there is evidence of recklessness that rises to the level of close to intent. so drunk driving, distracted driving, or a hit—and—run situation, or excessive speeding. but there was none of that here. the family of harry dunn have launched civil action against anne sacoolas and her husband in the us state of virginia. harry's mother, charlotte charles said she would continue to push for ms sacoolas to return to the uk to stand trial. i made a promise to harry the night that he died that justice would be done. there are no circumstances at all that are going to make me break that promise.

this campaign has been all about accountability and ensuring that nobody is above the law. she needs to come back. if she wants to resolve this, like she says she does, then it's easy. face the uk justice system, get this done and dusted. she can then move on with her life and we can start to rebuild ours. unlocking too quickly would lead to a substantial surge in infection, the england's chief medical officer has told mps. prof chris whitty said that would be dangerous as there are still a lot of vulnerable people who are not protected. let's get more from our political correspondent jonathan blake. the mps have been questioning, some of the best—known names in this.

telus what they said about the speed of easing restrictions? to telus what they said about the speed of easing restrictions?— of easing restrictions? to have the key figures — of easing restrictions? to have the key figures in _ of easing restrictions? to have the key figures in the _ of easing restrictions? to have the key figures in the government's i key figures in the government's response to coronavirus what questioned by the science and technology committee, professor chris whitty and also the government's chief scientific adviser, sir patrick balance. as restrictions begin to ease and the road map embarked upon, everyone will be watching closely to see how that affects hospital admissions, deaths and cases. sir patrick balance, on the initial stage we've seen this week of all pupils returning to school in england, he said that could push up the reproduction rate of coronavirus cases anything from 10—50%. that gives you an idea of the impact of that stage on its own. professor

whitty looks ahead to may the 17th, couple of stages down the road where people can meet indoors with groups of up to six, theatres, cinemas, restaurants conserve people indoors and he said that that it is a very significant block with a lot of stuff happening indoors for the first time. that point is where we will really see some very significant risks accumulating, potentially, so i think preparing people therefore unquestionably, an increase in cases, potentially more than that in terms of the impact of coronavirus in general and he had this morning for people who are thinking about it now restrictions are easing that the end is in sight. those who are thinking it's all over i those who are thinking it's all over i would _ those who are thinking it's all over i would encourage them to look at what's _ i would encourage them to look at what's happening in europe at the moment— what's happening in europe at the moment where a lot of countries are

going _ moment where a lot of countries are going back— moment where a lot of countries are going back into rates going up and having _ going back into rates going up and having to — going back into rates going up and having to close down again, having not been _ having to close down again, having not been in — having to close down again, having not been in that situation before and i_ not been in that situation before and i think— not been in that situation before and i think it's very easy to forget guite _ and i think it's very easy to forget guite how— and i think it's very easy to forget quite how quickly things can turn bad if— quite how quickly things can turn bad if you — quite how quickly things can turn bad if you do not keep their very, very— bad if you do not keep their very, very close — bad if you do not keep their very, very close eye on it and if i can make — very close eye on it and if i can make a — very close eye on it and if i can make a historical point but this illustrates the point, if you look back— illustrates the point, if you look back to — illustrates the point, if you look back to the data from yesterday, the data we _ back to the data from yesterday, the data we have, 65 deaths, a low rate because _ data we have, 65 deaths, a low rate because it _ data we have, 65 deaths, a low rate because it was from sunday which indicates — because it was from sunday which indicates things are going down, and we feel— indicates things are going down, and we feel pleased about that. if we look at _ we feel pleased about that. if we look at the same date one year ago from _ look at the same date one year ago from the _ look at the same date one year ago from the 8th of march, there had been _ from the 8th of march, there had been two — from the 8th of march, there had been two deaths and by the time the end of— been two deaths and by the time the end of march came we were in lockdown _ end of march came we were in lockdown. i think that gives you an idea _ lockdown. i think that gives you an idea. , , ., idea. interestingly, on the government's _

idea. interestingly, on the government's results i idea. interestingly, on the government's results on i idea. interestingly, on the i government's results on whether idea. interestingly, on the _ government's results on whether this should be accelerated, this lockdown, chris whitty said the world is full of leaders who wish they acted earlier and that they had taken it more seriously. this is everywhere in the world not specific to the uk so the potential view on this government's response as well as those around the world. the head of nhs england, sir simon stevens, has been speaking about the anger surrounding nurses' pay, telling mps that plans set out two years ago had budgeted for health workers to receive a 2.1% pay rise. but sir simon told the health and social care committee that he supported the government's approach to resolving the dispute. unions have expressed fury after ministers called for a 1% pay rise for nurses, warning this was all the treasury could afford. sir simon said the pay offer needed to reflect work carried out during the coronavirus crisis. this needs to be seen in the context of the overalljudgment is that the government will make on nhs pay in the round and i agree with you that

coming out of the past year and everything that nhs staff have been through, proper recognition for that is entirely right and i think goes with the grain of what the public would want to see. none of which is two, of course, ignore the broader economic context facing the country, but ultimately ourjudgments that the government has to make, but as the head of the nhs, obviously i am wanting to make sure our staff get a proper rewards and not only support through that mechanism, but also fundamentally what staff want to see a broader range of measures, including further increases in the workforce to deal with some of the intense workforce pressures that have been experienced across the health service. health service. sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law, under government plans to close a legal loophole in england and wales. it's one of a number of new crime measures being introduced in parliament today, including tougher

sentences for murderers. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, reports. ellie gould was 17 when her life was taken by a former boyfriend after she ended their brief relationship. her killer, thomas griffiths, was the same age and a fellow student. he went to ellie's home and stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife. griffiths was sentenced to a minimum of 12 and a half years. ellie's mum, carol, is relieved that under the new measures, griffiths won't be able to have his sentence reviewed. it's a huge relief to us as a family because it means in four years' time we don't have to go through the anguish of writing a victim impact statement and worrying that he could potentially get his sentence reduced. at least we know, at least for the next ten years, he will remain behind bars. the measures being introduced today are being billed as a justice overhaul, and one of the areas they're focusing on is the protection of young people from sexual predators. while the age of consent is 16,

in future, sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds in their care will be breaking the law. they'll be under the same rules as teachers or social workers. it will make a significant difference in terms of the confidence that young people can have that adults in positions of power and authority over them can't take advantage of those positions of authority to engage in sexual relations with them. so it's a really important protective measure. and as part of the shake—up, police will have greater powers to restrict non—violent protests described as disrupting the public, or access to parliament. the human rights organisation liberty said the new powers risked stifling dissent. june kelly, bbc news. i'm joined now by donald findlater,

director of the stop it now hotline at the lucy faithfull foundation, a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. thank you very much forjoining us. it seems a surprise the law hasn't been consistent until now making it illegal for church leaders and sports coaches to have sex with people of age 16—17 years old. i think it was considering specific settings and teachers, doctors, care workers, those in residential and education settings with a particular focus. i think it was an oversight. these other over insights were

overlooked. it is perverse... if it is a sports coach, not at the school, it's not illegal whereas for a teacher, it would be. for a church leader, that is not illegal so this is about regularising things so that all conceivable positions of authority over children in all sorts of settings will be covered by this position of trust law and that gives us protection, and children greater confidence that they will be safer because they will be rules about what can be done and what cannot be donein what can be done and what cannot be done in certain settings. what done in certain settings. what im act done in certain settings. what impact would _ done in certain settings. what impact would you _ done in certain settings. what impact would you say - done in certain settings. what impact would you say the i done in certain settings. what impact would you say the discrepancy would have had in practice if any?

there is no doubt that the discrepancy has had a massive impact. we have over recent years and it has been, i think the uk is in the vanguard of so many things globally regarding tackling child sexual abuse and with regard to our enquiry, looking at different organisations working with children, whether residential, sport or faith organisations, has exposed not only the level of child sexual abuse but including abusing of positions of trust. this is now about bringing a level playing field to those various settings within criminal law so children moving from one setting to another are not disadvantaged or additionally exploited by people who may take advantage of the settings. the law isn't the only way of fixing this problem because these

organisations are going to have to make sure they have codes of conduct for their staff so that staff are alert from the beginning, if they are coming to be a volunteer, sports leader or if they are coming to be a volunteer in a uniform there will be a conversation about not having sexual relations with people under the age of 18 within the organisation.— the age of 18 within the oruanisation. ., �* , ., , organisation. that's an interesting oint liven organisation. that's an interesting point given that — organisation. that's an interesting point given that the _ organisation. that's an interesting point given that the guidance i organisation. that's an interesting point given that the guidance is i point given that the guidance is there from the start in any relationship of that kind, as in having a position of authority over a child. what i was wondering also, until now, had there been cases you have been aware of where a prosecution has not happened or has been difficult because of this discrepancy. i am assuming that other laws would cover the gap? well, in many circumstances, other laws would not cover the gap. having said which, there clearly... there

are non—criminaljustice legislation is so disclosure and barring service where if it became apparent that someone was abusing their position within an organisation then there are potentials to bar people from working with young people under the age of 18 in a range of circumstances that may not directly be against the criminal law. so, i have no doubt that because of the scale of the problem of child sexual abuse, one in six children in the uk experiences sexual abuse. yes, some of that is within the family environment but some of that is in the hands of those who work or volunteer with those children, then this will. .. volunteer with those children, then this will... this law being created now will make a massive difference to the safety of some children and,

as i say, it will cause organisations to have to be very clear with volunteers and staff from the outset that sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds are not permitted and therefore, we are going to observe and supervise you to ensure that you are not behaving inappropriately. we are also going to make sure the children know that they are entitled to be safe from you, from any sexual intentions you may have. you, from any sexual intentions you ma have. �* . you, from any sexual intentions you ma have. . ., , you, from any sexual intentions you ma have. ., ., _ you, from any sexual intentions you ma have. . ., ., may have. and that is obviously a ke art may have. and that is obviously a key part of _ may have. and that is obviously a key part of protecting _ may have. and that is obviously a key part of protecting children, i key part of protecting children, isn't it? not key part of protecting children, isn't it? no— key part of protecting children, isn't it? non . ., isn't it? not the children need to know their _ isn't it? not the children need to know their rights _ isn't it? not the children need to know their rights and _ isn't it? not the children need to know their rights and one - isn't it? not the children need to know their rights and one of- isn't it? not the children need to know their rights and one of the l know their rights and one of the strong campaigners in changing this law, the nspcc, have a campaign that deals with five and six—year—old children that deals with issues of privacy and respect. i children that deals with issues of privacy and respect.— children that deals with issues of privacy and respect. i 'ust want to come in then. h privacy and respect. i 'ust want to come in then, on i privacy and respect. i just want to come in then, on that, _ privacy and respect. i just want to come in then, on that, you i privacy and respect. i just want to i come in then, on that, you mentioned that statistic. use that one in six

children across the uk experiencing sexual abuse of one kind, which is an extraordinary statistic. obviously, you mentioned there the nspcc campaign. there has been such a spotlight shone on child sex abuse in all different arenas in recent years in particular. has it not had an impact in driving down the number of cases? i guess it is made it easierfor people to of cases? i guess it is made it easier for people to talk about it when it happens, but does the awareness that also act to stop it as well? ~ , ., , as well? well, you will be absolutely _ as well? well, you will be absolutely right _ as well? well, you will be absolutely right that i as well? well, you will be absolutely right that that l as well? well, you will be i absolutely right that that is part of the intention and i have no doubt whatsoever that the increased conversations mean that new steps are taken and the home office back injanuary this year launched this in january this year launched this tackling child sexual abuse strategy, which is the first strategy, which is the first strategy we have ever had nationally covering all government departments, but also including the community,

which is much strongerfocus on intervention. the dynamics of the online environment are elevating certain sexual risk to children. lockdown itself has increased the sexual risk. whilst yes the conversations mean additional steps are being taken, but that is at the same time when there are other pressures that are increasing the risks. we have tojust pressures that are increasing the risks. we have to just maintain the momentum. children and young people themselves, parents, and the online space, the industry needs to play at sports and one thing that we kind of uniquely are doing, we are challenging those who represent the sexual risk, people with a sexual interest in children, we are asking them to get help before they do the harm that they might feasibly do. our helpline is for anyone with

concerns about child sexual abuse, including people who have concerns about their own sexual thoughts or behaviours towards children. it is best for children, all those involved. labour is calling for ministers to take part in regular pandemic practice exercises and report to parliament on the uk's plans to fight future health emergencies. the shadow health secretary, jon ashworth, says the country was "woefully unprepared" for coronavirus and is proposing establishing an independent body to review government contingency plans and assess the resilience of the health system. a department of health spokesperson said the response to the pandemic had always been informed by the latest advice from scientists. the vicar of dibley actor trevor peacock has died at the age of 89. what about you, jim, got a stall? no, no, no, no, i'm doing the loud—speaking announcements.

no, no, no, no parking is allowed on the other field. he played the loveable, but dim—witted jim trott in the comedy series alongside dawn french between 1994 until 2015. trevor peacock�*s career lasted over six decades, with appearances in eastenders, jonathan creek and my family. in a tweet, dawn french said, "night, trev, i love you". now, the weather with carol kirkwood. hello, again. for many of us today the weather is going to be fairly quiet until later, when things liven up a bit in the west. there is a lot of dry weather around, a fair bit of sunshine. a weak weather front moving from the west to the east taking a wee bit more cloud and the odd spot of rain with it, but you can see through the afternoon the rain arrives in northern ireland and also western scotland. in the sunshine and light breeze, 11 to 13 will feel quite pleasant. these are the wind gusts coming in from the west as we go

through the latter part of the afternoon. so gusty winds, in fact across north—west scotland we could have gusts as much as 75mph. at the same time, the rain pushes southwards and eastwards, clearing northern ireland and scotland behind, leaving some showers, and some of those could be wintry on the tops of the hills and mountains. tomorrow, again we have all this rain moving across england and wales. rain coming into northern ireland, pushing northwards across scotland through the day. gusty winds, as well. these are our top temperatures, but the windiest conditions will be overnight. hello, this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan's explosive claims in that tv interview. meghan's dad, thomas markle, said he was "disappointed" with the interview and said this about the claim that an unnamed royal family member asked "how dark" archie's skin might be. i don't think the british royal

family are racist at all. i don't think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist, but i don't think the brits are. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, her lawyer says. sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law under new govrnment plans to close legal loopholes. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. good morning. more than 100 coaches in gymnastics have been accused of physical or emotional abuse as part of an ongoing inquiry into the handling of allegations made within the sport. the review is being carried out for uk sport and sport england after a number of concerns were raised that british gymnastics had failed to deal appropriately

with complaints it had received. qc anne whyte's interim report says the call for evidence has has had a strong response, 39 referrals have been made to statutory authorities and she will report fully later in the year. germany managerjoachim low will leave his role following this summer's european championship the 61—year—old, who took over from jurgen klinsmann in 2006, has asked for his contract to be ended a year early. low guided germany to the world cup in 2014, but they were knocked out at the group stage in russia four years later. germany are in a group with france, portugal and hungary at euro 2020. a parliamentary inquiry is being held into the link between sport and long—term brain injuries. mps are considering whether head trauma, including from heading footballs, might lead to dementia. neuroscientist dr michael grey is one of the people providing submissions and told the bbc that it's time for the government to take control.

what i am hoping is the government will get a little bit more involved in promoting research, in perhaps funding research, in producing a campaign of awareness, if you will, to take some of the responsibility away from the non—government bodies, the sporting associations, and actually take control and start to lead on this issue. i think they need to start through public health england, through the education ministry, to do more awareness in schools, and i think there is some improvements we can make in the nhs. another win for chelsea keeps them in the champions league places. they beat everton 2—0 at stamford bridge. the visitors fell behind in unfortunate fashion when ben godfrey deflected kai havertz�*s effort into his own net. jorginho's penalty in the second half means it's now 11 unbeaten for manager thomas tuchel.

we're chasing our own benchmark and we need to be ready again next saturday, i think, against leeds. does not stop. and this is also good, because i feel that the group is ready and this is the next challenge, and in the end, the fixture takes care about itself and the results come from performance. and so we rely on this. west ham are chasing a top four place, as well. craig dawson got their second goal in a 2—0 win over leeds. it means they leapfrog everton into fifth — two points behind chelsea and with a game in hand. we're driving each other on, that we can try and do something special. but, you know, a lot of the things we're doing at the moment is a lot better than what's happened in the past, but i'm certainly not settling for it. in fact, i think when you get nearer the top it actually gives you a bigger incentive. i was gutted when we dropped out of the top four last week. but obviously, there's an awful lot of good teams around us. if we don't make it, then it'll be

because they're better than us. aberdeen are on the hunt for a new manager after parting ways with derek mcinnes. he was the scottish premiership's longest—serving manager, but after eight years at pittodrie and with the team fourth in the table, he's leaving, thanking supporters, players and the board for their backing. the gb women's football team will be led by interim england manager hege riise at this summer's olympics. riise is leading the england side on a temporary basis following phil neville's departure. after the games she will be succeeded by sarina wiegman, who will manage her own netherlands team in tokyo. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. more than 100 organisations including the post office and hm revenue and customs are supporting a call for the government to create a new offence for those who threaten or abuse customer service staff. a survey for the institute of customer service suggests more than half of employees are finding customers less tolerant because of covid—19.

with me is our business presenter ben thompson. tell us more. an interesting one this, isn't it, as we start to emerge from lockdown restrictions, nonessential retail still be able to reopen. there are fears particularly amongst retail workers that they face more abuse from customers given that they may have to ask them to maintain distancing or, for example, wear a mask. maintain distancing or, for example, weara mask. ifind maintain distancing or, for example, wear a mask. ifind the number of incidents where they are facing abuse in the workplace has risen sharply, from about a quarter of six months ago to more than half now. what the industry body is asking for is to create a specific offence for abusing retail staff when they are simply doing theirjob. let's speak to the chief executive of the institute for customer service. good

morning to you. talk us through this. it is something that we may have all experienced if we have been out shopping when lockdown restrictions once in place. it is a really tough thing, balancing the needs of customers by making sure everyone stays apart, wears a mask. what you want the government to do here? _ what you want the government to do here? absolutely. what researchers found _ here? absolutely. what researchers found is— here? absolutely. what researchers found is that more than 50% of customer— found is that more than 50% of customer facing staff, and this isn't _ customer facing staff, and this isn'tjust— customer facing staff, and this isn'tjust in retail, this is across a wide — isn'tjust in retail, this is across a wide range of different industry sectors, — a wide range of different industry sectors, have faced a significant increase — sectors, have faced a significant increase and others seeing abuse and hostility _ increase and others seeing abuse and hostility and are seeing people be less tolerant in terms of how they are behaving towards them. three things— are behaving towards them. three things that the institute is asking for, firstly to really encourage organisations, because there is a responsibility, 130 organisation supporting this campaign, to take

greater— supporting this campaign, to take greater responsibility for looking after their staff, to make sure they are well— after their staff, to make sure they are well trained, there is clear policies — are well trained, there is clear policies towards this kind of thing, a zero _ policies towards this kind of thing, a zero tolerance approach. we do think— a zero tolerance approach. we do think this — a zero tolerance approach. we do think this is — a zero tolerance approach. we do think this is so widespread and across— think this is so widespread and across a — think this is so widespread and across a whole range of industry sectors, — across a whole range of industry sectors, that we are calling for a change — sectors, that we are calling for a change in — sectors, that we are calling for a change in the law and really asking, with support from our mps, to ensure that customer service abuse, any part of— that customer service abuse, any part of that, will end up being in defence — part of that, will end up being in defence of— part of that, will end up being in defence of a change in the law to make _ defence of a change in the law to make that — defence of a change in the law to make that inappropriate. finally, asking _ make that inappropriate. finally, asking us — make that inappropriate. finally, asking us as customers to really think— asking us as customers to really think about our behaviour far more and to— think about our behaviour far more and to understand the impact that we are having _ and to understand the impact that we are having. all and to understand the impact that we are havinu. �* ., and to understand the impact that we are havinu. . ., , and to understand the impact that we are havinu. �* ., , ., , and to understand the impact that we arehavinu. ., , ., , ., , are having. all of this really does serve to understand _ are having. all of this really does serve to understand the - are having. all of this really doesj serve to understand the dilemma are having. all of this really does i serve to understand the dilemma that has been apparent through all of these lockdown restrictions about who is responsible for policing these regulations, who is

responsible for maintaining the distancing and wearing the masks, and whether the police have the capacity to enforce it. it is not necessarily fair to ask retail workers to enforce these rules. the simle workers to enforce these rules. the simple answer to that it is all of our responsibility. it is responsibility for the police to respond. _ responsibility for the police to respond, and for organisations, and for us _ respond, and for organisations, and for us as— respond, and for organisations, and for us as consumers to behave appropriately. in trying to call for appropriately. in trying to call for a change — appropriately. in trying to call for a change in the law to make this a stand-alone — a change in the law to make this a stand—alone offence, we have the ability— stand—alone offence, we have the ability to— stand—alone offence, we have the ability to recognise how important the seas — ability to recognise how important the seas. these are the very people that are _ the seas. these are the very people that are kept the lights on, ensure that are kept the lights on, ensure that our— that are kept the lights on, ensure that our shelves are well stocked and we _ that our shelves are well stocked and we are — that our shelves are well stocked and we are genuinely supported. customer— and we are genuinely supported. customer service professionals account— customer service professionals account for something like 80% of our workforce, therefore it is really— our workforce, therefore it is really important part our economy. absolutely. a message, let's hope, thatis absolutely. a message, let's hope, that is heard. thank you for your

time this morning. that really does underline some of the difficulties that we may all face as we emerge from restrictions, there may be frustrations, queues, it may be difficult to get what you once, and if you are in a restaurant or bar, there will be some hurdles in getting back to normality. i suppose it is to stop and think because a lot of the staff have been working in tough conditions over the last year. bearthat in tough conditions over the last year. bear that in mind when we start to emerge from these restrictions as lockdown is eased. detectives investigating the disappearance of a woman missing since wednesday say they remain �*open minded as to all possibilities.�* 33—year—old sarah everard was last spotted on cctv walking alone in clapham in south london. our correspondent katharine carpenter gave us this update from clapham common. well, it�*s now almost a week

since sarah disappeared and there is still a large—scale search operation across this part of south london. we�*ve seen police here again this morning. yesterday, some of them were on a boat on one of the ponds on the common with a police search dog and there were also teams of officers on the south circular just across from here, about half a mile away, where sarah was last seen. they were looking into skips, bins and grassy areas for her. she disappeared after visiting friends in wandsworth, just on the other side of clapham common, on leathwaite road. she left there at around 9pm on wednesday evening and the police believe that she chose a route across the common to rejoin the south circular on the other side. they say they�*ve spoken to 750 individuals and looked at hours and hours of cctv footage. they said she was making her way home at the time she disappeared but they simply don�*t know if she ever made it. now, at this stage, they say

they are still very much treating this as a missing persons enquiry but the detective in charge of the investigation said she was open to all possibilities and across south london, sarah�*s images on posters like this, on lamp posts, bus stops as the desperate efforts to find her intensify. the headlines on bbc news: silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan�*s explosive claims in that tv interview. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, her lawyer says. sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law, under new govrnment plans to close legal loopholes. ten months ago, jake vujovic, from london, almost

died from coronavirus and was in hospitalfor107 days. he�*s now recovering, but suffers from debilitating fatigue. jake is one of a growing number of people who struggle to shake off symptoms weeks and months after contracting the virus. our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports. my chances to survive covid were very, very low. i�*m much, much stronger now. jake vujovic feels he�*s been given a second chance at life. he almost died last year, spending three weeks on a ventilator. covid ravaged his body, damaging his lungs and his limbs. ten months on, the 56—year—old has only partially recovered. my feet are still paralysed and basically, i can�*t go anywhere without crutches. it�*s quite risky. the other thing which still

remains is a fatigue. it�*s something that, itjust hits you from nowhere. it�*s all so unpredictable. jake spent 107 days in five different hospitals before being discharged. you say that you're returning to work. how has that been for you this week? he�*s still under the care of the rehab team at london�*s university college hospital, which has a growing list of long covid patients. patients with covid are suffering with extreme and really debilitating levels of fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive issues. actually seeing them with such long term disabilities, an effect of that is... ..yeah, it's awful. it's harrowing. knowing how close they were to losing him, jake�*s family simply appreciate having him home. just the fact that he's next to me,

that you are sitting next together and talking, and the family has a father, and that we are family again, i think that's the best of everything. i think as a family we have actually grown closer due to this. _ in a way, i'm grateful because, you know, we are more - close than before. it could be 18 months before jake knows if he�*ll walk again without crutches. he remains resilient and optimistic. i do believe that one day i will be back completely, 100%. my leg will recover, my feet will recover, my breathing will recover. and i will be old jake, working full time, enjoying the life, going out and not be limited by anything. jake vujovic ending that

report by fergus walsh. let�*s bring you some pictures of prince charles on his first official visit since that interview with harry and meghan active vaccination centre in north london. i don�*t think he is questioned at all in the pictures we have had about his thoughts on the interview. it is understood there have been crisis talks at the palace as they try to work out how to respond to the claims made by harry and meghan in that interview with oprah winfrey, in which they spoke about racism, mental health, the media and other royals. there was a point made about harry being asked by an unnamed royalfamily member harry being asked by an unnamed royal family member about how dark his son�*s skin might be. it has

obviously raised a lot of questions and discussion over exactly how the palace should respond to that. oprah winfrey later clarified that neither the queen nor prince phillip made that comment. we are still awaiting an official response from the palace. one newspaper report this morning that the queen refused to agree to a preprepared statement saying that there needed to be a bit more time to reflect on how they would respond. prince charles out and about at a faxing centre in north london this morning. a parliamentary inquiry is being held into the link between sport and long—term brain injuries. mps are considering whether head trauma, including from heading footballs, might lead to dementia. last month, the former scotland and manchester united defender gordon mcqueen was diagnosed with vascular dementia. his daughter hayley has been speaking to sally nugent. everyone�*s dad, are,

you know, their hero. i didn�*t realise he was other people�*s hero as well. i don�*t think i really understood quite what he did until i was about maybe eight or nine. mcqueen! there have been moments where i�*m like, god, i can�*t believe the thing that gave him so much love has now so cruelly taken a lot of him away from us. hayley, you only very recently made the statement about your dad�*s diagnosis of vascular dementia. how is your dad at the moment? yeah, i think he�*s ok. every day is different, we take each day as it comes. but he knows he�*s got dementia and he knows there�*s something different about himself. he talks about feeling

different and that he can�*t think straight sometimes. what were the circumstances of his diagnosis? did you have to persuade him to go and talk to someone, or did you get to a point where... no, he started to ask, when am i going to get this sorted, when am i getting better, when is someone going to fix my head? we were kind of hoping that it wouldn�*t be dementia but i think we all knew that it probably was. he�*d said a few years back, "if ever i have alzheimer�*s, dementia, ijust don�*t want to know." but he actually did want to know what was wrong with him because he wanted to try and understand. and maybe trying to work with others to make sure that the next generation of footballers are not in this situation, that families aren�*t going through this. sport and football, you enter into it thinking it�*s going to physically and mentally better me. it�*s going to prolong my life. you don�*t think at 60 odd years old, you�*re going to have brain damage from something that you love. look at the leap by mcqueen. looking back now at your dad�*s career and the time he played, all those headers, when you first suspected there was something wrong, did you immediately think, it�*s connected to football? no, no. i don�*t think i realised how

much my dad used his head. i didn�*t realise that it was over and over and over, every day in training for years and years. he said he wouldn�*t take back any of his goals or any of the headers that he remembered so fondly, but he said maybe he would have done things differently in training had they have been warned. but you can�*t get angry about that. there is no one to blame, they weren�*t to know, but we know now and someone will be to blame if we don�*t do something about it. we�*ve seen so much in the press, haven�*t we, recently, about former footballers who have been affected by dementia and jack charlton, who so bravely spoke about his own battle with dementia. jack looked after him, took him under his wing. my dad was brought into leeds united to be a replacement. he was like, "god. how am i going to fill the boots of jack charlton?" it�*s horrible to think where that has led now, but you have to think about the happy times and memories when leeds united were an amazing team. it�*s a really important day today. we are seeing the dcms starting to talk about this officially.

is there an assurance you�*re looking for? yeah, i think there needs to be changes in the law within football governing bodies as to how much a player heads the ball, and notjust at under—11 level. it needs to be right through the professional game. sunday league football needs to know about it, everybody needs to know about it. there are lots of footballers out there right now probably thinking, is it me next? is it going to be me? mcqueen! now the weather with carol kirkwood. hello, again. the weather over the next few days will turn much more unsettled, much windier than we have been used to. and there is heavier rain coming our way at times as well. it could be disruptive in some parts, gales even inland, severe gales with exposure. we have an area of low pressure in the atlantic with its attendant weather fronts coming our way, but before it does there

is a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine. a weak weather front takes cloud and the odd spot of rain with it, but in light breezes with temperatures between about 11 and 13, it will feel quite pleasant. in northern ireland and western scotland, rain by mid—afternoon and strengthening winds. these black circles represent the strength of the wind gusts and they increase as we go through the night. gusts of up to 75 mph across the north—west of scotland as the rain advances south and east. the rain will clear over scotland and northern ireland, some showers, some of which will be wintry on the hills and mountains. wet for england and wales tomorrow, more rain to northern ireland, pushing into scotland, eight degrees in aberdeen to about 12 towards cardiff. we are still looking at gusty winds.

the gusts will strengthen over the overnight period into thursday morning, which you can see by looking at the squeeze on the isobars. inland gales and severe gales around exposed coasts. there will be large waves in the west and through the english channel. through thursday the rain moves away but has left a lot of showers behind, some wintry on the tops of the hills further north. although the wind will ease a little, it will still be very windy. gusts of wind of 72 mph in the english channel, for example, 58 around anglesey. the unsettled theme continues on friday and saturday, although the winds will not be as gusty, they will still be gusty.

this is bbc news. the headlines... silence so farfrom buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan�*s explosive claims in that tv interview. prince charles has been on an official visit this morning though, to a vaccination centre in london. meghan�*s dad, thomas markle, said he was "disappointed" with the interview, and said this about the claim that an unnamed royal family member asked "how dark" archie�*s skin might be. i don�*t think the british royal family are racist at all. i don�*t think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist, but i don�*t think the brits are. england�*s chief medical officer professor chris whitty says he would "strongly advise" against shortening the timetable for easing lockdown restrictions.

the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a �*contribution�* in his memory, her lawyer says. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. crisis meetings involving senior royals have taken place following the duke and duchess of sussex�*s interview with oprah winfrey. buckingham palace still hasn�*t commented on the interview, which wsa watched by over 11 million people last night on itv. in the programme, meghan said before their son was born, an unnamed member of the royal family voiced concerns about how dark his skin colour might be. prince harry later clarified to winfrey that the comments were not made by either the queen

or the duke of edinburgh. this morning, meghan�*s father, thomas markle, said he thought the question about skin colour wasjust a dumb question and he didn�*t think the british royal family is racist at all. meghan also said she had suicidal thoughts but didn�*t receive support from the palace. keith doyle reports. viewers in the uk got to watch the full interview last night and the fallout this morning is nuclear. the headlines could not be worse for the palace. turmoil and crisis. they are no less forgiving on the other side of the atlantic. tonight, oprah�*s interview with the duke and duchess of sussex just aired for the first time in the uk. now britain braces for fallout. despite being previewed, teased and dominating the news, the claims made and heard in the context of the full two hour interview are still able to shock. claims that meghan was driven close to suicide and that a member of the royal family discussed the skin colour of the duke

and duchess�*s soon—to—be born child. in those months when i was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, he won�*t be given security, he�*s not going to be given a title. and also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he�*s born. what? throughout the interview, the picture painted was one of an uncaring and unsupportive institution, at odds with the image of being at the head of a multicultural country and commonwealth. in america, this summer, wejust went through the black lives matter movement and the killing of george floyd. now, what we see, when we see this monarchy, we see an institution that we revere, and now we find out that you guys have the same issues of racial and racism, systemic racism, that we do in the united states. so, yes, it does hurt us.

it almost seems like a fairytale shattered for many of us. overnight, there�*s been no comment from buckingham palace which is sure to be reeling from such explosive claims by those at the very heart of the royal family. all eyes and the media spotlight is on here today to see how or if it responds. i don't see buckingham palace as being like the kremlin. on the whole, they are a very civilised organisation. but i also don't think that they are likely to engage in this kind of war between two parties which of course the tabloid press would greatly enjoy. the harry and meghan love story was a fairytale, and brought young, modern vitality into the royal family. this interview has brought up real issues that can�*t easily be ignored. security, mental health and trust. just a few years on from the fairytale,

and for buckingham palace, all that has turned to crisis management on an epic scale. keith doyle, bbc news. speaking to itv�*s good morning britain, meghan�*s father, thomas markle, said he did not believe that the royal family were racist. i have great respect for the royals. and i don't think the british royal family are racist. at all. i don't think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist. but i don't think the brits are. uh... the thing about... the thing about, uh... "what colour will the baby be?" "how dark will the baby be?" i'm guessing and hoping it's just a dumb question from somebody, you know. it could just be that simple, it could be somebody asking a stupid question, uh, ratherthan being

a total racist. in the past hour, prince charles has made his first public appearance since the interview. he�*s been visiting a vaccination centre at a church in north london. he didn�*t speak to reporters and didn�*t appear to be questioned about the issue by any members of the public. with me is our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. no response from the palace. nothing so far, as i suspect earlier. i suspect the delay also may be because of the number of people who may need to be consulted. notjust people who may need to be consulted. not just the people who may need to be consulted. notjust the queen, the prince of wales, prince william, possible other members of the royal family, princess and. ijust other members of the royal family, princess and. i just wonder given the importance of this whether buckingham palace wouldn�*t wish to bring downing street into this.

certain edward young, the private secretary to the queen, is regularly in touch with the cabinet secretary. who is he at the moment? a man called simon case. what was his previousjob? he used called simon case. what was his previous job? he used to called simon case. what was his previousjob? he used to be prince william�*s private secretary, so he had a ringside seat to some of this and i think, given the significance of this, it would be wise if downing street was involved and at least was behind whatever it is that the palace ultimately says. it will depend to an extent what kind of statement is the palace and visit in? will it be one which is sympathetic and conciliatory or is the palace considering a position which in anyway pushes back against the sussex�* narrative which challenges some of the fact that we have heard in the interview from meghan and from harry. i cannot imagine that they would wish to get

into this because could be a war of words with the sussex couple but it will not serve anyone�*s interests. there is a frustration as well as shock and hurt within the palace and one imagines within the family so i think they must consider taking a position that does in some way reflect that they do not accept the version of events as presented by harry and meghan. thank you very much. we have with us genelle aldred is a communications consultant and author. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what is your reaction to the interview? i think the interview was shocking. it was sad. i think there were some emotional moments and i actually think the interview was much worse than what i was thinking it was going to be before seeing it, from seeing the clips. i think what came out was far more damaging than

anything that we had possibly thought. anything that we had possibly thou:ht. ~ . ., anything that we had possibly thou:ht. . . , ., anything that we had possibly thou:ht. . . , . thought. what are your instincts on how the palace _ thought. what are your instincts on how the palace could _ thought. what are your instincts on how the palace could respond? i thought. what are your instincts on i how the palace could respond? what would you like to see from the palace? i would you like to see from the palace? ~' ., , , ., palace? i think the last statement, it was interesting _ palace? i think the last statement, it was interesting from _ palace? i think the last statement, it was interesting from your - palace? i think the last statement, it was interesting from your royal i it was interesting from your royal correspondent how the palace has the inroad with downing street with prince william�*s former private secretary. challenging is a nice way to call it because if there is a challenge or pushback, essentially they are saying harry and meghan are lying, so they either have to say that this has gone on or that the sussex couple are lying. either of those positions are difficult and will have long—term repercussions. they say they are lying then that�*s damaging, and if they say some of this has gone on then that leads to more questions than answers because there are lots of questions about

there are lots of questions about the monarchy ruling a diverse country and commonwealth even more diverse in this country is. the reactions _ diverse in this country is. the reactions have _ diverse in this country is. the reactions have been - diverse in this country is. the reactions have been in some cases quite polarised. you are talking about whether the palace respond in about whether the palace respond in a way that basically accuses them of lying not. there is a lot of judgment around this, they either believe completely or disbelieve it. is that a helpful approach? because it polarises the situation further and doesn�*t allow for shades of grey and doesn�*t allow for shades of grey and ignorance? i and doesn't allow for shades of grey and ignorance?— and ignorance? i think this country is very divided _ and ignorance? i think this country is very divided at _ and ignorance? i think this country is very divided at the _ and ignorance? i think this country is very divided at the moment i and ignorance? i think this country is very divided at the moment and | and ignorance? i think this country | is very divided at the moment and i think since last summer, we�*ve seen those divisions deepen. it�*s worrying, disturbing and upsetting and i think whatever the palace does go on to say next, will have big repercussions. i think conversations like this often lack the nuance needed. maybe they are right. maybe

there is something in the middle but i think that we have to accept that anything that goes towards racism in the monarchy is a massive issue. it's the monarchy is a massive issue. it�*s going to be a big problem and it needs to be worked on. we need these rifts in this country to be healed to the people can live peacefully and equitably. that is not happening at the moment so what i�*d like to see from the palace is something that reflects how deeply divided we are and something that will help this situation. the first person of colour in the royal family and this is what we end up with. a tell — all on oprah winfrey. i think people in this country feel deeply.

i think people in this country feel deel . , i think people in this country feel deel. , ,. ,, deeply. there is discussion this is a clash of cultures _ deeply. there is discussion this is a clash of cultures rather - deeply. there is discussion this is a clash of cultures rather than i a clash of cultures rather than colour. how do you see that? it can be hard sometimes _ colour. how do you see that? it can be hard sometimes to _ colour. how do you see that? it can be hard sometimes to separate i be hard sometimes to separate culture and colour because in this instance, that is all wrapped up in who meghan is. do you know, i think that if meghan was a person of mixed race in britain that she would be marrying into this family, no, i do not? she comes from a celebrity culture. she comes from having a certain amount of privilege in the life she had before. she came with opinions, confidence, she came with a lot of things that seems people were not looking for. the meghan, it�*s her race, her culture, the person who she is so it�*s hard to separate the two and i don�*t think we should because people are complex and i think that part the issue here is that she has not been allowed to be a complex individual and also, no one is allowed to be complex in

this. it seems to be a straight border but it actually needs to be grey, looking at the grey and the nuance, we don�*t want to excuse bad behaviour because that still needs to be dealt with.— very much forjoining us. the american woman accused over the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, according to her lawyer. 19—year—old harry died when his motorcycle was involved in a collision with a car near an raf base in 2019. anne sacoolas, who was driving the car, later returned to her home in the united states and claimed dimplomatic immunity. her lawyer has told the bbc she won�*t return to the uk to stand trial. this kind of an accident, had it occurred in the united states, would not be prosecuted criminally. so in the united states, these cases are only prosecuted where there is evidence of recklessness that rises to the level of close to intent. so drunk driving, distracted driving, or a hit—and—run situation, or excessive speeding.

but there was none of that here. you�*re watching bbc news. the head of nhs england, sir simon stevens, has been speaking about the anger surrounding nurses�* pay, telling mps that plans set out two years ago had budgeted for health workers to receive a 2.1% pay rise. but sir simon told the health and social care committee that he supported the government�*s approach to resolving the dispute. unions have expressed fury after ministers called for a 1% pay rise for nurses, warning this was all the treasury could afford. sir simon said the pay offer needed to reflect work carried out during the coronavirus crisis: this needs to be seen in the context of the overalljudgments that the government will make on nhs pay in the round and i agree with you that coming out of the past

year and everything that nhs staff have been through, proper recognition for that is entirely right and i think goes with the grain of what the public none of which is to, of course, ignore the broader economic context facing the country, those ultimately are judgments that the government has to make, but as the head of the nhs, obviously, i am wanting to make sure our staff get a proper rewards and not only support through that mechanism, but also fundamentally what staff want to see are a broader range of measures, including further increases in the workforce to deal with some of the intense workforce pressures that have been experienced across the health service. the headlines on bbc news: silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan�*s explosive claims in that tv interview. england�*s chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, says he would "strongly advise" against shortening the timetable for easing lockdown restrictions. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his

memory, her lawyer says. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here�*sjohn. good afternoon. more than 100 coaches in gymnastics have been accused of physical or emotional abuse as part of an ongoing inquiry into the handling of allegations made within the sport. the review is being carried out for uk sport and sport england after a number of concerns were raised that british gymnastics had failed to deal appropriately with complaints it had received. qc anne whyte�*s interim report says the call for evidence has has had a strong response, 39 referrals have been made to statutory authorities and she will report fully later in the year. alastair marks, who took up the role as interim ceo of british gymnastics injanuary, said, "i remain appalled by the claims i have heard and alarmed that some gymnasts do not feel that they can have their voice heard and have a future within the sport. there is no place for abuse in our sport and we are determined

and committed to change it for the better". germany managerjoachim low will leave his role following this summer�*s european championship. the 61—year—old, who took over from jurgen klinsmann in 2006, has asked for his contract to be ended a year early. low guided germany to the world cup in 2014, but they were knocked out at the group stage in russia four years later. germany are in a group with france, portugal and hungary at euro 2020. a parliamentary inquiry is being held into the link between sport and long—term brain injuries. mps are considering whether head trauma, including from heading footballs, might lead to dementia. last month, the former scotland and manchester united defender gordon mcqueen was diagnosed with vascular dementia. his daughter hayley mcqueen says it�*s vital that future generations aren�*t exposed to the same risks.

sport and football, you enter into it thinking it�*s going to physically mentally better me. you don�*t think it 60 odd—year—old that you�*re going to have brain damage from something you�*ve love. i can�*t believe the thing he loved has taken so much of him cruelly away from us. but i�*ll be angry if we don�*t move forward in a positive way so that the next generation of footballers don�*t have to go through this because in the next ten use be going to see a hell of a lot of this. —— ten years. great britain�*s tom gerken schofield was knocked out at the quarter—final stage in the men�*s dual moguls at the freestyle world ski championships in kazakhstan. although he was quicker than his canadian opponent, who also managed to fall over the barriers at the end, the judges decided that brendan kelly had showed better technique and so he went through to the semis. gerken schofields younger sister, makayla, finished 13th in the women�*s dual moguls. that�*s all the sport for now. i�*ll have more for

you in the next hour. england�*s chief medical officer has told mps that unlocking too quickly would lead to a substantial surge in infections. professor chris whitty said that would be dangerous, as a lot of vulnerable people remain unprotected. our political correspondent jonathan blake gave us this update. two of the key figures in the government�*s response to coronavirus were questioned by the science and technology committee, professor chris whitty and also the government�*s chief scientific adviser, sir patrick balance. as restrictions begin to ease and the road map embarked upon, everyone will be watching closely to see how that affects hospital admissions, deaths and cases.

sir patrick vallence, on the initial stage we�*ve seen this week of all pupils returning to school in england, he said that could push up the reproduction rate of coronavirus cases anything from 10—50%. that gives you an idea of the impact of that stage on its own. professor whitty looked ahead to may the 17th, so a couple of stages down the road where people can meet indoors with groups of up to six, theatres, cinemas, restaurants conserve people cinemas, restaurants can serve people indoors and he said that that it is a very significant block with a lot of stuff happening indoors for the first time. that point is where we will really see some very significant risks accumulating, potentially, so i think preparing people there for, unquestionably,

an increase in cases, potentially more than that in terms but of the impact of coronavirus in general and he had this morning for people who are thinking about it now restrictions are easing that the end is in sight. those who are thinking it's all over i would encourage them to look at what's happening in europe at the moment where a lot of countries are going back into rates going up and having to close things down again, having not been in that situation before and i think it's very easy to forget quite how quickly things can turn bad if you do not keep a very, very close eye on it and if i can make a historical point but this illustrates the point, if you look back to the data from yesterday, the data we have, 65 deaths, a low rate because it was from sunday which indicates things are going down, and we feel pleased about that. that is going the right way.

if we look at the same date one year ago from the 8th of march, there had been two deaths and by the time the end of march came we were in lockdown. i think that gives you an idea. interestingly, on the government�*s response and whether things should have been done sooner at the start of the pandemic or whether this road map out of lockdown should be accelerated, professor chris whitty said the world was full of leaders who wished they�*d act earlier and will be more careful as they take things. this will be everywhere in the world, not specific to the uk at all, so a potential view there on this government�*s results as well as others around the world. sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds will be breaking the law, under government plans to close a legal loophole in england and wales. it�*s one of a number of new crime measures being introduced in parliament today, including tougher sentences for murderers.

our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, reports. ellie gould was 17 when her life was taken by a former boyfriend after she ended their brief relationship. her killer, thomas griffiths, was the same age and a fellow student. he went to ellie�*s home and stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife. griffiths was sentenced to a minimum of 12 and a half years. ellie�*s mum, carol, is relieved that under the new measures, griffiths won�*t be able to have his sentence reviewed. it�*s a huge relief to us as a family because it means in four years�* time we don�*t have to go through the anguish of writing a victim impact statement and worrying that he could potentially get his sentence reduced. at least we know, at least for the next ten years, he will remain behind bars. the measures being introduced today are being billed as a justice overhaul, and one of the areas they�*re focusing on is the protection of young people from sexual predators. while the age of consent is 16,

in future, sports coaches and faith leaders who have sexual relationships with 16 and 17—year—olds in their care will be breaking the law. they�*ll be under the same rules as teachers or social workers. it will make a significant difference in terms of the confidence that young people can have that adults in positions of power and authority over them can't take advantage of those positions of authority to engage in sexual relations with them. so it's a really important protective measure. and as part of the shake—up, police will have greater powers to restrict non—violent protests described as disrupting the public, or access to parliament. the human rights organisation liberty said the new powers risked stifling dissent. june kelly, bbc news. campaigners have accused the government of not moving quickly enough to ban conversion therapy in england and wales.

mps from across the political spectrum called during a westminster debate for the practice, which attempts to change someone�*s sexuality or gender identity, to be made illegal. the equalities minister, kemi badenoch, said the government would set out its next steps soon but pledged only to "end" the practice. detectives investigating the disappearance of a woman missing since wednesday say they remain "open minded as to all possibilities". 33—year—old sarah everard was last spotted on cctv walking alone in clapham in south london. our correspondent katharine carpenter gave us this update from clapham common. well, it�*s now almost a week since sarah disappeared and there is still a large—scale search operation across this part of south london. we�*ve seen police here again this morning. yesterday, some of them were on a boat on one of the ponds were in a boat on one of the ponds

on the common with a police search dog and there were also teams of officers on the south circular just across from here, about half a mile away, where sarah was last seen. they were looking in skips, bins and grassy areas for her. she disappeared after visiting friends in wandsworth, just on the other side of clapham common, on leathwaite road. just on the other side of clapham common, on leathwaite road. she left there at around 9pm on wednesday evening and the police believe that she chose a route across the common to rejoin the south circular on the other side. they say they�*ve spoken to 750 individuals and looked at hours and hours of cctv footage. they said she was making her way home at the time she disappeared but they simply don�*t know if she ever made it. now, at this stage, they say they are still very much treating this as a missing persons enquiry but the detective in charge of the investigation said she was open to all possibilities and across south london, sarah�*s images on posters like this, on lamp posts, bus stops as the desperate efforts

to find her intensify. labour is calling for ministers to take part in regular pandemic practice exercises and report to parliament on the uk�*s plans to fight future health emergencies. the shadow health secretary, jon ashworth, says the country was "woefully unprepared" for coronavirus and is proposing establishing an independent body to review government contingency plans and assess the resilience of the health system. a department of health spokesperson said the response to the pandemic had always been informed by the latest advice from scientists. the vicar of dibley actor, trevor peacock has died at the age of 89. what about you, jim, got a stall? no, no, no, no, i'm doing the loud—speaking announcements. no, no, no, no parking is allowed on the other field.

he played the loveable, but dim—witted jim trott in the comedy series alongside dawn french between 1994 until 2015. trevor peacock career lasted over six decades with appearances in eastenders, jonathan creek and my family. in a tweet, dawn french said, "night trev, i love you". now it�*s time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello, again. for many of us today the weather is going to be fairly quiet until later, when things liven up a bit in the west. there is a lot of dry weather around, a fair bit of sunshine. a weak weather front moving from the west to the east taking a wee bit more cloud and the odd spot of rain with it, but you can see through the afternoon the rain arrives in northern ireland and also western scotland. in the sunshine and light breezes, 11 to 13 will feel quite pleasant. these are the wind gusts coming in from the west as we go through the latter part of the afternoon. so gusty winds, in fact across north—west scotland we could have gusts as much as 75mph. at the same time, the rain pushes

southwards and eastwards, clearing northern ireland and scotland behind, leaving some showers, and some of those could be wintry on the tops of the hills and mountains. tomorrow, again we have all this rain moving across england and wales. rain coming into northern ireland, pushing northwards across scotland through the day. gusty winds, as well. these are our top temperatures, but the windiest conditions will be overnight.

hello this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan�*s explosive claims in that tv interview. prince charles has been on an official visit this morning to a vaccination centre in london. meghan�*s dad, thomas markle, said he was "disappointed" with the interview and said this about the claim that an unnamed royal family member asked "how dark"

archie�*s skin might be. i don�*t think the british royal family are racist at all. i don�*t think the british are racist. i think los angeles is racist, california is racist, but i don�*t think the brits are. england�*s chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, says he would "strongly advise" against shortening the timetable for easing lockdown restrictions. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, her lawyer says. some breaking news to bring you about the tokyo olympics. the government has decided to stage the olympics and paralympics without overseas spectators because of concern among the japanese public

about covid—19. the news agency has reported that, citing officials with knowledge of the matter. the news agency said the government has concluded that welcoming fans from abroad would not be possible given public concern about the coronavirus and the detection of more contagious variance in many countries. that newsagency and others are reporting this, saying they have learned that thatis this, saying they have learned that that is the decision that has been taken. the japanese government backing away from its initial hopes of welcoming around a million supporters from abroad, so we will keep you updated when we get any more on that. back to our top story this lunchtime, more than 11 million people saw the duke and duchess of sussex�*s interview with oprah winfrey on itv last night, making it one of the most—viewed programmes of the year so far. buckingham palace is yet to comment on the interview, in which harry and meghan discussed racism, mental health back to our top story this lunchtime, more

in which harry and meghan discussed racism, mental health and their treatment in the media. earlier, victoria derbyshire spoke to ian murray, the executive director of the society of editors, which says it fights to protect press freedoms. she asked whether he thought some british tabloid newspapers are bigoted. no, no, they are not. your heart goes out to the duchess in particular talking about her mental health problems. the accusation that they left because of racism towards him, the accusation that this was caused by sections of the british media who are racist i�*m afraid is just not true. it is not borne out by the evidence. flan just not true. it is not borne out by the evidence.— just not true. it is not borne out by the evidence. can i give you some evidence? the _ by the evidence. can i give you some evidence? the daily _ by the evidence. can i give you some evidence? the daily star— by the evidence. can i give you some evidence? the daily star ran - by the evidence. can i give you some evidence? the daily star ran a i evidence? the daily star ran a headline asking if prince harry would be marrying into gangsta royalty. another paper said meghan is almost straight outta compton.

compton, i am is almost straight outta compton. compton, iam not is almost straight outta compton. compton, i am not au fait with the areas of california. it is compton, i am not au fait with the areas of california.— areas of california. it is a black unanster areas of california. it is a black gangster stereotype. - areas of california. it is a black gangster stereotype. do i areas of california. it is a black gangster stereotype. do you i areas of california. it is a black. gangster stereotype. do you think those two headlines are racist? ii those two headlines are racist? if you are not going to let me answer the question... they are saying here is a rags to riches story, the same with anyone who comes in from outside the royal family. with anyone who comes in from outside the royalfamily. i think you have got to look at this whole thing in context. is this saying that the coverage and it has been given to meghan in particular, any perceived negative coverage that has come about, this follows a huge groundswell of positive coverage when meghan first started dating, they got engaged and got married. an

amazing amount of positive coverage. it reflected the warmth towards this couple. then there was some negative coverage when the couple began to set out their stall, to talk about things close to their hearts, the environment, questions to ask are they living up to the ideals they are putting forward. to say that thatis are putting forward. to say that that is racist and particularly targeting meghan as a women of colour, that is not borne out by the truth. you just have to look at the way the royal family has been covered for decades. it is not the royal family have been given an ev rights. they have been held to account and you cannot say that the coverage and investigations into prince phillip, princess anne, edward, sophie... flan

prince phillip, princess anne, edward, sophie...— prince phillip, princess anne, edward, sophie... can i ask you about those _ edward, sophie... can i ask you about those headlines - edward, sophie... can i ask you about those headlines again, i edward, sophie... can i ask you | about those headlines again, the daily star asked whether harry would be marrying into gangster royalty. i am not going to defend one headline. excuse me, please may i speak, you can continue talking over me... here is something that someone said, that means... you here is something that someone said, that means- - -— that means... you told me the british tabloid _ that means... you told me the british tabloid press _ that means... you told me the british tabloid press was i that means... you told me the british tabloid press was not i british tabloid press was not bigoted. i havejust given british tabloid press was not bigoted. i have just given you some examples. you are denying that those examples. you are denying that those examples are racist and i�*m asking, why are you denying that? i am examples are racist and i'm asking, why are you denying that?— why are you denying that? i am not defendin: why are you denying that? i am not defending individual— why are you denying that? i am not defending individual things - why are you denying that? i am not defending individual things here i why are you denying that? i am not| defending individual things here and there, i am looking at the whole thing. when someone might make one comment, i�*m not saying they were bigoted or racist at all. i never get a chance to finish my points. when you label someone as bigoted,

one example that is disputed, and not taking the whole thing into context, if you look at the way it has been covered, if you keep on looking you will find that little in the haystack. looking you will find that little in the haystack— looking you will find that little in the ha stack. ., , ., ., the haystack. you 'ust told me that the haystack. you 'ust told me that the british press i the haystack. you just told me that the british press isn't _ the haystack. you just told me that the british press isn't racist. i the british press isn�*t racist. these are now saying if you keep on looking you will find a racist needle in the haystack. are those headlines racist, simple yes or no? i am not going to depend whether are not. ~ , ., you i am not going to depend whether are not-_ you are _ i am not going to depend whether are not-_ you are a _ i am not going to depend whether are not._ you are a journalist, i not. why not? you are a “ournalist, ou need not. why not? you are a “ournalist, you need the t not. why not? you are a “ournalist, you need the context. i i not. why not? you are a journalist, you need the context. i am - not. why not? you are a journalist, you need the context. i am not i you need the context. i am not saying whether they are or not. let me live saying whether they are or not. let me give you some context. the headline that suggested that meghan zone straight outta compton, underneath says prince harry�*s new girl is from crenshaw, l a. crenshaw has endured 47 crimes in the past week, including murder. gangs, including the bloods, counter neighbourhood is the territory. her

social worker mum lives in the rundown area. the actress�*s ampicillin nearby gang afflicted inglewood. is that racist? there ampicillin nearby gang afflicted inglewood. is that racist? are they racist stereotypes? _ inglewood. is that racist? are they racist stereotypes? i _ inglewood. is that racist? are they racist stereotypes? i can't - inglewood. is that racist? are they racist stereotypes? i can't say i inglewood. is that racist? are they racist stereotypes? i can't say it i racist stereotypes? i can�*t say it is, it is a straightforward rags to riches story. that is the background to meghan markle. ih riches story. that is the background to meghan markle.— to meghan markle. in 2016 a report b the to meghan markle. in 2016 a report by the european — to meghan markle. in 2016 a report by the european commission i to meghan markle. in 2016 a reportl by the european commission against racism and intolerance found that eight speech amongst traditional media, particularly tabloid newspapers in this country, continues to be a problem. do you not see that at all? do i continues to be a problem. do you not see that at all?— continues to be a problem. do you not see that at all? do i agree with their findings? _ not see that at all? do i agree with their findings? i _ not see that at all? do i agree with their findings? i have _ not see that at all? do i agree with their findings? i have not - not see that at all? do i agree with their findings? i have not read i not see that at all? do i agree with their findings? i have not read thatj theirfindings? i have not read that report recently. i am not going to say that i completely agree their findings. i would say that i completely agree their findings. iwould not say that i completely agree their findings. i would not need to look further into it. it is what they are

basing this on. ten months ago, jake vujovic almost died from coronavirus and was in hospitalfor107 days. he�*s now recovering, but suffers from debilitating fatigue. jake is one of a growing number of people who struggle to shake off symptoms weeks and months after contracting the virus. our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports. my chances to survive covid were very, very low. i�*m much, much stronger now. jake vujovic feels he�*s been given a second chance at life. he almost died last year, spending three weeks on a ventilator. covid ravaged his body, damaging his lungs and his limbs. ten months on, the 56—year—old has only partially recovered. my feet are still paralysed and basically, i can�*t go anywhere without crutches.

it�*s quite risky. the other thing which still remains is a fatigue. it�*s something that, itjust hits you from nowhere. it�*s all so unpredictable. jake spent 107 days in five different hospitals before being discharged. you say that you're returning to work. how has that been for you this week? he�*s still under the care of the rehab team at london�*s university college hospital, which has a growing list of long covid patients. patients with covid are suffering with extreme and really debilitating levels of fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive issues. actually seeing them with such long term disabilities, an effect of that is... ..yeah, it's awful. it's harrowing. knowing how close they were to losing him, jake�*s family simply appreciate having him home.

just the fact that he's next to me, that you are sitting next together and talking, and the family has a father, and that we are family again, i think that's the best of everything. i think as a family we have actually grown closer due to this. _ in a way, i'm grateful because, you know, we are more - close than before. it could be 18 months before jake knows if he�*ll walk again without crutches. he remains resilient and optimistic. i do believe that one day i will be back completely, 100%. my leg will recover, my feet will recover, my breathing will recover. and i will be old jake, working full time, enjoying the life, going out and not be limited by anything. jake vujovic ending that

report by fergus walsh. italy has surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths — the second highest total in europe after britain. a year ago today, the country announced the world�*s first national lockdown. hospitals in the northern region of lombardy were soon overwhelmed. but, a year on, there�*s talk of another national lockdown and a plan to speed up vaccinations, after a slow start. mark lobel has the story. injecting hope for hundreds in one of italy�*s new vaccination hubs at rome�*s main train terminal. but it�*s far from the end of the line for the virus here, with cases once again rising. translation: we have to bring down infections as variants make _ the infection more difficult to manage as it spreads faster, so we must remind everyone to be as cautious as possible because the weeks ahead will not be easy. the green light has now been given here to the oxford astrazeneca vaccine for people aged 65 and over.

injections of it at italy�*s main airport now taking off after its health ministry initially grounded approval, doubting its effectiveness in the elderly. translation: we are trying | to give the maximum number of inoculations every day. obviously, as you can see, the stations are full. we have an average of 100 doctors and nurses working here. this was a year ago in northern italy�*s lombardy region, a stark warning to the world of how overwhelmed hospitals could become. now, though, back in the capital, there is a train to the rescue. carriage upon carriage of life—saving equipment that can be deployed around the country at a moment�*s notice. taking up to 21 patients at a time. translation: it works the same way as a hospital icu. _ every shift, we have two intensive

care physicians and four specialised nurses for each carriage. but, for now, in the worst affected cities, like naples, lockdowns are once again served up. normal life at a standstill. a year on from its deadly first wave, this virus still able to shock. translation: we would never have thought that a year later— we would find ourselves facing a similar emergency, and that the official death toll would approach the terrible threshold of 100,000. we must make a commitment to respect the memory of the many citizens that lost their lives. but, a year on, the difference being there is a way out. mark lobel, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: silence so far from buckingham palace, which has yet to comment on harry and meghan�*s explosive claims in that tv interview. england�*s chief medical officer,

professor chris whitty, says he would "strongly advise" against shortening the timetable for easing lockdown restrictions. the suspect in the death of harry dunn would be willing to do community service and make a "contribution" in his memory, her lawyer says. a cross—party group of mps and lords says the government must hand down greater powers to councils across england, to deliver on plans to "level up". the all—party parliamentary group on devolution says the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of local knowledge and leadership. our political correspondent alex forsyth has been to lincolnshire to talk to people ahead of the local elections in may. it�*s wonderful to help these people in these times. the volunteers of branston village have been on the front line of this pandemic. there you are, there�*s yourfood parcel. thank you very much indeed. when families started to struggle, they stepped up, delivering food and general support, all led by andy.

i was absolutely astounded with the actual response from the community itself. and it�*s notjust the uptake up to 100 volunteers that i had within a couple of weeks, but it was also with all the surrounding organisations, all the big food chains. they say they were well placed to meet local need quickly, in contrast to larger schemes, which can take time. to me, it's speed. it's a lack of red tape. i think that's what is the superb thing about the local community, meeting the local need. one of the things people say when i deliver a food parcel — "we only asked last night, you�*re here, it�*s nine o�*clock in the morning." that�*ll be fantastic, that�*ll do lovely, thank you. it�*s notjust volunteers like these. a report out today says across england, councils have played a crucial part in helping communities during the pandemic, knowing what�*s needed on the ground and proving they should have more powers in future. in rural places like lincolnshire, local businessman dave thinks councils do have a key role.

he�*s a consultant, the owner of the shooting club, getting some practice in, is a client. dave didn�*t qualify for the government support on offer, but he�*s hoping for a grant from the county council. he says they�*re right to play a part in backing local businesses and promoting the region, too. there�*s ten or 20 rural counties. we need to level the playing fields. now, boris said that he�*s going to level up the north. what about levelling up the rural counties as well, mate? covid has changed the landscape. the government�*s put significant central support in place for businesses and families, and says it�*s handing down resources and control away from westminster to all parts of the country, with billions set aside to regenerate communities, including rural areas. in some places, councils are looking at a shake—up too. across england, local government is complicated, different depending where you live. for many, betterfunding is key, giving councils more spending power. some structures might change too.

lincolnshire isjust one place looking at whether fewer councils doing more would save money and improve efficiency. there are lots of questions about what works best. in a town on the edge of lincolnshire, mums danielle and victoria say having people who really understand local areas in charge of services and budgets, is what matters to them. i think the local areas, if they have more control over their funds, they�*re going to be able to meet those needs better. my worry with giving the powers to a bigger council area would be that they would still be as remote. i mean, they might as well be in westminster as far as we're concerned. for some, this pandemic shown the power of local leadership. for others, it�*s shown the benefits of big picture, central control. either way, it�*s posed key questions about who knows what�*s best for communities, which will be crucial as the country recovers. alex forsyth, bbc news, lincolnshire.

in india, the ancient religion of zoroastrianism is under threat. there are fewer than 60,000 believers in the country and their numbers are projected to fall further. the un has warned the 3,000—year—old religion could become exstinct. sodaba haidare reports. in india, a small community of zoroastrians known as parsis are fighting for their religion�*s survival, and the un is worried about their future. it is a very sharp decline. yes, the prospects are that the community could be extinct in the not too distant future. zoroastrians fled religious persecution in ancient persia over a millennia ago. when they first arrived in india, they made a promise not to convert others to their religion. that is limited how much the faith can grow and india�*s parsi population is plummeting. there are fewer than 60,000 believers, that is half as many as a 1940s. so what are parsis doing to save their ancient religion?

some say dating and marriage within the faith is a solution, but with a small pool of potential partners, finding the one is tough, and that is where zorain comes in. for the past ten years she has been working for free, matching zoroastrians singles in the hope they will marry and have children to increase their numbers. i have matched 85 couples so far, considering that ours is a very small community, i suppose, these figures are ok. this 25—year—old is one of her clients. he is an only child, so the continuation of his family�*s parsi line depends on him. iamjust i am just doing my bit, trying to get someone within the community, to protect the religion you are born with. ., ., ., with. the indian government have been fronting _ with. the indian government have been fronting the _ with. the indian government have been fronting the parsi _ with. the indian government have been fronting the parsi initiative, | been fronting the parsi initiative, giving fertility funding so they can have more children.

but under indian law, women who had married outside the faith can take part in the scheme. 20—year—old quraish methinks relaxing rules like this could help to pay survive. i think the parsi community is declining mainly because of the restrictions on parsi woman. if a parsi woman buys marries and non—parsi guy... it has to be raised according to the religion of the guide. forsome, relaxation of according to the religion of the guide. for some, relaxation of the marriage rules is too much of a departure from their core belief. brute departure from their core belief. we would like to keep that uniqueness. if we would like to keep that uniqueness. if we marry— would like to keep that uniqueness.

if we marry outside, then all of this uniqueness will be lost. zoroastrians and india all agree that the priority is to ensure that their faith lives on. if that the priority is to ensure that their faith lives on.— that the priority is to ensure that their faith lives on. if the younger generation _ their faith lives on. if the younger generation is _ their faith lives on. if the younger generation is smart, _ their faith lives on. if the younger generation is smart, they - their faith lives on. if the younger generation is smart, they will- generation is smart, they will figure out a way. we will survive and we will prosper. if you live in england, then yesterday may have been more hectic than what we�*ve been used to as most children returned to the classroom. john maguire has been to one school in york to find out how most students and staff found their first day back. children chattering. it has been missing from our soundscape since last year. but now it�*s back. a playground filled with children. i always think that the best sound in the world, i know other people will say something else, but for me, it�*s listening to children laughing and shouting and being reallyjoyful and enjoying being with each other and playing. and i know we are a secondary school, but our children still go out and they still play out and they still play football,

they do all those things that children should be doing that they haven�*t been able to do over the last couple of months. so it�*s just great to see. first lesson of the day at all saints roman catholic school in york, and this year seven form spent more time learning remotely at home than they have in school. you learn so much from each other in a room. people's ideas. so staff are talking to them about adapting to life back in uniform and wearing masks in class. sophie is glad to be back. i think it�*s really important that we are back at school, because it�*s good to learn in the proper environment, and to be with your friends and to be able to socialise and everything. i think that one thing that i didn�*t really like about the lockdown was that we didn�*t really get to talk to our friends or, maybe the teachers, if we needed a bit of extra help. while lessons continue, so does the programme to test everyone. the sports hall at the railway

institute next door to york station is once again alive with the sounds of young people, as the 1450 pupils undergo their rapid tests. recent months have been a trying time for school staff, for parents, and their children. well, it�*s been a long two months, on the end of a long year. and it was hard, and it was hard for them emotionally at first when they realised they were not going to go back. but they�*ve been really resilient, and talking to other parents, lots of children have knuckled down and they�*ve made the best of a bad situation. all saints sixth formers are being taught face—to—face for the first time in months. so, kate, we spoke to you this morning and you said you were excited, looking ahead, at coming back to school. now you�*re back, what�*s it like? yeah, it's as good as i thought it was going to be. it's really nice to see my friends again. we've already been catching up on things we were taught over zoom, and there's obviously a lot of gaps that have been filled

by our teachers. i know they found it quite hard to teach us. but it'sjust nice to be in this environment surrounded by everyone again. home—schooling was interesting. it was certainly an experience, quite novel at the start. it�*s just not very personal, and i don�*t feel like you gain as much from the teachers as you would in school, and often the students as well. probably the best part about going to school again is seeing everyone in person, being able to have a nice chat, and kind of really experience the things that were so normal. and yet are so un—normal now so to speak. i�*m very excited. i�*ve had two lessons this morning, and they were really, really good. i felt very happy to be seeing people, to be talking to people, and just happy to be learning again. schools are about so more than just lessons. they are communities. people the pandemic has driven apart but are now coming back together. john maguire, bbc news, york. now the weather with ben rich.

the weather is looking quite turbulent over the next few days. there will be outbreaks of heavy rain and strong winds, gales that could cause some disruption, bringing rough seas across western areas, as well. you can see all of this cloud trailing back out into the atlantic. there is a deep area of low pressure about here. this weather system is bringing outbreaks of rain to the rest of the day across northern ireland and western scotland. ahead of that, it is feeling mild, without highs of 40 degrees. this evening and tonight, wet and windy weather in western and north—western areas, exposed areas in scotland could see gusts up to 70 miles an hour. tonight, the blustery weather will move its way south—eastward. clearer skies following behind, some of the shower

is wintry over the high ground in scotland. heading into tomorrow, complex weather picture. this first weather front trying to clear away, but instead we see a new surge of moisture, a new weatherfrom pushing in from the south—west. that one is tied up with what is a pretty deep area of low pressure. through the day on wednesday, we will see cloud and outbreaks of rain across england, wales, northern ireland. scotland starting up at some spells of sunshine and a scattering of wintry showers. the rain will start to push back on here is the day wears on. top temperatures ranging from 7 degrees to 12. it will be blustery through the day, particularly into the evening and overnight as this deep area of low pressure purchasing. on the southern flank of the low, a real squeeze of the isobars, there will be very strong winds into the early part of thursday morning. across england and wales, inland spots will see gusts of 50 miles an hour, on the exposed

coasts gusts up to 70 miles an hour. that could cause damage and disruption. the winter only slowly easing through the day on thursday. it will stay very blustery. some spells of sunshine, but showers that will be happy, thundery, with hail, sleet and snow mixing it over the hills in the north—west. the winds to ease slowly heading towards the weekend, but there will still be plenty of heavy downpours.

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under siege — crisis meetings involving senior royals have taken place following the duke and duchess of sussex�*s tv interview. cani can i ask, what did you think of the interview? no reaction from the palace — or from prince charles, as he continued with royal duties. and a defence of the royals from meghan�*s father. i don�*t think the british royal family are racist. the thing about, "what colour will the baby be?," or, "how dark will the baby be?," i�*m guessing and hoping it�*s just a dumb question. over 11 million people across the uk watched the interview last night, including the prime minister. we�*ll be assessing the fallout with our royal correspondent nicholas wichell. also this lunchtime... slow and steady — the government�*s top scientific advisers say the move