this is bbc news. the headlines at seven. chanting: shame on you, - shame on you, shame one you! shame on you, shame on you! the head of the met police says she does not intend to resign and welcomes a review into the police's handling of last night's vigil for sarah everard. i don't think anybody who was not in the operation can actually pass a detailed comment on the rightness and wrongness of it. you know, this is fiendishly difficult policing. but criticism of the police has been swift from across the political spectrum and those who attended the vigil. as i was sat in the van as my hands were handcuffed i wasjust thinking, "gosh, all i wanted "was to stand with other women."

hundreds of demonstrators are gathered this evening near the houses of parliament — earlier they lay on the ground for a minutes�* silence. authorities in the republic of ireland recommend temporarily suspending use of the astrazeneca vaccine, after a report of four new cases of blood clotting incidents in adults who'd had the jab in norway. the foreign secretary makes another call for the immediate release of british—iranian nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe after she faces new allegations of anti—government propaganda in court. and it's the music industry's biggest awards night of the year, the grammys. they're being held at a virtual ceremony in los angeles. good evening.

if you've just joined if you've justjoined us welcome to bbc news. the commissioner of the metropolitan police has defended the tactics of the force, in breaking up last night's vigil for sarah everard, the 33—year—old woman whose body was found in woodland on wednesday. dame cressida dick said she welcomed an independent review into what happened. but that anyone "who wasn't in the operation, cannot pass detailed comment". officers made several arrests, saying the gathering risked covid infections, but critics say police tactics were heavy handed. mps will debate a new bill this week giving forces wider powers, in dealing with public gatherings and demonstrations. this report from our home editor mark easton contains flash photography. within moments of being taken, this picture of police holding down a woman on clapham common last night became a symbol of female defiance against male aggression. as darkness descended on the vigil for sarah everard,

what had been a peaceful and respectful demonstration of female solidarity turned ugly. police moved in to disperse the crowd, there was pushing and shoving, with a number of women taken away in handcuffs. four were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches — among them, dania. as i was sat in the van, as my hands were handcuffed, i wasjust thinking... "gosh, all i wanted was to stand with other women." the fear that has been brewing for years from a very young age, we get harassed and we're aware of the abuse and violence against women. chanting: nojustice, no peace! as the police surrounded the bandstand, emotions intensified. they had grabbed me, they was being really aggressive, twisting my arms, you know, they had put me in the handcuffs. the beautiful women stood with me. one of them, as the pictures are circulating, she was thrown to the floor. you know, she had police officers on her back with their knees, their feet.

the police are saying that they had to act for public safety reasons. i personally being there didn't see anyone being at risk. shame on you! the sight of women who had come together to stand against male violence being manhandled has led to a chorus of criticism from across the political spectrum. the mayor of london, sadiq khan — who runs policing in the capital — described the scenes as "completely unacceptable", demanding the commissioner of the met, dame cressida dick, explain herself at a meeting in city hall today. an official inquiry was ordered by the home secretary, priti patel, this afternoon as dame cressida defended her officers. they have to make these really difficult calls and i don't think anybody should be sitting back in an armchair and saying "well, "that was done badly," or "i would've done it differently" without actually understanding what was going through their minds. the metropolitan police were already being investigated for events around the sarah everard murder inquiry. now, scotland yard's leaders find themselves under

increasing political pressure. the focus really of this weekend should be on sarah everard and herfamily but it is right also that the police explain their actions. they should've been allowed to protest, to have their vigil, to come together in peace and i was very disturbed to see the police action. i think it was wrong and i'm pleased it's now going to be reviewed. there is evidence to suggest that some of those who attended the vigil had been looking for trouble and the police had been criticised before for not intervening in protests during the pandemic, notably by the home secretary. this evening, a crowd of protesters gathered outside scotland yard presenting a new challenge to the police's ability to handle the outpouring of anguish sparked by sarah everard's death. up to now, the met stands accused of getting it badly wrong. mark easton, bbc news. following the demonstation at new scotland yard, there

was a further gathering at parliament square where demonstrators lay down on the ground as they observed a minute's silence to remember sarah everard. the crowd then dispersed. sarah everard's death has shone a critical light on the issues of violence against women, and the safety of our streets. our correspondent, katy austin, has been to clapham in south london, to speak to some of the women who attended last night's vigil, about why it was important to go. katherine and anna—maria made the short walk from their homes to clapham common this afternoon. i mainly wanted to pay respects to sarah everard and herfamily. it's had a massive impact on me as a woman, living around here, and i think it has so many others. both went to last night's vigil despite being aware of lockdown rules. they say they wore masks and kept social distance. we couldn't not go because it affects every single one of us. it is rare for a woman to be abducted off the street, but in recent days many women have

been sharing other experiences on social media of feeling afraid, being harassed, or assaulted. there were just so many posts all about what happened, about sarah everard, but also just in general. it's resonated with everyone i know, not only in the south—west of london but everyone that i know has a story. the sea of flowers at the bandstand continued to swell today. people stood in reflective silence. the number of tributes which have been left and the number of people still coming here today is just one sign of how widely sarah's story has resonated. naomi also chose to attend yesterday. i didn't like being told that i wasn't allowed to. she felt it was too important. looking at sarah, you just think it could have been me or it could have been my friends or it could have been my loved ones so easily. and just to carry that fear around with you everyday, itjust weighs you down. a week that's included

international women's day and mother's day has also seen mourning for the shocking loss of a woman's life and a wider national conversation about male violence and female safety. katy austin, bbc news. our political correspondent nick eardley is here. next, the timing of this is particularly important, isn't it, because there is a piece of legislation going before mps this week which critics say will give police even more powers to control demonstrations and prevent them just as they are being criticised for their handling of a very high—profile and as it turned out rather controversial one. this high-profile and as it turned out rather controversial one.- high-profile and as it turned out rather controversial one. bill rather controversial one. this is a bill that would _ rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform _ rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform some - rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform some of l rather controversial one. this is a l bill that would perform some of the rules around policing. and the main concern that opposition parties have for one of the concerns they have is that it would make it easier for the police to shut down certain types of

protests and in the aftermath of what we saw in clapham yesterday, that concern i think has only been amplified. we will get that legislation debated in parliament this week, i suspect almost all opposition mps will vote against it, there may be some conservatives as well who feel the same. it's worth pointing out it's quite a broad piece of legislation so it's not just about that. it changes quite a want of the rules around sentencing as well. but again one of the criticism that we heard from the labour party today is that it doesn't do enough around the sentencing for crimes against women. i think it will be a particularly heated debate, it was always going to be fairly heated, but it is more heated now. but i suspect the government will be asked over the next few days is whether it's prepared to take further action in the weight of everything that is happening in the last few days. we talked a bit on bbc news this evening about the position of the met commissioner but stepping back

from that, there's a more general kind of tension here isn't there between having independent policing which we have, the police are statutorily independent but they are supposed to be accountable and any place like london which has national responsibility as a counter terrorism, the home office has a lot of interest in what the police do in london and you have the mayor and police authority who ultimately commissions this it is quite explosive politically.- commissions this it is quite explosive politically. commissions this it is quite exlosive oliticall . ~ . . explosive politically. what you have seen from the _ explosive politically. what you have seen from the politicians _ explosive politically. what you have seen from the politicians over - explosive politically. what you have seen from the politicians over the l seen from the politicians over the last 2a hours is some concerns raised about some of the pictures we are seeing at the moment of young women being arrested at a vigil but also them stressing that the police are operationally independent and that the politicians weren't involved in the specific decisions, they were involved in discussions but not specific are decisions about policing. it seems pretty kryptonite that the met commissioner is a safe

and herjob as far as the politicians are concerned for the —— pretty clear that... labour are not going for her to resign. fix, pretty clear that. .. labour are not going for her to resign.— going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges _ going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges on _ going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges on the _ going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges on the review - going for her to resign. a lot of - this hinges on the review presumably and whether that raises concerns about the current command structure in scotland yard and the operational decisions that rests with her. i think that is right and it will be interesting to see how long that's review takes and probably postpones any further criticism for a few weeks but it was interesting seeing just how angry london's mayor sadiq khan was in all of this. he was perfectly clear that he was unhappy with the expedition he had heard from the met commissioner dane cressida dick today. so although that immediate threat to herjob seems to have gone away a bit, this time last week we were starting to hear calls for her resignation. i don't think that's going to happen in the next few days but i also think that there is a longer or medium—term question about the way this was dealt with and what this does is about future policing

environments like this. nick, thank ou ve environments like this. nick, thank you very much- _ the irish government has suspended the use of the astrazeneca vaccine because of concern about four reports of blood clots in patients who've received the jab in norway. the health secretary said the move was a precautionary step. astrazeneca and the uk regulator the mhra both say there is no evidence that having the vaccine increases the risk of bloodclots. in a moment we'll speak to professor peter openshaw — an immunologist at imperial college london — but first our correspondent louise cullen is following this story. the deputy chief medical officer in the republic made the announcement this morning in a statement following those reports of thrombolytic events, clots and bleeds and so on, made actually across europe. there have been around 30 of these events reported from europe, but that's in the context of around 5 million europeans getting the oxford/astrazeneca jab. but as of this morning, ireland joined a list of countries that have either suspended the astrazeneca vaccine or have suspended the use

of certain batches of it. that list includes norway, denmark, italy, estonia and several other european nations as well. now astrazeneca's been given in the republic of ireland around 110,000 times, that is about a fifth of the vaccines that have been administered. it's been used in the uk more than 11 million times and the regulator here in the uk says there's no evidence of any excess deaths or clots reported in association with it. it's important to say that the european regulator, the ema, and the world health organization have also said there's no evidence of a link between the vaccine and these thrombolytic events. astrazeneca says that clots are naturally occurring and that the numbers that are being reported are no greater than what would be expected in an unvaccinated population. louise cullen there. so as promised, let's speak now to peter openshaw — professor of experimental medicine at imperial college london and also a member of the uk vaccine network.

professor thanks so much, good to speak you again. let's start with what we know. there have been blood clots in patients. how could that be conceivably linked to vaccination? well, it is evident that people who develop covid do have quite high complication rate of developing blood clots, it is one of the things that has really surprise us in this disease is that there are major blood clots and also small blood clots in the little vessels in the lungs for example which are a complication of covid itself. so, there is that known link. there is no reason to expect that to be the case with vaccination of course because the vaccine is designed to prevent covid and therefore to prevent covid and therefore to prevent those complication. so this is a strange — prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, _ prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if— prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if you - prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if you do - prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if you do not| is a strange paradox, if you do not take the vaccine because you're worried about blood clotting, you might be putting us of potentially

at risk of blood clotting because you might otherwise get the virus. nonetheless to understand why ireland has taken the action it has? ireland has taken the action it has? i think a lot of countries quite rightly are being very cautious and are taking the measure ofjust suspending vaccination whilst this is investigated but i think it is absolutely clear that when this has been booked into, there is no increase rate of quat and clotting and blood clots are actually quite common in the population and particularly in older people. —— the rate of clots. it is a recently common condition to develop blood clots and you will see this when you wrote out vaccines at scale in millions of people and you will see some people who die very soon after having the vaccine through causes which are nothing to do with actually having had the vaccine. so, you can understand the desire for caution but actually looking at the numbers, it doesn't look like this

is an exceptional rate of blood clotting. i is an exceptional rate of blood clottinu. ., , ., ~ is an exceptional rate of blood clottin-. . , ., ~ ., is an exceptional rate of blood clottin.. . ~' ., . clotting. i was talking to a colleague _ clotting. i was talking to a colleague earlier - clotting. i was talking to a colleague earlier who - clotting. i was talking to a colleague earlier who said clotting. i was talking to a - colleague earlier who said from her perspective although she is a long way off from receiving vaccination right now, she says it has been a consideration for people like me because she said, "i already take a medication that makes me more at risk of blood clots." for people in that sort of situation, what sort of conversation should they have with the gp or anyone else vaccinating? is there an option for them to say "i would prefer to use one of the other vaccines." what advice would you offer if i could put you in that invidious position? that you offer if i could put you in that invidious position?— you offer if i could put you in that invidious position? at the moment there is no — invidious position? at the moment there is no evidence _ invidious position? at the moment there is no evidence to _ invidious position? at the moment there is no evidence to say - invidious position? at the moment| there is no evidence to say whether one vaccine is preferable to another. it's remarkable that the vaccines that are currently being licenced under the emergency licence procedure, all of them are remarkably effective. remarkably effective, one of the most extraordinary things i have seen in my lifetime to develop vaccines this fast that are so effective in preventing the disease. there is a

side effect to reach that you would expect with a vaccine that is very powerful in terms of stimulating the immune system. but at the moment, i wouldn't really say that there's any proof at all that the vaccine has actually caused these clotting events that have been observed in a few cases, and comparable with numbers you would expect anywhere in the population. i numbers you would expect anywhere in the population-— the population. i would say astrazeneca _ the population. i would say astrazeneca is _ the population. i would say astrazeneca is said - the population. i would say astrazeneca is said that. the population. i would say| astrazeneca is said that the analysis covering more than 70 million doses of the vaccine administered has shown no evidence of increased risk of the conditions and the reported numbers of these types of events are not greater than a number that would have occurred nationally —— naturally in unvaccinated population that was in response to the ireland story. the last quick question. someone is that we might actually have to slow down the process, the flow of vaccinations because of supply issues in the coming months. is that causing any concern at the moment? i

think it's so important that we do get vaccination rates up as high as possible particularly over the summer when the rate of infection is we hope going to be kept low. but remember, other places in europe, we do see now a surgeon cases. we are do see now a surgeon cases. we are by do see now a surgeon cases. we are by no means safe at the moment. we do need to keep the infection rates down and get vaccination rates up as high as possible whilst this is happening. == high as possible whilst this is happening-— high as possible whilst this is haueninu. , ., happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, _ happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank _ happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank you - happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank you for i happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank you for asj peter openshaw, thank you for as everfor being peter openshaw, thank you for as ever for being with us on bbc news. the latest coronavirus figures show infections continuing to fall, though weekend numbers tend to be lower due to reporting delays. let's take you through the numbers. there were 4,618 new cases recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 5,703. there were 52 deaths reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test, which means on average, 145 people died every day in the last week from coronavirus,

taking the total to 125,516. those are deaths for any reason. we will go into that figure, whether or not it is directly attributable to the coronavirus of people who have had a positive test within the last month. over half a million people have had their first dose of a covid vaccine in the latest 24—hour period, and as we've heard that means a total of more than 24 million people have now had theirfirstjab, and more than one and a half million, have had both doses, of the vaccine. around two million vulnerable people are being sent texts from nhs england this weekend, urging them to book their coronavirus vaccination.

those with pre—existing medical conditions such as diabetes and certain types of cancer, who've not yet received a letterfrom their gp, will be able to make an appointment. here's our health correspondent, anna collinson. ciara lawrence has a learning disability, she was nervous about getting vaccinated so on the day, told the nurse. i told her i did not like needles and she prepared it away from me and she came from behind me, and as she was doing it my husband was there to talk to me and distract me. my message for those people who are afraid of having the covid jab is don't be worried, don't be scared. there are calls for millions more vulnerable people with underlying health conditions to follow ciara's lead. more than 7 million people are in group six and have been prioritised because they're more likely to become seriously unwell from coronavirus. the group includes those with underlying health conditions like cancer and heart disease, their carers, and people with learning disabilities.

as part of a renewed call to help some of the most vulnerable, leading charities including mencap have published an open letter urging them to consider booking their coronavirus jab. overall, more than 24 million people have now been vaccinated, but there's still a long way to go. this morning, the republic of ireland announced it was suspending using the oxford/astrazeneca jab afterfour people in norway developed blood clots. but the uk's regulator the mhra insists available evidence did not suggest the vaccine was the cause. the vaccine roll—out has been a success but that doesn't mean covid—19 will not continue to pose a threat. we need also to recognise that this is a virus that is not going to go away and i have no doubt that in the autumn, there will be a further wave of infections. so as restrictions continue to be lifted, like the reopening of schools in england this week, the scientific community will be watching the data closely for any causes for concern.

anna collinson, bbc news. the british—iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, who has just completed a five—year prison sentence in tehran, has again appeared in court to face new charges. she's accused of propaganda against iran, including taking part in a demonstration in london 12 years ago. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley is here. it was only last sunday we were talking about having the ankle tag removed so she could finally leave her home and she was under house arrest. we knew then she was going to face this court case. what happened, why is this almost as it appears to us to people who have not followed the case suddenly come up 12 years after it supposedly happened? it 12 years after it supposedly happened?— 12 years after it supposedly hauened? ., 12 years after it supposedly hauened? . ., happened? it is actually a case that has been threatened _ happened? it is actually a case that has been threatened against - happened? it is actually a case that has been threatened against her i has been threatened against her several times. has been threatened against her severaltimes. it has been threatened against her several times. it was first threatened against her in 2017. she was in court last november over this

case but they didn't get a chance to hear her defence. but what her husband richard would say is that this is something that gets threatened whenever things are not going well in the negotiations with the uk over what's iran hopes to get in return for nazanin's freedom because he says she's being held as a hostage and that he believes she won't be freed until britain gives something in return and you may know that what has been discussed is a long—standing tank debt, some money britain owes to iran and acknowledgement for an arms deal that was done before the islamic revolution of 1979 and the tanks were never delivered after the revolution of 1979 and iran wants its money back. that is the background to this case that hovers over her. it is an extraordinary case. so what happened today? as you

said, she had her ankle tag removed last week and then suddenly she was so she had to appear in court. she did and spent the whole day yesterday, her husband said, trying to get hold of her lawyer and did so very, very late at night, was told to be in court at 9am. she went with her lawyer. the hearing apparently lasted about 20 minutes, that was all, she was extremely nervous because he may have heard she is suffering from quite a few mental health problems.— suffering from quite a few mental health problems. there was a report from a charity _ health problems. there was a report from a charity and _ health problems. there was a report from a charity and i _ health problems. there was a report from a charity and i understand - health problems. there was a report from a charity and i understand that| from a charity and i understand that given the circumstances she is in. serious post dramatic stress disorder, major depression. it has just been such a roller coaster for her and what emerged in that report were all the details of her psychological torture, that's what the doctors who did the report said. she was extremely nervous. she did get a chance to make a statement, a personal statement to the judge. she said she didn't accept the allegation, she said she wanted a

fair trial and she was apparently told to expect a verdict in seven days. told to expect a verdict in seven da s. ., . , told to expect a verdict in seven da s. ., ., , ., , , told to expect a verdict in seven das. ., ., days. potentially opening up some kind of resolution _ days. potentially opening up some kind of resolution at _ days. potentially opening up some kind of resolution at least - days. potentially opening up some kind of resolution at least but - days. potentially opening up some kind of resolution at least but as i kind of resolution at least but as you said, we know that what we know is it seems keep getting delayed. should we hear from is it seems keep getting delayed. should we hearfrom richard just a moment? nazanin's husband, richard ratcliffe says the family's turmoil is far from over. he is bringing up their daughter, their six—year—old daughter alone, i think it is gabriella. in london where nazanin would normally be living west his wife is detained in iran and unable to get her passport. let's hear what he the last week has been for them. i think it's fair to say that the worst of her experience was the beginning and that's when she was in solitary, that's when all the most manipulative abuses were happening. but she's not safe, she's still in harm's way and she's still sitting facing an unknown sentence for an unknown length of time where she's going to be held for. so, it's not a place

where she can relax even at least if she could breathe that nothing more bad was going to happen today. richard ratcliff then, the foreign secretary again calling for the iranians to release her now. there was a phone call between boris johnson and the iranian president with this talk about if you could sort out this business with the money, otherthings sort out this business with the money, other things might be possible. money, other things might be ossible. ., �* , money, other things might be ossible. . �*, 1, , possible. that's right. boris johnson had _ possible. that's right. boris johnson had a _ possible. that's right. boris johnson had a phone - possible. that's right. boris - johnson had a phone conversation with president ronnie demanding nazanin's release and the response from the president was hold on there is this tank debt and there has been no practical progress being made towards repaying it. so a clear link being made there. —— president rouhani for some interesting statement from the foreign secretary after today's try calling it a wholly arbitrary case and saying what iran is suggesting —— subjecting nazanin two is a cruel and inhumane ordeal, a clear message from the arenas that they want something in return what is far less

clear is what will end her ordeal and when. —— from the iranians. caroline, thank you. at least 38 people are thought to have been killed by security forces in myanmar, one of the deadliest days of the conflict so far, as clashes between the military and anti—coup protesters continue for a sixth week. martial law has been declared in two areas of yangon. and after two china owned factories were attacked, beijing has asked the authorities to protect its businesses. the bbc burmese's nyein chan nyen is in yangon and sent this report earlier in the day. we heard from one of the protesters yesterday seen the police have changed their tactics and attacking people as they lead him traces rather than trying to disperse them and it is claimed using shooting to kill rather than seeking simply to disperse them. a group of british mps have warned that the british army's ageing armoured vehicles are

in a deportable state. ageing armoured vehicles are in a "deplorable" state —— and are likely to be outgunned in any conflict. the report, by the commons defence select committee, says the army has been left with tanks which are increasingly obsolete. music's biggest night of the year — the grammy awards — take place in los angeles tonight. but, because of the pandemic, it won't be the same star studded red carpet event we're used to. our west coast correspondent sophie long has been speaking to some first time british nominees who will be watching from afar. # shining through the city with a little funk and soul # so i'ma light it up like dynamite, whoa—oh—oh # dynamite immediately became a record—breaking song on multiple platforms for k—pop band bts. it's earned a grammy nomination for them and for the london duo who wrote it. wow, we've got a grammy nomination. so, getting a grammy nom on a song that we wrote over zoom in lockdown and in the midst of a pandemic has just got to be a silver lining to any dark cloud and any terrible year, so, yeah, we'rejust so, so happy.

it wasjust, like, a mad like... surreal, yeah. ..surreal 20 minutes of watching it and a buzz, and then suddenly it was just like — back to real life! back to work, yeah. keep it moving. david and jessica have written hundreds of songs together. they kind of knew this was a little different. we understood how huge bts were. we knew that it was their first ever english—speaking song which was a major thing that we were like, "i think this is it." and then it only got more and more exciting when we see the visual, we see the video, and we was like, "this is like nothing we could ever imagine." it'sjust, the levels of this is like nothing that we've ever worked on before. in los angeles, the stage is being set for bts to perform on sunday night, but due to the pandemic, jessica and david will be watching thousands of miles away in london. we will talk more about the grammys.

now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. after last week when strong winds battered the uk and every day we were pretty much talking about low pressure, the change for the week ahead will be lighter winds as watching this area of high pressure as it tries to build than from the south west. not entirely plain sailing however. occasionally fronts will run into the north of our area of high pressure and just how it sets itself up towards the end of the week could have quite a big impact on how our temperatures go. certainly overnight, a few showers remaining across england and wales on the tail end of one weather front. skies clear for northern england and scotland though and a frost here first thing on monday. towards the west, some cloud pushing into northern ireland will bring some rain for the morning and we will see that moving towards wales and the south west by lunchtime. generally cloudier across the western side of the uk as this quite weak weather front moves in through monday afternoon. lighter winds across the board, best of the sunshine in the east, and our top temperature perhaps up to 13 in the south—east.