tonight at ten: the head of the metropolitan police says she won't resign over the force's handling of last night's vigil in memory of sarah everard. there will be an independent review of police tactics, which the met commissioner cressida dick says she welcomes.. 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. police have been accused of manhandling protestors who say they just wanted to pay their respects. 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." tomorrow, mps are due to debate a bill giving

the police wider powers in dealing with public gatherings and demonstrations. also tonight: nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe appears in court in iran on new charges, having just served a five—year sentence. one of the deadliest days in myanmar during protests against the military coup. at least 30 are dead, at the hands of the security forces. and a late penalty gives ireland victory over scotland in the six nations. good evening. the commissioner of the metropolitan police says she won't resign, despite calls to quit over the force's handling of last night's vigil, in memory of sarah everard.

dame cressida dick defended the tactics of her officers, in trying to clear the area on clapham common, in south london, with the police saying the gathering posed a covid risk. sarah everard, who was 33, disappeared on her way home in clapham 12 days ago. her body was later found in woodland in kent. critics say police tactics last night were heavy handed. mps will tomorrow debate a new bill giving forces wider powers to deal with public gatherings and demonstrations. the report from our home editor, mark easton, contains some 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, dalia. 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 are 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 were being really- aggressive, twisting my arms, 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. . she had police officers on her back with their knees, their feet. - the police officers are saying that they had to act for public safety reasons. i, personally, being there, - didn't see anybody being at risk. chanting: shame on you!

the sight of women who had come to stand together against male violence being "manhandled" has led to a chorus of criticism from across the political spectrum. all eyes on this woman, the commissioner of the met, dame cressida dick, forced to explain her officers' actions to the home secretary and the london mayor today and defend herself to the press. are you considering your position? no, i'm not. 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 have done it differently," without 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 have 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 have 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. well, 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. catherine 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 extremely 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. every woman i know has a story, and it's to think about but also express, i guess, anger. we need the conversation to involve everyone. of course we need women to share their stories, but what was so great about last night, yeah, there were a lot of girls but there were so many men. 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 every day, it just weighs you down. 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. 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 special correspondent, lucy manning is at westminster for us tonight. lucy, the political pressure on the metropolitan police and cressida dick in particular remains intense?

yes, it couldn't have been a more damaging week for the metropolitan police and for the commissioner. a member of their own force charged with the murder of sarah everard, and then when going out in sympathy and then when going out in sympathy and also to stand against violence, feeling they were on the receiving end of violence in the police response. it is fair to say those pictures did not look good. the politicians agreed. the mayor of london said the scenes were completely unacceptable, the home secretary saying there were more questions that needed to be answered, but i think the truth is they could have withdrawn their confidence in cressida dick today, and they didn't do that. if they had withdrawn their confidence, they would have had to —— she would have had to resign. i think herjob is safe for the moment. this review will take some time. the big confidence is what is done for the confidence is what is done for the confidence of women in the metropolitan police? you have the advisor to the home secretary on violence against women saying it

looked like the police were abusers last night, so goodness knows what other people are thinking as well. in their defence, the police, the police unions talk about the difficulty of these covid regulations and having to police them, and also the met point out many women during the day did go and lay flowers and there was no problem with that, and the duchess of cambridge was obviously one of those, and tomorrow the politics does return here because the police bill is going through the commons and that gives the police even more laws, when it comes to even more control over protest. labour said it would oppose. like matt lucy, thank you for that, from westminster. —— lucy, thank you for that, from westminster. the british—iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, who's just completed a five—year prison sentence in tehran, has appeared in court again 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 with me. what happened in court today? she appeared in a revolutionary court in

front_ appeared in a revolutionary court in front of— appeared in a revolutionary court in front of the — appeared in a revolutionary court in front of the same judge who sentenced her back in 2016, so you can imagine — sentenced her back in 2016, so you can imagine how stressful that was for her. _ can imagine how stressful that was for her, particularly as she is suffering _ for her, particularly as she is suffering from ptsd. the hearing tasted _ suffering from ptsd. the hearing lasted for— suffering from ptsd. the hearing lasted for all of 20 minutes. the charge _ lasted for all of 20 minutes. the charge is— lasted for all of 20 minutes. the charge is one that has been periodically threatened against her for several years. periodically threatened against her for severalyears. she periodically threatened against her for several years. she was able to say she _ for several years. she was able to say she didn't accept the allegations, that she wanted a fair triai~ _ allegations, that she wanted a fair triai~ the — allegations, that she wanted a fair trial. the foreign secretary dominic raab said _ trial. the foreign secretary dominic raab said the case is completely arbitrary— raab said the case is completely arbitrary and unacceptable and he said iran — arbitrary and unacceptable and he said iran has deliberately put her through— said iran has deliberately put her through cruel and inhumane —— a cruet— through cruel and inhumane —— a cruel and — through cruel and inhumane —— a cruel and inhumane ordeal. richard ratciiffe. _ cruel and inhumane ordeal. richard ratcliffe, her husband, says she has been used _ ratcliffe, her husband, says she has been used as a political bargaining chin _ been used as a political bargaining chin we _ been used as a political bargaining chip. we know one thing iran once as repayment— chip. we know one thing iran once as repayment for a debt that the uk owes _ repayment for a debt that the uk owes to— repayment for a debt that the uk owes to iran, over some tanks that iran pre—ordered and paid for and these _ iran pre—ordered and paid for and these tanks were then never delivered after the islamic revolution in 1979. now, richard revolution in1979. now, richard

ratctiffe— revolution in 1979. now, richard ratcliffe believes that unless iran -ets ratcliffe believes that unless iran gets something in return, nazanin will be _ gets something in return, nazanin will be convicted when the verdict comes _ will be convicted when the verdict comes. ., ., y will be convicted when the verdict comes. ., ., , ., ~ will be convicted when the verdict comes. ., . ~ —— caroline, thank you. the latest coronavirus figures show infections continuing to fall, though weekend numbers tend to be lower due to reporting delays. 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. over 500,000 people have had their first dose of a covid vaccine in the latest 24—hour period, which means a total of more than 2a million people have now had theirfirstjab, and more than 1.5 million people have had both doses of the vaccine.

meanwhile, around two million vulnerable people are being contacted by nhs england, urging them to book a coronavirus vaccination. those with pre—existing medical conditions such as diabetes and certain types of cancer who've not yet received a letter from their gp will be able to make an appointment. here's our health correspondent, anna collinson. in less than a year, farhan nawaz as was diagnosed with kidney failure and hospitalised with covid—19. since then one of his main reasons for leaving his home has been to attend his dialysis appointments. but four weeks ago it was his turn to get the jab. so, for me, getting vaccinated, it's another piece of armoury in this fight against this disease and getting back to, you know, having a normal lifestyle. it's essential. there are calls for millions more vulnerable people with underlying health conditions to follow

farhan's lead. more than 7 million people are in group 6 and have been prioritised because there are 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 difficulties. —— with learning disabilities. more than half of this group have been vaccinated. now leading charities, including kidney research uk, have written an open letter to encourage those who are left to book theirs. 0verall, more than 2a million people have now been vaccinated, but there's still a long way to go. in northern ireland health officials say they will continue to use the oxford astrazeneca jab, despite its suspension in the republic of ireland amid concerns it may cause blood clots, but its manufacturer and the uk's regulator say there's no evidence to show there's a link. the vaccine roll—out may have been a success, but that doesn't mean covid—19 will not continue to pose a threat. this is a virus that isn't 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. it's been one of the deadliest days in myanmar since protests began against a military coup last month. local media say security forces killed at least 20 people in one neighbourhood of the biggest city, yangon, following attacks on chinese—funded factories. more deaths have been reported in other parts of the country. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has that story. they have built themselves barricades, they have fashioned makeshift shields. but when the security forces open fire, there is nothing to do but run. this was the scene in myanmar�*s biggest city yangon, where more

than 20 people are reported to have died. some here see china is supporting me and myanmar�*s military rulers, and several chinese—owned factories were set on fire. so troops were sent in and martial law for two districts was declared on state tv. there were fatal clashes elsewhere in myanmar, the now familiar round of tear gas, bullets and gunfire, and the ever rising death toll. and yet, for all the bloodshed, the pro—democracy campaigners keep coming. it's now almost six weeks since the army seized power. but they have yet to break the will of those taking to the streets. translation: we have to fight for our future. l i don't accept the military coup. for some campaigners, it's enough to wave placards and the now familiar three—fingered salute. but others seem ready

to fight fire with fire. this bloody war of attrition has some way to go. james landale, bbc news, yangon. recent months have seen tensions escalate between china and the west, over media coverage. in february, the english—language satellite news channel the china global television network had it's licence revoked by the uk regulator, and in retaliation bbc world news has been banned from broadcasting in china. there have also been tit—for—tat expulsions ofjournalists in both the united states and china in the past year. 0ur media editor, amol rajan, reports on how beijing is trying to control public information. a warning — his report contains flashing images. we'll take a look at how low the bbc would go in speaking ill of china, by giving up objectivity... one of the world's oldest known civilisations is using the world's newest technology to propagate its message and curtail that of rivals. this is what the media wants you to believe...

last month, the uk's independent broadcast regulator 0fcom removed the license of china's state—controlled network, cgtn. the station had failed to prove its independence from china's leadership. they immediately struck back, banning the bbc�*s world news channel in a tit—for—tat measure. it was merely an escalation of tension. the chinese authorities have long been unhappy about the bbc�*s coverage of detention camps for uighur muslims in xinjiang province, but were particularly angry about recent reports that have led to an international outcry outcry and won awards. we are constantly followed... ..and turned back at makeshift barriers and roadblocks. the bbc team in beijing often face hostility. filming around the country is often difficult with a heavy state present is never far away. well, i arrived in china about four years ago... the new york times' bureau chief is currently doing his job from seoul, having been thrown out

at a few days' notice. if you're covering topics that are deemed sensitive, you know, you will be met by the police or the secret service, you'll be harassed by the local authorities who tell you you don't have permission to be in the region, which isn't true — we do have permission to be anywhere in china, except tibet, where we are forbidden to go. and that includes notjust blocking our work but also blocking the work of our chinese colleagues. it involves intimidating people that we are interviewing. china claims it only expelled journalists after expulsion from the usa. the wall streetjournal team is down to four having got down from ten in the past year. down to four having gone down from

ten in the past year and a half. it's never been easy to be a foreign correspondent in china, _ but over the last year or so it's gotten much more difficult. . part of that of course is the coronavirus — i it's difficult everywhere. but, especially in china, i we feel so much pressure here from the authorities and from the public - and from the media here in terms of what we write and how - we report on china. last week, a report from the foreign correspondents club of china argued journalists face growing harassment, weapon icing of these ares and seeing their work distorted, misrepresented or attacked with fabricated charges. global conflicts used to be mostly about natural resources, such as land or water. today they are increasingly about public information — that is media. in this, the too—much—information age, knowledge is power as never before. the western web was meant to democratise knowledge, making it free and universal. the chinese approach to media, on and offline, prioritises surveillance and control — in service of social order. ina long in a long statement the chinese government says it opposes ideological bias against china, fake news under the coverage of freedom of the press and violation of professional ethics. it also says it does not recognise the correspondence club and says it so—called report is fraught with ideological bias and slander.

next year, the world plans to descend on beijing for the 2022 winter olympics. but which china will they be allowed to see? amol rajan, bbc news. now with all the sport, here's lizzie greenwood—hughes, at the bbc sport centre. hello. good evening. ireland scored a late penalty to seal another victory over scotland in rugby union's six nations championship. they won 27—24 at murrayfield to move into second place in the table behind leaders wales. our correspondent katie gornall has the details. they say this is scotland's best team in 20 years, so what better time to prove it than against their old foes? ireland have won nine of the past ten matches against scotland and they dominated the start of this one asjohnny sexton's searching kit eventually made its way into the hands of robbie henshaw, but when a prop starts doing this you know it is no ordinary game. scotland's response was unconventional. finn russell touched down but was there a knock

on in the build—up? 0ver touched down but was there a knock on in the build—up? over to the tv referee who found it hit hog's face and crucially not his hand. try. ireland led by four points at the break and afterwards they muscled further ahead. with scotland now 1a down, they turned to the bench, and to hugh down, they turned to the bench, and to huthones, who cut through the irish defence with his first touch. six minutes left and, incredibly, they clawed themselves level... but those raised hopes were quickly dashed, as scotland gave up a penalty and ireland's captain held his nerve to clinch the match. it was a chaotic and unpredictable game, but the same old story for scotland. katie gornall, bbc news. england's cricketers have been thrashed by india in their second t20 international. in a reverse of the opening match, this went all india's way on a slow pitch in ahmedabad. captain virat kohli hitting the winning runs to reach england's total with 13 balls and seven wickets to spare. the five—match series

is now level at 1—1. it's been a busy day in the premier league. match of the day 2 follows the news, so don't listen if you want to wait for the results because they're coming now. manchester united are back up to second after narrowly beating west ham with an own goal. there were also wins for arsenal, brighton and leicester — who thrashed bottom side sheffield united 5—0. there was no upset in the women's league cup final, where holders chelsea beat bristol city with the biggest scoreline in the history of the competition. sam kerr scored a hat—trick in the 6—0 victory — but every goal was set—up by england striker fran kirby, who also scored twice. this is the first part of a possible treble for chelsea this season. britain's women's hockey series with ireland is now level at 1—1, after they were beaten in belfast today. the olympic champions lost 2—1 — their first defeat to the irish, who they're drawn to play against in tokyo this summer. the series will now be decided

in the final match on tuesday. and lee westwood just missed—out on his first players championship title — find out who beat him on the bbc sport website. but that's it from me. back to you, clive. thank you for that, lizzie. that's it. have a very good night.

hello. this is bbc news. inafew in a few minutes we will take a look at the front pages of the papers, but let's return to our main story. the commissioner of the metropolitan police says she won't resign, despite calls to quit over the force's handling of last night's vigil in memory of sarah everard. dame cressida dick defended the tactics of her officers in trying to clear the area on clapham common in south london, with the police saying the gathering posed a covid risk. i've been speaking to rod jarman, who's the former deputy assistant commissioner for territorial policing. he now leads policing education at the university of west london. what is really terrible from my perspective is it moves away from

thinking about issues of violence against women and ways of thinking about the terrible murder of sarah everard, and this debate about police tactics. i think one thing we really have to bear in mind is what is extremely difficult to know what was going on. we seen the outcome, but we don't know why. also the police are having a huge change in their role of responsibilities in society. this is notjust the uk, this is across the world. as the police have moved into this health protection type role, having to enforce the social distancing rules, having to manage a whole set of new requirements, new laws which haven't been worked through and rounded out and having to respond very quickly to fastly changing situations. so at the extremity difficult to get these things right, but the problem is if you get them wrong, particularly with an as violence against women,

you ended up creating a situation where the trust and confidence in the police is massively eroded. this the police is massively eroded. as you've indicated, something the police are already struggling to deal with, police are already struggling to dealwith, perceptions police are already struggling to deal with, perceptions that perhaps whether unfairly or not, they are not putting enough effort into the prosecution or providing the evidence to go ahead with cases, on issues like rape, domestic violence, all issues that are being dealt with. the units set up to deal with predatory male behaviour, but collectively, cases where that fails add to that impression that the police are not doing enough of their job. let's talk about the policing of the incident itself last night. would somebody quite senior have had to make the decision to break up that vigil? i to make the decision to break up that vi . il? ~' ., to make the decision to break up that viril? ~' ., , , that vigil? i think the whole issue oft in: that vigil? i think the whole issue of trying to _ that vigil? i think the whole issue of trying to guess _ that vigil? i think the whole issue of trying to guess what _ that vigil? i think the whole issue of trying to guess what the - that vigil? i think the whole issue - of trying to guess what the command chain was and what was decided, who

took the action is something that is very difficult to do from outside. and i think that is the one thing i massively agree with, we need to sit back and actually get this investigation properly into the public domain so people can see what happened. if we look at the images, what we see is the end of a decision, a decision which always ends up, if you ended up in conflict, it never is a good place to be because you wind up having to push and shove and drive people away from you to give officers enough space to do what they're there to do. but that looked even worse yesterday because of the backdrop of what was happening and because of the fact that we have predominantly male police officers pushing a predominantly female group to get to the outcome. so it's really difficult to get detail of who would've driven what and who would've driven what and who would've made which decision, and there will be really important —— it'll be important to see why the

police needed to respond to that particular time. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, the former pensions minister, ros altmann, and the independent�*s business commentator, james moore. it is the dominant image on the front pages of the first edition of the papers. to stay with us for that. time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. after last week, when strong winds battered the uk and every day for the week ahead, a quieter picture. much lighter winds. — towards the west, more

cloud would push a cross northern ireland into western scotland and wales in the southwest as the day goes on. clinging onto some sunshine until the evening, the wind much lighter. in terms of the temperatures, pretty healthy for the time of year. about where they should be or may be up above. however, although it's going to feel like spring for the first few days of this week, we keep the high until the and of the weekend, but there could be quite a significant change to the way things feel with the cold north easterly wind. hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment with ros altmann and james moore — first the headlines. chanting. 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.