a major report into race in the uk is strongly criticised for being dismissive of racial inequality. set up after the black lives matter protests, the study was intended to examine racism, but also to highlight progress. we don't deny the existence of racism and the reality that it exists and it's there. but we want to really, in the report, really come down to the fact that, particularly in education, and employment, and funny enough, in health, we've actually improved. i look at positions that people hold. i don't see anyone that looks like me in those positions. we'll be asking whether a report that was meant to provide unity has in fact deepened divisions over race. also tonight...

as france faces a peak of covid patients in intensive care, new lockdown measures — including school closures for at least three weeks. easing covid restrictions in wales — the first minister will set out more details tomorrow. in the george floyd murder trial in the us, the court is shown new footage of mr floyd just before his death. after thousands of present and former pupils post stories of harassment and abuse, a safeguarding review of all schools is announced. commentator: stones heads it down. england make it three wins out of three in their world cup qualifying matches. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel: a really proud day for english football. emma hayes hails her chelsea side, as they reach the women's champions league semifinals.

good evening. race equality campaigners have bitterly criticised the findings of a study, commissioned by the government, that concludes claims of institutional racism in the uk aren't borne out by the evidence. the review, led by the educationalist dr tony sewell, acknowledged the existence of overt racism, particularly online. but it said the uk "no longer" had a system rigged against people from ethnic minorities, and that family structure and social class had a bigger impact on how people's lives turned out than race. but critics say the report did not reflect the reality of life in britain. the study included a number of key findings across different areas of public policy. in education, it said children from ethnic minority communities did as well or better than white pupils, with black caribbean pupils the only group to perform less well. in the workplace, it said the pay gap between ethnic minorities and the white population had shrunk to 2.3% overall.

but it spoke of "deep mistrust" in some communities, and said the uk was not a "post—racial country". ourfirst report tonight is from our community affairs correspondent, adina campbell. they were the protests which reignited the debate about racism and racial inequality around the world. and in response to the black lives matter campaign last summer, the government commissioned an independent review, looking into the impact race has on people's lives in the uk. the chairman of today's report has defended its findings. the groups that are doing best in this country at the moment are ethnic minorities. how on earth do you think you could get up in the morning and feel good about yourself when the press, when the media, when the lobby groups continue to tell you you're just, actually, under a rigged system, that will trap you, will go nowhere, and you can't go nowhere as well? if you go into a boardroom today

in the uk, how many people of colour will be sitting in those senior positions? very, very few. you are right, and we point out that there are real issues to do with diversity in the workplace. and we actually have charged the equality commission to look into this. for this group who live, work and study in london, they're deeply disappointed with today's findings. it feels like this is just gloss, it feels like britain wants to puff itself up and say, "look at us, how good we are," and it's not going to work. we need much more than this. but according to the evidence in this report, it says that the uk is more open, it is fairer, and, essentially, if you work hard, you will be rewarded with success. i feel like they're just focusing on the education side and how well we're doing but, at the same time, they're really dismissing racism. ethnic minorities in the uk are under appreciated, - under represented, overly . marginalised, overly vilified. ithe privileges that exist for otherl people means that people of colour

and ethnic minorities have to work harder and have to try harder. - what the report actually seeks to do is gaslight black and other minority ethnic people in the uk by telling us that institutional racism is a myth. with so much of today's report focusing on the advantages of doing well at school, academics say the road to success isn'tjust rooted in education. in a meritocracy, the idea is that you get at what you put in. so, if you do well at school, if you work hard, you will be rewarded in the world of work. and we know that that is not so for ethnic minorities, for women, for disadvantaged groups, and that's why they're disadvantaged — because there are so many barriers. the report concludes that the uk is a model for other white majority countries, but for this group, they believe there's still so much more work to do. i think the uk has done a lot for racial injustice, but to call it a model is going too far. i look at positions

that people hold. i don't see anyone that looks like me in those positions. so how can i be optimistic, when i've not seen anything really change in that respect? shaun ending adina's report there. today's study made a total of 2a recommendations. here are some of them. on criminaljustice, it called for better training for police, more community recruitment, and more accountability when officers use stop—and—search powers. it called for a new office to tackle health disparities in the uk — something further exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. on schools, it recommended a more inclusive curriculum, and better intervention for disadvantaged pupils. and it said the acronym bame, black asian and minority ethnic, was an unhelpful term that should no longer be used. our home editor, mark easton, examines the possible impact of today's report on the long—standing debate over racial equality.

injune last year, the black lives matter protest reached the gates of downing street. borisjohnson knew he had to respond to the clamour on the streets and announced an inquiry into racism in britain, but with the aim of calming anxieties and concerns. what i really want to do as prime minister is change the narrative, so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination. his tone could hardly have been more different to his predecessor in number 10, theresa may, who had spoken of the burning injustice of racial disparities. if you're black, you're treated more harshly by the criminaljustice system than if you're white. mrs may went to work immediately. this is a problem that i think we do have to confront. she set up the government's race disparities audit to shine a light on institutional racism, but a close ally of boris johnson was unimpressed. munira mirza, who went on to become

mrjohnson�*s top policy adviser in number 10, had written of how institutional racism was "a perception more than a reality". in an article in the spectator magazine, she said... the appointment of tony sewell as the commission chair led antiracism activists in south london to try and have him removed because of what they regarded as his previous rejection of institutional racism. the conclusions of today's report came as no surprise to them. it will anger people and i think people are going to go back to the streets, back to their communities, to start reorganising. so, yes, i believe it's a stitch up. the problem for the commission, based at the cabinet office, is one of credibility. the prime minister, in welcoming the report today, spoke of the its positive agenda, but there are many who would argue that a better starting point would be an understanding of the negative impacts of race and racism, the lived experience of black and minority ethnic communities.

the claim in the report that there's no evidence for institutional racism in the uk has proved particularly controversial. of course, we all acknowledge the steps and the progress that has been made, and that is a good thing, but there's a long way to go yet and i don't think this is the time to sit back and say, "job done." there have been questions too about the release of the commission's findings, with selected lines handed to the press 18 hours before the full report was released. journalists and academics were unable to check the workings and assumptions of the commission before the headlines hit today's front pages. the purpose of the report was to look at what was causing disparities, so that we can find policy options that will tackle them. the commission was independent. there were ten commissioners who come from a broad range of professions, all practitioners. chanting: "black lives matter!" the report's findings offer an important perspective and thinking on the complexities

of race and social mobility. but without buy in from black and minority ethnic communities, it risks deepening divides rather than building a new consensus. mark easton, bbc news. and adina is here now. this report was commissioned after the black lives matter protests, with all the issues about race inequality that threw up. where has it now left us? if we look back at the events of last summer when the conversation about race really dominated headlines because of the scale of the black lives matter protests, the announcement of this review could not have come at a better time, when so many people felt undervalued and excluded. but the conclusions of this report, which many were hoping would go to some way to understand what it is like being from an ethnic minority background in the uk, it was not received well by race campaigners, unions and some business leaders who overwhelmingly felt that it minimised and dismissed the real discrimination and the

inequalities these communities are facing. the report does point to the progress that has been made, how the education system is helping some ethnic minority groups flourish at school. but the issue of race is always contentious and today's reports, according to campaigners, does not go far enough.— reports, according to campaigners, does not go far enough. thank you. our community _ does not go far enough. thank you. our community affairs _ does not go far enough. thank you. i our community affairs correspondent, adina campbell. president macron of france has announced a toughening of restrictions in the face of a surge in the number of covid cases. measures already in place in paris and in some other areas will be extended nationwide, and schools will be shut for at least three weeks. our paris correspondent, lucy williamson, reports. paris today is a tale of two cities. a sense of freedom in the streets. in hospitals, a sense of deja vu. with more than 5,000 patients in intensive care, france is already above normal saturation level.

in this small paris unit today, all nine life—support beds were full. translation: the thing that worries | us a lot is that protective measuresl are not being respected. when the weather's good, we see people walking by the seine, all crammed together, or shopping in the market without any protection, and we know that in these kinds of situations, the government has trouble enforcing the restrictions. 79—year—old madeleine arrived here after refusing the astrazeneca jab. she didn't trust it with all her underlying conditions, she told me. but while waiting for the pfizer one, she caught covid. has it changed her mind about the astrazeneca vaccine? non, non. "no," she said. it's here in the capital's life—support units that pressure on president macron has been sharpest. some doctors have warned of an impending health disaster, saying they could soon be forced to choose which patients live and which die.

tonight, mr macron admitted france needed to toughen the rules. from saturday, everyone will have to stay local and schools will close for up to a month. translation: we did everything we could to take these decisionsl as late as possible and only when they became strictly necessary. that time is now. but i would also like to tell you this evening that, thanks to the vaccine, we can see the way out of the crisis. with transfers from the worst—hit areas already begun, doctors have been calling for a third national lockdown. the light restrictions currently in place in areas like paris, they say, aren't clear or powerful enough. but these are the rules now being rolled out across france. we don't understand them any more. we're like, are we quarantined or not? we don't really understand, so we're going out without really knowing. but, yeah, what i think isjust, like, maybe it would be better to go home, but on the other side i want to be out. after weeks of criticism over his strategy, president macron

is facing a nation divided, between those who say they can't face another lockdown and those who can't face another wave. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's take a look at the latest uk government coronavirus figures. there were 4,052 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — on average 4,844 new cases were reported per day in the last week. there are 4,176 patients in hospital with covid—i9 — the lowest it's been since beginning of october. 43 deaths were reported in the latest 24 hour period — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week, 47 deaths were announced every day — again, back to the levels we saw at the start of october. the total number of

deaths is now 126,713. as for vaccinations, more than 224,000 people have had their firstjab in the latest 24—hour period, bringing the total to nearly 31 million. and over 4.1 million people, have now had both doses. pfizer says trials of its covid vaccine for children suggest it is safe — with no unusual side effects — and 100% effective. the trials were carried out in the united states on 2,260 adolescents aged between 12 and 15. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, will tomorrow set out his timetable for relaxing covid restrictions. he's due to give details of when pubs and restaurants can begin to reopen, and when movement between england and wales can restart. lets get the latest from our correspondent tomos morgan in cardiff.

what do the details say? let me start with the _ what do the details say? let me start with the things _ what do the details say? let me start with the things we - what do the details say? let me start with the things we were . start with the things we were expecting to be announced and which will be confirmed by mark drakeford tomorrow. april 12, travel in and out of wales will be allowed, or face—to—face education it will be able to go ahead and the rest of the high street shops and beauty parlours will reopen. on the 26th of april outdoor hospitality will be able to restart and on the 3rd of may the following week, it is expected that other e—zines will happen and they will include groups of up to 30 people outside including wedding receptions outside and the following week, the tense, gyms will reopen and household mixing, insight, and on the 17th of fitness classes and indoor activities will start with groups of up to 15 people. indoor hospitality is hoped to restart sometime before the bank holiday at the end of may. the welsh tories and the lib dems have been calling for a date for hospitality

for some time and they have now been given that by mark drakeford. plaid cymru have also called for gyms to reopen although it looks like it will be a month after they do so in england. these things have been caveat and by the fact that virus rates need to remain low and hospital admissions need to remain low and of course the vaccination rates continue to remain high. thanks forjoining us. the trial of derek chauvin, the police officer accused of killing george floyd in minneapolis last year, has been shown new footage of mr floyd, including police body camera video, in the time just before his death. derek chauvin has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of manslaughter. let's go to our correspondent aleem maqbool who has been watching the evidence. we have seen today some of the strongest video evidence we are likely to see at any point during this trial as the prosecution seeks to build a timeline of the final

moments in the life of george floyd. it is video evidence sadly and some of which has been included in this report, which some viewers may find distressing. derek chauvin on the right here watched with the rest of the court this now haunting footage, of george floyd dressed in black seen for the first time in the shop where the sad series of events began. a shop assistant, 19—year—old christopher martin, said mr floyd seemed physically well and in good spirits, if a little disorientated and high. george floyd is seen moving to the cigarette counter where he uses what is suspected to have been a forged note, though christopher martin accepted it, saying he thought george floyd wasn't aware of it being fake. the manager of the shop asked that the police be called.

more footage showed officers pulling george floyd from his car and later being handcuffed and led further up the road. charles mcmillan was another eyewitness to take to the stand and his voice is heard in some of the most distressing video of the day. indistinct voices. if you get in this car, we can talk! george floyd is soon seen being pushed to the ground by officers. indistinct voices. mr mcmillan, do you need a minute? it's clear what happened that day last may has had a life changing impact on so many. a crowd soon gathered and among the bystanders was the young cashier who had alerted his manager about the fake note. what was going through your time during that time period? disbelief. and guilt. why guilt? if i had just not taken the bill,

this could have been avoided. it's been hard for many to hear teenagers talk of their guilt over george floyd's death when the reminders of the actions of the man on trial are inescapable. aleem maqbool, bbc news. an immediate review of safeguarding policies in both state and private schools is to be carried out by ofsted — after thousands of current and former pupils went online to share their experiences of sexual abuse. and from tomorrow, a new helpline run by the nspcc will give advice and support to those who have been abused or harassed. here's our education correspondent dan johnson. these are young women finally given a voice. there are now more than 11,000 of these anonymous accounts.

harassment, abuse and assault, mostly by their own classmates. there have been protests and walk—outs and a sense some schools have protected reputations before pupils. now, there will be action. the reason we have asked ofsted to do it is to look right across the spectrum of safeguarding policies, what more needs to be done, what more can we do to safeguard the interests of children, whether those are in state schools or in independent schools, as well. those behind the website said they are encouraged by the response but added... the nspcc�*s helpline will open tomorrow morning. i think there's lots more young

people who haven't necessarily felt able to come forward, so the potential is there that this could just be the tip of the iceberg but we are very much prepared to support young people through this and ensure that their voices are being heard. they are aware this could eclipse any previous major scandal and it may raise wider issues about male attitudes and the standard of sex and relationship education. it needs to tackle topics like pornography, consent, what constitutes a healthy or an unhealthy relationship? and, i'm afraid, that young people are still saying it's not good enough, there are those gaps in the curriculum. this national conversation about how some men treat women now reaches to the youngest, who haven't felt safe even at school. dan johnson, bbc news. that nspcc helpline will open at 9:00am tomorrow morning and the number is 0800136 663.

the bbc�*s china correspondent, john sudworth, has left the country and moved with his family to taiwan following pressure and threats from the chinese authorities. he's faced threats of legal action, heavy surveillance, and intimidation, particularly for his award—winning reports on the treatment of the uighur people. chinese state media outlets continue to run stories denouncing his work. one of the biggest changes triggered by brexit has been our trading relationship with the european union, a new reality that is now three months old. some businesses that export to the eu, are struggling to adjust to this changed commercial landscape, outside the customs union and the single market. our business editor, simonjack, has been talking to two export companies about how they've coped. it's three months since the uk and eu went their separate ways. exports immediately plunged 40% in january as covid compounded difficulties

with the new trade rules. three months on, were these just teething problems or something more permanent? meet exporters to the eu, sarah and scott. over half of scott's sales of specialist gifts are to eu customers. complications with paperwork, customs and logistics saw multiple shipments turned back in a chaoticjanuary. although things have stabilised, he's still facing extra costs and delays. there were teething issues, certainly. but they were just part of the underlying problems which still haven't gone away. the solution — he's opening a site in belgium. splitting off part of our business, and sending it to belgium, probably means that further growth is going to be happening there, instead of taking on new staff here, we're taking on new staff there. instead of making more profit and paying more tax here, we'll do so there. so, basically, everyone is losing out here. scott's not alone. countries across the eu

are reporting increased investment from uk firms, with the netherlands emerging as a favourite destination. injanuary, 40 companies showed interest in the netherlands because of brexit. in february, it doubled to 80 companies. talking about administrative hurdles, supply chain related problems, licensing issues. so, yeah, those problems are real, and that's why companies are showing interest in the netherlands as well as in other countries. the massive challenges of january were arguably felt as much here, at warehouse level, as they were at the ports. now, some of these issues have been resolved, but the additional cost and complexity of dealing with our biggest trading partner is permanent. this company's plan to open premises in the eu was once considered a worst case scenario contingency — they're going ahead. but that's not an option for many other firms. sarah sells nutritional products for horses. her eu business has collapsed from 180 orders a month to three. an order shipped to sweden in january still hasn't arrived after multiple requests for more paperwork.

as of today, if a customer actually orders from europe, we can't actually get it to them, and in some instances we can't get it to them at all, and in other instances they get charged such a large amount of import duty that they're just not going to do that, we're going to lose that custom. sarah considered an eu base but said it was too expensive. it's unrealistic to, say, set up some kind of warehousing when you haven't got the finances or the manpower. we would have to employ new people — how are we going to employ new people when we just lost £300,000 worth business? remember, nearly half of all uk exports go to the eu. the government's promised new trade deals around the world. meanwhile, it's set up a £20 million brexit support fund and a network of 300 trade experts to help — acknowledgement perhaps that what was once easy and cheap, now isn't. simon jack, bbc news. the green party has launched

its local election campaign, promising a �*green recovery�* from the pandemic. the party's co—leader jonathan bartley said people "desperately need hope" after an "incredibly tough year" and that the party would campaign in england for more greenjobs, affordable public transport, and warmer homes. the takeaway delivery firm deliveroo has had a tumultous first day of trading on the london stock exchange, with its shares falling by nearly 25%. around £2 billion was wiped off the value of the company. so what is going on? our technology correspondent rory cellanjones is with me. what is going on? this should have been a landmark _ what is going on? this should have been a landmark day _ what is going on? this should have been a landmark day not _ what is going on? this should have been a landmark day notjust - what is going on? this should have been a landmark day notjust for. been a landmark day notjust for deliveroo but for the wider uk tech sector, a company founded here eight years ago and choosing to float, in london rather than new york, but as soon as the shares started trading it became clear that the markets confidence in the business was pretty fragile. yes, it has grown order is rapidly during the pandemic but it is continuing to lose large

amounts of money and then there's the question of whether like uber it might be forced to improve pay and conditions, but it says it is a different case, although investors do not seem certain. other companies have had bad beginnings on the stock market, like facebook, and then gone on to do pretty well, but unlike facebook, which is in a very lucrative online ad market, it is having to compete against the likes ofjust having to compete against the likes of just eat and having to compete against the likes ofjust eat and uber eats in a business in which it is very difficult to make money. thanks for “oininu us. the husband of the social media star nicole thea has given his first interview since her death. nicole was just 24 when she died last year, eight months pregnant. her son was delivered by medics, but the boy died soon after birth. she had hundreds of thousands of followers, gaining popularity through her dance and beauty videos. her partner, musician global boga has been speaking with my newsbeat colleague joice etutu. me, i met my queen,

like my guardian angel, and in two years itjust vanished. injuly 2020 dancer and social media influencer nicole thea passed away. she was eight months pregnant at the time. her baby boy was delivered by medics. his father wanted us to share this picture just before his son, a boy they called reign, also died. how cute is this? this is what he's going to wear when he's coming home, definitely. but this is what he's going to wear when he comes out. when he comes out... 0k. ..please put that top on my small boy. this is so soft. musician global boga made regular appearances on her youtube channel. he's using music to help him grieve. we met up with him at a covid safe music video shoot in his first interview since their deaths. what's the one thing you will miss the most about nicole? nicole's love. she showed me the kind of thing, like, no matter what you're going through, we are one.

and you're ok, do you know what i'm saying? if i had the biggest problem, it was never a problem. investigations into exactly what caused the death of nicole and her baby are still ongoing. when i close my eyes like this right now, it's the last moment of what happened, me and her, so when i close my eyes that is literally all i see. i have to open my eyes because i don't want to get to the end of that because it still doesn't make sense. hey, guys. boga, how has your life been impacted by the loss of nicole and baby reign? i didn't think i was going to make it. because what else have i got? i've been in this country alone, alone, and it's been so hard. both: three, two, one... yes! cheering. as the one—year anniversary of the death of nicole and reign approaches, the family are still searching for answers. the family say they can't see any more about the circumstances as they are going through legal proceedings to find out how

and why this happened. joice etutu, bbc news.