this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri. the headlines... dozens of mps call on the government to abandon any idea of vaccine passports to help reopen the economy in england. we're talking about having to show paperwork within the uk to go to the pub or restaurants where a hospitality venue, that is eight or measure we've never seen in this country. measure we've never seen in this count . . ., don't gather in large groups just because restrictions have eased. that's the warning from police in england this easter weekend. the netherlands suspends the use of the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine for people under the age of 60, because of concerns about rare blood clots. the trial resumes of the police officer accused of killing george floyd in minneapolis last year, with the prosecution questioning a city police sergeant.

at least 50 people have been killed after a train derailed and crashed in a tunnel in taiwan. wildlife conservationists warn people to keep their distance from seals, over concerns that disturbing and scaring them can lead to harm. and coming up on sportsday, the latest on the cancellation of a diving test event injapan ahead of this summer's olympics, after concerns about athlete safety. good evening. more than 70 mps, including 41 conservatives, have condemned the idea of vaccine passports for entry into public venues or workplaces in england. the policy, which would mean people showing a certificate confirming their covid status,

has been described as "divisive" and "discriminatory". the government is said to be considering testing such a scheme at several major events. downing street says no final decision has yet been made. our political correspondent nick eardley has more. what would you do to get back in here? in a busy pub again, sharing lunch or a drink with friends. it's one of the questions the government is looking at just now, and whether proof you had a vaccine or a negative test could reduce, maybe even removed, the need for social distancing. i think it's a good idea, but with all things, it needs testing. ijust don't, i don't know. i feel like it would create a division in society, personally. i would love to, - because i work in a pub. some sort of vaccine passport looks likely for international

travel, but they're more controversial mystically. a wide—ranging group of mps, including former labour and tory leaders, have spoken out today, warning... the government will take on board the level of concern about this across parliament and it will avoid what i think would be a huge infringement of our civil liberties and unnecessary. the culture secretary is trying to figure out how more people can get back into theatres like this one in wolverhampton. this is not about a vaccine passport, it is about looking at ways of proving that you are covid secure, whether you have had a test or have had the vaccine. clearly, no decisions have been made because we have to weigh up different factors, the ethical considerations and so on, but it may be a way of getting more people back to doing the things they love and being in fantastic institutions like this. there will be pilots in england

in the next few weeks to gather evidence, which could include the fa cup final at wembley. the prime minister will give an update on the government's thinking on monday. over the past year, we have got used to the government making massive decisions which have a big impact on individualfreedoms, but as society slowly opens up again, we face another big question — is it fair to ask people to prove they have been vaccinated or had a negative test to pop into the pub or out for dinner? if they do happen, domestic vaccine passport would be vaccine passports would be temporary, and they might not be used everywhere. some devolved governments are yet to be convinced they would be affected. they would be effective. we will also find out more on monday about the government strategy for allowing holidays are gone, which is likely to include a traffic light system, different restrictions based on different prevalence of the virus in each country. we've started getting some of our freedoms back,

but the road ahead isn't simple. let's speak to professor linda bauld, a professor of public health at the university of edinburgh. thank you so much forjoining us. let me ask you first of all, how realistic do you think it is to expect these vaccine certificates or passports to actually happen? weill. passports to actually happen? well, i think israel— passports to actually happen? well, i think israel is _ passports to actually happen? well, i think israel is using _ passports to actually happen? well, i think israel is using a _ passports to actually happen? well, i think israel is using a model- passports to actually happen? -ii i think israel is using a model like this. their green pass, distributing to people who have had either both doses of the vaccine or can show evidence of a recent negative test, or indeed have had a prior infection. a spectrum of bits of evidence, and maybe using that... there vaccine roll—out is ahead of us to give people access. but there are also inequalities with israel in terms of who is being vaccinated. i think as nick was saying, for international travel, we will have something like this. but in terms of

using it as a way of getting back into social lois, my colleagues and others have said that will be very tricky indeed —— so social life. inequalities in terms of who has been getting the vaccine? let’s inequalities in terms of who has been getting the vaccine? let's look at the immediate _ been getting the vaccine? let's look at the immediate term _ been getting the vaccine? let's look at the immediate term and - been getting the vaccine? let's look at the immediate term and the - been getting the vaccine? let's look. at the immediate term and the longer term. at the moment, it's a big problem because in terms of the proportions of the population who have had both doses, a .6%, —— 86%. to introduce something like this now you will have lows of people who are not protected in the way we would wish, and we know there inequalities in uptake. but looking longer term, there will still be groups who haven't had a vaccine or for example, lose their certificate or alternatively, don't trust authorities are very good reasons that are historic and don't want to engage with it, including something that would deter vaccination as in being forced to get vaccinated and think about boosters in the future

to get the certification. i think it is really difficult and if something is really difficult and if something is introduced, and he is incredibly careful thought and consultation with lots of different groups. if it isn't introduced, how does one reopen society, reopen businesses in a way that provides a safety in terms of covid—i9? in a way that provides a safety in terms of covid-19?— a way that provides a safety in terms of covid-19? in the short term, terms of covid-19? in the short term. we _ terms of covid-19? in the short term, we have _ terms of covid-19? in the short term, we have the _ terms of covid-19? in the short term, we have the public - terms of covid-19? in the short| term, we have the public health measures in place, but in terms of a key sector as we are hearing from the culture secretary then, let's look across europe and look at some of the workers on their way to get people back into concerts, theatres, festivals, etc. that will be much more about evidence of a recent negative test. i think we will see much more taxing and using that as we are —— more testing. there are groups of staff whom we will absolutely want proof of vaccine status, health care professionals, some of the marty need to provide proof of hepatitis b —— some of them already. we need to talk about

looking for ways to get key sectors up looking for ways to get key sectors up and running again, test and trace giving people's details, etc. these or other mechanisms i can be used. there'll be a difference in appetite that passport may give you from someone visiting a nightclub, compared to working there. that's absolutely the _ compared to working there. that's absolutely the case. _ compared to working there. that's absolutely the case. i _ compared to working there. that's absolutely the case. i think... - absolutely the case. i think... where they bought advance notice, having to engage with something, that's correct. but i think also we need to look at thinking about the service sector and when younger people would get vaccinated, and it's not right to say all the people who go in and show a certificate have had both doses and younger people are not eligible, yet they are the ones that are working in that section. you can see how tricky this is. i don't think anyone is rolling this out, ijust think all the different angles need careful consideration.— the different angles need careful consideration. ., ~ , ., , . consideration. thank you very much indeed. four more countries have been added to the "red list" of countries, which requires

visitors to self—isolate at government approved hotels for ten days on arrival in britain. the philippines, pakistan, kenya and bangladesh will be added at 4am on friday, the 9th of april after new data showed an increased risk from new coronavirus variants in those countries. the latest government figures show there were 3,402 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — that means on average 4,172 new cases were reported per day in the last week. that's down by around a third on this time last week. there are 3,723 patients in hospital with covid i9. 52 deaths were reported in the latest 24—hour period, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week, 43 deaths were announced every day, taking the total number to 126,816.

0n vaccinations, almost 154,000 people have had theirfirstjab, in the latest 24—hour period, bringing the total to just over 31.3million. and almost 5 million people have now had two doses. police in england have warned people not to gather in large groups over the easter break, with millions expected to enjoy the first weekend of eased restrictions to meet up with family and friends. mairead smith reports. a glorious good friday in liverpool's sefton park. birthdays no longer in lockdown. michaela turned 30 today. yeah, it'sjust more like chilled out. i can actually get outside and stuff and see people, so it'sjust easier and more like relaxed rather than just trying to do stuff at home. if i was at home, i'd probablyjust get a takeaway and chill out or something, so it's just good to like sit with people, i suppose.

i'm dead excited, because i haven't been able to see everyone for ages, so it wasjust nice to be able to put something together for them. today's bank holiday is the first chance for many people to meet with friends and family since lockdown restrictions eased on monday, but health experts are warning it's important to stick to the rules of two households or six people together if we are to continue along the road map. merseyside police say patrols will happen in popular places like this. happen in popular places like this, keen to keep numbers down and people apart. a plan echoed by forces up and down the country. we're trying to tread that line between the rules changing and people being able to enjoyjust those slight relaxations, but at the same time, trying to make sure that people don't think it's ok to go back to how it was before, everything's totally normal, because that's when we start to affect public health issues that have been so prevalent. and in scotland, today is the start of new rules. stay at home changed to stay

local, now the same as wales, but any change to that message in northern ireland is still more than a week away. back in liverpool, the easing of lockdown lifting the spirits of people in this park. i love coming here, it's one of my highlights of 2021. i love it here. i love the park, the people, and i love meeting them. hopefully we won't go into another lockdown, and it will stay open, everyone will behave. fingers crossed. mairead smith, bbc news. the uk medicines watchdog says it has identified only 30 cases of rare blood clots in people who've had the astrazeneca covid jab — that's out of more than 18 million doses. the mhra says the benefits of vaccines continue to outweigh any risks. but the netherlands has become the latest eu country to announce a pause in astrazeneca injections for the under—60s. 0ur science correspondent

rebecca morelle told me that while the uk regulator is investigating, a link between the rare blood clots and the vaccine hasn't been proven. these clots are unusual in that they're associated with low platelet levels, which are a type of blood cell that normally causes bleeding, not plotting. and they can affect the brain too. whether these are happening naturally, whether they're happening naturally, whether they�* re a happening naturally, whether they're a really rare reaction to the astrazeneca jab. the incident is low, so 30 cases out of 80 million jabs. 0ne low, so 30 cases out of 80 million jabs. one in every 6000 hundred vaccine. the uk regulators have been two cases of brain blood clots with the pfizer vaccine, but these don't have the low platelet counts associated with them, so they're slightly different. but these clots have caused some countries to actually restrict who they give the vaccine too, so today the netherlands has announced that it's

not going to be giving astrazeneca to people under the age of 60. germany are doing the same thing, but the uk is continuing with its vaccine roll—out. the uk regulator stresses along with the european medicines agency and the who that the benefits of having the vaccination and the production they offer from coronavirus far, vaccination and the production they offerfrom coronavirus far, far outweigh the potential risks. so their message is if you are offer their message is if you are offer the vaccination, take up that offer. these are the headlines. organisations represent covid vaccine passports. morning from police in england not to gather in large groups this easter weekend just because restrictions have eased. the netherlands becomes the latest country to suspend the use of the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine for people under the age of 60. it's over concerns about rare blood clots.

the trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin has paused for the easter weekend. derek chauvin is accused of killing george floyd by kneeling on his neck last may in a case that triggered worldwide protests over racial inequality. the defence contends it was floyd's drug use and underlying health conditions that led to his death. live to our correspondent lebo diseko — she's in minneapolis. bring us up—to—date with the trial so far. bring us up-to-date with the trial so far. ., ., ., bring us up-to-date with the trial so far. ., .,, , bring us up-to-date with the trial sofar. ., , , . so far. today has been very much about the police _ so far. today has been very much about the police response, - so far. today has been very much about the police response, so - so far. today has been very much about the police response, so we| about the police response, so we heard from the head of the minneapolis homicide department. he is one of the most senior and longest—serving, most respected officers on this force. he said that what derek show vended in kneeling on george floyd's next was totally unnecessary, totally uncalled for —— derek chauvin. in his 30 will five

years on this force, he's never been trained to kneel on someone's neck, and that is because it constitutes deadly force. he also talked about the fact that once somebody is in handcuffs, the threat level they pose goes down and that officers have a duty of care to that person. their safety is your responsibility, he said. it is worth noticing that lieutenant zimmerman is one of a group of 1a officers that wrote an open letter back injune two derek chauvin saying what he had done was wrong and that it does not represent them. it's not who we are, it said. this week, this is the into the weekend it's been a week of quite harrowing testimony. we have seen unseen footage from the body camera that the four officers were wearing. also footed of —— footage of george floyd's last moment. as the

prosecution tries to counter... perhaps the most striking testimony came from witnesses, many of them children, talking about what they do scene and saying that they still carry guilt with them, thinking about had they done things differently, if they done things differently, if they done things differently, if they intervene, perhaps george floyd would be alive today. perhaps george floyd would be alive toda . . ~ perhaps george floyd would be alive toda . ., ~ ,., perhaps george floyd would be alive toda . . ~' ,. , perhaps george floyd would be alive toda. ., , . oxfam says it has suspended two members of staff in the democratic republic of congo over allegations of sexual exploitation and bullying. the charity said the suspensions were part of an "external investigation" set up in november into the allegations. the charity was allowed only last month to resume applying for funding from the uk aid budget, after claims of serious sexual misconduct in haiti. the labour mp sarah champion chairs the house of commons international development committee. she says this will damage the reputation of the aid industry.

unfortunately, it is going to knock people's confidence and that is a great shame because the aid sector does the most unbelievably amazing work. it saves lives, it empowers people around the world, it gives them prosperity and a future. but we have to accept that these are incredibly vulnerable people. there is a massive power imbalance in the relationship between the donors, the aid workers and people that are in receipt of their support. and so, right from the very beginning of every project, safeguarding needs to be embedded and until we see that happening as an absolute automatic, until we see the very people that are there to receive the aid being viewed as partners, as people who know best how to both invest the money but also build in the safeguardings, these scandals are just going to keep on coming up. and i don't understand why the aid sector as a whole doesn't address this once and for all. and that's why it pains me that this has happened to oxfam,

because i know they have been trying to really uncover all examples of where there are weaknesses in their system and change them. and that's part of the problem. you have to accept that, because you're dealing with vulnerable people, there is always the potential. what worries me more is the organisations that aren't looking for abuse. i think every organisation needs to assume that there is that potential and do something about it. helen evans was oxfam's global head of safeguarding until she resigned in 2015. she reported concerns to the charity commission in 2015 and 2017. she told me what she thought of the latest developments well, i think incredibly concerning but sadly, also not so surprising. what we uncovered back in 2015, this issue is systemic, and it's going to take many, many years for the aid sector to get on top of it. i think what worries me in this case

is the people who raise these concerns said they've been raising them for several years and they've not been acted on, and when they were acted on, the people who were at the heart of them weren't suspended. and it's really concerning that it's got to the point where they felt they had no option but to take this to the press, and so much more needs to be done. something i really believe is absolutely critical is the establishment of aid ombusmen. we can no longer rely on the mechanisms we have in place. it's absolutely critical we have a dedicated body to ensure that the aid sector can really get on top of this. how do you think this has been able to happen within an international aid organisation like oxfam, not only in haiti, but also now in democratic republic of congo? this has been an issue for many, many years. it was back in 2002 this issue was first exposed with the west africa food for sex scandal. it came up again in haiti. it's a long—standing issue that's going to take a long time to get on top of.

i think there have been really important steps in the right direction since 2018, but there's still a long way to go. and i think in my view, we still are not on top of the governance of this and we need to put in place a body to really hold the aid sector to account. until that happens, ijust don't think we're going to see all the changes that we need to ensure that people are kept safe, because as sarah champion said, the aid sector plays such an important role. it is vital, but we've got to ensure it gets its house in order, and this report today shows there's further still to go. and what's the role of the charity commission in all this, then? so, the charity commission is there principally dealing with uk—based charities, but when this comes to incidents overseas, it is just not set up to do that and it's also not set up to go and investigate on a case—by—case basis. it's just... in terms of small uk charities, that's its principal role.

these are charities with income of three, £400 million, operating over many countries in complex working environments. it needs a regulator and an aid ombudsman who is set up to deal with those complexities, and that's just not the charity commission. how big a problem do you think sexual abuse is in the aid sector? yeah, so, when i resigned from oxfam, my view was it was systemic in the organisation, but it isn'tjust oxfam, an issue across the sector that hadn't been gotten on top of. it is a widespread issue and a widespread issue that's going to take time to really root out that small minority of people who join these organisations to abuse. and i would echo sarah champion's point — there are a lot of people there who are doing an amazing job in very difficult situations, but there is a minority who do abuse and we need to root them out, as we've seen in many different institutions. finally, the world is waking up

to the issue of sexual exploitation, and we need to get these people out and ensure these people are not able to join these organisations going forward. at least 50 people have been killed in a passenger train crash in taiwan. hundreds of others were trapped in the wreckage. the train, packed with local tourists, derailed in a tunnel after a maintenance vehicle reportedly slid onto the tracks. our correspondent john sudworth reports. the train travelling south from taiwan's capital and along the island's mountainous east coast was packed with people ahead of what is a long holiday weekend here. as it entered a tunnel, it's believed to have been derailed by a truck that slipped onto the track from a nearby construction site. rescuers worked to free those trapped in carriages ripped apart by the impact. reports suggest that, with almost 500 people on board,

many were standing and were tossed about by the impact. "the truck slid off the road and crashed into the train," this rescue worker says. "now, all the front carriages are damaged." passengers in those carriages less damaged by the impact were able to walk to safety. but the mangled wreckage inside the tunnel meant those inside had to use the roof of the train to escape. ambulance ferried dozens of injured people to local hospitals. "my whole body fell to the floor. "i hit my head and it started bleeding," this woman says. "there was no space on the sides of the tunnel. "we had to climb onto the carriage roof to get out." taiwan's premier, su tseng—chang, visited the scene, while the president, tsai ing—wen, described

the incident as heartbreaking. taiwan's state—owned railways are generally reliable and efficient, but with a record marred by a number of fatal accidents over the years. this is being described as the worst in at least four decades. john sudworth, bbc news, taipei. wildlife conservationists are warning people not to disturb any seals they may come across on the coast over the easter weekend. it's part of a government—backed campaign by the seal alliance, which says getting too close can lead to seals being injured and even dying. john maguire has this report. clearly fearful and distressed, a herd of seals is fleeing the land, heading for the safety of the sea. it's not always an easy journey, but seals can be spooked easily by people — or their dogs — getting too close. it's the youngest seals that are the most vulnerable, with only around a quarter of them

surviving to adulthood. injury—wise, they're either the young pups who get bashed around in the storms and separated from their mums, orfrom litter — so entanglements in fishing lines, nets. and one of the worst injuries we see is actually the dog frisbee hoops — the seals play with them, they put them over their necks and then they grow into them and they can be really severe injuries. and as the latest lockdown restrictions ease, conservationists are asking people out walking on the coastline to give the animals adequate space. people can disturb them if they are awake and alert or they're moving, then they've been disturbed. and obviously the worst situations are when they crash off the beaches and rocks into the sea and they can damage themselves, cause themselves injury. and all the while that's happening, they're not getting the rest they should be getting. well, we're all well used to seeing these warning signs around the coastline telling you about beaches, hazards in the sea, undertows, things like that. increasingly now you'll see these

signs saying give seals space — reminding people to ensure they don't get too close to wildlife. last year's first full lockdown has been credited as one reason why some colonies around our coasts have thrived, having been left alone for weeks on end. but the case of freddie the seal, who died after being attacked by a dog off the lead on the banks of the river thames last month, has highlighted the potential risks to the wild animals of trying to live too close to people. john maguire, bbc news. breaking news from the us capital. we're getting reports at the moment of some sort of incident around the capitol building in washington. reports suggest that there's a significant police presence with stretchers being seen some

reporters. nbc news in the us is calling it a security incident and there are reports that the entire area is in lockdown. we don't have much more information as yet, but of course the us is on high alert, after those protests turn to riots back on the 6th of january. a lot of police presence around there. we've also had a tweet from our north america editor, jon sopel, and he hasjust tweeted in america editor, jon sopel, and he has just tweeted in the last few minutes describing this as breaking news. he says capital on lockdown. people told to take cover, reports of shots being fired. he's retweeted a video of what looks to be a helicopter landing or coming in somewhere around the capitol building. we've only had a few reports so far from the likes ofjon sopel reports so far from the likes ofjon sopel, and of course from other news reports as well. as we said, the

area that this is in of washington, dc is where congress is situated. it's where the us government is situated. it also contains other key sites around the capitol building, including the us supreme court, the library of congress as well as office buildings in the area of lawmakers and their staff. so this is the live shop of the capitol building. we haven't got a shot that takes a closer to what's happening, but we do know that reports are suggesting that the area around their is currently in lockdown. what we know so far from reports their is currently in lockdown. what we know so farfrom reports is their is currently in lockdown. what we know so far from reports is that a car has tried to crash a barrier into one of the security barriers around the capitol building, that is the latest we are getting on the situation. as i mentioned, there were protests on the 6th of january in that area which led to crowds of trump supporters breaking in and

rioting throughout the us capitol. since that day, which of course is the country's most important building, there has been very much heightened security around the building. the latest we are getting now is that two police officers who were guarding the area at the time have been hit by a vehicle. that same vehicle which reportedly drove into security barriers. this is the latest that we're getting on the situation. we don't have much more on that at the moment, but what we can tell you is that our north america editorjon sopel has tweeted that this is breaking news. capital in lockdown, people told to take cover, so clearly this is an ongoing situation. what we do know is that the car apparently has tried to drive into a security barrier in the

capitol building. this of course as