tonight at ten — a trial into the safety of the astrazeneca vaccine in children has been partly suspended while checks are made. experts say there are no safety concerns in the children's trial but they're waiting for a review of cases of rare blood clots in adults who've been vaccinated. the prime minister, visiting an astrazeneca facility today, said he had faith in the independent regulator and that people should have faith in the vaccine. the best thing people should do is look at what the mhra say, they are our independent regulator, and their advice to people is to keep going out there and get yourjab, get your second jab. we'll be asking how this latest development is likely to affect confidence in the vaccine.

also tonight... covid passports, or certificates, are almost certain to be needed for foreign travel, but ministers say the domestic picture in england is not so clear. the russian opposition figure, alexei navalny, in prison since his trial last month, is still on hunger strike, and his lawyer says he is seriously ill. this is the prison where he is being held behind these walls. we can't go any further but he has been getting messages out through his lawyers and in each one of them he has been talking about how his health is deteriorating. and de bruyne is there! and in tonight's champions league quarter—finals, manchester city respond to a late blow, whilst liverpool do their best to get an away result. and coming up in sport, on the bbc news channel, it's a big night in the championship, too, where the leaders norwich score five in the first half against huddersfield to go eight points clear.

good evening. a trial of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine on children has been partly suspended while scientists investigate a possible link with rare blood clots in adults. the university of oxford has told the bbc that there are no safety concerns with the trial itself but that scientists were waiting for further information. the medicines regulator, the mhra, is reviewing rare cases of thrombosis that have been reported in adults who've been vaccinated. parents and children are being told to continue to attend all scheduled visits and the prime minister borisjohnson has urged people to get their vaccination, when invited, to reduce the risk of a third wave of infections, as our medical editor fergus walsh reports. nearly 300 children aged 6—17

are taking part in the astrazeneca vaccine trial in england which began in february. oxford university said there had been no blood clots in the volunteers but out of an abundance of caution it had stopped vaccinations, pending the outcome of the safety review in adults. more than 18 million people in the uk have received the astrazeneca vaccine. the mhra said last week there had been 30 rare cases of blood clots including seven deaths. the prime minister, visiting an astrazeneca plant in macclesfield, once again gave his firm support for the vaccine. the best thing people should do is look at what the mhra say, our independent regulator, that's why we have them, that's why they're independent. and their advice to people is to, you know, keep going out there, get yourjab, get your second jab.

as a precautionary measure, the mhra updated its advice last month to say that anyone with a headache that lasted for more than four days after receiving the astrazeneca vaccine or bruising beyond the site of the jab should seek medical attention. both of the vaccines we're using are highly effective against covid, and the risks of getting sick or dying of covid, for all the people currently being offered first and second doses, are far and away greater than any small theoretical risk that may exist relating to these cases, which are extremely rare. as for the future course of the epidemic here, three academic groups modelling the outbreak all have multiple scenarios showing a third covid wave after a final lifting restrictions in england in latejune. this model from warwick university looks at the number of patients in hospital with covid, which have been falling fast

since a peak injanuary. looking ahead, the assumption is the reopening of shops and outdoor hospitality won't cause major problems for the nhs, but once all restrictions are lifted, a third wave follows, though likely much smaller than previous peaks. but it could be more or less severe depending on how effective vaccines are at preventing covid and stopping transmission. a seasonal drop in coronavirus could push that third wave well into the autumn. as we start to unlock, i suspect we may see the r number increasing, and we may see another wave. my hope is it will be a somewhat different wave, and we can keep hospital admissions and deaths relatively low. and i think that's the really crucial thing, that if we can do that, then hopefully we are still on track with the road map to release restrictions towards the end ofjune. the astrazeneca vaccine is central to the huge success of the roll—out

ofjabs in the uk which is way ahead of the rest of europe. france has restricted the astrazeneca vaccine to adults over 55, germany to those over 60, because of concerns about blood clots in young adults. the european medicines agency and the uk regulator are due to give updated recommendations in the next day or two. maintaining public confidence in this highly effective vaccine will be vital. fergusjoins us now. people might be alarmed understandably, with talk of the partial suspension, what exactly are we talking about? the partial suspension, what exactly are we talking about?— we talking about? the oxford scientists say _ we talking about? the oxford scientists say this _ we talking about? the oxford scientists say this is - we talking about? the oxford scientists say this is being - we talking about? the oxford l scientists say this is being done out of an abundance of caution and there are no safety concerns in the volunteers but they thought it would be sensible to stop vaccinating while this adult review is going on. no medicine whether it is paracetamol or vaccines is risk—free but unpicking whether there is a

link between the astrazeneca jab and these incredibly rare blood clots is frankly difficult. the incidence in the uk is about one case in every 600,000 vaccinations and in germany it is higher, nearly all involving young women, in each case has to be investigated. did those involved have underlying conditions? did they have underlying conditions? did they have covid which increases your risk of blood clots and is there a connection between them? we know that there is an all too real risk from covid especially amongst the elderly, and for those in their 40s, for example, a one in a thousand risk of dying from covid after infection, but a much lower risk in your 20s and 30s, which means the balance of benefit versus risk is more balanced. regulators have said that in all age groups the benefits from the vaccine greatly outweigh the risk but remember, this is a

global vaccine, 2 billion doses of the astrazeneca jab have been produced so this will play a vital role in bringing the pandemic under control this year.— control this year. indeed, thanks for “oininu control this year. indeed, thanks forjoining us- — let's take a look at the latest government figures for coronavirus — there were 2,379 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 3,256. across the uk an average of 3,536 people were in hospital with coronavirus over the seven days to 1st april. 20 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week — 30 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 126,882.

the uk is continuing its programme of mass vaccinations, in the latest 2a hour period, more than 40,000 people have had theirfirst dose. taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab tojust over 31.6 millon. the number of people who've had their second dose of the vaccine in the latest 2a hour period is 6a,590. that takes the total number of people who've had their second jab to just under 5.5 million people. borisjohnson, on a visit to macclesfield today, said that covid passports would probably become a �*fact of life' for overseas travel but he did not give a clear answer on how they might be used in domestic settings in england. the so—called passports would be used to prove immunity from the virus. they would show whether a person had received a coronavirus vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test result or proof of natural immunity

because the person had been ill with covid in the previous six months. ministers have made it clear that what it calls covid certification would not be needed to access essential services. dozens of conservative mps have criticised the idea, saying it could create a two—tier society and labour has warned it could be discriminatory. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has more details. if this looks normal to you, it's probably a sign of how covid has changed the world. the prime minister was visiting an astrazeneca factory today but as lockdown is about to ease in england, he doesn't want to see another wave. the government is planning to pilot the use of covid status certificates, or vaccine passports, next month at big events. so what information could these contain?

a number of signals that you can give that you're not contagious. so, first of all, your immunity. if you've had it, that's going to be important, and number two, vaccination will be useful. but don't forget also the importance of testing. the government believes that certificates could be of most use for venues such as nightclubs and sports stadiums where social distancing is difficult, or downright unattractive. but this won't happen straight away. the government's made it clear that covid certificates won't be required from april 12th when beer gardens and non—essential shops reopen in england, or on may 17th when indoor hospitality along with theatres and cinemas are due to reopen. but afterjune 21st when the government hopes to remove most remaining restrictions it is possible that certificates could be introduced. a government document introduced yesterday states... so if this is to become the new normal, we asked different generations in leeds how they would adapt.

certainly, i'd be more confident about going to a cinema or a theatre if there were vaccine passports. yeah, i would happily carry a piece of paper that said i've had the vaccine and i've had a test. i think it might be a bit. damaging for businesses. the government is also piloting other ways that venues could reopen with less social distancing, such as better ventilation and testing, but tonight this venue in liverpool has pulled out. the hot water comedy club felt the heat on social media when some people assumed they were trialling covid passports. they blame confused messaging by the government and say that ministers should have made it clear which venues were involved in which trials. and it's notjust a comedy club that's far from amused... a significant number of borisjohnson�*s own mps are up in arms about covid certificates, denouncing them as intrusive and divisive. but some others are more concerned about how widely they might be used, perhaps notjust for big events,

but later in the year even for a trip to the local pub. so, a row is brewing in westminster. and as the government hasn't ruled out allowing non—essential retailers to ask if you're covid—free, labour are hardening their opposition. i'm not going to support a policy that for here in my leicester constituency, if somebody wants to go into next, or h&m, they have to produce a vaccination certificate on their phone on an app. i think that's discriminatory. the prime minister hasn't made a final decision on covid certificates but is now, at least, considering things that would have seemed unthinkable last spring. iain watson, bbc news. on to the day's other news. police searching for the missing student richard 0korogheye said today that inquiries were continuing following the discovery of a body in epping forest in essex. the 19 year—old, who suffered

from sickle cell disease, was last seen leaving his home in west london two weeks ago. 0ur correspondent sangita myska reports. it is here, the remote woodland of epping forest, that has become the focus of the police investigation into the disappearance of the teenager richard 0korogheye. following a search by police divers, a body was found in this lake yesterday. officers have yet to identify who it is. the whereabouts of richard, a 19—year—old student at oxford brookes university, remains unknown, though officers today said they have made intensive efforts to find him. our officers, with the assistance from specialist search teams, dogs and police horses, and colleagues from essex police have been carrying out extensive searches in epping forest since 19—year—old richard was last seen on cctv in the area two weeks ago. the body was found in the lake behind me late last night by local officers who had been working

in the area. they contacted the metropolitan police who are in charge of the investigation into richard's disappearance. although the fingertip searches seem to have come to an end, large sections of epping forest remain sealed off. richard left his west london home on 22nd march. he has sickle cell disease and had been shielding throughout lockdown. but his family say he left without medication or a jacket. richard was seen taking a bus at around 8:45pm. he was next picked up on this cctv camera in essex a short walk away from epping forest at 12:1i0am in the morning. richard's mother says it took police another five days before they began to look for her son. i was told that richard was an adult, he can make his decisions, he can go out and come back whenever he feels like. in response, the police tonight told the bbc that they have worked tirelessly to find richard and they are continuing

to appeal to anyone with information to contact them. sangita myska, bbc news, epping forest. in northern ireland, the devolved assembly at stormont is set to be recalled from its easter recess for an emergency debate following days of violence and disorder in some areas. police say 41 of its officers have been injured because of unrest in some loyalist areas. ten arrests have been made so far. our ireland correspondent emma vardy has been looking at the factors behind the violence. tannoy: the crowd should disperse immediately as force is about to be l used against violent individuals. armoured land rovers braced over successive days. this is the most violence on the streets northern ireland has seen for some time. the attacks, mostly carried out by teenagers, caused real harm to officers. burns and head injuries. when officers responded

to the incidents, they are met with petrol bombs, with heavy masonry, with debris that has already been prepared. so, to me, that indicates a degree of orchestration, preparation and intent by the people involved. tension has been building in loyalist areas over lockdown. there's resentment over the new brexit arrangements, a new partition for trade in the irish sea, and loyalists who strongly support northern ireland remaining part of the uk see what's happening with brexit as weakening their british identity. and there's fury over sinn fein politicians who escaped prosecution for attending the funeral of a former ira leader, which many saw as a blatant disregard for covid rules. what i see within the unionist and loyalist community now is grassroots, legitimate and justified anger which is widespread throughout the entire community. you say there's legitimate anger, but is that to legitimise violence? do you condemn what's happened? when it comes to loyalists on the ground, there has been a lot of protests that are taking place. there will probably be a lot more,

and like i said, loyalist activists are doing their utmost to dissuade people from engaging in violence. the rioting was sporadic and still considered relatively low—level here. but police believe paramilitary organisations, who still have influence in some communities, had some involvement. signs of anger over the irish sea border are everywhere you look here, but to say that what happened at the weekend is a direct result of brexit isn't the full picture. loyalist paramilitaries are under pressure from police who have been cracking down on their criminal activities. a series of recent raids and arrests have targeted paramilitary—linked drugs operations. northern ireland's politicians will now interrupt their easter break as stormont is being recalled to discuss the violence. i certainly think in a particular area of northern ireland that there are malign and criminal elements who are whipping up some of our young people. i've spoken to some of the youth

workers in that area and i do think there's a need to bring those young people into diversionary activities. unauthorised marches by loyalist flute bands were last night a symbol of non—violent protest, and sources say more are planned in the days ahead. emma vardy, bbc news. in russia, police have detained some supporters of the opposition politican alexei navalny outside the prison where he is serving a jail sentence. the supporters are demanding that he receive proper medical treatment. mr navalny, who's on hunger strike, is said by his lawyer to be seriously ill. but the kremlin says he will get "�*no special treatment�*. our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford reports from the town of pokrov, some 60 miles east of moscow. she came to call for help for russia's most famous prisoner. dr anastasia is a close ally of alexei navalny, and he's complaining of acute pain, demanding to see a medic he can trust.

i just want to speak with the chief of this prison. she walked right up to the prison gates. beyond them, the opposition politician's been on hunger strike for six days now. shouting. extra police have been drafted in. every person there, including the press, was captured on camera. this is the prison where alexei navalny�*s being held behind these walls. now, we can't go any further, but he has been getting messages out via his lawyers. and in each one of them, he's been talking about how his health is deteriorating. and his supporters are increasingly worried. i'm really very afraid for his health and his condition. i don't want to let his health be worse, and ijust... that's why i'm here now. do you trust the prison doctor?

no. it was just last summer that vladimir putin's fiercest critic collapsed on a flight from siberia. he was treated in germany, where doctors found traces of a military—grade nerve agent. alexei navalny returned to russia, only to be arrested at the border. but if the kremlin hoped he'd be silenced behind bars, he has defied that. so last week, state television showed these images of mr navalny. he's in the middle here. it called his complaints of back pain and numbness in his legs "lies and attention seeking". many russians do believe that, and the kremlin�*s claimed that he's a tool of the west. but in the rundown little town where he's now locked up, alexei navalny does have some supporters. translation: i'm really worried. really worried for his health, because this is outrageous. he's so sick and they're treating him this way.

and this is how they treated dr anastasia. but concern over alexei navalny�*s health won't be dismissed so easily. he has a fever now too, and his prison hunger strike goes on. sarah rainsford, bbc news, pokrov. in the us state of minnesota at the trial of derek chauvin, a former police officer accused of killing an african—american, george floyd, last year, a police expert has suggested that the force used by the policeman was not appropriate and was not authorised by police training. derek chauvin denies murder and manslaughter. our correspondent gary o'donohue is following the trial in minneapolis. gary, tell us more about the evidence heard there today. this was a day dominated _ evidence heard there today. this was a day dominated by _ evidence heard there today. this was a day dominated by police _ evidence heard there today. this was a day dominated by police experts, l a day dominated by police experts, giving details about the training that derek chauvin and other

officers received during the process officers received during the process of the professional of element. we were told derek chauvin had been on a five day course in 2016 on de—escalation tactics. that had been refreshed in 2018 and the prosecution says, of course, he made no attempt to de—escalate the situation with george floyd. we also heard about the use of force policy. we had from an instructor that while neck restraint was permitted at the time, they had told officers to stay away from the neck wherever possible. the prosecution of course argues that derek chauvin knelt on george floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. finally, we heard from a medical trainer and she said that officers are obliged to offer some kind of medical or cpr assistance to non—responsive suspects, and of course we know from the video is that none of that took place before the ambulance arrived. derek chauvin is facing three charges, two murder charges and a manslaughter charge. he denies them all. the big question

thatis he denies them all. the big question that is still outstanding at the moment is, will he appear in his own defence to argue the case? that we don't know, but we should be hearing that in the next week or two, when the defence begins to set out their case for him. the defence begins to set out their case for him-— case for him. thanks for the latest in minneapolis. _ case for him. thanks for the latest in minneapolis. gary _ case for him. thanks for the latest in minneapolis. gary o'donoghue, | case for him. thanks for the latest - in minneapolis. gary o'donoghue, our north america correspondent. let's take a look at some of today's other news. a man has appeared in court charged in connection with a car crash in which a two—week—old baby died. ciaran morris was in a pram in the care of family members when he was struck on sunday afternoon. james paul davis from walsall was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by driving while uninsured. the first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon says she expects all schools in scotland to fully reopen after the easter holidays — with the exception of pupils who are shielding. the first minister also welcomed the arrival of the first batch of the moderna coronavirus vaccine in scotland, saying it would provide "greater

security of supply". mental health hubs for new, expectant or bereaved mothers are to be set up around england. the 26 sites — due to be opened by next april — will offer physical health checks and psychotherapy in one building. nhs england said these centres would provide treatment for around 6,000 new parents in the first year. sir ed davey has launched the liberal democrats' campaign for england's local and mayoral elections next month. he called on voters to "choose a new direction" for communities to recover and rebuild from the pandemic. and during a campaign visit to watford, he also pledged to invest more in greener neighbourhoods. if you vote conservative, you're voting against your community and against a healthy local environment. if you vote labour, you're voting for a party that rarely listens to community and isn't standing up to this conservative government. but if you vote liberal democrat,

you're voting for your community, for your environment, for a party with a real vision for a fairer, greener, more caring country. the health and medical challenges posed by the pandemic have been analysed in depth, but for millions of families, it's also presented a huge financial challenge. according to official figures, some 9 million people had to borrow more money last year because of the impact of coronavirus. the financial impact has shed light on regional inequalities and the growing gap between the high and low paid. our business correspondent sarah corker has been speaking to two families — and a warning that her report contains flashing images. we were, like, basically reaching out and saying, we were, like, basically reaching out and saying, "look, we're scared

about what is happening. can we pay 65% of our rent this month so we've got a bit of money back?" the main thing isjust trying to pay the bills and that's the hardest bit. i'm one of the fortunate ones because my daughter helps me out and i feel bad about that. it should be the other way round. family finances squeezed by the pandemic. across britain, covid has changed the way we live, work, and our ability to pay the bills. basically, they served us with a court notice for eviction. for the morgan family, the impact was immediate and unexpected. akeel and eleanor run their own company, running creative art workshops across liverpool, but all of that stopped. what impact did lockdown have on your ability to earn money? we went from being self—employed on regular work to basically universal credit. it was really difficult, because it wasn't just our roles as professionals within our community, it was also as a family and parents and how

do we navigate this? covid has also brought regional inequalities into sharper focus. outside of london and the south—east, you are less likely to be able to do yourjob from home. parts of the north of england have had especially high infection rates and have been under severe local lockdowns far longer than anywhere else. not all parts of the country will be able to bounce back from this pandemic in the same way. so areas in the north of england, for example, will be starting this pandemic from a point of low resilience, lower levels of public health and fewer opportunities for people. in mansfield in nottinghamshire, margaret's work as a supply teacher dried up. everybody is trying to compete for the fewjobs that are out there. she will have to work at least another five years to get her state pension, but has struggled to find another job. so the roles have reversed. daughter cordelia is the main

breadwinner with her salary of around £16,000. it's a huge responsibility, because most of my money . is going on running the house and supporting my mum as well. so there often isn't much left for me. i i feel bad that i'm having to put her in this situation, because, you know, well, we had no choice, really, and my daughter has been very generous. she has given me most of her wage at the moment, which is allowing us to tick over. my son is a student, so he can't contribute very much. margaret is now retraining with the help of a university grant. akeel and eleanor have caught up on the bills as their work comes back. and both families hope that the worst is now behind them. sarah corker, bbc news. the actor paul ritter — best known for his role in the cult comedy friday night dinner on channel 4 — has died of a brain tumour at the age of 5a. as well as playing martin goodman,

he also appeared in the drama, chernobyl — and the bond film quantum of solace. he died peacefully at home with his family at his side. to football — in the quarter—finals of the champions�* league, it was real madrid playing liverpool and manchester city versus dortmund. the first legs were played tonight. our sports correspondent, joe wilson, was watching. liverpool versus real madrid, history versus dynasty. 19 times between them, they've been european champions. 13—6 to the spaniards, if you're keeping that score. real madrid are rebuilding their stadium, playing in their training complex right now. a pass with architect's perfection to viniciuer. stand by for another. kroos looped over a similar pass and liverpool could not deal with it. they really could not deal with it. 2—0 before half—time. would liverpool wilt or resist?

what they needed was this, mo salah onside.