this is bbc news. the headlines. the noes have it. mps have rejected labour calls for a parliamentary inquiry into david cameron's attempts to gain government contracts for a business which has collapsed. a uk covid trial testing different types of vaccine for first and second doses is being expanded to include new vaccines and more volunteers. the government says staff in care homes in england with elderly residents may be required to get a coronavirus vaccine. the inquest into the deaths of jack merritt and saskia jones at fishmongers hall in 2019, hears from another victim who describes how she was stabbed repeatedly by the terrorist, usman khan. and two large sections of cliff

on dorset�*sjurassic coast have collapsed, including 300 metres of cliff east of seatown. mps have voted against a parliamentary inquiry into the lobbying activities of the former prime minister david cameron. calls to examine the relationship between civil servants, politicians, and private firms have intensified in the past week following revelations about mr cameron's efforts to influence ministers on behalf of finance firm greensill capital, which recently collapsed. the labour leader sir keir starmer

called for the investigation. speaking in the commons this afternoon, he said the grensill scandal was just the tip of the iceberg — with, in his words, "dodgy contracts, privileged access, jobs for their mates, this is the return of tory sleaze". but borisjohnson said the tories had been "consistently tough on lobbying". the prime minister said the government's "proper, independent review" would examine the issue and report back by the end ofjune. so what is the connection between grensill capital and the conservative government? in 2011 the company's boss, lex greensill, became an unpaid advisor to david cameron. in 2018 his firm was given work linked to nhs payments and hired the then former prime minister. the next year david cameron arranged a private drink with matt hancock and lex greensill and last year he texted the chancellor rishi sunak, seeking access for greensill to a coronavirus support scheme. here's what borisjohnson had to say about the matter earlier.

top civil servants should be able to engage with business and should have experience of the private sector. when i look at the accounts i'm reading to date, not clear that those boundaries had been properly understood. and i've asked for a proper independent review of the arrangements that we have to be conducted by nigel, and he will be reporting injune. and if he has any representations he wishes to make on that subject, he should do so. but labour says that doesn't go far enough, and wants a committee of mps and peers to carry out a thorough review into lobbying. party leader sir keir starmer said he feared anything else might be seen as a "whitewash" the greensill scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. dodgy contracts, privileged access government jobs for their mates, this is the return of tory sleaze. mr speaker, it's now so ingrained in this conservative government.

we don't need another conservative party appointee marking their own homework. actually, mr speaker, the more i listen to the prime minister, the more i think that ted hastings, and ac 12 are needed to get to the bottom of this one. and borisjohnson continued the "line of duty" theme saying his government was rooting out "bent coppers". well mps then moved on to the debate on lobbying and our political correspondent helen catt was watching. and it went the way everyone was predicting. and it went the way everyone was ”redictin. ., , ., and it went the way everyone was -~redictin. ., , ., ~ , ., predicting. conservative mps voted auainst predicting. conservative mps voted a . ainst as predicting. conservative mps voted against as they _ predicting. conservative mps voted against as they have _ predicting. conservative mps voted against as they have been - predicting. conservative mps voted against as they have been told - predicting. conservative mps voted against as they have been told to l against as they have been told to come _ against as they have been told to come against this idea of having a parliamentary inquiry, and a majority— parliamentary inquiry, and a majority of 95 voted this motion. and the — majority of 95 voted this motion. and the argument that you the full perimeter— and the argument that you the full perimeter inquiry which is where committee of mps would have been set ”p committee of mps would have been set up with_ committee of mps would have been set up with the _ committee of mps would have been set up with the ability to call witnesses, give evidence in public and they— witnesses, give evidence in public and they said that was really important for the transparency

around — important for the transparency around this. have a list of the shadow— around this. have a list of the shadow chancellor making that argument. successive conservative led governments have set the tone and the culture that allow the behaviour we've heard about today to take place. and approach to public office where the accountability and transparency that we should all expect has been replaced by a tap on the shoulder here, a nudge and a wink there. we need a thorough and genuinely independent investigation to get to the bottom of this. one which can take evidence, call witnesses, and report publicly. now, conservative mps defended the government's review which is been announced — government's review which is been announced to the issues around greensill— announced to the issues around greensill and lobbying. and the prime _ greensill and lobbying. and the prime minister has said the lawyer leading _ prime minister has said the lawyer leading that will have free reign or carte _ leading that will have free reign or carte blanche was the phrase he used to speak— carte blanche was the phrase he used to speak to— carte blanche was the phrase he used to speak to whoever he needed to to -et to speak to whoever he needed to to get to— to speak to whoever he needed to to get to the _ to speak to whoever he needed to to get to the bottom of it. conservative mps arguing that there are existing powers and processes

that could — are existing powers and processes that could look into this, that this attempt _ that could look into this, that this attempt was opportunistic and politically motivated. there was concern — politically motivated. there was concern about the rules around lobbying — concern about the rules around lobbying. here'sjulia lopez give the cabin— lobbying. here'sjulia lopez give the cabin office minister, here's what _ the cabin office minister, here's what she — the cabin office minister, here's what she had to say. 0n the political froth, i i do not think we are in different places on this. we all believe in and want the same thing, transparent government - and behaviour in accordance with the seven principles . of public life. this government will continue . to engage with parliamentarians of all colours as we set - about raising our standards. but we do not need another committee to do this. - this risks undermining the process and reviews already in place, - and we should allow those to conclude. i so i urge the house i to reject this motion. so that full perimeter inquiry with the new— so that full perimeter inquiry with the new select committee set up to look into— the new select committee set up to look into it. — the new select committee set up to look into it, that was voted down by conservative mps. some even on the tory benches were saying what they have heard — tory benches were saying what they have heard of recent days does leave a had _ have heard of recent days does leave a bad taste _ have heard of recent days does leave a bad taste in the mouth and siapdash _

a bad taste in the mouth and slapdash. there are other committees and existing _ slapdash. there are other committees and existing committees that could be able _ and existing committees that could be able to— and existing committees that could be able to look into some of these things— be able to look into some of these things and — be able to look into some of these things and actuallyjust hearing the treasury— things and actuallyjust hearing the treasury select committee has announced it is going to look into the lessons that can be learned from greensiit _ earlier i spoke with alex thomas, from the non—partisan think tank, the institute for government. i asked him what he makes of labour suggestion that this is all tory sleaze. it is not something that you can say is unique to conservative governments are labour governments or anything else. where i do think a number of the commentators in the labour party have a point is that checks and balances on individuals, whether they are ministers, former ministers, serving civil servants of former civil servants like me are too loose and are generally reliant on conventions and on people sort of generally behaving themselves and when they are tested, as this government has tested them, the ministerial code and others in the

recent months, in the last 18 months or so, they tend not to get much purchase on those people who might be sailing close to the winter. but lobbying is an essential part of how government works, how society works and as helen catt made the point, it is notjust politicians lobbying potentially on behalf of big companies, it is charities, trade unions. it is surprising, i suppose, given how fundamental lobbying is to how our society runs that the rules are not clear, that they are a little too opaque? i think perhaps the reason the rules are not clear is precisely because it so embedded in the policy—making process and how government works. i completely agree with that. in the midst of a crisis and a scandal like this, it is quite easy to forget that there is nothing inherently illegitimate about lobbying, it's our policy gets made. it's important ministers and civil

servants hear from lots of different interests but the critically important thing then is ministers, the advice civil servants given the decisions minister make are on a objective basis and they are not overly influenced by one interest or another. certainly not influenced by any kind of personal financial interests that they might have. in the end, you do come back to the need to make this more transparent. i don't think... you cannot and shouldn't stop lobbying. also, i don't really think you can stop former prime ministers or civil servants or others from having gainful employment after they leave office. you certainly wouldn't get as many people wanting to join the public service if you did. but i do think that it is important that there is more transparency around who is talking to who and when. sure. and what are the rules, as far as someone who has left government, being able to lobby the government of the same stripe they have just the latest coronavirus figures have been published by the government. a further 2,491 people have tested

positive for the virus. 38 deaths have been recorded in the latest 2a hour period — those are deaths within 28 days of a positive test. 0ver 32.3 million people have now received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine — with nearly 8.2 million having received both doses. in all over a0 million doses have been given in the uk. a major uk trial, which is assessing whether people can safely be given different types of a covid vaccine for their first and second dose, is being expanded. the trial will now include the moderna and novovax jabs. people over the age of 50, who've had a first dose of either the pfizer or astrazeneca vaccine, can apply to take part. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. currently, the nhs offers people an identical covid—19 vaccine for their first and second doses. but some experts believe switching to a different brand of vaccine for the second dose might give broader and longer lasting protection against the pandemic virus and new variants of it,

as well as offering more flexibility to vaccine roll—out. because all of the vaccines that are currently licensed are all directed against the same part of the virus, they're all engineered to target the s protein, the spike protein, then they all will elicit a very similar immune response. so, it makes a lot of sense to test this combination of vaccines, and we think that we may be able to get an enhanced immune response by combining different types of vaccines. more than 800 people have already signed up to help researchers. they've received two doses of either pfizer, astrazeneca, or a combination of both, to see what works best for immunity. dosing with one, then dosing with the other and that would give a lot more flexibility if there was any problems with supply for one vaccine, for example, or changes in recommendations for different age groups. then if someone's been primed with one vaccine, they're not locked in to getting

the same vaccine for the second dose. and we will be testing those combinations against the new variants as they come through. so, the blood tests we obtain, we will test them against the new variants to see potentially if they offer any broader protection against multiple different strains. volunteers need to have already had one covid jab on the nhs in the past few months, and be willing to travel to a regional nhs hospital trust site in england to take part. they'll have blood taken to check how well vaccines trigger an immune response. the vaccination programme has gone as well as anyone could have hoped so far, and the idea of mixing and matching vaccines is it gives a bit of added flexibility. the way it works is that if you give a second booster dose that uses a slightly different method to prompt an immune response, that can be more effective. and, in fact, it's something that's already done with hepatitis jabs, for example, or vaccines that are commonly given to children, like polio, measles, mumps and rubella. investigators now hope to recruit around 1000 people aged 50 or older to take part and test more vaccines

in different combinations. that includes the new moderna vaccine and the novavax jab that is expected to be approved soon for use in the uk. and the findings could have implications for what might lie ahead. we will be able to potentially use different vaccines for booster campaigns in the autumn and in fact mixed schedules may, and this is a big may, but they may give better longer term protection and that would be very interesting to see. so, very exciting stuff. the study will run for a year but the first results should be available byjune orjuly and they will shape how the uk and the world continues to protect populations against this deadly virus. dominic hughes, bbc news. half the people in the uk had antibodies against covid—19 by the end of march, according to calculations by the office for national statistics. that means they were either vaccinated, or had recovered from an infection. well let's get more

from professor susanna dunachie, nihr global research professor at the university of oxford. hello to you. thanks forjoining us. those figures, do they suggest that we are getting close to herd immunity?— we are getting close to herd immunity? we are getting close to herd immuni ? ~ �*, ., ., , immunity? well, it's great to see that half of— immunity? well, it's great to see that half of people _ immunity? well, it's great to see that half of people have - immunity? well, it's great to see i that half of people have antibodies. that has been the case for the last three weeks in a row with the data. reaching herd immunity is still a whale away, i think we need to be a bit more patient. i think we also need to bear in mind that this is a single measurement commit antibodies and on a single human response to vaccines is a bit more collocated. antibodies may still be effective below the level of detection. 0ther below the level of detection. other parts of the immune system like t cells are important and what we do know is that after a single dose we

are seeing really good levels of protection against severe disease and hospitalisation. if protection against severe disease and hospitalisation.— and hospitalisation. if half the imputation _ and hospitalisation. if half the imputation has _ and hospitalisation. if half the population has antibodies, - and hospitalisation. if half the i population has antibodies, what would the figure be for herd immunity in your opinion? it’s would the figure be for herd immunity in your opinion? it's very difficult to tell. _ immunity in your opinion? it's very difficult to tell. as _ immunity in your opinion? it's very difficult to tell. as modelling - immunity in your opinion? it's very difficult to tell. as modelling data | difficult to tell. as modelling data suggested we might need 75 or 80%. but we don't yet have the data to show that the antibody measurement maps precisely onto that. fik. show that the antibody measurement maps precisely onto that.— maps precisely onto that. ok. so there still come _ maps precisely onto that. ok. so there still come as _ maps precisely onto that. ok. so there still come as you _ maps precisely onto that. ok. so there still come as you say, - maps precisely onto that. ok. so there still come as you say, a - maps precisely onto that. 0k. sol there still come as you say, a wild to go. what you make of the widening and expanding of the study to mix and expanding of the study to mix and match vaccines? filth. and expanding of the study to mix and match vaccines?— and expanding of the study to mix and match vaccines? oh, it's great. this is what — and match vaccines? oh, it's great. this is what we _ and match vaccines? oh, it's great. this is what we need _ and match vaccines? oh, it's great. this is what we need to _ and match vaccines? oh, it's great. this is what we need to be - and match vaccines? oh, it's great. this is what we need to be doing. i this is what we need to be doing. first of all, the whole world is going to need some flexibility on vaccines as a heard of the annual report we already do that with many licence vaccines, you might have one but he's faxing for your first dose and another dose a few years later make it a different vaccine.

biologically that's a very normal thing to do. it might actually be better. we know from vaccine studies donein better. we know from vaccine studies done in oxford and other places in the world that often if you give the same stimulant commits of the same protein, and you give it twice but with different packaging it can sometimes get a better immune response and that's because you give the vaccine the first time and that trains the body to recognise that part of the virus that you are fighting and the second time around you give the same part of the virus again in different packaging. and this means the body makes a fresh immune response. because it comes in different packaging it looks more exciting. the body does notjust say yeah, i've got this, it wakes up a bit more. and you can actually get a better response to nx and match approach. and that's worth looking into it. it’s

approach. and that's worth looking into it. �* , . approach. and that's worth looking into it. �*, . ., , approach. and that's worth looking intoit. into it. it's all about this spike rotein, into it. it's all about this spike protein. the — into it. it's all about this spike protein, the spiky _ into it. it's all about this spike protein, the spiky business i into it. it's all about this spike protein, the spiky business asj into it. it's all about this spike i protein, the spiky business as it were but essentially some of these vaccines are modelled on the same formulation to attack the same bit of the virus. formulation to attack the same bit of the virus-— formulation to attack the same bit of the virus._ so - of the virus. that's correct. so potentially _ of the virus. that's correct. so potentially vaccine _ of the virus. that's correct. so l potentially vaccine nationalism, people hanging onto their stocks, producers not being able to knock up as much of the stuff as they would hope, if you can mix and match that would ease all of those problems potentially wouldn't it? i would ease all of those problems potentially wouldn't it?— would ease all of those problems potentially wouldn't it? i think the world is deftly _ potentially wouldn't it? i think the world is deftly going _ potentially wouldn't it? i think the world is deftly going to _ potentially wouldn't it? i think the world is deftly going to need - potentially wouldn't it? i think the world is deftly going to need that l world is deftly going to need that kind of flexibility moving forward. and we don't know in the future of people may need booster vaccines in the future rather than likely do for flu, and we are going to want to have the flexibility to mix and match. , , ., ., have the flexibility to mix and match. , ,., ., . have the flexibility to mix and match. , ,., . �* j match. very important. but they've decided at the _ match. very important. but they've decided at the moment _ match. very important. but they've decided at the moment they - match. very important. but they've decided at the moment they are - match. very important. but they've| decided at the moment they are not going to keep going with the astrazeneca vaccine, in fact they have banded notjust for people below a certain age which is the case in some other european countries. what you think of denmark

taking that very drastic approach? countries are having to make very difficult decisions under very difficult decisions under very difficult circumstances. nobody likes to think about any harm at all from vaccines. the truth is that all the vaccines that are licensed in europe have very high safety records and these very rare unusual clotting events are not what we like to see. at the rates are very, very low and the benefits of vaccination very much outweigh the risks actually for everybody on the data that we have at the moment. if the choice of an individual country which way they want to go. it’s individual country which way they want to 90-— individual country which way they wanttouo. v , , , _ want to go. it's been suggested by some exnerts _ want to go. it's been suggested by some experts that _ want to go. it's been suggested by some experts that if _ want to go. it's been suggested by some experts that if you _ want to go. it's been suggested by some experts that if you want - want to go. it's been suggested by some experts that if you want a i some experts that if you want a blood clot get covid. see believe the danes are going overboard here? it's not for me to comment on the

policy of other countries. they have to go along with their own public pressures and with a judge as the best thing to keep confidence and keep people turning up for their vaccine programme. it is keep people turning up for their vaccine programme.— keep people turning up for their vaccine programme. it is a constant wor for vaccine programme. it is a constant worry for you _ vaccine programme. it is a constant worry for you about _ vaccine programme. it is a constant worry for you about variance, - worry for you about variance, potentially those that can make redundant vaccines that we have? we are redundant vaccines that we have? - are thinking an awful lot about variance. i think any impact is likely to be relative. it's not black and white, it's not a case of this vaccine does not work at all, it might be that you need all of the arms of the immune response coming out to fight the new variant and not as simple as neutralising antibodies but we and others are producing data showing that your t cell response to some of the vaccines is not as impacted by variant such as the one

first identified in south africa. and likely commit to me, that vaccines will still be good at dampening down disease and making it milder that it would have been even if we don't get that elusive sterilising immunity which is when someone has a vaccine and they have no chance of getting the bug at all. so it's highly likely in your opinion that variance while that might be out there and have more instances, the vaccines will at least have the dampening effect on the severity of the illness that might be caused with yellow in my opinion that the likely thing but will have to wait to get more data to prove that. thank you professor. door—to—door testing will take place in parts of london, after the south african variant of coronavirus was found from tomorrow, people in parts

of the london borough of barnet will be tested for coronavirus. people in the n3 postcode areas — close to finchley central station — and those who shop on the local high street are affected. home testing kits will be delivered to some residents in southwark, south london. parts of the se16 postcode area are affected, particularly in the ward of rotherhithe. staff in care homes in england with elderly residents may be required to get a coronavirus jab. a five—week consultation has been launched by the department of health and social care, to consider whether to make covid vaccination a condition of employment for care home workers. here's the vaccine minister, nadhim zahawi. a number of providers have made it a condition of deployment of staff, as part of their duty of care, of course, to the most vulnerable. what we want to do is consult now with all stakeholders, five week consultation, to see whether it does become a condition of deployment and we want to hear from everyone as to how they feel, how we can make this work properly, rather than it being adopted ad hoc by different care providers.

our social affairs correspondent alison holt has more on the consultation. it will be a five week consultation, the details will be published at some point today on the government website. what they are saying is they are consulting on whether or not it should be a condition of deployment, is the way they phrased it, for care staff working with older people to have had vaccinations. the reasons they give are that experts on stage, the scientific advisory group, say 80% of staff and 90% of residents need to be vaccinated to provide a minimum level of protection against covid outbreaks that these really vulnerable residents in care homes. at the moment, they say only 53% of care homes for older people in england are meeting

that 80% level. and they say the staff vaccination rate is below 80% in 89 local authorities, so that is more than half of local authorities. and all 32 london boroughs have vaccination levels among staff which is below that 80% mark. so it shows that there are pockets of real concern about what is a woman has described being stabbed in the neck by the man who killed two people in the fishmonger�*s hall attack in london in november 2019. jack merritt and saskia jones were stabbed by a convicted terrorist usman khan during a prisoner rehabilitation conference. giving evidence this morning at the inquests, isobel rowbotham said she believed khan had intended to kill her too. earlier we spoke to our news correspondent, zoe conway, who has been following the inquests today. she gave us this update. we have heard a great deal of powerful and distressing evidence from witnesses today. we heard from ama otchere,

the housekeeping supervisor at fishmonger�*s hall who came face to face with usman khan shortly after he stabbed jack merrett. she said he had a face full of anger. he had knives strapped to his wrists and she described how his right hand was raised to head height and his left hand, with his left hand, he used his left finger to put his finger to his mouth, to indicate to her to be quiet. she says that she watched him stabbing another woman and that he was speaking arabic. she believes he was quoting from the quran. we had also whether the chaos and confusion that day and the fear. one of the event organisers were shouting into her mobile phone, ambulance, now. we heard that another person shouted, a bomber" is that there was distressing evidence about the condition jack merritt was in after he was stabbed.

this afternoon we had from graham watkins, a security officer. he saw jack merritt drenched in blood. he was so shocked by what he saw that he asked jack merritt, is this an exercise? jack merritt said no. jack merritt was stabbed at 13:56 that afternoon. by 14:08, there were three police officers performing cpr on him but they could not revive him. 17 minutes later, he was pronounced dead. we also heard more about the organisation of the event and in particular the arrangements for usman we heard from simon larmour who works for learning together and said he got a call from usman khan that morning sounding panicked because his train from stafford to london had been cancelled. simon larmour said it was jack merritt who rebooked usman khan onto a different train. simon larmour was one of the people who met usman khan at euston station,

met him off the train. the police believe that it was on the train that usman khan attached a convincing but fake suicide belt to himself. simon larmour was asked whether he knew of usman khan's previous convictions, whether he had been told that usman khan was a convicted terrorist and he said he had not been told that that he had found out himself on google. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has insisted that it's the right time to withdraw american troops from afghanistan. it's 20 years after they first went in following the 9—11 attacks. the uk is now expected to withdraw 750 british soldiers stationed in afghanistan by september, with nato likely to pull its forces out collectively. but the speaker of the afghan parliament has warned the withdrawal could lead to civil war. the united states has spent around

two trillion dollars and lost more than 2,000 service members since 2001 in what has been its longest war. at its height, there were more than 100,000 us troops stationed in afghanistan. today, there are around 2,500 us troops in the country as part of a 9,600—strong nato mission. for more on this we can now go live to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. you have covered this war on many, many trips. trillions of dollars spent, thousands of lives lost. and frankly most notably among the civilian population as well. anthony says we have done ourjob, it's time to pull the troops home. has this been a successful war for the western alliance do you think with yellow it's an interesting turn of phrase by anthony, because he reads the question what was the job in afghanistan and i think viewers will remember it was after the attacks of

september 11 2001 which was a security issue that forced united states and allies like britain to leave an investigation into afghanistan to topple the taliban. there's been talk about democracy and women's rights and developing the country. but at the end of the day when joe biden the country. but at the end of the day whenjoe biden looked at the very bad options on his desk in this work he inherited the decision was largely made on a security basis and we heard from a senior intelligence, senior and ministration official last evening who said that and i believe that the threat coming from afghanistan, from extremist groups like al-qaeda can be dealt with that heavy military presence on the ground as they do now and without having to be engaged in a war with the tele— band. very much an emphasis on 2021 now and the threats come from elsewhere. they come from syria and yemen, and at the afghan threat is no longer a threat that it

was in 2001. the official was also at pains to say we are still going to do our best to try to protect women's rights and work with allies and united nations. but when the last of the troops lead before that red letter day september the 11th 2021, were kind of afghanistan with the belief behind, is dramatically different country than in 2001 but it's also a country now which stands on the brink of another bloodied civil war and where the tele— band against all expectations are poised to return to power. tobias ellwood is the conservative mp for bournemouth east, and chair of the house of commons defence select committee. afternoon to you. good to see you. her prognosis seems to be potentially another civil war. is

that your fear given the american probably british troops will be pulling out soon? aha, probably british troops will be pulling out soon?— probably british troops will be pulling out soon? a lot of pressure on the united _ pulling out soon? a lot of pressure on the united states, _ pulling out soon? a lot of pressure on the united states, if— pulling out soon? a lot of pressure on the united states, if the - pulling out soon? a lot of pressure| on the united states, if the longest war as you said. and bridget will have to follow suit. we will be able to fill the vacuum that they will leave. —— will not. not only were there be a civil war but more space for terrorism to develop and advance, and cause problems for the west itself. this is notjust a problem for the west, it's also a problem for the west, it's also a problem for the country itself. he's squabbled with his vice president in the past and not be able to give talks going forward involving the tele— band and the west has become frustrated. this will be a sad moment for many in the british military because of the huge sacrifices they made but also a reflection of the fact that when you make or have international interventions nowadays wind up winning the war and defeat the enemy

immediately but then we lose the peaks and need to get better at that. it's about stabilisation and peacekeeping about supporting governance. and i'm afraid the west is not very good at that. hat governance. and i'm afraid the west is not very good at that.— is not very good at that. not very aood at it is not very good at that. not very good at it and — is not very good at that. not very good at it and also _ is not very good at that. not very good at it and also made - is not very good at that. not very good at it and also made it - is not very good at that. not very good at it and also made it clear| good at it and also made it clear it's not interested in it. george w. bush, barack obama, donald trump, none of them talked about rebuilding afghanistan. none of them talked about creating the kind of society that would be very different from what we saw it before the tele— band took power over there in the mid—90s. nation—building was not part of the equation. are you saying that it should have been? absolutely. it links you and i personally. we met in bali when i lost my brother. i took a personal interest and what was the west doing to take on afghanistan, to rebuild that country? i visited the country, afghanistan, about every six months when i became an mp. each time we

were impressed with the military capabilities. he had the surge of 100,000 troops but never enough efforts to say what are you doing to support governance and local abilities and communities to rebuild? there's never a nice attention that area. and we repeated those mistakes notjust in afghanistan but in libya, somalia and iraq. i5 afghanistan but in libya, somalia and iran. , , , ., afghanistan but in libya, somalia and iran. , , y., ., and iraq. is interesting you mention those the players — and iraq. is interesting you mention those the players -- _ and iraq. is interesting you mention those the players -- places - and iraq. is interesting you mention those the players -- places and - and iraq. is interesting you mention those the players -- places and our| those the players —— places and our first meeting when your brother was tragically killed in that bombing attack. that's the argument, isn't it? for pulling the troops out that the threats or elsewhere. they are not actually in afghanistan, it somalia, yemen and northern nigeria. you know, the western troops can only be spread in certain areas and perhaps the threat level is higher in other places and less so in afghanistan.— in other places and less so in afuhanistan. �*, ., , , ,

afghanistan. there's two responses to that, while _ afghanistan. there's two responses to that, while he _ afghanistan. there's two responses to that, while he was _ afghanistan. there's two responses to that, while he was a _ afghanistan. there's two responses to that, while he was a peaceful- to that, while he was a peaceful place. westerners were targeted there as indeed with my brother. the threat from terrorism can be anywhere in the world is one concern, therefore you have to go to the source. i would argue that if you leave states to become ungoverned extremism will advance. we see in the in mozambique and somalia, and we seen that with libya. we defeated the adversary there but did not do enough to stay there but did not do enough to stay the course. much as this is all designed and moving to resilience and space capabilities and so on ultimately we have this to support these countries otherwise i'm afraid extremism flourishes and returns. but how do you say to the british people and to the american people it's been 20 years, it could be another 20? we it's been 20 years, it could be another 20?— it's been 20 years, it could be another20? . . , �* another 20? we clearly can't stay that lona another 20? we clearly can't stay that long and _ another 20? we clearly can't stay that long and the _ another 20? we clearly can't stay that long and the message - another 20? we clearly can't stay that long and the message that i another 20? we clearly can't stay - that long and the message that came out to say we are going to be in afghanistan for how many years is not what they themselves want to

hear. we need to do is say we will not win this militarily. in northern ireland we had to have peace talks, were not going to win that battle militarily, it was only going to be done through politics. we do even get this started and bring the taliban to the table until almost a decade later and at that time the death toll had already risen in the country was in pieces. and governance was nowhere to be seen. as ever, could talk to you. we are going to move away from all of that and talk about sport. uefa have banned slavia prague player ondrej kudela for ten games for racially abusing rangers midfielder glen kamara. the incident happened during their europa league tie last month. european football's governing body has also handed a three match ban to kamara for assaulting kudela in the tunnel after the game at ibrox.

his team—mate kemar roofe has also been suspended for four games for "dangerously assaulting another player". manchester city hopefully got some sleep last night, after fireworks were let off outside their team hotel in germany. the club says on two occassions, players and staff were woken up before a third attempt was stopped by their own security. they're in dortmund hoping to reach the semi finals of the champions league this evening, for the first time under pep guardiola. city are 2—1 up from the first leg, and the city boss is expecting a tight game. this is a bit of a disadvantage for birds you dortmund, because i've played there for five years and i know how incredible the crowd is, you know, and how the supporters and how loud it can also be, you know, in that stadium. and for them, you know, knowing that there's no crowd to support them, there's something

missing in football at the moment. yeah, we can't wait to have crowds back at the stadiums. they have a 3—1 first leg deficit to overturn at real madrid at anfield after six straight defeats at home, liverpool returned to winning ways against a villa over the weekend and had big comebacks anfield before like two years ago. andy robertson says players are capable of doing it again. we've got nothing left to lose. real madrid are the hot favourites, and they should be with the aggregate they've got. but let's leave everything on the pitch, get a better performance that we did last week and give ourselves a better possible chance. we don't want to

give up on our chances of getting through, and we won't do that until the last... but we know how hard a task it'll be and we know we probably need as close to perfect performance as we can.

from me, that's all, back to you, clive. travel industry bosses have warned that £60 is still too much money for a coronavirus pcr test, after one of the uk's leading

providers cut their costs yesterday. under plans to restart foreign travel from england next month, even returning passengers from safe "green list" countries will need to test negative for covid—19 on arrival using a pcr swab. the transport secretary has said he is committed to reducing the cost of tests. today, parliament's transport committee has been taking evidence we were disappointed inasmuch as it didn't represent and give us the detail and clarity we needed, or the sector needs to get restart going on 17 may. there are many areas where it left and answered questions, it was vague in areas, but i think most importantly, given what we know after a yea r�*s importantly, given what we know after a year's worth of dealing with the pandemic, the talk we have of rapid testing and nation roll—out in the uk, we think it is too complex of a restart planned —— vaccination roll—out. we don't know which

category on the traffic light scheme, they said they will publish that in early may, which is very vague given the restart is on 17 may. notjust business and airlines being time to plan, but customers and consumers need time to plan their trips. and consumers need time to plan theirtrips. it's and consumers need time to plan their trips. it's not all about holidays, it's about visiting friends and relatives, people they haven't seen in over a year, it's about business restarting again. the second key one is that it makes no recognition of vaccinated passengers, so even if you had the vaccine, you are still subject to quarantine and testing. let's talk to lisa minot, who's the travel editor at the sun. thanks for being with us. it's a difficult time for travel, no doubt about it. and the suggestion certainly from the industry is that the government as being overly cautious, even if you've been vaccinated, you still have to have a test when you come back.— test when you come back. that's riaht, the test when you come back. that's right, the traffic _ test when you come back. that's right, the traffic light _ test when you come back. that's right, the traffic light system - test when you come back. that's| right, the traffic light system that they are proposing will see... these

are countries that have good rates of vaccination, good deals of dealing with the merit of concern or identifying those variants, and have got very low cases. we still will need to have a pcr test on the way back or on the return to the uk, as well as some of those lateral flow tests to get into the country. it'll be at least £100 per person, and if you're travelling as a family that can be a really exorbitant cost. but it is clear. — can be a really exorbitant cost. but it is clear, isn't _ can be a really exorbitant cost. but it is clear, isn't it, that the vaccine roll—out from many other countries has not been as quick as it has been here, that variants are out there, and even if you have been vaccinated, you can be asymptomatic and bring one of these things back? yes, and i think with the industry is trying to say is that we've got access to lateral flow tests, and their argument as if they are good enough for schools or working environments, why aren't they good enough for travellers coming back into the country? for them, they

want to make travel as easy as possible for the public, once they do finally get to travel again. so is that the key, do you think? would a change from pcr to lateral flow tests for people coming back, much cheaper and quicker, would that be something that would make the airline industry and travel operators, tour operators and so on feel they can get their businesses back on their feet?— feel they can get their businesses back on their feet? very definitely, the would back on their feet? very definitely, they would see _ back on their feet? very definitely, they would see a _ back on their feet? very definitely, they would see a huge _ back on their feet? very definitely, they would see a huge rise - back on their feet? very definitely, they would see a huge rise in - they would see a huge rise in demand. yes, they agree there should be some form of testing, but they think lateral flow testing would be enough and that there are various different reports that if these airlines themselves have put them out, they say that a lateral flow testis out, they say that a lateral flow test is actually just as successful as making somebody self isolated home for ten days. we don't have the kind of structure in this country to check up on every single person who would be coming back into the

country, so a lateral flow test would at least give you an indication immediately as to how somebody is. the indication immediately as to how somebody is— indication immediately as to how somebody is. the fact that the list of ureen somebody is. the fact that the list of green list _ somebody is. the fact that the list of green list countries _ somebody is. the fact that the list of green list countries has - somebody is. the fact that the list of green list countries has not - somebody is. the fact that the list | of green list countries has not been put out there and will not be put out for sometime in may — how difficult is that for the industry? it's a huge challenge for the industry. we've already had the uk's second largest tour operator saying we can't work with this, it's impossible, and they cancelled all holidays up until 23june because they need to actually recruit staff and cabin crew, and to get planes serviced and get pilots trained i've been meaning it's not something you can turn around, especially when you're working at the scale of the likes of ryan air are doing. it's not a quick fix, you need time to get people trained up and have all their systems in place. bud get people trained up and have all their systems in place.— their systems in place. and is all this putting _ their systems in place. and is all this putting travellers _ their systems in place. and is all this putting travellers off? - their systems in place. and is all this putting travellers off? i - their systems in place. and is all| this putting travellers off? i think it very much _ this putting travellers off? i think it very much is — this putting travellers off? i think it very much is putting _ this putting travellers off? i think it very much is putting travellersl it very much is putting travellers off at the moment. i think it is a source of frustration for the many

thousands of people who chose unable to take their holiday last year because of the pandemic and chose to roll it off to this year, thinking they had something to look forward to. yet here we are nearly a month before we are allegedly left to —— allowed to leave the country, and we are still no clear where we are going to go. we know how we will get there, we know the costs that will be involved, but we don't know where we will be able to.— we will be able to. lisa, thank you. thank you- — next month, pubs and cafes in england may be able to welcome customers to eat and drink inside. but how risky will it be? tests are being carried out in the dutch city of utrecht, where five cafes are expected to serve 1,000 people a day, from today until saturday, as part of a pilot programme to assess how infections might spread. our correspondent anna holligan sent this report. these people are doing something that still feels like a long way off for a lot of us. access is limited, you need a negative test and reservation to get inside.

we've all been looking at england, reallyjealous. yeah, it feels great. these organised drinking sessions are experiments to gather data and insights which could help to establish how soon bars can start allowing people to pop in for a point again. so, the researchers will be looking at ways in which people interact, things like the time they spend with each other and the distance they keep, and to what extent they stick to the covid rules. but this isn't about policing their behaviour, it's about looking at how people actually interact when they are back inside what used to be familiar environments and especially after a couple of beers. everyone will have to wear a motion sensor and there will also measure the amount of fresh air circulating. with the infection rate and hospital admissions still high here, critics say the cash would be better

spent on boosting the vaccination rate. with this money, we can establish how to open pubs in a safe way and that's important because you never know how the virus will develop itself. but hospital staff are struggling. 2,500 covid patients — 800 of them in intensive care. from our point of view, want to keep on the health workers, help them, but also for all society, we'd like to bring some light and perspective, to open up in a safe way and to be there together. leave —— life and perspective. they believe allowing people to socialise in these controlled spaces could reduce the number of mass gatherings elsewhere. the findings are expected in hard weeks' time. —— four weeks' time. anna holligan, bbc news, utrecht.

the royal family are the royalfamily are returning the royal family are returning to work as preparations of going under way for prints for philip's funeral on saturday. duncan kennedy reports. but one with many personal memories. princess and spent many days of her childhood here with prince philip. today, she reflected for a few moments on those happier times. he: might not enjoy coming down here because the links that i had here, some early memories and all that. he continued to come notjust from brittania, but from the house vessel as well. ., . brittania, but from the house vessel as well. ~' . . , , as well. like her father, princess and, as well. like her father, princess and. here _ as well. like her father, princess and. here sat — as well. like her father, princess and, here sat on _ as well. like her father, princess and, here sat on board, - as well. like her father, princess and, here sat on board, loved i as well. like her father, princess| and, here sat on board, loved the sea. they were filmed together in the 1960s. today she was back among

sailors of a new generation, including one student from lovington. including one student from lovington-_ including one student from lovinuton. �* ., , lovington. i've never met any part ofthe lovington. i've never met any part of the royal — lovington. i've never met any part of the royal family _ lovington. i've never met any part of the royal family before, - lovington. i've never met any part of the royal family before, so - lovington. i've never met any part of the royal family before, so it. of the royal family before, so it was quite — of the royal family before, so it was quite a pleasure to meet her. it was quite a pleasure to meet her. it was terrible — was quite a pleasure to meet her. it was terrible what happened, i'm sure we all— was terrible what happened, i'm sure we all have _ was terrible what happened, i'm sure we all have our condolences for her. elsewhere. — we all have our condolences for her. elsewhere, preparations have been continuing for the funeral of prince philip on saturday. it will feature elements from all the armed services, those taking part working on every detail of their presentation. for princess and, nautical event. this time, it was the victoria yacht club that prince philip visited 50 years ago succulent bell yes, but i think it was a reflection of how the duke of edinburgh himself was passionate about sailing and passionate about young people being

active, especially _ passionate about young people being active, especially on _ passionate about young people as: “i; active, especially on the water. passionate about young people being active, especially on the water. the i active, especially on the water. the princess royal _ active, especially on the water. the princess royal willjoin mourners in windsor in three days' time. today, for a few hours, she was able to revisit a place that meant so much to her and herfather. duncan kennedy, bbc news, on the isle of wight. the disgraced financier bernard madoff, who was convicted of running the largest known ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison where he was serving a 150—year sentence. madoff, who was 82, defrauded thousands of people using a type of rotating fraud — in which investors are paid with funds recycled from other investors. the supermarket chain asda is cutting up to 1,200 jobs at its in—store bakeries. it says it's changing the way they operate in response to shifting customer habits. instead of bread being made from scratch, its proposing to introduce a new centralised bakery to deliver a wider range of pre—baked products throughout the day. the move will impact

workers at 341 branches — although asda says it hopes to redeploy as many staff as possible, with redundancy the last option. two large sections of cliff on dorset�*s jurassic coast have collapsed. it's the biggest rock fall to happen in 60 years, and the incident has dramatically changed the coast�*s landscape. another large rock fall happened along the same stretch of coastline back in november. dorset council warned that with ground drying out, more landslips and rock falls could happen very quickly. jon kay has been looking at the landslip today. britain is a little bit smaller today. or, in fact, quite a lot smaller because, look, this giant chunk of the coastjust outside seatown in dorset, near bridport, has collapsed into the sea. now this stretch of the jurassic coast often has cliff falls. every year, this kind of things happen but people around here say they've never seen, certainly not for decades, anything on this scale.

down on the beach, this is about as close as we want to get safely but you can see that it's blocked the entire beach. you'd normally be able to walk right through there but look, just tonnes and tonnes of different rock forms and land types have blocked the beach. you can't get through any more and people just coming down to take it in and have a look at it. there are warnings, though, not to get too close. the top of the cliff, apparently, still collapse, so a cordon has gone up across 300 metres to prevent people getting too close to the edge because there is a suspicion that there could be more land falls in the hours and days ahead. down here on the beach as well there is still a risk of more rocks falling onto the beach. so people being told not to climb onto that, to try and hold back. one thing that strikes me is see the plants and bushes and trees there on that new little peninsula that is sticking out into the sea? well, just yesterday, those were on top of the cliff,

on top of the land and they have collapsed on top of this great new chunk of rock that now heads out into the channel. when you look at it, you think, thank goodness this happened that night, when there weren't lots of visitors enjoying the easing of lockdown, no properties on top, so apparently nothing damaged, nobody missing. but it could have been much, much more serious. it's 100 days to the opening ceremony of the tokyo olympics, after the games were put back a year because of the covid—19 pandemic. the organisers insist the games are full steam ahead — but injapan, support for the olympics and paralympics remains low because of concerns about coronavirus. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. if the latest opinion polls are to be believed, these people in tokyo demanding the olympics be cancelled are just the tip of a very large iceberg.

with coronavirus infections surging across western japan, 72% now say the olympics must be postponed or cancelled. one of them is nobuko shimizu, who is worried about the threat to her elderly mother. we can't have the olympics. my mother is 91. so she is very vulnerable to the covid things. i think maybe i would take her to the countryside for maybe 2—3 weeks, away from tokyo. it's more safe. japan doesn'tjust have a large number of elderly, they have only started getting covid vaccines this week. while the uk and us surge ahead, japan lies far behind, with fewer vaccinations per capita than any other developed country. experts say this makes it extremely vulnerable. i think it is a very stupid idea to hold the olympic games this summer in tokyo.

it is. but that doesn't necessarily mean it is impossible. if you ignore all the surrounding risks of gathering people together at the same time in one city, in the middle of the pandemic, it is not a good idea, scientifically or ethically. with just 100 days to go, japan is still struggling to hold olympic test events. today, this stadium behind me should have been bustling with activity, holding a big olympic preparatory event. instead, it is empty. why this event has been called off is not clear. but what we do know is that, two weeks ago, seven members of the japan men's water polo team, who should have been competing here today, tested positive for covid—19. so how is this affecting the athletes who've waited so long for the olympics to happen? on the

beaches south of tokyo, this woman is still able to get out for her daily training. but covid has forced her out of international competition for over a year i've been and that is taking a toll. translation: ., , ., ., translation: nothing is going to disru -t our translation: nothing is going to disrupt our plan — translation: nothing is going to disrupt our plan leading _ translation: nothing is going to disrupt our plan leading up - translation: nothing is going to disrupt our plan leading up to - translation: nothing is going to disrupt our plan leading up to the l disrupt our plan leading up to the limit dutch olympics. competition in practice are totally different things. by not having any place to compete, it is hard for us to maintain a rhythm. this week, as the olympic torch relay reached osaka, surging covid infections there forced the cancellation of all public events. instead, runners carried the torch around an empty park, waving to no—one. it could be a foretaste of what is to come. rupert wingfield—hayes, tokyo. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. it was chilly this morning.

it's going to be cold again overnight tonight. what we have at the moment is very quiet weather, dominated by this area of high pressure. producing 1— does make showers across more southern and western areas, even though we've got high—pressure in charge. it is keeping most parts of the country dry and it will do again tomorrow. but any showers fading away later this evening and overnight we will have clear skies, some patches of mist and fog, maybe a few showers coming in off the cert... it'll be a cold night, widespread frost for the most part. lowest temperatures in northern england in southern scotland, minus 4—5 c. more showers on the way for tomorrow, it looks like the north easterly breeze will be pushing him towards east anglia and the southeast of england. elsewhere probably going to be dry, cloud building out, some sunny spells, maybe a small transfer

showers in pembrokeshire and cornwall. large parts of the uk will be dry. temperatures here will be a bit lower than they were today. elsewhere about 11—13 c could make a degree or two higher than that and western parts of scotland. those temperatures again will fall away very quickly during the evening as skies could to clear, we got showers moving away from england so it turns dry overnight once again. we still have high—pressure in charge of the weather, as we move into friday, and for the time being it's keeping these weather fronts at bay on the atlantic and keeping milder air away it was well. more of a breeze developing in northern ireland and western scotland, a bit of a breeze through the english channel, otherwise it's a sunny start and we will see the cloud building up again, spreading out around inland areas with the best of the sunshine around. coastal parts probably a drier day with dry temperatures as well. heading into the weekend, these weather fronts will finally make it move into scotland and

northern ireland, increasing the cloud, more likely to get some rain in the northwest during the second half of the weekend. elsewhere for much of the uk, the weekend will be dry, seeing temperatures rise a bit over eastern parts of england and it shouldn't be quite as cold overnight.

today at six, the david cameron lobbying row — keir starmer goes on the offensive. how far did the former prime minister go to help this australian financier whose company is now in trouble? here's labour's answer. the greensill scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. dodgy contracts, privileged access, jobs for their mates. this is the return of tory sleaze. borisjohnson insists the review he's ordered will get to the bottom of the affair. also tonight... the fishmonger�*s hall terror attack — the inquest hears from a survivor who pleaded with the killer not to stab her. there's100 days to go before the tokyo olympics but public support injapan is waning as the country faces

a fourth wave of the pandemic. music: i vow t0 thee my country