tonight at ten — more evidence of the toll on the nhs of the coronavirus pandemic, with waiting lists for other treatments reaching record highs. more than 4.5 million people in england have been affected, with even heart patients having operations postponed. it's absolutely shocking, isn't it, that somebody needs to wait more than a year for heart surgery? because heart surgery�*s not a luxury. if you need it doing, it needs to be done. borisjohnson says he'll do whatever it takes to tackle the mounting nhs backlog. also tonight... the david cameron lobbying row — a former tory party chairman says there appeared to be no boundaries between the civil service and the private sector. is this your decision not to testify? it is, your honour. derek chauvin, the policeman accused of killing george floyd

by kneeling on his neck, refuses to take the stand at his trial. prince charles sees some of the tributes to the duke of edinburgh, as the palace reveals the list of the 30 guests who'll attend the service. commentator: the world's best is beaten by britain's best. - and "one to tell the grand kids". britain's dan evans beats the world number one, novak djokovic, in straight sets. also in the sport on the bbc news channel, the perfect start for arsenal against slavia prague in the europa league, as the gunners look for a spot in the last four. good evening. the coronavirus pandemic has put enormous pressure on the nhs, and stark new figures showjust how difficult it's been for the service to treat other patients.

the number of people now on hospital waiting lists in england reached record levels in february. a total of 4.7 million people were waiting for routine operations and procedures in england. if we look at those waiting more than a year to start hospital treatment, there were just over 1,600 in february 2020. but 12 months on, there are nearly 388,000 waiting more than a year. but how can the nhs make up the backlog? today, borisjohnson said he'd do whatever it takes to deal with the problem. here's our health editor, hugh pym. zen, who has a learning disability, needed an operation on his pancreas. it was cancelled in september and then again in december last year, and only finally happened last month. his brother says it was very hard to explain. for someone like zen, to tell him, look, hospitals are under pressure, we have a pandemic — that's not something that he can understand at all. so, all zen knows is that he is in pain. there are a million indirect effects of the coronavirus which have affected people like my brother.

there are long waits for appointments as well as operations. vicky, who has a heart condition, needs regular check—ups with a cardiologist, but they didn't happen at all last year, and injanuary her symptoms got worse, which made her increasingly anxious. it makes me really, really tired, really dizzy. it can make me feel a bit faint sometimes. i don't sleep very well. i can feel my heart beat constantly. it's literally like somebody trying to punch their way out of my chest, so sleeping is really difficult. vicky needed an ambulance to take her to hospital for treatment. she believes it wouldn't have been necessary if her check—ups had gone ahead. for non—urgent heart operations and procedures, including some heart valve surgery, there were over 32,000 patients waiting more than the 18—week target in england in february 2020. now, a year later, that number has risen by a half, with more than a8,000 patients waiting that long. in the same month, more than 5000 were waiting over a year, compared with just a few dozen

a year earlier. there have been calls for urgent action to tackle the problem. we need support and help because of the enormous scale of the challenge the nhs is facing and that requires clear planning, financial investment so that we can treat all the patients in need, and a commitment now from government not only for short—term funding and fix, but for the long term plan to treat all people who need care. some hospitals are trying out solutions. here in croydon, they have what they call a hospital within a hospital, just for non—urgent operations. to minimise covid infection risk, staff here don't work in other parts of the hospital and they make maximum use of their facilities. by ensuring that we have efficiently run lists, - maximising the estate that we have, | using our theatres six days a week, | three—session days, means that we will have a chance.

of reducing the backlogs that are now building. i nhs england says 40% of all covid hospital admissions came injanuary and february this year, but even so many routine operations went ahead and there was a £1 billion fund to increase treatment. data from scotland, wales and northern ireland is published at different times, but rising waiting lists are an increasing challenge to the nhs in all parts of the uk. the prime minister says he'll do whatever it takes to deal with this nhs backlog. how difficult a job is that going to be? nhs backlog. how difficult a “ob is that going to he'lfi nhs backlog. how difficult a “ob is that going to be? well, there are no easy solutions _ that going to be? well, there are no easy solutions or _ that going to be? well, there are no easy solutions or quick _ that going to be? well, there are no easy solutions or quick fixes. - that going to be? well, there are no easy solutions or quick fixes. more i easy solutions or quick fixes. more patients are being referred by doctors every week for treatment and you've of course got this huge backlog. training new staff, new doctors, new nurses, takes years, so a lot of this boils down to money. as one senior player said today, it's beginning to look more like the

early 2000s with these long waiting lists, that then labour government put a lot of money into bringing them down. borisjohnson said today, we are going to give the nhs all the funding needed to beat the backlog, we are going to do whatever it takes. now, that's a pretty big statement. it may prove to be a hostage to fortune. there's a lot of pressure on the public finances as things stand, a lot of demands for spending in many, many departments, and i think certainly it's the case for governments around the uk that dealing with covid and then trying to bring down these waiting lists is going to be a very, very big challenge, and as one player said today, the nhs could take years to recover. , ., ., recover. hugh pym, our health editor, recover. hugh pym, our health editor. many — recover. hugh pym, our health editor, many thanks. - the latest government coronavirus figures show there were 2,672 new 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 2,667.

across the uk, an average of 2,393 people were in hospital with covid—i9 in the seven days to tuesday, including suspected cases in wales. 30 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, taking the total to 127,191. nearly 118,000 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 2a hour period, which takes the overall number of people who've had theirfirstjab, to just under 32.5 million. those who've had their second dose of the vaccine in the latest 24—hour period, is 343,783, taking the overall number of people who've had a second jab to more than 8.5 million. a former conservative party chairman has become the latest figure to intervene in the escalating row surrounding david cameron's lobbying

of ministers on behalf of greensill capital, a finance company that's since gone bust. lord pickles, who vets the newjobs of ministers and government officials when they leave government, says there didn't seem to be "any boundaries at all" between civil servants and the private sector. his comments follow the revelation that a top civil servant was working for the government, and greensill, at the same time. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. one out, one in. the revolving door. politicians and officials leave public service and walk in to big private—sector jobs. it's allowed, within a set of rules, but the man checking up on sleaze thinks some officials have gone too far. it is not a satisfactory situation, and i think not only you are entitled to know or i'm entitled to know, i think the wider public are entitled to know what these arrangements are. i hope this doesn't sound rude... there doesn't seem to have been

any boundaries at all. but all he can really do when things go wrong is write stiff letters. dozens of them are published every year. ministers and officials don't need permission to take jobs on after politics, they're just meant to follow advice. i think things have been allowed to drift. i had the vaguest feeling that you might be looking at a cohort entitlement, whereby the existing cohort looked after the cohort that's just left, on the assumption that the cohort that's coming up will look after them. in the middle of this mess is the former prime minister, and the banker lex greensill, who was a government adviser when david cameron was in power. he'd impressed the country's most senior civil servant at the time, sirjeremy heywood. another top official, bill crothers, was even allowed to start working for greensill while on the public payroll. years later, david cameron started working for greensill�*s now—defunct bank. texting and contacting not just the chancellor,

but two other treasury ministers. arranging drinks for greensill with the health secretary — was it all just too close for comfort? increasingly, we're seeing a murkier and murkier picture. whether it's, you know, the way contracts are handed out, the lack of due process, or the lobbying which, you know, it's not a revolving door, it's an open door now into government. there are now several investigations into exactly what happened at greensill. whether the rules failed or individuals failed to follow them. and remember, lobbying, trying to influence the government, can be perfectly legitimate, and ministers and officials have to earn a living when they leave this place. but any contacts are meant to be open, with no nudges and winks. several ministers have told the bbc today it's time to tighten up the rules. but does number ten have the appetite yet for a wider shake—up? i think the most important thing is for us to get to the bottom of it properly, and i want all ministers and civil servants to be making, you know,

the information that needs to be known, known. who knew about greensill, the bank that's gone under, is one thing, but there's concern here about an atmosphere where what can matter is who, not what, you know. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the former police officer charged with the murder of george floyd in minneapolis won't be taking the stand on the final day of evidence at his trial. derek chauvin said he would use his right to refuse to answer questions that could incriminate him. he denies killing mr floyd by kneeling on his neck. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher reports now from minneapolis. this was the first time in nearly three weeks of evidence that derek chauvin spoke in the courtroom. up to the last minute, there was speculation about whether he would testify. have you made a decision today whether you intend to testify or whether you intend to invoke your fifth amendment privilege?

i will invoke my fifth amendment privilege today. the decision whether or not to testify... i let me take this off. ..is entirely yours. is this your decision not to testify? - it is, your honour. all right. taking the stand would have been the only way for mr chauvin to tell his side of the story about this video. the defence argue that his knee was not the main cause of george floyd's death. but it would have opened him up to cross—examination by the prosecution, and he decided that the risk was too great. just a few miles away, another former police officer, kim potter, appeared in court — charged with manslaughter for shooting a young black man at the weekend. that sparked an explosion of anger in a city already on edge. there've been four nights now of unrest. the claim that she confused her gun for her taser has not calmed the protesters. what they see is a black man pulled overfor a minor offence who ended up dead.

they're demanding more serious charges. these protests are about one police shooting, about the killing of a person, an unarmed black man. but like all the others we've seen over the past year, they're just as much about a justice system that seemed to be tilted against black people. what you got these guns for? as the trial winds down, tensions are growing. security has been tightened. protests that followed george floyd's death led to widespread looting and arson. the city is fortifying itself for the verdict. jurors will withdraw to consider the verdict on monday, after closing arguments, and they have to stay together until they reach a decision and it has to be unanimous. the judge told them to pack a bag, plan for long and hope for short. the defence did not have to prove that derek chauvin was innocent, it simply had to raise enough doubt in

the mind of even onejuror that derek chauvin was not the main cause of mr floyd's death and it is argued that drugs and a bad heart were mostly to blame. barbara plett usher, thanks forjoining us. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, insists borisjohnson should "respect scottish democracy", if the electorate votes for a majority of msps who support independence in next month's holyrood elections. the snp leader was speaking at the launch of her party's manifesto. here's our scotland editor, sarah smith. for the snp, this election is crucial because they believe victory for them will lead to another referendum on independence. so, the future direction of the scottish nation is on the ballot. it's a huge question, but not the only one on voters' minds. the snp are asking for an unprecedented fourth term. so, that means voters will notjust be looking at their plans for the future, the party also has to defend their record over the last 1a years in government. after seven years as first minister, nicola sturgeon�*s facing questions about whether she's delivered

on education and poverty reduction, as well as scrutiny of how she's handled the covid crisis. do you owe voters an apology for the tragically high death rate in scotland's care homes? i will never, ever say that i didn't get things wrong in covid. idid. i think it's inevitable that that would have been the case, given what we were dealing with. and i think it's really important that there is full scrutiny and accountability through a public inquiry. but every single day, i have done my level best to take the best decisions i could, with the information and the advice i had at the time. and if i'm re—elected as first minister... in fact, all through this election campaign, and if i'm re—elected as first minister, that's what i will continue to do. if re—elected, the snp are promising an additional £2.5 billion of nhs spending for front—line health services. a tablet or laptop, and a free internet connection, for every school child. they want to move towards a minimum income guarantee for every citizen, bring the rail network back

into public ownership, and they plan to hold another referendum on scottish independence before the end of 2023. i've got a duty as first minister to lead the whole country. we're in a global pandemic, that's my focus. and then to say to people, here's the choice about the future we can have. we can have a future dictated by the likes of borisjohnson, or we can decide the shape of our future ourselves. but i always put the needs and the interests of getting this country through covid first, because that is my duty. it would be a dereliction not to do that but, equally, it would be a dereliction of duty for me to allow the tories to take scotland so far in the wrong direction that we don't have the option to change course. nicola sturgeon got her first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine, describing it as "an emotional moment". a referendum on leaving the uk could entirely re—draw the political landscape. if they win this election, the snp will still need permission from westminster for another vote, though the party will insist no—one should try to deny scottish voters the right

to choose their own future. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. people living in northern ireland will be able to get a professional haircut from friday next week, as part of an easing of lockdown restrictions. pubs, bars and cafes will also be able to serve customers outside from the 30th april, when non—essential retail will also reopen. buckingham palace has released details of those who'll be able to attend prince philip's funeral on saturday. under covid restrictions there's a limit of 30 guests. today, the prince of wales and duchess of cornwall have been viewing some of the thousands of floral tributes to the duke of edinburgh. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, has more details. it is the vehicle which will take him on his finaljourney — a classic british land rover, designed to the duke's own specification to carry a coffin, his coffin, to its final resting place. it's a no—nonsense approach

to a funeral, which reflects the duke's particular wish for a minimum of fuss. normally, a ceremonial royal funeral — this was the one for queen elizabeth the queen mother in 2002 — would have the coffin borne on a horse—drawn gun carriage, behind which members of the royal family would walk. and those family members who hold military rank would be in military uniform. but for the duke's funeral — notwithstanding his long association with the military — all the royals will wear civilian dress. walking in the front rank, behind the coffin, will be the princess royal and the prince of wales. behind them, the earl of wessex and the duke of york. and then in the third row, princes harry and william, but not side by side. the princess royal's son, peter phillips, will be between them. so, what lies behind the decision for the royals not to wear uniform? it's certainly highly unusual. the obvious answer is that it's to spare harry embarrassment

since he's no longer entitled to wear military uniform. all the palace will say is that all the arrangements have been signed off by the queen. once they get to st george's chapel, the queen will sit on her own. there will be just 30 members of the congregation, all of whom will wear masks. according to the palace, difficult decisions have had to be made about who those 30 should be. they'll include three members of the german branch of the duke's family. and although the funeral will take place in private, behind the castle walls, there will be a ceremonial element to it. the king's troop royal horse artillery have moved to windsor to be on hand to fire a gun salute. the footguards and other service contingents, including the royal marines, will also be taking part. they'll be responsible for bearing the duke's coffin out of the castle and then into the chapel. everything is being carefully rehearsed. and though the palace has

done its best to discourage people from leaving flowers, many have chosen to do so. all the bouquets have been gathered in the grounds of marlborough house, where they've been inspected by the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. most are accompanied by messages, paying tribute to the duke and thanking him for his years of service. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the last couple of weeks in northern ireland have seen some of the worst unrest since the signing of the good friday agreement, more than 20 years ago. much of it has been sparked by what the government calls "significant differences" over the implementation of the northern ireland protocol, which was designed to help the post—brexit transition, and representatives of the british and irish governments have been meeting today to discuss it. most of the recent unrest took place along the so—called peace lines, the walls which divide largely catholic nationalist areas of belfast from the mostly protestant loyalist parts of the city. our special correspondent

fergal keane has more details. so much of the story of this place hinges on these walls — over 20 miles of them in northern ireland. nearly 70% of troubles�* killings took place within 500 yards of them. and in the two decades since the peace deal, they've been growing, not shrinking. it's home. i've had my kids here, i've had four children here as well. jean mcanoy has lived on nationalist bombay street all her life, even after her family was burned out of their original home on this spot, in 1969. they can come right up there, but we can't... this is the view from the garden. i know it's terrible, but it's necessary. i couldn't live here if that peace line wasn't there. what would happen? there would be murder. the barriers run through some

of the city's most deprived areas. the sectarian interfaces, so volatile in times of tension. here, young protestants rioting. because they think nationalist youths like these belong to a community that now has the upper hand... agh! ..and where unionism finds itself reacting, not leading. westland estate, a protestant enclave in north belfast, is a microcosm of loyalist anxiety... ..over calls for a border poll, policing issues, and, they say, intimidation by local nationalist youth. we don't want that trouble, we don't want that tension, you know? we weren't doing anything to deserve that. if this is how we are living now, how would we be living in a united ireland? would our identity be accepted? would we be accepted as british unionists?

are you going to take what we know away? and it's only going to get to a sense where loyalism, like is happening now, people are going to say, "enough�*s enough." it's important to remember that the violence is localised. this isn't a return to the troubles, certainly not to anyone with memories of gunmen crossing the city to kill. but these enduring barriers remind us that after 23 years of a peace agreement, sectarianism hasn't been eroded. these aren't just symbols of intolerance, but of political failure. loyalists feel irish nationalism wants outright victory. nationalists argue they're just asserting their rights. there's little trust. i spoke with two politicians, both former paramilitary prisoners, who started out as teenagers on opposing sides here. if you put yourself in their shoes, loyalists see you winning, they think you get away

with everything. i can understand that perception because there is a shift in power relationships, but here's the key to it, they need to come to terms with it. that requires leadership, and they can't just shout about, "we're losing, they're winning," all the time. they need to sit down and engage. they signed up for the good friday agreement, and then they say it isn't an agreement, it's a process, and it's a stepping stone to a united ireland. that's not what the politics was about. the politics was about stopping that division. the rioting across these peace lines saw momentum swing to the streets, creating an unpredictable dynamic — dangerous for governments, political parties and the people. fergal keane, bbc news, belfast. the white house has announced new sanctions against russia. the measures, backed by the uk, include the expulsion of diplomats and the targeting of nearly 50 companies and individuals. the biden administration

says it's in response to a range of hostile actions, including interference in us elections and cyber attacks. tonight, the foreign office summoned the russian ambassador in connection with what it called "recent malign activity". 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, is at the foreign office for us. where does this leave the relations with the west and russia? relations between the — with the west and russia? relations between the west _ with the west and russia? relations between the west and _ with the west and russia? relations between the west and russia - with the west and russia? relations between the west and russia have l between the west and russia have been simmering now for some time but today they boiled over. vladimir putin's decision to deploy 10,000 troops to the border with ukraine has raised fears of invasion, but russia says it is just a military exercise, now president biden has decided to impose substantial economic sanctions on russia in retaliation for what the us says is russia's interference in its presidential elections last year and also a massive cyber attack all of which russia denies. the reason this

matters is notjust a confrontation between russia and the west, but britain and europe are also involved and they have been subject to cyber attacks, and the ukraine is firmly part of the continent, so that is why today, the russian ambassador was summoned to the foreign office to be told of the british government's concern over what it calls russia's malign behaviour and thatis calls russia's malign behaviour and that is why nato allies issued a statement of solidarity with the us. emmanuel macron will have urgent talks over this with angela merkel and the russian ambassador. what we are seeing are coordinated response to russia. is thisjust are seeing are coordinated response to russia. is this just a show of force that we are seeing on the board of the ukraine from vladimir putin or something more? board of the ukraine from vladimir putin orsomething more? —— board of the ukraine from vladimir putin or something more? —— the border of ukraine. james landale, thank you very much.

the hong kong media tycoon, jimmy lai, who's one of the territory's most prominent pro—democracy activists, will go on trial tomorrow under a new national security law from beijing, which critics say is draconian, and erodes people's

you're right.

hey, good morning, everybody. this is a very nice day in hong kong today... despite the fear, jimmy lai continued his criticism of beijing. live—streaming from his newspaper headquarters, he'd broadcast his talks with prominent western political figures on a weekly basis. yeah, i think the freedom of speech is in danger here in hong kong. beijing says the new laws were needed to restore stability and end violent protest in the city. and the laws also makejimmy lai's broadcasts a risky move. given their vague wording, it's unclear if the discussions could land him with even more charges. his every word spoken could be used against him. beforejimmy is finally detained, we meet him one last time. i'm prepared for the worst. if the worst comes, that means the most effective way that i can bring the world's attention

to hong kong. tomorrow, jimmy lai is expected to begin serving jail time for an earlier crime, protesting against the government. and his trial, under the new law, begins. according to beijing, the charges against him are equal to treason. they've compared the seriousness of his alleged crimes to murder. the fate of activists likejimmy lai will set a new precedent for hong kong. the space for dissent is shrinking. danny vincent, bbc news, hong kong. and you can see more onjimmy lai's story in our world on the bbc news channel this weekend. britain's number one tennis player, dan evans, has beaten the world number one novak djokovic in the first meeting between the pair. evans won in straight sets against the the 18—times grand slam champion in the third round of the monte carlo masters,

to record the biggest win of his career.