today at six, boris johnson and his downing street flat — the questions thatjust will not go away. where exactly did the prime minister get the tens of thousands he spent doing it up? labour accuse him of being dishonest. we haven't had that full and frank explanation from the prime minister so far. to be honest, he lied yesterday. that's not good enough. it's all been done absolutely correctly. there'll be a cabinet office report when they put out theie annual accounts, and everyone will be able to see exactly what happened. also on tonight'sprogramme: lost for words — a new report on the effect of successive lockdowns on the language skills of four and five—year—olds.

the cremations that tell the story of india's soaring covid death rate — aid from britain and other countries is arriving. i have his scan in here. that was my son's scan. thinking what could have been — why are black women so much more likely to have miscarriages? back to royal duties: their first public engagements since the death of prince philip — the queen spoke to diplomats virtually. and coming up on the bbc news channel... chasing champions league glory — chelsea prepare to take on real madrid in the first leg of their semi—final in spain.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. labour have escalated their attack on borisjohnson, now openly accusing him of lying over where he got the tens of thousands of pounds spent on the redecoration of his downing street flat. it's an accusation rejected by the prime minister's spokesman who said he had complied with all the rules and that any costs have been met by the prime minister personally. the row follows persistent reports that mrjohnson said he was willing to see "bodies pile high" when discussing covid strategy — something downing street has insisted he did not say and is untrue. as our deputy political editor, vicki young reports, it all adds up to mounting pressure on the government. a warning, there is flash photography in vicki's report. leading photography in vicki's report. the country and setti tone leading the country and setting the tone for the rest of government. the decisions prime ministers make every day in this room have far—reaching consequences for us all. they won't always be right, but criticism of

borisjohnson isn'tjust always be right, but criticism of boris johnson isn't just about always be right, but criticism of borisjohnson isn'tjust about his judgment, it's fast becoming about his integrity. everywhere they go, ministers are being asked similar questions about their boss's behaviour. questions about their boss's behaviour-— questions about their boss's behaviour. . , ~ , behaviour. has the prime minister broken the — behaviour. has the prime minister broken the rules, _ behaviour. has the prime minister broken the rules, mr _ behaviour. has the prime minister broken the rules, mr rab? - behaviour. has the prime minister broken the rules, mr rab? that i behaviour. has the prime minister. broken the rules, mr rab? that refer to the expensive _ broken the rules, mr rab? that refer to the expensive refurbishment - broken the rules, mr rab? that refer to the expensive refurbishment of. to the expensive refurbishment of the flat mrjohnson shares with his fiancee and. the prime minister's former adviser dominic cummings says the tory leader tried to get party donors to secretly pay for the renovations. laboursay donors to secretly pay for the renovations. labour say it's time to come clean. renovations. labour say it's time to come clean-— renovations. labour say it's time to come clean. ~ ., ., , come clean. who has given the loan, who has given _ come clean. who has given the loan, who has given the _ come clean. who has given the loan, who has given the money? _ come clean. who has given the loan, who has given the money? we - come clean. who has given the loan, who has given the money? we need| come clean. who has given the loan, i who has given the money? we need to know who the prime minister, who borisjohnson is beholden to, who has paid for his furniture, his sofa and the bed he sleeps in. and we haven't had that full and frank explanation from the prime minister so far. to be honest, he lied yesterday. that is not good enough. downing street says mrjohnson personally met the cost of wider refurbishment in this year, but hasn't denied that someone else originally picked up the bill. if they did, the rules say that must be made public. the

they did, the rules say that must be made public— they did, the rules say that must be made ublic. ., , . made public. the reason why we have these rules around _ made public. the reason why we have these rules around transparency - made public. the reason why we have these rules around transparency so i these rules around transparency so that the public know who decision—makers including the prime minister, what their interests are and to be clear that they are acting on behalf of the people come on behalf of citizens and taxpayers, and that they are not overly influenced by donations or loans or private interests.— private interests. number ten insists mr _ private interests. number ten insists mrjohnson _ private interests. number ten insists mrjohnson has - private interests. number ten insists mrjohnson has acted l private interests. number ten | insists mrjohnson has acted in insists mrjohnson has acted in accordance with codes of conduct and electoral rules. many conservative mps i have spoken to are keen to downplay the significance of all of this. one minister said boris johnson has and getting away with things that others wouldn't. but there is concern that lots of individual unrelated accusations could combine together and erode trust in the prime minister. one of the most damaging accusations mr johnson faces is about his views on shutting down the country because of covid. he denied saying he would rather see bodies pile high than

approve a third lockdown, but sources told the bbc and other media organisations that he did make the remark. it's another question being fired at cabinet ministers. i remark. it's another question being fired at cabinet ministers.— fired at cabinet ministers. i don't need to worry — fired at cabinet ministers. i don't need to worry about _ fired at cabinet ministers. i don't need to worry about who - fired at cabinet ministers. i don't need to worry about who may - fired at cabinet ministers. i don't need to worry about who may or| need to worry about who may or didn't say what and when. the prime minister said he didn't say it, that's good enough for me. saving lives is what matters and that is what the prime minister has done. mr johnson would rather focus on campaigning ahead of next week elections, but there are bucketloads of questions still to be answered. downing street is still sidestepping many of those questions about exactly how the renovations on the flat were originally paid. today labour has significantly stepped up its attack. of course, opposition parties spend a lot of time criticising governments. we are used to that, but accusing a prime minister of lying is actually very rare, and that is what they have done today. they think that is an example of a pattern of behaviour, something that downing street completely denies, but of course,

borisjohnson will be fending off all of these questions until he answers them all. vicki, thank you very much. any teacher will tell you the early years are crucial in a child's development. now new research has found that lockdowns and social distancing have had an impact on the speech and language skills of children starting school in england. the bbc has seen evidence that an increased number of four— and five—year—olds needed more support with communication than in previous years. as our education editor branwen jeffreys reports from blackpool and walsall, not seeing grandparents and the loss of play dates are partly to blame. hey, i found a worm. this is how children learn words, but new experiences have been limited by the pandemic. parents know toddlers have seen and heard less. at this point, she's spent half of her life in lockdown. so whereas we'd normally do singing groups and toddler groups, she's not had any of that.

they need to be with other children. you know, it's good forthem, isn't it? yeah, making new friends and stuff. it's easy to think with children this little that they haven't missed out on much and they've got plenty of time. but if they don't have the experiences, don't learn the words they need to understand the world, they'll carry that with them throughout their schooling. katie is one of blackpool�*s community connectors, trained to support parents. some of the mums and dads i've spoken to have said they've noticed the children are quite scared around other children. one in particular said her little one heard another baby cry and didn't know what the noise was, so was quite startled by it. she's been visiting darren and lucy, at home with baby george, born in lockdown, and two—year—old ruby, worrying that their kids have been missing out.

as a nation, we've kind of forgot about how important it is for these children to be out there and developing these skills young. it's mainly george it's impacted the most. with him being so young, it's the new normal for him to see people with masks, so he's not quite used to seeing people's faces. they will be missing a whole amount of skills that we need them to have. merle davies leads blackpool�*s work on very young children. she fears that problems have been missed. health visitors haven't seen families at home. in many areas, they've been moved to other work. these children are the forgotten children of the pandemic. they definitely are. they are the ones we've completely overlooked and the ones who in a few years' time, when they go to school, won't have the skills that we expect them to have to be able to be able to engage in education. for these four and five—year—olds, there is extra help, a special programme of working with words. here, it's helped children

make months of progress. we were absolutely amazed to find that some of the children who did only have a few words were able to start talking sentences in a matter of weeks. catch—up cash from the government is spreading this approach. by next year, it should be in most of england's primary schools. but many fear that unless toddlers are helped too, schools could be dealing with children's word gap for many years. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. if you want more advice on how to support your child's early—years development, you can visit the bbc�*s tiny happy people website for activities and ideas to help your little one. the latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,685 new infections in the latest

24—hour period, which means an average of 2,332 new cases per day in the last week. and there are just over 1,600 people in hospital with coronavirus — the number continues to fall. 17 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours — of people who'd had a positive covid—i9 test within the previous 28 days. these figures are often lower on a monday. the average number of deaths per day in the past week is 21. the total number of uk deaths is now 127,451. onto vaccinations, and a total of nearly 3a million people have now had theirfirstjab. that takes the overall number who've had their second jab to 13.2 million. our health editor hugh pym joins me now. let's stay with those vaccination figures. what is a breakdown of who is getting these jabs? it

figures. what is a breakdown of who is getting these jabs?— is getting these “abs? it was only a cou - le is getting these “abs? it was only a coule of is getting these jabs? it was only a counle of weeks — is getting these jabs? it was only a couple of weeks ago _ is getting these jabs? it was only a couple of weeks ago that _ is getting these jabs? it was only a couple of weeks ago that the - couple of weeks ago that the government was hailing the fact that the nine priority groups, including those aged 50 and over, had all been offered a first dose. now the programme is moving rapidly down through the age groups. let's take a look at the numbers in different parts of the uk. from today, those aged 42 and over in england are being offered a first dose, contacted by text and e—mail and so on. and there may be a move down to 30—year—olds in a week. northern ireland has already got there. it is offering those aged 35 and over a firstjab. in wales, is as young as 30 being offered that first dose. in scotland, it's a5—year—olds and over who are being offered the vaccines. it's good to have that regional and national breakdown. what about the overall numbers in each case? again, let's look at — overall numbers in each case? again, let's look at it — overall numbers in each case? again, let's look at it in _ overall numbers in each case? again, let's look at it in terms _ overall numbers in each case? again, let's look at it in terms of _ overall numbers in each case? again, let's look at it in terms of the - let's look at it in terms of the nations of the uk in terms of the percentage of adults who have had a first dose. wales is out there with

68% who have had that firstjab. in england, it 63% of adults. in scotland, 62% and northern ireland 61% of adults who have had that firstjab. if you look at 61% of adults who have had that first jab. if you look at all the numbers added up, one quarter of uk adults have had a first and second dose. so there is quite confident that things are progressing well, but of course, there is still a crisis in many countries, including india, as we have been hearing. hugh, thank you very much. a parliamentary committee is calling for more than 85,000 covid lockdown breach fines to be reviewed. the joint committee on human rights highlighted concerns around a lack of legal clarity which meant that fines were "discriminatory and unfair" . a government spokesperson said it was right there were consequences for those who most flagrantly

breached the rules. there are reports that the uup leader is facing a challenge to her leadership. what is going on and why? it leadership. what is going on and wh ? ., ,, ., , leadership. what is going on and wh? .,, ., leadership. what is going on and wh? .,, . leadership. what is going on and wh? �*, why? it appears that arlene foster's leadership is — why? it appears that arlene foster's leadership is in _ why? it appears that arlene foster's leadership is in a _ why? it appears that arlene foster's leadership is in a precarious - leadership is in a precarious position tonight. we understand that a majority of the dup's assembly members and its mps have signed this motion of no confidence, and is likely that that will then lead to a leadership election. this hasn't come out of the blue. it comes off the back of months of rising pressures here. there is particular angen pressures here. there is particular anger, of course, overthe pressures here. there is particular anger, of course, over the northern ireland protocol, the part of the brexit deal that relates to northern ireland and has left northern ireland and has left northern ireland in a different set of rules from the rest of the uk. that has sparked a lot of fury among unionists here. another issue causing anger is abortion, the fact that westminster intervened to legalise abortion in northern ireland, something the dup had strongly opposed. so there is this sense among some in the party that

the dup hasn't been strong and robust enough in holding on to its core ideals in recent months and a sense that unionism as a whole has been left in a weakened position under arlene foster's leadership. and of course, the party also has one eye on who is going to lead them into the assembly elections next year. this afternoon when asked about it, arlene foster brush this off, saying she had bigger things to work on. the party has said it won't comment on the motion, but it feels like tonight, her position is becoming untenable after months of tension here. becoming untenable after months of tension here-— becoming untenable after months of tension here. ., ., , ., ,, , ., tension here. emma vardy, thank you very much- — covid infections in india continue to rise by hundreds of thousands each day, and that's led to soaring death rates. the official number of deaths is put at close to 200,000, but local reports suggest that it is almost certainly an underestimate. with hospitals having to turn patients away because they've run out of resources — especially oxygen supplies — aid from abroad is arriving in the country. the first shipment of medical supplies from the uk landed today. devina gupta reports now from delhi.

a warning awarning — a warning — some viewers might find it distressing. lives erased in india, their fate sealed by the pandemic. but even as families seek closure in this crematorium built on a car park in india's capital, delhi, some are being denied dignity even in their death, as the actual reason of their demise is being buried with them. translation: 5096 of deaths are not registered by - the government as covid—19. 0ur ngo brings bodies to be cremated directly from homes of victims. the government only counts related deaths of victims who die in a hospital. under—reporting is becoming a problem in india in major covid hotspots. a public health worker told me that in many cases, they are under pressure to attribute pandemic deaths to a pre—existing disease of the patient and not count them as covid deaths

to help the government save face in this crisis. experts say the actual numbers are much worse. the enormity, the velocity and the ferocity of india's second surge is something to really take a lesson from for the rest of the world — because the virus curve was so quiet, and then the footsteps of the virus, we could not hear, but itjust exploded. and the severity of this wave cannot be silenced. with an unprecedented rush of patients, oxygen and essential medical supplies are running out in the city. countries like the uk have rushed to india's aid. a shipment from britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived in the capital today. the us and the eu have also come forward. but india needs more, as it struggles with the reality behind the hidden numbers. devina gupta, bbc news, delhi.

and tomorrow, the bbc is bringing you a special day of coverage on the deepening coronavirus crisis in india and its significance for the global fight against the pandemic. we ll have reports, interviews and analysis across tv, radio and digital throughout the day. the time is 6:17pm. our top story this evening. questions that won't go away. now labour accused the prime minister of lying over downing street flat renovations, and coming up, police uncover a suspected amphetamine lab in what they believe to be a large—scale operation of the illegal drug. coming up on sportsday on the bbc news channel. the all england club lays out its plans for wimbledon this summer — with hopes at least 10,000 fans will be allowed inside each day.

black women face a significantly higher risk of suffering a miscarriage than white women — that's the finding in a new global study published in the respected medical journal, the lancet. it looked at six countries in europe and america and found that here in the uk — its estimated that at least1 in 5 women lose a pregnancy at some point in their lifetime. but as data is limited this figure is thought to under—estimate the problem. the study also suggests that losing a pregnancy leaves women from all ethnic backgrounds more vulnerable to long—term health problems. 0ur global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports. i remember seeing the positives on my pregnancy test for the first time, and ijust was so happy that me and my husband were basically creating life together. katie was 28 when she found out she was pregnant, but one day, out of the blue, she started bleeding heavily and she lost the pregnancy. ijust felt so low, so hopeless, literally just felt

like my world had ended. katie was advised to try again and did become pregnant within a few months, but once again the pregnancy ended in miscarriage. both were second trimester losses. it was like a blanket of heaviness over my whole body, over my mind, like a dark cloud. and, yeah, ijust could not see any hope for a long time. so these are the memory boxes that we received at the hospital, that we were so grateful for. katie says she feels much stronger now to be able to talk about her losses, but this study found that black women are 43% more likely than white women to have a miscarriage. we are not sure why miscarriage is more common in black women but we think it is a combination of factors, we think it is may be black women are more susceptible to things like diabetes and hypertension and those diseases must be well controlled. we also think there may be some

social factors in that black women feel reluctant to seek medical help. the research also saw a greater risk of other health complications for women of all ethnic groups, the more losses they experience. the risk of suffering with depression was more than twice as likely after a one miscarriage and four times as likely after two or more losses. and although the numbers were low, women were still at four times the risk of suicide after one loss. they were also more vulnerable to developing blood clots and heart problems. experts are calling for a revolutionary change in miscarriage services so that couples can access specialist support after one loss instead of having to wait for at least three miscarriages, as is mostly the case in the uk at the moment. whilst miscarriage can be a very distressing thing for a woman to go through, it's important to be aware that most women go on to have a perfectly healthy baby. this research brings together what needs to happen, and that is after one miscarriage we can learn from that by identifying simple things such

as a woman stopping smoking, achieving a healthy body weight, or identifying simple medical conditions that can be treated. what's this? katie is now a proud mum to two—year—old little maximus after receiving specialist treatment. it is impossible to know for sure whether that is what led to the success of her third pregnancy, but she says she feels extremely fortunate. he's just a ray of sunshine and he brings me hope, he brings mejoy, and i guess all the pain that i went through with my first two pregnancies, ijust feel like i came at the other side. tulip mazumdar, bbc news. an inquest into the deaths of the two people killed by the convicted terrorist, usman khan, near london bridge has heard how he'd been involved in �*extremist bullying' in prison. it also emerged that, despite the fact he was being monitored by a government agency, khan had been allowed to travel from stafford to london unaccompanied. jack merrit,

who was 25, and 23—year— old saskia jones were attacked by khan at an educational event at fishmongers' hall, in 2019. five people have been arrested after police in warwickshire found a suspected amphetamine lab during a raid near redditch. officers from the national crime agency and warwickshire police discovered what they believe to be a large scale operation to produce the illegal drug. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. the end of a long investigation in rural warwickshire. two people arrested here among five detained today in raids by the national crime agency, backed by police, fire brigade and a chemicals expert. in an outhouse, this is what they discovered. a drugs lab, like something out of the drama breaking bad. police claim it's capable of producing amphetamine worth £10 million on the street every month.

when the door was opened, vapour drifted out. the type of equipment and chemicals used aren't easy to obtain. to use them safely and obtain the end product is very complex. it takes someone who knows exactly what they are doing. laboratories that have been encountered overseas, they tend to be operated by someone who's a trained scientist. this investigation and many others started with the interception by french police of encrypted phone messages from a network called encrochat. police say suspects had no idea their messages were being read, and they discussed their activities openly. but millions of messages were gathered, and the number of investigations into them grows steadily. 1,500 people have been arrested so far. tom symonds, bbc news, warwickshire. voters in scotland will be

heading to the polls for the holyrood elections next week. dumbarton has been held by scottish labour since 1999 — the entire lifetime of the parliament. but it is now the most marginal seat in scotland. the snp have been creeping ever—closer, as our scotland editor sarah smith reports. working out how to vote really matters in a key constituency in the midst of a crucial election, as these voters will help shape scotland's future. the gym just reopened yesterday. the owner thinks the pandemic should shape political priorities. i think there needs to be a real key focus on mental health and physical health as well. i think its key for economic recovery and its key to saving the nhs as well. 0n scotland's west coast, dumbarton is essential to this election. this is the most marginal seat in scotland. labour have a majority ofjust 109 votes, with the snp in second place. if the snp could win seats like this, it could be the key

to them securing an overall majority, which would then allow them to claim a mandate for another independence referendum. the constituency of dumbarton stretches from the former industrial shipbuilding town to the more genteel seaside pleasures of helensburgh, where people are very aware that this election could determine whether they're going to get a vote in the next few years on scottish independence. local businesses hit hard by lockdown are worried. the owners of this tweed shop won't vote for any party that supports holding a referendum within the next five years. i just think these referendums are very divisive, as we've seen with brexit, and i don't think it's a good thing for the country at this time. so, not never? no, not never... if there's a majority for it, there's an appetite for it, we can't say no. the prime minister has said he won't allow another independence referendum. is that fair? no. but it's timing. it's making sure that we are secure, the children have caught up

at school, the hospitals have got rid of the backlog. that's the time to decide. to see what's at stake, look at the faslane naval base in this dumbarton constituency, home to the uk's nuclear submarines. the snp want to remove nuclear weapons from an independent scotland. vanilla or cherry? what many voters here really want to make a choice over is how scotland's governed and don't think westminster should stand in their way. the issue that is important to me is to not be ruled by westminster. i feel like we've had reason after reason to just leave westminster and i'm fed up. i like the fact that scotland's got their own parliament. i i don't like it always - being decided by english law. if there is a victory for parties that want another independence referendum, they will demand the right to hold that vote. but the veto in westminster�*s hands will not simply melt away. sarah smith, bbc news, helensburgh. here's a list of all the candidates standing in the dumbarton constituency. there's more information

about the election on the bbc news website. now, last night a 24—year—old student from glasgow became the youngest person to ever win the bbc quiz show, mastermind. cooling the blood. january. what form of humour _ cooling the blood. january. what form of humour was _ cooling the blood. january. what form of humour was he - cooling the blood. january. what form of humour was he referring to? satire _ form of humour was he referring to? satire. is_ form of humour was he referring to? satire. , _, . jonathan gibson triumphed in the grand final, after scoring a perfect 11 out of 11 in his specialist subject round beforehand. and it wasjohn humphrys' last episode, after 18 years as host. the queen has been photographed carrying out an official engagement for the first time since the funeral of prince philip. she held audiences with foreign diplomats using a videolink. meanwhile, the duke and duchess of cambridge have been visiting a family farm in county durham two days before their 10th wedding anniversary. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. cheering can it really be ten years?

but, yes, it can. ten years ago this week, they were on the balcony of buckingham palace after their wedding at westminster abbey. now, a decade later, william and catherine are more heavily committed than ever to the demands of royal duty. today was not untypical. they were to be found on a farm near darlington in county durham, and so there were close encounters with some of the cleanest sheep you're likely to find, there was a very large tractor which, of course, just had to be driven. william went first — a quick circuit of the field, no mishaps, nothing damaged — and then it was time for catherine to have a go — a moment of intense concentration, and then off she went. but alongside the photo opportunities, a serious purpose — a discussion with farmers about the challenges of the past year — and then on to something called the cheesy waffles project, which helps young people and adults with additional needs.

for william and catherine, ten years after their marriage, a typical day of royal duty — the kind of thing william pledged to continue after the death of his grandfather. and speaking of his grandparents, here was the queen today, holding video audiences with ambassadors. 18 days after her husband's death, normal service is being resumed. nicholas witchell, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. cold for the royal visit today, but april 2021 is going to be remembered for its frost and in actual fact it looks like it will be the frosty list for over 60 years. in fact, there has been an air frost somewhere across the uk every night somewhere across the uk every night so far this month. the irony is, there probably won't be tonight and that's because we have seen some showers today. this was york a few hours ago and if i show you the satellite and rain radar combined, something we've not seen for some

time, you can see how extensive the cloud and showers were across the country, pushing in from the east to west. that front is going to sink south and so the cloud and showers will move its way across england and wales, acting like a blanket, preventing the temperatures from falling too far and some of the shower is quite intense through the night but the clearest of the skies look likely to be further north, but even so, temperatures perhaps only into low single figures and that is not so far so far this month. showery rain will push its way south and west, so first thing tomorrow so —— central and south—west wales and there might be heavy showers with hail and the odd rumble of thunder and the south—east and eastern england staying dry with some sunshine and northern england and scotland and northern ireland, after a dry start, could see isolated and show moving showers, eight to 1a degrees. that warmer air across the southis degrees. that warmer air across the south is not going to last, i'm afraid. the north—easterly flow is once again pushing the blue tones

across the country which will mean it stays on the