tonight at ten, the pressure mounts on borisjohnson, with more questions about the bill for renovating his downing street flat. there are new demands for full details of the way the work was funded, but ministers have been defending mrjohnson�*s actions. it's all been done absolutely correctly. there'll be a cabinet office report when they put out their annual accounts, and everyone will be able to see exactly what happened. number ten refuses to say whether mrjohnson borrowed the money, and labour is now demanding a detailed explanation. 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. we'll have the latest from westminster, where the government is on the defensive on several fronts.

also tonight... in india, officialfigures of deaths from covid are said to be massively under—reported, as the country fights against a new surge. growing evidence that the lockdowns have damaged the language skills of young children in england. an image of the queen back at work in herfirst official engagement since the funeral of the duke of edinburgh. he's away from courtois and he scores! what a start for chelsea! and chelsea took an early lead in their champions�* league semifinal against real madrid. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, middle sunday is no more from next year, as the all england club announce plans to play on through wimbledon. good evening. the pressure on the prime

minister borisjohnson shows no sign of easing. he's facing renewed questions about the funding for renovation work at his downing street flat. mrjohnson�*s former adviser dominic cummings has claimed that the prime minister planned to get secret donations to pay for the work. but number ten said today that the refurbishment costs have been met by the prime minister personally. labour has demanded full details of the way the work was funded, and it's gone a step further by accusing mrjohnson of lying about the matter. it's not the only issue troubling the government, as our deputy political editor vicki young reports — and there are some flashing images in her report. 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't just about hisjudgment, it's fast becoming about his integrity. everywhere they go, ministers are being asked similar questions about their boss's behaviour. has the prime minister-

broken the rules, mr raab? that refers to the expensive refurbishment of the flat mrjohnson shares with his fiancee. the prime minister's former adviser dominic cummings says the tory leader tried to get party donors to secretly pay for the renovations. labour say it's time to come clean. who has given the loan? who has given the money? we need to know who the prime minister, who borisjohnson is beholden to for 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 reason why we have these rules around transparency is so that the public know who decision—makers, up to and including the prime minister, what their interests are and to be

clear that they are acting on behalf of the people, on behalf of citizens and taxpayers, and that they are not overly influenced by donations or loans or private interests. number ten 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 borisjohnson has a knack of 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 mrjohnson 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 don't 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. actually, saving lives is where it matters and that is what the prime minister's done. mrjohnson would rather focus on campaigning ahead of next week's elections, but there are bucketloads of questions still to be answered. and tonight, downing street is still sidestepping all of those questions about how the refurbishment of the flat was originally paid for, and labour has significantly stepped up its attack, notjust criticising the government, as you would expect from the opposition, but explicitly accusing the prime minister of lying, something that doesn't happen often, even here in the antagonistic world of politics. lots of tory mps want all of this to blow over, but i don't think that is going to happen until these questions are answered. borisjohnson will be fending more of those off tomorrow in the house of those off tomorrow in the house of commons. vicki young, with the latest at

westminster. in india, officialfigures show almost 200,000 people have now died from covid—related causes, but independent observers say the realfigures are probably much higher. 0ne account suggests that the deaths recorded by crematoria in delhi may be double the government figures, which deal only with people who have died in hospital. international aid, including from the uk, has started to arrive to help limit the new surge in infections, as our correspondent devina gupta reports from delhi. 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—i9.

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. underreporting of cases 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 suggest the actual number of those infected could be 20 times higher than reported. 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. my father is in a very critical condition and getting no help. numbers are given there, but nobody is responding. numbers are not reachable. please help me, please. my father is dying. i can't afford another loss. yesterday, i lost my younger brother. global aid has started to come. a shipment from britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived today. but as india struggles with the reality behind the hidden numbers, much more is needed for those fighting for a chance to survive. 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 globalfight against the pandemic. we'll have reports, interviews and analysis across tv, radio and digital throughout the day.

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. the average number of deaths per day in the past week is 21. the total number of uk deaths is now 127,451. 0nto vaccinations, and a total of nearly 3a million people have now had theirfirstjab. the overall number who've had their second jab is now 13.2 million. 0ur health editor

hugh pym joins me now. let's talk about the ages of those who are eligible for the vaccinations. there ages are coming down rapidly?— vaccinations. there ages are coming down rapidly? yes, it was only a few weeks auo down rapidly? yes, it was only a few weeks ago that _ down rapidly? yes, it was only a few weeks ago that we _ down rapidly? yes, it was only a few weeks ago that we were _ down rapidly? yes, it was only a few weeks ago that we were warned - down rapidly? yes, it was only a few weeks ago that we were warned that because of supply disruption, the amount of first doses might be limited in april, with 40—year—olds and younger only being offered a fistjab and younger only being offered a fist jab from and younger only being offered a fistjab from may, but things have moved faster than expected. from today, in england, those aged 42 and over will be offered a first dose by text or e—mail. in northern ireland, it's already 35 and over. in wales, there is as young as 30 and over are being offered a firstjab and in scotland, it is a5—year—olds and over. scotland, it is 45-year-olds and over. ., , scotland, it is 45-year-olds and over. ., scotland, it is 45-year-olds and over. ., ., , over. so as we look at those ages cominu over. so as we look at those ages coming down. _ over. so as we look at those ages coming down, what _ over. so as we look at those ages coming down, what are _ over. so as we look at those ages coming down, what are the - coming down, what are the implications for the overall roll—out of the vaccine? implications for the overall roll-out of the vaccine? looking at fi . ures as roll-out of the vaccine? looking at figures as of _ roll-out of the vaccine? looking at figures as of the _ roll-out of the vaccine? looking at figures as of the end _ roll-out of the vaccine? looking at figures as of the end of _ roll-out of the vaccine? looking at figures as of the end of last - roll-out of the vaccine? looking at figures as of the end of last week, | figures as of the end of last week, you can see the percentage of the entire adult population in each of

the nations who have had a first dose. in wales, ahead at 68% of the aduu dose. in wales, ahead at 68% of the adult population, england 63%, scotland 62% and northern ireland 61% of adults with a first dose. we also learnt today that a quarter of all uk adults have had a first and second dose. so the vaccination programme is going well. there is a quiet confidence among ministers. debts and hospital admissions have fallen 20% week on week in the uk. the interesting thing is to see how it rolls out to the younger age groups and what sort of enthusiasm there will be for having the vaccine. , ., ., vaccine. hugh pym, our health ednon vaccine. hugh pym, our health editor. let's _ vaccine. hugh pym, our health editor. let's stay _ vaccine. hugh pym, our health editor. let's stay with - vaccine. hugh pym, our health editor. let's stay with the - vaccine. hugh pym, our health i editor. let's stay with the impact of the pandemic. there's growing evidence that the covid lockdowns have damaged the language skills of young children in england. the bbc has seen evidence that reduced social interaction and the wearing of face coverings have deprived youngsters of experiences that are essential for developing vocabulary. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys has been to blackpool and walsall to investigate.

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. the bbc understands that most of the democratic unionist party's assembly members at stormont have signed a no—confidence motion in their party leader, arlene foster. mrs foster has led the dup, and has been northern ireland's first minister, for five years. the dup has said it won't comment on internal party processes, as our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. appearing unfazed by the bubbling dissent in the party that was about to surface, arlene foster brushed off suggestions today that her leadership was in trouble as she visited a local youth centre. stories on leadership come up from time to time

and it is one of those times. so we willjust deal with it and move on because i have bigger things to do, including getting us through this covid pandemic. arlene foster has overseen a bruising period for the party. he is a fabulous friend to the union... after championing borisjohnson, the dup were cast aside as he agreed a brexit deal which placed barriers to trade between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. a sense of betrayal over brexit is among the issues driving loyalist protests on the streets. and a feeling that arlene foster and her deputy nigel dodds have overseen one of the most damaging periods for unionism in the party's history. we heard today people saying that there was no support within the unionist and loyalist community to stand up against this protocol. we're not giving our country up, and when we say we will resist this, we mean it!

applause and cheering. this anger on the streets has increased the pressure on the party. i think people are starting to come to the conclusion that they are electorally maybe better off with someone else than arlene foster, because i think they're going to have a lot of difficult questions to answer on the doors next may, particularly around that protocol. tonight's motion calls for a leadership election, as arlene foster's position looks more untenable by the hour. it is an unprecedented moment for the normally disciplined dup, now turning on its own. we understand about three quarters of the dup representatives at stormont and westminster have signed this, which represents a pretty dramatic collapse of confidence in arlene foster's leadership. certainly, the party has one eye on the stormont elections coming up next year and wants to shore up its support ahead of this but at the same time, don't forget, power—sharing at stormont is fragile and there will be those who worry

that any change in leadership could be particularly destabilising at what is already a difficult time for northern ireland. emma vardy with the latest in northern ireland, there, thank you. an inquest into the deaths of the two people killed by the convicted terrorist usman khan near london bridge in 2019 has heard how he'd been involved in "extremist bullying" in prison. it also emerged that khan had been allowed to travel unaccompanied on the day of the attack from stafford to london, despite the fact he was meant to be monitored by a government agency. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has more details. making his way to london to kill. usman khan, a recently convicted terrorist, released travelling alone on a train. the police and probation officers who were managing him knew about the journey and allowed it to happen. five hours later, in the aftermath of his attack, armed officers had to shoot him dead on london bridge. he had just murdered saskia jones and jack merritt.

usman khan had beenjailed for trying to set up a terrorist training camp. during his eight years in prison, he'd been classified as category a, high risk, throughout. early on, there was intelligence that he wanted to die and go to paradise. he was involved in multiple attacks in prison, including one on a christian inmate who refused to convert. as he came up to his release, officers were informed he might have deliberately told lies about his rehabilitation. he was also observed mixing with michael adebolajo, the killer of lee rigby. but the prison service had to release usman khan and for a year, he lived quietly in stafford, only starting to buy things for his attack once he knew he was travelling by himself to london. the jury was shown minutes of meetings of the multi—agency, or mapa, panel that was supposed to be managing the risk that usman khan might still pose after his release from prison. the minutes note that khan

was coming to london to the event here at fishmongers hall, but they record no discussion of the risk he might pose by travelling here alone. 0n the last day before he travelled, khan made his final preparations, drawing cash to buy the knives for the attack and purchasing an oversized coat to conceal his fake suicide vest. daniel sandford, bbc news, at fishmongers hall. black women face a significantly higher risk of suffering a miscarriage than white women for a range of reasons, according to a new study published in medicaljournal the lancet. researchers looked at data from more than 4 million pregnancies across seven countries, including the uk, where its estimated at least one in five women will lose a pregnancy at some point in their lifetime. the study also suggests that miscarriage leaves women from all ethnic backgrounds more vulnerable to long—term health problems. our global health correspondent

tulip mazumdar has been talking to one woman about her experience. 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're not sure why miscarriage is more common in black women, but we think it is a combination of factors _ we think maybe 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 experienced. the risk of suffering with depression was more than twice as likely after 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's impossible to know for sure whether that's what led to the success of her third pregnancy, but she says she feels extremely fortunate. tulip mazumdar, bbc news. millions of votes will be cast

in scotland next week on thursday may 6th in the election for the scottish parliament at holyrood. the most marginal seat in scotland is dumbarton, which has been held by labour since 1999, when the parliament was opened. the scottish national party have the seat in their sights, 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. is central 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 can 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

and parties standing for election in dumbarton. you can get more information about their policies on the bbc news website. let's take a look at some of today's other news... the civil servants trade union, the fda, has been told it can bring a high court challenge against the decision to clear the home secretary of accusations of bullying her staff. an investigation last year found that some of priti patel�*s behaviour had breached the ministerial code, but borisjohnson decided she hadn't, and he kept her in the post. 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. the government has been

defeated for a fourth time in the house of lords over plans for removing cladding and other fire—safety work on high—rise buildings. peers amended the fire safety bill again, to try to stop building owners from passing on the costs to leaseholders. the met office says april is on track to be the frostiest in the uk for at least 60 years. there have already been an average of 13 days of air frosts, beating the previous record of 11 days back in april 1970. for the first time since the funeral of the duke of edinburgh, the queen has carried out an official engagement, holding a series of audiences with foreign diplomats via videolink. during the day, the duke and duchess of cambridge were also on duty, visiting a farm in county durham, with their tenth wedding anniversary coming up in a couple of days' time. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more details. 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. football, and it's been a good night for chelsea, as they earned a draw in the first leg of their champions league semifinal with real madrid. 0ur sports correspondent katie gornall reports. a little over a week ago, real madrid and chelsea were willing to walk away from this after planning to destroy the champions league, these clubs are now fighting to reach its final, such as the modern game. with the burner bow being redeveloped, this tie was played in

more modest surroundings. timo werner could and should have made