tonight at 10: last minute campaigning on the eve of super thursday — when millions of people go to polls in great britain. up to a0 million people can vote in scotland, wales and england — and there's a lot at stake. there is a long list of different contests. the first real test of public opinion since the general election and voters will have a chance to choose. if election and voters will have a chance to choose.— election and voters will have a chance to choose. if the snp win a ma'ori chance to choose. if the snp win a majority here _ chance to choose. if the snp win a majority here in — chance to choose. if the snp win a majority here in scotland, - chance to choose. if the snp win a majority here in scotland, will- chance to choose. if the snp win a i majority here in scotland, will that take is _ majority here in scotland, will that take is one — majority here in scotland, will that take is one step closer to a another referendum — take is one step closer to a another referendum on independence? and 22 ears in referendum on independence? and 22 years in power— referendum on independence? and 22 years in power in _ referendum on independence? and 22 years in power in wales, _ referendum on independence? and 22 years in power in wales, will- referendum on independence? and 22 years in power in wales, will labour i years in power in wales, will labour win enough— years in power in wales, will labour win enough seats _ years in power in wales, will labour win enough seats in _ years in power in wales, will labour win enough seats in the _ years in power in wales, will labour win enough seats in the senedd - years in power in wales, will labour win enough seats in the senedd to. win enough seats in the senedd to stay in _ win enough seats in the senedd to

stay in government? _ also tonight... a post—brexit fishing row with france escalates. two royal navy patrol boats are being sent tojersey to monitor the situation. stepping up protection — some 18—year—olds in wales get their firstjab, as plans for boosters vaccines across the uk are revealed in case of a third wave of coronavirus. freely available. most 16 and 17—year—olds have seen porn recently, mostly online, says new research. now, a legal challenge to tighten up the law. and an english champions league final ahead, as chelsea make it through to face manchester city. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel: chelsea's men may be on the champions league stage, but the women's team are on the verge of retaining the wsl title.

good evening. up to a0 million people in great britain go to the polls tomorrow on what's being called "super thursday". ballots will be cast for the scottish and welsh parliaments and thousands of english council seats, in the biggest local and devolved elections in years. political parties have spent the day making last ditch efforts to win support for the parliaments in scotland and wales. and, in england, they've been campaigning ahead of the elections for mayors in 13 of the biggest city areas, some council elections and the london assembly. there are also 39 police and crime commissioners up for election in england and wales. finally, there's a by—election in hartlepool which could tell us how labour is doing in what was once its heartland. the only place in the uk without any elections tomorrow is northern ireland. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. watch the stunts. morning. you might think it's a general election. it's not quite yet, but tomorrow, there is a huge sweep of ballots... one more, we can do it!

..and everyone in great britain has the first chance to have a say since his victory in 2019. kind of birdy dance, type thing. these are a very important set of elections and the choice, i think, is clear between, you know, the labour opposition who seem absolutely determined to continue to play political games and government that is getting on with our agenda, getting on with people's priorities. jam, rice pudding... but it's the first time, too, that keir starmer faces the electorate as the labour leader. i've got five plus one, is that...? 18 months since his party took a thumping, pressure on him to show it can get back on voters' lists. fantastic, ready to roll. we're going into the elections tomorrow fighting for every vote. we've got excellent candidates and what we need across the country are labour candidates from their communities, of their communities, that are going to stand up against this government, and that's the choice

before the country tomorrow. decisions have been on hold in some parts of the country, one of so many delays during the coronavirus emergency that emptied our streets, so now there's a whopping 4,000 council seats up for grabs, a vital election for an mp in hartlepool, city mayors and elections in scotland and wales, too. but normal gladhanding and door—knocking has been restricted this time. less face—to—face than mask—to—mask. we have had a weird election campaign because of the pandemic and we've not been able to get on the doors as much as we would have liked to, but when we have managed to talk to people, they're responding positively to the liberal democrat message, because we are community politicians. people know that if they get a liberal democrat councillor, things get done. and with multiple contests in different corners of the country, there are multiple parties fighting. this growing recognition of the importance of the climate

and ecological emergency, recognising that we are going to face a very uncertain and dangerous future if we don't do something right now, and that change needs to happen now, and it means that you need to vote green to get green. this is a strange set of elections, notjust because of the pandemic but because of the scale. millions upon millions of votes will be cast tomorrow, and they will all matter. even the tiniest parish council has an impact on how we live our lives. but there are contests from the smallest to the most significant of levels. national elections in wales, and particularly in scotland, that could trigger arguments about the future of the union, the future of the united kingdom itself. and the moment when the power, the decisions, transfer to you is nearly here. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. the choices made by scottish voters tomorrow could be felt far beyond scotland, if a pro—independence majority is returned to holyrood. it could raise questions over

whether there should be another referendum on leaving the uk. 0ur scotland editor, sarah smith, reports both votes for labour tomorrow in the election! in this unusual, socially distanced election, it's not the pandemic that dominates the debate, but instead, it's the question of scottish independence. that's tricky for scottish labour, who know they need to rebuild a lot of support before they can really challenge the snp. if you want to help build a credible alternative to nicola sturgeon and the snp, you need to support me in this election campaign. but you don't expect to win this campaign, you don't expect to be first minister yourself next week? well, i am many things, i doubt i'm superman, so, given where we were ten weeks ago, in the polls, and given where we would need to get to, i don't think it's possible, but that is up to the people of scotland to decide. stirling castle gives a historic backdrop to what is being described as the most important scottish election since the devolved parliament was set up. and that's because if the snp win an overall majority,

they will claim that is an electoral mandate for having another referendum on scottish independence. the tories want to do what it says on the posters, claiming they are the only party that can stop an independence referendum. what we can't have is an snp majority government which goes ahead unchecked, we need a check in holyrood to stop them forging ahead with their plans to divide our country all over again. so, even if you don't win, you think you can block them from having another vote? vote scottish conservatives to stop that snp majority, to stop a second referendum and crucially to allow us to focus on our recovery. the scottish lib dem leader will do almost anything to get his party noticed, and he is equally determined to try and stop another independence referendum. vote for the liberal democrats in every corner of scotland - because that will make sure the next parliament is focused on recovery, i not on independence. the scottish greens are obviously focused on the climate emergency, but they believe that can be better tackled in an independent scotland. we would like to have a referendum to go back and ask the people

of scotland that democratic question, who would you like making your decisions? brexiteer tories in westminster or a government in scotland that we've actually voted for? the snp have taken their quest for another referendum right across the country. but no matter how many voters back nicola sturgeon here, the prime minister says he will veto a vote on independence. the prime minister is not immune or exempt from democracy, i know he thinks he is, but he's not. the question of scotland's future shouldn't be determined by me or by borisjohnson, it should be decided by the people of scotland. and if people vote for that to be the case, then borisjohnson has got no more right than any other politician to stand in the way of democracy. once the votes have been counted, the holyrood parliament could then become the epicentre of an unprecedented constitutional battle over the future of the united kingdom. of course we can't take the result of any election for granted, but not one of the opposition parties in scotland believe they can beat the

snp to become the largest party. so the big question is whether the snp can get 65 or more seats to secure that overall majority. if they do, they will say that is a mandate to have another independence referendum. if the prime minister will not agree, the matter could go to court. we could be looking at a legal battle over whether holyrood has the right to legislate for another referendum even if they don't have the backing of westminster. thank you. in wales, after 22 years in government, labour is hoping to hold on to its position as the largest party. all 60 seats in the welsh parliament are being contested. for the first time 16 and 17—year—olds will be able to vote. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith is at the senned for us tonight. as you say, labour has been in power here for over two decades, but it is the last 12 months that has been the focus of the campaign and mark

drakeford's role in leading wales through a pandemic. as unlikely as it seems, the trust and recognition that has made him has made him a bit of a political rock star. people wanting autographs as he is campaigning. but does that translate into keeping seats? well the welsh tories hope not and want people to think back before the pandemic and the last general election when some red wall seats in north wales turned blue n south and west wales, plaid cymru will push labour hard and will see pandemic as a precursor to potential independence. as for the liberal democrats, tomorrow is a storaway of survival —— story of survival. this stage it has not delivered much political drama and in fact only 12 constituency seats have ever changed hands since 1999. but this time around, there are a lot of marginals and that is where

turn out to be key. turn out in these elections has never reached 50%. but with coronavirus concerns and some unpredictable weather, well, who knows where the pieces will fall? the vote is tomorrow, but the counting doesn't start until friday. the counting doesn't start until frida . ., ~ the counting doesn't start until frida . . ~' , ., so, up to a0 million adults will be able to vote in great britain tomorrow. reeta chakrabarti looks at what's at stake. a bumper crop of elections this year, a full seven contests are under way, and this is because there were elections that had been delayed from last year that are taking place now. crucial amongst these are elections to the scottish parliament. this is the map as it was after the last elections to the parliament. as you can see, whole swathes of yellow there. those are the snp seats. they got 63 last time. they're aiming for 65 or more for a majority. which would then allow them, should they be able to, to aim for a second

independence referendum. let's take a look at some of the seats that we'll be looking at that are fought over in the scottish parliament. here's a selection. and you can see from the end of that they are held at the moment by labour, tory, lib dem and snp. so, all the main parties in play here. as well as the constituencies in scotland, voters also vote for a second regional list. it's a form of proportional representation, whereby they return members of the scottish parliament for a wider region. there is a similar system that is in place in wales. let's take a look at wales, where voters are voting for members of the welsh parliament, the senedd. there are 60 seats up for grabs here. you can see how the map looked after the last election, down the spine of the country is the green, that's plaid cymru. labour is strong in the south, and also up there in the north—east. and the conservatives are strong in the west of the country, and also by the english borders.

let's have a look, similarly, some of the constituencies we are going to be looking at very carefully. llanelli, delyn, very finely balanced margins there. so, they should be very exciting contests. i want to also show you the local elections, which are taking place in england, and there are 5,000 seats that are up for grabs here. you can see here the district councils, as they were last time round, and 5,000 seats, that's about twice as many as you would have normally. and again, that is because of the delay due to covid. let's go back to the list and remind ourselves that there are also elections to the london assembly, there are mayoral elections, police and crime commissioners and also a by—election for westminster in hartlepool. we should be getting results from friday onwards. but they will be slower than usual because counting is slower because of covid. so those results will come

in from friday and over the weekend. reeta chakra barti there. now, let's return now to our political editor laura kuenssberg. a huge set of elections? yes there is a aood a huge set of elections? yes there is a good reason _ a huge set of elections? yes there is a good reason why _ a huge set of elections? yes there is a good reason why political- a huge set of elections? yes there | is a good reason why political nerds have called this super thursday. there is so much going on. a whole lot of different contests from big to small. so we will have to careful about drawing out any one particular picture. that said, there are three pressing political questions that the evidence these votes put forward will help to answer on the national stage. first, can borisjohnson really show he is cementing that trend from the general election when areas that had been held by labour for a long time started to turn blue? for keir starmer, it is his first time at the national ballot box as labour leader, what evidence

can show that he has a chance of turning things around after the same general election meant such disaster for that party? the third question, which is perhaps the most acute of all, is far along the road does the snp's result get them in that call for pushing for another referendum on scottish independence? that could lead to months, maybe years of battles in the courts, battles in various parliaments over the constituency and the future of the whole of the united kingdom. there is so much to vote on and there will be so much to discuss in the days ahead. the polls open in less than nine hours, but the results won't be known for a few days.— two royal navy patrol vessels are being sent tojersey to monitor the situation after a row erupted with france over post—brexit fishing rights. the french government threatened to cut off power supplies to the channel island in a dispute over new a licensing system

for french fishing vessels. robert hall is in jersey for us tonight. what is the latest? well, news that those vessels _ what is the latest? well, news that those vessels were _ what is the latest? well, news that those vessels were being _ what is the latest? well, news that those vessels were being deployed| those vessels were being deployed came following a phone called to the jersey government from no 10, from borisjohnson, to express his unwavering support forjersey�*s unwavering support for jersey�*s position. unwavering support forjersey�*s position. to be fair, jersey�*s politicians have been trying very hard for the past few days to calm things down ahead of a protest, of which more in a moment. so how did we get here? channel islands and french fishermen traditionally have worked together pretty well, but that started to go downhill after brexit when jersey started to re—establish its territorial waters. at the weekend it also began to issue licences to french boats. those licenses cover boats that are regularly here, they cover what they can catch, the amount of time that they are in jersey waters, and there was almost immediate pushback from

the french communities along the normandy coast, who said, look, this is untenable, we haven't had enough time, there is detail here which is just unacceptable and unworkable. and at a meeting in cherbourg a couple of days ago, they got together with other fishing ports and said, we are going to have to do something here, we are going to stop jersey boats landing, we are going to go and protest injersey, which looks like going ahead, and then we had speech in thejersey french parliament yesterday from the maritime minister saying they may use jersey as a negotiating maritime minister saying they may usejersey as a negotiating tool. as i speak around 70 boats are said to be on their way tojersey. they are going to anchor outside st helier, whether the presence of the royal navy will help or hinder, we shall see in the coming days. for the first time since september, the uk has recorded its lowest weekly number of deaths with coronavirus, that's according to the latest figures published by the office

for national statistics. but ministers say they are already looking ahead to the autumn, when the nhs will be ready to give boosterjabs to those over 50. and in some parts of wales, as our health editor, hugh pym reports, people over 18 are already being offered a jab. waiting for vaccinations in north wales today. in some areas like this, those as young as 18 are being invited for a first dose. people under 30 in priority groups like health and care workers have already been offered a jab. now, some welsh health boards, in line with expert guidance, are giving the pfizer vaccine to others in their age range. got a letter one day and just went in. yeah, cos i got my letter, my twin sister hasn't had hers. got a letter through the post - and then got a text message and then just came in here. very quick, very good to be fair. really surprised, really happy to finally get it done and start getting back to normal. latest figures for all those aged 18 and over show in wales 74% have had theirfirstjab. in england, it's 66% of adults.

in northern ireland, 65% have had a first dose. and in scotland, 64% of 18—year—olds and over. as the drive to offer all adults a first dose continues, ministers are already planning an autumn booster campaign. a range of options are being looked at, including tweaking jabs to protect against variants. there you go... and mixing vaccines with a third dose different from the first two. the nhs team is already planning to be ready for deployment from september onwards, but the decision hasn't been made whether we go september, or later in the year, or early next year. that depends on the clinicians. testing existing and new vaccines against variants will be stepped up at porton down by public health england. nearly £30 million will be invested by the government to increase capacity to analyse blood samples. these will show levels of antibodies generated by vaccines.

officials say for now they're watching closely the spread in the uk of indian variants of the virus. at the moment, we have not declared those variants of concern. and that is because we don't have any evidence so far that they are either more severe in terms of clinical presentation, or for example that they have an adverse impact on the vaccine. but our investigations are ongoing and they're not completed yet. aid flights to india are continuing. british airways is flying 27 tonnes of medical items, including oxygen cylinders, to delhi. a reminder that however positive the news here, the virus is taking a deadly toll in some other countries. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest government figures show there were 2,144 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, so that's an average of 2,020 new cases per day in the last week. 27 deaths were reported in the latest 24 hour period,

that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 13 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths is now 127,570. as for vaccinations — almost 35 million people have now had their first dose of a covid vaccine. and nearly 16 million people are now fully vaccinated. the entire indian delegation to the g7 summit of leading economies in london is now self—isolating after two members tested positive for covid—19. the news came as foreign ministers reconvened for the last day of the talks, which had been hailed as a return to face—to—face diplomacy. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. borisjohnson, dropping by the g7 talks this afternoon, determined to show confidence in an international meeting hit by a covid scare, determined to show that face—to—face diplomacy is possible in a pandemic.

i had a very good meeting with secretary blinken. india's foreign minister, a guest at the talks, has spent the last few days in london meeting counterparts from the united states and south africa, even the home secretary, priti patel. but then this morning, this. in a tweet, he said that he was made aware yesterday evening of his exposure to possible covid positive cases. "as a measure of abundant caution, i decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode." india has suffered grievously in recent weeks, and it appears two junior officials may have travelled while infected. the foreign office has imposed tight covid rules at lancaster house and the indian delegation had yet to attend any meetings here, but the cases were picked up by mandatory daily tests. the foreign secretary said the problem had been managed and it was vital for essential diplomacy to continue. we've done this in a very secure way

but we've got to get governments together, leaders together and countries together if we're going to solve what is clearly notjust a global pandemic but a global plan for recovery. so, today, the indian ministerjoined the meeting in the now traditional way. officials say the discovery of these two cases shows the effectiveness of the tight regulations they put in place. but it will surely raise questions about whether it's too early for face—to—face diplomacy like this and whetherfuture, planned international meetings should go ahead in person as planned. as it happened, the pandemic was top of today's agenda. ministers agreed to produce more vaccines, share them more fairly, but there was no promise to spend more money doing so. james landale, bbc news. most 16— and 17—year—olds in the uk have seen pornography recently, much of it online, according to new research. there is currently no requirement for those viewing content to prove their age. the government says it s planning new laws to address the issue,

but now a father and a student campaigner are launching a legal challenge to get ministers to bring in an existing law on age verification in the meantime. 0ur education editor, branwen jeffreys, reports. it's not hard for children to stumble across pornography on social media, on free to view websites. a danger the government plans to tackle. but now a dad of four sons and a student campaigner are taking legal actions. they want more immediate protection for children. for him there was a turning point, when one of his sons was found searching for porn. in the two weeks leading up to this moment, we'd noticed a drastic change in his behaviour. he was withdrawn, there was suddenly this sense of anger towards siblings. what are the pressures that you think led to your son feeling

that he needed to explore this? sometimes he gets exposed to conversation in the cafeteria lines, there are terms mentioned that he was unfamiliar with and it was a sense of inquisitive exploration, not wanting to feel left out. ava is a student campaigner. she's written about a culture of sexual violence in schools. she's worried any new law could take several years. porn is everywhere and growing up as a young woman, i've seen the influence of that. i think young men are ingesting pornography online to an extent that people aren't aware of. a law requiring proof of age on pornography sites exists, but it hasn't been used. instead, ministers plan a new, wider law. today, new research shows exposure to porn is widespread, most often on social media platforms. i think the uk government is right

to bring social media platforms. into scope when it's trying - to regulate online pornography because we do see that social media| platforms are the most common way for 16— and 17—year—olds to come across this. - campaigners want the existing law used in the meantime. so, we know that teenagers are coming across porn on social media, searching for it or even visiting porn websites. and whatever the controls in place at home, they have in their hands a powerful tool for browsing and sharing. and this growing evidence, that viewing violent or extreme porn alters attitudes towards women, but can also distort their own expectations of their first relationships. there is a wealth of evidence that shows that viewing pornography

leads to harmful sexual attitudes and behaviors. the government's own research shows an association between porn consumption and real—world violence against women. a new draft law could come to parliament within a year. the government says it is committed to protecting children. the probation officer who was in charge of the man who carried out the fatal attacks at fishmongers' hall in london has told an inquest that he had no indication he was being deceived by usman khan, but he admitted that there had been some prison intelligence that khan might return to "his old ways" despite the prisoner education scheme. daniel sandford has more. the disastrous consequences of allowing a recently released, high—risk, convicted terrorist travel alone to london. to travel alone to london. the battle on london bridge, with usman khan, who had just stabbed two people to death. saskia jones and jack merritt had been involved

with learning together, a prison education organisation whose events khan had been attending. khan had been a difficult prisoner, involved in violence against other inmates and radicalisation. he had improved his behaviour but there was intelligence suggesting that he might go back to his old ways. the inquests into the deaths of saskia jones and jack merritt have heard that it was usman khan's probation officer, ken skelton, who authorised his trip to the learning together event. but today, he insisted that he didn't make that decision alone. he said that a mapper panel, a panel of experts responsible for public protection, had backed the decision. ken skelton told the jury that although there is no written record of the mapper experts positively agreeing to the trip, they had been aware of it and had not objected. "they must have said he can go," he explained, "that decision would not have been made alone by me." either way, khan did travel by himself, on a train to the capital, despite what saskia jones's family's lawyer said today was a remarkable

number of red flags waving. daniel sandford, bbc news. a woman from mali in west africa may have made history after giving birth to nine babies. doctors thought the 25—year—old was carrying seven children and were astonished to find two more when they were delivered by caesarean in a hospital in morocco. nonuplets as they're called are exceptionally rare. mali's health ministry said the mother and her five girls and four boys were all doing well. police in pakistan are investigating claims that a 24 year old british woman from london who was shot dead in lahore earlier this week was killed after turning down marriage proposals from two men. from there our correspondent secunder kermani reports. she had so much going for her. a bright, vivacious young woman.

but mayra zulfiqar�*s life was brought to a brutal and tragic end. today, in the eastern city of lahore, herfuneral. her distraught father arrived from london this morning. a law graduate, mayra zulfiqar grew up in london. they returned to the uk, but she remained in lahore. mayra lived in a rented house in this upmarket neighbourhood. it was here that she was attacked in the early hours of monday morning. police say she was shot twice. mayra's uncle told police that before she was killed, she came to him saying she was being threatened by two men who wanted to marry her, but whom she had turned down. neighbours have told me that they've seen men brandishing knives pull up outside her house and that mayra had been to the police in the past. officials say they are yet to make any formal arrest.