this is bbc news. the headlines at four: scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, warns it would be "completely outrageous" for the westminster government to block a second independence referendum. the people of scotland have voted for the snp on the strength of offering, when the time is right, an independence referendum. the labour leader sir keir starmer prepares to reshuffle his team after the party's disappointing performance in the elections — he's already removed his deputy, angela rayner, as campaigns chief. police in kent are granted more time to question a man arrested in connection with the murder of community support officerjulia james. the government is expected to end the advice against hugging each other, as part of the relaxation of lockdown rules in england. and disruption continues on some of britain's busiest rail lines,

after small cracks are found in some high—speed trains. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. welcome to bbc news. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has said any attempt by the westminster government to block a second independence referendum would show a "lack of respect" for scottish democracy. she was speaking after the cabinet office minister, michael gove, said the snp's failure to win an outright majority at holyrood proved that people in scotland weren't "agitating" for a new poll. mr gove said the snp should concentrate on recovering from the pandemic instead. from edinburgh, here's our political correspondent nick eardley. back in power, back to work. nicola sturgeon says her immediate priority will be the pandemic, but a battle is coming.

the snp won the election by some distance, and even though they were short of a majority alone, with the greens there is a comfortable pro—independence majority and the first minister says that is a mandate. the people of scotland have voted for the snp on the strength of offering, when the time is right, an independence referendum. and, as in 2011 leading up to 2014, any uk government that has any respect for scottish democracy would simply accept that and come to an agreement with the scottish government that put it beyond any legal doubt. holyrood will now pass a referendum bill and ms sturgeon warned of the consequences of trying to block it in the courts. i think it would be absurd and completely outrageous if it ever got to that point, if it ever got anywhere close to that point. but the uk government does want to stop another referendum anytime soon. ministers won't give political consent to one and they don't want to talk about legal battles for now.

the priority at the moment is not court cases, it is not independence legislation, it is recovery from the pandemic. and to be fair to the first minister, to be fair to nicola sturgeon, during the course of this election campaign, she said that was the single most important thing that we should all be concentrating on. and we should work together as team uk in order to deal with the pandemic. is scotland allowed to leave the uk? of course it is. it is? yes. how? well, through a legal referendum which would allow people to make that choice. the question is if and how that could ever happen. a question which downing street is none too keen to answer. but ministers in london will spend the next few months arguing another referendum would be a distraction, and that working together would mean a speedier recovery. independence supporters here disagree, saying that in a union based on consent, the election result means there is no legitimate argument for blocking a referendum.

the prime minister has invited the leaders of scotland and wales to a summit on covid recovery. they all agree the pandemic is the priority for now, but over the next few months and years, the future of the uk is going to be a big issue. well, i spoke to nick a little earlier about how each government would approach the prospect of another referendum. i think we got a sign, a sample of the battle to come over the next few years, with the first minister and the cabinet office minister for the uk government this morning. you had nicola sturgeon saying, look, we have to focus on the pandemic in the immediate term. but in two or three years�* time, i think i have a mandate to hold another referendum, and it would be anti—democratic for westminster to block it. you had michael gove saying that now is not the time and we have to focus on the pandemic

and the economic recovery. it was interesting that he was asked about this idea of the whole thing ending up in the courts and hejust did not want to go there this morning. i think the uk government's strategy is to talk about what it sees as the other priorities and the positives of the union. but, look, there is no doubt that there is a big constitutional clash coming in the next few years over whether or not nicola sturgeon, who is based here — bute house in edinburgh — whether or not she can hold another referendum. there's an argument as well that the recovery is going to take a nationwide effort. we understand borisjohnson will want to have the scottish government and the welsh and northern irish assemblies also involved. so they have got to try to get along. yes, so, borisjohnson has invited ms sturgeon and the welsh first minister mark drakeford to a summit to discuss the covid recovery. ms sturgeon said that she is up for it and will attend, and i suppose the slight difference

between the two positions is that nicola sturgeon says, when it comes to the health emergency, she will focus on that until she thinks about another referendum. michael gove this morning was saying, wait a minute, you need to think about the economic recovery process as well. the argument you will get from the scottish independence movement is they need the tools of independence to have an economic recovery that suits scotland. but the uk government will say, hold on, look at the vaccine roll—out and furlough, they are all things that have been made easier because they've been done across the whole of the uk. the snp are on course for 19 years of power now, and that is a big deal. that is going to be the longest term of any government since devolution in scotland. the pro—independence parties have theirjoint biggest—ever majority — that is a big deal because the last time they had 72

msps, david cameron said yes to alex salmond for the first independence referendum. but it's really interesting when you dig into the figures of the election result. if you add up the tallies that all the pro—independence parties and all the anti—independence parties got, they are pretty much the same, they're 50—50. if you look at the polls in the last few weeks, they have been around 50—50 as well. when you look at the average of those polls anyway. although the independence movement is in a really good place, they are really happy with the election result, the country is still pretty split, and i think that means we will spend at least another three years talking about the process before we get to potentially, even then, the point of another referendum. and nicola sturgeon wants to work out the answers to some pretty big questions as well, so she's not going to be rushing into it. i'm joined now by the journalist and broadcaster ruth wishart. we should state that you are in favour of independence, so we know

we are coming from. i'm sure you will not mind me doing that. how clear and mandate do you believe nicola sturgeon currently has to get another referendum? i nicola sturgeon currently has to get another referendum?— nicola sturgeon currently has to get another referendum? i cannot see how she could have — another referendum? i cannot see how she could have a _ another referendum? i cannot see how she could have a much _ another referendum? i cannot see how she could have a much bigger - she could have a much bigger mandate. i have often wondered why the english press, especially on programmes like this morning, they have spoken about nicola sturgeon failing to get a majority. it was designed, the system, so that nobody would ever get majority. but what she has got is 64 msps, that is more than twice as many as the opposite party, the conservatives. and, you know, nearly 50% of the vote, so i am not sure how much bigger and mandate she needs. but am not sure how much bigger and mandate she needs.— am not sure how much bigger and mandate she needs. but how divisive an issue is it — mandate she needs. but how divisive an issue is it still _ mandate she needs. but how divisive an issue is it still within _ an issue is it still within scotland? we know that last time it was pretty close. scotland? we know that last time it was pretty close-—

was pretty close. yes, the referendum _ was pretty close. yes, the referendum in _ was pretty close. yes, the referendum in 2014 - was pretty close. yes, the referendum in 2014 was . was pretty close. yes, the i referendum in 2014 was 4596 was pretty close. yes, the _ referendum in 2014 was 4596 wanted to referendum in 2014 was 45% wanted to leave and 55% wanted to stay in the uk. since then, there has been a lot of poling going on and the highest vote but yes was 58%. since then, it is about 50—50, but let's not forget, in 2014, the vote for yes started off in the late 20s and wound up at 45%. without campaign, it is difficult to see where we are going with this.— it is difficult to see where we are going with this. how long a process are ou going with this. how long a process are you exuecting _ going with this. how long a process are you expecting it _ going with this. how long a process are you expecting it to _ going with this. how long a process are you expecting it to be _ going with this. how long a process are you expecting it to be as - are you expecting it to be as westminster and holyrood can't agree? it westminster and holyrood can't auree? , ., agree? it will be quite long unfortunately _ agree? it will be quite long unfortunately because, - agree? it will be quite long unfortunately because, for| agree? it will be quite long - unfortunately because, for one reason, the electoral commission will want at least a six—month gap before any independence then let's suppose that yes one, then we are talking about maybe two or three years of transition period of negotiation, because what we do not

want in scotland is a rerun of brexit with a deal done at the last minute which not only threaten peace in northern ireland, but also gave a near death experience to the scottish fishing industry. there are a lot of issues over currency, borders and many other things that we must get straight before independence. not like with brexit at one minute to midnight. you are talkin: as at one minute to midnight. you are talking as if — at one minute to midnight. you are talking as if the _ at one minute to midnight. you are talking as if the referendum - at one minute to midnight. you are talking as if the referendum is - at one minute to midnight. you are talking as if the referendum is a - talking as if the referendum is a done deal and is absolutely going to happen. i was suggesting that we had probably got years to go until that can even be resolved.— probably got years to go until that can even be resolved. there might be ears to no can even be resolved. there might be years to go until— can even be resolved. there might be years to go until an _ can even be resolved. there might be years to go until an actual— years to go until an actual referendum. it is true to say neither the scottish government nor the westminster parliament wants to have a referendum in the nearfuture because, for both of them in the pandemic, they have made it clear that covid has to be the priority and that is fair. but it is interesting, looking at the situation from scotland, because

westminster seems often to me like one of these neglectful suitors who only turns up with flowers and chocolate if they are worried about getting rejected. every time it looks as if scotland looks like they want to leave the union, suddenly there is some charm. scotland voted almost two thirds to remain and yet was excluded completely from the brexit negotiations. you cannot have team uk, as michael gove called it this morning, if team uk only takes to the pitch when it is one side. thank you very much. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is preparing to announce a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. the move comes after his party lost control of several councils in england's local elections, as well as the hartlepool by—election. he's already been criticised by some high profile figures on the left of the party for removing campaigning responsibilities from his deputy, angela rayner. helen catt has the latest.

morning, mr starmer. a laid—back look for the labour leader, his task ahead anything but. is this the first of many changes, mr starmer? these elections have been bruising for labour, losing councils in places like durham, which they had held for nearly a century beforehand, has been particularly painful. keir starmer said he would take responsibility for the results, but his decision last night to sack the deputy leader angela rayner from her role running campaigns and as party chair has reignited fights over labour's future and its leadership. when the leader of the party on friday says he takes full responsibility for the election result in hartlepool in particular, and then scapegoats angela rayner, i think many of us feel that is unfair. what public relations genius thought this was a good move on the very day, actually, we were having successes? he means brighter spots like these — labour has won in several mayoral

races, such as greater manchester, where andy burnham was re—elected, and london, where sadiq khan secured a second term. some in the current shadow cabinet have defended their leader. the responsibility as leader is of course deciding what team you need around you for the next stage of what is a really difficult battle for us and labour, to rebuild trust with the voters. you know, taking tough decisions is what leaders do. who keir starmer decides to keep in his reshuffle and who he sacks may give an indication of where he thinks the party needs to go. does he keep on trying to unify all the different bits or does he, in effect, pick a side? and that might apply to the voters party wants to reconnect with, too. is it about what it has currently got, which is essentially young voters, graduates, social liberals, remainers, or is it still the party of the working class in britain, which is what it would still like to be, but, frankly, at the moment isn't? with its leader in office forjust over a year now, labour's challenge to find a message that chimes with voters looks just as tough as it ever did.

let's bring you the latest figures regarding coronavirus cases in the country. and we are told that there have been 1770 positive covid cases in the last 24—hour period and two people have died after testing positive for covid within the previous 28 days. in terms of vaccinations, there are now 35 million people in the first dose and 17.6 million have had their second dose of one of the vaccines. police investigating the death of community support officer julia james have been granted more time to question a man in his 20s. 53—year—old ms james was found dead on the 27th of april in woodland near dover. she'd suffered serious head injuries. police arrested a man from the canterbury area on friday.

our correspondent simonjones is in aylesham and he gave us this update on the investigation. this is day 13 of the murder investigation. the man arrested was detained on friday evening at around 9:30pm and today officers have been granted more time to question him, an additional 36 hours. and that means they can continue to question him until tomorrow evening. now, at that point, they will have to decide whether to release him, charge him, or they could apply for another 24 hours to question him. today there has been a large amount of activity at this property close to the murder scene. we have seen forensic officers inside the house, coming and going, taking out objects from the property, carrying out a search of a skip, looking at the garden, they have been taking up paving slabs. we do not know whose house it is but the police have confirmed the searches are connected to the murder investigation. julia james was killed on tuesday of last week.

she had been working from home that day. she took her dog for a walk when she was attacked. officers are continuing to appeal for information and want to hear from anybody who might have seen anything suspicious that day between 1pm and 4:30pm. police say particularly local people may have noticed someone strange or acting in an unusual manner, perhaps to the extent that they might have crossed the road to avoid that person or perhaps decide to take a different path. police want to hear from anyone who felt that way. there are hundreds of officers in this investigation. kent police are getting support from other forces, too, and the national crime agency. and the family are saying theyjust hope there is progress in this case soon. the body of a newborn baby has been found in a canal in north west london. police say the baby was found in the grand union canal in the harlesden area

earlier this afternoon. officers say an investigation is under way and are urging the baby's mother to seek medical assistance by dialling 999. it is almost 17 minutes past four, let's take a look at the sports news. good afternoon. after missing out on the title yesterday, manchester city have been made to wait once again — manchester united avoiding the defeat today which would have handed their cross—city rivals a third league crown in four seasons. united were taking on aston villa who opened the scoring in the first half, city i'm sure were watching. but bruno fernandes equalised from the penalty spot, before mason greenwood gave united the lead with a well taken finish. edinson cavani on as a second half substitute made sure of the result, delaying the city

celebrations once again. brighton made to wait to guarantee their premier league future despite taking the lead against wolves, thanks to a goal from captain lewis dunk. however, dunk was then sent off to leave brighton down to ten men. adama traore found the equaliser for wolves in the send half. morgan gibbs—white sealed a last minute winner, brighton needing one more result to go their way to secure survival. elsewhere, west ham can close the gap to fourth placed leicester to just two points with a win over everton, while west brom will be relegated if they're beaten at arsenal. in the women's super league, chelsea on course to be crowned champions for a second consecutive season with victory over reading. manchester city could've pipped them to the title on the final day were chelsea to lose and city beat west ham. chelsea, though, 5—0 up on reading. bristol city facing relegation as they trail brighton. stjohnstone are through to the scottish cup final after beating st mirren 2—1 in the semi at hampden park. goals from chris kane

and glenn middleton put them into their second final of the season, despite conor mccarthy pulling one back for st mirren with five minutes to go. stjohnstone have already won the league cup this year — they'll play hibs in 13 days' time. lewis hamilton has extended his lead in the formula one championship to 14 points after winning the spanish grand prix. the reigning champion had to work hard for his victory, though. hamilton, starting from pole for the 100th time in his career, but max verstappen got past him at the first corner. hamilton struggled to keep up with him, but opting for a second pit stop gave him fresher tyres and the extra speed to catch the red bull driver with six laps to go. the briton took the chequered flag for his 98th race win. valtteri bottas completed the podium. cardiff blues edged out dragons by 17—16 in the second round of the pro14 rainbow cup. despite losing their lead after centre 0wen lane was sent off for this foul,

the hosts fought back to win at cardiff arms park. replacement lock teddy williams�* converted try giving cardiff their first win in this season's competition. rory mcilroy is well placed to win his first title since 2019. he heads into today's final round of the pga tour event in north carolina two shots off the lead. this birdie putt in a third round 68 helped put him in position to challenge for victory. bryson dechambeau is down the field, but had to make a hasty 2000 mile round trip before saturday's 3rd round. he'd gone home to dallas on friday thinking he'd missed the cut. halfway through the flight my agent texts, and he's like, "hey, you're 68th now" and i was like, "what?" "there's no way i'm going to make it." sure enough, by the time i landed i was in 64th and connor goes, "whoops, that was a mistake!"

that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport we will have a full round—up of all of the day's action and results and big turning point at 6:30pm. john, thank you very much. the government is expected to announce we'll be able to hug each other as part of the next relaxation of lockdown rules in england on may 17th. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, said that, while the government wanted to see contact between friends and family "restored", any relaxation of the rules would be proportionate. earlier i spoke to our correspondent, sangita myska, who said there is still very little detail about how the rules will be relaxed. not being able to hug each other, not being able to see each other, not being able to kiss each other when we have friends around, even in the garden. this could feel like a really massive turnaround for much

of the country, but, and i hate to do this to you, i'm going to sound like everybody�*s mother here, cautious optimism is the way to treat this news. do we have details? not yet. this is why. there have been stories circulating in the papers this morning, and that was confirmed by michael gove today, and the line the government is using is, they would like to see intimate contact between family and friends restored. what does that mean? we have absolutely no idea until there is a press conference tomorrow, however, we can bring you what michael gove said on the andrew marr show this morning. the prime minister will confirm tomorrow that there will be a relaxation. we have already indicated a proportionate relaxation on international travel. very, very limited at this stage because we have to be safe. and in the same way as we move into stage three of our road map, it will be the case that we will see people capable of meeting indoors, and without prejudice to a broader review of social distancing,

it is also the case that friendly contact, intimate contact between family and friends is something that we want to see restored. the 17th of may or thereabouts — hugging, as we call it. _ yes. michael gove talking to andrew marr. we have to say, it is not going to be compulsory when it comes back in, because there has been just horror for people on social media that they are going to have to hug people. no, it will not be compulsory. but there is going to be some science behind this, i imagine, about what is going to be permissible and by whom. absolutely. as i was saying, so far, no solid details, but what we do know is what government has been doing at each stage of raising restrictions, is waiting for four—weeks blocks that they can assess the data and then see what happens. so we are expecting a press conference tomorrow. but needless to say, news organisations like us have been going out into the world and trying to get a reaction, and we're already

hearing from scientists who're involved in assessments that what they want to see tomorrow is something that is very move forward. so, for example, professor noakes from the university of leeds sits on the sage committee that has been advising the government. she is one of those voices that says, look, we have to do everything on a case—by—case basis and the government is going to have to be crystal—clear with the public about what they can do safely and what they can't. we can hear from her now. we need to be a bit careful with that. i mean, it perhaps depends on who you are hugging. if you are hugging a grandparent, hugging a grandchild and the grandparents are fully vaccinated, that is probably quite a low—risk activity most of the time. but it would worry me if we were advocating we can hug all of our friends every time we meet, because i think that is going to perpetuate an awful lot of additional close contact that could still spread the virus. serious disruption on some of the uk's busiest rail lines is expected to continue into next

week after cracks were discovered in some high—speed trains. inspections on more than 180 trains are due to be completed today, but great western railway and london north eastern railway have advised passengers to check timetables. 0ur correspondent, sean dilley, has been outside kings cross for us. to describe the picture at kings cross, one of the major london terminals, there are people turning up for travel. within the last couple of minutes, there was one train on the platform coming behind us here, but there are plenty of staff trying to help people to make theirjourneys. the advice has been clear that lner, along with gwr out of paddington all the way to swansea, bristol and penzance, are saying if you don't have to travel, please don't. we heard earlierfrom robert nisbet from the rail delivery group speaking on behalf

of all of the train operators in this case that 183 trains were taken out of service yesterday. these are the hitachi 800 trains with the cracks in the metal underneath. they say safety is the top priority, they are working as quickly as they can to get the hitachi 800 trains back and operational, many of those returning to service today. but the rail delivery group say timetables may have a knock—on effect as we move forward. the advice from the government, which the rail companies appear to be listening to, is to make sure there's plenty of staff to help those who absolutely need to travel. in many ways, it's fortunate it is a weekend, many people are used to remote working with covid—19, but they say if you do not need to travel, please try not to. sean dilley reporting there. more than 400 athletes, including us athletejustin gatlin, are taking part in a test event at the olympic stadium in tokyo. it is hoped this will show everyone

that the olympics can take place safely injuly, as they were cancelled last year due to the pandemic. but there are concerns, as parts ofjapan are under a recently extended state of emergency due to the number of coronavirus infections in the country. rachel stanton reports. on your marks, get set, and go. athletes here in tokyo are preparing for the upcoming 0lympics. due to happen injuly, more than 11 test events have taken place to make sure the games can go ahead after they were cancelled last year as a result of the pandemic. translation: they had social distancing and every time - we touched something, they sterilised it. i thought the organisers were being very attentive and had good anti—virus measures in place. but not everyone feels the same way. there are concerns about the games being given the green light. translation: honestly, we're i all so scared of getting the virus,

we understand that we will not be able to take part in the race if we get infected here, so, to be frank, i am taking part in fear. athletes aren't the only ones to voice their concerns. "no olympics" — that is just one of the signs here outside the stadium. and more than 200,000 people have signed an online petition hoping the event will be called off. |translation: covid-19 infections are important in tokyo and osaka, with many severe cases. so i would like the money from the games to be used in hospitals instead. despite opposition, world athletics president sebastian coe insists it can all be held safely. the covid protocols, particularly that world athletics have developed over the last year and a half by our health and science teams, who are extremely good at this, have consistently helped deliver events in a safe and secure environment. with daily cases topping 7000 for the first time

since the beginning of the year, the battle against the virus is far from over. but with covid restrictions in place across the country, the government is hoping to rein in the surge of infections, and that byjuly, the most famous international sports competition can bring back some normality to our lives. rachel stanton, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. it's certainly not completely sunny out there. we've got some areas of cloud, we've got some showery rain in places, but it is warmer than it has been, with the highest temperatures through today across eastern parts of england. up to 20 or 21 degrees. now, through this evening and tonight, it is across this south—eastern corner where we will see some heavy thundery downpours drifting up from the near continent. some showers continuing further west as well, some clear spells in between, and it is pretty much frost—free, with temperatures between 7 and 11, maybe 12 degrees across parts of eastern england. tomorrow we will see an area

of heavy rain clipping in to the far north—east of scotland. elsewhere, it is a sunshine and showers day. some of those showers will be heavy and thundery and it will be quite windy as well. could well see wind gusts in excess of 40 mph for parts of england and wales. not as warm as today, but still getting up to between 14 and 17 degrees. for the week ahead, we will see some heavy downpours, but some drier interludes too, and the nights should stay frost free. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, warns it would be "completely outrageous" for the westminster government to block a second independence referendum. the labour leader sir keir starmer prepares to reshuffle his team after the party's disappointing performance in the elections — he's already removed his deputy angela rayner, as campaigns chief.