tonight at 10pm... "increasing confidence" in government that existing vaccines are effective against the latest variant of coronavirus. the news has raised hopes that plans for the complete lifting of restrictions in england will not be delayed. we have increasing confidence that the vaccines are effective against it. that means that our strategy is the right one. and, despite confusion about the travel rules, thousands of british travellers are heading abroad to take a break. so, travelling to mexico for about a week. it is on the amber list, but we're looking forward to going away. i know everyone�*s had quite a tough year, so hopefully it'lljust be nice to get some sun and get out of the uk for a little bit. we'll have more on the traffic—light system, and how ministers

can't seem to agree on what is and isn't advisable. also tonight... an unsolved murder from 1987 involving allegations of police corruption — now the home office delays publication of an independent report. a special report from france, where police forces are routinely accused of brutality and racist behaviour. and we look at the future of sport, in a world where climate change could transform conditions. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel... it's a busy night of premier league football. could it be farewell for tottenham's harry kane, in front of the home fans, after his side's loss to aston villa? good evening. there's "increasing confidence" that the existing vaccines for coronavirus are effective

against the so—called indian variant of the virus, according to borisjohnson. the prime minister's words have raised hopes that the plans for lifting restrictions in england won't be delayed. almost 3,000 cases of the indian strain have now been identified across the uk. "surge testing" is being extended in affected areas, and more vaccine doses are being made available. but health experts warn they still can't say for certain how infectious the new variant is. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, reports. the drive to get more people vaccinated has added momentum, with concern about rising cases of the indian variant. whatever you do, don't run away after you've finished, because i'm going to have stuff to give you. at this vaccine bus in the london borough of brent, no bookings are needed. government officials say second doses should be pulled forward for certain groups, and that is what those we spoke to had come along to get. i just thought when the time

is right i would get my second dose. i saw the van and thought i would pop along now. we cannot ignore what is still going on. just all do our bit, really. for the people who live i here it is good and nice. lam happy and i am relaxed. ministers believe vaccines can work against the variant. we have increasing confidence that the vaccines are effective against it. that means that our strategy is the right one. to carefully replace the restrictions on freedom for protection from the vaccine. what is your current assessment of how fast this new variant is spreading relative to the existing uk variant? we have a credible range that goes from a few percent more transmissible through to — and you have probably read the sage papers —

through to 50% more transmissible. i think most people feel it is going to be somewhere in the middle rather than at the extremes of that band. he said things would be clearer from data next week. more pockets of cases of the indian covid variant are emerging, including five at a school in shropshire. a testing centre has opened and all secondary school pupils, staff and their families in the newport area have been urged to take a test. in the southside of glasgow, where the variant had been detected, there was surge testing for the first time. three secondary schools have asked senior pupils to stay at home for three weeks unless they have assessments. back in brent, the focus is on parts of the borough where take—up of the vaccine has been low. for some people it can be difficult to get to big vaccination centres, for example a couple of bus rides or more. the idea here is to use the vaccine bus to get to the heart

of local communities. they are monitoring developments with the variant. we are seeing an increase in the variant that was first described in india, and while many of the cases are associated with travel, or contacts of people who have travelled, there has been some community transmission. the uk—wide situation is encouraging. some intensive care units have no covid patients. for the second successive day, total hospital admissions have been below 100. the question now is whether the variant changes that picture in any way. hugh pym, bbc news. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, joins me. tonight, some news about the booster vaccines that people may be offered in the autumn. a trial is being launched of a third dose of covid vaccine, which made top up immunity and provide extra

protection against new variants. nearly 3000 adult volunteers have been recruited at 18 sites across the uk, and they will be randomly selected to have one of seven different covid vaccines, and we have all heard of the astrazeneca, pfizer and moderna jabs, but then there is novavax and janssen, which are currently awaiting approval, and two lesser known ones, curevac and valneva, currently going through trials. the uk government has bought huge supplies of all. the trial will look at safety because we know mixing different vaccines can increase short—term side effects, an increased chance of fever, fatigue, sore arms, and it will look at antibody levels, how much we boost does it give, and some volunteers will get a half dose, which might be enough to give protection. the results will help decide if we need a booster campaign this autumn, because it has not been decided yet.

it mightjust be some age groups that require it. if you are fully immunised, over30 that require it. if you are fully immunised, over 30 and want to sign up, you can go to the cov—boost website at the university of southampton. let's take a look at the latest official figures for the pandemic in the uk. there were 2,696 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that, on average, the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 2,270. the latest daily figure for the number of people across the uk in hospital with coronavirus is 939. three 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, eight deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 127,694. as for the vaccination programme, the number of people who have had a firstjab has risen

above 36.9 million. and more than 20.8 million people have had both doses of a vaccine. borisjohnson has warned that people should not be going on holiday to countries on the amber list, the second tier of the government's traffic light system. but ministers have been accused of making a mess of explaining the rules, after the environment secretary said people could visit the amber list countries as long as they quarantined on return. thousands of tourists have left the uk for destinations in france, greece and spain since monday, and the eu is now expected to relax its travel rules for british holiday—makers. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith, has the latest. it is usually the moment when the excitement of a holiday can begin, the luggage is loaded up and there is no queue at check—in, but for passengers heading to the greek island of mykonos today, the news en route

to the airport left them in a bind. got people saying you can go, people saying you can't. it's just like... you've got to come to a point, really, haven't you, where you make a decision or lose your money, so... we are very aware that we will be quarantining when we come back, for the ten days. we are both double jabbed, we have done our test before we came out, so we're doing everything we possibly can to keep us and everyone else around us safe. we've covered that criteria so, yeah, we are just happy- to be leaving the rain. greece is on the amber travel list, and the environment secretary has said people could go to those countries if they quarantined when they returned, which has left the public and politicians wondering what amber actually means. if he doesn't want people to travel to amber list countries, if that is his position, he doesn't want them to travel to amber list countries, why has he made it easierfor them to do so? it is very, very clear, mr speaker, you should not be going to an amber list country except for some extreme

circumstance such as the serious illness of a family member. so what exactly are the rules? it is not illegal to travel to an amber list country, but the government website says... it also says... that is really clear, but it is only advice. travelling to mexico, it is on the amber list but we are looking forward to going away. i know everyone�*s had quite a tough year, so hopefully it'll be nice to get some sun and get out of the uk for a little bit. because flights are still running to amber list countries, it is a difficult choice for passengers at the moment. if they can't reschedule all of their holiday plans, then the decision is either to cancel and lose the money from theirflights, or tojust go anyway, and that is what plenty of passengers seem to be doing. international travel is not illegal.

what you need to do are follow the rules, and what we need the government to do is be really clear on what those rules are, and we also need support in getting the price of testing down so that people can afford a holiday without some massive costs for the whole family to get tested. the european union is expected to relax its travel rules for uk holiday—makers, but we won't know for sure until friday. and, while the government advice is to stay put, the decision to travel to amber countries has been left up to passengers. colletta smith, bbc news, at manchester airport. 0ur europe correspondent, jean mackenzie, is in brussels. can we talk about these eu rules, as we understand them, and what is likely to come up later in the week? what do you expect?— what do you expect? certainly the --rosect what do you expect? certainly the prosraect of _ what do you expect? certainly the prosraect of a _ what do you expect? certainly the prospect of a summer _ what do you expect? certainly the prospect of a summer in _ what do you expect? certainly the prospect of a summer in europe i what do you expect? certainly the prospect of a summer in europe isi prospect of a summer in europe is looking a little brighter. the eu

has agreed in principle that people who have been fully vaccinated will be allowed to come here this summer, although that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be restrictions around this trouble, but the bigger question hangs over what happens to people who have not been vaccinated yet and whether they will be allowed in, and this all hinges on whether the eu decides to put the uk onto its list of safe countries, and it would be deciding that until friday. there is a good chance it will be on that list, but it's certainly not guaranteed. the infection rate in the uk is low enough for it to be considered but there are countries here who are concerned about the recent surge of cases in the uk linked to the indian variant, and they want to see which direction the infections are going to go in, so it might be they decide to wait a couple of weeks before putting the uk onto this list. they are reluctant to be put in countries onto the list and taking them a few weeks later. the big caveat is it's ultimately up to the individual

countries to decide what to do that have already seen this week portugal, greece and italy allowing british travellers back in, making up british travellers back in, making up their own rules, so regardless of what happens here on friday, we could start to see other countries go it alone. could start to see other countries 90 it alone-— go it alone. thank you for the latest from — go it alone. thank you for the latest from brussels. - president biden has told israel to bring about a "significant de—escalation" in the conflict with palestinians in gaza. mr biden said he wanted a "path to ceasefire". the us, a long—standing ally of israel, has so far opposed a joint statement by the un security council on the conflict. the conflict is in its tenth day, with a continuing exchange of rocket fire from palestinian militants into israel and israeli air strikes on gaza. live tojerusalem and our middle east editor, jeremy bowen. this call from president biden what a significant de—escalation, is not likely to be listened to?

a significant de-escalation, is not likely to be listened to?— likely to be listened to? yeah, i think it will. — likely to be listened to? yeah, i think it will. i— likely to be listened to? yeah, i think it will. | think _ likely to be listened to? yeah, i think it will. i think that - likely to be listened to? yeah, i think it will. i think that mr - think it will. i think that mr netanyahu is an expert at standing up netanyahu is an expert at standing up to pressure from american democratic presidents. he did it with president clinton, with president 0bama. he exasperated them. with biden, when he was vice president as well. speaking to a senior israeli officials, they are focusing of the statement that said a progression towards a ceasefire, and put together with what is coming from the israeli side and palestinian side, i think there are indications the next 21t hours will probably see some kind of ceasefire. what is going to have changed, if anything? both israel and hamas will claim they have accomplished what they set out to do. first, the israelis, to restore deterrence, as they put it, and hamas will say they have showed them they are defending jerusalem for palestinians. the essentials of that conflict are not

going to change and, until they do, there will be more trouble in the future, potentially lots, so there has to be a political process to deal with that, which doesn't exist right now. longer term, the thing worrying israelis is the breakdown of coexistence between israel's jewish majority and arab minority. that's a consequence of what has happened and that's something a lot of people here are very bothered about. . ~ of people here are very bothered about. ., ~' , ., of people here are very bothered about. ., ~' ,, g , about. thank you, jeremy, in jerusalem- — the home office has been heavily criticised for delaying the publication of a report into the unsolved murder of daniel morgan, a private investigator who was beaten to death in south london in 1987. mr morgan, according to his family, had been on the verge of exposing police corruption when he was attacked. an independent panel investigating the case was due to publish its report on monday, but government lawyers said they need to examine it first, for reasons of "national security." our home affairs correspondent,

tom symonds, reports. a few brutal seconds in a south london car park, an axe in the head. 31t years of unanswered questions. daniel morgan was a private investigator, just a small office above shops. but the allegation is the firm and his partner, jonathan rees, in particular, worked with bent cops, which hampered the murder inquiry. mr rees denies being involved. daniel's young children have grown up, and the case has remained unsolved. his brother has never given up trying to find out the truth. it's the middle of a knot of corruption, really, and it needs to be examined and dismantled, or demolished, if you like. untied. untied, yeah. you know, years of feeling like you're banging your head against a brick wall, when you know that something has gone badly wrong. since 1987, five investigations have failed to find the killers.

in 2011, a trial had to be abandoned. the independent inquiry panel was launched in 2013, the hope, not so much that it would solve the case, more that it would reveal whether police corruption had prevented it being solved. but now, the home office has said that the home secretary has an obligation to make sure that the report complies with human rights and national security considerations. "as soon as we receive the report, we can begin those checks and agree a publication date. " this has been under the aegis of the home office for eight years, and then suddenly, at the last minute, itjust seems clumsy, ill thought—out, ill—advised, it'sjust... but there we are. the metropolitian police has already scrutinised the report for security risks. the morgan family lawyer says the government hasn't signed

an agreement simply to publish the findings, without amending them. —— the government has signed an agreement. to ask to review the report and redact it if she considers it necessary is... is a big step towards notjust undermining the panel, but the whole point, the whole purpose, of its work and its existence over the last eight years. the home office says it is not seeking to make edits of the daniel morgan report, but there is now a further wait for the official account of this notorious and unsolved case. tom symonds, bbc news. next week marks the first anniversary of the killing of george floyd, the african—american who was murdered while being taken into police detention in the state of minnesota. the images of the incident shocked people around the world, prompting millions to take part in global demonstrations against police brutality. for the second of our special reports on the impact of george floyd's death, my colleague clive myrie has been

to france, where police are often accused of violence and racism. some of the images in his report are distressing. spring sunshine bathes a land ill at ease. beneath the tranquility swirls a tempest on race. all these people should be wearing masks due to covid, even outdoors. the fine — 135 euros. but the police turn a blind eye. yet not too far away, different tactics. two men who happen to be black are stopped and questioned for not wearing masks. 0ne bystander reassures and complies. but our presence angers the police. one of our team is told by a female officer to go bleep herself. this officer tells us we're

not allowed to film, but that's not true. angry, they disappear. it was hoped winds of change would blow when george floyd died. 12 months ago, so much seemed possible. tens of thousands marched here, joining millions in global protests... ..over a death that resonated, especially in black and arab communities of france, where other men have died in police custody. yet a year later, more, not fewer, laws are being introduced that could insulate violent officers from prosecution. nothing. he's not doing anything... nothing! shahin hazamy chronicles french police brutality. look, look. he's punching him in the face. two punching in the face, yes. two police officers? yes, yes.

his footage of the violence, he posts on instagram, but it's a risky business. in this video, his friend has been stopped by police and an officer sees shahin filming. shouting. a terrible indictment of modern france. there is no video of the last moments of adama traore, who died running from the police after failing to show his identity card in 2016.

his sister assa says the evidence is clear — the police beat and killed him, despite a court ruling that her brother died of natural causes. she retraces what she believes were his final steps. that's where he was beaten, just in there? yes. and down the street, the police station where adama was pronounced dead. if anyone can build a prosecution case against the police for brutality, it's arie alimi. a human rights lawyer, he represents several people allegedly attacked by officers. should i be worried walking down a parisian street at night because i'm black? 0ui. i should be worried?

the fact that this man, music producer michel zecler, is black, say his lawyers, wasn't lost on the officers who beat him in his own recording studio. a security camera captured every punch and kick after he was stopped by police for not wearing a mask outside his front door. president macron tweeted... but great faith was placed in emmanuel macron on his election in 2017, that he had a plan to help tackle racism in france. now, however, say his critics, he is attempting to curry favour with voters on the right before elections next year by introducing security laws which include the arrest of anyone filming

the police and maliciously making the images public. it is all an attempt, they say, to cling onto power. it's often those who are black or arab in france who have no power and are 20 times more likely to be stopped by police than anyone who's white. the ministry of interior didn't want to comment on the issues raised in our report, but the police told us they're not racist and point to increases in violent crime and drugs offences as proof of the difficult job they do. however, there is an acknowledgement about the deficit of trust between young people and the police. this generation for us, actually, is lost. we think we lost a generation, but we want to fight for the next generation of people. france simply cannot turn its back on any of its citizens.

to do so would doom notjust, perhaps, this generation, but also the next. clive myrie, bbc news, paris. an insight into policing practices into day's france, my colleague clive myrie reporting. former us president donald trump says he's being "unfairly attacked and abused" following news that new york's attorney general has launched a criminal investigation into the trump family business. mr trump said there was nothing more corrupt than an investigation in search of a crime. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, is in new york. what's the significance of this legal move? donald trump has been under criminal investigation here in new york since 2018, from the manhattan district attorney. we have discovered the state attorney general has shifted

her investigation from civil to criminal and the significance is civil cases come with a penalty of fines, criminal cases have the potential of prison sentences, although donald trump has not been charged with anything yet. he is banned from social media, of course, but issued a statement which felt like a category five twitter storm, railing against what he called the biggest political witchhunt in united states history. he also pointed out correctly that the two prosecutors are both elected democrats, but the problem for donald trump as that is how the criminaljustice donald trump as that is how the criminal justice system donald trump as that is how the criminaljustice system works in america at local and state level. you cannot rely on political allies, as he did during impeachment, to get him out of trouble. hick as he did during impeachment, to get him out of trouble.— him out of trouble. nick bryant with the latest on _ him out of trouble. nick bryant with the latest on that _ him out of trouble. nick bryant with the latest on that case _ him out of trouble. nick bryant with the latest on that case in _ him out of trouble. nick bryant with the latest on that case in new - him out of trouble. nick bryant with j the latest on that case in new york. police investigating a fire at the home of the chief executive of celtic football club, peter lawwell, say it was started deliberately.

mr lawwell and his family were forced to flee the property on the outskirts of glasgow early this morning. police scotland say cctv shows a masked man setting fire to cars outside the house. over the coming years, climate change will affect every area of our lives, and one of those areas — often overlooked — is the world of sport. how will games like cricket deal with rising temperatures? will winter sports be able to survive? this week, bbc sport is looking at the impact global warming might have, as our correspondent joe wilson reports. in a british summer, cricketers look up and hope for the sun. but what the sport welcomes, it could soon fear. oh, yeah! runs, come on. in australia, i've seen cricket near alice springs in almost 50 celsius. at all levels of the game there are now guidelines about when play should cease in extreme weather. if climate change persists, forecasters estimate in melbourne test matches could be suspended — one in every three days. it would make the ashes there in their current form impossible.

i've been very fortunate, i've had a brilliant career to play some wonderful places around the world and i really hope that that's possible for future england players and aspiring young cricketers as well. it's scary to think that the game, as it is right now, it might not be the case in even 30 years' time? the winter olympics began in the 1920s. the future is uncertain. many venues are simply running out of snow. snow is a huge recreational pastime here in canada and across the globe and it would be devastating for generations following to not have the same opportunities we've had to play in the outdoors in winter. in scotland, coastal erosion, some of the world's oldest golf territory is falling into the sea. artificial dunes at st andrews offer one solution. sport... ..can adapt. this nature reserve is also the training ground of tottenham hotspur, officially the greenest club in the premier league. even some of the players�*

food is grown here. it motivated eric dier to start his own kitchen garden. well, how often do you discuss organic horticulture with an england footballer? by having conversations like these, hopefully some people will be inspired to start their own things in whatever way they can. it's very rewarding to put the work into something and then watch it grow and to eat it at the end and go through that process is very enjoyable. new generation, a new awareness. at glamorgan, meetjoe cook. he wrote his university dissertation on cricket and climate change. athletes actually want to act, so we're trying to create a group of athletes that can go around and help the organisations they're involved with and create these kind of stories. — look what this cricketer, look at this footballer has done for sustainability and create those positive stories around that. ultimately, sport's value may be its influence. if sport matters to people, it matters that it persists in the midst of a changing world. joe wilson, bbc news.

this week has brought a significant easing of social distancing and travel rules across most of the uk. we heard earlier how people have jumped at the chance of going abroad on holiday, at a time when some hospitality businesses at home say that not being able to open just wasn't survivable any more. 0ur correspondent danny savage has spent the past few days at the butlin's holiday resort in skegness on the coast of lincolnshire, talking to staff and visitors. do you want to take this for granddad? yeah. this has been a long time coming. come and see this room. at last, grandma and grandad can holiday with their extended family. it's just nice to be able to see other people out, doing what we're doing and enjoying the shows and enjoying the restaurants, socialising and getting to know people, saying hello. which we haven't been able to do for a long time. been looking at four walls for a while, haven't we? we've looked at four walls for too long, yeah.

have a lovely day, see you later. butlin's means redcoats, but covid means it's not