good afternoon. the vaccines minister nadhim zahawi says the government will be cautious, and look at all the data, before deciding whether to end covid restrictions in england next month.

the warning was made as the chief executive of nhs providers said "very, very few" coronavirus patients in hospital in england have received two covid jabs, showing the vaccines provide "very high" levels of protection. but he warned that hospitals are dealing with a heavy backlog of cases. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. ready, steady, go. we are in a race, vaccines against the virus, and this was the start on december eight. maggie keenan was the first person in the uk to get vaccinated outside of clinical trials. that was less than six months ago. now, about three quarters of adults have had their first dose, three quarters of adults have had theirfirst dose, and three quarters of adults have had their first dose, and almost half have had both. the government target has always been to offer a job to all adults by the end ofjuly. now there is a new ambition. we all adults by the end ofjuly. now there is a new ambition. we hope to be able to protect _ there is a new ambition. we hope to be able to protect with _ there is a new ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two - there is a new ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two doses, l be able to protect with two doses, all the other 50s, before the 21st

ofjune. we will make sure we vaccinate at scale, but and here's the important thing, we will share the important thing, we will share the evidence with the country on the 14th ofjune. the evidence with the country on the 14th ofjune-— 14th ofjune. both dates are key, because june _ 14th ofjune. both dates are key, because june 14 _ 14th ofjune. both dates are key, because june 14 is _ 14th ofjune. both dates are key, because june 14 is when - 14th ofjune. both dates are key, because june 14 is when the - becausejune14 is when the government will becausejune 14 is when the government will tell us of the next stage of opening up will happen in england onjune 21. at that point, they will want to meet four tests before going ahead. the first test, as the vaccine right going well? the second, are vaccines stopping people getting sick or dying with covid? the third test is about infection levels. are they getting so high they are putting too much pressure on the nhs? in the final test is about new variants of concern. are they changing the risk level? the first two tests, about vaccines, are being met so far. there has been a small rise in cases, though, still had a low level. most recent figures from the ons suggest that one in every from the 0ns suggest that one in every 60,000 people will test positive for covid. in areas hit

higher by the indian variant, numbers are much higher. in blackburn, there are more than 700 cases for every 100,000 people. but health bosses say there is pressure on the nhs across the country. rates are low in the south—west, but the ambulance service there has declared a critical incident because it is so busy. a critical incident because it is so bus . ~ ., ., , , a critical incident because it is so bus. ., ., , , busy. we have got these big care backlo: is busy. we have got these big care backlog is that _ busy. we have got these big care backlog is that we _ busy. we have got these big care backlog is that we are _ busy. we have got these big care backlog is that we are trying - busy. we have got these big care backlog is that we are trying to l busy. we have got these big care i backlog is that we are trying to get through— backlog is that we are trying to get through as — backlog is that we are trying to get through as quickly as possible, and we are _ through as quickly as possible, and we are tackling the most complex cases _ we are tackling the most complex cases to _ we are tackling the most complex cases to start with, which means that those — cases to start with, which means that those patients need to have overnight — that those patients need to have overnight stays, because they are difficult _ overnight stays, because they are difficult cases. the overnight stays, because they are difficult cases.— overnight stays, because they are difficult cases. the next few weeks will cive difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us — difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a _ difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear— difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear idea _ difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear idea of - difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear idea of how- difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear idea of how or | will give us a clear idea of how or if this will affect plans to open up next month. and catherine is here now. the vaccines minister was also asked this morning about vaccines for children and nhs staff. yes, we will start with children. 0ur vaccine roll—out plan has been incredibly simple, really. we have started with the oldest and most frail people and worked our way down the age groups, but only to 18—year—olds. so in europe, the

european medicines agency has approved the pfizer vaccine for children over the age of 12, that has not happened here. the nhra, the uk regulator, has not yet done that. so it nadhim zahawi was asked about that, and he said, we need to make sure these vaccines are incredibly safe before offering them to children. he did say that if it gets the go—ahead, everything is in place for that to happen. but this is a really big if, because there are a few things do we appear. the older you are, the greater the risk of covid, so the benefits of getting vaccinated clearly outweigh those risks for adults. for children, vaccinated clearly outweigh those risks foradults. for children, it's a bit of a grey area, they do not tend to get as sick. but on the other hand, there is the question of them passing it on to other people and they have to miss school if there are outbreaks. so a bigger ethical question is, should we even be vaccinating such low—risk groups when other countries are struggling to even get health care workers vaccinated? and health care workers was the other thing that he was asked about ella today. at the moment, nhs staff do not have to get

vaccinated, but they have the option. the minister said it would be irresponsible of them not to at least to consider this option. thank ou ve least to consider this option. thank you very much. _ least to consider this option. thank you very much, catherine. - the prime minister has returned to work after his secretly—planned wedding yesterday to carrie symonds at westminster cathedral. the couple have released this image of them in the downing street garden. a spokesman said that, following yesterday's small ceremony, the couple would celebrate again with family and friends next summer. borisjohnson is the first prime minister to get married while in office in nearly 200 years. the newly—elected leader of the democratic unionist party has accused the european union of playing "fast and loose" with the peace process in northern ireland. edwin poots said checks on goods entering northern ireland from great britain were having a "devastating impact" and leading to violence on the streets. the european commission says it rejects any suggestion that it no longer cares about the peace process. from belfast, louise cullen reports. the northern ireland protocol has caused political and practical problems since its inception. it creates a trade border in the irish sea, by keeping

northern ireland in the eu single market for goods and forcing eu custom rules at the ports, to prevent a hardening of the land border. and unionists view it as a threat to their place in the united kingdom. that fear was blamed for trouble on the streets at easter. the uk has delayed introducing some food checks until october, a move the eu has gone to court over. technical talks continue. the new dup leader edwin poots claimed the northern ireland peace process was being damaged. i don't want to use a threat of violence in terms of this. 0ur arguments are very clear, they are very coherent. this is the european union seeking to punish the united kingdom and, as a consequence, northern ireland is being used as a plaything for the european union. i can assure you, northern ireland should be nobody�*s plaything. the eu commission vice president rejected that. i think we are working absolutely flat out to make sure that the protocol operates as smoothly as possible.

i think we have also to turn the table a little bit in this discussion and look at what the protocol brings as an opportunity to northern ireland. the current position of westminster is that the uk would like an equivalence arrangement in which the eu would recognise uk food production standards as equivalent to its own, but the eu says the protocol is the only solution. louise cullen, bbc news. media reports in israel say the main opposition leader, yair lapid, appears close to a deal with his rival, naftali bennett. their aim to form a coalition government would bring together factions from the right, left and centre of israeli politics. any deal would look to oust prime minister benjamin netanyahu from power after 12 years, midway through his trial on corruption charges. chelsea fans have been celebrating after beating manchester city in last night's champions league final, securing the biggest prize in european club football for a second time. over 14,000 supporters

were allowed into the stadium in porto, and many more made the trip to the portugal. 0ur sports news correspondent laura scott was there. up early to remind anyone who might have forgotten that chelsea are champions of europe again. but, while there was elation for one set of fans this morning, elsewhere, there was deflation, and not just for the giant trophy. what's done is done, we've just got to move on and go on for next year. do you know what, we've come here, we've had a ball and we're going home. champions of england, there is nothing more you can say. we know what we are, we know what we are! | no way to explain it, really, just buzzing. it's great when you are the underdogs and you win, that's the best feeling. but, for chelsea fanjack, he missed the one thing he came here for, after a few too many of these. was it the final that you'd hoped for? well, i had a ticket, 450 quid, and i didn't make it into the stadium, so i watched it around some portuguese people's house, they were very nice. 0n the night, the english

champions were outsmarted by thomas tuchel�*s chelsea. early chances for both sides came and went, butjust before half—time, the blues found the crucial breakthrough. their most expensive ever player, kai havertz, justifying his pay packet. chance for chelsea! a moment greeted byjubilant scenes. pep guardiola had taken a tactical gamble with his team selection, but he couldn't find the key and when this last—gasp chance by riyad mahrez missed, it was over. the chelsea celebrations didn't take long, and stretched far and wide. a boyhood dream realised for the club's academy graduate mason mount. the staging of the final here at short notice hasn't been without controversy, but, as the city quietened down again, authorities say it has largely played out smoothly and peacefully. there were some concerns from locals about the potential impact on covid and, from that perspective, the success of this event will take

a while longer to establish. at the end of this most unusual of seasons, chelsea and english football on top in europe once more. laura scott, bbc news, porto. the next news on bbc one is at 5.35. bye for now. have a good afternoon. hello, i'm katie shanahan with your latest sports news. pep guardiola says they'll come back stronger from their champions league final defeat to chelsea. the manchester city boss has been forced to defend his surprise team selection after their 1—0 defeat, which left the club still searching for a first win in european club football's biggest competition. 0lly foster was in porto.

it is difficult to criticise pep guardiola for all his success, but failed in that xi that he had never done before, hejust said that failed in that xi that he had never done before, he just said that he trusted his players because they were so full of goals, and he knew that chelsea will try to strangle them, stop them playing their little passes through towards goal, as they have done all the way towards the premier league title. but it was chelsea who knocked them out of the fa cup, it was chelsea in the last six weeks who delayed their title party, so pep guardiola would have been wary of thomas tuchel. at thomas tuchel got itjust right, he said he wanted to be the stone in the shoe of manchester city, and they really were. he will want to mould this chelsea team in his image now after inheriting it from frank lampard just four months ago. they will be a force to be reckoned with, as will manchester city, who

finished 19 points clear of chelsea, remember, but roll on next season, because let's just hope it is a really tight season. we have had this all english final, it was always going to be tight, but what a climax to the season. city midfielder kevin de bruyne suffered a fractured nose and eye socket in the clash that brought his invovlement in the match to an end. he was involved in a nasty collision with antonio rudiger early in the second half. de bruyne said on social media that he feels 0k but still disappointed about the defeat. he's in the belgium squad for the euros, with theirfirst match onjune the 12th, but there's no indication whether he'll be fit for that. dan evans has made a great start to french open campaign. he took the first set against miomir kecmanovic 6—1, but the serbian is 4—1 up in the second. evans has never made the second round at roland garros, but he's been a revelation on clay this year, with novak djokovic among his scalps.

after all the controversy ahead of the tournament, naomi 0saka has won her first round match. the world number two beat patricia maria tig from romania in straight sets, even though it went to a tie—break in the second. remember, we won't be hearing from her, of course, after she decided not to take part in any post—match media conferences to protect her mental health. there was a sombre mood ahead of the italian motogp this afternoon, following the death of the swiss moto3 riderjason dupasquier. a minute's silence was held ahead of the main race. dupasquier was struck by another bike after falling during qualifying at the mugello circuit yesterday, and he died of his injuries today in hopsital. he was just 19 years old. jordan spieth has a one—shot lead going into the final round of the charles schwab challenge in texas. after a brilliant opening round of 63, he fired in two 66s in a row to stay just ahead of the field.

england's ian poulter gave himself an outside chance of victory by carding a 64, which was the round of the day, leaving him seven shots off the pace. that's all the sport for now. the vaccines minister, nadhim zahawi, says the government will be cautious and look at all the data, before deciding whether to end covid restrictions in england next month. the warning was made as the chief executive of nhs providers said "very, very few" coronavirus patients in hospital in england have received two covid jabs, showing the vaccines provide "very high" levels of protection. but he warned hospitals are dealing with a heavy backlog of cases. dr katherine henderson is president of the royal college of emergency medicine. she says there despite there being low numbers going into hospital with coronavirus, the transmission prevention measures have to stay in place, which keeps bed capacity down. i spoke to her earlier.

at the moment, we are not seeing lots of patients coming in with covid, but the fact that you've got any transmission in the community means all the infection prevention and control measures that you have to have in place have to still be there as strongly as before, which means that we have a problem with bed capacity — we have to socially distance, we can't have the elastic walls that emergency departments have been traditionally allowed to have, when there is a danger of infection. we haven't got the footprint that we had during the pandemic, because of all the other work that needs to go on. we are trying to get the elective backlog managed, and therefore wards that were being used for covid patients are having to revert to being surgical wards. now, if we have an upsurge in covid, which would be such a disaster, we will need those wards again to take covid patients, and we will be having problems again.

on that backlog, nhs providers referencing the patients who have left treatment too long, they now need more complex procedures — what would your message be to those patients? we have said to patients all through this, please come with serious symptoms. if you have something that is bothering you, do get in touch. but chris is right and emergency departments cannot necessarily expedite, you know, an operation, those patients may be on the waiting list for an operation and are presenting either to the gp or an emergency department because they have ongoing symptoms, and so i would be saying it is not just a debate about the 21st ofjune, there needs to be a debate about how we are going to manage the concurrent workload of unscheduled care and elective care going forward within the nhs.

because everyone is extremely busy, we have a training backlog for our staff, we have a tired staff, and it is not just about what happens on the 21st ofjune. professor in paediatrics at university of bristol and jcvi member adam finn told me earlier that the risk and the impact of the new variant is still being assessed. well, we are in a position of flux right now, principally because we are trying to establish the infectiousness of this new variant, and how much of an uptick that is going to result in hospitalisations, but clearly, as we were just hearing, the nhs is under pressure from non—covert illnesses at the moment, which makes it an even more acute concern to see what is going

to happen next. collard given the indian variant, perhaps you could explain to viewers where we are with that at the moment? i'm afraid there is still a high level of uncertainty. there is a clear consensus this is a more infectious virus than the one that has been circulating this year, butjust how much more infectious is still not clear, and the second question mark is to what extent the vaccine programme we have had so far will disconnect those increased numbers of cases from increased numbers of hospitalisations, and there will be a lag before that happens. people get the infection but take some time before they get seriously ill. so there really is a lot of uncertainty at the moment, and although everyone is very focused on the state of the zist is very focused on the state of the 21st ofjune, i think we've all got to keep an open mind as to what to do next, because we don't want to react to light, as we have in the past. iiii react to light, as we have in the ast. . ., react to light, as we have in the ast, .., ., ., “ past. if we could look further ahead, past. if we could look further ahead. we — past. if we could look further ahead, we had _ past. if we could look further

ahead, we had the _ past. if we could look further ahead, we had the approval. past. if we could look further. ahead, we had the approval of past. if we could look further - ahead, we had the approval of the jansen single dose this week, could you explain how that single dose may be used towards the end of this year into early next year? i be used towards the end of this year into early next year?— into early next year? i think it is important _ into early next year? i think it is important to _ into early next year? i think it is important to emphasise - into early next year? i think it is important to emphasise that. into early next year? i think it is. important to emphasise that they into early next year? i think it is - important to emphasise that they had the foresight of being able to do two studies, one with one dose and one with two, they realised it would be useful early in the pandemic to give one dose and perhaps later to give one dose and perhaps later to give another, so this isn't fundamentally different from the others that we have got, except inasmuch as there is a study with one dose, and as you say, supplies will come through later in the year, but it may be useful in terms of people who need to get quick protection, if you like, quick authorisation of immunisation, and of course it is another tool in the tool box. vietnam has detected a covid variant that appears to be a combination of the indian and uk variants. the country's health minister said the latest mutation was more transmissible than previously known versions and described it as "ve ry d a ngerous" after successfully containing

the virus for most of last year, vietnam is now grappling with a spike in infections since late april that accounts for more than half of the total of almost 7000 cases. australia's prime minister is in new zealand for the annual bilateral talks with his counterpart, jacinda ardern. the relative success in curbing the coronavirus pandemic was evident, as neither leader wore a mask, and scott morrison was welcomed with a traditional maori greeting. the two leaders are expected to discuss how to further ease tough covid—i9 border controls and how the two south pacific powers might further support smaller countries in the region. from sydney, phil mercer reports, there are flashing images at the start of the report. a traditional maori greeting replaced elbow bumps and fist taps, as new zealand's prime minister welcomed her australian counterpart. scott morrison said the meeting highlighted the success of two countries that have weathered covid—i9 arguably better than any other. both governments banned

foreign nationals in march 2020, but they need a plan to eventually bring to an end their isolation from the rest of the world. a quarantine—free travel corridor was opened last month. while flights to the australian state of victoria have been suspended due to a snap seven—day lockdown, the bubble could be extended to other parts of the south pacific, including fiji and vanuatu, to help revive their tourism industries. mr morrison said australia and new zealand were family, but, like most households, there are disagreements. canberra's controversial deportation of new zealanders convicted of crimes, including children, has strained the relationship. a senior australian minister compared the policy to taking the trash out.

it remains a very sore point between these trans—tasman cousins. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. more than 100 long—tailed macaque monkeys that were being illegally smuggled in the back of a pickup truck have been rescued in thailand. a field hospital has been set up to treat 80 of them. you may find some of the images in russell trott�*s report distressing. sedated but safe. rescued macaque monkeys, many pregnant, being treated by thai medical teams. more than 100 were discovered — terrified, struggling and gasping for air, in mesh bags tied together and being transported to the cambodian border. 18 didn't make it. translation: the monkeys i were exhausted and dehydrated for a long time. some of them had respiratory problems because of overcrowding during the smuggling operation.

wildlife smuggling in asia is nothing new — tigers, along with other animals have been traded, dead or alive, to neighbouring countries in what is a lucrative, if illegal, business. the authorities have been intercepting the banned wildlife shipments, but closing down the ruthless gangs behind it is a more difficult proposition. the smuggling of the monkeys was a carefully planned operation. a pickup truck was eventually intercepted at a checkpoint and taken to a field hospital equipped with ultrasound scanners and breathing tubes. the driver of the truck says he didn't know the animals were in the back of the vehicle. he's being detained and questioned about wildlife smuggling. russell trott, bbc news. the three peaks challenge, in which walkers tackle the highest points of scotland, england and wales one after the other, is one of britain's most popular endurance events. but three mountains is not enough for a pair of fitness enthusiasts

who are planning to throw in a fourth climb — in northern ireland. oh, and they're going to row between each nation. alison freeman went to meet them. their home for around six weeks. catherine and martin will eat, sleep and travel on this rowing boat between the four nations of the united kingdom, before taking on their highest peaks on foot. a challenge that's never been attempted before. so this is our cabin. there's just enough legroom to be able to lie down. i'm here, martin's here, so it's pretty cosy. it's the idea of catherine wilkins, who runs a fitness centre in northumberland. despite the mammoth challenge ahead, she managed to get martin, who works for her, on board. i like to try things that no—one has ever done before. when catherine mentioned it to me, that she's got this challenge in mind and nobody has ever completed it, i was instantly yes, i'm there, i'm doing it. the pair will start their challenge by climbing mount snowdon in wales before walking to caernarfon.

they'll row to whitehaven and from there walk up to the summit of scafell pike. after walking back to the coast, they'll cross the irish sea to northern ireland, where they'll tackle slieve donard. they then take on the longest rowing leg of their expedition, before travelling by sea and canal to the highlands of scotland. there, they'll climb ben nevis. the irish sea has a lot of challenges. it's got shipping lanes. it can be horrendously tidal and choppy. so we have everything crossed for a high—pressure system and a gentle crossing, but we're not under any illusions. the pair will be raising money for the mental health charity mind. me being a former marine, a veteran of the marines, some lads who leave struggle a lot with mental health, including myself. so when ijoined the forces, the forces was my family. and then to go from that to civilian life is a bit of a shock. it's hard, really, to find that purpose, of where you stand in civilian life and what gets

you up in the morning. ijust want people to be able to talk about it, the benefits of being outside and pushing yourselves physically, and the benefits that can have on mental health. you are really going to be pushing yourself physically, aren't you? yes, i think we are! yourself physically, aren't you? we are definitely going to be pushing ourselves physically, and, you know, we're probably talking 16 or 17 hours rowing a day. they will set off on their challenge onjune 3rd. is it going to challenge your friendship, do you think? we had a couple of hairy moments on the training row last weekend, and we got through that and said to ourselves, there's no—one we would rather be in a boat with. alison freeman, bbc news. the grammy—winning american singer bj thomas, best remembered for the 1969 hit raindrops keep fallin on my head, has died at the age of 78. the song, written by burt bacharach and hal david for the film butch cassidy and the sundance kid, won the oscarfor best original song. billyjoe thomas died at his home

in texas from lung cancer. you might have expected those raindrops to keep falling on your head given in may we have had, but no, high pressure for the first time this month is settling the weather down. this afternoon we have got skies like these, clear blue skies, not much cloned around at all. with high pressure, the winds come around this way, so you can see low cloud on the satellite picture which is moving on shore to some of our eastern coasts. this is how things look around the east coast of scotland, not particularly inviting, murky and cold, 8—9 c. i do not think there will be a great deal of change through the afternoon here with that low cloud loitering. but

thatis with that low cloud loitering. but that is the exception rather than the rule, for most of us, lots of sunshine, feeling warm, as high as 23 celsius this afternoon, a little bit above average for the time of year, something i have not said all month. 0vernight year, something i have not said all month. overnight at mist and fog patches will reform across central and eastern england, turning murky in some areas, 7—10 c, and then, yes, bank holiday monday, you might have pencilled in cold weather and rain, but no, mistand have pencilled in cold weather and rain, but no, mist and fog clearing away, sunshine for most, temperatures are going to be rising another few degrees celsius. let's look at the highs through the afternoon, 22 in glasgow, 19 for belfast, warming up in cardiff and london, 22 and 24 celsius respectively. tuesday, little overall change, high pressure still with us bringing low cloud, mist and fog to eastern shores, a weather

front tries to move into that high, not making much progress, but bringing a passing shower to northern ireland. 0therwise dry and sunny, temperatures reaching 25 in liverpool and london. that is likely to be the warmest day of the year so far, until we get to wednesday. later in the week, low pressure moving in from the south will start to bring some thundery showers, initially across southern and western areas of the uk through wednesday, but on wednesday for most, another dry day with long spells of sunshine. if anything, hotter again — temperatures reaching 26 in london, 25 in liverpool, 22 in glasgow, these temperatures for the most part above average for the time of year. so after the rancid month of year. so after the rancid month of may we have just endured, the weather for the next few days looks warm very warm before those thundery showers moving, and temperatures will ease through thursday and friday back to average. that is your latest weather.