this is bbc news. the headlines at five: one of the most senior figures in the nhs urges ministers to be more open with the public about the impact of easing the lockdown, as hospitals struggle with the huge backlog of patients we think there are significant numbers of people who have put off coming into hospital and actually have now reached the stage where they must come in and get treatment, but because they have left it so long, it means that the treatment required will take longer and it's more complex. israeli opposition parties are inching towards forming a government that would bring an end to benjamin netanyahu's 12 years in power. the newly—elected leader of the democratic unionist party accuses the eu of using northern ireland as a "play thing"

to punish the uk for brexit. a new nationalflagship is to be commissioned by the government in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas. 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. his comments came as the chief executive of nhs providers said the rural hospitals are dealing with a heavy backlog of non—cosmetic care. —— warned that hospitals are dealing with.

he also said "very, very few" coronavirus patients in hospital in england have received two covid jabs, showing the vaccines provide "very high" levels of protection. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. ready, steady, go. we're in a race, vaccines against the virus, and this was the start on december the 8th. 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, and almost half have had both. the government target has always been to offer a jab to all adults by the end ofjuly. now there's a new ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two doses, all 1—9s, all the over 50s, before the 21st ofjune. we will make sure we vaccinate at scale, but — and here's the important thing — we will share the evidence with the country on the 14th ofjune. those dates are key,

because june the 14th is when the government will tell us of the next stage of opening up will happen in england onjune the 21st. at that point, they'll want to meet four tests before going ahead. the first test — is the vaccine roll—out going well? the second — are vaccines stopping people getting sick or dying with covid 7 the third test is about infection levels. are they getting so high they're putting too much pressure on the nhs? and 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's been a small rise in cases, though, still at a low level, but most recent figures from the ons 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, though. in blackburn, there are more than 700 cases for every 100,000 people. but health bosses say there's 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's so busy.

we've got these big care backlogs that we're, kind of, trying to get through as quickly as possible, and we are tackling the most complex cases to start with, and that means that those patients need to have overnight stays, because they're difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear idea of how or if this will affect plans to open up next month. i've been speaking to professor peter 0penshaw, from imperial college london, about the need for public vigilence as restrictions ease. i think we just need to be very cautious and need to keep an eye on the figures. we would all love to be able to open up again but the last thing we want is to see another major surge because of the circulation of these new variants which appear to be more transmissible, and to be able to escape to some degree from the immune response induced by vaccines. you know, i think the good news

is that vaccines are very good at preventing serious disease and death, but it's not so clear that they actually prevent transmission of these new variants. and we know that the indian variant is spiking in certain geographical areas at the moment. is there any merit in looking at local or regional measures, or is your view that we really have to be united on whatever restrictions or easing ultimately comes in? i think we have seen before that when these variants start to emerge in parts of the country, they spread quite quickly to other parts of the country. i think there are also clear problems with local restrictions because people do tend to cross the border into areas that have fewer restrictions, even if that's not what's advised. so it is very difficult to succeed with local lockdowns.

but i think we are alljust really hoping that we can get this under control, particularly if we can have a very effective local tracing of infection. absolutely, and one of the key elements of all of this for more than a year has been not to overwhelm the nhs, of course, and today we hear a call from the nhs saying, "look, we are finally trying to start getting through the backlog of all of those routine operations that were postponed," and making the point that if, then, those beds are suddenly needed for another covid wave, god forbid, yet again, the hip replacements and knee replacements or get postponed. is that a valid argument? is that something that policymakers really need to be paying attention to? yes, the nhs is getting busier and busier with all of those other things that it was extremely busy doing before we had covid, and that's obviously good news for people who have been waiting to have operations and so on, and again, if we have to go back into some sort of lockdown

or if the number of cases rises and we have to convert our acute care or long—term care into covid words again, then everything will go backwards. ijust do so hope that we can keep this under control and do urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible to be vaccinated. 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, enforcing eu customs 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're 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. the prime minister has returned to work after his secretly—planned wedding yesterday to carrie symonds at westminster cathedral. the couple have released this photo 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 — who has twice divorced — is the first prime minister to get married while in office in nearly 200 years.

an update on the situation in israel. 0pposition politicians there are moving closer to forming a new government — which could spell the end of benjamin netanyahu's twelve—year stretch as prime minister. i'm joined now by bbc middle east analyst — sebastian usher. what sort of coalition is coming together, do we think? it’s together, do we think? it's essentially _ together, do we think? it's essentially a _ together, do we think? it�*s essentially a coalition against mr netanyahu. it's parties from the right, left and centre, which don't have much in common except they want to get rid of the man who has basically dominated its early politics for a generation, and in all of the recent elections, they have been more about him than anything else. what we are seeing is the leader of the two parties, yair lapid, a centrist, has offered a deal to a right—wing leader, the much smaller party, yamina, naftali

bennett, to share the premiership, so naftali bennett would be in power first for two years and then yair lapid would follow with a two u—turn, one of the problems with thatis u—turn, one of the problems with that is that they are from these opposite poles of politics, so supporters on both sides will not be very happy when the other leader is in charge, and that doesn't bode perhaps that well for the stability in israeli politics, either. absolutely, if the situation of people coming together in that phrase, united against a common enemy, how much stability cannot bring to the country? it enemy, how much stability cannot bring to the country?— bring to the country? it has been dubbed in israeli _ bring to the country? it has been dubbed in israeli media - bring to the country? it has been dubbed in israeli media is - bring to the country? it has been dubbed in israeli media is a - bring to the country? it has been i dubbed in israeli media is a change of government, but again, it isn't really change in the politics, or for example, the way that israel looks at the palestinian question after the recent conflict in gaza, its change from mr netanyahu. and they hope is by those politicians come what they're saying publicly,

is that if netanyahu does go, they can look at issues, they don't have to centre all around mr netanyahu, who, though he remains a popular figure amongst his base, very charismatic, he is controversial and is of course on trial at the moment, a corruption trial, and some people come summer critics inside israel suggested that part of the ratcheting up of the recent conflict was to help him politically. so this... this is not a stable, settled situation for israel politically, but it hasn't been in that kind of situation for a long time, and just talking about these sharing of being prime minister, the last offer that mr netanyahu made, perhaps rather desperately, is to actually share power with two other would—be prime ministers, so they would—be prime ministers, so they would each in a four u—turn have a piece of that. it would each in a four u-turn have a piece of that-— piece of that. it sounds like an extraordinary _ piece of that. it sounds like an extraordinary concoction, - piece of that. it sounds like an extraordinary concoction, but l piece of that. it sounds like an i extraordinary concoction, but as piece of that. it sounds like an - extraordinary concoction, but as you

remind us, benjamin netanyahu is still on trial. he remind us, ben'amin netanyahu is still on trial.— still on trial. he is. his corruption _ still on trial. he is. his corruption trial, - still on trial. he is. his corruption trial, he - still on trial. he is. his i corruption trial, he denies still on trial. he is. his - corruption trial, he denies all of the charges. 0bviously corruption trial, he denies all of the charges. obviously if he is removed from office he will no longer have that protection so the sentence could get more serious for him. ., ~' , ., , sentence could get more serious for him. . ~ , . sentence could get more serious for him. . ~ ,, , . ., him. thank you very much for the very latest _ him. thank you very much for the very latest there _ him. thank you very much for the very latest there on _ him. thank you very much for the very latest there on the _ him. thank you very much for the very latest there on the state - him. thank you very much for the very latest there on the state of l very latest there on the state of israeli politics. a new nationalflagship is to be commissioned by the government in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas. the royal navy vessel — which will cost a reported £200 million and be in service for 30 years — would be used to host trade fairs and diplomatic meetings. it would be the successor to the royal yacht britannia, which was retired in 1997. lord ricketts is both the former british ambassador to france and a former national security adviser — he's now a crossbench peer. he told me he believes the ship is not worth the cost.

colossal waste of money, because i don't think it's at all relevant to the way that modern business and modern contracts are negotiated. the government says it wants britain to be a science and technology superpower, which is great, but i don't think the corporate bosses of the world's great high—tech companies and financial companies are going to be all that impressed with an invitation to go to some distant port and have a cocktail on board a ship in the harbour. so, i think it harks back generations to the way export promotion was done many, many years ago. it isn't relevant to promoting modern high—tech britain in the modern world. so, how does an idea like that get signed off, then? because, presumably, enough people must think that this is a terrific idea if that much money is going to be spent? well, i mean, clearly some people think it's a great idea inside the government and the conservative party. i wonder how many senior british business leaders have been consulted. i doubt that they would see this

as a very good idea. if they want a visiting minister to meet leaders of the business community in any another country then there is, of course, the british ambassador�*s residence, which is usually a much better and more convenient place to go in the centre of the capital city, than to some distant port. i also wonder what the royal navy chiefs would think of this. i mean, we already have a nationalflagship. you know, this extraordinary aircraft carrier, the queen elizabeth ii that we now have. it seems to me an enormous waste of navy manpower to crew a ship which is of absolutely no defence value at all. the government says it will be the first vessel of its kind in the world. i mean, is there a sense there that they think that this is innovative and different, if no other country does face the uk will stand out having this beautiful vessel? is that part of the thinking? if no other country has it, it's original, i suppose? well, maybe another reason why no other country has one is perhaps

because no other country thinks it's necessary. i mean, it really does hark back to a period when ships like the royal yacht britannia went and did promotion of great britain in a very different world. i think the fact that no other country has a ship like this is because, honestly, that idea is now so long out of date, and there are much more modern and professional ways of presenting the high—tech face of britain to the world. so, i'm afraid i don't think that the fact that it's going to be the first of its kind is much comfort. in a way, i would say it's perhaps the last of its kind, and, you know, ought really not to be being pursued. i mean, everybody keeps talking about it as a successor to the royal yacht britannia. i wonder whether you think that is fair or accurate. i mean, that was for the use of the royal family. i mean, we remember beautiful images from bygone years of royal receptions and honeymoons and much more besides, and this is to be used for business and trade purposes — i mean, the government's very clear about this — so i wonder if we're

conflating two things, actually. well, think that's a very good point. i have not heard any suggestion that the royal family think this is a good idea. and, indeed, i think that the royal family are probably trying to keep this at arm's length, because they won't want to be seen as commissioning some very expensive asset for use of the royal family, and i think their instincts are probably good on that. so, no. it harks back to those wonderful images of the royal yacht britannia and before that king edward vii conducting his royal, kingly diplomacy around the world, but those days are past. this isn't going to be a royal yacht britannia and i honestly don't see how it fits into promotion of modern, high—tech britain. lord ricketts, former national security adviser and former ambassador, now a crossbench peer. the headlines on bbc news... the head of the group which represents nhs trusts

in england has told the bbc that hospitals are still under pressure and there must be an open debate about plans for a further easing of restriction. 0pposition politicians in israel are moving closer to forming a new government and removing the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, from power. and borisjohnson has married carrie symonds in a secret ceremony at westminster cathedral yesterday afternoon. vietnam has detected a new variant of the coronavirus that appears to be a combination of the indian and uk variants. the country's health minister said the latest mutation is more transmissible than previously known versions and described it as "very dangerous". after successfully containing the virus for most of last year, vietnam is now grappling with a spike in infections. doctor deepti gurdasani is an epidemiologist at queen mary,

university of london and says this new variant is yet another reason to accelerate our vaccination programmes. i think it is certainly concerning. if we are seeing combinations of mutations, the so—called kent variant and so—called indian variant, knowing that the so—called indian variant is more transmissible and has a higher ability to escape the vaccines, particularly for people who have only taken windows, that's concerning. to me, it's another stark reminder, and it's that we need another one to show us, this is a global pandemic and unless we achieve control of the virus across the globe, continuing transmission in some places can endanger the response in other countries that have worked hard to achieve elimination, such as vietnam, where they have had almost no cases in very small and breaks over the last year. in the uk, for example, the lack of control of the so—called kent variant that was more transmissible and more fatal and spread across the globe pledged to

waves across europe, this is the consequence of living with the virus in many countries was that we have seen rapid adaptation of the virus, with each variant being potentially more transmissible than the last, possibly more fatal, and more variants are able to escape vaccines. and we should expect to see more of this unless we take action to actually prevent this. in the west we have adopted vaccines is the west we have adopted vaccines is the primary strategy out of this, not really focusing on reducing transmission, but we need to remember that many countries do not have equitable access to vaccines and as you say, vietnam is one of those. and again, we need to look at, again, you know, hitting this from a global perspective, global elimination strategies as well as equitable sharing of vaccines, because unless we have global equitable sharing of vaccines and if we have high transmission or loss of loss of control of the pandemic in one area it will be a threat across the globe and we really need to look at this in a global way, rather than in a sort of purely national, blinkered way.

the colombian government has deployed 7,000 troops across some of its major towns and cities in a bid to end two months of deadly protests and riots. demonstrators have vowed to march on the streets of the capital, bogota, today, as they continue their stand against poverty, police violence and tax rises. 0ur latin america correspondent will grant reports. colombia is no stranger to violence, but these scenes have shocked the nation. shouting. two months after the protests began, they are showing no sign of letting up. what started as an outpouring of anger over a proposed tax hike has now exploded into pitched battles in several major cities. the epicentre of the anti—government protests is cali, a city which suffers from all of colombia's social ills, from poverty to paramilitaries and drug cartels. every day, peaceful protests soon

descend into burning barricades and stone throwing. the authorities responding with tear gas and live rounds. the latest incident to enrage demonstrators was the sight of civilian gunmen shooting at protesters with the police. the president ivan duque announced the deployment of some 7000 military personnel around the country. translation: | want to make it l absolutely clear that the maximum deployment of military assistant to the national police begins as of tonight. they won't find it easy, though — the protesters are in no mood to back down. this violence bring back painful memory of colombia's 50—year civil war between left—wing farc rebels and the state. indeed, many say the open wounds from that conflict have fanned the flames of these clashes. now, instead of strengthening the peace, colombia's long and bloody history of social unrest has simply started a new chapter.

will grant, bbc news. president macron has warned that france will withdraw its troops from mali if political instability there leads to greater islamist radicalisation. it follows the second coup in nine months in the west african nation. france currently has more than 5,000 soldiers operating across the sahel region conducting anti—insurgency operations. more than a hundred long—tailed macack monkeys that macacque monkeys that were being illegally smuggled, 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 grammy—winning american singer b] thomas — best remembered for the 1969 hit raindrops keep fallin�* on my head — has died at the age of seventy—eight. the song — written by burt bacharach and hal david for the film butch cassidy and the sundance kid — won the oscar for best original song. billyjoe thomas died at his home in texas from lung cancer. 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 climbs aren't enough for one pair of fitness enthusiasts, who are planning to throw in a fourth — in northern ireland. oh, and they're going to row between each nation. alison freeman went to meet them. they're home for around six weeks. katherine 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. and 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's ever done before. when catherine mentioned it to me, that she's got this challenge in mind and no—one's 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 then 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'll then take on the longest

rowing leg of their expedition, by sea and canal to fort william in 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! we are definitely going to be pushing ourselves physically, and, you know, we're probably talking 16, 17 hours rowing a day. they'll set off on their challenge onjune the 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'd rather be in a boat with. alison freeman, bbc news. goodness, very good luck to them. in a few minutes, we join viewers on bbc one for a full round—up of the national news with clive myrie. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello. the cold and wet weather we have endured for most of this may, we can put that to one side now. the weather has cheered up. we have high pressure in charge and that's been delivering some lovely may sunshine for a nice change.

it's been pretty warm, as well, temperatures climbed to 23 in liverpool, 22 in aboyne and aberdeenshire in north—east scotland. inverbervie is also in aberdeenshire, here, it was only eight celsius. why the difference across the north—east of scotland? well, it came down to sun or cloud. in the sunshine it was warm, but where we had this cloud, trapped underneath our area of high pressure, coming onshore, it kept things cool and dull and misty. scenes like these were repeated not just across parts of eastern england but across parts of eastern scotland, as well. 0vernight tonight, some of that low cloud and mist and fog will reform across eastern and then central parts of england late in the night, and eastern scotland, turning murky with some of those patches of fog and murk pushing through to the central belt, as well. it won't be desperately cold, temperatures about 7—10, and tomorrow, which is a bank holiday monday, the weather is looking fine. mist and fog to start the day burning back to the coast, then more in the way of sunshine and with a change in the wind direction, less of that fog loitering across eastern areas

of scotland, and most of eastern england. the exception probably parts of aberdeenshire and also shetland, where it could be quite murky and cool. otherwise in the sunshine, warm, 2a celsius the top temperature, and more of the same as we head intojune. so on tuesday, mist and fog clearing, lots of dry weather and sunshine, becoming very warm as well. temperatures peaking at 25 in liverpool and london, 23 in cardiff and glasgow, and 19 in belfast. heading to the middle part of the week and beyond, an area of low pressure is going to move our way from the south. this will bring a change to the weather, it will bring some thundery showers across, initially into southern and western areas. they will start to arrive on wednesday. still, most of the uk having another fine and sunny day, and if anything, it's going to be even hotter. temperatures 22 in glasgow, peaking at around 26 in london and the south—east, easily the hottest day of the year. so the next few days are looking fine, lots of warm sunshine to go around, then we see some thunderstorms

breaking out from mid week, and temperatures will begin to ease later in the week, as well.

whether to end all covid restrictions in england next month. but there's confidence accelerating the vaccine roll—out will keep government plans on track. we hope to be able to protect with two doses all the 1—9, all the over 50s, before the 21st ofjune. it comes as hospitals report that most coronavirus patients in england have either had just one jab or none at all. also on the programme: borisjohnson ties the knot in a secretly planned wedding to carrie symonds at westminster cathedral. and it's party time for ecstatic chelsea fans after victory over manchester city in the champions league final.

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. it comes as the chief executive of nhs providers says "very, very few" coronavirus patients in hospital in england, have received two covid jabs, showing that a double dose of vaccine can provide very high levels of protection. but he warned hospitals are dealing with a heavy backlog of patients because of delays caused by the pandemic. here's our health correspondent catherine burns. a critical incident for the attempto ambulance service, not because of coronavirus, though. there arejust

13 covid patients there, but the hospital is dealing with a backlog in cases and a busy bank holiday weekend, so people are being told only to call 999 in an emergency. we are only to call 999 in an emergency. - are expecting to receive about 3000 calls across the south—west, a considerable amount of the resources that we have available to us. some arts of that we have available to us. some parts of the — that we have available to us. some parts of the country, _ that we have available to us. some parts of the country, like _ that we have available to us. some parts of the country, like bolton i parts of the country, like bolton and blackburn have had the biggest increase in the variant first links to india, but even in those areas hospitals aren't seeing a huge spike in covid patients. at the same time, though, health bosses are warning about universal pressure on the nhs across the country.— across the country. we've got these bi care across the country. we've got these his care backlogs — across the country. we've got these big care backlogs that _ across the country. we've got these big care backlogs that were - across the country. we've got these big care backlogs that were trying i big care backlogs that were trying to get— big care backlogs that were trying to get through as quickly as possible, and were tackling the most compiex _ possible, and were tackling the most complex cases to start with, and that means those patients need to have overnight stays, because they are difficult cases.— are difficult cases. hospital say those complex _ are difficult cases. hospital say those complex cases _ are difficult cases. hospital say those complex cases are - are difficult cases. hospital say those complex cases are often| are difficult cases. hospital say - those complex cases are often simple problems that got was over lockdown,

so patients can need more complicated treatment and longer stays in hospital. wesley was diagnosed with cataracts three years ago and is still on a waiting list. it is steadily getting worse, it is an insidious thing, it has crept on, and i have had the surgery cancelled several times, and ijust don't know what is happening, which is quite frustrating. but what is happening, which is quite frustratina. �* . what is happening, which is quite frustratin. �* . what is happening, which is quite frustrating-— what is happening, which is quite frustratina. �* . . , frustrating. but at the same time as the backlog. — frustrating. but at the same time as the backlog, the _ frustrating. but at the same time as the backlog, the nhs— frustrating. but at the same time as the backlog, the nhs is— frustrating. but at the same time as the backlog, the nhs is still- the backlog, the nhs is still running that race — vaccine versus variant. we are six months in now, and the government has a new, speedier ambition. we and the government has a new, speedier ambition.— and the government has a new, speedier ambition. we hope to be able to protect — speedier ambition. we hope to be able to protect with _ speedier ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two _ speedier ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two doses - speedier ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two doses all| able to protect with two doses all 1-9, able to protect with two doses all i-9, all— able to protect with two doses all 1—9, all the able to protect with two doses all 1—9, allthe over50s able to protect with two doses all 1—9, all the over 50s before the zist 1—9, all the over 50s before the 215i of— 1—9, all the over 50s before the 21st ofjune. we will, you know, make _ 21st ofjune. we will, you know, make sure — 21st ofjune. we will, you know, make sure we vaccinate at scale. but, and here is the important thing. — but, and here is the important thing. we _ but, and here is the important thing, we will share the evidence with the — thing, we will share the evidence with the country.— thing, we will share the evidence with the country. during the 14 days when the government _ with the country. during the 14 days when the government will- with the country. during the 14 days when the government will tell - with the country. during the 14 days when the government will tell us i when the government will tell us when the government will tell us when the government will tell us when the next stage of opening up

will happen onjune the 21st. at that point, they want to meet four tests before going ahead. the first test — is the vaccine roll—out 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're putting too much pressure on the nhs? and the final test is about new variants of concern. are they changing the risk level? questions over the last 20 tests case numbers and variants. the next few weeks will give us more information about whether they could slow down the opening up injune. nadhim zahawi was also asked about vaccines for children and nhs workers today. so vaccines for children and nhs workers today.— vaccines for children and nhs workers today. so far the vaccine roll-out has _ workers today. so far the vaccine roll-out has been _ workers today. so far the vaccine roll-out has been pretty - workers today. so far the vaccine roll-out has been pretty simple, | workers today. so far the vaccine i roll-out has been pretty simple, we roll—out has been pretty simple, we have started with the most frail and elderly people, working down the age groups, but unlike europe, our regulator has not approved the vaccine for younger teenagers. nadhim zahawi said we need to make

sure it is incredibly safe before we go ahead and do that. he said if it is approved, then everything is in place for a smooth roll—out. but let's look at the issues. children don't tend to get very sick with covid, so we need to be certain that any benefits outweigh the possible risks from side effects. another question, is it right for us to be protecting such a low risk group while other countries in the world are really struggling to get hold of vaccine in the first place? this is all pretty nuanced, and so too is the question about compulsory vaccinations for nhs staff. at the minute, it is their choice whether to go ahead and get the vaccine when they are called. more than nine in ten nhs staff have done that, but nadhim zahawi says it would be irresponsible of the government not to at least consider making it compulsory. this would be quite a big change from the approach so far, which has been gentle persuasion, speaking to them about their concerns, and trying to get them to change their minds.—

concerns, and trying to get them to change their minds. sure. catherine, thank ou, change their minds. sure. catherine, thank you, catherine _ change their minds. sure. catherine, thank you, catherine burns - change their minds. sure. catherine, thank you, catherine burns there. i borisjohnson has returned to work after his secretly planned wedding yesterday at westminster cathedral to carrie symonds. the couple had a small ceremony before relaxing in the garden at number ten. 0ur political correspondent ben wright is outside westminster cathedral for us. they kept it quiet! they certainly did, clive. it was only this morning that number ten confirmed the marriage ceremony happened yesterday, so this really was a wedding wrapped in secrecy. borisjohnson and his wife carrie tied the knot here at westminster catholic cathedral — just around the corner from downing street. although mrjohnson has been married twice before, the roman catholic church does allow divorcees to remarry if the previous marriages were outside the church. a spokesman said it was a small ceremony, and a photo has been released showing the couple in the downing street garden afterwards. another picture posted by a tory minister showed some hay bales and bunting in the background. beyond that, clive,

details of the day are sparse. i can tell you that borisjohnson is the first sitting prime minister to get married since 1822. he and carrie symonds got engaged in february last year, and their son wilfred was born two months later. she used to work in the tory party press team, but there was no pr for this wedding, and they'll have a celebration with family and friends next summer. ben, thank you, ben wright at westminster. in israel, two opposition parties have moved closer to forming a coalition government that would end the era of benjamin netanyahu, the country's longest serving prime minister. the rival centrist and ultra—nationalist parties have little in common but believe mr netanyahu, who's on trial over fraud charges, should be forced out after 12 years in power. the newly elected leader of the democratic unionist party has accused the eu of using northern ireland as a plaything in negotiations over post—brexit border arrangements. edwin poots says brussels is damaging the peace

process by implementing the northern ireland protocol, which ensures no border checks on the island of ireland but forces inspections on goods entering northern ireland from the rest of britain. mr poots says the protocol was having a devastating impact and leading to violence on the streets. the european commission says it rejects any suggestion it no longer cares about the peace process. the uk's biggest seller of building supplies, travis perkins, is warning of considerable cost increases to raw materials due to shortages. the company says surging demand as lockdown eases, as well as problems with the supply chain, mean bagged cement will rise by 15%, chipboard by 10% and paint by 5%. the government will miss its deadline for completing applications for £5 billion�*s worth of funding to remove flammable cladding in the wake of the grenfell tower tragedy. the bbc understands that managing agents who administer most tower blocks with dangerous cladding have yet to sign any contracts

with the government which would release funding. hundreds of thousands of people remain concerned they won't be able to get dangerous cladding removed from their homes. here's our consumer affairs correspondent sarah corker. i couldn't sleep, i couldn't eat, i couldn't concentrate. unless that agreement is signed, we're stuck and we're trapped. making a very difficult situation for leaseholders far, far worse. a chorus of concern about the government's building safety fund — £5 billion has been set aside to remove flammable cladding from buildings like this one in st albans. alison hills moved here in 2018. fire—safety issues were discovered months later. now she's moved out. you're sat here in a flammable flat 24 hours a day, particularly during lockdown, knowing that your building could go up in flames any minute. i couldn't sleep, i couldn't eat, i couldn't concentrate. my mental health was in absolute bits. but alison's building, like hundreds of others, isn't being made safe.

managing agents who act for the building's freeholders are refusing to sign contracts with the government to release the funding. nigel glenn represents the agents. he says the contract, while paying for cladding problems, makes them liable for all other fire—safety defects. we represent 325 managing agents — none of them have signed. we've talked to freeholders, we've talked to cladding action groups, and as far as i know, none of them have signed. it's a really difficult situation. we're talking here of hundreds of blocks, potentially hundreds of thousands of people, and we just can't sign it, because by doing so, you take on the liability which would render you technically insolvent. the ministry of housing says the managing agents' interpretation of the contract is fundamentally flawed and allows cladding removal without leaving the leaseholders liable for other fire—safety costs. leaseholders like stephen in manchester say they've been waiting long enough. you think you might be able to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel,

and then now, unfortunately, they won't sign the agreement, so it's like it doesn't matter how much money the government make available for us, unless that agreement is signed, we're stuck and we're trapped. the longer this dispute between the managing agents and the government goes on, the longer people living in these buildings are having to pay out thousands of pounds a month on interim fire—safety measures. the ministry of housing has now said it will allow applications to be processed beyond the end ofjune deadline on a case—by—case basis. that is some comfort for stephen and alison and hundreds of thousands of others still caught up in this cladding crisis. but their wait to live in a safe home continues. sarah corker, bbc news. now, with all the sport, here's sarah mulkerrins at the bbc sport centre. thanks, clive. thomas tuchel says he wants more victories for chelsea, as the celebrations continue

following their champions league title win over manchester city in porto. 0ver14,000 supporters were allowed into the stadium to cheer their teams on, and many more made the trip to 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. we're 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 quietens 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. blackpool have secured their place in the championship next season. kenny dougall scored both goals in the 2—1win against lincoln in the league one play—off final at wembley. it was watched on by 10,000 fans. the british number one, dan evans, is out after the first round the french open. he was beaten by serbia's miomir kecmanovic. meanwhile, the world number two, naomi 0saka, risks being thrown out of the event. she has been fined $15,000 for not doing a news conference following her win and could face more sanctions, including future grand slam expulsions, if the boycott continues. great britain finished third at the european team athletics championships in poland.

lawrence 0koye came back from a nine—year break from the sport, after trying his hand at american football, to win the men's discuss, while the victory for beth dobbin in the 200m was inside the olympic qualifying time. motor racing has been mourning the death of swiss moto3 riderjason dupasquier. a minute's silence was observed ahead of the italian motogp this afternoon. dupasquier died after being struck by another bike after falling during qualifying at the mugello circuit yesterday. he was just 19 years old. and finally, you can head to the bbc sport website to read about colombia's egan bernal winning cycling's giro d'italia. britain's simon yates finished in third. that's it from me. that's it. i'll be back with the late news at ten. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. bye for now.

hello. if you're watching bbc news. i'm

jane hill. let's talk about coronavirus. the vaccines minister nadhim zahawi says that ministers will be cautious about ending coronavirus measures on 21stjune. paul hunter, who's a professor of medicine at the university of east anglia, says more data is needed about the impact the indian variant is having. is needed about the impact the we can't be raising hopes that might not be achieved but, it must be said, the evidence at the moment is still very uncertain. case numbers are giving up, hospitalisations are going up but only slowly but, on the other hand, deaths are not yet rising and it seems to be the case that people who, even if they're admitted to hospital aren't staying in hospital as long as they would have been a few months ago so that the pressure on the nhs may not be as bad. and when you look to all about it's actually quite

difficult to know for certain what the situation will be come 14thjune, and i think that's the appropriate time to actually assess all the data and make the, hopefully, correct decision. the pressure on the nhs isn't quite as bad from covid—19 but as we are reflecting today, of course, hospitals are trying to catch up with all those appointments that have been postponed over the last 40 months or so so the last thing the hospital wants is an upsurge. absolutely, and you're quite right. there are operations that should have been done a year or so ago that people are still waiting, and that is going to take a long time to get through. it would, hopefully, if we avoid additional pressures from covid, we'll still be able to get through those at a reasonable rate but, clearly, if covid goes out of control and starts putting additional pressures on the health service that many of these delayed operations and delayed other care will be delayed further and nobody wants that.

yes, and can i ask about the indian variant? is there still a lot that we don't know? when you look at the data, what assessment do you make as to the impact that it is having? i think it is more infectious, probably around 50% more infectious than the kent variant, give or take. it is a little bit less controlled by vaccine or, indeed, previous natural immunity. but it is, at the moment, spreading predominantly in younger unvaccinated groups and that's why the pressure hasn't been placed on the health service. if it stays like that then i think we may well be able to ride out this next wave but we will undoubtedly see increases in cases from the indian variant over the coming weeks. the issue is how much additional pressure that will put on health services and that is still a bit early to be absolutely definite about.

yes, and in terms of the vaccination programme, i as a lay person read it as very good news when you hear that the vast majority of people who are in hospital with covid are those who haven't had both doses. i'm interested in your take on that. yes, absolutely. there are clearly some people still ending up in hospital after two doses but at the moment it's very low and i think this is one of the big things about the vaccines, that even when they don't necessarily provide 100% protection against infection, they still, even in those people who get infected, they are still not getting severely ill. even if they go into hospital they don't seem to be staying in hospital as long and they don't seem to be dying as much as was the case a few months ago so i think the vaccine is still the key. it is still protecting many people

who would otherwise be very severely ill and dying, and also protecting and reducing the pressure is on the health service. professor paul hunter. in the last few moments we have had the new data, the uk reporting six deaths within a 24—hour period, that is of someone who has had a positive test in the last 28 days. in terms of the number of cases across the uk, 3240 cases reported in the last 24—hour period. much more on all of that coming up at 6pm. right now, let's pause and look at the weather with chris fawkes. the cold and wet weather we have enjoyed for the last few weeks has gone and we have high pressure in charge, and it's been delivering some lovely sunshine for a nice change. it's been pretty warm, temperatures have climbed to 23 degrees in liverpool, 22 in abilene

in aberdeenshire, north—east scotland, inverbervie also in aberdeenshire, eight celsius. why the difference across the north—east of scotland? it came down to sun or cloud, in the sunshine it was warm but where we had the cloud trapped underneath our area of high pressure coming onshore, it kept things cool and dull and misty, scenes like these were repeated notjust across parts of england but across parts of eastern scotland as well. 0vernight some of the low cloud and mist and fog will reform over the east and central parts of england late in the night and eastern scotland are turning murky with some patches of fog and murk pushing through to the central belt. it will not be desperately cold, temperatures around 7—10 c, and tomorrow which is bank holiday monday the weather is looking fine. mist and fog to start the day burning back and more in the way of sunshine. with the change in the wind direction there will be less fog writing across eastern areas of scotland and most of eastern england accept aberdeenshire in parts and also shetland where it

could be murky and cool. 0therwise could be murky and cool. otherwise in the sunshine, warm, 24 degrees the top temperature, and more of the same as we head intojune. 0n same as we head intojune. on tuesday, mist and fog clearing, becoming warm, temperatures peaking at 25 degrees in liverpool and london, 23 in cardiff and glasgow at 19. in the middle part of the week and beyond, an area of low pressure moving our way from the south bringing a change to the weather. it will bring some thundery showers across southern and western areas initially. they will start to arrive on wednesday. still most of the uk having another fine and sunny day, and if anything it's going to be even hotter. temperature is 22 in glasgow, peaking at around 26 celsius in london and the south—east, easily the hottest day of the year. the next few days are looking fine, lots of warm sunshine to go around. then thunderstorms breaking out from mid week, the temperatures will begin to ease later in the week as well.

this is bbc news. the headlines at six: ministers say they'll proceed with caution in deciding whether to end all covid estrictions in england next month. restrictions in england next month. but there's confidence accelerating the vaccine roll out will keep government plans on track. we hope to be able to protect with two doses all the 1—9s, all the over 50s, before the 21st ofjune. israeli opposition parties are inching towards forming a government that would bring an end to benjamin netanyahu's 12 years in power. borisjohnson ties the knot in a secretly—planned wedding to carrie symonds at westminster cathedral. a new nationalflagship is to be commissioned by the government in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas.