this is bbc news. the headlines: the number of new cases of covid—19 in england rises by around three—quarters in just one week — as new figures suggest the pandemic is growing. we can keep this virus under control, but we need to keep vigilant, we need to watch the data. the uk medicines regulator has followed the us and approved the use of the pfizerjab for 12—15 year olds. the scramble for uk tourists to get back from portugal before 4am on tuesday — after which they'll have to quarantine for ten days. primary school pupils in england fell behind again in maths and reading during the second lockdown. more than 600 people will get

compensation over "serious errors" after the hillsborough disaster as two police forces agree to pay damages. good evening. the number of people who had covid—19 in england went up by around three—quarters in one week, new official figures suggest. the office for national statistics estimates that around 1 in 640 people in private households had the virus in the week to may 29 — that's up from 1 in 1,120 the previous week. the north—west of england had

the highest proportion of positive cases, and in terms of age group, numbers went up among the over—35s and in secondary school children. it came as the uk medicines regulator approved the use of the pfizer—biontech vaccine in children aged 12—15, although the vaccines committee, thejcvi, has still to decide whether children should get the jab. for our first report tonight, here's our health editor, hugh pym. come on in. thank you very much. "come on in," that is the message being stressed yet again by nhs leaders in gloucester and across the country. have a seat, please. book in for a jab as soon as you're eligible. have you had coronavirus, that you know of? with the new variant of the virus gaining ground, the need to get as many people vaccinated as possible is said to be as urgent as ever. we have seen a reduction in the number of deaths and hospital admissions, and so we have definitely seen the impact that the covid—19

vaccination has had locally, as well as nationally. older children could soon be vaccinated. the uk regulator's approved the use of the pfizerjab for those aged 12 and over. now a committee of experts will decide whether it will happen. around england, including here in leeds, people wondering how much opening up there will be, if any, onjune the 21st. the spread of the variant identified in india, known as delta, is causing some concern for officials and scientists as it spreads faster than alpha, the kent variant. the news is not as positive as i would like, on any respect, about the delta variant. i mean, the best estimate at the moment is that this variant may be 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant. there is some uncertainty about that, depending on assumptions and how you analyse the data, between about 30% and maybe even 100% more transmissible. after some customers were allowed in to restaurants and pubs from the middle of may,

it was expected the virus would spread more widely, though with more people vaccinated, the risk of serious illness was reduced. and cases have been increasing. they office for national statistics�* survey of community infection suggests in england, 1 in 640 people had the virus last week, an increase on the previous week. in wales, it was1 in 1050 — again, with an increase. in scotland, at1 in 680, and northern ireland, with1 in 800, case rates were broadly similar to the previous week. so, for the health secretary, at a tree—planting ceremony with his counterparts from g7 nations, there's still some hard work ahead. he says more data will be assessed next week before final decisions are made about lifting restrictions in england. nationally, of course, the number of cases is going up. and the critical thing is that the vaccine breaks the link from the number of cases

to the number of people ending up in hospital, and sadly dying of covid. we just need to see in the data exactly how effective that is being. but for sally, ending restrictions won't make any difference. she has long covid, one of a million people now said to be experiencing persistent symptoms after having the virus. i myself, 30 years of age, otherwise healthy. wouldn't have dreamed that, nine months down the line, that i would still be experiencing these debilitating symptoms. it seems very randomised. it really could happen to anyone. sally's message is to get the jab to avoid those possible long—term consequences of covid. hugh pym, bbc news. as we heard in hugh's report, the uk's medicines regulator has approved the use of the pfizer vaccine for children aged between 12 and 15. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh explained what questions have to be faced to decide what happens next.

an independent group of scientists, thejcvi committee, will now make the decision. but it is not clear—cut. the pfizerjab is already approved and offered to those over 16 with underlying health conditions. but for the vast majority of children, the biggest harm they have faced this pandemic is not from the virus, it is from disruption to their education. they are highly unlikely to get seriously ill. there have been cases of a very nasty inflammatory condition, but those have been rare. the biggest benefit to children from immunisation would be in preventing school outbreaks. we know that the delta variant does seem to be spreading more easily among secondary schools. the united states is going all—out to immunise children. it is immunising 600,000 a week, aged 12—15. france is going to offer the vaccine to those aged 12 and over from the middle of the month.

both those countries have very high levels of vaccine hesitancy. they are not getting the superb coverage of 90%, 95% in older adults that is happening in the uk. so here it might be possible, once all over 18 have been offered and given the vaccine, that might suppress the virus. then there is the ethical argument. should we be offering the vaccine to children this autumn, when there will still be billions of adults around the world who do not have access to the vaccine and are in greater need? because if we want to end this pandemic, we will have to vaccinate globally, not just locally. well, the latest figures across the uk there were more than 6,200 new coronavirus infections in the latest 2a hour period. that's the highest daily number of cases since the end of march. on average, 4,147 cases have been

reported per day in the last week. 11 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours, taking the average number to eight. nearly 200,000 received their first dose of the vaccine in the last 2a hours, taking the overall total to nearly a0 million who've had a single jab. that's over three—quarters of the uk's adult population. more than 375,000 people had their second vaccine dose, which means nearly 26.8 million have now had two jabs, that's more than half of all adults in the uk. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are claire cohen, who's the women's editor at the daily telegraph, and joanna jarjue, the tv and radio commentator.

airlines say they'll provide additionalflights to help british passengers return from portugal before the country is taken off the uk government's green travel list. from 4am on tuesday, portugal will become amber, meaning travellers will have to quarantine on their return. portugal said it was "perplexed" by the government's decision. 0ur transport correspondent, caroline davies, reports. the end of holiday blues came early for some at lisbon airport today, as some passengers cut their trips short, while others have decided to stay. so we spent another £100 for the flight, we've got to get another test now. we have to get another test when we're in the uk, which we had all booked. we had everything planned, the whole holiday and stuff we were going to do and now it has been cut short. we've had to to spend our time trying to sort tests and new flights, stuff like that. so we're just unhappy. we just thought, everything out i

here is still open, we may as well go and enjoy our holiday and stay indoors for five days. _ extra flights and bigger planes are being put on over the next three days to help passengers who want to get back before they have to quarantine. today is a bleak day for the uk travel industry. they had hoped that the vaccine would bring more certainty to this summer than to last. now, the reality of yesterday's decision is beginning to sink in for many operators. we thought that there was light at the end of the tunnel, and it turns out the light was a freight train coming, which has now hit us. after yesterday's announcement, jet2 decided not to start flying again until the 1st ofjuly. currently they don't plan to fly to amber countries, but say they are trying to guess which might be green. we can't plan what we're doing. we either have to assume all destinations will be green, none of the destinations will be green, or use a lottery machine and try to work out in the absence of a structured methodology. today, the government has explained

the reasons again for moving portugal from the green list. unfortunately we did see an increase in the number of a new variant in portugal. and that's why we had to take the decision to remove portugal from the green list. but in portugal, there was confusion. no, i can't understand it. we have just a small spike in lisbon. - the nepalese variant hasjust 12 cases, nothing more than that. i and so we don't understand the decision, its grounds, . and i'm not sure about the reasons why the english government - has decided like that. the government is still advising against travel to amber list countries. with so few destinations on the green list, the next big question for the industry and for travellers is will some still make the journey? caroline davies, bbc news. 0ur lisbon correspondent alison roberts explained

what the response in portugal has been. the government here has said that it does not make any sense at all. it has put out a statement saying that there was no logic to the decision, and indeed the opposition has called the minister into parliament to answer questions about the lack of proactivity on the part of government. as far as british tourists are concerned, it's already affectingthem. prices on flights have gone up quite considerably, to as much as £500 or more for a single fight in some cases. many people are also scrambling, not only to rebook flights, but to rebook their tests, which they have to have ready in order to have the results 2a hours before they fly. it is causing a lot of upset here. the hotels in the algarve and across the country are also suffering. in the algarve, they are seeing cancellations of something like 50% in some cases. it is causing great

problems here in portugal. primary pupils in england fell behind again in maths and reading during the second lockdown, after already having lost ground in the first, according to new research. some parts of the north—east and the east midlands were among the worst affected. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys explained how difficult an issue this is in the wake of the huge political row over helping children catch up. it is just days since the prime minister's adviser on catch—up resigned saying that the government plans were too half—hearted, too slow and too narrow, and now we see that by march this year, primary age pupils were more than three months behind in maths, more than two months behind in reading, key building blocks for their education, and that put them back to where they were in september,

so all of the work right up to christmas, lost and wiped out by the second lockdown. and big regional differences emerging at the beginning of this school year. children in yorkshire and the humber, three times more learning lost in maths than in south—west, showing how great the differences are. all of this will put pressure on the government to up its offer, currently. it has already committed to more than £3 billion of what it says is an ambitious, long—term plan, but it is going to face more questions now about whether that is enough. we can speak now to the general secretary of the association of school and college leaders, geoff barton. thank you for being with us. what you think of these figures? they are pretty depressing, aren't they? that is re pretty depressing, aren't they? that is pretty much _ pretty depressing, aren't they? twat is pretty much an understatement. the end of a fairly squalid week for

the department for education, for the department for education, for the government. just over a year ago, the prime minister said this was the number one priority, it was going to be a world beating recovery plan, and yet here we are having had a fairly tiny and i, and an end today of this research which has shown when that has been an extraordinary loss of learning, and that it extraordinary loss of learning, and thatitis extraordinary loss of learning, and that it is regional. if you look across what has happened in the past, we have lost most of the progress we have made over the past ten years that is a devastating indictment of government in the week it has lost its recovery tsar who was appointed by them to provide solutions, which he did, which the chancellor appears to have rejected. what you think explains those regional differences? in a what you think explains those regional differences? in a sense, we have always — regional differences? in a sense, we have always known _ regional differences? in a sense, we have always known that _ regional differences? in a sense, we have always known that there - regional differences? in a sense, we have always known that there have l have always known that there have been regional differences in terms of children's ability to make progress. that comes from all kinds of factors. the simple solution is the more that there is poverty, the more young people are going to be

disadvantaged, the more those young people need the state to be on their side. that is what we need from a government that talks about levelling up. more than platitudes, more than rhetoric. 0ne levelling up. more than platitudes, more than rhetoric. one of the things being offered this week, which they didn't hit the headlines, but for those young people in the most disadvantaged backgrounds in the early years to be able to get into nursery places quicker. those young people and further education to be able to have more teaching time that they would have done previously. let every child, from every background, irrespective of whether your parents can pay for it, to access the arts, sports, and tuition. that the prime minister, the chancellor, has benefited from. that was all on the table this week. here we are at the end of the week, from the government's own data, how much that was needed, and how they have rejected it. the much that was needed, and how they have rejected it.— have re'ected it. the government have rejected it. the government have promised — have rejected it. the government have promised around _ have rejected it. the government have promised around £3 - have rejected it. the government have promised around £3 billion l have promised around £3 billion altogether so far. how much more do

you think they need to spend? if we have a look — you think they need to spend? if we have a look at _ you think they need to spend? if we have a look at what _ you think they need to spend? if we have a look at what that _ you think they need to spend? if we have a look at what that means in practice, it means £310 per pupil. that does not mean you would spend £310 per pupil, because it will depend on the child's needs. some children will need help with mental health support, some might need social help support, some will need extra one—to—one tuition. that £310 it needs to be looked at and the perspective of what the usa has done. £1600 per pupil. what the netherlands has done, £2500 per pupil. why is it, i think we can rightfully ask, that the government in westminster think that young people in england are worth so much less then they are in the usa and the little bones?— less then they are in the usa and the little bones? boris johnson has said that there _ the little bones? boris johnson has said that there is _ the little bones? boris johnson has said that there is more _ the little bones? boris johnson has said that there is more money - the little bones? boris johnson has. said that there is more money coming down the track in at the spending review later this year. it's a question of how much the government

does up as far, in the words of our education editor.— education editor. that is exactly ri . ht. education editor. that is exactly right- the _ education editor. that is exactly right. the problem _ education editor. that is exactly right. the problem of _ education editor. that is exactly right. the problem of saying - education editor. that is exactly | right. the problem of saying that education editor. that is exactly - right. the problem of saying that we will have a review of this, put it in on a compressor spending review, is that it kicks into the long grass. we know that whatever happens, that is not going to help children in school today. that will kick in the from september 2022, at the very earliest, may be not very much earlier that night. there was an opportunity from the person appointed as the recovery commission are to be able to provide something for those young people in that they miss that advantaged backgrounds, and to be able to do it pretty much immediately. that opportunity has been squandered. i think the prime minister who supported that plan, must be looking himself in at the eye and thinking, why have i lost out in that and the treasury appear to win? why is it that pure narrow finances matter more than investing in the future of our young people?

thank you forjoining us. two police forces have agreed to pay damages to more than 600 people over "serious errors" which followed the hillsborough disaster. lawyers say the south yorkshire and west midlands forces agreed the undisclosed settlement following a civil claim. it comes after two former police officers and a solicitor were cleared of perverting the course ofjustice last month. nobody has ever been convicted over police actions following the disaster, in which 96 liverpool fans died. dan johnson reports. the death of 96 liverpool fans was only the start of the pain hillsborough would inflict. injustice came before truth, deflection over transparency and victims were blamed before officials were held accountable. we haven't really got the justice we set out for a after day one. now after 32 years there as compensation for families like the traynors who lost brothers kevin and christopher. our family have always been fighters

and they would want us to fight right to the end. south yorkshire police were in charge of the fa cup semifinal in sheffield, their failure to manage the crowd led to a deadly crash and the reluctance to admit responsibility led to tries of a cover—up. today the force said in a statement... 0fficers' statements were changed during the investigation overseen by west midlands police. it has also settled this claim. just last week, two former senior south yorkshire officers and the force solicitor were cleared of perverting the course ofjustice, and their lawyer was adamant. the facts were investigated here yet again by a judge and jury. there was no cover—up

at hillsborough. professor phil was the first to uncover those amended police statements. the phrase that was used today by the lawyers for the families was that it was the largest and most shameful cover—up by a police force in history. but what concerns me is i could see that in front of me at that time, in the late 1990s. after the inquiry, the inquests and the failed prosecution of the match commander came the hillsborough independent panel report, then new inquests and on further court cases, butjust one conviction. now, this is the end of what has been described as an unparalleled fight forjustice, but for many, it comes far too late. at half past seven, is a dateline

london. the first of all, a full round—up of all the day's spot. chetan has all that. we will start off with serena williams, who are chasing that record equalling 24th grand slam title and what would be a fourth french open title. she is into round four after beating fellow american, danielle collins, 6—4, 6-4, this american, danielle collins, 6—4, 6—4, this afternoon. she is now the highest seed left in her side of the draw after the third seed was knocked out. no problems for alexanders is various in the men's draw. he beat his serve straight sets. —— serbian. following a number of protest, manchester united have announced they will create a fine advisory board and look at a

supporter share scheme. the announcement came after united co—chairmanjoel glazer break a near 16 year silence on his family's ownership of the club at a fans for today. the fans that i spoke to after the meeting, they were almost pleasantly surprised by the engagement that joel glazer had, by the time he spent answering their questions, and at the meeting ran over. they were almost, as i say, surprised, and had almost, as i say, surprised, and had a feeling that glazer cared for the club. �* .,, , a feeling that glazer cared for the club. ,. ., , , club. after losing his championship lead at the monaco _ club. after losing his championship lead at the monaco grand - club. after losing his championship lead at the monaco grand prix - club. after losing his championship lead at the monaco grand prix a i lead at the monaco grand prix a fortnight ago, that has been more frustration for lewis hamilton ahead of this weekend for the's azerbaijan grand prix. new world champion struggle for pace in second practice, he could only manage

living on at the time sheets, while his mercedes team—mate was 16. meanwhile, the singapore grand prix has been called off this year because of travel restrictions then i'd miss the pandemic to stop by formula 1's governing body and the singapore authorities agree it will not be possible to hold the race which is scheduled for the third weekend in october. it is understood turkey, china and a second face at austin in the us are all under consideration as replacements. the weather has dictated proceedings with play at lord's abounded on day three against england —— for england against new zealand. england will resume tomorrow on tomorrow 260 runs behind new zealand. horse racing next, where is no fault made the headlines at epsom this afternoon.

frankie dettori rode the horse to victory by 16 lengths to claim his six outs triumph. former world champion hurdler dai greene says that trying to qualify for the olympic games has been the hardest time of his career. his preparations have been hampered by corundum as restrictions, and at the british athletes admits his hopes of reaching tokyo will be unlikely for supper this will be my last 0lympics so i know it will be at now or never. ., .,, so i know it will be at now or never. ., , soiknow itwill be at nowor never. ., , ., never. for most people competing at the hiuhest never. for most people competing at the highest level, _ never. for most people competing at the highest level, you _ never. for most people competing at the highest level, you only _ never. for most people competing at the highest level, you only get - never. for most people competing at the highest level, you only get one i the highest level, you only get one chance at the olympus when you are fully fit. it's incredibly stressful at the moment i have been in the sport for 16 years, i've been numerous world finals, 0lympic finals, and that has been up in the sport for 16 years, i've been numerous world finals, 0lympic finals, and that has been nothing as stressful as the two—time 0lympic

triumph on athletejonny brownlee will step away after the summer's 0lympic will step away after the summer's olympic games will stop he says he wants to move up in existence and race in half ironman and ironman events. �* ., , ., events. brownlee is back in action at leeds in _ events. brownlee is back in action at leeds in the _ events. brownlee is back in action at leeds in the latest _ events. brownlee is back in action at leeds in the latest world - at leeds in the latest world triathlon event. eddie herndon insists anthonyjoshua's next fight is just around the corner. the heavyweight world champion is set to fight at the undefeated ukrainian names after his proposed fight with tyson fury fell through. we names after his proposed fight with tyson fury fell through.— tyson fury fell through. we are in at the final— tyson fury fell through. we are in at the final stages _ tyson fury fell through. we are in at the final stages of _ tyson fury fell through. we are in at the final stages of that - tyson fury fell through. we are in at the final stages of that deal - tyson fury fell through. we are in at the final stages of that deal to | at the final stages of that deal to take place. looks like early august, september. hopefully in london, hopefully we can bring fans back. it is a difficult fight and when he must win to this dream alive. that is all our must win to this dream alive. that is all your sport — must win to this dream alive. that is all your sport for _ must win to this dream alive. that is all your sport for now, - must win to this dream alive. that is all your sport for now, now it's time for the weather with tomasz

schafernaker. the weather is looking absolutely fine this weekend, lots of sunshine in store. at worst, a fleeting shower. for most of us, i think it is going to stay dry. the fine weather is expected to last into next week. on the satellite picture, cloud across the south—east and east anglia today. that brought rain, it rained pretty much from late morning, all through the afternoon, so it was a wash—out in london and areas towards the north and east anglia. the rain is still around through the early hours of saturday morning, but the vast majority of the country is actually in the clear. morning temperatures will vary from 8 degrees in glasgow, 10 in liverpool, to around 13 in london. a week by the front on saturday is expected to reach western parts of the uk, so we have to be prepared for a few showers. from the morning audible in on the right upper parts of western

scotland, northern ireland, cornwall, devon, perhaps western fringes of wales by around mid to late afternoon. the further east you are, the better the weather will be. a vast improvement in the south—east, up to 2a in london. for many of us, low 20s. sunday, bar the odd shower, perhaps across wales, it is going to be a mostly sunny day. just scattered fire weather clouds. temperatures will vary from around the mid teens in scotland, 20 in liverpool, around the mid 20s possible in at the south—east. 0n liverpool, around the mid 20s possible in at the south—east. on a monday, high pressure builds not just across the uk, but many parts of western europe. there is the possibility of a few showers developing across yorkshire, generally east of the pennines, south of that and west of that the weather will stay dry on monday. similar temperatures for sub—20 weather will stay dry on monday. similartemperatures forsub—20 or similar temperatures for sub—20 or so similartemperatures forsub—20 or so in the low lands of scotland, 20

in cardiff, possibly mid 20s in the south—east. the warm weather will keep travelling from the south, spreading across the uk into scandinavia through next week, meaning will keep the fine, settled weather. temperatures gradually will be creeping up through the course of the week, easily into the mid 20s, widely by the time get to nst. hello and welcome to dateline london, i am hello and welcome to dateline london, iam ben hello and welcome to dateline london, i am ben brown. hello and welcome to dateline london, iam ben brown. this hello and welcome to dateline london, i am ben brown. this week we are asking should the uk unlock from

covid restrictions were not close to the ricks nations provide access vaccine to poorer countries and what can we expect from forthcoming global summits, the g7 here in the uk and the president byjen vladimir putin meeting in geneva? to discuss all that we have the foreign correspondent of germany's thomas and a senior writer from bloomberg news. injune to be here in the studio is the bbc�*s esteemed health editor hugh pam. freedom from cover restrictions in england onto the zist, restrictions in england onto the 21st, that's what borisjohnson is still hoping will happen, but there's noises from scientist fearing another wave despite the success of the uk's vaccination programme. let's start off with you then, he will. will research it be lifted in england? borisjohnson says that data is looking pretty

good but actually a lot of the