this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. from today, facemasks are not compulsory in classrooms, and working from home guidance is dropped, as england moves away from plan b coronavirus restrictions. this doesn't mean that by any means that covid is not a problem, it's not there, we are still in a pandemic, the prevalence is still high. the prime minister vows to fight any leadership challenge, as mps await a crucial report into downing street parties. president biden warns vladimir putin that the us will do significant harm to russia, if he decides to invade ukraine. the first plane carrying aid lands in tonga, on a runway

newly cleared of ash, following saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami. also this hour, the british dental association says nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" as some patients wait two years for check ups. and coming up later, we'll speak to a climate scientist about the monster iceberg, which was dumping 1.5 billion tonnes of fresh water into the ocean every single day. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. england's plan b restrictions are to be scrapped, with mandatory face coverings in public places, and covid passports, both abandoned. borisjohnson said england could revert to plan a, thanks to the booster campaign and how people had followed plan b measures.

he told mps that scientists believe the omicron wave has now peaked nationally. let's take a look in more detail at how the guidance is changing. from today, the government is no longer asking people in england to work from home. face coverings don't need to be worn in secondary school classrooms from today — and guidance about using them in communal areas will soon be updated. for everyone else, from next thursday, face coverings will not be required by law, though advice remains to wear one in enclosed and crowded spaces. around europe, countries have implemented tighter covid rules, with germany hitting a record high of daily infections for a seventh day, with 133, 536 covid cases. and france on wednesday recorded more than 400,000 new covid—19 cases for second day in a row. for the situation here, simonjones has this report. face—to—face learning, but it

will now be without the masks. from today, face coverings in the classroom in england can come off, though unions are warning that coronavirus remains a challenge, with large numbers of staff and pupils absent. but the government is keen for us to learn to live with covid. in england, people are no longer advised to work from home. from next thursday, face coverings won't be required legally in any setting, though people are still advised to wear them in crowded places. and covid passports to get into nightclubs will be dropped, though venues can choose to carry on using them. the steps that we've announced represent a major milestone. but it's not the end of the road. and we shouldn't see this as the finish line, because we cannot eradicate this virus and its future variants. instead, we must learn to live with covid in the same way that we've learned to live with flu.

some are wary of going too fast, too quickly. i think it is a bit too early, because cases are still very high. i think it's about time - they lift them, you know. it's been a long couple of years now of sitting about doing nothing. - i think i would keep it in transport and crowded places like shops. the royal college of nursing is warning that dropping plan b will do nothing to ease the pressure on the nhs. but the government believes the booster programme has made a real difference, and that the 0micron wave has peaked. it will also look to end the legal requirement for people who test positive to self—isolate, and replace it with guidance by the end of march. from next week, many restrictions on hospitality in scotland will be lifted. in wales, nightclubs will be able to reopen. in northern ireland, ministers are set to consider relaxations. but all nations are urging caution,

as they attempt to draw up long—term strategies for coexisting with the virus. simon jones, bbc news. borisjohnson�*s political allies are suggesting the immediate threat to his leadership has eased. they say the defection of one of his mps, to the opposition labour party, appears to have persuaded other mps not to challenge him this week. it's now thought many tory backbenchers will wait for the report into downing street parties before deciding their next move. the investigation, by the senior civil servant sue gray, is expected next week. nick eardley reports. calm? there isn't much of it around here. westminster is tense about a report into what parties happened in downing street during lockdown, and how long borisjohnson will remain prime minister. yesterday, one conservative mp decided he'd had enough. christian wakeford joined the labour party, very publicly defecting on the floor of the house of commons.

music to the ears of his new leader. can i start by warmly welcoming the honourable member for bury south to his new place in the house... cheering. ..and to the parliamentary labour party? mr speaker, like so many people up and down the country, he has concluded that the prime minister and the conservative party have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves. a prime minister underfire from his own side too, but showing no signs he wants to go anywhere. and as for bury south, mr speaker, as for bury south, we will win again in bury south at the next election under this prime minister. but then listen to this, from one of his own mps, a former brexit ally. i expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. yesterday, he did the opposite of that. so i will remind him of a quotation.

"you have sat there too long for all the good you have done. in the name of god, go." cheering. rumours are flying around here about whether the prime minister will face a confidence vote. the chances of that happening this week appear to have receded, and some think it would be a bad idea. colleagues are coming out now strongly and supporting the prime minister as the right man to lead our country. and on all the big decisions, you know, he's got the call right, whether it's covid, brexit, or creating the fastest—growing economy in the g7. but plenty of conservatives are angry. and some may move next week when a report into lockdown parties is published. and i think there is a real sense of stepping back and realising that the right thing to do is to wait for sue gray's report, to then question the prime minister, as he has quite properly said he will come to the house of commons and make a statement and answer for it. some hope borisjohnson survives, others aren't so sure. the prime minister's future is farfrom certain.

nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. the health secretary sajid javid has been speaking this morning. he was asked about the move away from plan b in england, but also about the prime minister's authority. what was going on in downing street at the time when all of us were living that way, that damages our democracy, doesn't it? yes, it does. of course, things like this damage our democracy, and that is why... this downing street has damaged our democracy. no, the, from what we all already know, from the people that have come forward and apologised for the parties that took place, so for example, the one on the eve of prince philip's funeral, you know, that was completely wrong. it was wrong in every single way. and that is already damaging. of course it is. and the way we now get through this is to get the facts out, to get them on the tablen and so that we can all then reach a judgment ourselves.

earlier i spoke to the former uk defence secretary, dr liam fox. i asked him whether the prime minister is on borrowed time.) minister is on borrowed time. i think this is the wrong time for any leadership challenge, because the country is facing a number of very big issues at the present time. we've got inflation rising in the uk, we have inflation rising even more in the united states, which has an impact on the global economy. the global economy is still recovering from covid, and there are major challenges in that, and of course we a major security challenge, in the shape of russia and ukraine at the present time. this is not, in my view, a period where the tory party should be indulging in three months of navel—gazing around a potential leadership — we had a leadership election in 2016, one in 2019 and we are going to is have one in 2021? it ounds like an increasing schedule for the governing party. i don't think that is a good thing for the country. it sounds like an increasing schedule for the governing party. i don't think that is a good thing for the country. let's get more from chris mason,

our political correspondent. hello to you chris. liam fox saying it is the wrong time for a leadership challenge but that will depend on what the sue gray report contains? , ~ ., , contains? yes, i think that is riuht. i contains? yes, i think that is right. ithink— contains? yes, i think that is right. i think right _ contains? yes, i think that is right. i think right now- contains? yes, i think that is right. i think right now as - contains? yes, i think that is right. i think right now as i i contains? yes, i think that is - right. i think right now as i speak to you and things are very fluid, the super imminent threat to the prime minister has definitely receded, compared with where it was this time yesterday, where all the talk was that that number of letters being sent to a senior conservative backbenchers to —— backbenchers to trigger a leadership challenge, that seems to have receded in the last 2a hours or so in the immediate aftermath of the defection we heard about from nick eardley a few moments ago and that contribution from david davis, yes, westminster awaits sue gray's report, and indeed, any further revelations and

there is still deep anger here, very strikingly, injust the there is still deep anger here, very strikingly, in just the last couple of minutes william wragg, conservative mp who chairs the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, he has started a session down the corridor from has started a session down the corridorfrom here, in front has started a session down the corridor from here, in front of a senior government minister and has been very outspoken about what he says has been the intimidation of some members of parliament, who might have been threatening to try to topple the prime minister. so he saysin to topple the prime minister. so he says in his statement he hasjust said in the last couple of minutes along or do, in recent days a number of mps have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government, because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership, of the prime minister. and he says that intimidation of an mp is a serious matter, more over i am aware of reports that would seem to constitute blackmail. it would be my general advice that colleagues continue to report these matters to the speaker of the commons and the

commissioner of the metropolitan police. it is his argument it is unfair to threaten to withdraw public funds from an mps constituency for instance, because of a potential threat they would rebel, he draws a distinction between that, and any party's attempt to maintain discipline, through what are known as the party whip, sojust an insight through what are known as the party whip, so just an insight there at the start of the committee meeting, of the depth of anger about what has been going on here in the last few weeks in terms of the government's handling of this whole row about parties. handling of this whole row about arties. , . ~' , ., handling of this whole row about arties. , ., ~ i. ., ., parties. chris, thank you for that u date. two men have been arrested in birmingham and manchester as part of the investigation into the texas synagogue attack. british—born malik faisal—akram was shot dead by us police after holding four people hostage in a synagogue on saturday. they all escaped unharmed. uk counter—terrorism police say they're continuing to support us authorities with their investigation.

president biden has warned russia that it will pay dearly if it invades ukraine. in a news conference marking his first full year in office, mr biden predicted president putin would "move in" on ukraine, but said he didn't think moscow wanted a full—blown war. 0ur washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue reports. gunfire. ever since russia began its build—up of troops on the ukrainian border, america has been threatening wide ranging economic sanctions, if vladimir putin went ahead with an invasion. now the us president is predicting that his russian counterpart will make a move on ukraine, testing the west. and while us troops would not be involved, the president said the consequences would be deadly. the cost of going into ukraine in terms of physical loss of life for the russians — and they will be able to prevail over time, but it's going to be heavy. it's going to be real. it's going to be consequential.

at home, the administration's handling of covid has been severely criticised, particularly for the slow response on testing. now a billion tests will be available for americans to take at home, and the president promised no more lockdowns. i'm not going to give up and accept things as they are now. some people may call what's happening now the new normal. i call it a job not yet finished. it will get better. we are moving toward a time when covid—19 won't disrupt our daily lives. the president claimed credit for bringing unemployment down, and passing covid relief and infrastructure legislation. but with inflation high, and other bills being blocked, he blamed republicans for not getting more done. i did not anticipate that there'd be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that president biden didn't get anything done.

joe biden believes his first year has seen important progress on the economy, on covid and on infrastructure. but with key parts of his legislative programme mired in congress, and a looming crisis with russia, there are huge challenges ahead, not least those mid—term elections in november. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news at the white house. the headlines on bbc news... from today, facemasks are not compulsory in classrooms, and working from home guidance is dropped, as england moves away from plan b coronavirus restrictions. the prime minister vows to fight any leadership challenge, as mps await a crucial report into downing street parties. the first plane carrying aid lands in tonga, on a runway newly cleared of ash, following saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami. more now on the easing of covid restrictions in england.

joining us is dr silvana mccaffrey, a gp in kington in herefordshire, and the clinical director for north and west herefordshire primary care network. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us today. and, first of all, then, the move from plan b to plan am, is it the right move at the right time? i to plan am, is it the right move at the right time?— the right time? i think that it -oses the right time? i think that it poses some _ the right time? i think that it poses some challenges. - the right time? | think that it| poses some challenges. yes. the right time? i think that it. poses some challenges. yes. in london and other areas cases are coming down but we still have not completed the vaccination of severely immunocompromised. they are due their booster after their third dose. in our network that is about 1200 people, there are still in the process of having their booster, we are time limited as to when we can give that so we can't bring that forward. there is still vulnerable people who have not completed the booster vaccinations and we are

relying on an antibody treatment for those patients if they are unwell. not all have received their letters to say they are eligible and they haven't all received their pcr swab to keep at home there is a slight worry that where we have an increase in cases after plan b is abandoned, is then we are putting people at more risk that are more vulnerable to the virus. i think we have to be mindful of that, and for those people this could be a frightening time. �* ~ . , people this could be a frightening time. �* . . , ., people this could be a frightening time. ~ . . , ., , time. and certainly, that is the impression _ time. and certainly, that is the impression i — time. and certainly, that is the impression i have _ time. and certainly, that is the impression i have been - time. and certainly, that is the impression i have been getting time. and certainly, that is the - impression i have been getting from viewers who have been in touch with me, who do have health concern, about what difficulties this might create for them, so, in terms of the range of plan b measures, which of those would you have liked the government to keep or would you have liked the government to keep all of them at this stage?— them at this stage? well, i only have to worry — them at this stage? well, i only have to worry about _ them at this stage? well, i only have to worry about the - them at this stage? well, i only have to worry about the health | them at this stage? well, i only. have to worry about the health of them at this stage? well, i only - have to worry about the health of my patients i would have liked them to keep them all until there was a sustained decrease, because i am not

sure how much we canjudge on number of cases alone when we have reduced pcr testing, so the figure i look at is case positivity rates, so, how many of those swabs that are taken and sent for pcr are positive, and in our area it was increasing, and so what we have is a potential then, if rules are abandoned, that we will see a increase in rate and also that leads to an increase in absence, and, that has an impact on the nhs and, that has an impact on the nhs and all critical key service, because even if the isolation period is shortened you can only come back to wok if your rat trail flow is negative. for many of our staff in the area that have been positive, it has not been negative at day five and we have had some staff have had to isolate beyond day seven so it is a combination of worries, so ideally i would have liked to have see plan b go on for another week or two so we can make sure all those folk that

are entitled to the fourth dose because of severe immunocompromise have received it and have had time for it to work. for the isolation situation to be resolved before you take the brakes off. you situation to be resolved before you take the brakes off.— take the brakes off. you think it may have _ take the brakes off. you think it may have been _ take the brakes off. you think it may have been a _ take the brakes off. you think it may have been a matter- take the brakes off. you think it may have been a matter of- take the brakes off. you think it. may have been a matter of keeping take the brakes off. you think it - may have been a matter of keeping it running for a few more weeks in your opinion? running for a few more weeks in your oinion? , , ., opinion? often these things turn on two weeks' time. — opinion? often these things turn on two weeks' time, so _ opinion? often these things turn on two weeks' time, so if— opinion? often these things turn on two weeks' time, so if you - opinion? often these things turn on | two weeks' time, so if you lockdown two weeks' time, so if you lockdown two weeks' time, so if you lockdown two weeks earlier or keep something in place two weeks longer it can make a massive differencef in place two weeks longer it can make a massive difference f you vaccinate two weeks earlier there, is another thing we need to bear in mind, while those restrictions are in place there was a motivation for the unvaccinated to be vaccinate and you can argue whether that is right or wrong but when we asked people presenting between the mid—december and the new year, why they were coming for theirfirst and the new year, why they were coming for their first dose at this time when they could have come months before, the reason was because o —— restriction or a social activity they wanted to pursue being limited by the fact they weren't vaccinated so the we take the

attitude that now, it is all over, it's a bit of flu, then, that motivation will disappear, and again, in our county with have about 192,000 people, in the area, and there are still 20,000 unvaccinated, and those 20,000 unvaccinated not only are atrying, they are a core potentially for a new variant that might not be as kind as 0micron so we have to be aware there is a risk, so not saying it mustn't be done, that change can't happen but we have to really make sure that everyone understands what the implications of that change are, what the benefits are, and what the negatives are, because i appreciate that there will because i appreciate that there will be economic advantages but then, if we have key workers isolating, if we don't have lorry drivers to move freight, because they are isolating, then, we risk putting lots of things in a situation where they will not cope. really interesting to hear your

thoughts today. thank you very much. if you would like to get in touch about that, you can do that on twitter. and you then, we risk putting lots of things in a situation where they will not cope. really interesting to hear your thoughts today. thank you very much. if you would like to get in touch about that, you can do that on twitter. and you can use the #bbc your questions. south africa found itself at the epicentre of the 0micron variant last year, but now scientists in the country are confident it's on the way out. they accuse the developed world of ignoring their advice that the variant was less harmful than feared. and while the future of the virus still remains uncertain, the signs from south africa are good news for the rest of the world. 0ur africa correspondent, andrew harding sent this report from johannesburg. back to school and, perhaps, but to something like normality here in south africa. masks are still compulsory in public but the 0micron variant, first discovered in this region eight weeks ago, is already fading fast. and confidence is growing. let things go back to normal. it is time.

if people can vaccinate i don't see any harm in this. i think things can go back to normal now. we did not see any increase in deaths comparable to the other waves. the scientific consensus has been clear for weeks. 0micron is highly contagious but its death toll has been tiny compared with past waves. 0micron was less severe than the previous variants. dramatically less. yes. it was more infectious but less severe and that is exactly what a virus wants to do. becoming more like a seasonal flu? yes. south african scientists studying 0micron have been quick to share their analysis with the rest of the world. but has the world listened? today, some of south africa's top scientists are speaking out in frustration, accusing wealthier western nations of being quick to believe bad news from the continent but far too slow to trust more positive evidence emerging about 0micron.

i thought that there was too much scepticism. the world was not willing to believe that this virus was somehow going to be less severe. everybody was expecting the worst and when they went seeing it they were questioning whether our observations were sufficiently scientific. it seems high income countries are much able to absorb bad news that comes from a country such as south africa, but when we talk about omicron, they shut the borders to south africa and were keen to absorb that bad news when we provide good news all of a sudden there's a lot of scepticism. in a johannesburg bar, business as usual. south africa has managed 0micron without any new restrictions but with a push to increase vaccine rates. it is going to be better if more

people get vaccinated. and then more jobs will be, there will be more jobs available, and companies, people will come back. south africa has been hit hard by covid—19. harder than most. but its experience of 0micron is giving many here cause for hope. andrew harding, bbc news. lawyers for the convicted sex—trafficker ghislaine maxwell have formally applied for a retrial after it was revealed one of her originaljurors had been the victim of sexual abuse. maxwell — an associate of the paedophile, jeffrey epstein — was found guilty last month of several charges including one of sex trafficking. but the verdict has been thrown into doubt after a juror revealed in a media interview that he'd used his own experience of being abused to influence his fellowjury members. the first foreign aid plane has arrived in tonga, carrying much—needed water and supplies for the pacific nation. new pictures have emerged

showing the scale of devastation following saturday's eruption of an undersea volcano, with cars, roads and buildings covered by a thick layer of ash. at least three people are now known to have died, including a british woman. joanne mataele lives in australia but has relatives in tonga. she hasjust managed to get in touch with them. i heard from my parents yesterday, at about 1.30pm australian time. you know, it's a relief to finally hear their voice and to finally know how they are back home. my dad had told me that, you know, they're fine, no major damages to our homes, it's pretty much just houses along the coastal line that have been pretty much damaged, and houses along the west coast of tonga. you know, it'sjust, yeah, as i mentioned, just a relief to finally hear from them. the only information that my parents were able to tell me over the phone was, you know, people are busy trying

to get the ashes cleared, especially from their homes, and the ground as well. i think that's, yeah, that's just the main concern. other than the damages, you know, to the homes on coastal lines it is pretty much trying to get rid of the ashes and clearing it out. the major concerns, as of now, is drinking water. i had actually spoken to my auntie as well, over the phone, and, you know, she mentioned that food, food at the moment is fine, the main major concerns are the drinking water, and medical supplies and shelter as well. you know, because this is the first major damage that has happened in tonga, and it is the first, you know, like mother nature disaster that has happened. people are more so worried about their house at the moment. homes and things like that.

we have our neighbours staying with each other, if they do not have shelter. but, yeah, the news back home, my auntie had mentioned was everyone was devastated and more so scared is what she described. i heard from my parents yesterday, at about 1.30pm australian time. a research mission led by unesco has discovered a giant, pristine coral reef off the coast of tahiti in french polynesia. the reef is 30 metres deep — which is unusual for a tropical reef, and might explain its "pristine" condition. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. "magical". victoria gill reports. that was the word a veteran specialist diver who led this mission used to describe this view. some of these rose—shapes corals are more than two metres wide, and the whole reef structure stretches three kilometres along the sea bed. its depth and its distance

from the coast is thought to be a key reason for its pristine condition. the researchers say it shows no signs of damage from pollution or from warming ocean temperatures, something that poses a major threat to swallower reefs. it looks beautiful but scientifically, how important is this as a discovery? it might be today one of the largest coral reefs in the world that actually lies at that sort of depth of more than 30 metres so from that perspective, this is opening a new insight in science. this could suggest that we have many more large reefs in our ocean at depths beyond 30 minutes which we simply do not know about. it is often said we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean floor. only about a fifth of it has so far been mapped. this discovery is part of a larger mission to fill in those gaps in our ocean knowledge. and coral reefs like this are the sea floor hotspots for marine life. about one quarter of known ocean

species can be found around these living ecosystems. the team is now planning more investigative dives to work out what lives here and, crucially, how their remarkable newly discovered habitats can be protected. victoria gill, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... from today, facemasks are not required, as the government moves away from coronavirus measures. me away from coronavirus measures. we are still away from coronavirus measures. - are still in a pandemic in the prevalence is still high. the prime minister vows to fight any leadership challenge, as mps await a crucial report into downing street parties. meanwhile, the conservative william wragg has accused members of government of intimidating tory mps over a potential no—confidence vote. the intimidation of a member of

parliament as a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. president biden warns vladimir putin that the us will do significant harm to russia, if he decides to invade ukraine. the first plane carrying aid lands in tonga, on a runway newly cleared of ash, following saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami. we've had some more stats in this morning — on the number of people being treated for covid in english hospital trusts and on nhs staff absences for covid at hospital trusts in england. let's talk to our health correspondent katharine da costa. take us through these latest details, if you would. i take us through these latest details, if you would.- details, if you would. i think overall figures _ details, if you would. i think overall figures are _ details, if you would. i think overall figures are heading i details, if you would. i think| overall figures are heading in details, if you would. i think- overall figures are heading in the right direction. we have seen nationally daily case number coming down, that is then transpiring that

hospital admissions are fluttering and falling in some areas. what these figures show is that on the 18th of january, out of patients in hospital in england, half were being primarily treated for covid, and others being treated with covid, so primarily with something else. the incidentalfigure has been steadily rising, it was about quarter of 8% in the autumn, it has been rising nearly half. it's important to point out they might be going on for other reasons, notjust a broken leg, they could be being treated for a stroke or cancer, and covid might be complicating that. it also means you have to put in extra infection control measures, so people with covid still have to be isolated on other wards, and that causes pressure and difficulties within the nhs. also, with staff absence, those rates have been falling. so now

about 1t% of staff were off work due to covid at nhs trusts in england in the week up to the 16th of january. that is about 35,500 staff off each day on average, down about 22% over the course of the week. now, there were about 9% of staff off for any reason, down slightly. but it is still about double what you would expect in a normal winter. clearly, staff absences are still high and putting pressure on. they have been falling across english regions. in the north west and the midlands, still highest, accounting for about 6%. in london it is down to 2%. slowly easing but still pressures in different parts of the country. those figures are interesting, because some people are arguing that without the requirement for confirm a true pcr tests right now, it is

difficult to get a handle on it, but it shows you a clearer picture of the direction of travel? prevalence and infractions _ the direction of travel? prevalence and infractions are _ the direction of travel? prevalence and infractions are still _ the direction of travel? prevalence and infractions are still at - the direction of travel? prevalence and infractions are still at a - the direction of travel? prevalence and infractions are still at a very i and infractions are still at a very high level, coming down slowly, but still very high. that is feeding into what is happening in the hospitals. so it is an improving picture, but still pressure. a better indicator is looking at ambulance hand over delays, how long they are waiting to pass over their patients, it is down from about a quarter the previous week, that is getting better. delayed discharges, this is where people are taking up a hospital bed but they are fit enough to leave, but there is in the social care to help them out into the community. that is fairly stable this week. nearly 12,800 patients were in bed when they were fit enough to leave, slightly up on last

week. still accounting for one in seven beds that were taken up. other pressures like flu, were predominantly at winter we look at that and it is quite low this winter. so, a mixed picture there. vaccination rates are clearly helping. at the message from the nhs is that it is open for business and people should continue to seek help. thank you very much. a senior conservative mp has accused the government of intimidation and attempting to "blackmail" backbenchers into dropping their support for a confidence vote in borisjohnson. william wragg, who's the chairman of the commons public administration committee, urged mps to report such attempts to police. i have a brief statement i wish to read to the committee. as the committee of the house of commons, overseeing the work of the civil service, including the cabinet office, of which 10 downing street is a department, and the proper

functioning of the constitution, i would like to make this brief statement. in recent days, a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the prime minister. it is, of course, the duty of the government whips office to secure the government's business in the house of commons. however, it is not their function to breach the ministerial code, in threatening to withdraw investments from members of parliaments' constituencies, which are funded from the public purse. additionally, reports to me and others of members of staff at number 10 downing street, special advisers, government ministers and others encouraging the publication of stories in the press, seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the prime minister is similarly unacceptable.

the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. as such, it would be my general advice to colleagues to report these matters to the speaker of the house of commons and the commissioner of the metropolitan police. they are also welcome to contact me at any time. let's get more from chris mason, our political correspondent. some really serious accusations therefrom william wragg? yes. some really serious accusations therefrom william wragg? yes, really uuite therefrom william wragg? yes, really quite something. _ therefrom william wragg? yes, really quite something, what _ therefrom william wragg? yes, really quite something, what william - therefrom william wragg? yes, really quite something, what william wragg| quite something, what william wragg is saying, in saying so candidly and publicly, as far as the experience of some conservative mps are concerned in the last couple of days and weeks. let's talk to sir robert butland, about a debate he has an autism in a moment or two, but i

must ask you about what we're hearing this morning, in particular from your colleague william wragg. very striking language, talking about intimidation and potential breaches of the ministerial code? it is a very serious matter for the chair_ is a very serious matter for the chair of— is a very serious matter for the chair of the _ is a very serious matter for the chair of the committee to raise. clearly. — chair of the committee to raise. clearly. i— chair of the committee to raise. clearly, i think everybody needs to be mindfui— clearly, i think everybody needs to be mindful in is rather febrile times— be mindful in is rather febrile times that individual mps have to make _ times that individual mps have to make decisions according to their own consciences. whilst it is important that we have a whipping system _ important that we have a whipping system to— important that we have a whipping system to make sure that the reasonable expectation of the public, — reasonable expectation of the public, when they vote for a political _ public, when they vote for a political party that the mp votes with the — political party that the mp votes with the weapon more often than not is maintained, you know, ithink everybody— is maintained, you know, ithink everybody needs to be mindful not to cross tines _ everybody needs to be mindful not to cross lines here. i very much hope that those — cross lines here. i very much hope that those lines have not been crossed — that those lines have not been crossed. but i think william wragg's warning _ crossed. but i think william wragg's warning is— crossed. but i think william wragg's warning is probably timely and i would _ warning is probably timely and i would hope that it would be heeded. how do _ would hope that it would be heeded. how do you assess the situation right now? is the prime minister out of the woods?

yesterday, counterintuitively, it might _ yesterday, counterintuitively, it might have calm things down in the party, _ might have calm things down in the party, but _ might have calm things down in the party, but i — might have calm things down in the party, but i think we are all waiting _ party, but i think we are all waiting for the findings of sue gray~ — waiting for the findings of sue gray~ i— waiting for the findings of sue gray. i don't know precisely when it is going _ gray. i don't know precisely when it is going to — gray. i don't know precisely when it is going to come, it might be early next week — is going to come, it might be early next week. what i have always said is that _ next week. what i have always said is that i_ next week. what i have always said is that i want her to be able to carry— is that i want her to be able to carry out, _ is that i want her to be able to carry out, and herteam, to be able to carry— carry out, and herteam, to be able to carry out — carry out, and herteam, to be able to carry out her work and be thorough _ to carry out her work and be thorough and painstaking. because the product of that painstaking work will, of— the product of that painstaking work will, of course, be pored over by all of— will, of course, be pored over by all of us, — will, of course, be pored over by all of us, and there might be consequences that arise from that. it's consequences that arise from that. it's going _ consequences that arise from that. it's going to be a very important moment— it's going to be a very important moment for the pm and the team in number— moment for the pm and the team in number10~ — moment for the pm and the team in numberio. do moment for the pm and the team in number 10-— number 10. do you think boris johnson should _ number 10. do you think boris johnson should lead _ number 10. do you think boris johnson should lead your - number 10. do you think borisj johnson should lead your party number 10. do you think boris - johnson should lead your party into the next general election? i johnson should lead your party into the next general election?- the next general election? i think he is a proven _ the next general election? i think he is a proven election _ the next general election? i think he is a proven election winner, i i he is a proven election winner, i always— he is a proven election winner, i always said _ he is a proven election winner, i always said he is the greatest campaign of the modern age and i think— campaign of the modern age and i think that — campaign of the modern age and i think that at elections he is at his very strongest. it's going to be a coupte _ very strongest. it's going to be a coupte of— very strongest. it's going to be a couple of years. we need to see what is happening in the next few days or so. is happening in the next few days or so on_ is happening in the next few days or so. on balance, i still think that his skills —

so. on balance, i still think that his skills of _ so. on balance, i still think that his skills of politics and persuasion are very, very strong, and therefore the party needs to think— and therefore the party needs to think very— and therefore the party needs to think very carefully before throwing over another leader, bearing think very carefully before throwing overanother leader, bearing in think very carefully before throwing over another leader, bearing in mind this will— over another leader, bearing in mind this will be _ over another leader, bearing in mind this will be the fourth leader in only a — this will be the fourth leader in only a few— this will be the fourth leader in only a few years. i don't think that is necessarily the right signal to send _ is necessarily the right signal to send to— is necessarily the right signal to send to the british public, that we are being — send to the british public, that we are being serious about trying to .et are being serious about trying to get on _ are being serious about trying to get on with the job of government. i'm get on with the job of government. i'm trying _ get on with the job of government. i'm trying to work out if that was yes or no?— i'm trying to work out if that was es or no? i: ., ~ , ., ., yes or no? 2024, a week is a long time in politics, _ yes or no? 2024, a week is a long time in politics, two _ yes or no? 2024, a week is a long time in politics, two years - yes or no? 2024, a week is a long time in politics, two years is - yes or no? 2024, a week is a long time in politics, two years is a - time in politics, two years is a eon _ time in politics, two years is a eon i'm — time in politics, two years is a eon i'm not— time in politics, two years is a eon. i'm not here to make crystal ball productions. i know his strengths, i am acutely aware of them _ strengths, i am acutely aware of them and — strengths, i am acutely aware of them and i— strengths, i am acutely aware of them and i admire them. at the moment— them and i admire them. at the moment they leave go i have big challenges that need to be addressed, sol challenges that need to be addressed, so i need to wait to see what _ addressed, so i need to wait to see what that— addressed, so i need to wait to see what that outcome would be. you seem to be suggesting _ what that outcome would be. you seem to be suggesting he's _ what that outcome would be. you seem to be suggesting he's good _ what that outcome would be. you seem to be suggesting he's good at _ to be suggesting he's good at campaigning and not as good at governing? i campaigning and not as good at governing?— campaigning and not as good at uaovernin ? ~ ,., , governing? i think the government is a treat governing? i think the government is a great campaigning _ governing? i think the government is a great campaigning government, - governing? i think the government is a great campaigning government, i i a great campaigning government, i want to— a great campaigning government, i want to see more governing. that is what _ want to see more governing. that is what i _ want to see more governing. that is what i believed when i was there, i thought— what i believed when i was there, i

thought it — what i believed when i was there, i thought it was good enough to get on with the _ thought it was good enough to get on with the job and deliver, as much as i with the job and deliver, as much as i love _ with the job and deliver, as much as i love campaigning in swindon. i want _ i love campaigning in swindon. i want to— i love campaigning in swindon. i want to see the seriousness of purpose — want to see the seriousness of purpose and the focus on the people. the pm _ purpose and the focus on the people. the pm gets this, because he made the point _ the pm gets this, because he made the point that if politicians are talking — the point that if politicians are talking about westminster themselves, the public will say, are you sharing — themselves, the public will say, are you sharing your priorities? cost of living, _ you sharing your priorities? cost of living, challenges on energy prices, that is— living, challenges on energy prices, that is what— living, challenges on energy prices, that is what we need to focus on, which _ that is what we need to focus on, which is _ that is what we need to focus on, which is why— that is what we need to focus on, which is why i hope that sue gray is able to— which is why i hope that sue gray is able to complete her inquiry. robert peston is tweeting that he understands _ inquiry. robert peston is tweeting that he understands that - inquiry. robert peston is tweeting that he understands that sue - inquiry. robert peston is tweeting| that he understands that sue gray, who has been doing this inquiry into all of the parties that went on in government, has found e—mailfrom senior officials to the prime minister's principal private secretary, warning him that the party on the 20th of may should not go ahead, which ties in with what

dominic cummings, the former adviser, was saying on his blog. what do you make of that? well, i can't directly _ what do you make of that? well, i can't directly comment _ what do you make of that? well, i can't directly comment about - what do you make of that? well, i can't directly comment about what might— can't directly comment about what might have been sad. what i will say, _ might have been sad. what i will say, if— might have been sad. what i will say, if that— might have been sad. what i will say, if that is right, that is reassurance that sue gray's inquiry is painstaking, and that it is looking _ is painstaking, and that it is looking at all aspects of this and having _ looking at all aspects of this and having access to all of the appropriate documentation and e-mails — appropriate documentation and e—mails. what would be highly regrettable is if the report is published and then we find that there _ published and then we find that there is— published and then we find that there is more information that didn't— there is more information that didn't make its way to sue gray and her team _ didn't make its way to sue gray and her team so — didn't make its way to sue gray and herteam. so the message has didn't make its way to sue gray and her team. so the message has to be loud and _ her team. so the message has to be loud and clear, open the books, open the diaries, _ loud and clear, open the books, open the diaries, give full access to the team _ the diaries, give full access to the team and — the diaries, give full access to the team and then the report will have greater— team and then the report will have greater authority. team and then the report will have greaterauthority. it team and then the report will have greater authority. it will give the public _ greater authority. it will give the public confidence that everyone has been open — public confidence that everyone has been open and transparent. lets talk about our been open and transparent. lets talk about your debate _ been open and transparent. lets talk about your debate on _ been open and transparent. lets talk about your debate on autism, - about your debate on autism, something very personal to you because of your daughter's autism. tell me what you are hoping to achieve, and what come in your view, needs to change so that we, as a

society, are better equipped to provide the necessary support for people with autism? in a nutshell, there are 2000 _ people with autism? in a nutshell, there are 2000 people _ people with autism? in a nutshell, there are 2000 people who - people with autism? in a nutshell, there are 2000 people who are . people with autism? in a nutshell, i there are 2000 people who are being detained, _ there are 2000 people who are being detained, not in the criminal provisions— detained, not in the criminal provisions but under civil provisions but under civil provisions in hospitals and patient facilities _ provisions in hospitals and patient facilities in england. 200 of them are under— facilities in england. 200 of them are under 18. 100 or so have been detained — are under 18. 100 or so have been detained for — are under 18. 100 or so have been detained for more than 20 years. the average _ detained for more than 20 years. the average time is five and a half years— average time is five and a half years old. _ average time is five and a half years old, frankly, detention, sometimes in conditions that frankly we would _ sometimes in conditions that frankly we would describe as cajun people. it is we would describe as cajun people. it is not _ we would describe as cajun people. it is not acceptable. we had written highlighted cases by the bbc and others _ highlighted cases by the bbc and others that have brought forward the anguish _ others that have brought forward the anguish and human tragedy behind the stories _ anguish and human tragedy behind the stories we _ anguish and human tragedy behind the stories. we have set out these policies. — stories. we have set out these policies. i_ stories. we have set out these policies, i was involved in getting the policy— policies, i was involved in getting the policy is under way, we need to pass legislation and transform services — pass legislation and transform services so it is not a tug—of—war between — services so it is not a tug—of—war between the health service and local authorities, get on the job of getting — authorities, get on the job of getting more people out of detention back into _ getting more people out of detention back into the community, and give them _

back into the community, and give them dignity. the system is ascribing, unintentionally, a lower value _ ascribing, unintentionally, a lower value to _ ascribing, unintentionally, a lower value to the lives of people with autism — value to the lives of people with autism and learning difficulties. that is— autism and learning difficulties. that is an — autism and learning difficulties. that is an indictment in 2022. we thought— that is an indictment in 2022. we thought we — that is an indictment in 2022. we thought we had banished this a generation ago. this number is a standing — generation ago. this number is a standing reproach to all of us, that is why— standing reproach to all of us, that is why i'm — standing reproach to all of us, that is why i'm going to do something about— is why i'm going to do something about it — is why i'm going to do something about it. �* , ., is why i'm going to do something about it. �* i. .., about it. are you confident the government — about it. are you confident the government was _ about it. are you confident the government was listening - about it. are you confident the government was listening and | about it. are you confident the - government was listening and will change? government was listening and will chan . e? government was listening and will chance? , ., change? the carpetbagger has all the riaht olicies change? the carpetbagger has all the right policies on _ change? the carpetbagger has all the right policies on the _ change? the carpetbagger has all the right policies on the care _ change? the carpetbagger has all the right policies on the care minister - right policies on the care minister is deeply— right policies on the care minister is deeply committed to this. i think she is— is deeply committed to this. i think she is as _ is deeply committed to this. i think she is as keen as me to see action. ithink— she is as keen as me to see action. i think that — she is as keen as me to see action. i think that with a strong show from people _ i think that with a strong show from people like — i think that with a strong show from people like me, we will see the new mental— people like me, we will see the new mental health act coming forward, which _ mental health act coming forward, which we _ mental health act coming forward, which we need to update the law, and action— which we need to update the law, and action on— which we need to update the law, and action on the — which we need to update the law, and action on the ground to transform commissioning and transform lives. thank— commissioning and transform lives. thank you. — commissioning and transform lives. thank you, nice to talk to you. the formerjustice secretary, with a reminder that there are plenty of other things that of mps want to talk about. amid the swirl, the ongoing swirl of this row about parties.

unions have warned that nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" with some patients facing up to two—year waits for routine check—ups. bbc analysis dound 950 dentists left the nhs in the last year across england and wales. the dentists were covering a total of 2,500 roles — as some worked in more than one region. the analysis shows about three quarters of practices in england have not updated their websites to indicate whether or not they are accepting nhs patients, within the last three months. the bda's general dental practice committee chairman shawn charlwood says "nhs dentistry is hanging by a thread," it absolutely shouldn't be like this. as your viewers have said, many parts of the country are seeing the nhs dental service hanging by a thread, with up to two year waits for patients to be seen. this is a crisis for patients, and it is a crisis for local nhs dental practices as well.

in areas all over the country, practices are really struggling to recruit dentists and support staff within nhs dental practices. in portsmouth, we have had reports that they have lost 26% of their nhs dentists. one in four of their dentists have moved away from nhs dentistry in the last 12 months. that picture is being replicated all over the country. there are many towns throughout the country that are unable to attract a single applicant for an nhs dental post. and they are waiting for years to fill those posts. and many of them have given up. we at the british dental association want a strong nhs dental service, so that, you know, your viewers and patients can access the care that they need. sorry to interrupt... please go ahead.

i think the line is a little bit... when we are hearing stories of diy dentistry, it is really sad. as your viewer said, it patiently shouldn't be like us. we should have an nhs dental service fit for all. to understand what needs to be done, let me go back a step to what the causes are. it sounds from what you're saying that many dentists are moving from the nhs into private practice. going back further, are enough people wanting to study dentistry in the first instance? so, there are plenty of people that want to study dentistry. it's very competitive to get into dental school. there are a lot of people that are leaving dentistry. and we are struggling to recruit new dentists, particularly to the nhs dental system. and the main factor that is driving this is an outdated nhs dental contract. and the health select committee,

over ten years ago, described the nhs dental contract as unfit for purpose. it is outdated, it is target driven, it makes delivering prevention difficult, it makes it difficult for practices to see new patients. also, practices are subjected to, in many cases, tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of financial claw—back if they don't meet very demanding targets in the middle of a pandemic. lots of you have been getting in touch with me about your difficulties getting a dental appointment. barry green says, i have to go to the nhs dental hospital in sheffield and let students take care of my teeth, is i can't get a dentist to take me on as an nhs patient. taylor says i have been living in wales for 13 years, can't get an appointment even privately. i am from ukraine and it is cheaper to fly there and have treatment. jeremy paul, as i was leaving the forces three years ago i

was told veterans get priority access to nhs dentists. it isn't true. i have to go private. the nhs waiting list in the south—west is years long. another veteran says i retired from 40 years of military service in september 2021, i have been unable to register with an nhs or private dentist. james is saying he has ended up going private for a checkup and hygienist appointments. the service is always great, but i shouldn't have to resort to it when the nhs is supposed to be there. one more. somebody who has had to travel. steven clarke says, i have had to travel to turkey and pay for treatment there, because i can't get an nhs dentist. he says his teeth had degraded over nine years while trying to get an appointment. thank you very much for sending us comments in. you can get in touch with me about that story or any other stories we are covering today on twitter. scientists have calculated

how much water went into the south atlantic as the world's biggest iceberg melted. a68 — as it was called — was a quarter the size of wales when it broke off from the antarctic coast in 2017. at one point, more than one and a half billion tonnes of fresh water went into the sea every day — equivalent to more than 100 and 50 times the uk's daily water usage. a team led from leeds university in the uk is going back through the data to calculate the icerberg's full dimensions as it moved north through the southern ocean, as well as the impact the meltwater may have. i'm joined now by one of the lead researchers dr anne braakman—folgmann. thank you for your time today. it's difficult when you think about the stats ijust read out to the viewers, to wrap your head around the sheer volume of water that this iceberg was releasing daily, as it melted. tell us how you are exploring the data and trying to make sense of it.—

exploring the data and trying to make sense of it. . ,, ., make sense of it. thank you, we have used satellite — make sense of it. thank you, we have used satellite data _ make sense of it. thank you, we have used satellite data from _ make sense of it. thank you, we have used satellite data from different - used satellite data from different satellite sensors and combinations to calculate the volume loss. 0ne kind of satellite sensor is basically inventory, that we take from space. it can tell us about the iceberg area, and how the iceberg breaks apart. then we need a different kind of satellite, which kind of measures the distance from the satellite to the surface. there, we can see how the iceberg thins or melts from underneath, is the height changes. and then we can combine basically the thickness measurement on the area measurement to calculate the volume change, and therefore also how much fresh water is released, or how the mass of the iceberg changed. the released, or how the mass of the iceberg changed.— released, or how the mass of the iceberg changed. the huge iceberg broke free from _ iceberg changed. the huge iceberg broke free from and _ iceberg changed. the huge iceberg broke free from and in _ iceberg changed. the huge iceberg broke free from and in 2017. - iceberg changed. the huge iceberg broke free from and in 2017. i - broke free from and in 2017. i understand that by early 2021 it had vanished. so, to what extent can you extrapolate from that any lessons

about the sea temperature and global warming, and its impact on the environment?— warming, and its impact on the environment? , ., environment? so, in terms of global warmin: , environment? so, in terms of global warming. this— environment? so, in terms of global warming, this iceberg _ environment? so, in terms of global warming, this iceberg mainly- environment? so, in terms of global| warming, this iceberg mainly melted because it went northwards into warmer waters around south georgia. so, it is not unexpected that it melts, i would say. but what icebergs can tell us about climate change is, as they already experienced these warmer conditions, warmer ocean temperature and warmer arctic temperatures, we can use them as a proxy for how ice shelves in antarctica might respond to the warmer conditions, if they would be present in the future. fiifi warmer conditions, if they would be present in the future.— present in the future. ok, that's really interesting. _ present in the future. ok, that's really interesting. and _ present in the future. ok, that's really interesting. and then - present in the future. ok, that's really interesting. and then the | really interesting. and then the impact of all of this water melting into the ocean, talk us through that, because there are lots of impacts, i presume, at sea levels,

on wildlife as well potentially? this sea level is actually not affected as the iceberg is already floating. so we don't get rising sea levels from the iceberg itself. but the impact that it has, as you say, it is the release of this huge amount of fresh water as it cools the ocean, and also the iceberg carries nutrients and minerals from the antarctic continent, and releases them somewhere else as it melts, in this case near south georgia. all of these minerals, and also the mixing that happens in the ocean, as the cold water is released, it can foster biological production, lots of plankton will grow and this obviously comes with the whole food chain. we also get more krill, the seals, penguins and the wales will feed on this and we have lots of seals and penguins that breed on south georgia. they are not

as flexible as the wales. it would have a huge impact, if this huge amount of fresh water is released. —— whales. amount of fresh water is released. -- whales-— amount of fresh water is released. -- whales. , ., ., ., ,., -- whales. interesting to hear about our -- whales. interesting to hear about your research. _ -- whales. interesting to hear about your research, dr _ -- whales. interesting to hear about your research, dr anne _ your research, dr anne braakman—folgmann, thank you very much for your time. apple airtags were launched last year — they're designed to be placed on things you're worried about losing, such as your wallet or your keys. you can then find them using your phone. but the bbc has spoken to six women in the us who say the devices have been used to track them without their consent. 0ur silicon valley correspondent, james clayton, reports. my phone made a ding that i had never heard before, and i looked down at it and i didn't register what it said. and i was like, "what does this say?" and it told me that an unknown accessory or device had been following my movement for a while. this is airtag. apple airtags were launched in april last year. they're designed to track and locate your personal

belongings like your wallet, a backpack or your luggage. but in some cases, they're also being used to track people. amber is a mum of four from mississippi. she'd taken her kids to the park. it showed it got on my car at 1:47pm at the park. and then it followed me to my parent's house, to the ice cream shop and back to my home at 3:02pm. and it alerted me and it said, the last time the owner saw your location, i think, was at 3:02pm. and i was like, that's right, now i'm at home. amber believes the device was placed somewhere on her car, but she hasn't been able to find it yet. we've spoken to six women dotted across america that have all told us a very similar story. a message that pops up onto their phone, telling them an unknown accessory has been moving with them. they all say it's pretty creepy. if you create an item which is useful for tracking stolen items, then you have also created

a perfect tool for stalking. there is absolutely no doubt about it. this is not a sort of made up harm. it is definitely happening. but many people that we've spoken to say that when they tell the police they don't know what to do, and when they tell apple support, they aren't particularly helpful, like anna from georgia, who got a notification after going to the local supermarket. it is really scary. what i want apple to do is simply just require these devices to ask permission before you can be followed. apple told the bbc that they've put safeguards in place. the airtags will beep if they're detected moving with an unregistered device, and that users with iphones will be notified. if you have an android phone, you can also download an app to detect unwanted airtags. but critics argue that apple, which is worth more than £2 trillion, should be doing a lot more to stop its products from being used

to track and even stalk people. james clayton, bbc news, silicon valley. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello again. high pressure is going to remain in charge of our weather, notjust through the rest of this week, but even into next week. so a lot of settled conditions that we have today, a lot of sunshine around. gusty winds across the north in the east will make it feel particularly cold. and here too we've got some showers which could be wintry on the north york moors, the far north of mainland scotland and the northern isles. earlier showers across wales and southwest england tending to fade and a temperature range between four and about eight degrees. now, as we head through the evening and overnight, we've got a bit more cloud coming in across northern ireland, western and northern and eastern scotland, toppling around the area of high pressure. that cloud will be thick enough for some drizzle here and there, but under clear skies we're looking

at a widespread frost. temperatures could fall away as low as minus five or minus six in parts of central southern england, and we're likely to see some mist and fog forming across parts of south west scotland and northwest england. now tomorrow we still have all this cloud toppling over our area of high pressure. so once again, we'll see some drizzle coming out of that. but a lot of dry weather, a lot of sunshine and the wind, particularly down the east coast, not as strong. so not feeling quite as raw as it's going to do today. temperatures six in london to nine in stornoway. as we head into the weekend, the high pressure that's been dominating our weather for the last few days and will continue to do changes its position slightly. the isobars tell you it's going to be windy and on sunday it looks like a weather front�*s going to come in across the northwest. so saturday is starting off with some patchy fog, a lot of clear skies and still all this cloud in the north and the west producing some spots of light rain. but note the temperatures 11 in stornoway, 10 in belfast compared to the 7s we're looking at in birmingham, norwich and london.

then as we head into sunday, more cloud around and a weather frontapproaches, bringing in some rain. it's a cold front, so behind it the air turns a little bit cooler. so, having had 11 in stornoway during the course of saturday, that temperature slips to nine. and generally we're looking at between seven and nine as our maximum temperatures. into the new working week, while next week's looking fairly settled as the same area of high pressure dominating our weather. so there'll be a lot of dry conditions there, cloud thick enough for drizzle at times and also some fog by night.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11... the conservative william wragg, accuses members of government of intimidating tory mps opposed to the pm, over a potential no—confidence vote and urges incidents to be reported reported to the police. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which have i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. from today, facemasks are not compulsory in classrooms, and working from home guidance is dropped, as england moves away from plan b coronavirus restrictions. president biden warns vladimir putin that the us will do significant harm to russia, if he decides to invade ukraine. the first plane carrying aid lands

in tonga, on a runway newly cleared of ash, following saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami. also this hour, the british dental association says nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" as some patients wait two years for check ups. and scientists discover a new coral reef in pristine condition, due to it being unusually deep in the south pacific. a senior conservative mp has urged tory backbenchers facing "intimidation" over their support for a no confidence motion in borisjohnson to report it to the police. william wragg, who chairs an influential house of commons committee, accused the government of blackmail,

saying rebellious mps were being threatened with the withdrawal of funds for their constituencies. it comes as mrjohnson's political allies are suggesting the immediate threat to his leadership has eased. they say the defection of the conservative mp for bury south, christian wakeford, to labour, appears to have persuaded other mps not to challenge him this week. this is what mr wragg had to say in the past hour. i have a brief statement i wish to read to the committee. as the committee of the house of commons overseeing the work of the civil servants, including the cabinet office, of which 10 downing street as a department, and the proper functioning of the constitution, i'd like to make this brief statement. in recent days, a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence

in the party leadership of the prime minister. it is of course the duty of the government whip's office to secure the government's business in the house of commons. however, it is not their function to breach the ministerial code in threatening to withdraw investments from members of parliament's constituencies which are funded from the public purse. additionally, reports to me and others of members of staff at 10 downing street, special advisers, government ministers and others, encouraging the publication of stories in the press seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the prime minister is similarly unacceptable. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. as such, it would be my general advice to colleagues to report these matters to the speaker of the house of commons and the commissioner

of the metropolitan police. they are also welcome to contact me at any time. let's get more on this from our political correspondent, chris mason. quite extraordinary to hear that in public. we hear suggestions of pretty tough behaviour from the whip as my office in all parties when they are in government but where is they are in government but where is the line on this? that is the question. of course, there is plenty of persuasion and dark arts that go on in these corridors to show loyalty to a government, particularly a government that may feel it's life is imperilled, but clearly a stark allegation there from william wragg rag that it goes well beyond the norms of the boundaries of acceptability. it gives you some sense of the scale of the anger and hurt there is amongst many conservative mps, deeply,

deeply angry at what has happened over the past couple of years ending government during the pandemic, and also how downing street has handled itself in the last couple of weeks. and also the tentacles of downing if you like that enter these corridors to do thatjob. whilst this morning there does seem to be something of a temporary reprieve for the prime minister, there isn't quite the pressure there 24 hours ago, which at various points looked like it might imperil his leadership imminently, orat least might imperil his leadership imminently, or at least force a vote of no—confidence. that looks less likely in the super imminent time window this morning than it did yesterday. the pressure is still without question and the anger is still there. huge questions still remain about what might emerge and sue grey�*s report next week. she is tasked with assembling a timeline of all the shindigs going on in westminster during the pandemic and who knew what about them and when

they were sanctioned, and whether crucially the prime minister knew things about them. and then broader questions about the culture of the government that he leads. let me play you an extract of an interview i did with robert buckland, a former cabinet minister until fairly recently in the government. how does he assess where we are this morning? i know his strengths. i'm acutely aware of them and admire them, but at the moment we have some big challenges in the form of what has happened here and it needs to be addressed. we need to wait and see what that outcome will be. can i also pick up on something — will be. can i also pick up on something that _ will be. can i also pick up on something that our - will be. can i also pick up on | something that our colleague will be. can i also pick up on - something that our colleague robert patton has tweeted for itv weather so great had an e—mailfrom a senior officialfrom martin so great had an e—mailfrom a senior official from martin reynolds concerning that key may 20 party.

can you just explain what the significance of this is potentially? it is nailing down specifically the timeline around what happened, particularly in the context of map party on the 20th of may, because it is part of the attempt, both biased journalist, but also crucially by sue gray conducting her inquiry, to establish the timeline, as always with these types of questions as to who knew what and when, and crucially whether the prime minister was warned in advance that this was going to go ahead, and whether or not it would be such a good idea for it to go ahead if that were case. so on itv news, an understanding that sue gray has found an e—mail from on itv news, an understanding that sue gray has found an e—mailfrom a senior official to martin reynolds warning him that that party should not go ahead. we know that an e—mail was then sent out by mr reynolds, or an e—mail had been sent out to mr

reynolds inviting people to this do which included the phrase bring your own booze. so, it is a further indication that we await this report, probably coming next week, to get a further sense of what might have gone on. sue grey�*s role is to establish a chronology of events and an assembly of the facts rather than necessarily act as a political executioner. but given the fi brown nature of the atmosphere here, given how angry so many conservative backbenchers and given how tempted a number of them have been to put in letters of no confidence to bring about a no—confidence vote. there is confidence that when the report comes it may change the mood again, yet again, which is so volatile at the moment and may imperil their prime minister's future, even if this morning things seem a little

more study from downing street because my perspective than they did this time yesterday. could morris johnson —— could borisjohnson when that vote? he could. it's worth emphasising in the concepts of all of this how difficult it is to remove a prime minister who doesn't want to budge. put yourself in the mind of a conservative mp. they need 50 out of them to say yes let's have a vote of no confidence. for you to put in that letter, you have to have a pretty strong view that the prime minister is unfit for duty. imagine there is a vote of no confidence, those 58 conservative mps have then got to persuade some of their colleagues who were not sufficiently keen to have that vote to be one of the letter—writers to then vote to topple the prime minister. so having not been willing to move to square

3, not been willing to move to square a, you are then inviting that conservative mp to jumps straight to square bay and hit the button that says get rid of him. so, the bar still remains pretty high, and conservative mps, regardless of their views about borisjohnson. there are people here who are hugely admiring of him, and others who have never liked him. there is an awareness to that of the party is plunged into a leadership contest that could last several months with lots of airing of dirty laundry in public, that could be further stabilised —— further destabilising and allow case dharma to consolidate the opinion poll that was that he has established over the last few months. it is far from inevitable that the prime minister will be out of a job as a result of all this, given the barriers that exist between where we are now on the outcome that some seek within his party which is to get rid of him. thank you very much indeed.

i'm joined by david gauke, former conservative mp and justice secretary. thank you forjoining us. we know your political position. you are not on the same side of brexit at all is borisjohnson, but where do you think your party stands this morning? former party. i think your party stands this morning? former party. i think the prime minister _ morning? former party. i think the prime minister is _ morning? former party. i think the prime minister is in _ morning? former party. i think the prime minister is in a _ prime minister is in a fragile position. i'm fairly sure that we won't see the 54 letters going in before sue gray is's report is published now. there are rumours that might have happened, but i don't think that is likely to happen. i think the sue gray report could be a difficult moment for the prime minister, or at least his response to that. i think there are big questions about the approach that was taken to the lockdown rules, and subsequently the honesty and particularly the honesty in parliament that the prime minister

has demonstrated or not, which could be very difficult for him. so i don't think he is by any means out of the woods. i don't think his removal is inevitable, but he is in a very fragile position. i removal is inevitable, but he is in a very fragile position.— a very fragile position. i 'ust want to cut out for h a very fragile position. i 'ust want to cut out for a h a very fragile position. i 'ust want to cut out for a second _ a very fragile position. i just want to cut out for a second because . to cut out for a second because we're just seeing that christian wickford is speaking live, the new labour mp for bury south who has just defected the tories. sorry, he has just on that speech possibly in his seat. andy burnham there. we will go back to our interview. we will go back to our interview. we will try to get a clip of what he just said and bring that to you as soon as possible. in that defection, it seemed to almost chuck tory mps so much that they pulled back from moving yesterday. —— shock. why is

that defection so wounding for so many conservatives? i that defection so wounding for so many conservatives?— many conservatives? i think what ha--ens many conservatives? i think what happens when — many conservatives? i think what happens when you _ many conservatives? i think what happens when you get _ many conservatives? i think what happens when you get a - many conservatives? i think what | happens when you get a defection many conservatives? i think what. happens when you get a defection as it provokes all sorts of tribal feelings. i suspect a lot of conservative mps yesterday, might not like borisjohnson might want him to go, but they really don't like one of their own joining the opposition, going straight over to join the labour party will have angered a lot of people. nevertheless, do you think there could be more? there are reports on some of the papers that others are talking to the labour party. in all hones , talking to the labour party. in all honesty. l _ talking to the labour party. in all honesty. i don't _ talking to the labour party. in all honesty, i don't know. _ talking to the labour party. in all honesty, i don't know. it - talking to the labour party. in all honesty, i don't know. it is - talking to the labour party. ii�*u all honesty, i don't know. it is clearly in the interest of the labour party to spread rumours along those lines. it emphasises the story and it can cause panic and so on. i don't know whether it is true or not, but it is pretty rare for people to defect in that way. it did provoke a sort of tribal response yesterday from

conservative mps, but it does not change the underlying issue. it does not change the issue as to whether the prime minister can be trusted, whether he has been chosen honest with parliament and whether his behaviour was appropriate or not. none of that has changed by what happened yesterday with christian wickford. but in terms of them are yesterday, it does appear that people were switching their anger from the prime minister to christian wickford and that took some momentum away from the seeking of 54 letters for the no—confidence vote. boris for the no-confidence vote. boris johnson does _ for the no-confidence vote. boris johnson does have _ for the no-confidence vote. boris johnson does have an _ for the no-confidence vote. boris johnson does have an unique - for the no—confidence vote. boris johnson does have an unique appeal, doesn't he? because who else in terms of future succession can unite the different factions of voters that he has?— the different factions of voters that he has? , ~ ., �*, ., that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point- _ that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point- i— that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point. i may _ that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point. i may not _ that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point. i may not like - that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point. i may not like it, - that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point. i may not like it, but l that he has? yes, i think that's a fair point. i may not like it, but i| fair point. i may not like it, but i think borisjohnson has an ability to reach out to part of the electorate that does not

traditionally vote conservative, in many cases does not vote at all. but he does that appeal —— he does have that appeal, and if he is replaced, there will be a challenge in appealing to what is now a broads coalition of conservative voters. who do think that successor could be? i who do think that successor could be? ~ . , ,., ., who do think that successor could be? ~ . , ., be? i think richey soon at the starts of any _ be? i think richey soon at the starts of any campaign - be? i think richey soon at the starts of any campaign if - be? i think richey soon at the | starts of any campaign if there be? i think richey soon at the i starts of any campaign if there is a campaign isa starts of any campaign if there is a campaign is a firm favourite. he is popular in the country and in the parliamentary party. there is a fair amount of evidence to suggest he is popular. there is a fair amount of evidence to suggest is just as popular with the members. evidence to suggest isjust as popular with the members. thank you ve much popular with the members. thank you very much indeed. _ i want to bring you some news we are getting on a police investigation. the derbyshire police force say that they have arrested a 33—year—old man

from walsall and nottinghamshire in the early hours of this morning on suspicion of murder of ken walker aged 88 in line withjunction in derbyshire. that isjust aged 88 in line withjunction in derbyshire. that is just coming aged 88 in line withjunction in derbyshire. that isjust coming into us. we need to speak to our reporter there for an update on that. england's plan b restrictions are to be scrapped, with mandatory face coverings in public places and covid passports both dropped. borisjohnson said england was reverting to plan a, due to the boosters campaign and how people had followed plan b measures. let's take a look in more detail at how the guidance is changing. from today, the government is no longer asking people in england to work from home. face coverings don't need to be worn in secondary school classrooms from today, and guidance about using them in communal areas will soon be updated. for everyone else, from next thursday, face coverings will not be required by law, though advice remains to wear one

in enclosed and crowded spaces. also from next thursday, you won't need a covid pass to gain entry to nightclubs and large events. those who test positive will still need to self—isolate, but this could be phased out by the end of march. simonjones has this report. face—to—face learning, but it will now be without the masks. from today, face coverings in the classroom in england can come off, though unions are warning that coronavirus remains a challenge, with large numbers of staff and pupils absent. but the government is keen for us to learn to live with covid. in england, people are no longer advised to work from home. from next thursday, face coverings won't be required legally in any setting, though people are still advised to wear them in crowded places. and covid passports to get into nightclubs will be dropped, though venues can choose to carry on using them. the steps that we've announced represent a major milestone.

but it's not the end of the road. and we shouldn't see this as the finish line, because we cannot eradicate this virus and its future variants. instead, we must learn to live with covid in the same way that we've learned to live with flu. some are wary of going too fast, too quickly. i think it is a bit too early, because cases are still very high. i think it's about time i they lift them, you know. it's been a long couple of years now of sitting about doing nothing. i i think i would keep it in transport and crowded places like shops. the royal college of nursing is warning that dropping plan b will do nothing to ease the pressure on the nhs. but the government believes the booster programme has made a real difference, and that the 0micron wave has peaked.

it will also look to end the legal requirement for people who test positive to self—isolate, and replace it with guidance by the end of march. from next week, many restrictions on hospitality in scotland will be lifted. in wales, nightclubs will be able to reopen. in northern ireland, ministers are set to consider relaxations. but all nations are urging caution, as they attempt to draw up long—term strategies for coexisting with the virus. simon jones, bbc news. with pressure on hospitals growing, the bbc has launched a special nhs tracker with the latest data on waits for emergency treatment which will let you find out how your local services are coping this winter ,and how that compares to pre—pandemic demand. just want to update you on what has been said about intimidation. again,

we will update you further on that as soon as we can. detectives have arrested a 33—year—old man on suspicion of the murder of freda walker and the attempted murder of her husband ken over the weekend. the elderly couple were found in their home on saturday by a concerned neighbour. detectives are asking for any possible witnesses to come forward. speaking outside the home this morning, assistant chief constable dave kirby said officers are still investigating a link with a violent burglary in nottinghamshire onjanuary 6th. the investigation teams are working closely together, given the similarities in the offences and they are in close touch. we are showing that any information from this investigation, including the arrest that was made earlier this morning, is put into that other inquiry into the travel event so

that both enquiries can benefit from that both enquiries can benefit from that investigative input. but at the moment, i'm not saying they are officially linked, no. 0ur correspondent navteonhaljoins me now. just give us a further update on what the police have said. this was a significant update we have had this morning. in addition to what you have heard there about the arrest of a man, he is a 30 three—year—old from waltz up in nottinghamshire arrested this morning. a significant presence in this area over the coming days, and we don't know when that might come to an end. in the last few days, they have had hundreds of hours worth of video footage sent in by the public to assist with this investigation. i was here at the weekend when police first spoke to us and describe this as a horrific incident. the victims in this case, and 86—year—old woman, and her husband 88, lived here in station

road for many decades, and they were found on saturday morning. police arrived at the scene aware that frida walker was pronounced dead and ken walker remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital. the community around here has been following every turn of this investigation. of course there will be very interested to learn about the news this morning, too. the first foreign aid plane has arrived in tonga, carrying much—needed water and supplies for the pacific nation. new pictures have emerged showing the scale of devastation following saturday's eruption of an undersea volcano, with cars, roads and buildings covered by a thick layer of ash. at least three people are now known to have died, including a british woman. joining me now is josephine latu—sanft. she is from tonga but now lives in london. thank you forjoining us. have you managed to communicate with people there? we know it has been very

difficult. , ., there? we know it has been very difficult. , . ., there? we know it has been very difficult. , ., ., ., ., difficult. yes, after a long time of t in: and difficult. yes, after a long time of trying and are _ difficult. yes, after a long time of trying and are very _ difficult. yes, after a long time of trying and are very anxious i difficult. yes, after a long time of| trying and are very anxious several days we finally made contact with some of our family and friends on the ground and it is a relief. things are stable in the east as far as the volcano for now. there is still a threat. things are not out of the woods yet, but people are in good spirits. they are starting with the clean—up. they are mobilising to help each other. communities and families are opening their arms to others in need. so, the planes from australia and new zealand have arrived, so that should also be able to help things, but it is a much more encouraging, for me personally, scene now than it was when you first saw those first images come out. it must have been absolutely terrifying, i'm sure. what have you heard from your family and friends. where they affected? somewhere, but

the thing with tongue in people, they are very resilient. they are in good spirits. they said we are still alive and still have each other and we are about to start cleaning up. get ready to help when we call next. i think what is important here is that we recognise there is a long—term journey here. we have attention now on the global stage to tonga, but this rebuilding will be a long way to go. the support and solidarity that we need to give to the people of tonga is very much needed. the priorities right now our water supply, as you will know. people are rationing water. the dust is an issue. i've heard that you can even taste the dust with your mask on. the clean—up is going on and there are villages that are absolutely devastated, annihilated

even. people have mobilised, villages around the community have mobilised to help and of course we have partners stepping in, so i'm just hoping things are... the volcano has come down for good, there won't be another reason. if villages are annihilated, that does suggest lives have been lost in bigger numbers than we are hearing so far. ., , so far. right now, there is three deaths confirmed. _ so far. right now, there is three deaths confirmed. i've - so far. right now, there is three deaths confirmed. i've seen i so far. right now, there is three i deaths confirmed. i've seen some reports saying four but i have not confirmed that. the thing is, homes have been destroyed, but people were able to evacuate on time. that's the thing. we've heard from sparse tsunamis and past disasters how to react quickly, listen to authorities and move imminent. people are injured. there are stories of people getting swept away and floating in the sea for over a day and finally making it to land. so, yes, there is

a lot of trauma. i'm hoping the death toll does not rise. it has been a few days and it has stayed low, but the devastation is more than just the death toll. it's the economic situation, the mental health of the people, the trauma going on in the community, the loss of businesses, having to rebuild your home. but with that culture of close knitted nurse in the community, a strong faith in god, just a very determined culture, resilient and with the help of partners in the world and messages of support from iran to india to michigan to other pacific countries. it is encouraging to see that people are not alone in this.

communications is a problem. it is not 100%. you can make some calls now, but not 100%. the power is still on and off. but i feel there is a great... people can't wait to mobilised to help, including what is asked for in the uk. you feel like there is attention from the world and a lot of goodwill to help. latte and a lot of goodwill to help. we wish ou and a lot of goodwill to help. we wish you all the best with the effort to help. thank you very much indeed. two men have been arrested in birmingham and manchester as part of the investigation into the texas synagogue attack. the two men remain in custody for questioning. on saturday, british—born malik faisal akram was shot dead by us police after holding four people hostage in a synagogue. they were all released without harm. an audio recording obtained by thejewish chronicle seems to be the brother of british gunman malik faisal akram, urging him to surrender.

0ur security correspondent frank gardner is here. frank, what more do we know about this audio recording? i’ge frank, what more do we know about this audio recording?— this audio recording? i've listened to it, and it _ this audio recording? i've listened to it, and it is— this audio recording? i've listened to it, and it is pretty _ this audio recording? i've listened to it, and it is pretty shocking. it i to it, and it is pretty shocking. it was obtained exclusively by the jewish chronicle by a security source, somebody close to the investigation presumably, and in a way it is voyeuristic. you are hearing the last words of a man who is going to be shot soon after that he was clearly in a very disturbed mental state. he was clearly in a very disturbed mentalstate. he he was clearly in a very disturbed mental state. he is getting more and more agitated, ranting, swearing, being extremely defamatory about dues, but the one thing that really shines through is the heroic efforts by his family, particularly by his brother to talk him down. he is saying, why are you doing this? these are innocent people. just surrender. put down the gun, do your time in prison and come home to your family. but he won't hear any of it.

he is absolutely set on his course and says he wants to die. here is the really crucial thing, i think, which is that he said i have been praying for two years to do this. now, m15, britain's domestic security agency investigated him for four weeks in the latter part of 2020 and decided that he was not a threat to national security. so unless malik faisal akram has got his dates or years wrong, which i think it is unlikely, he was able to hide his intentions during that investigation, which is worrying. it is not necessarily saying that m15 did an incompetentjob. it is saying he was able to keep his intention secret. he did not show any signs then of what he was planning to do. they investigated him, and there was a whole year more than a year after that before he went and did what he did. but this was brewing in his

mind for a long time. he made a lot of references to wanting to free the conveyor did pakistani neuroscience taste who is imprisoned just miles away from where there incident took place. she was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. latte place. she was arrested on suspicion of terrorism-— of terrorism. we have got a brief cli that of terrorism. we have got a brief clip that we _ of terrorism. we have got a brief clip that we can _ of terrorism. we have got a brief clip that we can play. _ of terrorism. we have got a brief clip that we can play. let's i of terrorism. we have got a brief clip that we can play. let's just l clip that we can play. let's just listen to that. i'm not going to flinch, man. you know, you don't need to do this, whatever you're doing, man. just pack it in. you'll get a bit of time, and you'll come out. mani come back to blackburn. do you know what i mean? he's come back last week. do you know what i mean? he's done his time. whatever you're doing, man, think about your kids. man, think about... no, no, no, no, no. my kids... these guys you've got there, they're innocent people, man. i should say that the bbc can't

vouch 100% for the authenticity of that tape but we do believe that is authentic at this stage. both sides of the atlantic, it is worrying to think the uk is exporting terror, potentially, that people can evade the investigations by the security forces and can travel freely. the americans are taking the lead on this, but how closely are the authorities working together? titer? authorities working together? very closel in authorities working together? very closely in this _ authorities working together? - closely in this country, because the centre of the investigation is really in the north—west of the uk, because the perpetrator, malik faisal akram, because the perpetrator, malik faisalakram, came because the perpetrator, malik faisal akram, came from blackburn, lancashire, said the investigation here in the uk is being led by counterterrorism police in the north—west. we saw earlier some arrests in greater manchester. two people were questions but later released without charge. there could be more arrests which is quite

normal in an investigation like this. the investigators, police and mis this. the investigators, police and m15 want to know was anyone else involved. did anyone encourage him on this or was it reallyjust one person doing something entirely of his own back? there some unanswered questions. not only how was he able to full m15 that he was not a threat, but also how was he able to get into the grim united states with a known criminal record. he had a violent temper and was banned from several courts, had been involved in a drug deal, all of that, and yet he was able to walk through a drug deal, all of that, and yet he was able to walk throuthfk airport and spend two weeks drifting around texas, acquiring weapon, walk into a synagogue and hold forward people hostage. it is incredible that more people were not hurt. i think it is important to say that this was an anti—semitic attack because it was a synagogue that was attacked and

chosen. initially the fbi said that was irrelevant. it is not irrelevant. it is absolutely key. in the rest of that interview that the jewish chronicle got hold of, he is ranting against dues. it is a very anti—semitic attack. ranting against dues. it is a very anti-semitic attack.— ranting against dues. it is a very anti-semitic attack. thank you very much indeed- _ that is no catch up with the sport. —— letters now catch up with the sport. 0h good morning. andy murray has said his performance wasn't "good enough" after he was knocked out in the second round of the australian open by the japanese qualifier taro daniel. tuesday's five—set win over nikoloz basilashvili looked to have taken it out of murray, and it was a lacklustre display against daniel, who's below him in the world rankings but six years younger. murray did show some of the strength and determination we've seen from him so often. but daniel always had the edge when it mattered and he won in straight sets. at 120 in the world, he's the lowest—ranked player to beat murray at a grand slam.

asked if he'd be back in melbourne next year, murray said not if he performed like that too often this season. in the women's draw, emma raducanu is also out after an exciting battle against danka kovinic. the british number one took it to a third set, but just wasn't strong enough to overcome her older opponent. raducanu made a great start to the match, breaking serve in the opening game and then again, to race into a 3—love lead. however, she needed on—court treatment for a blister and then began to struggle, losing the first set. but she recovered to level the match, producing some spectacular shots. however, she couldn't close out against kovinic, who's ranked 80 places below her at 98 in the world. raducanu is not alone in suffering a surprise exit. garbine mugurutha, the third seed, and a former grand slam winner,

was beaten in straight sets by alize cornet. muguruza said her preparations had been disrupted by covid—19, with her entire team infected. australia's women have got off to a flying start in the ashes series. they've beaten england by 9 wickets in the first match, a t20 in adelaide. england began well. they're hoping to win the ashes for the first time since 2014. danni wyatt weighed in with 70 runs. england were 137 for1 at one stage, but then tahlia mcgrath stepped in — three wickets from her swung the match in australia's favour. and then mcgrath starred with the bat, dominating the england bowlers. a partnership of 144 runs with meg lanning steered australia towards victory. mcgrath was 91 not out, lanning unbeaten on 64. manchester united interim boss ralf rangnick said he made the right decision in substituting cristiano ronaldo in last night's

3—1win at brentford, and he'd do it again. rangnick replaced him in the 79th minute, and the striker didn't even try to hide his frustration. not happy at all as he stomped off. but the boss said he made decisions "in the best interest of the team" and ronaldo's reaction was normal. yes, he was not happy that i substituted him and took him off. but he came back from a little injury, he was not training for one and a half weeks. isaid, listen, cristiano you are 36, still in fantastic physical shape, but once you are a head coach at one stage yourself, maybe you also see it through the glasses of a head coach. montell douglas will become the first british woman to compete at both the summer and winter olympics after being named in the team gb bobsleigh squad for beijing. she competed in the 100 metres at the beijing summer games in 2008 and she'll be brakewoman in mica mcneill�*s two—woman sled,

four years after she was the team's reserve in pyeongchang. douglas turns 36 on monday. she said there had been many male summer and winter 0lympians and she was "over the moon to be representing women", adding she was "more thrilled about leaving a legacy like that "behind than anything else". that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thanks very much, jane. the devolved government in northern ireland has announced a public apology will be made in march to survivors of child abuse in residential institutions. an event will be held at stormont, with an apology from the first and deputy first ministers, followed by statements from organisations which ran the institutions. it comes after a long campaign by survivors. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page has this report, which some viewers may find distressing. brian 0'donoghue has spent the last 20 years putting on paper his childhood experiences

of six decades ago. "there is some summertime left and brother stephen is in charge of the boys down at the swimming pool. he is in one of his full moon moods. he is throwing little billy, who isjust a bit younger than me, into the pool. the brother thinks it is great fun. billy doesn't. he can't swim. he is screaming for help..." that happened in county down, add one of several children's homes run by religious orders where he spent time. one of brian's most vivid memories is how of two boys were punished in front of the others after they tried to escape. the only protection from a beating would have been a pair of swimming trunks, and they were beaten on the backside and thighs until they jumped in the air and screamed.

there was sweat pouring off him when he beat them. that's how much he put into the beating.— into the beating. brian suffered -h sical into the beating. brian suffered physical and — into the beating. brian suffered physical and sexual _ into the beating. brian suffered physical and sexual abuse. i into the beating. brian suffered physical and sexual abuse. he i physical and sexual abuse. he remembers trying to protect himself. don't put yourself in the position where you are alone with them, but then again, that can be hard. if a brother actually comes in and lifts you out of your sleeping bed and takes you to his room. 0n the other side of the irish sea, thousands of abuse survivors are also living with unspeakable trauma. kate walmsley was in an institution in londonderry. kate walmsley was in an institution in londonderry— in londonderry. from when i was eiuht till in londonderry. from when i was eight till i — in londonderry. from when i was eight till i was _ in londonderry. from when i was eight till i was 12, _ in londonderry. from when i was eight till i was 12, i— in londonderry. from when i was eight till i was 12, i was - in londonderry. from when i was eight till i was 12, i was being i eight till i was 12, i was being sexually— eight till i was 12, i was being sexually abused by a priest there. i kept sending letters to the teachers, saying that i couldn't do pe, teachers, saying that i couldn't do pe. you _ teachers, saying that i couldn't do pe, you know? i couldn't have showers _ pe, you know? i couldn't have showers. and it was mainly because of how— showers. and it was mainly because of how i_ showers. and it was mainly because of how i felt— showers. and it was mainly because of how i felt myself, you know,

about _ of how i felt myself, you know, about my — of how i felt myself, you know, about my body. i still feel that i don't _ about my body. i still feel that i don't belong anywhere and i don't fit in _ don't belong anywhere and i don't fit in i_ don't belong anywhere and i don't fit in itry— don't belong anywhere and i don't fit in. i try to fit in anywhere i can— fit in. i try to fit in anywhere i can but— fit in. i try to fit in anywhere i can but it _ fit in. i try to fit in anywhere i can but it is _ fit in. i try to fit in anywhere i can but it is always like you are not wanted. it _ not wanted. it is - not wanted. it is five years and is a public enquiry report set out the legacy of suffering. the enquiry recommended a state apology. that was something that a lot of our people really wanted, even before compensation. there were many people that said, you money is too late, redress is too late. what they wanted was someone to say, sorry, it is not your fault. wanted was someone to say, sorry, it is not yourfault. it wanted was someone to say, sorry, it is not your fault. it is our fault. the process has been delayed, not least because the devolved government collapsed for three years. after generations of hurd, the apology is expected to be made within weeks. —— generations of hurt.

president biden says he thinks russia will invade ukraine, but has warned that the us will impose severe costs and significant harm on moscow in response. but in a news conference marking his first full year in office, mr biden acknowledged that nato countries weren't united on how to respond. russia has around 100,000 troops at the border, but denies it's planning military action. 0ur washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue reports. ever since russia began its build—up of troops on the border, america has been threatening wide—ranging economic sanctions. now, the president is predicting that his russian counterpart will make a move in ukraine, testing the west, and while us troops would not be involved, the president said the consequences would be deadly. the cost of going into ukraine, in terms of physical loss of life for the russians, they will be able to prevail over time, the russians, they will be able to prevail overtime, but the russians, they will be able to prevail over time, but it's going to be heavy, it's going to be real, it's going to be consequential.

at home, the administration's handling of covid has been severely criticised, particularly for the slow response on testing. now a billion tests will be available for americans to take from home, and the president promised no more lockdown is. i'm not going to give up and accept things as they are now. some people may call what is happening now the new normal. i call it a job not yet finished. it will get better. we are moving toward a time when covid—19 won't disrupt our daily lives. the president claimed credit for bringing down unemployment and passing covid relief and infrastructure legislation, but with inflation high and other bills being blocked, he blamed republicans for not getting more done. i did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that president biden didn't get anything done.

joe biden believes his first year has seen important progress on the economy, and covid and an infrastructure. but with key parts of his legislative programme mired in congress, and a looming crisis with russia, there are huge challenges ahead, not least those mid—term elections in november. unions have warned that nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" with some patients waiting for years for routine check—ups. bbc analysis found 950 dentists left the nhs in the last year across england and wales. the dentists were covering a total of 2,500 roles, as some worked in more than one region. the analysis shows about three quarters of practices in england have not updated their websites to indicate whether or not they are accepting nhs patients, within the last three months. thespina mihaliou from wellingborough has been struggling to get booked in with an nhs dentist for an ongoing dental issue. shejoins me now.

thank you forjoining us. what is your problem been with your teeth? good afternoon. i lost my teeth in the beginning of november and contacted my dental surgery to get an appointment, and they informed me i am no longer with them as i have not visited the practice in two years. the reason i did not visit was covid, and also, i had a son. unfortunately, they could not see me, so i tried calling 11—1, who advised me that the closest emergency dental practice that accepts nhs patients is in milton keynes, and to let my dentist know that i need to be seen. i ask to be seen, but unfortunately they couldn't, due to the back lot. so i have contacted 12 dental practices to date, none of them are taking new nhs patients. so what are you going to do? i nhs patients. so what are ou auoin to do? ., so what are you going to do? i am still looking- _ so what are you going to do? i am still looking. i— so what are you going to do? i am still looking. i am _ so what are you going to do? i —n still looking. lam researching still looking. iam researching daily. i am calling, still looking. iam researching daily. iam calling, but still looking. iam researching daily. i am calling, but if i can't

be seen within the next month, i'm having to go private. and be seen within the next month, i'm having to go private.— be seen within the next month, i'm having to go private. and how much will that cost _ having to go private. and how much will that cost you, _ having to go private. and how much will that cost you, do _ having to go private. and how much will that cost you, do you _ having to go private. and how much will that cost you, do you know? i will that cost you, do you know? yes, so, the average i have found is about £90 for the visit, and then it will be the x—rays, the prescriptions, the checkups, the removal of the teeth and all the extras added to that. that is a big number of dentists that you have tried. is it easier for you to travel a bit further to try and travel somewhere to go if you have to? it try and travel somewhere to go if you have to?— try and travel somewhere to go if ou have to? , ., ., you have to? it is quite hard for me to travel, you have to? it is quite hard for me to travel. as _ you have to? it is quite hard for me to travel. as l _ you have to? it is quite hard for me to travel, as i don't _ you have to? it is quite hard for me to travel, as i don't drive, - you have to? it is quite hard for me to travel, as i don't drive, and i to travel, as i don't drive, and also, i am a carerfor my son. but at this point, i would just love to see a dentist. i have tried kettering, northampton, find done, i have tried everywhere. and kettering, northampton, find done, i have tried everywhere.— have tried everywhere. and what is the reason — have tried everywhere. and what is the reason you _ have tried everywhere. and what is the reason you are _ have tried everywhere. and what is the reason you are being _ have tried everywhere. and what is the reason you are being given i have tried everywhere. and what is the reason you are being given for| the reason you are being given for no one except a new? thea;r the reason you are being given for no one except a new?— the reason you are being given for no one except a new? they are not -- there are not _ no one except a new? they are not -- there are not enough _ no one except a new? they are not -- there are not enough dentist. - no one except a new? they are not -- there are not enough dentist. last i there are not enough dentist. last week i was finally able to be seen at an emergency clinic, and when leaving, i asked at an emergency clinic, and when leaving, iasked if at an emergency clinic, and when leaving, i asked if i could

register, and they told me they only had one dentist for 11,000 patients, and that two dentists have left within the last few years. so there is too much of a backlog. are you in pain with your teeth at the moment? every day, absolutely. so that must be pretty difficult. but every day, absolutely. so that must be pretty difficult.— be pretty difficult. but it looks like ou be pretty difficult. but it looks like you might _ be pretty difficult. but it looks like you mightjust _ be pretty difficult. but it looks like you mightjust have i be pretty difficult. but it looks like you mightjust have to i be pretty difficult. but it looks. like you mightjust have to bear be pretty difficult. but it looks i like you mightjust have to bear the cost of it, if that is the only way you can get seen on time? it looks like it, yes- _ you can get seen on time? it looks like it, yes- and — you can get seen on time? it looks like it, yes. and the _ you can get seen on time? it looks like it, yes. and the reason - you can get seen on time? it looks like it, yes. and the reason you i like it, yes. and the reason you didn't no like it, yes. and the reason you didn't go was — like it, yes. and the reason you didn't go was because - like it, yes. and the reason you didn't go was because of i like it, yes. and the reason you didn't go was because of your. like it, yes. and the reason you i didn't go was because of your covid risk, particularly because of your son, is that right?— son, is that right? yes, if you're not seen — son, is that right? yes, if you're not seen for— son, is that right? yes, if you're not seen for two _ son, is that right? yes, if you're not seen for two years, - son, is that right? yes, if you're not seen for two years, you're i son, is that right? yes, if you're i not seen for two years, you're taken of the list, but i was not informed about that. theyjust kind of let me know in the morning i was caught for the emergency, that i am no longer on their list. well, we wish you luck. we hope you managed to sort it out as fast as possible. thespina mihaliou, thank you for speaking to us. apple airtags were launched last

year — they're designed to be placed on things you're worried about losing, such as your wallet or your keys. you can then find them using your phone. but the bbc has spoken to six women in the us who say the devices have been used to track them without their consent. 0ur silicon valley correspondent, james clayton, reports. my phone made a ding that i had never heard before, and i looked down at it and i didn't register what it said. and i was like, "what does this say?" and it told me that an unknown accessory or device had been following my movement for a while. this is airtag. apple airtags were launched in april last year. they're designed to track and locate your personal belongings like your wallet, a backpack or your luggage. but in some cases, they're also being used to track people. amber is a mum of four from mississippi. she'd taken her kids to the park. it showed it got on my car at 1:47pm at the park. and then it followed me to my parents' house, to the ice cream shop and back to my home at 3:02pm.

and it alerted me and it said, the last time the owner saw your location, i think, was at 3:02pm. and i was like, that's right, now i'm at home. amber believes the device was placed somewhere on her car, but she hasn't been able to find it yet. we've spoken to six women dotted across america that have all told us a very similar story. a message that pops up onto their phone, telling them an unknown accessory has been moving with them. they all say it's pretty creepy. if you create an item which is useful for tracking stolen items, then you have also created a perfect tool for stalking. there is absolutely no doubt about it. this is not a sort of made—up harm. it is definitely happening. but many people that we've spoken to say that when they tell the police they don't know what to do, and when they tell apple

support, they aren't particularly helpful, particularly helpful. like anna from georgia, who got a notification after going to the local supermarket. it is really scary. what i want apple to do is simply just require these devices to ask permission before you can be followed. apple told the bbc that they've put safeguards in place. the airtags will beep if they're detected moving with an unregistered device, and that users with iphones will be notified. if you have an android phone, you can also download an app to detect unwanted airtags. but critics argue that apple, which is worth more than £2 trillion, should be doing a lot more to stop its products from being used to track and even stalk people. james clayton, bbc news, silicon valley. joining me now is isobel hamilton, senior technology reporter at the online business website insider. thanks forjoining us. i have actually got one of these, and i bought a whole pack of them. i have

got it attached to my rather big bunch of keys here on the desk. they are potentially very useful devices, aren't they, but astonishing that they can be misused like this? well, i think a lot of privacy advocates saw this coming before airtags came out. i saw a lot of people in the privacy space saying, this will be misused, these are just tracking devices. and, yes, you can use them to track your keys, or slip them into someone's wheel well in their car. �* ., them into someone's wheel well in theircar. �* ., ~ ., them into someone's wheel well in their car. �* ., ~ ., ., their car. and do we know how widespread — their car. and do we know how widespread the _ their car. and do we know how widespread the misuse - their car. and do we know how widespread the misuse is i their car. and do we know how. widespread the misuse is feared their car. and do we know how- widespread the misuse is feared to be? we widespread the misuse is feared to be? ~ ~, �* widespread the misuse is feared to be? ~ a, �* a, a, widespread the misuse is feared to be? a, �* a, a be? we haven't got a particularly clear picture _ be? we haven't got a particularly clear picture yet. _ be? we haven't got a particularly clear picture yet. i've _ be? we haven't got a particularly clear picture yet. i've seen - clear picture yet. i've seen increasing reports about various states in the us or local police authorities warning about finding increased numbers of, say, people using airtags to track people's car and then steal it later. but it's not very easy to get a clear sense

of exactly how widespread this is at the minute. , of exactly how widespread this is at the minute-— the minute. yes, i had to say i put one on my — the minute. yes, i had to say i put one on my card — the minute. yes, i had to say i put one on my card thinking, - the minute. yes, i had to say i put one on my card thinking, just - the minute. yes, i had to say i put one on my card thinking, just in i one on my card thinking, just in case the tracking device fails, i would be able to locate it. but you have obviously got to be very careful, haven't you, with this technology. is there any way these things could be made secure? —— more secure? is there anything apple could do? ~ ., �* ~' could do? well, i don't think there's much _ could do? well, i don't think there's much you _ could do? well, i don't think there's much you can - could do? well, i don't think there's much you can do - could do? well, i don't think there's much you can do to l could do? well, i don't think i there's much you can do to stop people trying to use them as stalking devices, because that is essentially what they are for. they are essentiallyjust essentially what they are for. they are essentially just tracking devices. i think one of the main things advocates argue apple could do is to make it easierfor android users to be alerted when someone has slipped and airtag onto their person or a piece of property they own, because at the moment, if you own an iphone and somebody else's airtag was slipped into your pocket or something, the iphone should alert you at some point, you know, there is an unknown device on your person, like what happened in your report. but if you have an android phone,

you need to download a specific app in order to have that kind of passive surveillance going on, to check for these devices, so really that leaves quite a large part of the population in the dark, because most people have not heard of this app. are there other tracker devices that you are worried about being misused? well, there are other products quite similar to airtags. there is a thing called tile. it's not a particularly new idea. apple is very good at marketing. they are a big company with lots of resources. i think any device like this, it is useful when you want to look for your keys and you want to look for your keys and you can kind of clicked something that will be poor show when your phone exactly where they are. it is just that there is no getting around the store can use cases instance. everyone is seeing my very big, clunky set of keys here which are probably impossible to lose. but potentially, they do have their uses, don't they? i would love to be able to attach them to my children

because microphones, for example. i haven't found a way to do it yet. and actually, it would be marvellous if someone would invent a tiny tracker that someone could just attach to all those things that you lose, whether it is your passport or whatever. there were lowest in room for misuse of any text, —— there will always be room for misuse of any text, went there?— will always be room for misuse of any text, went there? yes, i think a tinier tracker _ any text, went there? yes, i think a tinier tracker is _ any text, went there? yes, i think a tinier tracker is even _ any text, went there? yes, i think a tinier tracker is even scarier. - tinier tracker is even scarier. there are some people in the bbc reports who have not even found the devices that have been attached to them. so the main thing is that if a tracking device is attached to you inadvertently, there should be a way that the companies are alerting the public to that? that is what is really important here? i think plugging those little gaps as a start. in plugging those little gaps as a start. ~ , , ., , .,, start. in the end, apple really has to decide whether— start. in the end, apple really has to decide whether or _ start. in the end, apple really has to decide whether or are - start. in the end, apple really has to decide whether or are not - start. in the end, apple really has to decide whether or are not the l start. in the end, apple really has i to decide whether or are not the use case of helping people find the keys or phones or whatever it is is useful enough when balanced against the misuse, and that will become clearer once we get an idea of how

widespread the stalking and crime use is. ~ , ,., , widespread the stalking and crime use is. , , ., widespread the stalking and crime useis. , ., , use is. absolutely. that is fascinating. _ use is. absolutely. that is fascinating. very - use is. absolutely. that isj fascinating. very alarming use is. absolutely. that is. fascinating. very alarming if use is. absolutely. that is- fascinating. very alarming if that happens to you. thank you so much, isabelle hamilton for explaining that for us. a research mission led by unesco has discovered a giant, pristine coral reef off the coast of tahiti in french polynesia. the reef is 30 metres deep, which is unusual for a tropical reef and might explain its "pristine" condition. our science correspondent victoria gill reports. "magical". that was the word a veteran specialist diver who led this mission used to describe this view. some of these rose—shaped corals are more than two metres wide and the whole reef structure stretches three kilometres along the sea bed. its depth and its distance from the coast is thought to be a key reason for its pristine condition. the researchers say it shows no signs of damage from pollution or from warming ocean temperature, something that poses a major threat to shallower reefs.

it looks beautiful, but scientifically, how important is this as a discovery? it might be to date one of the largest coral reefs in the world that actually lies at that sort of depth of more than 30 metres, so from that perspective, this is opening a new insight in science. this could suggest that we have many more large reefs in our ocean at depths beyond 30 metres which we simply do not know about. it is often said we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean floor. only about a fifth of it has so far been mapped. this discovery is part of a larger mission to fill in those gaps in our ocean knowledge. and coral reefs like this are the sea floor hotspots for marine life. about one quarter of known ocean species can be found around these living ecosystems. the team is now planning more investigative dives to work out what lives here and, crucially, how their remarkable newly discovered habitats can be protected. victoria gill, bbc news.

a bit more on the natural world now. scientists have calculated the amount of meltwater dumped by the world's biggest iceberg. the a68 broke away from the antarctic coastline in 2017, at one point releasing 1.5 trillion litres of fresh water into the ocean every day. that's nearly eight times the daily water consumption of the us. researchers say the iceberg will have altered ocean currents in the south atlantic as it melted, and the dust it deposited will have boosted the production of plankton. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. high pressure is going to remain in charge of our weather, notjust through the rest of this week, but even into next week. so a lot of settled conditions like we have today, a lot of sunshine around. gusty winds across the north and the east will make it feel particularly cold. and here too we've got some showers

which could be wintry on the north york moors, the far north of mainland scotland and the northern isles. earlier showers across wales and southwest england tending to fade and a temperature range between four and about eight degrees. now, as we head through the evening and overnight, we've got a bit more cloud coming in across northern ireland, western and northern and eastern scotland, toppling around the area of high pressure. that cloud will be thick enough for some drizzle here and there, but under clear skies we're looking at a widespread frost. temperatures could fall away as low as minus five or minus six in parts of central southern england, and we're likely to see some mist and fog forming across parts of south west scotland and northwest england. now, tomorrow we still have all this cloud toppling over our area of high pressure. so once again, we'll see some drizzle coming out of that. but a lot of dry weather, a lot of sunshine and the wind, particularly down the east coast, not as strong. so not feeling quite as raw as it's going to do today. temperatures six in london to nine in stornoway. as we head into the weekend, the high pressure that's been dominating our weather for the last few days and will continue to do

changes its position slightly. the isobars tell you it's going to be windy and on sunday it looks like a weather front�*s going to come in across the northwest. so saturday is starting off with some patchy fog, a lot of clear skies and still all this cloud in the north and the west producing some spots of light rain. but note the temperatures — ii in stornoway, 10 in belfast, compared to the 7s we're looking at in birmingham, norwich and london. then as we head into sunday, more cloud around and a weather frontapproaches, bringing in some rain. it's a cold front, so behind it the air turns a little bit cooler. so, having had 11 in stornoway during the course of saturday, that temperature slips to nine. and generally we're looking at between seven and nine as our maximum temperatures. into the new working week, while next week's looking fairly settled as the same area of high pressure dominating our weather. so there'll be a lot of dry conditions there, cloud thick enough for drizzle at times and also some fog by night.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the conservative william wragg, accuses members of government of intimidating tory mps opposed to the prime minister, over a potential no—confidence vote and urges incidents to be reported to the police. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which have i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. it is of course a contempt to obstruct _ it is of course a contempt to obstruct members in the discharge of their duty— obstruct members in the discharge of their duty or attempt to intimidate and member in the parliamentary cabinet _ and member in the parliamentary cabinet hy— and member in the parliamentary cabinet by threats. from today, facemasks are not compulsory in classrooms, and working from home guidance is dropped, as england moves away from plan b

coronavirus restrictions. a man's been arrested on suspicion of murdering 86—year—old freda walker in derbyshire, as well as the attempted murder of her husband, kenneth. the british dental association says nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" as some patients wait two years for check ups. and in melbourne, both andy murray and emma raducanu are knocked out in the second round of the australian open. a senior conservative mp has urged tory backbenchers facing "intimidation" over their support for a no confidence motion in borisjohnson to report it to the police. william wragg, who chairs

an influential house of commons committee, accused the government of blackmail, saying rebellious mps were being threatened with the withdrawal of funds for their constituencies. downing street says it's not aware of any evidence to support the allegation. mrjohnson's political allies suggest the immediate threat to his leadership has eased. they say the defection of the conservative mp for bury south, christian wakeford, to labour, appears to have persuaded other mps not to challenge him this week. this is what mr wragg had to say. i have a brief statement i wish to read to the committee. as the committee of the house of commons overseeing the work of the civil service, including the cabinet office, of which 10 downing street as a department, and the proper functioning of the constitution, i'd like to make this brief statement. in recent days, a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members

of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the prime minister. it is of course the duty of the government whip�*s office to secure the government's business in the house of commons. however, it is not their function to breach the ministerial code in threatening to withdraw investments from members of parliament's constituencies which are funded from the public purse. additionally, reports to me and others of members of staff at 10 downing street, special advisers, government ministers and others, encouraging the publication of stories in the press seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the prime minister is similarly unacceptable. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. as such, it would be my general advice to colleagues to report these

matters to the speaker of the house of commons and the commissioner of the metropolitan police. they are also welcome to contact me at any time. speaking in the chamber in the past hour, the commons speaker sir lindsay hoyle responded to the accusations. there are allegations about the conduct of whips and special advisers working for ministers. serious allegations have been made. at this stage, without having had a chance to study what has been said in detail, i can only offer a general guidance, as i've been in the chair since this revelation came out, as i understand it, at ten o'clock. those who work for them are not above the criminal law. the investigation of alleged criminal conduct is a matter for the police, and decisions about prosecution are for the cps. it would be wrong of me

to interfere with such matters. while the whipping system is long established, it is, of course, a contempt to obstruct members in the discharge of their duty or to attempt to intimidate a member in their parliamentary conduct by threats. there is a clear process for raising such matters and referring them for investigation to determine whether the conduct in question is a contempt. in the first instance, members raising such concerns should write to me, and i hope these general observations will assist the house in going forward. the prime minister spokesman apparently did not comment specifically on the allegations, but the crown. let's get more on this

from our political correspondent, chris mason. these are very serious allegations, we know there is a whipping system for mps, but there is a line, isn't there, which can't be crossed in terms of bullying and blackmail which is what is being alleged here? black books and dark arts in quiet words and not so quiet were are as old as the stones in parliament. that is how the art of persuasion works here, where whips who are in the business of trying to ensure that the government's business gets through, orthat that the government's business gets through, or that the government survives, attempt to persuade backbenchers to vote with the government, to be loyal to the prime minister. as i say, that has gone on for generations and centuries. but where does that line lie in terms of how people perceive they have been spoken to or have a behaviour that the conduct of behaviour is done?

clearly, there are those here, articulated by william wragg this morning that some have gone too far, that the language, their threats, threat of withdrawal of support from projects that are keenly sought in a particular constituency are beyond the pale. one wonders if there may be a generational element here. we are seeing public responses from some old timers hear that persuasion and some might say as intimidation is as old as the hills, and that is part of the nature of parliament. perhaps others are feeling that is not something that should be consigned to the history books. —— thatis consigned to the history books. —— that is something that should be consigned to the history books. they feel he has overstated his case, long been a critic of the prime minister and is another affront in taking a criticism of the government, but it is a reminder of how keenly felt the anger is for

many conservative mps. yes, there might be an element of a waning in the immediate super imminent threat to the prime minister, there is still the sue gray report that the civil servant is can ducting to find out about all these parties to come probably next week. what we have heard from mr wragg, an articulation ofjust how deep the anger is, and is not far below the surface could suddenly return, and that is a threat to the prime minister it is still alive and real even if it has died down in the noise of prime minister's questions and the plotting that has gone on this time yesterday. i know you spoke to robert buckland. we are going to hear a bit of what he said. obviously, again, we have heard from some supporters of the prime minister. the question is whether the sue gray report is going to change anyone's mind or if it will

be used as the moment at which people feel they are going to act, it is then or wait until after the may elections. quite. is the sue gray report the big moment? i think it has always been worth asserting throughout this whole conversation, going back some weeks now, that for as long as government ministers, and certainly borisjohnson a week yesterday holding up the suit shield that said sue gray upon it, every time he meant —— every time you mount a defence to questions about this, there is this danger of escalation of expectation about what the sue gray report might deliver, given the remit she was set out with, ratherthan given the remit she was set out with, rather than necessarily setting out a political conviction of the prime minister. sophie brad as the atmosphere that the language in that report will be key and could be sufficient to decide whether the prime minister has to go. we were discussing earlier run, just before

54 mp5 discussing earlier run, just before 5a mps decide there should be a vote of confidence, does not necessarily mean the prime minister is finished. it would go on to another boat which might be in place for some time. that raises the question of senior members in the cabinet, of middle ranking members. if you have senior figures on the payroll also having doubts then it becomes much more politically difficult. and a public reaction. right now, the most important... they have heard the ear—bashing they had in their constituencies last weekend. inboxes are absolutely full of vitriol and some are having to spend their entire time responding to them. they are very aware of that. let me play an extract from robert buckland. formerjustice secretary. how does

he read the current situation as far as the prime minister's faces —— his fate is can you know, i'm not here to make was double predictions. i know his strengths. i'm acutely aware of them, and i admire them, but at the moment we have some big challenges in the form of what has happened here that need to be addressed. so, you know, we need to wait and see what that outcome will be. finally, christian make that has been speaking today and we are going to hearfrom him in a few minutes, but there are some suggestions that pressure was exerted upon him by downing street, trying to pressure him is one of the reasons why ultimately he decided to defect to labour. this whole question of intimidation, blackmail of the usual dark arts and persuasion is really important at the moment. absolutely it is. the defection yesterday was one hell of a political moment. these things happen very rarely. it is very tribal place, westminster. so many of the arguments of this

place have been signed up to their cause however strongly or loosely often for a lifetime. so to do something as public and binary as happened yesterday and to cross the floor and to go and sit on the opposing benches is an extraordinary thing to do. we heard that in the chamber in the last half hour some people sitting in the press gallery some of the anger from conservative mps that one of their own role previously one of their own has crossed over to the labour side. they are saying there should be a by—election in that constituency in bury south, rather than that mp being able to sit there in a different party affiliation. but we have heard that was at least part of the contribution towards his growing frustration with government. just briefly, you mentioned a second ago the response from the prime minister was like official spokesman in the last few minutes to this suggestion from william wragg. saying they are not aware of any evidence to support

the claims of mps seeking to support the claims of mps seeking to support the vote of no confidence for the prime minister being blackmailed. the prime minister was acting like a mafia boss, the words of sir ed davey, the spokesman saying there is no evidence to support the claims and this is a matterfor no evidence to support the claims and this is a matter for the whips office. just briefly, what are you hearing about potential rival candidates to replace borisjohnson contacting mps for support. there was a constant conversation westminster, irrespective of the current occupant of downing street as to who their successive occupant of downing street might be. there is lots of chat around all of that the whole time. there has been a bit more of that kind of chat for obvious reasons in the last couple of days. surrounding the chancellor and the foreign secretary who is on the other side of the world in australia. right now, as i say, just

dying down, because perhaps there is the expectation that things are not going to move quite as quickly as they might have done. but who knows. we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc two there. joe twyman is co—founder and director of the polling company deltapoll. hejoins me now. thank you forjoining us. the polls have been very keenly watched, aren't they? broadly, in terms of where the tory and labour are right now, just give us the latest update. they have been quite a few polls in recent days. they have been quite a few polls in recent dayc— recent days. over the last few months we — recent days. over the last few months we have _ recent days. over the last few months we have seen - recent days. over the last few months we have seen a - recent days. over the last few - months we have seen a downward trend in terms of conservative performance in terms of conservative performance in the polls. and the last few weeks have seen an acceleration of that trend. the most recent polls have come out over the last few days and have shown a double—digit lead for labour. that is an increase in where

they were prior the latest reports about the funeral party for prince philip. priorto about the funeral party for prince philip. prior to that, the polls were around four or 5% lead for labour, but now double figures. in terms of the key marginal seats which will always decide who is in government or not, especially the red wall seats, what are the numbers showing there? the red wall seats, what are the numbers showing there?— showing there? the key focus for the government — showing there? the key focus for the government has _ showing there? the key focus for the government has been _ showing there? the key focus for the government has been the _ showing there? the key focus for the government has been the seats - showing there? the key focus for the government has been the seats that| government has been the seats that they gained at the last election, some of which, many of which are so—called red wool seats. consistently, we have seen that the lead labour has in those seats is higher than it is nationally, and so the conservatives are in more trouble in those seats that they won and the seats that they held on to, and the seats that they held on to, and that of course is an issue for them particularly with regards to them particularly with regards to the kind of events we have seen over the kind of events we have seen over the last few days. find

the kind of events we have seen over the last few days.— the last few days. and what about the last few days. and what about the personal— the last few days. and what about the personal ratings _ the last few days. and what about the personal ratings of— the last few days. and what about the personal ratings of boris - the personal ratings of boris johnson versus kier starmer? {lister johnson versus kier starmer? over the last two _ johnson versus kier starmer? over the last two years _ johnson versus kier starmer? over the last two years now, _ johnson versus kier starmer? or the last two years now, almost, the prime minister's personal ratings have correlated very closely with the government ratings, which has correlated very closely with whether the pandemic is perceived to be dealt with effectively or not. and over the last few months, the prime minister's ratings have fallen as the government's ratings are falling, and at the same time kier starmer has improved its position. in the last few weeks, the prime minister ratings have deteriorated even further, and so now kier starmer is a roundabout in net zero territory, with as many people thinking he is doing a good job as many people thinking he's doing a bad job. that is not bad and certainly a lot better than boris johnson who at that moment is significantly below that. depending on which question you ask which poll

you look at, he has ratings consistently that are in —40 figures. that is around about the same level theresa may was that during her darkest period in office. obviously we are 18 months or two years away from an election, but if there was an election right now, obviously a bit of political instability, what would be the outcome? it instability, what would be the outcome?— instability, what would be the outcome? , , . ., ~ ., ., outcome? it is difficult to know for sure because _ outcome? it is difficult to know for sure because of _ outcome? it is difficult to know for sure because of the _ outcome? it is difficult to know for sure because of the intricacies - outcome? it is difficult to know for sure because of the intricacies of l sure because of the intricacies of electoral politics, but if there were a general election tomorrow, it is likely the labour party would probably end up in downing street. whether that was with the no overall majority or as part of the coalition because the conservative failed to get a majority. that remains to be seen. it is worth pointing out that there is not a general election tomorrow, and their interesting question is where the polls will go

over the next few days and weeks. the next key event will be so great�*s report being published next week. but beyond that, it is difficult to say. the government has to cope with a forming narrative that they cannot be trusted, cannot play by their own rules, don't act fairly. that, in addition to specific events, most notably the release of their video and their parties performance in the polls after the party the night before prince philip is like funeral. the government really, if it is to be successful in the next election, has to find a way to address that narrative and the concerns voters have. iis narrative and the concerns voters have. , narrative and the concerns voters have., , narrative and the concerns voters have. , , ., ., , have. is it possible to say at this stare have. is it possible to say at this stage whether _ have. is it possible to say at this stage whether the _ have. is it possible to say at this stage whether the view - have. is it possible to say at this stage whether the view of - have. is it possible to say at this stage whether the view of boris | stage whether the view of boris johnson is a settled one? that is, whether people have made up their minds about him regardless of what

they're sue grey report says, or whether he could pick it up again in the summer? also, is borisjohnson still more successful his rivals like the chancellor or liz truss? it's an interesting question because there may be many people who will be willing to come in and talk about the benefits of switching to liz truss of the chancellor, and they may speculate about why they may perform better, but for the public, let'sjust perform better, but for the public, let's just send the chancellor are just not well known, so there is no evidence that switching to anyone would improve the position of the government at the moment. you can speculate, as they say there is no polling evidence to say that it would, and there is a feeling that conservative mps who are thinking about whether to send letters to graham brady or not, that is playing on their mind. will the replacement do better than borisjohnson in the

areas where we need to perform in the numbers that we need? a damaged borisjohnson may be better, but the question is how damage will he be? to answer the first question, have people made up their mind? yes a lot of people have. i imagine the report next week will probably produce relatively little in the way of interesting movements. it is unlikely to produce massive new insights, and at the same time, most people have made up their mind. it is priced in, if you like, already. but views can change, and individual events can have an impact, yes, but more likely is a change in this broad narrative around the conservative party generally and borisjohnson particularly. that is a difficult situation to change. it can take time for positions such as that to shift, but it can be done. that is the challenge that now faces the prime minister and the

government. can they change this narrative which is gaining momentum? and narrative that the government don't play fair play by the rules and cannot be trusted. all these events, owen paterson to the declaration of downing street, over the last few months, the cumulative effect is in that it is very damaging. we have seen that in the polls. why does it go from here? it remains to be seen, but they certainly have a challenge ahead. thank you very much indeed. england's plan b restrictions are to be scrapped, with mandatory face coverings in public places and covid passports both dropped. borisjohnson said england could revert to plan a, thanks to the boosters campaign and how people had followed plan b measures. let's take a look in more detail at how the guidance is changing. from today, the government is no longer asking people in england to work from home. face coverings don't need to be worn in secondary school classrooms from today, and guidance about using them in communal areas will soon be updated. for everyone else, from next thursday,

face coverings will not be required by law, though advice remains to wear one in enclosed and crowded spaces. also from next thursday, you won't need a covid pass to gain entry to nightclubs and large events. those who test positive will still need to self—isolate, but this could be phased out by the end of march. simonjones has this report. face—to—face learning, but it will now be without the masks. from today, face coverings in the classroom in england can come off, though unions are warning that coronavirus remains a challenge, with large numbers of staff and pupils absent. but the government is keen for us to learn to live with covid. in england, people are no longer advised to work from home. from next thursday, face coverings won't be required legally in any setting, though people are still advised to wear them in crowded places. and covid passports to get into nightclubs will be dropped, though venues can choose to carry on using them. the steps that we've announced represent a major milestone.

but it's not the end of the road. and we shouldn't see this as the finish line, because we cannot eradicate this virus and its future variants. instead, we must learn to live with covid in the same way that we've learned to live with flu. some are wary of going too fast, too quickly. i think it is a bit too early, - because cases are still very high. i think it's about time - they lift them, you know. it's been a long couple of years now of sitting about doing nothing. - i think i would keep it in transport and crowded places like shops. the royal college of nursing is warning that dropping plan b will do nothing to ease the pressure on the nhs. but the government believes the booster programme has made a real difference, and that the omicron wave has peaked.

it will also look to end the legal requirement for people who test positive to self—isolate, and replace it with guidance by the end of march. from next week, many restrictions on hospitality in scotland will be lifted. in wales, nightclubs will be able to reopen. in northern ireland, ministers are set to consider relaxations. but all nations are urging caution, as they attempt to draw up long—term strategies for coexisting with the virus. simon jones, bbc news. with pressure on hospitals growing, the bbc has launched a special nhs tracker with the latest data on waits for emergency treatment which will let you find out how your local services are coping this winter,and how that compares to pre—pandemic demand. detectives have arrested a 33—year—old man on suspicion of the murder of freda walker

and the attempted murder of her husband ken at the weekend. the elderly couple were found in their home on saturday by a neighbour. detectives are appealing for witnesses. assistant chief constable dave kirby said officers are investigating a possible link with a violent burglary in nottinghamshire on january 6th. investigation teams are working closely together given the similarities in the offences, and senior investigating officers are in close touch. so, we are ensuring that any information from this investigation, including the arrest that was made earlier this morning, is put into that other inquiry into the into the trail offence, so that both enquiries can benefit from all of that investigative input. but at the moment, i'm not saying that they are officially linked, no. our correspondent navtej johal is at the scene and told us more about the suspect. he is a 33—year—old

from worksop in nottinghamshire arrested this morning. police will have a significant presence in this area over the coming days, and we don't know when that might come to an end. in the last few days, they have had hundreds of hours worth of video footage sent in by the public to assist with this investigation. i was here at the weekend when police first spoke to us and described this as a horrific incident. the victims in this case, freda walker, an 86—year—old woman, and her 88—year—old husband, ken, who had lived here in station road for many decades, and they were found on saturday morning. police arrived at the scene aware that freda walker was pronounced dead and ken walker remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital. the community around here has been following every turn of this investigation. of course, they will be very interested to learn about the news this morning too.

pope benedict xvi failed to act in four child abuse cases, a new report into historic child abuse in the german catholic church has found. the former pope is accused of allowing a priest, who was known to have abused boys, to be transferred to the diocese and work between 1977 and 1982. the lawyers behind the report say they are convinced he was aware of the priest's background. the former pope denies he knew about the priest's crimes. a teenage pilot has become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. 19—year—old zara rutherford has landed in belgium, finishing herjourney, which began in august last year. she visited over 50 countries during her trip in an ultra—light plane, and hopes that her record will inspire more women to work in stem subjects. and zara has just been speaking to reporters.

there she goes, just landing. it is just really crazy. i haven't quite processed it i think. coming here, trying to imagine what it would be like. finally here after five months. i'mjust like. finally here after five months. i'm just super happy. i am just so happy to see them and i'll talk to them later. i've been waiting for a sandwich from a sandwich shop that is really nearby and i've been waiting five months for that. that is super impressive, the youngest woman to fly solo in an aircraft around the world. now it's time for a look at the weather. here's nick miller. it is still chilly out there but there is plenty of sunshine. if you like your winter weather cold and

crisp with blue sky, this really is a day for you. exemptions with the sunshine, along is kept eastern counties of england. some areas of cloud in northern ireland. 7 degrees in belfast but along this east coast, three or four celsius. in belfast but along this east coast, three orfour celsius. the wind chill coast, three orfour celsius. the wind chili is easing into tonight. for many tonight it is clear. frosty again. clad in northern ireland increasing and didn't scotland pushing into parts of north—west england. many will have the frost, and in fact colder, minus six celsius in some parts of the countryside in the morning. sunshine in southern and eastern parts. it is a little milder tomorrow, not as windy as down at the north sea coast and frost not as widespread tomorrow.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the conservative william wragg accuses members of government of intimidating tory mps opposed to the pm over a potential no—confidence vote and urges incidents to be reported to the police. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. it is of course a contempt to obstruct members in the discharge of their duty or attempt to intimidate and member in the to intimidate a member in the parliamentary conduct by threats. from today, face masks are not compulsory in classrooms, and working from home guidance is dropped, as england moves away from plan b coronavirus restrictions. a man's been arrested on suspicion of murdering 86—year—old freda walker in derbyshire, as well as the attempted murder of her husband, kenneth. the british dental association says

nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" as some patients wait two years for check—ups. the devolved government in northern ireland has announced a public apology will be made to survivors of child abuse in residential institutions. an event will be held at stormont, with an apology from the first and deputy first ministers, followed by statements from organisations which ran the institutions. it comes after a long campaign by survivors. our ireland correspondent chris page has this report, which some viewers may find distressing. brian o'donoghue has spent the last 20 years putting on paper his childhood experiences of six decades ago. "there is some summertime left, and brother stephen is in charge of the boys down at the swimming pool. he is in one of his full moon moods. he is throwing little billy, who is just a bit younger than me, into the pool.

the brother thinks it is great fun. billy doesn't. he can't swim. he is screaming for help." that happened in county down, add one of several children's homes one of several children's homes run by religious orders, where he spent time. one of brian's most vivid memories is how of two boys were punished in front of the others after they tried to escape. the only protection from a beating would have been a pair of swimming trunks, and they were beaten on the backside and thighs until theyjumped in the air and screamed. there was sweat pouring off him when he beat them. that's how much he put into the beating. brian suffered physical and sexual abuse. he remembers trying to protect himself. don't put yourself in the position where you are alone with them, but then again, that can be hard if a brother actually comes

in and lifts you out of your sleeping bed and takes you to his room. on the other side of the irish sea, thousands of abuse survivors are also living with unspeakable trauma. kate walmsley was in an institution in londonderry. from when i was eight till i was 12, i was being sexually abused by a priest there. i kept sending letters to the teachers, saying that i couldn't do pe, you know? i couldn't have showers. and it was mainly because of how i felt myself, you know, about my body. i'm lonely still feel that i don't belong anywhere and am not accepted. i try to fit in anywhere i can but it is always like you are not wanted.

it is five years and is a public inquiry report set out the legacy of suffering. the inquiry recommended a state apology. that was something that a lot of our people really wanted, even before compensation. there were many people that said, money is too late, redress is too late. what they wanted was someone to say, sorry, it is not your fault. it is ourfault. the process has been delayed, not least because the devolved government collapsed for three years. after generations of hurt, the apology is expected to be made within weeks. lots of our victims have passed, and not had an apology. we will live with this for the rest of our lives, you know? we will still carry this. all i wanted was someone to say sorry. after generations of hurt, victims are hoping for a day of acknowledgement.

apple airtags were launched last year. they're designed to be placed on things you're worried about losing, such as your wallet or your keys. you can then find them using your phone. but the bbc has spoken to six women in the us who say the devices have been used to track them without their consent. our silicon valley correspondent, james clayton, reports. my phone made a ding that i had never heard before, and i looked down at it and i didn't register what it said. and i was like, "what does this say?" and it told me that an unknown accessory or device had been following my movement for a while. this is airtag. apple airtags were launched in april last year. they're designed to track and locate your personal belongings like your wallet, a backpack or your luggage. but in some cases, they're also being used to track people. amber is a mum of four from mississippi. she'd taken her kids to the park. it showed it got on my car at 1:47pm at the park. and then it followed me to my parents' house, to the ice cream shop and back to my home at 3:02pm.

and it alerted me and it said, the last time the owner saw your location, i think, was at 3:02pm. and i was like, that's right, now i'm at home. right now. i'm at home. amber believes the device was placed somewhere on her car, but she hasn't been able to find it yet. we've spoken to six women dotted across america that have all told us a very similar story. a message that pops up onto their phone, telling them an unknown accessory has been moving with them. they all say it's pretty creepy. if you create an item which is useful for tracking stolen items, then you have also created a perfect tool for stalking. there is absolutely no doubt about it. this is not a sort of made—up harm. it is definitely happening. but many people that we've spoken to say that when they tell the police they don't know what to do, and when they tell apple support, they aren't

particularly helpful. like anna from georgia, who got a notification after going to the local supermarket. it is really scary. what i want apple to do is simply just require these devices to ask permission before you can be followed. apple told the bbc that they've put safeguards in place. safeguards in place, that airtags will beep if they're detected moving with an unregistered device, and that users with iphones will be notified. if you have an android phone, you can also download an app to detect unwanted airtags. but critics argue that apple, which is worth more than £2 trillion, should be doing a lot more to stop its products from being used to track and even stalk people. james clayton, bbc news, silicon valley. joining me now is dr catherine flick, reader in computing & social responsibility at de montfort university. thanks very much forjoining us. i must say, i have got one attached to

my keys here, which i havejust placed on the desk, because, yes, i am capable of losing them. so they can be incredibly useful, but as we have seen there, extraordinarily put to this terrible use as well as stalking people.— to this terrible use as well as stalking people. to this terrible use as well as stalkin: --eole. , . ., stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one. — stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one. and _ stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one, and i _ stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one, and i also _ stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one, and i also use _ stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one, and i also use it - stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one, and i also use it for - stalking people. yes, i mean, i also have one, and i also use it for my i have one, and i also use it for my keys, because i'm always losing them. they are extremely useful, and thatis them. they are extremely useful, and that is probably the main reason people buy them, because they are useful for that sort of thing. but as we have seen, they can also have this dual use where they can be used by people who intend harm to actually track people as well, and thatis actually track people as well, and that is a cause for concern. what can be done to try and prevent that? i think apple has done a lot to mitigate these sorts of concerns. it is important to remember that airtags arejust one it is important to remember that airtags are just one of the most visible versions of this technology. there are lots of types of tracking technology that uses much more powerful signals that are much more

accurate, to the direct spot you are in, they are very small, and can be hidden pretty much anywhere, and they are available for 40—50 us dollars from chinese online marketplaces. the thing is that these are very obvious, because people are actually being alerted to their presence because of some of their presence because of some of the things that apple have put in place to actually try to prevent this sort of use of that technology. at the moment, if you lose an airtag, which i have to say i did, anyone can pick it up and reset it and then use it for their own needs. also, at the moment, they are not that expensive. i think £16 at the moment. is there any way of trying to alert people, because obviously it is incredibly alarming, this thought of someone putting it into a bag to stalk somebody. yes. thought of someone putting it into a bag to stalk somebody.— bag to stalk somebody. yes, i think the lady from _ bag to stalk somebody. yes, i think the lady from the _ bag to stalk somebody. yes, i think the lady from the interview - bag to stalk somebody. yes, i think the lady from the interview was - the lady from the interview was correct in that there should be some

sort of notification. obviously, it will beat, and i have actually lost mine. ijust got a new iphone, and mine. ijust got a new iphone, and mine was not registered to my new iphone, so when i took my keys out in the car, it started beeping at me, and i thought, what is that noise? but it wasn't very loud. it was in my pocket, so i could hear it, but it was just sitting on the part of your car at the back or something like that, there is no way you would be able to hear it. i think that that is... there are a lot of issues with the kind of consent mechanisms in place. maybe registration, when it gets reset, that it requires some sort of registration, for instance, that could potentially happen. things like louder noises, and things when ifound like louder noises, and things when i found that it actually popped up the alert that i change that something was stalking me, essentially, that this was this unconnected one, it actually took quite a while to pop up, and by that stage i had driven halfway across the countryside, essentially. so these sorts of things could

potentially be sped up in terms of their notification rates and may be make the noise louder or something like that as well, just two maybe help to really drive it home. i'm sure we will see more and more of these, with all the pluses and minuses that go with them. but for now, thanks forjoining us. let's get more now on the conservative mp william wragg. he has urged incidents to be reported to the police. the labour shadow chancellor rachel reeves has said his accusations are very concerning. it is very concerning what a well respected and long serving mp like william wragg has said today, and i think it isjust william wragg has said today, and i think it is just another example of this government is acting within a national interest, but in its own party political interest, and i

would urge the government to start to think about what is in the good of our country and to start acting like it is one rule —— metro stop acting like it is one rule for them and one for everybody else. unions have warned that nhs dentistry is "hanging by a thread" with some patients waiting for years for routine check—ups. bbc analysis dound 950 dentists left the nhs in the last year bbc analysis found 950 dentists left the nhs in the last year across england and wales. the dentists were covering a total of 2,500 roles, as some worked in more than one region. the analysis shows about three quarters of practices in england have not updated their websites, to indicate whether or not they are accepting nhs patients, within the last three months. sharon grey from suffolk says she waited more than a year for treatment. i've filed them down with a metal file. i've superglued them back in, and managed to superglue most of my mouth as well. erm, fixadent to try and hold a bridge onto my teeth, that doesn't work either. i think i must have covered most things now.

i've worked all my life, paid my ni number. i worked for the nhs, even, and i was left in this situation. i think it's diabolical. joe hendron is a dentist for st michael's dental practice in wakefield. he's also chair of yorkshire and humber local dental committee. hejoins me now. thanks very much for your time. i can't say visiting the dentist is always necessarily the most pleasurable experience, but lots of people obviously went for a long time without going to the dentist because of covid, and that has caused a lot of problems, hasn't it? it has, yes. dental practices had to close down at the end of march and reopen again in earlyjune of 2020, because we simply didn't have the ppe or facilities to be able to treat patients properly and effectively, when we didn't know

very much about the covid pandemic. there is probably 38 million visits that have been lost in this time, and now, as we are starting to come out of the covid situation, we are starting to look at that backlog, but it's a massive backlog that we need to get through. that is on top of trying to deal with urgent care and more vulnerable patients in need to be seen. what sort of things are you seeing? we are seeing a lot of tooth decay, a lot of gum disease. a lot of colleagues have picked up lesions and tumours which would not necessarily have been noticed and can hopefully get them referred to the hospital service to have them checked out, but it's reallyjust two years of unsupervised neglect, really, for the population's teeth,

and even the regular patients that we see are coming in, and they do have considerable needs. and are you seeing colleagues leave dentistry also?— dentistry also? yes, this has been a roblem dentistry also? yes, this has been a problem way _ dentistry also? yes, this has been a problem way before _ dentistry also? yes, this has been a problem way before covid. - dentistry also? yes, this has been a problem way before covid. and - problem way before covid. and because of the contract we have had, which was condemned by the health select committee back in 2009, there are increasing numbers of colleagues, either deciding to work outside nhs dentistry or in fact leave the profession altogether at a much earlier age than retirement. and this is really the tip of the iceberg unless something is radically done about this nhs contract that we have.- radically done about this nhs contract that we have. what needs to chan . e, contract that we have. what needs to chance, in contract that we have. what needs to change. in your— contract that we have. what needs to change, in your view? _ change, in your view? at the moment, the contract is limited. each practice has a limited budget to produce a certain degree

of activity. now, there are practices that might get to this time of the year, or they may have facilities that could take on additional dentists to see additional dentists to see additional patients, but there is not the funding. the funding is not transferred to that practice because of the rules of the commissioners. the other problem is that dentists on the nhs get paid the same amount to do one feeling as they do for ten fillings, which requires multiple visits. that is just no way that we can run any kind of business under those circumstances. and there's a lot of my colleagues have had enough. not only dentistry, but hygienist, therapists and dental nurses are also leaving the profession, because their morale is at rock bottom. thank you very much indeed. we will have to leave it there. president biden has warned russia that it will pay dearly if it invades ukraine. in a news conference marking his first full year in office,

mr biden predicted president putin would "move in" on ukraine, but said he didn't think moscow wanted a full—blown war. our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue reports. gunfire. ever since russia began its build—up of troops on the ukrainian border, america has been threatening wide ranging economic sanctions, if vladimir putin went ahead with an invasion. now the us president is predicting that his russian counterpart will make a move on ukraine, testing the west. and while us troops would not be involved, the president said the consequences would be deadly. the cost of going into ukraine in terms of physical loss of life for the russians, and they will be able to prevail over time, but it's going to be heavy. it's going to be real. it's going to be consequential. at home, the administration's handling of covid has been severely criticised, particularly for the slow response on testing. now a billion tests will be available for americans to take

at home, and the president promised no more lockdowns. i'm not going to give up and accept things as they are now. some people may call what's happening now the new normal. i call it a job not yet finished. it will get better. we are moving toward a time when covid—19 won't disrupt our daily lives. the president claimed credit for bringing unemployment down and passing covid relief and infrastructure legislation. but with inflation high, and other bills being blocked, he blamed republicans for not getting more done. i did not anticipate that there'd be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that president biden didn't get anything done. joe biden believes his first year has seen important progress on the economy, on covid and on infrastructure. but with key parts of his legislative programme mired in congress, and a looming crisis

with russia, there are huge challenges ahead, not least those mid—term elections in november. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, at the white house. just to follow—up report on the vatican. it has been reported by the news agencies that the vatican has expressed shame and remorse over the abuse claims reported from germany. just to remind you of those details, sources are saying that the man who became pope benedict xvi, between 1977 and 1982 archbishop rap singer, who presided over a german diocese, and lawyers who investigated historic child abuse that he allowed to preach criminally convicted of abuse to continue working for him and that he was aware of crimes of

another priest, a known paedophile who was transferred to the dioceses. benedict has aware he was not aware of the man's background, but this report that has come out contains minutes which strongly suggest he was present at a meeting at which the subject was discussed, despite his claim to the contrary. so the vatican has responded to that report expressing their shame and remorse. two men have been arrested in birmingham and manchester as part of the investigation into the texas synagogue attack. british—born malik faisal—akram was shot dead by us police on saturday, after holding four people hostage in a synagogue. they escaped unharmed. an audio recording obtained by thejewish chronicle seems to reveal the brother of british gunman malik faisal akram, urging him to surrender. the bbc is unable to vouch for its authenticity but experts believe it to be genuine. i'm not going to flinch, man.

you know, you don't need to do this, whatever you're doing, man. just pack it in. you'll get a bit of time, and you'll come out. mani come back to blackburn. do you know what i mean? he's come back last week. do you know what i mean? he's done his time. whatever you're doing, man, think about your kids. man, think about... no, no, no, no, no. my kids... these guys you've got there, they're innocent people, man. with more on the investigation, here's our security correspondent, frank gardner. the centre of the investigation is really in the north west of the uk because the perpetrator, malik faisal akram, came from blackburn, lancashire, so the investigation here in the uk is being led by counterterrorism police in the north west. we saw earlier some arrests in greater manchester. two people were questioned but eventually released without charge. there will probably be more arrests, which is quite normal in an investigation like this. the investigators — police,

m15 and fbi — all want to know was anyone else involved? did anyone encourage him on this or was it reallyjust one person doing something entirely of his own back? there some unanswered questions. not only how was he able to fool m15 that he was not a threat, but also how was he able to get into the united states with a known criminal record? he had a violent temper and was banned from several courts, had been involved in a drugs deal — all of that, and yet he was able to walk throuthfk airport in new york, spend two weeks drifting around texas, acquire a weapon, walk into a synagogue and hold four people hostage. it is incredible that more people were not hurt. i think it is important to say that this has not only been branded a terrorist attack by presidentjoe biden, but an anti—semitic attack by liz truss, the foreign secretary, because it was a synagogue that was attacked and chosen. initially, the fbi said that was irrelevant. it is not irrelevant. it is absolutely key. in the rest of that interview that thejewish chronicle got hold of, he is ranting againstjews.

it is a very anti—semitic attack. frank gardner. more on the prime minister's future, and in the last few minutes, the conservative mp steve baker says it does look like checkmate for the prime minister. he has been speaking to the bbc�*s nick robinson for his podcast. it is a sorry situation we are in. i'm appalled we have reached this position. we didn't make boris johnson prime minister for position. we didn't make boris johnson prime ministerfor his meticulous grasp of tedious rules, but this is appalling, and the public are rightly furious, so at the moment, i'm afraid it does look like checkmate, but whether he can save himself, we will see. steve baker there. you can watch the full interview on political thinking with nick robinson, he was here in the news channel on saturday at 830 pm. events are moving very quickly, of course. just to let you know, nicola sturgeon has described government policies outlined in the last few

days as utterly despicable and a sign of moral decay, the heart of the uk government. she was speaking first ministers questions, referring to a proposal to use military resources to deal with asylum seekers in the english channel and plans to cut the funding of the bbc and review the licence fee. ms sturgeon said that both were part of an attempt to divert attention from what she called the prime minister's self—inflicted problems. scientists have calculated how much water went into the south atlantic ocean when the world's biggest iceberg, a68, broke off from antartica in 2017 and started melting. they say it was dumping more than 1.5 billion tonnes of fresh water into the ocean every single day. that's around 150 times the amount of water used daily by the uk population. earlier, we spoke to one of the lead researchers, dr anne braakman—folgmann. so, we have used satellite data from different satellite sensors and combinations to calculate this volume loss. one kind of satellite sensor is basically imagery that we take from space.

it can tell us about the iceberg area, and how the iceberg breaks apart. then we need a different kind of satellite, which kind of measures the distance from the satellite to the surface. there, we can see how the iceberg thins or melts from underneath, as the height changes. and then we can combine basically the thickness measurement and the area measurement to calculate the volume change, and therefore also how much fresh water is released, or how the mass of the iceberg changed. so, in terms of global warming, this iceberg mainly melted because it went northwards into warmer waters around south georgia. so, it is not unexpected that it melts, i would say. but what icebergs can actually tell us about climate change is, as they already experienced these warmer conditions, warmer ocean temperature and warmer air temperatures, we can use them as a proxy for how ice shelves

in antarctica might respond to the warmer conditions, if they would be present in the future. in a moment, the bbc news at one with reeta chakrabarti. look now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. like your winter weather cold and crisp, today should be right up your alley. plenty of sunshine out there. feeling cold after a frosty start. another frost settling and in many places. high pressure moving and means a lot of settled weather on the horizon. by now, the further you are away from the high, which is really down the north sea coast, there is still a brisk breeze out there, and some areas of cloud, and then a few areas of showers clipping then a few areas of showers clipping

the coast of north yorkshire down to east anglia. increasing cloud later in north—west scotland may produce a few spots of light rain. areas of cloud ran in northern ireland, but for many places, unbroken sunshine this afternoon. seven in belfast, 3-4 this afternoon. seven in belfast, 3—4 in the cotswolds. there is wind chill to contend with here, and the wind ease again tonight. overnight, while many will stay clear, claudia northern ireland, increasing in northern and western scotland. claudia goes into a void of frost, whereas elsewhere, hard frost them last night, —6 in the coldest countryside parts of central and southern england. in the morning, you will see some sunshine, and for many of us, central and eastern areas, that will continue throughout friday. cloudy and western scotland, northern ireland, and north—west england, and cloud putting in tomorrow in wales as the afternoon goes on. temperatures tomorrowjust a bit higher. with more cloud around into tomorrow night, that will limit the extent of the frost, and clear skies continue, particularly towards the east and south—east of england, but even here, the frost is not going to be as hard as it is in the

coming night. we are chilly at the moment, as we look at our temperature anomaly map here. it departs from average temperatures, a hint of blue indicating we are colder than average right now. through the weekend, notice how northern areas and particularly in scotland, temperatures are going to be edging up above average, whereas there isn't a huge of change further south. the further south you are, closer to the centre of high pressure, the areas are moving very much. frost and fog continues to be a possibility, whereas around the area of high pressure across much of the uk, we are introducing more cloud, milderweather, a the uk, we are introducing more cloud, milder weather, a strong wind in northern scotland, and the chance of rain at times this weekend, but it is northern scotland that over the weekend will be seeing higher temperatures. into double figures in places. not a huge amount of change the further south you are, though across southern and eastern england, you are likely to see occasional sunshine.

a senior conservative accuses the government of intimidating mps over their support for a no—confidence vote in boris johnson. in parliament this morning, william wragg said tory rebels had been threatened with damaging publicity and removal of constituency funding. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. more over, the reports of which i'm aware would seem to constitute blackmail. number 10 calls the allegations serious and says any evidence to support the claims will be looked at carefully. we'll have all the latest from westminster. also this lunchtime: facemasks are no longer required in schools and workers can return to the office — as covid restrictions in england are eased. survivors of institutional child

abuse in northern ireland will finally receive an official public apology.