franklin has cleared away so we're not expecting another named storm this week but what we are expecting some more wet and windy weather. i think the wind is less of a problem but more rain for areas that could really do without it. we've still got flood warnings in force across england and wales, one for scotland too and two severe flood warnings for the river severn. this is the picture in worcester. so, more rain arriving tonight into tomorrow, that's courtesy of this approaching weather front. that's courtesy of this approaching weatherfront. storm franklin has cleared off towards the east, so a bit of a choir spell of weather at the moment in between systems. this evening and overnight, one or two showers across parts of eastern england. a lot of dry weather tonight but during the second half of the night, the cloud increases through the west and we see this band of heavy rain arriving across northern ireland and north—west scotland by the morning. lowest temperatures in the east where we keep those clearer skies and light winds for longest but tomorrow morning, dominated by this weather system that's going to bring yet

more rain to some of those areas already seeing that intense flooding. the rain clears away from scotland and northern ireland fairly quickly tomorrow. pushing eastwards, tending to fizzle out by the time it reaches the south—east. by the afternoon we are in some drier weather so sunny spells and a few showers around too. temperatures ranging between five and stornaway to 13 in london. as we move through tuesday night and into wednesday, a quieter spell once again because we've got high pressure sitting to the south and another weather front moving in on wednesday bringing some rain to northern ireland and scotland. some snow on top of the mountains. the england and wales, a dry spell of weather. still quite breezy but not those strong damaging winds we've seen over recent days. temperatures around 7—11. it looks like there is day brings another fairly breezy, cooler, showery day. things are turning drier by friday but all those warnings can be found on the website.—

on the website. that's all from the bbc news at _ on the website. that's all from the bbc news at six. _ hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm chetan pathak, coming up on tonight's programme: with athletes heading home, what lessons can be learned by team gb after a frustrating winter olympics in beijing? novak djokovic returns to action for the first time this year. we will have the latest from the dubai tennis championships. the premier league title race is back on with liverpool believing again. we weigh up their chances of catching manchester city. and what next for amir khan and kell brook? after

theirfeud was finally amir khan and kell brook? after their feud was finally settled in manchester. got excited they are with all of thatjurgen klopp fist pumping! welcome along, thank you forjoining us. 2a hours on from the closing ceremony, as team gb's athletes continue to return home from beijing, the focus shifts to what can be learnt from these games. the weekend finally provided medals — thanks to the curling teams — including gold for the women on the final day — but that doesn't take away from the fact that a total of two medals is fewer than the minimum target set before the olympics. patrick geary reports. in the end, eve delivered. the long wait for a british gold in beijing was over, eventually. that

wait for a british gold in bei'ing was over, eventuallyfi wait for a british gold in bei'ing was over, eventually. that it, the handshakes _ was over, eventually. that it, the handshakes come, _ was over, eventually. that it, the handshakes come, it _ was over, eventually. that it, the handshakes come, it is _ was over, eventually. that it, the handshakes come, it is a - was over, eventually. that it, the handshakes come, it is a gold - was over, eventually. that it, the - handshakes come, it is a gold medal. they are to salute that moment, the men's curling team which earned silva, britain's first medal of the game is awarded on its second last day, so had the stones covered over the cracks in the team gb performances? we the cracks in the team gb performances?— the cracks in the team gb performances? the cracks in the team gb erformances? ~ ., performances? we had come off the back of that — performances? we had come off the back of that incredible _ performances? we had come off the back of that incredible performance l back of that incredible performance by the men's and women's curling teams, and we are thrilled for them that they achieve their ambitions but beset that against a backdrop of the ambition becoming here of between three and seven medals, it is disappointing. that between three and seven medals, it is disappointing-— is disappointing. that 3-7 medals tar: et was is disappointing. that 3-7 medals target was backed _ is disappointing. that 3-7 medals target was backed by _ is disappointing. that 3-7 medals target was backed by more - is disappointing. that 3-7 medals target was backed by more than l is disappointing. that 3-7 medals . target was backed by more than £122 million worth of cash from uk sport. curling received 5.2 million, less than skiing and snowboarding which picked up 9.5 million without winning a medal, but that covers a variety of events. bob and got £120,000. pilot brad all had to raise the rest of the money himself. that is why he said reaching sixth

place in the four—man bob was as good as reaching the podium. bimth good as reaching the podium. sixth lace is good as reaching the podium. sixth place is the — good as reaching the podium. sixth place is the best _ good as reaching the podium. sixth place is the best that _ good as reaching the podium. s xiii place is the best that we could do, we performed extremely well, the guys pushed so well, the last four years have been a truly tough, we've had one of the most successful seasons in modern bobsleigh and coming sex and the olympics is incredible. coming sex and the olympics is incredible-— incredible. britain's skeleton athletes had _ incredible. britain's skeleton athletes had support - incredible. britain's skeleton athletes had support behind| incredible. britain's skeleton - athletes had support behind them -- athletes had support behind them —— coming sixth in the olympics. it all went badly downhill in beijing for the skeleton team. the went badly downhill in bei'ing for the skeleton teamfi the skeleton team. the british equipment. — the skeleton team. the british equipment, and _ the skeleton team. the british equipment, and it _ the skeleton team. the british equipment, and it has - the skeleton team. the british equipment, and it has been i the skeleton team. the british | equipment, and it has been the the skeleton team. the british - equipment, and it has been the same all season, has not been running. many believe that the sled itself was to blame. i many believe that the sled itself was to blame.— was to blame. i didn't have the seed, i was to blame. i didn't have the speed. i feel — was to blame. i didn't have the speed, i feel like _ was to blame. i didn't have the speed, ifeel like i _ was to blame. i didn't have the speed, i feel like i executed i was to blame. i didn't have the speed, i feel like i executed al was to blame. i didn't have the - speed, i feel like i executed a good game _ speed, i feel like i executed a good game plan, — speed, i feel like i executed a good game plan, i came to the block in a good _ game plan, i came to the block in a good frame — game plan, i came to the block in a good frame of mind. sometimes in sport— good frame of mind. sometimes in sport you _ good frame of mind. sometimes in sport you can't explain everything and i_ sport you can't explain everything and i don't — sport you can't explain everything and i don't know where the speed went_ and i don't know where the speed went today, honestly.— and i don't know where the speed went today, honestly. there will be four ears went today, honestly. there will be four years to _ went today, honestly. there will be four years to learn _ went today, honestly. there will be four years to learn lessons - went today, honestly. there will be four years to learn lessons and - four years to learn lessons and right wrongs, the long climb to

milan cortina starts now. as you saw in paddy's report, there are questions being asked around value for money and whether there needs to be a rethink about the way funding is distributed. earlier, the chair of uk sport, katherine grainger, was here to answer those questions. she spoke to holly hamilton, and started by addressing the medalfailure in one of the sports that receives the most funding, skeleton. the most important thing is we don't jump the most important thing is we don't jump to conclusions. there will be many reasons why those performances were not as good as people hoped. there have been discussions already. i don't want to speculate yet. we have to hear from the sport themselves. only they know what went on in the last two weeks, and for years, and what will help going forward, because we believe in that programme, we have brilliant people reading it. and it is hard to hear from the athletes, who are the most disappointed of all of us that they can't perform how they want to do, so we need to take a little time to

really drill down into what was good for some sports, and what wasn't good for others, and where we can learn better. good for others, and where we can learn better-— good for others, and where we can learn better. lessons being learned as a big part — learn better. lessons being learned as a big part of— learn better. lessons being learned as a big part of this. _ learn better. lessons being learned as a big part of this. the _ learn better. lessons being learned as a big part of this. the messages| as a big part of this. the messages we are getting from people is, why do we put this funding at all into winter sports? we don't have the geography for it, we are not like norway or sweden. it is a case for some people of, why bother? it is norway or sweden. it is a case for some people of, why bother? it is a fair question — some people of, why bother? it is a fair question that _ some people of, why bother? it is a fair question that should _ some people of, why bother? it is a fair question that should be - fair question that should be answered, because this is public money, there is a responsibility to spend money well. what we see is, winter sports plays a huge part in the olympic family, so every four years we have the summer sports, offset that, every two years, we get the winter games and it feels important that the winter sports playing in a different audience, a different sporting event to watch, slightly younger, that might not engage with the summer sports we are used to, we get different people joining in and being part of the winter games, so it is important to make sure sport is relevant to as many people as possible so that

means that diversity of sport should match the rest this country. we don't have a mountains to compete with some other countries but we have lots of incredible home—grown talent that can do things on snow domes, curling rinks, so the potential is still there, and we might say yes, you might have followed summer sports for a long time but we feel equally passionate about winter sports, and that is part of the showcase port has in this country, and we should be proud of it. this country, and we should be proud of it, ., , ., ~' of it. some arguments, taking the focus away — of it. some arguments, taking the focus away from _ of it. some arguments, taking the focus away from the _ of it. some arguments, taking the focus away from the meadows, i of it. some arguments, taking the i focus away from the meadows, setting an example for the future, but it is hard when we look at this and look at the amount of funding laurie has put into this and the geography that they have, and they consistently come out on top, punching well above their weight, to be honest and great britain all the way down here. is it about the medals? is that the most important thing?— important thing? yes, the medals matter. it gives _ important thing? yes, the medals matter. it gives a _ important thing? yes, the medals matter. it gives a platform - important thing? yes, the medals matter. it gives a platform for i matter. it gives a platform for celebration and inspiration, but it is beyond medals as well. we have

never had long track speed skaters for three or four decades competing for three or four decades competing for team gb for three or four decades competing forteam gb and for three or four decades competing for team gb and we suddenly have 16 and 17 euros lighting up the slopes. there is lots of potential coming through. they didn't bring back medals, but they brought back incredible stories and drama that will engage with, so we need to be open—minded about, notjust the medal count, yes this matters, because that responsibility to deliver success is what are about, but we also have to define how you define success, that public reach is as important, right now. katherine grainger speaking to holly - as important, right now. katherine. grainger speaking to holly hamilton earlier. away from team gb's performance — these were a winter olympics restrained by a pandemic and engulfed in questions about china's human rights record. should beijing have been allowed to host the games in the first place, has been a familar discussion point. the chief executive of the british olympic association says he thinks the ioc won't want to hold another olympics with the same questions hanging over it.

i understand why the ioc came here in the first place, it is a massive commercial market for everyone. trade between china and britain last year topped $100 billion for the last time so they are meeting —— major trading partners so you're looking at why you would create a commercially successful games, but we do not condone the human rights stuff, we're not saying that it is fine, it is the opposite but ourjob is to get the team here and make sure the athletes could come here and compete to the best of their ability. looking the ioc may have realised that this was tough for everyone involved, the games coming up everyone involved, the games coming up in milan cortina, via paris, la, brisbane, less controversial, so hopefully, lessons have been learned and we can look forward to some fantastic games in the future without those same issues. hate without those same issues. note d'okovic without those same issues. note djokovic is _ without those same issues. note djokovic is playing _ without those same issues. note djokovic is playing competitive tennis for the first time since the australian open, he missed because of his vaccine status, he is playing

in the dubai tennis championships. more on that in a moment. andy murray is through to the next round. he came from a set down, this was showing all of his battling qualities to get back where he needed it, and injust under three hours, it is a slog for andy murray nowadays, isn't it, but you cannot question his commitment and determination, having suffered that heavy defeat to roberto bautista agut, well, he got thejob done against o'connell. facing the world ten —— road number ten next. a good win for andy murray. i am joined by tennis correspondent russell fuller who was watching that. it is always like that for andy murray. he had that terrible defeat to rba but he is getting himself over the line, but it is hard work and it certainly was today.

but it is hard work and it certainly was today-— was today. within the last six months or — was today. within the last six months or so, _ was today. within the last six months or so, he _ was today. within the last six months or so, he is _ was today. within the last six months or so, he is winning l was today. within the last six j months or so, he is winning a was today. within the last six i months or so, he is winning a match they're losing in the second round, with the exception of the event in sydneyjust before with the exception of the event in sydney just before the with the exception of the event in sydneyjust before the australian open, where he reached the final, and that looked like it could be a first tour title for over two years, but it has been a struggle over the last couple of weeks and that was a real grind against the qualifier christopher o'connell today but he produced a magic you saw to close it out, that bloody mindedness lives on, that after determination, and he still looks remarkably fit. he is just not playing as well as we know he can and that is sense of frustration, with quite a few racket smashes from andy murray in that match. q; . , . smashes from andy murray in that match. 5: . , ., ., smashes from andy murray in that match. g; . , ., ., , , match. 34, he has a metal hip, still auoin match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong. _ match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong. got — match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong, got all— match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong, got all the _ match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong, got all the way i match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong, got all the way to i match. 34, he has a metal hip, still going strong, got all the way to the i going strong, got all the way to the final in the sydney classic, underwhelming in the australia open, but he manages himself carefully. what is his potential this year, realistically?— what is his potential this year, realistically? what is his potential this year, realisticall ? ._ , ._ realistically? the way he played in s dne , it

realistically? the way he played in sydney. it is _ realistically? the way he played in sydney. it is now _ realistically? the way he played in sydney, it is now six _ realistically? the way he played in sydney, it is now six months i realistically? the way he played in sydney, it is now six months of i sydney, it is now six months of remarkably impressive fitness. he does still have that opportunity to perhaps have a really good run at wimbledon this year. that is one of his ambitions for the year, to go deep into the second week of one of the grand slams, wimbledon being the obvious place to do that with the home support, with his record and the fact he's playing on grass, as well, where many players do not have anything like his skills, on that surface. i think he feels that he can win atp tournaments again and his fitness suggests it can, and we know that the tennis will come, so i think there is still a lot to look forward to for andy murray, in 2022. novak djokovic is an action against lorenzo mazzetti, good to see him back playing after all the talk surrounding his vaccine status in australia, but it is significant for medvedev and the fight to become world number one, because it has been a long time since one of the

big four has not been a top men's player. big four has not been a top men's -la er. , r , big four has not been a top men's -la er. ,�* , ., player. yes, andy roddick in february _ player. yes, andy roddick in february 2004 _ player. yes, andy roddick in february 2004 was - player. yes, andy roddick in february 2004 was the i player. yes, andy roddick in february 2004 was the last. player. yes, andy roddick in i february 2004 was the last man player. yes, andy roddick in - february 2004 was the last man not called djokovic, federer, nadaland murray to be world number one, but that will almost certainly happen in the next few weeks, because daniil medvedev has a chance to become world number one next monday if he wins the title in acapulco this week, irrespective of what know that djokovic does in dubai, 2—1, jock itch, in the first step in that first round match against lorenzo mazzetti, and after that, jock if it has an uncertain period coming up because the rules at the moment suggest he will not be able to play in the masters series in indian wells and miami next month so it is almost certain that they know medvedev will overtake him as the world number one. djokovic has got to play where he can play, he is saying. he is going to be restricted over the next couple of months, and as a result he is almost certainly

going to lose that number one ranking. going to lose that number one rankinr. , ., . going to lose that number one rankinr. , . .,, going to lose that number one rankinr. , . , going to lose that number one rankinr. . , ranking. d'okovic has his nose in front at ranking. djokovic has his nose in front at the _ ranking. djokovic has his nose in front at the moment _ ranking. djokovic has his nose in front at the moment against i front at the moment against mazzetti. thank you, forjoining us. well, ahead of round three of the six nations,including england against wales this weekend, let's take a look now at some of the latest news from the teams. wales have had a boost ahead of their trip to twickenham, with taulupe faletau back in the squad — after recovering from injury. the british and irish lions back rower played 80 minutes on saturday in his second game back for bath after seven months out injured. scotland head coach gregor townsend has added six players to his squad to face france on saturday. jonny gray was among the big names to drop out due to injury. uncapped glasgow warriors duo ollie smith and kiran mcdonald are drafted in, along with simon berghan, oli kebble, marshall sykes and james lang. and james lowe is back in the ireland squad for their match against italy on sunday. the leinster wing missed the first two matches of this year's six nations with injury.

it looks like the premier league title race is back on — although pep guardiola never believed it was over, even when manchester city were seemingly running away with it. their defeat to spurs means the lead over liverpool isjust six points now. they have a game in hand and play city later in the season. so how optimistic should liverpool fans be feeling? the football news show on iplayer has been getting the thoughts of neil atkinson from the anfield wrap. liverpool were always going to come there or thereabouts towards the end of this season. no surprises for me. i am very much in pep guardiola scamp. we could see that bear fruit. liverpool dropped silly points in the first half of the season, and have not looked a serious proposition as in the past but since the turn of the year they have been rather relentless and will chase man city until the very end. they definitely can beat them at the etihad stop they have been beaten by crystal palace there and tottenham

hotspur. city came to anfield and were excellent but liverpool were ahead in that game twice, at 1—0, 2-1, ahead in that game twice, at 1—0, 2—1, and unfortunately got back on both occasions for liverpool. but they are playing some of the best football we have seen in this country by some distance, both favourites for the champions league in europe and we should be privileged to watch them duking it out, week in, week out, from now until the end of the season. it will be a serious, serious run in. next, to two incidents in a heated match between leeds and manchester united yesterday. it was the first time elland road was at full capacity for a game against their lancashire rivals since marcelo bielsa's side were promoted back to the premier league in 2020. and after some scuffles between fans in the city before kick—off, the trouble then spilled over on to the pitch. united's anthony elanga here was struck by a flying object thrown by home supporters as he celebrated united's third goal.

west yorkshire police said a total of nine arrests were made for offences which include the throwing of missiles. leeds says they're reviewing cctv footage to identify those causing trouble and will impose lifetime bans on any supporter found to have thrown objects towards the pitch. as far as as farasi as far as i know, there is some investigation going on from leeds united. i don't think that anything happened in the end, anthony elanga looked well and was happy about scoring his goal. yeah, obviously, things like that should not happen and even this game, even more so this game, the atmosphere was great, at times you had to cool down things on the pitch a little bit which is what i try to do when i walked onto the pitch, i didn't want anything to happen, yellow, or red card, and in moments like this i think it is important to try to cool things down. there was controversy

on the pitch too. the pfa says concussion protocols are failing to prioritise player safety, after leeds' robin koch left the field following a clash of heads. koch collided with united's scott mctominay in the first half but stayed on the field for almost another 20 minutes. his club say koch passed all of the on—field concussion screening tests, and the player himself tweeted, saying he wanted to support the team for longer yesterday, let's have a quick look at some of the other stories making the sports news today. mark cavendish sprinted to victory on stage two of the tour of the uae in abu dhabi. he edged outjasper philipsen and is now up to third overall, six seconds behind the belgian who leads the race. sir mo farah will be hoping to secure an eighth victory in the vitality london 10,000 in may. the race is returning to the centre of the capital for the first time since he last won it in 2019. farah hasn't competed since last june after breaking his foot which saw him miss out on the tokyo olympics.

disability golf has received a boost with a revamped and renamed "golf for the disabled" tour announced today — with more tournaments and investment for the european disabled golf association. the dp world tour — formally known as the european tour — will increase its support, to take the tour semi—professional. next, the proposed saudi backed gull super league is dead in the water, according to rory mcilroy after two big—name golfers ruled themselves out, bryson dechambeau and dustin johnson free —— reaffirmed their commitment to the pga tour. more from ian carter. _ commitment to the pga tour. more from ian carter. johnson _ commitment to the pga tour. more from ian carter. johnson use - commitment to the pga tour. ire from ian carter. johnson use the pga tour social media outlet to outline that he is behind this established american circuit. bryson dechambeau took to his own social media channels to say that, as long as the best players in the world were

continuing to play on the pga tour, thatis continuing to play on the pga tour, that is exactly where he would continue to play his golf. there are, we think, some players still interested, but significantly, all of the big names, the youngest stars, have aligned themselves with the pga tour, and without the big names, the likes of bryson dechambeau and dustinjohnson, who were the big names that greg norman and his colleagues, in terms of trying to launch this super league, were hoping that they would be able to hang this project around, without them, it does look dead in the water. on saturday night in manchester — almost two decades after their rivalry began — the world finally got to see what would happen if amir khan got in the ring with kell brook. we could have done with it years earlier, but the battle of the 35—year—olds still made fascinating viewing, with brook ultimately — and convincingly — coming out on top, and settling their bitter feud. battered and bruised, with rubbery legs, was stopped in the sixth —

and speaking afterwards, suggested this could be the end. i always said that i wanted to retire from boxing, not boxing retiring me. isure retire from boxing, not boxing retiring me. i sure a retire from boxing, not boxing retiring me. isure a big heart and played some big shots, but too much can sometimes be harmful in the future, you know? iwill sit can sometimes be harmful in the future, you know? i will sit down with my wife and my family, and see where we go from here. with more on this, boxing commentator steve bunce — who was covering the fight. we appreciate your time,. for me it was emotional watching them go at it. how did it feel being there? really emotional. both of them were 12-13, really emotional. both of them were 12—13, school boyjunior boxes, and i have watched this rivalry for up to 17 years, 81 points, 44 title fights, 15 world title fights and nearly 60 top of the bills. i have

grown up with these. i have been around them and seeing them come together, it was really draining for me, really emotional. 19,000 people, it sold out in six minutes, and they absolutely delivered, the pair of them, they delivered. bhiir absolutely delivered, the pair of them, they delivered. amir khan, i'm not sure how — them, they delivered. amir khan, i'm not sure how much _ them, they delivered. amir khan, i'm not sure how much more _ them, they delivered. amir khan, i'm not sure how much more he - them, they delivered. amir khan, i'm not sure how much more he showed l them, they delivered. amir khan, i'm. not sure how much more he showed on saturday night. you heard from him there. is it time for him to call it a day, and do you think he will retire? i a day, and do you think he will retire? ~ retire? i think he will retire. he has close _ retire? i think he will retire. he has close family _ retire? i think he will retire. he has close family around - retire? i think he will retire. he has close family around him, i retire? i think he will retire. he i has close family around him, they know that he has got nothing less, but we witnessed and old man coming up but we witnessed and old man coming up against an older man. the timing was gone, directions were gone, and he is going to know, until kell brook caught him for the first time thatis brook caught him for the first time that is when he realised it was over. he showed bravery and heart and guts and desire, to carry it

into five full rounds and 51 seconds of the six, but he should never be allowed to step in the ring again, but he has been a great servant. he absolutely has total domination from kell brook. what impressed you most from him �*s it wasn't necessarily a case of turning the clock back. it case of turning the clock back. iii was a chiselled, calm, dangerous, vicious kell. i interviewed him in the changing rooms for 5live, and i was looking at kell and trying to find a mark on his shoulders, back, elbows, something to show that he had been in the ring, he looked fantastic, while amir khan looked terrible, but kell brook made time stand still. how good he looked, while amir khan was so bad. kell brook, i tell you what, he reversed the clock, he really did.

conor benn and chris eubankjr called out brook shortly after the fight — but having just seen what happened to khan in front of his eyes — how careful does he need to be about taking another fight? he told me about two hours ago that he was —— does not want to go out like amir khan went out. for someone like amir khan went out. for someone like connor ben, the son of the famous nigel benn and chris eubank son, for one of those to get in the ring with kell brook, for kell brook to agree to it, there would have to be a lot of, you know the word i'm going to use, money, enough money, and they will do it, if not, they won't do it, but he can hold his head up high and walk off into the sunset. that would be a realfairy tale ending to what we saw on saturday night. for kell to retire triumphant, a character, a hero, and kell brook rides off into the sunset, that is what we call a fairy tale ending. irate

sunset, that is what we call a fairy tale ending-— tale ending. we love your passion for the sport- _ tale ending. we love your passion for the sport. thank _ tale ending. we love your passion for the sport. thank you. - tale ending. we love your passion for the sport. thank you. thank . tale ending. we love your passion i for the sport. thank you. thank you to boxing commentator steve bunce. that's all from sportsday. we will keep you up—to—date with the tennis throughout the evening. goodbye. you're watching bbc news. i'm martine croxall. in a few minutes, we'll be crossing live to downing street for a news conference from borisjohnson on the day he announced a timetable to end all covid restrictions in england. the prime minister will bejoined by england's chief medical officer professor sir chris whitty and also the government's chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance. our health editor hugh pym is here. are pretty significant day, when you think we have been living under some sort of restrictions for almost two years. it sort of restrictions for almost two ears. , ., ., , years. it is hard to believe it really is _ years. it is hard to believe it really is two _ years. it is hard to believe it

really is two years. - years. it is hard to believe it really is two years. there i years. it is hard to believe it really is two years. there is| years. it is hard to believe it i really is two years. there is very dramatic announcements back in march 2020, of lockdown, something that had never happened in peacetime. and here we are, for england, the ending of legal restrictions. it is the legal bit that is the important thing. the key dates, february 24, for the end of isolation requirements, the requirement to self—isolate if you test positive, and the same for contacts. there will be just and the same for contacts. there will bejust guidance. and the same for contacts. there will be just guidance. and and the same for contacts. there will bejust guidance. and on and the same for contacts. there will be just guidance. and on april one, the end of universalfree testing, pcr and lateralflow, and the end of covid passes. so, there is quite a lot to digest there. the area of controversy in the next few days will be the ending of free lateral flow testing availability. if people are going to pay for them while they bother to take them at all? there could be cases that could go undetected. all? there could be cases that could go undetected-— go undetected. there is that, and the question _ go undetected. there is that, and the question of— go undetected. there is that, and the question of which _ go undetected. there is that, and the question of which vulnerable l the question of which vulnerable

groups get free testing availability. it isn't specified in the document. the document also specifies social care staff will get free testing. it doesn't mention the nhs. there has been some confusion over that with some government celsius indicating it will be providing it, so there is a lot of detail, and if you cannot test yourself because you don't want to go and pay for it, we don't know what the price will be, sold through pharmacies, isn't that going to be a disincentive for some people to bother to check whether they have got covid. iii bother to check whether they have not covid. ., got covid. if the legal requirement to self-isolate _ got covid. if the legal requirement to self-isolate has _ got covid. if the legal requirement to self-isolate has ended, - got covid. if the legal requirement to self-isolate has ended, we i got covid. if the legal requirement to self-isolate has ended, we will| to self—isolate has ended, we will be able to choose to continue to do so because their employer may not be sympathetic. so because their employer may not be sympathetic-— sympathetic. there is an issue for employers- _ sympathetic. there is an issue for employers- the — sympathetic. there is an issue for employers. the thrust _ sympathetic. there is an issue for employers. the thrust for - employers. the thrust for governments to take the state out of the equation and leave it to people's responsibility, including employers, to make clear to staff that they have a duty to their colleagues and whoever they are working for, to test if they have

got symptoms, and to stay away. in fact to stay away whatever their symptoms are, because it could be the virus. and that is quite a big change for people, knowing that it is down to them to stay away, not to come on into work and be brave about it, if they have got symptoms, to stay away, and to check if they have got covid through a lateral flow test. ., ., , ., , got covid through a lateral flow test. ., ., , ., test. throughout this last two ears, test. throughout this last two years. there _ test. throughout this last two years, there have _ test. throughout this last two years, there have been i test. throughout this last two years, there have been really| test. throughout this last two i years, there have been really quite differing views on the approach being taken, and there will now be different views on whether this is the right time for england to be removing these legal requirements. and what does the sign say? will it gives you certain bits of data and certain views, but it doesn't give a firm green light to a move like this. postaladmissions firm green light to a move like this. postal admissions are falling and if they continue to do so around the uk, cases remain high, relatively, but they have been coming down. there are fewer deaths, and the backdrop certainly looks brighter, but there's still a lot of

virus around in terms of people picking it up with mild symptoms, and i think most scientists and all experts would say this is not over, we are learning to live with covid, it is still out there and communities.- it is still out there and communities. ., ., ., , communities. you made a distinction at the beginning _ communities. you made a distinction at the beginning that _ communities. you made a distinction at the beginning that this _ communities. you made a distinction at the beginning that this is - communities. you made a distinction at the beginning that this is to i communities. you made a distinction at the beginning that this is to do i at the beginning that this is to do with england, because health is a devolved matter. the other nations of the united kingdom have done differently and continue to do so. northern ireland's legal restrictions lapsed last week. in scotland the first minister will announce a plan for scotland tomorrow, and wales, similarly, in due course, in terms of what they want to do, and there is already a row brewing over testing, because the uk government has been funding testing, and it may be the case in england, we know it is the case from april to first it will not be freely available universally, but the nations' governments are saying they still want funding, if they think there is a public health need for

testing. that has yet to be fully resolved.