damian grammaticas, _ elections. one will be watching. damian grammaticas, thank - elections.ive against the indian variant of the virus. belarus forces a ryanair plane with an opposition activist onboard to land in minsk, sparking condemnation from the eu. government ministers deny claims by the former downing street adviser dominic cummings that they pursued a policy of herd immunity in dealing with the coronavirus last year. the lead singer of eurovision's winning group maneskin has said he will undergo a voluntary drugs test, after footage from last night's show prompted speculation that he may have been taking drugs. the lead singer of eurovision's winning group maneskin has said —— eurovision has released a statement in which it says it's aware of the claims. damiano david and the band have strongly refuted the allegations. here they are speaking to journalists as they landed in rome a few hours ago. we told to the eu, and we told them we were totally available to do the tests, but they told us there was no need because they trusted us, but again, to shut down all the ru

damian grammaticas, thank ou ve streeting.rgeon has told borisjohnson it's a matter of when, not if the scottish people get a chance to choose if they want independence. she made the comments in a phone call to the prime minister this afternoon. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, says the first minister, nicola sturgeon, should focus on economic recovery from the pandemic. she says she will do that, but there is a clear mandate for another vote with a majority in the scottish parliament for pro—independence parties. here's our scotland editor, sarah smith. nicola sturgeon congratulating some of her brand—new msps who will bolster the pro—independence majority in the next scottish parliament. confident she has a strong mandate for an independence referendum, she still might eventually face the hurdle of a legal challenge from a uk government. will you see them in court if you have to? to have a referendum? i think we should probably all respect democracy. the snp won the election on a commitment for a referendum. when w

damian grammaticas _ inquiry into all of this. damian grammaticas at _ inquiry into all of this.| inquiry into all of this. damian - grammaticas at westminster, thank you. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are rosa prince, who's editor of the parliamentary magazine the house, and george eaton, the senior online editor at the new statesman. do stay with us for that here on bbc news. it is always a lively exchange of views. there's been another rise in the number of new coronavirus infections across the uk. 3,542 new cases were reported in the latest 2a hour period — that's the highest daily figure since the middle of april. ten more deaths have been reported. cases have been creeping up again over the past week — they're up 20%. in the vaccine roll—out, just over 236,000 people have had a covid vaccine in the last 2a hours. in total, more than 38.6 million people have now had their firstjab. that's more than 73% of the uk's adult population. more th

damian grammaticas there.loyment. it�*ll be joined by a fleet of warships from britain�*s allies on its voyage to southeast asia. the government insists the uk�*s not seeking a confrontation with china, but rather to strengthen ties with allies in the region and boost trade. here�*s our defence correspondent, jonathan beale. this morning, the longest—serving monarch arrived on britain�*s largest warship. two queen elizabeths, her majesty bidding farewell to the crew of the aircraft carrier she named and commissioned, about to sail east halfway around the world. moored alongside an american destroyer, one of six warships that will accompany her to the pacific. the navy says it is the most powerful uk maritime deployment in a generation, and the embodiment of global britain. so this is a tangible expression of how the country can go out into the world, and so we have a fantastic new capability, and when we deploy, it speaks to our values, our interests, what we stand for. the carrier�*s already been training wit

damian grammaticas, bbc news.d to return to their homes after one of the world�*s most active volcanoes erupted on saturday night. thousands of homes were destroyed and at least five people died in the rush to get away from the lava, which stopped just short of the city of goma. here�*s our africa correspondent reha kansara. —— at least 15. this is one of the world�*s deadliest volcanoes. mount nyiragongo erupted late saturday night, setting homes and roads on fire. the first warning came when a thick orange cloud illuminated the night sky. locals fled in desperation. some of them to neighbouring rwanda, others to a nearby town. translation: it's something we've never seen before. - we�*re all together, shaken. translation: we watched the whole neighbourhood go up in smoke. - the fire came right down to here. even now, we can still see lava. the last time nyiragongo erupted, its consequences were devastating. 250 people died and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. aid agencies say early warning systems faile

damian grammaticas, bbc news.allout in the labour party following on from that result. conservatives gain 239 councillors — labour down 301 councillors — liberal democrats almost unchanged — but a good performance for the green party — putting on 70 councillors. let's speak to our political correspondent helen catt who's in westminster. 0ne labourmp said 0ne labour mp said to me after the results sir keir starmer needs to forget about unity and just be a more decisive stronger leader, now sucking his deputy, i'm not sure that's what they had in mind. what's auoin on? that's what they had in mind. what's going on? there's _ that's what they had in mind. what's going on? there's a _ that's what they had in mind. what's going on? there's a lot _ that's what they had in mind. what's going on? there's a lot of— that's what they had in mind. what's going on? there's a lot of different l going on? there's a lot of different opinions in labour at the moment about what should change. both about the party and some believe a

damian grammaticas, bbc news.k at those results from council elections in england. conservatives gain 239 councillors. labour down 301 councillors. liberal democrats almost unchanged, but a good performance for the green party putting on 70 councillors. the uk prime minister borisjohnson has invited the leaders of the devolved nations to a summit on how to recoverfrom the pandemic. it follows the snp's fourth scottish parliament election win in a row and labour's win in the welsh parliament. nicola sturgeon said there could be "no democraticjustification" for blocking an independence vote and vowed to push ahead with her plans for a second referendum after the covid crisis is over. across scotland, victorious snp candidates are celebrating increasing their vote and winning a remarkable fourth term in government. kaukab stewart became the first woman of colour elected to the scottish parliament. whilst i may be the first, i will not be the last. and with a pro—independence majority in that parliament, nicola sturge

damian grammaticas, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news...e elections — he's already sacked his deputy angela rayner. nicola sturgeon and the snp win a historic fourth term, as the party sets its sights on a second referendum on scottish independence. labour did win a number of the mayoral contests, including sadiq khan installed for a second term as london's mayor. serious disruption on some of the uk's busiest rail lines continues today after cracks were discovered in some high speed trains. great western railway and london north eastern railway have advised passengers not to travel today. let's speak to our news correspondent sean dilley, who's at king's cross station. are passengers listening to that advice? it are passengers listening to that advice? , ., .,' are passengers listening to that advice? , ., ., advice? it started off almost sookil advice? it started off almost spookily quiet _ advice? it started off almost spookily quiet but _ advice? it started off almost spookily quiet but we - advice? it started off almost spookily quiet

tonight there've been more developments — damian grammaticas is here — and the man who did the interviewn a message to a sunday paper? has given a message to a sunday -a er? . has given a message to a sunday .a er? , ., has given a message to a sunday --aer? , . , has given a message to a sunday n-aer? , . .,~ . . paper? yes, a message to william and har , he paper? yes, a message to william and harry. he says — paper? yes, a message to william and harry. he says he _ paper? yes, a message to william and harry. he says he is — paper? yes, a message to william and harry, he says he is deeply _ paper? yes, a message to william and harry, he says he is deeply sorry, - harry, he says he is deeply sorry, he never wanted to hurt diana and he believes he did not. he said everything to do with the broadcasting and the timing of it was what she wanted. he said he knows that forging the documents was wrong and he regrets it, but he says he doesn't think it had any bearing on anything. well they match rejects the duke of cambridge's assertion that he fed his mother's paranoia and her decisions to r

that infamous interview has been speaking to the sunday times newspaper. 0ur correspondent damian grammaticasnd harry, he is deeply sorry. he says he never wanted to hurt diana and he doesn�*t believe that he did because he says everything, from the content of the interview to the broadcasting at the time of it was what she wanted. so he says that he knows the forging of the documents was wrong and he regrets it but he doesn�*t, he says, think that had any bearing on anything so he actually rejects the duke of cambridge�*s assertion that he fed his mother�*s paranoia and decisions to reject her own security. he says that those were complex decisions. he rejects her brother�*s statement that you can draw a line from the interview to her death, and for that, he says, "that the suggestion i�*m singularly responsible is, i think, unreasonable and unfair", but remember the enquiry by lord dyson found that he was devious, dishonest, and had lied, so people will draw their own conclusions. here in the uk, the queen has been meeting the crew of the royal navy�*s new flagship, hms queen elizabeth, as

damian grammaticas, bbc news. latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,235 new infections and five deaths in the latest 24—hour period. cases have been rising slowly over the past few weeks and the number of people who have now died is 127,721. in the vaccine roll—out, just over 200,000 people have received a first vaccine dose in the last 2a hours. in total, almost 38 million people have now had their firstjab. that's 72% of the adult population. nearly 557,000 people had their second dose in the past 2a hours and takes the overall number in that group, to more than 22.6 million or 43% of the adult population. the former bbc journalist martin bashir, who's been found to have used lies and fake documents to secure his 1995 interview with princess diana, has insisted he never intended to harm her. he told the sunday times that everything about the interview was done in line with the princess's wishes. here's our home editor mark easton. martin bashir, the bbc reporter whose lies and deception initiated the c

the bbc�*s damian grammaticas has been explaining the moves.f the opposition, sir keir starmer, has shifted a couple of people in his top team. basically, the shadow chancellor — that's the opposition finance spokesperson — has been moved out, she's been demoted and replaced by rachel reeves, who's a current mp. that's anneliese dodds who's lost that position. at the same time, the party chair position, who was also the election campaign coordinator, angela rayner, she has been shifted. but it seems that she has actually dug her heels in and ended up with quite a powerful position, overseeing the opposition�*s approach to what they say is called the leveling up agenda. that's what the government here calls its efforts to redistribute economic opportunities toward more deprived areas that have fallen behind, and that particularly goes to the heart of some the election losses, the labour party seeing their loss in a crucial by—election in hartlepool last week. that was one of their heartland going to the government, seizing that constituency. so

our correspondent damian grammaticas has been analysing his statements.nces william and harry, he is deeply sorry and he says he never wanted to hurt diana and he doesn't believe that he did because he says everything from the content of the interview to the content of the interview to the broadcasting at the time of it was what she wanted. so he says that he knows the forging of the documents was wrong and he regrets it but he doesn't, he regrets it but he doesn't, he says, think that had any bearing on anything so he actually rejects the duke of cambridge' association that he fed his mother's paranoia and decisions to reject her own security, he rejects her brother's statement that you can draw a line from the interview to her death, and for that, he says, that the suggestion i'm singularly is, i think, unreasonable and unfair, but remember the enquiry by lord dyson found that he was devious, dishonest, so people will draw their own conclusions. . ., conclusions. thanks to damien, there. this is bbc news. our main headlines: a large volcano erupts in ea

received from party members in the seat her sister used to represent. 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas community. i think we've seen this, the announcement, just today. the hustings was today. kim leadbeater said she is the candidate the tories fear, in her words, because she's grown up there, she's lived in every part of the constituency. she says she's connected with local people and of course, given her sister was the mp for the constituency and was murdered in the constituency, in 2016, just before the eu referendum, i think labour hopes that connection will translate into votes. labour i think reacting here to the loss of the hartlepool by—election which we sawjust a short time ago, and that one of the criticisms was that it wasn't a local candidate who was chosen. on that, damien, how big a job does she have on her hands and what reaction to this news? well, there's is interesting because the labour party is under pressure to keep hold of this seat. it has been labour. the difficulty they're going to have is that as in hartlepool they face a challenge from the conservatives. in t

let's speak to our political correspondent damian grammaticas. in those traditional labour heartlands might welcome that?— welcome that? well, what we are waitin: welcome that? well, what we are waiting for— welcome that? well, what we are waiting for is _ welcome that? well, what we are waiting for is an _ welcome that? well, what we are waiting for is an indication - welcome that? well, what we are waiting for is an indication of- welcome that? well, what we are | waiting for is an indication of what he's going to do and how he'll do it —— try to respond to the election results, which have not been good for labour, which have put the party and keir starmer under pressure. so how does he, as opposition leader, respond to that? we don't know exactly at the moment. last night, saturday, he moved it seems to take away some of the responsibilities from his deputy, particularly the responsibility for overseeing election coordination and the party chairjob. but we don't know what has emerged from that, and it appears than that he's had trouble sorting

damian grammaticas, bbc news.tary says covid restrictions in glasgow could be eased if the number of people in intensive scotland's health secretary says covid restrictions in glasgow care does not go up. glasgow is the only part of scotland still in level three, and some businesses have criticised the decision to keep it under stricter measures. humza yousaf told the bbc ministers want to ease restrictions as soon as possible. he hopes after this week it'll become clear whether case numbers have led to a rise in icu patients in the city. and the latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,235 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, which means an average ofjust over 2,500 cases per day, in the last week. five deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours, and that means an average of six deaths per day in the past week. the total number of uk deaths is now 127,721. just over 200,000 people have received a first vaccine dose in the last 2a hours. in total, almost 38 million people have now had their firstjab.

let's speak to our political correspondent damian grammaticas.ar anything from the labour party this evening. yes. the labour party this evening. yes, we are, the labour party this evening. yes, we are. and — the labour party this evening. yes, we are. and all— the labour party this evening. yes, we are, and all they _ the labour party this evening. yes, we are, and all they have _ the labour party this evening. was we are, and all they have been waiting, so this apparent shuffling of the topjobs, waiting, so this apparent shuffling of the top jobs, we just don't know what it's going to look like. we know from yesterday, about 2k hours ago now, that angela rayner we were told was being removed from those positions that circular starmer had given her, so overseeing elections, and that primarily the post that he is looking to move herfrom. now, we don't know what the outcome of that will be. of course, we've had the figures coming out saying circular starmer was looking to move her into a higher —— sir keir starmer. this could go on late into the e

let's speak to our political correspondent damian grammaticas. isn't it, because there now will have to be a by election which could presumptively —— potentially proved tricky? presumptively -- potentially proved tric ? ~ , ., ., tricky? absolutely. on one hand, ou're tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right. _ tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right, taking _ tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right, taking this - tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right, taking this marrow i you're right, taking this marrow post for the first time, labour, they can add that and chalk that victory up, add it to others they've taken and done reasonably well in the mayoral elections. but, as you say, what this means is that there will have to be a by election. and after the bye election we had last week in hartlepool, where labour suffered that reversal, they will be nervous. and this is a different sort of seat from hartlepool, but in some crucial aspects, it looks similar. so consider this — the last time in 2019, brabin won that seat with a

damian grammaticas, bbc news.y to reporters as he left home this morning. hello there. i'm just... i'm just off to drive forward the vaccine programme, and then i'll be going to the house of commons, and i'll answer questions there. thanks very much. let's get more from our chief political correspondent, adam fleming. good morning. matt hancock is due to appear before those two, to dominic cummings was talking to yesterday in a couple of weeks, but this urgent question from labour sees him having to offer up an explanation much sooner. , �* , ., ., sooner. yes, he'll be in parliament at the dispatch _ sooner. yes, he'll be in parliament at the dispatch box _ sooner. yes, he'll be in parliament at the dispatch box at _ sooner. yes, he'll be in parliament at the dispatch box at 10:30am - at the dispatch box at 10:30am answering questions from mps and he will do the same again but from the public and members of the media, a televised press conference, this afternoon. and i suppose he will have to decide does he addre

damian grammaticas, bbc news.he re—elected mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham. hello, of greater manchester, andy burnham. congratula�* tweeted hello, congratulations to you. you tweeted you couldn't support the sacking of angela rayner as chair of the labour party and election campaign coordinator, why not? because angela rayner is a formidable campaigner, we are very proud of her here in greater manchester. and, actually, labour should have been celebrating its election results on saturday night. i find election results on saturday night. ifind it election results on saturday night. i find it frustrating, election results on saturday night. ifind it frustrating, to be honest, to be reading headlines like that when we just had a great result in greater machester, another one down the road in liverpool. why were we having, you know, a civil war and why were we making moves like that? i made it clear that we move on this money, victoria. iam i made it clear that we move on this money, victoria. i am glad the

our political correspondent damian grammaticas has more. any news on the reshuffle?or the labour leader, this was a late finish after a torrid few days. in his office, he'd worked deep into sunday evening to complete his reworking of his top team. sir keir starmer says labour needs bold ideas after a disappointing set of elections and must change. so out goes anneliese dodds. she has lost herjob as shadow chancellor. once part ofjeremy corbyn�*s team, she has been moved to the lower—profile role of party chair. it was sir kier�*s difficulty shifting sharing the old party shifting the old party chair, his deputy angela rayner, that complicated this reshuffle. her allies say she has emerged strengthened with a new role to find ways to win back voters lost to the conservatives. angela rayner tweeted... "i will work tirelessly to reform our party and deliver a policy agenda that will enable us to reconnect with the voters that we need to win, especially in our traditional heartlands." labour's new shadow chancellor is rachel reeves. she tweeted. .. "our economic recovery

let's speak to our political correspondent, damian grammaticas.ions about lobbying and transparency?— transparency? it will be a pretty im hortant transparency? it will be a pretty important moment. _ transparency? it will be a pretty important moment. david - transparency? it will be a pretty i important moment. david cameron transparency? it will be a pretty - important moment. david cameron has, so far, in the couple of months since these revelations came to light around his role lobbying after he had left office and was working for this failed finance company, now failed finance company, his role lobbying for them a year ago, trying to get access to government covid funds. the issues i think will be, that might be interesting, as much as an insight into his actual lobbying work, mps are looking at the whole way that this company, this financing system, was operating, and the risks in that, and the strength of the company which, of course, has collapsed this year. so some of their questioning is likely to focus much more on the financing system

damian grammaticas, bbc news.e warning passengers not to travel today because of disruption caused by the discovery of cracks in some high—speed trains. the issue is affecting great western and london north—eastern services — between london and penzance, bristol, cardiff, york, newcastle, and edinburgh. 0ur reporter sean dilley is at king's cross. sean, what's the problem and how long will it last? well, according to the rail industry and the company, certainly great western railway, comes into paddington through penzance and cardiff and swansea, they are saying disruption could last for some time, certainly both they and london north—east railways, to anybody coming in from aberdeen, edinburgh, newcastle, york into london, they are being advised possible to not travel today. they will give you an example of what a mean. there are some trains that appear to be running for .5 hours, if able to leave london and go to edinburgh, if however if they wanted to get the 7:04 i would have to change three times and it would

political correspondent, damian grammaticas. in that first wave. , �* lockdown too late in that first wave. , ~ ., , lockdown too late in that first wave. , ~ . , lockdown too late in that first wave. , ~ ., , wave. yes. and that is exactly one ofthe wave. yes. and that is exactly one of the sensual _ wave. yes. and that is exactly one of the sensual contentions - wave. yes. and that is exactly one of the sensual contentions that - of the sensual contentions that dominic cummings makes and this was a pretty dramatic day. —— contingent. he was the right headman to the prime minister, a partnership that goes back years. he helped restate this country and deliver the brexit referendum, brought into downing street. —— right hand man. he was there to assist boris johnson. they fell out spectacularly at the end of last year. here he was in parliament, somebody say plunging the knife and others would say he was delivering his view of what had happened in the side there when those decisions were made and on this issue, what dominic cumm

damian grammaticas. the prime minister has made a public apology to the relatives of ten people killed during an army operation at ballymurphy in 1971. an inquest found last week that the ten victims were "entirely innocent". but borisjohnson's apology has been rejected by some of the relatives — who say it is "unacceptable". we can speak now tojohn teggart, who lost his father, daniel at ballymurphy. very good afternoon to you. thank you for giving us your time this afternoon. did you watch that statement by borisjohnson in the comments? did you know it's going to be happening?— be happening? that's the thing. it's ha--ened be happening? that's the thing. it's happened again- — be happening? that's the thing. it's happened again. boris _ be happening? that's the thing. it's happened again. boris johnson - be happening? that's the thing. it's happened again. boris johnson or . be happening? that's the thing. it's i happened again. boris johnson or the happened again. borisjohnson or the british governmen

damian grammaticas, bbc news. that story from our chief political correspondent, adam fleming. good morning. the health secretary there, a brief moment of him saying he would have more to say. he will be saying that this morning?— more to say. he will be saying that this mornin: ? , ., ., this morning? yes, we will hear more from matt hancock— this morning? yes, we will hear more from matt hancock at _ this morning? yes, we will hear more from matt hancock at half— this morning? yes, we will hear more from matt hancock at half past - this morning? yes, we will hear more from matt hancock at half past ten i from matt hancock at half past ten in the _ from matt hancock at half past ten in the house of commons today when he will— in the house of commons today when he will make a statement and answer questions _ he will make a statement and answer questions from mps. it will be nowhere — questions from mps. it will be nowhere as long as the seven hours of evidence — nowhere as long as the seven hours of evidence domin

damian grammaticas reports. our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports.st midlands too. well, i am bitterly disappointed _ midlands too. well, i am bitterly disappointed in _ midlands too. well, i am bitterly disappointed in the _ midlands too. well, i am bitterly disappointed in the result. - midlands too. well, i am bitterly disappointed in the result. and l midlands too. well, i am bitterly disappointed in the result. and i| disappointed in the result. and i take full responsibility for the results, and i will take full responsibility for fixing things. the greens have been picking up seats, hearfrom labour in sheffield. seats, hear from labour in sheffield-— seats, hear from labour in sheffield. ~ ., . . seats, hear from labour in sheffield. ~ ., . - sheffield. well done, fantastic! the liberal democrats _ sheffield. well done, fantastic! the liberal democrats from _ sheffield. well done, fantastic! the liberal democrats from the - liberal democrats from the conservatives in cambridgeshire. in the welsh parliament election, labour has lost in the vale

this first report from our political correspondent, damian grammaticas.— today, he's facing uncomfortable scrutiny and difficult questions, demanding answers. i think that the secretary of state for health should have been fired for at least 15, 20 things, including lying to everybody in multiple occasions, in meeting after meeting in the cabinet room, and publicly. one claim from dominic cummings was that matt hancock misled him by saying people would be tested for covid before being moved from hospitals to care homes. the government rhetoric was, we put a shield around care homes and blah, blah, blah — it was complete nonsense. quite the opposite of putting a shield round them, we sent people with covid back to the care homes. he claimed matt hancock misled again, saying after the first wave that everyone who had needed treatment for covid received it. he knew that that was a lie, because he'd been briefed by the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer himself about the first peak. and we were told explicitly people did not get the treatm

damian grammaticas, bbc news.tive. neighbours got to stop the civil war. from _ disruptive. neighbours got to stop the civil war. from my _ disruptive. neighbours got to stop the civil war. from my point i disruptive. neighbours got to stop the civil war. from my point of- the civil war. from my point of view, that is absolutely pointless and disruptive. we have got a fantastic vision here in greater manchester. this is labour power showing what we can do. buses under public control. these are labour policies. is it not time the party started celebrating these things? we have got a new woman mayor in west yorkshire. labour mayor is elected at the weekend, and across the country there are now ten. labour has been way too lukewarm about english devolution so far, i did now enthusiastically needs to get behind it. the party this morning, the shadow cabinet, everybody, needs to listen what the public were saying at the weekend. they like devolution here, they want more of it. and the party now needs to listen to that

british farmers, who've warned of potential damage to their industry. 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas is the first big _ can about the deal. well, this deal is the first big trade _ can about the deal. well, this deal is the first big trade deal _ can about the deal. well, this deal is the first big trade deal that - can about the deal. well, this deal is the first big trade deal that the i is the first big trade deal that the uk is trying to sign with a big country that has not been rolled over from the deals it had as a member of the eu, so it is an important template, test case, for british trade policy going forward. so that is why all eyes are on it, also because there seems to be a bit of a rush to get the deal signed, because the uk is hosting the g7, to which australia has been invited to month, so liz truss is very keen to get something nailed down before then, and it also provides a bit of an insight into how the british government is approaching these big trade deals. now, as you say, there have been lots of concerns about the effect on british farmers, specifically the wel