emma simpson reports. as big names retreat from the high street, here's one that's moving in — amazon's first physical store outside the us. all you need is one of these and the amazon app. so, how does it work? well, here's the technology. cameras everywhere on the roofs and lots of sensors, tracking everything that we take off the shelves. have one of these... there are lots of amazon own—branded products. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them, too. and here's the thing — there aren't any checkouts. you just walk straight out. here's the bill. it goes straight to your account. you almost feel like you're stealing. you're not, of course, but... i mean, i haven't even looked at the receipt. i hate standing in line, so this is great. feels like you're being watched. there's a lot of cameras. big brother shopping or a glimpse into the future of retail? this is a watershed moment for the uk retail sector. amazon is known for disrupting the status quo, for raising customer expectations and forcing

emma simpson, bbc news, richmond.ut, because of the pandemic, it won't be the same star studded red carpet event we're used to. 0ur west coast correspondent sophie long has been speaking to some first time british nominees who will be watching from afar. # shining through the city with a little funk and soul # so i'ma light it up like dynamite, whoa oh oh# dynamite immediately became a record—breaking song on multiple platforms for k—pop band bts. it's earned a grammy nomination for them and the london duo who wrote it. wow! we got a grammy nomination. getting a grammy nom on a song that we wrote over zoom in lockdown and the midst of a pandemic hasjust got to be a silver lining to any dark cloud and any terrible year, so we are just so, so happy. it wasjust like, a mad like, surreal 20 minutes of watching it and a buzz and then suddenly it was, back to real life. keep it moving. david and jessica have written hundreds of songs together and kind of knew this was a little different. we understood how huge bts were. we

here's emma simpson. the supreme court has ruled that workers on the shop floor at asda can be compared with colleagues in distributing centres when it comes to equal pay. wendy worked at asda for 32 years in middlesbrough. she's retired now and has happy memories of stacking shelves and community work. her husband worked for asda in the nearby depot. we've always worked as a team, but him getting paid more than me, itjust wasn't fair. her reaction to today's news? fantastic! fantastic part that we actually got awarded it, that things will happen. asda responded today, saying... "retail and distribution are very different sectors with their own distinct skill sets and pay rates. asda has always paid colleagues the market rate in these sectors and we remain confident in our case." the ripple effects of this ruling here at the supreme court could be huge. for instance, tesco, sainsbury�*s, morrisons, co—op and next are all defending similar equal pay claims. if ultimately successful, lawyers reckon the over

emma simpson reports.. all you need is one of these and the amazon app. so, how does it work? well, here's the technology. cameras everywhere on the roofs and lots of sensors, tracking so, how does it work? well, here's the technology. cameras everywhere on the roofs and lots of sensors, tracking everything that we take off the shelves. have one of these. there are lots of amazon—branded products. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them too. and here's the thing — there aren't any checkouts. you just walk straight out. here's the bill. it goes straight to your account. you almost feel like you're stealing. you're not, of course, but... i mean, i haven't even looked at the receipt. i hate standing in line, so this is great. feels like you're being watched. i there's a lot of cameras. big brother shopping or a glimpse into the future of retail? this is a watershed moment for the uk retail sector. amazon is known for disrupting the status quo, for raising customer expectations and forcing competito

emma simpson reports.gal question that's taken years to answer — can workers on the shopfloor at asda be compared to workers in its distribution centres when it comes to equal pay? the highest court in the land has ruled that they can. this court dismisses the appeal brought by asda. this is clearly a very substantial case for asda, however, the court's conclusion does not mean that those claimants have won their equal pay claim. at this stage, all the court has determined is that they can use the terms and conditions of employment enjoyed by the distribution employees as a valid comparison. that is a big win for the a4,000 current and former asda shopworkers. they say they should be paid the same as their colleagues in the depots, who are mostly men and receive up to £3 extra an hour. we are all so excited about this and it is such a big thing for us. ijust can't put in to words how much this means to me and every other claimant has well, because it'sjust... we never could have dreamt it would go this far

our business correspondent, emma simpson, has more.lling out, leaving an awful lot of holes. the majority of the high streetjust seems to be disappearing. not only high street shops, but restaurants and coffee shops as well. well, i think it's very upsetting for the locals, and we're very sorry. we now have the final tally for these closures across britain over the last year. just over 17,500 chain stores shut — that's an average rate of 48 a day. although more than 7,600 shops opened, that wasn't enough to fill the gaps, meaning there was a net loss of nearly 10,000 shops. that is the worst decline in more than a decade. and the shake—out is far from over. you've seen the closures of the likes of debenhams and topshop, and that is really happening in 2021, so they're not even in our numbers, so i think, unfortunately, there's worse to come before it gets better. but, on the positive, as we come out of covid, it does give an opportunity for people to invest and come on to our high street. this shop owner certainly hopes so. a few of ou

here's our business correspondent emma simpson.e score. you can probably see there's an awful lot of interest in this. now, to use it all you need is one of these and the amazon app, that's because when you go in you've got a lot of expensive technology. it's full of cameras and sensors tracking everything that you take off the shelves and put in your bag and then once you are done you simply have to walk out. there is no checkout. so is this a glimpse into the future of shopping? we arejoined by duncan brewer, retail consultant. what do you think, duncan? supermarkets are always looking for ways to make shopping easier for their customers and this is an experience unlike anything else in the uk. i think they're going to be looking with great interest to see if they need to evolve similar technology, similar experiences out into their stores. why is amazon moving onto the high street? i think it's a great time to be moving into the high street. property prices, rental prices are cheap and there's lots of sites available and it's im

emma simpson reports., how does it work? well, here's the technology. cameras everywhere on the roofs and lots of sensors, tracking everything that we take off the shelves. have one of these. there are lots of amazon—branded products. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them too. and here's the thing — there aren't any checkouts. you just walk straight out. here's the bill. it goes straight to your account. you almost feel like you're stealing. you're not, of course, but... i mean, i haven't even looked at the receipt. i hate standing in line, so this is great. feels like you're being watched. there's a lot of cameras. big brother shopping or a glimpse into the future of retail? this is a watershed moment for the uk retail sector. amazon is known for disrupting the status quo, for raising customer expectations and forcing competitors to evolve, but i think there's also this recognition that online—only is no longer enough. it's only one store, for now, but it's a sign of amazon's appetite for a m

our business correspondent emma simpson reports.eddings from next month, which he thought was an abbott now realises it is against their will stop you know it is probably £60,000 of lost income, we are a seasonal business at the last time we turned a profit of any meaningful level was october 2019. it is wedding couples who are disappointed, too. hannah and joe will have to postpone a second time. we don't really want to say this but to try— we don't really want to say this but to try to— we don't really want to say this but to try to switch a wedding to a new location _ to try to switch a wedding to a new location in — to try to switch a wedding to a new location in a — to try to switch a wedding to a new location in a matter of weeks is 'ust location in a matter of weeks is just not— location in a matter of weeks is just not feasible, we just can't do it. just not feasible, we 'ust can't do it. ~ just not feasible, we 'ust can't do it. . , ., ., just not feasible, we 'ust can't do it. , ., just not feasible, we 'ust can't do it. w

emma simpson, bbc news.ding to the latest weekly data from the office for national statistics. it has found that infection levels in secondary school—age children rose slightly in england. here's our health editor hugh pym. schools reopening means more people mixing, both in the classrooms and the wider community, and that was always likely to mean some spread of the virus even with robust controls. the latest data in england suggests an increase in case rates among teenagers in years 7—11. holly and her brother morgan are back at school in sandwell in the west midlands. during lockdown they had to share a school laptop which made life difficult, and their mum was pleased they went back, even with the slight virus risk. i was struggling with how much work they got sent to them at home, and a lot of the things, like, i didn't understand what they were doing, because what we did at school when i was at school, they're doing something completely different. the head of the office for national statistics said, wi

emma simpson, bbc news. the roll—out out of the vaccine here in the uk has been a huge success.ed the vaccine in france or germany. but things could be about to change. the bbc has seen a memo that was sent from the national health service to local health organisations warning them to expect a significant reduction in supply from the end of this month. the reduction is being blamed on the amount of vaccinations coming into the country. here's health secretary matt hancock. we're making absolutely fantastic progress in the vaccination effort. i'm delighted we're able to open up to millions more people today. and of course, you know, the future forecasts are always lumpy, and sometimes they go up, and sometimes they go down. but we've made these public commitments, and i'm absolutely delighted with the team because we're on track to meet them. but despite this setback, the uk is likely to remain one of the world's pacesetters for vaccination so far for every 100 people in the uk, almost a0 doses have been administered, including first and second doses. lagging slightly behind is t

emma simpson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here and in the us. here's chris fawkes. yes, we're starting on the other side of the pond with severe thunderstorms breaking out, there have been reports of a tornado but we're only heading into the early afternoon and through the rest of today and tonight, the risk of some intense tornadoes and some of them could be on the ground for quite a long time so a risk of some significant damage and we are keeping a close eye on develop and we are keeping a close eye on developing stair. for us, skies have looked like this for much of the day with sunshine breaking through the early morning cloud and as we go through the night, the cloud will tend to roll back in. it will be thickest across eastern england with the threat of a few patches of light rain and drizzle so for a few of you, a damp night. many will be dry, though, and on account of all the cloud, not particularly cold, temperatures drifting to about 6—9 celsius. this area of high pressure still to the west of the uk where it has been for ages. the weather front coming so

emma simpson, bbc news. the school, which had been due to break up for the easter holiday, is understood to have switched to a day of remote learning. depictions of mohammed are considered to be deeply offensive within islam, and the head of batley grammar has apologised "unequivocally". the communities secretary robertjenrick has called the demonstrations "deeply unsettling". a mother — whose two daughters were brutally killed in london last summer — has questioned why their deaths received so little attention at the time compared to the death of sarah everard who was abducted in south london. mina smallman feels the metropolitan police did not act swiftly when her daughters were reported missing — she was later told police had taken selfies with their bodies. mishal husain has been speaking to her. they were dancing in the fields with lights and just having a real good time. and we never, ever, spoke to them again. bibaa henry was celebrating her birthday on a june evening last year. her sister nicole smal

emma simpson reports.estion that's taken years to answer — can workers on the shopfloor at asda be compared to workers in its distribution centres when it comes to equal pay? the highest court in the land has ruled that they can. this court dismisses the appeal brought by asda. this is clearly a very substantial case for asda. however, the court's conclusion does not mean that those claimants have won their equal pay claim. at this stage, all the court has determined is that they can use the terms and conditions of employment enjoyed by the distribution employees as a valid comparison. that's a big win for the a4,000 current and former asda shopworkers. they say they should be paid the same as their colleagues in the depots, who are mostly men and receive up to £3 extra an hour. we are all so excited about this and it is such a big thing for us. ijust can't put in to words how much this means to me and every other claimant as well, because it'sjust... we never could have dreamt it would go this far, but we

a warning, our business correspondent emma simpson's report does contain flashing images. exeter! nearly doubling in size in a decade. they are reining back rapidly now. today, another eight to close, from ashford in kent, john lewis has been in sheffield for 80 years. really disappointed for the city. really disappointed for all the people who are going to lose theirjobs. john lewis has been something that's been so important to us. i remember my mum taking me intojohn lewis. it's a destination store for the city. i am gutted because i love perusing and smelling all the perfumes and trying the make—up. not many people in there now, like there used to be, - so it didn't surprise me. john lewis was so important to sheffield that the council paid it more than £3 million to effectively keep it here. it signed a new 20 year lease just last summer, as part of a wider regeneration plan. but it's now done a handbrake turn. the shift online has been unprecedented. there are some areas of the country which, you know, sad as it is, we can't any longer profitably sustain the size of

emma simpson. app, that's because when you go in you've got a lot of expensive technology. it's full of cameras and sensors tracking everything that you take off the shelves and put in your bag and then once you are done you simply have to walk out. there is no checkout. so is this a glimpse into the future of shopping? we arejoined by duncan brewer, retail consultant. what do you think, duncan? supermarkets are always looking for ways to make shopping easier for their customers and this is an experience unlike anything else in the uk. i think they're going to be looking with great interest to see if they need to evolve similar technology, similar experiences out into their stores. why is amazon moving onto the high street? i think it's a great time to be moving into the high street. property prices, rental prices are cheap and there's lots of sites available and it's important to remember even the online players need a bricks and mortar presence. a bricks and mortar store can offer things, whether

emma simpson has the report.we take off the shelves. have one of these. there are lots of amazon—branded products. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them too. and here's the thing — there aren't any checkouts. you just walk straight out. here's the bill. it goes straight to your account. you almost feel like you're stealing. you're not, of course, but... i mean, i haven't even looked at the receipt. i hate standing in line, so this is great. feels like you're being watched. there's a lot of cameras. big brother shopping or a glimpse into the future of retail? this is a watershed moment for the uk retail sector. amazon is known for disrupting the status quo, for raising customer expectations and forcing competitors to evolve, but i think there's also this recognition that online—only is no longer enough. it's only one store, for now, but it's a sign of amazon's appetite for a much bigger share of the grocery market. emma simpson, bbc news, west london. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom.

emma simpson takes up the story.. the owner is playing those nine weddings from next month, which he thought was an abbott now realises it is against the rules. the last time we turned any kind of meaningful level was october 2019. it's wedding couples who are disappointed, too. hannah and joe will have to postpone a second time. we don't really want to say this but to try to switch a wedding to a new location in a matter of weeks is just not feasible, we just can't do it. we still have to pay the admin fee, if we swap the locations _ or swap days, either way, - we have to pay extra for that is one of the notice we have had to pay. when the road map out of lockdown was revealed, weddings with up to 15 guests in england could go ahead from april the 12th in premises that are allowed to open. it seems many in the industry expected licensed wedding venues would qualify, but the government says weddings can only go ahead in places of worship, public buildings or outdoors, and insists that was always the plan. nothing has

emma simpson reports. work? well, here�*s the technology. cameras everywhere on the roofs and lots of sensors, tracking everything that we take off the shelves. have one of these... there are lots of amazon own—branded products. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them, too. and here�*s the thing — there aren�*t any checkouts. you just walk straight out. here�*s the bill. it goes straight to your account.

our business correspondent emma simpson is here. how did this come to light? of irish surnames as part of a policy to prevent bookings from gypsy and traveller families. prevent bookings from gypsy and travellerfamilies. it published prevent bookings from gypsy and traveller families. it published the list on its intranet, calling them undesirable guests, and telling staff to watch out for these names. the title of your equality and human rights commission also said that the company monitored calls at its contact centre, refusing or cancelling bookings made by people with an irish accent, or surname. they said this was discrimination and breached the 2010 equality act. these are pretty shocking revelations, and for such a big name in the holiday industry. a downing street spokesperson today described these practices as completely unacceptable. as for pontins, its owner said today in a brief statement that it had agreed with the hrc to further enhance its staff training and procedures to promote equality throughout its business. the ehrc said it must take appro

emma simpson, bbc news. this is 0utside source live from the bbc newsroom. 0ur lead story...sue in the campaign. here's prime minister mark rutte casting his vote. he's expecting to win a fourth term. that's despite the fact this election is happening after his government collapsed over a racial profiling scandal in the tax office. he's also been criticised for the speed of the vaccine rollout. that's an issue because the netherlands was the last country in europe to start vaccinating people. it's also under its strictest lockdown to date and has an average of 5000 new infections daily. well, here's what mr rutte had to say after casting his ballot. for all of europe, this is one of the best—performing economies. we are still very hard hit by the corona various. there is so much to do to rebuild the country. —— coronavirus. 0f do to rebuild the country. —— coronavirus. of course, it's up to the voters in full sovereignty to decide that. while the outlook seems positive for mr rutte's party and the centre—right liberal people's party, whoever comes out on top is going to need

here's our business correspondent emma simpson.tres, in hibernation for now, put how many of these stores will reopen, and where? eight closed last year. could another eight follow? no numbers or locations today. the chairman told me a final decision will be made by the end of the month. indie me a final decision will be made by the end of the month.— the end of the month. we are reshaping _ the end of the month. we are reshaping the _ the end of the month. we are reshaping the story _ the end of the month. we are reshaping the story estate --| the end of the month. we are . reshaping the story estate -- the reshaping the story estate —— the store estate to be fit for the future and any store closures are always difficult. if you look at the last year we've had a decade of changes in shopping habits in one year and it's also the case there are some areas of the country which, you know, sad as it is, we can't any longer profitably sustain the size of store we've got today. making money from _ of store we've got today. making money f

emma simpson, bbc news, sheffield. lanes. our global trade correspondent dharshini david takes a look at what's going on... there are bottlenecks on the daily commute and then there's this, a ship the size of the empire state building, blocking one of the busiest shipping channels, blown adrift by a gust of wind. behind the giant ever given, a mounting queue of marine traffic, carrying cargo from oil to clothes and food, where ever they hailfrom — china, the middle east or south asia, they are going nowhere. seen from above, the problem is clear. ships have grown to match our appetite to consume more but they are ill suited to a waterway that's just 205 metres wide. this canal, connecting the red sea and the mediterranean, is 150 years old but crucial from modern global trade. the ever given ran aground at 5:40 on tuesday morning. it is one of 52 ships a day that travel through this passage of water. they carry 12% of global trade worth over £2 billion. so, will there be a price to pay? we think about exports from chin

emma simpson, bbc news. be deeply offensive within islam, and the head of batley grammar has apologised "unequivocally". the communities secretary, robertjenrick, has called the demonstrations "deeply unsettling". the owner of liberty steel has asked the government for £170m in financial support. sanjeev gupta said the support was required to pay day—to—day operating expenses and deal with recent losses. concerns over the future of the company have grown after its main financial backer, greensill capital, went bust. liberty steel employs about 5000 people at 12 sites across the uk. a mother, whose two daughters were brutally killed in london last summer, has questioned why their deaths received so little attention at the time compared to the death of sarah everard, who was abducted in south london. mina smallman feels the metropolitan police did not act swiftly when her daughters were reported missing. she was later told police had taken selfies with their bodies. mishal husain has been speaking to her. they

emma simpson reports.t feel like you�*re stealing. you�*re not, of course, but... i mean, i haven�*t even looked at the receipt. i hate standing in line, so this is great. feels like you're being watched. there's a lot of cameras. big brother shopping or a glimpse into the future of retail? this is a watershed moment for the uk retail sector. amazon is known for disrupting the status quo, for raising customer expectations and forcing competitors to evolve, but i think there�*s also this recognition that online—only is no longer enough. it�*s only one store, for now, but it�*s a sign of amazon�*s appetite for a much bigger share of the grocery market. emma simpson, bbc news, west london. it�*s time of year again — when children across the uk dress up to mark world book day. events are largely taking place online because of the pandemic. campaigners are using the day to urge families, schools and nurseries to have books with more characters from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. our community aff

emma simpson reports. it's a legal question but that yes to answer.be compared when it comes to equal pay? the highest point in the land has ruled at a time. this the highest point in the land has ruled at a time.— ruled at a time. this court dismisses _ ruled at a time. this court dismisses the _ ruled at a time. this court dismisses the appeal - ruled at a time. this court . dismisses the appeal brought ruled at a time. this court - dismisses the appeal brought by asda. this is clearly a very substantial case for asda. that court's conclusion does not mean that both agreements have won there equal pay claims. at this stage, all the court has determined that they can use the terms and conditions of employment enjoyed by the distribution employees comparison. that is a big rain for the a4,000 current and former asda shop workers. they say they should be paid the same as their colleagues in the zappos who are mostly men and receive up to £3 extra an hour. irate receive up to £3 extra an hour. we are also receive up to £3 extra an hour. - are also excit

emma simpson, bbc news.to make sure that there is no link between the vaccine itself and any of the events that may occur. the ema, the regulator, the european regulator that's been looking at this, says it's happy so far. there are no major concerns. the pause is correct, just to check over the batch, because a million doses went out to 17 countries, and that the batch was used on the two people that we have heard about this problem in. however, out of five million doses that have gone into people, the ema have been looking at, we've only had about 30 cases of this blood clotting condition, and it is very common. if you take the vaccine side of it away from this, in normal life, a lot of people will get blood clots. and also if you catch covid, that's a significant increase of your chance of getting a blood clot, so it's still really important to go and get your vaccine. there is no suggestion from this that the vaccine is doing anything untoward. a teenager has pleaded not guilty to the murders of two sist

emma simpson reports. as big names retreat from the high streets here's one that's moving in. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them to. and here's the thing, there aren't any checkouts. you just walk straight out. any checkouts. you 'ust walk straight outh any checkouts. you 'ust walk straiaht out. �* , , , ., straight out. here's the bill you 'ust no straight out. here's the bill you just go straight _ straight out. here's the bill you just go straight out. _ straight out. here's the bill you just go straight out. you - straight out. here's the bill you | just go straight out. you almost feel like you're stealing but you're not. i feel like you're stealing but you're not. ., , ., �*, not. i hate standing in mind so it's areat. it not. i hate standing in mind so it's great- it feels _ not. i hate standing in mind so it's great. it feels like _ not. i hate standing in mind so it's great. it feels like you're - not. i hate standing in mind so it's great. it feels like you're being - great. it feels like you're being watched. — great. it feels like you're being watch

emma simpson, bbc news, richmond.iences back safely. it is expected that a number of the pilots will include spectators who are not socially distanced. the metropolitan police says they will look to see if lessons can be learned after officers were seen handcuffing women attending a vigil for sarah everard in south london. the home secretary priti patel has asked for a full report into the clashes on clapham common — whilst there's been criticism from across the political spectrum. earlier we spoke to the conservative mp caroline nokes, chair of the women and equalities committee, and we asked her whether the vigil could have gone ahead legally and safely. absolutely. and they went to court to stop it. i heard from the original organisers of the vigil yesterday, they had put really robust plans in place and reached out to the met throughout, trying to find a solution which would have enabled a peaceful vigil to go forward with staggered timings, with the appropriate social distance. that could have happened. the met c