our political correspondent nick eardley is at holyrood. bring is up—to—date, nick. session _ bring is up-to-date, nick. yes, that mammoth session nicola _ bring is up-to-date, nick. yes, that mammoth session nicola sturgeon l bring is up-to-date, nick. yes, that i mammoth session nicola sturgeon had in parliament yesterday, her team seem to be pretty happy. they don't think there was a knockout blow, a moment that could have been extremely damaging for the first minister. that said, i don't think questions are going to stop being asked,in questions are going to stop being asked, in particular over whether she has potentially broken the rules ministers have to follow, the ministerial code. within the last half hour here at holyrood at first ministers questions, there have been some heated exchanges about the government of�*s legal advice and civil action that was brought by alex salmond, and whether nicola sturgeon should have paused or scrapped the government's case a lot earlier. have a listen to this exchange with the scottish tory leader ruth davidson. what excha

our political correspondent nick eardley is at holyrood. nick? simon, in just nick?t over 48 hours, holyrood will break— nick? simon, in just over 48 hours, holyrood will break up _ nick? simon, in just over 48 hours, holyrood will break up for— nick? simon, in just over 48 hours, holyrood will break up for the i holyrood will break up for the scottish parliament election, but it is going to be a really dramatic couple of days because in a few hours' time, we are going to see that report from nicola sturgeon's independent adviser on the ministerial code. he has been looking into whether the first minister followed the rules which ministers are bound by. that process has been taking place very much behind closed doors, we don't know what he is going to say. but ms sturgeon's litigant opponents say that if he finds that she broke the ministerial code, she would have to resign. i think we will see that report later this afternoon. —— political opponents. the scottish government have it at the moment and it is going through some legal checks before being published. but t

nick eardley, bbc news, glasgow. let's get more from our political correspondent, nick eardley. questions about this so what happens next?— happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon _ happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon this _ happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon this morning i happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon this morning is| on nicola sturgeon this morning is significant. there are calls from the scottish conservatives, as you heard in the peace there, for her to resign. they have been making that call for a couple of weeks now. we have heard from the labour leader sir keir starmer saying this morning that he doesn't want to prejudge the report but if nicola sturgeon is found to have broken the ministerial code by misleading parliament, then thatis code by misleading parliament, then that is a resignation matter. i think nicola sturgeon, certainly on the committee's findings, will come out fighting. we know she thinks the process was partisan, that it had been prejudged before she even gave evidence. it's wort

more on that in a moment with our political correspondent nick eardley.cussed charities. so far they've raised over £150,000 — the group also organised the vigil on clapham common that was cancelled. we told the met that it would be worse if we didn't have the organisation we had planned which was covid safe and people are angry that we were silenced in this case, about women being silenced and having violence against them pursued. so we did everything we could to make it a safe and silent vigil. clearly that hasn't come out from the ruling yesterday and how it was communicated. it's unfortunate that the situation we are in prevents big gatherings like this but the turnout, this unofficial turnout shows the strength of feeling, i suppose. and also, we started crowdfunding at 7am this morning because we weren't going to pay the fines because we didn't have the protests and it has hit £320,000 which was going to be the total in fines, in 11 hours. this is the start of a movement. we are ready and people are showing that we have had enough of the violence. w

studio: nick eardley, thank you.show the uk government borrowed £19.1 billion last month — the highest february figure since records began in 1993. let's speak to our economics correspondent andy verity. again, we are here talking about eye watering figures. is this set to continue?— watering figures. is this set to continue? :, �*, :, :, continue? that's the thing, it looks e e continue? that's the thing, it looks eye watering. _ continue? that's the thing, it looks eye watering, but _ continue? that's the thing, it looks eye watering, but the _ continue? that's the thing, it looks eye watering, but the natural - eye watering, but the natural reaction is to say, if i have big debts in my household that is scary and the bailiffs might come round sometime soon and i could be in trouble and have my house repossessed. but it's not like that for the government at all. you have £355 billion forecast to be borrowed this financial year, by far the highest in peacetime, but interest rates are solo that the cost of servicing

nick eardley is monitoring all of this from glasgow for us, so what has emerged night?what has emerged night? the committee are still meetin: has emerged night? the committee are still meeting at — has emerged night? the committee are still meeting at the _ has emerged night? the committee are still meeting at the moment, _ still meeting at the moment, actually, the report has not been finalised, so there is a bit of caution coming from some sources about what the final wording of this would be come seeking to people close to the committee tonight, sources are saying that there was a majority vote in the committee that nicola sturgeon had misled it when she gave evidence a couple of weeks ago. the exact details of that are not clear, and the scottish parliament is making it abundantly clear tonight that it has not finalised that report, but it doesn't seem that this committee is about to confirm that it believes the first minister of scotland misled committee when she gave evidence, that is a pretty significant moment, because depending on how it believes she has misled

nick eardley, bbc news.able? some businesses will be asking _ is no timetable? some businesses will be asking that _ is no timetable? some businesses will be asking that question, - is no timetable? some businesses will be asking that question, they| will be asking that question, they had asked for indicative dates as to when they could reopen, but that is not in the plan as you have said. what the northern ireland executive has done is set out five steps 49 different sectors of the economy —— for nine different sectors. those nine areas for example include hospitality, retail, travel and tourism, education, and each of them have five steps attached but the first step is the current lockdown restrictions that we are now income at the lockdown has been in place since boxing day and is currently in place until early next month —— that we are now in, and the lockdown. it could be in easter when we move into step two but as far as moving through the five steps are concerned, steps to— four relaxations and step f

nick eardley, bbc news.uit. last month president macron said the vaccine was only quasi—effective on older people, but now the data has suggested that's wrong. it comes as the eu says it's going to explore the introduction of digital vaccine passports. they might be at the front of the vaccine queue, but at this care home in france there's not quite the rush that you might expect. translation: we've been offered the vaccine. - they've given appointments for elderly home staff, but honestly for my part i'm not confident for now. i was waiting to get some more information and to see how it goes, since i thought it came about too fast. translation: | haven't. gotten the vaccine so far. i'm not particularly afraid of the vaccine. that's not it. it's really about me. it's really about me, my perception of my own health and my vision of my health in general. i think my body can perfectly defend itself. france's roll—out is going slowly. just 5% of people have had their first dose. early comments from the french pr

our political correspondent nick eardley is in glasgow. ek before the scottish parliament breaks up because there is a report due back on whether nicola sturgeon broke the ministerial code, there is a committee reporting on the government's botched handling of harassment allegations against alex salmond, and the rhetoric here is just really ramping up ahead of the start of that election campaign. we've just had first ministers questions at holyrood, where ruth davidson, the scottish tory leader at holyrood, has been accusing the scottish government of a cover—up, of not providing all the documents that it needed to a court into a committee investigation. we had nicola sturgeon saying the opposition parties are becoming more and more desperate in their attempts to try and smear the government, and accusing some of being in an old boys network with alex salmond, so really tense exchanges in holyrood it all points to a pretty tense campaign over the next seven weeks orso campaign over the next seven weeks or so in is a run—up to the elections

nick eardley, bbc news, glasgow.e and duchess of sussex have issued a statement after it was revealed that the sun newspaper paid an american private investigator to obtain personal information about meghan markle in the early days of their relationship. the couple said now is a moment to reflect on the predatory practices of the media, which they say are "reaping irreversible damage on families and relationships". the publisher of the sun, news uk, accepts it paid the investigator but insists it never asked for, or knew of, any unlawful activity. the investigator admits to breaking the law. people in cumbria, cornwall and northumberland will be among the first in england to get ultrafast broadband. it's part of the government's plan to roll out high speed broadband to the majority of homes across the uk by the end of 2025. work will begin next year, with more than a million homes in rural areas set to benefit from the first stage of the scheme. poor dental health is still a significant problem in england according t

been happening since those clashes in the past 14 hours or so, with our political correspondent, nick eardleydemanded that report on her desk by the end of the day. she has got that. she is not happy, the mayor of london is not happy either? yes, so the immediate political eggs reaction was to get an explanation from the commissioner, cressida dick. both the mayor and the home secretary have had that and neither are satisfied. sadiq khan in particular doesn't seem happy as a tool, saying the explanation he has been given isn't enough and that he once more to be done on this. so two things happening in the last hour or so, two investigations are going to be launched into the policing last night, won by the inspectorate of constabulary. that has been requested by both e—mail and the home secretary, but the mayor has also asked the independent office for police conduct to look into this. but what is not completely clear is whether this means that cressida dick, the commissioner, is under considerably more pressure now because clearly her political masters are not happy with the way that if this

nick eardley reporting.y when we had to - health secretary when we had to augment the lansbury reforms and it is a massive risk for the government to make big changes to nhs structures, as we all found out in that period. i think the mood of the committee this time was a cautious welcome, but we think there are some very big gaps in what the government is proposing, mainly on social care and workforce. social care is the sector that always seems to get forgotten and in the last year i think we have just seen how brilliant front line and care workers have been in care homes and going round to people's homes. so i think that was the main mood, really, let's make sure that we don't forget to do long—term workforce reforms that have long term, accountability, but if we can sort out those things this is broadly a step in the right direction. i broadly a step in the right direction-— broadly a step in the right direction. ~ ., ., ., ., direction. i know that you want a ten ear direction. i know that you want a ten

minister boris johnson and scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon. 0ur political correspondent nick eardleythe government are now under pressure to address theissue are now under pressure to address the issue of male violence against women —— heeding the request by police. what is the home secretary saying? police. what is the home secretary sa inc? , police. what is the home secretary sa in: ? , . police. what is the home secretary sa inc? , . . ~ police. what is the home secretary sa inc? ,, . ~ �* saying? they are and i think we'll hear more _ saying? they are and i think we'll hear more over— saying? they are and i think we'll hear more over the _ saying? they are and i think we'll hear more over the next - saying? they are and i think we'll hear more over the next few - saying? they are and i think we'lll hear more over the next few days. 0pposition parties especially labour have been calling for tougher action. 0ne have been calling for tougher action. one thing the government have said already is that it is reopening a call for evidence on how people think that the issue of violence

our political correspondent nick eardley describes it as potentially a big moment for nicola sturgeongations made against alex salmond has been meeting tonight to discuss its final findings, and sources have told the bbc that, by 5—4, they have found that the first minister, nicola sturgeon, misled that committee. now, the details of that haven't been published. some are still urging some caution when it comes to the final wording, but this is a really significant moment because a committee of the scottish parliament, according to our sources, is saying that the first minister has not been fully truthful with them about what went on in that process. now, we have heard briefly from nicola sturgeon tonight. she told sky news that she would wait to see what the committee said. the scottish government is putting more emphasis on another report, which is from nicola sturgeon's independent adviser on the ministerial code. he is due to report in the coming days. but the scottish conservatives are saying tonight that there is no trust in the first minister now. they've been saying for some ti

our political correspondent nick eardley is here.s is particularly important, isn't it, because there is a piece of legislation going before mps this week which critics say will give police even more powers to control demonstrations and prevent them just as they are being criticised for their handling of a very high—profile and as it turned out rather controversial one. this high-profile and as it turned out rather controversial one.- high-profile and as it turned out rather controversial one. bill rather controversial one. this is a bill that would _ rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform _ rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform some - rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform some of l rather controversial one. this is a l bill that would perform some of the rules around policing. and the main concern that opposition parties have for one of the concerns they have is that it would make it easier for the police to shut down certain types of protests and in the aftermath of w

nick eardley reports. this is a politicalfallout on the grandest scale.almond, says he's convinced she broke the rules ministers have to follow several times. i have no doubt that nicola has broken the ministerial code, it's not for me to suggest what the consequences should be. this is alex salmond in 2019. he'd just taken the scottish government to court. judges found that the policy used to investigate him had been unlawful, but mr salmond has claimed that ministers knew for weeks that they were likely to lose the case. waiting could have cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. for months, parliament has been trying to force the government to publish its legal advice. until now, it has refused. but faced with a vote of no confidence, scotland's deputy first minister has been forced to change his mind. mr swinney admitted reservations were raised by lawyers in october, that is two months before they admitted defeat. he goes onto argue that were reasonable grounds. the government have acknowledged _ reasonable grounds. the government have ackn

nick eardley, bbc news, glasgow.ofessor of politics at the university of strathclyde. good to see you, as ever. 0ne analysis of all this is that it looks very partisan, the support absolutely, opposition to nicola sturgeon, absolutely divided along party lines. what are your thoughts so far? i party lines. what are your thoughts so far? ~' ., ., so far? i think in truth it looks like the committee _ so far? i think in truth it looks like the committee is - so far? i think in truth it looks like the committee is focusing so far? i think in truth it looks i like the committee is focusing in so far? i think in truth it looks - like the committee is focusing in on the area that perhaps most independent commentators would suggest was perhaps the greatest area of the first minister's evidence. but essentially what they are saying is we think you did suggest to mr alex salmond that you would help them out in a famous meeting at the begin of april, contrary to what she said, not in all her evidence, but in the written eviden

actually that's not from epa, this is from nick eardley, in the past couple of minutes, so basically to believe some questions still need answered. music's biggest night of the year — the grammy awards — take place in los angeles tonight. but, because of the pandemic, it won't be the same star studded red carpet event we're used to. our 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 imma 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 for the london duo who wrote it. wow, we've got a grammy nomination. so, getting a grammy nom on a song that we wrote over zoom in lockdown and in the midst of a pandemic has just got to be a silver lining to any dark cloud and any terrible year, so, yeah, we're just so, so happy. it wasjust, like, a mad like... surreal, yeah. ..surreal 20 minutes of watching it and a buzz, and then sudd

our political correspondent nick eardley reports.ut the truth. scotland's first minister insists she followed the rules — that her government was right to investigate alex salmond, and that there was no plot to take him down. alex salmond has been, for most of my life, since i was about 20, 21 years old, not just a very close political colleague, a friend and, in my younger days, somebody i looked up to and revered. you know, i had no motive, intention, desire, to get alex salmond. this was a marathon session, more than seven hours of questioning. ms sturgeon apologised to women, who were let down by the government, but she insisted all the decisions she made were for the right reasons. i have never claimed in this or anything else to be infallible. i have searched my soul on all of this many, many times over. it may very well be that i didn't get everything right, that's for others to judge. but in one of the most invidious, political and personal situations i have ever faced, i believe i acted properly and appropriately, and that o

nick eardley, bbc news, holyrood. while labour said the measure did nothing to address insecurity and inequality. with me is caroline rice, who receives universal credit. and also i'm joined by katie schmuecker, deputy director of policy, joseph rowntree foundation. welcome to you both. first, katie, this £20 uplift, the weekly increase being extended to september. her welcome is that? tt is being extended to september. her welcome is that?— welcome is that? it is certainly better than _ welcome is that? it is certainly better than taking _ welcome is that? it is certainly better than taking away - welcome is that? it is certainly better than taking away that i better than taking away that lifeline right now, but we are concerned that only by can do much extending it by six months, the government seems to not be in touch with the realities of the economic situation that we are actually in. we are going to be facing a perfect storm as we head into the winter. just as furlough ends, just as unemployment is expected to p

our political correspondent nick eardley reports.iament election. for some time, she's faced claims she's not told the full story about what she knew when about harassment allegations against alex salmond. i solemnly, sincerely and truly declare... now, a committee of msps has concluded she misled them about meetings she had with mr salmond three years ago. by a narrow majority, split along party lines, the committee decided ms sturgeon's account to them had not been accurate. the first minister says she stands by her evidence and that some on the committee had made their minds up before she appeared. i do not believe the first minister should resign. i do not believe she has misled parliament and i have absolute confidence in her veracity of what she said in those eight hours of evidence to that committee, in her integrity and in her professionalism. and i am not going to comment on unattributed briefings about a report which has not yet been published. this row between two first ministers is reaching its climax, the most bitter bat

nick eardley, bbc news.loods which are devastating huge parts of eastern australia, according to the country's prime minister. scott morrison said a huge dam will continue to overflow for at least another week — putting western parts of the city at risk of deluge. 0ur australia correspondent shaimaa khalil is in windsor in new south wales. good morning. we spoke to you recently but what is the very latest after this very grave warning from mr morrison?— after this very grave warning from mr morrison? ,., ., ., ~ ., mr morrison? good morning. a great deal of concern _ mr morrison? good morning. a great deal of concern for _ mr morrison? good morning. a great deal of concern for areas _ mr morrison? good morning. a great deal of concern for areas west - mr morrison? good morning. a great deal of concern for areas west and i deal of concern for areas west and north—west of sydney, like windsor where i am because of the dangerously high levels of water. this is the very small in hawkesbury river. water as high a

our political correspondent nick eardley has been pouring over the details. you get into some of the details and look at what they are saying about nicola sturgeon's account, they are not convinced by the evidence she gave them. as you say, they think that she misled them over evidence she gave about what was discussed in meetings with alex salmond at ms sturgeon's home. they also think it's hard to believe her story that she first found out about any concerns about mr salmond in november 2017, they basically don't seem to believe her on that issue. one thing to point out on this is that the committee was, in many of its key conclusions, split on party lines. the opposition msps found that nicola sturgeon had not been completely honest, the snp msps concluded that she was honest. and what i think is going to happen now is you are going to see the snp say this was a partisan report and you should look at the one from the independent adviser which cleared nicola sturgeon instead. you're going to hear opposition parties say that, actually, there are real concern

our correspondent nick eardley said today's report was in his words, the big one.ally, which is from the committee of the scottish parliament, that nicola sturgeon and alex salmond both appeared before a few weeks ago. we have not had the full report, that comes at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, but we do know that that committee is going to conclude that ms sturgeon misled them in some of the evidence that she gave a couple of weeks ago. a really huge week in scottish politics because on wednesday the scottish parliament breaks up for the election. and it is going to be a crucial election for deciding whether the snp have a majority after may, and whether they can push for another independence referendum. over the next few days we are going to see massive rows over whether ms sturgeon has followed the rules that ministers have to follow, and it is really going to come to a crescendo this afternoon when we see that report from james hamilton. we do not know what time that report will be out. we will bring you coverage as soon as we get details. a cut in the size o

our political correspondent nick eardley is at holyrood, and he explained what we might see today.ilton, who is an experienced lawyer, who is basically looking into whether nicola sturgeon has followed the rules that ministers have to follow. she has faced allegations for some time that she wasn�*t completely honest with the scottish parliament about when she knew about harassment allegations against alex salmond, also allegations she didn�*t tell the full truth about what went on in various meetings. so i think we will see that shortly. i�*ve got to say, speaking to a few people close to the first minister, they seem pretty relaxed at this stage. they don�*t seem to be on the verge of panic, or talking about imminent resignations. i should point out that none of them have actually seen the report, but it does feel to me like there is an expectation in some around nicola sturgeon that, some way or another, she will make her way through this. but there is a lot going on this week, because tomorrow you have a committee report. they are going to conclude that nicola sturgeon misled th

lets go to our political correspondent, nick eardley who's in edinburgh. why now?te later this week and was probably going to lose it —— the deputy first minister in scotland faced a no—confidence vote later this week. we will see eight later this week. we will see eight later today. later this week. we will see eight latertoday. it later this week. we will see eight later today. it all goes back to soliciting accusations alex salmond was making, that the government was involved in some sort of malicious campaign against him when he stood trialfor campaign against him when he stood trial for sexual assault. he was acquitted. 0ne trial for sexual assault. he was acquitted. one of the questions was when he took the government took over its harassment policy, should it have admitted defeat earlier? they admitted defeat in january it have admitted defeat earlier? they admitted defeat injanuary but alex salmond has always claimed that they knew a couple of months earlier that they would lose the legal fight and they should have turn it in october. we will find out what

let's go to our correspondent nick eardley in edinburgh who can tell us more.arliament on friday, and he left so many questions about the way that the government under nicola sturgeon had dealt with harassment allegations against him. and as we start to see some of the answers to those questions, i think the situation is getting worse by the hour for nicola sturgeon at the moment. so she's facing a number of claims when she evidence to as mps tomorrow. there is a claim that she lied to parliament, but she failed to tell the truth about meetings she held on mr salmon. a claim that her government waste of taxpayer money by not dropping a legal action involving mr salmond when their lawyers were telling them they were probably going to lose. that's just the start of it. a number of allegations that mr salmond and opposition parties have made about nicola sturgeon we would probably keep us here all night. so she's going to have a real test tomorrow to answer all of those questions. i've got to say for a politician whose party is doing so well in the polls, just nin

our political correspondent nick eardley has been following developments.s any kind of knockout blow. there was no moment where the first minister was under real, significant pressure, perhaps struggling to give an answer. that said, i don't think the story is going to go away, because there are still questions being asked about nicola sturgeon's conduct, some accusations that are being bandied about that she broke the ministerial code. that is something that in normal times, her opponents say, she would have to resign for. there are a couple of things that have come up today. one is a meetings sturgeon held with alex salmond, and why they weren't recording as government meetings, even though she knew that she was talking to him that she was talking to her about an investigation her government was undertaking. the second is about whether the government wasted taxpayer's money by continuing to fight alex salmond in court over the case that he brought against them. back in october 2018, the government's lawyers had suggested there were some big issues with it

our political correspondent nick eardley is at holyrood., herteam nicola sturgeon had in parliament yesterday, her team seem to be pretty happy. they don't think there was a knockout blow, a moment that could have been extremely damaging for the first minister. that said, i don't think questions are going to stop being asked. in particular, of a father she has potentially broken the rules that ministers have to follow, the ministerial code. and within the last half hour here at holyrood, there have been some really heated exchanges about the government's legal advice in a civil action that was brought by are examined, and further nicola sturgeon should have paused or scrapped the government's is a lot earlier. have a listen to this exchange with ruth davidson. bud exchange with ruth davidson. and what we have _ exchange with ruth davidson. and what we have already seen shows that there is _ what we have already seen shows that there is no _ what we have already seen shows that there is no argument that there government ignored legal advice—

yesterday an independent inquiry cleared her of breaching the ministerial code. 0ur correspondent nick eardleyholyrood. knew the headline, the top from we knew the headline, the top line from this report because it was leaked last week but fill us in with what you have read this morning. good morning, victoria. the report we got yesterday put to bed the idea that nicola sturgeon might be forced to resign this week, because her independent adviser found she did not break the most ministerial code. this report which hasjust not break the most ministerial code. this report which has just come out in the last hour or so is very long, it's very detailed and it's going to make some pretty uncomfortable reading for nicola sturgeon and her team because it looks back at what has happened over the last couple of years, from the first allegations being made against alex salmond to the scottish government, to basically where we are now. there are a few things in particular which are a few things in particular which are quite critical of the government. 0n the harassment policy itself, the government says,

i have been talking to our correspondent nick eardley up in the holy route and he has been explaininggoing to do now. he is going to launch a legal action in scotland's's highest civil court against the scottish government. another legal action, about the actions of the secretary lesley evans. she was in charge of the harassment policy that was used to investigate him back in 2018. there are no details about what that legal action is going to involve but he says that will be coming soon. the other thing that he is going to do is make a formal complaint to the police about the leak of the enquiry by the scottish government was taking place on 2018. dad appeared in a newspaper and mr salmon says that... this is the thing that many in the scottish government will be looking at the moment, he also makes it clear that he absolutely accepts the findings of the two reports that we have had this week. so, the report clearing nicola sturgeon of breaking the ministerial report. it has been dismissed by some as political. he says in a statement that he has just sent out, the enquiries are over a

our political correspondent is nick eardley. a rowa a row a really compensated one about lobbying and advising david cameron on finance —related matters while he was prime minister, in particular there is a report out last week in the sunday times some loans to be put in place, which eventually benefited his own company. in the last few days there have been some questions as well�* roll was. that was when david cameron was prime minister. after he went into the private sector, he was employed by mr greensill, and again there are reports that as an adviser to company, mr cameron figures in government to get access to emergency company. there is no indication he has broken any rules, but it raised questions about the way lobbying works robertjenrick way lobbying works robert jenrick wouldn�*t way lobbying works robertjenrick wouldn�*t talk about the specifics of the case, but here�*s what he said about i think it�*s important that those leaving public office act with�*s own affairs, i don�*t know the details and that is a question prem. for those of us lucky enough to when that comes _

nick eardley, bbc news, holyrood.troducing tighter brexit checks on goods between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, has been strongly criticised by the eu, saying it would breach international law. the irish government has also criticised the uk's move as deeply unhelpful. it comes as loyalist paramilitary organisations have told the prime minister that they will temporarily withdraw their support of the good friday agreement. a court in virginia has ruled that the family of the motorcyclist, harry dunn, can seek damages from the husband of the driver involved in the accident which killed him. mr dunn was 19 when his bike collided with a car, driven by the wife of an american diplomat, near an raf base in northamptonshire in 2019. anne sacoolas was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, but the us refused to allow her to be extradited to the uk. ambitions to send humans to mars have suffered another setback, after a prototype rocket exploded. the unmanned space—x rocket blew—up after what appeared to

nick eardley, bbc news, stirling. you are watching bbc breakfast. safety measures are in place. the national portrait gallery will boost its representation of women when it reopens. it's closed until 2023 for redevelopment, but the plan is to highlight women who have shaped british history and culture. the gallery said it's a chance to tell overlooked stories. many have taken up hobbies during lockdown, but one woman has turned part of a wall into a local attraction in south london. for the past 10 months, beth walk has been decorating a victorian bootscraper in clapham, with mini displays and characters. people loved it. people started adding things to the scene. we would find all kinds of things in here. i have had messages from people, reaching out saying how happy it's made them. people have changed their routes to walk or run past here, to check it all the time. let's take a look at the travel situation now. lots of issues on the tube.... around a0 bus routes across west, south west and south london operated by london united are disrupted becau

scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon has started let's speak to our correspondent nick eardleypolicy which was used against alex salmond and that he took to court and was found to be unlawful. there are a lot of negations against nicola sturgeon. most serious of which is that she broke the ministerial code. alex salmond said, are you sure that she had and if she had she would have to resign. one of the key allegations is that she didn't tell parliament to the truth when she found out about allegations made against mr mr salmond working investigated. it's notjust a question of a few days, it is about whether miss sturgeon new about a government meeting with mr salmond, weather minute should have been taken, none of that happened. have a listen to nicola sturgeon explain her version of events.— her version of events. when he arrived at _ her version of events. when he arrived at my — her version of events. when he arrived at my house _ her version of events. when he arrived at my house he - her version of events. when he arrived at my house he was i her version of events. when he

our political correspondent nick eardley reports.er last night. obviously i�*m very pleased that james hamilton has concluded that i did not breach the ministerial code in respect of any of the allegations. today, though, a report that will make difficult reading. a committee of msps has concluded that ms sturgeon�*s government�*s handling of allegations against alex salmond was not satisfactory. in a lengthy report, the committee said the handling of complaints was seriously flawed, that ms sturgeon misled the committee on meetings with alex salmond, a potential breach of the ministerial code and that her account of when she found out about concerns about mr salmond was hard to believe. well, first of all it is a shame that a committee report of this nature has become tainted by very obvious political bias, along party lines, in some conclusions. but actually, where there are reflections, and the government has always said, we made mistakes when it comes to the implementation of the procedure looking at a complaint into alex salmond

let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley.ly dependent on everything going according to plan. and because of that, we're hearing ministers constantly telling us, the rules are there so you need to stick by them. and you need to be pretty sensible, actually, when they are relaxed. that's exactly why you are hearing the health secretary saying, late last night, at the point at this stage is to make sure that everybody basically plays by the rules. so that all the progress we have had in the lockdowns over the last 12 weeks or so since the start of the year is not wasted.- last 12 weeks or so since the start of the year is not wasted. there has been a change _ of the year is not wasted. there has been a change in _ of the year is not wasted. there has been a change in the _ of the year is not wasted. there has been a change in the shielding i been a change in the shielding guidance for people in england and wales, what is the advice for people after that? jt wales, what is the advice for people after that? , ., ., after that? it