and robin swann— individual ministers instead. and robin swann has— individual ministers instead.that letter from the devolved _ robin swann has signed that letter from the devolved nation, - robin swann has signed that letter from the devolved nation, settingl from the devolved nation, setting out their— from the devolved nation, setting out their concerns _ from the devolved nation, setting out their concerns as _ from the devolved nation, setting out their concerns as england - from the devolved nation, setting i out their concerns as england plans to end _ out their concerns as england plans to end isolation _ out their concerns as england plans to end isolation rules, _ out their concerns as england plans to end isolation rules, it _ out their concerns as england plans to end isolation rules, it is - to end isolation rules, it is calling _ to end isolation rules, it is calling urgently— to end isolation rules, it is calling urgently for- to end isolation rules, it is calling urgently for more l calling urgently for more information— calling urgently for more information on— c

yes there had been in doubt as to whether the health minister robin swann could go ahead and lift then the power—sharing devolved government resigned his post in protest at the brexit trade arrangements for northern ireland, and that many deputy first minister was automatically out of herjob too, so the other ministers are in post but not able to hold a full meeting of the stormont executive and it had been assumed previously that the stormont executive would meet as a whole and decide as a whole whether to lift restrictions, so robin swann as health minister has taken some legal advice, spoke to other ministers from the four other parties in the executive, he is a member of the ulster unionist party, and the other four parties have backed him saying they agree that it have backed him saying they agree thatitis have backed him saying they agree that it is the right time to lift these restrictions, that is what robin swann has done and extent of the powers available to his department by six months to reimpose rejections if needs be, but warning that actually we did go there is need to

health minister robin swann had to get the backing - of individual ministers instead.services that will remain, l to ensure all four nations stay prepared for any potential future waves of the virus.| that was emma vardy at stormont. our medical editor fergus walsh is with me. first question is lots of people are asking today, are these changes announced by borisjohnson justified by the latest figures on the pandemic?— by the latest figures on the andemic? , ., , ., , pandemic? the number of people in hosital pandemic? the number of people in hospital with — pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid _ pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid has _ pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid has been - pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid has been falling | hospital with covid has been falling every month and overall deaths this winter are lower than normal so there has been no access from omicron. as a population level we have very strong protection from covid as a result of highly effective vaccines and millions of u

the health minister robin swann said he made the decision because in particular the omicron variant ise that means it would be a good idea to re—impose restrictions, he is not sure he would have the power to do that because the power—sharing of the devolved government is limited because of the resignation of the first minister earlier this month. thank you. day 11 of the winter olympics and there are still no medals for team gb, after kirsty muir and katie summerhayes finished in eighth and ninth places in the freeski slopestyle final. there are more british athletes in action today — and the 15—year—old russian figure skater, kamila valieva , will shortly begin her attempt to win her second gold medal. andy swiss has the latest from the games. it was another day when british medal hopes came crashing down. commentator: 0h! a bruising start to the slopestyle final for 17—year—old kirsty muir, and although she soon found herfeet... huge! ..she couldn't quite find her best. in the end, she had to settle for eighth. for team gb's youngest member, a mix of pride and frustration. i made the

official government guidance and the health minister in the devolved government roberts one —— robin swannndemic, people should still take sensible measures, the virus is still there. nonetheless, many business groups in particular have welcomed this decision. time for the sport now. novak djokovic has told the bbc he would ratherforgo novak djokovic has told the bbc he would rather forgo the chance to be the best tennis player in the world than receiving the covert vaccine. he said he was willing to miss the french open and wimbledon if mandatory vaccination is required to compete because deciding what goes into his body is more important than any title. he was deported from melbourne ahead of the australian open over concerns about his vaccine status. the rules are moving in his direction. if you take the french open, the rules changed on saturday morning, and if you are coming from the eu, and he is currently resident in spain, you do not need to isolate on arrival in france any more, and for those wanting to arrive in england to play wimbledon, i accept it is a few months away yet, the

and robin swann has also signed that letter from the devolved nations, - setting out their concerns asthat people in england who test positive for covid—19 will no longer be legally required to isolate from thursday. the westminster leader of the snp, ian blackford, said all four uk nations should be more joined up when making these kinds of decisions. this shows that the failure of the devolution settlement as it is, because it's a four—nation approach to testing that's been done uk—wide. the prime ministerjust admitted in the chamber that he announced at prime minister's questions ten days ago that this was going to come. where's the respect and the negotiation with the government in edinburgh and cardiff and in belfast? i mean, this is shocking. this is a political decision that's been taken today. it's not based on scientific advice. we've come a long way. and, of course, all of us has recognised that we have to live with covid, but an important part of that strategy is to have testing in place. we know that we're likely going to be facing new variants. we've just removed our defen

in official government guidance and the health minister in the devolved government at stormont robin swannmeasures, the virus is still there. nonetheless, many business groups in particular have welcomed this decision. the 15—year—old russian ice skater, kamila valieva will compete in a few hours at beijing winter olympics in beijing — despite failing a drugs test. the court of arbitration for sport on monday chose not to suspend the skater. games officials have however said — if kamila valieva finishes in the top three in the individual competition — it won't hold a medal ceremony. 0ur sports news correspondent laura scott sent this update. that is the question everyone is asking, what happens to the other athletes on this? have their interests didn't put behind those of kamila valieva? the global outrage in this saga continues to spread, athletes and sports organisations around the world saying this issue with allowing her to continue skating here in beijing sets a very dangerous precedent for the fact that she did test positive for a banned substance. despite her age, which was used by