lockdown in wales will last for three more weeks at least — but children could return to schools there after the february half—term. around 300,000 people are expected to leave hong kong for britain using a new visa route which opens on sunday. investors respond with outrage after trading platforms halt the buying of shares in the us games firm gamestop and other companies. it follows days of frenzied trading that led to a massive increase in its value. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. a new coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be 89.3% effective in large—scale uk trials. the novavax jab is the first to show it is effective against both the uk and south african variants of the virus. as you can see from this graph, the uk has secured 60 million doses of the jab, which will be made in stockton—on—tees. the doses are expected to be delivered in the second half of this year if approved for use by regulator. meanwhile, the european medicines agency will meet today to decide whether to approve the oxford astrazeneca vaccine developed for emergency use in eu countries. it comes as the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, has demanded astrazeneca fulfils its contract with the eu. a row has broken out in the past few days after the firm said problems with its production plant in belgium meant the eu would not be getting all of the vaccines it had paid for. yesterday, germany recommended that the astrazeneca jab — developed by oxford university — should be given only to people under the age of 65, but the uk continues to insist it provides high levels of protection for all adults. with more on all the latest vaccine developments, here's our reporterjohn donison. another scientific breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus, this time from the us firm novavax. results of the company's british trial show the first proven efficacy against the new, more contagious uk variant. there were more than 15,000 volunteers on the trail throughout the uk, and over half the cases of covid—19 recorded came from the new variant. it covid-19 recorded came from the new variant. , , , variant. it is very significant, because we _ variant. it is very significant, because we were _ variant. it is very significant, because we were able - variant. it is very significant, because we were able to - variant. it is very significant, i because we were able to show variant. it is very significant, - because we were able to show that the vaccine works well against both the vaccine works well against both the old, the original strain, and the old, the original strain, and the new strain. it had 96% efficacy against the original covid—19 strain, yet it also had efficacy against the variant strain. mew against the variant strain. new trials have _ against the variant strain. new trials have also _ against the variant strain. new trials have also shown - against the variant strain. new trials have also shown it - against the variant strain. new trials have also shown it works against the south african strain. it's a fantastic result, because it shows_ it's a fantastic result, because it shows that — it's a fantastic result, because it shows that the novavax vaccine is effective — shows that the novavax vaccine is effective against both the uk variant — effective against both the uk variant as well as the south african variant, _ variant as well as the south african variant, and— variant as well as the south african variant, and has shown phenomenal efficacy. _ variant, and has shown phenomenal efficacy, and it's made in teesside, not so _ efficacy, and it's made in teesside, not so not — efficacy, and it's made in teesside, not so not only have we trialled the vaccine _ not so not only have we trialled the vaccine to _ not so not only have we trialled the vaccine to make sure it is safe and effective. — vaccine to make sure it is safe and effective, we are making it too, so we will_ effective, we are making it too, so we will be — effective, we are making it too, so we will be able to save lives in the uk. the uv. - the vaccine uv. — the vaccine minister, uk. the vaccine minister, who took part in the novavax trials himself, said it was great to see such encouraging results, and is now awaiting approvalfrom results, and is now awaiting approval from the regulator. results, and is now awaiting approvalfrom the regulator. the uk has 60 million doses of the newjab on order. it will be a huge boost to the immunisation drive, which is already seeing almost 7.5 million people across the uk receive the first dose of either the pfizer or astrazeneca vaccines. but a row continues with the european union, which was much slower heir the mark in ordering and approving vixens. the eu now wants access to some of the uk's supply of astrazeneca doses because of shortages on the continent. the eu regulator is expected to approve the astrazeneca vaccines today. meanwhile, in germany, where the pfizer vaccine is being used, a national vaccine committee has said the astrazeneca jab should for now not be given to people aged 65 or above because of insufficient evidence of how effective it is in older people. the government here has firmly rejected that. government here has firmly re'ected that. ., ., ., , ., ., that. our own authorities have made it very clear— that. our own authorities have made it very clear that _ that. our own authorities have made it very clear that they _ that. our own authorities have made it very clear that they think - that. our own authorities have made it very clear that they think the - it very clear that they think the oxford astrazeneca vaccine is very 0xford astrazeneca vaccine is very good and efficacious. they think it is effective across all age groups, and provides a good immune response across all age groups. the evidence of how well the astrazeneca vaccine works in people over 65 is limited, but leading scientists here say they are confident it will give strong protection. our medical editor fergus walsh has more on the results and what happens next. what really caught my attention was the fact that this vaccine proved nearly 86% effective against the new uk variant. this was a vaccine that was not designed with that in mind, but it shows the cross protection that it gave, so, stunning results, absolutely stunning results. as you say, it will be produced in stockton—on—tees. we must not get ahead of ourselves. first, novavax must submit its final dossier to the uk regulator, and they told me very late last night this will not happen for a few weeks. they want to get a bit more data in, so it could be several weeks before they do that. the nhra, the regulator, has been doing a rolling review of their data so far, but i think what we need to expect with this vaccine is that it's not going to be on stream for a few months yet. in fact, most likely, it will be the vaccine that the younger people get, that will come on stream in a big way, assuming... we should not really assume, that it is approved, probably in the second half of the year. 0ur europe correspondent gavin lee has the latest on the vaccine row between the eu and astrazeneca. a few days ago, the boss of astrazeneca did at one interview with the italian newspaper la repubblica, in which he said they have had bad luck, with their facilities in belgium, and also in the netherlands, which he said was for the eu and uk manufacturing sites for the vaccine, which would supply the uk first. he also said it was a contract with a clause that always said, we will deliver based on best efforts. today, speaking on german radio, commission president ursula von der leyen said it is crystal clear that thatis leyen said it is crystal clear that that is not the case. the clause on best efforts was only ever if you could not produce the vaccine, and clearly, you could, butjust in smaller numbers. the other issue about saying the uk base goes to the uk first, he says it is in the contract that the two uk bases in two eu bases are to supply the eu, so whilst we are not getting the uk involved, she wants the contract published immediately by astrazeneca, today, she says, and that tells you the eu president commission is getting back involved after a row that has been deeply unpleasant for a week. they say, you must publish this, because ultimately the public will see the transparency of who is right. peter 0penshaw is professor of experimental medicine at imperial college london — he's also a member of nervtag, a group which advises the government on the threat posed by new and emerging respiratory viruses. thank you very much forjoining us. good morning. thank you very much for “oining us. good morningfi thank you very much for “oining us. good morning. how excited should we be about the — good morning. how excited should we be about the novavax _ good morning. how excited should we be about the novavax trials _ good morning. how excited should we be about the novavax trials which - be about the novavax trials which look to be pretty promising? yes. be about the novavax trials which look to be pretty promising? yes, i am really pleased _ look to be pretty promising? yes, i am really pleased to _ look to be pretty promising? yes, i am really pleased to see _ look to be pretty promising? yes, i am really pleased to see yet - look to be pretty promising? yes, i. am really pleased to see yet another vaccine coming through. so far, we have emergency approval for two rna vaccines, the moderna and biontech, which are fairly similar, and then the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, which is a recombinant vaccine based on the rna vaccine, which is actually more a conventional vaccine, formulated to induce a really good immune response, and i'm delighted we have a third basic approach to vaccination which seems to give such high protection. this is remarkable, and i think unprecedented that there should be such a rich abundance of approaches, all of which are successful. what all of which are successful. what are the advantages _ all of which are successful. what are the advantages of— all of which are successful. what are the advantages of novavax in terms of the temperature it has to be stored at, who it most will suit? it is a relatively conventional vaccine, it can be stored in the fridge, and the production is by conventional methods of producing the protein and then incorporating it with something called an adjuvant, which makes it a little more powerful. it is actually a detergent material you can extract from bach. —— from bark. so it looks like it would probably be suitable for younger people, but it appears to be effective in these studies regardless of age, so it could have quite wide applicability. i think it goes with the narrative that has been developed at the earliest vaccines, the first one is on the scene, would not necessarily be the ones that would be successful long term. this looks like a very promising vaccine. 0ne term. this looks like a very promising vaccine. one problem may be on the horizon is that the new variants of virus developing around the world, some of them may be resistant to virus based on the original sequence from the wuhan strain, so it may need updating over time, but that is reallyjust a formulation problem. let's turn our attention to the row over the oxford astrazeneca vaccine with the eu, but more particularly, the concerns expressed in germany that it's not as effective for the over 65s, and yet here in the uk, doctors are adamant it is. who is right? doctors are adamant it is. who is riuht? ~ ., ., . ., right? well, we have no evidence of its effectiveness _ right? well, we have no evidence of its effectiveness from _ right? well, we have no evidence of its effectiveness from the _ right? well, we have no evidence of its effectiveness from the oxford i its effectiveness from the oxford limb of the study, because originally, the oxford investigators quite rightly decided to vaccinate fit young people and then to move progressively into vaccinating wider groups once it had been shown to be safe, and to induce a good antibody response. so only in the later phases during the summer did they move into the elderly, and there were not enough infections. i think they were only two in the elderly participants in the study, one in each group. so that is really not enough to make any sort of guess about its effectiveness, but it was very clear that it was equally immunogenic, by which i mean that the antibody responses were just as goodin the antibody responses were just as good in the older adults as in the younger ones. so i think we have very good grounds on which to assume that the effectiveness of the vaccine would be equal in older adults. but you can understand that if they required specific data on the effectiveness of the vaccine in older adults, then the study data from oxford didn't show that. there are other ongoing studies which will show how effective the vaccine is in older adults, show how effective the vaccine is in olderadults, but show how effective the vaccine is in older adults, but those haven't been reported yet. briefly, then, if you are over 65 and are offered the astrazeneca gel, what would your message be to people thinking, i don't know if this is worth me having? i thinking, i don't know if this is worth me having?— worth me having? i would be confident _ worth me having? i would be confident that _ worth me having? i would be confident that it _ worth me having? i would be confident that it will - worth me having? i would be confident that it will induce l worth me having? i would be confident that it will induce a worth me having? i would be - confident that it will induce a good antibody response, equally good to the one seen in younger people. side—effects are, if anything, less in older adults, and i would be quite confident this is a good vaccine to have. anything which has been licensed in the uk has been done with great care and deliberation and these are safe and i am confident that they will be effective as well. there is no data to say they will not be effective. professor, thank you very much for your time. professor, thank you very much for our time. ., ~ i. schools in wales could start to re—open to all pupils after the february half—term if covid infection rates continue to fall in the coming weeks. the welsh government says it will work with schools on a phased return from the 22nd of february. wales' first minister this morning gave an idea of which pupils might be the first to return to the classroom. it will be a matter of selecting priority groups. there is a strong case for having the very youngest children back in school. they are not able to learn online and remotely, and the risk of them contracting or passing on coronavirus is the least of all. but we do also want to see if it is possible to have young people who are sitting for qualifications, particularly those where there are practical aspects to those examinations, vocational qualifications, in our schools and colleges. we would like to see them backin colleges. we would like to see them back in the classroom in small numbers, may be, not as it would have been before. tomos morgan is our wales correspndent. he has been following the story. it has been one of the main talking points, really, all year, since the lockdown across the uk was put into effect just before christmas. now, wales, really, before christmas, had the worst case rates, transmission rates of all the uk nations. since then, since lockdown has been put into effect, now we're starting see the positive coming out of that. the transmission rates in wales are now going down, the positivity rate, those testing positive across wales, is now coming down. so, all of those things together, really, have come together, coupled together, to make way for this decision today by the first minister and the welsh government to allow schools to partially reopen on the 22nd, on a phased return, as you mention, there, will be the youngest going back to school for us, for two reasons, one, online learning is so much more difficult for children of younger age, for obvious reasons, and of course, as well, the transmission risk for passing on the virus at that age group is so much lower. but it is keen, as well, to try and get some high school but he is keen, as well, to try and get some high school age children back in. those who are of exam grades, as well, but he has caveated all of this, saying the only way this is going to go ahead is if all those things we talk about, the transmission rates, the hospital rates, the vaccination rates, do continue to go in the right direction. 0ur wales correspondent. the headlines on bbc news... a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. the president of the european commission insists astrazeneca's contract with the bloc is binding and the company must fulfil its contract with the eu, as the european medicines agency meets to decide whether to approve the jab. around 300,000 people are expected to leave hong kong for britain using a new visa route which opens on sunday. schools in northern ireland will stay closed to all but vulnerable children and those of key workers until monday, march 8th at the earliest. first minister arlene foster said whether or not schools open fully on that date remains in doubt and will depend on the public health situation. ministers will review the decision in just under three weeks. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in belfast, emma vardy. they had planned to reopen just after the february half term. as you say, that was then pushed back to monday, the 8th of march. what they are basing it on is that although we are basing it on is that although we are seeing new cases of the virus coming down, the pressures on hospitals remain really high. we saw that click spike in cases just after christmas. the effect of that is being seen in hospitals now, and ministers he reminded people that we have actually seen the highest ever numbers of patients in intensive care this week. so although things are looking better in the community with the r eight coming down, the number of patients in hospital will remain high for a number of weeks to come, so i think it was inevitable they would push back the reopening date for schools. another factor playing into this is also that the new variants of the virus, the more transmissible variant that is increasingly common here in northern ireland, so that was something that played a part in their decision. in the meantime, the vaccine roll—out is progressing. a new online booking system has gone live for people age 60 5-69 system has gone live for people age 60 5—69 and the hope is that everyone over the age of 65 will have been offered the job by the end of february. so they will keep these things under review, the number of people who have had the vaccine will be an important factor when it comes to lifting restrictions further down the line. at the moment, with the pressure on hospitals continuing, there was no way ministers would be able to look at the next next couple of weeks. they said that was a decision taken reluctantly in the next couple of weeks. they said that was a decision taken reluctantly and they know people will be disappointed. arlene foster said she understands the pressure of being a mother, and the classroom. but people will have to continue home—schooling children for a little while longer. children of key workers, vulnerable children, are still attending classrooms at the moment here in northern ireland. it works out at about 9% of pupils here at the moment, but if things stay on track for schools to reopen on monday the 8th of march, even then, ministers are reminding people it might have to be only some pupils that are prioritised, particularly those taking exams. this weekend britain will open its doors to potentially hundreds of thousands of people living hong kong. a new visa system will give those with what's known and work in the uk and potentially become citizens. but china has accused britain of interfering in hong kong's internal affairs and says it will stop recognising british national 0verseas passports held by citizens in the territory from this sunday. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. after months of protest from pro—democracy campaigners, beijing last year imposed a tough new security law. britain said this brokered a deal that had agreed with china to protect the territory's autonomy, some ministers are offering a way out for those british nationals who want it. so offering a way out for those british nationals who want it.— nationals who want it. so for us in particular. — nationals who want it. so for us in particular. we _ nationals who want it. so for us in particular, we have _ nationals who want it. so for us in particular, we have made - nationals who want it. so for us in particular, we have made a - nationals who want it. so for us in i particular, we have made a promise to the people of hong kong when it comes to safeguarding and preserving their liberties and freedoms. particularly as they are being restricted by the chinese government. and this is one of its kind, effectively, a bespoke visa route to provide freedoms, safety, security. so who is eligible for the movie visa? it is open to anyone registered with a british national 0verseas status before july 1997, when hong kong was handed over to china. it also includes the children, partners, and dependent relatives. that potentially includes up relatives. that potentially includes up to 5.2 million hong kong citizens, two thirds of the entire population. so what does the visa do? it gives bn 0s the right to live, study and work in the uk for “p live, study and work in the uk for up to five years. they can then apply to settle permanently with a chance of citizenship after six years. in the process, they can use schools in the health service but can't claim welfare benefits. crucially, people can apply discreetly via a smartphone app rather than go in person to be visa office, where they could be identified by the authorities. the identified by the authorities. tue: digitalisation identified by the authorities. tte: digitalisation of identified by the authorities. "tt2 digitalisation of this identified by the authorities. tt2 digitalisation of this process will basically give people the surety, safeguards, protection, when they make these applications, because the environment is changing in hong kong and safeguarding individuals' freedoms, and liberty, is absolutely vitalfor freedoms, and liberty, is absolutely vital for those who get through this process. there are hurdles. applicants must show they have enough cash to survive for three months. there is a £3000 health surcharge. the government will say only 300,000 will come to the uk over the next five years. china is furious and has already threatened retaliation. translation: the already threatened retaliation. translation:— already threatened retaliation. translation: �* , , translation: the british side has violated its promises, _ translation: the british side has violated its promises, insisted - translation: the british side has violated its promises, insisted on l violated its promises, insisted on acting _ violated its promises, insisted on acting wilfully, repeatedly hyped theissue acting wilfully, repeatedly hyped the issue of british national passports, interfered in hong kong affairs. _ passports, interfered in hong kong affairs, and interfered in china's internal— affairs, and interfered in china's internal affairs. affairs, and interfered in china's internalaffairs. it affairs, and interfered in china's internal affairs. it will lift a rock — internal affairs. it will lift a rock only _ internal affairs. it will lift a rock only to drop it on its own feet in the _ rock only to drop it on its own feet in the end — rock only to drop it on its own feet in the end. but rock only to drop it on its own feet in the end-— in the end. but the british government _ in the end. but the british government is _ in the end. but the british| government is determined in the end. but the british i government is determined to in the end. but the british - government is determined to offer in the end. but the british _ government is determined to offer a lifeline to those in hong kong to whom it believes it has a moral duty to help. joining me now is natalie wong wai—man, visiting fellow at the department of public policy at the university of hong kong. thank you very much forjoining us. it is one thing to be offered the chance to come and live in the united kingdom, but how practical is it peoplejust to united kingdom, but how practical is it people just to move their lives halfway round the world? you know, for hong kong and britain, you can have a very good relationship. just because hong kong was a colony of the uk, and that's why you can see a lot of people study and even work in the uk before. and that's why you can see that the british government implements such a policy, five plus one package, with incentives too much of the hong kong eligible bn oh passport holders. because they can live and work in even their eligible children under 18 can receive free public education in the uk. so you would be —— it would be very attractive to families with children. i understand there is a prospect of remaining here permanently, eventually. but how likely is it that leaders in hong kong and beijing will try to stop this happening? the chinese governmentjust allows hong kong no longer to recognise bno this afternoon hong kong time, so i think this is one of the reactions from the chinese government towards the bno packages. and from this sunday, we are told beijing will stop recognising these british national overseas passports. how will people manage to leave hong kong if they no longer have the right passport like that? you can see that basically, _ right passport like that? you can see that basically, according - right passport like that? you can see that basically, according to l right passport like that? you can i see that basically, according to the british government, when they introduced this bno five plus one package, they also suggested that people holding passports can also fly to uk borders. they have such eligibility to have a bno, so they can move to uk and leave hong kong freely. tt can move to uk and leave hong kong freel . , , ., freely. it will be interesting to watch the _ freely. it will be interesting to watch the developments - freely. it will be interesting to watch the developments of. freely. it will be interesting to i watch the developments of how freely. it will be interesting to - watch the developments of how the relationship is between china and the uk. natalie wong from the university of hong kong, thank you very much. university of hong kong, thank you ve much. ., ~ university of hong kong, thank you ve much. ., ,, i. portugal's parliament will vote today on whether to decriminalise assisted suicide. if approved, it would make the country one of only a handful in the world to allow medical professionals to help people die without being penalised. the legislative process has taken more than a year and the bill is expected to pass. however, portugal's president is known to oppose the process and could use his power to veto the bill. protesters have set a government building on fire in the lebanese city of tripoli, in a fourth night of unrest over the government's handling of the economy and the pandemic. the lebanese red cross says more than a hundred people were injured in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. there were also protests outside the homes of politicians in tripoli. the demonstrators say a strict lockdown is compounding the economic misery caused by lebanon's financial crisis. a team of experts from the world health organization are holding their first face to face meetings with chinese scientists in wuhan, the city where the coronavirus was first recorded more than a year ago. they've already spent two weeks in quarantine, speaking to their chinese counterparts by video link. the who says it hopes the team will now be able to visit labs, markets and hospitals in wuhan and meet first responders and patients. 0ur china correspondent steven mcdonell is in wuhan. we have just had a we havejust had a bit we have just had a bit of a frantic chase through wuhan on the tail of the who team, because they haven't told us where they are going, just that their field trips would start today, and they have ended up here at this hospital in wuhan. you can probably see there are barricades here. the who cars came in here through that entranceway. the barricades come across to stop others following them in. and they will give you a look too at the media contingent here, so you can see the interest in their visit. mostly from the international press, but also some chinese journalists here as well. the reason they have come here, we are told, is that this is the hospital where we can find the first doctor to officially report a coronavirus case on the 27th of december, so they have come here to speak to that doctor. in the coming days and weeks, they will also visit the market where the first clusters were reported, and even now, i am being told they are going to go, quite contentiously, to the institute here, the lab, where some have said potentially the coronavirus escaped. now, the scientists in this team say they don't think there is much of a chance that the lab theory holds much water, but nevertheless, they are going to go and visit the lab, because they say they are exploring all options. however, this is going to be a long process. we are not going to see them come out at the end of this two—week period and say, we have discovered the origins of coronavirus. it is very complicated and might take years to track down the origins of. the hollywood actress cicely tyson, who's best known for her portrayal of strong african—american characters over a career that spanned seven decades, has died at the age of 96. her breakthrough came in 1972 in the film sounder, which was set in depression—era louisiana, for which she won a golden globe and an oscar nomination. she received the presidential medal of freedom in 2016. the duchess of cambridge has revealed that parenting during lockdown has left her "exhausted". catherine, whose children prince louis, princess charlotte and prince george are aged two, five and seven, was on a video conference with other parents when she spoke about the challenges of both home—schooling and home—hairdressing. we've had to take on additional roles that perhaps those around us in our communities or our lives would have perhaps supported us with. so i've become a hairdresser this lockdown, much to my children's horror! in fact, i have become a teacher, you know, and i think i personally feel pulled in so many different directions, and you try your best to do everything, but at the end of the day, i do feel exhausted. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines: a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. the novavax is effective against both the uk variant, as well as the south african variant and has shown phenomenal efficacy and it's made in teesside. the president of the european commission insists astrazeneca's contract with the bloc is binding and the company must fulfill its contract with the eu, as the european medicines agency meets to decide whether to approve the jab. lockdown in wales will last for three more weeks at least — but children could return to schools there after the february half—term. around 300,000 people are expected to leave hong kong for britain using a new visa route which opens on sunday. investors respond with outrage after trading platforms halt the buying of shares in the us games firm gamestop, following days of frenzied trading that led to a massive increase in its value. britain formally left the european union a year ago, but it was only last month that it came out of the key economic institutions — the eu's single market and customs union. that was a pivotal moment of change for businesses on both sides. just days ahead of that deadline, britain and the eu did manage to seal an agreement. but it has not all been plain sailing, even allowing for disruption caused by the pandemic. 0ur economics correspondent, andrew walker, reports. a month ago, the european union and britain signed a trade deal. here is, folks, this is it. it means british and eu goods can be exported from one to the other free of tariffs or trade taxes. but there are new barriers. the issue is most acute for businesses that deal with perishable goods, such as fresh seafood, where a host of new checks and paperwork are required to sell into the eu. it was a very serious problem for this scottish supplier who spoke to the bbc in mid—january. tens of thousands of pounds a week that we are losing. we can't continue to lose that. we sent stuff to europe last week, it took five days to arrive. it arrived dead and rotten. even within the uk, the special arrangements for northern ireland have led to delays and some supermarkets did initially struggle to fill their shelves and there are still problems for some retailers. in england, tricker�*s, an upmarket shoemaker, is facing new difficulties with paperwork and tax. the managing director was relieved about the trade deal. what we hadn't been prepared for, and i think this applies to any business in the uk, is all the extra costs that have come from this. the barriers are also affecting some goods going from the eu to the uk. some suppliers, mainly small ones, are temporarily refusing to ship to britain. i've got the website here of one in finland that supplies outdoor clothing. at the top of its home page it says, "no delivery to the uk just now". here's a similar message from a belgian beer supplier. some of the disruption is surely short—term. businesses will adapt. the british prime minister says the deal is a success. we've taken back control of our laws and our destiny. of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way that is complete and unfettered. that sovereignty question is central for brexit supporters but it comes at the cost of more difficult trade with britain's biggest commercial partner. andrew walker, bbc news. well, as we heard, businesses trading with the eu now have to fill out customs declarations and some products need special licenses or certificates. how are uk firms coping? let's speak to joycelyn mate, co—founder of afrocenchix — a uk based firm which sells afro hair products within the uk and abroad. tell us how things have changed for your company since brexit? since brexit, your company since brexit? since brexit. we've _ your company since brexit? since brexit, we've been _ your company since brexit? since brexit, we've been hit _ your company since brexit? since brexit, we've been hit with - your company since brexit? since brexit, we've been hit with a - brexit, we've been hit with a horrible shock of more paperwork and customers' products being held up at customs. we formulate products but afro hair and we sell those mainly online. countries like germany, the netherlands, france. we found out about the paperwork when a customer messaged us on social media and said his product was stuck at customs. he had to pay over 50% of what is puzzle was worth to get out of customs and we had to send him a vat invoice and we were not aware of that. we kind of thought would we have some room for teething issues with the brexit bill but it has been horrible and almost got to the point where we have to probably stop trading with the eu, which will cost us thousands of pounds over the next three months. it'sjust small companies like ours who are employing british people using british suppliers are really struggling because of the extra paperwork, the costs of sending product to europe when in december at the spine and injanuary, it's been a massive headache. at the spine and in january, it's been a massive headache. there have been a massive headache. there have been lots of — been a massive headache. there have been lots of tv _ been a massive headache. there have been lots of tv adverts _ been a massive headache. there have been lots of tv adverts and _ been a massive headache. there have been lots of tv adverts and posters i been lots of tv adverts and posters all over the place telling businesses they needed to prepare. so why were you taken by surprise? there is an element of yes, we need to prepare. we also sell to retailers as well. we sell to one of the biggest health retailers in the uk and they did help us prepare. 0ne uk and they did help us prepare. one of the things they said was, you just need an eu address. but as an e—commerce brand, we were not prepared for the customs or the extra money the customers would have to pay. even if we were prepared, it is still an extra cost. it's still costing our business thousands of pounds. it still means we have to weigh up whether we actually sailed to the eu because it will cost a customer 50—100% more to buy from us thanit customer 50—100% more to buy from us than it did in december. so whether or not we were prepared, we are prepared to now, it is still a lot of money and it is still detrimental to a lot of small uk businesses. we know some businesses have been advised by government officials here to set up an office in the eu to get round some of these problems. how feasible is that for a company of your size?— your size? for a company of our size, its — your size? for a company of our size, it's feasible. _ your size? for a company of our size, it's feasible. we _ your size? for a company of our size, it's feasible. we have - size, it's feasible. we have customers that are not in the eu that it customers that are not in the eu thatitis customers that are not in the eu that it is another cost. you have to register your business in the eu territory. you have to set up a warehousing and eu territory, which is another cost, where we could have just shipped directly from the uk now we have to set up another warehouse in an eu territory to ship those products out there. that means you have to hire people to manage that whole warehouse. it's an extra unnecessary cost that wasn't the case a month ago. so this brexit deal has been absolutely horrible for us. , . , deal has been absolutely horrible forus. , ., ,, deal has been absolutely horrible forus. , ., ., for us. joycelyn mate thank you for talkin: to for us. joycelyn mate thank you for talking to us- _ and i can speak now to patrick minford — professor of applied economics at cardiff business school. thank you very much forjoining us. you were a very vocal supporter of brexit that when you have stories like we just heard there, about the cost involved, the difficulties, the paperwork, the fact that it's really threatening a lot of her business, what is your answer to businesses like that? ~ ., _, , �* like that? well, of course, brexit is about a — like that? well, of course, brexit is about a lot _ like that? well, of course, brexit is about a lot more _ like that? well, of course, brexit is about a lot more than - like that? well, of course, brexit is about a lot more than our - like that? well, of course, brexit| is about a lot more than our trade with the eu. that is an important point. the object of brexit is to get free trade with the rest of the world. a lot of people haven't understood that the eu put huge barriers between us and our trade with the rest of the world. that's what free trade agreements, which is one of the major points of brexit, are going to achieve, and bring down the cost of trade with the rest of the cost of trade with the rest of the world, which has got very little attention in all of this. it is perfectly true that there is now a border with the eu and as your interviewer said, everybody knew that. the point about the border after this trade agreement, is that under wto rules, that border ought to be seamless, what's called seamless, in other words, things should go through it with a minimum of inspection between most developed countries, 97% of trade actually goes through without inspection at all. what we are seeing now is a huge transitional issue, as the trade with the eu that used do not have a border at all, now faces a border. what we are hearing... if i mayjust finish. what border. what we are hearing... if i may just finish. what we border. what we are hearing... if i mayjust finish. what we are hearing at the moment is completely predictable transitional problems, as the system moves over to having a border. unfortunately, the eu, unlike us, has not been very cooperative with ferns about this new border. but under wto rules, in the long run it has to be cooperative or it will be illegal. you are a champion of free trade, as this is clear. you also set out a standard rate of income tax, saying it should be cut to a 15% flat tax rate on consumption. why do you believe that that is necessary, how would it help?— believe that that is necessary, how would it help? well, the point about ost-brexit would it help? well, the point about post-brexit and _ would it help? well, the point about post-brexit and post _ would it help? well, the point about post-brexit and post covid - would it help? well, the point about post-brexit and post covid is - would it help? well, the point about post-brexit and post covid is we - post—brexit and post covid is we have to take advantage of the new era that we face to make business as competitive as possible. cutting taxes is an important part of all that and getting an efficient tax system that makes our business is competitive and favours entrepreneurship in this country is a really important part of policies going forward. that's what i'm hoping that the government will embrace, and economy going forward where marginal tax rates are brought down and businesses given the most competitive environment possible, including good regulations and free trade and, of course, particularly on the regulative side, freedom to innovate away from the very kind of negative and precautionary approach of the eu. so, there's a whole possible remaking of the economy that lies ahead, which is what i've been urging. brute that lies ahead, which is what i've been urging-— been urging. we haven't even got started on environmental- been urging. we haven't even got started on environmental and - started on environmental and employment protections and there is no time now but i am sure we will come back and have that discussion at another time. professor patrick minford from cardiff business school, thank you so much for your time today. ministers in england are being urged to consider allowing some pupils to repeat a year if they are not happy with their exam grades. the call by the education policy institute think tank comes as the government ends its consultation on how students will be awarded grades this summer — after exams were cancelled for a second year. and there are concerns that some pupils are being hampered by an inability to access lessons because they still don't have access to laptops or affordable broadband. fiona lamdin reports. it's a life changer, and it's also a life—saver. this was the moment when these ten—year—old identical twins were given a donated laptop. it made a big impact on our lives because you can get more education and you can get more work done. and we can see our teacher on the online lessons at zoom. live lessons are amazing, actually. sometimes we do fun stuff. but it is notjust a lack of devices which is making it hard for some children to study. many families are struggling to get online. near the english—welsh border live the bennetts. they're dairy farmers. 0ur internet isn't so good, so we don't get to do so much stuff. for their children, drew and megan, home—schooling is a struggle. with maths and english, it's really hard because we can't watch the videos. we just have to do it on a sheet of paper. their broadband is so slow, live lessons are out of the question. we can't get onto a zoom session. they don't get to do any of the live lessons or links to tutorial videos that they could watch. it is simply paper, printed out stuff. are you worried they are falling behind? i think they are because they don't get that interaction from their teacher. they can't get 4g reception. to cable it from where there is a signal would cost thousands, something they can't afford. 0fcom found that 6% of households have difficulties paying their broadband, while 5% of families struggle with their mobile phone bill. this is kedra and her family in bristol. she can't afford broadband or mobile data. her seven children haven't been able to do any home learning. i don't have anything. i don't have internet and computer. has it been very hard? very, very hard. the internet is the food money i don't have. as we were filming, this charity not only donated a laptop but a free dongle. families are having to choose between food, heating, or internet connection. if they have young people in the family that need education, that's quite a tough choice to make. the department for education say they have given over 50,000 4g routers to schools or disadvantaged children. after missing out on nearly a month of education, kedra's children can now restart studying. and for our uk viewers, if you wish to donate a laptop orfind more details on getting online — go to bbc.co.uk/makeadifference. big questions are being asked about how the us stock market works after indivdual investors were stopped from buying shares after big losses for wall street traders. shares in gamestop — a video game retailer — soared after a group of private investors used online chat forums to drive up their price. paul hawkins reports. this is a story of david versus goliath, of the amateur online investor beating the big traditional wall street traders. at the centre of it, gamestop, a struggling american retailer selling dvds and video games. a number of the wall street traders picked up on its problems and bet money that its share price would fall, known in the business as shorting a stock. only, for that this particular stock, amateur investors swapping tips on the social media site reddit saw it as an opportunity. they bought shares which actually drove up the price by 700%, so the wall street traders, which act for hedge funds lost money, potentially billions of dollars, while the amateur investors made money. but on thursday, the main platforms the small investors used to buy the stocks, like robin hood, stopped them from buying more shares. they reddit investors, unsurprising,ly weren't happy. they want the hedge fund guys to win, they don't want the common man, brokers, they don't want us to win. they said that i could only sell my amc stock, they said i could only sell my nokia stock but i couldn't buy more this morning. it was crazy. how is that a free market in any way? that's not a free market, that sounds like communism. these are dirty, dirty people. they deserve jail time. money — they'll be able to repair the money, they can pay millions of dollars worth of fines but this isn't about the money, this is aboutjail time, prison. they should go to jail. accusations like that will hurt platforms like robin hood, who have helped democratise the stock market. its co—founder said the firm had taken its decision based on regulatory requirements and limited buyers of the restricted stocks would be allowed from friday. you have a generation that feels as if it's their time. you have new weapons of influence, new trading platforms and you also have a lot of people at home with stimulus in their pocket and phones and access to trading. it all kind of spells a cocktail of volatility. even american politicians are unusually united over their response, with the incoming chair of the banking committee promising to look into how the stock market works. bell rings. everyone loves the story of a plucky underdog, but a black eye for wall street may have repercussions for the rest of us. to cover their losses, the big investors may need to sell their other shares in things like pension funds, and that means their share price falls. and that's not good for the people who rely on them. paul hawkins, bbc news. our business correspondent katie prescott is here. it isa it is a bit complicated, this. we can carry on unravelling this. is this practice spreading to the uk? it's really interesting because analysts are saying they are seeing quite a lot of correlation between the ten most shorted businesses in the ten most shorted businesses in the uk, companies like sydney world and companies that own shopping centres that have struggled in lockdown and their share prices are rocketing. if you look at their share prices, it's gone up about 10% this week in the case of pearson's. part of the reason is it has been more common generally in the states for the man and woman on the street to have a share portfolio, far more thanit to have a share portfolio, far more than it has here. but during the pandemic, the number of us who have become interested in stocks and shares has risen. a lot of that is to do with the stock market doing brilliantly when people make money, everyone wants a piece of the pie. and because banks are paying such low interest rate so people are thinking, what is the point of me leaving money on the bank? it is so easy to do, with the click of a button you can start trading, not only stocks and shares but more complicated instruments and we are really seeing that happening here. some of the big financial institutions don't like this, do they? activists, independent investors have sort of rolled their small tanks under the large lawns? t small tanks under the large lawns? i think they are very taken aback, if i can say so, by what has happened and i think, more to the point, it's the regulators who really don't know how to handle this because arguably you could say, it is market manipulation. people getting together on forums to try and change the price of stocks. but when you are talking about individuals on a social media platform, how on earth do you deal with it? that is why we have seen some of these trading platforms shutting down saying you are not allowed to trade but equally that has angered people who feel like all they do do do what they are doing is there and the hedge funds are allowed to continue trading and they are not. it are allowed to continue trading and they are not-— they are not. it sounds anti-democratic? - they are not. it sounds anti-democratic? and | they are not. it sounds| anti-democratic? and i they are not. it sounds - anti-democratic? and i think they are not. it sounds _ anti-democratic? and i think that's what they are _ anti-democratic? and i think that's what they are grappling _ anti-democratic? and i think that's what they are grappling with. - anti-democratic? and i think that's what they are grappling with. i - what they are grappling with. i spoke to the financial conduct authority earlier and they say they are monitoring the situation, firms and individuals need to be aware of what the various regulations are but the reality is i think everyone is catching up after the event. this is quite an unprecedented situation, not to use that word again! everything is at the moment. we will get back to precedented times in a moment. the united arab emirates has been added to the "red list" of countries from where travel to the uk is banned — along with burundi and rwanda. the measure is aimed at stopping the spread of the south african variant and comes into force today. the uae ban comes after criticism of british social media influencers visiting dubai in recent weeks. climate change has been a major theme of this year's world economic forum conference, normally held in davos, but taking place online this year. movie star robert downeyjunior is best known for playing a fictional tech tycoon in iron man, but he's been telling the bbc�*s rory cellanjones about his new role — as the real head of an investment fund promoting green technology. i realised a few years ago that i'd amassed a pretty wide audience, i guess you'd call that followers nowadays. it seemed like just posting more videos of me dancing with my alpaca wasn't really moving the conversation on this existential threat. i felt moved to try to do something that would be impactful. so, you're hoping that you cannot only mobilise a lot of money but a lot of interest, a lot of enthusiasm, really, for the potential of this technology? sure. i mean, that's the big idea, right? that...this kind of learned helplessness overload these last several years and just the assault of preprogrammed opinions that we're given, that's the real existential threat because it divides us. i'm kind of entering having stepped out of the make—believe world of, you know, let's stop thanos and the real thanos has been lapping up against the door. by the time the malibu fires were... i had my hoses out trying to help my neighbour not lose his house, you kind of go, this is not the ryhthm that was going on in california in the �*80s or the �*90s. but there is, particularly in your country, there is a bit of a culture war about climate change. still quite a large part of the population that doesn't believe the message they're hearing. can you change that, can a hollywood star change that? you know, when the first iron man came out, all of my conservative friends said, "god dammit, bob, you really stuck one to those lefties". and all my liberal friends said, "you really showed them how to do it!" and i go, ijust wanted to make a movie that appealed to a broad audience. so, i think part of the coalition's mission, in addition to trying to do correct storytelling around this... you're right. it is crazy how politicised it's become but i think there's a way to appeal to my brothers and sisters in the heartland and my conservative friends in a way where you say, how can we help... how can we help this feel like it meets your values' set? asking the question of how to become relatable, rather than saying, "you're wrong, you're crazy and you're bad." what would success look like? i want people to have gotten a well above average return but also, you know, certain of these companies may really answer scaling these technologies in a way that is super impactful and i would feel like i had some small part in that. the actor robert downeyjunior talking about his new role away from the big screen to work technology correspondent. a piece of ancientjewellery has been rediscovered on a beach in denmark. a necklace — dating back to the stone age — was found buried in the sands of thorsminde in the north of the country. it's been described as a rare and insanely beautiful discovery. tim allman has more. it's amazing what you can find when you are out for a stroll. inge was visiting the beach when something caught her eye. that i must collect, she said. i stop taking photos, picked it up and said what's this? it was an ancient piece of amber believed to be part of a necklace. around 10,000 years old and quite a revelation for the local museum. translation:— revelation for the local museum. translation: normally we receive ob'ects translation: normally we receive objects from — translation: normally we receive objects from the — translation: normally we receive objects from the bronze _ translation: normally we receive objects from the bronze age, - translation: normally we receive objects from the bronze age, the i objects from the bronze age, the iron age in the middle ages, this is much older and more rare. it’s much older and more rare. it's believed much olderand more rare. it's believed people in the stone age started making jewellery not long after they started making weapons. necklaces, pendants, bracelets, they would use shells, animal bones or shells. then they got a little more ambitious. translation: shells. then they got a little more ambitious. tuna/mom- shells. then they got a little more ambitious. translation: amber is as interestinu ambitious. translation: amber is as interesting for — ambitious. translation: amber is as interesting for the _ ambitious. translation: amber is as interesting for the ancient _ ambitious. translation: amber is as interesting for the ancient people - interesting for the ancient people as the old people as gold. this maaical as the old people as gold. this magical necklace _ as the old people as gold. this magical necklace will - as the old people as gold. this magical necklace will soon go on display at the country's national museums better than my windowsill, says inge. you're watching bbc news. earlier we spoke to our reporter, john maguire about the rspb's big garden birdwatch and he was very determined to be joined by a robin live on air. sadly, this is what we got. ican i can only apologise for rob the robin not coming down and feeding. we have seen him aid a few times this morning and i think you've got to see him in the report earlier on. anyway, i will hand you back, back to you. anyway, i will hand you back, back to ou. , ., to you. very patient, he carried on waitin: to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and _ to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and as _ to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and as soon _ to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and as soon as _ to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and as soon as we - to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and as soon as we went. to you. very patient, he carried on waiting and as soon as we went to| waiting and as soon as we went to the weather, this happened. look! you know you're _ the weather, this happened. look! you know you're hungry. _ the weather, this happened. look! i you know you're hungry. perfection! but it was you know you're hungry. perfection! itut it was a — you know you're hungry. perfection! itut it was a very _ you know you're hungry. perfection! but it was a very noncompliant - but it was a very noncompliant robin. perhaps a little camera shy but we got there in the end. he looks so happy! time for a look at the weather forecast with sarah. hello. it's another mild day today, particularly towards the south, but as we head through into the weekend, things are going to turn colder for all of us. for some places, there's going to be some rain, some sleet and some snow. it is going to be that messy mix of rain, sleet and mainly snow over the higher ground but it's down to the fact that cold air is moving in from the north. this mild air with us at the moment gets squeezed away over the next few days and where those two air masses meet, we're seeing a developing weather front and an area of low pressure sitting towards the south—west. now, through the weekend, that will drive some rain, sleet and snow into parts of southern england and wales. whereas further north, high pressure will keep things largely dry through saturday and into sunday. but before we get to the weekend, for the remainder of today, still a few showers of rain and hill snow across parts of scotland in particular and it is mild in the south. now, most of the showers will be easing away, so showers clearing away from the south—east. one or two continuing for parts of northern england, perhaps the odd one for wales and northern ireland. sunshine returning across the northern part of scotland, but it will still be fairly cloudy with the odd wintry flurry towards the south of scotland. 4—5 degrees here, whereas in that mild air further south, 11—12 celsius. a little bit of sunshine for the south east of england, east anglia and northern scotland later on. into the evening and overnight, two things are happening. first off, that cold, clearer air is moving its way south and this area of cloud and rain is pushing in from the south—west, bumping into that colder air. so, a mild, quite soggy start to your saturday morning in the south. much colder conditions, —7 possible, across parts of scotland, so some icy stretches. blizzards are possible, particularly across parts of wales, over the higher ground, over the midlands, for instance, as well. we'll soon see this easterly wind developing, as some of that rain turns to sleet and snow, mainly over the higher ground. down towards the south coast, it will be falling as rain. still mild here, 10 degrees in plymouth. contrast that to around four or five across parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england. through saturday night, then, the weather fronts clear away, for a time at least. so high pressure keeping things cold. a really chilly, crisp start to sunday morning with a widespread sharp frost. through the day, though, the next area of the rain will move in, increasingly turning to snow, particularly across wales, inland parts of england, especially over higher ground. further north and east, you should stay dry but it will be a cold day. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. the novavax vaccine is effective against both the uk variant, as well as the south african variant, and has shown phenomenal efficacy, and it is made in teesside. the president of the european commission insists astrazeneca's contract with the bloc is binding — and the company must fulfil its contract with the eu — as the european medicines agency meets to decide whether to approve the jab. lockdown in wales will last for three more weeks at least — but children could return to schools there after the february half—term. investors respond with outrage after trading platforms halt the buying of shares in the us games firm gamestop following days of frenzied trading that led to a massive increase in its value. "exhausted". the duchess of cambridge talks candidly about the challenges of both home—schooling and home—hairdressing her children. and this is the live feed from the rspb bird cam — as the charity launches its big garden birdwatch — where members of the public are asked to spend one hour counting and recording the birds they see from their home. hello, good morning. a new coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be 89.3% effective in large—scale uk trials. the novavax jab is the first to show it is effective against both the uk and south african variants of the virus. as you can see from this graph, the uk has secured 60 million doses of the jab which will be made in stockton—on—tees. the doses are expected to be delivered in the second half of this year, if approved for use by regulator. meanwhile, the european medicines agency will meet today to decide whether to approve the oxford astrazeneca vaccine developed for emergency use in eu countries. it comes as the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, has demanded astrazeneca fulfils its contract with the eu. a row has broken out in the past few days after the firm said problems with its production plant in belgium meant the eu would not be getting all of the vaccines it had paid for. yesterday, germany recommended that the astrazeneca jab — developed by oxford university — should be given only to people under the age of 65, but the uk continues to insist it provides high levels of protection for all adults. with more on all the latest vaccine developments, here's our reporterjohn donison. another scientific breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus. this time from the us firm novavax. results of the company's british trial showed the first proven efficacy against the new more contagious uk variant. there were more than 15,000 volunteers on the trial throughout the uk. over half the cases of covid—19 recorded came from the new variant. it's very significant because we were able to show that the vaccine works well against both the old, the original strain, and the new strain. 96% efficacy against the original covid—19 strain and yet it still had 86% efficacy against the variant strain. and separate trials have also shown the vaccine works against a new south african strain. it is a fantastic result because it shows that the novavax vaccine is effective against both the uk variant, as well as the south african variant, and has shown phenomenal efficacy, and it is made in teesside, so not only have we trialled the vaccine to show that it is safe and effective, but we are also making it, too. so we will be able to save lives in the uk. the vaccine minister, nadhim zahawi, who took part in the novavax trials himself said it was great to see such encouraging results, and is now awaiting approval from the regulator. the uk has 60 million doses of the newjab on order. it will be a huge boost to the immunisation drive, which has already seen almost 7.5 million people across the united kingdom receive a first dose of either the pfizer or astrazeneca vaccines. but a row continues with the european union, which was much slower off the mark in ordering and approving vaccines. the eu now wants access to some of the uk's supply of astrazeneca doses because of shortages on the continent. the eu regulator is expected to approve the astrazeneca vaccine today. meanwhile, in germany, where the pfizer vaccine is being used, a national vaccine committee has said the astrazeneca jab should for now not be given to people aged 65 and above because of insufficient evidence of how effective it is in older people. the government here has firmly rejected that. our own authorities have made it very clear that they think the oxford/astrazeneca vaccine is very good and efficacious. they think that it is effective across all age groups. it provides a good immune response across all age groups. the evidence of how well the astrazeneca vaccine works in people over 65 is limited, but leading scientists here say they are confident it will give strong protection. john donison, bbc news. our medical editor fergus walsh has more on the results and what happens next. what really caught my attention was the fact that this vaccine proved nearly 86% effective against the new uk variant. now, this was a vaccine that was not designed with that in mind, but it shows the cross protection that it gave. so stunning results, absolutely stunning results. it will, as you say, be produced in stockton—on—tees. we mustn't get ahead of ourselves, first of all novavax has got to submit its final dossier to the uk regulator. and they told me very late last night this will not happen for a few weeks. they want to get a bit more data in. so it could be several weeks before they do that. the mhra, the regulator, has been doing a rolling review of their data so far. but i think what we need to expect with this vaccine is that it is not going to be on stream for a few months yet. in fact, most likely, it will be the vaccine that younger people get. it will come on stream and may be a big way, assuming... and we mustn't really assume that it is approved, probably in the second half of the year. 0ur europe correspondent, gavin lee, has the latest on the vaccine row between the eu and astrazenica. we are still in a deeply unpleasant stage of its because the pressure has not gone away. the european commission president basically getting involved this morning, saying that all of the justifications given by the boss of astrazeneca, she discounted them. they are not correct. the chief executive officer did an interview with the italian newspaper, in which he said two things of note. he said it was bad luck, different yields produced by the vaccine cultures, and their belgium site, that is where they had had a bad yield. it is the belgian and netherland sites that provide and supply the eu. and the uk sites supply the uk. he also said the contract was only ever delivery based on best efforts. what ursula von der leyen said was that was nonsense. she said best efforts only applied if astrazeneca could not produce the vaccine in the first place. she said that is discounted and also it stipulates explicitly that the eu has access to these uk sites. she wants this contract published immediately and is asking astrazeneca to do so. that is where we are with that debate today. european commissioner forjustice also speaking this morning on radio, saying that the way that the eu have worked, getting a contract together, he did not want to see a vaccine work. but he added may be the vaccine does —— the uk does want to see a vaccine war. it is becoming more hostile. the prime minister and public health england have defended the use of the oxford—astrazeneca jab, after germany recommended that it should only be given to people aged under 65. this morning, the head of germany's vaccine regulator rowed back from last night's stance, saying he expected the european union would approve the vaccine with a warning that the available data for older age groups was weaker. peter 0penshaw is professor of experimental medicine at imperial college london there isn't enough evidence on this. we have no evidence about its effectiveness from the oxford limb of the study. because originally the oxford investigators, quite rightly, 0xford investigators, quite rightly, decided to vaccinate fit, young people. and then move progressively into vaccinating wider groups once it was deemed to be safe and induce a good antibody response. it was only in the later phases, during the summer, they moved into the elderly. and there just were not enough infections. there were only two infections. there were only two infections in the elderly participants in the study. one in each group. so that is really not enough to make any sort of guess about its effectiveness. it was very clear that it was equally immunogenic, the antibody responses werejust as good immunogenic, the antibody responses were just as good in the older adults as they were in the younger adults. so i think we have got very good grounds on which to assume that the effectiveness of the vaccine would be equal and older adults. but you can understand that the... if they required a specific data on the effectiveness of the vaccine in older adults, then this study data from oxford did not show that. there are other ongoing studies which will show how effective the vaccine is in older adults, show how effective the vaccine is in olderadults, but show how effective the vaccine is in older adults, but those have not been reported yet. i would be confident that it is going to induce a good antibody response, equally good to the response which is seen in younger people. side—effects are, if anything, less in older adults. i would be quite confident that this is a good vaccine to have. anything which has been licensed in the uk has been done with great care and deliberation. these are safe and i am confident they will be effective. we can speak now to professor eskild petersen — chair of emerging infections task force of the european society for clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. good morning to you. i want to get into some of the issues in just a moment, but could you just briefly tell us what the task force is for and what it is focused on right now? the task force is supplying the members of the european society of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases with a selected important news pieces on the covid outbreak. that is our main task at the moment. we have lots of members are not all of them are following the detail of covid, so we select what we think is important and post it on the website. through our newsletter. so you must be watching this row that is erupting between the eu and astrazeneca with some interest. what do you make of it? i astrazeneca with some interest. what do you make of it?— do you make of it? i think it is very unfortunate. _ do you make of it? i think it is very unfortunate. this - do you make of it? i think it is very unfortunate. this is - do you make of it? i think it is. very unfortunate. this is probably do you make of it? i think it is- very unfortunate. this is probably a contractual problem, but given the brexit saga, then there are some political implications of this. basically i think there is a lack of trust between the uk and the eu. i think that what we need now is for astrazeneca to make the contract public, that is what the commission has asked them to do. the commission cannot publish the contract because there is a confidentiality clause. so i think that in order to clear all this astrazeneca should publish the contract. all this astrazeneca should publish the contract-— the contract. because there's an element of _ the contract. because there's an element of he _ the contract. because there's an element of he said, _ the contract. because there's an element of he said, she - the contract. because there's an element of he said, she said - the contract. because there's an element of he said, she said at. the contract. because there's an i element of he said, she said at the moment, isn't there? it is interesting that you think brexit, or the politics around brexit, has played a part in this. on which side? on sides? i played a part in this. on which side? on sides?— played a part in this. on which side? on sides? i definitely think so. i side? on sides? i definitely think so- i think _ side? on sides? i definitely think so. i think there _ side? on sides? i definitely think so. i think there is _ side? on sides? i definitely think so. i think there is a _ side? on sides? i definitely think so. i think there is a lack- side? on sides? i definitely think so. i think there is a lack of- side? on sides? i definitely think so. i think there is a lack of trust| so. i think there is a lack of trust on both sides. we should work on increasing trust here. i have full understanding that there may be manufacturing problems for all companies supplying the covid vaccines. they have to be transferred and make sure that whatever deal they have, they try to divide the existing vaccines as justly as possible. so everybody is kept happy, even though everyone of us has to wait more weeks than we thought in the beginning. but that is life. but thought in the beginning. but that is life. �* , ., is life. but it is also the case that the eu _ is life. but it is also the case that the eu put _ is life. but it is also the case that the eu put in _ is life. but it is also the case that the eu put in its - is life. but it is also the case that the eu put in its order. is life. but it is also the case i that the eu put in its order for is life. but it is also the case - that the eu put in its order for the that the eu put in its orderfor the astrazeneca vaccine considerably later than the uk debt. but astrazeneca vaccine considerably later than the uk debt.— later than the uk debt. but as i understand _ later than the uk debt. but as i understand from _ later than the uk debt. but as i understand from the _ later than the uk debt. but as i understand from the press, - later than the uk debt. but as i understand from the press, i i later than the uk debt. but as i i understand from the press, i read the guardian and bbc this morning, there is no clause in the contract specifying that you have preference before because you signed the contract earlier. that is why we need to see the contract. if that is not the case, it does not really make any difference whether you signed the contract earlier or later. ., . ., ., later. ok. i wonder if we can move on to the questions _ later. ok. i wonder if we can move on to the questions raised - later. ok. i wonder if we can move on to the questions raised in - on to the questions raised in germany about the effectiveness of the astrazeneca jab four people were over 65. the german health ministry seems to be rowing back a bit from its initial suspicions. where do you stand on the effectiveness of the jab in older the vaccine are approved on efficacy. fits jab in older the vaccine are approved on efficacy. as we 'ust heard, approved on efficacy. as we 'ust heard. there �* approved on efficacy. as we 'ust heard, there is i approved on efficacy. as we 'ust heard, there is no i approved on efficacy. as we 'ust heard, there is no real�* approved on efficacy. as we 'ust heard, there is no real data b approved on efficacy. as we just heard, there is no real data are| heard, there is no real data are there are 11t00 people over 55 who were included in the astrazeneca trial. the reports of the main publication from the 8th of december does not specify anything about protective efficacy because the sample size is too low. so the approval in the uk is east on the antibody response alone, and that may be good enough, but it is quite unusual based alone on the antibody response and not on the protective efficacy. that may be acceptable in the uk now, in the middle of a terrible pandemic, and we will see if the european medicines agency agree with the uk or agree with the institute in germany. but it isn't usual, but it is unusual times. that's it is. usual, but it is unusual times. that's it is-_ that's it is. while you were speaking — that's it is. while you were speaking there, _ that's it is. while you were speaking there, we - that's it is. while you were speaking there, we have i that's it is. while you were i speaking there, we have just that's it is. while you were - speaking there, we have just had published the contract that the european union agreed with astrazeneca. you were saying that what needed to happen was for the contract to be made public, well, it has been made public. astrazeneca has been made public. astrazeneca has agreed to that. now, what viewers are seeing is the initial statement from brussels, with the commission welcoming the company's commitment to words more transparency. we have got our reporters and journalists looking through exactly what the fine detail of the contractors, so of course we will be bringing that to you as soon as we can. in the meantime, professor, you end if they are saying these are unusual times when it comes to rolling out these vaccines, particularly the astrazeneca one, about which there is some question about its use in older people. these are unusual times, this vaccine is being rolled out to people over 65 in the uk, and presumably fairly soon we will be able to find out how effective it is. i able to find out how effective it is. ~ , , able to find out how effective it is. ~' , , . , , able to find out how effective it is. ~' , , ., is. i think it is very easy to find out how effective _ is. i think it is very easy to find out how effective it _ is. i think it is very easy to find out how effective it is - is. i think it is very easy to find out how effective it is because | is. i think it is very easy to find . out how effective it is because you can monitor the number of hospitalisations and people who have been immunised and you can... so you will very soon have what we can have post marketing surveillance data to tell about the efficacy of the vaccine. i think that given the serious situation in the united kingdom, i would also introduce the vaccine. there may be questions about protective efficacy, but based on the antibody response it should be protected. there is no indication that there are serious side effects. so in the worst situation, it will simply not work, but there will be no sort of adverse events that from the vaccine. so i think, if i was in the vaccine. so i think, if i was in the uk, i would also say roll it out, we need to use whatever tools we have, even though it is not perfect. we have, even though it is not erfect. , ., ., ,, ., perfect. very good to talk to you and net perfect. very good to talk to you and get your— perfect. very good to talk to you and get your thoughts. - perfect. very good to talk to you and get your thoughts. thank i perfect. very good to talk to you | and get your thoughts. thank you perfect. very good to talk to you - and get your thoughts. thank you so much. that contract between the eu and astrazeneca has been published. we can show it to you. we have got lots of people taking a look at it and they will be for letting it and telling you exactly what it says. i have to warn you that there are bits of it, as you can see there, redacted in the terminology. so it will be interesting to see. there is a whole page! that is apparently about the cost of goods and that is all redacted. they are all blanked out. of course what people want to see is the sort of agreement that was drawn up between the eu and astrazeneca. was it about whether there are enough supplies, which is what astrazeneca is claiming? 0r there are enough supplies, which is what astrazeneca is claiming? or is it as the eu says, that the contract was simply about providing the jab? we will bring you that as soon as we can. schools in wales could start to re—open to all pupils after the february half—term, if covid infection rates continue to fall in the coming weeks. the welsh government says it will work with schools on a phased return from the 22nd of february. wales' first minister this morning gave an idea of which pupils might be the first to return to the classroom. it will be a matter of selecting priority groups. there is a strong case for having the very youngest children back in school. they are not able to learn online and remotely. and the risk of them contracting or passing on the coronavirus is the least of all. but we do also want to see if it is possible to have young people who are sitting for qualifications, particularly those where there are practical aspects to those examinations, vocational qualifications, in our schools and colleges. we would like to see them back in the classroom, in small numbers maybe, not as it would have been before. the first minister of wales there. tomos morgan is our wales correspndent, martine asked him about this a little earlier. it has been one of the main talking points, all year really, since the lockdown across the uk was put into effect just before christmas. now, wales, really, before christmas, had the worst case rates, transmission rates of all the uk nations. since then, since lockdown has been put into effect, now we are starting to see the positive coming out of that. the transmission rates in wales are now going down, the positivity rate, those testing positive across wales, is now coming down. there is a slight easing on the nhs and welsh hospitals. and also, interestingly, after a slow start, wales is now leading the table when it comes to the daily vaccination rate of the population across the uk. all of those things together, really, have come together, coupled together really, to make way for this decision today by the first minister and the welsh government to allow schools to partially reopen on the 22nd, on a phased return, as he mentioned. it will be the youngest going back to school first. for two reasons. 0ne, online learning is so much more difficult for children of a younger age, for obvious reasons. and of course, as well, the transmission, the risk of passing on the virus at that age group is so much lower. but is keen as well to try and get some high school age children back in, those who are of exam grade, as well. but, you know, he has caveated all of this, saying the only way this is going to go ahead as if all those things we talked about, the transmission rates, the hospital rates, the vaccination rates do continue to go in the right direction. schools in northern ireland will stay closed to all but vulnerable children and those of key workers until monday the 8th march at the earliest. first minister arlene foster said whether or not schools open fully on that date remains in doubt and will depend on the public health situation. ministers will review the decision in just under three weeks. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy has the latest from belfast. well, they had planned to reopen just after the february half term. as you say, that was then pushed back to monday the 8th of march. what they are basing it on is that although we are seeing new cases of the virus coming down, the pressures on hospitals remain really high. we saw that big spike in cases just after christmas, the effect of that is being seen in hospitals now, and ministers here reminded people that actually we have seen the highest ever numbers of patients in intensive care this week. so, although things are looking better out in the community, with the r rate coming down, the numbers of patients in hospital are going to remain high for a number of weeks to come. so it was pretty inevitable, i think, that they were going to push back the reopening date for schools. now, anotherfactor playing into this is also that the new variant of the virus, the more transmissible variant, that is increasingly common here in northern ireland, too, so that was something else which played a part in their decision. but in the meantime, the vaccine roll—out is progressing. a new online booking system has gone live now for people aged 65 to 69. the hope is that everybody over 65 will have been offered the jab by the end of february. they are going to keep these things under review and a number of people who have had the vaccine is going to be an important factor when it comes to looking at lifting restrictions further down the line. but at the moment, with the pressure on hospitals continuing, there was just no way really that ministers were going to be able to look at reopening schools in the next couple of weeks. they said that was a decision taken reluctantly, they know people will be disappointed, and arlene foster was talking about, you know, saying that she understands the pressure, being a mother, the kitchen table, she said, is no substitute for the classroom. but people will have to continue home—schooling children for a little while longer. children of key workers and vulnerable children, they are still attending classrooms at the moment you're here in northern ireland. it works out about 9% of pupils here at the moment. but if things stay on track for schools to reopen on monday the 8th of march, well, even then, ministers reminded people it might have to be only some peoples that are prioritised then, particularly those who are taking exams. big questions are being asked about how the us stock market works after indivdual investors were stopped from buying shares after big losses for wall street traders. shares in gamestop — a video game retailer — soared after a group of private investors used online chat forums to drive up their price. paul hawkins reports. this is a story of david versus goliath, of the amateur online investor beating the big traditional wall street traders. at the centre of it, gamestop, a struggling american retailer selling dvds and video games. a number of the wall street traders picked up on its problems and bet money that its share price would fall, known in the business as shorting a stock. only, for that this particular stock, amateur investors swapping tips on the social media site reddit saw it as an opportunity. they bought shares which actually drove up the price by 700%, so the wall street traders which act for hedge funds lost money, potentially billions of dollars, while the amateur investors made money. but on thursday, the main platforms the small investors used to buy the stocks, like robin hood, stopped them from buying more shares. the reddit investors, unsurprising,ly weren't happy. they want the hedge fund guys to win, they don't want the common man, brokers, they don't want us to win. they said that i could only sell my amc stock, they said i could only sell my nokia stock but i couldn't buy more this morning. it was crazy. how is that a free market in any way? that's not a free market, that sounds like communism. these are dirty, dirty people. they deserve jail time. money — they'll be able to repair the money, they can pay millions of dollars worth of fines but this isn't about the money, this is aboutjail time, prison. they should go to jail. accusations like that will hurt platforms like robin hood, who have helped democratise the stock market. its co—founder said the firm had taken its decision based on regulatory requirements and limited buyers of the restricted stocks would be allowed from friday. you have a generation that feels as if it's their time. you have new weapons of influence, new trading platforms and you also have a lot of people at home with stimulus in their pocket and phones and access to trading. it all kind of spells a cocktail of volatility. even american politicians are unusually united over their response, with the incoming chair of the banking committee promising to look into how the stock market works. bell rings. everyone loves the story of a plucky underdog, but a black eye for wall street may have repercussions for the rest of us. to cover their losses, the big investors may need to sell their other shares in things like pension funds, and that means their share price falls. and that's not good for the people who rely on them. paul hawkins, bbc news. let's speak now to russ mould, an investment director at aj bell, a stock brocker. hello, good morning. we do all love a story of the little guys is outwitting the big guys, but what does this really reveal about the way in which the stock market works? stock markets, when they work well, are there to provide capital to companies so they can grow, invest and employ more people. they are also there for price discoveries, so that capital is provided at the appropriate level of valuation full stop is that working now? i think of the truth be told, the answer is no. the stock market is probably over liquefied. there's a lot of cheap money flying around because central banks are keeping interest rates low. the british economist and investor said, when the capital formation of a country becomes a by—product of a casino, things generally do not end well. it is a slightly worrying trend. but it is a fascinating story. d0 slightly worrying trend. but it is a fascinating story.— slightly worrying trend. but it is a fascinating story. do you have any sympathy. — fascinating story. do you have any sympathy. i _ fascinating story. do you have any sympathy. i do — fascinating story. do you have any sympathy. i do not— fascinating story. do you have any sympathy, i do not know - fascinating story. do you have any sympathy, i do not know if - fascinating story. do you have any sympathy, i do not know if you're| sympathy, i do not know if you're able to hear that peace, of one of the smaller investors, if i can put it that way, saying this is not a free market, this is unfair, do you have any sympathy with him? yes. free market, this is unfair, do you have any sympathy with him? yes, i do. these have any sympathy with him? yes, i do- these people — have any sympathy with him? yes, i do. these people are _ have any sympathy with him? yes, i do. these people are putting - have any sympathy with him? yes, i do. these people are putting their. do. these people are putting their money at risk and as long as they know that, they are entitled to try and make a profit or potentially lose those profits as they see fit. british regulators are wary of retail investors using debt to try and do not and multiply their profits, but i have sympathy with him because it does look a bit as if they are protecting those hedge funds who should have known better. is it a coincidence that this bust up is it a coincidence that this bust up has taken place over them stop or is it quite important that it has happened to a company of this nature? you'll like it could have happened to a number of companies whose fortunes are under pressure. them stop's sales are down by a third over the last five years. it has lost money for the last three. his problems have possibly been made worse by the pandemic because people have not been able to visit its shops. hedge funds have taken a look and decided that under normal circumstances the shares would go down. we had a gentleman they mention amc, the cinema operator, cineworld here in the uk is under similar pressure. some investors have been driving the price up because hedge funds have been betting against that one, as well. there are a number of potential candidates. white backs of these things are simply about maximising your profits, getting more return for your shares rather than anything to do with actually shoring up the company? i would say it has got nothing to do with what we would call the fundamentals of a company. it is competitive position, financial performance, balance sheets, management acumen, it has nothing to do with that at all. i would view it as trading or speculating rather than investing. investing is by picking companies with strong competitive position that can generate good profits, pay dividends, and really turning time into money as those dividends gradually dribble and over time. trading is about trying to time the movement of money and second—guess where it is going to go. it works for some people, but the risks can be very high if it goes wrong. the big challenge for those people who have been buying those stocks and been proven correct is when and how do they get out to recognise their profits. if lots of other traders and investors are going well, you have wrapped the share price which does not represent the business, he will want to buy it from you? itrufhat will want to buy it from you? what ou think will want to buy it from you? what you think the _ will want to buy it from you? what you think the fallout _ will want to buy it from you? what you think the fallout of— will want to buy it from you? what you think the fallout of this - will want to buy it from you? what you think the fallout of this is going to be?— you think the fallout of this is auoin to be? ., , going to be? you may see some hedge funds, going to be? you may see some hedge funds. hedge — going to be? you may see some hedge funds, hedge funds _ going to be? you may see some hedge funds, hedge funds are _ going to be? you may see some hedge funds, hedge funds are clearly - going to be? you may see some hedge funds, hedge funds are clearly in - funds, hedge funds are clearly in difficulty, they may have to sell some positions, as your colleague stated. possibly drive the market down in the short term. you may see a move to more regulation. it is very hard to police that. how do you police bulletin boards? how do you prevent retail investors from expressing their views? you could argue central banks are manipulating bonds through... argue central banks are manipulating bonds through. . ._ bonds through... fascinating. good to talk to you- _ bonds through... fascinating. good to talk to you. thank _ bonds through... fascinating. good to talk to you. thank you. - here's 0lly foster. the loss of harry kane is a real blow for spurs — he was taken off at half time with injuries to both ankles and jose mourinho says his captain is likely to miss the next few weeks. he was substituted at half—time and has a history of problems with his ankle. it was a knock on his leg. liverpool took the lead just before the break. this tap in. that was their first the break. this tap in. that was theirfirst in the break. this tap in. that was their first in the league this year, on the way to their first win of 2021. and that was the goal of the game so liverpool were seen through. that injury for spurs is worrying. two a n kles. the first was a bad tackle. i think was thiago, then the second one, i didn't know well. but two injuries in both ankles, the second one worse than the first one. and a few weeks. how many? i don't know. west ham have signed ben rama on a permanent basis. he's signed a contract until 2026 which paves the way for lingard loan moved to united. good news the six nations rugby with progress on the quarantine situation in france. the french government has approved the protocols that have been put forward although exemptions for travel into the country have yet to be finalised. it's a positive step. francis first game is against scotland on the 20th of february. robert mcintyre has taken the lead in the desert to buy classic. staying with golf, rory mcavoy is trying to become the next chairman of the american tours players advisory council who consults with the pga on numerous issues including response to the pandemic. michael roy is already on the council and thinks he will have a greater influence as chair. he's up but there's never been a non—american in that role. there was a seven wicket victory over south africa in karachi. 535. swept through the tail so pack is's chase which was reached with ease. they had a day to spare. the final test starts on thursday until they had their next g20 game. it's their first win in 1a years. tracey neville has taken on a key role with manchester thunder. it's her first role since she stood down from the england role after a successful four years. she won the commonwealth games gold medal in 2018. she used to play for them and was head coach at thunder and in the new role of technical operations director, she will work with the team on match days and be responsible for the club's performance, and strategy as well. tennis fans have been welcome back for the first time for almost a year in an event in adelaide which is where some of the players have been in quarantine. it was quite a welcome for the number one novak djokovic who pulled out with a blistered hand but then appeared in the second set. he said he was sorry he did not play from the start but he did not play from the start but he hoped everybody enjoyed the show. they were all taking part down there. that's all the sport for now. i will be back after the 1pm news. britain formally left the european union a year ago, but it was only last month that it came out of the key economic institutions, the eu's single market and customs union. that was a pivotal moment of change for businesses on both sides. just days ahead of that deadline britain and the eu did manage to seal an agreement. but it has not all been plain sailing — even allowing for disruption caused by the pandemic. 0ur economics correspondent andrew walker reports. a month ago, the european union and britain signed a trade deal. here it is, folks. this is it. it means british and eu goods can be exported from one to the other free of tariffs or trade taxes. but there are new barriers. the issue is most acute for businesses that deal with perishable goods, such as fresh seafood where a host of new checks and paperwork are required to sell into the eu. it was a very serious problem for this scottish supplier who spoke with perishable goods, such as fresh seafood where a host of new checks and paperwork are required to sell into the eu. it was a very serious problem for this scottish supplier who spoke to the bbc in mid—january. tens of thousands of pounds a week that we are losing. we can't continue to lose that. we sent stuff to europe last week, it took five days to arrive. it arrived dead and rotten. even within the uk, the special arrangements for northern ireland have led to delays and some supermarkets did initially struggle to fill their shelves and there are still problems for some retailers. in england, tricker�*s, an upmarket shoemaker, is facing new difficulties with paperwork and tax. the managing director was relieved about the trade deal. what we hadn't been prepared for, and i think this applies to any business in the uk, is all the extra costs that have come from this. the barriers are also affecting some goods going from the eu to the uk. some suppliers, mainly small ones, are temporarily refusing to ship to britain. i've got the website here of one in finland that supplies outdoor clothing. at the top of its home page it says, "no delivery to the uk just now". here's a similar message from a belgian beer supplier. some of the disruption is surely short—term. businesses will adapt. the british prime minister says the deal is a success. we've taken back control of our laws and our destiny. of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way that is complete and unfettered. that sovereignty question is central for brexit supporters but it comes at the cost of more difficult trade with britain's biggest commercial partner. andrew walker, bbc news. well, as we heard, businesses offering services, like banking, digital and accounting, have lost their automatic right of access to eu markets and are facing some restrictions. elizabeth vega is group ceo of informed solutions, a provider of digital transformation, technology and data analytics. she is also an advisor to government and is an export champion for the department of international trade. good morning to you. thanks for joining us. first of all, from your personal experience as ceo of informed solutions, how has this transition been viewing the last few weeks? it’s transition been viewing the last few weeks? �* . . transition been viewing the last few weeks? �* , , ., , transition been viewing the last few weeks? �*, , ., , ., �*, weeks? it's been really tough, it's been tough _ weeks? it's been really tough, it's been tough for — weeks? it's been really tough, it's been tough for everybody - weeks? it's been really tough, it's been tough for everybody and - weeks? it's been really tough, it's been tough for everybody and we | weeks? it's been really tough, it's i been tough for everybody and we are under the professional services provision which is negligible under the current version of the free trade agreement which i understand there will be another version shortly, underthe there will be another version shortly, under the current regime. it's difficult for us but in the true entrepreneurial spirit we are looking for a way through and for opportunity, so we are trying to look for the half— full blast, which is difficult. look for the half- full blast, which is difficult. ., ., , ., is difficult. how do you feel then, about the preparations, - is difficult. how do you feel then, about the preparations, because l about the preparations, because everyone knew this was going to happen? do you feel that you could have been given more information about how to prepare? it’s have been given more information about how to prepare?— about how to prepare? it's very difficult when _ about how to prepare? it's very difficult when you _ about how to prepare? it's very difficult when you are _ about how to prepare? it's very difficult when you are in - about how to prepare? it's very difficult when you are in the - about how to prepare? it's very i difficult when you are in the midst of a negotiation. i'm also supporting the australia— uk free trade agreement because i am australian. the machinations are huge. you don't know what the deal looks like until it's done and over the line, however we did but some provisions in place because we trade internationally with australia and other countries, so we perceive that the worst—case scenario which is pretty much where we are, we would be trading with the eu as if we were trading with australia. unhappy to offer some of your listeners the things we put in place to ease the pain and put some processes in place, it that is of any help? yes. place, it that is of any help? yes, i'd like place, it that is of any help? yes, i'd like to — place, it that is of any help? yes, i'd like to hear— place, it that is of any help? yes, i'd like to hear about _ place, it that is of any help? yes, i'd like to hear about that - place, it that is of any help? yes, i'd like to hear about that but we talked vaguely about services. what do we mean? what other services that could freely traded before the but can't be traded now?— could freely traded before the but can't be traded now? well, there are a coule can't be traded now? well, there are a couple of — can't be traded now? well, there are a couple of challenges. _ can't be traded now? well, there are a couple of challenges. of— can't be traded now? well, there are a couple of challenges. of course, i a couple of challenges. of course, some of daisy�*s professional qualifications and whether they are recognised. the other areas are mobility, do you need to move your people in situ, or can your service be delivered remotely? 0f people in situ, or can your service be delivered remotely? of course, standards need to be regulated, financial services, legal services and the professional accreditations in digital, data, etc. so, the free trade agreement did make some provisions to data, data mobility and services of the technical level, but much less so at the personal, the people level.— but much less so at the personal, the people level. you've been very frank and said _ the people level. you've been very frank and said that _ the people level. you've been very frank and said that it's _ the people level. you've been very frank and said that it's difficult i frank and said that it's difficult at the moment. do you see the present situation is teething problems, difficult though they are? will they be aligned eventually or is it about getting used are much more difficult relationship? i think some problems, _ more difficult relationship? i think some problems, like _ more difficult relationship? i think some problems, like procedural, l more difficult relationship? i think. some problems, like procedural, like what does it mean when they ask you this question, i think a lot of that can be eased by putting digital systems in place so you don't have to manually do everything. if you're going to be an exporter perhaps, genuinely investing in it, facilitating, streamlining that part of the process for yourself. yes, some of it is paper—based, forms, codes, if you are exporting tech as a good. some of its the barrier, getting people to work without a work permit, for example. every european country has the right to manage their own labour market and if you understand those barriers and work through it with others, if that market is important to you, of course, some of these are important to us. . v course, some of these are important to us. . �* . . course, some of these are important to us. . �*, ., ., ., ,, course, some of these are important tous. . �*, ., ., ., ,, ., to us. that's great to talk to you, elizabeth vega, _ to us. that's great to talk to you, elizabeth vega, ceo _ to us. that's great to talk to you, elizabeth vega, ceo of _ to us. that's great to talk to you, elizabeth vega, ceo of informed| elizabeth vega, ceo of informed solutions. scientists suggest people have found this third national lockdown tougher than previous restrictions over the past year. researchers at unversity college london found that two—fifths of people say they're doing less exercise in this lockdown than during the first one in spring last year. about a fifth of people say they are watching more tv, streaming more films and gaming more. meanwhile a third of respondents are working more, but volunteering and time spent on hobbies has decreased. sophie corlettjoins us from the mental health charity, mind. good morning, sophie. not all that surprising. i don't know anyone his finding this lockdown particularly easy. finding this lockdown particularly eas . . . finding this lockdown particularly eas . , ., ., finding this lockdown particularly eas . , . ., , finding this lockdown particularly eas. , . ., , ., easy. yes, there are a number of thins easy. yes, there are a number of things that _ easy. yes, there are a number of things that contribute _ easy. yes, there are a number of things that contribute and - easy. yes, there are a number of things that contribute and so, i things that contribute and so, obviously, the winter months, they are colder, darker and it has been wetter. there were such lovely weather back in the first lockdown but also people are tired. the uncertainty is something we know that contributes to anxiety and, you know, the changes of —— that contribute to that. these make it hard for people, including being tired, tired of all the things that people now having to do. home—schooling and whatever. it's been going on for months, really, hasn't it? 50 been going on for months, really, hasn't it? , ., , ., been going on for months, really, hasn't it? , ., . , hasn't it? so people are exercising less, for example? _ hasn't it? so people are exercising less, for example? what - hasn't it? so people are exercising less, for example? what would i hasn't it? so people are exercising | less, for example? what would you say to people to motivate them because exercise, although it's difficult to get up the energy to do it, it does make you feel better. the exercise itself, being outdoors, the vitamin d that we get from being in daylight, that actually really has an impact on our mood. when we exercise more, we tend to eat a little better and we know that that is good for us, so, maybe plan your exercise before you start your day, if you are working, or particularly at lunchtime, and plan a route that you think you will enjoy, perhaps the same route everyday so you can spot changes in the weather, listen to podcast but try to plan your exercise, otherwise it's difficult. pick something you enjoy doing, whether it's walking, cycling or... yeah, and if you find something you can enjoy, then that will make a difference. can enjoy, then that will make a difference-— can enjoy, then that will make a difference. ., , ., , , ., difference. people are spending more time on screens, _ difference. people are spending more time on screens, watching _ difference. people are spending more time on screens, watching tv, - difference. people are spending more time on screens, watching tv, but i difference. people are spending more time on screens, watching tv, but so| time on screens, watching tv, but so much a people's lives are on—screen now, whether you are accessing education, orwork now, whether you are accessing education, or work and people's social lives as well? that education, or work and people's social lives as well?— education, or work and people's social lives as well? that in itself can be tiring- _ social lives as well? that in itself can be tiring. i _ social lives as well? that in itself can be tiring. i know— social lives as well? that in itself can be tiring. i know that - social lives as well? that in itself can be tiring. i know that from i social lives as well? that in itself| can be tiring. i know that from my own experience and again, we get a lot of our keeping in touch with friends and family, that's really important in maintaining good well—being and a lot of that has to be done by screens, so, you know it's important to keep that up and watching netflix, gaming, these things aren't necessarily bad at all. it's keeping track of these things, so it's about keeping a balance, thinking about the other things you might enjoy, whether that's crafting, cooking orjust that's crafting, cooking orjus't moving around a that's crafting, cooking orjust moving around a little bit. bit moving around a little bit. all really good, sensible advice. that's sophie from the charity mind. the headlines on bbc news... a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. the president of the european commission insists astrazeneca's contract with the bloc is binding —— and the company must fulfil its contract with the eu —— as the european medicines agency meets to decide whether to approve the jab. lockdown in wales will last for three more weeks at least — but children could return to schools there after the february half—term. a new scheme is is helping older people to get to covid vaccination centres safely — while providing much—needed work for taxi drivers. "cabs forjabs" uses donations to fund free cab rides for those who need them most — as duncan kennedy reports. the idea could not be simpler. from door to door, via a free to use taxi. it's called cabs forjabs. 0h, they're great, yeah, great. the doctors told me about them so, yeah, very good. 75—year—old sylvia from winchester is about to take her taxi. are you 0k there? it would normally take sylvia two bus journeys to get to the vaccination centre. instead, sean, a local taxi driver, is taking herforfree. they're really flexible on the time of the jab as well, so don't panic about timings. cabs forjabs was the idea of a group of friends who set up a gofundme page. the money raised pays for the taxi. so far, it's helped more than 100 elderly people. a lot of people in rural communities are going to struggle getting to their vaccination, a number of different buses. so, just to know that they can call a service, get a free taxi and get to their appointment is just a huge weight off their minds and a huge relief. sylvia arrives at the vaccination centre in plenty of time. ready for your jab? yes. and joins the queue were already there before answering a few questions. being brought here also helps the doctors. if they didn't come here, we would have to visit them at home, which is quite difficult to take time out of clinical sessions and also to actually transport the vaccine outside of the surgery. no reactions to vaccines in the past? it's soon time for sylvia's covid vaccination. a sharp scratch... job done. as all this is happening, taxi driver sean is sterilising his cab again and taking more calls from elderly customers. thanks, then, bye. another covid one? yes, yeah, another one, yeah. a busy day? a busy day, yeah, 22 today and 36 tomorrow, so very busy, yeah. in fact, the public have so far raised nearly £10,000 to pay for the taxis. having the vaccination already is worrying enough, let alone worrying about having... you know, how to get there and how to get back. so we're taking all the worry away from them, which is a great relief for everybody. then it's time for sylvia's ride back home, thanks to a scheme that's now also taking off in places like brighton, southampton and tonbridge. what now think of cabs forjabs? very good. best. yeah, they deserve a medal! it's a fair idea for a fare—free service. cup of tea time. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in winchester. people are being urged to count the birds in their gardens this weekend. it's part of an annual survey by the rspb — and with most of us locked down at home, there's likely to be an even bigger response than usual. john maguire is twitching in bristol. if ever there was a perfect activity for lockdown, the rspb's big garden bird watch has to be it. people are looking for activities to do and this is a really lovely one to do, whether you're going to do this on your own, or line up the family at the window, and we love to do it as a family, don't we? it's an activity that we always look forward to. for miranda's son, 0liver, the simple act of looking out of the window can be a welcome break from a computer screen in between virtual lessons. when i can, i try and get some exercise, just in at break time, extra time, just in at break time, five minutes between the lesson, come downstairs and just see what's happening, really. despite the name, this isn't just about gardens. the rspb wants to involve anyone and everyone who can spot birds from a window, from a nearby park or even just on a bird feeder. or a tree. you can definitely set up some bird feeders here. this man is one of the founders of flock together. our primary focus is to combat the underrepresentation of people of colour in the natural world. i don't have a garden. i am fortunate enough that, at the top of my road, we do have the hackney marshes, which is where we are today and i can walk all of five minutes, but even a simple as looking through your window. if you can manage to spot some birds there, go for it, you know. just spend a couple of minutes, half an hour or so looking out the window and seeing what you can see and you might will surprise yourself. you don't need a fancy pair of binoculars or anything, either. just need a pair of eyes really. mya rose craig was the youngest person to spot half of the world's bird species. she's passionate about wildlife and persuading people that you don't have to be an expert to enjoy what's on your doorstep. the great thing about birds how easy they are and they are everywhere, so if you stick some food out, you can stick out some sunflower seeds, peanuts, you will almost certainly get birds turning up. it's about separation from daily life that is so important. last year, the bird—watcher saw half a million people take part, recording 8 million sightings. it's a massive citizen science project which provides an unrivalled amount of data then allowing the rspb to understand which birds are thriving, surviving or under threat. beccy speight is the chief executive of the rspb. so, ina so, in a way, you are hoping you've -ot so, in a way, you are hoping you've got a _ so, in a way, you are hoping you've got a captive — so, in a way, you are hoping you've got a captive audience for this year's — got a captive audience for this year's bird—watcher. we got a captive audience for this year's bird-watcher.— got a captive audience for this year's bird-watcher. we are going out less, year's bird-watcher. we are going out less. can't— year's bird-watcher. we are going out less, can't go _ year's bird-watcher. we are going out less, can't go anywhere - year's bird-watcher. we are going out less, can't go anywhere so i year's bird-watcher. we are going | out less, can't go anywhere so you are hoping to channel people's energies for this survey? it’s are hoping to channel people's energies for this survey? it's not 'ust the energies for this survey? it's not just the captain _ energies for this survey? it's not just the captain audience - energies for this survey? it's not just the captain audience bit, i just the captain audience bit, there's been a reawakening people's interest in the nature on their doorstep because of the pandemic. we've just done a survey that showed that more than half of people said that more than half of people said that watching birds and hearing their song has added to their enjoyment in life during the pandemic. so we are noticing the nature around us much more and appreciating it so that's playing its part as well.— appreciating it so that's playing its part as well. that this survey, are ou its part as well. that this survey, are you simply — its part as well. that this survey, are you simply asking _ its part as well. that this survey, are you simply asking people i its part as well. that this survey, are you simply asking people to l are you simply asking people to count the number of birds that they say or are you wanting them to tell you what sort of birds they are, because some people might know the difference between a magpie and a blackbird? it’s difference between a magpie and a blackbird? �* , , ., difference between a magpie and a blackbird? h , ., . blackbird? it's exactly that. we want to know _ blackbird? it's exactly that. we want to know what _ blackbird? it's exactly that. we want to know what they - blackbird? it's exactly that. we want to know what they are i blackbird? it's exactly that. we want to know what they are as| blackbird? it's exactly that. we i want to know what they are as well. you don't have to be an expert. if you sign up on our website, you can get an id chart, and identification chart to get you started. it's very straightforward. i think what you find is once people can pick out certain species, such as the ones we see a lot of, it really adds to their enjoyment of the natural world and they start being able to be interested in picking out different songs. ijust had a lovely robin singing on my study windowsill and it's about getting more knowledgeable and getting joy out of this different world which is only that away from beyond their windows. i think people really enjoy that. it's very uplifting. you can't see this, but viewers can see the rspb bird can that you've got. it's on a nature reserve in paul harbour, dorset. there something quite calming about watching the birds coming to feed. it’s calming about watching the birds coming to feed.— calming about watching the birds coming to feed. it's therapeutic. i think that people _ coming to feed. it's therapeutic. i think that people have _ coming to feed. it's therapeutic. i think that people have found i coming to feed. it's therapeutic. i think that people have found that| think that people have found that when they go out on a regular exercise locally, obviously, being out in the natural world is good for their physical health but i think it's really also brought solace to people as well, their mental health, as well. there was the young lad talking earlier about having his time out from school work and having a look at what's going on outside. i think it really brings that sense of solace, the fact that the natural world is now moving towards spring. that robin that i heard it's going to be part of the big dawn chorus by the time april and may come around and that gives us a state of high and that gives us a state of high and the natural world getting on with things, despite ourselves finding ourselves in this crisis. it's us pushing back too hard on the natural world that has led to this kind of pandemic and i think it's important that when we are enjoying the birds around us, we are also thinking of that big a natural world and the issues that face it, and how we are going to reverse the reclines were saying and really restore nature. ii were saying and really restore nature. , ., , ., were saying and really restore nature. , ., ., nature. if people want to get involved. _ nature. if people want to get involved, the _ nature. if people want to get involved, the big _ nature. if people want to get i involved, the big bird-watcher is involved, the big bird—watcher is happening over the weekend. itrufhat involved, the big bird-watcher is happening over the weekend. what you need to do? you _ happening over the weekend. what you need to do? you can _ happening over the weekend. what you need to do? you can register— happening over the weekend. what you need to do? you can register on - happening over the weekend. what you need to do? you can register on our. need to do? you can register on our website or texting bird—watcher to 70030 which will give you the kit you need in order to record what you see and some guidance and that id chart i talked about. you can then spend your hour and record what you see and then submit it. we are hoping we can have a really bumper year this year. we've had lots of people sign up and hopefully that will give us a really good snapshot and we will see that result in april and we will see that result in april and it goads towards the state of the uk bird report which is a really important report on how all our bird species are faring and how we can reverse some of the declines we are seeing so it's really important data, so i hope lots and lots of people will take part, with their families, enjoy it and also play their part and hopefully find a good path forward for nature.— path forward for nature. thank you so much, path forward for nature. thank you so much. iztecky- — and now it's time for a look at the weather. lots of standing water and flood warnings in force. we've got some rain and hillsnow warnings in force. we've got some rain and hill snow but it's another mild day in the south. although, turning colder through the weekend. showers through northern england, some snow flurries in the north of scotland. some showers later on and temperatures about four celsius in aberdeen, and 12 in plymouth. cold air is pushing south and then this area of rain moves into the south—west of england bringing a 50997 south—west of england bringing a soggy start to saturday. clear and colder conditions across rural parts of scotland. blizzards are possible as we see that rain bumping into the cold air and as we see that rain bumping into the cold airand turning as we see that rain bumping into the cold air and turning to snow, particularly over the high ground of wales but mainly falling as rain to the far south. clear and cold to the north of that. goodbye for now. bonds through... fascinating. good to talk to you. thank you. - this is bbc news. the headlines: a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. the novavax vaccine is effective against both the uk variant, as well as the south african variant, and has shown phenomenal efficacy, and it is made in teesside. the european commission publishes a redacted version of its contract with drug—maker astrazeneca for the covid vaccine, amid a row over supplies. the commission's president insists the agreement is binding. lockdown in wales will last for three more weeks at least — but children could return to schools there after the february half—term. investors respond with outrage after trading platforms halt the buying of shares in the us games firm gamestop following days of frenzied trading that led to a massive increase in its value. "exhausted". the duchess of cambridge talks candidly about the challenges of both home—schooling and home—hairdressing her children. and this is the scene from the rspb bird cam — as the charity launches its big garden birdwatch — where members of the public are asked to spend one hour counting and recording the birds they see from their home. hello, good afternoon. a new coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be 89.3% effective in large—scale uk trials. the novavax jab is the first to show it is effective against both the uk and south african variants of the virus. as you can see from this graph, the uk has secured 60 million doses of the jab which will be made in stockton—on—tees. the doses are expected to be delivered in the second half of this year, if approved for use by regulator. in brussels, there's been a new development in the row between the eu and astrazeneca over vaccine supplies. in the past hour, astrazeneca has agreed to publish its contract with the eu — setting out its obligations. the contract is 41 pages long and highly redacted in parts. the commission insists that the agreement is binding. we'll bring you more on that in just a moment. meanwhile, the european medicines agency is meeting to decide whether to approve the oxford astrazeneca vaccine developed for emergency use in eu countries. yesterday, germany suggested the jab shouldn't be given to those over 65, but earlier this morning, the head of germany's vaccine regulator rowed back from last night's stance, saying he expected the european union would approve the vaccine — with a warning that the available data for older age groups was weaker. with more on the new novavax vaccine, here's our reporterjon donnison. another scientific breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus. this time from the us firm novavax. results of the company's british trial showed the first proven efficacy against the new more contagious uk variant. there were more than 15,000 volunteers on the trial throughout the uk. over half the cases of covid—19 recorded came from the new variant. it's very significant because we were able to show that the vaccine works well against both the old, the original strain, and the new strain. it had 96% efficacy against the original covid—19 strain and yet it still had 86% efficacy against the variant strain. and separate trials have also shown the vaccine works against a new south african strain. it is a fantastic result because it shows that the novavax vaccine is effective against both the uk variant, as well as the south african variant, and has shown phenomenal efficacy, and it is made in teesside, so not only have we trialled the vaccine to show that it is safe and effective, but we are also making it, too. so we will be able to save lives in the uk. the vaccine minister, nadhim zahawi, who took part in the novavax trials himself, said it was great to see such encouraging results, and he is now awaiting approval from the regulator. the uk has 60 million doses of the newjab on order. it will be a huge boost to the immunisation drive, which has already seen almost 7.5 million people across the united kingdom receive a first dose of either the pfizer or astrazeneca vaccines. jon donnison, bbc news. our medical editor fergus walsh has more on the results and what happens next. what really caught my attention was the fact that this vaccine proved nearly 86% effective against the new uk variant. now, this was a vaccine that was not designed with that in mind, but it shows the cross protection that it gave. so stunning results, absolutely stunning results. it will, as you say, be produced in stockton—on—tees. we mustn't get ahead of ourselves, first of all novavax has got to submit its final dossier to the uk regulator. and they told me very late last night this will not happen for a few weeks. they want to get a bit more data in. so it could be several weeks before they do that. the mhra, the regulator, has been doing a rolling review of their data so far. but i think what we need to expect with this vaccine is that it is not going to be on stream for a few months yet. in fact, most likely, it will be the vaccine that younger people get. it will come on stream and may be a big way, assuming... and we mustn't really assume that it is approved, probably in the second half of the year. an estimated 1 in 55 people in england had coronavirus last week, according to the latest by the office for national statistics. let's speak to the bbc�*s head of statistics, robert cuffe, whojoins me now. robert, these figures come out on a regular basis, what is the 0ns saying today? regular basis, what is the ons saying today?— regular basis, what is the ons sa in: toda ? ., , saying today? there has not been that much change _ saying today? there has not been that much change in _ saying today? there has not been that much change in the - saying today? there has not been that much change in the amount. saying today? there has not been. that much change in the amount of virus that is floating around in the uk over the course of the last week. that is probably a bit worrying given that we are in lockdown and we have seen the case number is falling, but it is important to bear in mind the difference between these two pieces of evidence. what this survey and the react survey, that has said roughly the same thing, they go to houses at random and swap them so they get a clear picture of how many infections are in the community. the case numbers coming down, they depend on people coming forward to get tested. it is surveys like this that probably gives the clearest picture. levels in england are still high, one in 55 still have the virus. very similar in northern ireland, one in 50. scotland is a bit lower, but there has not been much data from the scottish figures. people will be listening to this and thinking we have been in lockdown for quite some time, why aren't the figure lower?— figure lower? that is the key question- — figure lower? that is the key question. one _ figure lower? that is the key question. one of— figure lower? that is the key question. one of the - figure lower? that is the key question. one of the issuesl figure lower? that is the key i question. one of the issues we figure lower? that is the key - question. one of the issues we have seen since the start of december is the increase to transmissibility of the increase to transmissibility of the strain that was first discovered in kent. that has rolled its way out across the country. the lockdown we are in at the moment is a less stringent one and the one we faced backin stringent one and the one we faced back in april last year. you wouldn't expect it to have as big an effect. it is worth saying that the ons effect. it is worth saying that the 0ns did say last week that cases had come down a little bit from the terrifying peak they had at the turn of the year. that has not continued on through this week. we have to keep watching this very carefully, because of the infections do not come down, we would expect the pressure on hospitals will not really drive down. the good news is this week we have seen fewer admissions into hospital, fewer people getting really sick, but it is still at a high level. we need to come way down. we need to see the infections, way down before that pressure comes off nhs. robert, thank ou pressure comes off nhs. robert, thank you very — pressure comes off nhs. robert, thank you very much. _ joining me now is devi sridhar, professor of global public health at the university of edinburgh. afternoon to you. i do not know if you have had time to absorb these latest figures from the office for national statistics. the headline is that they have not changed very much in england. 0ne that they have not changed very much in england. one in 55 people have tested positive for the virus. in wales, that is one in 70. in scotland, one in 110. in northern ireland, one in 50. what does that make you think, are we going in the right direction, but too slowly? i think itjust shows right direction, but too slowly? i think it just shows what a difficult think itjust shows what a difficult situation we are in. we are in pretty severe restrictions, not as strict as march, but still a lot of things shut down. and the numbers are not coming down the way we saw them come down in the springtime. this really point to needing a longer term strategy and how we are going to deal with this virus because we cannot continue to live under restrictions four months and months and continue to take thousands of deaths to this virus. as living with it really possible or do we need to consider perhaps just trying to take a really hard approach to it and try to open up fully then?— fully then? when you sata hard a- roach fully then? when you sata hard approach to _ fully then? when you sata hard approach to it. _ fully then? when you sata hard approach to it, a _ fully then? when you sata hard approach to it, a lockdown i fully then? when you sata hard approach to it, a lockdown that l approach to it, a lockdown that resembles the one that we had last march? i resembles the one that we had last march? ~ , ., , , march? i think the problem is we need to have _ march? i think the problem is we need to have a _ march? i think the problem is we need to have a payoff— march? i think the problem is we need to have a payoff or - march? i think the problem is we need to have a payoff or some i march? i think the problem is we i need to have a payoff or some kind of exit strategy. we are not clear what we are trying to do with his virus. are we trying to live alongside it and try to keep life going? right now, we do not want to going? right now, we do not want to go back to being shut into their homes. people need to earn money, children need to be in school, it is not sustainable. are you trying to eliminate the virus, such similar to southeast asian countries? the austrian open is going ahead with stadium is full of people. that is the trade—off they have made. they have closed their borders, but they are back to daily lives. we need to start having those discussions in our country if we want to move through this. late our country if we want to move through this-— our country if we want to move throu~h this. ~ . ,. ,, , through this. we have passed this terrible milestone _ through this. we have passed this terrible milestone this _ through this. we have passed this terrible milestone this week, i terrible milestone this week, haven't we, of 100,000 deaths? how would you say that our performance, in terms of the approach we have taken, how does that compare to other countries? because the death toll has been really remarkably high. toll has been really remarkably hiuh. �* y ., toll has been really remarkably hiuh. ~ ., toll has been really remarkably hiuh.~ ., toll has been really remarkably hich.�* ., . high. anyone would say, including those in government, _ high. anyone would say, including those in government, it _ high. anyone would say, including those in government, it has - high. anyone would say, including those in government, it has not i high. anyone would say, including i those in government, it has not been the optimal way. most of those deaths were unavoidable and preventable. if we look at the desk the country is taken, in the double digits compared to being in the hundred thousands. right now, there will be time to look back at that and see what can we do differently, but i am more concerned about looking ahead one year. how do we make sure we do not have 50,000 more deaths and school shut again and back under restrictions? we need a sustainable exit. the vaccine is incredibly exciting but it is not the full package. especially as we start to see more mutations and variants. we really need to have a debate, as a country, over what we want to do with this virus, which path we want to take and what are we willing to give up to get there? good to talk to you, as always. in the last hour, the european commission has published a redacted version of its contract with drug—maker astrazeneca for the covid vaccine amid a row over supplies. let's speak to our europe correspondent gavin lee — (05) who's in brussels. a lot of pressure on both sides are now the contract is out. at a lot of pressure on both sides are now the contract is out.— now the contract is out. 41 pages, redacted contract _ now the contract is out. 41 pages, redacted contract published - now the contract is out. 41 pages, | redacted contract published today. the background all of this is the european commission had put pressure on astrazeneca this week, during this row over the fact that back on friday astrazeneca will not be able to supply the full amount of doses for the eu. the eu... there was a specific, we heard from ursula von der leyen, crystal clear case that they had. astrazeneca's boss suggested they had a best effort clause, which meant they did not have to meet it, they could try. the problem was, he said, they had a bad yield of production in belgium and therefore that was why they were suffering. 41 pages out today. bits are redacted, for example the amount of vaccine doses they were due to provide for the eu over the next two months. the eu commission has not officially stated this. i understand we are talking to eu officials privately. astrazeneca had committed to one quarter of the doses over the next two months. 75 million doses missing. frankly, it is going to be one for pharmaceutical legal specialist because there are lots in it about manufacturing, seeing best reasonable efforts. legally, there is a difference between best effort, reasonable effort and best reasonable effort and best reasonable effort. in terms of how much accountability the company has. it looks to be a term which has some flexibility and may give a sense of why both sides think different things. there's also a part to go back and give a of the potentially to the uk. the eu has said it should have access to uk sites. that was part of the contract. astrazeneca had said the uk sites should specifically, primarily be the uk first for british taxpayers. in this contract, it says that for the manufacturing purposes, they will be from eu sites, brackets and in this instance this includes the uk. i am not a pharmaceutical legal specialist, that will take some time to go over. both sides still giving different accounts. it has got to the stage, they wanted the contact release. an inspection of the belgian site on wednesday. the eu said they disputed the company's view that it had a low yield. perhaps the company had sold the product elsewhere. that is where we are now. it has been a pretty unpleasant row.— are now. it has been a pretty unpleasant row. are now. it has been a pretty unleasant row. . , . schools in northern ireland will stay closed to all but vulnerable children and those of key workers until monday the 8th march at the earliest. first minister arlene foster said whether or not schools open fully on that date remains in doubt and will depend on the public health situation. ministers will review the decision in just under three weeks. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy has the latest from belfast. well, they had planned to reopen just after the february half term. as you say, that was then pushed back to monday the 8th of march. what they are basing it on is that although we are seeing new cases of the virus coming down, the pressures on hospitals remain really high. we saw that big spike in cases just after christmas, the effect of that is being seen in hospitals now, and ministers here reminded people that actually we have seen the highest ever numbers of patients in intensive care this week. so, although things are looking better out in the community, with the r rate coming down, the numbers of patients in hospital are going to remain high for a number of weeks to come. so it was pretty inevitable, i think, that they were going to push back the reopening date for schools. now, anotherfactor playing into this is also that the new variant of the virus, the more transmissible variant, that is increasingly common here in northern ireland, too, so that was something else which played a part in their decision. but in the meantime, the vaccine roll—out is progressing. a new online booking system has gone live now for people aged 65 to 69. the hope is that everybody over 65 will have been offered the jab by the end of february. they are going to keep these things under review and a number of people who have had the vaccine is going to be an important factor when it comes to looking at lifting restrictions further down the line. but at the moment, with the pressure on hospitals continuing, there was just no way really that ministers were going to be able to look at reopening schools in the next couple of weeks. they said that was a decision taken reluctantly, they know people will be disappointed, and arlene foster was talking about, you know, saying that she understands the pressure, being a mother. the kitchen table, she said, is no substitute for the classroom. but people will have to continue home—schooling children for a little while longer. children of key workers and vulnerable children, they are still attending classrooms at the moment you're here in northern ireland. it works out about 9% of pupils here at the moment. but if things stay on track for schools to reopen on monday the 8th of march, well, even then, ministers reminded people it might have to be only some peoples that are prioritised then, particularly those who are taking exams. the headlines on bbc news... a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. the european commission publishes a redacted version of its contract with drug—maker astrazeneca for the covid vaccine, amid a row over supplies. the commission's president insists the agreement is binding. let's go to cardiff now where the first minister mark drakeford is giving a coronavirus briefing. since the first vaccines became available last month, our programme has gone from strength to strength. as you can see on this slide, the green line represents wales, and you will see just how we are getting faster and faster in vaccinating people in wales with every day that goes by. these are the figures for the last seven days or so in wales, and the latest figures, published just 15 minutes ago, show that more than 362,000 people have now had their first dose. than 362,000 people have now had theirfirst dose. 0ver than 362,000 people have now had their first dose. over the last week, someone has been vaccinated every five seconds in wales. more than 400 gp practices are running clinics. we have got 34 max vaccination centres, with still more to open. and 17 hospitals are providing vaccines in all parts of wales. this is an incredible effort. and we can be rightfully proud of what our health service is achieving for us in wales. at the same time, the general public health situation is also showing sure signs of improvement. we are seeing steady falls in cases of coronavirus, now right across wales. we have fallen back from the peak of more than 600 cases per 100,000 people to 175 cases per 100,000 people to 175 cases today. this is really encouraging and it is the result of your efforts and sacrifices which people right wales have made over the last six weeks to turn back the tide of coronavirus. but at 175, thatis tide of coronavirus. but at 175, that is still a high figure, and we know that the majority of new cases in most parts of wales will now be their new, highly contagious strain of the virus, which has swept across the country. and although the number of people with coronavirus in hospital is starting to stabilise, the nhs is still under significant pressure. there are some... with confirmed coronavirus that they need hospital treatment. we have a similar number of people in hospital who are recovering from the disease. all this means that, despite the real progress that we have made, it is too late... too early to start lifting the lockdown restrictions. we will therefore have to remain in wales at alert level for for a further three weeks. the advice for people who are extremely clinically vulnerable, the shielded group, which is not to go to work or school, if they are of that age, outside the home, is also being extended to the 31st of march. we will all need to stay—at—home and work from home for a while longer. that will give us the time we need to reduce rates of coronavirus to even lower levels as the vaccine continues to be rolled out to even more people in the top priority groups. when it comes to lifting the restrictions here in wales, we will take the same approach as we adopted during the first lockdown — careful, gradual, and always with public health safety at the forefront of our decisions. because if we move too quickly, there is a very real risk that cases will immediately begin to shoot back up again and everyone's hard work over this winter will be lost. but because we are already seeing significant improvement, we can make to very small but important changes today, which i hope will lay the foundations for more to come. for the last six weeks, we have only been able to exercise with people we live with or in our support bubble. from tomorrow, to people from different households will be able to exercise outdoors together. we will also help people who need to change their support bubble because their circumstances have changed. we will publish guidance, setting out how to do this safely without increasing the risk of spreading or catching culvert in 19. i hope —— covid. these small steps will be the first one is a time when we will all be able to live with fewer restrictions in our lives and without the fear of this terrible virus. i want to turn now to education. i want to see directly to children and young people in wales that we understand the real difficulty and distress you have experienced this year, being in and out of school and separated from your friends. and out of school and separated from yourfriends. we do not and out of school and separated from your friends. we do not yet have the headroom to do everything we would like, but getting you back into school and college for face—to—face learning is our top priority in the welsh government. if infections continue to fall, we want to see children able to return to school after half term, from the 22nd of february, starting with the youngest children in our primary schools. i am confirming this intention today to give as much notice as possible to give as much notice as possible to parents, teachers and pupils of what we hope will lie ahead. we will work intensively with teachers and local authorities, and the teacher unions, as we keep parents up—to—date with these plans. we will also work on proposals for those older pupils and college students who have to do vocational examinations to return to school and couegein examinations to return to school and college in a phased and flexible way after half term. last week, when i was with you, i said we would be making a further £200 million available through our economic resilience fund to help non—essential retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses through this difficult time. today i can give some further information about that package. this will be an extension of the funding package which we put in place in early december and it brings this latest phase of support to £650 million to the end of march. we will link this funding to the nondomestic rates system because this is the quickest way to get support from us directly into the hands of businesses. firms who have previously received support will not need to apply again. it will not need to apply again. it will be made directly to them, but the scheme will also be open to new applicants. businesses receiving small business rate relief with a rateable value of £12,000 or less will be eligible for an additional £3000 in payment. businesses with a value of up to £150,000 will be able to receive an additional £5,000. supply chain businesses will also be able to apply for support if they have had a reduction in turnover of more than 40%. at the same time, we will put a further £30 million into the discretionary fund, which local authorities are able to use to provide up to £2000 in grants for businesses who are not captured by the nondomestic rates system. this support is in addition to that provided by the uk government and all the details are to be found on the business wales website. we continue to provide the most generous package of support for businesses in wales of anywhere in the uk. that is our determination to help firms and their employees through this crisis. what we now need is the uk government to provide similar certainty for businesses and individuals by ensuring that the furlough scheme will not come to an abrupt end before the economy is back on its feet again. we have been living with coronavirus and all the measures we need to control its spread for almost one year now. it has been a long and difficult year for us all, but particularly for the thousands of people who have lost close friends and family members to this awful virus. as i try to say often in these sessions, for all the numbers that you see and all the numbers that you see and all the numbers that you hear, it is not a number, is it? those people were people who had lives ahead of them, who had families and friends who they were looking forward to go on meeting. we think of them all at this incredibly difficult time. yet, despite all of that, at every turn over the last 12 months, we have seen a fantastic response from people here in wales. it is the hard work we have done together which has repeatedly changed the course of this pandemic. and it will be through a combination of all those efforts and sacrifices that we need to go on making over the weeks ahead which will help drive infection rates lower and lower, and help us to begin the process of reopening wales once again. let me end as i began by saying thank you to everybody who is part of this enormous collective effort of social solidarity. thank you for all your help in keeping wales safe. time to turn to questions now, and as usual, all the answers will be broadcast live on our social media channels. first today, i am going to go to bbc wales. ., . f, first today, i am going to go to bbc wales. ., ., j, ., ., . ., wales. today's announcement on schools, wales. today's announcement on schools. as _ wales. today's announcement on schools. as you — wales. today's announcement on schools, as you say, _ wales. today's announcement on schools, as you say, is _ wales. today's announcement on | schools, as you say, is dependent wales. today's announcement on i schools, as you say, is dependent on case rates _ schools, as you say, is dependent on case rates continuing to fall and the pressure on the nhs easing, but you want— the pressure on the nhs easing, but you want to — the pressure on the nhs easing, but you want to give as much notice as possible _ you want to give as much notice as possible to — you want to give as much notice as possible to schools and parents and pupils. _ possible to schools and parents and pupils, how soon will parents, pupils. — pupils, how soon will parents, pupils, teachers know for sure that their children will be returning to schools? — their children will be returning to schools? how much notice can you -ive schools? how much notice can you give them? — schools? how much notice can you give them? i schools? how much notice can you give them?— give them? i am very keen to give two clear weeks _ give them? i am very keen to give two clear weeks notice. _ give them? i am very keen to give two clear weeks notice. which i give them? i am very keen to give i two clear weeks notice. which means next week has to be a week of intensive discussions on the practicality of what can be achieved here in wales after the 22nd of february. i chaired a meeting of the social partnership council yesterday where local authorities and teaching and nonteaching staff in were all represented, we have a joint commitment to doing everything we can together to begin the return of students and children to school and couege students and children to school and college after half term. there is a lot of hard work to be done on the detail of that. i want to happen intensively next week, and by the end of next week, we would therefore be in a position to confirm the plans that we have will have put together together. share plans that we have will have put together together.— plans that we have will have put toaether touether. �* ,, _, . together together. are you concerned that some teachers _ together together. are you concerned that some teachers may _ together together. are you concerned that some teachers may refuse - together together. are you concerned that some teachers may refuse to i together together. are you concerned that some teachers may refuse to go | that some teachers may refuse to go back to _ that some teachers may refuse to go back to school until they have been vaccinated? i understand the anxieties of those people who turn up to serve food to us in supermarkets, drive buses or collect our rubbish, all people who are in face—to—face contact with the public will have their anxieties about their health in their own future but we will do everything we can to help staff who work in schools, teacher unions to make sure that everything we put in place make sure that workplaces safer is possible. we would look at younger children, children least likely to suffer from coronavirus or spread children, children least likely to sufferfrom coronavirus or spread it to other people. we had to work together on this agenda because we have a common name of trying to repair the damage that has been done to the education of our young people during the 12 months that have just gone by and i look to those who share that ambition to come round the table and make those plans together. speaks welsh that's the first minister of wales, mark trey fed at his coronavirus briefing and the main announcement is that infections continue to fall, the government wants children's back in school after the february half term, starting with the very youngest children. he says that generally the health pub —— public health situation was showing some improvement. figure say there is now 175 per 100,000 people and that compares to 600 cases per 100,000 people at its height. so he's cited these figures is an improvement and is holding out that prospect the parents and children to be going back to, potentially after the february half term.— back to, potentially after the february half term. let's listen aaain. i february half term. let's listen again. i wonder— february half term. let's listen again. i wonder if— february half term. let's listen again. iwonder if i _ february half term. let's listen again. i wonder if i could - february half term. let's listen again. i wonder if! could pick. february half term. let's listen i again. i wonder if! could pick up again. i wonder if i could pick up on that. i've heard what you've said elsewhere about vaccinations for teachers but i would just like to clarify, you are ruling out vaccinations for teachers unless joint committee vaccination committee changes its advice. could you clarify that? and is part of the preparations you talk about, the precautions, how seriously are you looking at schools opening in some form throughout the summer in order to repair the damage, as you put it? thank you. to be clear, the welsh government— thank you. to be clear, the welsh government relies on the advice of the joint _ government relies on the advice of the joint committee on vaccination and the _ the joint committee on vaccination and the advice of our chief medical officer— and the advice of our chief medical officer as — and the advice of our chief medical officer as to which groups should be at the _ officer as to which groups should be at the front— officer as to which groups should be at the front of the keith vaccination. they tell us that it's reviewing — vaccination. they tell us that it's reviewing its prioritisation list all the — reviewing its prioritisation list all the time, as new evidence emerges _ all the time, as new evidence emerges. if it's advice to us where to change — emerges. if it's advice to us where to change and it would put professional groups including teachers at the front of that list, we would — teachers at the front of that list, we would follow that advice. but, at the moment, there advice remains that we _ the moment, there advice remains that we should focus on the top nine priority— that we should focus on the top nine priority groups, because that is how we will— priority groups, because that is how we will save — priority groups, because that is how we will save the maximum number of lives. _ we will save the maximum number of lives. not _ we will save the maximum number of lives, notjust here in wales but in every— lives, notjust here in wales but in every part— lives, notjust here in wales but in every part of the united kingdom. before _ every part of the united kingdom. before chief medical officers who are independent of the government of one another have all come to the same _ one another have all come to the same conclusion, following those priority— same conclusion, following those priority groups, that is the right thing _ priority groups, that is the right thing to— priority groups, that is the right thing to do. if that advice changes, the welsh — thing to do. if that advice changes, the welsh government's positional change _ the welsh government's positional change alongside it. until the advice — change alongside it. until the advice changes, we will stick with what _ advice changes, we will stick with what the — advice changes, we will stick with what the most expert, — equipped people _ what the most expert, — equipped people we — what the most expert, — equipped people we have in the country to -ive people we have in the country to give that — people we have in the country to give that advice, what they say to that we _ give that advice, what they say to that we should do.— give that advice, what they say to i that we should do._ school that we should do. remind me? school throu~h the that we should do. remind me? school through the summer. _ that we should do. remind me? school through the summer. thank— that we should do. remind me? school through the summer. thank you. - that we should do. remind me? school through the summer. thank you. well, | through the summer. thank you. well, we've _ through the summer. thank you. well, we've already _ through the summer. thank you. well, we've already invested many millions of pounds _ we've already invested many millions of pounds on a catch up programme. our local— of pounds on a catch up programme. our local education authorities have succeeded _ our local education authorities have succeeded in employing around a thousand — succeeded in employing around a thousand extra staff, who are beyond -- bb _ thousand extra staff, who are beyond -- bb on— thousand extra staff, who are beyond —— bb on what we normally have an classroom — —— bb on what we normally have an classroom. of course, we are looking to see _ classroom. of course, we are looking to see how _ classroom. of course, we are looking to see how that programme might be extended _ to see how that programme might be extended and using the summer holiday. — extended and using the summer holiday, particularly for those young — holiday, particularly for those young people who have lost out the most _ young people who have lost out the most and _ young people who have lost out the most and who will need that extra boost _ most and who will need that extra boost to _ most and who will need that extra boost to catch up on, what they have lost out _ boost to catch up on, what they have lost out on. — boost to catch up on, what they have lost out on, of course, we are thinking — lost out on, of course, we are thinking about that and seeing if we can extend — thinking about that and seeing if we can extend the investment we've already— can extend the investment we've already made in that area. thank ou. .. already made in that area. thank you- -- 0k- _ already made in that area. thank you... ok. going— already made in that area. thank you... ok. going to _ already made in that area. thank you... ok. going to leave - already made in that area. thank you... ok. going to leave that i you... 0k. going to leave that briefing now. that was the first minister of wales, mark drake third. the national lockdown in wales will be extended for another three weeks. but there is a very slight easing of restrictions. from tomorrow, people can meet one other person from outside the household for exercise and he's signalled the intention of starting to open schools from february the 22nd, after half—time, starting with youngest children first. staying with education, ministers are considering letting some people repeat a year, this comes from a think tank after the government ends consultation on how students will be awarded grade this summer after exams were cancelled for a second time this year. and there are concerns that some pupils are being hampered by an inability to access lessons because they still don't have access to laptops or affordable broadband. fiona lamdin has been looking at the �*digital divide'. it's a life changer, and it's also a life—saver. this was the moment when these ten—year—old identical twins were given a donated laptop. it made a big impact on our lives because you can get more education and you can get more work done. and we can see our teacher on the online lessons at zoom. live lessons are amazing, actually. sometimes we do fun stuff. it is notjust a lack of devices which is making it hard for some children to study. many families are struggling to get online. near the english—welsh border live the bennetts. they're dairy farmers. our internet isn't so good, so we don't get to do so much stuff. for their children, drew and megan, home—schooling is a struggle. with maths and english, it's really hard because we can't watch the videos. we just have to do it on a sheet of paper. their broadband is so slow, live lessons are out of the question. we can't get onto a zoom session. we don't get to do any of the live lessons or links to tutorial videos they could watch. it is simply paper, printed out stuff. are you worried they are falling behind? i think they are because they don't get that interaction from their teacher. they can't get 4g reception. to cable it from where there is a signal would cost thousands, something they can't afford. 0fcom found that 6% of households have difficulties paying their broadband, while 5% of families struggle with their mobile phone bill. this is kedra and her family in bristol. she can't afford broadband or mobile data. her seven children haven't been able to do any home learning. i don't have anything. i don't have internet and computer. has it been very hard? very, very hard. the internet is there for money i don't have. as we were filming, this charity not only donated a laptop but a 4g dongle. families are having to choose between food, heating, or internet connection. if they have young people in the family that need education, that's quite a tough choice to make. the department for education say they have given over 50,000 4g routers to schools or disadvantaged children. after missing out on nearly a month of education, kedra's children can now restart studying. to donate a laptop or for more details on getting online — go to bbc.co.uk/makeadifference. big questions are being asked about how the us stock market works after indivdual investors were stopped from buying shares after big losses for wall street traders. for wall street traders. shares in gamestop — a video game retailer — soared after a group of private investors used online chat forums to drive up their price. paul hawkins reports. this is a story of david versus goliath, of the amateur online investor beating the big traditional wall street traders. at the centre of it, gamestop, a struggling american retailer selling dvds and video games. a number of the wall street traders picked up on its problems and bet money that its share price would fall, known in the business as shorting a stock. only, for that this particular stock, amateur investors swapping tips on the social media site reddit saw it as an opportunity. they bought shares which actually drove up the price by 700%, so the wall street traders which act for hedge funds lost money, potentially billions of dollars, while the amateur investors made money. but on thursday, the main platforms the small investors used to buy the stocks, like robin hood, stopped them like robinhood, stopped them from buying more shares. the reddit investors, unsurprising,ly weren't happy. unsurprisingly weren't happy. they want the hedge fund guys to win, they don't want the common man, brokers, they don't want us to win. they said that i could only sell my amc stock, they said i could only sell my nokia stock but i couldn't buy more this morning. it was crazy. how is that a free market in any way? that's not a free market, that sounds like communism. these are dirty, dirty people. they deserve jail time. money — they'll be able to repair the money, they can pay millions of dollars worth of fines but this isn't about the money, this is aboutjail time, prison. they should go to jail. accusations like that will hurt platforms like robinhood, who have helped democratise the stock market. its co—founder said the firm had taken its decision based on regulatory requirements and limited buyers of the restricted stocks would be allowed from friday. you have a generation that feels as if it's their time. you have new weapons of influence, new trading platforms and you also have a lot of people at home with stimulus in their pocket and phones and access to trading. it all kind of spells a cocktail of volatility. even american politicians are unusually united over their response, with the incoming chair of the banking committee promising to look into how the stock market works. bell rings everyone loves the story of a plucky underdog, but a black eye for wall street may have repercussions for the rest of us. to cover their losses, the big investors may need to sell their other shares in things like pension funds, and that means their share price falls. and that's not good for the people who rely on them. paul hawkins, bbc news. this weekend, britain will open its doors to potentially hundreds of thousands of people living hong kong. a new visa system will give those with so—called british national overseas status, the chance to live and work in the uk — and potentially become citizens. but china has accused britain of interfering in hong kong's internal affairs and says it will stop recognising british national overseas passports held by citizens in the territory from this sunday. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. after months of protest from pro—democracy campaigners, beijing proposed a tough new security law on hong kong. beijing last year proposed a tough new security law on hong kong. britain said this broke a deal it had agreed with china to protect the territory's autonomy. so ministers are offering a way out for those british nationals who want it. so, for us in particular, we have made a promise to the people of hong kong when it comes to safeguarding and preserving their liberties and freedoms, particularly as they are being restricted by the chinese government and this is one of its kind, effectively, bespoke visa route to provide freedoms, safety, security. so, who is eligible for the new visa? well, it's open to anyone registered with british national overseas or bno status before 1997, when hong kong was handed over to china. it also includes their children, partners and dependent relatives. that potentially includes up to 5.2 million hong kong citizens. that's more than two thirds of the entire population. so, what does the visa do? well, it gives bnos the right to live, study and work in the uk for up to five years. they can then apply to settle permanently with a chance of citizenship after six years. in the process, they can use schools and health service but can't claim welfare benefits. crucially, people can apply discreetly via a smartphone, rather than go in person to a visa office, where they could be identified by the authorities. the digitalisation of this process will obviously give people sureties, give people assureties, regarding their safeguards and protections when they make these applications, because clearly the environment is changing in hong kong and safeguarding an individual's freedom, liberty and security is absolutely vital. for those individuals who go through this process. through this process, there are hurdles. applicants have to show they have enough cash to survive for six months. there is a £3,000 health surcharge, so, the government estimates that only 300,000 bnos will come to britain over the next five years. china is furious and has already threatened retaliation. translation: the british side has violated its promises, insisted on acting wilfully, repeatedly hyped the issue of british national passports, interfered with hong kong affairs and interfered in china's internal affairs. it will lift a rock, only to drop it on its own feet, in the end. but the british government is determined to offer a lifeline to those in hong kong that it believes it has a moral duty to help. the headlines on bbc news... the european commission publishes a redacted version of its contract with drug—maker astrazeneca for the covid vaccine amid a row over supplies. the commission's president insists the agreement is binding. a new vaccine produced in the uk has been found to be highly effective against coronavirus — including the british variant. lockdown in wales will last for three more weeks at least — but children could return to schools there after the february half—term. a new scheme is helping older people to get to covid vaccination centres safely — while providing much—needed work for taxi drivers. "cabs forjabs" uses donations to fund free cab rides for those who need them most — as duncan kennedy reports. the idea could not be simpler. from door to door, via a free to use taxi. it's called cabs forjabs. 0h, they're great, yeah, great. the doctors told me about them so, yeah, very good. 75—year—old sylvia from winchester is about to take her taxi. are you ok there? it would normally take sylvia two bus journeys to get to the vaccination centre. instead, sean, a local taxi driver, is taking herforfree. they're really flexible on the time of the jab as well, so don't panic about timings. cabs forjabs was the idea of a group of friends who set up a gofundme page. the money raised pays for the taxi. so far, it's helped more than 100 elderly people. a lot of people in rural communities are going to struggle getting to their vaccination, a number of different buses. so, just to know that they can call a service, get a free taxi and get to their appointment is just a huge weight off their minds and a huge relief. sylvia arrives at the vaccination centre in plenty of time. ready for your jab? yes. and joins the queue were already there before answering a few questions. being brought here also helps the doctors. if they didn't come here, we would have to visit them at home, which is quite difficult to take time out of clinical sessions and also to actually transport the vaccine outside of the surgery. no reactions to vaccines in the past? it's soon time for sylvia's covid vaccination. a sharp scratch... job done. as all this is happening, taxi driver sean is sterilising his cab again and taking more calls from elderly customers. thanks, then, bye. another covid one? yes, yeah, another one, yeah. a busy day? a busy day, yeah, 22 today and 36 tomorrow, so very busy, yeah. in fact, the public have so far raised nearly £10,000 to pay for the taxis. having the vaccination already is worrying enough, let alone worrying about having... you know, how to get there and how to get back. so we're taking all the worry away from them, which is a great relief for everybody. then it's time for sylvia's ride back home, thanks to a scheme that's now also taking off in places like brighton, southampton and tonbridge. what now think of cabs forjabs? very good. best. yeah, they deserve a medal! it's a fair idea for a fare—free service. cup of tea time. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in winchester. the 32,000 volunteers who have signed up to help the nhs with the roll—out of the vaccines are to be offered the jab themselves. the charity, stjohn ambulance, says they will be classed as frontline health workers. our health correspondent laura foster reports. a lot of personal protective equipment, a lot is needed to turn these people into volunteer vaccinated. even if you are the skinniest person imaginable, and bearing in mind some of these elderly people are very frail, very skinny, you still have muscle there. nobody here is a medical professional. they just want to help. sarah normally works as a yoga teacher. you signed up to do it but you've never— you signed up to do it but you've never injected anyone before. so it's night— never injected anyone before. so it's night to put it into practice. live _ it's night to put it into practice. live on — it's night to put it into practice. live on my— it's night to put it into practice. live on my own so i've been looking forward _ live on my own so i've been looking forward to _ live on my own so i've been looking forward to getting out and see some people _ esme has just started studying medicine. this is the first time she has been able to get any practical experience due to the pandemic. i am very in favour of people getting the vaccine. i don't want to sit at home and tell people to do it, i want to help people do it. before this point, all the volunteers have done extensive online learning, but this is the first time they are actually picking up syringes and interacting with other people. it means that the first time they give the vaccination will be on a dedicated vaccination centre. stjohn's ambulance service needs to train 30,000 volunteers to help the nhs with the vaccine roll—out. because the volunteers are now considered to be front line health workers, they now followed to a child line health workers, they're part of the group that will be given at the covid vaccine. i hate the phrase just a volunteer. getting the vaccine out there by these people, these volunteers, who are well—trained, well qualified, and are to deliver it, should reassure the general public they are getting as good care as they could get anywhere. more vaccine centres are being created, including in shopping centres and places of worship. the government has set itself a target to give everyone in the top four priority groups their first dose before the middle of february. that's front line health care workers, anyone deemed to be extremely clinically vulnerable, as well as anybody over the age of 70. but these volunteers will be needed far beyond february. they want to get vaccines out to every adult in the uk by the autumn. laura foster, bbc news, hull. people are being urged to count the birds in their gardens this weekend. it's part of an annual survey by the rspb — and with most of us locked down at home, there's likely to be an even bigger response than usual. john maguire has been to meet twitchers taking part. if ever there was a perfect activity for lockdown, the rspb's big garden bird watch has to be it. people are looking for activities to do, and this is a really lovely one to do. whether you're going to do it on your own, or whether you're going to line up the family at the window, we love to do it as a family, don't we? it's an activity that we always look forward to doing. even more so, we're all realising now how valuable nature is for our mental health and well—being. many more people are out and about, just enjoying nature and what it can give to us. for miranda's son, oliver, the simple act of looking out of the window can be a welcome break from a computer screen in between virtual lessons. when i can, i try and get some extra time, just in a breaktime, five minutes between a lesson, come downstairs, and just see what's happening, really. this time of year, quite commonly on the ground, there is a robin and they have a lovely song. i quite enjoy seeing those at break time, or lunchtime, or something. despite the name, this is notjust about gardens. the rspb wants to involve anyone and everyone, who can spot birds from a window, from a nearby park, or evenjust on a bird feeder or a tree. there is no need for a garden, in this case, 0k. if you are lucky enough, as i am, to have a little balcony space, you can definitely set up some bird feeders here. nadeem perera is one of the founders of flock together. our primary focus is to combat the underrepresentation of people of colour in the natural world. i don't have a garden. i'm fortunate enough, at the top of my road, i do have hackney marshes, where we are today, so i can walk all of five minutes. but it is even as simple as looking through your window. if you can manage to spot some birds there, go for it, you know? spend a couple of minutes, half an hour or so, looking out of the window, seeing what you can see, and you might well surprise yourself. you don't need a fancy pair of binoculars or anything either. all you need is a pair of eyes, really. mya—rose craig was the youngest person to spot half of the world's bird species. she is passionate about wildlife and persuading people that you don't have to be an expert to enjoy what's on your doorstep. the great thing about birds is how easy they are. they're everywhere. if you do stick some food out, you can stick out some sunflower seeds, stick out some peanuts. you will almost certainly get birds turning up. it's that separation from daily life that i think is so important, and so appealing for everyone that is getting involved at the moment. today mya is launching a podcast, with her first guest, the wildlife presenter, chris packham. ifound more simple, commonplace, everyday things on my doorstep that i basically haven't seen in those 15 years. i enjoyed them more than ever. just to prove you're never too young, seven—year—old ellie mae took this shot of a robin. last year, the bird watch saw half a million people take part, recording 8 million sightings. it is a massive citizen science project, which provides an unrivalled amount of data, then allowing the rspb to understand which birds are thriving, surviving, or under threat. it's an hour where we can feel we are leaving the lockdown world and connecting with the natural world. lovely scenes there and this is the live scene at the rspb bird can that's been set up at poole harbour to see what it has attracted and as you can see, large and small. now it's time for a look at the weather. as we head on into the weekend, a battle of the air masses which will turn rain into sleet and snow for some of us is low pressure starts to me then. so, into the weekend, that cold air in the north begins to drift southward and hold on before it gets shunted out of the way by low pressure and cold air. we will see rain turning to sleet and snow particularly over the welsh hills and then on saturday and sunday another area of low pressure. the rest of today, rain and hill snow easing as low pressure moves away and mild across southern areas. snow over the grampians, the highlands, a legacy of cloud. some sunshine in the south, particularly towards south eastern areas and also the far north of scotland. a milder afternoon to come across the south. 11-12 c, not afternoon to come across the south. 11—12 c, not as mild as yesterday. cold through the north. that colder air then begins to sink southwards and we will see quite a few showers around. these will be wintry over eastern scotland and as we look to the south—west, this rain band moving up, starting to turn to snow across wales and the midlands. it will be a cold night across the north of the country. a cold, frosty start to the north, a few wintry showers further south. rain turning increasingly to snow over the high ground and then into the midlands, some sleet, down to lower levels, moving to the south—east of england. it looks like wales could see quite a covering of snow by the end of the day. certainly over the higher ground. now, as that area of low pressure slips away, very cold night to come. frosty, icy start the sunday but then the next area of low pressure begins to sweep in from the west, bringing snow to northern ireland, wales, and southern parts of england and some heavy snow lightly over the hills. a new coronavirus vaccine is shown to be 89% effective in trials — and works against the new variant in the uk. the novavax jab still has to be approved — but much of it is set to be manufactured in teesside. scientists say it's excellent news. this is remarkable, and i think unprecedented that there should be such a rich abundance of approaches, all of which are successful. we'll have more on all today's positive news about vaccines. also this lunchtime: the eu publishes the contract it signed with astrazeneca for millions of doses of its covid vaccine, in a continunig row about a shortage. schools in wales could re—open to all pupils after half term —

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