and murdering 21—year—old libby squire, a student from hull university last february. researchers discover that combining two drugs and using them for people who are seriously ill with covid could cut deaths by up to a half. and looking for love in lockdown how more and more people are searching for soulmates online. and coming up in sport bbc news: keeping british hopes alive in melbourne. cameron norrie is into the third round of the australian open, where rafa nadal now awaits him. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. meghan, the duchess of sussex, has won her two—year legal battle with the mail on sunday over the publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father, thomas markle, after her wedding to prince harry. today the high court ruled that the duchess had had a reasonable expectation that the letter would remain private. in a statement, she thanked the court for holding the newspaper to account and said the damage the paper had done and continue to do runs deep. associated newspapers, the publishers of the daily mail, mail on sunday and mail0nline, said they were surprised and disappointed by thejudgment. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. it contains flash photography. this is a significant victory for the duchess of sussex. meghan, strongly supported by her husband, prince harry, has shown herself to be absolutely determined, robustly to defend her right to privacy. this case began after the mail on sunday published lengthy extracts from a letter she had written in late 2018 to her estranged father, thomas. her lawyers told the high court that the letter was a heartfelt plea from an anguished daughter. they applied for what is known as a summaryjudgment by a high courtjudge on the basis, they said, that the mail on sunday could have no defence to the allegations of breach of privacy. they said a full trial was not necessary and the judge has agreed. mrjustice warby examined the evidence and found... there is still the prospect of a trial on the narrower issue of copyright infringement but privacy is the main issue and on that, the finding is fully in meghan�*s fever. in a statement, she spoke about what she said were the tactics of the mail group's newspapers. the mail on sunday's publishers said they were very surprised by the judgment. they said they would decide in due course whether to lodge an appeal. and, first reaction from media lawyers. the duchess has won very big today. essentially she had two parts to her claim, the privacy part and the copyright part, that she wrote the letter and therefore owned the copyright. and she has won the whole of the privacy claim. that is really enough for her. for the queen and other senior royals, there will be great relief. the prospect of a full trial on the privacy issue in which meghan markle and her father thomas markle would have been pitted against each other as the star witnesses has been averted. nickjoins me now... is itfairto is it fair to say buckingham palace is not sure how this would have gone? is not sure how this would have one? , . , gone? yes, and there will be the most immense _ gone? yes, and there will be the most immense relief. _ gone? yes, and there will be the most immense relief. they - gone? yes, and there will be the most immense relief. they will. gone? yes, and there will be the. most immense relief. they will be pleased that meghan, that she has won on the privacy issue, it's salutary issue. i think the palace, the royal family, will have been utterly appalled at the prospect of a full—blown court case in which meghan markle would have been cross—examined in the witness box, in which thomas markle would have appeared as the star witness on behalf of the mail on sunday and all the family tensions would have come out. associated newspapers say they are disappointed they have been denied the chance to test the evidence in open court and are considering a report. but the finding on privacy is very clear. 53 pagejudgment. the claimant had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private, the article interfered with that reasonable expectation. it goes on to say, there is no prospect of a differentjudgment would be reached after a trial. in terms of media law and privacy law, this is, ithink, as i say, a pretty salutary lesson for the british media.— as i say, a pretty salutary lesson for the british media. almost a quarter of a million people in england have now waited more than a year for routine hospital treatment — operations like hip and knee replacements. surgeons say without the treatment they need, many people are being left in limbo, reliant on painkillers and unable to get on with daily life. the pandemic has taken a huge toll on millions of people who need nhs treatment — in total more 4.5 million were waiting to start treatment in december — the highest figure since records began 14 years ago. more than 224,000 people in england have now waited more than 12 months for routine hospital treatment — it's a huge rise when you compare that to a year earlier, before the start of the pandemic, when just 1,467 people were waiting for that long. but with hospitals swamped with covid patients, there were almost 102,000 people being treated for covid in hospital last month alone. many treatments had to be put on hold. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes has the details. a little over a year ago, brenda led an active life, walking the dog, meeting up with friends, working for a law firm in london. but arthritis has left her in immense pain, waiting for a double hip replacement operation that has been repeatedly delayed by the pandemic. the impact has been huge, it has been very far—reaching on all levels, financial, emotional, psychological. it has, yeah, been really, really difficult. i haven't left the house for a year. i've been unable to move. despite the pressures of the pandemic, the nhs in england did manage to carry out more than 6 million operations last year. doctors have stressed repeatedly that anyone with health concerns should still seek help, but still some patients needing, for example, heart surgery, are facing long waits. there is a tenfold increase in the number of patients who have waited more than a year for their heart procedure. i don't see procedures like balloon stents, pacemakers or even heart surgeries as a luxury. so what are the implications of those long waits? it means that with time there is certainly a risk that people will deteriorate waiting, get heart failure they could have avoided, or even die. clearing the backlog of delayed operations and treatments will be a huge task. but nhs leaders say doctors need the freedom to decide how it will be done. there will be people who have been waiting less than 52 weeks who we also need to prioritise, so what we really need to do, which is where the nhs is best, is effectively let our local clinicians make those prioritisation decisions. and effectively say what's the order is in which we should get through these backlogs. there are some encouraging news as cancer care seems to have been less affected. the number of patients seen and treated in december was in line with the months before the pandemic struck. david hawkins was diagnosed late in 2019. he counts himself lucky his treatment continued through the covid crisis. whether or not i'd have actually been struggling to get to see a doctor if it had been later on, and then i wouldn't have got a diagnosis, so in that way, i class myself very lucky. but it's been difficult for everybody. across the uk, exhausted staff face a huge backlog of delayed treatments. the legacy of this virus will last for years. dominic hughes, bbc news. the latest government figures show a slight rise in cases since yesterday, nearly 500 more. 13,494 new infections were recorded in the latest 24—hour period. there has been a fall in the number of deaths. 678 were reported in the last 24 hours. that is people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. more than 13.5 million people have now had their firstjab. doctors have discovered that combining two drugs already used for other conditions cuts the risk by up to a half of covid patients dying in hosptial. resesarchers say the results are beyond their wildest dreams. it comes after the covid trials in the world, carried out in the uk. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. searching among existing medicines for any that can treat covid has been a huge task. first, there was dexamethasone. now, there's tocilizumab. together, they can dramatically improve survival for patients on oxygen. compared with a year ago, when we really did not know how to treat this disease, we now have two treatments — they both act on the immune system. dexamethasone and tocilizumab, put them together and we've reduced the risk of death by a third or even as much as a half in the sickest patients. that's great news. dexamethasone, a steroid, costsjust £5, whereas the arthritis drug, tocilizumab, at least £500 per patient. but that's still far less than the £2000 a day cost of being in icu. this therapy looks like it keeps people out of the intensive care unit, so they never need to meet people like me, which can only be a good thing. so, as well as improving survival, it actually will decrease the number of people who need to come to intensive care, which is fabulous. there's understandably a huge focus on preventing coronavirus and vaccines but for those with covid, it is treatments like dexamethasone and tocilizumab which will save lives now. they need the research, so ijust signed up for them. lawrence spent several days in intensive care at addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge but now has his bags packed, ready to go home. he's one of tens of thousands of covid patients taking part in nhs trials. if nobody's willing to try, you're back to square one again, aren't you? if nobody's going to do anything. last month, nhs hospitals treated more than 100,000 covid patients. that's around one in three of all those admitted since the pandemic began. covid remains a brutal disease but the chances of surviving it are improving. fergus walsh, bbc news. an international trial of a drug that suppresses appetite has found its helped some people lose more than a fifth of their body weight. scientists say a weekly injection of the drug semaglutide, which is used to treat diabetes, could be used as an alternative to weight loss surgery. experts say people on the trial were also encouraged to exercise and eat healthily. the health secretary, matt hancock, has announced plans to restructure the nhs in england saying health and care services need to be more integrated and responsive, with less bureaucracy. the move is set to reverse many controversial changes introduced under david cameron almost a decade ago. but labour questioned the timings of the changes "in the middle of the biggest public health crisis our nhs has ever faced", saying staff were exhausted. our health editor hugh pym has more. the pandemic response has required everyone to work together. the nhs, local and national governments, delivering the vaccination programme and other huge tasks. now ministers on the same for services in england after covid. the on the same for services in england after covid-— on the same for services in england after covid. . ., , ., after covid. the pandemic has made the changes — after covid. the pandemic has made the changes in _ after covid. the pandemic has made the changes in this _ after covid. the pandemic has made the changes in this white _ after covid. the pandemic has made the changes in this white paper- the changes in this white paper more, not less, urgent. we the changes in this white paper more, not less, urgent. we have long aruued more, not less, urgent. we have long an ued for more, not less, urgent. we have long argued for more _ more, not less, urgent. we have long argued for more integrated _ more, not less, urgent. we have long argued for more integrated care - more, not less, urgent. we have long argued for more integrated care but i argued for more integrated care but how will_ argued for more integrated care but how will these new structures be governed, — how will these new structures be governed, how the will they be accountable to local people? the -lans accountable to local people? the plans involve _ accountable to local people? tue: plans involve legislation accountable to local people? tte: plans involve legislation to accountable to local people? tt2 plans involve legislation to bring nhs organisations together with local government service providers to focus on what people in their areas need. one example is in west yorkshire, here in halifax, a community hub offers food and support to the disadvantaged and nhs staff are also on hand to deal with any health issues. t staff are also on hand to deal with any health issues.— any health issues. i think it's really important _ any health issues. i think it's really important that - any health issues. i think it's really important that we - any health issues. i think it's i really important that we deliver services to these vulnerable groups that don't fit into your normal nhs pathways. you can't expect somebody who has no money, no way of transport to go to a hospital, to go to a health centre. ben transport to go to a hospital, to go to a health centre.— to a health centre. ben has been sleein: to a health centre. ben has been sleeping rough — to a health centre. ben has been sleeping rough and _ to a health centre. ben has been sleeping rough and feels - to a health centre. ben has been sleeping rough and feels he - to a health centre. ben has been| sleeping rough and feels he does to a health centre. ben has been - sleeping rough and feels he does get the help he needs. tt is sleeping rough and feels he does get the help he needs.— the help he needs. it is hard because you _ the help he needs. it is hard because you feel _ the help he needs. it is hard because you feel like - the help he needs. it is hard because you feel like giving | the help he needs. it is hard i because you feel like giving up because — because you feel like giving up because there is no option is that this place — because there is no option is that this place gives you an option, gives— this place gives you an option, gives you _ this place gives you an option, gives you a fighting chance. local leaders say _ gives you a fighting chance. local leaders say it's _ gives you a fighting chance. local leaders say it's all _ gives you a fighting chance. local leaders say it's all made - gives you a fighting chance. local leaders say it's all made possible ljy leaders say it's all made possible byjoined up working between the nhs and local councils. ibm;n by joined up working between the nhs and local councils.— and local councils. by being available — and local councils. by being available as _ and local councils. by being available as health - and local councils. by being available as health care - and local councils. by being - available as health care services, in places where people have to go socially or to get comfort and support, you can then start to join up support, you can then start to join up care around the needs of the person. up care around the needs of the erson. , . , ,. up care around the needs of the erson. ,. , ,. ., , person. the plans will scrap reforms introduced in — person. the plans will scrap reforms introduced in england _ person. the plans will scrap reforms introduced in england by _ person. the plans will scrap reforms introduced in england by the - introduced in england by the coalition under david cameron with health secretary andrew lansley that involved putting contracts out to tender and more private involvement and competition now the buzzword will be collaboration but health analysts say that will be harder thanit analysts say that will be harder than it sounds. the analysts say that will be harder than it sounds.— than it sounds. the benefits to atients than it sounds. the benefits to patients of _ than it sounds. the benefits to patients of integrated - than it sounds. the benefits to patients of integrated care - than it sounds. the benefits to patients of integrated care can| than it sounds. the benefits to - patients of integrated care can take some time and just because you allow people to work together more freely doesn't mean to say they will work together and collaborate across services. so i don't think this is necessarily going to be a panacea for suddenly increase patient benefit but hopefully what it will do is just removed some of the obstacles that were in the way. scotland, wales and northern ireland have all embarked on integrated health and social care, it hasn't always been straightforward. the challenge now in england is to make a real difference to people's lives. hugh pym, bbc news. our top story this evening. the duchess of sussex launches a scathing attack on the mail on sunday as she wins her battle for privacy. and the village of braemar records the uk's lowest temperature in over two decades, —23 celsius. as another player is racially abused online, some of football's governing body sends a letter to facebook and twitter telling them to go much further dealing with abuse. a serial sex offender has been found guilty of raping and murdering a 21—year—old student from hull university. libby squire was attacked last february and her body was dumped in a river. her killer, a polish father of two, was convicted after 27 hours of deliberations by a jury at sheffield crown court. danny savage reports. libby squire, a 21—year—old from buckinghamshire who was studying at hull university. she was murdered by a man stalking the student area looking for a victim. on a freezing cold night injanuary 2019, libby — marked by the green arrow — was heading to a nightclub with friends, but she was refused entry because she was drunk. she's put in a taxi, but she later gets out and goes her own way, crossing the path of a man called pawel relowicz — shown by the red arrow. he follows her before he makes his move. he wasn't trying to help — he was a predator. a few minutes later, he persuades her to get into his car and takes her to a nearby park. relowicz drove libby to this lonely spot. they then both got out of the car before he sexually assaulted and killed her. this tidal river runs down one side of the park. he then pushed her body into it to try and cover up his crime. it would be weeks before libby was found. it was such a long period when nobody really knew what had happened to her. it was seven weeks between when she disappeared and when, tragically, her body was found at sea. so, all sorts of theories were circulating and it caused a lot of panic in hull amongst the student community. after today's guilty verdict, libby's parents paid tribute to her outside court. as a family, today's verdict changes nothing for us. there is no closure. we don't get to have libby back and our lives don't revert back to normal. libby will always be with us and we are all so proud of our beautiful, caring, wonderful girl. and although she has been physically taken from us, the memories we have and the love we share will never be taken. relowicz, who was married and a father, had been committing sexual offences for months before the attack and is already serving a sentence for voyeurism. libby squire's murder terrified a community and devastated her family. they now have to carry on without a daughter and sister who loved life. danny savage, bbc news, hull. more than half of the people who have died in england during the pandemic were disabled. new figures from the office for national statistics show that more than 30,000 people who died with coronavirus betweenjanuary and november had a disability. nikki fox reports. disbelief, the overwhelming feeling. i'm in your flat and you're everywhere, but not here. a poem written in grief. andrea's sister kath died last november, after she caught coronavirus. she was 49. it spreads, it spreads so easily. my sister was at home. she never went anywhere. she got it and died. a huge sci—fi fan, kath had many passions and then the pandemic hit, so she stayed at home to stay safe. unless you've got people with, a person with disabilities in your family, people don't realise just how fragile people's lives can be. sometimes i think people think, "oh, well, and it's the same with elderly people, oh, well, they're old, they've had their life." "oh, well, they're disabled. they're not having much life anyway." but they do, you know? everybody has a life. today's findings highlightjust how devastating the pandemic has been for disabled people, and the findings are bleak. six out of ten people who have died were disabled. they are up to 2.9 times more likely to die than those without a disability. they don't start with a very good state of affairs. they are more dependent, more excluded and, guess what? sadly, they are more likely to experience this illness. time and time again, disabled people have been an afterthought. just some of the thousands of disabled people who have lost their lives since the start of the pandemic. the government says it recognises the virus has had a disproportionate impact on the millions of people living with a disability and is taking steps to protect them. andrea doesn't want her sister's death to be another statistic. the sun had set for the day whilst i had been sitting here. it will rise again tomorrow. my heart is heavy knowing that it will not rise again for you. nikki fox, bbc news. the irish prime minister has called on the european union and the uk to "cool it" in their post—brexit dealings amid fears ireland could be collateral damage in the process. the taoiseach micheal martin was responding to recent issues over the northern ireland protocol, the post brexit agreement to avoid a hard border between with the island of ireland. he's been speaking to fergal keane in dublin. the taoiseach knows this could be a defining moment, that battles between london and the eu are bad news for ireland. and he had this message for leaders on both sides. i just worry a bit about the post—brexit noise from eu member states towards britain and vice versa. what would you say to your european... i'll tell one or two of them that they need to cool it...dial it down. this isn't an ongoing sort of battle between the uk and some of the bigger beasts of europe. they need to cool it and we'll be collateral damage in all of that. britain wants a two year extension to the grace period for the northern ireland protocol but mr martin told me it had to be limited. does that mean weeks, months, years? it is modest, it can't be a year, for example. so there would definitely be a time frame? yeah. that it has to happen within a year? in my view, yeah. this intervention comes amid heightened tension over the northern ireland protocol. staff implementing checks at the ports of larne and belfast were temporarily withdrawn after worries about their safety. there are growing unionist fears that eu customs checks have created a border between northern ireland and britain. the atmosphere is potentially volatile. you can see how it can tip over very quickly and therefore we have to be very, very vigilant that it doesn't. because one of the big fears is that the loyalist paramilitaries are given a new lease of life and that we could see violence, sectarian violence coming back, is that something that worries you? if we handle this the wrong way and if things are handled wrongly, you could provoke that response but i don't think loyalism wants that. modern irish politics emerged from civil war, division, a partitioned ireland, but 100 years and many thousands of lost lives later... ..some opinion polls suggest growing support in northern ireland for a referendum on reuniting ireland, anathema to many protestants. so, here are these two great portraits. absolutely. in his office, micheal martin has has portraits of two revolutionary comrades who ended up as bitter enemies. his sense of history says holding a border poll any time soon would a mistake. if we sort ofjust see this as a simple numerical majoritarian issue, we're going backwards, not forward. i don't believe the future of the island of ireland is about majoritarianism, in the crudest sense. i think it's about consensual relationships, trust. in dublin, the determination is to de—escalate tension — and quickly. fergal keane, bbc news, dublin. bbc world television has been banned from broadcasting in china. the foreign secretary described china's move as an unacceptable curtailing of media freedoms. a coroner has refered highways england to the crown prosecution service to consider if manslaughter charges should be brought after a woman was killed on a smart motorway. nargis begum died on a stretch of the m1 without a hard shoulder in south yorkshire in 2018. her car was hit some 15 minutes after she'd broken down. a pre—inquest hearing heard it was nobody�*s responsibility to monitor motorway cctv camera specifically for breakdowns. highways england says it doesn't believe any offence has been committed. it's valentines day this weekend. so spare a thought for those searching for love in lockdown. it's not been easy with socialising off the menu. dating app firms say record numbers of people have been turning to them, with many apps hosting "virtual" date nights for those trying to start a relationship. daniela relph has more. waiting for your online blind date to show up. meetjohn. it may now be virtual but it is just as tense. and this is pippa. hi, how are you doing? you all right? i'm good, how are you? matched up by a dating app, the chat is of lockdown. are you doing lots of interesting cooking in lockdown? i do cook but i wouldn't say i'm mr gordon ramsay. as withjohn and pippa, video dating has become the norm in lockdown. the traffic on dating apps has been up throughout the past year, with many businesses adapting to focus on hosting these virtual meet ups. the ultimate chemistry test is in person but you can pick up on some of those vibes before and it will save you a lot of time if you try a video date first. simon and shana are a lockdown love story. they managed three in—person dates and then came lockdown in march. forced apart, they bonded over weeks of video dating and walks in the park. in december they got engaged. it's a really intense time to fall in love with somebody. do you think there is strength in that? i think you have strength through adversity. getting through that together and being each other�*s support system has really cemented notjust how we feel but how we'll get through the future struggles. yeah, if you can see someone at their worst during lockdown, yeah, you know you can survive it. and back tojohn and pippa, was there a happy ending? how did it go withjohn? is there going to be a second date. i think it went very well with john. i personally don't think there's going to be a second date but he was an absolutely lovely guy. ijust don't think we have very much in common. she seemed like a nice girl. she was easy to get along with and, yeah, kind of speak to, but if the attraction's not there, you've got to be honest with yourself. love in lockdown can be hard to find. daniela relph, bbc news. last night saw temperatures plunging across the uk, with 15 weather stations recording their lowest temperatures ever for february. the coldest spot was braemar in scotland where the mercury dipped to minus 23 degrees celcius, the coldest temperature recorded in the uk since 1995. ben philip is there now... has it warmed up at all? it is still bitterly cold here in braemar. it is a bit of a winter wonderland. it was about 8:15am that to the met office said it was —23 celsius here, which has been breaking records across the board. the lowest february temperature in the uk since 1955, 66 years ago, and also the coldest night in the uk since december 1995. this part of aberdeenshire is no stranger to extreme weather and temperatures but from speaking to residents here this morning, many said it was piercingly cold and took their breath away as they stepped outside this morning. it is around -9 outside this morning. it is around —9 at the moment, expected to get to -15 —9 at the moment, expected to get to —15 in the next hour, so a bit more tropical than it was earlier today! time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. not quite as cold as last night, a bit more breeze but it has been a windy day in the south—west. thickening cloud could bring snow. some icy conditions. the lowest temperature around —16 in the highlands but a pretty widespread frost across the uk. some early snow for western parts of northern ireland, it will move away as the cloud thins. sunshine in wales and the south—west. many places will be dry, quite sunny. fewershowers the south—west. many places will be dry, quite sunny. fewer showers in scotland and the north—east of england. it will be windy and it will be feeling colder. it could be even colder on saturday.