The jab on offer. I get may be four, five, six e mails every day of nurses, even medical doctors saying they dont want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse and they want to wait for a better vaccine. A daughter of the ruler of dubai asks British Police to reopen their inquiry into her sisters disappearance 20 years ago. How thousands of thermal images of elephants could help protect endangered species. And wickets tumble in india as england collapse against indias spinners. Teachers will decide grades for this years gcses, a levels and written vocational qualifications in england, after the exams were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has confirmed that unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate pupils grades. Exam boards will check random samples and students will receive their results earlier than usual, to allow extra time to log any appeals. Heres our education correspondent, dan johnson. Last years calculated grades left some students in limbo, heading back to lessons knowing their final results will be grids that teachers think pupils deserve. Course results and mark results will be considered and there may be Classroom Tests using previous Exam Questions to help teachers make theirjudgments. Philip is reaching theirjudgments. Philip is reaching the end of his gcses. Id theirjudgments. Philip is reaching the end of his gcses. The end of his gcses. Id rather do an exam myself the end of his gcses. Id rather do an exam myself because the end of his gcses. Id rather do an exam myself because i the end of his gcses. Id rather do an exam myself because i think i l an exam myself because i think i would do better in an exam because you can actually show physically what you can do rather than people guessing what you can do. What you can do rather than people guessing what you can do. Abigail is exectin guessing what you can do. Abigail is expecting her guessing what you can do. Abigail is expecting her alevel guessing what you can do. Abigail is expecting her alevel results. Guessing what you can do. Abigail is expecting her alevel results. I guessing what you can do. Abigail is expecting her alevel results. I do | expecting her alevel results. I do trust what my expecting her a level results. I do trust what my teachers will give me but it trust what my teachers will give me but it does trust what my teachers will give me but it does make you wonder at the same but it does make you wonder at the same time but it does make you wonder at the same time if i did actually sit the exam, same time if i did actually sit the exam, would this have been what i got . Exam, would this have been what i got . It exam, would this have been what i got . It would be difficult to compare your grades to people in the north compare your grades to people in the north of compare your grades to people in the north of england or somewhere else because north of england or somewhere else because its hard to know whether they were because its hard to know whether they were tested in the same way. Last years they were tested in the same way. Last years results brought students to the street in protest, making officials admit they were wrong. Government u turns promised there will be no repeats. The algorithm is gone, does that make you happy . Yes. Gone, does that make you happy . Yes, i think most gone, does that make you happy . Yes i think most professionals would agree this is the best way forward under difficult circumstances. The issues i think you are going to face at timescales in terms of appeals and the criteria for appeals. Results will come earlier in august in anticipation of more appeals. These guidelines are only for england but the Rest Of The Uk will follow a similar approach. Vocational subjects will be awarded in the same way although some students may need to sit exams for professional qualifications. Irate students may need to sit exams for professional qualifications. We need an additive from professional qualifications. We need an additive from government professional qualifications. We need an additive from government that i an additive from government that explains to Schools Teachers are being trusted but also their Overall Results need proper anchoring so that the results this year are credible. If we dont have that, then students will end up with very good grades, but grades that everybody will be worrying about the Credibility Of. Everybody will be worrying about the Credibility Of Credibility Of. There is a promise of further guidance Credibility Of. There is a promise of further guidance on Credibility Of. There is a promise of further guidance on that. Credibility of. There is a promise l of further guidance on that. Exam boards will of further guidance on that. Exam boards will be of further guidance on that. Exam boards will be issuing of further guidance on that. Exam boards will be issuing grade boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent sure their assessments are fair and consistent. These will be broadly checked consistent. These will be broadly checked to performance standards from previous years so that teachers and students are aware what is expected and students are aware what is expected that each grade. Most teachers agree expected that each grade. Most teachers agree it expected that each grade. Most teachers agree it is expected that each grade. Most teachers agree it is the expected that each grade. Ij� if. � 3ii teachers agree it is the least worst option to avoid the turmoil of last time and deliver results in another difficult year. And danjohnson is here. Is itfair is it fair to say there is relief there wont be the algorithm again . Absolutely. Bi; there wont be the algorithm again . Absolutel. � , absolutely. By the same token, how| does an employerjudge one schools results compared to another schools results compared to another schools results in years to come . That results compared to another schools results in years to come . Results in years to come . That is the challenge. Results in years to come . That is the challenge. Last results in years to come . That is the challenge. Last year results in years to come . That is the challenge. Last year when i the challenge. Last year when everything was tightly controlled to stop Grade Inflation, to stop any inconsistency, now teachers are given a lot of freedom which could result in a lot of Grade Inflation and perhaps in inconsistency and unfairness across the system because it will be difficult to work out if a certain grade given at one school has actually been given according to the same criteria as the same grade given somewhere else. Are they actually the same unfair and all students being treated consistently . Thats the real test and there is more guidance for teachers to come to help them with these assessments so that they and pupils know what a grade should look like and want to work should be to qualify for that particular result. It is work should be to qualify for that particular result. Particular result. It is fraught because the particular result. It is fraught because the only particular result. It is fraught because the only fair particular result. It is fraught because the only fair way particular result. It is fraught because the only fair way is i particular result. It is fraughtl because the only fair way is to particular result. It is fraught because the only fair way is to make students at the exam which cant happen. Sit the exam. You students at the exam which cant happen. Sit the exam. You start thinkin happen. Sit the exam. You Start Thinking about happen. Sit the exam. You Start Thinking about safeguards happen. Sit the exam. You Start Thinking about safeguards and thinking about safeguards and appeals and spot checks by Examination Boards and you think, we could keep building into this and going over it and eventually someone will say, should we just do an exam . I dont think there will be our u turn of that kind but there may have to be extra safeguards built into the system to make sure it is robust and people can have faith in these results and future but the conclusion right now is this is the right thing because it will allow teachers who know pupils best to give them a fair result for the work they have gone through such tough times. A level Student Max Peeljoins us now. L0. , jane. Pleasure to speak to ou. L0. , jane. Pleasure to speak to you what l0. , jane. Pleasure to speak to you. What subjects l0. , jane. Pleasure to speak to you. What subjects have l0. , jane. Pleasure to speak to you. What subjects have you l0. , jane. Pleasure to speak to l you. What subjects have you been you. What subects have you been stud in . You. What subjects have you been studying . Biolosy. You. What subjects have you been studying . Biology, chemistry, studying . Biology, chemistry, history and studying . Biology, chemistry, history and geography. Studying . Biology, chemistry, history and geography. What l studying . Biology, chemistry, | history and geography. What do studying . Biology, chemistry, history and geography. What do you make of the history and geography. What do you make of the fact history and geography. What do you make of the fact that history and geography. What do you make of the fact that there history and geography. What do you make of the fact that there will history and geography. What do you make of the fact that there will be l make of the fact that there will be no algorithm, its going to be up to your teachers . No algorithm, its going to be up to yourteachers . How no algorithm, its going to be up to your teachers . How are you feeling about that . I your teachers . How are you feeling about that . About that . I have the utmost confidence about that . I have the utmost confidence in about that . I have the utmost confidence in my about that . I have the utmost confidence in my teachers. I l about that . I have the utmost. Confidence in my teachers. I have strong relationships with my teachers so im really quite comfortable with the situation that has emerged and im fairly certain im going to do fine with my ultimate results, but i think its very much a situation where the government is trying to prevent a situation like last year by putting the responsibility on to teachers and schools individually so that isnt the same pressure or same negative reaction there isnt the same pressure or negative reaction where you have an algorithm that produces horrific consequences like last year. Im produces horrific consequences like last ear. �. Last year. Im interested whether ou have last year. Im interested whether you have spoken last year. Im interested whether you have spoken to last year. Im interested whether you have spoken to some last year. Im interested whether you have spoken to some of last year. Im interested whetherj you have spoken to some of your friends, particularly friends during the same school with. As much as you can do broadly, what is everybody making of it, that you go to school with . I making of it, that you go to school with . ~ � ,. , making of it, that you go to school with . ~ � ,. ,. ,. , with . I think its a situation where its aood with . I think its a situation where its good to with . I think its a situation where its good to get with . I think its a situation where its good to get clarification with . I think its a situation where its good to get clarification and i its good to get clarification and good for everyone to know whats actually going to happen in the situation, given the fact that there was so much uncertainty over what exams could look like because that was all the information that we had before, but generally there is a consensus where people are comfortable, given the amount of time that has been lost in terms of in person education, not having to sit formal exams is the best situation of a bunch of not very great options that the government has. ,. Great options that the government has. ,. ,. , has. That has been reflected a lot toda. Do has. That has been reflected a lot today do you has. That has been reflected a lot today. Do you have has. That has been reflected a lot today. Do you have any has. That has been reflected a lot today. Do you have any concernsl today. Do you have any concerns about what we were just discussing before with perhaps inconsistencies between different schools in different teachers making different judgments . Are you hoping to go to university . Thats something that universities are going to have to grapple with. Universities are going to have to grapple with universities are going to have to ara le with. ,. , grapple with. Yeah, definitely. I do want to no grapple with. Yeah, definitely. I do want to go to grapple with. Yeah, definitely. I do want to go to University Grapple with. Yeah, definitely. I do want to go to University And Grapple with. Yeah, definitely. I do want to go to university and for grapple with. Yeah, definitely. I do| want to go to university and for me, ultimately, university and how i perform at university will become more significant than my ultimate a level grades but i am concerned with the potential risk of Grade Inflation and how my results will be compared with people across the country. I think that definitely is a concern. I think all we can hope for is individual moderation and the option for appeals to take place. I think its really good that a level results are going to be released earlier in august this year which will give more time for appeals. Its not going to be perfect and im sure there are going to be problems that will crop up throughout this process. Its certainly not going to be easy. But everyone is trying to make the best of it at this point. Well, all the best to you. Fingers crossed you get to the university you want. Nice to see someone with a smile. Thanks for talking to us. Max, who has a a level in london. Who is an a level student in london. Scotlands First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has dismissed allegations that she breached ministerial code in the Scottish Governments investigation of sexual harrassment claims against her predecessor, alex salmond. Ms sturgeon called it a dangerous and quite deluded conspiracy. Our correspondent, nick eardley, is in edinburgh. It was a fiery session. Ive seldom seen anything it was a fiery session. Ive seldom seen anything like it was a fiery session. Ive seldom seen anything like it it was a fiery session. Ive seldom seen anything like it in it was a fiery session. Ive seldom seen anything like it in holyrood. | seen anything like it in holyrood. This story is really calling eruptions in Scottish Politics. Alex salmond around this time tomorrow will be appearing before a committee of msps claiming that his former protege Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament, something that in normal time she would have to resign for. Also accusing of people around her of being part of a Malicious Campaign to remove him from public life. She denies that and says it is a Conspiracy Theory about this row is running on and on. There are Big Questions for Nicola Sturgeon about when she knew about allegations against mr salmond and they really matter because its all about the chain of events and how conversations with mr salmond happened at her house, whether they were government or Party Business and how it contributed to the way her government ultimately botched an investigation into mr salmond and allegations of harassment. This all came up at First Ministers questions today. After some evidence was taken down from the Scottish Parliament website because of the crown office saying it could be in contempt of court. The scottish conservatives are saying it looks like a cover up. Listen to Ruth Davidson. A culture of secrets and cover up that is only growing, and it is all taking place on Nicola Sturgeons watch. And theresjust one further question i want to ask. First minister, is saving your own skin worth all the damage that you are doing . I never thought wed be in a situation where Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory Leader, and alex salmond, the man who took scotland to the brink of independence, were making similar arguments but thats exactly what is happening just now. Nicola sturgeon is furious. Ive never seen her quite so angry, ive never seen quite so angry exchanges at holyrood. Nicola sturgeon is accusing her opponents basically of damaging scotlands institutions to get at her politically. Listen to your response. Her response. Scrutiny of me, as i said earlier, it is important, it is necessary, i it is entirely legitimate. What is not legitimate is to pursue a Conspiracy Theory, a scorched earth policy, that threatens the reputation and the integrity of scotlands i independentjustice institutions, just because you happen i to dislike this government, and to sacrifice all of that, if i may say so, presiding officer, on the altar of the ego of one man. No prizes for guessing who that one man is in this context. She is talking about her former mentor alex salmond. We are going to hearfrom him tomorrow in what is going to be an extraordinary moment in Scottish Politics where he appears before that committee. We expect Nicola Sturgeon to appear before that committee next week as well but this story is going to get incredibly explosive over the next few days as two of the biggest names in Scottish Politics, two of the biggest names in the snp, accuse each other essentially of lying. Itruiiiiii in the snp, accuse each other essentially of lying. In the snp, accuse each other essentially of lying. Will have more tomorrow. Thank essentially of lying. Will have more tomorrow. Thank you essentially of lying. Will have more tomorrow. Thank you very essentially of lying. Will have more tomorrow. Thank you very much, i essentially of lying. Will have more tomorrow. Thank you very much, nick. European leaders are meeting to work out how to speed up the rollout of vaccines across the continent. In some parts of the eu, Vaccination Rates are one fifth of the rate here. And some countries are now reporting a reluctance to take the astrazeneca vaccine, after countries including france and germany made the decision not to use it on older patients. Heres our europe correspondent, Jean Mackenzie. None of the queues theyd planned for. Inside, chairs sit empty. Belgiums largest Vaccination Centre finally opened last week, but theres barely a person in sight. They have the capacity to vaccinate 5,000 people a day, but today they say they have only done 200, and in the hour that weve been here, weve seen just one person arrive for their vaccination. No, its a pity that there are not many people. This afternoon it is very quiet, because there are not enough vaccines at this moment in time. It is quite shocking to arrive and see such a huge Vaccination Centre, and to see it totally empty. Is that not disappointing for you . Yes, of course it is, but what do you want me to say . Of course its disappointing, but i cannot do anything about it. Countries are struggling with a shortage of vaccines. Companies failed to deliver as many doses as expected. After a very public falling out between the eu and astrazeneca, the british manufacturer says it should be able to provide 180 million doses from april. But in countries across europe, some people have started to refuse the astrazeneca shot. I get maybe four, five, six e mails every day, of nurses, even medical doctors, | saying they dont want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse, and they want to wait for a better vaccine, l which is a bit strange, because thats not really based on solid evidence or science. I its really based On Perception and rumours. Mixed messages by governments are partly to blame, with several countries, including france and germany, deciding not to use the vaccine on older people yet. Heres frances health minister, getting his astrazeneca vaccine live on television, in an attempt to drum up support. While in germany, Hundreds Of Thousands of vials are sitting unused. We have more astrazeneca now than appointments. Are people not turning up for their appointments, then . It happens, yeah. When we have 1,000 appointments, then maybe 50 people say, no, we dont want to have this vaccination, we dont want to have astrazeneca. Data from scotland this week shows the astrazeneca jab is helping to prevent nearly all hospitalisations. What we want the vaccine to do is keep people out of the hospital, keep them out of intensive care, keep them from dying, and as far as i have seen, all vaccines that are on the market for the moment can do that. But if vaccines are to find their way into enough arms, countries must now ramp up their production. These palm trees may offer a taste of the summer to come, but at current rates, perhaps not. And Jean Mackenzie has been looking at what the eu leaders can achieve in the meeting. Well, i think they will be really trying to work out where they have gone wrong, and how on earth they can speed this process up. I think all of them would agree that this has been a less than ideal start. If you look at the numbers, around just 6 of people in the European Union have now had the first dose of the jab here, although it does vary considerably between the different countries. Now, yes, there has been a shortage of vaccines, partly because of mistakes that were made earlier on in this process, but we are seeing some countries who are unable to shift the stocks that they do actually have. This is in part down to the decision that many countries made here not to give the astrazeneca vaccine to older people, not because they dont believe its safe, but because they didnt think there was enough evidence yet on how it worked in older people. But this has undoubtedly led to confusion, with people now questioning the efficacy of the vaccine, asking themselves, is this an inferior vaccine . Is this a vaccine that they want to have . And we know that it is a particular problem in germany, where we have heard that some people are now missing their appointments in order not to have this vaccine, and where there are now more than a million of these doses sitting unused. Now, medical experts hope that the more data that we get on how this works on older people, the more peoples confidence will begin to grow, but governments are going to have to work pretty hard and pretty fast to undo some of this damage that has been done in peoples minds here. Theres more evidence that shows the Pfizer Biontech vaccine is producing a good Antibody Response in all age groups, particularly among people whove already been infected with covid i9. But there are also fears that some of the communities that could most benefit from a vaccine are those where Vaccine Hesitancy is greatest. Our Health Correspondent, dominic hughes, has the details. As the Vaccination Programme accelerates past 18 million, further evidence that vaccines are producing antibodies to fight covid i9. The react 2 study looked for the presence of Covid Antibodies in more than 155,000 people in england. Antibodies were found in nearly 14 of volunteers overall, either as a result of infection, or, for more than 17,000 participants, as a result of vaccination, with results especially encouraging among those whod already had covid. Having had covid previously increased the Antibody Response in all age groups, so that with a single dose of the vaccine, plus having been primed, as it were, by having previous infection, gave a very, very good Antibody Response. But of course the best response overall was when people had two doses of the vaccine. Are you ready . Just relax your arm. The survey has highlighted concerns around levels of Vaccine Hesitancy, especially in black and asian communities, but these are the same communities that are more at risk of falling seriously ill with covid 19, so theres a real worry that those who need it most might miss out on the Vaccination Programme. So, having Vaccination Programmes that are run out of mosques, synagogues, temples they are places of safety, places where you recognise and feel like that is something that is where you would go to for comfort, and so knowing that Vaccination Programmes are run by that, and your Community Leaders are part of that, thats really important, if you see someone that looks like you, youre going to take it more seriously. With nearly 3 million followers on tiktok, doctors like karan raj are also trying to get in touch with hard to reach communities, providing reassurance that vaccines are safe and effective. But the fear is that just as the virus has exposed deep inequalities in our health, some may miss out on the promise of a vaccine led recovery. Dominic hughes, bbc news. The former chancellor, philip hammond, has told the bbc that Boris Johnson must tell the british people some home truths about the state of the economy. Lord hammond said he fears the government will put popularity ahead of doing the right thing because, he says, giving money away is always easier than collecting it. After 2010, we always knew that we were going to go through a period of intense unpopularity as we implemented the measures that needed to be taken. Im not sure that the top leadership of the current government really has that appetite for being unpopular in order to the right thing. Hes going to have to tell the british people some difficult home truths. Our politcial correspondent helen catt is at westminster. This big scale spending and borrowing isnt traditionally a conservative way of managing the economy and while it is widely accepted it has been necessary, that doesnt mean it sits necessarily comfortably with a lot of conservatives who are keen to see that there is a plan to, at some point, slow spending and start to pay it back. There is no sense that that should start next wednesday and in fact what were expecting is the chancellor to, in some senses, keep running the bill next week. Were expecting he is likely to extend some of the emergency measures. It is understood he is looking at things Like Corporation tax and perhaps the possibility of a windfall tax on companies who have actually done well during the pandemic, perhaps like supermarkets. Labour, though, saying this is not the time for tax rises. A treasury spokesman said the chancellor would be honest with the british people next week about how were going to recover from this crisis and on that point about popularity, the Prime Ministers press secretary, allegra stratton, saying this lunchtime she didnt recognise that picture and that the pandemic had shown this was a pm that was prepared to take difficult decisions and was weighing up hard choices at the moment. Bbc news reported last week on the plight of Princess Latifa, who said she was being held captive by herfather, the ruler of dubai. Now, we can reveal another development in the case this time raising questions for britain. It centres around allegations that latifas sister, shamsa, was also abducted by theirfather while she was living in the uk, and that an investigation by Cambridgeshire Police was closed due to insufficient evidence. Nawal al maghafi reports. Sheikh Mohammed Rashid al maktoum The Billionaire Ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. Last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, Princess Latifa. In them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. The messages sparked international concerns. But latifa is not the only daughter of Sheikh Mohammed to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the Family Estate in surrey. In 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19, she ran away. So, yeah, after two months, they found her. The police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. Now the bbc has obtained an Exclusive Letter written by Princess Latifa from her captivity. In it, a plea to reopen her sisters case. The letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to Cambridgeshire Police, says, shamsa has strong links with england. Herfondest memories are of her time here. Your help and attention could free her. Weve pieced together shamsas extraordinary story. She was a passionate horse rider and Loved Spending summers at her fathers estate in the surrey countryside. Shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries, and she wasnt what you would call a princess, you know . She was full of life and adventure. She dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldnt allow it. So in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. After shamsa escaped her fathers estate in longcross, she lived as a free woman for around two months. She then checked into this hotel in cambridge. Suddenly, herfather� s operatives arrived and she was captured. By sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. On her enforced return to dubai, shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. She was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. We spoke to someone who had regular contact with her after she was released. She was tranquilized all the time. Everything she did was controlled. There was no spark. In shamsa any more. There was no fight in her. And i understand that people cant get their head around it. Theyjust see some rich girl. Its not like that at all. Its horrific. The uae government maintain that shamsa and latifa are cherished and adored by their family. They� re yet to prove that they are still alive and well. Nawal al maghafi, bbc news. Zookeepers have compiled the Worlds Largest collection of thermal images of elephants, which show the animals as they play, eat and hang out in their enclosure at whipsnade zoo. The 30,000 photographs are part of a Conservation Project to help save the lives of both endangered elephants and humans. Helen briggs reports. Elephants posing for photos at whipsnade zoo. But they look very different through a thermal camera. 30,000 selfies that are notjust incredible to look at, but a vital conservation tool. It is truly an elephantcam. Its made by elephants themselves. Theyve taken the photo with us, and it now works. It detects elephants confidently at a certain distance. And we want to get this into the field now, and actually put it in the wild, helping Wild Elephants and communities live side by side. The images are being used to train a camera to recognise the shape of an elephant from its body heat. Itll be able to identify when an elephant� s close by, even in the dark, and send an alert. Humans and elephants are being forced into ever closer contact, as the Human Population grows and wild habitat disappears. This can end in trashed crops, damaged property and the loss of lives. Elephants are struggling internationally in numbers, both in asia and africa and we find ourselves with ever decreasing numbers, and when it comes to human, elephant conflict, this is only likely to increase due to Climate Change and if you are a subsistence farmer bordering a protected area, an elephant coming in at night and destroying your livelihood for the next year is fairly dramatic. Its hoped the new technology will be an affordable solution to helping wildlife and humans live in harmony, and help protect endangered species. Helen briggs, bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. Hello, yesterday temperatures reached 18 celsius. Unusual for this stage of february. That was recorded in parts of suffolk. Since then, a cold area has been working through. Shoppers for scotland as well but many of us having a bright day and maximum temperatures of ten to 12 celsius. Still mild but not as toasty as yesterday. Pressure builds across the uk overnight so well have light winds overnight with patches of frost. In the far north of scotland, some thicker cloud will bring patches of rain at first. It will become drier later in shetland. Elsewhere, the Rest Of The Uk having long spells of sunshine. Still on the mild side with temperatures between ten and 12 celsius and the fine weather lasting throughout the weekend for most of us as well. Hello, this is bbc news. The headline teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last yea r� s exams chaos. No algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers to make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. I think most educational professionals would accept that this is the best way forward under very difficult circumstances. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. Why some european Vaccination Centres lay empty as people wont take the jab on offer. A daughter of the ruler of dubai asks British Police to reopen their inquiry into her sisters disappearance, 20 years ago. In the next few minutes we will be answering lots of your questions about exams and all those announcements today, but before that, all the latest sports news. We will begin with the cricket. England losing a remarkable third test. Almost unbelievable. Indias openers knocking off the 49 runs they needed to seal a comprehensive ten wicket victory inside just two days. England never recovering from being bowled out for 81 in their second innings despite staging a fightback thanks to captainjoe root. The figures make grim reading. Not if you are an india fan, they were dismissed for 145 in their first innings and at that point it looked like england were onto something. Root took five wickets. Jack leach with four in conditions that they the slow bowlers and that was emphasised when england collapsed at 81 out to the indian spinners. You can see how the spin bowling really told in this match. Just the seventh time in the past 75 years that a test has been settled inside two days. Plenty of reaction as you can imagine on twitter. And across social media after that defeat for england. The pitcher attracting lots of comments and controversial comments. Many commentators feeling the ball had an unfair advantage over the bat. 17 wickets in two sessions. Michael vaughan suggesting the way to resolve that is to have both teams play three innings. Away from the cricket, scotlands game with france in the six nations has been postponed after another positive case in the french squad. That takes the number of players with the virus to 11. Training had been suspended with the entire group in isolation. Only yesterday organisers said the game could go ahead as planned. A new date will arranged in due course. Scotland could be without a number of the first team regulars if the game � s move to a date outside of the regular international window. George north will win his 100th welsh cap when they play england in cardiff on saturday. He has been recalled to the starting line up after missing the win over scotland with a foot injury. He will play at centre alongsidejonathan davies, also back from injury. Wales have a 100 record so far. They will be keen to keep that up this weekend. Courtney lawes is out after he suffered a chest injury in Training Stop mark wilson comes in. Poker jamie george will return to the starting line up. He was among a long list of players dropped after the defeat to scotland in their opening match. He replaces Luke Cowan Dickie one of only two changes in the side that beat italy. George martin is set to make his debut off the bench. Ireland, their Skipper Returns for their rematch against italy in rome along with vice Captainjames Ryan. They are both recovered from head injuries. There are seven changes in order to decide with a revamped front row. They have made their worst start to a Six Nations Campaign with defeats to wales and france so far. It has been confirmed that tiger woods will not face any charges over his car crash in los angeles on monday. The police say he wasnt drunk, there were no other vehicles involved in the incident which left the golfer with serious leg injuries. He is recovering in hospital with fears over whether he would ever play golf again. Rory mcilroy says his golf career should be the last thing on people � s minds. Be the last thing on people s minds. Be the last thing on people s minds. ,. ,. ,. , minds. He is not superman. He is a human being minds. He is not superman. He is a human being at minds. He is not superman. He is a human being at the minds. He is not superman. He is a human being at the end minds. He is not superman. He is a human being at the end of minds. He is not superman. He is a human being at the end of the minds. He is not superman. He is a human being at the end of the Dayl Human Being at the end of the day and he has already been through so much, so at this stage i think everyone should be grateful that he is here, he is alive, that his kids havent lost their dad. Thats the most important thing, golf is so far from the equation right now. It is not even on the map at this point. And the organisers of this year � s olympics in tokyo have asked fans to clap but not shout or cheer during the torch relay is one of the Safety Measures they are putting in place. From the 25th Of March Around 20,000 runners will carry the torch across all 47 of japans runners will carry the torch across all 47 ofjapans Regions Runners will carry the torch across all 47 of japans regions before all 47 ofjapans regions before arriving at the Olympic Stadium on the 23rd ofjuly. The radio could be stopped the crowd to get too big. And that is all from the Bbc Sport Centre for now. You can keep up to date with all those stories and that remarkable finish to the third test on the bbc sport website. Next up on bbc news, it is your question answered. Welcome. Youve been sending in your questions about a level and gcse exams. No exams this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lets get through as many of your questions as we can. Here to answer them is Grainne Hallahan from the education publication, tes. Welcome. Hello. Lets go to a question welcome. Hello. Lets go to a question from welcome. Hello. Lets go to a question from a welcome. Hello. Lets go to a question from a parent welcome. Hello. Lets go to a question from a parent who i welcome. Hello. Lets go to a question from a parent who asks, why cant we just trust the grades that the teachers give without moderation . All of this about the fact that it is teachers this year who are being given the strong hand in choosing and providing grades. Its really important to note that moderation is in a negative process. It is really useful and teachers welcome the fact that these grades will be moderated. All moderation means will check between teachers and between schools that what one teacher says is a grade nine is the same as what another teacher in another school says is grade nine. Unfortunately there are not many tools for teachers to do this moderation but from what we have heard from the government, there will be an element of moderation in this process. We will be an element of moderation in this process this process. We should also have a ruestion this process. We should also have a question from this process. We should also have a question from a this process. We should also have a question from a student, this process. We should also have a question from a student, noah this process. We should also have aj question from a student, noah says he is a gcse student and says he wants to know whether pupils can opt out of doing the mini exams. Probably explain what they are first of all and are you allowed to opt out . Of all and are you allowed to opt out . ,. ,. ,. ,. , out . These mini exams are not really mini exams out . These mini exams are not really mini exams at out . These mini exams are not really mini exams at all, out . These mini exams are not really mini exams at all, they out . These mini exams are not really mini exams at all, they are mini exams at all, they are Assessment Questions that the exam boards will give teachers and they will be made up of past paper questions and new questions. They are optionalfor the questions and new questions. They are optional for the teachers to choose whether or not the students can do them but unfortunately students wont say, no i dont want to do that test. Whatever the teacher says, you will do that test but the teacher will not pick for you anything you have not studied in class so you will only be tested on topics you have covered in lessons and if you miss something out because your school was closed because your school was closed because of the coronavirus, that is fine. You will not be tested on that, you will only be tested on what you studied. That, you will only be tested on what you studied. Neal wants to know, what you studied. Neal wants to know. What what you studied. Neal wants to know, what happens what you studied. Neal wants to know, what happens to what you studied. Neal wants to know, what happens to pupils i know, what happens to pupils privately taught towards a particular subject that isnt in the Schools Curriculum . I think he means if you are taking an extra exam on top of everything you might normally do in school, i think that is what he is getting at. Yes do in school, i think that is what he is getting at. Do in school, i think that is what he is getting at. Yes and we have a hue he is getting at. Yes and we have a huge amount he is getting at. Yes and we have a huge amount of he is getting at. Yes and we have a huge amount of private he is getting at. Yes and we have a huge amount of private candidates| huge amount of private candidates who study for exams and do it on top of what theyre doing at school or sometimes they are completely home schooled but they still do gcses. The good news is this year they are going to make allowances for private candidates, there is going to be some more details, they will contact schools, colleges and exam centres, provide their evidence, work with the teacher there and be assigned a grade and so they will still get their grades. I they will still get their grades. I think in fact this ties in with a question further down on our long list of questions which is from sheila and she is referencing the fact that her son was meant to be sitting gcse italian which was not taught by his school. I think the message to sheila is what you are just saying there. Just saying there. Yes, she will have a chance just saying there. Yes, she will have a chance to just saying there. Yes, she will have a chance to contact just saying there. Yes, she will have a chance to contact a just saying there. Yes, she will. Have a chance to contact a school just saying there. Yes, she will have a chance to contact a school or a centre and they will be able to arrange a time to look through the evidence, come up with a great and students can agree the evidence is submitted reflects their ability and they will still get a gcse or a level. They will still get a gcse or alevel. They will still get a gcse or alevel they will still get a gcse or alevel. ,. , they will still get a gcse or alevel. ,. , alevel. Great advice. This is an interesting alevel. Great advice. This is an interesting question alevel. Great advice. This is an interesting question from alevel. Great advice. This is an i interesting question from someone who says, what will happen to the student sitting exams next year . They have already had a massive gap in learning over the last 12 months. Interesting because not surprisingly we are so caught up with all the students who should have been sitting exams at this may and june, we havent thought about the poor people doing it next year. What are your thoughts on that . Your thoughts on that . Students in earten your thoughts on that . Students in year ten and your thoughts on that . Students in year ten and year your thoughts on that . Students in year ten and year 12 your thoughts on that . Students in year ten and year 12 might your thoughts on that . Students in year ten and year 12 might feel your thoughts on that . Students in year ten and year 12 might feel like they are not being thought up because the focus is on the exam year students, because the focus is on the exam yearstudents, but because the focus is on the exam year students, but i can promise you schools are very much thinking about this. All the teachers and School Leaders that i speak to talk about this problem all the time and they are thinking about the students who in some ways are more impacted because they have had lots of time in the run up to their gcses, they have missed time out of school. We dont know what will be done at a higher level yet but we do know in schools they will work really hard for those students to make sure they can be working on their studies as soon as they go back to school. Its soon as they go back to school. Its fair enough they would want some reassurance really, because they have lost a massive chunk of really important time and yet, i like this year where the exams are scrapped, we assume all being well, a levels, gcses, vocational exams will go ahead as normal next year. {line gcses, vocational exams will go ahead as normal next year. One of the thin. S ahead as normal next year. One of the things we ahead as normal next year. One of the things we are ahead as normal next year. One of the things we are thinking ahead as normal next year. One of the things we are thinking about i ahead as normal next year. One of the things we are thinking about isj the things we are thinking about is how the great inflation will work. In 2020 we had serious Grade Inflation because we had to use Centre Assessed grades and were not moderated at all. But for 2022 students, we dont know how they will work the great inflation for that year so its possible that rather than seeing a sharp drop down to the 2019 levels, perhaps we will see more great generosity for those students so they wont be disadvantaged. Students so they wont be disadvantaaed. ,. , disadvantaged. Really interesting to be thinkin disadvantaged. Really interesting to be thinking about disadvantaged. Really interesting to be thinking about that. Disadvantaged. Really interesting to be thinking about that. A disadvantaged. Really interesting to be thinking about that. A question l be thinking about that. A question about dates from chris who says, if the exam results how to be submitted to boards by the 18th ofjune, does this mean students wont need to return to school after this date . I dont know whether that is a student hoping that is the case or a parent getting anxious, either way do you know the answer . Bill getting anxious, either way do you know the answer . Getting anxious, either way do you know the answer . All we know that is the date they know the answer . All we know that is the date they will know the answer . All we know that is the date they will submit know the answer . All we know that is the date they will submit their the date they will submit their grades. It doesnt necessarily mean the term well and then. We are imagining some schools and colleges might want to put their students on to College Reggie programmes or do capture work. We have this option of the autumn resets all the faceting is of exams for students who are not happy with grades, so maybe if you are a student who has missed a lot and you are not ready to pass your gcses yet, perhaps you should be thinking that i will not end on that date but you might need to do more work if you need to be sitting an exam in the autumn. The work if you need to be sitting an exam in the autumn. Exam in the autumn. The next Ruestion Exam in the autumn. The next question is exam in the autumn. The next question is from exam in the autumn. The next question is from someone exam in the autumn. The next| question is from someone who exam in the autumn. The next question is from someone who want to stay anonymous about saying, what is this decision around resets in students . I this decision around resets in students . This decision around resets in students . ~ , students . I think the student is talkin students . I think the student is talking about students . I think the student is talking about resit students . I think the student is talking about resit students students . I think the student is| talking about resit students last year, so students who are not happy with their Centre Assessed grade they got last year and have either not chosen to reset in the autumn and has hope to reset at this summer. Though students are being catered for so we will make sure those students who have been working towards sitting an exam this summer who at the Centre Assessed grade last summer will still be awarded a grade. They will have to put together a body of evidence, be assigned a centre and have their grade decided that way. Another Ruestion Grade decided that way. Another question again grade decided that way. Another question again someone grade decided that way. Another question again someone who grade decided that way. Another i question again someone who wants grade decided that way. Another question again someone who wants to remain anonymous but its all about consistency, saying, how do teachers know what an a grade looks like . What consistency will there be between schools . This what consistency will there be between schools . What consistency will there be between schools . This is a huge issue. Between schools . This is a huge issue part between schools . This is a huge issue. Part of between schools . This is a huge issue. Part of the between schools . This is a huge issue. Part of the way between schools . This is a huge issue. Part of the way they between schools . This is a huge issue. Part of the way they will l issue. Part of the way they will deal with this is by giving schools these example materials and they would give examples of what a great nine is, what a great eight is an teachers will use these to grade their students. The problem is they were not be able to give material for assessments of the teachers have come up with themselves but a way of quality assuring this is centres will have spot checks by the exam boards and exam boards will come in and moderate some of the work if there is a problem that has been raised. It is one of those problems that we always have this issue with marking, it is something schools are quite used to dealing with, so there is going to be an element of Quality Assurance but it is going to be quite difficult to say this is a grade nine, grade eight because a lot of the time people disagree over grades. Lot of the time people disagree over arades. �. Lot of the time people disagree over arades. , � ,. , grades. Yes, its really tricky. Alan marsden grades. Yes, its really tricky. Alan marsden has grades. Yes, its really tricky. Alan marsden has our grades. Yes, its really tricky. Alan marsden has our next i grades. Yes, its really tricky. Alan marsden has our next question, asking if an exam is to be used as part of the assessment and there is no other exam, how is that a mock exam . Ifeel like that no other exam, how is that a mock exam . I feel like that is a big existential question it exam . I feel like that is a big existential question exam . I feel like that is a big existential question it does feel a bit like that existential question it does feel a bit like that but existential question it does feel a bit like that but i existential question it does feel a bit like that but i suppose existential question it does feel a bit like that but i suppose if existential question it does feel a bit like that but i suppose if we i bit like that but i suppose if we think when the time the exam were sad and they expected to set the real exam, then it was a mock exam at the time it was taken. All assessments that students have been doing in school were used to inform their grade, that includes mock exams and homework, in class questions, Exam Questions they have done as part of a walk through, all of those will be used to decide the grade. Of those will be used to decide the trade. ,. , ~ of those will be used to decide the trade. ,. , ~. , ~. , grade. Kieron, i would like to know whether the grade. Kieron, i would like to know whether the gcse grade. Kieron, i would like to know whether the gcse grades grade. Kieron, i would like to know whether the gcse grades will grade. Kieron, i would like to know whether the gcse grades will be i whether the gcse grades will be decided based on a combined year nine, ten and 11 test and exam result . What if the teacher hasnt beenin result . What if the teacher hasnt been in school for very long because they have been shielding . I am hoping you can unravel that in a way i perhaps havent understood it. There are two separate questions there. First of all, it is unlikely you will look at work from two years ago to decide your gcse grade. Its much more likely that the teacher will look at your work from this year and we havent got the guidance yet from exam boards, that will, come around easter, but we can predict that it will probably be work you have done in this school year to try and get it at accurate as possible because we know students improve as they get closer to the exam. As for the other question about your teacher shielding, exam. As for the other question about yourteachershielding, if exam. As for the other question about your teacher shielding, if you have a teacher who has been shielding and hasnt been teaching your class in person, that doesnt mean they havent been mocking your work at home. It will also give responsibility of all the teachers in the department and school to help moderate your grade, so because you havent seen a lot of your teacher doesnt mean your work has not been marked or there isnt a person who does know what your ability is and will be giving you that great. Its, will be giving you that great. A question from mike about those children who have been in school, so wondering where the children of people who are key workers or Vulnerable Children who we know have been allowed to keep going into school, they will have had lessons at school and they will have had a low pupil teacher ratio, does that mean they should be judged by a different benchmark . Brute mean they should be udged by a different benchmark . Mean they should be udged by a different benchmark . We dont know for certain what different benchmark . We dont know for certain what the different benchmark . We dont know for certain what the answer different benchmark . We dont know for certain what the answer to different benchmark . We dont know for certain what the answer to that i for certain what the answer to that is yet but we can safely assume that no, they wont be because the experience of children who have been in school wont be uniform. Some of those students might have been taught by their teachers but many others may have been supervised by Learning Support Assistants and be completing exactly the same work as children at home were doing, they just happen to be doing it in school. It is unlikely it will have any kind of mitigation for their students. However, it is important to note that in the guidance we have received, they do say that when teachers mark they were, they will take into account the contacts in which they sat the exams of any work that has been completed, the teacher will look at that and think, how much help have they received in doing that . And that will be reflected in the great given to that student. �. ,. ,. , ~. ,. , student. Another wants to know, what is the situation student. Another wants to know, what is the situation for student. Another wants to know, what is the situation for candidates student. Another wants to know, what is the situation for candidates with is the situation for candidates with special Educational Needs . That is not something we have touched on. I not something we have touched on. I was disappointed to see no mention of this in the guidance we received so far, so in ordinary times, students with special Educational Needs will sometimes get Exam Dispensations and this sometimes means you get extra time or you might have the exam given to you in a different format. There has been nothing said so far about what will be done for the students and we can only hope that in the next few weeks will have more information from the exam boards. Will have more information from the exam boards exam boards. Interesting that you hiuuhliht exam boards. Interesting that you highlight that exam boards. Interesting that you highlight that not exam boards. Interesting that you highlight that not much exam boards. Interesting that you | highlight that not much information there. Lets talk about vocational exams. That is all part of this. Don says, my daughter is due to complete her two year studies in social care. Well vocational exams to be going ahead . ,. Well vocational exams to be going ahead . ,. ,, ahead . They will be assessed in exactly the ahead . They will be assessed in exactly the same ahead . They will be assessed in exactly the same way ahead . They will be assessed in exactly the same way as ahead . They will be assessed in exactly the same way as the ahead . They will be assessed in i exactly the same way as the gcses and a levels will. Any work completed so far will be used to decide how grade but as far as we know, there will not be proper exams are sat, it will be work provided by the exam board for students to do in class and it will not be done in exam conditions, exactly the same way as for gcse and a level students. Way as for gcse and alevel students way as for gcse and alevel students. �. ,. ,. ,. , students. Before i let you go, as someone who students. Before i let you go, as someone who writes students. Before i let you go, as someone who writes about students. Before i let you go, as someone who writes about education and works in your field, someone who writes about education and works in yourfield, your thoughts on what an extraordinary year this has been. So difficult for students, difficult for teachers and staff as well. Your thoughts about what this has done and just the impact of the pandemic broadly. I impact of the pandemic broadly. I think this has shown us how much we rely on exams and how important exams are for a fair level playing field. What we have with this option wont be fair because students will be doing different exams in different schools under different conditions, so there is no really true way of comparing like with like because they will be doing such different things. However there probably isnt a perfect solution to this problem. What has happened with coronavirus has meant that all of that fairness has been taken away and i think what we have got today we will have to work with. But there was never going to be a truly fair solution. ,. ,. , solution. Really interesting to hear our solution. Really interesting to hear your thoughts solution. Really interesting to hear your thoughts. Thank solution. Really interesting to hear your thoughts. Thank you solution. Really interesting to hear your thoughts. Thank you so solution. Really interesting to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much | solution. Really interesting to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much and a mine of information this afternoon. Thank you. An update, some new figures through around the covid Vaccination Programme. Nhs england figures which suggest that one in five adults in england under the age of 70 have had theirfirst dose of england under the age of 70 have had their first dose of a vaccine. One in five under the age of 70 have had a first dose. The estimates show a little variation between different parts of the country, for example that figure stands at 17 in the capital and 22 in north west england. So those are the latest Vaccination Figures through from nhs england. Also there is a view more details coming through about the situation in care homes as well. These figures again, im afraid this is england only. 94 of people in older Adult Care Homes in england who are eligible for a jab had received thatjab by february 21. The equivalent figure for staff in those care homes is 71 . And one finalfigure those care homes is 71 . And one final figure that those care homes is 71 . And one finalfigure that might those care homes is 71 . And one final figure that might be interesting, very nearly 55 of eligible staff at older care homes in london are estimated to have received the first jab. In london are estimated to have received the firstjab. So the figure quite a bit lower there in the capital. That is some fresh data are just coming through about the Vaccination Programme from nhs england in the last few moments. Now, when the pandemic hit, Dance Teacher lizzi g found herself out of work. To stay positive and keep busy, the mum of two from surrey decided to teach her son to tap dance. Their routines have now attracted millions of views online. Someone said to me the other day, is he your little Shirley Temple . I thought, no, hes not my little girl, hes my little boy. I think i guess he is my little billy in a way, my little billy elliott. Hi, my name is lizzi g and im a choreographer and a Dance Teacher and a mother to rufus and arthur. Hi, my name is rufus and i am eight years old. I work in theatre but also in film and television. I taught tom holland to tap and people who have gone on too many different things, those children, which has also inspired this one here and he has always been asking for me to teach him. It wasnt until the pandemic struck and all the work had dried up that we were like, ok, so lets start now. So we bought him a pair of tap shoes in may, i think it was, last year and we started to go from scratch really. I didnt really expect that he would be at this level where i could be teaching him material that i would be teaching professionals, so we were sort of duetting together, so i am having to up my standards to keep up with him. The other day we recorded this routine which i was super proud of because it was really hard and its really fast, isnt it . And i thought, i might just put it on twitter. And this morning it was at nearly 1. 7 million views. A lot of people have been saying its so lovely to see a mother and son bonding together. Hey to see people commenting on tap being a bit of a lost art form and that it was lovely to see two people loving to tap again, but also we have managed to find something positive out of lockdown. Its been very nice, like, ive got no one to, like, play with, so i got to do tap with my mum. It makes me forget all the worries and forget about everything and have fun. I want to follow in my mums footsteps, i want to do all the things she can do. Whether hes got tap shoes on or hes got slippers on or bare feet, his feet are always tapping away. If he wants to be a dancer and wants to do it, im more than happy to keep guiding him and keep helping him on his path forward. We both love doing it, its a passion that we both share and to be able to share it with your own flesh and blood, someone that is constantly by your side. One day he is going to overtake me and i think hell be teaching me to be quite frank. Im glad we did hear something from rufus. I was worried he would be reluctant to say anything. Im sure he is loving it. Lets catch up with the weather prospects now. Hello there. Yesterday we were talking about temperatures reaching 18 celsius in parts of suffolk. Those kinds of temperatures really high for february, about 10 degrees above average and more like the temperatures we would see in late may orjune. Something of a change for today because weve got this area of cloud and rain. This is a Weather Front, a weak cold front and that is bringing some slightly less toasty air in across the uk. The highest temperatures will be pushed further eastwards with those southerly winds bringing very unusual heat to parts of northern europe. We though get the winds coming off the atlantic. It will still be mild butjust not as toasty as it was yesterday. Lets take a look at those all important temperatures and this afternoon, most of us getting to 10 12 , probably some twelves around the Greater London area as well. Looking at the weather picture overnight tonight, an area of High Pressure will build in across the uk and so the winds will fall light everywhere and for the majority of us, we will have clear skies. May be a few patches of rain running to the far north of scotland and thats about it. Quite a chilly night, temperatures are low enough for some pockets of frost, particularly in the countryside so for some it will be a chilly start to the day on friday. Here High Pressure will continue to build in from the south on friday, bringing more fine weather. Maybe a little bit of rain from this Weather System to start the day in shetland but moving away and the low will be quite cloudy across the far north west of scotland. Some bright or sunny spells. For most of the uk a fine day, lengthy spells of sunshine around and temperatures still above average, 10 12 c. 12 in london, the average in london is about nine at this time of year. Take a look at the chart into the weekend and both saturday and sunday continue to see this area of High Pressure dominate. However we will see this weak Weather Front approach from the north west and that could just thicken up the cloud enough to bring an odd patch of rain to scotland, maybe parts of Northern England but it really wont amount to much and for most of us, it will stay dry with further spells of sunshine coming and going. Temperatures mild again, ten to 14 celsius and sunday weve got more of the same. Into next week the cloud could be thick enough to give a a few patches of rain across the south for a time on monday but most of next week is also looking fine, dry and mild as well. Thats your weather. This is bbc news. Im jane hill. The headlines teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer to avoid a repeat of last years exams chaos no algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. I think most educational professionals would accept that this is the best way forward under very difficult circumstances. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. Why some european Vaccination Centres lay empty as people wont take the jab on offer. I get maybe four, five, six e mails every day from nurses, even medical doctors, saying they dont want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse and they want to wait for a better vaccine. A daughter of the ruler of dubai asks British Police to reopen their inquiry into her sisters disappearance 20 years ago. How thousands of thermal images of elephants could help protect endangered species. And india thrash england by ten wickets in an eventful third test to take a 2 1 series lead. Good afternoon. We are going to talk about education in a moment but to bring you some breaking news about coronavirus in the last few moments, we are hearing that the uks Chief Medical Officers are advising that the countrys covid 19 alert level should be slightly downgraded from level five to level four, and they say that should apply in all four nations of the uk. The Chief Medical Officer is advising that the covid alert level should move from level five to level four. That has just come through and we will be talking to our Health Correspondent and have more on that and perhaps some reaction to that in the coming minutes. That news just in. Teachers will decide grades for this years gcses, a levels and written vocational qualifications in england, after the exams were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The education secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed that unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate pupils grades. Exam boards will check random samples, and students will receive their results earlier than usual, to allow extra time to log any appeals. Heres our education correspondent, dan johnson. Heading back to lessons knowing their final results will come from teachers awarding grades they think pupils deserve. Course results and mock results will be considered and there may be Classroom Tests using previous Exam Questions to help teachers make their judgments. Philip is reaching the end of his gcses. Id rather do an exam myself because i think i would do better in an exam because you can actually show physically what you can do rather than people guessing what you can do. Abigail is expecting her a level results. I do trust what my teachers will give me, but it does make you wonder, if i did actually sit the exam, would this have been what i got . Itll be difficult to compare your grades to people in the north of england or somewhere else because its hard to know whether they were tested in the same way. Last years results brought students to the streets in protest, prompting officials to admit they were wrong, putting some University Places in doubt. Government promised there will be no repeats. The algorithm is gone, does that make you happy . Yes, i think most professionals would agree this is the best way forward under very difficult circumstances. The issues i think youre going to face are the timescales in terms of appeals and the criteria for appeals. Results will come earlier in august, in anticipation of more appeals. These guidelines are only for england, but the Rest Of The Uk will follow a similar approach. Vocational subjects will be awarded in the same way, though some students may need to sit exams for professional qualifications. We need an additive here from government that if we dont have that, then students will end up with very good grades, but grades that everybody will be worrying about the Credibility Of. There is a promise of further guidance on that. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. These will be broadly pegged to performance standards from previous years so that teachers and students are aware what is expected at each grade. Most teachers agree its the least worst option to avoid the turmoil of last time and deliver fair results in another difficult year. And a little earlier i spoke to dan who told me there was relief all round that there would be no algorithm this year. Teachers are being given a lot of flexibility which could result in unfairness across the system because it will be difficult to work out if a grey given at one school exactly being given according to the the same grade given somewhere else. Are they fair and same grade given somewhere else. Are they fairand are same grade given somewhere else. Are they fair and are all students being treated consistently . Thats the real test and there is more guidance to come for teachers to help them with these assessments so that they and pupils know what a certain grade should look like and what the work should look like and what the work should be to qualify for that particular result. It should be to qualify for that particular result. Should be to qualify for that particular result. It is fraught because the particular result. It is fraught because the only particular result. It is fraught because the only fair particular result. It is fraught because the only fair way particular result. It is fraught because the only fair way is i particular result. It is fraughtl because the only fair way is to particular result. It is fraught because the only fair way is to make students at the exam and that cant happen. Students at the exam and that cant ha en. Students at the exam and that cant hauen. ~ students at the exam and that cant hauen. ,. , happen. Start thinking, perhaps well build extra happen. Start thinking, perhaps well build extra safeguards happen. Start thinking, perhapsj well build extra safeguards into the system like the possibility of appeals, spot checks by Examination Boards and you think, we could keep building into this, going over it and eventually someone will say, shouldnt we just do an exam that everyone sets to see where they all are . I dont think there will be a u urn of that kind but we need to make sure it is robust and people can have faith in these results and future but the conclusion for now is that it will allow teachers who know pupils best to give them a fair result for the work they have done such through tough times through such through tough times through such tough times. Lets get more now on the news just announced, that the uks covid 19 alert level has been reduced from level five to level four. Our Health Editor hugh pym is here. Explain actually what it means and what the significance is. The explain actually what it means and what the significance is. What the significance is. The alert level was established what the significance is. The alert level was established last what the significance is. The alert level was established last may i what the significance is. The alert level was established last may as| what the significance is. The alert. Level was established last may as a way of informing the public as a background to any decisions made about lockdown, how serious the threat was, and it was level three all summer, then it moved up to level four in september as cases were really starting to accelerate, thenit were really starting to accelerate, then it was moved up to level five on january then it was moved up to level five onjanuary four which then it was moved up to level five on january four which was the then it was moved up to level five onjanuary four which was the point that in england i knew lockdown was announced and the uks other nations had also began to implement much tougher restrictions. What level five has in its description is that there is an imminent threat to the nhs being overwhelmed within 21 days if no further action is taken, so that was announced and its from the uks for Chief Medical Officers four Chief Medical Officers. What has just been confirmed and announced in the last couple of minutes is a move back from level five to level four because the uks Chief Medical Officers say there is no longer a threat to the nhs being overwhelmed and thanks to the hard work of nhs staff, in a letter that the Chief Medical Officers put out, they say Hospital Numbers have fallen consistently but they do warn that case levels remain high, people should remain vigilant. They say that the Vaccine Programme will in due course have a Significant Impact but everyone should remain cautious for the time being. Its but everyone should remain cautious for the time being. For the time being. Its positive and excellent that for the time being. Its positive and excellent that the for the time being. Its positive and excellent that the nhs for the time being. Its positive and excellent that the nhs isnt for the time being. Its positive and excellent that the nhs isnt going l excellent that the nhs isnt going to be overwhelmed but that doesnt mean that hospitals arent extremely busy, that beds are full and we all have to keep observing all the rules that we know about and that we have talked about for the last year. Yes. Talked about for the last year. Yes, and as we saw talked about for the last year. Yes, and as we saw with talked about for the last year. Yes, and as we saw with the talked about for the last year. 123 and as we saw with the announcement on monday for england, it is a pretty slow programme of easing of restrictions with a gap in between each measure so the data can be assessed and thats essentially the same message we are hearing today from the uks Chief Medical Officer, that this has to be done very cautiously, case numbers remain high, Hospital Numbers remain extremely high, relatively, even though they have come down a lot since the peak injanuary. Its sort of confirming what weve already been told and what the case numbers have illustrated, that the covid threat is receding, the virus is receding, the r number is below one but i dont think the Chief Medical Officers are saying its time for everyone to say, the alert level has been reduced, we can have more freedoms, that is not the case. Level four is where we were last autumn when there was a serious threat at that stage. Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed allegations that she breached ministerial code in the Scottish Governments investigation of sexual harrassment claims against her predecessor, alex salmond. Nicola sturgeon called it a dangerous and quite deluded conspiracy. Our Political Correspondent nick eardley has the latest from edinburgh. This story is really calling ructions in Scottish Politics. Alex salmond around this time tomorrow will be appearing before a committee of msps claiming that his former protege Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament, something that, in normal times, shed have to resign for. Hes also accusing of people around her of being part of a Malicious Campaign to remove him from public life. She completely denies that and says it is a Conspiracy Theory, but this row is running on and on. There are Big Questions for Nicola Sturgeon about when she knew about allegations against mr salmond and they really matter because its all about the chain of events and how conversations with mr salmond happened at her house, whether they were government or Party Business and how it contributed to the way that her government ultimately botched an investigation into mr salmond and allegations of harassment. This all came up at First Ministers questions today. After some evidence was taken down from the Scottish Parliament website because the crown office said it could be in contempt of court, the scottish conservatives are saying it looks like a cover up. Listen to Ruth Davidson. A culture of secrets and cover up that is only growing, and it is all taking place on Nicola Sturgeons watch. And theresjust one further question i want to ask. First minister, is saving your own skin worth all the damage that you are doing . I never thought wed be in a situation where Ruth Davidson and alex salmond, the man who brought scotland to the brink of independence, were making similar arguments but thats whats happening just now. Nicola sturgeon is furious. Ive never seen quite so angry exchanges between some of the leaders at holyrood as the ones we saw this afternoon. Nicola sturgeon is basically accusing her opponents of using scotlands institutions and damaging them to get at her politically. Have a listen to the First Ministers response. Scrutiny of me, as i said earlier, it is important, it is necessary, i it is entirely legitimate. What is not legitimate is to pursue a Conspiracy Theory, a scorched earth policy, that threatens the reputation and the integrity of scotlands i independentjustice institutions, just because you happen i to dislike this government, and to sacrifice all of that, if i may say so, presiding officer, on the altar of the ego of one man. No prizes for guessing who that one man is in this context. Shes talking about her former mentor, alex salmond. As i said, we are going to hearfrom him tomorrow in what is going to be next externally moment in Scottish Politics when he appears before the Committee Extraordinary moment. We expect Nicola Sturgeon to appear before that committee next week as well but this story is going to get incredibly explosive over the next few days as two of the biggest names in Scottish Politics, two of the biggest names in the snp, accuse each other essentially of lying. European leaders are meeting to work out how to speed up the roll out of vaccines across the continent. In some parts of the eu, Vaccination Rates are one fifth of the rate here. And some countries are now reporting a reluctance to take the astrazeneca vaccine, after countries including france and germany made the decision not to use it on older patients. Heres our europe correspondent, Jean Mackenzie. None of the queues theyd planned for. Inside, chairs sit empty. Belgiums largest Vaccination Centre finally opened last week, but theres barely a person in sight. They have the capacity to vaccinate 5,000 people a day, but today they say theyve only done 200, and in the hour that weve been here, weve seen just one person arrive for their vaccination. No, its a pity there are not many people. This afternoon it is very quiet, cos there are not enough vaccines at this moment in time. It is quite shocking to arrive and see such a huge Vaccination Centre, and to see it totally empty. Is that not disappointing for you . Yes, of course it is, but what do you want me to say . Of course its disappointing, but i cannot do anything about it. Countries are struggling with a shortage of vaccines. Companies failed to deliver as many doses as expected. After a very public falling out between the eu and astrazeneca, the british manufacturer says it should be able to provide 180 million doses from april. But in countries across europe, some people have started to refuse the astrazeneca shot. I get maybe four, five, six e mails every day, of nurses, even medical doctors, | saying they dont want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse, and they want to wait for a better vaccine, l which is a bit strange, because thats not really based on solid evidence or science. I its really based On Perception and rumours. Mixed messages by governments are partly to blame, with several countries, including france and germany, deciding not to use the vaccine on older people yet. Heres frances health minister, getting his astrazeneca vaccine live on television, in an attempt to drum up support. While in germany, Hundreds Of Thousands of vials are sitting unused. We have more astrazeneca now than appointments. Are people not turning up for their appointments, then . It happens, yeah. When we have 1,000 appointments, then maybe 50 people say, no, we dont want to have this vaccination, we dont want to have astrazeneca. Data from scotland this week shows the astrazeneca jab is helping to prevent nearly all hospitalisations. What we want the vaccine to do is keep people out of the hospital, keep them out of intensive care, keep them from dying, and as far as i have seen, all vaccines that are on the market for the moment can do that. But if vaccines are to find their way into enough arms, countries must now ramp up their production. These palm trees may offer a taste of the summer to come, but at current rates, perhaps not. The headlines on bbc news the uks Chief Medical Officers move the covid 19 alert level from the highest level of five down to four. Teachers in england will decide their students gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r� s results. Europes leaders look for new ways to speed up the vaccine roll out across the eu, as the process is hit by Supply Problems and doubts over some of the vaccines. Theres more evidence that shows the Pfizer Biontech vaccine is producing a good Antibody Response in all age groups, particularly among people whove already been infected with covid 19. But there are also fears that some of the communities that could most benefit from a jab are those where Vaccine Hesitancy is greatest. Our Health Correspondent, dominic hughes, has the details. As the Vaccination Programme accelerates past 18 million, further evidence that vaccines are producing antibodies to fight covid 19. The react 2 study looked for the presence of Covid Antibodies in more than 155,000 people in england. Antibodies were found in nearly 14 of volunteers overall, either as a result of infection, or, for more than 17,000 participants, as a result of vaccination, with results especially encouraging among those whod already had covid. Having had covid previously increased the Antibody Response in all age groups, so that with a single dose of the vaccine, plus having been primed, as it were, by having previous infection, gave a very, very good Antibody Response. But of course the best response overall was when people had two doses of the vaccine. Are you ready . Just relax your arm. The survey has highlighted concerns around levels of Vaccine Hesitancy, especially in black and asian communities, but these are the same communities that are more at risk of falling seriously ill with covid 19, so theres a real worry that those who need it most might miss out on the Vaccination Programme. So, having Vaccination Programmes that are run out of mosques, synagogues, temples they are places of safety, places where you recognise and feel like that is something that is where you would go to for comfort, and so knowing that Vaccination Programmes are run by that, and your Community Leaders are part of that, thats really important. If you see someone that looks like you, youre going to take it more seriously. The main goal of the vaccine is to make sure you dont get a bad case of covid. With nearly Three Million followers on tiktok, doctors like karan raj are also trying to get in touch with hard to reach communities, providing reassurance that vaccines are safe and effective. But the fear is that just as the virus has exposed deep inequalities in our health, some may miss out on the promise of a vaccine led recovery. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Joining me now is professor peter openshaw, an immunologist at Imperial College london, and a member of the uk vaccine network. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Firstl , in good afternoon. Good afternoon. Firstly, in terms good afternoon. Good afternoon. Firstly, in terms of good afternoon. Good afternoon. Firstly, in terms of the good afternoon. Good afternoon. Firstly, in terms of the study, good afternoon. Good afternoon. Firstly, in terms of the study, it i firstly, in terms of the study, it seems there is positive news, effectiveness across all age groups. Yes, it is more good news. I should point out that what they are using to estimate the effectiveness is a very simple test which is done by people at home. Its not one of the most advanced Laboratory Tests which are much more sensitive and pick up much more lower levels of antibodies, but this is a very, very large study which i think is more news which is reassuring coming from another quarter about the effectiveness of vaccination. What is our effectiveness of vaccination. What is your more effectiveness of vaccination. What is your more broad effectiveness of vaccination. What is your more broad assessment of how the Vaccination Programme is rolling out across the country . I the Vaccination Programme is rolling out across the country . Out across the country . I think its absolutely extraordinary out across the country . I think its absolutely extraordinary that out across the country . I think its| absolutely extraordinary that weve not only got several effective vaccines with such a short within such a short time but weve been able to roll them out at scale and it looks like we are quite feasibly going to be able to vaccinate a very high proportion of those who are willing to have the vaccines, and thatis willing to have the vaccines, and that is quite a remarkable achievement. That is quite a remarkable achievement. Have you hit on something achievement. Have you hit on something there achievement. Have you hit on something there where achievement. Have you hit on something there where you i achievement. Have you hit on i something there where you say achievement. Have you hit on something there where you say those who are willing to have the vaccine . Is it right to say, scientifically, that Everyone Needs to have the jab to most benefit society . Yes. That Everyone Needs to have the ab to most benefit society . I to most benefit society . Yes, i think the modellers to most benefit society . Yes, i think the modellers who to most benefit society . Yes, i think the modellers who have i to most benefit society . Yes, i think the modellers who have been working on this data to try to see what it means in terms of our ability to control the spread, they are very specific that we really do need to have very, very high levels of Vaccine Coverage throughout all parts of society in order to really gain control and be able to consider moving back towards what we regard as being normal life, so it is absolutely vital that we do get really high levels of vaccination uptake. Is really high levels of vaccination u take. Really high levels of vaccination u take. ,. ,. , really high levels of vaccination utake. ,. , i. Really high levels of vaccination utake. ,. , uptake. Is there more that you would like to see done uptake. Is there more that you would like to see done in uptake. Is there more that you would like to see done in terms uptake. Is there more that you would like to see done in terms of like to see done in terms of information, in terms of getting information, in terms of getting information out in other languages . Ive interviewed so many gps in the last few weeks who are really saying they are trying hard to persuade all they are trying hard to persuade all the people on their lists to take the people on their lists to take the jab, but could more be done centrally . I the jab, but could more be done centrall . , ~ the jab, but could more be done centrall . , ~. ,. ,. , centrally . I do think doing it at a local level centrally . I do think doing it at a local level and centrally . I do think doing it at a local level and using centrally . I do think doing it at a local level and using local centrally . I do think doing it at a | local level and using local leaders to try to persuade people within society that it is safe, which im absolutely convinced it is. There is no doubt about this, that these vaccines are extraordinarily effective. Within the react study, it was interesting that may be lower levels of acceptance have been present amongst those who are under 50, particularly those under 40 and in london, so i think were getting a picture of which communities is not easy to reach and where we need to focus the effort in terms of making sure there is a really good dialogue then appropriate information is rolled out but there is a discussion, we listen to peoples concerns and try and address them calmly and with respect. D0 address them calmly and with resect. ,. , address them calmly and with resect. ,. , address them calmly and with resect. , address them calmly and with resect. ,. ,. ,. ,. , respect. Do we already have data that shows respect. Do we already have data that shows where respect. Do we already have data that shows where people respect. Do we already have data that shows where people have i respect. Do we already have data i that shows where people have been offered a vaccine and have said no, i dont want it . I dont want it . Yes, over many ears, i dont want it . Yes, over many years. We i dont want it . Yes, over many years. We have i dont want it . Yes, over many years, we have been i dont want it . Yes, over many years, we have been looking i i dont want it . Yes, over many years, we have been looking at| i dont want it . Yes, over many i years, we have been looking at the rather erratic vaccine uptake. For example, with influenza campaigns, and we can see that in some areas and we can see that in some areas and some parts of the nhs, the uptake is very, very high. Amongst those looking after children, paediatricians and paediatric nurses and so on, very, very high uptake of the flu vaccine but in other parts of the nhs, particularly for example in some psychiatric services, the uptake is much, much lower and i think that emphasises that the approach, the mindset of the people that you are trying to reach is so important to communicate appropriately with different groups. Very interesting. I want to ask about transmission before you go. How much more are we learning all the time about the impact on transmission vaccines . Is there of still more to learn . Still more to learn . There still is more to learn. Still more to learn . There still is more to learn. These still more to learn . There still is more to learn. These vaccines i still more to learn . There still is. More to learn. These vaccines are designed to produce a high level of antibody in your bloodstream which. You getting very seriously ill but that doesnt necessarily protect the moist linings of your nose and lungs which have a special sort of immune response that is focused in those very areas so to get really good responses in those mucus surfaces, we need a mucosal vaccine like a nose spray or a drop and i think that probably is the future, but at the moment these are having pretty good effects, particularly against very severe disease. Good effects, particularly against very severe disease. Taking us into a whole other very severe disease. Taking us into a whole other area very severe disease. Taking us into a whole other area perhaps very severe disease. Taking us into a whole other area perhaps that i very severe disease. Taking us intoj a whole other area perhaps that is our next conversation. Thank you very much, professor. Lets turn our attention to a different story linked with coronavirus and the impact of the pandemic. New data from the National Stalking Helpline has revealed a 21 increase in calls injanuary on the month before. Since the first lockdown in march last year, in total theres been a 14 increase, with all cases reported to have had an element of cyber stalking. With me is suky bahker, chief executive of the susy lamplugh trust which campaigns for better protection for victims of stalking, and samantha, who answers calls to the National Stalking Helpline. Shes asked us only to use her first name. Firstly, in terms of what the charity does, just give us an overview. The impact of the last year, the impact of the pandemic. How much harder has a gift made life for the people you try to help . How much harder has it made life for the people you try to help . Its how much harder has it made life for the people you try to help . The people you try to help . Its had a devastating the people you try to help . Its had a devastating impact the people you try to help . Its had a devastating impact on the people you try to help . Its had a devastating impact on victims the people you try to help . Its had a devastating impact on victims of. A devastating impact on victims of stalking. It is already a dramatic four victims who suffer from depression and isolation and what the pandemic has done is exacerbated that trauma. We know from a recent survey we carried out that 91 of victims will experience some sort of Mental Health condition as a result of stalking and the rise we are currently seeing in figures over the last year a particularly worrying, largely due to the increase weve seenin largely due to the increase weve seen in Domestic Abuse cases that we have witnessed over the pandemic, but also as you mentioned, weve seen a huge increase in cyber stalking cases. We know that victims can easily be accessed online and perpetrators tend to go where victims are, either to their workplace or whether socialising where they are socialising and we are doing more things like that on line so it makes sense we are seeing more of those behaviours now being carried out online. More of those behaviours now being carried out online. Answer, you work on the helpline. Carried out online. Answer, you work on the helpline. Have carried out online. Answer, you work on the helpline. Have you carried out online. Answer, you work on the helpline. Have you seen carried out online. Answer, you work on the helpline. Have you seen an i on the helpline. Have you seen an increased workload . Are you just sensing that more people are reneged of that vital support that you can provide . Assess for us what your experience has been like. More eole experience has been like. More people are experience has been like. More people are calling experience has been like. More people are calling than experience has been like. More people are calling than in experience has been like. More people are calling than in previous years people are calling than in previous years at people are calling than in previous years at the same time and really the phone years at the same time and really the phone never stops ringing, we et the phone never stops ringing, we get more the phone never stops ringing, we get more calls than we can respond to and get more calls than we can respond to and people are feeling more distressed. Stalking is already dramatic distressed. Stalking is already dramatic and that is being compounded by the pandemic and so calls are compounded by the pandemic and so calls are taking longer, people are needing calls are taking longer, people are needing more support and are in need of psychological support as well to cope with of psychological support as well to cope with what is occurring and the isolation cope with what is occurring and the isolation that theyre feeling, not only due isolation that theyre feeling, not only due to the stalking but also due to only due to the stalking but also due to being in lockdown so it has become due to being in lockdown so it has become a due to being in lockdown so it has become a lot more difficult with those become a lot more difficult with those calls. Become a lot more difficult with those calls those calls. Are they wanting to talk to you those calls. Are they wanting to talk to you in those calls. Are they wanting to talk to you in addition those calls. Are they wanting to talk to you in addition to those calls. Are they wanting to talk to you in addition to trying | those calls. Are they wanting to i talk to you in addition to trying to get help from the police . What are you hearing in terms of whether they turn to the Emergency Services as well . �. Turn to the Emergency Services as well . � ,. , well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often we are the well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often we are the first well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often we are the first point well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often we are the first point of well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often we are the first point of call well . Yeah, its really mixed. Often we are the first point of call and we are the first point of call and the first we are the first point of call and the first person that victim will have the first person that victim will have spoken to about what they are experiencing. In some cases they have experiencing. In some cases they have actually tried reporting to the police have actually tried reporting to the police and have actually tried reporting to the police and they maybe havent been taken police and they maybe havent been taken seriously or had a good response taken seriously or had a good response or been deterred from reporting response or been deterred from reporting by their friends and family. Reporting by their friends and family, particularly when it is cyber family, particularly when it is cyber stalking. I think that it tends cyber stalking. I think that it tends to cyber stalking. I think that it tends to get minimised and people see it tends to get minimised and people see it as tends to get minimised and people see it as may be less threatening or less of see it as may be less threatening or less of a see it as may be less threatening or less of a crime which is absolutely not the less of a crime which is absolutely not the case so we certainly do encourage not the case so we certainly do encourage everyone to report stalking encourage everyone to report stalking because it is a crime when they come stalking because it is a crime when they come through to the helpline. Suky is they come through to the helpline. Suky is nodding along but one more thought on that. People watching might wonder what you are saying, when you say cyberstalking. It is presumably a lot more than just sending offensive texts or e mails. Explain some of the really difficult circumstances that the people you are trying to help are finding themselves in. When we use the term cyberstalking, we are when we use the term cyberstalking, we are talking about any behaviour that is we are talking about any behaviour that is happening online rather than in person that is happening online rather than in person it that is happening online rather than in person. It can be things you would in person. It can be things you would never imagine so we have seen cases would never imagine so we have seen cases where would never imagine so we have seen cases where the stalker is able to hacked cases where the stalker is able to hacked into someones amazon account and either hacked into someones amazon account and either cancel orders they have made and either cancel orders they have made or and either cancel orders they have made or send them gifts, things where made or send them gifts, things where they know it will be disturbed to their where they know it will be disturbed to their victim, where they know it will be disturbed to theirvictim, a hidden where they know it will be disturbed to their victim, a hidden message, we are to their victim, a hidden message, we are seeing people come up with fake accounts in that victims name, pretending fake accounts in that victims name, pretending to be them online. There is a whole pretending to be them online. There is a whole range of behaviours that can be is a whole range of behaviours that can be occurring beyond incessant emaiiing can be occurring beyond incessant e mailing and messaging. Can be occurring beyond incessant emailing and messaging. Goodness. That is stock. Emailing and messaging. Goodness. That is stock, isnt emailing and messaging. Goodness. That is stock, isnt it, emailing and messaging. Goodness. That is stock, isnt it, the emailing and messaging. Goodness. That is stock, isnt it, the way emailing and messaging. Goodness. That is stock, isnt it, the way you that is stock, isnt it, the way you describe it. Suki, you talk about the increases we have seen during the increases we have seen during the pandemic. Its not over yet, people are still being urged to work from home for quite a long time yet and it goes broader than that too. What would you like to see done, what do you think needs to be done in the coming months and years as we start to come back to some sort of normal life . I start to come back to some sort of normal life . Normal life . I think we are certainly normal life . I think we are certainly gearing normal life . I think we are certainly gearing up normal life . I think we are certainly gearing up on normal life . I think we arej certainly gearing up on the normal life . I think we are certainly gearing up on the National Helpline for a further increase in calls because we know that as lockdown uses, more victims will come forward and we need Specialist Services to be supportive with sustainable funding. The emergency funds the government announced and awarded over the last year have been very much welcomed by the sector, but in order to support the victims and support them through the next stages of the impact of which is going to be long lasting, we need to have sustained funding and long term funding for specialised Services Like the National Stalking Helpline. I also think we need to have a much clearer strategy on how we will support the criminaljustice system. We are seeing delays in investigations, through the Court Process and trials being delayed for huge amounts of time and that impacts, it really compounds the impacts, it really compounds the impact on the victim. Impacts, it really compounds the impact on the victim. Thank you so much to both impact on the victim. Thank you so much to both of impact on the victim. Thank you so much to both of you impact on the victim. Thank you so much to both of you and impact on the victim. Thank you so much to both of you and for much to both of you and for everything you do as well. The time is three 34. Lets catch up with all the latest sports now. Good afternoon. England have lost the third test in ahmedabad by ten wickets, defeat coming inside two days in a remarkable match. So many talking points. Joe root having staged a fightback with the ball, but england then suffered a batting collapse that left india chasing just 49 runs for victory. India were dismissed forjust145 in theirfirst innings. Root really only a part time bowler took five wickets for just eight runs and jack leach took four in conditions really favouring the slow bowlers. It looked good for england then, but they collapsed to 81 all out to the indian spinners. Axar patel took five, ravi ashwin four and sundar washington another spinner took the other one. On apitch which was looking really hard to bat on. Its just the seventh time in the past 75 years a test has been setlled in two days. So heavy defeat for england but the pitch in ahmedabad has been criticised with many commentators feeling the ball had unfair advantage over the bat with the spinners dominating proceedings. A remarkable 17 wickets fell inside two sessions. Here are thoughts of bbc� s cricket social analsyst and former england spinner phil tufnell. We all feel a little bit let down here. It was set up to be a fantastic concentration, the first day night test match of the series, new stadium, we were all keyed up for a good contest and it slipped through ourfingers. We for a good contest and it slipped through our fingers. We all feel a little bit let down but there are some concerns. When the ball starts churning before lunch on the first day, we dont mind seeing the ball turn, itsjust day, we dont mind seeing the ball turn, its just there day, we dont mind seeing the ball turn, itsjust there is not a surface there to play on. Even the likes ofjoe root and all these guys and also the indian players were finding it very difficult, it almost became a bit of a lottery and a bit of a shoot out. Became a bit of a lottery and a bit of a shootout. Of a shootout. India 21 up in the series with of a shootout. India 21 up in the series with one of a shootout. India 21 up in the series with one match of a shootout. India 21 up in the series with one match to of a shootout. India 21 up in the series with one match to play. I scotlands game with france in the six nations on sunday has been postponed, after another positive case in the french squad taking the number of players with the virus to eleven. Training had been suspended with the entire group in isolation. Only yesterday organisers said the game could go ahead as planned they say a new date will be arranged in due course. Scotland could be without a number of their first team regulars if the game is moved to a date outside of the international window. George north will win his 100th wales cap when they play england in cardiff on saturday as they go for the triple crown. Hes been recalled to the starting line up, after missing the win over scotland with a foot injury. He becomes the youngest player in test rugby to reach the milestone when he starts at centre alongside jonathan davies, also back from injury. Wales with that 100 per cent record so far. Theres a blow for england lock Courtney Lawes is out, after he suffered a chest injury in training yesterday, mark wilson comes in. Hookerjamie george returns to the starting line up he was among a long list of players dropped after the defeat to scotland in their opening match, he replaces Luke Cowan Dickie one of only two changes from the side that beat italy. Leicester teenager George Martin is set to make his debut off the bench. Ireland skipperjohnny sexton returns for their match against italy in rome, along with vice Captainjames Ryan theyve both recovered from head injuries. There are seven changes in all to the ireland side, with a revamped front row theyve made their worst start to a Six Nations Campaign, with defeats to wales and france. And the organisers of this years olympics in tokyo, have asked fans to clap, but not shout or cheer, during the torch relay, as one of the Safety Measures theyre putting in place. From 25th march, around 20,000 runners will carry the torch from fukushima, across all 47 ofjapans regions, before it arrives at the main Olympic Stadium on 23rd july. The relay could be stopped, if the crowds get too big. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in the next hour. Bbc news reported last week on the plight of Princess Latifa, who said she was being held captive by herfather, the ruler of dubai. Now, we can reveal another development in the case this time raising questions for britain. It centres around allegations that latifas sister shamsa was also abducted by theirfather while she was living in the uk, and that an investigation by Cambridgeshire Police was closed due to insufficient evidence. Nawal al maghafi reports. Sheikh Mohammed Rashid al maktoum. The billionaire ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. Last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, Princess Latifa. In them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. The messages sparked international concerns. But latifa is not the only daughter of Sheikh Mohammed to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the Family Estate in surrey. In 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19, she ran away. So, yeah, after two months, they found her. The police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. Now the bbc has obtained an Exclusive Letter written by Princess Latifa from her captivity. In it, a plea to reopen her sisters case. The letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to Cambridgeshire Police, says shamsa has strong links with england. Herfondest memories are of her time here. Your help and attention could free her. Weve pieced together shamsas extraordinary story. She was a passionate horse rider and Loved Spending summers at her fathers estate in the surrey countryside. Shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries, and she wasnt what you would call a princess, you know . She was full of life and adventure. She dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldnt allow it. So in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. After shamsa escaped her fathers estate in longcross, she lived as a free woman for around two months. She then checked into this hotel in cambridge. Suddenly, herfather� s operatives arrived and she was captured. By sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. On her enforced return to dubai, shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. She was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. We spoke to someone who had regular contact with her after she was released. She was tranquilized all the time. Everything she did was controlled. There was no spark. In shamsa any more. There was no fight in her. And i understand that people cant get their head around it. Theyjust see some rich girl. Its not like that at all. Its horrific. The uae government maintain that shamsa and latifa are cherished and adored by their family. They� re yet to prove that they are still alive and well. Nawal al maghafi, bbc news. The former chancellor, philip hammond, has told the bbc that Boris Johnson must tell the british people some home truths about the state of the economy. Lord hammond said he fears that in next weeks budget the government will put popularity ahead of doing the right thing, because, he says, giving money away is always easier than collecting it. After 2010, we always knew that we were going to go through a period of intense unpopularity as we implemented the measures that needed to be taken. Im not sure that the top leadership of the current government really has that appetite for being unpopular in order to the right thing. Hes going to have to tell the british people some difficult home truths. Our politcial correspondent helen catt is at westminster. This big scale spending and borrowing isnt traditionally a conservative way of managing the economy and while it is widely accepted it has been necessary, that doesnt mean it sits necessarily comfortably with a lot of conservatives who are keen to see that there is a plan to, at some point, slow spending and start to pay it back. There is no sense that that should start next wednesday and in fact what were expecting is the chancellor to, in some senses, keep running the bill next week. Were expecting he is likely to extend some of the emergency measures. It is understood he is looking at things Like Corporation tax and perhaps the possibility of a windfall tax on companies who have actually done well during the pandemic, perhaps like supermarkets. Labour, though, saying this is not the time for tax rises. A treasury spokesman said the chancellor would be honest with the british people next week about how were going to recover from this crisis and on that point about popularity, the Prime Ministers press secretary, allegra stratton, saying this lunchtime she didnt recognise that picture and that the pandemic had shown this was a pm that was prepared to take difficult decisions and was weighing up hard choices at the moment. About 25 million smartphone owners could be in line for compensation, according to the Consumer Group which. Its seeking damages of £480 million from the tech giant qualcomm, which its claimed broke uk competition law by charging inflated fees to manufacturers, which were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher handset prices. Customers who bought a phone after october 2015 could be in line for up to £30 each. The number of people sleeping rough last year fell by nearly 40 in england experts say the reduction is likely to be because of government measures to tackle covid 19, which included providing accommodation in closed hotels. Michael buchanan reports. Just say hello or something as you go past the stop the number of people who walk past you and dont give you the time of day, it drains you. David spent two and a half years rough sleeping. He lost his job on the fairgrounds, didnt have any savings and had few options, but recently he was given some temporary accommodation, his own bedsit. Its a nice offer and its a step on for me. There is a step on path from here and we are working on it now. Its not a hostel, its my own little room. If i want someone to come round and have a cup of tea i can. The annual snapshot showed there were 2,688 people rough sleeping in england on a single night last autumn. Thats a decrease of 37 on 2019, with some areas such as birmingham and ashford in kent showing large falls. Ministers are understandably keen to build on the progress. We are bringing forward 6,000 homes for rough sleepers backed by over £400 million of funding over the course of this parliament. This is the largest investment and accommodation of this kind and im proud that it will leave a National Legacy of support for those helped by everyone in. Because of covid weve got these new hotels now that have been setup. I dont know if youve heard about them . The governments everyone in scheme has helped accommodate 33,000 people including rough sleepers but the pandemic is creating more demand for help as particularly young people lose jobs. One London Council says applications for homeless support are up nearly 50 on last year. Its unprecedented, 48 up on homelessness applications and thats been with the private rented sector ban in place so when the evictions ban is lifted we are likely to see a worsening situation as all of the people who have built up arrears over that time could be potentially made homeless. Like many former rough sleepers, david is sceptical of the help he is getting will last. You can see a scenario when you end up back on the street . Yeah, ican. If thats what happens, thats what happens, its part of myjourney. The hope however is that the many people helped off the streets will remain housed. Michael buchanan, bbc news. Now, when the pandemic hit, Dance Teacher lizzi gee found herself out of work. To stay positive and keep busy, the mum of two from surrey decided to teach her son to tap dance. Their routines have now attracted millions of views online. Someone said to me the other day, is he your little Shirley Temple . I thought, no, hes not my little girl, hes my little boy. I think i guess he is my little billy in a way, my little billy elliott. Hi, my name is lizzi gee and im a choreographer and a Dance Teacher and a mother to rufus and arthur. Hi, my name is rufus and i am eight years old. I work in theatre but also in film and television. I taught tom holland to tap and people who have gone on to many different things, those children, which has also inspired this one here and he has always been asking for me to teach him. It wasnt until the pandemic struck and all the work had dried up that we were like, ok, so lets start now. So we bought him a pair of tap shoes in may, i think it was, last year, and we started to go from scratch really. I didnt really expect that he would be at this level where i could be teaching him material that i would be teaching professionals, so we were sort of duetting together, so i am having to up my standards to keep up with him. The other day we recorded this routine which i was super proud of because it was really hard and its really fast, isnt it . And i thought, i might just put it on twitter. And this morning it was at nearly 1. 7 million views. A lot of people have been saying its so lovely to see a mother and son bonding together. Hey to see people commenting on tap being a bit of a lost art form and that it was lovely to see two people loving to tap again, but also we have managed to find something positive out of lockdown. Its been very nice, like, ive got no one to, like, play with, so i get to do this with my mum. It makes me forget all the worries and forget about everything and have fun. I want to follow in my mums footsteps, i want to do all the things she can do. Whether hes got tap shoes on or hes got slippers on or bare feet, his feet are always clicking away. If he wants to be a dancer and wants to do it, im more than happy to keep guiding him and keep helping him on his path forward. We both love doing it, its a passion that we both share and to be able to share it with your own flesh and blood, someone that is constantly by your side. One day he is going to overtake me and i think hell be teaching me to be quite frank. That was lizzi gee and her son rufus bateman. Zookeepers have compiled the Worlds Largest collection of thermal images of elephants, which show the animals as they play, eat and hang out in their enclosure at whipsnade zoo. The 30,000 photographs are part of a Conservation Project to help save the lives of both endangered elephants and humans. Helen briggs reports. Elephants posing for photos at whipsnade zoo. But they look very different through a thermal camera. 30,000 selfies that are notjust incredible to look at, but a vital conservation tool. It is truly an elephantcam. Its made by elephants themselves. Theyve taken the photo with us, and it now works. It detects elephants confidently at a certain distance. And we want to get this into the field now, and actually put it in the wild, helping Wild Elephants and communities live side by side. The images are being used to train a camera to recognise the shape of an elephant from its body heat. Itll be able to identify when an elephant� s close by, even in the dark, and send an alert. Humans and elephants are being forced into ever closer contact, as the Human Population grows and wild habitat disappears. This can end in trashed crops, damaged property and the loss of lives. Elephants are struggling internationally in numbers, both in asia and africa and we find ourselves with ever decreasing numbers, and when it comes to human, elephant conflict, this is only likely to increase due to Climate Change and if you are a subsistence farmer bordering a protected area, an elephant coming in at night and destroying your livelihood for the next year is fairly dramatic. Its hoped the new technology will be an affordable solution to helping wildlife and humans live in harmony, and help protect endangered species. Helen briggs, bbc news. Now lets return to our main story teachers will decide grades for this years gcses, a levels and written vocational qualifications in england, after the exams were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. So lets hear the views of an a level student. Ive been speaking to max peel, from south london, who told me what he was studying and gave his reaction to the proposals. Ido i do biology, history, chemistry and geography. You i do biology, history, chemistry and meorah. ,. , i do biology, history, chemistry and aueorah. ,. ,. , i do biology, history, chemistry and uueorah. ,. ,. ,. Geography. You are far brainier than me, i geography. You are far brainier than me. I couldnt geography. You are far brainier than me, i couldnt have geography. You are far brainier than me, i couldnt have done geography. You are far brainier than me, i couldnt have done that. Geography. You are far brainier than me, i couldnt have done that. What do you make of the fact there will be no algorithm, it will be up to your teachers. Be no algorithm, it will be up to yourteachers. How be no algorithm, it will be up to your teachers. How are you feeling about that . I your teachers. How are you feeling about that . About that . I have the utmost confidence about that . I have the utmost confidence in about that . I have the utmost confidence in my about that . I have the utmost confidence in my teachers. I l about that . I have the utmost. Confidence in my teachers. I have about that . I have the utmost confidence in my teachers. I have a strong relationships with my teachers, so i am quite comfortable with the situation that has emerged and i am fairly certain i will do mine with fine with my results but its very much a situation where quual and the government is trying to prevent the situation last year by putting the responsibilities on to teachers and schools individually, so there isnt the same negative reaction that could happen in which you have an algorithm that produces such horrific consequences as we had last year. Horrific consequences as we had last ear. Horrific consequences as we had last ear. ,. ,. , year. Interested whether you have soken to year. Interested whether you have spoken to some year. Interested whether you have spoken to some of year. Interested whether you have spoken to some of your year. Interested whether you have spoken to some of your friends, i spoken to some of your friends, particularly friends you are in the same school with. As much as you can do broad brush, what is everyones making of it . I do broad brush, what is everyones making of it . Making of it . I think it is a situation making of it . I think it is a situation where making of it . I think it is a situation where everyone, | making of it . I think it is a i situation where everyone, its making of it . I think it is a situation where everyone, its good to get some clarification, its good for everyone to know what is going to happen in the situation, given the fact that there was so much uncertainty on what many exams would look like because that was all the information we had had before. But generally there is the consensus where people are comfortable that given the amount of time that has been lost, in terms of in person education, but not having to sit four formal exams, education, but not having to sit fourformal exams, is the best situation of a bunch of not very great options that the government has. Great options that the government has. ,. ,. , great options that the government has. ,. , great options that the government has. ,. ,. , has. Yes, that has been reflected a lot toda. Has. Yes, that has been reflected a lot today do has. Yes, that has been reflected a lot today. Do you has. Yes, that has been reflected a lot today. Do you have has. Yes, that has been reflected a lot today. Do you have any has. Yes, that has been reflected a| lot today. Do you have any concerns about perhaps inconsistencies between different schools, different teachers making differentjudgments teachers making different judgments because, teachers making differentjudgments because, are you hoping to go to university . That is something they will have to grapple with. Definitely. The situation for me is either do you want to go to university . Ultimately university and how i perform at university will become more significant than my ultimate a level grades but i am concerned with the potential risk of Grade Inflation and how my results will be compared with people from across the country. I think there definitely is a concern. All we can hope for is individual moderation and the option for appeals to take place. Its really good that a level results will be released early in august which will give more time for the appeals process. It will not be perfect, i am sure there will be problems that will crop up throughout this process. It is certainly not going to be easy but i think everyone is trying to make the best of it at this point. Now its time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. Hello, there. Yesterday we were talking about temperatures reaching 18 celsius in parts of suffolk. Those kinds of temperatures really high for february, about 10 degrees above average and more like the temperatures we would see in late may orjune. Something of a change for today because weve got this area of cloud and rain. This is a Weather Front, a weak cold front and that is bringing some slightly less toasty air in across the uk. The highest temperatures will be pushed further eastwards with those southerly winds bringing very unusual heat to parts of northern europe. We though get the winds coming off the atlantic. It will still be mild butjust not as toasty as it was yesterday. Lets take a look at those all important temperatures and this afternoon, most of us getting to 10 12 , probably some twelves around the Greater London area as well. Looking at the weather picture overnight tonight, an area of High Pressure will build in across the uk and so the winds will fall light everywhere and for the majority of us, we will have clear skies. Maybe a few patches of rain running to the far north of scotland and thats about it. Quite a chilly night, temperatures are low enough for some pockets of frost, particularly in the countryside so for some it will be a chilly start to the day on friday. High pressure will continue to build in from the south on friday, bringing more fine weather. Maybe a little bit of rain from this Weather System to start the day in shetland but moving away and the low will be quite cloudy across the far north west of scotland. Some bright or sunny spells. For most of the uk a fine day, lengthy spells of sunshine around and temperatures still above average, 10 12 c. 12 in london, the average in london is about nine at this time of year. Take a look at the chart into the weekend and both saturday and sunday continue to see this area of High Pressure dominate. However we will see this weak Weather Front approach from the north west and that could just thicken up the cloud enough to bring an odd patch of rain to scotland, maybe parts of Northern England but it really wont amount to much and for most of us, it will stay dry with further spells of sunshine coming and going. Temperatures mild again, ten to 14 celsius and sunday weve got more of the same. Into next week the cloud could be thick enough to give a a few patches of rain across the south for a time on monday but most of next week is also looking fine, dry and mild as well. Thats your weather. This is bbc news. Iam i am reeta chakrabarti. The headlines the uks Chief Medical Officers move the covid 19 alert level from the highest level of five down to four. Teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last years exams chaos no algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. I think most educational professionals would accept that this is the best way forward under very difficult circumstances. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. Why some european Vaccination Centres lay empty, as people wont take the jab on offer. A daughter of the ruler of dubai asks British Police to re open their inquiry into her sisters disappearance, 20 years ago. How thousands of thermal images of elephants could help protect endangered species. And india thrash england by ten wickets in an eventful third test to take a 2 1 series lead. Hello, good afternoon. The uks covid 19 alert level has been reduced. The alert has been at level five the highest since early january and is now going down to four. It means the risk of the nhs being overwhelmed in the coming weeks has fallen. Lets get more on this from our Health Editor, hugh pym. Just tell us how significant this is. ~. Just tell us how significant this is. . , , is. Well, in a sense it is confirming is. Well, in a sense it is confirming what is. Well, in a sense it is confirming what we is. Well, in a sense it is confirming what we already is. Well, in a sense it is confirming what we already know. This alert level system was set up last may to give it a framework to Decision Making by governments in the uks for nations. It is based on a decision by the uks for Chief Medical Officers, working with officials from the joint biosecurity centre. It is in a way a nonpolitical, independent take on how serious the alert level is. It was level three from may onwards all the way through to september, when it was moved up to level four, when cases were really beginning to accelerate again and then level five, the highest level, injanuary the 4th, the day the Prime Minister announced lockdown restrictions for england and of course there were similar measures being taken in the uks other nations. And the key determining factorfor uks other nations. And the key determining factor for level five, is there a material risk of the nhs being overwhelmed within 21 days without further action . And given that risk, as they perceived it, the Chief Medical Officers moved up to level five. They are now moving back down to level four. In a Statement Released on behalf of the 4 cmo is, they say Hospital Numbers have been consistently declining for Covid Patients and therefore the pressure is considerably less, so it is a moment to move back to level four, but they add there are still significant issues and relatively high numbers of patients in hospital. In time, vaccines will have a major impact, but for the time being everybody vaccinated or not should remain vigilant. So everyone should remain vigilant. Does this mean, then, that although the level has been brought down, it makes no difference to the way in which we are expected to live our lives . �. Which we are expected to live our lives . � ,. , lives . Thats right, it is not sa in lives . Thats right, it is not saying to lives . Thats right, it is not saying to people lives . Thats right, it is not saying to people there lives . Thats right, it is not saying to people there is i lives . Thats right, it is not saying to people there is a | lives . Thats right, it is not saying to people there is a sudden further easing of lockdown. The announcement in england was made on monday and in scotland on tuesday, and wales and Northern Ireland have their own plans. Those are decisions made by governments. This doesnt suddenly mean going down to level four anything has changed in terms of what people can and cant do. In a sense, it is again giving this framework of the assessment of the risk to back up decisions made by governments on lockdown restrictions, which have been planned to take place pretty gradually in the weeks and months ahead, as we have been hearing earlier this week. Ok. Ahead, as we have been hearing earlier this week. Ahead, as we have been hearing earlier this week. Ok. Hugh pym, many thanks now it is that time of afternoon where we are getting in the latest coronavirus figures from the government and i can tell you that in terms of new cases, there were 9985 new cases, so that compares with 9938 yesterday, so a slight rise, if anything. And if with 9938 yesterday, so a slight rise, if anything. And if i compare that with the figures last week, there were 12,057 positive cases reported, so that is quite a fall of roughly 3000. And you can see on your screens at the moment the death figures for the last 24 hours is 323, so that is 323 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours and that will be people who had a positive covid 19 test in the last 28 days. That compares to 454 deaths reported last thursday, so that is a drop of roughly 130. Lets move on now. Teachers will decide grades for this years gcses, a levels and written vocational qualifications in england, after the exams were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The education secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed that unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate pupils grades. Exam boards will check random samples, and students will receive their results earlier than usual, to allow extra time to log any appeals. Heres our education correspondent, dan johnson. Theyre heading back to lessons knowing their final results will come from teachers awarding grades they think pupils deserve. Coursework, essays and mock results will be considered and there may be Classroom Tests using previous Exam Questions to help teachers make their judgments. Philip is reaching the end of his gcses. Id rather do an exam myself because i think i would do better in an exam because you can actually show physically what you can do, rather than people guessing what you can do. So, abigail, what about you . Abigail is expecting her a level results. I do trust what my teachers will give me, but at the same time, it does make you wonder, if i did actually sit the exam, would this have been what i got . Itll be difficult to compare your grades to people in the north of england or somewhere else because its hard to know whether they were tested in the same way. Last yea r� s calculated grades brought students to the streets in protest, which prompted officials to admit theyd got the maths wrong, putting some University Places in doubt. There were Government U Turns across the uk and promises there would be no repeat. The algorithm is gone, does that make you happy . Yes, very much so. I think most education professionals would agree this is the best way forward under very difficult circumstances. The issues i think youre going to face are the timescales in terms of appeals and the criteria for appeals. Results will come earlier in august, in anticipation of more appeals. These guidelines are only for england, but the Rest Of The Uk will follow a similar approach. Vocational subjects will be awarded in the same way, though some students may need to sit exams for professional qualifications. We need a narrative here from government that explains to schools that yes, teachers are being trusted but also their Overall Results need proper anchoring so that the results this year are credible. If we dont have that, then students will end up with very good grades, but grades that everybody will be worrying about the Credibility Of. There is a promise of further guidance on that. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. These will be broadly pegged to performance standards from previous years, so that teachers and students are aware teachers and students are clear what is expected at each grade. Most teachers agree its the least worst option to avoid the turmoil of last time and deliver fair results in another difficult year. That was done johnson with that was donejohnson with that report. A little earlier, jane spoke to dan and he told her there was relief all round that they would be no algorithm this year. Yes, teachers are being given a lot of flexibility, lots of discussion here. In a sense, in a change from last year, where everything was really tightly controlled to stop Grade Inflation, to stop any inconsistency, now teachers are being given a lot of freedom, which could result in a lot of Grade Inflation and perhaps in inconsistency and unfairness across the system because it will be difficult to work out if a certain grade given at one school has actually been given according to the same criteria as the same grade given somewhere else. Are they actually the same . Are they fair . Are all students being treated consistently . Thats the real test in this and there is more guidance to come for teachers to help them with these assessments so that they and pupils know what a certain grade should look like, what the work should be to qualify for that particular result. It is fraught, really, isnt it . It is. Because the only fair way is to make students sit the exam and that cant happen well, you Start Thinking, perhaps well build extra safeguards into the system like the possibility of appeals, spot checks by Examination Boards and you think, we could keep building into this and going over it and eventually someone will say, shouldnt we just do an exam that everyone sits to see where they all are . I dont think there will be a u turn of that kind, but there may have to be extra safeguards built into this system to try to ensure that it is fair, it is robust and people can have faith in these results in future, but the conclusion for now is that it is the right thing because it will allow teachers who know pupils best to give them a fair result for the work they have done through such tough times. Danjohnson dan johnson there, our education correspondent, danjohnson there, our education correspondent, speaking to jane a little earlier. Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed allegations that she breached ministerial code in the Scottish Governments investigation of Sexual Harassment claims against her predecessor, alex salmond. Ms sturgeon called it, a dangerous and quite deluded conspiracy. Our Political Correspondent, nick eardley, has the latest from edinburgh. This is an extraordinary story on any level, really, that is going on in Scottish Politics. You have the former First Minister, alex salmond, accusing the current First Minister, his protege, breaking the ministerial code, the rules by which ministers have to abide. Normally that would be a resignation matter, but mr salmond is alleging a lot more, he is saying that some people around Nicola Sturgeon were part of around Nicola Sturgeon were part of a Malicious Campaign against him to remove him from public life and possibly even to have him jailed. We are going to hearfrom mr salmond tomorrow. He is pencilled in for a mammoth session before a committee thatis mammoth session before a committee that is looking into how the Scottish Government has dealt with complaints against mr salmond, but today at First Ministers questions there was an extraordinary exchange, where different parties in holyrood were accusing each other of undermining scottish democracy. Firstly, we had Ruth Davidson, who is the Scottish Tory Leader at holyrood, saying that ms sturgeon had tried to cover up what had gone on. A culture of secrets and cover up that is only growing, and it is all taking place on Nicola Sturgeons watch. And theresjust one further question i want to ask. First minister, is saving your own skin worth all the damage that you are doing . There were similar accusations from the scottish labour party, saying that this had been terribly dealt with by the Scottish Government and it has seen that something is fundamentally wrong with the way that things were going. The snp completely deny that and they are furious. Inaudible their political opponents are playing a political game with what is a very serious issue. I have seldom seen nicolas sturgeon so angry as she was in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon. Have a look at Nicola Sturgeons response to Ruth Davidson. Scrutiny of me, is, as i said earlier, its important, its necessary, its entirely legitimate. What is not legitimate is to pursue a Conspiracy Theory, a scorched earth policy, that threatens the reputation and the integrity of scotlands independentjustice institutions, just because you happen to dislike this government, and to sacrifice all of that, if i may say so, presiding officer, on the altar of the ego of one man. No prizes for guessing who that man is, it is alex salmond. It is just a sign of how much the relationship between Nicola Sturgeon and alex salmond, once the dream team at the snp and the Scottish Independence movement, has completely disintegrated and over the next few days there are going to be some really high drama when he accused her of doing something that could cost her herjob and she appears before the committee next week to refute those claims. It is refute those claims. It is extraordinary refute those claims. It is extraordinary to refute those claims. It is extraordinary to hear refute those claims. It is i extraordinary to hear them refute those claims. It is extraordinary to hear them speaking in those terms today, nick. What is interesting is that often in Political Parties are experiencing war within the party, where there are real internal splits, the opposition will stand to one side and let them get on with it. That has just changed, and let them get on with it. That hasjust changed, hasnt and let them get on with it. That has just changed, hasnt it . And let them get on with it. That hasjust changed, hasnt it . I and let them get on with it. That hasjust changed, hasnt it . Ithink that riuht. Hasjust changed, hasnt it . Ithink that right. One hasjust changed, hasnt it . Ithink that right. One of hasjust changed, hasnt it . Ithink that right. One of the hasjust changed, hasnt it . Ithink that right. One of the reasons hasjust changed, hasnt it . Ithink that right. One of the reasons is i that right. One of the reasons is quite simply that the Scottish Election is ten weeks of grade today and there is no doubt that some political calculation is our ten weeks away today and there is no doubt there are some calculations as to how opposition parties are dealing with this, but also some genuine concern about what is going on here because there is a committee in the Scottish Parliament that is looking into how the Scottish Government dealt with harassment allegations made against alex salmond back in 2018. That process was flawed, salmond challenged them in court, he won, the court said that the Scottish Governments approach had been unlawful and tainted by apparent bias. That committee has regularly found itself struggling to get documents at once and there was an almighty row yesterday when the crown office, scotlands prosecution service, asked the parliament to unpublished parts of mr salmonds evidence. The argument to the crown office made was that part of that evidence could be in contempt of court, so it was an offence to have them up on the website, but there are many people disputing that. The other argument we heard from Ruth Davidson today in First Ministers questions, was that the parts of mr salmonds evidence that have been taken down some of the most damaging for Nicola Sturgeon. They involve the accusations that she broke the ministerial code. Nicola sturgeon completely denies that and as you head on that clip a minute ago she accuses her opponents of engaging in deluded conspiracy theories and she is clearly furious that they are engaging in what she calls a scorched earth policy, but this is an extraordinary, it feels to me like the biggest row in the devolution era of Scottish Politics and over the next few days it is only going to get more intense. We will hearfrom alex only going to get more intense. We will hear from alex salmond, all being well, 1230 tomorrow and i am told that session could last up to four hours, so get the coffees in. Blimey, indeed nick eardley, our Political Correspondent there, to reporting from hollywood. Lets take a look at the headland now. The uks Chief Medical Officers move the covid 19 alert level from the highest level of five down to four. Teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last years exams chaos no algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. , theres more evidence that shows the Pfizer Biontech vaccine is producing a good Antibody Response in all age groups, particularly among people whove already been infected with covid 19. But there are also fears that some of the communities that could most benefit from a jab are those where Vaccine Hesitancy is greatest. Our Health Correspondent, dominic hughes, has the details. As the Vaccination Programme accelerates past 18 million, further evidence that vaccines are producing antibodies to fight covid 19. The react 2 study looked for the presence of Covid Antibodies in more than 155,000 people in england. Antibodies were found in nearly 14 of volunteers overall, either as a result of infection, or, for more than 17,000 participants, as a result of vaccination, with results especially encouraging among those whod already had covid. Having had covid previously increased the Antibody Response in all age groups, so that with a single dose of the vaccine, plus having been primed, as it were, by having previous infection, gave a very, very good Antibody Response. But of course the best response overall was when people had two doses of the vaccine. Are you ready . Just relax your arm. The survey has highlighted concerns around levels of Vaccine Hesitancy, especially in black and asian communities, but these are the same communities that are more at risk of falling seriously ill with covid 19, so theres a real worry that those who need it most might miss out on the Vaccination Programme. So, having Vaccination Programmes that are run out of mosques, synagogues, temples they are places of safety, places you recognise and you feel like that is something that is where you would go to for comfort, and so knowing that Vaccination Programmes are run by that, and your Community Leaders are part of that, thats really important. And this is going to be particularly important having people like myself on Mainstream Media because if you see someone that looks like you, speaks like you, youre thinking, im going to take this information really seriously. The main goal of the vaccine is to make sure you dont get a bad case of covid. With nearly Three Million followers on tiktok, doctors like karan raj are also trying to get in touch with hard to reach communities, providing reassurance that vaccines are safe and effective. But the fear is that just as the virus has exposed deep inequalities in our health, some may miss out on the promise of a vaccine led recovery. Dominic hughes, bbc news. With me now is professor helen ward, professor of Public Health at Imperial College london. She is one of the authors on the react study. Good afternoon to you, professor helen ward. I suppose people will be thinking, well, that is the point of a Vaccination Programme, to produce antibodies in the people who have had the vaccine, so what is the study showing . That the response is a good response in all age groups . What we have shown is that even in quite early days of the Vaccination Programme, yes, a lot of people had developed detectable antibodies. Antibodies dont automatically mean it is immunity because we have to look actually at evidence of reduced hospitalisations and deaths, which is also being looked at through routine data, but what we are looking at here is whether or not those antibodies are detectable in people and whether that varies. And we have found a little bit of variation, so as you said in your report, people who have had the two doses of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine have well over 90 of them have developed antibodies that we detect, which is very encouraging, but slightly lower in those who have only had one dose so far. That was high in people who have had covid before, which is what you would expect, really. You have been primed and then you have the vaccine and you make a strong Antibody Response. And people who have not had covid before, there is a slightly lower response and what we were interested in is whether this varied, particularly by age. It was slightly lower as you got older. I particularly by age. It was slightly lower as you got older. Lower as you got older. I see, riuht. Lower as you got older. I see, right is lower as you got older. I see, right. Is there lower as you got older. I see, right. Is there a lower as you got older. I see, right. Is there a reason lower as you got older. I see, right. Is there a reason why i lower as you got older. I see, i right. Is there a reason why you focused here on the Pfizer Biontech vaccine are not on the Oxford Astrazeneca one . Vaccine are not on the Oxford Astrazeneca one . Yes, we have nothin astrazeneca one . Yes, we have nothing against astrazeneca one . Yes, we have nothing against the astrazeneca one . Yes, we have nothing against the Oxford Astrazeneca one . Yes, we have i nothing against the oxford vaccine. The point of doing that was simply because when we did the study, which was at the end of january, far fewer people had had the Astrazeneca Oxford vaccine and it takes about three weeks for people to develop antibodies, so although in fact a several thousand people had had one dose of the astrazeneca vaccine, they wouldnt have had time to develop the antibodies, so it wouldnt have been fair to do that, whereas people who started with the Pfizer Vaccine in december, so literally there are just more people so we could actually look at the evidence was not and it will be the next phase of your research, im sure. ~. Next phase of your research, im sure, ~. ,. , , sure. What about the uneven distribution sure. What about the uneven distribution of sure. What about the uneven distribution of antibodies sure. What about the uneven distribution of antibodies in i sure. What about the uneven i distribution of antibodies in the population . Is that suggesting to you that some people are not taking up you that some people are not taking up the vaccine . You that some people are not taking up the vaccine . There are two things about the uneven up the vaccine . There are two things about the uneven distribution. Up the vaccine . There are two things about the uneven distribution. The i about the uneven distribution. The most important initially, which we have documented before in the react two programme, is there is an uneven risk of having the virus, so we have already got an uneven basis of the population, where people in london, young people, people in key occupations, People Living in deprived areas, people of black and asian and other minority ethnic groups have a higher prevalence, regardless of the vaccine. We have documented that before and we have found that again. Now, with the vaccine, what were finding is. Well, we are asking people if they have had the vaccine, so it is not just the antibody results, we do ask people, and there is a very high uptake of the vaccine and all the groups. We also asked about intention, so if you are offered it, would you take up the vaccine . And thatis would you take up the vaccine . And that is where some of the concern is, that actually it is very good, about 92 of people have said they have accepted or would accept, which is far higher than indicated from many other countries, so there is a lot of Vaccine Confidence. There are some groups that have said they are not sure and a very small group of people, orvery not sure and a very small group of people, or very small numbers of people, or very small numbers of people who have said they would refuse. So we have been able to look at that in this survey, which actually covered 170,000 people answering these questions. fight actually covered 170,000 people answering these questions. And do ou have answering these questions. And do you have any answering these questions. And do you have any explanation answering these questions. And do you have any explanation for answering these questions. And do you have any explanation for why i you have any explanation for why levels of Vaccine Confidence are high among older people . Do you think that is because they are most at risk of becoming seriously ill . I at risk of becoming seriously ill . I think they are most at risk, they have already been offered and they have already been offered and they have had the opportunity to think directly about whether they would take the vaccine or whether they have taken the vaccine, whereas there is more hesitancy in younger populations and there are a number of reasons. We asked about this and of reasons. We asked about this and of course there are general reasons about has it been tested well enough . But i think one of the things that young people do feel that they are less at risk and some of the reasons were, well, i think other people needed more than me, so there is a sort of altruistic. Saying they are not sure. There are also people who feel it is not appropriate for them, if they are pregnant, for example, then they have been advised that unless they are very high risk pregnant women are very high risk pregnant women are not currently being advised to have the vaccine. So other women who think they might get pregnant and thinking, should i accept . So there are some very straightforward good questions, really, for some people and so that big, dont know group is made up of people with questions that they want answers to and i think we can improve that by actually answering those questions. Identify what their concerns are, and they are mainly around pregnancy, future fertility, some people think it might affect their future fertility, of which there is no evidence from this or other vaccines. People who have allergies, who wonder, should i be taking this . I dont know what is in the vaccine. And people with other conditions, who think it may not be appropriate for them to take the vaccine. So there are some really important questions that people want the opportunity, i would say, to talk to or to hear answered, so it is not just people going, i dont like vaccines. Just people going, i dont like vaccines. ,. , vaccines. That is really interesting. Vaccines. That is really interesting. We vaccines. That is really interesting. We are i vaccines. That is really i interesting. We are going vaccines. That is really interesting. We are going to vaccines. That is really interesting. We are going to have to leave it there, thank you so much. That is professor helen ward, professor of Public Health at Imperial College london. Thank you for your time. Imperial college london. Thank you for your time the white house says President Biden plans to speak to king salman of saudi arabia soon as the administration prepares to publish a report into the murder of the saudi journalist, jamal khashoggji. The report is widely expected to implicate the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman something he denies. Our security correspondent frank gardnerjoins me now. mind what happened. This was an absolutely shocking case at centre of world. In october 2018 a well known saudi journalist called jamal khashoggji, who was a us resident and went to visit his countrys consulate in istanbul in turkey in order to get his divorce papers signed. He turned up and they said come back in a week. That gave his enemies inside saudi arabia enough time to put together a mission to basically kill him and when he turned up a week later, by then a team of 15 saudi agents, agents, had turned up in to government planes in istanbul, together with a forensic pathologist, who had a bone so. They overpowered Jamal Khashoggi inside the consulate, suffocated him and dismembered him and disposed of the body. The saudi government initially tried to cover this up and pretend they didnt know what had happened to him, but it turns out that turkey, turkish intelligence went up to the consulate and play the tape of what had happened to a number of western intelligence agencies. One of those, the cia, whose director heard the tape and that has been fed into the classified Us Intelligence report, which may now become declassified and made public. 50 declassified and made public. So even all of that, are you under the impression that the Biden Administration is ready to confront saudi arabia about this . I administration is ready to confront saudi arabia about this . Saudi arabia about this . I think there are some saudi arabia about this . I think there are some pretty saudi arabia about this . I think there are some pretty frantic. There are some pretty frantic conversations taking place behind closed doors. The Biden Administration has said they want to research, they want to recalibrate relations with saudi arabia because under President Trump the white house basically gave the Saudi Crown Prince a completely free reign, he wasnt interested in human rights, they basically said, do what you like in the yemen, and sold them a lot of weapons, many of which have ended up killing him and his civilians, not by design, but by default. And the Biden Administration has said, that has got to stop. They have put a moratorium on us weapons going to saudi arabia for the war in the yemen and they also want to make Human Rights Centre of their relationship, so they are resetting it. At present biden has also said he wants to deal directly with king salman, the crown princes father. King salman is 85 years old, not a good health and has already devolved most of the duty of running the country to his favourite son, the crown prince, who could well be implicated in this report, so it is incredibly messy, all of this. Where does that leave britain . Britain tends to try to follow the american lead in relations with the goal. It has got good relations with all the gulf rulers. Borisjohnson has a personal relationship with the saudi crown p and this will be potentially embarrassing for him, i think. Is it going to mean that in breaking off relations with saudi arabia . No. They go very deep and they are worth billions of dollars, but i think it may possibly prop some sort of statement from the Foreign Commonwealth Development office. Frank, thank you very much. Our security correspondent, frank gardner, there. Now its time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. Hello. Yesterday, temperatures reached 18 celsius. Unusual for this stage of february. That was recorded in parts of suffolk. It is more like temperatures you would see in late may or earlyjune. Since then, a cold area has been working through. Showers for scotland as well, but many of us having a bright day and maximum temperatures of 10 12 celsius. Still mild, but not as toasty as yesterday. Pressure builds across the uk overnight, so well have light winds overnight, with patches of frost. In the far north of scotland, some thicker cloud will bring patches of rain at first friday morning. It will become drier later in shetland. Elsewhere, the Rest Of The Uk having a fine day with long spells of sunshine. Still on the mild side, with temperatures between 10 12 celsius and the fine weather lasting throughout the weekend for most of us, as well. Hello. This is bbc news. The headlines the uks Chief Medical Officers move the covid 19 alert level from the highest level of five down to four. Teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last years exams chaos no algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. I think most education professionals will accept that this is the best way forward, under very difficult circumstances. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. Why some european Vaccination Centres lay empty, as people wont take the jab on offer. A daughter of the ruler of dubai asks British Police to reopen their inquiry into her sisters disappearance, 20 years ago. Sport, and for a full round up from the Bbc Sport Centre, heresjohn. Missed up with the cricket. England losing the match against india by ten wickets, defeat coming inside two days as india chased down the 49 runs needed for victory. All of this after england produced their lowest test score against india, another batting collapse coming on a pitch which proved difficult to bat on. England pulled themselves back into it when india were bowled out for 145. Root really only a part time bowler taking five wickets forjust eight runs, jack leach with four. But england collapsed to 81 0 in reply. Axar patel with five wickets, ravi ashwin with four. Its just the seventh time in the past 75 years a test has been settled in two days, 17 wickets falling in two sessions. I feel like we have ifeel like we have rather a missed opportunity, more so in the first innings than anything when you look at the position we found ourselves in at 71 2, we had a good chance, in hindsight, if we had got 200, that would have been a very good score on that wicket, and the game would look completely different. So it is something we have to learn from, weve got to get better and weve got to keep looking at finding a way of scoring runs on surfaces like this, but it is very challenging. Frustration from joe root. Ina in a heavy defeat in the end for england but the pitch in ahmedabad has been criticised, with many commentators feeling the ball had an unfair advantage over the bat with the certainly dominating proceedings. Cache the spinners certainly dominating. A remarkable 17 wickets fell inside two sessions. Here are thoughts of bbc� s cricket social analsyst and former england spinner, phil tufnell. We all feel a little bit let down here we all feel a little bit let down here it we all feel a little bit let down here. It was set up to be a fantastic here. It was set up to be a fantastic confrontation, wasnt it . The first fantastic confrontation, wasnt it . The first day night test match of the series. The first day night test match of the series, as well. New stadium, we were all the series, as well. New stadium, we were all sort the series, as well. New stadium, we were all sort of like really keyed up were all sort of like really keyed up for were all sort of like really keyed up for a were all sort of like really keyed up for a really good contest and it has all up for a really good contest and it has all sort up for a really good contest and it has all sort of like to slip through our fingers has all sort of like to slip through our fingers a little bit. We all feel our fingers a little bit. We all feel a our fingers a little bit. We all feel a little bit let down by it, but i feel a little bit let down by it, but i think there are some concerns. You know. But i think there are some concerns. You know, when the ball starts turning you know, when the ball starts turning before lunch on the first day turning before lunch on the first day we turning before lunch on the first day. We dont mind seeing the ball turn. Day. We dont mind seeing the ball turn. It day. We dont mind seeing the ball turn. It is day. We dont mind seeing the ball turn, it isjust there is not a surface turn, it isjust there is not a surface there to play on, so even the likes surface there to play on, so even the likes of surface there to play on, so even the likes ofjoe root and all these guys. The likes ofjoe root and all these guys. And the likes ofjoe root and all these guys, and also the indian players were guys, and also the indian players were finding it very difficult. It almost were finding it very difficult. It almostjust became a little bit of lottery almostjust became a little bit of lottery and a bit of a shoot out. India lottery and a bit of a shoot out. India 2i lottery and a bit of a shoot out. India 2i up lottery and a bit of a shoot out. India 2 1 up with one match left in the series to play. Scotlands game with france in the six nations on sunday has been postponed, after another positive case in the french squad, taking the number of players with the virus to 11. Training had been suspended, with the entire group in isolation. Organisers say a new date will be arranged in due course. Scotland could be without a number of their first team regulars if the game is moved to a date outside of the international window. George north will win his 100th wales cap when they play england in cardiff on saturday, as they go for the triple crown. Hes been recalled to the starting line up, after missing the win over scotland with a foot injury. Hell become the youngest player in test rugby to reach the milestone when he starts at centre alongside jonathan davies, also back from injury. Wales with that 100 record so far. Theres a blow for england lock Courtney Lawes is out, after he suffered a chest injury in training yesterday, mark wilson comes in. Hookerjamie george returns to the starting line up he was among a long list of players dropped after the defeat to scotland in their opening match, he replaces Luke Cowan Dickie one of only two changes from the side that beat italy. Leicester teenager George Martin is set to make his debut off the bench. Ireland skipperjohnny sexton returns for their match against italy in rome, along with vice Captainjames Ryan theyve both recovered from head injuries. There are seven changes in all to the ireland side, with a revamped front row theyve made their worst start to a Six Nations Campaign, with defeats to wales and france. Finally, Britains Adam Yates remains second in cyclings uae tour after failing to gain time on leader Tadej Pogacar on stage five. Red jersey wearer pogacar is now expected to retain his 45 second lead through the final two sprint stages. Jumbo vismas Jonas Vingegaard won the mountainous 166 kilometre fifth stage. Thats all the sport for now. Back with another update in around an hours time. Back to you, reeta. Last week, bbc news reported on the plight of Princess Latifa, who claimed she was being held captive by her father the ruler of dubai sheik Mohammad Rashid al maktoum. Now, the bbc can reveal another development in the case this time raising questions for britain. It centres around allegations that latifas sister shamsa was also abducted by their father while she was living in the uk, and an investigation by Cambridgeshire Police, which was closed, due to insufficient evidence. Nawal al maghafi reports. Sheikh Mohammed Rashid al maktoum. The billionaire ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. Last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, Princess Latifa. In them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. The messages sparked international concerns. But latifa is not the only daughter of Sheikh Mohammed to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the Family Estate in surrey. In 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19, she ran away. So, yeah, after two months, they found her. The police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. Now the bbc has obtained an Exclusive Letter, written by Princess Latifa from her captivity. In it, a plea to reopen her sisters case. The letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to Cambridgeshire Police, says shamsa has strong links with england. Herfondest memories are of her time here. Your help and attention could free her. Weve pieced together shamsas extraordinary story. She was a passionate horse rider, and Loved Spending summers at her fathers estate in the surrey countryside. Shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries, and she wasnt what you would call a princess, you know . She was full of life and adventure. She dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldnt allow it. So in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. After shamsa escaped her fathers estate in longcross, she lived as a free woman for around two months. She then checked into this hotel in cambridge. Suddenly, herfather� s operatives arrived and she was captured. By sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. On her enforced return to dubai, shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. She was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. We spoke to someone who had regular contact with her after she was released. She was tranquilized all the time. Everything she did was controlled. There was no sparki in shamsa any more. There was no fight in her. And i understand that people cant get their head around it. Theyjust see some rich girl. Its not like that at all. Its horrific. The uae government maintain that shamsa and latifa are cherished and adored by their family. They� re yet to prove that they are still alive and well. Nawal al maghafi, bbc news. The former chancellor, philip hammond, has told the bbc that Boris Johnson must tell the british people some home truths about the state of the economy. Lord hammond said he fears that in next weeks budget the government will put popularity ahead of doing the right thing because, he says, giving money away is always easier than collecting it. After 2010, we always knew that we were going to go through a period of intense unpopularity as we implemented the measures that needed to be taken. Im not sure that the top leadership of the current government really has that appetite for being unpopular in order to do the right thing. Hes going to have to tell the british people some difficult home truths. Listening to that was our Political Correspondent helen catt at westminster. This big scale spending and borrowing isnt traditionally a conservative way of managing the economy, and while it is widely accepted it has been necessary, that doesnt mean it sits necessarily comfortably with a lot of conservatives, who are keen to see that there is a plan to, at some point, slow spending and start to pay it back. There is no sense that that should start next wednesday and in fact what were expecting is the chancellor to, in some senses, keep running up the bill next week. Were expecting he is likely to extend some of the emergency measures. It is understood he is looking at things Like Corporation tax, and perhaps the possibility of a windfall tax on companies who have actually done well during the pandemic, perhaps like supermarkets. Labour, though, saying this is not the time for tax rises. A treasury spokesman said the chancellor would be honest with the british people next week about how were going to recover from this crisis and on that point about popularity, the Prime Ministers press secretary, allegra stratton, saying this lunchtime she didnt recognise that picture and that the pandemic had shown this was a pm that was prepared to take difficult decisions and was weighing up hard choices at the moment. The government says 4. 7 million workers across the uk were furloughed by the end of january. Figures show the cost of the programme since the start of the pandemic is £53. 8 billion. Separately, the office for National Statistics says businesses have furloughed 20 of their staff as of early this month. European leaders are meeting to work out how to speed up the rollout of vaccines across the continent. In some parts of the eu, Vaccination Rates are one fifth of the rate here. And some countries are now reporting a reluctance to take the astrazeneca vaccine, after countries including france and germany made the decision not to use it on older patients. Heres our europe correspondentJean Mackenzie. None of the queues theyd planned for. Inside, chairs sit empty. Belgiums largest Vaccination Centre finally opened last week, but theres barely a person in sight. They have the capacity to vaccinate 5,000 people a day, but today they say theyve only done 200, and in the hour that weve been here, weve seen just one person arrive for their vaccination. No, its a pity there are not many people. This afternoon it is very quiet, cos there are not enough vaccines at this moment in time. It is quite shocking to arrive and see such a huge Vaccination Centre, and to see it totally empty. Is that not disappointing for you . Yes, of course it is, but what do you want me to say . Of course its disappointing, but i cannot do anything about it. Countries are struggling with a shortage of vaccines. Companies failed to deliver as many doses as expected. After a very public falling out between the eu and astrazeneca, the british manufacturer says it should be able to provide 180 million doses from april. But in countries across europe, some people have started to refuse the astrazeneca shot. I get maybe four, five, six e mails every day, of nurses, even medical doctors, | saying they dont want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse, and they want to wait for a better vaccine, i which is a bit strange, because thats not really based on solid evidence or science. I its really based On Perception and rumours. Mixed messages by governments are partly to blame, with several countries, including france and germany, deciding not to use the vaccine on older people yet. Heres frances health minister, getting his astrazeneca vaccine live on television, in an attempt to drum up support. While in germany, Hundreds Of Thousands of vials are sitting unused. We have more astrazeneca now than appointments. Are people not turning up for their appointments, then . It happens, yeah. When we have 1,000 appointments, then maybe 50 people say, no, we dont want to have this vaccination, we dont want to have astrazeneca. Data from scotland this week shows the astrazeneca jab is helping to prevent nearly all hospitalisations. What we want the vaccine to do is keep people out of the hospital, keep them out of intensive care, keep them from dying, and as far as i have seen, all vaccines that are on the market for the moment can do that. But if vaccines are to find their way into enough arms, countries must now ramp up their production. These palm trees may offer a taste of the summer to come, but at current rates, perhaps not. That was Jean Mackenzie reporting. The headlines on bbc news. The uks Chief Medical Officers move the covid 19 alert level from the highest level of five down to four. Teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last years exams chaos no algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. The government is being urged to close a legal loophole to to stop convicted sex offenders working with children as private tutors. The impact of closed schools during the covid 19 pandemic has led to an increase in demand for private tuition but unlike School Teachers private tutors are not legally required to have their background record checked before working with children. A warning you may find some of greg dawsons report upsetting. The abuse started very subtly and slowly. I remember sitting with the teacher one evening, and he touched me inappropriately. I didnt speak because i was so shocked. I didnt expect it to happen. Sophie was 14 years old when she hired a private tutor. Over several years, the man she trusted to help her instead abused her. To protect her anonymity, weve changed her name and are telling her story with animation. Since i was little, singing was my passion, so i found myself a tutor to help me, and i was excited to start learning. He came across like such a kind, gentle, charming man. I had lessons for a few years with no problems, other than the odd strange remark, which were a bit inappropriate, but i knew him for quite a time before those remarks came out. I remember the first time i was touched. He apologised, and said it would never happen again, and ijust let it go, never spoke of it again. I felt ashamed, as if it was my fault. Like thousands of tutors across the country, this man didnt work in a school, and therefore didnt require a dbs check, which establishes if he had a criminal record, or had been barred from working with children. I trusted this man because i thought somebody cared about me and wanted to help me. Campaigners say the lack of checks on private tutors is a loophole, which leaves unsuspecting parents and their children vulnerable to predators. I had to sit down with my children. They were both under ten at the time, and, you know, ask them, did anything happen that, you know, they want to talk to me about. Tanvir mukhtar has been calling for more regulation in the industry, after the tutor she hired for her two Young Children was convicted for raping a young boy. To her relief, her own children went abused. After the shock had subsided, i sat back and i thought, you know, how did this happen . The fact that he didnt have a dbs background check. I assumed all teachers had. Before the pandemic, it was estimated more than 350,000 children in england and wales were privately tutored, but the effects of School Closures during the past year is likely to have seen demand increase further. What is really alarming is that any individual can seemingly set themselves up as a private tutor, and may actually, god forbid, pose a risk to families. Most tutoring agencies do require members to have a dbs check. That includes those who have signed up to the Governments National tutoring programme, but there are still thousands of tutors operating independently who have not been checked. The government needl to close this loophole, because parents are not aware. You may call yourself a tutor, i you may have access to a young person, and you may be a predator. The government told us. Since her experience with her tutor, sophie has abandoned her hopes of becoming a professional singer, and has started a different career. If youve been affected by any issues in that report information is available at bbc actionline the address is bbc. Co. Uk actionline. The number of people sleeping rough last year fell by nearly 40 in england experts say the reduction is likely to be because of government measures to tackle covid 19, which included providing accommodation in closed hotels. Michael buchanan reports. Evenif even if you dont stop and say anything, just say hello or Something Like that as you go past. The number of people who walk past you and dont give you the time of day, it drains you. David spent two and a half years rough sleeping. He lost his job on the fairgrounds, didnt have any savings and had few options, but recently he was given some temporary accommodation, his own bedsit. Its a nice offer and its a step on from here. There is a step on path from here and we are working on it now. Its not a hostel, its my own little room. If i want someone to come round and have a cup of tea, i can. The annual snapshot showed there were 2,688 people rough sleeping in england on a single night last autumn. Thats a decrease of 37 on 2019, with some areas such as birmingham and ashford in kent showing large falls. Ministers are understandably keen to build on the progress. We are bringing forward 6,000 homes for rough sleepers, backed by over £400 million of funding over the course of this parliament. This is the largest investment and accommodation of this kind and im proud that it will leave a National Legacy of support for those helped by everyone in. For those helped by everyone in. Because of covid weve got these new hotels now that ive been setup. I dont know if youve heard about them . The governments everyone in scheme has helped accommodate 33,000 people including many rough sleepers, but the pandemic is creating more demand for help as particularly young people lose jobs. One London Council says applications for homeless support are up nearly 50 on last year. Its unprecedented, 48 up on homelessness applications and thats been with the private rented sector ban in place so when the evictions ban is lifted we are likely to see a worsening situation as all of the people who have built up arrears over that time could be potentially made homeless. Like many former rough sleepers, david is sceptical that the help he is getting will last. You can see a scenario when you end up back on the street . Yeah, ican. If thats what happens, thats what happens, its part of myjourney. The hope however is that the many people helped off the streets will remain housed. Michael buchanan, bbc news. Zookeepers have compiled the Worlds Largest collection of thermal images of elephants, which show the animals as they play, eat and hang out in their enclosure at whipsnade zoo. The 30,000 photographs are part of a Conservation Project to help save the lives of both endangered elephants and humans. Helen briggs reports. Elephants posing for photos at whipsnade zoo. But they look very different through a thermal camera. 30,000 selfies that are notjust incredible to look at, but a vital conservation tool. It is truly an elephant cam. Its made by elephants themselves. Theyve taken the photo with us, and it now works. It detects elephants confidently at a certain distance. And we want to get this into the field now, and actually put it in the wild, helping Wild Elephants and communities live side by side. The images are being used to train a camera to recognise the shape of an elephant from its body heat. Itll be able to identify when an elephant� s close by, even in the dark, and send an alert. Humans and elephants are being forced into ever closer contact, as the Human Population grows and wild habitat disappears. This can end in trashed crops, damaged property and the loss of lives. Elephants are struggling internationally in numbers, both in asia and africa and we find ourselves with ever decreasing numbers, and when it comes to human elephant conflict, this is only likely to increase due to Climate Change and if you are a subsistence farmer bordering a protected area, an elephant coming in at night and destroying your livelihood for the next year is fairly dramatic. Its hoped the new technology will be an affordable solution to helping wildlife and humans live in harmony, and help protect endangered species. Helen briggs, bbc news. In what must surely be a world first, the League Two Football Team Forest Green rovers have revealed their new shirt will be partly made from coffee waste. The team will wear the shirts for the first time this saturday. Paul hawkins has more. Turning coffee into clothing. The shirts at forest green rovers were already made of bamboo but that was not green enough. The shirts are lighter and they breathe better so we expect a marginal performance gain from that. And it is slightly more sustainable because coffee is a waste product, you know, so the whole shirt is completely recyclable. The bamboo is renewable material, you know, you can just grow some more. Both shirts have plastic in. Yeah, we think the coffee might slightly have the edge. The reaction from the fans has been really good and from commentators, really, you know, just people saying what a great idea. And it kind of goes to the root of one of the big problems that we face. You know, we have to make clothing more sustainable. Fifa has already declared the Carbon Neutral club the greenest in the world. It only serves vegetarian food to the fans and vegan to the players. There are solar panels on the terrace and plans for a new stadium made entirely of wood. Im excited by the attention we have been able to bring to the issues, you know, and the attention we have gotjust for doing the things that to us seem obvious and normal. It has been a bit surprising. The coffee based shirts will get their first run out when the team takes on colchester united at the weekend, hoping, no doubt, to grind out a result. Paul hawkins, bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. Hello, there. Yesterday we were talking about temperatures reaching 18 celsius in parts of suffolk. Those kinds of temperatures, really high for february, about ten degrees above average and more like the temperatures we would see in late may orjune. Something of a change for today, because weve got this area of cloud and rain. This is a Weather Front, a weak cold front and that is bringing some slightly less toasty air in across the uk. The highest temperatures will be pushed further eastwards with those southerly winds bringing very unusual heat to parts of northern europe. We, though, get the winds coming off the atlantic. It will still be mild butjust not as toasty as it was yesterday. Lets take a look at those all important temperatures and this afternoon, most of us getting to 10 12 degrees, probably some twelves around the Greater London area as well. Looking at the weather picture overnight tonight, an area of High Pressure will build in across the uk and so the winds will fall light everywhere, and for the majority of us, we will have clear skies. Maybe a few patches of rain running to the far north of scotland and thats about it. Quite a chilly night, temperatures are low enough for some pockets of frost, particularly in the countryside so, for some, it will be a chilly start to the day on friday. The area of High Pressure will continue to build in from the south on friday, bringing more fine weather. Maybe a little bit of rain from this Weather System to start the day in shetland but moving away and the low will be quite cloudy across the far north west of scotland. Some bright or sunny spells. For most of the uk, a fine day, lengthy spells of sunshine around and temperatures still above average, 10 12 c. 12 in london, the average in london is about nine at this time of year. Take a look at the chart into the weekend and both saturday and sunday continue to see this area of High Pressure dominate. However, we will see this weak Weather Front approach from the north west and that could just thicken up the cloud enough to bring an odd patch of rain to scotland, maybe parts of Northern England but it really wont amount to much and for most of us, it will stay dry with further spells of sunshine coming and going. Temperatures mild again, ten to 14 celsius and sunday weve got more of the same. Into next week, the cloud could be thick enough to give a few patches of rain across the south for a time on monday but most of next week is also looking fine, dry and mild as well. Thats your weather. This is bbc news. The headlines. The uks Chief Medical Officers move the covid 19 alert level from the highest level of five down to four. Teachers will decide gcse and a level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last years exams chaos no algorithms will be used and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. Exam boards will be issuing Grade Descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. I think most educational professionals would accept that this is the best way forward under very difficult circumstances. A dangerous and quite deluded Conspiracy Theory Nicola Sturgeon dismisses allegations that shes breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, alex salmond. A daughter of the ruler of dubai asks British Police to reopen their inquiry into her sisters disappearance, 20 years ago