wednesday in parliament. hello again, and welcome to wednesday in parliament — as borisjohnson denies cutting nurses pay. we're increasing pay for nurses. we are massively increasing our investment in the nhs. but labour's leader isn't convinced. when i clapped for carers, i meant it. he clapped for carers, then he shut the door in their face at the first opportunity. also in this programme — the equalities minister on why she joined a vaccines trial. we could see the misinformation laround the vaccine being testedl on ethnic minorities| and things like that. and aren't you glad you can't go on holiday? here's a postcard from heathrow. it's not uncommon to see queues of three hours, and we have had queues extending out to nearly six hours on occasion. but first, prime minister's questions — and borisjohnson has come under growing pressure to give nhs workers a more generous pay rise. ministers have recommended that nhs staff in england get a 1% increase next year, with other public sector workers having their pay frozen. but opposition mps complained that after inflation that rise is effectively a pay cut. the government is throwing a staggering 37 billion at a test and trace system that we know has made barely any difference, but yet, it says that it cannot afford to give more than a pitiful 1% pay rise to nhs workers. the prime minister has said that he owes his life to them. he stood on the steps of number ten and applauded them. so will the prime minister do more than pay lip service and pay them the wage that they deserve? prime minister. mr speaker, she is indeed right that we owe a huge amount to our nurses, an incalculable debt, and that's why i'm proud that we have delivered a 12.8% increase in the starting salary of nurses, and we are asking the public pay book review body to look at increasing their pay, exceptionally of all the professions in the public sector, and as for test and trace, mr speaker, it is thanks to nhs test and trace that we are able to send kids back to school and to begin cautiously and irreversibly to reopen our economy and restart our lives. and borisjohnson said his government was on target to deliver another 50,000 nurses. but that didn't satisfy the labour leader, sir keir starmer, who said nurses were facing a real terms pay cut that could hit plans to recruit more of them. frankly, i'd take the prime minister a little bit more seriously if he hadn't spent £2.6 million of taxpayers money on a downing street tv studio, or £200,000 on new wallpaper for his flat. mr speaker, they say charity starts at home, but i think the prime minister's taking that a little bit too literally. let me try something very simple. does the prime minister accept, does the prime minister accept that nhs staff will be hundreds of pounds worse off a year because of last week's budget? no, mr speaker, because of course, we will look at what the independent review body has to say, exceptionally about the nursing profession — whom we particularly value — but what he should also know, which he should reflect to the house is that under this government, we not only began by a record increase in nhs funding, i think {33.9 billion, but because of the pandemic, we have put another £63 billion into supporting our nhs, mr speaker, on top of the £140 billion of nhs spending. and it's because of this government that in one year alone, mr speaker, there are another 49,000 people working in our nhs, and that, i think, is something that is of massive benefit, not just to patients but to hard—pressed nurses as well. kier starmer. mr speaker, my mum was a nurse, my sister was a nurse, my wife worked in the nhs. i know what it means to work for the nhs. when i clapped for carers, i meant it. he clapped for carers, then he shut the door in their face at the first opportunity. and the more you look at the prime minister's decision, the worse it gets — because it's notjust a pay cut, it's a broken promise too. keir starmer said nhs workers had originally been promised a 2.1% pay rise. borisjohnson ignored that but said record health spending meant thousands more doctors and nurses. and we're going to go on, mr speaker, and we are going to deliver our promises, i can tell the right honourable gentlemen, we are going to go on and we are going to build 40 more hospitals and we're going to recruit 50,000 more nurses, and we're going to get on and deliver on our pledges to the british people, and we are going to do that because of our sound management of the economy and the fastest vaccine roll—out programme of any comparable country, which frankly, if we had followed his steps and his ideas, we would certainly not have been able to achieve. keir starmer said even conservative mps thought the 1% rise was mean... the mask really is slipping, and we can see what the conservative party now stands for. cutting pay for nurses, putting taxes up on families. he has had the opportunity to change course, but he's refused. so if he's so determined to cut nhs pay, will he at least show some courage and put it to a vote in this parliament? prime minister. mr speaker, the last time we put in a vote, he voted against it. as i said before, we're increasing pay for nurses, we're massively increasing our investment in the nhs. we are steering a steady course whereas he weaves and wobbles from one week to the next, mr speaker. we vaccinate, we get on with delivering for the people of this country. we vaccinate, he vacillates, mr speaker, and that's the difference. hear, hear! labour later complained that the prime minister's claim that keir starmer had voted against a pay rise wasn't true. an sdlp mp had an idea for how to fund a pay rise an "amazon tax". what possible reason can the prime minister and his chancellor — who both talked about the need to pay for this pandemic — have to not apply a modest windfall tax on those businesses who have benefited so much from the pandemic in order to properly pay those staff who have worked so hard to bring us through the pandemic? actually, i think that she's making an important point about the discrepancy in the tax paid by some online businesses and some concrete businesses, and that's an issue which the chancellor is trying to address in an equitable way working with colleagues in the g7 and around the world. the snp whose westminster leader, ian blackford, was silenced by a power cut on the isle of skye highlighted the replacement of an eu funded student exchange programme. we have technical issues i with the leader of the snp, so i will ask kirsten oswald, as the deputy leader, - to stand in. kirsten oswald? thank you, mr speaker. yesterday, the prime minister published his plan for an erasmus replacement without any consultation or discussion with devolved governments. the replacement scheme offers lower living support, no travel support, no tuition fee support. why is this tory government taking opportunities away from our young people? hear, hear. well, mr speaker, she has a delightfully concise question, i may say, but she is wrong about the difference between the erasmus and the touring project because the touring scheme, unlike the erasmus scheme, which overwhelmingly went to kids from better off homes, the touring project is designed to help kids across the country of all income groups get to fantastic universities around the world. borisjohnson. the cabinet minister who negotiated the uk's trade deal with the european union has told peers britain will "vigorously" defend its position against threatened legal action by brussels. the uk and the eu are in a dispute over checks on goods. an agreement known as the northern ireland protocol meant no physical border on the island of ireland after brexit, but some items coming across the irish sea are inspected. it was agreed with the eu that those checks would be phased in to give businesses time to adjust. the first of the so called grace periods was due to expire in march, but last week the government announced it would extend it until october, prompting a threat of eu legal action. a conservative peer said he strongly supported the government's actions. the somewhat hysterical reaction of the eu demonstrates yet again their one—sided inability to recognise legitimate unionist concerns and to see the belfast agreement through all of its strands. speaking for the first time from the despatch box, lord frost, insisted the government's action was lawful and consistent with the northern ireland protocol. i think all sides need to be sensitive to the social and political realities and the fact that this operation of the protocol rests on the confidence of both communities in northern ireland. i can reassure my noble friend we will, of course, consider very carefully any legal process launched by the eu. we will defend our position vigorously. and he argued that the eu's decision to override briefly part of the protocol to control the supply of coronavirus vaccines earlier in the year had "created a new and very difficult situation". it is the eu's decision to activate article 16 injanuary, however briefly, that has compounded the difficulties and severely shaken confidence. we would obviously prefer it if the eu would reckon with the situation they've created and work with us to ensure that trade can flow in all directions, including to northern ireland in a free and fair manner. over in the commons the northern ireland secretary insisted the action was lawful, temporary and needed, to stop shortages on shelves in the coming weeks. but opposition mps accused the government of provocation and belligerence. it raises serious questions - about whether the government has a strategy at all to deal with the complex realities i facing northern ireland. provocation is not a strategy, and a stop gap is not- a solution. this is an extraordinary - position for a government to be in, having to break the law and trash britain's - international reputation - to remove checks that they claimed never existed. but the northern ireland secretary insisted the actions were lawful. they're temporary operational easements introduced change our legal obligations set out in the protocol, and we will continue to discuss protocol implementation in the joint committee. can i ask my right honourable friend whether the government understands the very destabilising effect on trust that such unilateral action brings on both uk—eu relations and on uk—irish relations? these are pragmatic, they're operational, they are temporary. we have seen the irish government take temporary flexabilities without giving an end date, without anybody criticising or challenging them just a few weeks ago in a very similar way to what we are talking about, we want to continue to work with the eu. it's not the publicly stated objective of protecting - the flow of goods which is an issue here, but ratherl the provocative and belligerent i manner in which the government seems determined to go - about trying to achieve that. a labour mp reckoned the prime minister was more interested in building a bridge between scotland and northern ireland, than taking responsibility for the barriers he'd put there. just five weeks ago, the prime minister said, "the protocol must not place barriers of any kind down the irish sea." so can the secretary of state explain, then, why he negotiated an agreement that did just that? even an extended grace period still leaves us with a reality that in the words of the permanent secretary of the department of agriculture, 20% of all the checks taking place on all borders across the european union are now taking place in the irish sea. that will increase substantially beyond the grace period. last week, the secretary of state rushed out, - snaked out announcementl unilaterally on budget day, that his government would once again break international law. . given the government's i across europe, politicians on capitol hill and in - the white house are furious about this move, is l the secretary of state at all concerned that this government's reputation| is in tatters across the world? an accusation the minister rejected. another northern ireland mp said he wanted to see extensions to the grace periods but on a sound legal basis. if the protocol is to be sustainable, we need to see a genuine partnership between the uk and eu to fix problems, not for northern ireland to become a pawn in a war of attrition with the eu. but brandon lewes said ultimately the government had to do the right thing by the people of the united kingdom — and within that northern ireland. you're watching wednesday in parliament with me, david cornock. mps on the women and equalities committee have been continuing their inquiry into the take up of covid vaccines amid concerns that some of those reluctant to have a jab are those most vulnerable to the disease. the vaccines minister told the committee that 94% of adults in the uk said they're likely or very likely to have the vaccination. but ministers hadn't lost sight of those who weren't so receptive to the idea. of course whether it's 6% or 10% of those who are hesitant does skew heavily towards black and afro—caribbean communities, bangladeshi, other communities, and that's what we're trying to address as well. temporary vaccines stations were being set up. we're also obviously then making sure that we talk to, whether it would be a church or a mosque or a temple that want to host a pop—up, we've amended the gps contracts to allow for them to do that. all of that is really working well and you'll begin to see that reflected in the uptick in the numbers of each of those cohorts that we are focusing on. the equalities minister said the campaign to persuade people from all communities to be inoculated had begun before a vaccine had even been developed. and we could see the misinformation around the vaccine being tested on ethnic minorities and things like that and that was one of the reasons why very early on, i decided to go on vaccine trials and encouraged others to do so — nadine did the same thing. and all of that was trying to build the confidence in people that this is something that is safe. kemi badenoch. the last two years in hong kong have seen huge pro—democracy protests — some of which turned violent — and the imposition by beijing of a tough security law. critics say beijing's crushing dissent and removing the "one country, two systems" agreement it made with the uk under the declaration made when the former british colony was handed over to china. now, china's top law—making body has plans to change hong kong's electoral system. in the commons, the government said it was "deeply concerned" about the proposals. though the detail is yet to be revealed, these measures might include changes to the election of the chief executive, the removal of district councillors from the chief executive election committee, and the possible introduction of vetting for those standing for public office to ensure that they are described as "patriots" who govern hong kong. such measures if introduced would be a further attack on hong kong's rights and freedoms. there is still time for the chinese and hong kong authorities to step back from further action to restrict the rights and freedoms of hongkongers and to respect hong kong's high degree of autonomy. we will continue working with our partners to stand up for the people of hong kong and hold china to their international obligations. but the minister faced anger and frustration from mps. surely by now, any red line that might have existed has been well and truly cross. on hong kong, china behaves like a bully. and bullies only understand words when they are followed by concerted action. does he really believe that they are going to step back? so, will the government now impose magnitsky sanctions and other measures on the officials responsible? magnitsky sanctions target those involved in serious human rights abuses. we really do need to see greater action and i welcome what the... i welcome what our right honourable friend the foreign secretary has said in the past in championing these magnitsky sanctions and making sure that they come into law. what we now need to see is names put to those charges. because this has now gone on long enough. we know that the abuses of human rights in hong kong have continued, and we need to stand up for those who are being targeted. he mentions sanctions and as he will know, we don't speculate on who may be designated. they are just one tool in our arsenal. as a signatory to the sino—british declaration, the uk has a legal duty but also a moral responsibility to stand up for the democratic rights and freedoms of the people of hong kong and as parliamentarians, we will feel a sense of profound sadness as we witness this steady suffocation of democracy. but madam deputy speaker for the past few months, the uk government hasjust been going through the motions. i don't say that the uk has done nothing within the un but where is the global coalition to move beyond warm words on action and concern to actually action against the economic interests of china? there are measures that can be taken and i would be grateful for the minister to update us on what assessments�*s been made of the impact of sanctions on chinese economic interests domestically here — however we define domestically — and in the academic community as well because there are things that can be done while pushing towards the international coalition. the minister repeated that sanctions were as he put it only one tool in the uk's arsenal and other actions had already been taken. now, the government's been defeated in the house of lords in an attempt to ensure children have safe supervised contact with a parent they do not live with. peers backed a cross—party call for all child contact centres to be accredited in line with national standards. the domestic abuse bill approving a new offence of non—fatal strangulation or suffocation. the measure�*s been championed by a former victims�* commissioner. and last week, the government announced it would be supporting it. current laws focus on visible injuries but with strangulation and suffocation, there can be a high level of violence but little or no marks. having a stand—alone offence will make assessing cases much more straightforward for the police and as well as the prosecutors. she said there should be limits on using the defence that the victim consented. when people speak of strangulation for sexual gratification, they really mean sexual gratification of men at the expense of women's�* safety. it is important that where consent is raised and disputed, the cps oppose such defences robustly to get across the message that strangulation can be very dangerous. a former home secretary had some strong words for the perpetrators of domestic violence. that this is about power and domination and never about love. it's about people who are prepared not to use their manhood for good but for ill. it's about inadequates who then inflict their inadequacy on the people they claim to love. and if we can put that message out to young men in particular, then we will have done a very proud job of work this afternoon. strangulation is a very| symbolic act of control which leaves its victim in no doubt that there is a real. and visceral threat to their life. - if you put your hands on someone's throat| and squeeze, the message and terror for the victim i is clear, and as a survivor of domestic violence, - later really knows - what that impact has. strangulation is a very i particular form of assault for three reasons. it's likely to cause - serious injury or death, it is perceived by the victim as a direct threat to their . life, and it is highly— predictive of future homicide. it's important when considering the creation of any new criminal offence that the offence is proportionate, it allows for more prosecutions to be brought, and also for convictions to be secured. i stated at committee that there were several difficult legal and technical issues which needed to be considered including in particular matters such as consent and the application of existing public policy exceptions including those which exist for sport. the government is happy to agree that the amendments now address those points while at the same time ensuring that crimes of strangulation or suffocation can be prosecuted with the perpetrators of such crimes more readily brought tojustice. lord wolfson. a senior executive at heathrow airport has described the queues for immigration there as unacceptable. before the pandemic it was common to queue for up to two hours. now, it's not uncommon to see queues of three hours, and we have had queues extending out to nearly six hours on occasion. so, the extra layers that have been introduced are crippling the resourcing capability that border force has in place. the issue of safety of the queues is also paramount, notjust the length of the queues. it's the safety of the passengers coming into the airport. we've seen some quite frightening images on social media which can be a double—edged sword. what are you doing in conjunction with the home office to make queues at heathrow as safe as possible? so, we socially distance the queues and we have what we call "covid marshals" in place — so, members of our team, pink hi—viz on. everybody has to wear a mask. we put that in place well in advance of government mandates at heathrow both on departing and arriving passengers. we take this incredibly seriously. but i can assure you we do everything within our power to ensure that there is a safe environment even though it is not a good customer experience. emma gilthorpe. now pigs are sensitive and clever animals, and sows with piglets should not be kept in restrictive indoor farrowing crates. that's according to the conservative mp, sir david amess. the crates are used to stop the sow moving around and crushing the piglets. a recent study found these sentient beings are intelligent enough to use a computer joystick to control a cursor on a screen and indeed to earn a treat. these crates result in the sow being forced to give birth in a tiny space, and then nurse their young through bars. the space in the crate is so restricted that all the sows can do is stand up and lie down until their piglets are actually weaned. another conservative agreed that the current crates were not ideal. but he argued that getting rid of them was not possible yet. now, i've spoken with the national pig association. they tell me that if this bill passes in its present form, it could result in up to 1 million baby piglets dying each year. this is foreseeable and preventable. sir edward leigh. that was wednesday in parliament. thanks for watching. i hope you canjoin me at the same time tomorrow for the week in parliament with highlights of the last few days from westminster and beyond. until then, from me, david cornock, bye for now. hello. march may have come in like a lamb, but the lion has now arrived early. and, after a stormy night, we have a very windy thursday to come — yes, some sunshine, but also heavy, blustery showers. all around an area of low pressure that's sitting to the north of us, but the tightly—packed isobars right across us indicating that wherever you are, thursday will be a very windy day. but it's england and wales bearing the brunt of the strongest, most disruptive winds, particularly early in the day as we see this area of wet weather move across northern england, wales, the midlands, and on towards east anglia. first thing in the day, the strongest winds will be wales, western england, gusting up to 70 mph, maybe more exposed coastal hills, especially in wales, very rough seas and large waves hitting the coastline here, so that could be disruptive in terms of flooding. and the winds across england and wales as they continue to gust, 50—60 mph, maybe a little bit more in places during the morning, could be disruptive before easing gradually into the afternoon. weather—wise, wherever you are, it is sunshine and blustery showers from heavy hail and thunder. these are your wind gusts at the end of the afternoon, so they're easing a bit in england and wales, but still very windy in northern ireland — in fact, the winds picking up again in northwest scotland, approaching 60 mph at this stage. single figures in scotland and northern ireland, 9—12 celsius in england and wales. and it remains very blustery overnight thursday and into friday. further showers around increasingly falling as snow into the hills of scotland, perhaps northern ireland, into the pennines, as well — some here with a covering of snow at the higher ground as friday starts. and these are your temperatures. and then, for friday, spot the difference — yes, there'll be drier moments and sunshine, but there'll be further heavy showers around, some with hail and thunder, and still falling as snow into the hills of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, perhaps into wales at times, too, the higher up you are. and, ifanything, perhaps a little bit cooler on friday. and then, into the weekend, well, still low pressure. then saturday, it's sunshine and showers. bit of a lull first thing sunday, but this weather system on through sunday. so, a selection of locations here for your sunday weather. and then, looking into next week, well, it turns drier and calmer once again, as that march lamb makes a comeback. welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embly. our top stories: hope as the world marks exactly a year since the pandemic was declared, with the vaccine now reaching some of the most cut—off communities. the motion is adopted. nearly $2 trillion approved by lawmakers to kickstart the us economy, with some of the money going straight into americans' pockets. the brother of ghislaine maxwell tells the bbc that the conditions of her detention in a us prison are degrading and amount to torture. people injapan return to the ocean to pay tribute to those killed in the tsunami ten years ago to the day.