billion last month — it reached the highest level for february since records began almost 30 years ago. a warning that poor oral health is still a significant problem in england — despite being largely preventable. and coming up this hour... a big day forjockey rachael blackmore — she's leading the way at the cheltenham festival, and could be the first woman to win the gold cup. our top story, this morning. the prime minister is due to receive the oxford astrazeneca vaccine today and has assured the public it is safe. it's after several leading european countries have confirmed they are to resume the rollout of the jab — following a pause over safety concerns. borisjohnson�*s urged people to get vaccinated and says england's roadmap out of lockdown is on track, despite a drop in vaccine supply. the roll—out of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine will resume in some eu countries today, after regulators found no evidence it causes blood clots. the european medicines agency reviewed the jab and found that it was "not associated" with a higher risk of clots. france, germany and italy, along with cyprus, latvia and lithuania, are to restart use of the jab today while spain, portugal and the netherlands will do so next week. but norway, sweden and denmark have said they won't use the astrazeneca vaccine while they conduct their own independent reviews. in france, 35,000 new coronavirus infections have been recorded in the past 2a hours, and the country fears a third wave of coronavirus. so from midnight tonight, 21 million people across 16 areas of the country, including paris, will be placed under a new month—long lockdown. more on the situation in the eu shortly, but first, here's our health correspondent katherine da costa. the oxford astrazeneca vaccine is safe and effective at preventing covid with no increased risk of blood clots. that's the consensus among regulators and a message the prime minister hopes will be heard around the world. today, the european medicines agency has come to a clear scientific conclusion, and i quote, "this is a safe and effective vaccine". so the oxford jab is safe and the pfizerjab is safe. the thing that isn't safe is catching covid, which is why it's so important that we all get ourjabs as soon as oui’ turn comes. the european medicines regulator carried out a thorough review looking at data from 20 million vaccinated people. it looked in particular at rare blood clots in the brain and found 18 cases, including five in the uk. there is no evidence of a link to the vaccine, but they will continue to monitor this condition and are advising people with a number of symptoms including a persistent headache or unusual bruising to seek medical advice. it's very unfortunate there was the pause, for two reasons. firstly, it loses time, and bearing in mind in the eu there are currently over 2000 deaths per day from covid, so this is a very pressing public health emergency. the second aspect is public confidence. will people now be willing to get their vaccine as quickly as possible, because that's the way that these successive waves are going to be stamped out. italy and france are among the first to announce they will resume using the astrazeneca vaccine, and it can't come soon enough. they are among several european countries experiencing a third wave in new infections with further lockdown measures being introduced. katharine da costa, bbc news. i'm joined now by professor david salisbury — former director of immunisation at the department of health, and associate fellow with the programme for global health at chatham house. good to have you with us this morning. i would like to get your thoughts first of all on some countries continue to press pause on the astrazeneca vaccine, norway, sweden and denmark, despite the european medicines agency saying it is not associated with a higher risk of blood clotting. i is not associated with a higher risk of blood clotting.— of blood clotting. i think the reviews from _ of blood clotting. i think the reviews from the _ of blood clotting. i think the reviews from the regulators| of blood clotting. i think the . reviews from the regulators are of blood clotting. i think the - reviews from the regulators are very clear, that having the vaccine does not put to you at higher risk of having these clotting episodes. and with that reassurance, i think you have to balance what is the harm that you may be doing by withholding the vaccine. at a time when people are continuing to die in very considerable numbers from coronavirus, i think you have to be very cognisant that you may be exposing people to a very considerable risk by withholding vaccination.— considerable risk by withholding vaccination. ., �* ., ~ ., vaccination. you're talking about obviously protecting _ vaccination. you're talking about obviously protecting yourself, i vaccination. you're talking about| obviously protecting yourself, but protecting wider society with the vaccination programme.- protecting wider society with the vaccination programme. well, you're not protecting _ vaccination programme. well, you're not protecting yourself _ vaccination programme. well, you're not protecting yourself from - not protecting yourself from something that appears not to be a significant, or indeed a measurable risk with the vaccine. i’m significant, or indeed a measurable risk with the vaccine.— risk with the vaccine. i'm talking about protecting _ risk with the vaccine. i'm talking about protecting yourself, - risk with the vaccine. i'm talking about protecting yourself, if- risk with the vaccine. i'm talking about protecting yourself, if you i risk with the vaccine. i'm talking i about protecting yourself, if you do get covered back, the risk of becoming seriously ill. if get covered back, the risk of becoming seriously ill. if you get the disease. _ becoming seriously ill. if you get the disease, particularly - becoming seriously ill. if you get the disease, particularly if - becoming seriously ill. if you get the disease, particularly if you i becoming seriously ill. if you get. the disease, particularly if you are in a risk group, your probability of getting very ill and dying is too high to ignore against a risk that we have seen is not associated with the vaccine. pare we have seen is not associated with the vaccine-— the vaccine. are you seeing a clear icture the vaccine. are you seeing a clear picture emerging. _ the vaccine. are you seeing a clear picture emerging, and _ the vaccine. are you seeing a clear picture emerging, and we - the vaccine. are you seeing a clear picture emerging, and we have - the vaccine. are you seeing a clear. picture emerging, and we have been talking a little bit, and we will be speaking soon about the situation in france in particular, are you seeing a clearer picture emerging in the levels of vaccinations in a country and the number of new cases emerging? in other words, and the number of new cases emerging? in otherwords, our vaccination programmes where they are well advanced having a noticeable impact?- are well advanced having a noticeable impact? are well advanced having a noticeable im act? ., ., , noticeable impact? one of the most arati in: noticeable impact? one of the most gratifying things _ noticeable impact? one of the most gratifying things about _ noticeable impact? one of the most gratifying things about running - noticeable impact? one of the most gratifying things about running a - gratifying things about running a vaccination campaign and getting high coverage quickly as you see an impact, and it's wonderful when you see cases go down as coverage is going up. i think we can take a great deal of reassurance from seeing the huge numbers being vaccinated in this country and cases, hospital admissions and deaths going down. and i would urge every other country that has the vaccine, for goodness' sake, use all the vaccine you've got. the government _ the vaccine you've got. the government has _ the vaccine you've got. the government has said - the vaccine you've got. the government has said the timetable for opening up here in the uk, here in england, won't shift and obviously in other nations the timetables have been set out as well. do you think the government can achieve its aim of vaccinating all adults by the end ofjuly in order to match that ambition? you have to have _ order to match that ambition? gm, have to have three things for success in the vaccine campaign. you have to have vaccine supply, people to do the vaccinating and people to be vaccinated, and achieve all three of those in the same place at the same time, and you have success. the highest risk of all of those is vaccine supply. if indeed we do maintain our supplies through the next few months ahead of us then i think we should be optimistic that we will achieve the goals that have been set. imilli we will achieve the goals that have been set. ~ , ., ., ., been set. will there be a good enou:h been set. will there be a good enough snooty _ been set. will there be a good enough supply of— been set. will there be a good enough supply of vaccine? - been set. will there be a good enough supply of vaccine? we| been set. will there be a good - enough supply of vaccine? we are just seeing a line coming from the german health minister saying there is not enough vaccine in europe to stop the third wave alone. do you think, if we look at the uk, that there will be a steady enough supply of vaccines. 0bviously there will be a steady enough supply of vaccines. obviously there have been threats of export bans on some vaccines. but is there going to be enough to continue with the vaccination programme to stop a third wave here? ilil" vaccination programme to stop a third wave here?— vaccination programme to stop a third wave here? our position is a bit different, _ third wave here? our position is a bit different, insofar _ third wave here? our position is a bit different, insofar as _ third wave here? our position is a bit different, insofar as we - third wave here? our position is a bit different, insofar as we have l bit different, insofar as we have already vaccinated so many more people in this country than has been achieved in other european countries. so we are not really in the same place. we have got a huge proportion of our at—risk population protected now. so if supplies are maintained and there are prospects of additional producers coming on stream, so if our supplies are maintained and we maintain the uptake of vaccine, particularly in the younger lower risk groups, then i think we should be optimistic. but i think we should be optimistic. but i am not discounting the possibility of additional waves of this virus or its variants later in the year, and we have to remain on guard for that to happen. we have to remain on guard for that to ha -en. ., , we have to remain on guard for that to ha en. ., , to happen. professor david salisbury. _ to happen. professor david salisbury, good _ to happen. professor david salisbury, good to - to happen. professor david salisbury, good to talk- to happen. professor david salisbury, good to talk to l to happen. professor david i salisbury, good to talk to you to happen. professor david - salisbury, good to talk to you and thank you for your time. as you've been hearing several european countries, including germany, france and italy will resume using the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, after regulators found no evidence it causes blood clots. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels. good morning. let's begin with that very concerning line coming from the german health minister saying there is not enough vaccine in europe to stop the third wave alone because we are seeing, if we skip over to france, signs of a third wave there, although politically politicians there are not keen to describe it as that. ,., ., there are not keen to describe it as that. , ., ., ., there are not keen to describe it as that. h, ., ., 4' there are not keen to describe it as that. ., ,, ., �*, there are not keen to describe it as that. ., ~ ., �*, ., that. good morning. i think that's a ve stark that. good morning. i think that's a very stark and _ that. good morning. i think that's a very stark and worrying _ that. good morning. i think that's a very stark and worrying warning - very stark and worrying warning coming from germany this morning, the fact they believe there are not enough vaccine is on the continent. it's a combination of factors, some really worrying factors. you mention france. tonight, paris and 15 other regions of the country will be put into much stricter lockdown measures because the number of people in intensive care in paris is higher than during the second wave back in november, so france is a concern. germany are clearly worried as well. central and eastern europe, rising cases. i havejust looked at central and eastern europe, rising cases. i have just looked at the latest cases for poland, a 30% rise in new cases in the past week. alongside this picture of the graphs going the wrong way with the number of cases going up, there are problems with vaccines and we know they haven't been getting the vaccine from britain, from astrazeneca, that they wanted. the european commission talking about a 100 million fewer doses coming to the eu in the three months from april, so it's really a pretty bleak picture, i'm afraid. if april, so it's really a pretty bleak picture, i'm afraid.— picture, i'm afraid. if we look at the stats. _ picture, i'm afraid. if we look at the stats. per — picture, i'm afraid. if we look at the stats, per 100 _ picture, i'm afraid. if we look at the stats, per 100 of— picture, i'm afraid. if we look at the stats, per 100 of the - the stats, per 100 of the population, the uk has vaccinated almost a0. belgium, france, germany, all at 11 per 100 of the population or under, so it's a significant gap. does this all increase the potential of export bans coming from the eu to the uk? iii of export bans coming from the eu to the uk? , ., of export bans coming from the eu to the uk? _, g, ., ~ g, a, the uk? if you look at all the factors involved, _ the uk? if you look at all the factors involved, ursula - the uk? if you look at all the factors involved, ursula vonl the uk? if you look at all the i factors involved, ursula von der leyen, the head of the european commission, said this week that all options were available to the eu, so by now people assume she meant an export ban. they won't like me calling it that, but that's what it's expected to be, restricting supplies, particularly the pfizer jab, made here in belgium, going towards the united kingdom. so you have the prospect of a disruption in the supply chain. all the while you have millions of vaccines across europe, some reports of 7 million vaccines of the astrazeneca jab, that are not being used because of a combination of factors. people are reluctant to take it and we know there has been a pause in the use of it. in places like france, germany and italy they will roll it out once again today. the french buy minister will be among those taking it. possibly prime minister mario draghi of italy will take it. this is to try to sway a sceptical public, but they are playing catch up. we have heard some scientists say in the last couple of days that this potentially, this loan, this pause in the roll—out of the astrazeneca vaccine could lead to the deaths of thousands of more people. —— this lull. thousands of more people. -- this lull. ._ thousands of more people. -- this tuu, a , thousands of more people. -- this lull. . _, lull. playing catch up and notwithstanding - lull. playing catch up and notwithstanding supply l lull. playing catch up and i notwithstanding supply issues, lull. playing catch up and _ notwithstanding supply issues, how much does vaccine hesitancy among the general population have to play at this point? i the general population have to play at this point?— at this point? i think it's a pretty crucial factor. _ at this point? i think it's a pretty crucial factor. france _ at this point? i think it's a pretty crucial factor. france is - at this point? i think it's a pretty i crucial factor. france is somewhere crucialfactor. france is somewhere where they are known for being pretty hesitant when it comes to taking some vaccines. here in belgium, i was at the biggest centre for giving out the vaccine a couple of days ago and we met some doctors and nurses there and they were not willing to take it, and these are scientific experts, it's what they do, and they say, yes, we know we have heard the regulator say there is no risk and this vaccine should be taken, but look at the swirl of this information and concern. going back to france, the prime minister may well be taking the astrazeneca vaccine today, but people in france are not daft. a few months ago, their president, emmanuel macron, mused openly that there astrazeneca vaccine may be quasi—ineffective, and it may not work in the older population. that's an assessment that the regulator in europe has never shared, that the regulator in europe has nevershared, it that the regulator in europe has never shared, it makes an impression on people and sticks in their minds. thank you, nick beake in brussels. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, is facing calls to resign, because a committee of msps concluded she misled them in their inquiry into the handling of harrassment claims against her predecessor, alex salmond. it's understood they voted five to four that she gave them an inaccurate account when she answered their questions two weeks ago. the first minister says she stands by what she said. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley has this report. i solemnly, sincerely and truly declare... this is nicola sturgeon two weeks ago. giving evidence to the scottish parliament about how her government handled allegations of sexual harassment against alex salmond. it was a mammoth session, eight hours in total. but the committee has decided she misled them in the process. in a meeting last night, a narrow majority of the committee, five to four, made the decision. their full report will be published next week but opposition parties say ms sturgeon can no longer be trusted. it's absolutely, abundantly clear that nicola sturgeon has breached the ministerial code. as first minister, you cannot continue if you have been untruthful, if you have misled parliament, and you've misled the people of scotland. it is a resigning matter, pure and simple. the first minister has always denied misleading msps and last night, she stood by her evidence. she said... this committee has unfortunately experienced an awful lot of leaking and information coming out in ways that are neither helpful nor necessarily accurate. i think that this is more of the challenge that we see again here, and i will be waiting to hear from the actual report. in under a week, the scottish parliament will break up for the election. the coming days will be dominated by questions over whether ms sturgeon misled parliament. the election campaign may well be too. nick eardley, bbc news, glasgow. let's get more from our political correspondent, nick eardley. lots of questions about this so what happens next? i lots of questions about this so what happens next?— happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon _ happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon this _ happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon this morning i happens next? i think the pressure on nicola sturgeon this morning is| on nicola sturgeon this morning is significant. there are calls from the scottish conservatives, as you heard in the peace there, for her to resign. they have been making that call for a couple of weeks now. we have heard from the labour leader sir keir starmer saying this morning that he doesn't want to prejudge the report but if nicola sturgeon is found to have broken the ministerial code by misleading parliament, then thatis code by misleading parliament, then that is a resignation matter. i think nicola sturgeon, certainly on the committee's findings, will come out fighting. we know she thinks the process was partisan, that it had been prejudged before she even gave evidence. it's worth pointing out the committee did split down party lines, so the five opposition members think she misled them and the four snp members think she did not. there is another process going on as well, the independent adviser on as well, the independent adviser on the ministerial code in scotland, a guy called james hamilton qc, is looking into whether nicola sturgeon broke the code. we are expecting him to report any day now, probably next week by the looks of things, but in truth it could come at any point. and if he finds she has broken the ministerial code, that pressure just before holyrood breaks up before the election, is going to be humongous. ultimately, with those elections in the offing, is the biggest test public opinion? i the offing, is the biggest test public opinion?— public opinion? i think at this state it public opinion? i think at this stage it probably _ public opinion? i think at this stage it probably is. - public opinion? i think at this| stage it probably is. although public opinion? i think at this i stage it probably is. although there are calls for nicola sturgeon to stand down, i don't think there are many people in scottish politics who are confidently predicting that'll happen. that's in part because the polls suggest the snp is going to win this election comfortably. i think you will see nicola sturgeon still leading her party into the election, barring some really catastrophic finding in the report from her independent adviser when that finally lands in the few days. if you are sitting outside scotland and wondering why this matters, it really does, because the impact of this could be significant on the election. i think it will absolutely dominate the next few weeks, the question of whether nicola sturgeon was honest with parliament and her counterargument that opposition parties are trying to weaponise the process over harassment allegations. it matters because if the snp win a majority and polling suggests that is touch and go at the moment, but if they win that the majority they would use it to say that they have a mandate for another independence referendum. 0pposition parties are hoping the snp falls short of a majority so they can argue the mandate for another referendum is not there. this could have a significant impact on how that campaign plays out, how the vote goes on may the 6th. it is an incredibly tense moment in scottish politics. the next few days will be really significant for shaping what that vote looks like in seven weeks' time. . ~ that vote looks like in seven weeks' time. ., , ., ~ that vote looks like in seven weeks' time. . , ., ., time. nick eardley, thank you, from glasuow. new powers are to be given to the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis, to compel the stormont executive to implement abortion laws in full. the government at westminster says it is disappointed that services aren't available across all of northern ireland a year after making it possible for terminations to take place in all circumstances in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. the democratic unionist party says it will vigorously oppose any attempt to intervene in what is a devolved matter; sinn fein has said there should be no further delay to the provision of abortion services. people in cumbria, cornwall and northumberland will be among the first in england to get ultrafast broadband. it's part of the government's plan to roll out high speed broadband to the majority of homes across the uk by the end of 2025. work will begin next year, with more than a million homes in rural areas set to benefit from the first stage of the scheme. changing priorities brought on by the pandemic have led to increased demand for coastal properties, according to new data out today. the property website rightmove says cornwall has overtaken london as the most—searched for location this year. the analysis suggests a place by the sea, with a garden, and room to work indoors is the dream for many house—hunters. but there are signs of renters moving back to cities. the duke and duchess of sussex have issued a statement after it was revealed that the sun newspaper paid an american private investigator to obtain personal information about meghan markle in the early days of their relationship. the couple said now is a moment to "reflect" on the "predatory practices" of the media — which they say are "reaping irreversible damage on families and relationships". the publisher of the sun — news uk — accepts it paid the investigator — but insists it never asked for, or knew of, any unlawful activity. the investigator admits to breaking the law. figures out this morning show the government borrowed £19.1 billion last month — that's the highest figure for february since records began. the office for national statistics said that borrowing was £17.6 billion higher compared to february last year, reflecting the cost of pandemic support measures. we can speak now to dr arun advani, who's an assistant professor in economics at the university of warwick and cage research centre. good to have you with us. what's your assessment of the admittedly huge sum compared to the previous year? huge sum compared to the previous ear? , ,., ., huge sum compared to the previous ear? , ., , , ., year? yes, the borrowing numbers are ve hiuh, year? yes, the borrowing numbers are very high. the — year? yes, the borrowing numbers are very high, the borrowing _ year? yes, the borrowing numbers are very high, the borrowing for _ very high, the borrowing for february, it's another £a00 per aduu february, it's another £a00 per adult in the country, so these are big numbers to be adding on top of what has already been a major set of borrowing. it has all been predicted, it's no surprise to anyone. exactly what the number was going to be was not known, but we know what the government has been doing is lots and lots of support for the economy, for households through the furlough scheme and through the furlough scheme and through self schemes, the top up, £20 per week on universal credit, and at the same time all the support for businesses. we knew there was all that spending going on with nothing new coming in through taxes. we are probably not surprised that the number was pretty high. interestingly, we haven't quite broken the psychological barrier of debt being more than 100% of gdp. i was going to ask about that because that's one of the questions you have been considering, whether we would breach that debt equalling 100% of gdp and psychologically that would be a really huge thing for any nation to breach that. is be a really huge thing for any nation to breach that.- be a really huge thing for any nation to breach that. is the sort of thin . nation to breach that. is the sort of thing that _ nation to breach that. is the sort of thing that sticks _ nation to breach that. is the sort of thing that sticks in _ nation to breach that. is the sort of thing that sticks in people's i of thing that sticks in people's mines. it feels like a very big number. it's not that economically important. it doesn't really matter and we have been here before. after both world wars debt was well above 100, and at one point it was actually twice annual gdp. these are numbers that we have seen before, but not outside wartime, but it gives you an idea of the scale of coronavirus. 0ne gives you an idea of the scale of coronavirus. one of the numbers that came out today, the cost of interest payments in february and how they change. that's what the government pay to have all the debt. it has gone up by about £1 billion, £20 per head for every adult in the country, so it isn't nothing, but ties in with the £20 a week kind of idea, this is £20 for the month. but it tells you that although the government has put on a lot of extra debt, it has had to borrow a lot to do everything it has been doing and because interest rates are very low, it's not the case that somehow the cost of having the debt is skyrocketing and spiralling and we are having to pay loads more money to deal with it. obviously at some point there will be a pile of debt out there but the cost of paying interest on it hasn't been increasing in a dramatic way, which is more what we worry about when we think about affordability. taste is more what we worry about when we think about affordability.— think about affordability. we don't know et think about affordability. we don't know yet from _ think about affordability. we don't know yet from this _ think about affordability. we don't know yet from this ledger - think about affordability. we don't know yet from this ledger about i think about affordability. we don't i know yet from this ledger about self assessment tax returns, which should all be in by now and how that will impact the public finances. self—assessment is one of those numbers people wanted to watch. as a reminder, self assessment tax is the tax people who have to file a tax form pay rather than people who have employment and get the money taken by their employerfor employment and get the money taken by their employer for them. it's one of the numbers we are looking out for because there have been complications with self—assessment this year. normally people who file taxes would have paid some money ahead of time lastjuly and then would finish paying all the tax they owed back injanuary but the government got rid of thatjuly payment because people were understandably finding it hard to find the money at that point in time at the end of the first lockdown. they moved to january deadline effectively to february. not officially, but they got rid of the fine for paying it late. by the end of february we now have a comparable number to that of last year so we get a sense of what it looks like. we have seen a drop. we are down probably a couple of billion on where we expect to be from last year. there is a reduction in what has come in. it's not hugely dramatic and not as big as some people worth fearing, but there is clearly less money coming in. it's important because the tax people have just been filing as for the tax year that finished back in april of 2020, right at the beginning of the first lockdown, so you would hope there wouldn't be too much of an effect. so even any decline gives some idea of how bad march must have been for some people, that there has been for some people, that there has been this decline, as well as some people who will just been this decline, as well as some people who willjust be paying late, and saying they know they will be fined and they will pay a penalty but they can't afford it right now. good to get your assessment and thank you for your time. the first high—level talks between the biden administration and china have got off to an ill tempered start, with us and chinese officials exchanging sharp rebukes. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, criticised china over cyber—attacks, economic coercion and human rights. china's top diplomat, yang jiechi, accused washington of using its military might and financial supremacy to suppress other countries. the meeting began with blunt words on both sides. today we will have an opportunity to discuss key priorities, both domestic and global, so that china can better understand our administration's intentions and approach. we will also discuss our deep concerns with actions by china, including in xinjiang, hong kong, taiwan, cyber attacks on the united states, economic coercion towards our allies. states, economic coercion towards ourallies. i've states, economic coercion towards our allies. i've said the united states relationship with china will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, adversarial where it must be. translation: the people of the two countries and the world are hoping i to see practical outcomes coming out of our dialogue. and for xinjiang, tibet and taiwan, they are inalienable parts of china's territory. china is firmly opposed to us interference in china's internal affairs. we have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference and we will take firm actions in response. the meetings are taking place in alaska. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher says both parties went into the talks with quite different agendas. it was quite a rare public sparring match. this is not the way you start, normally, a staid diplomatic meeting, and it went on for some time. it was extended even after the formal remarks, back and forths. you know, in public comments before the meeting, the biden administration had been quite blunt about its criticisms of china and they brought those same comments to the meeting, so the chinese must have known what was coming and they really came prepared to hit back in kind. one of the senior chinese officials basically said the us should stop pushing its own version of democracy, it's got its own problems, it's got its own domestic problems. that this is not a model, necessarily, for the world, to paraphrase. and many other comments like that. and as you mentioned, afterwards, after this sort of quite sparked beginning, they apparently had a serious and sustained conversation in private afterwards. i suppose there's always a bit of posturing involved but this was an unusual degree. i think the chinese might have been angry, really, by the way the biden administration had been talking about them beforehand, and also just a day before sanctions had been imposed on china over its actions against democracy activists in hong kong. so it all came to an atmosphere at the beginning that was quite unusually undiplomatic. farmers in eastern australia are asking the government for help in dealing with a plague of mice. in 1993, australia's worst ever mouse plague damaged crops and property valued at milions of dollars. again, this year, the end of a long drought has delivered a bumper harvest, but with so much food, the rodents have thrived. they are prolific breeders and can wipe out thousands of hectares of crops. it's notjust an agricultural problem. hospital patients have been bitten and elderly residents have been helpless to stop rampaging mice invading their homes. now matt taylor has the weather. good morning. this was edinburgh yesterday afternoon where we sought 19 yesterday afternoon where we sought i9 celsius making it the warmest place in the uk since october last year. scotland seen the highest temperatures, sunshine to the western side of the central belt, sunshine across east anglia and the channel islands but it will be colder, cloudy and cloud across other areas of england and wales and sports of right rain and drizzle. winds are light, at the central belt temperatures will peak at 17 celsius, most around nine to 12 celsius, most around nine to 12 celsius and seven or 8 degrees on the north sea coast and east anglia and the south—east. chilly tonight with a touch of frost, frost and easter in scotland, too much cloud for most places for frost, rain and drizzle and at the weekend, plenty of cloud and only a little bit of sunshine. most will stay dry. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: germany's health minister warns there is not enough vaccine to stop a third wave of coronavirus in europe — as countries resume using the astrazeneca jab. borisjohnson will be given the oxford astrazeneca covid jab today. he's urging others to come forward, after reassuring the public the vaccine is safe. msps investigating nicola sturgeon's handling of accusations against alex salmond say the first minister misled them while giving evidence this month. uk borrowing hit £19.1bn last month — it reached the highest level for february since records began almost 30 years ago. a warning that poor oral health is still a significant problem in england — despite being largely preventable. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre: i bet you are starting with the gold cup today. a couple of really compelling stories but we'll wait for that. ., , ., ., for that. one of the first women to win the gold _ for that. one of the first women to win the gold cup _ for that. one of the first women to win the gold cup at _ for that. one of the first women to win the gold cup at the _ for that. one of the first women to win the gold cup at the can. i for that. one of the first women to win the gold cup at the can. a i win the gold cup at the can. a dramatic night in the europa league. good morning...there are just two british sides, left in the europa league ahead of the draw for the quarter finals today...it follows a dramatic night, when tottenham had their hopes and expectations, shattered. they went into the second leg against dinamo zagreb 2—nil up, but mislav 0rsich, levelled the tie, to take it to extra time in zargreb and then hit a stunning strike to complete his hat—trick. spurs managerjose mourinho, said his team "didn't look like they were playing an important match". to be a professional, you must have attitude every day and every minute of every game. then, more talent, less talent makes a difference between players, but what is never negotiable is that attitude and they beat us, they beat us on attitude. rangers were down to nine men by the end of their match against slavia prague — leon balogun, the second player to be dismissed and nicolae stanciu made it 2—nil on the night, with a brilliant free—kick — rangers going out 3—1 on aggregate. and there was a sour note to the match — rangers furious after midfielder glen kamara, claimed he was racially abused by one of the opposing players — he said 0ndre kudela whispered something in his ear. slavia prague have denied the allegation. paul pogba was in the manchester united side for the first time in nearly six weeks — he's been out with a thigh injury and he made an immediate impact — within three minutes of coming off the bench, he scored the only goal of the game, as they beat ac milan 2—1 on aggregate, so united are in today's draw for the quarter—finals. along with arsenal, who went through despite losing i—nil at home to 0lympiakos. their advantage from the first leg was enough, for a 3—2 win overall, against the greek side who knocked arsenal out last season. it's the jewel in the crown, forjump racing, at the cheltenham festival this afternoon — the gold cup. rachael blackmore has been the story of the event so far with five wins — but can she make even more history, and become the first woman to win cheltenham's biggest prize? joe lynskey reports. just one win at cheltenham is enough for some jockeys, rachael blackmore has got five as of this week. that is more than all the british trained horses combined. now she goes for the greatest race, the gold cup. she rides a plus tard. the gold cup is the race every jockey wants to win. i have an unbelievable chance in a plus tard. we'll all be heading out there trying to to beat al boum photo and giving it our best shot. commentator: al boum photo has done it again. _ al boum photo is one of 11 she looks to beat. he's won the last two gold cups in a row. but if that horse has the history, blackmore has the form. she could be the first woman to win this race. male orfemale, she is the top jockey this week. she has been quite extraordinary. the level of ability| she has shown this week, her skill set has. been absolutely amazing and it heads her into the gold cup full of confidence. just how ground—breaking would it befor racing for rachael blackmore to win this race? everybody has known for years and years that female - riders have always got - the opportunity if they are good enough, and they are showing that they are _ more than good enough. rachael blackmore i and the horses she has ridden have really shone a light on the very very best _ the sport has to offer. racing has had its critics this year and every win this week is between just a horse and jockey, but rachael blackmore knows there is a crowd behind the cameras and this afternoon, they could see gold cup history. and bryony frost, is also trying to make history, by becoming the first woman to win the gold cup, on board frodon. and remember they did win the king george 6th chase on boxing day. that's all the sport for now. every day this week, as we approach the first anniversary of the uk lockdown, we are examining the events that built up to that moment. on this day last year, the prime minister borisjohnson said that the uk could "turn the tide" on the coronavirus crisis within 12 weeks. he was speaking at a downing street press conference — let's have a listen. i do think, looking at it all, we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks and i am absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country, but only if we take the steps, we all take the steps that we have outlined and that is vital because that is how we are going to reduce the peak and once we've achieved that, i think that we will, if we do take the steps that i said, then the scientific progress that we are making will already start to come into play. joining me now is dr lindsay broadbent, virologist at queen's university belfast. i was saying to some colleagues this morning, i remember interviewing you this time last year and it was right back to basics because i was asking you the correct way to wash our hands because it was no longer a simple splash of water and a dash of soap. as you reflect, but sticks in your mind about those days and weeks leading up to the first lockdown? it has been quite a year. i'd like to thank everyone knows how to wash their hands to prevent the spread of this virus. this has been really a yearfor this virus. this has been really a year for all of us that we've had to struggle through but looking back, to see how far we have come is remarkable. listening to boris johnson, listening to borisjohnson, it was interesting he was talking about turning the tide in 12 weeks. if we could have done something differently at that point would it have made a difference? we differently at that point would it have made a difference? we have the benefit of hindsight _ have made a difference? we have the benefit of hindsight so _ have made a difference? we have the benefit of hindsight so it _ have made a difference? we have the benefit of hindsight so it is _ have made a difference? we have the benefit of hindsight so it is easy i benefit of hindsight so it is easy to point out what should have been done differently. at the time it was more complicated, but things such as having the test and trace system up and running much sooner than it was, that was not in place until may, and increasing the testing capacity which took a long time. if it had happened earlier, we may have been an a better situation. but how much do we know about the virus now compared to that point last year? now compared to that point last ear? ., ., ., ., year? the amount we have learnt in one ear year? the amount we have learnt in one year is — year? the amount we have learnt in one year is staggering. _ year? the amount we have learnt in one year is staggering. the - one year is staggering. the collaboration between the scientific community has been something i have never seen before. for example, chamorro last year, the 20th of march was actually when 0xford announced they possibly had a vaccine candidate that they were going to look into and start trials as soon as they could. to think we went from that point last year to already having vaccinated millions of people where do we stand now with regards to the vaccine programme, certainly in terms of the number of people per 100 of population vaccinated, the uk is doing very well compared to many of the eu countries, do you think that puts us in a good position to avoid the things we are seeing in france and germany were cases seem to be unfortunately on the rise again? to be unfortunately on the rise auain? , ., ., again? yes. now the uk have vaccinated — again? yes. now the uk have vaccinated almost _ again? yes. now the uk have vaccinated almost half- again? yes. now the uk have vaccinated almost half of i again? yes. now the uk have vaccinated almost half of the | again? yes. now the uk have i vaccinated almost half of the adult population it is a fantastic position to limit the impact of a third wave we might see. if the programme progresses as it is and people are willing to get the vaccine, we could actually prevent that third wave from being significant and from putting pressure on looking ahead, do you still see as carrying on with the basic measures that we were beginning to talk about a lot this time last year, the social distancing, the masks and the hand washing? brute social distancing, the masks and the hand washing?— hand washing? we will see some of these measures _ hand washing? we will see some of these measures in _ hand washing? we will see some of these measures in place _ hand washing? we will see some of these measures in place for- hand washing? we will see some of these measures in place for quite i hand washing? we will see some of these measures in place for quite a| these measures in place for quite a number of months and that is to make sure that we do not see the third wave, that we do not get an increase in cases, and also with the variance emerging and entering the uk, we have to be careful with that. we do not want any new variants. variants can only occur if transmission is occurring, if we can limit transmission of the virus, we are in a much better situation and hand washing is notjust beneficialfor this virus but for all virus and bacteria, so it may keep the looking back over the last 12 months, what is the biggest lesson you have learnt that time? i months, what is the biggest lesson you have learnt that time?- you have learnt that time? i have learnt to be _ you have learnt that time? i have learnt to be more _ you have learnt that time? i have learnt to be more flexible. i you have learnt that time? i have learnt to be more flexible. we i you have learnt that time? i have learnt to be more flexible. we all have. we have had to go with the flow this year as best we can and we have all had to adapt not only in our work but in our personal lives. we have had to be very resilient and it has good luck for the year ahead. thank you very much. thinking back to this time last year, that was the last time i saw that person or that i did a certain thing, go to a restaurant for example. we would love to hear what your memories of that time are and just before we went into lockdown, please send me those thoughts, any anecdotes you may have at twitter. we would love to read out a view of thoseif we would love to read out a view of those if you want to send them in. a study suggests poor dental health is still a significant problem, despite it being largely preventable. a report from public heath england looks for the first time at how people's circumstances can have an impact, and says inequality is a major factor. jon donnison reports. this report says that while overall, dental and oral health is improving across england, much still depends on your socioeconomic background and where you live. this is especially the case for children. in 2019, five—year—olds from the most deprived areas of the country were more than three times as likely to have tooth decay as those from the least deprived. there is a similar imbalance in dental health amongst adults. public health england says barriers to nhs care, including cost and lack of available services, are partly responsible. it says that people from the south of england have significantly healthier teeth and mouths than those living in the midlands and the north. the research also says that women, who brush their teeth more often, consume less sugar and visit the dentist for checkups more frequently than men, unsurprisingly have fewer dental problems. jon donnison, bbc news. when chelsea richardson's mum sarah died from coronavirus in october, her world was turned upside down. the 21—year old was faced with her own grief, and the responsibility to look after her four siblings. but on hearing of situation, her local community rallied around to help. heidi tomlinson has been to meet her. a busy morning routine, seeing younger siblings off to school and college is big sister's chelsea's responsibility. she stepped into the caring role after their mum died last year. see you later! a2—year—old mum of five sarah richardson contracted covid—i9 and developed a blood disorder. she passed away in october. my mum was amazing, like, my dad has not been around so it has always been my mum. she was like the only person we had and now she's gone, so, you know, ithink about her every day, yeah. she was pretty and helped people. it's been hard, but then, my sister has brought us all together and done everything for us. not only has she taken the reins of home life, 21—year—old chelsea is a trainee nurse at st james's in leeds. she is grieving, but puts aside herfeelings to bolster the family. she was everything to me. i'm really sorry. she would do everything for us. she was my rock and i was her rock. you have taken on so much, chelsea, are you coping? it's difficult. i'm not going to lie. i didn't know what i was expecting, but it's definitely a lot harder than i anticipated. a special delivery to help, milford sports club nominated the family in a competition to win a year's supply of meat. we got 805 applications. when we came across chelsea's, there was no doubt about it, a worthy winner, really, really pleased we have someone who deserves it. phil's friend neil the grocer has also pledged weekly fruit and veg. it puts into perspective your little silly things that you've got going on that actually really aren't that massive, they are just minute when you look at what chelsea has got to do. i've got to be honest, there's not a lot of girls of chelsea's age could take on what she's doing. i just want to say thank you because you don't actually realise how much it means and how much it does help. it will make everyday life easier as chelsea ploughs on with her unexpected responsibilities. what would your mum think about doing you doing all of this? i hope she would be proud. she raised me to be strong. and do the best i can, and i am trying my best, so i hope she's proud. the headlines on bbc news... germany, france, italy and spain resume using the astrazeneca vaccine, after the eu's medicines regulator says it is safe and effective. borisjohnson urges people to come forward for covid—i9 vaccines — he'll be given the oxford—astrazeneca covid jab today. msps on the alex salmond committee say first minister nicola sturgeon misled them while giving evidence this month. we have some data coming into us from the 0ns about death rates from covid—i9. it looks at last year. it shows that in the first half of last year, the uk experienced one of the worst rates of death in europe from covid—i9, but in the second half of the year, a number of other countries including poland, spain, belgium and bulgaria, they overtook the uk in terms of the number of deaths from covid—i9, they had worse rates of death in the second half of the year. this data goes up to the middle of december so it does not cover the death rate in the second wave of covid—i9 here in the uk when we know there were many, many more deaths. looking back to 2020, 80 9000 deaths from covid—i9 in the uk. there have been 56,000 so far in 2021 and as countries across europe are seeing very different rates of infection now, we are going to see different comparisons in terms of the rates of death and the cases in the rates of death and the cases in the future. this looks at last year and shows how the death rates and which countries were being worst affected by covid—i9 varied over that 12 month period. daniel craig, keira knightly and olivia colman are amongst those taking part in tonight's socially distant comic relief. the star—studded night on bbc one will raise money to tackle hunger, homelessness, domestic abuse and mental health stigma. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been finding out what will be in tonight's show. this is the first socially distanced comic relief. red nose day will be different this year. we know that it's hard financially for so many people right now. but we'd love you to join us, even if it's just to share a laugh. tonight's show will be shorter, only three hours, but the vicar of dibley returns with a special message. last year, i was sponsored £5 per villager if i could squeeze a whole daniel craig, keira knightly and olivia colman are amongst those job done. while david tennant and michael sheen take part in an historical version of their lockdown hit staged. i'm going to write about this. about the play? yeah. is that what people want? yes, they want social realism. do they? 0k. yeah. and catherine tate's nanjoins james bond for a secret briefing, so secret, all that's been released so far is this one photo. this is pretty funny. the money raised by comic relief will be used to support those who have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. but the night's other aim is to simply make people laugh. colin patterson, bbc news. well, andi 0sho is one of the other comedians who are taking part in the festivities and shejoins us now. lovely to see you, we need a laugh. you are right there. what are you going to be doing? a distinctly musical flavour? brute what are you going to be doing? a distinctly musical flavour?- distinctly musical flavour? we will see. the distinctly musical flavour? we will see- the idea _ distinctly musical flavour? we will see. the idea is _ distinctly musical flavour? we will see. the idea is that _ distinctly musical flavour? we will see. the idea is that the - distinctly musical flavour? we will see. the idea is that the five i distinctly musical flavour? we will see. the idea is that the five of i distinctly musical flavour? we willj see. the idea is that the five of us are going to be singing... we've basically been training to be opera singers for a little while and tonight we are going to hopefully give a rendition of a piece that we have been trained by the eeeenn all to sing live. i have been trained by the eeeenn all to sing live-— to sing live. i believe charlotte church has _ to sing live. i believe charlotte church has been _ to sing live. i believe charlotte church has been your - to sing live. i believe charlotte church has been your main i to sing live. i believe charlotte i church has been your main tour? she is church has been your main tour? 5ia: is keeping the church has been your main tour? 5i2 is keeping the show on the road. giving a simple ad vice that we what is your singing experience been prior to this? are you saying a little tune around the house or have you been an enquiry or done something professional? i you been an enquiry or done something professional? i have done something professional? i have done some stuff professionally, _ something professional? i have done some stuff professionally, i - something professional? i have done some stuff professionally, i have i some stuff professionally, i have sungin some stuff professionally, i have sung in shows that have music, i am not musical, i was an enquire at school. even with all of that, it is such a different scale and you do not realise until you try it how demanding opera singing is. i thought it was singing aloud with vibrato but it would you care to give us a little sneak preview? i would you care to give us a little sneak preview?— would you care to give us a little sneak preview? i would love to, but i've not to sneak preview? i would love to, but i've got to keep _ sneak preview? i would love to, but i've got to keep my _ sneak preview? i would love to, but i've got to keep my powder- sneak preview? i would love to, but i've got to keep my powder dry i sneak preview? i would love to, but i've got to keep my powder dry for. i've got to keep my powder dry for tonight. i've got to keep my powder dry for toniaht. , ., ., ., . tonight. yes, we have to watch toniaht. tonight. yes, we have to watch tonight. comic _ tonight. yes, we have to watch tonight. comic relief _ tonight. yes, we have to watch tonight. comic relief has i tonight. yes, we have to watch tonight. comic relief has been | tonight. yes, we have to watch | tonight. comic relief has been a tonight. yes, we have to watch i tonight. comic relief has been a big institution for so long now, how has it been to be involved this year of all years and what sort of difference do you think it might make in this year when we have had an incredibly tough i2 make in this year when we have had an incredibly tough 12 months? like ou said, an incredibly tough 12 months? like you said. we _ an incredibly tough 12 months? i «12 you said, we need an incredibly tough 12 months? i «2 you said, we need to an incredibly tough 12 months? i 12 you said, we need to have a laugh, but also it is finding the balance between courses abroad and at home and this year that is what people's focus is going to be on, where can comic relief make a difference at home as well? we have all been through so much in the last year, it will be nice to have this at the end as we hopefully move back to normality. it is always important, to raise money and awareness, but this year it has been a really tough year so few jokes fewjokes or is it about the physical comedy? few jokes or is it about the physical comedy?- few jokes or is it about the physical comedy? few jokes or is it about the -h sicalcomed ? ~ ., ~ ., 1 g, physical comedy? who knows? we are learnin: it physical comedy? who knows? we are learning it for — physical comedy? who knows? we are learning it for real, _ physical comedy? who knows? we are learning it for real, we _ physical comedy? who knows? we are learning it for real, we are _ physical comedy? who knows? we are learning it for real, we are not - learning it for real, we are not mucking around, a couple of our performers have got incredible voices, so when they think you are in for a treat. we are taking it seriously because it is a challenge that has been set for us and we want to deliver. there might be some jokes, that would be good too. i look forward to seeing it. good luck for later. comic relief on bbc one tonight. some news from the supreme court. carers who have to sleep at their work place are not entitled to the minimum wage for the whole shift. this case was brought by a mencap support worker who was trying to overturn a ruling of the court of appeal that carers are only entitled to minimum wage when they are required to be a weight even if they had to sleep at the house where they are caring for the person. the care industry had argued previously that if the ruling went in favour of the care worker it would have caused the sector £a00 million in backdated pay and £200 million a yearfrom sector £a00 million in backdated pay and £200 million a year from 2020 sector £a00 million in backdated pay and £200 million a yearfrom 2020 if the court had ruled worker should be paid the minimum wage. in the last few minutes, the supreme court has ruled that carers who sleep are not entitled to the minimum wage for the whole shift. we asked you to send us your thoughts on this time last year going into lockdown because we are all reflecting on that, what were we doing then? this all reflecting on that, what were we doing then?— all reflecting on that, what were we doinu then? , ., doing then? this gentleman said when the first lockdown _ doing then? this gentleman said when the first lockdown hit _ doing then? this gentleman said when the first lockdown hit my _ doing then? this gentleman said when the first lockdown hit my wife - doing then? this gentleman said when the first lockdown hit my wife and i i the first lockdown hit my wife and i had just returned from our honeymoon in florence, we still can't believe how fortunate we were. a nice memory to have. 0n a nice memory to have. on twitter, this person said we took our son with special health needs one week before the lockdown began out of his school because the government could not see what was slapping them in their face. not see what was slapping them in theirface. please send us not see what was slapping them in their face. please send us your reflections and memories of that time, what you were doing. 0ne reflections and memories of that time, what you were doing. one more, i run a community choir in yorkshire, stamford bridge singers, our last rehearsal was one year ago we sang the noel coward song, bad times just around the corner. it was prophetic. let's hope we will be singing soon. 0ne prophetic. let's hope we will be singing soon. one more, my regulation of last year was the hospitality business saying they would go broke within days. some have fallen, some are still struggling through, we talk to them here on the news. we want to hear your memories of one year ago, what sticks on your mind the most, please contact us on twitter. now it's time for a look at the weather with parts of scotland the warmest today and the channel islands are still chilly. compared to yesterday, more to the west, the cloud will be thicker with patchy rain and drizzle. cloud breaks across the western half of the central belt, sunshine, and temperatures will peak at 17 celsius. edinburgh and east of scotland, cooler than yesterday with more clout. nine to 12 degrees. into this evening and overnight, temporarily froze before things cloud over later. frost and eastern scotland, cloudy and mild with temperatures at five to eight celsius. this weekend, july and often rather cloudy. bye for now. this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. germany's health minister warns there is not enough vaccine to stop a third wave of coronavirus in europe, as countries resume using the astrazeneca jab. the french prime minister says he'll be getting the astrazeneca jab to prove it's safe, as parts of france prepare for a new, month—long lockdown. uk prime minister will also be given the astrazeneca covid jab today. he's urging others to come forward for their vaccines. vaccines have dominated the headlines again this week — if you've got any comments or questions about the latest developments, get in touch with me on twitter @annita—mcveigh or using the hashtag bbcyourquestions msps investigating nicola sturgeon's handling of accusations against alex salmond say the first minister misled them