more than 4.5 million people were waiting to begin hospital treatment in england at the end january, that s the highest number since records began in 2007. the royal college of surgeons has called the situation to turn things around. here s our health editor, hugh pym. hospital wards devoted to covid. the surge in numbers over the last two months led to widespread cancellations of less urgent types of care, and there s still a backlog from last year s first covid peak. today s figures highlight again the scale of the problem. charmaine has severe arthritis, and last year was hoping to have a knee replacement. she was told in november she d have to wait another 12 months. she s currently out of work and the task of finding a newjob keeps getting harder. i hate not being able to work. how do i say to a new employer, thanks for thejob, but maybe in a couple of months, i might need three months off for a knee replacement. patient waits for non urgent care have increased around t
you shrewd and knavish sprite. and virtual shakespeare using the latest technology to get audiences back into theatre. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, a year on from the last match to take place in front of a full house, we look at the tragic impact of that game at anfield. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. prince william has made his first public comments since the interview with the duke and duchess of sussex was broadcast four days ago, saying the royals are very much not a racist family . the duke of cambridge also revealed he had not yet spoken to his brother, but said he would do so. in the interview, meghan and prince harry said a member of the royal family had expressed concern over how dark their son archie s skin might be. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it is an allegation which strikes at the very core of an institution, the purpose of which is to unify. the suggestion by the sussexes in the oprah winfre
china s communist party rules only pro beijing candidates will be able to stand for hong kong s parliament. and £50 million at auction for a digital artwork that doesn t physically exist. and coming up in sport on bbc news, amad diallo scores his first manchester united goal, but a late equaliser for ac milan leaves the round of 16 europa league tie evenly poised. good evening. the family of sarah everard has tonight paid tribute to her, saying she brought so muchjoy to their lives, and that she was a strong and principled person who was a shining example to all. the 33 year old was last seen over a week ago, walking home from a friend s house in clapham in south london. today, police continued searching woodland in ashford in kent, where human remains have been found. a serving officer in the metropolitan police, arrested on suspicion of ms everard s murder, remains in custody. earlier today he was taken to hospital, after suffering from head injuries. our special corre
massive changes in order to move the us in that direction in terms of cutting emissions. critics would say as we push electric vehicles, those vehicles are more expensive for many people. some of these changes are bringing big changes in our economy and people losing theirjobs if they are working in coal mining, for example. what would you say to those critics who say part of the country could be left behind by these changes? i think the whole nation has economic opportunities in this regard. look at what is happening in the south we have huge new investment in manufacturing plants for electric vehicles, wind power across the united states in a lot of rural areas. in my state i cannot turn over a rock whether it s in urban or rural areas, without finding a newjob developed