million people have received their firstjabs in the uk. and well wishers around the world send messages of support to captain sir tom moore, who remains in hospital with covid 19 and pneumonia. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. urgent testing is underway in parts of england after the south african strain of coronavirus was detected in 11 people not thought to have travelled from the country. there are fears this variant is now being transmitted within the community, with the possibility of further new cases. health officials are aiming to test some 80,000 people in eight affected areas including those who live in the w7, n17 and cr4 postcodes in london, ws2 in walsall, me15 in maidstone in kent, pr9 in southport, en10 in broxbourne, hertfordshire, and gu21 in woking. there s no evidence the south african variant causes more severe disease but it may be more transmissible. meanwhile, data to be published later this afternoon is expected to show that the government has re
as protests take place in support ofjailed opposition leader alexei navalny. i wanted freedom for our country. the situation now is the worst, i think, in the last ten years. mps will debate the cladding crisis tomorrow as campaigners say residents of flats covered in the flammable material are being financially crippled by rising insurance costs. almost 600,000 people received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the uk yesterday a new daily record. officials say the impact of the immunisation programme should be felt in the infection rate in the next two weeks, but dr susan hopkins, from public health england, is warning coronavirus restrictions should only be eased very slowly and very cautiously . here s our health correspondent, jim reed. here at this basketball stadium in newcastle, the vaccine roll out continues. across the uk, more than half a million received theirjab yesterday, a new record, 2,000 at this site alone. it means a lot, and i m pleased that p
buckingham palace has announced that prince andrew is returning his royal and military titles to the queen. he will no longer be referred to as his royal highness in any official capacity. it comes just a day after prince andrew s lawyers failed to persuade a judge in america to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him that accuses him of sexually abusing a teenager two decades ago. the duke of york has consistently denied the allegations. buckingham palace says he will continue not to carry out any public duties and will defend the civil court case as a private citizen. here s our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. the duke of york near his home in windsor great park today. behind the scenes, they were clearly discussions with his advisers and with other members of his family. it is clear that the impossibility of his retaining his remaining honorary military positions had been accepted by the queen, particularly after yesterday s court ruling in new york. he is therefore no