Thursday evening UK news briefing: NHS begins cancelling Covid vaccine appointments for under 30s
The NHS has begun cancelling vaccine appointments booked for under 30s, with those due to have jabs told they may now have to wait longer.
Although the vast majority of those aged between 18 and 30 were not due to start receiving vaccinations until later this summer, some were given earlier access because of jobs as health or care workers.
It comes as the deputy chairman of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) suggested advice on vaccines for those in their 30s could change during the rollout after the UK medicines regulator decided under 30s will be offered an alternative jab.
Here is a reminder of the priority list and how the different Covid vaccines compare, as well as the potential side effects of the AstraZeneca jab to look out for.
Health ministers in Europe have failed to agree a joint EU policy on suspending the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in younger age groups, despite fresh advice from the bloc’s medicines regulator on potential links to rare forms of blood clotting.
Italy and Spain have moved to restrict the use of the jab to the over-60s, while German officials have recommended that under-60s who have received their first dose of the vaccine should get a different second dose.
Alexandra Phillips sets out why Britain's AstraZeneca decision does not vindicate Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron's Trumpian behaviour.
Police at Sussexes' home nine times in nine months
Police have been called to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's California home nine times in as many months after the couple expressed concern about the decision to strip them of round the clock police protection. Since the couple moved into the property in Montecito, Santa Barbara, last July, the County Sheriff's Office has responded to calls listed as phone requests, alarm activations and property crimes. Read more about the data, obtained under Freedom of Information laws. Meanwhile, unseen footage of the Queen will air tonight. Harry Mount looks at what we have learned about Her Majesty from behind-the-scenes footage.
Why the time feels right to abandon Football Focus
Dan Walker has announced he will step down as host of Football Focus after 12-years. Yet if Test Match Special and Match of the Day are top flight BBC Sport institutions, it could be argued the soccer magazine programme is League One at best. With more live football on TV than ever before, Thom Gibbs sets out why Walker's departure should spell the end for the BBC's out-dated, wide-ranging football TV show.
At a glance: Coronavirus evening briefing
'Tainted by politics' | Researchers call for new inquiry into origins
Eurozone fears | Italy and Greece risk post-pandemic debt crunch
Economic recovery | FTSE jumps to new post-pandemic high
Travel latest | Face masks no longer required on Spanish beaches
Going away | Five things we know for sure about holidays this year
Also in the news: Today's other headlines
Northern Ireland violence | The Stormont Executive has condemned recent scenes of violence across Northern Ireland, stating that they are "gravely concerned" by the scenes of disorder. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has travelled to Belfast for talks with the main political parties, after Boris Johnson last night called for "dialogue" to resolve differences. Watch video of the "disgraceful" violence.
Sir Richard Sutton killed | Millionaire hotelier stabbed in his home
US gun laws | Joe Biden launches crack down on 'ghost guns'
'SofaGate' scandal | Turkey blames EU for von der Leyen mishap
Five-figure payouts | Women could be due state pension windfall
The Crown | Filming begins on season five in July amid cast rumours
Around the world: Boy abandoned on US border
A 10-year-old boy abandoned near the Mexico border told patrol officers he was "afraid" as he begged for help in a newly released video. The boy can be seen sobbing to officers as he explains he had travelled to Texas without his parents in a group of migrants. He woke to find himself alone and was discovered walking on a rural road in the hope of finding help, officials said. Watch the heartbreaking clip which comes after a record number of unaccompanied children crossed the border in March.
Thursday interview
'When people are this desperate to silence and discredit you, you must be saying something that's true'
Educationalist Dr Tony Sewell tells The Telegraph's Planet Normal podcast why he is standing by his report on racism in the UK
Comment and analysis
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Ballooning global debts need sorting
Michael Deacon | Ban children from social media before it's too late
Tom Fordy | Regé-Jean Page's modern masculinity is what Bond needs
Fiona Tomas | Showing Flog It! over Women's Six Nations is a disgrace
Ben Lawrence | What the 'slavery memorial' disaster in France shows
Editor's choice: Features and arts
Crunch 'coronasomnia' | It's not just lockdown that affects sleep - it's what we eat
'The good life' | Twentysomethings swap city life for the country – with no plans to return
Grand National | Download and print your 2021 sweepstake kit
Business and money briefing
Biden's tax losers | Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland are set to suffer under the Biden administration's plans to link tax revenue from businesses to local sales. The US has reportedly proposed a clampdown on companies using certain countries to avoid paying higher tax as part of its plans for a huge global shake-up. Read on for details.
Chinese demand | BMW surges as car sales rev up ahead of reopening
Ben Marlow | Co-op's ethical credentials are in tatters
On top of markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day
Sport briefing
The Masters | Round one is underway at Augusta with defending champion Dustin Johnson playing alongside England's Lee Westwood. Follow the action live and click here for the leaderboard in full.
County Championship | James Vince among centurions on first day
Grand National | Horse-by-horse verdict for Aintree race
The real Paul Pogba | Teetotal polyglot who unites the dressing room
Three things for tonight
And finally... for this evening's downtime
'I was a thriving member of a patriarchal system' | After one of her quietest years, superstar mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato tells Louis Wise about her late awakening to gender politics in opera, and why Schubert's greatest song cycle was "egocentric".
If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here. For two-minute audio updates, try The Briefing - on podcasts, smart speakers and WhatsApp.
