of covid—19 in england and wales — new data shows more men have died with the virus — but women's well—being has been more negatively affected. and we follow chan—ooa the black rhino, leaving yorkshire for tanzania — in the hope of increasing the numbers of the endangered animal. good evening and welcome to the bbc news. a serving metropolitan policeman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman disappeared in london last week. 33—year—old sarah everard has not been heard from since she left a friend's house in clapham last wednesday night. the policeman, who's in his 40s, was detained last night in kent, along with a woman in her 30s, who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. today, officers have been searching a house in deal and woodland near ashford. this evening, a cousin of sarah everard has issued a family statement. lucy manning reports. off the beaten track, surrounded by woodland, many miles from where sarah everard was last seen in south london. police meticulously search an old golf course in ashford in kent, as one of their own colleagues sits in police custody, suspected of her kidnap and murder. it seems hopes of finding the 33—year—old alive are fading. sarah everard was last seen a week ago walking from a friend's house to her home. family and friends desperate for news. this morning, a shocking update. yesterday evening, officers arrested a serving metropolitan police officer at an address in kent in connection with the disappearance of sarah everard. this is a serious and significant development in our search for sarah, and the fact that the man who's been arrested is a serving metropolitan police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing. i recognise the significant concern this will cause. the police officer is in his 40s, his house in deal in kent the focus of searches all day, police removing cars. he was part of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, but instead of protecting embassies he's facing questions about a possible murder. a woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. about four o'clock in the morning, i heard car doors banging. i just assumed it was, like, night workers. you know, people going to bed, going to work, and then i just saw some activity with police down there. a week ago, sarah, a marketing executive, had been visiting a friend's house on leathwaite road, close to clapham common in south london. she left there at around 9pm in the evening to return to her home in brixton an hour away. police believe she made her way across clapham common. this footage from a doorbell camera showed sarah on poynders road at around 9:30pm. it's the last time she was seen. for the past week, the search has been in south london, now in kent, very firmly focused on these fields. all day, there has been a stream of police vans, officers and equipment arriving here. the policeman arrested was, scotland yard said, off duty at the time of her disappearance, and it's not known if he was or wasn't connected in any way to the missing woman. amazing, lovely, fantastic — just a few ways her family describe sarah everard. and she still hasn't been found. and we are expecting to hear very shortly from the metropolitan police commissioner cressida dick. this is the live scene and we will bring that to you the moment that she starts speaking. the prime minister has been defending the test and trace system in england after criticism from a group of mps. the commons public accounts committee says the 37 billion pound system didn't have a clear impact on infection levels. but borisjohnson said the scheme has been a success. with more, here's our health editor hugh pym. a testing site today now part of everyday life, but it has cost a lot of money to get where we are and a highly critical report by mps has fuelled a new debate on what test and trace has achieved. it was raised at prime minister's questions. the government is throwing a staggering 37 billion at a test and trace system that we know has made barely any difference. the prime minister defended its performance. it is thanks to nhs test and trace that we are able to send kids back to school and begin cautiously and irreversibly to reopen our economy and restart our lives. the £37 billion budget is over two years. the report criticises the use of consultants. 2,500 were still on the books early last month, with one paid more than £6,000 a day. lots of money was being thrown at lots of projects and, you know, in many cases there are big questions about how that money has been allocated, how it is being spent and the overall oversight. remember that parliament doesn't get a good look at some of these issues because of the coronavirus act. it is worth remembering that early on in the first wave there was nothing like this. the test and trace network had to be created from scratch. the key issue is, has it been as effective as it should have been? there were long waits at testing centres and for results when infections rose rapidly in september and october, and the system failed to keep up, with people sometimes ask to drive 100 miles or more to get a test. it is an absolute joke. i have had to bring my three kids out of school. i willjust have to go back home and try again, i guess. the performance figures have improved since those problems last year. nearly 83% of test results came back in 2a hours in the last reported week in february, compared with only around 33.5% one week in october. the proportion of close contacts reached was more than 93% in late february, compared with about 60% back in october. the number of daily tests carried out has more than doubled since the new year to over a million yesterday, but this includes those done in schools, which have reopened. yes, we do have very large number of tests. we successfully reached a very large number of people to ask them to self—isolate. that is what test and trace was set up to do, so this report accuses us of delivering what we said we were going to do, to build the service that the country needed in this extraordinary crisis that we are all facing. some argue that local council officials knocking on doors rather than a national call centre system is the best way to reach contacts of those who test positive. health leaders in england say both approaches are required. hugh pym, bbc news. joining me to discuss this is sir david king, the former chief scientific adviser to the british government, and current chair of independent sage. when it comes to what the test and trace programme has achieved, it was started from scratch, as was said. initially 6000 tests or so, now 800,000 tests being done. there is an element of success in that. if we count success _ an element of success in that. if we count success in _ an element of success in that. if we count success in terms _ an element of success in that. if we count success in terms of _ an element of success in that. if we count success in terms of the - an element of success in that. if we: count success in terms of the number of people tested, you might say, yes, we finally got up to a decent number. but if you count success as you should do in terms of rapid isolation and support of everyone who has got the disease and has tested positive and everyone who has beenin tested positive and everyone who has been in contact with them, it's a total failure. been in contact with them, it's a totalfailure. in other words, been in contact with them, it's a totalfailure. in otherwords, dido harding herself has said it's less than 50% of people have isolated themselves from the rest of the community. that is the whole point of the test, trace, isolate and support system. and let me stress the point of support. if you ask somebody to report whether or not they have the symptoms and they are earning a weekly wage and keeping theirfamily going on earning a weekly wage and keeping their family going on the back of that weekly wage would they rather not report that they have not got the system and keep going to work and spread the disease? we all know that a proper support system for those who cannot otherwise support themselves and their families is needed, but another form themselves and their families is needed, but anotherform of themselves and their families is needed, but another form of support. if you are asking somebody to isolate in your home, and in your home there are people of several generations, and in some homes there are three orfour generations, and in some homes there are three or four generations of people, you're asking a person who has tested positive to isolate with the family, putting that family at risk. so the other question that should have been asked is can you isolate yourself properly from anybody who is at risk? and if you cannot, then it is up to the government to support them by putting them into a hotel, providing them with medical health in the hotel and any assistance they need. i think if you look at any country that has operated a fully operative test, trace and isolate system, that is what has been put in place. even in new york, the mayor of new york was putting people in isolation into hotels and not charging them the cost, the whole point is during an outbreak to requisition hotels. these hotels are not in use because we are not seeing travellers in the normal way at all. so i think if you forget the whole point of the test, trace isolate system, which is to isolate those with the disease from the healthy part of the population, then of course you could give any statistics to say it has been a success. i haven't heard a word from the people who are running the system about how well their isolation is going. if you get a phone call from somebody who might be in another country operating a phone system saying you have got to isolate, and it's terribly inconvenient to you, do you isolate? the answer is that important people have been, but the proper way to manage any epidemic amongst human beings, as we assisted people suffering from the ebola epidemic a few years ago in west africa, isolate everyone with the disease and those who have been in contact with them from the rest of the population. and by the way, then the economy doesn't suffer. if we look around at other countries that have managed this pandemic well, with perhaps less than a total of a thousand deaths, like south korea, very close to china where the outbreak occurred, why did they do this? how did they manage to achieve such a good result when we didn't? it south korea, they didn't even go into lockdown, they operated this test, trace and isolate system with support from the beginning and managed to keep the epidemic in a very low proportions. we all know the other side of it that the government hasn't handled is of course allowing people to travel into the country, until very recently, from anywhere in the world. even places that had a high level of the disease, that was just horribly... itjust seems to me unbearably silly to have done that that way. 50 unbearably silly to have done that that wa . u, unbearably silly to have done that that wa . u, , . unbearably silly to have done that that wa . , . ., that way. so can i 'ust inter'ect a little bit and i that way. so can i 'ust inter'ect a little bit and then i that way. so can ijust inter'ect a little bit and then ask, h that way. so can ijust interject a little bit and then ask, does - that way. so can ijust interject a little bit and then ask, does that| little bit and then ask, does that mean that work still needs to be done on this test and trace, the nhs test and trace system? and therefore, the two and half thousand consultants still being used, quite a considerable cost, are they still needed? , ., a considerable cost, are they still needed? , i, i, i, , i, , needed? £75 billion over two years ou could needed? £75 billion over two years you could run _ needed? £75 billion over two years you could run the _ needed? £75 billion over two years you could run the whole _ needed? £75 billion over two years you could run the whole of - needed? £75 billion over two years you could run the whole of the - you could run the whole of the department for transport on that. it is a massive cost. what is the proper way to handle that has been done another country. we have a health care service, we have a general practice system in this country. if you have 1000 new cases a day and you break it down to every general practice in the country, you've got less than one person per day per general practice. you're bringing it down to small numbers and it gets handled in the local communities. people generally have faith in their general practice system, they have faith in the national health system... apologies, we are going — national health system... apologies, we are going to _ national health system... apologies, we are going to have _ national health system... apologies, we are going to have to _ national health system... apologies, we are going to have to interrupt - we are going to have to interrupt because we are going to take our viewers to cressida dick speaking now. fist viewers to cressida dick speaking now. �* , i , , viewers to cressida dick speaking now. ~ , i , , , i now. at this incredibly difficult and painful— now. at this incredibly difficult and painfultime. _ now. at this incredibly difficult and painful time. as _ now. at this incredibly difficult and painful time. as you - now. at this incredibly difficult and painful time. as you are i now. at this incredibly difficult - and painful time. as you are aware, and painful time. as you are aware, a man has been arrested on suspicion of sarah's murder. this evening, detectives and search teams investigating her disappearance have found, very sadly, what appears to be human remains. the discovery was made in an area of woodland in ashford in kent. as you can imagine, at this early stage, we are not able to confirm any identity, and indeed, that may take us some considerable time. specialist officers have been with sarah's family to update them on the investigation and to continue to give them the best support we possibly can. the news today that it was a metropolitan police officer who was arrested on suspicion of sarah's murder has sent shock waves and anger through the public and through the net. —— the met. i speak on behalf of all of my colleagues when i say that we are utterly appalled at this dreadful news. our job is to patrol the streets and protect people. the investigation is a large, very fast—moving, extremely determined. we have had and continue to have hundreds of officers and staff working around the clock. sara's disappearance in these awful and wiccan circumstances —— wicked circumstances, i know our every family's worst nightmare. londoners will want to know that it is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets, but i completely understand that despite that, women in london and the wider public, perhaps particularly those in the area where sarah went missing, will be worried and maybe feeling scared. you should expect to see continued increased police controls in the area, as well as continued large—scale investigative activity. please do report any concerns you may have, whatever they may be, to us. we have been so impressed and very thankful for the public�*s support for the investigation in so many different ways, but in particularfor sharing our appeals for information. and we are deeply grateful to all those many people who came forward with information that has assisted us. my thoughts tonight are with sarah, her family and her loved ones. studio: the metropolitan police commissioner cressida dick they are saying that detectives appear to have found human remains in kent na woodland —— in a woodland in ashford, but she has it they were not able to confirm any identity and adding that it may take considerable time that specialist officers have been with sarah's family. sarah everard, 33 years old, who was last seen a week ago in south london. she was on her way home from a friend's house. cressida dick was saying that the metropolitan police, the news that a metropolitan police officer was involved hasn't shock waves through the public and the metropolitan police as well as she added that they are utterly appalled at this dreadful news. she was saying that hundreds of officers are working around the clock on this and describes her disappearance as under wicked circumstances, but added that it is very rare for a woman to be abducted from the streets of london, but adding that any people in london, especially in the area where she went missing, if they are worried or scared, there will be an increased police presence in the area. so cressida dick saying that detectives appear to have found human remains in kent, identity yet to be confirmed. my colleague is at interpol ten at scotland yard. she will be bringing us up—to—date with the very latest on this difficult case. the latest figures on coronavirus shows 5,926 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 5,734. across the uk, latest data shows the number of patients in hospital with coronavirus is 9,435. 190 deaths were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average, 172 people have died every day in the last week from coronavirus — the lowest its been since 21st october. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 124,987. as for vaccinations, more than 217,000 people have had their first dose of a covid vaccine in the latest 24 hour period. it means more than 22.8 million people had their firstjab and over 1.25 million people have had both doses of the vaccine. the latest figures there. women have borne a bigger burden of childcare, home—schooling and housework than men over the course of the pandemic — according to new analysis of data from office for national statistics. it also suggests women have experienced significantly poorer levels of personal well—being and are more likely to have been furloughed. the report shows the importance of collecting data on how the sexes are affected differently. our health correspondent, catherine burns, has been hearing from some women about the effect the pandemic has had on them. it's an experience that really allows feelings of anxiety, loneliness, to fester. we've been having tojuggle home—schooling our five—year—old and looking after an 18 month year old. it was brutal, to be honest, i and definitely not sustainable. it's stressful for all of us, but we've just got to work through this. physically, we know covid is more of a risk for men. between march last year and january this year, the office for national statistics registered almost 64,000 deaths of men involving covid. over the same time, just over 53,000 women died. that's a difference of almost 18%. but the ons says men are less likely to worry about the impact of the pandemic on their life. lockdown seems to have hit women harder. they're more likely to say that they feel lonely and have consistently reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than men. sophie graduated university last summer. she loves her firstjob but has never met her team and finds working from home hard on her mental health. it's just horrible, and then you lie awake at night, thinking. "oh, my goodness, is myjob even secure? what if i've messed up too much?" sue is back on the school run this week, but before this — like seven in ten women and five and ten men — she spent this term home—schooling. and she did it while running a company with her husband at the same time. i'm the one who tends to step back from the business because my husband is more of the busine