but a necessity for the safety and prosperity of the british people in the decades ahead. the police officer accused of the kidnap and murder of sarah everard is due to go on trial in late october. and coming up — scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon is to set out a timeline for the easing of lockdown in scotland. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. afterfour weeks in hospital, the duke of edinburgh has been discharged and has returned to windsor castle. prince philip was admitted to king edward vii's hospital in central london on february 16th after feeling unwell. the duke, who's 99, later underwent a successful procedure for a pre—existing heart condition at another london hospital. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. shielded by a screen, a patient, evidently in a wheelchair, was brought out from the king edward vii hospital to a waiting vehicle. moments later, the vehicle left with the duke of edinburgh safely aboard, on his way home to windsor after his longest hospital stay, 28 nights in total, four of them at st bartholomew's hospital for specialist heart treatment. as the car left, photographers caught sight of the duke sitting in the rear of the vehicle. little has been said by the palace about the reasons for his hospital stay, other than he had been suffering from an infection and the unspecified pre—existing heart condition. but the treatment, evidently having been successful, he was on his way to be reunited with the queen at windsor. she has continued with her official programme as normal, marking commonwealth day among other things, as well as coping with the fallout from the us television interview given by the sussexes, a troubling family issue on which the queen would normally be able to rely on the duke for first—hand advice and support. fanfare. he is now less than 90 days from his 100th birthday, a milestone he is said to be determined to celebrate, and it will be a matter of reassurance to his family that his four weeks in hospital are now over and his doctors have decided that he is well enough to go home. nicholas witchell, bbc news. helena wilkinson is at windsor castle. great relief no doubt that the duke is back at windsor.— is back at windsor. absolutely relief, is back at windsor. absolutely relief. the _ is back at windsor. absolutely relief, the duke _ is back at windsor. absolutely relief, the duke of— is back at windsor. absolutely relief, the duke of edinburghl relief, the duke of edinburgh arrived back here at around quarter past 11 after travelling from the king edward vii hospital in london, a 45 minutejourney. king edward vii hospital in london, a 45 minute journey. he king edward vii hospital in london, a 45 minutejourney. he came back here and was reunited with the queen and there is no doubt he will continue to rest and recuperate. any medical attention he will have here at the castle but clearly doctors at the hospital felt he was well enough after what turned out to be his longest stay in hospital, 28 nights, but he will be monitored, i suspect, very closely, now that he is back at the castle. the castle don't like to give much detail about the medical conditions, especially of senior members of the royal family, conditions, especially of senior members of the royalfamily, but conditions, especially of senior members of the royal family, but all they would say on that is that the duke of edinburgh is in good spirits. we know that he had a successful procedure to do with a pre—existing heart condition, but for the queen, she has been here throughout her husband's stay in hospital and they will have been communicating, of course, may be via the telephone or zoom but they have not seen each other for such a long time, and as wasjust not seen each other for such a long time, and as was just touched on not seen each other for such a long time, and as wasjust touched on in the report, the queen has been dealing with family matters, matter is that the duke of edinburgh often guides her and takes the lead on, and she hasn't had that kind of support, so no doubt the queen will be relieved that her husband is back by her side to help her navigate in the weeks and months ahead. we are 'ust hearin: the weeks and months ahead. we are just hearing in — the weeks and months ahead. we are just hearing in relation _ the weeks and months ahead. we are just hearing in relation to _ the weeks and months ahead. we are just hearing in relation to that - just hearing in relation to that other big royal story we had in the last fortnight, the interview of harry and meghan with oprah winfrey, as a result there has been a conversation between senior royals? yes, this is something which has been reported in the sun newspaper and there are just reports and we have not verified them ourselves, but we understand that meghan markle's friend gayle king who is a presenter, she has said to our sister station cbs that she spoke to the couple, meghan and harry over the couple, meghan and harry over the weekend after their interview, the weekend after their interview, the big interview with oprah winfrey, and she said to cbs that prince harry has spoken to his brother william and also to his father charles for the first time since that interview took place. gayle king said she called them to see how they were feeling after the interview and said it is true harry has spoken to his brother and father. the word she was given, she says, is that the conversations were not productive, but they are glad they have at least started a conversation. that is reports in a newspaper that the couple meghan and harry, at least harry, has spoken to his father and prince william, but gayle king saying that she was told by harry that the conversations were not productive, but as i say, the queen and the duke of edinburgh is here comic relief for them and now they are back together, and maybe they are back together, and maybe they can now manage the family issues —— the duke of edinburgh is here, so relief for them. issues -- the duke of edinburgh is here, so relief for them.— issues -- the duke of edinburgh is here, so relief for them. thanks for “oininu here, so relief for them. thanks for joining us- — the uk will shift its focus away from europe and towards india, japan, and australia in what's being billed as a major shake—up of foreign policy. the prime minister, speaking in the commons, said the review would make britain "stronger, safer and more prosperous". the year—long review into how the uk should position itself post—brexit concludes that relations with countries in the indo—pacific will be key to balancing the rise of china. paul adams reports. have ships, will travel. as hms queen elizabeth prepares to sail to the far east later this year, the government is getting ready to tell us what all this is for. a post—brexit nation on the hunt for new alliances facing new challenges. this, we are told, the biggest shake—up of defence and security since the end of the cold war. for us, there are no far—away countries of which we know little. global britain is not a reflection of old obligations, still less a vainglorious gesture, but a necessity for the safety and prosperity of the british people in the decades ahead. for all the apparent ambition, the opposition is unimpressed. we welcome the deepening of engagement in the indo pacific region. but this comes on the back of an inconsistent policy towards china for a decade. conservative governments have spent ten years turning a blind eye to human rights abuses, while inviting china to help build our infrastructure. now that basic inconsistency is catching up with them. the government is looking east, to the indo pacific, and ways to counter the challenge posed by china. is the world's next superpower a partner or a threat? china represents the generational threat. the reason for that is the idea that china will become more like us as it got richer or as its economy matured is clearly for the birds. that's not going to happen. that means finding new allies among the ten south—eastern asian states that make up asean. could britain become a closer partner? and india, the world's biggest democracy. borisjohnson is going there at the end of april, his first big foreign trip since britain left the eu. some old alliances remain — the government says nato is still the bedrock of defence and security in the north atlantic region, part of the glue that binds us to america. defence spending has already been increased, although mps are still concerned about the mod�*s finances. and some question plans to increase the number of britain's nuclear warheads. the government insists it represents a minimal credible deterrent against the very worst threats. the review brings change to whitehall, a new white house style situation room at the cabinet office, and a counterterrorism operation centre designed to ensure faster responses to future emergencies. there are plenty of big ideas in this big review, the need to tackle a hostile russia, efforts to combat climate change. above all, it's about britain's place in the world, about playing a significant role now that being part of europe is not what it was. paul adams, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our diplomatic correspondent james landale. he gave me his assessment of what the prime minster has outlined. there are some new ideas in this. essentially, the argument is that for many years, britain's foreign policy and place in the world has been based on its relationship with europe and the united states, the bridge between the two. that has clearly come to an end because of brexit. so, this says, "look, geographically, we need to look elsewhere, go to the indo—pacific, that's where the fastest—growing economies are, that's where some of the biggest strategic threats are," a nod to china. "so, the uk has to have a greater presence there." there is also in it i think a sense of saying, "british foreign policy needs to have a bit more of an edge to it, it needs to be a bit more focused on promoting and defending british national interests and specifically saying, make it relevant to people at home." that at least is the ambition. the critique is that it doesn't quite live up to the billing, that there is actually not enough resources there, that the military will be stretched too thin, that, how can you do that if you're cutting aid to other parts of the world? if you're moving to the pacific, are you not neglecting europe? so, there are still a lot of questions about it, but there are one or two new ideas which will try and answer the question of, what does global britain actually mean after brexit? the european union's medicines regulator, the ema, has underlined that it is firmly convinced of the benefits of the oxford astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine. several countries have recently suspended the roll—out of the vaccine because a small number of cases of blood clots were reported after it was administered. the ema said it had seen no evidence that the vaccine caused blood clots but its experts are still reviewing the jab and their findings will be released on thursday. the ema's executive director, emer cooke, has been speaking about this issue at a news conference in amsterdam this lunchtime. let's hear what she had to say. there is no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions. they have not come up in the clinical trials and they're not listed as known or expected side—effects with this vaccine. in clinical trials, both the vaccinated people and the people who received the placebo have shown small, some very small, numbers of blood clot developments. we don't... the number of thromboembolic events overall in the vaccinated people seems not to be higher than that seen in the general population. i don't need to remind you all here today that the covid—i9 pandemic is a global crisis, with devastating health, social and economic impact, and it continues to be a major burden on eu health systems. vaccines for covid—i9 help to protect individuals from becoming ill, especially healthcare professionals and vulnerable populations, such as older people and those with chronic diseases. and this is a very important consideration in our assessment of the benefit risk. so, while the investigation is ongoing, we are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the astrazeneca vaccine in preventing covid—i9, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risks of these side—effects. tom chivers is the science editor at the digital magazine unherd. thanks forjoining us. that is the interim finding from the regulator that the astrazeneca vaccine is safe but at the moment ten eu countries have still suspended its use, what do you make of it? it have still suspended its use, what do you make of it?— have still suspended its use, what do you make of it? it seems a very bad idea to — do you make of it? it seems a very bad idea to me. _ do you make of it? it seems a very bad idea to me. there _ do you make of it? it seems a very bad idea to me. there are - do you make of it? it seems a very bad idea to me. there are a - do you make of it? it seems a very bad idea to me. there are a few. bad idea to me. there are a few things to think about, firstly, 37 cases of blood clotting events which have been detected amongst people who have had the vaccine but you have to remember that is out the 5 million people in the eu alone who have had the astrazeneca vaccine. sometimes people get blood clots and itjust happens naturally, in perfectly healthy people anyway, and in a population of 5 billion people you would expect to see about 100 people getting that per week so just as a background risk, that 37 figure is actually lower than you would expect, so on its own thatjust doesn't seem like there is very much going on here that we need to worry about. . . ., , . ., , about. the incidence of blood clots is not higher— about. the incidence of blood clots is not higher than _ about. the incidence of blood clots is not higher than in _ about. the incidence of blood clots is not higher than in the _ about. the incidence of blood clots is not higher than in the general. is not higher than in the general population wejust is not higher than in the general population we just heard, making the point that you are making, and yet they are still wanting to do more investigation and they will give a final verdict on thursday. i can understand — final verdict on thursday. i can understand that _ final verdict on thursday. i can understand that there - final verdict on thursday. i can understand that there is - final verdict on thursday. i can understand that there is a... l final verdict on thursday. i can understand that there is a... people get nervous about new things, people get nervous about new things, people get nervous about things which are actually safer than the alternatives. like nuclear power, for example, people get this panic of the new thing, but in this case it is really bad. even if it turns out, which we cannot rule out, even if it turns out that there is a slightly raised risk of blood clotting caused by the vaccine, the odds are, well, it is absolutely much lower than the risk of clotting caused by covid itself which not only causes rotting but many other risks —— clotting. so, the cost benefit analysis even if there is a slight raised risk is enormous, we put up with small risks from things in order to prevent larger risks and thatis in order to prevent larger risks and that is the idea of the vaccine. it is not as though we can simply say, it's fine, we will delay it while we check things out, because every day you delay vaccinating people is a day they could catch covid in the day they could catch covid in the day they could die, and i saw an analysis that every 100,000 people you vaccinate a day early it saves 15 lives, and if this means that a million people get their vaccine a week late that will be... inaudible a number _ week late that will be... inaudible a number of _ week late that will be... inaudible a number of people _ week late that will be. .. inaudible a number of people will- week late that will be... inaudible a number of people will die - week late that will be... inaudible a number of people will die who j a number of people will die who shouldn't have died, so this seems like a very unwise strategy on my part. i have seen people talking about clusters of these events, in germany and norway people saying there is a particular batch of these things, and maybe that is true, although it still seems likely it is just the background rate but also it is just a random just the background rate but also it isjust a random cluster, that is quite possible, we are looking at blood clotting, but there are many things which can go wrong with peoples bodies. we could be talking about heart failure, fainting, epilepsy, one of these things could have happened in a random bunch somewhere and then we would have picked it up and then everyone would have been panicking about epileptic fix, so, anyway, —— epileptic fits, so, anyway, it will cost more lives thanit so, anyway, it will cost more lives than it saves. so, anyway, it will cost more lives than it saves-— than it saves. thanks for “oining us. the police officer accused of the kidnap and murder of sarah everard has appeared at the old bailey via video link. wayne couzens — who's 48 — was remanded in custody until a hearing injuly. his trial is expected to take place at the end of october. last night, the government announced measures to improve safety for women and girls in england and wales — including an additional £25 million for better street lighting and cctv. let's speak now to jillian kowalchuk, founder of the app safe and the city, which tracks the safest walking routes throughout london. tell us more about your app and how it works and how it helps women. 50. it works and how it helps women. so, it works and how it helps women. so, it was the it works and how it helps women. in, it was the genesis it works and how it helps women. sc, it was the genesis of it works and how it helps women. s53, it was the genesis of my own experience, i'm canadian who moved to the uk to pursue my public health degree and work. i noticed that the apps i was using were not really designed with me in mind and that specifically was moving through public spaces and feeling quite unsafe. one particular experience, i was following a route that took me through an alleyway where i had an unfortunate experience of a near sexual assault, and as a trained public health professional, looking at patterns of information was the key of how you can look at preventing harm versus reacting in the moment, and i saw a big opportunity with the technology platforms that are the everyday navigation apps moving to different spaces that could allow you to record on those experiences whether they are near miss or catcalling or whether they are physical assaults that you do not know what to do with. from that information, we can actually paint a better picture of what is missing in this puzzle to look at what we can measure and change through that type of information. the app itself is available to download and essentially works very similar to google maps, you put in your destination and work alongside the metropolitan police to make sure that specific high—risk areas are notified so you have a reminder, for example, angel station, if there was a lot of problems there, if criminals keep coming back so why is not made available to all types of devices, if you have missed the sign or did not hear the tfl warning, that should be delivered on our devices and that is something that we are working on with the integration of so... it sounds areat. integration of so... it sounds great- the â