Image source, Getty Images

We've had some reaction to the latest twist in the Downing Street party row from Labour's Sir Keir Starmer, and now another opposition party leader is having their say.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says things are getting "murkier by the minute".

"Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion - however unfairly - that the process of inquiry is aiding [Boris] Johnson at the expense of public accountability," she says.

She adds: "I doubt Johnson cares about damage to the reputations of others - individuals or institutions - as long as he saves his own skin. But these things matter.

"Rapid conclusion and full publication of the findings of inquiries [is] surely now essential for public trust."

The coronavirus R number - the rate at which the virus reproduces - has fallen slightly in England.

The latest estimates, external put the R value between 0.7 and 0.9, a slight fall on the previous estimate of between 0.8 and 1.1.

This means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between seven and nine other people in total.

These estimates represent the transmission of Covid-19 two to three weeks ago - that's due to the time delay between someone being infected, developing symptoms, and needing healthcare.

No 10 says it cannot comment on whether or not there was a cake at a birthday celebration for the prime minister.

Minister Conor Burns previously said Boris Johnson had been "ambushed with a cake" at a surprise birthday gathering in the Cabinet room on 19 June 2020 - when social events indoors were banned.

But Burns later told the Telegraph's political podcast he had been told "under some authority" there actually was not a cake.

However, an old article from the Times on 20 June 2020 has resurfaced reporting that the group "tucked into a Union Jack cake".

A spokesman for Boris Johnson says: "So you will know what we said earlier this week on the matter, that a small number of staff briefly came into the Cabinet Room on the PM's birthday.

"Beyond that I can't comment further ahead of any conclusion of the investigation."

Image source, Getty Images

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tells broadcasters he wants to see the report by Sue Gray into parties at Downing Street as soon as possible and the Met Police investigation completed.

"The whole of government is paralysed because the police are now looking at what the PM was getting up to in Downing Street," he says.

He says people are worried about cost of living increases while there is a "criminal investigation into the behaviour of the prime minister and what went wrong in Downing Street".

Downing Street have said they didn't tell Sue Gray's team to go back to the police to make sure her report didn't cut across police work.

A spokesman for the PM says No 10 was "not privy" to conversations between the police and the Cabinet Office.

It's "completely a matter for the investigation team to decide what is in the report", he says.

Downing Street also says they still intend to publish the Gray report as they receive it from the Cabinet Office.

Image source, EPA

So we don't yet know when we'll see the Gray report after the police asked for some details to be kept out of it.

But some legal figures are questioning why publishing the report would prejudice a police probe.

Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister who's an expert on Covid rules, asks: "How would a factual civil service report about events the police is investigating 'prejudice' their investigation?"

He suggests this whole situation could have been avoided "if police had done the sensible thing" and begun investigating in December.

Nazir Afzal, a former chief Crown prosecutor, makes a similar point on Twitter, saying: "This is absolute nonsense from the Met Police.

"A purely factual report by Sue Gray cannot possibly prejudice a police investigation."

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, or want a reminder about what's been going on, here are some of the key stories so far today:

Confusion over Gray report: Yes, we still haven't seen it. Now the police have said they want "minimal reference" in the report to the events they are probing. This means there's a whole lot we don't know: including when it will be published and how much will be in it. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says the investigations are "paralysing" government but minister Chris Philp says the government can't interfere in the timing.

Rolling back restrictions: Covid rules are being eased in Wales, with nightclubs allowed to open and an end to the "rule of six" in pubs and restaurants. In Scotland, social distancing reverts to one metre in indoor settings.

Questions for Djokovic: The BBC has uncovered fresh evidence questioning the timing of Novak Djokovic’s positive Covid test that he used in his attempts to travel to Melbourne try to compete in the Australian Open while unvaccinated.

Ellen Clowser
Consultant statistician, BBC News

Just under 3 million (2,989,000) people in the UK would have tested positive for coronavirus in the week ending 22 January, estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggest.

This is the down from just over 3.4 million the week before and represents 4.6% of the population, down from 5.3%.

The ONS says it equates to roughly one in 20 people in the latest week.

And it says the rates of people testing positive for COVID-19 continued to decrease in England, Wales and Scotland but were uncertain in Northern Ireland:

• England: 1-in-20 (previously 1-in-20)
• Wales: 1-in-30 (previously 1-in-25)
• Northern Ireland: 1-in-20 (previously 1-in-20)
• Scotland: 1-in-30 (previously 1-in-20)

Image source, Getty Images

New figures reveal the occupations in England where people work closely together but have the highest levels of unvaccinated workers - with roofers, beauticians and bar staff among them.

The Office for National Statistics found just over one in five roofers and tilers aged 18 to 64 have not yet received a vaccine.

The proportion is similar among complementary medicine professionals, where 20.9% are unvaccinated, and beauticians, where the figure is 19.5%.

Jobs were considered to be close contact by the ONS if they required touching someone else or working within arm's length of them.

It found 17.2% of telesales workers were unvaccinated, 16.5% of bar staff and 16.1% of road construction workers.

By contrast, some close-contact jobs had very high levels of vaccination: only 1.9% of headteachers have not had a jab, 2.4% of GPs, 3% of vets and 3.3% of police officers.

The highest rates of unvaccinated workers - regardless of how closely they work with other people - were in "elementary construction occupations", such as people carrying building materials and digging trenches, with 23.2% who have not had the jab.

Image source, Chris Fraser

When ministers announced the end of plan B restrictions in England, they said vulnerable people would be protected by access to new antiviral and antibody treatments.

They were supposed to be issued with priority PCR tests and an eligibilty letter by 10 January to ensure they could receive treatment within five days of developing symptoms - a crucial time period for the new drugs to be most effective.

But now some people with immune conditions say they have missed out and cancer support groups say they have been flooded with calls from worried patients.

Chris Fraser, who has chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, tells the BBC she's been going through "absolute hell" as she tries to get access to a priority test kit.

"These treatments will save people's lives. I just am so frustrated, along with so many other people, that this chance has been taken out of our hands," she says.

The UK Health Security Agency says it has sent out 1.3 million of the kits so far and is working to ensure that everyone eligible has access to priority tests and treatment.

Image source, Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer says the government has been "paralysed" by the Sue Gray investigation and the subsequent police inquiry into allegations of parties at Downing Street.

The Labour leader says he wants to "see Sue Gray's report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible, because we're in this situation where the whole of government is paralysed because the police are looking at what the prime minister was getting up to in Downing Street".

He says there are "bound to be process issues along the way" with the investigations but adds the problem of paralysing politics is caused by "the behaviour of the prime minister".

Back to the Sue Gray report now, and between her inquiry and the Metropolitan Police investigation "everything will be covered", a minister says.

Chris Philp says the prime minister's promise to address MPs shortly after the Gray report comes out still stands and says it is important to "draw a line under this" as the government has important things to work on.

"What is clear is that between Sue Gray’s report and the police investigation everything is fully covered and that will give parliament and indeed the public all the information they need about these incidents," the culture minister says.

Asked about the timing of the Gray report he says the government cannot interfere in any way with it or the police investigation and they are independent - "which is how it should be".

People decide not to get vaccinated for many reasons but one we don't hear much about is "needle phobia" - a fear of medical procedures involving needles or injections which the NHS says affects about one in 10 people.

Jenny Smith from Skegness says the thought of injections makes her feel queasy. Jenny felt faint when her partner went to get vaccinated, while she sat in a car park.

"Sitting in the car all of a sudden I felt grey, you could feel the waves coming over you. I just thought why am I reacting like that, it's not even my injection," she says. "I do really really want it. I'm not an anti-vaxxer at all".

There is help for people who have trouble facing a needle. The Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group offers jabs during "quieter times" at vaccination centres in Boston and Lincolnshire Showground. The special walk-in sessions are for people with a fear of needles to get vaccinated against Covid.

Rebecca Neno, from NHS Lincolnshire, says the sessions allow people more time to try and overcome their fears. "A lot of it is around trust, working through people's anxieties, breathing techniques," she says.

Read more here.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Morocco says it will reopen its airspace to international passenger flights next month.

The North African country banned all incoming and outgoing international flights last November to try to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch says the ban will be lifted on 7 February.

But Akhannouch urges passengers to comply with Covid-19 guidelines and calls on Moroccans to take their vaccine jabs.

Morocco has had slightly more than 15,000 Covid fatalities so far.

Daniel Sandford
Home Affairs Correspondent

From the moment it became clear some of these events at Downing Street and Whitehall were going to end up being investigated by police it was always going to be the case that it would not be possible for Sue Gray to publish a detailed blow-by-blow account.

My understanding is that has not been the plan for some time, and the Sue Gray report being prepared for publication is a summary of which events took place and an overview of whether that was appropriate or not.

I think the Met, when asked "did you say that Sue Gray can’t publish very detailed accounts?", they have said "yes", but I don’t think they have intervened at the last minute.

I think there is a discussion going on about wording, but I think all week we have known a detailed account wasn’t possible.

Clearly this is a politically enormously important story, because who might get these fines is politically significant, but in terms of crimes these are at the very low end.

I think each person that might or might not have been at one of these events will be asked a simple set of questions, possibly even on paper. "Do you agree you were there? What did you see?"

Realistically, I think the police investigation will be a few weeks, not months.

Image source, PA Media

The Lib Dems are also worried about what will happen with the Gray report, now the police have said some details needed to be kept out of it.

"So first the police were waiting for Sue Gray, now Sue Gray has to wait for the police?" says Alistair Carmichael, Lib Dem home affairs spokesman.

"Any appearance of an establishment stitch-up between the Met Commissioner and the government is profoundly damaging."

He says the Gray report must be published "in full, including all photos, text messages and other evidence" – and if that's not possible, a full version must be made public once the police investigation is complete.

Image source, EPA

Following the Met Police's statement about the Sue Gray report this morning the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group is accusing the force of having "broken the trust of the public".

Spokesperson Fran Hall says the Met first refused "to investigate flagrant law breaking" and is now "demanding any other investigations hide the most serious illegalities happening at Downing Street".

She also says the Sue Gray investigation has "turned into a circus" and repeated the group's call for the prime minister to resign, despite feeling that "quite clearly isn't going to happen".

And the group called for a full statutory inquiry into the government's handling of the entire pandemic.

We've asked the Met if it wants to respond to the group's comments but it declined to add to its earlier statement.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, there's confusion this morning over when we'll see the Sue Gray report into lockdown parties, after the police said key details needed to be kept out of it.

But the SNP's Ian Blackford says the report must be published "in full and undoctored" and "without further delay".

"People are understandably concerned that this increasingly looks like a cover up," he says.

The PM "cannot be allowed to wriggle off the hook" by using the Met Police investigation as an excuse to "further delay or doctor the report".

Yesterday Boris Johnson insisted he intends to publish the report in full.

Image source, Ollie Toole

The pregnant partner of a man placed in an induced coma after catching Covid is warning others not to drop their guard as restrictions are lifted.

Olly Toole, from Canterbury, is 32 and was not vaccinated when he caught coronavirus, but had no underlying health conditions.

He's now out of the coma but his partner Cheryl Waters says at one point she was told he might not survive.

"To sit in a room alone because of Covid rules and have a doctor tell you 'I don't think I can save your partner' is probably the most harrowing experience I'll ever have in my life," she says.

Cheryl says Olly will now need to learn how to walk again.

She says he wasn't an anti-vaxxer but "life gets in the way" and he didn't get around to having the jab.

Image source, Getty Images

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says there is a question of integrity surrounding the leadership of Prime Minster Boris Johnson and says "the Sue Gray report needs to be published in full".

But she tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme there should be a focus on tackling major issues facing the country.

"What really frustrates me (is) we have these massive challenges as a country - the cost-of-living crisis, how to properly fund our National Health Service, how to get to net zero - all these big challenges, and where is the government?"