28/02/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at 10:00.

Heavy snow hits the UK,

with warnings of much more

disruption for millions

of people tomorrow.

A red alert across large parts

of central Scotland tonight,

the most severe weather warning,

meaning there's a risk to life.

No flights at Glasgow airport

until tomorrow lunchtime -

foil blankets are handed out

to stranded passengers

as they bed down for the night.

Snow on this scale, whilst not

unprecedented, is unusual.

We'd have to go back a number

of years to see an event like this.

Thousands of schools were closed

today across the UK,

allowing children to take

to their sledges.

And it's forecast to be

just as bad tomorrow,

with weather warnings for more snow

and very low temperatures in almost

every part of the UK.

Also tonight.

A warning on Brexit,

former Prime Minister Sir John Major

urges Theresa May to put country

before Party and not rule out

a second referendum.

Let Parliament decide,

or put the issue back to the people.

More than 5,000 jobs at risk as two

big high street names,

Toys R Us and Maplin, collapse.

The UK's fishing industry -

worth more than £1 billion a year,

we report on the impact

Brexit could have.

A snowy win for Spurs

tonight, but a game marred

by the controversial

video referee technology.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News.

More VAR controversy,

a disallowed penalty and plenty

of goals too on a crazy night

in the FA Cup at Wembley.

Good evening.

There are severe weather

warnings in place tonight

for almost all of the UK,

as snow continues to fall

and sub-zero temperatures intensify.

Across large parts of Scotland,

including Glasgow and Edinburgh,

a red alert is in place tonight -

the Met office's most

severe weather warning,

meaning that lives could be at risk.

People are being told not

to travel in central Scotland

until mid-morning tomorrow

at the earliest.

Across the whole of the UK today,

temperatures were well below zero

first thing this morning,

with Farnborough in Hampshire

the coldest at -11.7 Celsius.

Snow fell across large parts

too, with more than 31

centimetres in Cumbria.

And thousands of schools

across England, Wales, Scotland

and Northern Ireland were closed.

Lorna Gordon is in Glasgow.

Large parts of Scotland ground to a

halt today. By my calculations,

around 3.5 million people fall

within the Red Warning area. In

cities like Lars there has been a no

public transport since it has been

in force. There are no trains, no

buses, very few planes have been

able to take. For those who have

taken to the roads, some people have

been stuck for hours.

At the pale end of winter, the

highest alert for snow. The driving

treacherous, the disruption

widespread. Heading out in these

conditions isn't advised. This is

the first time Scotland has had a

Red Warning of this kind, in force

across a large swathe of the

country's most heavily populated

areas. Frequent showers and drifting

snow leading to fears some rural

communities could be cut off.

Is it

OK to come in? How are you?

In this

village on the outskirts of Glasgow,

the local minister has been looking

in on the elderly and vulnerable. In

this kind of weather is good for

everyone to look out for their

neighbours.

It is indeed. Even the

smallest gesture, just checking in

on someone to make sure they are

safe is important. We wouldn't

advocate people going out in this

kind of weather. Stay warm, stay

safe and let us come to you.

As the

Red Warning to cold, Glasgow's

normally busy city centre streets

were instead close to deserted. One

person took to their skis.

It's

pretty unusual for us in Scotland.

We have some severe weather but snow

on this scale is unusual. Weird have

to go back a number of years to see

an event like this.

Jackknifed

lorries meant on some roads even the

gritters and snowploughs struggled

to get through. The M80 travelling

north grantor halt with driver stuck

for hours.

20 minutes ago we moved

about 100 yards and we stopped

again. For a while when it was

daylight, the sky cleared and it was

quite optimistic. The next thing was

it went black and heavy, heavy

showers of snow.

Blizzard conditions

lead to problems at the airports

too. Most flights in Glasgow were

cancelled. The Red Cross bringing in

temporary bedding for hundreds of

passengers stranded overnight. One

sign perhaps of how extreme this

weather has been, deer coming down

from the hills in Perthshire in

search of shelter or food. More than

1600 schools across Scotland have

been closed for the day. Many will

remain closed tomorrow too. This

weather has been exceptional, and

it's not over yet. Lorna Gordon, BBC

News, Glasgow.

Wherever you are in the UK, travel

is going to be difficult tomorrow.

Almost every train operator will be

affected again by the conditions

with some rail lines

completely shut again.

Airports across the UK are warning

of more delays and cancellations.

And motorists are being advised not

to make any unnecessary journeys.

Our correspondent Danny Savage

is in Durham tonight.

The infrastructure of the UK has

taken a real battering over the last

24 hours. This is the East Coast

mainline. Trains are coming through

tonight which are more than four

hours late. There has been a

critical incident declared in

Lincolnshire with police wanting to

use military vehicles to get people

to hospital. Also in south Wales,

many schools will be closed until

next week. There's a long way to go

yet before things start to improve.

Day three of this Siberian blast,

and things have got much worse.

This was Cumbria, but it could have

been virtually anywhere in northern

and eastern Britain.

Hundreds of vehicles,

on many different routes,

ended up getting stuck.

The A46 Lincoln bypass was blocked

by stranded lorries.

In south-east London,

a man in his 60s died

after falling into a frozen pond

in Danson Park, in Welling.

It's the worst snowfall

in the capital for several years,

and canals have been left frozen.

Landmarks faded from view

as blizzards swept in,

and young and old took to the slopes

in city parks.

Further north in Norwich,

it was gridlock as the journey

to work took hours.

The poor night girls

are still on shift.

They've been there since 7:30pm last

night, and no one can get in.

No, we're not.

We should have just stayed

at home, really, but...

Someone's got to keep the world

running, haven't they?

On the East Coast mainline,

linking London and Scotland,

there were numerous

cancellations and delays.

The snow, the travel

has been a nightmare.

It's been a journey.

The train is 2:38 train,

and it has been delayed

by a couple of hours.

So 17:15 is the current time.

As thousands of schools were closed,

endurance was needed

for the alternative to lessons

in the biting wind chill.

Come on!

Come on!

In rural areas, much has to be done

regardless of the weather.

All these ewes are pregnant,

they'll begin lambing

in less than three weeks.

Farmers want this freeze

to be over by then.

Sometimes the weaker lambs

would just freeze to death in it.

That's where most of

the problem would lie.

And the farmer himself,

getting round the sheep to find

which ones are in a corner.

They don't always lamb

where you want them to.

So you'd have to be out looking,

finding them in the snow?

Yes.

Later, on the way into Sunderland,

we found Steve trying

to free his car, which ended up

off the road.

There was a lorry stuck there,

so we were stuck behind that

vehicle, and it was just

like a sheet of...

Well, you couldn't see

virtually in front of you.

It was a white out?

It really was.

Even Cornwall got a covering,

an opportunity for a different kind

of boarding in the south-west.

The far south-east ended up

on the receiving end as well,

adding to the accumulations in Kent

and neighbouring counties.

And there is no sign of things

getting any better yet.

Danny Savage, BBC

News, County Durham.

The blast of bitterly cold weather

over the past few days

has come from Siberia -

but this is what's

heading our way now.

Storm Emma is moving up from

the south from the Bay of Biscay.

And it's the South West

of England and Wales that

will be affected by that.

Jon Kay is in Cornwall

for us tonight.

Snowed today but how much worse as

it expected to get?

Emma and the

beast sounds like a fairy tale but

we don't know how and when this is

going to end. Today has been

unpredictable enough. As Danny was

saying, you don't often get this

amount of snow in a place like

Falmouth next to the beach huts.

Tomorrow is a new level of

unpredictability. Not only have we

got the snow coming in from the

east, we've got the low pressure

coming up from the South mixing over

this part of south-west England and

mid and South Wales. It's bringing

wind and moisture which means there

could be blizzard conditions, there

could be freezing rain, and the

authorities are trying to work out

what is going to happen where to try

and stay ahead of it. In Cornwall

they are hoping to keep 900 miles of

roads free to reach rural

communities. They know that's going

to be difficult to do if blizzard

conditions continue. They are

warning people to change their

plans, to change their lives, to act

accordingly. Hundreds of schools are

already shot, the University of the

West of England says it is closing

its campuses on Friday. There are

people in Falmouth who have never

seen snow like this but tomorrow

they could see a whole lot more.

Thank you. You can keep up-to-date

with the latest information on the

BBC News website.

The former Prime Minister Sir

John Major has called

on Theresa May to offer MPs a free

vote on the final Brexit

deal, with the option

of putting it to the public

in a second referendum.

Sir John, who campaigned

to remain in the EU,

criticised the UK's approach

to Brexit, said many of its red

lines are unrealistic.

But a leading Brexit-supporting

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg

dismissed Sir John's words

as "cheap comments".

Our political editor

Laura Kuenssberg reports.

Stop Brexit!

"Stop Brexit"?

Not a done deal!

The freezing protesters who have

taken up a permanent berth

in Westminster might

have a new ally...

The former Tory Prime

Minister Sir John Major,

who says MPs should be allowed

to approve or block the final

Brexit deal, or give

you a second referendum.

Nobody can truly know what the will

of the people may then be,

so let Parliament decide or put

the issue back to the people.

I don't enjoy being out of step

with so many of my Party.

I take no pleasure at all

in speaking out as I have today.

But it is as necessary

to speak truth to the people

as it is to speak truth to power.

His case?

Theresa May's trapped

by her Brexiteers.

The current plot has a bad ending.

She has been boxed in by people

who are setting up hurdles

that it is very difficult

for her to jump, and very difficult

for the European Union to jump.

The end product of this,

no doubt in the minds of those

setting these hurdles,

is that the European Union will say

no, and then it will be said well,

we haven't got an agreement

because of these wicked Europeans,

and therefore we leave with no

agreement and a very hard Brexit.

That is not in the interest

of this country.

There is a risk

though, is there not?

From what you've said today,

it just sounds like someone

who was on the losing side

of the argument, and you don't

want to accept it.

That's the cheap response

to anything that's said.

Are the 16 million people

who were deeply upset that we voted

to leave the European Union expected

to be absolutely silent,

and accept everything

that is said by other people,

even when they believe

it is to be damaging?

That's not real.

That's absolutely not real, Laura.

Of course they must speak out.

We are a democracy.

But isn't democracy also respecting

the result of the referendum?

Nobody knew in any

detail what the outcome

of the referendum really meant.

The Prime Minister relies

on the support of a vocal

group of Brexit backers.

REPORTER:

Prime Minister,

who's going to blink first?

But she, like they, has no

truck with another vote.

The government has given Parliament,

and will give Parliament the right

to say whether they agree

with what's been negotiated or not,

and that will be it.

I think that's

the right thing to do.

We have to leave, because

the British people have

said we should leave.

Ministers may gnash their teeth

at this intervention,

but it has cheered some

of the Tory restive troops.

John Major is right,

we should have a free vote.

And if it is absolutely

the will of the people,

then this process that was begun

by the people of this

country must be finished

by the people of this country.

But is he really helping?

Didn't he complain his predecessor

was a back-seat driver?

Why should Theresa May tolerate

what you're doing this afternoon?

This is the first occasion

I've spoken on this

for many, many months.

Unless my memory serves me ill,

Margaret spoke on a weekly basis,

not once in many many months.

Hard to believe now the referendum

was meant to end Tory fights.

With a year to go, and the future

shape of the country

at stake, there are plenty

of scores to settle.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC

News, Westminster.

Sir John Major's intervention came

on the day that the European

Commission published its first draft

of the official treaty for Brexit.

In it, it proposes

a common regulatory area

on the island of Ireland -

which would effectively mean

keeping Northern Ireland

in a customs union -

unlike the rest of the UK.

But Theresa May said the idea

threatened the constitutional

integrity of the UK and would never

be agreed to.

Here's our Europe

editor, Katya Adler.

In the historic process in which the

UK leaves the EU, this is a big

moment. The first legal draft of the

UK's exit treaty. So how is it

possible, you might ask, to have a

draft withdrawal agreement already

when Brexit negotiations are still

ongoing? Well, this 120 page

document is the European

Commission's understanding of what

has been agreed to date with the UK,

and of what it still wants to be

agreed. So in here we see the

divorce issues that were discussed

but not finalised before Christmas.

The rights rights of EU citizens in

the UK and UK citizens in after

Brexit and the Brexit bill and the

Irish border. Also in here the

transition agreement, but no details

of a future EU-UK trade deal because

those talks haven't even started

yet. The document's paragraphs on

Northern Ireland are particularly

controversial. The EU's chief Brexit

negotiator came out today to defend

them.

We have applied imagination

and creativity to find a specific

solution to the unique challenge

that Brexit causes for the

protection of the Good Friday

Agreement.

Mr Barnathan said three

options had been agreed with the UK

to avoid the reintroduction of a

hard border between the Northern

Ireland and the Irish Republic, but

he said the UK hadn't yet come

forward with details so much his

back stop solution involves Northern

Ireland remaining in a customs

agreement with the EU and in parts

of the single market. You must also

be aware of the potentially

explosive effect in the UK of this

Northern Ireland protocol. Is this

perhaps intentional on your part?

TRANSLATION:

I'm not trying to

provoke or create shockwaves I want

these negotiations to be a success.

Let me remind you that it was the

UK's decision to leave. As I said

from the beginning, nobody should

under estimate the consequences of

this action.

But the Prime Minister

was having none of it.

The draft

legal text the Commission have

published would if implemented would

undermine the UK Common Market and

threaten constitutional intregrity

of the UK by creating a customs and

regulatory border down the Irish

Sea. And no UK Prime Minister could

ever agree to it.

The Prime Minister

and the EU do agree a hard border

between Northern Ireland and the

Irish Republic must be avoided. But

the Prime Minister's negotiating

position is complicated by her

Government's reliance for

parliamentary support on Northern

Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

We didn't leave the EU to oversea

the break-up of the United Kingdom.

It would be catastrophic

economically, never mind politically

from Northern Ireland to be cut off

from its biggest market.

This is not

where the story ends. This document

is a first draft to be amended by EU

member states then negotiated with

the Government. Which has plenty to

say about it. Before you go away

tonight thinking - another Brexit

crisis, actually we are slap back in

the middle of more Brexit

negotiations. There were strong

words today in London, in Belfast

and in Brussels, but nobody actually

slammed the door. Tomorrow, in the

next chap term of this drama --

chapter of this drama. In a spirit

of compromise the Government is

offering more rights to EU

citizenses who arrive during the

transition period. It's a

negotiation with much to play for,

although one EU diplomat pointed out

me tonight the Irish question still

has the potential to bring a Brexit

deal tumbling down. Katya, thank

you.

Police investigating

an explosion on Sunday night

at a shop in Leicester,

that claimed the lives of five

people, have tonight arrested three

men on suspicion of manslaughter.

Let's speak to Sima Kotecha,

who's there for us this evening.

Sima.

What more can you tell us about

these latest developments?

As you

say, Sofie, three men have been aest

ared on suspicion of manslaughter

this evening. Police say they are in

their 30s and from East Anglia, the

north-west of the country and the

East Midlands. They say at this

stage in their investigation there

isn't much more they can say.

However, in a statement they stress

there remains no evidence to suggest

that the blast was in anyway terror

related. Now it, five people are

believed to have died in that

explosion on Sunday including a

mothered and her two teenage sons. A

Polish supermarket, along with a two

story flat were completely

destroyed. Tonight, police say they

are questioning those three men.

Sofie.

Thank you.

A woman who was rescued

from the 19th floor

of Grenfell Tower has

died in hospital.

74-year-old Maria Del Pilar Burton,

who was known as Pily,

had been in hospital since her home

was destroyed in the fire.

It brings the death toll to 72.

They've been big high street names

for more than 30 years,

but now Toys R Us and the electrical

chain Maplin have both

collapsed, putting more

than 5,000 jobs at risk.

Toys R Us has 3,000 staff,

Maplin employs 2,500 people.

Both firms have been struggling

with poor sales and increasing

competition from online retailers.

Here's our business

correspondent, Emma Simpson.

# With toys in their millions

# All under one roof

# It's Called Toys R Us!...#

It was a force to be reckoned with,

pulling in shoppers

with its American-style megastores.

Today, the magic's long gone.

Some stores were already

closing to cut costs,

but it wasn't enough.

It's a shame, but it's not

probably a great surprise.

It's been on the cards for a while.

And people tend to buy

online these days, I think,

because it's cheaper.

Because I've four children,

grown up now, but we always used

to come here for their toys.

So, you know, it's a shame.

Selling toys should be

a magical experience.

So what went wrong for Toys R Us?

They are too reliant on

these large out-of-town stores.

But a lot of their problems

are actually self-inflicted.

They overlooked the importance

of online, where about 40%

of toy sales take place.

And perhaps more importantly,

they've neglected their stores.

Toys R Us has been struggling

for years, a business weighed down

by huge amount of debt.

Its American owners filed

for bankruptcy protection

in the States last autumn.

And today, this toy story ended

with the UK chain effectively

running out of cash.

And tonight, the man tasked

with rescuing it told me

that wouldn't be easy.

Whilst we're going to make every

effort to sell the business,

I think realistically

there's a small chance that

someone will come through.

And if they do, it will be

for parts of the business,

and certainly not for the business

as a whole, and certainly not

in its existing format.

Maplin also collapsed today

with more than 200 stores.

It blamed a slowdown in

consumer spending and higher costs.

It's been a bleak winter

for many retailers.

Today, two big casualties

and thousands of jobs on the line.

The shops are still trading,

but for how much longer?

Emma Simpson, BBC News.

The United Nations says conditions

in Yemen are "catastrophic"

after three years of conflict there.

Houthi rebels, backed by Iran,

remain in control of large

parts of the country,

including the capital Sana'a.

Fighting them are forces loyal

to the former president,

who are being backed by Saudi

airstrikes and a naval blockade.

Caught in the middle

are the country's civilians.

More than 20 million of them need

humanitarian help or protection,

and famine remains a serious threat.

The BBC's Lyse Doucet travelled

with Saudi and Yemeni government

forces to the frontlines,

and sent this report.

High above the Iranian peninsula,

just off the coast of Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and its allies

have ruled these skies

since this war began,

and they control the seas below.

These shipping lanes,

a vital gateway for the world's

energy supplies, and a smuggling

route too for elicit goods.

Among them, the Saudis say,

weapons its arch-rival Iran supplies

to Yemen's Houthi fighters.

We land on board HMS Makkah,

a Saudi warship inspecting vessels

bound for Hodeidah port.

Most of Yemen's imports

flow through there,

but it's in Houthi hands.

So Saudis are on the lookout

for suspicious vessels.

For the captain, his mission

is a crucial front-line in this war.

So your operational rules are to

treat all vessels as suspicious?

Yes, yes.

Even humanitarian ones?

Even humanitarian.

A naval blockade has

been lifted for now,

it had obstructed vital medicine,

food and fuel from reaching

Yemenis in desperate need.

But this war grinds on and

on the ground its Yemen's army,

troops and tribesmen,

who are batting Houthi fighters.

Advancing slowly on hostile terrain,

mountain by mountain,

seizing strategic heights

on the approach to the capital.

Sana'a is the prize in this war.

The Houthis want to keep it,

the ousted government wants it back.

But to take the fight

into the heart of this historic,

densely-populated city would be

a bloody urban battle.

All roads in this war

lead to this capital.

Yemeni forces and their allies

have an ambitious plan -

surround Sana'a and force

the Houthis to surrender.

But their enemy is well entrenched.

Supported by Iran,

the Houthis are now well

trained and well supplied.

Their ballistic missiles

have reached the heart

of the Saudi Kingdom.

And fear is part

of their arsena,l too.

--.

And fear is part

of their arsenal, too.

Hundreds of journalists

and political opponents have been

detained arbitrarily,

many have fled.

In a government-controlled area,

we meet 27-year-old Annas.

His crime - posting

comments on social media.

He tells us, "they hung me

up, tortured me until

I fell unconscious."

When he woke up, he couldn't move.

"Imagine", he says,

"in a second you cannot walk.

What can I be now," he asks?

But Yemenis live

with other fears too.

This is the impact of a Saudi

air strike in Sana'a,

a neighbourhood close to the Defence

Ministry.

The Saudi-led coalition has been

pounding enemy positions,

armed with the most sophisticated

weaponry from allies

like Britain, the US and France.

The Saudis insist civilians are not

a target, but they're being hit.

This family, like many

others, lost their home

in a coalition bombing.

They've taken refuge here.

"We're begging for help",

cries Sabat al-Salah.

"Yesterday my three

children didn't eat.

I'm ill, always ill.

Neither dead nor alive."

There's no escape from this war,

it's pushed these families

from place to place.

At this temporary settlement they're

digging in, trying to make

a new home from the little

they now have.

The Arab world's poorest nation,

now a battleground for regional

powers, in a Middle East

which grows evermore combustible.

Saudi Arabia and Iran know

they're playing with fire.

Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Yemen.

The fishing industry

in Britain is worth more

than £1 billion a year,

but the sector faces an uncertain

future after Britain leaves the EU.

MPs are urging the Government

to publish their proposals for

the industry as a matter of urgency.

Our Scotland editor,

Sarah Smith, reports

from Peterhead, one of Europe's

largest fishing ports.

Fishermen around Britain's

coastline, from Cornwall

to the north-east of Scotland,

cannot wait to leave the EU.

They feel they've been dealt a raw

deal from the common

fisheries policy for decades.

What better way, they say,

to show we're taking back control

than to regain regulation

of the UK's coastal waters.

This is where the fish ends up at.

In Fraserburgh, David Mills

just invested millions

in a brand-new boat.

I think they should have total

control of the coastal waters,

there's no question about it.

Would that mean no EU

fisheries boats in UK waters?

No, no.

No, no, I'm not saying that.

I mean, we know they've got to get

access, but we would like to be

in charge of the access

that they have.

Currently, EU rules mean that UK

ships are allowed to catch less

than 40% of the fish in UK waters.

While fishermen in Iceland,

which is outside the EU,

keep around 95% of their stocks.

British boats want a larger share

of what they say are British fish.

The UK fishing industry know

what they want out of Brexit.

The EU, though, take

a very different view.

They say they want to base any

future bilateral fishing deal

on current and historical patterns.

In other words, the very

arrangements that UK

fishermen so detest.

Much of the fish landed

and processed in the UK is sold

in European countries.

The EU say, without a fair

deal on access to UK

waters, we can't expect

to maintain tariff-free trade.

If there are tariffs imposed,

then that creates challenges.

Fresh fish is a perishable item,

and so, if it goes to a border,

for example, and there

are non-tariff implications,

such as document requirements,

that hold up the product

at the border, then

that is a big issue.

UK fishing is getting ready

for a sizeable expansion.

A huge new fish market is already

under construction in Peterhead,

part funded, ironically,

by the European Union.

Sarah Smith, BBC News, Peterhead.

Football, and Tottenham Hotspur have

progressed to the quarter-finals

of the FA Cup after what turned out

to be an emphatic 6-1 win over

Rochdale at Wembley.

But the first half of the game

was dominated by controversy over

the use of video referee technology.

Our sports correspondent,

Richard Conway, reports.

Wembley is always a special

occasion, Rochdale's manager,

Keith Hill, sharing this one

with his son.

Just five minutes in,

Tottenham thought they'd taken

the lead, only for Erik Lamela's

goal to be ruled out

for a foul picked up

by the referee's video assistant.

But it wasn't long before

Spurs did take the lead.

On a freezing cold night,

it was Son who shone.

COMMENTATOR:

That was pure quality.

But the video assistant

referee was fast becoming

the controversial star of the show,

helping award Spurs a penalty.

Son Heung-min scoring,

but his stuttering runnup

was adjudged to be illegal.

Another Spurs goal struck off.

A more traditional storyline,

that of the FA Cup giant killing

then briefly threatened

to take over.

Rochdale's Stephen Humphrys

sending hopes soring.

As the mercury plummeted,

Spurs emerged in the second-half

on a firmer footing.

COMMENTATOR:

The flag

has stayed down.

Fernando Llorente's neat finish

the first of his hat-trick.

Spurs were brushing

the League One team aside.

And with the final kick

of the game., Kyle Walker-Peters

scored his first ever goal

for the club.

6-1 in the end to Tottenham

and a game notable for video