18/03/2018 BBC News at Ten

A new salvo from Britain towards

Russia, the Foreign Secretary says

Russia has been making and

stockpiling nerve agents.

Two weeks after the Salisbury

poisoning - the government believes

Russia's interest in the deadly

substances was for the purpose

of assassination.

From Moscow Vladimir Putin has

dismissed the allegations -

as the presidential election

gives him another

six years in office.

With international chemical weapons

experts due to arrive in the UK -

we'll have the latest.

Also tonight.

A breakthrough in the treatment

of Multiple Sclerosis

after a medical trial involving

stem cell transplants.

A Sunday whiteout as driving snow,

biting winds and ice

much of the country.

And the million dollar teacher from

London who has scooped up a global

award.

Good evening.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

has accused Russia of making

and stockpiling the nerve agents

known as Novichok,

used in the Salisbury

poisoning two weeks ago.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter

remain critically ill,

but today President Putin said

it was nonsense to say that

Russia was responsible.

We'll hear from our

Moscow correspondent

Steve Rosenberg in a moment -

but first our Diplomatic

Correspondent James Robbins.

Whatever their whether the

decontamination work in Salisbury

goes on. Two weeks after the

chemical attack on circus ago and

his daughter Yulia it is clear that

one focus of the inquiry is in BMW

with suggestions that the agent

might have been placed there to

ensure that the occupants were

poisoned. A team of international

chemical weapons experts from the

global body which polices their

prohibition arrives in Salisbury

tomorrow. They will begin a further

independent investigation. Today the

Foreign Secretary went further than

ever, blaming Russia and lifting the

veil a little on secret

intelligence. Boris Johnson says it

shows Russia has been making nerve

agent within the past decade.

We had

evidence within the last ten years

that Russia has not only been

investigating the delivery of nerve

agents for the purposes of

assassination but has also been

creating and stockpiling Novichok.

The Foreign Secretary also dismissed

and derided a suggestion from one of

Russia's most senior diplomats that

the nerve agent used in Salisbury

could have come from Britain's own

military research facility at Porton

down.

Porton down as we know or know

is the largest military facility in

the alighted kingdom that has been

dealing with chemicals weapons

research. And it's only eight miles

from Salisbury.

You are not

suggesting that Porton down is

responsible for business agent?

I

don't know.

But Theresa May's

government got solid support from

the Labour Shadow Chancellor after

criticism of Jeremy Corbyn is more

questioning approach.

Putin has

questions to answer because this is

likely it could be a state

execution. But in this country we

don't leap to conclusions about the

evidence.

As the investigation goes

on in the next days the government

will focus on broadening

international backing from Britain's

stance. On Tuesday ministers on the

international Security Council would

discuss whether to launch a second

round of measures against Moscow at

the risk of an endless tit-for-tat.

Whatever precisely happened in

Salisbury,

one consequence is that Russia's

international reputation,

international reputation,

already very fragile,

does seem to have been

weakened still further.

Britain is having little trouble

gathering in strong messages

of support from overseas,

although action against Russia

is harder to mobilise.

But Vladimir Putin shows no sign

of changing course.

James, thank you.

This evening President Putin said

claims that his country was behind

the Skripal poisoning

were 'nonsense' but that Russia will

work with the UK.

He was speaking after winning

another term in office

in the presidential election.

Steve Rosenberg has

the latest from Moscow.

He has been centrestage in Russia

for the last 18 years. Tonight by

the Kremlin Vladimir Putin thanked

his people for re-electing him their

president. We are destined to

president. We are destined to

succeed, he said. Russia, Russia,

they chanted. But imputing's fourth

term are Russia and the West

destined for a cold war. Later the

president dismissed accusations that

he was behind the nerve agent attack

in Salisbury.

It is rubbish, drivel,

nonsense to think Russia would do

something like that head of a

presidential election and the World

Cup.

Is pitched to voters had been,

stick with me and Russia will be

strong. And many Russians believe

that.

He's a genius commissioners.

Putin wants Russia to prosper and

Russians to live in happiness. It is

thanks to Putin, she says, that

Russia still exists. But critics of

the Kremlin say the election was

fixed, that only those candidates

who stood no chance of unseating

Putin were allowed to run.

The

problem is there's no such things

Russian politics. Politics. Politics

has been eliminated in a show

together. There's only one political

institution in Russia, the physical

body of Vladimir Putin.

Which was

white Vladimir Putin was always

going to win this fight. This

election wasn't about choosing a new

president, it was about reappointing

the old one. And although many

Russians to support Putin crucially

it is the political system that he

has built in Russia that guarantees

him a landslide win. But these

images are embarrassing, caught on

CCTV woman stuffs a ballot box near

Moscow. Suddenly two of them are at

it and giving the vote count in

Siberia balloons are moved to cover

the camera. Election officials say

they will investigate but the

results will not change. Neither

will the name of Russia's president.

Steve Rosenberg BBC News Moscow.

As the government here blames

Russia for stockpiling

Novichok nerve agents,

a group of international chemical

weapons experts is due

to arrive in the UK tomorrow

Our Security Correspondent Gordon

Corera is at the Foreign Office now.

Gordon - what was behind

that assessment from

the Foreign Secretary today.

Today Boris Johnson deliberately

revealed a piece of sensitive

intelligence, the claim that Russia

has been stockpiling, creating

Novichok and looking at using it for

assassinations. Why did he do that?

Because there's a battle going on

over information and the

credibility. British officials

believe that the Kremlin 's plan

will be to muddy the waters and

create confusion, pointing to

including comments from the Russian

ambassador to the EU today,

suggesting that perhaps Porton down

had created the Novichok and for

some reason relisted in its own

backyard. The British government is

trying to put the Russians on the

back foot by asserting that they are

in contravention of the chemical

weapons Convention by having this

secret chemical warfare chemical

assassination programme at some

point in the last ten years. We will

get that independent inspection

coming from the OPC W but it's

likely to be the next battle ground

over credibility. They will look at

samples, perhaps blood samples from

the victims, and whatever their

conclusions, they may be clear, they

may be disputed, questions may be

asked about whether the results were

tampered with, that will be the next

battle ground of the credibility.

Gordon, at the Foreign Office, thank

you.

Scientists say they've achieved

a breakthrough in the treatment

of Multiple Sclerosis,

after the results of

an international trial involving

stem cell transplants.

Doctors in Sheffield

were part of the study,

which showed an improvement

in symptoms and the progress of

the neurological condition halted.

Around 100,000 people

in the UK are affected by MS,

as our medical correspondent

Fergus Walsh explains.

So nice to finally get out. It feels

like my diagnosis was just a bad

dream.

Before the transplant, Louise

Willetts from Rotherham had severe

relapses, attacks of multiple

sclerosis. At one point she was in a

wheelchair. It also affected her

mind. She struggled to read and

follow conversations. Now she's

completely well and has a newborn

daughter as well.

It does feel like

a miracle, I must have to pinch

myself and ask if it is real, has it

gone will it ever come back. I don't

live in fear any more. I live every

day the wake I want to rather than

around my MS.

MS is caused by a

faulty immune system attacking the

brain and spinal-cord. Symptoms

include balance and muscle problems,

fatigue and loss of vision. Panorama

followed Louise 's treatment.

Originally developed for cancer

patients. A high dose of

chemotherapy was given to knock out

her immune system. Then these

healthy stem cells taken from

Louise's blood and bone marrow were

infused. Not affected by MS, the

stem cells rebuild her immune

system. Now more than two years on,

she is back at Sheffield 's Royal

Hallamshire Hospital for a checkup.

Hi Louise, thank you for coming.

The

M R I shows there is no active

disease in her brain.

I'm delighted

that this has been so successful,

this is really good news.

It is, I'm

delighted as well.

Results from a

trial of over 100 MS patients show

that in the half given the stem cell

transplant there was only one

relapse after one year, compared to

39 among those given standard drug

treatment. Transplant patients were

ten times less likely to see their

treatment fail after three years and

their level of disability reduced.

The results of this trial are simply

stunning. It should mean that many

more MS patients are offered a stem

cell transplant with the hope of

stopping their disease in its

tracks. This is a game changer. It

can fundamentally alter the course

of patients with MS who have got

resistant disabling disease. The

stem cell transplant involves a

one-off cost of £30,000. No more

expensive than the yearly fee for

some drugs. It is not suitable for

all MS patients but the life

changing results with Louise and

others are plain to see.

Ferguson is here, extraordinary

salt, has much people with MS

benefit from this?

It will take time

to scale as up and train the teams,

three trusts, Sheffield, kings and

Imperial offering this. 150 MS

patients in the UK have had it, more

than any other country in the above

except for Sweden and Italy but is

only scratching the surface. Many

neurologists have been sceptical and

they've been waiting over a decade

for the results of this trial we are

reporting tonight. The results are

convincing but the beauty of the

treatment is, it is the patient

healing themselves. Their stem

cells, no need for a donor. And

those cells are resetting the

patient's immune system to the point

before they had amassed. It is a

gruelling procedure involving

chemotherapy and not suitable for

patients with advanced disease that

it is delivering life changing

results.

Fergus Walsh, thank you.

Much of the UK has been in the midst

of a second significant

snowfall of the winter.

For many areas it's been combined

with bitterly cold winds,

bringing misery to those who've been

travelling this weekend.

Sarah Ransome reports.

Snowstorms and snowdrifts, has seen

many people woke up to this morning.

Strong winds causing blizzard

conditions, making driving

treacherous. In the north-west, snow

gates on the a 66 remained closed

between County Durham and Cumbria,

and just getting outside the front

door in Newcastle was no mean feat.

I've been here for quarter of an

hour, I've done a quarter of road so

I'm making headway.

Delays at

Newbury as trains were stopped,

railway stations across the country

have also seen delays and

cancellations. In Gloucester

sporting fixtures like the Anglo

Welsh cup final were called off

because snow stopped play. And as

the heaviest snowfall hit the

south-west Bristol Airport stopped

flights of Exeter Airport cancelling

flights for most of the day. The

snow showed no sign of giving up in

Devon and know neither did those

keeping traffic moving. While

snowploughs and bridges cleared

major roads some drivers got stuck

and there were problems on the M5

and A roads, motorists seemingly

ignoring repeated appeals not to go

out to unless it is essential.

When

people ignore those warnings it does

get frustrating because the already

stretched resources we have become

even more stretched to rescue and

recover people who have no reason to

be out in this weather.

It was not

all doom and gloom as the so-called

mini beast from the East swept

through. Another snow day play date

beckoned. But there's an amber

warning in place across the

south-west until the early hours of

tomorrow morning with ice a major

risk.

The amber warning is still in place,

it is still snowing and the prospect

of more snow and ice overnight.

Emergency services say, please heed

advice, check your travel

arrangements to check where you need

to go safely if in fact you need to

get there at all and if you have

children of school age you might

want to check that their school is

open, hundreds of schools across

Devon and parts of Wales have

already said they are not opening

tomorrow so for some it is another

snow day. Sarah Ransom, thank you.

In Syria President Assad has visited

eastern Ghouta a former rebel held

area near Damascus, state TV showed

him surrounded by soldiers and

civilians after a month-long

government bombardment. Syrian

forces are thought to control some

80% of Eastern Ghouta with thousands

more civilians fleeing the area

today.

Facebook has announced an

investigation into whether the

personal details of 50 million of

its users have been compromised. It

has already suspended data from

Cambridge Ghouta known for its work

on the Trump election campaign after

reports it inappropriately obtained

user data. Both companies deny

wrongdoing. Let's join our media

editor in New York.

The revelation that tens of millions

of Facebook users have had their

personal data harvested like this

has caused dismay on both sides of

the Atlantic and may have profound

implications. But Facebook and

Cambridge Ghouta deny wrongdoing and

said they haven't broken the law. It

could be just that that causes alarm

because there are at least three

layers to the story. First fully

what and when, the Cambridge

Analytica whistle-blower Chris Wylie

has given an account that has

blatant inconsistencies with the

account given by Cambridge Ghouta

and Facebook. The second issue is

public safety, we live in a time

when a few firms have become wealthy

by amassing troops of personal data

and consumers need to realise that

every time they go online David and

digital footprint and individuals,

companies and governments can use

that data to do things they might

not like. The third layer is the

politics. We have to regulators in

Britain looking at whether Cambridge

Analytica was involved in the Brexit

referendum. In America the questions

about their role in the Trump

election. If it is proven as

Cambridge Analytica claim that they

use psychological profiling to

influence voters, if that is to

perhaps the fragility of Western

democracy owes as much to our online

habits as our offline once. Thank

you.

Now time for the sports news. The

semifinals of the FA Cup will see

Manchester United play Spurs and

Chelsea face Southampton, both games

at Wembley. The draw for the final

four was made after Chelsea beat

Leicester City 2-1 while Southampton

knocked League 1 side Wigan athletic

out of the competition. Holly

Hamilton reports. For Antonio Conte

the FA Cup hasn't always been a

priority but out of Europe and

outside the Premier League top four

silverware would be a silver lining.

Chelsea took the lead just before

half-time, Morata claiming his first

goal of 2018. After the break

Leicester searched for an equaliser,

four tries in three seconds, Jamie

Vardy eventually scoring. Into extra

time and as the mercury dropped,

temperatures rose. A questionable

decision by Kasper Schmeichel gifted

Pedro and empty net and Chelsea a

place in the semifinals. In Wigan

the first test for new Southampton

manager Mark Hughes. While the

League 1 side dominated the first

half the visitors capitalised on

their chances. With the clock

ticking and the Saints set to march

on to Wembley they made sure,

doubling their lead and ceiling

Southampton's first FA Cup semifinal

in 15 years. Great Britain has won

its first and only God medal of the

Winter Paralympics on the last day

of the games, Menna Fitzpatrick and

her guide Jen Kehoe got the visually

impaired slalom gold so the British

team has met its target. Kate Gray

reports from Pyeongchang. It was the

golden moment they had been waiting

for. Menna Fitzpatrick and her guide

Jen Kehoe saved their best for last

to take gold in the slalom on the

final day of the games. They were in

silver medal position going into

their second run and displayed a

perfect performance, the time it was

unbeatable. COMMENTATOR: She's in

front. Their fourth medal in

Pyeongchang to become Britain's most

successful Winter Paralympians.

It

has been absolutely astonishing, the

way this week has gone from quite

low to extremely high.

Further

success as merely knight and her

guide bred wild took the bronze in

the same race which meant

ParalympicsGB have reached their

target of seven medals. Or dependent

however on one sport, one

classification and a small number of

athletes. So the games due to a

fitting close with Britain's golden

girls carrying the flag. And the

International Paralympic Committee

could also celebrate with more

nations taking part than ever and a

record number of tickets sold. They

now call these games the greatest

Winter Paralympics to date. Kate

Gray BBC News Pyeongchang. In the

last few minutes Rory McIlroy has

won we Arnold Palmer Invitational.

His first title victory since 2016.

He won the tournament in Florida by

three strokes by the final round of

64, the Masters was the only major

he hasn't won will be less than two

weeks ago -- the Masters, the only

major tournament he hasn't one is in

less than three weeks. More

information on the BBC sport

website. Thank you. An art teacher

from London has won a million-dollar

prize recognising an outstanding

contribution to the teaching

profession. She works in a school

with a high proportion of individual

pupils. We watched the ceremony in

Dubai. The big secret, who is the

best teacher.

Ghouta! An art teacher from Brent in

London Ghouta was centre stage as

winner of the global teacher price.

Good morning girls.

Working in a

deprived inner-city community she

was praised the going the extra mile

to build links between school and

parents and structuring activities

around students's individual needs.

To all the students all over the

world I say whatever your

circumstances, whatever your

troubles, please know that you have

the potential to succeed in whatever

your dreams maybe. And that is a

right that nobody should take from

you.

Ghouta ending that report in

Dubai. That's it from