10/12/2017 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon.

Heavy snow has hit much of the UK -

causing disruption to roads,

railways and airports.

20 flights have been cancelled

at Stansted Airport, while flights

were suspended at Luton.

A number of motorways have

been covered in snow,

with police asking people to travel

only if absolutely necessary.

The heaviest snow has

fallen in north Wales.

Amber snow warnings have been issued

there, in the Midlands

and in northern and eastern England.

In a moment we'll be

speaking to our reporters

in the worst affected areas,

first this report from Lee Milner.

This was the scene on the M25 in

Buckinghamshire today. Heavy snow

brought motorists to a standstill.

In Llangollen in Wales there was no

chance of people getting anywhere

today.

This is by far the worst I've ever

seen. It's probably the worst snow

I've ever seen, to be honest,

certainly about a foot deep and

still coming in.

The RAC says it is currently dealing

with five breakdowns a minute and

expecting around 7500 by the end of

the day.

With ten to 20 centimetres falling

in some parts of the UK, quitters

have been replaced with ploughs in

areas like Redditch in

Worcestershire. As snow continues to

fall, the Met Office has issued an

number whether morning made Dan

Ackerman for the East of England and

Wales. Passengers are burning and

other airports have been warned

about delays and cancellations. 20

flights have been cancelled from

Stansted.

Flying over Wales it could be a

scene from The Snowman, a thick

coating of white across the

mountings and lakes. For these

children in the Peak District,

finally a chance to play in a winter

wonderland.

I like it because where we live we

never get snow, it is just sweet.

I like snow because you can make

snow angels and snowmen and I find

it really fun to do.

For many it is a time for fun and

enjoyment, but with more snow on the

way, more disruption is inevitable.

Joining us are Jessica Parker

in Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire

and Matthew Richards in Llangollen

in Denbighshire in Wales.

To you first, Jessica.

The traffic moving behind you but

pretty slowly?

Yes, as you can see

the M25 clockwise is moving pretty

slowly but it was at a complete

standstill and hour and a half ago.

We saw a car being towed away from

the Central Lane on the M25.

Highways England is advising people

not to travel unless they have to.

Hertfordshire County Council nearby

say they have spread up to 1000

tonnes of salt since midnight. There

have been rail and Tube disruptions

into London and, as we have heard,

disruption at the airports. This is

after the Met Office extended its

amber weather warning to large areas

of the South, including

Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire,

Essex, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire

and Oxfordshire. There have been up

to 12 centimetres of snow at High

Wycombe, just 15 miles from where I

am.

Plenty of snow and related

disruption in the south, perhaps

more than was expected.

Thank you,

Jessica. Matthew Richards is in

Llangollen in Wales, huge snowfalls

where you are?

It has been snowing very, very

heavily across North and mid Wales

for much of the morning. It does not

show much sign of abating. We have

had over a foot in some places in

Powys. A hospital just over the

border in Shropshire has appealed

for drivers of four by four vehicles

to ferry staff in and out of their

shifts, and hospitals across North

Wales have been using the Red Cross

to help transport blood supplies

under the medical equipment between

hospitals. People are keeping a

close eye on the weather to make

sure it does not get worse.

Thank you, Matthew Richards, and

thanks to Jessica Parker at the M25

in Buckinghamshire.

In the last half hour,

it's been announced that

Max Clifford, the disgraced former

celebrity publicist, has died.

He was 74.

Clifford suffered a heart attack

in his cell at Littlehey prison

in Cambridgeshire yesterday.

He has been serving

an eight-year jail sentence

for historic six offences.

Our home affairs correspondent

Danny Shaw is here.

This has been announced by the

Ministry of Justice in the last few

minutes?

Yes, a statement from them

has confirmed the death of Max

Clifford in hospital. He was taken

there yesterday after apparently

suffering a heart attack. There will

be an investigation, that is

routine, the department has offered

Max Clifford's family its

condolences. He was serving an

eight-year term for indecently

assaulting four women and young

girls, the youngest was 15. He was

convicted in 2014 after a long

trial. He maintained his innocence

all along, vehemently denied the

allegations but was found guilty in

what was really a ground-breaking

case for Scotland Yard's Operation

Yewtree investigation, it was the

first conviction of that. He

continued to protest his innocence

on the case was due to be heard at

the Court of Appeal in the next few

months.

It has to be remembered that this

was a huge downfall for Max

Clifford, his career was in ruins.

He was one of the most powerful

people in the media, able to make

careers, able to manipulate stories

into the newspapers. Incredible

power in terms of celebrity and so

on, but that was all gone with the

conviction.

Thank you, Danny Shaw.

Labour has suggested that

Britain should stay aligned

to the European Union after Brexit,

allowing the easy movement of people

and continuing payments to Brussels.

The party's Brexit spokesman,

Sir Keir Starmer, said he wanted

the UK to stay in the customs union

and a version of the single market.

The Government says it's committed

to a broad and ambitious free trade

deal outside the EU.

Susana Mendonca reports.

A moment heralded as a landmark deal

in Britain's EU negotiations,

but this was just the starting point

for doing the deal that Britain

really wants with the EU,

which is all about trade.

And today the Brexit Secretary

gave us a clearer idea

of what the Government wants that

to look like.

If the basic deal...

I'm being very crude about this,

but is Canada plus the City

or something like that?

Canada plus plus plus would be

one way of putting in.

The trade deal Canada has done

with the EU took seven years

to negotiate and didn't include

the financial sector,

which is key to the UK's economy.

But the Brexit Secretary

says that isn't the only

example he's looking at,

and services would have to be

included in any deal.

What we want is a bespoke outcome.

We will probably start with the best

of Canada and the best of Japan

and the best of South Korea,

and then add to that the bits

missing, which is the services.

But Labour are looking

towards northern Europe

as a model for the kind of deal it

would be after.

Norway isn't in the EU but has

access to the single market,

and pays for the privilege.

Labour's Brexit Secretary revealed

he would want a similar setup

to retain the benefits of the single

market and customs union,

but that could come at a price.

Norway pays money in.

They do it actually

on a voluntary basis.

Would you accept it?

There may have to be payments,

that would have to be negotiated.

The focus now is all on getting

a trade deal for Britain,

but with varying opinions

of what that deal should look like,

and the EU unlikely to want to give

the UK a better deal

outside than it had inside the club,

that might prove tougher

than the deal that got

the Government to this point in

the negotiations in the first place.

Susanah Mendonca, BBC News.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

has held talks with the Iranian

President in a bid to secure

the freedom of Nazanin

Zaghari-Ratcliff, a British woman

imprisoned on charges of spying.

Mr Johnson described the visit

to Tehran as worthwhile.

Our diplomatic correspondent

James Robbins joins me.

James, does it look like there may

have been a bit of progress?

It

does, the mere fact of getting

access to President Hassan Rouhani

suggests that. They spent almost an

hour together. Boris Johnson has

deliberately said nothing publicly

before leaving Iran, it is so

sensitive, but the Foreign Office

put out a statement saying they

discuss the full range of issues,

including banking matters and are

concerned about the consular cases

of dual nationals. Banking matters

could include an outstanding debt of

£400 million owed by

Britain to run, Britain says the

money is ready to be paid and they

are making sure they can do it in a

way which complies with

international sanctions. Neither

side is linking the money to this

appeal for prison releases but there

is a possibility for progress and

the Foreign Office says it will

build on it.

You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel.

The next news on BBC One

is at 5:50pm.

Bye for now.

It has been a winter wonderland for

some of you this day so far, but a

travel nightmare for others.