01/03/2018 BBC News at One

Travel misery for many

as more than a foot of snow falls

in some parts of the UK.

Drivers in central

Scotland bore the brunt -

hundreds were stranded for hours

overnight on the M80 near Glasgow.

I left Aberdeen at 4:30pm yesterday

afternoon and got stuck here about

eight o'clock last night.

Been here ever since.

Not moved an inch yet.

Eastern England has been

hit hard overnight.

Many roads are blocked

and there fears that some

villages might be cut off.

I'll be reporting live from the

angel of the North in Gateshead.

There are currently blizzard

conditions, subzero temperatures and

an amber warning of more severe

weather ahead.

Hundreds of schools have stayed

closed in the worst affected areas -

and a new front is expected to bring

blizzards, and more

significant travel disruption.

Also this lunchtime -

Theresa May is meeting

the European Council

leader in Downing St,

ahead of a big

Brexit speech tomorrow.

British children who were forced

to settle abroad in the 1940s

and who were abused should be given

financial compensation,

says a new report.

And Prince William is to make

the first official visit

by a member of the Royal

Family to the Occupied

Palestinian Territories.

And coming up in the

sport on BBC News -

the Scottish Rugby Union

says its appalled by the behviour

of these fans, as England coach

Eddie Jones was physically

and verbally abused

on a train journey to London.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

More than 300 drivers have

endured freezing conditions

stranded in the snow

on the M80 in central Scotland.

Some spent as long as 18 hours

stuck in their vehicles,

after lorries reportedly

slid into each other

while trying to go uphill.

The extreme weather also left

drivers stuck for hours

on roads in Lincolnshire,

where many main roads are blocked,

and the military has been called

in to help.

Throughout the UK, there is severe

disruption to transport and travel.

A second red alert -

the most severe weather warning,

meaning there's a risk to life -

has been issued for southwest

England and South Wales

from three o'clock this afternoon.

The icy blast is expected to last

at least another 48 hours.

Let's get the latest from Ben Brown

who's in the north east of England.

We are at the angel of the Northern

Gateshead. It's pretty brutal here

at the moment. We have had lizard

conditions, subzero temperatures,

winds of around 40 miles an hour.

There are a few hardy souls on the

sledgers here, trying to enjoy the

snow. This is the a 617, just off

the A-1. There are cars going up and

down but we have seen cars stranded

as well. But nothing as bad as in

Scotland where dozens of drivers

were stranded overnight for many

hours.

Catriona Renton reports.

Gridlock north of Glasgow, a main

route brought to a standstill.

I

left Aberdeen at 4:30pm yesterday

afternoon and got stuck here about

eight o'clock last night. I've been

here ever since. Not moved an inch

yet. Not seen the police but the

Fire Brigade delivered water last

night. Most of the help has come

from locals, delivering cups of tea

and copy and blankets. Bottles of

water. About 400 metres from me is a

motorway bridge where people have

set up a tea and coffee stall for

anybody needing refreshment.

Conditions were terrible. At its

height, around 1000 vehicles were

stuck with tailbacks of

approximately eight miles. At

Glasgow airport, the departures

board says it all. 200 people spend

the night in the terminal building

because roads were inaccessible and

hotels fall.

Since Wednesday

morning, nothing seems to be

happening. They are still not giving

as an answer as to when the next

flight is or anything like that.

We've been here since yesterday

afternoon with our six-month-old son

and our daughter.

Staff say they

will get the airport fully open

again as soon as it is operationally

safe to do so. But as so many fights

have been cancelled, it will take

some time to get things back to

normal. Yesterday afternoon,

conditions in Edinburgh were

treacherous.

My God!

This footage

was filmed on a dash cam by a van

driver. The red warning, the highest

level, has now been lifted but much

of the country is now still on alert

at amber.

Be prepared. A lot of

people have heeded advice this

morning. Looking at the motorway

network, it's eerie to see how quiet

it is. People have heeded the

warning. Thereafter the ball still

out there, I understand there is

essential travel. Really, if you are

doing that, you are putting yourself

at risk.

This is the Scottish

Borders. With weather warnings still

in place, events are being

cancelled, including the Scottish

Conservative Party conference which

was due to start on Friday in

Aberdeen. When the weather improves,

it will take time for this deep snow

to clear.

We are here in the north-east of

England. There is an amber warning

this morning, more severe weather

ahead. More heavy snowfalls and

strong winds. To the south in

Lincolnshire, they have been really

hard hit. The military have been

drafted in to help move people

around.

Britain is battling with some of the

most brutal winter weather for

years. Not only the so-called beast

from the east but also storm Hanna

coming up from the south. -- Emma.

Victims have been stranded in

subzero conditions. Roads like this

one in Norfolk are like ice rinks.

Drivers ventures out at their peril.

I phoned in to work that I am stuck

in a drift and I won't be in.

I am

just able to get through in low

ratio. This is going to be tricky. I

don't know if I have the attraction

to get through the snow drift.

What

are you going to do?

Go home and

have a cup of tea. That's the

answer.

In Lincolnshire, police are

warning people to think carefully

before setting off on any journey.

It's been a challenge since the

early hours. We've seen significant

snow drifting, particularly on the

east coast and south of Lincoln.

Vehicles have been stuck,

predominantly HDVs. But there is a

problem with high winds.

The

military have been brought in to

help the NHS staff, hospitals and

patients.

We are coordinating

drivers and vehicles from RAF

wittering to very essential

personnel from their home addresses

to where they are required. These

are primarily health care

individuals but also from the

emergency services.

Some people in

Lincolnshire were determined to get

to work, even if it meant walking

for several hours.

I like a

challenge and I wouldn't be

defeated. I am dedicated and I

wanted to come and relieve the night

staff that have been here and let

them go home.

For meteorologists,

this is officially the first day of

spring. It certainly doesn't feel

anything like it. There is a warning

that in some parts of the country,

very cold conditions could last well

into next week. Let's talk more

about that red warning of possible

danger to life. That's the issue

this afternoon in the south-west and

south Wales.

Jon Kay

is in Tiverton in Devon.

How bad is it there?

A lot of people

woke up and thought it was not that

bad. Yes, the grand Western Canal

here in Tiverton has frozen but life

has been going on. Then that red

warning around breakfast time. Still

people thought, we can get around.

But let's be clear. This red alert

warning doesn't become active until

three o'clock this afternoon. In a

couple of hours. That is when large

amounts of really heavy snow are due

to start falling, plus the high

winds from storm Emma. We are

talking blizzard conditions,

drifting, not just in the moat,

rural communities but some of the

main routes as well. People are

being warned, you might have thought

earlier

earlier it was OK but it's going to

get nasty, right through that red

strip. It's not going to blow

through quickly. It's going to stick

around for 48 hours or so. People

have been stocking up at

supermarkets for the last few hours

and the headline is to take action.

You are warned to stay in, stay warm

and stay put if you can.

Thank you.

Let's go to Victoria Fritz our

transport correspondent at

Paddington station. What is the

situation there?

To make matters

worse, Paddington station actually

closed because it was snowing inside

the terminus building itself. It has

now reopened but services are

incredibly limited. There is just

one train going to Bristol at the

moment. There has been about two

trains in the last three hours

trying to get to Heathrow. A very

limited service indeed. The trains

that are running our very busy and

the platforms are packed, waiting

for that one train heading west. If

you are trying to get into London,

the high-speed services as stopping

at Reading. For the services that

have been cancelled, great Western

Railway say they are not putting on

buses or taxes because road

conditions are too dangerous to use

alternative forms of transport.

There is a warning that has just

come out in the last half hour for

people in Wales. They are told these

go home as soon as possible. There

is plenty more transport disruption

to come.

Victoria, thank you.

to come.

Victoria, thank you. Also

to John Kay at Tiverton.

to John Kay at Tiverton. Around the

country, not surprisingly, record

supplies of gas are being used as

people try to keep warm.

National Grid has warned that it

might not have enough gas to meet

the UK's needs and has asked

suppliers to provide more.

Demand for gas hit a six-year high

yesterday, and large industrial

users are being asked to cut back.

Our Business Editor

Simon Jack is here.

Cold weather has increased demand

but why is it critical?

A surge in

demand, 30% higher than usual as

people keep their heating on. That

is twinned with a cut in supply from

Norway, from South Hook and from gas

plants here. Supplies have been cut.

Demand up, supply down. It has led

to a warning that demand could

outstrip supply. That when you turn

on your heating or cooker that it's

not going to work? It doesn't but it

has set in motion a number of

measures to try and balance demand.

That includes national grid going to

heavy users and asking them to use

less. Some have agreed to do that.

They hope it will bring things back

into kilter. Domestic use is not

affected but industrial users are

affected. It is a test of the

measures put in place to try and

equalise supply and demand. Of

course, it will raise questions

about long-term investment in

Britain's gas supplies.

We'll have more on the big freeze

and a full weather forecast

at the end of the programme.

And you can keep up to date

with the weather and travel

situation wherever you are,

by visiting the BBC News Live page,

that's at bbc.co.uk/news

You can also get live updates

on the BBC News Channel

and your local radio station.

The time is 30 minutes past one.

Our top story this lunchtime.

Travel misery as a foot of snow

falls in some parts of the UK.

Hundreds stranded on the M 80 in

Scotland. And the new coach of

England's women's football team Phil

Neville has his first competitive

match this evening.

Coming up in sport, world

heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder

says the sport has a huge problem

with doping head of a world title

fight with Cuban Luis Ortiz.

Theresa May is holding talks

on Brexit in Downing Street

with the President of

the European Council, Donald Tusk -

after he warned that trade

restrictions with the EU will be

inevitable if Britain leaves

the single market and customs union.

The former Prime Minister Tony Blair

has criticised Theresa May's Brexit

plan, saying that the fundamental

dilemma remains avoiding

a hard Irish border.

Our political correspondent

Jonathan Blake reports.

Taking precautions

to avoid any slip-ups.

Cabinet ministers carefully

made their way into Downing

Street this morning.

Inside, Theresa May asked them

to agree to her latest

big pitch on Brexit.

A speech tomorrow setting out

what Downing Street has called

an ambitious economic partnership.

Before then, this man will have

lunch at Number Ten.

Donald Tusk, as President

of the European Council, represents

the 27 remaining member states.

This morning, a challenge

to the Prime Minister

on the question of Northern Ireland

and a defence of EU's so-called

backstop option that it

could in effect remain part

of the customs union.

Until now no one has come up

with anything wiser than that.

In a few hours I will be asking

in London whether the UK Government

has a better idea that would be

as effective in preventing a hard

border between Ireland

and Northern Ireland.

The Brexit process is now well

in motion, but those against it

are still keen to stop it.

Tony Blair, the second former

Prime Minister in as many days,

to put forward his ideas.

The first is that the British people

start to understand this is a very

costly and complex process,

much more so than we realised.

Secondly, I think we have to show

people who voted leave

there are different ways of dealing

with their anxieties, but the third

thing is to say to Europe,

Brexit may be bad for Britain,

it's bad for Europe,

it's going to diminish Europe,

it's going to weaken it politically.

That kind of talk exasperates those

who want the government to get

on with delivering our

departure from the EU.

The fundamental problem is two

ex-prime ministers simply cannot

accept a democratic vote.

It beats me if they

were ever democrats.

Leaving Cabinet this morning

Boris Johnson appeared confident.

Can you sell this deal to the EU?

The government maintains a solution

can be found to the Northern Ireland

border issue and in the end a good

deal done with Brussels.

Expect some details tomorrow.

For now, plenty to

discuss over lunch.

Jonathan Blake, BBC News.

Our assistant political editor

Norman Smith is at Downing Street.

What sort of reception do you think

Donald Tusk is likely to be getting?

I think he will get a pretty frosty

reception, not just because of the

freezing weather but because

relations, you sense, have cooled

between Brussels and London, with a

marked hardening of attitudes and

language over recent days, with that

war of words yesterday over

Brussels' proposals for the Northern

Ireland border. And this morning you

sense Mr Tusk almost upping the

ante, saying before he got on the

train to come here that there was no

prospect of Mrs May getting a

frictionless trade deal so long as

we were intent on leaving the single

market and the customs union, and

demanding Mrs May set out her plans

for Northern Ireland and insisting

that EU leaders would not put

pressure on their negotiators, they

were fully behind them. You get the

feeling the pressure is really being

ratcheted up on Mrs May, was also at

the same time big noise Cup

Remainers piling in, today, Tony

Blair, Jeremy Corbyn at the start of

the week shifting Labour's position

to maximise remain support. Tomorrow

is Mrs May's pushback moment when

she delivers that long-awaited

speech setting out her vision for

the sort of Brexit deal she wants to

secure. But it is for Mrs May D-Day,

Detail Day. She's got to spell out

the sort of detail is central to her

deal if she's to fend off her

critics.

The Independent Inquiry

into Child Sexual Abuse has urged

the government to pay compensation

within 12 months to all surviving

child migrants forced

abroad in the years

after the second world war.

Its report says the sending away

of British children from poor

backgrounds was "indefensible"

and entirely wrong.

Around 4000 children

were sent to Australia,

Canada and elsewhere.

Some were sexually

and physically abused.

Our home affairs correspondent

Tom Symonds is in Central London,

where the report has

just been published.

This report, which is damning, is

the first time that the British

government has been directly blamed

for that programme of child

migrations, a programme that's been

described today as child

trafficking. We are talking about

British children here in the years

following the Second World War, 2000

of those 4000 are still alive and

this report says that that continued

because successive governments,

right up to 1970, put politics

before child protection.

They have been called

Britain's lost children.

At the end of their lives,

they are still blighted by the

horrors they faced when very young.

The liner arrives at Fremantle

from Great Britain with 931 new

migrants...

Many were in care when sent

in the post-war years to live

abroad, as they were told,

in the sunshine.

But some ended up

in places like this

the Boys School

in Western Australia.

The enquiry was told it was run

by paedophiles who used their

position to inflict vicious abuse.

We were 60 miles from Perth.

We had no parents,

we had no relatives and

there was nowhere we could go.

These brothers, these paedophiles,

must have felt they were in heaven.

The child abuse enquiry's verdict

today, the migrant scheme should

never have happened. Successive

governments failed to end it and

surviving victims should be paid

compensation within 12 months. The

evidence of what went on has been in

the National Archives ever since but

was never fully considered in this

country until this enquiry. Because

of that, many of the lost children

have not lived to see this day, when

finally the scale of their suffering

has been recognised. At the other

side of Westminster the Child

Migrants Trust is giving its

reaction right now to this report,

but what it says is that finally the

government is having a finger

pointed directly at it and it will

be now for the government to decide

how much every single one of those

child migrants is paid. This report

says they should get a flat payment

in compensation, regardless of any

suffering they experienced over the

years, but crucially that it must be

paid quickly, because these are

people that are nearing the end of

their lives and they do want to see

justice before those lives are over.

The government has abandoned

the second part of the Leveson

Inquiry into press standards

and regulation, saying it would be

too "costly and time-consuming".

It was due to look into unlawful

activity within media organisations.

Our media correspondent

David Sillito is with me.

Tell us more about why this has been

ditched.

Remember the Leveson

Inquiry, 2012, a huge investigation

into malpractice within the

newspapers. However, there was a

second part to it, looking at

illegality, looking at police

corruption, that they couldn't look

at at the time, even though the

government said it was definitely

going to do it because of all the

legal action that was taking place.

That legal action came to an end and

now the government has said, no, it

won't actually do part two, looking

at all office. Matt Hancock, the

Culture Secretary, says it is not

proportionate, not in the national

interest, essentially newspapers

have got their house in order, a new

form of regulation and that police

practices have changed. Also there's

the other element of this, section

40, which is essentially the stick

forcing the newspapers to sign up to

formally regulator. The newspapers

really didn't want to do this, they

haven't signed up to any formal

regulator and this was supposedly to

encourage them by giving them

penalties within the libel courts.

Now, this is going to be scrapped at

the earliest possible opportunity,

because they said the newspaper

industry, newspapers, couldn't face

these costs if they were ever in

that situation. So two elements and

Labour said this is a breach of

promise to the victims and simply

the government has been waiting for

the wind to change to make this

announcement.

Thank you.

A former Royal Marine has been

jailed for a minimum of 28 years

for murdering an 83-year-old

dog-walker in Norfolk last year.

Peter Wrighton was stabbed 45 times

before his body was dumped

in undergrowth near East Harling.

Alexander Palmer had previously told

mental health professionals

that he wanted to kill a stranger.

He was given a life sentence

at Nottingham Crown Court today.

Walmart has become the second big

retailer in the United States

to restrict the sale of guns.

The company said it was acting

in "the light of recent events" -

a reference to the shooting

at a school in Florida that has led

to growing demands for tougher

controls on firearms.

Walmart says it will not sell

weapons and ammunition to people

under 21, which follows a similar

decision by another

chain store, Dick's.

One of President Trump's closest

aides - his director

of communications, Hope Hicks -

has announced that she's resigning.

Her departure comes just a day

after she appeared before

a congressional committee

and admitted telling "white

lies" for Donald Trump.

Hope Hicks was Mr Trump's longest

serving political aide.

He will now be looking for his fifth

White House communications chief -

Prince William is to make

an historic official trip to Israel,

Jordan and the occupied Palestinian

territories this summer.

It's the first time an official

visit has been made

to the territories by a member

of the British royal family.

Our royal correspondent

Nicholas Witchell is with me.

How significant is this?

It is

significant, yes, sensitive, yes,

further evidence that William is

taking on these most important

responsibilities within the royal

family. It will be the first

official visit by a member of the

Royal family to the occupied

Palestinian territories. The Queen

has never visited Israel. The Prince

of Wales has been there to attend

funerals, but he's never made an

official visit as such, so this will

be the first official visit via very

senior member of the British Royal

family to Israel. It's therefore

significant and I think it's been

carefully judged that it should be

William and not his father making

the visit. All of course decided by

the Foreign Office, the Foreign

Office Minister has said this

morning that it will be an important

opportunity to promote diplomatic

and cultural ties. Welcomed by

Israel's president, he's linking it

to Israel's 70th anniversary of

independence, he's called it a very

special present. When will it take

place? It will also include Jordan

and Kensington Palace is saying in

the summer.

Thank you.

Phil Neville, the new coach

of the England women's football

team, has his first competitive game

tonight, as his side takes on France

in the She Believes Cup -

being hosted by the US.

In a BBC interview, Neville says

he feels there are "probably people

His appointment in January

was criticised because of his lack

of coaching and women's football

experience.

Jo Currie reports.

From international player

to international head coach.

Tonight, Phil Neville will take his

seat on the bench for the first time

as England women's manager.

His appointment was controversial.

Critics said he lacked

coaching experience,

had never worked in the women's game

before, and he was forced

to apologise for sexist tweets

on his first day in the job.

However, Neville insists he's

the right man to lead the Lionesses.

It's about getting results

on the field, and yes,

it will take a little bit of time,

but like I say, there's

a thirst for learning.

Wins buy you time to implement more,

and I think this tournament gives us

a great, great opportunity to win

games of football against the best

teams in the world.

The She Believes Cup represents

a real baptism of fire for Neville.

After tonight's match

against France, they then take

on the top two teams in the world -

Germany and then the USA.

Somebody who knows just how tough

that's going to be is former England

captain Casey Stoney,

who recently retired to take

up a coaching position

on Neville's backroom staff.

He's very driven, he's very focused,

but he's also quite relaxed.

He's a relaxed guy,

he's easy to talk to,

and he's very keen on getting

to know the players.

Neville insists he shouldn't be

judged on just this one tournament

and says that whilst there are those

that would like to see him fail,

he can handle the pressure

of being an international manager.

You can look at it two ways -

you can say, wow, three

massively difficult games,

or it's an opportunity

to make an instant impact,

and that's the way I'm

looking at it.

This is the third year England have

taken part in the She Believes Cup.

They've only ever won game

at the tournament, an historic win

against the USA in 2017.

This time around though,

all eyes will not be just on how

the Lionesses perform,

but also how their

new boss does, too.

Jo Currie, BBC News, Ohio.

More now on our main story.

Our correspondent Duncan Kennedy has

been finding out about the problems

facing the elderly in this

terrible winter weather.

As you can see here in Dorchester

the snow is really coming down now

and it's freezing cold, which is why

helping the elderly is so important,

particularly with things like meals

and meals on wheels. Patrick is from

St Jude's care, delivering meals,

about 300 today?

About 300.

You have

one for Bill.

I have one for Bill,

ready to go in.

Where delivering to

74-year-old Bill Barton.

Morning,

Bill, St Jude's here.

We come to his

lovely warm flat. Hello, Bill, thank

you for letting us in. Bill is

getting meals on wheels and an

important time of the day for you,

because this is extremely important

to get this food?

Yes.

Why is it

important?

Because of the bad

weather we're at the moment.

Why is

it important to get a hot meal? What

have we got today, Patrick?

It's

chicken in chicken and mushroom

sauce, with mashed potatoes and

things.

Why is it important to have

a hot meal? Because of the warmth?

Yeah.

If you didn't get that, what

would you have to do?

Cook it

myself, in the microwave.

How

difficult would that be?

Very

difficult at times will stop

how

important is it, Bill, to get

company from people like Patrick?

Well, if I didn't have anybody

coming, like Patrick, I wouldn't

have anybody to talk to, only if I

phoned my relations will stop

how

often do you see people during the

day? If Patrick didn't come, would

you see anybody?

Yes, one of my

carers. Am I allowed to mention

their name?

their name?

Thank you, we won't

interrupt your warm meal. It's

throwing it down with snow here the

bill is one of 300 or so people in

this area going to get a hot meal

over the next hour or so and as you

can tell it's very welcome indeed.

Thank you, and Bill as well. What

more does the weather have in store?

Here's Louise Lear.

We haven't seen a red warning for

snow since 2013 and we had two in

consecutive days. Today, it's

brought Southwest Wales and

south-west England as well and in

actual fact, if we look at the snow

radar if this clump of snow that's

going to be moving up through the

Channel Isles that will cause the

issues. We've got a rash of snow

showers piling into eastern Scotland

but it's not as bad as it was

yesterday. We've lost the red

warning, take action. We still got

amber warnings in force for East of

Scotland, be prepared for further

disruption. The same for north-east

England and Northern Ireland. Down

into the south-west we have another

red warning, this means take action.

We are looking at severe weather for

the end of the day, blizzard like

conditions here. We will widely see

as much as 20 and two metres of

falling snow and we could see more,

30-40 centimetres to higher ground.

It will be awful out there and with

strong gusty winds it will blow the

snow around. It will move through

Wales and into Northern Ireland

through the evening and overnight,

towards midnight, we still have

those snow showers across eastern

Scotland will stop not as heavy or

as frequent as yesterday, but still

a nuisance and still there.

Elsewhere, under the bitterly cold

night. Again, temperatures falling

below quite widely. -- falling below

freezing. A miserable start to

Friday morning and although the snow

will start to ease away across

southern island don't be fooled.

There is another pulse of snow

circulating around the area of low

pressure that will moving across

Southern counties into South

Midlands and maybe south Wales as

well. We keep the snow showers into

eastern Scotland, sandwiched in

between the two something drier and

brighter, but still the cold

easterly wind making it feel quite

more out there. Factor in the wind,

we will see a gain a significant

wind-chill and it will feel below

freezing if you are out and about.

It looks as though Friday will be

the last bitterly cold day. We had

this Beast from the east all week

but as Emma comes up from the

south-west you will start to see

something less cold,

something less cold, lighter blue

starts to nibble away across

Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

The real cold air sits across

eastern Scotland. As we head into

the weekend it's still going to be

cold, but little less cold across

much of England and Wales Cricket

but however any precipitation we

still see over the weekend could

still fall as snow.