02/03/2018 BBC News at Six

Storm Emma meets the beast

from the east and wreaks

chaos across the UK.

At least 3,500 drivers were stranded

on the M62 across the Pennines,

some managed to get to shelter.

We landed in Manchester Airport

about two o'clock yesterday,

and we have been trying to get home

since then, just going

round in circles around the M62.

Cars were at a standstill

in the south-west of England too,

with drivers stranded overnight.

Passengers were forced

to sleep on a train stuck

in the New Forest.

Other routes are closed tonight.

Around the UK the military has

been drafted in to help,

in Scotland, getting

hospital staff to work.

Our other main story

on the programme tonight:

Theresa May sounds a note

of pragmatism as she outlines

her plans for Brexit.

Finally we both need to face the

fact that this is a negotiation and

neither of us can have exactly what

we want. But I am confident that we

can reach agreement.

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC

News, can Katarina Johnson-Thompson

bring home a gold medal

from the World Indoor

Athletics Championships?

She is well placed going

into her final events.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

Storm Emma has collided

with the beast from the east,

resulting in disruption

across much of Britain.

Heavy snow is causing crashes,

closing schools, stranding

rail and air passengers

as well as motorists.

The M62 across the

Pennines is still shut.

At one point at least 3500 cars

were stuck on it in the snow.

Hundreds of drivers were forced

to shelter in community centres.

The military has been called

in around the UK to help.

But the most severe red

weather warnings, meaning

there's a threat to life,

have now been lifted.

Yellow warnings remain

in place for much of the UK,

with snow and ice causing serious

problems in Scotland

and the south-west of England.

There's been major disruption

to transport, with over

1,200 flights cancelled.

Rail companies are running reduced

services, with many ending

services early this evening.

South Eastern Trains has told

passengers not to travel at all.

Heavy snow closed several key routes

on the road network overnight

at both ends of the UK.

Danny Savage is live

in Country Durham.

What is it like there?

Fiona, it is

absolutely freezing and conditions

have been causing havoc again across

the UK. The worst problems have been

on the roads. The automobile

Association estimates there have

been more than 13,000 accidents in

the last few days in the snow and

icy conditions. You are about to see

several of them.

For the last 24 hours,

the M62 between West Yorkshire

and Manchester has been

a disaster zone.

Multiple pile-ups

litter the carriageway.

One driver filmed this early today.

Dozens of vehicles written off.

More than 3500 motorists were

stranded on this road overnight.

Most had been moved by this morning

but hundreds were taken

to emergency shelters.

We landed in Manchester Airport

about two o'clock yesterday

and we've been trying to get

home since then.

I've been stuck 12 hours,

since last night, ten o'clock.

From Yorkshire to the Scottish

border, nearly every route linking

east and west was closed.

Somewhere under here

is the A66 in Cumbria.

Even the gritters are not

venturing out this far.

This should normally be a busy dual

carriageway over the Pennines,

but it's been shut for days.

It probably won't open for days yet.

And it's all because of these gale

force winds just blowing the snow

constantly across the carriageway.

Police are patrolling the roads

to discourage people

from ignoring the closures.

These conditions are some of

the worst I've seen for many years.

The A66 is always a problem area

but today this is particularly bad.

Trying to get this open

is impossible at the moment.

In Hampshire, the 17.05 Waterloo

to Weymouth train last night

unintentionally turned

into a sleeper service.

Passengers were stuck

on board for 13 hours

as the train lost power.

The heating then failed

in the freezing conditions.

They managed to restore

power so we had lights,

but we had no heating,

and things like the buffet car had

run out of food and drink

earlier in the evening.

So it was a pretty cold night.

In Shropshire, huge snowdrifts

blocked country roads,

as an army of farmers set out

across Britain to try

and clear them.

Neighbouring Worcestershire also saw

several inches of snow.

Across the border into Wales,

three people were rescued

after getting buried by drifts

in their car near Cowbridge.

They had to sound their horn

to guide searchers in.

And in Ebbw Vale, firefighters

were called in to dig

their way into this house.

Back in the high Pennines, keeping

livestock fed was a priority.

Keeping them watered,

though, is a problem.

The water's frozen,

that's the main thing,

in the house and out of the house.

So just watering animals is a big

chore at the minute.

Trying to feed up and get

to the sheep that are three miles

away, just trying to get

there is fun and games

at the minute, really.

Delivering supplies by any means

possible will be normality in much

of Britain this weekend.

There's no obvious

sign of a thaw yet.

Danny Savage, BBC News.

The experience of motorists stuck

on the M62 over the Pennines

was one repeated around the country.

Several major routes have problems

caused by the heavy snowfall.

Worst hit was the south-west

of England where the main A303,

which runs from the M3

through the heart of

the West Country, ground to a halt.

Among the stranded motorists

was our correspondent Robert Hall,

who sent this report.

Going nowhere.

On one of the most important routes

to the West Country,

Storm Emma's collision

with the Siberian blast was closing

the A303 section by section.

Our journey had come to an abrupt

halt in the village of Chicklade,

where hundreds of cars and lorries

had been defeated by

a series of steep hills.

Travelling tonight from east to west

is absolutely horrendous.

If I put the window down,

then hopefully you can see

that it is driving snow.

I don't know.

We've probably got six,

seven inches here.

With trapped vehicles blocking half

the roadway snowploughs struggled

to clear the drifts.

And still the snow fell,

driving into the faces

of those awaiting rescue.

Hello.

BBC News?

Trying to get to an old peoples home

to try to get the heating on.

And I've been stuck out here

since three o'clock this afternoon.

Ahead the welcoming light

of the village garage,

and a night manager doing

all she could to lend a hand.

We don't usually get snow down

here, not like this.

Do you think you're

going to get out of here?

Yeah, of course we will.

There's worse trouble

at sea, granny would say.

After six hours the traffic crawled

onwards, but the next jam

was barely two miles away.

We weren't told what had caused it,

and as the night sky brightened

patience was wearing thin.

I want to ask you what you think

about the response of the emergency

services overnight here.

It's obviously not good enough.

We've got no idea what's

actually going on.

Wiltshire Police, who declared

a major incident this afternoon,

said their officers had been

at full stretch.

By then, 16 hours after we had

joined the queues, most

of the A303 had been reopened.

Tonight, as snow settles again,

drivers may well be thinking

a journey that could end

in an unwelcome adventure.

Robert Hall, BBC News, Wiltshire.

The extreme weather has affected

emergency teams too,

with South Western Ambulance service

telling people not to call

unless there is a threat to life.

Across the UK, many doctors,

nurses and support staff have walked

through snow and ice in an attempt

to ease the pressure on services.

From the Royal Devon and Exeter

Hospital, Jon Kay reports.

This is the road to Exeter's main

hospital, serving nearly

half a million people.

How are you getting on?

In A&E eight-year-old Anna has

come off her sledge.

Have you got a headache now?

Are you hungry at all?

And she might need a scan.

Her doctor is one of many who have

struggled into work.

She should be fine.

OK, great, thank you.

How did you get in?

I cycled on a mountain bike,

that's about five miles,

there was a lot of pushing,

just trying to get a bit

of traction in that snow.

Junior Doctor Chris is helping

Debbie who has slipped on the ice.

Wait until you hear

about his journey to work.

I walked about ten miles

from Exmouth into hospital.

And then you're going to have

to walk ten miles back?

Yes.

Just like last night.

Did it cross your mind to call

in and say I can't make it today,

I'm going to have a snow day?

No.

40 staff slept in the hospital

overnight after a critical

incident was declared here.

Phil also stayed over.

He couldn't move his iced up car

after visiting his wife

on the surgical ward.

More than 100 relatives

were given a place to sleep.

It's been absolutely fantastic.

I can't thank the people enough.

Could not have wished

for a better stay.

You make it sound like a hotel!

Well, it is.

No traffic jams in this city today,

but emergency crews have struggled

to reach casualties.

South Western Ambulance

say only call 999 if it

were life threatening.

Among the walking wounded,

plenty of breaks, sprains, and cuts,

most of them weather-related.

Pete fell in the snow.

It could have been much worse.

There are other people

in here who had a lot more

incidents than I have.

After a tough winter,

and an exhausting 48 hours,

there are more weather

challenges to come.

You are local, aren't you?

The hospital's chief nurse now has

to fight extra staff

for the next few days.

-- has to find extra staff.

We are calling out now

for registered nurses in particular.

If they are able to get

here, could they come?

Particularly this weekend so we can

get through the weekend.

Back in casualty,

Anna's making progress

after her sledging accident.

Her dad is a local farmer

and tonight he will be clearing

roads with his tractor,

so the hospital can keep running.

John Kay, BBC News, Exeter.

In Scotland, the worst

of the weather may be over.

But days of appalling

conditions is having an impact

on local communities.

Our Scotland correspondent Lorna

Gordon reports from Auchterarder.

The rolling hills of Renfrewshire,

picture postcard pretty but the

conditions making it increasingly

challenging for the people who live

and work here. The best way to reach

this farm, by foot. The herd here

are hundreds strong. They are doing

their best to get milk out but they

have had just one tanker in and they

do not expect another.

Use either

snowdrift coming down the road

yourself. It is above my shoulders.

A lorry cannot get in.

We can't get

the milk vans out, the milk tankers

in, we cannot get feed stuff in. You

don't know where to turn. Because

the tanker had such an issue getting

in this morning he will not come in

tomorrow.

These cows produce 2000

litres of milk every day. This farm

is not alone in facing challenge is

getting its milk to the shops. It is

thought a significant number of

farmers here in Scotland are now

having to dispose of their milk. In

local shops, some essentials are in

short supply.

I came with my studs

on all the way down the road to get

milk, and there was no milk. No milk

anywhere.

We've come back and there

is none anywhere. Apparently there

is not much left anywhere, so we did

the right thing.

The snow on roads

has caused problems in many places

but the hope is that once it melts,

stock can reach the shops once more.

This farm has gone to enormous

efforts, delivering extra milk by

hand, to keep their business afloat

and there and also live. Lorna

Gordon, BBC News.

The latest on the travel

disruption in a moment.

Our transport correspondent

Victoria Fritz is in Waterloo.

But first let's cross to our Wales

correspondent Sian Lloyd

in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Is that a car next to you?

It is

indeed. There have been huge

problems with snowdrifts here in the

Vale of Glamorgan. If I scrape that

off, that is a car. Earlier today,

three people had to be dug out of a

similar vehicle. They had been

stranded for 12 hours and an SOS was

put out locally. We have towed out a

vehicle recently. This road is

completely blocked, and it is one

that people in the county use

particularly a lot. There was 51

centimetres of snow in this county

last night, the highest recorded

anywhere in the UK. We are not

expecting so much tonight, but there

is a warning for ice here. The roads

across Wales are absolutely

treacherous and many have been

closed. A lot of travel companies

have cancelled their operations. And

there is more sleep and snow to come

later, so more disruption ahead.

Victoria, you are inside Waterloo

station. What is the latest?

It is

still very cold in the station as

well. When it comes to the trains,

26 out of 27 train companies are

operating severely disrupted lines,

including those that go in and out

of London Waterloo, Europe's busiest

station. Lots of train companies

have been saying to people, do not

travel unless it is absolutely

essential. South-eastern Trains,

which operates out of Waterloo East

is saying do not travel. Ice on the

conductor rails means it cannot

connect to the power for the trains.

For south-western services, leaving

behind me, they are trying to wind

up services by 8pm. The station will

close after the last service, which

is 2145. When it comes to flights,

this is the worst day for flight

cancellations all week. Over 1200

flights cancelled across the UK and

Ireland. Heathrow, the majority of

them. We know that Birmingham has

temporarily suspended flights and

the runway at London's city is

currently closed, although lots of

UK airports remain open. That is a

severely disrupted service right

across the airport and train

network.

And there'll be all

the latest on the impact

of the weather where you live

on BBC One straight

after this programme.

Our other main story tonight.

Theresa May has outlined her vision

of Britain's future relationship

with the European Union.

She repeated the UK would not be

part of the EU's single

market or customs union -

and said both sides would have

to accept 'hard facts' and that no

one will get everything

they want.

Our Political Editor Laura

Kuenssberg was watching the speech.

Roll up, roll up. A hot ticket for a

certain kind of audience. Ministers

and diplomats are rising for a

speech.

Can unite the party?

That

would affect us all. And it matters

to her survival, too. With

controversy never far away. The

first message, no more promises

after Brexit, we can have it all, to

trade just as we do now or be

completely free from the European

courts.

I want to be straight with

people, because the reality is that

we all need to face up to some hard

facts. We are leaving the single

market. But it's going to be

different. Accessed each other's

markets will be less than it is now,

so we need to strike a new balance,

but we will not accept the rights of

Canada and the obligations of

Norway. -- access to each others'.

Even after we have left the

jurisdiction of the European Court

of Justice, EU law and the decisions

of the ECJ will continue to affect

us.

Out of the single market and the

customs union, she confirmed, yet no

new answer to one of the hardest

parts.

We have been clear all along

that we don't want to go back to a

hard border in Ireland. We've ruled

out any physical infrastructure of a

border or any related checks and

controls. But it's not good enough

to say we won't introduce a hard

order if the EU forces Ireland to do

it, that is down to them. -- hard

border. We chose to leave and we

have a responsibility to find a

solution. We cannot do it alone. It

is for all of us to work together.

More details on how she wants much

of the economy to stay closer to the

EU, but the Prime Minister wants the

right to pick and choose when and

how.

The commission has suggested

that the only option available to

the UK is an off-the-shelf model. We

both need to face the fact that this

is a negotiation and neither of us

can have exactly what we want. Fact

is, every free trade agreement has

varying market access depending on

the respective interest of the

countries involved. If this is

cherry picking, then every trade

arrangement is cherry picking.

Last,

in answer to claims her plans are

too vague and unreal.

My message to

our friends in Europe is clear. We

know what we want. We understand

your principles. We have a shared

interest in getting this right. So

let's get on with it. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Do you accept now that we cannot

have it all as we leave? Secondly,

you have outlined today you want to

pick and mix even though the EU is

repeatedly rejecting that approach.

What is it do you think you can say

to your EU leaders that will

actually change their minds?

I'm

confident as we sit down together we

will be able to show that mutual

interest, that mutual benefit, from

the proposals I have put forward.

After weeks of internal Tory

wrangling the Prime Minister has

made gathered Tory grandees

contempt.

This is about finding a

way through that will work for

everybody.

Why have you spent so

long saying we could have

everything? You said we could have

the same benefits?

I said that is

the aspiration. What were aiming at

here, and what the PM said clearly,

is that we want to have a tariff

free arrangement. We want to have

mutual recognition. All those

things, not just in our interest,

they are in Europe's interest and

that is why we will get them.

What

happens the European Union says no?

I think the invitation that was made

to the speech of the PM was to apply

a cool hand to some very important,

mutual problems, but also

opportunities.

An outbreak of Tory

unity? The Foreign Secretary was

grounded by snow but gave a thumbs

up and Brexiteers and Remainers

followed suit, for now. Others, like

the Bank of England governor, less

keen to give their verdict. The

opposition, unimpressed.

There is

yet more confusion on the road to

complications. What we need is a set

of objections which means we can --

objectives which means we can

protect jobs in this country.

They

want more detail and realism. That

could make a difference to the next

steps of this lengthy tangle. But

there are plenty of audiences making

demands of Theresa May, you will

still demand yet more. -- who will.

We'll speak to Laura in a moment -

first our Europe Editor Katya Adler

is in Brussels.

How did the speech go down there?

The reaction in Brussels has been

muted and wary. The chief Brexit

negotiator, Michel Barnier, went on

Twitter to thank the PM on her

clarity and to say that confirmation

that the UK would be leaving the

single market and the customs union

and it was heading for a free trade

agreement with the EU. Privately EU

diplomats appraise the Prime

Minister's more realistic tone, they

said, admitting both sides cannot

have exactly what they want but they

said they could not find much new in

her speech and they lamented the

absence of a workable solution, they

said, to the Irish problem. Manfred

Webber, very close to Angela Merkel

and the leader here at the European

Parliament, said the UK was still

burying its head in the sand.

Tonight we have working groups from

all of the 27 EU member states who

are poring over the detail of the

Prime Minister's speech. One

diplomat said he hoped he would find

coded messages to the EU in Theresa

May's speech that would then become

much clearer once they sit down

again at the negotiating table. He

said something similar happened with

the last Brexit speech back in

autumn.

Thank you.

Laura - was there enough detail

in the speech and was it enough

to keep the different factions

within the Tory party happy?

For today, yes. Probably for this

week, yes. The medium and long-term,

nothing is guaranteed the

Conservatives staying on the same

page over Europe. Warning the party

on public that compromises lie ahead

isn't the same as them swallowing

those compromises when it actually

comes to them being agreed. Most

importantly today, for number ten,

was the message to the EU that while

Theresa May has no intention of

being a pushover she does now

recognise very publicly that the UK

cannot get everything its own way.

That there will have to be

compromises. There will have to be

sacrifices. In terms of what the

British Government towards the

message to be, that was absolutely

crucial. They believe that is what

the European Union has really been

after in the last few months. They

hope that by the end of this month

there will be a test that proves

positive at the crucial European

summit. They hoped at that point all

parties will be able to agree the

transition, the implementation

phase, but, you know, in terms of

keeping the EU and her party onside

at home it is an almost impossible

task for Theresa May. Today's speech

has been warmly welcomed, sort of,

by those in her party, but it

doesn't mean the longer term

contradictions or arguments have

gone away.

Thank you. A 21-year-old

man who tried to kill a woman

because she was wearing a hijab has

been found guilty of attempted

murder.

murder. He later told his half

brother that he had done it for

Britain. He was also convicted of

using his car to seriously injured a

12-year-old Muslim schoolgirl and

will be sentenced later this month.

Two Moorman had been arrested in

connection to the exclusion in

Leicester which five people dead on

Sunday. Both are from East Anglia.

There are now five in custody. The

police have appealed for witnesses

to come forward to explain how the

explosion happened.

Let's return to our main story -

and the snow that's brought chaos

to much of the UK this week.

Amid the misery for many -

stuck in cars, on trains,

struggling into work -

there've also been stories of great

heroism and of those who've gone out

of their way to come

to the aid of others.

Sarah Campbell reports.

An out-of-control car ends up on the

wrong side of this Edinburgh Road.

An out-of-control car ends up on the

wrong side of this Edinburgh Road. A

collision seems inevitable. But it

did not happen is thanks to the

quick reactions of the bus driver.

To me it looks worse on the video

then I felt at the time. I did get a

fright but I managed to avoid it,

luckily, and then I just got on with

my job after that and I totally

forgot all about it until I got home

and my husband asked me if I had

seen this video. He did not know it

was me who was driving.

Born in

Fife, despite the village being all

but cut off midwives made to the

month to help with the delivery and

local farmers cleared the roads to

get both mum and baby safe to the

hospital. Across the UK people have

refused to let the weather get in

their way. This is a paramedic, part

of a cycle response team for the

London Ambulance Service. And

stranded drivers on the K one were

treated to cream cakes and muffins

handed out by a fellow motorist who

happened to be a delivery driver for

a bakery. -- on the A1. This

businessman bought 12 hotel rooms

and offered them to the homeless.

I

just thought for the sake of 20 quid

we would get a few people off the

streets.

Lewis, a patient at Great

Ormond Street Hospital tweeted his

heartfelt thanks to the stars who

made him his very own snowman. -- do

the staff. And stuck in Skegness

without an event to go to, the BBC's

concert Orchestra offered their

services as a wedding gift to fellow

hotel guests on their big day.

When

they started it took your breath

away.

Very unexpected.

Amid the

freezing temperatures, the warmth of

human kindness has resonated. Sarah

Campbell, BBC News. Some great

stories. The man of the hour is

here. Tell us all about the weather.

What is to come?

here. Tell us all about the weather.

What is to come?

More of the same. Our weather

watchers are still out there,

capturing the scenes right across

the length and breadth of the

British Isles. We are not out of the

woods yet. Everything has been

focused on the progress north of

this band of continuous snow,

gradually working its way as we

speak across the southern half of

the British Isles. Further north,

not much change, plenty wintry

showers on that biting easterly

wind. Whilst this band of what is

around, one to five centimetres

quite widely on the ground, but over

to the west it could be up to 15

centimetres on top of what is

already lying around, and being

blown around by a noticeable wind.

This band of weather will get up

into the North Midlands,

Lincolnshire, and perhaps across the

Humber. We have the first signs of

somewhat mild hair trying to get

into the southern counties of

England and Wales. -- mild air. The

South has milder conditions coming,

and still the risk of some snow.

Watch out in the south. Having had a

cold night we bring in some rain,

perhaps to some areas, so that could

lead to a widespread problem with

ice, poor visibility, fog. Further

north, not much change on Saturday,

still that biting south-easterly

wind, and the prospect of more snow

showers. The weather front gradually

moves into the northern part of

Britain through Sunday. And across

the South, by this stage, the

problem of some ice in the early

part of the day as temperatures just

begin to pick up. There will be

problems with fog, as well. In the

north, you were pretty much stuck

with what you have, and for the rest

of the weekend.