this is bbc news. the headlines at eight. after the president—elect accused america's intelligence agencies of leaking unproven allegations about him, mr trump's nominee for cia chief strikes a very different note. i've watched them walk through fire to make sure they did theirjobs in a professional way, and they were always aimed at getting the truth, in—depth in a robust way to policy makers. snow and strong winds are causing disruption across many parts of the uk — some people in eastern england are evacuated following severe flood warnings. 100 soldiers are working with the police knocking on doors of something like 3200 properties, there are fears there are vulnerable to flooding over the next 2a hours. investigators announce that 23 people and organisations could face prosecution over the 1989 hillsborough disaster. and in the next hour we'll reflect on the life of former england manager,

graham taylor. he's thought to have suffered a heart attack at the ages of 72 — the footballing world has been paying tribute. i held him in the very very highest regard, because of what he gave to me, he gave me my england debut, he set me on the road, if it were, and i'll never ever forget that. and we speak to the writer of la la land — the man who's brought the art of the musical back to film. two senior figures taking on key roles in donald trump's new administration have given strong endorsements of the us intelligence community — just hours after the president—elect suggested security officials may have leaked unproven allegations about him.

mike pompeo, the man nominated to become the next head of the cia and general mattis, donald trump's choice for us defence secretary have been setting out their view to senators at their confirmation hearings. both men also took a more hawkish view on russia than the next commander—in—chief, expressing concern about the threat it posed in europe. nick bryant reports from washington. a week before inauguration day, usually an air of expectancy on capitol hill. but the mood is much more feverish and electric. as allegations swirl that russia has compromising information about the president—elect that could make him susceptible to blackmail. today trump's choice as cia director agreeing that the kremlin tried to interfere with the election.

it's clear about russian involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on american democracy. i'm very clear about what that intelligence report says. and i have every expectation that as we continue to develop the facts, i will relay those to the president and the team around him and you all, so we can have a robust discussion about this threat from cyber. as to the latest allegations in the dossier: i will pursue the facts wherever they take us. and the incoming defence secretary, james mattis, took aim at vladimir putin, taking a much tougher line than his new boss. i'm all for engagement, but we have to recognise reality in what russia is up to. there is a decreasing number of areas where we can engage. and an increasing number of areas where we will have to confront russia. yesterday the president—elect

rejected the unverified allegations that russia has dirt on him. in strong and colourful language. you are fake news. go ahead. after speaking last night to america's director of national intelligence, james clapper, he was just as vehement on twitter. but intelligence chiefs have made no judgments on the claims: team trump is defiant, insisting the allegations are not true. what struck me most in mr clapper‘s public statement that i'm sure your viewers can access, is mr clapper reemphasising that the intelligence

community gave no credibility to the fake news documents. washington is a city used to intrigue and scandal, but not on the eve of an inauguration. a former mi6 officer has gone into hiding after being named as the source of the latest allegations against president elect donald trump. christopher steele produced a dossier last year which included the allegations that mr trump had been caught in compromising financial and personal activities. the cia says it makes no judgment about the credibility of the unproven report. gordon corera reports. the murky world of intelligence—gathering in moscow. a secret dossier of allegations about trump and russia. all written by a former member of mi6. this is christopher steele, now at the centre of controversy. his house was unoccupied today. he's supposed to have told

neighbours to look after his cats and he is said to be lying low, fearing for his safety. so what do we know about christopher steele? he's 52. in the nineties he worked undercover for mi6 in moscow. after leaving, he founded a private intelligence company called orbis. last year he was commissioned by trump's opponents to look into the tycoon‘s russian connections. he ended up with 35 pages of allegations about his professional and personal life. orbis are based here. there is no sign of chris steele. he is a man with contacts in moscow. but so far there has been no confirmation that the extraordinary allegations he dug up there are definitely true. thanks to his past as a spy, steele is unlikely to have been able

to travel to moscow himself so instead will have relied on others to gather information. moscow's a difficult place to work in. the russians have a habit of secrecy and deception. the other complicating factor is money. if you're going to give someone money to tell you something, there is a strong possibility that they will tell you what you want to hear. alexander litvinenko, a former russian agent who fled to london, investigated powerful figures in moscow and was killed by radioactive poison, it's alleged on the orders of the kremlin i believe it is dangerous, particularly after the death of my husband, because when you just approach specific information, particularly when this information very close to powerful people, you might be in this line and you just easily might be killed. the russian dossier was not written for public consumption.

but american spies have briefed its outlines to the man it's all about. its author never expected to be in the spotlight. but in the atmosphere of american politics today, secrets are no longer as safe as they were. let's speak now to keir giles, from the russian and eurasia programme at the think tank chatham house. hejoins us from california via webcam. thank you forjoining us. first of all, we now know a new russian word, how surprised should we be these tactics exist? it is familiar for anybody who has been watching russia long—term, a lot of the allegation inside the dossier, although they

sound sensational toll us are bread and butter to the russians. so in that respect, everything that is written in the dossier is plausible but that does not necessarily mean it is true, one important point that is being overlooked and much of the reporting is that the dossier itself does not make a judgment on whether this things are true north in the same way as us intelligence community has not done so, far from saying they are not found as donald trump is saying they are saying we are not taking a view but we need to know the allegations are there. how problematic for you is the sensational language in it and the fa ct sensational language in it and the fact money seems to have changed hands? well, as you heard from your security correspondent, the presence of money may possibly have induced sources to say what the person collecting them wanted to hear, and the language in the dossier is certainly not neutral and objective as you might expect from a report

that was entirely independent, as if it has been commissioned a purpose in mind. more important than that, it is not only chris steele who is right to be concern for his safety but the dossier points to those intermediaries within russia who have been collecting this information and i would be concerned for their position now. how likely is it, do you think, that the us intelligence agencies will try to verify these allegations?” intelligence agencies will try to verify these allegations? i would assume that people have been working very ha rd assume that people have been working very hard on doing so, just as they have been doing in the media, some of claims that have been made have already been researched in detail and debunked or partially confirmed. some of course are impossible, as buzzfeed has pointed out to verify 01’ buzzfeed has pointed out to verify or deny, and it is relying on second and third hand information, which has been passed on from sources close to the kremlin, through the intermediaries to this organisation that put the dossier together. in that put the dossier together. in that respect it will be very hard to

get any positive confirmation that these things are true, but as i mentioned at the fist, long—term russia watchers they will all be plausible. thank you. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. our guests are tim collins, former conservative mp, and pauljonsson who is deputy editor of the guardian. who is deputy editor of the guardian. blizzards are sweeping across the uk this evening, driven by a blast of arctic weather. scotland was hit first — with some schools shut and transport services disrupted. northern ireland also saw heavy snowfalls. further south dozens of flights out of heathrow have been cancelled and several villages on the east coast have been evacuated after the environment agency issued severe flood warnings. our correspondent duncan kennedy reports. scotland, where the gorgeous meets the treacherous. and the place where the snow laid its deepest and

widest. eight inches of drifts in some places, creating scenery beyond postcard perfect but sending temperatures way below zero. it was enough to do this to the m71; near glasgow. drivers spent hours crawling to their destinations. in northern ireland, the traffic moved but on roads snowed and iced under bitter conditions. gritters struggles to keep routes covered. it was the same in cumbria, where councils had to make multiple trips after the grit was blown or washed away. because we're trying to get salt on the network, every time we are doing that, the rain is coming and washing it off, so the salt level is then reduced and we have to top it up. that is why people will see this constant movement around the roots, building up that salt level. head south, and sleet and snow are courting ablaze across the

midlands. but here, not so lucky. when it comes to driving, under these conditions we do not do it. it's really nice. so pretty. it is the first time she has seen the si'iow. the snow came late in the day to heathrow but the authorities had already decided to take no chances and cancelled 80 fights. —— cancelled 80 flights. alan and elizabeth mitchell are among thousands of people want britain's east coast preparing for flooding. high seas threaten to pour in. i am upset and frightened. after the last flight, i had a couple of strokes. i do not want that again. i'm sorry, i am going to cry. 100 soldiers are in lincolnshire tonight warning people about the possibility of flooding there as well.

they will be on alert for 2h hours. all part of this midwinter of multiple weather experiences that is applying to the british isles. duncan kennedy, bbc news. catherine nashst in a village, she brought us up—to—date with the latest from there. i am here at the education centre about a mile away from the seafront here in the village. there have been preparations going on all day, ready to receive residents who have been told to leave their homes because of the potential risk of flooding, now police have been knocking on doors since 4.00 this afternoon, warning people about the risks of the tidal surge, and telling them they really need to be ready to leave their homes, first thing tomorrow morning. now this decision hasn't been taken lightly, there has been guidance

from the met office, as well as the environment agency and a what they have been saying is 1.00 tomorrow afternoon, they expect a high tide, combined with a storm surge, and winds of up to 40—50mph. now the result of that could be severe flooding. nigel brownjoins me now, he is from the district council. the man in charge of operations here, how prepared are we? we are about as prepared as we can be. this centre has been open since about four o'clock, ready to receive people. but in reality we know most people will look to turn up first thing, they will want to stay in their own homes tonight, which is fine, tomorrow could be a very different story with hundreds of people. so what will happen tomorrow morning? i know you are saying be ready at 7.00 tomorrow? the police have been going round talking to people and it is for them to decide if and when they come, nobody can make people turn out and come here, but it will be

safe, dry, and warm, and they will be able to be with other people in the same situation, and away from the same situation, and away from the dangers of the tidal surge. these are very much precautionary measures that are being taken here, we won't know the full extent until tomorrow. with me is the bbc weather presenter, john hammond. how bad is it going to get? by the standards of this winter pretty bad. it has been so mild up to now, it has arrived, with a vengeance across the south—east. can show you a picture from an hour or two ago. and there you go, biggin hill, more an inch or two of snow, it is still snowing in parts of surrey, kent, essex and suffolk and places like that, so we are not talking about a dusting, because it is the south—east, has higher impact than other parts of the country. particularly scotland no doubt laugh at it but it does make a difference.

millions are trying to get home right now. the radar picture shows it was a wet day until round four or 5.00 when it turned to snow. you can see the snow pushing through the round london area, it will clear away and then we focus on wintry showers in the north—west, temperatures are falling away kick quickly so ice is the name of game from here on in, where you have the further wintry showers in the north and west, the wintry theme continues for the next few days, as we heard in the report, we are worried about a storm surgeon morning down the north sea, severe gale, huge waves, possibly coastal flooding. i want to put this in perspective, because if you cast your mind and you may be old enough, i am, you cast your mind and you may be old enough, iam, 30 you cast your mind and you may be old enough, i am, 30 years ago... sweet of you to suggest i might not be. who knows? creep! 30 years ago, iam going be. who knows? creep! 30 years ago, i am going to walk off in a minute! 30 years ago, today, the daytime

highs were minus 8. so we are talking about highs of twos and threes. it is not as bad as it could get. these are the sorts of scenes we had on 12th january with blizzards tearing across south—east england and feet of snow.|j blizzards tearing across south—east england and feet of snow. i do vaguely recall it being nippy. we we re vaguely recall it being nippy. we were built of stern stuff. vaguely recall it being nippy. we were built of stem stuff. thank you. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. good evening, the former watford, aston villa and england manager graham taylor has died at the age of 72. his family say he had a suspected heart attack early this morning — and that it was "totally unexpected". as you can expect hundreds of tributes have been paid from throughout the game from former colleagues and players. gary lineker described him as "‘an outstanding manager, lover of football and thoroughly decent man." patrick gearey looks back at his career. graham taylor will be remember as a

be leering eengland manager but one of the best english manager, his time in charge came to exemplify its pressurings, a tv documentary called itan pressurings, a tv documentary called it an impossible job. pressurings, a tv documentary called it an impossiblejob. but pressurings, a tv documentary called it an impossible job. but taylor had been pulling off improbablejob all his managerial career, in 1977 elton john persuaded him to onjoin the club, taylor took the hornets from the fourth division to the first in five seasons and to the fa cup final in 1984. his boss had become his friend, today, sir eltonjohn staid said ina friend, today, sir eltonjohn staid said in a statement: taylor moved op to aston villa, and hauled them from the second division toa hauled them from the second division to a title challenge in the first. next, was the top job. england. to a title challenge in the first. next, was the topjob. england. they just reached the world cup semifinals but were going through a transition taylor got them to the european championships but they

disappointed in sweden. he was criticised for substituting gary lineker what what would be his last international. taylor's england failed to qualify for the 1994 world cup. he resigned in november 1993 having failed in the biggestjob of his career, in press dwelled on result but he earned the players‘ respect a guy who was so passionate. who was so in love with the game of football and who was straight and honest and who would tell you as it was, and he wasn‘t afraid do that whether you were a young player or very experienced and i think that is the way he will remember. experience never left #25i8. he returned to mansment with wolves and watford and aston villa. he moved from the manager‘s office the microphone as a commentator, it allowed the nation to discover the graham taylor his players knew. in the word of one an absolute gentleman. graham taylor who died today.

pato wa nts graham taylor who died today. pato wants to leave west ham and has refused to play against crystal palace this saturday. he was a stand out player in his first season helping them to a seventh placed finish. he had a great summer with france when they reached the european championship final but west ham down in 13th and pato wants a transfer, hiss former club marseille have had a £19 million bid turned down. another french international is on the move. everton have completed the signing of manchester united midfielder morgan schneiderlin for a fee that could rise to £24 million. schneiderlin has signed for four—and—a—half—yea rs and will link up again with ronald koeman, whom he played for at southampton. the french international played 47 times for united following his move from the saints in 2015 but he only made eight appearances this season, mostly as a substitute. following schneiderlin‘s move to goodison park, everton have loaned out midfielder

tom cleverley to watford until the end of the season with an option for a permanent move. cleverley‘s made just four premier league starts in his 12 appearances this season. yet wa nts yet wants a transfer, hiss former clu b yet wants a transfer, hiss former club marseille have had a £19 million bid turned down. another french international is on the move. rory mcilroy is one off the pace at the south african open as a five—under par 67 in his first european tour event of the year. he is experimenting with a new set of club, the world number two made seven birdies, he is a stroke behind trevor fisherjunior seven birdies, he is a stroke behind trevor fisher junior and keith seven birdies, he is a stroke behind trevor fisherjunior and keith horn. nick faldo the making a rare appearance on the european tour. he carded a very impressive round of 70. that is all the sport for now. more in the next hour. as we‘ve been hearing, the former england football manager graham taylor has died from a suspected heart attack. he was 72. well, we can now speak tojim white, sports writer for the daily telegraph. he joins us live via webcam from his home in oxford.

thank you you forjoining us, you knew him through his days of punditry. how good a club manager was he compared with england manager? he was an excellent club manager, he was an man as we have heard, of great enthusiasm, great spirit, and he developed an enormous loyalty from his group of players when he was able to work with them, for, on a daily basis, and he was superb when he first started at lincoln city, then at watford, aston villa. did really good job as a league manager, i think the problem was he may have been promoted above his level of competence when it came to taking over england. why is it such a different skill?|j to taking over england. why is it such a different skill? i think what graham wasa such a different skill? i think what graham was a man who could develop huge team spirit by working every day with players and i think when he

came to international level, the fa ct came to international level, the fact he was only with them occasionally, for very short periods of time, he couldn‘t rely on those skills that had held him in good stead, and i think he was found tactically, he wasn‘t up to making the swift and important decisions fast enough. and the press really had a bit of a go at him at times. he had a rough time of it. a bit of a go is an understatement. he was savaged. he was england manager at a time when there was a tabloid war and he was there was a tabloid war and he was the ammunition in that war, and they, they fired some terrible things at him. the great thing about graham was though, that he bounced back from that, and he was the sun ofa—— back from that, and he was the sun of a —— son of back from that, and he was the sun ofa —— son ofa back from that, and he was the sun of a —— son of a journalist, he neverfor of a —— son of a journalist, he never for the of a —— son of a journalist, he neverfor the ordinary of a —— son of a journalist, he never for the ordinary journalist, of a —— son of a journalist, he never for the ordinaryjournalist, i think he probably still held a grudge against some the tabloids but for the ordinary journalist grudge against some the tabloids but for the ordinaryjournalist he was a

very kind thoughtful and encouraging person just as he very kind thoughtful and encouraging personjust as he has been to very kind thoughtful and encouraging person just as he has been to those young footballers. he reinvented himself later as a pundit and that is how you came to work with him, i understand. he really took to it. yes, he was an excellent pundit and think it was great for him, to be able to communicate directly to the people, what a warm, nice, kind and insightful person he was. full of muir, a twinkle in his eye, i think we kind of forgot that in the maelstrom that was surrounding him in england. you forgot what a great person he was. thank you for sharing your memories of graham taylor with us. investigators say 23 people and organisations could face prosecution for the hillsborough disaster in which 96 fans died. the crown prosecution service will decide whether or not to press charges. an inquest last year found the victims were unlawfully killed in 1989 and that the match commander was responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence.

our correspondent judith moritz reports. british airways cabin crew are to stage a fresh strike in a dispute over pay. members of the unite union will walk out for three days from january 19 following two days of industrial action this week. la la land will open in the uk tomorrow. the romantic musical comedy has already won 7 golden globe awards and 11 bafta nominations. but is it likely to woo british audiences? 0ur arts editor will gompertz has spoken to the film‘s writer and director damien chazelle. # city of stars # are you shining just for me? welcome to la la land, the hollywood musical starring emma stone and ryan gosling which looks like it‘s going to sing and dance itself to 0scars glory. it is a genre of film—making which its director thinks is unfairly derided as being a bit naff. i don‘t think musicals are this outdated thing that they sometimes get labelled as.

they‘re also notjust a purely fantastical thing that people sometimes labelled them as. i think musicals can they aim real lot about real life and human emotions and humanity and where we are right now. and the need for dreams. # here‘s to the ones who dream # foolish as they may seem. from a writer and a director‘s point of view, what can you do any song that you can‘t do in a script? i think of a song in a musical as a reflection of a person‘s innermost feelings. it is feeling is that can‘t be or in kind of action. it is feelings that need the outlet of a song. we had about a 3—4 month rehearsal period of prep where everyday ryan

and emma were in dance lessons, singing lessons, piano lessons. i think it‘s also kind of fun, if you‘re going to work with music stars, put them outside their comfort zone, see the vulnerability. he is not yet 32 but already being lauded and applauded for his talents, he is a young director living la la land‘s dream. will gompertz, bbc news. humour, a twinkle in his eye, the weather forecast with john. good evening, well for some of us a very wet day is turning into a white evening, as the temperatures have fallen, so the rain has the turned to snow, even across the london area with few centimetres out—of—town and up with few centimetres out—of—town and up on the high ground in particular, as the rain and snow clear away, so temperatures will fall like a stone,

everything will freeze, be it water or slush, or snow, a very easy night out there, particularly later on. in fa ct out there, particularly later on. in fact that goes for much of the uk, with temperatures close to freezing. ice will be a real hazard. warnings have been issues and further wintry shows. in the north and west of england and wales and blizzards ranging across the north of scotland in particular, with gales round north sea coast, this could be a typical season first thing in the morning, nasty conditions on the road and pavement as i say warnings have been issued and for the the latest check out the bbc weather website. a very icy night out there. hello. this is bbc news, with me, martine croxall. the headlines at half past eight. donald trump‘s nominee for cia chief praises the work