this is bbc news. more new on the heavy snow that has fallen today across parts of the country, delaying flights and causing problems for some drivers. with children off school, and many of their parents away from work, lots of people have been making the most of the snowy conditions. from west yorkshire, olivia richwald reports. four days too late for a white christmas. this was bradford this morning. there had been fears of chaos on the roads and dangerous conditions, but when the snow came, it was lighter and later than forecast. some drivers had problems but by and large roads remained clear from the cities to the countryside. drivers without lights on, they really do need to put their lights on. going over the top in fog and snow, it's ridiculous. if you have to drive, take it steady, do not break or accelerate sharply and leave plenty of distance between

your vehicle and the car in front. leeds bradford airport had to shut its runway for a few hours while snowploughs and critters made it safe. that hard work clearing the ru nway safe. that hard work clearing the runway has paid off and flights are landing and taking off at regular intervals at leeds bradford airport. some passengers were diverted to other airports and others delayed by several hours. for those notjetting off to the sunshine, there were skiing conditions in the park in leeds, although just like the alps at this time of year, the slopes we re at this time of year, the slopes were a bit crowded. there was more space in guiseley, where big and little kids made the most of the snow. it was a bit scary at my age. i think snow. it was a bit scary at my age. ithinki snow. it was a bit scary at my age. i think i am past it. there is another man now, so it's all right. what are you going to do after sledging? build a snowman. a snowman with hat, gloves, scarf and a carrot. temperatures are expected to

rise tomorrow so this snow will not be around long. our correspondent lisa summers is in edinburgh and gave us this update. the rest of the snow has now passed, but the worry overnight is going to be icy conditions, with temperatures dropping rapidly even here in the city. further ahead, we have warnings of heavy rain in the south of england. in scotland, the concern will be about high winds. we have a high wind warning in place for hogmanay, and as you can see, edinburgh is busy at this time of year. 150,000 people are due to participate in a three—day hogmanay festival that starts tomorrow. things like a torchlight procession, a street party, a nine minute firework display, all those things depend on it not being too windy. 0rganisers will have a keen eye on the weather forecast over the next couple of days. i have been told they are expecting the winds to die down during the course of hogmanay, so hopefully, we can enjoy new year without too much trouble from the weather. let's return to the announcement

by lord adonis that he is quitting his role as the government's infrastructure adviser. hejoins us in the he joins us in the studio. hejoins us in the studio. thank he joins us in the studio. thank you for coming in tonight. did you resign? were you sacked? was this a time at which you would have chosen to go? i resigned. and i regret leaving the post. i am a huge infrastructure advocate, the one who got hs2 going. we have done some great work, planning crossrail in london, h53 linking the northern cities, sorting out problems with 4g and five g coverage in mobile systems. there is a lot of infrastructure to do. the problem is that my differences with the government have become too great, not only on brexit, which is being

handled very badly, taking britain out of the key economic institutions of the european union, the customs union and single market. but increasingly brexit is affecting the whole conduct of government across whitehall. we are seeing that in infrastructure itself, with the misguided decision to bail out the east coast rail franchise which will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. if we had proper conduct of government, as happened before brexit, no way would whitehall have allowed a ha rd brexit, no way would whitehall have allowed a hard right minister to have agreed the bail out of private rail companies as has happened. u nfortu nately, rail companies as has happened. unfortunately, mice —— my position has become unsustainable because of this. in the letter to the prime minister you said, i would like to thank you for courtesy in our personal dealings. you also said on twitter, i meant what i said in my resignation letter about the pm's courtesy, which makes it sad that number ten sources up to dirty

tricks, tomorrow's times will make clear why chris grayling's conduct gave me no choice but to resign. what have number ten been doing?|j assume what have number ten been doing?” assume the prime minister did not know, but they briefed an early d raft know, but they briefed an early draft of my letter. i have no idea how they came to do that. then they started saying that if i had not resigned, i might have been pushed, all of these things. unfortunately, this is how politics is being conducted and it is part of the brexit disease which has spread across whitehall. hasn't it always been like this? it is much worse. i was transport secretary, where we concentrated on things that matter to the public. at the moment now, we have a minister who is mainly concerned with brexit. when he actually does his dayjob, it is things like bailing out the east coast franchise, costing hundreds of millions to the taxpayer. u nfortu nately, millions to the taxpayer. unfortunately, as i say in my letter, there has been a nervous breakdown across whitehall which

made my position unsustainable. but the phrase spin doctor was invented for the new labour government, wasn't it? there was always spin, tricks, if you like. there was real substance in those governments, making britain better. most people accept that in those years of government, britain was better at the end of it than it was before. the big problem with brexit, which we are constantly rubbing up against, is that it is going to make britain worse off, not better off. eu don't know that for sure. britain worse off, not better off. eu don't know that for surem britain worse off, not better off. eu don't know that for sure. it is my strong view. a lot of people will say we have not left and you are already writing it off. you accepted thisjob in charge of infrastructure, advising on infrastructure, advising on infrastructure, already knowing the government was committed to brexit. why would you do that if you were so at odds? i launched the national infrastructure commission when david cameron was prime minister, before brexit. i stayed when theresa may

became prime minister. i hoped she would adopt the right approach to brexit, which would have been to stay within the customs union and the singh bull market, on whichjobs and trade depend. to my regret, what the prime minister chose to do was to ally with ukip and wrench us out of everything to do with europe's key economic institutions, and that is the root cause of the problem at the moment. a sensible approach is not being adopted. you describe her approach as a populist and nationalist spasm, but how is staying in those structures, the customs union and single market, how is that in any way really leaving the eu in the way that people voted for brexit mean? norway and switzerland have very close relations with the european union, including being a key part of the economic institutions of the european union, those institutions

which the prime minister is proposing to leave. it would have been compatible to have remained within the economic and trading institutions of the eu, but to have left the political side of the union. it is not ideal. the best thing is not to do brexit at all, but it would have been possible. u nfortu nately, but it would have been possible. unfortunately, the government has not adopted that course. but the issues which led to my resignation are wider than that. we are seeing a whitehall completely distracted from the normal business of government. if you take every department, there isa if you take every department, there is a brexit i mention. transport, which i know well, which is crucially responsible for infrastructure, all of our aviation agreements across europe and internationally have to be renegotiated over the next 15 months before we leave the european union. that is a colossal undertaking. there are a whole load of other things which need to be done, too. it is because the mind of the whitehall machine is being distracted by brexit that things

like the bail out of the east coast main line, costing hundreds of millions, took place. people need to understand that what is happening with this nervous breakdown across whitehall is the collapse of normal, orderly government. as they grasp that over the next year, people will have second thoughts about brexit. why should chris grayling not have accepted the deal about the east coast mainline? because he is duty bound to get the best deal for the taxpayer from rail bound to get the best deal for the taxpayerfrom railfranchises. bound to get the best deal for the taxpayer from rail franchises. maybe the rail using public will be better off with what he has decided. the rail using public are not great fans of private rail companies that do not deliver on contracts, as i know from having done thatjob myself. what rail users want is good efficient services and low fares, and spending hundreds of millions bailing out loss—making private sector companies is not the public‘s priority at all. the eu withdrawal bill arrives in the house of lords

soon. you will be at odds with your party. would you not be better off on the crossbenchers? there is a range of different views inside the labour party and opinion is moving increasingly in the direction that ha rd increasingly in the direction that hard brexit is the wrong thing. but they are in favour of brexit, in favour of leaving. the majority of labour mps voted for the principle of withdrawing from the european union. but kier starmer and of withdrawing from the european union. but kier starmerand his collea g u es union. but kier starmerand his colleagues are not in favour of a crazy brexit, at all. as it becomes clear that the terms will be disadvantageous to the public, including jobs, i think opinion will move in the labour party quite decisively over coming months. but the labour party has been criticised for not being clear about what it once, by constantly shifting and different members of the party saying different things about what brexit will look like. what message will your wits be giving you about how to vote when the withdrawal bill comes to the lords? i am not great at doing what the whips tell me. pa rt at doing what the whips tell me. part of the reason i have resigned

is that i think independently and my own view is that political parties exist to promote the public good. the public good at the moment, in my view, is not going for a hard brexit. i increasingly think that as the terms of brexit become clear the public will want a final say on the terms of brexit, which will mean a referendum, probably in early 2019, andi referendum, probably in early 2019, and i hope we can stop this nonsense and i hope we can stop this nonsense and get back to the serious business of improving housing, jobs, the education system, the nhs. those are the key priorities of british people and at the moment they are being essentially betrayed by the process of brexit which is overwhelming the political world. you were a member of the sdp, then you moved to lay bands now you recently have worked for the conservatives. where are you going to go next? you have left a job where you could really make a difference. what is next for you?” reached the conclusion that i had reached the conclusion that i had

reached the conclusion that i had reached the limits of the difference i could make while working for a government whose policies are fundamentally at variance with those i believe him. it is true that i was a member of the sdp and then i joined tony blair's labour party. my views did not change in that process. i was pro—european, views did not change in that process. iwas pro—european, in favour of a social market economy, ipad —— high quality public services bringing together the private and public sector. i supported those causes through thick and thin, including steady investment in britain's infrastructure, so we become a modern european country. people are starting to see that. they look at hs1, the big improvements to london transport in the last ten years, and they begin to see a modern european country. this is not the time for us to leave the european union and put ross batty in jeopardy. those projects can exist outside of the eu. what we have seen with the bail out of the east coast main line is that the

brexit malaise, spreading across whitehall, is affecting other policy areas to an increasing degree. as that happens, it is not possible to separate it out. if that is a function of brexit, because of the spasm, as you describe it, the fact that proper conduct isn't happening because everyone is preoccupied with brexit, that kind of thing is not going to happen regularly, is it? so if it is a function of brexit, once brexit has happened, everyone can get back to doing what they are meant to do. brexit will take years to implement. we are already talking about not just the to implement. we are already talking about notjust the next 15 months of negotiations to get to what has been called the interim period, but then an interim period of at least two yea rs, however an interim period of at least two years, however many years it will ta ke to years, however many years it will take to replace the trade treaties that britain currently has with 102 countries courtesy of the european union. each of those could take six or seven yea rs union. each of those could take six or seven years to renegotiate. but the ministers know that it is

massive. it is obvious, everyone keeps saying that. but it is in the interest of those other countries to have a trade deal with us. it is not just to britain's benefit. but that does not mean it can be accomplished overnight. these treaties are thousands of pages long and it will be very difficult to get terms as good as those we have at the moment when they are renegotiated. so what are described as the nervous breakdown spreading across whitehall, in my view this is likely to continue, many years because all of the brightest and best talents in whitehall at the moment are spent trying to limit the damage from brexit when they ought to be getting house—building going in this country, sorting out the crisis in the nhs, healing with regional inequalities and improving our education system, and improving our infrastructure, including investment in new rail lines and public transport that has been put in jeopardy by the bail out of the east coast mainline. which of those do you want to do next? i will carry on

championing the cause of sane policy, which is much needed at the moment. thank you. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10.a0pm and 11.30pm this evening in the papers. our guests tonight are jason beattie, head of politics at the daily mirror, and tim stanley from the daily telegraph. and we expect the papers to be dominated by the new year's honour‘s list which will be published at 10.30pm tonight. we'll bring you all the highlights as soon as the names are officially revealed. the markets have closed on a record trading high at the end of the year. police investigating the death of a woman in north london over the christmas period have renewed their appeal for information from the public.

the body of iuliana tudos — who was 22 and originally from moscow, but had lived in london for some years — was discovered on wednesday in finsbury park. police say iuliana — who was also known asjulia and lili — died of a stab wound to the abdomen and a head injury. it is believed she was attacked on christmas eve. no arrests have been made and a crime scene remains in place at the location. now time for the weather. it has been a busy week of weather and while things may not turn quieter they will turn progressively less wintry. today, some of us had snowy scenes. 0ver less wintry. today, some of us had snowy scenes. over the weekend, although northern areas will stick with something colder, milder air will increasingly influence whether towards the south. with that, outbreaks of rain pushing north and east. potentially cold enough for snow over the high ground of wales and northern england and maybe at low levels in northern ireland. generally turning milder towards the south but cold enough across

scotla nd south but cold enough across scotland and north—east england for some ice tomorrow morning. tomorrow, a cold start in the north, and then this week band of rain and some hill snow will move north across scotland. behind that, brighter skies and rain flirting with the south west on a blustery day. still cold enough in the northern half of scotla nd cold enough in the northern half of scotland for some of this showery wet weather to be falling as snow, especially over high ground. temperatures nudging up further south. 6 degrees in glasgow, seven in belfast. sunshine and showers for the afternoon. bright skies for much of england and wales. across the far south, an area of rain is likely to be sliding in. as we head through saturday night, the wet weather is associated with a developing area of low pressure. it does not look like much but it has been named by the irish weather service as storm dyla n, irish weather service as storm dylan, because it could bring gale force wind across northern ireland,

and also into scotland. also, a band of heavy rain and squally wind through the first part of new year's eve. then some spells of sunshine and a rash of hefty showers moving in from the west and temperatures around 6—12 degrees. if you are celebrating at midnight, a good chance of clear skies overhead. there is the potential for chance of clear skies overhead. there is the potentialfor some showers blowing into western areas, particularly some of them heavy. into new year's day, blustery wind, a lot of bright weather, rain and hill smoke in the north, wet weather in the south. —— hills snow in the north. this is bbc news. the headlines:

weather warnings for ice across parts of northern england and scotla nd parts of northern england and scotland following heavy snow and blizzard conditions. glasgow airport has reopened after suspending flights earlier. the government's infrastructure has resigned over the handling of brexit. lord adonis says theresa may is pursuing a course fraught with danger over the eu departure. the stock market reaches a record high on the final day of trading for the year. 12 people, including four children, have been killed after fire swept through an apartment lock in the bronx. it is the deadliest blaze in the city for 25 years, according to the city for 25 years, according to the mayor.

now on bbc news, the award—winning film, goodbye aleppo. in constant danger, citizenjournalists film, goodbye aleppo. in constant danger, citizen journalists recorded the fall of their city to syrian government forces a year ago. this programme contains content you may find upsetting.