this is bbc news. the headlines at 8... the beast from the east arrives — weather warnings are in place as eastern england prepares to bear the brunt of heavy snow and sub—zero conditions. only make the journey if it is absolutely necessary. make sure vehicle is ready for thejourney, that your tires of and tanks filled up. jeremy corbyn backs uk membership of a customs union with the eu. we wa nt we want to be able to develop the economy in this country to the benefit of all, to invest in those communities that are left behind, those areas that voted leaves as well as those voted remain. and we wa nt well as those voted remain. and we want a sensible trade relationship with the in the future. five people are dead after an explosion in leicester. research teams continue

to sift. an inquest hears how five—year—old ellie—may clark was turned away by a gp hours before she died from an asthma attack. a warning about the growing terror threat from far—right extremism. outgoing head of counter—terrorism at the metropolitan police, mark rowley, draws on similarities between islamist extremism and far—right groups such as national action. and a heroes' welcome after a record—breaking winter games for britain. good evening and welcome to bbc news. more now on the blast of freezing air sweeping into the uk from russia. some parts of the country will feel colder than the arctic over the next couple of days, with sub zero temperatures and wind chill.

forecasters are expecting as much as ten centimetres — orfour inches — of snow across parts of eastern and northern england, the midlands and wales. in scotland, the worst affected spots could see a0 centimetres — well over a foot — of snow by the middle of the week. it's expected some schools will be shut and trains are being cancelled on some routes this evening. among those are greater anglia trains, which will stop by ten o'clock tonight, with a reduced service tomorrow until thursday. stansted express trains to and from london liverpool street will stop running at 25 past ten tonight. and services on the southern, thameslink and gatwick express routes are all likely to be delayed or cancelled tonight, according to operators. they have all advised passengers to complete journeys by early evening to avoid disruption. as the cold air crept in from the east with it came the snow. showers and flurries so far, but

more is on the way, say forecasters. first time i've seen snow like this in years. it was settling in north kent earlier as a stream of showers merged into a longer spell. hi, david? extra checks are being made on the elderly. there were no problems delivering meals in lincolnshire today, but tomorrow could be different, although everyone is optimistic. it doesn't bother me, really. provided you are prepared for it. you've got stuff in the fridge and you've got everything like that, you've got to make sure you've got your boots ready, and things like that. by the middle of today, which is when we are delivering, there's not really a problem. i think there would be if we had to be there at seven o'clock in the morning, or ten o'clock at night. up and down the eastern flank of the uk, snow has been falling. this is norwich at the far end of the greater anglia rail route. further south, in colchester, and all along this line services will start winding down much earlier tonight in anticipation of the severe weather. scores of schools could be closed

over the next few days if the forecast ring true. for parents here in lincoln that's good and bad news. i've been waiting for snow for three years, i'm desperate for it to snow! i have to work tomorrow, and my wife has to go to work, so if one of us would have to call in sick we lose money, so hopefully the school will be open. nearby at raf scampton the red arrows were getting in as much practice as possible before snow grounds them. butjust to show how patchy it is, this was the scene less than 30 miles away in boston. your perception of this winter blast will depend on your postcode. our correspondent simonjones has been at a gritting depot near maidstone in kent.

he says the weather could be worst in the southeast in the early hours of tomorrow morning. this is one of 57 gritters that is taking to the roads to ensure they remain safe. if the depot looks pretty quiet, that is because all the other gritters are already out. they will be treating the major roads but only one third of roads will be treated so a number, particularly small roads, could become very icy. and the big worry is overnight at around 3am, when heavy snow showers could occur. we are told they could be up to 15 centimetres of snow coming down. if that happens, there is likely to be big knock—on effects for transport and getting around on rail services. it is not just and getting around on rail services. it is notjust the snow there could be the issue. it is the fact that

the temperature is so cold. standing here, it is so cold! it could go as low as minus four degrees since it —— selfies tonight and at the winter that, and if they get —— celsius tonight and add to that the wind chill. you could face a very hazardous journey tomorrow, so check before you set out. 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 joining me tonight are sebastian payne, political leader writer at the financial times and dia chakravarty, brexit editor at the daily telegraph. jeremy corbyn has set out labour's vision for brexit — saying the uk should remain in an eu customs union but only if the british can have a say in negotiating the bloc‘s future trade deals. he said it would allow free—flowing trade and prevent a hard border in northern ireland. the current customs union ensures

that some goods coming into the eu have the same tariffs — but international trade deals are negotiated by the eu. labour's announcement marks a clear difference in policy with the government which says the uk will come out of the customs union. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more. bit by bit, piece by piece, a clearer view on brexit ifjeremy corbyn was in charge. labour wants to keep our customs deal with the eu essentially the same for good. labour would seek to negotiate a new, comprehensive uk—eu customs union, to ensure there are no tariffs with europe and to help avoid any need whatsoeverfor a hard border in northern ireland. but listen very carefully, there is a big if in there. the option of a new uk customs union with the eu would need to ensure that the uk has a say in future trade deals.

a new customs arrangement would depend on britain being able éné whit eng eefeem'uifig'e‘f-éié ~ . —— passive regulation takers. but what if they say no to your proposal? as is very likely, given what the european union has said. listen, we would want to make sure, and would make sure, that britain had a say in our trade relationship... but how? by negotiation. negotiations require an understanding of strengths and weaknesses of both sides by the degree of manufacturing industry, agriculture, food industries that operate on both sides of the channel. and also, as i say, we're not going to undercut

the whole of europe. but what is your plan b? the plan b is to continue negotiating in order to achieve plan a. whether it's a or b, it seemingly tilts to a softer brexit. even though most labour seats in coventry and around the country voted to leave. but some brexit backing labour mps question whether it's real. there's no way they are going to agree that we would have oui’ own customs union. that we would stick our nose into any trade agreements they want to do. and thatjeremy‘s kept faith with his long—term objective that we must be free to negotiate our own trade agreements. for many voters there has been enough dancing around the details. a clean break, a total break, yes. why do you say that? because, like, let's get great britain back to great britain and how it used to be. why should stay as close as possible? i don't think we should stay as close as possible because i don't think it's a good idea to be in the eu.

it's not beneficial to everybody, really. i could speak to these two guys now and they would tell me one thing of the people behind them would tell another, everybody‘s views are so mixed up, i think, we just want an end to it now, i think. if a labour voter said to you, i back brexit, and i did not think that would mean still having a trading relationship with the european union, they want something more dramatic, and more dramatic break, what would you say to them, was it worth it? i would say to them think this thing through. 2.0.5.2; 441; $45.74; see we have to ensure those jobs. this isn'tjeremy corbyn tearing up labour's plans for brexit, the tensions insiée'his—gwn—ggzgfz- ;: if7,,’:f4f:, ii; ,:§