tonight at ten. labour spells out its plans for leaving the eu and says britain does need to be in a customs union. speaking in coventry, jeremy corbyn said it his aim was to protect british jobs and to secure tariff—free trade with the eu. we want to be able to develop the economy in this country for the benefit of all, to invest in those communities that are left behind, those areas that voted leave as well as those areas that voted remain and we develop an effective trade relationship with europe in the future. mr corbyn also argued that a customs union would avoid the creation of a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. we'll have detail and reaction. also tonight... the number of people known to have died in an explosion and fire in a building in leicester has now risen to five. warnings in place across the uk, as bitterly cold weather sweeps in from eastern europe. tonight, hundreds of ploughs and

critters are heading out onto the road networks to keep them open and ready for the morning. we will have the latest on where the heaviest snowfall is expected over the next 2a hours. serious questions about standards in some unregistered schools in england following a bbc news investigation. and team gb arrives home from pyeonchang after a record—breaking winter games for britain. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, could scotland's ryan wilson's six nations be over? as the number eight is sited over alleged foul play during saturday's victory over england. good evening. jeremy corbyn has laid out labour's approach to britain's trade relations after brexit. he says he wants the uk to enter

into a permanent customs union with the european union, a deal which he says would put people's jobs and living standards ahead of what he called the ideological fantasies of the conservatives. he also said this would avoid the need for a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. but theresa may has already ruled out staying in the single market or a customs union, as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. cheering and applause. 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. so, labour would seek to negotiate a new, comprehensive uk — eu customs union to ensure that there are no tariffs with europe and to help avoid any need, whatsoever, for 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 to negotiate agreement on new trade deals in our national interests. other countries with similar kinds of deals have very little control. we would have to have a meaningful say in how those negotiations went and what the agreement was. so we would not end up as simply passive rule 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 relations. by negotiation. negotiations require understandings of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, by the degree of the manufacturing industry, of agriculture, food industries that operate on both

sides of the channel and also, as i say, we are 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 is a or b, it is seemingly tilted towards after brexit, even though most labour seats in coventry and around the country voted to leave. but some brexit—backing labour mps questioned whether it is real. there is no way they are going to agree that we would have our own customs union, that we would stick our noses into any trade agreements they want to do and that jeremy has 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 clean break. yeah. why do you say that? because, like, we need to get great britain back to great britain. and how it used to be. they say we should stay

as close as possible, i don't think we should stay as close as possible, because i don't think it is a good idea to be in the eu. it is not beneficial to everybody, really. i could speak to these two guys now and they would tell me one thing and the people behind them would... everyone is the same, mixed up, we just want an end to it now, i think. if a labour voter said to you, i'd back brexit, and i did not think that would mean still having a trading relationship with the european union, they wanted something more dramatic, a more dramatic break, what would you say them? i would say... i would say to them, think this thing through. we have a lot ofjobs that depend on sales back and forth, across the north sea or across the channel and we have to ensure those jobs. this isn'tjeremy corbyn tearing up labour's plans for brexit, it is a more powerful step along the way, trying to contain the tensions inside his own party, those on both sides of the argument and the many labour voters who backed brexit in 2016. it does also, though, politically conveniently

draw a clear difference between the labour position and the conservative plans. thanks a lot. thanks for coming, guys. it is notjust his fans, but some tory mps want to keep our customs links, too. labour's firmer position in parliament could cause trouble for number 10. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, coventry. so what difference could it make to trade if britain stayed in some kind of permanent customs union with the eu? chris morris, of the bbc‘s reality check, is here to explain more. being in a customs union with the eu after brexit would mean there would still be a common external tariff — in effect the same tax — on goods being brought in from elsewhere in the world. but it would also mean — like now — that there would be no tariffs for goods crossing borders between the uk and the eu. that is important for companies based in the uk, which operate

complex manufacturing processes across europe. this is the bmw factory in oxford, mentioned by mr corbyn, where they make the mini. its components cross eu borders multiple times. a crank shaft cast in france crosses to a plant in warwickshire to be finished. it then goes back to austria to be built into an engine, which then comes back to oxford to be put into a completed car. half the cars built in oxford are then exported back to the eu and it is all tariff free. but the government argues that the problem with the customs union is that you cannot negotiate your own trade deals around the world. a key part of taking back control. it is true that you are constrained, you cannot alter those tariffs on goods. you can still do some deals on services. banking or insurance or tourism, for example. now, labour insist that they would still want to be involved alongside the eu in negotiating all trade

deals in the future anyway. so, is it trying to have its cake and eat it? business leaders have been broadly positive about labour's proposal, but are still looking for a little more clarity. being in a customs union is a hassle—free solution for businesses. but there are different types of customs union and all we have heard from jeremy corbyn today, was not all of the details for businesses to know. it's also worth remembering that being in a customs union wouldn't entirely solve the problem of maintaining an invisible border in ireland. you'd also need something like a new free trade agreement, to deal with regulations on things like food safety or animal welfare. still, it's been a big day for labour's position on brexit. but whatever policy emerges in london — all of it still needs to be negotiated with the other 27 eu countries, and all of them have opinions of their own. chris morris. thank you.

the number of people known to have died in an explosion and fire in a building in leicester yesterday has risen to five. search and rescue teams recovered a body from the rubble earlier today. five people remain in hospital, one is critically ill. emergency crews have been continuing to search the ruins of the property, as our correspondent sima kotecha reports. the damage, fully exposed, in daylight. last night, just after seven, an explosion. a shop and the flat above it were destroyed. flames shot up into the air, around seven metres high. towering over the surrounding buildings. ijust heard a big bang. the owner of the shop was inside at the time. i didn't know, what was that? i found myself on the floor. eyes open. looking up. half of my body was

under, how to say? rubble? under the bricks and rubble. how are you feeling at the moment? i don't know how to tell you. never i feel how i am now. the shop was a polish supermarket. it had only been open since january. today, firefighters spent hours inside, wading through the rubble, trying to find survivors. police have confirmed that five people died inside the building, and several are in hospital with injuries, but there could be more. we can't confirm exact numbers so we are working on the possibility that there could be people still within the building and we will sweep through, with our search and rescue teams, with the help of a search dog, to make sure that we have located everybody that could possibly be in there. investigators will now begin looking for the cause of the explosion, once the search and rescue effort is concluded and the area is declared safe.

sima kotecha, bbc news, leicester. an inquest has heard how a five—year—old girl, suffering from asthma, died after being turned away from an emergency doctor's appointment, because she was a few minutes late. ellie may clark arrived at a clinic in newport, south wales, but was told the doctor wouldn't see her. she returned home but was taken to hospital later that night and died after a severe asthma attack. the coroner said the opportunity to provide potentially life—saving treatment had been missed. the outgoing head of counter—terrorism policing in the uk has warned of the growing threat from far—right terrorism. assistant commissioner mark rowley, who will retire next month, revealed that four extreme—right terrorist attacks were disrupted last year, as well as ten islamist—inspired plots. a fifth briton has died following a helicopter crash in the grand canyon earlier this month. ellie udall was on honeymoon

with her husband jon when they were involved in the crash. he died last week. a preliminary report into the accident failed to establish a cause. it's been one of the coldest days of the winter so far for much of the uk, and weather experts say the freezing conditions will continue for the rest of the week. there are yellow and amber warnings of snow in scotland, wales and central, eastern and southern parts of england. some rail companies have already taken the decision to cancel services tonight. our science editor david shukman has the latest. the first wave of the storm. norwich this afternoon, blanketed in white. not enough to stop the postmen or the rubbish collection, but this is just the beginning of what is forecast. london had an icy start this morning, and the bands of dark clouds are a hint of heavy snow to come, along with plummeting temperatures. already, some areas have felt a wind of minus 15. would you like soup?

so, busy times at the largest emergency shelter in london. the charity glass door has decided that it's too cold to turn anyone away tonight. the homeless are at greatest risk. you feel more vulnerable. you've got to have two sleeping bags, or... this morning i was waking up with a snowflake just dropped in my eye. i'm just dreading what it's going to be like tonight. at least there's been plenty of warning. nearly a dozen rail companies in east and south—east england announced early on that they would be limiting or stopping services altogether. at this station, which this evening looks almost abandoned, this is how the disruption was announced. during the night, some empty trains will be run to try to keep lines open. so, what's behind this icy blast? well, it's all about the circulation of the winds high above the arctic — moving in a way that means warm air is descending towards the north pole — and that's why temperatures

in greenland have been slightly above zero. now, this pattern in the weather also affects the jet stream. normally it flows from west to east bringing us mild weather. but now it's reversed, which is like opening a door of a freezer, allowing extreme cold from siberia winter to flow our way. knocking. hi, david! in lincolnshire, meals on wheels went smoothly today, but the elderly are warned to get ready. it doesn't bother me unduly. provided you are prepared for it, you've got stuff in the fridge and everything of that nature. you've got your boots ready. in essex, gritters are being deployed. if the forecasts are right, they will be even busier at the end of the week. today has been a taste of what's on the cards. the real challenges come overnight and in the days ahead. david shukman, bbc news. our correspondent danny savage is at a highway england

depot in west yorkshire. tell us about the preparations there tonight. this is one of the areas where the heaviest snow is expected over the next 2a hours. this is the last of the gritters to leave the deep bow tonight, the rest have gone out across the network across west yorkshire and beyond, getting ready for tomorrow. —— leave the depot tonight. this is one region where there are amber weather warnings in place at the moment. it's where the heaviest snowfall is expected. we are talking about a large chunk of northern england, east of the pennines and north of the humber up to newcastle. also parts of south—east england tomorrow morning up south—east england tomorrow morning up to about 2pm, through kent, essex and suffolk, more snow expected there. they are expecting it to

start falling across the early hours across eastern britain and for it to bea across eastern britain and for it to be a real problem through rush hour. talking about 12 hours of snowfall in places. it's notjust overnight tonight, the people working here are looking forward to wednesday and thursday for possible more heavy snowfalls as well. they are getting on with it tonight, but it will be a round—the—clock operation for the next few days until there is a sign of this cold weather letting up, and there is no sign of that yet. danny savage, with the latest from west yorkshire. a bbc news investigation into unregistered schools in england has found "huge safeguarding issues", according to the children's commissioner. the schools watchdog, ofsted, has identified more than 350 of these suspected unregistered schools — places that offer more than 18 hours a week of teaching, which by law should be registered as a school. secret filming by the bbc appears to raise serious questions about the way some of the schools are run, as our special correspondent lucy manning reports. inside our secret schools, unregistered, hidden

from the authorities, operating out of offices and houses, even a disused building on an industrial estate. we've obtained photos of the inside of other suspected unregistered schools. they show shocking conditions, squalor, appalling food hygiene, dangerous wiring. schools need to be registered if five or more pupils are educated for at least 18 hours a week — many aren't. ofsted has identified more than 350 suspected unregistered schools. only half have been inspected. we were able to find two that haven't been. one is here in southend, essex. it's 9:a0am and children from the ultraorthodoxjewish community have started learning. on one day, a young boy appears to be crying. there is a child here

who clearly is upset. minutes later, the teacher seems to use force. there is a physicality about that. they're manhandling the child. the child remains very distressed. that raises immediate concerns. i wouldn't expect to see that in the classroom. any parent watching that would be very, very worried about what's going on. on a different occasion, a boy appears to cower away from the teacher. what you've got there is clearly a child who seems to be quite wary of the adult that's there. when the adult turns around, the child steps back. and the adult clearly strikes the child. on all counts, that is completely unacceptable. there are huge safeguarding issues about the well—being of those children. are you surprised that this can happen in the uk in this day and age? iam. parents throughout the land will be so surprised that schools of this scale are operating outside the legal system. the synagogue denies this

is an unregistered school. it says education is provided here within the 18 hour limit, but when we observed it, it was operating for longer. it also says it's not aware of any assaults, but asked for more information. we've learned there have been more than 50 safeguarding alerts about unregistered schools across england and wales in the past four years, according to our freedom of information request. these are primarily physical abuse concerns, but include sexual abuse allegations. not all unregistered schools are religious. of those that are, half are muslim. the bbc has obtained the copy of a book from a suspected unregistered school in birmingham that is now closed. in one section it openly advocates the murder of homosexuals. another chapter warns a wife against refusing sex with her husband. elsewhere, it says a woman wearing perfume is an adulterer. another suspected unregistered

school was run here in east london. a broad and balanced curriculum... mohammed umair, a former headteacher, was issued with a warning notice by ofsted for running it. we've learned he is facing prosecution for racially abusing ofsted inspectors. it is alleged he shouted "britain first paedophiles" at them. we understand the registered school mr umair ran previously, featured here in online footage, faced an extremism complaint. he denies all the allegations. he maintains he wasn't operating an unregistered school and says the centre was being run by somebody else. louise casey warned about the problem of unregistered schools in her 2016 report into community cohesion. the department for education really need to wake up to their own research, their own evidence, and what ofsted is telling them, and take action. it brings up kids that are anti a british way of life.

sometimes in these environments they feel they have more in common with some of the extremists, and some of the terrorists. run out of a basement of a church in south—east london, we've also learned of an unregistered school that even had its own logo and uniform. the problem — four months after it opened, headteacher kay johnson was banned from teaching for allegedly hitting a five—year—old pupil with learning difficulties at a previous school. she denies the allegation. and also says she never set out to do anything illegal by running the school. we have this little hidden universe of tiny schools... ofsted says it needs a change in the law to close these schools. why have there been no prosecutions of those running unregistered schools? there is a chain to this. it starts with ofsted preparing a case. it goes to the secretary of state to approve taking it forward, and then it goes to the crown prosecution service. we've prepared a number of cases, none of them have yet been approved. we believe many of these

cases could and should have been taken forward. why can't you just go in and shut the schools down? my hands are tied. we have no power to shut down. we have the power to enter and report. that is as far as our powers go. we can't even pick up evidence that we find there. the bbc understands ministers have known about the presence of unregistered schools for nearly a decade. documents we've seen show that in 2009, then education secretary ed balls was warned some schools were operating illegally without the most basic health, safety, and welfare checks. and this confidential advice note reveals ofsted warned education secretary nicky morgan urgent action was needed. that was in 2015. shortly after, then prime minister david cameron made a promise. i can announce this today. if an institution is teaching children intensively, then whatever its religion,

we will, like any other school, make it register so it can be inspected. the department for education declined to be interviewed about our investigation. it said itjointly agrees with ofsted if cases should be recommended for prosecution. and it says where a school is operating illegally action must be taken. meanwhile, hundreds of these schools are still running and thousands of children are left at risk of extremism, uninspected teaching, lucy manning, bbc news. a man has admitted killing three teenage boys in a car crash in west london last month. the court heard jaynesh chudasama was more than two and a half times over the alcohol limit, and speeding, when his car hit the three teenagers, who were on their way to a birthday party. russia's president putin has ordered a daily ceasefire to enable civilians to leave the rebel—held area of eastern ghouta in syria. the area has been subject

to an intense bombardment by syrian government forces backed by russia for more than week. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is here. what's your reading of what the russians are trying to do here?|j suppose russians are trying to do here?” suppose if you are the main foreign military power in syria then you must feel you can literally call the shots. what russia is doing is unilaterally rewriting what had been a rare security council resolution on syria at the weekend which called for a 30 day, 24—hour ceasefire. they still russian offer of a five hour daily, that would still give a desperately needed residents of eastern ghouta, including those who are living in basements to avoid the intense bombardment. russia has made it clear, as it has in the past when there has been a rare pause, that certain groups would be excluded. in

the case of eastern ghouta, it means an al-qaeda linked group with hundreds of fighters. this time russia says it will include the partners of this group. by definition, this pause will not be perfect. as for the humanitarian corridors, russia made the same offer in aleppo in the last stages offer in aleppo in the last stages ofa offer in aleppo in the last stages of a brutal battle there in 2016, we saw it on the ground. many people we re saw it on the ground. many people were too afraid to leave, many did not have anywhere to go. in some cases, rebel groups stopped them from going. in eastern ghouta now there are more people, more fear, more at stake on the outskirts of damascus. in a war that some like to say is over, it's just getting worse for many syrians. lyse doucet, chief international correspondent, thank you. in china, president xijinping is all set to stay in power for decades to come following a decision by the communist party to remove the limits on presidential terms in office. mr xi had been due to leave office in 2023, after a decade in the post. the decision will cement his status as the most powerful leader of china

for the past four decades, as our beijing correspondent john sudworth reports. chanting. it's no secret that xi jinping has been tightening his grip on power. this is just the most recent display of tu bthumping military loyalty. but now, a defining moment has been reached. state media reports of closed—door party meetings confirmed that the two—term limit is to be scrapped. there's nothing to fear, his supporters argue. mr xi, the benevolent fatherfigure, is staying on for the good of the nation. china has become such a developed country, the middle—class is increasing in size, as well as in the number of wealth they command. i don't think anyone in china, either in the party or outside the party, would sit tight to allow the return of a despot or tyrant back onto the political stage.

but one ruler still casts a long shadow here — chairman mao. the two—term limit was introduced after his death to keep tyranny at bay. zhang bao cheng, an activistjailed for mild dissent in the past, is one of the few daring to publicly criticise the change. translation: if a leader stays in office too long, and if power becomes too concentrated, then eventually power becomes evil. for most people, though, criticism is best kept in the shadows. the striking of just a few words from china's constitution marks the biggest political shift in decades, with far reaching implications. out go regular, orderly transitions,

as the world's second—largest economy finds itself in the hands of a man with total, unfettered power, indefinitely. behind the appearance of strength lies the risk of instability. a rising superpower has just torn up its rule book. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. theresa may's offer to redraft the flagship brexit legislation, to address the concerns of the devolved administrations, has been dismissed by the scottish and welsh governments. at stake is the way powers would be returned from brussels after brexit. ministers at westminster claim that the "vast majority" of powers would go to edinburgh, cardiff and belfast. but the scottish government says the current legislation is an "attack on devolution". our scotland editor, sarah smith, is in peterhead — the largest fishing port in the uk. tell us more about the concerns of

the devolved administrations. fisheries is one of the policies that will be coming back from brussels after brexit, along with things like agriculture and the environment. and these are policy areas that already devolved to scotland, wales and northern ireland. that's why the devolved administrations accuse the uk government of a power grab when they said that initially these powers would be returning to westminster. today they have reversed that position and say the presumption is these powers, when they come back to these powers, when they come back to the uk, will reside at a devolved level. that should have taken us closer to agreement. but, and there is always a but, the uk government say they need to retain some control because they need to make sure there are common, uk wide legislation around things like food hygiene, hygiene standards and food

labelling. that's unacceptable to the scottish government and nicola sturgeon has said it's an effective veto over the scottish parliament and it is not something she will agree to. sarah smith, scottish correspondent at peterhead, thank you. britain's athletes have returned from their most successful winter olympics ever. team gb brought back five medals from south korea — one gold and four bronze — beating their previous record, as our sports correspondent joe wilson reports. flags at heathrow for everyone. a calm welcome home. cheering. but olympic medallist means a new status, even amongst old friends. commentator: lizzy yarnold next. the record investment at £28 million of lottery funding from uk sport brought five medals, including lizzy yarnold's memorable gold. i wondered what her legacy could be. there are many escalators in britain, but no skeleton courses to slide down. we are not a snow nation, we're not an ice nation.