this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser. the headlines at 8.00. a red alert in scotland — as heavy snow and freezing conditions mean lives could be put at risk. people are told not to travel in the affected parts of scotland. we wouldn't be advocating people going out in this kind of weather. stay safe, stay warm and we'll come to you. and further disruption expected tomorrow. train operator southeastern say they are closing 50 railway stations across kent and sussex tomorrow. police investigating a fatal explosion in leicester on sunday have arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter. the prime minister rejects the eu's proposals on northern ireland, saying it would threaten the uk's constitutional integrity. a warning on brexit — former conservative prime minister sirjohn major urges theresa may to put country before party and not rule out a second referendum. also in the next hour — high streetjobs at risk. more than 5,000 jobs threatened, as both toys r us and maplin go into administration.

but better news in manufacturing — toyota announce they will build their new car in derbyshire, creating more than 3,000 jobs. and meghan markle says she wants to "hit the ground running" — as shejoins prince harry and the duke and duchess of cambridge in their charity work. heavy snow and freezing conditions across the uk are causing major disruption to roads, railways and air travel. the met office has announced its highest level of alert — issuing a red warning for central areas of scotland — meaning extremely heavy snow is expected to cause widespread damage and people should take immediate action to keep themselves safe as risk to life is likely.

amber warnings are in place elsewhere in scotland — and in parts of england — and in some places the army has been drafted in to help emergency services. more than three thousand schools are shut across scotland and parts of england. drivers are being warned to take extra care on icy and snow—covered roads, as the rac had its busiest day in a decade with more than 9,000 call outs. trains have been disrupted across the country — with many operators cancelling or severely reducing their services. this is the latest picture with that red alert of heavy snow in central scotland — with amber alerts in place in eastern scotland and north east england. 0ur correspondent lorna gordon reports. at the tail end of winter, the highest alert for snow. the driving treacherous, the disruption widespread. heading out in these conditions not advised. this, the first time scotland

has had a red weather warning of this kind. in force for a large swathe of the country's most heavily populated areas, frequent showers, drifting snow and the extremely low temperatures means some rural communities could become cut off. is it ok to come in? hello, marjorie. on the outskirts of glasgow, the local minister has been looking in on the elderly and formidable. in this kind of weather, it's good for everyone to look out for their neighbours? it is indeed, that is right, and even the smallest gesture can be a help. checking in on everyone and just checking to see they are safe is important. we wouldn't be advocating people going out in this kind of weather. stay warm, stay safe, and let us come to you. the weather today is brutal. there's freezing temperatures across pretty much the whole of scotland. and when the wind blows,

it feels much colder than that. the school here in bishopton shut for the day. across scotland, more than 450,000 children have been missing lessons. i was meant to be working, but alistair is off school, so he came with me. take your child to work day, but for weather reasons? yeah. i wouldn't normally be off but the schools got closed, i couldn't get to work, so my boss told me to stay at home and work from home if i could, but we ended up sledging. in perthshire, these deer coming down from the hills in search of shelter or food. 0ne measure, perhaps, ofjust how extreme this weather has been. it is pretty unusual in scotland, we do have some severe weather but snow on the scale whilst not unprecedented is unusual. we would have to go back a number of years to see an event like this. at least one skier took to the streets, not the slopes, to get about.

and with conditions so difficult, there are warnings tonight drivers could be stuck on some roads for several hours with even the gritters struggling to get through. the southeastern rail network — which serves kent and sussex — is advising passengers not to travel at all, unless theirjourney is absolutely necessary. it's warning of huge disruption, with 50 stations closed and in some areas, entire lines not functioning at all. across the uk, police forces are urging people not to drive overnight. danny savage reports from durham. day three of this siberian blast and things just got worse. this was cumbria early this morning, but it could have been virtually anywhere in northern and eastern britain. hundreds of vehicles — on many different routes — ended up getting stuck. the a46 lincoln bypass was blocked by stranded lorries. further south, in norwich, it was gridlock in rush hour, as the journey to work took hours. the poor night girls are still on shift. they've been there since

half past seven last night and no—one can get in. we should have just stayed at home really, but someone's got to keep the world running, haven't they? 0n the east coast main line, linking london and scotland, there were numerous cancellations and delays. the snow, the travel, it's been a nightmare. it's been, yeah, it's been a journey. it is the 2:38 train and it has been delayed by, like, a couple of hours. so 17:15 is the current time. thousands of schools were closed for the day. of course, that meant fun in the snow, but you needed endurance in the biting wind chill. if you took a spin down a country road in yorkshire, this is what it looked like. beautiful, but treacherous. come on! in rural areas, much has to be done, regardless of the weather. all these ewes are pregnant. they'll begin lambing in less than three weeks.

farmers want this freeze to be over by then. sometimes, the weaker lambs would just freeze to death in it. that's where most of the problem would lie. and the farmer himself getting round the sheep to find which ones are in a corner. they don't always lamb where you want them to. and so you'd have to be out looking, finding them in the snow? yes, yeah. up the road, sunderland was one area badly hit this morning. all the buses stopped running at one point, as blizzards swept through. 0n the way in, we found steve trying to free his car, which ended up off the road. there was a lorry stuck there, so we were sort of like stuck behind a vehicle. and it was just like a sheet of, well, you can see virtually in front of you really. a white—out? it really was. even cornwall got a covering. an opportunity for a different kind of boarding in the south—west. south—east england ended up on the receiving end as well, adding to the accumulations in kent and neighbouring counties. the capital received

its heaviest snow for several years, with canals freezing over. the reality again is that the severity of snowfall varied widely. there is no sign of things getting better yet. we are going to speak to nick miller later in the hour with an update. plenty more to come on that. 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 guestsjoining me tonight are the political strategist, jo tanner, and pauljohnson, deputy editor of the guardian. three men have been arrested this evening in connection with the explosion in leicester on sunday. five people died in that blast, including members of the same family. 0ur correspondent andy moore is here with the latest. i have been following this quite closely, and there's been no suggestion, as far as i am aware,

that there was any criminality until now. that's right. it is surprising news. i think most people thought it was a tragic accident. that is what the mayor of leicester said. he thought the most plausible explanation was an explosion. now we have the news that three people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. they were arrested between 5pm and 6pm this evening. 0ne between 5pm and 6pm this evening. one man is from east anglia, the second is from the north—west and the third is from the east midlands. they say they will not give any more details about the men at this stage, but they stressed that there is no evidence that this explosion is terror related. they say they do not know what caused the blast. the explosion — you can see pictures that — happened around 7pm on sunday evening. a big explosion followed by

a fierce fire. a 2—storey flat was destroyed above a polish supermarket. a family of three were victims. mary ragoobar was the mother, aged a6, and her two sons sean and shane. they lived in the flat above the shop. another victim was 18—year—old leah beth reek that shane's girlfriend, also in the flat at the time. the fifth victim was 22—year—old viktorija ijevleva, who was working in the supermarket. for people were taken to hospital, described as walking wounded. they have been released, but one person is still critically injured in hospital. thank you very much for that. the prime minister has come under pressure over brexit at home and in brussels. former prime minister sirjohn major has criticised her handling of negotiations, while the chief eu negotiator has published an option of keeping northern ireland in a customs union without the rest

of the uk. from brussels, our europe editor katya adler reports — it does contain flash photography. in the historic process in which the uk leaves the eu, this is a big moment — the first legal draft of the uk's exit treaty. so how is it possible, you might ask, to have a draft withdrawal agreement already when brexit negotiations are still ongoing? well, this i20—page document is the european commission's understanding of what has been agreed to date with the uk and of what it still wants to be agreed. so in here, we see that divorce issues which were discussed, but not finalised, before christmas. the rights of eu citizens within the uk and uk citizens in the eu after brexit. also, the financial settlement, the so—called brexit bill. and to the irish border. also in here, the transition agreement, but no details of a future eu—uk trade deal, because those talks haven't even started yet.

the document's paragraphs on northern ireland are particularly controversial. the eu's chief brexit negotiator came out today to defend them. we have applied imagination and creativity, to find a specific solution to the unique challenge that brexit poses for the protection of the good friday agreement. mr barnier said three options had been agreed with the uk to avoid the reintroduction of a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic, but he said the uk hadn't yet come forward with details. so his backstop solution involves northern ireland remaining in a customs agreement with the eu and in parts of the single market. you must also be aware of the potentially explosive effect in the uk of this northern ireland protocol. is this perhaps intentional, on your part? translation: i'm not trying

to provoke or create shock waves. i want these negotiations to be a success. but let me remind you that it was the uk's decision to leave and, as i've said from the beginning, nobody should underestimate the consequences of this action. but the prime minister was having none of it. the draft legal text the commission have published would, if implemented, undermine the uk common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the uk by creating a customs and regulatory border down the irish sea, and no uk prime minister could ever agree to it. the prime minister and the eu do agree a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic must be avoided, but the prime minister's negotiating position is complicated by the government's reliance for parliamentary support on northern ireland's democratic unionist party. if we didn't leave the eu to oversee the break—up of the united kingdom, it would be catastrophic economically, never mind

politically, for northern ireland to cut off from its biggest market. but this is not where the story ends. this document is a first draft, to be amended by eu member states, then negotiated with the government — which has plenty to say about it. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. meanwhile, sirjohn major has called on theresa may to offer mps a free vote on the final brexit deal, with the option of a second referendum. the leading conservative brexiteer says his comments are riddled with errors. stop brexit! stop brexit. the freezing protesters who have taken up a permanent place in westminster might have a new ally. the former tory prime minister, sirjohn major, who says mps should be allowed to approve or to block the final brexit deal or give you second referendum.

nobody can truly know what the will of the people may then be. what the will of the people may then be. 0r put the issue back to the people. i don't enjoy being out of step with so many of my party. and i take no pleasure at all in speaking out as i have today. but it is as necessary to speak truth to the people as it is to speak truth to power. this decision is far more than a party issue. it is about the future of our united kingdom and everyone who lives in it. his case, theresa may is trapped by her brexiteers, the current plot has a bad ending. she is boxed in by people setting up hurdles that it is very difficult for her to jump and very difficult for the european union tojump. and the end product of this no doubt in

the minds of those setting those hurdles is that the european union will say no and it will be said, we have no agreement because these wicked europeans and therefore we leave with no agreement and a very hard brexit. that is not in the interests of this country. there is a risk, though? from what you have said today, it sounds like someone who was on the losing side of the argument and you don't want to accept it. that is a cheap response to anything that is said. are the 60 million people who were deeply upset that we voted to leave the european union expected to be absolutely silent and accept everything that is said by other people even when they believe it to be damaging? that is not real. that is absolutely not real. of course they must speak up. we are a democracy. but is democracy not also respecting the result of the referendum ? nobody knew in any detail what the outcome of the referendum really meant. the prime minister relies on the support of a

vocal group of brexit backers. but she, like they, has no truck with another vote. the government has given parliament the right to say whether they agree with what we negotiated or not and that will be it. and i think that is the right thing to do. we have to leave because the british people have said we should leave. ministers may gnash their teeth at this intervention. but it has cheered the other tory restive troops. john major is right, we should have a free vote. and it is absolutely the will of the people, then this process that was begun by the people of this country must be finished by the people of this country. but is he really helping? did he not complain his predecessor was a back—seat driver? why should theresa may tolerate what you're doing this afternoon? this is the first occasion i have spoken on this many months. unless my memory serves me ill, margaret spoke on a weekly basis, not once in many months. hard to believe now the referendum was meant to end tory

fights, with the year to go, the future shape of the country at stake, there are plenty of scores to settle. the headlines on bbc news: a red weather warning for parts of scotland, while massive rail disruption is expected in the south—east of england. police investigating a fatal explosion in leicester on sunday have arrested three men. theresa may says an eu proposalfor the northern ireland border threatens the constitutional integrity of the uk. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. we've already had a talking point in the night's fa cup fifth round replay. spurs are playing league one rochdale at wembley. the first game had a dramatic ending. this one had a dramatic start as erik lamela thought he had given

spurs the lead in the sixth minute. but referee paul tierney asked the video assistant referee to check the replay to see if the goal should stand. it was ruled out. it's thought fernando llorente was adjudged to have fouled harrison mcgahey in the build—up. the disappointment only temporary, as son heung—min the scored a goal that couldn't be ruled out. then rochdale have equalised. just over half an hour gone and it is 1—1 at wembley. quite a night, and two thirds of that one to go. both jason and laura kenny have returned to racing for great britain for the first time since the rio 0lympics, hetting married and having a baby. they're competing at the track cycling world championships in the netherlands. jason sat out the opening round of the team sprint before being drafted in to help the olympic champions reach the gold medal ride

a little later this evening alongsidejack harlin and philip hinds. they'll face the netherlands. as you can see, as they round the final bend, jason kenny finished just a tiny bit behind the netherlands, who celebrate their second gold in this first evening of the world cycling championships in apeldoorn. they win their gold medal. britain looking for their first gold medal since 2005. a silver ford jason kenny and his team. while laura kenny said she "absolutely loved being back" after she helped the women's team pursuit qualify second fastest for tomorrow's first round. alongside katie archibald, elinor barker and emily nelson she finished just behind the united states, the medals will be won tomorrow evening. she has slotted back into the team very well. honestly there is the expectation within them to live well but i think the team just embrace

the opportunities to have different people and different strengths and weaknesses so getting that nice balance and she performed. she will be very proud. the men's team pursuiters are a stage further after their first knockout round in the last hour. they qualified fastest and then beat germany with a time good enough to make the gold medal ride against denmark. ronnie 0'sullivan has been in ruthless form at welsh 0pen snooker. the five times world champion took just under an hour and a quarter to beat scotland's graeme dott a—0 to reach the third round in cardiff. and afterwards he declared he is very relaxed about his game and his life. my life is so good, my whole life is a rest.

most people have to work, but his work. i don't call what i do work, it is a luxury, i go from one place to the next and my life like a holiday. you get the readies and the trophies! you get the readies, yes! and defending champion stuart bingham is also through to round three. he beat welsh teenager jackson page a—2. if you think it's just the uk having problems with the freezing weather and snow, these were the scenes in barcelona. non—essential travel was certainly cancelled. the formula one teams are there for preseason testing. very few drivers braved the elements, briefly. fernando alonso one to just manage a lap before calling it a day. he went out in his orange mclaren. and it looks like the mercedes team have been making use of their free time, building their own snowman, who became quite a hit on social media. never miss a chance

for a bit of branding. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at 10.30pm. let's go back to the weather situation and the warnings that things are expected to get very bad in some areas tonight and tomorrow morning. i'm sure you commuters want to know where is going to be worst hit. nick miller is here with his expertise. scotla nd miller is here with his expertise. scotland first. it is a rare event to have a red warning. what does that mean and why is it in place? to have a red warning. what does that mean and why is it in place7m is the highest level of warning from the met office. it is the first time infour the met office. it is the first time in four years we have had a red warning for snow. it covers much of the central belt of scotland. you have to take notice of it because it is extremely serious. it talks about community is being cut off and

widespread travel disruption. there was advice to get home today before this warning kicked in. the warning is in place until 10am tomorrow. warnings will continue, but maybe not a red one. the snow may pile up. frequent snow storms coming in, one after another. the warning itself talks about the possibility of getting up to a0 centimetres of snow in places. it is drifting in the wind. it is hard to measure. quite often in this country, we have a bit often in this country, we have a bit of snow and it will melt. it is so cold, once it's here, it isn't going anywhere any time soon, because it is so cold. where is going to be ha rd est is so cold. where is going to be hardest hit south of the border? the east coast? wherever you have snow on the ground, because again it hasn't gone anywhere, so it produces

icy conditions. there are further snow showers, particularly in eastern parts of the uk, and into south—east england as well. they are adding a dusting to the few centimetres we've already got. so you get a new layer of snow to contend with. and that is coming in over night. be really careful tonight if you are going out on the roads. don't go if you don't have too. and into tomorrow morning. with rain showers, you can hear somebody say, it chucked it down near me, and someone it chucked it down near me, and someone else it chucked it down near me, and someone else says, it chucked it down near me, and someone else says, it did didn't rain near me. that started this week, with some people saying, there's no show. snow showers are like that. it can hit small areas. you head out thinking that nothing has happened where you are overnight, and head a few miles down the road, and there is snow. you have to check the situation near

you, road, rail, heading out in the morning. thejourney you you, road, rail, heading out in the morning. the journey you want to make me seem 0k setting off, but check its 0k later. we are all planning our weekend. where is the system going? there was a new system coming in from the south. there is storm emma coming in from the south. we are talking about all this coming in from the east with the snow showers, but we have a proper system coming up from the south, with its moisture, into the cold air. that means tomorrow and friday, in parts of england and wales, there will be some persistent snow. later tomorrow night and into friday morning, especially in two parts of south—west england and wales. we could see some heavy, disruptive snow, and windy enough to produce blizzards as well. there's a chance of getting freezing rain and icy conditions. so south-west england

could get a dusting as well. more than a dusting. it becomes a wider area of snow affecting england and wales. absolutely more snow to come before this is over. we are in dartmouth on friday! picked the best time for it. very quickly, tell us the science of it. what is going on above this weather system and why does it happen? there is talk of sudden stratospheric warning. it happens way above us, above where we normally think about whether, in the stratosphere, where things change, and that affects weather where we are. sometimes when that happens, it turns very cold in europe and the uk. and a few weeks later, that's exactly how things have transpired. you get that change of conditions. 0ur weather comes from different

directions. it comes from russia, from siberia, and bitterly cold. so we have to wait for that pattern to change before we get back to normal. it looks like it will be a fairly slow process. it feels baltic out there. nick miller, that's very useful. thank you very much. lots of talk about what car manufacturers will do after brexit. some good news today. toyota will build its new auris car at its burnaston plant in derbyshire, with most of the engines being made at deeside in north wales. the announcement means more than 3,000 jobs look to have been secured at the japanese firm's factories. today's announcement was made during a visit by the business secretary greg clark to the factory in derbyshire, from where tim parker reports:. happy workers at burnaston today. their future secure, as toyota confirmed the third generation of its auris model will be made here. the company announced in march last year it was investing £2a0 million in production in this country. toyota's uk managing director is delighted. this is great news for the plant.

it's a great vote of confidence in our uk workforce, and it's a commitment. it shows how we doing everything that we can do to improve our competitiveness. but perhaps more delighted is the business secretary, greg clark, who visited the derbyshire toyota factory today. however, he's got to convince companies large and small in the east midlands that brexit won't damage business prospects. this firm toyota, and all the businesses that i and my colleagues speak to, know very well that our ambition and our determination is to be able to continue to prosper in the future, just as this plant has over the last 25 years. but is the european boss of toyota if our relationship with the european union changes? of course you are always worried about what will happen in the future, but if we take into account where we are currently now, with our drive to improve our competitiveness,

and if we can improve and continue with our relationship with the european union in terms of trade, then we do see a long—term future in the uk. perhaps some wise words from one former chairman of toyota uk to staff here in derbyshire, as they look ahead to life post—brexit. tim parker, bbc east midlands today, in burnaston. we have the weather now, and this time there are maps. this week has got cold and snowy, having a big impact, especially in scotland, there is a red warning in force, the highest level of warning, wet snow is piling up, having a significant impact on travel leading to a dangerous situation. in northern and eastern scotland into north—east

england, further snow showers overnight adding to the accumulations we've had. scattered snow showers elsewhere but they are capable of a few centimetres in places. windy and bitterly cold, factoring in the wind. new maraakib may not be as cold tonight as it was last night. —— numerically. into the south of the uk increasing cloud and outbreaks of snow. it looks like moving into south—west england and wales. amber across kent and sussex tomorrow.

more than 5,000 jobs are threatened as both toys r us competition from online retailers.

here's our business correspondent emma simpson. # with toys in their millions # all under one roof #