travel misery for many as more than a foot of snow falls in some parts of the uk. drivers in central scotland bore the brunt — hundreds were stranded for hours overnight on the m80 near glasgow. i left aberdeen at az30pm yesterday afternoon and got stuck here about eight o'clock last night. been here ever since. not moved an inch yet. eastern england has been hit hard overnight. many roads are blocked and there fears that some villages might be cut off. i'll be reporting live from the angel of the north in gateshead. there are currently blizzard conditions, subzero temperatures and an amberwarning of conditions, subzero temperatures and an amber warning of more severe weather ahead. hundreds of schools have stayed closed in the worst affected areas — and a new front is expected to bring blizzards, and more significant travel disruption. also this lunchtime — theresa may is meeting the european council

leader in downing st, ahead of a big brexit speech tomorrow. british children who were forced to settle abroad in the 1940s and who were abused should be given financial compensation, says a new report. and prince william is to make the first official visit by a member of the royal family to the occupied palestinian territories. and coming up in the sport on bbc news — the scottish rugby union says its appalled by the behviour of these fans, as england coach eddiejones was physically and verbally abused on a train journey to london. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. more than 300 drivers have endured freezing conditions stranded in the snow on the m80 in central scotland. some spent as long as 18 hours stuck in their vehicles, after lorries reportedly

slid into each other while trying to go uphill. the extreme weather also left drivers stuck for hours on roads in lincolnshire, where many main roads are blocked, and the military has been called in to help. throughout the uk, there is severe disruption to transport and travel. a second red alert — the most severe weather warning, meaning there's a risk to life — has been issued for southwest england and south wales from three o'clock this afternoon. the icy blast is expected to last at least another 48 hours. let's get the latest from ben brown who's in the north east of england. we are at the angel of the northern gateshead. it's pretty brutal here at the moment. we have had lizard conditions, subzero temperatures, winds of around a0 miles an hour. there are a few hardy souls on the

sledgers here, trying to enjoy the snow. this is the a 617, just off the a-i. snow. this is the a 617, just off the a—1. there are cars going up and down but we have seen cars stranded as well. but nothing as bad as in scotla nd as well. but nothing as bad as in scotland where dozens of drivers we re scotland where dozens of drivers were stranded overnight for many hours. catriona renton reports. gridlock north of glasgow, a main route brought to a standstill. gridlock north of glasgow, a main route brought to a standstilllj left route brought to a standstill.” left aberdeen at a:30pm yesterday afternoon and got stuck here about eight o'clock last night. i've been here ever since. not moved an inch yet. not seen the police but the fire brigade delivered water last night. most of the help has come from locals, delivering cups of tea and copy and blankets. bottles of water. about a00 metres from me is a

motorway bridge where people have set upa motorway bridge where people have set up a tea and coffee stall for anybody needing refreshment. conditions were terrible. at its height, around 1000 vehicles were stuck with tailbacks of approximately eight miles. at glasgow airport, the departures board says it all. 200 people spend the night in the terminal building because roads were inaccessible and hotels fall. since wednesday morning, nothing seems to be happening. they are still not giving as an answer as to when the next flight as an answer as to when the next flight is or anything like that. we've been here since yesterday afternoon with our six—month—old son and our daughter. staff say they will get the airport fully open again as soon as it is operationally safe to do so. but as so many fights have been cancelled, it will take some time to get things back to

normal. yesterday afternoon, conditions in edinburgh were treacherous. my god! this footage was filmed on a dash cam by a van driver. the red warning, the highest level, has now been lifted but much of the country is now still on alert at amber. be prepared. a lot of people have heeded advice this morning. looking at the motorway network, it's eerie to see how quiet it is. people have heeded the warning. thereafter the ball still out there, i understand there is essential travel. really, out there, i understand there is essentialtravel. really, if you out there, i understand there is essential travel. really, if you are doing that, you are putting yourself at risk. this is the scottish borders. with weather warnings still in place, events are being cancelled, including the scottish conservative party conference which was due to start on friday in aberdeen. when the weather improves, it will take time for this deep snow

to clear. we are here in the north—east of england. there is an amber warning this morning, more severe weather ahead. more heavy snowfalls and strong winds. to the south in lincolnshire, they have been really ha rd lincolnshire, they have been really hard hit. the military have been drafted in to help move people around. britain is battling with some of the most brutal winter weather for yea rs. most brutal winter weather for years. not only the so—called beast from the east but also storm hanna coming up from the south. —— emma. victims have been stranded in subzero conditions. roads like this one in norfolk are like ice rinks. drivers ventures out at their peril. i phoned in to work that i am stuck

ina drift i phoned in to work that i am stuck in a drift and i won't be in.” i phoned in to work that i am stuck in a drift and i won't be in. i am just able to get through in low ratio. this is going to be tricky. i don't know if i have the attraction to get through the snow drift. what are you going to do? go home and have a cup of tea. that's the answer. in lincolnshire, police are warning people to think carefully before setting off on anyjourney. it's been a challenge since the early hours. we've seen significant show early hours. we've seen significant snow drifting, particularly on the east coast and south of lincoln. vehicles have been stuck, predominantly hdvs. but there is a problem with high winds. the military have been brought in to help the nhs staff, hospitals and patients. we are coordinating drivers and vehicles from raf

wittering to very essential personnel from their home addresses to where they are required. these are primarily health care individuals but also from the emergency services. some people in lincolnshire were determined to get to work, even if it meant walking for several hours. i like a challenge and i wouldn't be defeated. i am dedicated and i wanted to come and relieve the night staff that have been here and let them go home. for meteorologists, this is officially the first day of spring. it certainly doesn't feel anything like it. there is a warning that in some parts of the country, very cold conditions could last well into next week. let's talk more about that red warning of possible danger to life. that's the issue this afternoon in the south—west and south wales. jon kay is in tiverton in devon.

how bad is it there? a lot of people woke up and thought it was not that bad. yes, the grand western canal here in tiverton has frozen but life has been going on. then that red warning around breakfast time. still people thought, we can get around. but let's be clear. this red alert warning doesn't become active until three o'clock this afternoon. in a couple of hours. that is when large amounts of really heavy snow are due to start falling, plus the high winds from storm emma. we are talking blizzard conditions, drifting, not just in talking blizzard conditions, drifting, notjust in the moat, rural communities but some of the main routes as well. people are being warned, you might have thought earlier it was ok but it's going to

get nasty, right through that red strip. it's not going to blow through quickly. it's going to stick around for a8 hours or so. people have been stocking up at supermarkets for the last few hours and the headline is to take action. you are warned to stay in, stay warm and stay put if you can. thank you. let's go to victoria fritz our transport correspondent at paddington station. what is the situation there? to make matters worse, paddington station actually closed because it was snowing inside the terminus building itself. it has now reopened but services are incredibly limited. there isjust

one train going to bristol at the moment. there has been about two trains in the last three hours trying to get to heathrow. a very limited service indeed. the trains that are running our very busy and the platforms are packed, waiting for that one train heading west. if you are trying to get into london, the high—speed services as stopping at reading. for the services that have been cancelled, great western railway say they are not putting on buses or taxes because road conditions are too dangerous to use alternative forms of transport. there is a warning that has just come out in the last half hour for people in wales. they are told these go home as soon people in wales. they are told these go home as soon as people in wales. they are told these go home as soon as possible. there is plenty more transport disruption to come. victoria, thank you. also to come. victoria, thank you. also tojohn kay to come. victoria, thank you. also to john kay at tiverton. to come. victoria, thank you. also

tojohn kay at tiverton. around the country, not surprisingly, record supplies of gas are being used as people try to keep warm. national grid has warned that it might not have enough gas to meet the uk's needs and has asked suppliers to provide more. demand for gas hit a six—year high yesterday, and large industrial users are being asked to cut back. our business editor simon jack is here. cold weather has increased demand but why is it critical? a surge in demand, 30% higher than usual as people keep their heating on. that is twinned with a cut in supply from norway, from south hook and from gas pla nts norway, from south hook and from gas plants here. supplies have been cut. demand up, supply down. it has led toa demand up, supply down. it has led to a warning that demand could outstrip supply. that when you turn

on your heating or cooker that it's not going to work? it doesn't but it has set in motion a number of measures to try and balance demand. that includes national grid going to heavy users and asking them to use less. some have agreed to do that. they hope it will bring things back into kilter. domestic use is not affected but industrial users are affected. it is a test of the measures put in place to try and equalise supply and demand. of course, it will raise questions about long—term investment in britain's gas supplies. we'll have more on the big freeze and a full weather forecast at the end of the programme. and you can keep up to date with the weather and travel situation wherever you are, by visiting the bbc news live page, that's at bbc.co.uk/news you can also get live updates on the bbc news channel and your local radio station. the time is 30 minutes past one.

our top story this lunchtime. travel misery as a foot of snow falls in some parts of the uk. hundreds stranded on the m 80 in scotland. and the new coach of england's women's football team phil neville has his first competitive match this evening. coming up in sport, world heavyweight champion deontay wilder says the sport has a huge problem with doping head of a world title fight with cuban luis 0rtiz. theresa may is holding talks on brexit in downing street with the president of the european council, donald tusk — after he warned that trade restrictions with the eu will be inevitable if britain leaves the single market and customs union. the former prime minister tony blair has criticised theresa may's brexit plan, saying that the fundamental dilemma remains avoiding a hard irish border.

0ur political correspondent jonathan blake reports. taking precautions to avoid any slip—ups. cabinet ministers carefully made their way into downing street this morning. inside, theresa may asked them to agree to her latest big pitch on brexit. a speech tomorrow setting out what downing street has called an ambitious economic partnership. before then, this man will have lunch at number ten. donald tusk, as president of the european council, represents the 27 remaining member states. this morning, a challenge to the prime minister on the question of northern ireland and a defence of eu's so—called backstop option that it could in effect remain part of the customs union. until now no one has come up with anything wiser than that. in a few hours i will be asking in london whether the uk government has a better idea that would be as effective in preventing a hard border between ireland and northern ireland. the brexit process is now well

in motion, but those against it are still keen to stop it. tony blair, the second former prime minister in as many days, to put forward his ideas. the first is that the british people start to understand this is a very costly and complex process, much more so than we realised. secondly, i think we have to show people who voted leave there are different ways of dealing with their anxieties, but the third thing is to say to europe, brexit may be bad for britain, it's bad for europe, it's going to diminish europe, it's going to weaken it politically. that kind of talk exasperates those who want the government to get on with delivering our departure from the eu. the fundamental problem is two ex—prime ministers simply cannot accept a democratic vote. it beats me if they were ever democrats. leaving cabinet this morning boris johnson appeared confident. can you sell this deal to the eu? the government maintains a solution can be found to the northern ireland border issue and in the end a good deal done with brussels.

expect some details tomorrow. for now, plenty to discuss over lunch. jonathan blake, bbc news. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at downing street. what sort of reception do you think donald tusk is likely to be getting? i think he will get a pretty frosty reception, not just i think he will get a pretty frosty reception, notjust because of the freezing weather but because relations, you sense, have cooled between brussels and london, with a marked hardening of attitudes and language over recent days, with that war of words yesterday over brussels' proposals for the northern ireland border. and this morning you sense mr tusk almost upping the ante, saying before he got on the train to come here that there was no prospect of mrs may getting a frictionless trade deal so long as we we re frictionless trade deal so long as

we were intent on leaving the single market and the customs union, and demanding mrs may set out her plans for northern ireland and insisting that eu leaders would not put pressure on their negotiators, they we re pressure on their negotiators, they were fully behind them. you get the feeling the pressure is really being ratcheted up on mrs may, was also at the same time big noise cup remainers piling in, today, tony blair, jeremy corbyn at the start of the week shifting labour's position to maximise remain support. tomorrow is mrs may's pushback moment when she delivers that long—awaited speech setting out her vision for the sort of brexit deal she wants to secure. but it is for mrs may d—day, detail day. she's got to spell out the sort of detail is central to her deal if she's to fend off her

critics. the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has urged the government to pay compensation within 12 months to all surviving child migrants forced abroad in the years after the second world war. its report says the sending away of british children from poor backgrounds was "indefensible" and entirely wrong. around a000 children were sent to australia, canada and elsewhere. some were sexually and physically abused. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds is in central london, where the report has just been published. this report, which is damning, is the first time that the british government has been directly blamed for that programme of child migrations, a programme that's been described today as child trafficking. we are talking about british children here in the years following the second world war, 2000 of those a000 are still alive and this report says that that continued because successive governments, right up to 1970, put politics

before child protection. they have been called britain's lost children. at the end of their lives, they are still blighted by the horrors they faced when very young. the liner arrives at fremantle from great britain with 931 new migrants... many were in care when sent in the post—war years to live abroad, as they were told, in the sunshine. but some ended up in places like this the boys school in western australia. the enquiry was told it was run by paedophiles who used their position to inflict vicious abuse. we were 60 miles from perth. we had no parents, we had no relatives and there was nowhere we could go. these brothers, these paedophiles, must have felt they were in heaven. the child abuse enquiry‘s verdict today, the migrant scheme should

never have happened. successive governments failed to end it and surviving victims should be paid compensation within 12 months. the evidence of what went on has been in the national archives ever since but was never fully considered the national archives ever since but was neverfully considered in the national archives ever since but was never fully considered in this country until this enquiry. because of that, many of the lost children have not lived to see this day, when finally the scale of their suffering has been recognised. at the other side of westminster the child migrants trust is giving its reaction right now to this report, but what it says is that finally the government is having a finger pointed directly at it and it will be now for the government to decide how much every single one of those child migrants is paid. this report says they should get a flat payment in compensation, regardless of any suffering they experienced over the yea rs, suffering they experienced over the years, but crucially that it must be paid quickly, because these are people that are nearing the end of their lives and they do want to see justice before those lives are over. the government has abandoned the second part of the leveson

inquiry into press standards and regulation, saying it would be too "costly and time—consuming". it was due to look into unlawful activity within media organisations. 0ur media correspondent david sillito is with me. tell us more about why this has been ditched. remember the leveson inquiry, 2012, a huge investigation into malpractice within the newspapers. however, there was a second part to it, looking at illegality, looking at police corruption, that they couldn't look at at the time, even though the government said it was definitely going to do it because of all the legal action that was taking place. that legal action came to an end and now the government has said, no, it won't actually do part two, looking at all office. matt hancock, the culture secretary, says it is not proportionate, not in the national interest, essentially newspapers have got their house in order, a new form of regulation and that police practices have changed. also there's

the other element of this, section a0, which is essentially the stick forcing the newspapers to sign up to formally regulator. the newspapers really didn't want to do this, they haven't signed up to any formal regulator and this was supposedly to encourage them by giving them penalties within the libel courts. now, this is going to be scrapped at the earliest possible opportunity, because they said the newspaper industry, newspapers, couldn't face these costs if they were ever in that situation. so two elements and labour said this is a breach of promise to the victims and simply the government has been waiting for the government has been waiting for the wind to change to make this announcement. thank you. a former royal marine has been jailed for a minimum of 28 years for murdering an 83—year—old dog—walker in norfolk last year. peter wrighton was stabbed a5 times before his body was dumped in undergrowth near east harling. alexander palmer had previously told mental health professionals

that he wanted to kill a stranger. he was given a life sentence at nottingham crown court today. walmart has become the second big retailer in the united states to restrict the sale of guns. the company said it was acting in "the light of recent events" — a reference to the shooting at a school in florida that has led to growing demands for tougher controls on firearms. walmart says it will not sell weapons and ammunition to people under 21, which follows a similar decision by another chain store, dick's. one of president trump's closest aides — his director of communications, hope hicks — has announced that she's resigning. her departure comes just a day after she appeared before a congressional committee and admitted telling "white lies" for donald trump. hope hicks was mr trump's longest serving political aide. he will now be looking for his fifth white house communications chief — prince william is to make an historic official trip to israel,

jordan and the occupied palestinian territories this summer. it's the first time an official visit has been made to the territories by a member of the british royalfamily. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell is with me. how significant is this? it is significant, yes, sensitive, yes, further evidence that william is taking on these most important responsibilities within the royal family. it will be the first official visit by a member of the royalfamily to official visit by a member of the royal family to the occupied palestinian territories. the queen has never visited israel. the prince of wales has been there to attend funerals, but he's never made an official visit as such, so this will be the first official visit via very senior member of the british royal family to israel. it's therefore significant and i think it's been carefullyjudged significant and i think it's been carefully judged that it significant and i think it's been carefullyjudged that it should be william and not his father making the visit. all of course decided by the visit. all of course decided by the foreign office, the foreign

0ffice minister has said this morning that it will be an important opportunity to promote diplomatic and cultural ties. welcomed by israel's president, he's linking it to israel's 70th anniversary of independence, he's called it a very special present. when will it take place? it will also includejordan and kensington palace is saying in the summer. thank you. phil neville, the new coach of the england women's football team, has his first competitive game tonight, as his side takes on france in the she believes cup — being hosted by the us. in a bbc interview, neville says he feels there are "probably people his appointment in january was criticised because of his lack of coaching and women's football experience. jo currie reports. from international player to international head coach. tonight, phil neville will take his seat on the bench for the first time as england women's manager. his appointment was controversial. critics said he lacked coaching experience, had never worked in the women's game before, and he was forced to apologise for sexist tweets on his first day in the job. however, neville insists he's the right man to lead the lionesses. it's about getting results

on the field, and yes, it will take a little bit of time, but like i say, there's a thirst for learning. wins buy you time to implement more, and i think this tournament gives us a great, great opportunity to win games of football against the best teams in the world. the she believes cup represents a real baptism of fire for neville. after tonight's match against france, they then take on the top two teams in the world — germany and then the usa. somebody who knows just how tough that's going to be is former england captain casey stoney, who recently retired to take up a coaching position on neville's backroom staff. he's very driven, he's very focused, but he's also quite relaxed. he's a relaxed guy, he's easy to talk to, and he's very keen on getting to know the players. neville insists he shouldn't be judged on just this one tournament and says that whilst there are those that would like to see him fail, he can handle the pressure of being an international manager. you can look at it two ways — you can say, wow, three

massively difficult games, or it's an opportunity to make an instant impact, and that's the way i'm looking at it. this is the third year england have taken part in the she believes cup. they've only ever won game at the tournament, an historic win against the usa in 2017. this time around though, all eyes will not be just on how the lionesses perform, but also how their new boss does, too. jo currie, bbc news, 0hio. more now on our main story. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy has been finding out about the problems facing the elderly in this terrible winter weather. as you can see here in dorchester the snow is really coming down now and it's freezing cold, which is why helping the elderly is so important, particularly with things like meals and meals on wheels. patrick is from stjude's care, delivering meals, about 300 today? about 300. you have

one for bill. i have one for bill, ready to go in. where delivering to 7a—year—old bill barton. ready to go in. where delivering to 74-year-old bill barton. morning, bill, stjude's here. 74-year-old bill barton. morning, bill, st jude's here. we come to his lovely warm flat. hello, bill, thank you for letting us in. bill is getting meals on wheels and an important time of the day for you, because this is extremely important to get this food? yes. why is it important? because of the bad weather we're at the moment. why is it important to get a hot meal? what have we got today, patrick? it's chicken in chicken and mushroom sauce, with mashed potatoes and things. why is it important to have a hot meal? because of the warmth? yeah. if you didn't get that, what would you have to do? cook it myself, in the microwave. how

difficult would that be? very difficult would that be? very difficult at times will stop how important is it, bill, to get company from people like patrick? well, if i didn't have anybody coming, like patrick, iwouldn't have anybody to talk to, only if i phoned my relations will stop how often do you see people during the day? if patrick didn't come, would you see anybody? yes, one of my carers. am i allowed to mention their name? thank you, we won't interrupt your warm meal. it's throwing it down with snow here the bill is one of 300 or so people in this area going to get a hot meal over the next hour or so and as you can tell