storm emma meets the beast from the east and wreaks chaos across the uk. at least three and half thousand drivers were stranded on the m62 across the pennines. some managed to get to shelter. we landed in manchester airport about two o'clock yesterday and we've been, well, trying to get home since then. just going around in circles on the m62. trains grind to a halt. frustrated passengers take matters into their own hands. medical staff make heroic efforts to get to work, walking ten miles though the snow there and back. and, after the snow, flooding hits parts of the south west. we'll bring you the latest on the weather from around the uk. also tonight... theresa may sounds a pragmatic note in her plans for brexit saying neither side will get everything they want. and as hollywood prepares for the oscars this weekend, one of its top stars on sexism in the movie business. coming up on sportsday on bbc news...

katerina johnson—thompson wins her first global title, taking gold in the pentathlon at the world indoor championships. good evening. storm emma has collided with the beast from the east resulting in disruption across much of britain. heavy snow is causing crashes, closing schools, stranding rail and air passengers as well as motorists. one of the uk's major arteries, the m62 across the pennines, is still shut tonight. the army has been called in around the uk to help. strong winds have added to problems, causing large drifts in places. the sheer amount of snow remains a major concern and even where it's been cleared the freezing

temperatures mean ice is now an added danger. danny savage reports. for the last 2a hours, the m62 between west yorkshire and manchester has been a disaster zone. multiple pile—ups litter the carriageway. one driverfilmed this early today... dozens of vehicles written off. more than three and a half thousand motorists were stranded on this road overnight. most had been moved by this morning but hundreds were taken to emergency shelters. we landed in manchester airport about two o'clock yesterday and we've been trying to get home since then. the main route from the m3 to the south west of england, the a303, also ground to a halt with drivers defeated by a combination of heavy snow and steep hills. i'm trying to get to an old people's home to get the heating on. i've been stuck out here since three o'clock this afternoon. there was some respite at this local

petrol station that helped people through the night. we don't usually get snow here, not like this. do you think you're going to get out of here? yeah. of course we will. "there's worse trouble at sea," granny would say. snowploughs tried their best but made little progress because of the trapped vehicles. from yorkshire to the scottish border, nearly every route linking east and west was closed. somewhere under here is the a66 in cumbria. even the gritters aren't venturing out this far. this should normally be a busy dual carriageway over the pennines but it has been shut for days. it probably won't open for days yet and it's all because of these gale force winds just blowing the snow constantly across the carriageway. police are patrolling the roads to discourage people from ignoring the closures. these conditions are some of the worst i've seen for many years. the a66 is always one that's a problem area. as you can see today,

this is particularly bad. trying to get this open is impossible at the moment. in hampshire, the 17:05 waterloo to weymouth train last night unintentionally turned into a sleeper service. passengers were stuck on board for 13 hours as the train lost power. the heating then failed in the freezing conditions. they managed to restore power so we had lights but we had no heating and things like the buffet car had run out of food and drink earlier on in the evening. so, it was a pretty cold night. in shropshire, huge snowdrifts blocked country roads as an army of farmers set out across britain to try and clear them. neighbouring worcestershire also saw several inches of snow. across the border into wales, three people were rescued after getting buried by drifts in their car near cowbridge. they had to sound their horn to guide searchers in. in ebbw vale, firefighters were called in to dig their way into this house.

back in the high pennines, keeping livestock fed was a priority. keeping them watered though is a problem. the water's frozen, that's the main thing, in the house and out of the house. so, just watering animals is a big chore at the minute and just trying to feed up and getting to the sheep that are three miles away, just trying to get there is fun and games at the minute really. delivering supplies by any means possible will be normality in much of britain this weekend. there's no obvious sign of a thaw yet. danny savage, bbc news. the extreme weather has affected emergency teams too, with south western ambulance service telling people not to call unless there is a threat to life. across the uk, many doctors, nurses and support staff have walked through snow and ice in an attempt to ease the pressure on services. from the royal devon and exeter hospital, jon kay reports. this is the road to exeter‘s main hospital, serving nearly half a million people. hey, anna, how are you getting on?

in a&e, eight—year—old anna has come off her sledge. you've got a headache now, have you? are you hungry at all? and she might need a scan. her doctor is one of many who have struggled into work. she should be fine. ok, great, thank you. how did you get in? i cycled on a mountain bike. that's about five miles. there was a lot of pushing — just trying to get a bit of traction in the snow. we were out walking the dogs last night. junior doctor chris is helping debbie, who slipped on the ice. wait till you hear about his journey to work. i walked about ten miles from exeter into hospital. , from exmouth. and then you'll have to walk ten miles back. yeah, just like last night. did it cross your mind to call in and say, "i can't make it today, i'm going to have a snow day." no. i think you do certain jobs and you have a certain responsibility. a0 staff slept in the hospital overnight after a critical incident was declared here.

phil also stayed over. he couldn't move his iced up car after visiting his wife on the surgical ward. more than a hundred relatives were given a place to sleep. it's been absolutely fantastic. i can't thank people enough. i couldn't have wished for a better stay. you make it sound like a hotel? well, it has been. no trafficjams in this city today but emergency crews have struggled to reach casualties. south western ambulance saying only call 909 if it's life—threatening. among the walking wounded, plenty of breaks, sprains and cuts, most of them weather—related. the worst one is just here. pete fell in the snow. it could have been much worse. there were other people in here who have had a lot more serious accidents than i have. after a tough winter, and an exhausting a8—hours, there are more weather challenges to come. the hospital's chief nurse now has to find extra staff for the next few days. we are calling out now for registered nurses in particular, if they are able to get

here, could they come? particularly this weekend so we can get through the weekend. back in casualty, anna is making progress after her sledging accident. her dad is a localfarmer and tonight he'll be clearing roads with his tractor, so the hospital can keep running. well, jon kay filmed that report earlier today in exeter. he's a glutton for punishment. he's now moved on to dawlish on the south devon coast, where there's flooding, just to add to the problems. john, it looks pretty grim there. yes, fiona, good evening. almost every train operator in the country has been affected by the weather in some weight today here at dawlish which is where the train line runs right next to the sea it is particularly bad. at the moment no trains can come through because of flooding we had earlier caused by

storm emma. that means the far south—west of england is cut off from the rest of the rail network. nowhere near as bad as it was four yea rs nowhere near as bad as it was four years ago in the floods when the train line was left hanging in midair. this time it should be fixed within about 36 hours, fingers crossed full stop this incident is a reminder ofjust how crossed full stop this incident is a reminder of just how vulnerable crossed full stop this incident is a reminder ofjust how vulnerable this stretch of track is and this in the very week that politicians have been debating what to do about the long—term resilience, the long—term future of this infrastructure. tonight in the short term i can tell you that temperatures are rising in south devon, the icy snow melting and thawing quickly. for people who live around here, they are looking at flood alerts and notjust high tides for tomorrow morning. thank you. there was trouble on the trains this evening in south london after delayed passengers started jumping on to the tracks. come on. there we are. nice and

smooth. people stuck on a train near lewisham forced open the doors and began walking down the tracks. people stuck on a train near lewisham forced open the doors and began walking down the railway line. operator southeastern warned they couldn't run the trains while people were near the tracks. in scotland, the worst of the weather may be over. but days of appalling conditions is having an impact on farmers and food supply. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, reports from kilbarchan. the rolling hills of renfrewshire, pretty, but the conditions making it challenging. the best way to reach this farm, by foot. they are doing their best to get milk out but they have had just one tanker in and they do not expect another. you see the snowdrifts coming down the road yourself. it is up above my shoulders. we can't get the milk vans out, the milk tankers in, we cannot get feed stuff in. you just don't know where to turn. these cows produce 2000 litres of milk every day. this farm is not alone

in facing big challenges in getting its milk to the shops. it is thought a significant number of farmers here in scotland are now having to dispose of their milk. in local shops, some essentials are in short supply. i came with my studs on all the way down the road to get milk, and there was no milk. no milk anywhere. we've come back for a second loaf. we figured we'd best get two. apparently, there is not much left anywhere, so we did the right thing. empty shelves seen in some stores elsewhere. those tasked with getting through say this weather is the worst that has been seen in decades. we have never seen worst that has been seen in decades. we have never seen as worst that has been seen in decades. we have never seen as much snow as this. we are delivering milk to dumfries in the south. we have

never, ever seen dumfries in the south. we have never, ever seen this. once the snow melts, stocks will reach the shops once more. easing the pressure on farms like this who are trying to keep their customers with milk. with freezing temperatures continuing well into next week, and possibly the week after, there's little sign of let—up in the bitter weather. let's speak to our wales correspondent, sian lloyd, who's in the vale of glamorgan. that is an incredible amount of snow behind you. yes. there are many scenes like this to be seen right across the bail of glamorgan. drifting snow is a real problem. —— the vale of glamorgan. we have been out to about across this county today and have seen many local farmers out in their tractors trying to clear the country roads which are so to clear the country roads which are so important to the local population. there has been such a heavy demand on the snowploughs and

gritters. they cannot get everywhere. many major routes have been closed. lots of local providers have not been able to operate their services, so have not been able to operate their services, so very have not been able to operate their services, so very limited public transport. some 2000 homes across the country here are without power and also all of the schools were closed here again today. we are on the yellow warning like many parts of the uk. plummeting temperatures. it is bitterly cold here tonight but it is expected to freeze and we're not sure what we will wake up to tomorrow. other news now, and theresa may has outlined her vision of britain's future relationship with the european union. she warned that both sides would have to accept " ha rd facts" and that no one would get everything they want. she said the uk would have to pay money into some eu agencies to maintain access to them. and she repeated her commitment that that britain would not be part of the eu's single market or customs union. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, was watching the speech. roll up, roll up.

a hot ticket for a certain kind of audience. looking forward to the speech. ministers and diplomats arriving for a speech. can you unite the party, sir? that will affect us all. and it matters to her survival, too. with controversy never far away. the first message — no more promises that after brexit, we can have it all, to tradejust as we do now or be completely free from the european courts. i want to be straight with people because the reality is that we all need to face up to some hard facts. we are leaving the single market. life is going to be different. in certain ways our access to each other‘s markets will be less than it is now. the second hard fact is that even after we have left the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice, eu law and the decisions of the ecj will continue to affect us. out of the single market

and the customs union, she confirmed, yet no new answer to one of the hardest parts. we don't want to go back to a hard border in ireland. we've ruled out any physical infrastructure at the border or any related checks and controls. but it's not good enough to say, "we won't introduce a hard border. "if the eu forces ireland to do it, that is down to them". we chose to leave and we have a responsibility to help find a solution. but we can't do it on our own. it is for all of us to work together. more details on how she wants much of the economy to stay closer to the eu, but the prime minister wants the right to pick and choose when and how. the commission has suggested that the only option available to the uk is an off—the—shelf model. we both need to face the fact that this is a negotiation and neither of us can have exactly what we want. the fact is that every free trade agreement has varying market access

depending on the respective interests of the countries involved. if this is cherry picking, then every trade arrangement is cherry picking. last, an answer to claims her plans are too vague and unreal. we know what we want. we understand your principles. we have a shared interest in getting this right. so let's get on with it. thank you. applause do you accept now that we can't have it all as we leave? secondly, you have outlined today you want to pick and mix, even though the eu has repeatedly rejected that approach. what is it do you think you can say to your eu leaders that will actually change their minds? i'm confident as we come and sit down together we will be able to show that mutual interest and mutual benefit from the proposals i have put forward.

after weeks of internal tory wrangling, the prime minister has made gathered tory grandees content. this is about finding a way through that will work for everybody. why have you spent so long saying we can have everything? you said we could have the exact same benefits? i said that is the aspiration. what were aiming at here, and what the prime miniester said clearly, is that we want to have a complete tariff—free arrangement. we want to have mutual recognition. all those things, not just in our interest, they are in europe's interest and that is why we will get them. what happens if the european union says no? the invitation that was made through the speech the prime minister made was to apply a cool head to some very important, mutual problems, but also opportunities. an outbreak of tory unity? the foreign secretary was grounded by snow but gave a thumbs up, and brexiteers and remainers followed suit, for now. governor, were you happy

with what you heard? others, like the bank of england governor, less keen to give their verdict. the opposition, unimpressed. i think it will be judged as yet more confusion on the road to complications. what we need is a set of objectives which means we can protect jobs in this country. number ten has pressed its case with more detail and realism than before. that could make a difference to the next steps of this lengthy tangle. but there are plenty of audiences making demands of theresa may, who will still demand yet more. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. with a year to go until britain leaves the eu, how do voters feel the government is getting on? our deputy political editor, john pienaar, has been to reading to gauge feelings there. brexit is a complete mess. not quick enough, not doing enough. did you really think it was going to be simple and quick and easy? i know people said it would be.

did you think it would be? i thought it would be. i didn't think it would take two years to come out of it. why should we have to give them all this money back? we've paid for it over the years. i'm sure we've paid more than most. you thinkjust walk? yeah, definitely, yeah. i think we're just a silly government, to be honest with you. how many kids have you got? these are your kids, right? we've got eight kids. you've got eight kids. congratulations. are you worried about their future? or optimistic? slightly on the fence, because i don't see how the economy is going to get any better by leaving. i think it could really only get worse. i think the question is how much worse. at the moment, i don't really have a clue, because they haven't set out a clear picture, and they haven't done all the tests to decide how good or bad it will be. theresa may? she's not doing too bad a job. she's just between a rock and a hard place with what she's got to work with. my vision for the future

economic partnership between the united kingdom and the european union... i feel people have been a bit hard on her because she's been given probably the worst possible situation. what about you ? do you want to cut the prime minister some slack on this? yeah. i think she gets a worse rap than... it's very easy to scapegoat her and i do feel bad for her in that sense. i feel she has done an awful lot of flip—flopping. she really needs to sort of maybe pick a direction and go with it. greater steps need to be made to re—establish the country's opinion on this. there's a lot of people that have changed their mind since the last brexit referendum. maybe doing another referendum would be a good idea at the very least, just to re—establish where we are, prove maybe that the government is on the right path, or show the government that they aren't. in the end, can it work? it has to. or else we're in a lot of trouble. theresa may, her mission today is to see britain more united after brexit. can that be done? brexit has separated our country and i think it could make it worse

and it's very sad to see. i think we've just got to live with it and move on. we've got to stick together. here's hoping. cheers. john pienaar, bbc news, reading. katya adler, who is in brussels. how did the speech go down there? the eu has long been pressing theresa may for more details of her brexit vision and today they got the details aplenty. there have been working groups studying the prime minister's speech of this evening from all 27 countries and privately eu diplomats have told me they praised theresa may's constructive approach in her speech, her more realistic approach, they said, saying that of course not everybody can have everything they want out of the agreement. but they pointed out that on the big picture they did not

see much new in the prime minister's speech policy wise. the eu chief negotiator tweeted that now that the prime minister had confirmed the uk would be leaving the single market and the customs union, he could confirm that the uk was heading towards a free trade agreement with the eu, meaning nothing really closer than that. so the eu is still by jesting what the closer than that. so the eu is still byjesting what the prime minister said, and apart from those who said they regretted that she did not come to any concrete proposal as to how to any concrete proposal as to how to solve the irish problem, another eu diplomat said to me this evening that they were looking for clues as to what might become future uk policy at negotiations. the very same happened, he said, after the last brexit speech the prime minister made in autumn. laura, was the speech enough to placate the leave and remain camps within the tory party? for now, tonight, yes. that does not mean they will swallow the compromises she says they will have

to make in the longer term, but in terms of this speech, number ten believes this has been a step forward , believes this has been a step forward, if not a giant leap. there are still contradictions. there was no dramatic evidence of new thinking. but there was a new layer of detail and most importantly as far as downing street sees it, a message to the eu, let's do a deal. and a signal, a concrete, over signalfrom the and a signal, a concrete, over signal from the prime and a signal, a concrete, over signalfrom the prime ministerfor the first time that she knows that she will have to make compromises. she knows that britain will not be able to get everything on its list. but also a message, pushing back, saying you will have to compromise too. it is legitimate to question why it has taken so long for her to strike this note of realism. she has been dealing with political difficulties in her own party. but tonight, inside the conservative party, both sides have broadly swallowed this speech. number ten believes it has been received pretty much as well as it might have been, and rather than brexiteers and

remainers, they are hoping for a pragmatic approach, people who are willing to be realistic and pragmatic. but this will be tested atan important pragmatic. but this will be tested at an important summit three weeks to night, when great britain is very keen that point to be able to show real progress. we will see. thank you. in syria, the un says 2a hospitals and clinics are now known to have been hit in the syrian military‘s bombardment of a rebel—held area near damascus. it says a high number of civilians are being killed and injured every day in eastern ghouta, despite the un calling for a ceasefire nearly a week ago. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is in damascus tonight. so, a ceasefire in name only? there is no ceasefire at the moment. there is no ceasefire at the moment. the un resolution exists on paper, but it does not exist in reality. president putin of russia, his so—called humanitarian pause has,

today, quiet and things down in the morning. but it started up again. after that, i saw warplanes bombing targets in eastern ghouta. the thing about the war here in syria, not just in eastern ghouta, is that at the end of last year people were hoping that maybe it was winding down. but the evidence of this year is that it has changed shape, but it has escalated. unicef, the children's fund of the united nations, have said that something like 1000 children this year have either been killed by the war or seriously injured. so while the level of rhetoric condemning what is happening here has once again ticked up, asa happening here has once again ticked up, as a matter of fact, once again, international diplomacy, those who wa nt to international diplomacy, those who want to stop the war, have failed once again. thank you. a 21—year—old man who tried to kill a woman because she was wearing a hijab has been found guilty of attempted murder.

paul moore, from leicester, choose zaynab hussein at random and ran her over in his car. he later told his half—brother he'd "done it for britain". moore was also convicted of using his car to seriously injure a 12—year—old muslim schoolgirl. he'll be sentenced later this month. prince harry and meghan markle will invite more than 2500 members of the public to the grounds of windsor castle for their wedding. they'll be able to watch the couple arrive and depart. charity workers and school children will be amongst those invited to attend. this weekend, hollywood celebrates its 90th year of the oscars, after a tumultuous year for the film industry, following the sex abuse scandal involving harvey weinstein and others. the actor heather graham is one of a number of women who accused him of sexual harassment. now she's written and directed her first film about sexism in hollywood. she spoke to our arts editor, will gompertz. why are we sitting around talking about how sad our lives are? we should be talking

about how great we are. half magic is a romcom, in which three women decide to start asserting themselves, to take a stand against the men who are undermining them. i am so relieved that you find me attractive, but when can you read the script that we wrote? heather graham plays a junior film executive whose career is being frustrated by a mean, sexist boss. your boobs are too big. whose interest is focused on her body, not her mind. i wrote this movie because years before that i worked on developing movies that i wanted to get made, women's stories that i wanted to act in and produce and i couldn't get them made. so this movie was my reaction to that. why couldn't you get them made? people would say that i wasn't a big enough star, that no one cares about women's stories, that women's movies don't make money. they would say if you want to get a movie made, write about a man. let's make a pact to be with good guys only, guys who treat us great like we deserve. if you think about how many levels that a woman has to get through to get a movie made and seen, you have to go through so many levels of male—dominated businesses. first of all you have

to have the idea that you can ever do this, which there's not a lot of role models out there. then you've got to get someone to finance it, which is usually a man. then you have to get someone to distribute it, which is usually a man. then when it comes out, you have to get a bunch of male journalists to not say that the movie sucks. so that you can get to your audience, which is women. so all the different steps that you need to get through to get to women, which hopefully men will watch it too, but you are mainly going for women. you have to go through like walls and walls of men to get your project out in the world. why did you break up with me? all i wanted to do was love you and mentor you and help you achieve your true potential. i'm sorry, i don't know what to say. i had a business meeting with a guy. i sent in the script. i said, "i want to get this movie made, i want to empower women". we had this business meeting, he doesn't finance the movie. i run into him ata party and he said, "oh, that was so fun "when we had that date the other day". the lunch meeting where i asked him to finance my movie. i said, "that wasn't a date, that was a business meeting".

how long ago was this? this was like two years ago. and do you think if that happened today it would be different? i think today men are starting to think about their behaviour and they are starting to question if, you know, how they should treat women in the workplace, which is a good thing. will gompertz, bbc news, hollywood. there is definitely a change of tone here in hollywood. the question is, will it be reflected at the academy awards which take place just over there in a little over 48 was. will rachel maskell and be the first female singer —— cinematographer to win the oscar? will greta girl wig win the oscar? will greta girl wig win best director? and will francis mcdormand, as many people think, win best actor for mcdormand, as many people think, win best actorfor her mcdormand, as many people think, win best actor for her portrayal of mildred hayes in three billboards outside ebbing, missouri, which ca ptu red outside ebbing, missouri, which captured the angry female point of view which many feel is the essence of the times up movement. let's return to our main story, and the snow that's brought chaos to much of the uk. amid the misery this week for many stuck in cars, on trains, struggling into work, there have

also been stories of great heroism and of those who've gone out of their way to come to the aid of others. sarah campbell reports. an out—of—control car ends up on the wrong side of this edinburgh road. a collision seems inevitable. no, no, no, no! that it didn't happen is thanks to the quick reactions of the bus driver. to me, it looks worse on the video than i felt at the time. i did get a fright, but i managed to avoid it, luckily, and then i got on with myjob after that. i totally forgot all about it until i got home and my husband asked me if i had seen this video. he didn't know it was me that was driving. born in balgedie, fife. despite the village being all but cut off, midwives made it to the mum to help with the delivery and local farmers cleared the roads to get both mum and baby safely to hospital.