this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11am. counter—terrorism officers work to discover where the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter came from. sergei and yulia skripal remain critically ill after being found unconscious in salisbury on sunday. the home secretary amber rudd will brief mps are the latest developments in this investigation. we are giving all the medical support necessary to the people who then affected. ministers set out stronger measures for abuses in domestic violence. suspected abusers of domestic violence could be tagged or banned from drinking as ministers

propose stronger measures to tackle the issue. councils in england warned they will become financially unsustainable if they continue to rely on reserve funds to pay for rising costs of social care. and hundreds of schools face closure thanks to snow disruption in yorkshire. anti—terror police are trying to establish the origin of a nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter. while police have now identified the type of chemical, it's not yet known where it was made or who could have carried out the attack. the home secretary has repeated the assurances of the chief medical officer that there is no risk to the public, but the deadly effects of nerve agents is under the spotlight. nerve agents normally enter through

the mouth or nose but can also be absorbed through the eyes or skin. the chemicals attack the body ‘s nervous system, such endowment normal functions. even in nervous system, such endowment normalfunctions. even in small doses this all happens very quickly and unless treated urgently, they are potentially deadly to anyone exposed. sergei skripal and yulia remain ina exposed. sergei skripal and yulia remain in a critical condition in hospital and police officer who went to help is also seriously ill. this was sergei skripal last month at a corner shop. now police believe someone tried to kill the former spy and his daughter with a nerve agent. it happened here in the small cathedral city of salisbury. a police officer who attended to the pair, now also in a serious

condition in hospital. what nerve agent was used is the question experts at this military research centre are trying to answer. nerve agents essentially cripple the nervous system of the body and are not easy to manufacture. nerve agents require a non—insignificant financial, logistical, and technical back—up to actually be manufactured. and so that would lead to a more likelihood of a state manufacturing it. life in salisbury right now is anything but normal. this, the restaurant where mr skripal and his daughter had lunch hours before they fell ill. a blonde woman and a man could be of interest, seen in this cctv footage from near the crime scene. his daughter apparently had dark hair, like in this photo. they are both in a critical

condition in hospital. tom burridge, bbc news. our home affairs correspondent leila nathoo is in salisbury. bring us up to date with the investigation there. and it, police now believe that the nerve agent that was used on sergei skripal and yulia was a rare one. it helps possibly to narrow down the source of it. obviously, there would be limited scope in terms of who would be able to manufacture such a rare kind of chemical that attacks the nervous system. the focus now, here is on locations here. this scene where the two were found, the italian restaurants just behind, where the two were found, the italian restaurantsjust behind, a nearby pub and his home not farfrom here. police are continuing to examine all those locations. we know that one of the first officers on the scene here was exposed to that

same nerve agent. he was hospitalised. we heard this morning from the home secretary amber rudd that he was still in a serious condition. but that he was talking and engaging. the local police federation representative here in wiltshire has been speaking to the bbc, paying tribute to his offices as they may couldn't have possibly known that it would be an event like this that they were responding to matters what police officers do, put themselves in danger when responding to call—outs this. here in salisbury city centre, the focus is 20 piece together a timeline of what exactly happened to sergei skripal and yulia when they came to the city centre. they had lunch at the restaurant and then dave visited this pub but police are trying to piece together their movements before they ended up on this bench behind me and were found unconscious. the home secretary amber rudd is due to give a statement in the house

of commons in the next hour. this morning she told the bbc that action will be taken against those found to be responsible. this was a very serious incident which is why we've got the police down there in full force conducting the investigation. which is why we're giving all the support we can, the medical support necessary to the people who've been affected. of course i'm very concerned about the policeman. i would observe that our chief medical officer sally davis has said that the risk to the public is low, so i would urge the public to take comfort from that. we have been ready for a while for a number of different types of terrorist activity and we are making sure that we give the public the support, that we contain the incident and that we collect the evidence so that when we come to attribution, we will know what to do. our chief political correspondent vicki young is at the houses of parliament for us. amber rudd was also saying earlier that he may not hear about it and if

there is action to be taken, we will ta ke there is action to be taken, we will take it. the government wants to look and sound strong on this but at the moment, it has a lot of u na nswered the moment, it has a lot of unanswered questions, doesn't it? yes. i think the tone from amber rudd this morning and also a statement that she about to give to mps will be very different to the one that the foreign secretary gave. amber rudd being extremely cautious about what she was saying in public, talking about cool heads, saying if we attributed blame at some point, then we will have a plan. there is no doubt that a very senior levels of government and very publicly, these politicians have spoken out about what they see as increasingly brazen activities by russia. the defence secretary in recent weeks talking about cyber attacks and the potential for russia attacking our energy supplies. talking about russia being a malign influence. the

question is what you do about that? we have been here before and after the murder of alexander litton yankovic and david cameron was a response there and saying we do have to have some kind of relation with russia but we do it with clear eyes and a very cold heart and i think that's what mps and ministers are summing up is how far do you go? downing street insisted action has been taken in the past, there is a billjust gone through parliament, the criminal finances bill and billjust gone through parliament, the criminalfinances bill and it is all about trying to stop those who abuse those human rights, another minister saying that britain cannot be seen as a country that has dirty money coming from other countries there is action that needs to be taken, it doesn't sound though like amber rudd wants to go as far as some mps on her own party. one former minister said today that it is proven that moscow is in this what looks like attempted murder then in fact we should cut off all

diplomatic ties but of course there are many who say that is not how you deal with this. you have to have some kind of relationship with president putin no matter how distasteful you find some of his actions. we will bring you that statement from amber rudd live here thatis statement from amber rudd live here that is expected around noon. let's speak now to hamish de bretton—gordon who is the former commanding officer of the british army's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment. thank you very much for your time. it is not exactly a fingerprint but how strong the lead is the identification of this nerve agent give to the investigation? hopefully very strongly. it is fortuitous in a way that this is all going on very close to porton down which is the leading toxicology lab in the world with the best express the best scientists. they should be able to do something cold chemical attribution, where they can deconstruct the samples that they

have got from the scene and probably from blood from those who have been injured and if they are lucky, they should be able to work out exactly where these chemicals came from so it isa where these chemicals came from so it is a start. each country who has made chemical weapons in the past make them slightly differently. there is a footprint, there are markers. this will be a major step forward what we have identified what it then work at work came from. potentially work out exactly where the nerve agent came from, that doesn't necessarily mean work out who used it, does it? iran not necessarily. —— no, not necessarily. i couldn't be overly specific that i have done some work in northern iraq where saddam hussein gassed the kurds and used tonnes of nerve

agent. by getting samples from there we we re agent. by getting samples from there we were able to work out where some of those chemicals came from. he usedit? of those chemicals came from. he used it? well, this is a non—trivial activity to make these nerve agents. you cannot lock them up in your back shed. the japanese terrorist group who made nerve agent back in 1996, it took them two years and many millions of dollars and only made a very small amount. you need a very sophisticated laboratory with very experienced scientist to be able to make this stuff. and a very skilled person to actually use them without killing themselves in the process? absolutely. we have seen there has been what we call cross contamination here, possibly with a daughter and the very brave police officer. in my work in syria during the sarin attacks in pewter in august 2013 and also more recently in april last year elsewhere, a lot

of our first responders and medics succumbed through secondary contamination because like the police chief constable said, they didn't know what they're getting into and neither did i medics and serious there is a lot of cross contamination issues are. as it has been sated and i would reinstate, i expect the threat in salisbury and the people in sorcery is very low now. nerve agents tend to be nonpersistent and ten to disperse very quickly. in terms the target, sergei skripal, his daughter yulia who may have been a secondary target cross contaminated and indeed the police officer who was in hospital, what is the prognosis for them as mac can recover? absolutely. there are no effective antidotes, my and my 23 years as a specialist in the military, i carried this specific

antidote very quickly and i assume thatis antidote very quickly and i assume that is what the policeman had. they are in the best place in the world with porton down and health protection england being able to treat them so they are still alive andi treat them so they are still alive and i think that is a really good news. the longer that happens the more chance they have got a full but i'm nota more chance they have got a full but i'm not a medical person. there are effective countermeasures and is going back to your earlier point, this is a non—trivial activity. whoever delivered this will be re—expert. the chance to kill yourself dealing with these highly toxic agents is very very high so whoever did it, it is a bit like the nerve agent attack in kuala lump that killed kim john mann. nerve agent attack in kuala lump that killed kimjohn mann. the people doing it really know what we re people doing it really know what were doing. some sort of protective equipment, maybe gloves or rest retreat protection so this looks like a very professionaljob at this stage. all that said, for days on from this attack, do you think we are getting closer to finding out

who was responsible and the public will be well aware of the possibilities that have been put out there that he might be behind this? i think so. there is an awful lot of circumstantial evidence and i agree with the home secretary that we do not want to rush to any quick decisions and the russians are very much in the target here. this is classic modus operandi for the kgb in the past and they have assassinated other double agents before with chemical weapons. does it have to be a state? could it be a group or individual?” it have to be a state? could it be a group or individual? i think it is very unlikely. it would be very difficult to get hold of nerve agents. there is a worry that north korea has a vast amounts of nerve agents and would sell them to terrorist groups a high amount of money but the so—called islamic states try to make nerve agents and didn't do it. the influences that it

is probably some kind of state sponsored so at the moment i think thatis sponsored so at the moment i think that is what are looking at. i think the other thing is that very little evidence has come out yet. one would expect to see lots of cctv and lots of evidence and that leads to a really professional operation here. thank you very much. officers work to discover weather nerve agent came from in the attempted murder of a former russian spy attempted murder of a former russian spy on his daughter. suspected abusers of domestic violence could be tagged or banned from drinking as ministers propose stronger measures to tackle the issue. and hundreds of schools face closure thanks to snow disruption yorkshire. in the sport, england have named their team for the crunch with the

crucial meeting with france in the six nations this weekend. captain dyla n six nations this weekend. captain dylan hartley will miss the match and is replaced byjamie george. i went farrell will skip the side in hartley ‘s absence. tottenham boss has denied his side ‘s lack of experience was to blame for their champions league exit at the hands of the event as last night. sealed a 2-1 of the event as last night. sealed a 2—1 victory for the two—time winners. england's women's head coach phil neville told his players to remember the pain of missing out that she believes cup. they needed at least a draw but were beaten one — mill by the states in orlando. i will be back with more sportjust after 11:30am. suspected domestic abusers could be electronically tagged, or banned from drinking alcohol and taking drugs, as part of proposals to tackle the problem in england and wales. the government wants views on a set of measures, which includes the first legal definition of economic abuse, and a commissioner to oversee the issue. jon donnison reports.

euleen hope suffered a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex—partner. emotional, but also physical, she ended up in hospital more than a dozen times. she says she used to grow her fringe long to cover the black guys. some people say to me why did you not get out sooner? do you really want to look over your shoulder if you leave a relationship, they could still be after you. he said "i'll tell you when it's over." he threatened me and told me he would organise for someone to throw acid in my face. in 2015, the man was eventually jailed for grievous bodily harm and assault after her euleen's sister contacted the police. almost two million people in wales, most of them women, suffered domestic abuse last year. the government wants to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators. it is launching a consultation document before it tries to get tougher laws passed.

among the proposals, broadening the legal definition of domestic abuse to include physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, but also economic abuse. tougher sentences for cases involving children. and new protection orders to allow police and courts to intervene more quickly when abuse is suspected. the consultation period for the proposed new laws will last 12 weeks. jon donnison, bbc news. katie ghose is the chief executive of women's aid. very good to have you with us on international women's day. do think this domestic abuse bill will act to make it easier to prosecute those who carry out domestic violence? we are delighted to see this new law. festival we think it will help more survivors to come out of the shadows

and bring their experience is out into the open is that we can all play our own role in tackling domestic abuse. it is good to see the focus moving to the perpetrator and responsibility being there so it is easy to prosecute that might give more women the confidence to come forward. there is a big gap and many womenjust now will forward. there is a big gap and many women just now will not go for to the police and that is why the life—saving service is to help giving them that helping hand, they are reimported as well. a lack of confidence perhaps that a report will lead to a successful prosecution, that is one reason why women may not report a violent partner. what are the other reasons? fear. if we think of the power and control that is at the heart of an abusive relationship, i thought women all the time who have spent months or years who have had every inch of their lives scrutinised and controlled often accompanied by physical threats but sometimes not a lwa ys physical threats but sometimes not always so the fear of what will

happen to them, perhaps their children be taken from them can prevent them from coming forward and thatis prevent them from coming forward and that is why it is really important that is why it is really important that we looked abuses of the jigsaw when we think about how to help survivors. how important is the inclusion of the legal term economic abuse? what is really pleasing to see today is the spotlight also on financial and economic abuse. we talk to women all the time who say this is really significant. it might be having your wages being taken off you and controlled by your partner. it may mean something as serious as benefit fraud being committed in your name so we are pleased to see the whole experience of survivors being brought into that and that is really important if we are going to make a real difference and eventually mean that all women and children can live a life re—from fear and abuse. i think so you saying that women turn up and there aren't always enough places for women and children at shelters. i

presume women's aid needs more money? at 60. demand outstrips supply. we are calling on the government to cover their sustainable funding solution that means the help will always be death every survivor who needs it. thank you for talking to us. nottingham trent has suspended a number of students who racially abused a fellow student. we have bleeped some of the words. inaudible. leave her alone! what was that, sorry? # say ooh—ah, bleep the blacks a black woman... # we hate the blacks inaudible.

we hate blacks! earlier rufaro chisango, who posted that video footage on her twitter, explained what happened to victoria derbyshire. i was shocked. i was really shocked and felt very isolated and uncomfortable. without naming any names, do you know the people who we re names, do you know the people who were shouting? i do know who they are. of using them since? no, i have not seen them since. what complaints did you make the university? after they left, i went to reception and i complained that there was a racial abuse outside my corridor. they took abuse outside my corridor. they took a statement and they took my details and then... they said that they

would get back to me by the morning and did they would've spoken to them because they went out that night. they didn't contact me or anything. so since it happened, no one has got in touch with you in terms of university officials? after i post on twitter, i got more contact from the university. this morning someone came from the university and had a chat with me. i gave my statement is down to them as well. i have e—mailed them as well beforehand. what if you asked them to do? would expect them to do? i want them to ta ke expect them to do? i want them to take more action on what is happening. ijust take more action on what is happening. i just want the appropriate action to be taken place. racial abuse should not be tolerated at all and it shouldn't have such a long delay when i report something like this. rufaro chisango

there. an update coming into is in there. an update coming into is in the last few moments, from nottinghamshire police who say they have arrested two men in connection with racially aggravated public order offences following reports of a video posted at nottingham trent university and shadow social media. they say the men, aged 18, remain in police custody and police enquiries are continuing. nottinghamshire police arrest two men aged 18 in connection with alleged racially aggravated public order offences following a video posted on twitter. staff at the john lewis partnership will see their bonuses cut for the fifth year in a row after the retail giant revealed a slump in profits and warned earnings will remain under pressure in 2018. the group said it will reduce the renowned bonus to 5% of annual salary, with 85,500 partners sharing out a pot worth £74 million, down from £891; million the previous year. two teenagers have died and two children are among the injured

after a three—car crash in north yorkshire. the boys, believed to be 17, died at the scene of the accident on the a61 near thirsk last night. five adults and two children were taken to hospital. police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch. there's been a 14% rise in women from northern ireland having abortions in england, since the government announced they'd no longer have to pay for them. in the last eight months, 553 women have travelled to england to terminate their pregnancy, according to figures from the two largest providers. abortion is illegal in northern ireland except for when a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent and serious risk to her physical or mental health. weather warnings are in place for many parts of the country in central

and northern england and many parts of wales. other hundred and 20 schools are closed a week after heavy snow brought chaos to the country. let's go to danny savage who is in weatherby and we can see the scene behind you. cars moving ok that beastly everyone being urged to ta ke that beastly everyone being urged to take care. well, it was really a lot worse much earlier this morning. the snow came down heavily between 5am and 9am. since then it has been melting that has been a morning to rememberfrom melting that has been a morning to remember from any people melting that has been a morning to rememberfrom any people in yorkshire. basically, it is a corridor down the centre of yorkshire from harrogate down to sheffield where several centimetres of snow fell very quickly this morning and there was gridlock on roads around bradford, leeds, harrogate and sheffield and quickly the list of schools that says they weren't opening for the day grew by the minute. between about seven and 8:30am this morning. staters could not get to school or work and

nothing was moving. you can be sera my shoulder behind me a bit of traffic moving left and right occasionally in the distance. that is the mm. that was solid for a long time this morning going southbound. there were lorries and vehicles abandoned. it was causing a big problem but it is melting away very quickly. the situation is improving a lot and the irony is i can see blue sky coming in from the west and a forecast of temperatures by the weekend perhaps 1a or 15 degrees so it was a flash in the pan really. yellow weather warnings were in place first snow and it had been forecast but i think the severity of its did surprise people and did catch people out but they could get back to normal quite quickly now across much of the region. danny, i hope things clear up everyone very soon! let mejust bring

hope things clear up everyone very soon! let me just bring you news coming from copenhagen that the danish man accused of murdering a female journalist aboard his home—made submarine and then cutting up home—made submarine and then cutting up her corpse is on trial in the city. inventor peter madsen admits dismembering kim wall's body, and throwing it out to sea, but denies killing her. ms wall was working on a story about madsen when she went missing last august. our correspondent maddie savage is in copenhagen. bring us up—to—date with what has been happening in the courts. obviously huge media attention around this case. more than 100 journalists from all around the world here and the prosecutors have put forward dark and grim evidence that they hope will see peter madsen convicted of kim wall's murder. some of this might be quite difficult to

hearjust to warn you. divers went down to retrieve one of her arms and we we re down to retrieve one of her arms and we were shown a photo of her underwear that was discovered on boards peter madsen's submarines and various pictures of straps found in a bag of kim wall's clothes matched up a bag of kim wall's clothes matched up with straps used by him in his workshop. we also found out that he used his mobile phonejust 16 hours before contacting kim wall to google a video of a woman having her head cut off slowly. kim wall is a respected freelance journalist and she worked media including the guardian and the new york times and she's about its china with her danish boyfriend. what are the most emotional moments was when we heard of text messages that she had sent to him from the submarine. they wrote to each other in english and she typed, i'm still alive by the way. i am going down now and then i love you followed by a bunch of! and

she adds that peter madsen had brought cookies onto the submarine. authorities say that he had psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies and poses a great danger to others. the trial is expected to last around seven weeks. let's have a look at the forecast. we saw some snow this morning in yorkshire, greater manchester, merseyside, zero and mid wales, and a lot of that snow is starting to clear and it's starting to thaw out a bit, but it was very snowy and we had quite a bit of disruption this morning because of that. that band of rain, sleet and snow is moving east, still a bit wet across eastern

areas into the afternoon. elsewhere, areas into the afternoon. elsewhere, a few showers in wales and the south—west, snow showers in scotland and northern ireland, but temperatures of about six to 11. sunshine across many parts, and those temperatures, six or seven, and the snow will start to fall. this evening and overnight, it will turn quite cold quickly, with the risk of some ice where we've had snow. snow showers moving into scotla nd snow. snow showers moving into scotland through the evening but, during friday, dry and bright, showers in the south—west. by saturday, heavy rain spreading in, but look at those temperatures, up to 15 in the south—east by saturday. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: counter—terrorism officers work to discover where the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter came from. ministers set out proposals for

stronger measures to clamp down on domestic violence. councils in england could become financially unsustainable if they rely on their reserve funds to pay for the increasing demands of social care. hundreds of schools close and commuters face travel disruption as snow falls across yorkshire. just before we go to the sport, some breaking news coming from westminster, where the prime minister's spokesman has described the attack on sergei and yulia skripal in salisbury on sunday is an appalling and reckless crime, and said those responsible will face a robust response. theresa may's spokesman said she had been kept updated by officials throughout, and said that, while the public rightly wa nted

said that, while the public rightly wanted those responsible identified and held to account, it was important to avoid speculation and allow police and others to establish the facts. we are expecting the home secretary, amber rudd, to update mps around noon, and we will bring that to you when it happens. now the sport with hugh woozencroft. england head coach eddiejones has named his team for the important six nations meeting with france this weekend. with captain dylan hartley missing out through injury, owen farrell skippers the side in his place. our rugby union reporter chris jones has more. this may be the most intriguing selection yet eddiejones's time in charge of england. there was a new captain, regularskipper charge of england. there was a new captain, regular skipper dylan hartley —— dylan hartley is a calf injury, so owen farrell leads the side and jamie george starts at hooker, perhaps a glimpse into the future. anotherjones store what, mike brown, has been dropped to the bench. anthony watson is that

full—back elliot daly comes into the back three on the wing. one more change in the backline, withjones opting for power in midfield, with ben te'o replacing jonathan joseph. jones has called for a response from his players after that humbling at murrayfield last time entrants have to win in paris to keep alive their hopes of a third straight six nations title. juventus defender giorgio chiellin told the media that he and his teammates "knew spurs were weak in defence and fragile mentally" after knocking them out of the champions league 11—3 on aggregate. things had started so well for spurs too, they were well on top in the first half and deservedly led through son heung min. but then experience told, in the view of veteran defender chiellini, withjuventus stunning spurs with 2 goals in less than 3 second—half minutes. they go through to the last eight, securing a 2—1win at wembley. afterwards spurs boss mauricio pochettino responded to some of that criticism. no lack of experience, no lack of concentration.

how many chances we conceded in the first leg and the second leg today? three chances and they scored twice. and we created a lot of chances but we only scored once. england women's head coach phil neville has urged his players to remember the pain of missing out on winning the she believes cup — needing at least a draw, they were beaten 1—0 by the united states in orlando. neville says the tournament still has its positives despite the team just falling short in orlando. facing the world's number one side in their own back yard, they put in a strong performance, the only difference an unsightly piece of defending which ended up with an own goal for keeper karen bardsley, who thinks the team's future is bright under neville. it's really exciting, we get to play

some really good football and everybody is proud of the opportunities we get to really build and try and entertain as well. we have to use our strengths, you know, the best that we can, and i feel like phil allows us to do that, he instilled belief in what we're doing, so i'm excited because we've been together a few weeks and we've already made quite a bit of progress, so there's a lot of exciting things to come. mark cavendish has suffered a number of injuries, including a fractured rib and some swelling on his face, in a crash in italy. cavendish, seen here on the far right at the start of yesterday's opening stage of the tirreno—adriatico, completed the stage after the rest of his team dimension data teammates. he earlier crashed at over 30mph, although the tv cameras missed it. snowboarder owen pick has been selected as great britain's flagbearer at the winter paralympics opening ceremony in south korea tomorrow. pick is making his debut in the games. he lost a leg aged 18

while serving with the british army in afghanistan. yeah, it's incredible. eight years ago, i was fighting for this flag and now i'm representing this flag, so it means a lot to me. i didn't expect it at all. it was very much a surprise to me. it means a lot. it's super important to us, so nice to have the opportunity to carry it out here. we are now bringing you the home secretary speaking in the house of commons about the incident in salisbury. they have handled the incident with their customary attentiveness, alacrity and sense of public duty. first responders put themselves in dangerous situations ona themselves in dangerous situations on a day—to—day basis, and this incident has underlined that fact, which i will sadly return to later. i will now update the house as far

as possible based on the current fa cts . as possible based on the current facts. at approximately 4:15pm on sunday, wiltshire police received a call from a member of the public, who was concerned for the welfare of two people in a park in salisbury. emergency services were called and the two were admitted to the a&e department of salisbury district hospital. they were a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s, with no visible sign of injury. they are understood to be skripal and yulia skripal. both remain unconscious and ina skripal. both remain unconscious and in a critical but stable condition. i regret to inform the house that a police officer has also fallen seriously ill. the officer was one of the first responders on sunday, acting selflessly to help others. the latest update from the hospital is that the officer remained serious but stable and is conscious, talking and engaging. officers from wiltshire police are providing support to the officer's family and

colleagues. our thoughts are with all three victims, their families and friends, at what for them will be an incredibly difficult time. wiltshire police began an investigation on sundays to determine how the individuals fell ill and whether or not a crime had been committed. they'd played a major incident on monday. on tuesday, the metropolitan police decided that, given the unusual circumstances, responsibility for the investigation should transfer to the investigation should transfer to the counterterrorism police network. samples from the victims had been tested by experts at the defence science and technology laboratory at porton down, who are world renowned experts in this field. as assistant commissioner mark rowley announced yesterday, that forensic analysis has revealed the presence of a nerve agent, and the incident is therefore being treated as attempted murder. i can confirm that it is highly likely the police officer has been exposed

to the same nerve agent. mr speaker, i spoke only this morning with assista nt i spoke only this morning with assistant commissioner mark rowley, and he confirmed that we remain in the midst of a fast paced criminal investigation. as such, i will not comment further on the nature of the nerve agent. we must give police the space they need to conduct a thorough investigation. all members will recognise that an investigation such as this will be complex and may ta ke such as this will be complex and may take some time. public safety continues to be the number one priority for this government professor sally davies, the chief medical officer, stated yesterday that, based on the evidence we have, there is a low risk to the public. the uk has a world leading emergency response. it is regularly tested and exercised to ensure we can deliver an effective response to a wide range of chemical, biological and radiological incidents. the three

emergency services are well supplied with state of the art equipment to respond to such threats. the front—line response is supported by world —class front—line response is supported by world—class scientific research and advice. this ensures that decision—making on the ground by all agencies involved is firmly based on the available evidence. this will also support the decontamination activity needed to return the location to normality. the police are working closely with public health england, defra and the stl. they have cordoned all known sites in salisbury that were visited by the two initial victims before they became unwell, and are taking the necessary measures to protect public safety. mr speaker, iwant necessary measures to protect public safety. mr speaker, i want now to turn to the speculation, of which there has been much, around who is responsible for this most outrageous crime. the use of a nerve agent on

uk soil is a brazen and reckless act. this was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. people are right to want to know who to hold to account. but, if we are to hold to account. but, if we are to be rigorous in this investigation, we must avoid speculation and allow the police to carry on their investigation. as the assista nt carry on their investigation. as the assistant commissioner said yesterday, the investigation now involves hundreds of officers following every possible lead to find those responsible. some of those leads have come from members of the public. i'd like to thank the people salisbury for their help and for the calm they have shown over the last four days. i encourage anyone who visited salisbury town centre and surrounding areas on sunday afternoon and who has not yet spoken to the police to get in touch. we are committed to doing all that we can to bring the perpetrators to justice, whoever they are and wherever they may be.

investigation is moving at pace, and this government will act without hesitation as the facts become clearer. as my right honourable friend the foreign secretary made clear on tuesday, we will respond in a robust and appropriate manner once we ascertain who is responsible. i'd like to close where i began, by expressing my sincere thanks to the emergency services and hospital staff for their tireless efforts over the last four hours. they have acted with utter professionalism bows to minimise the risk to the wider public and to care for the victims of the attack, for which i know we are all very grateful. our thoughts will be with the victims and their families over the coming days. finally, ithank and their families over the coming days. finally, i thank members for their understanding, that there will clearly be limits on what we can say is this investigation continues. as and when information can be made

public, it will be. mr speaker, i commend this statement to the house. thank you, mr speaker. i thank the home secretary for advanced sight of her statement. can i start by paying tribute to the courage and dedication of the emergency services who responded to this horrendous incident. in particular, can i say that the thoughts of the whole house will be with the officer who has been hospitalised following this attack. can i also pay tribute to the people of salisbury. can she confirm that the great cathedral city of salisbury remains open for business? mr speaker, the apparent poisoning of yulia and sergei skripal as well as the police officer who suffered serious injury must, of course, be fully and completely investigated. i

wholeheartedly concur with the secretary of state that the investigation should be allowed to ta ke investigation should be allowed to take place free from speculation, conjecture or interference. at best, these can only be distraction. at worst, they can hamper the investigatory efforts. members and right honourable members should be equally cautious and guarded in their comments that they make. idle or ill informed speculation is not helpful. can the home secretary is sure the house that all necessary resources are being made available to the investigation? clearly, it is vitally important that there is no speculation about the conclusions of the investigation, and that it is allowed to take its course, but can i ask the home secretary to ensure that she continues to keep the hell

is updated? mr speaker, —— to keep the house. mr speaker, the shadow foreign secretary asked the home secretary on tuesday about the sanctions bill. is he home secretary satisfied that the government has all necessary sanctions available to it? there are a number of proposals currently being debated in the committee. can i ask the home secretary to look again at them to ensure that we have the necessary tools going forward ? ensure that we have the necessary tools going forward? the case raises broad and extremely important issues, including how we prioritise the fight against crime and terrorist crime that takes place in this country. there is, after all, no greater priority for the state and to secure the safety of all those who are resident here. today is not the day for discussion of all divisions over those priorities in

the fight against crime and terrorism, nor a discussion on budgets and how they are allocated. we will return to those at another opportunity. for now, let us be clear. we on this side of the house are appalled at the idea that anyone might be poisoned on the streets of our towns and cities. we offer our full support to those seeking to investigate the matter. we commend the action of the emergency services, their professionalism, dedication and bravery, and we share with the government our determination that this case he brought to a speedy and just conclusion, and that similar incidents are prevented in the future. thank you. ithank incidents are prevented in the future. thank you. i thank the memberfor manchester future. thank you. i thank the member for manchester gorton for his carefully thought and considerate comments, and i'm to hear such unity of purpose across the house on this matter. he referred to the great

cathedral city of salisbury, and i share his view on the city of salisbury, and indeed the people of salisbury, and indeed the people of salisbury, who have reacted so well to this, and i thank also the member of parliament for salisbury, who is with me on the front bench, for his consideration and support over the past four days. yes, i can reassure the honourable gentleman and the house that the police and emergency services have the necessary resources . services have the necessary resources. that is always one of my first question is, and they reassuring on that. on his point about keeping the house updated, of course i will, and i thank him for his consideration and understanding that there may be limits to that but, where i can, i will take the opportunity to come here and discuss it with the house, partly because of the very severity of this situation. i recognised the need to do so wherever possible. members are rightly keen to find out what is happening. he also referred to the sanctions bill, and we are of course

engaging with the members of parliament who are proposing additional amendments. there have already been amendments that reflect the sort of initiatives he is asking for in the recent criminal finances act. there are additional proposals in the sanctions bill, and we will be considering them carefully. the circumstantial evidence against russia is very strong. who else would have the motive and the means? cani would have the motive and the means? can i put the same question to the home secretary as open to the home secretary —— foreign secretary last week? those of us who seek to understand russia know that the only way to preserve peace is through strength, and this is a brazen act of war, of humiliating our country. cani of war, of humiliating our country. can i put it to her that we should echo the remarks of the junior defence minister last week, that defence is the first duty of the realm, and spending 2% on defence is now not enough just to marklj

realm, and spending 2% on defence is now not enough just to mark i thank my right honourable friend for his question. my first concern must be the incident in hand. the incident in hand and the safety of the people in the area and around the incident itself. there will come a time for attribution, and there will be then consequences and there will be further information that follows, but now i am concerned about the incident and the consequences around that. i thank the secretary of state for advanced sight of her statement. the circumstances around these attacks are very concerning, particularly the fact that they constituted a potentially serious threat to public safety, although i'm relieved to note the chief medical officer's comments that she thinks there is a low risk to public safety. the emergency services did a fantasticjob, putting safety. the emergency services did a fantastic job, putting their safety on the line to ensure that mr skripal and his daughter were stabilised, and i'm pleased to hear

that the police officer's condition has improved and he is able to communicate, and our thoughts are with all of the families and friends of the victims at this time. my colleague, the mp from glasgow south, put questions to the foreign secretary on tuesday which i would like to put to the home secretary today. how do we protect human assets like mr skripal, and will this type of incident lead to a review of how we best protect these people? considering mr skripal's background, he was at high risk of being a victim of an attempted assassination. does the secretary of state now have a planning such an attack was able to slip through the net of uk intelligence, and what steps is she taking to ensure that those at risk living in the uk are properly protected? earlier this week, the foreign secretary stated that, should evidence emerged that implied state responsibility, the government would respond appropriately, so can they secretary of state confirmed that she has had and will continue to have discussions with counterparts

crossed europe and further afield to get to the bottom of this, and finally, reports that as many as 14 days on uk —— 14 deaths on uk soil could have occurred is concerning foot and will there be an enquiry into incidences and the frequency of such attacks? i thank the member for edinburgh north and leith for her support for the general tone we are taking, in the government's approach, and i join taking, in the government's approach, and ijoin her in her admiration and support for the emergency services, who are doing such excellent work. i must repeat that this is an investigation that is ongoing at pace and in circumstances where the police and other services involved appreciate the urgency of this. it doesn't help their work, which must be our priority, to speculate at the moment on what might happen in the future when we had an attribution in hand. can i reassure the honourable lady that, when we are ready to bring more evidence to the house, i hope

to be able to go further with her question but, for now, she must allow me to say that we will not be drawn any further at the moment, we allow the investigation to continue. whoever the culprit, it'sjust as well that we are currently reviewing our defence capabilities, so that we can increase them, can't we? well, i can increase them, can't we? well, i can reassure the right honourable gentleman that, as far as our security at home is concerned, we have already put in substantial extra funds. the security services are recruiting 1900 extra people between now and 2020, and i am reassured by them that that recruitment is proceeding at pace and with success. can ijoin the home secretary in paying tribute to our remarkable emergency services, who responded with such

professionalism to this awful attack, and all of our thoughts will be both with the brave police officer and with sergei and yulia. i have written to her to ask that there can be a review of 14 other cases, and she will know there are many ways in which that could happen, and precedents for doing so. cani happen, and precedents for doing so. can i also ask her, in terms of this initial immediate investigation, as she considered going to the un security council to ask for a statement calling on all nations to provide assistance, including willingness to extradite suspects, should that be needed?” willingness to extradite suspects, should that be needed? i thank the right honourable lady, and i have got her letter and i will be responding, but i would gently say that now is not the time to investigate what is actually only at the moment rumour and speculation. now is the time to focus on the incident at hand and the investigation proceeding. she makes

a suggestion regarding international activity, and i can say that, at some stage, we will be coming back to the house with our proposals but, for now, we are merely preparing and concentrating on the incident.” share the sentiments of my right honourable friend, both about the bravery of our police officers but also the people who witnessed this in salisbury, the terrible tragedy, an awful thing for them to have to see. can she assure the house that all appropriate support will be made available, notjust all appropriate support will be made available, not just for those all appropriate support will be made available, notjust for those police office rs available, notjust for those police officers but also any witnesses that might come forward? that's a good point from my honourable friend, and there have been quite a number of individuals in salisbury who have been concerned about their own health and wanted also to report concerns about the incident itself, and they have been coming forward, and they have been coming forward, and they have been coming forward, and they have been receiving appropriate treatment and support. cani appropriate treatment and support. can i commend the home secretary on

her statement and on the calm and cool way she has approached this immediate incident. she will be aware that there are many mothers on both sides of this house who have warned for several years about the growing threat about the terrorist russia state under president putin, whether it is money—laundering in the city of london, the targeted murders that my right honourable friend has spoken about, and the interference in our political and democratic system. can she please assure the house that, when the needed crisis of this is over, she will work with other secretaries of state in a joined up way across government, not only to listen to concerns but take meaningful action to tackle this threat?” concerns but take meaningful action to tackle this threat? i think honourable gentleman for his comments, and i'd like to reassure him that this government has not been asleep at the switch, in terms of where our international enemies are. he refers to russia, and separately to this incident i would say that we have been very clear about our disagreements with russia,

particularly on ukraine and syria, and we have been outspoken in our criticism and determination to take action, hence the amendment to the criminalfinance bill, action, hence the amendment to the criminal finance bill, considered amendments to the sanctions bill, and we will go further, should there be a need to do so. i thank my right honourable friend for her statement. can she reassure the public that our renowned world leading resources at porton down and their amazing scientific work has the resources and capability to continue with the work they have rightly been doing and getting good results?” work they have rightly been doing and getting good results? i thank my honourable friend for giving me the opportunity to reassure the public that our facilities, support, scientists and expertise at porton down our world—class, and i hope that will give them the comfort, and her that they need. i'd like to thank the home secretary for her statement and the calm leadership on

this issue, and can i associate myself and my party on the comments about the emergency services and our thoughts to the victims. following from the questions that the honourable member for gainsborough and exeter gave, whether or not russian agents are shown to be responsible for this incident, isn't it time we got more realistic about russia? can the home secretary confirm whether or not the memorandum of understanding between the uk and the russian nuclear power company strongly championed by the former pro minister, david cameron, has formally ended? she may not know today, but can she write to me... studio: the home secretary, amber rudd, praising the professionalism of emergency responders, saying the government will act without hesitation once the facts became clear in what she called this most outrageous crime, but she urged people to avoid speculation and allow police to carry out the investigation. we are saying goodbye to viewers on bbc two, but more on

that and the other main stories here on the bbc news channel. this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at midday. the home secretary confirms a very rare nerve agent was used in the attack in salisbury. efforts carry on to find the source. friends can analysis has shown that the presence ofa analysis has shown that the presence of a nerve agent and therefore the incident is being treated as attempted murder. sergei and yulia skripal remain critically ill after being found unconscious in salisbury on sunday. a policeman is also in hospital. also this hour, a student films the moment she suffered racist chants outside her university bedroom. a student tweets a video of abuse after locking herself inside her room. two men are arrested. suspected domestic abusers could be tagged or banned from drinking alcohol and taking drugs, as part of a clamp down on violence. and hundreds of schools close and commuters face travel disruption

as snow falls across yorkshire. good afternoon. it is thursday the 8th of march. the home secretary has described the nerve agent attack on two russians in salisbury as a "brazen and reckless act". amber rudd said the pair had been the targets of an "attempted murder in the most cruel and public way." she said it was "highly likely" that the policeman who became sick after helping sergei and yulia skripal had been exposed to the same agent. the officer is now said to be awake and talking. the home secretary warned against speculation over will "respond in a robust

and appropriate manner once we have ascertained who was responsible." having been tested at porton down, where renowned experts are in this field. assistant commissioner mark rowley rounds yesterday that friends at analysis has revealed the presence of a nerve agent and the incident is therefore being treated as attempted murder. i can confirm that it as attempted murder. i can confirm thatitis as attempted murder. i can confirm that it is highly likely the police officer has been exposed to the same nerve agent. i spoke only this morning with assisted commissioner mark rowley and he confirmed that we remain in the midst of a fast paced criminal investigation. as such, i will not comment further on the nature of the nerve agent. we must give the police the space they need to conduct a thorough investigation.

all members will recognise that an investigation such as this will be complex and may take some time. public safety continues to be the number one priority for this government. professor sally davies, the chief medical officer, stated yesterday that based on the evidence we have there is a low risk to the public. we are committed to doing all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice. who ever they are, and wherever they may be. the investigation is moving at paes and this government will act without hesitation as the facts become clearer. as my right honourable the foreign secretary said on tuesday, we will respond in a robust and appropriate manner once we ascertain who was responsible. the use of the nerve agent on uk soil is a brazen and reckless act. this was attempted murder in the most cruel and public

way. people are right to want to know who to hold to account. but if we are to be rigorous in this investigation, we must avoid speculation and allow the police to carry on their investigation. let's go to our chief political correspondent. vicky, a feeling bad that there is more detail that the government knows but cannot reveal for various reasons. what were your thoughts on what the home secretary had say? i think she is being as you can hear they're very careful. she wa nts to can hear they're very careful. she wants to keep mps up—to—date with what is going on but she is emphasising that this is an ongoing police investigation and i think that when it comes to attributing blame being much more careful than the foreign secretary was back on tuesday when he immediately made connections with the previous murder of alexander litvinenko and taught

very openly about russia and something that amber rudd was much more reluctant to do that but she did say that when it comes the time that they are able to attributed blame because they have the evidence then she said she was confident the government would act robustly. it was interesting that the response from mps of all side of the house. labour, conservative and liberal democrat all calling for a robust action. one senior conservative backbenchers said that what happens, by russia, was a brazen act of war that was humiliating our country and he repeated the call from a junior defence minister that 2% of spending on defence physically not enough to counter the actions of russia, not just he says in this case but in other attacks, cyber attacks on energy supplies for example. more submarines in british waters in crouching uk airspace. all of these actions, which senior figures crouching uk airspace. all of these actions, which seniorfigures in government feel are becoming more and more brazen and the question as

ever is how to deal with that given that many believe that has to be some kind of diplomatic relationship with russia but how do you deal with a president who they feel is becoming more and more confident in the way that his acting? that description, from amber rudd, as a brazen and reckless crime echoing the words of the prime minister. her spokesman speaking about her response to slowly. that is right. amber rudd said she was not about this particular incident because the issue of russia was raised she was adamant that the uk government has responded to actions in the past. she said that the uk government has been outspoken in its criticism of russia over various things including crimea and other actions and the government is prepared to go further if there is a need to do so. she is readily waiting for evidence. she does not want to act before that but there is a question about what more can be done about sanctions against

russian individuals, for example. a bill has gone through parliament, the criminal finances bill, about people who have abused human rights not being allowed to travel and having assets seized and the suspicion amongst many of the commons is that russian money in london is very useless the economy and maybe hesitating to act and that is something the government denies that one former tory minister saying we should cut off automatic ties with russia. in this case that does not look likely. anti—terrorist police are trying to establish the origin of the nerve agent used in the attack. police have identified the type of chemical thatis have identified the type of chemical that is not yet known where it was made or who carried out the attack. the home secretary as you heard has repeated the assurances of the chief medical officer that there is no

risk to the public but the deadly effects of nerve agents meant that the authorities were swift and a response. nerve agents are highly toxic chemicals that are manufactured instead of naturally occurring and were created specifically for use in war. they normally enter the body through the mouth or nose but can also be absorbed through the eyes or skin. the chemical attacks the body ‘s nervous system, shutting down normal functions. even in small doses, this all happens incredible quickly. u nless all happens incredible quickly. unless treated urgently, they are potentially deadly to anyone exposed. sergei skripal and yulia remain ina exposed. sergei skripal and yulia remain in a critical condition in hospital. the policeman who was the first to help them remains in a serious condition. so what do we know about the treatment the pair are receiving, as well as the police officer who was called to the scene? our health correspondent james gallagher is here. what sort of treatment and antidotes

are therefore nerve agents? the way nerve agents work as they stop nerve is functioning properly. they lead toa build—up is functioning properly. they lead to a build—up of a neurotransmitter. in between two of your nerves they have to release a neurotransmitter to pass a message between the two. de nerve agent means that your neurotransmitters are firing all the time and a drug can calm down that chemical process that is going on to stop the nerves are firing all the time. presumably the quicker that is given... the earlier the better, absolutely. the nerve agents have a devastating effect on the nervous system and they can affect the ability of the heart to pump blood around the body, oxton getting round the body. alongside that still probably ventilation to support the body to keep it functioning. we are

unclear at this stage whether yulia was intended also as a primary target aware that there was cross contamination from her father to her. certainly that's the case of the police officer who was the first on the scene. apart from the primary target, when there is cross contamination, how severe can the effects of the nerve agent b? della mac incredibly severe. you only need a small amount of nerve agent to have a huge effect. someone has described it as the deadliest human invention after the atomic bomb. if you have ever used a can fly spray ona you have ever used a can fly spray on a fly, that is what nerve agents does to the human body. the impact can be incredibly quick and devastating to people who are not necessarily even the first target as we've seen with the police officer. what the prognosis for someone who's been exposed to nerve agent? always

difficult to say. the earlier they have been treated the greater the chances of recovery and again, the longer they are alive the greater their chances of recovery because you have to remember nerve agents can be fatal in a short period of time so once again the longer you can keep somebody alive the better they are doing. very briefly, can they are doing. very briefly, can the effects be reversed or is there some permanent damage potentially? there can be some permanent damage. if there has been brain—damaged because there is not enough oxygen, that'll be permanent. there can also be symptoms that lasts a long time, symptoms of depression or other neurological defects that can persist indefinitely. thank you, james. let's talk to our home affairs correspondence was in salisbury at the scene. take us through the latest developments in the investigation there. there are

still a number of cordons in place at the scene where sergei skripal and yulia were found, at their home and yulia were found, at their home and a restaurant. also a nearby pub. all of these locations are still cordoned off, they have been for some days now and they will be doing some days now and they will be doing some crucial in piecing together the timeline of what happened when surrogate and year came to salisbury city centre the lunch. we had an eyewitness tell us that sergei skripal was acting strangely in the restau ra nt skripal was acting strangely in the restaurant and that he was shouting and left abruptly. then we think he went to the pub and at about 415 that was when police were called here. in that window of time there was some exposure to this nerve agent. police will be trying to find out when this exposure happened, how it happened, was it ingested somehow? somehow airborne? who, of

course was administering that, and how it got into salisbury city centre or indeed the country. two men have been arrested after racially aggravated assault. rufaro chisango posted a video of what happened to her on social media. we have bleeped out some of the words. inaudible. leave her alone! what was that, sorry? # say ooh—ah, bleep the blacks a black woman... # we hate the blacks inaudible.

rufa ro rufaro chisango spoke to my colleague victoria derbyshire earlier this morning about the incident. i was just earlier this morning about the incident. i wasjust really shocked. felt really isolated and uncomfortable. without naming any names, denied people who are shouting? i do know who they are. have you seen them since? no, i haven't seen them since. what complaint did you make to the university? after they left i went to the reception and i complained that there was racial abuse outside my corridor. they took a statement and my details and then they said that they would get back to me by the morning and they would have

spoken to them because they went up at night. they didn't contact me or anything. so since it happens, no one has got in touch with you in terms of university officials? after i pushed on twitter that was when i got more contact from the university. this morning someone came from the university and had a chat with me and i gave my state m e nts chat with me and i gave my statements down to them as well. what have you asked them to do? what you expect them to do?” what have you asked them to do? what you expect them to do? ijust want them to take more action on what is happening. i want the appropriate action to take place. it is racial abuse and it shouldn't be tolerated at all and it shouldn't have such a long delay when i report something like this. the home secretary confirms a rare

nerve agent was used in the attack in salisbury. sergei and yulia skripal remain critically ill after being found unconscious in salisbury on sunday. a policeman is also in hospital. two men are arrested after shouting racial slurs in nottingham trent university. now the sport. the english team has been announced for the six nations this weekend. our rugby union reporter has more. this may be the most intriguing selection yet of eddiejones's time in charge of the england side. there is a new

captain, dylan hartley has a calf injury so owen farrell leads for the first time and jamie jones injury so owen farrell leads for the first time and jamiejones starts as hacker, a glimpse into the future perhaps? mike brown has been dropped to the bench. anthony watson is at full—back and elliott daley comes into the back three on the wing and one more change in the backline with jones opting for power in the midfield with ben te'o replacing jonathanjoseph. midfield with ben te'o replacing jonathan joseph. there was midfield with ben te'o replacing jonathanjoseph. there was a humbling at murrayfield last time round and infant will have to win in paris to keep alive their hopes of a third straight six nations title. snowboarder owen pic has been selected as the flag bearer at the paralympics ceremony tomorrow. he lost a leg aged as a teenager serving in the british army. eight yea rs serving in the british army. eight years ago i was fighting for this

flag and now i am representing this likes it means a lot to me. i did not expect it at all and was very much a surprise and it does mean so much a surprise and it does mean so much and the flag is so important to the military so it's important to carry it out. mark cavendish has suffered a number of injuries including a fractured rib and swelling on his face in a crash in italy. cavendish, seen here on the far right of the opening stage of the adri at a coat completed the stage well after the rest of his tea m stage well after the rest of his team mates. he crashed over 30 mph although it was missed by the tv cameras. battlebus but from now on will have a full round—up of you around 1:30pm. jurors in the trial accusing a teenager of setting off a bomb in the underground have seen footage. the commuters scramble to escape the blaze. our correspondent is at the

old bailey. dramatic images and dramatic testimony. accounts from people who are on that carriage. we have been hearing from a series of commuters who were on that carriage and quite close to this improvised expose of device when it went off at parsons green station. the first witness gave her evidence from behind a screen and she was only referred to in court by a pseudonym. she was about a metre away from this device when it exploded and she had a bang, people screaming and she said she saw people running and a fire. the bang was very loud and she realised that she too was injured and she said i had burns. my knees we re and she said i had burns. my knees were bad, my face was all burnt. she was pausing frequently to compose herself from what was clearly very difficult evidence to get to the court. she said that my coat was burning, my tights melted and it transpired that she actually had some quite significant burns that required extensive treatment and she

still suffers scarring from that incident today. we then heard from amy colville who did not require screens who said also heard bang and then a shudder and a wall of glass came across her in the carriage. we have just been hearing from alex bevan who said that he was also on the train and after the explosion, he said that he saw a rolling fireball coming over the ceiling. everything he said seemed to go in slow motion. he had a woman screaming and men shouting. we are going to hearfrom screaming and men shouting. we are going to hear from several more commuters who are on the train today. the defendant denies attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life. two teenagers have died and two children are among the injured after a three—car crash in north yorkshire. the boys, believed to be 17, died at the scene of the accident on the a61 near thirsk last night.

five adults and two children were taken to hospital. police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch. the uk in saudi arabia have agreed plans for a future trade and investment programme with £65 billion. this comes on the second day of a visit from the crown prince of saudi arabia. the package includes direct investment across energy, defence, and health care. suspected domestic abusers could be typed or banned from drinking alcohol and taking drugs as pa rt drinking alcohol and taking drugs as part of proposals to tackle the problem in england and wales. the government wants views on a set of measures, which includes the first legal definition of economic abuse, and a commissioner to oversee the issue. jon donnison reports. euleen hope suffered a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex—partner. emotional, but also physical, she ended up in hospital more than a dozen times.

she says she used to grow her fringe long to cover the black guys. some people say to me why did you not get out sooner? if you leave a relationship, they could still be after you. do you really want to look over your shoulder he said "i'll tell you when it's over." he threatened me and told me he would organise for someone to throw acid in my face. in 2015, the man was eventually jailed for grievous bodily harm and assault after her euleen's sister contacted the police. almost two million people in england and wales, most of them women, suffered domestic abuse last year. the government wants to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators. it is launching a consultation document before it tries to get tougher laws passed. among the proposals, broadening the legal definition of domestic abuse to include physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, but also economic abuse. tougher sentences for cases involving children.

and new protection orders to allow police and courts to intervene more quickly when abuse is suspected. the consultation period for the proposed new laws will last 12 weeks. jon donnison, bbc news. the danish man accused of killing a female journalist on the danish man accused of killing a femalejournalist on his home—made submarine and cutting up her corpse is on trial today in copenhagen. in ve nter is on trial today in copenhagen. in venter peter madsen admits dismembering kim wall's body and threw her out to sea button eyes killing her. she was working on a story about him when she went missing last august. our correspondent is in copenhagen. a packed press room, more than a hundred journalists from all over the world and in just the first couple of hours the prosecutors have presented a wide range of pieces of dark and quite grim evidence that they hope will see peter madsen

convicted of the swedish journalist's kim wall murder. this gives the difficult information just to warn you. divers went down to the sea bed to retrieve her arms at has been cut off her body, a photo of her underwear which was discovered on board his submarine and various pictures of straps found in a bag of her clothes that had been dumped and the straps the prosecutors say matching those in his workshop. we also found out that peter madsen used his mobile phone to 16 hours before contacting kim wall to google a video of a woman having her head cut off slowly. kim wall was a respected freelance journalist. she had worked the media including the garden in the new york times and she about which china with her danish boyfriend. one of the most emotional moments was when we heard of text m essa g es moments was when we heard of text messages that she had sent to him

from peter madsen's submarine. they wrote to each other in english and she typed, i'm still alive by the way. i'm going down now and then, i love you followed by a bunch of vaccination marks and she adds that peter madsen had brought coffey and cookies onto the submarine. prosecutors say that peter madsen is summary that narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies and presents a grave danger to others. peter madsen denies murdering kim wall. the trial continues and expects to last seven weeks. staff at the john lewis partnership will see their bonuses cut for the fifth year in a row after the retail giant revealed a slump in profits and warned earnings will remain under pressure in 2018. this announcement comes after a significant fall £203.9 million in post—tax profits from the year to the end of january. there's been a 14% rise in women from northern ireland having

abortions in england, since the government announced they'd no longer have to pay for them. in the last eight months, 553 women have travelled to england to terminate their pregnancy, according to figures from the two largest providers. abortion is illegal in northern ireland except for when a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent and serious risk to her physical or mental health. weather warnings of snow and ice are in place from many parts of the country as police warn of tricky driving conditions in central england. more than 120 schools have closed. danny savage is in yorkshire. it was much worse earlier this morning, the snow came down very heavily between 5am and 9am. it has been melting quite quickly but it certainly has been a morning to rememberfurther it certainly has been a morning to remember further many people in yorkshire. it is basically a

corridor down the centre of yorkshire from harrogate in the north, down to sheffield where several centimetres of snow fell very quickly this morning. there was gridlock on roads around bradford and leeds and harrogate and to sheffield and quickly the lists of schools that weren't opening for the day grew by the minute. between about seven or 830 this morning. basically because staff could not get to school or work and nothing was moving on the roads. you can publicity over my shoulder a bit of traffic moving left and right occasionally in the distance. that was absolutely solid for a long time this morning going southbound there we re this morning going southbound there were lorries stuck and vehicles abandoned and it was causing the problem. it was melting away very quickly though and the situation is improving a lot. the irony is i can see blue sky coming in from the west and the forecast of temperatures by the weekend perhaps 14 or 15 degrees in this part of the country so it

was a flash in the pan really. there we re was a flash in the pan really. there were yellow weather warnings in place for snow, it had been forecast, but adding the severity of age did surprise people and did catch people out but i think it will get back to normal quite quickly now across much of the region. let's find out straightaway now how the weather is going to be looking for yorkshire and for the rest of us as well. it is a vastly improving picture now. it was a brief but heavy fall of snow across parts of wales and into central and northern england but most of that is clearing the way out into the north sea. we are looking at sunshine and showers following and that system pushing eastwards. could see some freezing fog patches but across the far south of the country it should be a slightly less

cold now because we've got this feature pushing into southern areas and that will introduce more cloud outbreaks of range other day through the country, still producing since our shows on hills in scotland. elsewhere lots of sunshine in northern ireland and central northern england, pleasant conditions with lighter winds and temperatures around 10 degrees. it is set to turn mild as the weekend but there will be read at times. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines: counter—terrorism officers work to discover the source of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter. the home secretary has been briefing mps. forensic analysis has revealed the presence of a nerve agent, and the incident is therefore being treated as attempted murder. suspected domestic abusers could be tagged or banned from drinking alcohol and taking drugs,

as part of a clampdown on violence. councils in england could become financially unsustainable if they rely on their reserve funds to pay for the increasing demands of social care. and hundreds of schools close and commuters face travel disruption as snow falls across yorkshire. let's return to our main story. the home secretary has described the nerve agent attack on two russians in salisbury as a "brazen and reckless act". amber rudd said the pair had been the targets of an "attempted murder in the most cruel and public way". samples from the victims have been tested by experts at the defence science and technology laboratory at porton down, who are world renowned experts in this field. as assistant commissioner mark rowley announced yesterday, that forensic analysis has revealed the presence of a nerve

agent, and the incident is therefore being treated as attempted murder. i can confirm that it is highly likely the police officer has been exposed to the same nerve agent. mr speaker, i spoke only this morning with assista nt i spoke only this morning with assistant commissioner mark rowley, and he confirmed that we remain in the midst of a fast paced criminal investigation. as such, i will not comment further on the nature of the nerve agent. we must give the police the space they need to conduct a thorough investigation. all members will recognise that an investigation such as this will be complex and may ta ke such as this will be complex and may take some time. public safety continues to be the number one priority for this government. professor sally davies, the chief medical officer, stated yesterday that, based on the evidence we have, there is a low risk to the public. the use of a nerve agent on uk soil isa the use of a nerve agent on uk soil is a brazen and reckless act. this

was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. people are right to want to know who to hold to account. but, if we are to be rigorous in this investigation, we must avoid speculation, and allow the police to carry on their investigation. as the assistant commissioner said yesterday, the investigation now involves hundreds of officers following every possible lead to find those responsible. some of those leaves have come from members of the public. i'd like to thank the people of salisbury for their help and the calm they have shown over the last four days. i encourage anyone who visited salisbury town centre and surrounding areas on sunday afternoon and who has not yet spoken to the police to get in touch. we are committed to doing all that we can to bring the perpetrators to justice, whoever they are and wherever they may be. the investigation is moving at pace, and

this government will act without hesitation as the facts become clearer. our security correspondent, gordon corera, is here. i'm not sure that we learned anything new in what amber rudd said today. obviously, she was updating mps. but let's talk about the tone of what she said. i think she was careful not to get into the details, but the tone was one of outrage, describing it as a brave and reckless act, the use of a nerve agent on british soil. careful to say that, while they haven't yet identified those behind it, or they don't want to make anything public, and that might be a while, but saying that, when that happens, people should expect a tough response. what do we know about the nerve agent used in this incident? we think the government knows exactly what it is but they don't wa nt to exactly what it is but they don't want to say. they have said it is a rare nerve agent, so it's not sarin,

which is common. a common one was used in the attack on the north korean leader's brother, where agents were smeared on his face. the fa ct agents were smeared on his face. the fact that it is rare is important, because it may narrow down the possibilities of who manufactured it. it takes a bit of infrastructure and technology to manufacture any nerve agent, but a rare one could suggest it comes from a specialist laboratory or perhaps that it is very old, but it will help scientists at porton down to narrow it down. will it be possible to identify exactly where it is from? sometimes, yes, either based on the nature of it all the sampling of it. you can do sampling of the particles around it and try and locate where those came from. occasionally, you can, but often you need to put it in the context of intelligent and try and work out how it moved and got from a to b. presumably it will have taken someone with a construct all

—— considerable degree of training to administer this. not necessarily, because if you look at the north korean half brother, it was to women who were told it was a prank, they just had to go up to somebody and to smear two cloth is on his face, which would combine with another agent to create the nerve agent. to administer it, it can be something simple likea administer it, it can be something simple like a spray or a cloth or you could put it in food and drink. we learned that from the alexander litvinenko case. in that case, they may not have known it was a radioactive substance they were handling, so the delivery mechanism isn't necessarily complex, but it is more the manufacturer which is technically complex. obviously there isa technically complex. obviously there is a highly specialist work going on to identify the precise nature of this nerve agent. also, the regular policing, if i can call it that, looking at cctv, talking to witnesses, and compiling all of

these things, do you have any sense, in terms of the police investigation and if they have any strong leads? they haven't briefed us or talked the talk about whether they have identified how might have identified the nerve agent, or exactly where and when. i think most likely they will have some leads, but they are clearly still looking for more evidence and investigation from the scene, from eyewitnesses, and they will be using intelligence sources, looking at communications and other things, to try and work out who is behind it. thank you, gordon. there's a warning that many councils in england will become financially unsustainable if they continue to rely on their reserve funds to pay for the increasing demands of social care. the public spending watchdog says two thirds of councils with social care responsibilities raided their reserves in the financial year ending last april. our correspondent alison holt has more. it's lunchtime at the nexus day centre in surrey. here, people with brain injuries, learning disabilities, and other conditions, can socialise and take part

in other activities. it is paid for by the county council. the national audit office says local authorities now spend more than half of their budgets on providing care for adults and children. for sue, who has multiple sclerosis, the help is vital. i come here one twice a week. i would come more if there was the funding for it. but, umm, apart from that, it is amazing. the nao says since 2010, the money local authorities in england have got from government has been cut by 50%. despite council tax rises, services like bin collections, roads, and libraries, have had their money reduced by nearly a third over the same time. and, with councils using savings to balance the books, it warns one in ten will have exhausted their reserves within three years. what we are calling for is a plan for the long—term sustainability of the sector.

what is it they want local government to do and then make funding available. alongside that, social care needs a funding solution as well. the government says a new funding settlement has been approved for councils to help pay for the services that keep communities running, and that will mean a real—terms increase in resources, allowing for greater freedom, fairness and value for money. alison holt, bbc news. another area of council spending under pressure is funding to keep the country's roads free of potholes. injanuary, the rac flagged up a "concerning rise" in the number of drivers breaking down after hitting potholes. recent snowy weather has caused fresh concerns. simon williams is from the rac and joins us now from bristol. thank you for your time today. how

big a problem is this? can you quantify this rise? since the snow thawed, we have seen a doubling of the pothole related faults that our patrols go out to, rings like damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels. we were dealing with around 100 of those a day before the snow, and afterwards it's gone up to around 220 per day, so quite a staggering impact, and we believe things are going to get worse, because water has got into existing cracks on the road and frozen and expanded, further crumbling the road surface, so we could possibly see more potholes then daffodils as spring goes on. is that because of the period of bad weather, or because there was less investment, in your opinion, inroads services before the bad weather? clearly, there has been a lack of investment in roads, and councils are faced with difficult choices, so we know

that the discretionary spending councils would previously have spent on the roads, they are not doing it any more, which is having a knock on effect. today is national pothole day, and we are trying to draw attention to the fact that our roads are in such a bad state, and we are encouraging everybody to report and councils are obliged to inspect their roads, but they have large networks and can't be expected to know every single pothole, so we need people to report them so, if they experienced damage, they can get compensation. has the rac been in touch with various councils about this issue, to find out what realistically they can do to improve roads in their areas? really, the problem lies at central government level, and we are calling on the government to provide councils with ring—fenced funding. we think that 5p per litre from existing fuel duty revenue could be used and, over five yea rs, revenue could be used and, over five years, that would generate £12 billion, which according to the asphalt industry alliance, is the one—off cost needed to bring our

roads up to a fit for purpose state. given the headlines from the national audit office, saying that there has been a 49% real terms reduction in government funding for local authorities between 2010 and 2016-17, and local authorities between 2010 and 2016—17, and given the pressures of social care and so on, do you feel that actually the upkeep of the roads is something that's going to be well down the list of priorities for councils? certainly in terms of the money they have to spend themselves, but if government was to give them money ring—fenced purely for spending on roads, something from fuel duty, as i outlined, we think that's what they need so they don't have to make those difficult choices. that would allow potholes and roads to be fixed and resurfaced, and the problem is that roads haven't been resurfaced, and we had too much of a patch and dash approach to the repair of potholes, rather than permanent fixes which

will last much longer than temporary ones. simon williams, thank you very much forjoining us. breaking news. a man who murdered his ex—girlfriend after killing two former partners has had his minimum jail term increased to 30 years at the appeal court, as seniorjudges ruled that fyodorjohnson's previous 26 year tariff was unduly lenient. he beat and throttled his ex—girlfriend, angela best, after she met another man and he had met angela best while an unescorted leave from a secure mental hospital but he strangled her with a dressing gown cord at his home in north london on the 15th of december 20 16. he had already at that .2—macro manslaughter convictions after pushing his wife ofa convictions after pushing his wife of a ninth floor balcony in 1981 and

strangling a former partner in 1993. theodorejohnson strangling a former partner in 1993. theodore johnson has had strangling a former partner in 1993. theodorejohnson has had his minimum jail term increased to 30 years at the appeal court, as judges jail term increased to 30 years at the appeal court, asjudges ruled his previous 26 year tariff was unduly lenient. members of the british chambers of commerce — which represents the interests of 70,000 businesses and employs more than five million people — are meeting in central london. it's just a year before the uk leaves the european union. susannah streeter is there speaking with members about what they want from government. it's been pretty buzzy at the british chambers of commerce annual meeting, but there's a bit of an edge to proceedings, is of course the negotiations, those ongoing negotiations trying to sort out what kind of relationship the uk will have with the european union after brexit, and that's really important for the many hundreds and thousands

of small businesses and medium—sized businesses up and down the uk. i was here two years ago when their director—general came out for brexit, saying it was the difference between the devil and the deep blue sea, and there is an awful lot of diverse opinion about brexit and what it will mean for british business. let me bring in the current director—general of the british chambers of commerce, adam marshal. what is your opinion on the current state of trade negotiations? businesses are impatient to understand the practicalities around brexit, who am i going to be able to hire, who will i pay the 82, what rules do i need to follow? they want a nswe rs rules do i need to follow? they want answers on practical questions. they are waiting impatiently for some of the big political negotiations to be given, and negotiation to really progress, so they can move forward with greater confidence. you are saying we need stronger leadership. is that criticism of the government? it's a criticism of britain over the

past 20 to 30 years. we have been very good meandering through an economic growth. we need a much stronger vision for what we want this country to be in 20 to 30 yea rs' this country to be in 20 to 30 years' time, some big goals we can all get around in communities, in business, in government, and work together to achieve that. other countries are doing that, and in an era of this global competition, we need that. are you saying that in a way brexit is a sideshow, really taking the target away from the problems that are in the domestic economy? what kinds of problems do you want to see fixed? in business, you want to see fixed? in business, you fix the fundamentals first and all else follows that there are basics we need to get right. things like making sure that local in decent shape, getting better broadband, make sure businesses' mobile phone calls don't mid—sentence, training in apprenticeships, the system seems to keep on changing. with brexit

sucking up so much of the oxygen in the room, they don't get enough of a look in, so our message to government, opposition, from business communities is, let's focus on the fundamentals and get the domestic environment as good as it can be. we could have the best brexit deal in the world but, unless we get the fundamentals right, we will not be able to offer it properly. i think that is the cue for you to leave. thank you for joining us. he's going to be speaking a bit later, all about the challenges faced by uk businesses. there will also be a session on the future of uk trade this afternoon. we expect some diverse and lively opinions to be shared. join us later here on bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: the home secretary confirms a very rare nerve agent was used in the attack in salisbury — efforts are ongoing to find the source. sergei and yulia skripal remain critically ill after being found unconscious in salisbury on sunday. a policeman is also in hospital

but now talking to investigators. two men are arrested after a video of racist slurs being shouted in nottingham trent university accommodation is posted online. more than 300 trains have been cancelled in spain, as workers go on strike to defend women's rights on international women's day. it's been dubbed the country's "first feminist general strike", and here's how it began. the banging of pots and pans in madrid signalled the start of the strike. women's groups are also urging housewives to skip any domestic chores for 24 hours. bbc digital has spoken to women planning to take part about their motivations. now i know other women are like me, we are now saying want equal rights.

as we have been hearing today, two 18—year—old men have been arrested by police after a student at nottingham trent university said she was subjected to racist abuse through the door of her accommodation. she posted this on twitter. we have just had a accommodation. she posted this on twitter. we havejust had a response from nottingham trent university. that is the latest on that incident at nottingham trent university. it was the most successful winter olympics ever for great britain. now the pressure is on for the british athletes heading out to pyeongchang for the paralympics. the aim is to win six medals, one of those in wheelchair curling. our disability news correspondent, nikki fox, has been to meet the team in training. it's been a long four years of training to lead up to this moment. we've been the best prepared that we can be to go out to pyeongchang. when it gets really, really close, like it is now, how do you feel? is it like excitement,

but do you feel sick? for me, it's excitement, looking forward to getting out there. we've been watching the men and the women. that really inspires us and we're just really keen to get out there on the ice ourselves. i'm going to watch you on tv. i'm going to get so excited. it'll be early in the morning. laughter. my name is aileen neilson. robert mcpherson. gregor ewan. angie malone. angela, patricia... laughter. my name is hugh nibloe. that's my debut, and i'm really looking forward to it. can i have a go? if i'm going to be here i'm going to sweep for you. hugh, what do you think of my brush? it'll be good for the kitchen floor, maybe. what age did you get ms? i was diagnosed when i was 24. how has this sport... has it helped you come to terms with it in a way? it's helped me greatly.

when i got diagnosed with ms, you start losing your functions and your abilities, your confidence goes. i became more or less housebound. getting into curling, my confidence just grew. you just put everything to the side and just go for it. my goodness. skidding on the ice. how do you actually direct it? how do you get it in the right position? ideally you're just pointing your cue and delivery stick, but also the head on this cue helps with rotation and that's what affects the direction. go on! all the way! it's going! we don't have the use of sweepers. once we let the stone go there is absolutely nothing we can do to influence it. no sweepers to help us. it's going off again to the right. this is so difficult. so difficult. i should have gone to the gym. can i have one more go? yeah. i've got it. all the way!

how well do you think you're going to do? are you going to smash it? we're going to try to. we are definitely going out there to win every game. we've got to look at the round robin first, get through that stage first, before we think about medals. come on! oh, my goodness! 0h! just sign me up now. curling, it's more about inclusion, all disabilities are able to play the sport. do you feel like ambassadors for the sport? definitely feel proud to be part of the british squad. getting that name on the back of your top, brilliant. really proud. yeah, you put this top on and it's something special. is it? yeah. the very best of luck to the paralympic team as they head to pyeongchang. in a moment the news at one with jane hill. first, a look at the weather. quite a wintry mix of weather to

start today, disruptive snow for wales, central and northern england. this was in blackburn, lancashire, with quite a lot of settling snow, which gave rise to transport problems for a while. further south, milder with sunshine and showers. for the rest of the day, conditions will improve, with the rain and snow clearing from the east. plenty of sunshine through the afternoon, with just the few showers, but staying mild in the cell. this evening, a lot of dry weather, further showers pushing into scotland, and snow over high ground. some cloud in the far south—west, keeping temperatures up to four orfive. south—west, keeping temperatures up to four or five. elsewhere, south—west, keeping temperatures up to four orfive. elsewhere, chilly, with some frost and a risk of ice. we could even see some freezing fog in places. this is the pressure chart for friday. low pressure to the north of the uk, this big area, pushing up from the south. we will see further showers across scotland

because of that low pressure, with some snow in the hills. further south, cloudy with outbreaks of rain and a strengthening breeze in southern counties of england and wales. in between, plenty of sunshine. for northern ireland in central and southern scotland, central and southern scotland, central and southern scotland, central and northern england, top temperatures around ten, but cooler north. a mixture for the weekend, with rain in the south pushing north through saturday. we could see some snow on its northern edge, especially across scotland for a time, and across southern areas it's going to turn much milder. that and brain spilling northwards, turning into snow across parts of the central belt and northern scotland, with some disruption. that will mainly be in higher ground. further south, some brightness in central southern england, and we could see 14 or 15 degrees, and it will feel much warmer than lately. for sunday, that weather front clearing north. a window of fine weather, but this

area of low pressure will bring showers across southern and western parts, some of them heavy. a good deal of dry weather across the country, central and northern parts in particular. further south, scattered showers and blustery, some of those showers heavy. given some sunshine, it's going to feel very mild in the cell. —— in the south. the home secretary says the attempted murder of a former russian spy using nerve gas is an outrageous crime. amber rudd told parliament sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical condition in hospital, and the police officer who went to their aid is in a serious condition. the use of a nerve agent on uk soil is a brazen and reckless act. this was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. we'll have the latest on the counter—terrorism investigation into where the nerve agent came from. also this lunchtime... a passenger tells a court

how her hair caught fire when a bomb went off on a london underground train last september. domestic abusers could be electronically tagged or banned from drinking alcohol, in a new crackdown proposed by the government.