repetitive exposure? the advice that we have does not come through in a single item and i am afraid some of the evidence i'm not able to discuss with you and i think will understand. but we do this on a continuous basis and we link across with the government to do that and with our colleagues here and each new piece of information is assessed. so, as they say, the important thing about this new information is not that one day or two days are actually even the start of the incident was the relevant start point. it is actually looking forward. we're talking about weeks and months ahead of potentially repetitive contact and i alsojust wa nt repetitive contact and i alsojust want to highlight this is highly proportionate re—. we have no evidence that ended just do have that trace on any of their possessions, and we're just trying to reassure and give them some very practical advice that might alleviate any other concerns going forward. you referred to symptoms. can you

give me an indication of what those symptoms might be? inaudible. no. what i can say is in general one of the problems with understanding some nerve agents is that they accumulate slowly, rather they may have a heightened quick effect, and there can be a low repetitive exposure. it is that element we are trying to remove the risk of. however, the symptoms and signs may be minimal. and the evidence base around low toxin symptoms is quite difficult, because your risk in these particular cases,

for these people, they are —— for more likely to be suffering symptoms such as nausea, blurred vision, vomiting. those sort of things are likely to be due to the fact they have flu a re likely to be due to the fact they have flu are some other bug rather than toxicity. it is a proportionate —— precautionary message. it is to give something to those people who are concerned, telling them what they can do practically to avoid risk. inaudible. repetitive contact would be one route inventory. inaudible. the evidence, when we look at any risk, we are looking at who might be exposed to risk and what that risk might be, the details

of that risk and the scientific analysis is not with me. it will be for colleagues in other areas. there are operational securities and it is not for me to talk about the ongoing investigation. that is not a question for me. how confident are you these are the only two locations that could have been exposed to the substance? again, along with the previous question, that is not one which i am able to answer. it is part of the investigation. what i can say is any evidence which comes forward and look at, we will do a risk assessment. these are the only two locations that on the current evidence we are advising precautions be taken.

could you tell us what form the substance was in? was it a liquid, powder? that is part of the investigation retired not allowed to... which i don't have the information on. inaudible. what we are talking about today, we're looking at very precautionary... these are people who happen to have been in the pub by the restaurant. we would estimate around a few hundred people on saturday and sunday. we are looking only at those people who were in the pub and the restaurant from half past one on the sunday until it closed on monday. sunday the 4th of

march, monday the 5th of march. inaudible. that information was released by the counter—terrorism network. i wouldn't like to put on record what day that was. some of the questions have been talking about the multi—agency response to this. as the chief constable said very early on through the auspices of local resilience, which operates under the contingency act, the strategic and tactical coordinating groups are sitting several times a day, every day since this major incident was called. they have been feeding into cobra, which

is chaired by the home secretary. and as part of that there is a multi—agency approach cooperating with partners so we understand the risks and deploying our operational resources in the most effective way. asi resources in the most effective way. as i said during my opening conversation, to ensure we are working with the community of salisbury to bring this operation to a safe and effective conclusion. as i know you appreciate, it is a dynamic incident. things are changing ona dynamic incident. things are changing on a daily basis and we are responding and reacting to that in a safeway. thank you. —— safe way. that was a joint press conference with all of the wilshire emergency services. wiltshire police, the dorset and wiltshire fire service and the south west ambulance service, as well as public health england. possibly the most important pa rt england. possibly the most important part of that was the public health advice. we heard earlierfrom dame

sally davies, chief medical officer for england. around four to 500 people are being advised to take precautionary measures, people who had been either in zizzi restaurant oi’ had been either in zizzi restaurant or the mill pub between last sunday lunchtime and monday night. they are being told to wash their clothes, to clea n a ny being told to wash their clothes, to clean any possessions as a precautionary measure following this nerve agent attack. that was jenny harries from public health england, saying it has been a difficult incident. she was answering questions about why possibly people we re questions about why possibly people were not told about this precautionary measure before. she said there had been rigorous examination of the substance now and they found traces in both the restau ra nt they found traces in both the restaurant and the pub. this is about pre—emptive measures. it is not reactive. it is very unlikely that exposure to it at the time would have an effect because you would have an effect because you would know by now. but this is about

preventing any kind of health problem in the future. say you had some of the substance on a piece of clothing you were wearing at the time and you failed to wash it, that kind of repeated exposure to it, thatis kind of repeated exposure to it, that is where they would be a small risk. that is what they are saying they are advising people to do, clea n they are advising people to do, clean and eating there had with them, clean clothes as well. that is because of that limited risk. we also heard from cure per church, the chief constable of wiltshire police. he talked about toxins on the streets, the complexity of the terror investigation. he tried to reassure the public, saying there are doing absolutely everything they can. they are manning these five areas of interest, including the public park where the skripals profound on a bench almost a week ago. they are manning those 2a—7. he is reassuring the public that they are therefore information. some members of the public don't feel they have been given enough information this week. he says he's

not able to clarify quite how long this will go on for. in the last half an hour we have seen just around the corner from here, several large police vehicles, two police vans, with equipment they have been on loading, protective clothing, some gas masks, suits, moving them around slightly from one vehicle to another. we're not sure whether that means they are due to start here at this park. the bench you can see behind me is still under the tent. we have not seen anything else yet. it looks as if there will be more activity later. zizzi, the bbc understands, traces of the nerve agent were found last night. the work continues. there is a large barrier in place. the cemetery is well still cordoned off, where the grave of mr skripal‘s wife and son is. also, his home. there is still a

big presence. a large—scale investigation. as well as that, 240 eyewitnesses have been identified. it isa eyewitnesses have been identified. it is a huge investigation that continues. that press conference sought to reassure the public that there is a very minimal risk to public health. thank you so much for that update. let's speak to doctor richard guthrie, an independent chemical weapons expert. thank you for joining chemical weapons expert. thank you forjoining us. we are a week on from this attack. given what has been said by those services involved, can you make an assessment at this point of what you'd think the agent is? we heard in that news conference the police are not willing to talk in detail about that. i don't know what your views are at this point. i want to make sure we're not speculating too much. there may be good reasons that the authorities may be hesitant in

identifying the nerve agent. there are certain things becoming clear. one of the range, some of the range of nerve agents are what are called contact poisons. they sit stuck to a surface and transferred to your skin. that is how they get into your body. some transfer across the skin, which is a barrier into the body, very quickly. some transfer very slowly. the evidence so far, vice president of the evidence so far, so there could be more information in there could be more information in the future, would seem to suggest a contact poison that is long—lasting and takes effect over a number of hours. perhaps the skripals were affected in the house and their health deteriorated when they were out. if it was on an object, say a present that was given to them that had been deliberately contaminated, their handling of it would have moved the material onto their skin. every time they put their hand on

something else, a small amount of that material would be left behind. every time they put their hand on the low the surface, they would be less material. the quantities of materials found in other locations in salisbury are likely to be very minute. very tiny. and much less than any kind of bills that anybody received showing symptoms. hence the precautionary advice from the chief medical officer, repeated in that news conference, i guess? absolutely. the risk is very low. but here is the situation. suppose you can make that low risk even lower by taking very sensible and easy precautions. it is sensible to do that. the nerve agents, the organophosphorus nerve agents come they don't dissolve in water. they go through a process called hydrolysis. they are soluble so that a tiny spot that was on your

clothing, say, supposing your sleeve hit the table and picked up a small spot of the agent that had come off one of the skripals hands. that would wash away in ordinary soap and detergent. it is not the sort of thing you want to do for a large—scale contamination thing you want to do for a la rge—scale contamination but thing you want to do for a large—scale contamination but if you're to get rid of small spot, putting your clothing through the washing machine would be very effective. one of the things we have heard all week is the comparison with the litvinenko attack. there was a very clear trail of evidence about to certain individuals which went all the way back to russia. given what you have said at this point, and i know that this is a very hypothetical question at this point, but giving your assessment of what may have been involved, do you think there will be traces on those responsible for delivering that agent? there will be a number of

things that people are looking for in trying to analyse any samples they can get, both samples from the people who were affected but any samples they can get of the original substance. there may be clues. the people carrying it out may have hidden clues. hidden what evidence they may think people could work from. there is a very big difference in the type of agent that is being used here. with polonium it was producing radioactivity. you could wave a geiger counter around in a room and detect that there was polonium there. then hunt around to find the source. with a contact poison such as the one that may have been used here, i have gone through some of the details of some past nerve agents that have been characterised, many of them that would be really suitable to use as a contact poison would produce tiny droplets with a high surface tension, which means no vapour would come from them. they would only be noticed if they are touched. that

means the detection system has to be right up next to it to discover it is fair. for example, a small droplet on a table, you would have the swab the whole table to discover it. that makes it much harder to do some of the forensics, to work back. there is no casual traces. for example, in the polonium case, there we re example, in the polonium case, there were casual traces from the seeds on the aircraft were the perpetrators had set. that gave away their presence. dr guthrie, thank you forjoining us. let's catch up with the headlines. up to 500 salisbury pub—goers and diners are told to take precautions by england's chief medical officer, after traces of nerve agents are found. china's president could remain in power for life after the country's co ng ress re m oves power for life after the country's congress removes his time limits. —— term limits. and the chancellor rejects calls from labour to

announce the end of austerity in his spring statement on tuesday. no sport, here is rigid. thank you very much indeed. the scottish premiership leaders celtic are drawing 2—2 at the moment with second placed rangers in a scintillating old firm derby at ibrox. it is blink —— being played ata ibrox. it is blink —— being played at a furious pace. after three minutesjosh at a furious pace. after three minutes josh windass fired home at a furious pace. after three minutesjosh windass fired home his 11th goal in nine games for rangers. if you thought that was good, look at this. tom rogic brought the hoops level. but with less than half an hour gone, rangers regained the lead. celtic finished the first have the stronger. just before the break moussa dembele made it 2—2. there is about half an hour to go. celtic‘s simoneau which has been sent off. celtic down to ten men. two fixtures

in the premier league this afternoon. arsenal host watford at 1:30pm. that will bejohn motson's final live commentary on the bbc. at four o'clock it is one against totte n ha m , four o'clock it is one against tottenham, who could move above liverpool with a win. emotional scenes in florence were fiorentina playing their first match since the death of their captain, davide astori. he passed away last weekend. when the home team scored, the scorer held up a t—shirt with the late captain's scorer held up a t—shirt with the late ca ptain's image scorer held up a t—shirt with the late captain's image on it. note the winter paralympics in pyeongchang, were paralympic gb have won a couple of medals overnight. millie knight and brett wild claimed their second silver medals of the games. menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe finished with a bronze medal.

kate gray reports. today it was all about the super g in the alpine skiing. great britain had to medals to add to the silver they won yesterday. first out of the gate was the owner of the silver medal, millie knight, and her guide, brett wild. a confident ski down a very winding technical course. they managed to cross the line. as they did they set a very strong time. there are team—mates then followed. menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe. they had a tricky 24 hours after crashing out in the downhill yesterday. they had to come back, focus and prepare for this race. they are world champions. they admit they had some anxious moments in the guido pella. the first half was about building the confidence. by halfway down she started skiing really well. we are super pleased. we have still got three more races.

it isa we have still got three more races. it is a massive dream come true for both of us. and just so glad we have done it together. it was a successful day for britain yesterday on the ice as the british curling tea m on the ice as the british curling team beat the world champions, norway. they came in today against the swiss but it wasn't meant to be and they lost 7—4. they had to bounce back quickly against finland. it was a much better form from the brits. they won that comfortably and will hopefully get back to winning ways tomorrow. serena williams will play her sister venus in the third round at indian wells as she continues her comeback following the birth of herfirst continues her comeback following the birth of her first child. serena, who said she nearly died after the birth of her daughter, beat kiki mertens in straight sets and will face venus for the first time since the australian open last year. it will be there 29th competitive match, with serena having won 17 of

the previous 28. it will be fun. she was one of the best players in the world last year. having to go against that so fast, it will be good to see where i am on my level. we will see. i'm not putting too much bonus. it is stillz-2 at ibrox. more through the afternoon. thank you. the chancellor has rejected calls to announce the end of austerity. speaking two days before he delivers his spring statement, mr hammond said the government would still have two continue paying down the debt but he said there was light at the end of the tunnel. labour has accused the government of holding back growth. jonathan blake reports. reporter: morning, chancellor. morning. is that a spring in the chancellor's step? philip hammond looked reasonably cheerful this morning, as he arrived to deliver his message that the economy could be turning a corner — after a gloomy few years of relatively litle growth, a hint things could be looking brighter.

there is light at the end of the tunnel because we are about to see debt starting to fall after it has been growing for 17 continuous years. that is a very important moment. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. we have to get debt down. we have got all sorts of other things we need to do. we have taken a balanced approach. that debt is too high for his liking. but forecasts show the amount the uk owes could peak and then fall in the coming years. no cause for celebration, according to labour, who say other factors tell a different story. we should not be celebrating that. austerity — it's not me saying it, the head of the obr said it — austerity is holding growth back. and wages now are below what they were in 2007, 2008, before the banking crisis. this week, a report warned many councils in england were at breaking

point after cuts in central government funding. one example of the effect that strict limits on spending can have. we won't see the chancellor's red box this week. the budget has been moved to the autumn. his spring statement to parliament on tuesday will be an update on the economy, and a reminder that was his political opponents say people have suffered under austerity for too long, there will be no spending spree any time soon. jonathan blake, bbc news. china's people's congress has voted to approve a constitutional amendment, abolishing two—term limits for the country's president. the move will allow xi jinping to stay in office beyond the end of his second term in 2023, and possibly rule indefinitely. among the nearly 3000 delegates, just two voted against the change and three abstained. earlier i spoke to the director of the china institute at the school of oriental and african studies. he explained how xijinping obtained

such a huge majority. it isa such a huge majority. it is a correct reflection of how much efforts xijinping it is a correct reflection of how much efforts xi jinping and the party has put in to make sure that the amendment was carried with very little dissent. it is unusually low. normally the mpc will have a greater number of dissenting votes. do you think there is an element of fear in this? we have heard so much about the clamp—down on freedoms in china touring the first five years of xi jinping's rule. he is about to start a second term. now he could go on and on. does that make people afraid to vote against someone like that? you're absolutely right. what we are seeing is a kind of fear. xijinping is not a figure who is loved and admired within the party, but he is

admired within the party, but he is a leader who is feared by his colleagues. what do you think it will matter that he now has this ability to rule indefinitely? do you think outsiders will see any difference? i think most outsiders will probably just work with china as they have been doing anyway. since the 19th congress of the communist party last october, it was already clear that xi jinping had no intention of handing over power in 2022 2023. the big change now is that he is officially confirmed that he will not only not give up power, he will not only not give up power, he will not even give up office. will we notice any difference? if you have one strong man who rules in china not just you have one strong man who rules in china notjust for a you have one strong man who rules in china not just for a decade, you have one strong man who rules in china notjust for a decade, but for a longer, does that make any

difference to the future of china? a longer, does that make any difference to the future of china ?|j think it will make a huge difference to china's future. in the previous 25 years, the communist party of china on the whole have a very impressive record in getting most of its major policies right. it is a system that cannotjust muddle through, it has to get policies right. the scope for debate within the party has been widened in the last 25 years. that has now been reversed. the scope for discussion and debate will be narrowed. when that happens the risk of mistakes being made on major policies will become greater. when that happens i don't think it will be in china's interests. what kind of mistakes do you think we should look out for, and will they be the kind of m ista kes and will they be the kind of mistakes which now affect notjust people inside china but people globally, given the enormous impact of china economically and in every

other way? i think again you are absolutely right. china is now so important in the world and is so integrated with the rest of the global economy, that when the chinese government make major policy mistakes, particularly on matters of the economy, on trade with countries like the united states, there will be very major implications for the outside world as well. we see that already with the current issue at hand, the constitutional amendment. 25 of the brightest and most able must have seen it was a very unpopular move. and yet nobody could either advise her persuade president xi not to push on with it, which was not a necessary change. we have already seen that kind of mistake being made. the prospect looking forward is not reassuring.

nick miller has the weather. hi there. dry in the north of the uk, northern ireland and scotland. low pressure in the south. some showers today. there is a band of rain and will push into south—west england and parts of wales as the afternoon goes on. some sunny spells. the far north of scotland has more cloud. still outbreaks of rain in shetland. some spots in scotland getting into double figures. cooler in the south. we're double figures. cooler in the south. we' re close double figures. cooler in the south. we're close to average for the time of year. our bubble in some spots. england and wales seeing wet weather putting north overnight. some fog patches around, especially in scotland. most places staying above freezing. an area of rain are showers around low pressure affecting many parts of england and wales on monday. clearing away from

the eastern side of northern ireland. most of scotland will stay dry. temperatures down compared to the rest of the week. more details in half an hour. this is bbc news. the headlines: up to 500 salisbury diners and pub goers are told to take precautions by england's chief medical officer after nerve agent traces are found. the people who were either in zizzi restau ra nt the people who were either in zizzi restaurant or the mill pub from 1:30pm last sunday on till evening closing on monday, should clean the clothes they wore. police say that officer nick bailey is still in a serious condition but is still —— is talking. the chancellor says there is cause for economic optimism ahead of his spring statement on tuesday. china approves the removal of term limits for its leader, effectively

allowing president xi to remain in power indefinitely. welcome to a very cold inside out west midlands.