this is bbc news. the headlines at 11: russia expels 23 british diplomats from moscow in the row over the nerve agent attack on a former russian spy. the british ambassador remains defiant. we will always do what is necessary to defend ourselves, our allies and oui’ to defend ourselves, our allies and our values against an attack of this sort, which is an attack not only on the united kingdom, but on the international rules—based system on which all countries including russia pen for their safety and security. here, the foreign office say the national security council will meet early next week to consider how to respond to the expulsions. police investigating the murder of a businessman in london have begun contacting other russian exiles in britain to discuss their personal safety. a man's been arrested on suspicion of murder after two women were shot dead at a house in st leonards in east sussex. the snow returns — forecasters say it could cause

problems in large parts of the uk this weekend. also in the next hour: will twickenham turn green this afternoon on st patrick's day? ireland need to beat england to secure only their third ever rugby grand slam. and in half an hour, dateline london takes a look at russia's presidential election, and considers what impact another six years of vladimir putin in the kremlin would have. russia has announced it will expel 23 british diplomats from moscow in retaliation for london's actions following the nerve agent attack

in salisbury on a former russian spy and his daughter. in the last half—hour, the foreign office has said they anticipated a response like this. in a written statement, they confirmed that moscow's response follows the action we have taken alongside other measures to dismantle the russian espionage network operating in the uk. the announcement from russia came after the uk ambassador was summoned to a meeting at the russian foreign ministry in moscow. they confirmed in a statement that 23 british diplomats from the embassy in moscow will be expelled. permission for the proposed opening of a consulate in st petersburg will be withdrawn. and the british council in russia is to be closed. the statement ends with the warning that any further actions of an unfriendly nature towards russia will be met with retaliation. speaking outside the russian foreign ministry after his meeting, the uk ambassador to russia, dr laurie bristow, made this statement good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

i've just had a meeting in the russian ministry of foreign affairs. this crisis has arisen as a result of an appalling act in the united kingdom, the attempted murder of two people using a chemical weapon developed in russia and not declared by russia to the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, as russia was and is obliged to do. earlier this week, the prime minister set out in parliament a number of measures that we took or have taken to defend ourselves against this type of plan. we gave russia the opportunity to explain, and we asked russia

to declare the material to the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons. russia did neither. therefore, we announced certain steps. russia today has informed me of the steps that russia will be taking in response to that. as our prime minister made clear in the houses of parliament, we have no dispute with the russian people. and a large part of the work of my embassy here in russia been and is to promote those productive links between russia and the united kingdom. but we will always do what is necessary to defend ourselves, our allies and our values against an attack of this sort, which is an attack not only on the united kingdom, but on the international rules—based system on which all countries including russia depend for their safety and security. thank you. that was the uk ambassador.

in a moment, we'll talk to kathryn stanczyszyn outside the foreign office and charlotte gallagher is in new malden in south west london. but first, let's speak to our correspondent richard galpin in moscow. so the uk ambassador has been told in no uncertain terms what the russian response was this morning? yes, he was summoned this morning and the meeting in the russian foreign ministry here in moscow only lasted about ten minutes. so it was pretty brief and he was handed the list of what russia intends to do. some of it was predictable. the russian foreign ministry had already said yesterday that they would be expelling british diplomats. it turns out it is exactly symmetrical. 23 are being thrown out of the british embassy. but they have gone further with these other measures, effectively closing down the british council in russia and also closing

the british consulate in st petersburg. st petersburg is a key city, the second city of russia, with a big population. that will have an impact, particularly on russians who want to visit britain and get visas. it will be much more difficult for people based in st petersburg. so strong measures by russia, but of course, britain had a range of measures as we heard from the prime minister a few days ago. the question now is, where does it go from here? is that it, or is this going to escalate? indeed, and some people have spoken of the relationship between the two countries now as being at a post—cold war low. what is your assessment of where we are? there is no doubt that that is the situation. the whole relationship has plummeted in recent years, and this is the worst i can remember it being. the

kind of language being used by ministers and senior diplomats from both sides is really extraordinary. it has reached a real fever pitch. we have to see how this plays out now. richard, thank you. our news correspondent kathryn stanczyszyn is outside the foreign office in london. a statement came from them in the last short while? yes. foreign secretary boris johnson last short while? yes. foreign secretary borisjohnson arrived here at the foreign office in the last hourin at the foreign office in the last hour in the wake of the news of those sections coming from russia. the statement from the foreign office is already talking about next steps. it says they anticipated that this kind of action would be taken by moscow, and the national security council will now meet early this week to decide what happens next. they say in the light of russia's previous behaviour, they anticipated this and their priority is looking

after staff in russia and assisting those who will now have to return to the uk. strong words as well. it talks about the attempted assassination of two people on british soil, and there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable. we have of course heard boris johnson saying that this week as well. he said it was overwhelmingly likely that putin ordered that attack himself. putin's spokesman responded by saying those comments we re responded by saying those comments were an unforgivable breach of diplomatic rules. so it has been ramping up. and we know the foreign office's advice for people travelling to russia has been updated. they say if you are travelling to russia, be aware that there could be anti—british sentiment. thank you. joining me now from new malden in southwest london is our news correspondent charlotte gallagher, who is outside the former home of russian businessman nikolai glushkov, who was found dead last week. no obvious connection at this stage

with the salisbury attack, but clearly this is another piece of a concerning picture? very concerning, and concerning for people living here in new malden. police have stressed that this point that they don't believe there is any connection to the poisoning and the attempted murders in salisbury and the death of nikolai glushkov. as you said, nikolai glushkov‘s body was found on monday and police were originally treating that death as unexplained. yesterday, there was this dramatic development where they said they were actually treating his death as murder. he died of compression of the neck, which indicates that he could have been strangled. significantly, homicide detectives are not leading the investigation into this death. it is the counterterrorism police. police have said that that is because of the relationships nikolai glushkov

had with people like boris berezovs ky. had with people like boris berezovsky. he was a russian businessman who was found dead in 2013. nikolai glushkov had insisted that he had been murdered and it was the russian state that could be behind this. so that was one of the connections that police are now seeking to explore. they have also issued a warning to russian exiles living in britain. they are one of them about their safety in the wake of this death and the two poisonings in salisbury. charlotte, thank you. that was charlotte gallagher and kathryn stanczyszyn and richard galpin in moscow. let's look at this from another angle. with me now is the blogger kostya pinaev, who came to london 12 years ago from russia and can provide some insight now into the russian community here. what do we know about the expat community of russians in this country? there is a sense that they

are all monied oligarchs, but i am sure that is not the reality. absolutely not. 99% of the russian expat community is very boring middle—class. by definition, in order to get here, you need to be middle class or above. so it's very boring but we make a lot of headlines. by week, i am talking about the super—thin there at the very top. we have all heard the news. and when it comes to all of this coverage in the news and the unease, how is that playing out among russians that you know? with the russians i know, there are a lots of discussions, but probably the same discussions that normal british people have about all this news. it is slightly scary, but for an average russian, we have nothing to do with all of those things. but inadvertently, you do get a lot of questions from british people, obviously. and we know no more than

you do. but at the same time, we have that connection with russia. in russia, the picture is very different. i suppose for people who are calling home and speaking to relatives, they are perhaps hearing something quite different. it must be an interesting discussion. predictably, there are a lot of questions from the russian side. personally, i get a bit suspicious when the british behave so quickly. usually, britain is so methodical. they take a lot of time. and literally within a week, we get huge accusations. you can't stop thinking about the dossier and things being rushed here. so you are saying you are sceptical about the speed with which the british government has responded, saying it is novichok and it came from russia and taiwan? again, asa it came from russia and taiwan? again, as a british person now i see the news and it looks very

suspicious. it looks in character. what is out of character is the way britain has responded. if you remember the litvinenko case, which happened 11 or 12 years ago, britain was super slow and i think theresa may has personally made a lot of m ista kes may has personally made a lot of mistakes at that time. russia had a lot of leeway to say, we haven't done it. and a lot of people in russia still believe they had nothing to do with litvinenko. over here, it seems like they have overrea cted here, it seems like they have overreacted and pushed a bit too far, too much. and that makes a lot of people suspicious in russia that this was all set up from day one. this has been the kremlin's mantra from day one, that we are surrounded bya from day one, that we are surrounded by a circle of enemies. that is how it looks to an ordinary russian. you mentioned putin. iassume it looks to an ordinary russian. you mentioned putin. i assume it is not

possible, because we are all human, but is it possible to save their particular points of view about putin among the expat community or is there a mix? the majority of russians living here would have a british stand on putin. they would be very much against him. there is a very super—thin lair of russians who are still related to russia and dependent on putin. they are much less critical of putin, at least publicly. but on average, people do see him as a dictator. people see him as someone who can commit these crimes. speaking to people more widely in the russian expat community, are you concerned about the possible repercussions for you, or do you think this is way outside your pay great? i hope it is way outside my pay grade! 99% of russians will not get anything apart from a lot ofjokes about being a

spy from a lot ofjokes about being a spy and a lot of questions which we don't know the answers to because there is so little information in this case. marc great to have your thoughts. the headlines on bbc news: russia and us as they will expel 23 british diplomats amid tensions over the nerve attack in salisbury. a man's been arrested on suspicion of murder after two women were shot dead at a house in st leonards in east sussex. forecasters say snow could cause problems in large parts of the uk this weekend. an amber weather warning is due to come into force this afternoon. police have launched a murder investigation after two women were shot and killed at a house in east sussex. officers were called to an address in st leonards on sea last night. two other women — including one who is pregnant — were led to safety by officers.

a man has been arrested. our correspondent charlotte wright sent this update. it is this road behind me that was put on lockdown last night. drivers we re put on lockdown last night. drivers were turned away. residents were told to stay away entirely. the road was instead filled with armed police officers with the flashing blue lights from emergency vehicles and the noise of the police helicopters buzzing overhead. it wasjust the noise of the police helicopters buzzing overhead. it was just after 7.30 that they receive reports of shots being fired here. what followed was a two—hour manhunt. it wasn't until just followed was a two—hour manhunt. it wasn't untiljust before ten o'clock that they announced that they had arrested somebody on suspicion of murder. that 35—year—old man remains in police custody this morning. we know a 53—year—old woman and a 32—year—old woman have died. there we re 32—year—old woman have died. there were two other women in the property at the time, and one of them is pregnant, but neither of them were injured. police say they are not

looking for anybody else in connection with this investigation, but they are asking witnesses to come forward. forecasters say snow could cause problems in large parts of the uk this weekend. an amber weather warning is due to come into force this afternoon in north west england, yorkshire and the midlands and also london and parts of south east england. more than 100 flights have been cancelled at heathrow, mostly on short—haul routes. earlier i spoke to the bbc weather presenter helen willetts, who explained what to look out for today . amber warnings start to take effect from midday onwards. that one in cove rs from midday onwards. that one in covers the areas we talked about, parts of england and a lot of eastern england and the midlands this evening and overnight. there is also another one coming into force overnight for more general southern parts of the uk. there is uncertainty in the warning for the night ahead because it is a

developing situation. but there are showers through the day today. tonight, there could be a more organised big band of snow. that is giving us cause for concern at the moment. we talked about particular areas, but are their places where people should be particularly concerned and thinking about preparations? absolutely. the reason it has returned is a similar reason to two weeks ago. we have this really cold siberian air. you mentioned yourself that it is windy outside. it is almost gale force. so we are seeing temperatures 10 degrees lower than they were yesterday in some central and eastern areas. if you add on the wind, it is going to feel bitter. the area we are particularly concerned about is because the wind is coming in from the east and blowing across parts of northern england, particularly yorkshire, lincolnshire and parts of the midlands across to the eastern side of wales and the other area across the south—east of england. that is where we will see the highest amounts of snow, but by no means

discount anywhere else seeing snow, because we are seeing elsewhere. this is the second warning to cover parts of southern england and south wales for the system coming in tonight. clearly, it is notjust know either, it is ice, because it will get contacted by the cars driving over it and then turning very icy. and this is short and sharp? i hope it will be short and sharp. for the rest of the day, the showers pack in and then we have more consistent snow coming to the south. it will feel quite cold as well. it is similar tomorrow. we are obviously concerned about this lump of snow coming into night and whether it could turn out to be a winter wonderland when we wake up tomorrow morning. and the easterly wind gets cut off and we pick up a more northerly wind. i know you are going to say that doesn't someone either! but it cuts off that really cold feed, the cold continental air. it gets warm as it comes over the north sea, so we will not have

similar issues with snow, but we will still have overnight frost and therefore ice concerns even into next week, because it will be quite moist. look at that, feels like minus seven. having had 14 in london yesterday! the number of hospital admissions due to older people falling is expected to rise to nearly 1000 a day by the end of the decade. that's according to figures obtained by the local government association. it's prompted calls for more funding for adult social care. the former deputy director of the fbi, andrew mccabe, has been fired just days before he was due to formally retire. andrew mccabe said his sacking had been politically motivated, and claimed it was part of a wider effort to taint the fbi. president trump tweeted it had been a "great day for democracy". sport now...and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's john acres. it has been snowing at twickenham.

we've reached the climax of this year's six nations championship, three matches today and a huge afternoon ahead at twickenham. ireland have already taken the title but they're looking to complete the grand slam with victory over england, who've yet to lose at twickenham under eddiejones. here's olly foster. jose mourinho gave a 12 minute answer to a question at his press conference ahead of manchester united's fa cup quarter final against brighton this evening. he spoke with passion following united's defeat to sevilla in the champions league in midweek. we are having a few technical problems, so i will bring you the rest of the sports news now. tennis — and world number one simona halep said she just lost her concentration after being knocked out

of the indian wells event in startling fashion. she won just three games against naomi osaka ofjapan, losing the second set 2—0. osaka is unseeded, ranked 44th in the world and had never beaten halep before. and it'll be a battle of the 20—year—olds in the final, because russia's daria kasatkina beat venus williams — in fact, kasatkina has beaten four grand slam champions at indian wells, with sloane stephens, caroline wosniacki, angelique kerber and williams all brushed aside. she said it was one of the best nights of her life. let's look at the weather. after the mild week we had, it will feel bitterly cold today. there are warnings galore from the met office, but some amber warnings come into force mid afternoon onwards for the snow and the ice. the reason we have returned to this siberian easterly wind, and it is a strong wind, near

gale force, really buffeting western areas in particular and blowing those snow showers far west as well. across northern and eastern parts of england, we have a weather front. there could be a few centimetres of snow, particularly in the gardens and off the roads, and there could be problems with snow started to pile up and blow around. temperatures are some eight to 10 degrees lower than they have been recently. if you add on the strength of the wind, it does feel better. wrap up warm if you are heading out and about today. the amber warnings are where we think we will see the most disruption from snow. the largest amounts are across the midlands and lincolnshire. and then through the night, still uncertain about the extent of the more widespread area of snow in southern england and wales as opposed to the showers that are going to keep packing in thick and fast on that wind, just topping up and blowing around. you can see the concern for

the evening and overnight towards tomorrow morning. temperatures are going to fall below freezing, with a penetrating frost. we could wake up toa penetrating frost. we could wake up to a winter wonderland tomorrow morning in some areas, with several centimetres still falling and blowing around in those strong winds. they may well have cleared away from western areas, but not before it has given that covering. but there are still showers. more snow tonight and tomorrow packing across the central lowlands of scotla nd across the central lowlands of scotland as well. gradually, that will start to clear away, but not before it has given some issues. the winds stuck to ease a little in the north. temperatures may be marginally higher than today, but very difficult to say the difference between both days. it will feel bitterly cold. there is very little in it. the easterly wind will ease next week, though. so not quite as cold. hello and a very warm

welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie. this week we devote our attention to russia. russia abroad — after what the uk and its allies called the first offensive use of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war. and russia at home — as a presidential election is expected to deliver vladimir putin another six years in the kremlin. my guests this week: the former observer writer now political commentator adam raphael. jef mcallister, the american broadcaster, formerly the head of time magazine's london bureau. italian journalist and film maker annalisa piras, and russian political commentator, and former kremlin advisor, alexander nekrassov. welcome to you all. let's start by discussing how the government british is handling the events of the last few days, how do

you think theresa may is doing?” think she's doing pretty well, she was home secretary and this is an area she is familiar. it is almost pro forma area she is familiar. it is almost proforma what she has been doing, slung out a few russian spies, you sound tough. she carried the house of commons with her, i think she's done her political credibility quite a lot of good and on the other hand the opposition leader, jeremy corbyn has not done well. did not get the mood of the house or the nation. she has come out well, but the question is can she then deliver on what she is can she then deliver on what she is saying she will be tough... we will come back to that in a moment but first let's get everyone's take? well i don't agree with adam simply because the gravity of what happened in my mind and in the mind of a lot of observers should have warranted a much tougher response. expelling 23

spies or diplomats is not on the same level of response to what looks like a deliberate attempt to humiliate britain before the russian elections. when you say deliberate