this is bbc news. the headlines at 12: 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 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. here, the foreign office stresses russia must account for their actions — the national security council will meet early next week. 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 beast from the east makes a brief return — amber weather warnings are in place for large parts of the uk.

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 here on bbc news, click looks at the future of work, and asks which jobs will go to the robots. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. 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. the foreign office here says they anticipated a response like this. in a written statement, the fco says 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 permission for the proposed opening of a consulate in st petersburg will be withdrawn.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 attack 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 attack. we gave russia the opportunity to explain, and we asked russia to salisbury, 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 has 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 to russia. he was mentioning the prime minister and her response. we should hear something from theresa may in the next 15 to 20 minutes, as she is giving a speech to the party

faithful. we expect her to comment on russia as well. stay with us for that. our news correspondent kathryn stanczyszyn is outside the foreign office in london. how are things looking? well, the foreign secretary borisjohnson arrived at the foreign office earlier. we believe he has now departed again. no sign where we are this morning with the russian ambassador to the uk. but the foreign office was very swift to put out a statement this morning following the announcement of those sanctions in russia, saying it doesn't change anything. the onus is still on the russian state to account for its actions. the statement described the attempted assassination on sergei and yulia skripal and said they were expecting these transactions. it even goes on to talk about what the british government might do next, talking about the meeting of the national

security council that will take place this week to consider next steps. it is the priority today is making sure all of its staff in russia are ok, and also talking to them about potentially returning to them about potentially returning to the uk. it finishes by saying there is no disagreement with the people of russia and that it is not in britain's national interest to cut off dialogue between the countries. however, the foreign office has updated its travel advice for those going to russia, saying people should be cautious of possible anti—british sentiment. should be cautious of possible anti-british sentiment. thanks very much. let's bring in the other side of the debate. richard galpin is following events in moscow. the uk ambassador has been told in no uncertain terms this morning what the response was from moscow. yes. it was a brief meeting as well. it

only lasted about ten minutes. he was handed the list from officials in the russian foreign ministry here in moscow, and then he came out and gave that statement. russia, as expected, has expelled exactly the same number of diplomats as britain is doing. but it has come out with these other measures, which are perhaps something of a surprise, the move to cut down the british consulate in st petersburg and the move to shut down the british council, although the british council, although the british council was very much pared down after the situation following the murder of alexander litvinenko, the former russian spy who was killed in london using polonium, a radioactive substance. the foreign ministry here are saying that the consular closure is to create parity with britain and create the same number of consulates in each country. britain also has a

consulate in yekaterinburg in this country. we have to see now how britain will react. there is going to bea britain will react. there is going to be a meeting of the national security council in london next week, at which they will discuss the next steps and whether they will see these measures of closing the british council and the consulate as being an escalation of the situation between the two sides. those next steps a re between the two sides. those next steps are interesting, because there is clearly anger on both sides. but some commentators are making the point that which is not in anybody‘s interests to cut off dialogue totally between the two countries. and it is notjust commentators, but the actual sides have been saying that, which is extremely important. if you cut off all relations, event becomes a very precarious and volatile situation between the two countries. it seems that the moment that neither side wants that to happen. the retaliatory measures on both sides seem to be calibrated to avoid that at this stage. richard,

thank you. meanwhile, the metropolitan police have appealed for anyone who saw sergei skripal‘s car to get in touch. they are trying to piece together the movements of the former spy on the day of the incident by tracing movements of the burgundy red bmw with the number plate hd09 wao. our correspondent tom burridge is in salisbury. what are police hoping to hear about? one of the key questions we still don't know the answer to is where sergei and yulia skripal came into co nta ct where sergei and yulia skripal came into contact with the nerve agent before they end up in a critical condition on the bench behind me, which is covered in that white and yellow sheeting. so a second appeal from the police for information from anyone who might have seen sergei skripal‘s car on sunday the 11th of march. they are particularly interested in the car. we have seen a lot of work on the car by officers

and we saw it being towed late yesterday. they have released a new photo of that maroon bmw. the police we re photo of that maroon bmw. the police were already asking for information from anyone who might have seen that car between one and 1.45 on sunday the 4th of march. what is new is that they want to hear from anyone who might have seen the car earlier in the day, at around 9.15 on three main roads. what is interesting about those three main roads is that they link sergei skripal‘s house with the cemetery where his wife and son are buried. so i think we can say with a fair degree of certainty that the police believe sergei and yulia skripal went from his house early in the morning on sunday the 4th of march to the cemetery to visit the graves of those two relatives. we have seen a lot of activity from the police and other officials at the cemetery over the last two weeks. and more focus on theissue last two weeks. and more focus on the issue of the nerve agent as well, and potential experts coming to salisbury? yes. the government

yesterday wrote to the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons. it is an international organisation. russia and britain are both signatories to it. so the government is saying, we want your officials from the hague, where the organisation is based, to come to porton down, where the ministry of defence has its own research facility, to verify the sample of the nerve agent to clarify what it is. of course, officials at the military defence establishment at porton down have said they believe it is of this group of deadly nerve agent is called novichok are believed to have been developed in russia in the late 80s and early 90s. russia has disputed that. it has never admitted that that programme ever existed to create this type of nerve agent. so the idea is that officials from this international organisation will come here to wiltshire to carry out their

own tests and probably take the sample away, possibly that of their laboratories in the hague or to a third country, and make their own verification to come up with their own independent view of what the nerve agent was. tom, thanks. with me is the russian political commentator and former kremlin advisor, alexander nekrassov. fa cts facts a re facts are staying on from that like london to talk to us. it is a tense situation. how do you assess where we are now? first of all, it was expected that the russians would expel the same number of diplomatic. this is tit—for—tat, symbolic stuff. will there be more expulsions? maybe. maybe the british side will continue with that. i think a lot of change will happen after the election. this is a tense period. tomorrow is the voting. after the

votes are counted and the decision is announced, the result, i think the political side will start to settle down and all the symbolic aggressive gestures might calm down. so you're saying you think president putin is taking a tough approach because he is facing a vote and he was to cement his support?” because he is facing a vote and he was to cement his support? i am not saying he is aggressive, i am saying that both sides are at loggerheads at the moment and this will probably start to ease down a bit. the atmosphere in britain is a bit awkward for me, for example, because i don't understand why, as your correspondent points out, nobody really knows what happened. and we are already saying it's russia, is putin, the kremlin and so on. i think we have been rushed into this situation by the coverage, by the media. iam situation by the coverage, by the media. i am amazed at the wayjeremy corbyn was treated for voicing

concerns, maybe we should talk, maybe we should wait. it's remarkable that the leader of her majesty'sopposition is being attacked for having an opinion which is different from the media's point of view or the government's point of view. that is unusual for me in britain. but presumably the government would say, we ask the russians to come back with there account of what happened and that hasn't been forthcoming. we haven't had enough of a defence to convince us. had enough of a defence to convince us. first of all, the russians have asked for the samples of proof so they can look at it themselves. the russians know perfectly well that this so—called nerve agent is in the possession of pretty much every laboratory in the west because the creator and inventor of it lives in america and has been living there since 1996. we might assume that he has shared his knowledge with some americans and nato countries. so the

situation was that the russians said please, give us samples so we can look at them, and then we will talk to you about the substance. but the ultimatum, that you tell us now or we are going to do something, that doesn't work in this sort of tense situation. and there was not enough time for the investigation to conclude. i think theresa may and her government were dragged into this anti—russian stance by the media reports and she felt she had to do something. do you think there was a chance that they were boxed m, was a chance that they were boxed in, as you put it, because with the murder of litvinenko a few years ago, there was criticism after that that the stance taken was not robust enough and i was too much dithering, so enough and i was too much dithering, so therefore, russia has four, as some might say, and we need to take a harder line? first of all, i must remind people that the investigation into the litvinenko case was made

secret by theresa may herself as home secretary. we understand that there were parts of the case that there were parts of the case that the british government and the russian government decided not to make public. so let's forget about litvinenko for a while. with this case, the russians are pointing out that no intelligence service in the world will go after a spy who has been exchanged in a swap, because that goes against the whole logic of spy that goes against the whole logic of spy swaps. in the future, if that is the case, nobody is going to swap spies. but we have heard quotes from president putin about people who in his you have crossed over and turned against russia and his quite relaxed attitude to what might be their fate? well, i think all these comments have been taken out of context completely. everybody says he mentioned kicking the bucket. kicking the bucket doesn't mean

being killed, it means to die or commit suicide. his point was that these people will punish themselves for their treachery. that was the main point. and to always come back to' and say, you see? is the official line, it's not. it was taken out of context. it means in every country, you will find people who say traitors must be punished. it is an instinctive way to condemn them. i suspect a lot of people in britain would condemn spies like the cambridge five. they say they are traitors who should have been killed and so on. it doesn't mean it is an official policy of the government. alexander nekrassov, thank you for your time. we are hoping to hear from the prime minister imminently. she is addressing the conservative pa rty‘s she is addressing the conservative party's spring forum in central london. she hasjust taken party's spring forum in central london. she has just taken to the podium, dealing with applause and photo opportunities. she is making a general address and we are expecting some comments on russia. let'sjoin

the prime minister and hear what she has to say. thank you very much, everybody. we are gathered here in london today, but i know that our thoughts are with our fellow citizens in another english city, salisbury. everyone in this hall and everyone in our party stands in solidarity with the people of salisbury. we pay tribute to the bravery of all the emergency services, doctors, nurses and investigation teams who have led the response to the appalling incident which occurred there. i also want to pay tribute today to salisbury‘s fantastic mp, john glenn. he is a dedicated constituency member and has stood up for his community. applause. now, i set out in the house of

commons this week the government's conclusion that the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of mr skripal and his daughter, and for threatening the lives of other british citizens. i also set out the action we are taking in response, action to dismantle the russian espionage network in the uk, to develop new powers to tackle hostile state activity and the suspension of all plant high—level contact between the uk and the russian federation. today, our ambassador in moscow was informed by the russian government of the action they are taking in response. in light of their previous behaviour, we anticipated a response of this kind and we will consider our next steps in the coming days, alongside our allies and partners. but russia's response doesn't change the facts of the matter. the

attempted assassination of two people on british soil, for which there was no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable. it is russia that is in flagrant breach of international law and the chemical weapons convention. i repeat today that we have no disagreement with the russian people. many russians have made this country their home, and those who abide by our laws and make a contribution to our society will a lwa ys a contribution to our society will always be welcome. but we will never tolerate a threat to the life of british citizens and others on british citizens and others on british soilfrom british citizens and others on british soil from the russian government. we can be reassured by the strong support we have received from our friends and allies around the world,

from the united states, nato and the european union, from our un and commonwealth partners. i am also grateful for the strong support i have received from the first ministers of scotland and wales. and in the house of commons this week, we saw a consensus as member after member across all parties stood up to condemn russia's actions and to support the position of her majesty's government. because this act of russian aggression is the very antithesis of the liberal and democratic values that define the united kingdom. the rule of law, freedom of speech, the toleration of dissenting a minority views, a free press, fairand dissenting a minority views, a free press, fair and democratic elections, a thriving civil society. these are the foundation stones of human freedom. they don't come about by accident, and they are certainly not the default setting for any society. they take years of patient work to build up. they face constant

threats, and they must always be defined. they are the values which unite us as a country. and it is about values that i want to speak to you today. just as our country's defining values underpin our response to the salisbury attack, so our party's response to the salisbury attack, so our pa rty‘s commitment response to the salisbury attack, so our party's commitment to conservative values defines our whole approach to politics and government. we in this party are the heirs of a proud tradition, underpinned by enduring principles. first, our belief in security. we wa nt first, our belief in security. we want everyone to have the economic security of a good job, a decent wage and a home to call their own. we wa nt wage and a home to call their own. we want people to have the personal security of a great national health service that is there for us when we need it. and we are the party of national security council, backing our armed forces, our police and our security services who protect us

every day. as well as for security, we stand... studio: surgeries are made is moving on and continuing in her address to tory party activists —— theresa may is moving on, but we wa nt to —— theresa may is moving on, but we want to get that sense of her view on the state of play with russia following today's development. with me is our political correspondent nick eardley. she did say "we will consider our next ste ps", she did say "we will consider our next steps", so it is a question of where we go from here? yes, the national security council, the committee of senior ministers, will meet next week to talk about this. as you say, the prime minister was hinting that there will be more action to come. she hinted at that earlier in the week as well. one question that will be asked now is what that action could be, what further steps the uk might take. we have already have the russians say this morning that if there is more

action here, they will retaliate in kind. but it does seem that there may be more on the cards. she was also at pains to point out the support she has had from what she called allies and partners. it is clear that the government doesn't wa nt to clear that the government doesn't want to go it alone on this one. they are looking to have their position backed up by other countries. absolutely, and as well as those discussions next week domestically, there will be international discussions. the european council, which meets late next week, we'll be discussing this. whether they come out with further sanctions against russia, i am sure will be important. we saw that statement on thursday from the uk, the us, france and germany, all saying they are on the same page. throughout the week, we have seen a strea m throughout the week, we have seen a stream of international support from the uk's allies. theresa may was trying to make the point that this is in the uk versus russia. she

wa nts is in the uk versus russia. she wants this to be an international condemnation of what happened in salisbury, and she thinks she now has the backing to potentially do more, hopefully with the support of allies. she also made the point that mps of various political hues had come forward in their house last week to give their backing to tough measures. of week to give their backing to tough measures. of course, week to give their backing to tough measures. of course, standing aside from that was jeremy corbyn, measures. of course, standing aside from that wasjeremy corbyn, who took a more gentle approach, one might say, certainly a different approach, and that has brought him infor approach, and that has brought him in for criticism from some quarters. some criticism from his party. his spokesperson appeared to cast doubt on whether russia was definitely responsible for the incident in salisbury. jeremy corbyn has clarified that by saying that the evidence does point towards russia. he said that earlier in the week, but he has also said since then that we need to be sure about this. he is not prepared to simply accept a

claim that russia is responsible. we expect to hear from the labour leader today. he is in the north—east, speaking to labour activists. i am sure he will address this in some capacity. nick, thank you. 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's this road behind me that was 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 was just after 7.30 that they receive reports of shots being fired here. what 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 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. time for a look at the weather. a bitterly cold weekend awaits us, quite a shock to the system. there are warnings from the met office covering parts of the east of england and the midlands and lincolnshire. but these are not the only areas where we will see

disruptive snowfall. we are seeing the snow start to settle. it is bitter out there, temperatures 10 degrees down on recent days in some areas. if you add on the winds, it will feel absolutely bitter and raw. overnight, there is a question mark as to how much we will see from a widespread band of snow pushing across southern widespread band of snow pushing across southern areas. widespread band of snow pushing across southern areas. tomorrow, a penetrating and hard frost. much colder and last night. on sunday, we may wake up to a winter wonderland across southern may wake up to a winter wonderland across southern areas. may wake up to a winter wonderland across southern areas. still that bitterly cold easterly wind, so another very cold day indeed. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: britain's ambassador is summoned to the foreign ministry in moscow as russia announce they will expel 23 british diplomats amid tensions over the nerve agent attack in salisbury. russian exiles in britain are being contacted by police investigating the murder

of businessman nikolai glushkov — to discuss their personal safety. a 35—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two women are shot dead in east sussex. let's get up to speed with the sport. we start with football and the first of the fa cup quarterfinal matches is under way, swansea against spurs and in the last few minutes christian eriksen has put spurs 1—0 up christian eriksen has put spurs 1—0 up in the game. that was a moment little earlier on when the video referee was not used to make a decision on that penalty. unbeaten in the last 15 games against swa nsea, in the last 15 games against swansea, spas, 1—0 up, brilliant goalfrom swansea, spas, 1—0 up, brilliant goal from christian eriksen. swansea, spas, 1—0 up, brilliant goalfrom christian eriksen. that run goes back to 1991. we have

reached the climax of the six nations, three matches today, italy against scotland is just getting under way and is a huge upturn in our head at twickenham. ireland have taken the title but are looking to com plete taken the title but are looking to complete the grand slam with victory over england who are yet to lose at twickenham under eddie jones. we've got a fantastic triple bill of matches coming up, all of the attention will be on twickenham for england against ireland. ireland won the championship last week when they beat scotland and england failed against the french. ireland are the only unbeaten side left, so they could win the grand slam if they beat the english but it's a rare thing, the grand slam for ireland. they have only won it twice before, the last time back in 2009 but they have gotte n the last time back in 2009 but they have gotten stronger and