some showers into northern ireland. mostly western scotland seeing fewer snow showers more in the way of sunshine. western scotland will stick with skinny skies at times that the date. —— sunny skies at times into the day. it will turn bright eventually in the southeast, but all the while, d snow continues down across the southwest of england. it is the longevity of the snowfall, if you like it, that brings us more cause for concern. a cold and windy day. high—pressure brings its way down from the north into monday. that pushes the snowfalls away and gets rid of a cold easterly wind. they get stuck with more of a northerly wind, it will not be a warm wind direction, but it will not be as cold. monday should bring some spells of sunshine at time. the temperatures around 5-7d. as at time. the temperatures around 5—7d. as you can see, in the forecast for the week ahead comedy temperatures continue to climb up into double digits, but it will eventually turn a more unsettled. that is all for me for now. i will hand you back tonight. russia have given diplomats 23 days

to leave and shutdown the russian council. we can speak out the labour mp stephen kinnock, formerly the director of the british council in russia. you have had experience of this sort of action with the british council. i was the director of the british council in st petersburg from 2005 to 2008 and there was a campaign of intimidation and harassment against us intimidation and harassment against us by russian authorities as the bilateral relationship to the uk and russia was already very bad at that stage and then in the middle of a door that was the assassination. there was a stand—off. we refused to shut down and in the end they took action which forced us to do so. it

sure does the ruthlessness of the russian regime and the fact that they will just not stop, they stop at nothing and unfortunately for the russian people because the british council has actually constructive agenda, building intercultural dialogue, helping russians to learn english, education projects, the arts, creative industries and it has no political agenda whatsoever. it's a real tragedy now that they shut down in st petersburg back in 2008 and now they are shutting a stone in moscow as well and i just feel very sorry for all those russian people, many of them younger people, who valued the british councils services very much. you cannot be surprised, though, that has happened. now, it reflects a pattern of behaviour,

mean—spirited, vindictive, driven by paranoia and that you see from the russian regime. what we also know is that they see that there is a new division of russians coming through, and that change will, eventually in russia. vladimir putin is not going to be there forever. there are a lot of people around the kremlin that are desperate to cling onto power and thatis desperate to cling onto power and that is why they like to undermine organisations like the british council. even though the british council. even though the british council has no political agenda. they see that change is coming. there are millions of russians who hate the isolation and the authoritarian nature of the russian regime. they want to be open to the world, they want to learn english, they want to understand how things work in other countries and that of course is anathema to many of the people in and around the kremlin. so we have had the tit—for—tat expulsion of diplomats, which is at

all old technique. would you see this going? if britain is going to ta ke this going? if britain is going to take more action, what else made the russians do in your view?|j take more action, what else made the russians do in your view? i think of course the ball is now in the british court. the russian retaliation will depend on whether we retaliate against the measures they have taken. my view is that we need to put the world cup into the mix. i think that theresa may should be approaching angler miracle and other european leaders to approach fifa and suggest that the world cup should be postponed until 2019 and it should take place in a different host country or countries. i think it is unthinkable that we could be vindicating and legitimising the putin regime by rewarding him with this festival of football in the summer, giving him a huge public relations coup, if you like, and

allowing him to showcase his government and rewarding his behaviour. i think it can flex so directly with what is happening, the brittle and appalling and attempted murder on the streets of britain. that is where i think our next steps should be. in addition to of course really cracking down on the finances of those people in and around the kremlin, phil was signing up to the actor right across the european union, much more effective use of unexplained wealth orders and so many other measures we can take to target people in and around the kremlin. make the mistake, the move that would make most damage to fight amir putin and undermine his support amongst the russian people would be if the world cup where to be moved away from russia. thank you very much indeed. thank you.

now on bbc news, sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday, with karthi gna nasegaram and james pearce. the headlines this evening. it's an irish grand slam, as england are beaten at twickenham. a last—gasp penalty for scotland as they come from behind to beat italy. spurs cruise into the fa cup semi—finals. christian eriksen scores twice as tottenham target their first trophy in a decade. also coming up in the programme, we'll have news on four premier league matches, where another defeat for west bromwich albion, this time against bournemouth, leaves them sliding towards relegation. and a horrible crash for mark cavendish in italy. good evening.

we'll get to the fa cup and the premier league a little later but we start with a brilliant victory for ireland over england in the six nations which gives ireland the grand slam. the 2a points to 15 win was the perfect end to the irish campaign, winning their third grand slam on st patrick's day. joe wilson was watching for us at twickenham. ireland's rugby players on the pitch at twickenham, surrounded by photographers and the media, reflecting an outstanding performance. they are grand slam winners, 6—nation champions and they have won away in paris and london. this was a finale to a perfect 2018 for irish rugby. if you've missed ireland's progress, here's a recap. first it was france and a last—minute goal, then we thrashed italy. and then ireland beat wales in dublin. yes!

we scored four tries to beat scotland, for tries. and that's just left twickenham. and here we were, aiming for the grand slam, hoofing the towards the snowflakes. 14—0 down and england had to respond. here it came. the home side had something. something, but watch jacob stockdale, ireland's superhero. england had extended the pitch, perfect for this. stockdale's seventh try of the six nations and that is a record. eddiejones had seen his first twickenham defeat with england comment. ireland's grand slam, a perfect six nations completed here, never better. let's get some reflection on this match.

you can always dream about it. my friends and everyone i've met over the last eight weeks talked about this day, to get us to have st patrick's day and a grand slam on the line. we knew we had a good enough team to do it but we are also experienced players and we know how hard you to work and prepare for each game and take it week by week. it was in the back of my mind, i can admit it now. i'm sure i won't get into trouble for that. it's an amazing feeling. the problems we have had over the past period of time surfaced again. i don't know if it's team or individual discipline letting us down at times which allowed i want to get in the fatal position 3:57 fiéi'fil {few

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rome was sensing a six nations breakthrough but the final ten minutes with see dreams made and broken again. —— minutes would see dreams made and broken again. first, scotland but when italy got a penalty, there was only one man to take it. he kicked his way to 22 points in the match. but these are the moments

when experience counts. scotland had one more chance. greg laidlaw‘s penalty was one blow too far for italy. their 17th straight defeat was perhaps the most cruel and these two sides both end their campaigns with a sense of regret. got to make use of these experiences, losing away from home in ireland and winning away from home today. it goes into the mix of the future challenges, when we are behind when we are leading or when we do have opportunities, we need to sure we take them. credit to the players that they have come away with three wins in what is a very competitive and tough championship. we know that we have to do better over the next six, 12 months, when we play this championship again and also 18 months, when we get to the world cup. the italian side today wasn'tjust passionate,

it was an incredible amount of skill. so many young guys so with much potential in front of them that we just have to live and learn and improve. we showed that we are more than capable of mixing it with a great rugby team, playing a great game of rugby. i am destroyed for them at moment. the final game of the six nations sees wales take on france with wales knowing that a win would secure a runners—up spot in the six nations table. they made a great start in cardiff with liam williams making the most of some slack french defending to put the home side 7—3 ahead. midway through the first half, france were back in it. we'll is finished with a record of two wins and three defeats. we've had a couple of call that went against us, which didn't help, but

today was not about the performance it was that winning and finishing second. it was pretty ugly out there a time —— at times but i thought we showed good character and we conceded three points, god some vital turnovers. too many turnovers, but sometimes in your rugby and coaching career, you take those results a ny coaching career, you take those results any day of the week. an ugly one. well, away from the rugby it's been a busy day of football, here are the key moments. to talk through all the key moments from the premier league and the fa cup, karthi's with our football reporterjohn bennett. at tottenham, they've made a lot of progress but yet to win a trophy. yes, you are making progress but

they have not made a trophy under this leadership, not since twitter -- 2000 this leadership, not since twitter —— 2000 date. it was a 3—0 win against swansea. on a cold and windy day in wales, best to bring a woolly hat. everyone else has. for swansea city's first quarterfinal and 5a years, this is not the day they want to see sunshine. but tottenham wasted no time in showing their dominance as the swans made it all too easy for christian eriksen. cool as you like, his seventh goal against swansea in ten matches. the hosts continued to struggle in the first half as they've earned the back of the net for spurs, but it wasn't to be. stricker flagged for

offside, although even be struggled with that call. they looked to be going into the breakjust one goal down, but they had other ideas. into the second at liberty stadium and it was the hosts on the front foot. denied by the spurs keeper. but tottenham had not finished there. christian eriksen again from outside the box, to seal their place in the semifinals. surely now it is beyond doubt. no silverware for him, and he can return to the grind of the relegation battle. but, for him, his search for a first trophy with tottenham will continue. a very good performance. i'm happy for our players, for ourfans. a fantastic achievement. manchester united against brighton

in the finals. a very disappointing night on tuesday. what has the response been from jose mourinho, apart from that press conference with a 12 minute answer, he has made five changes. the goalkeeper change was already going to happen. they met in the fa cup in the 1983 final. manchester united were the big favourites but britain have done well this season. it as a good game. we will keep an eye on that game and let you know if there are any calls. he was not finished. you comes his

hat—trick. absolutely brilliant feat in the box. a wonderful finish as well. he has now scored 28 premier weekly calls, 36 in all competitions and it's the best ever goal—scoring return any debut season for any player in the liverpool ‘s history. the first egyptian player to score a hat—trick in the premier league, so words fail me when it comes to him. what the seas and he is having. £34 million it seems like a steel now.

—— £34 million seems like a steal now. looks like west brom's time in the top flight could be coming to an end. they lost 2—1 and they are ten points away from safety now. luck is against the likes of ben foster. each defeats and a raw nerve. everyone in football thinks they are down. let's hear what pa rd ew they are down. let's hear what pardew has deceived. —— has two c. —— has two say. it's just so hurtful for our fans and our players, because we have almost done on most things really well today and any other day, if we weren't we we wear, we would have got a win. as it was,, the e. —— as it was, they equalised at

a good time and then to stick it in the top corner was from that free kick, it really hurts. we knew today was good to be a difficult game. west brom put a lot of men behind the ball, defended deep. we struggled to break them down and create clear openings. and then to go a goal behind, made the task even bigger, but thankfully the players found something, we came again and, in the end, i thought for our second—half display, we probably deserved to win. stoke city are in the relegation zone and also look in trouble. a 2-1 a 2—1 defeat. i think this study is all about stoke. they needed something from this game because the next fixtures are tough. there are key player was sent off in the first—half. they fought and equalised but it is not enough,

because they've got arsenal, spurs, west ham, burnley and liverpool in the next five games. at front. here is the midfielder. i thought the effort was there. up until they actually scored, they did not cause is too many problems, considered we were a man down. with ten men, you're going to leave gaps and we wanted to go, obviously to get the equaliser and push for all three points with ten men, which unfortunately, the flip side of that is things at the other end are going to open up a bit and unfortunately they got that goal. crystal palace keep dipping in and out of the relegation zone but a 2—nil win over huddersfield means they are back out of it. the first win in eight games. no coincidence that it coincided with the return of their key player.

huddersfield did not have a shot on target until the 81st minute, i think it was. a 2—0 win and an excellent performance. i always said there were going to be plenty of twists and turns before the last game of the season comes around in may, so today was a very important one for us because we have had a difficult run of games, we have not taken many points, and to come here today and take those points at least brought us back to some kind of equilibrium. you have to think that west brom are ten points from safety now. southampton are in fa cup action this weekend. sucks —— stoke city needed something today from that game. but look what a difference that we'd call from stanislav makes.

bournemouth are 11th place and very close to safety. in the scottish premiership leaders celtic play tomorrow. there were four matches today. aberdeen beat dundee one—nil at pittodrie. hearts enjoyed a three—nil win over partick thistle. there was a bit of a shock at ibrox as second placed rangers went down one—nil to kilmarnock. ross county and hamilton drew two—all. and the weather conditions aren't stopping bolton in the championship. adam le fondre has given his side a 1—0 lead over aston villa at the macron stadium. bolton now move six points clear of the championship relegation zone. fulham let slip a two—goal lead to draw with qpr. lucas piazon finished a neat move to put fulham in control. but rangers pulled one

back before half—time. pawel sholek equalised after a costly mistake from denis 0doi. the winter paralympics come to a close tomorrow, with the british team still short of their pre games ambition of seven medals. so far they have five, four silvers and one bronze after drawing a blank on saturday. kate grey reports. it's been a quiet day for britain this year, with just two athletes in action. in the alpine skiing, james whitley went in the slalom. his first event of these games. it was a tricky course to negotiate. he was born without his hands. he managed to negotiate the course. two runs, not too many stumbles but many others did stumble. he ultimately finished in tenth place, not a bad result and an improvement on his performance

in four years ago. britain's only representative in his sixth event, a cross country event. scott only took up the sport 18 months ago, so came out in these games with little expectation of ending up on the podium. he finished 14th. full of confidence at the end, knowing that he had had valuable experience, building towards 2022. it has been a historic day for the host nation as they won their first ever gold at a winter paralympics. a day to remember for the fans here in korea. looking ahead to tomorrow, great britain's hopes all lie in the visually impaired slalom events. great britain are still off their medal target of six. pressure will be on the skiers tomorrow. mark cavendish's hopes of winning the prestigious milan san remo

one—day race were ended by a spectacular crash. the briton couldn't avoid hitting a bollard which sent him flying over his handle bars, landing on his back. he was racing despite a broken rib, but was in contention when the crash happened. italy's vincenzo nibali took the victory. britain's cal crutchlow will start the opening race of the moto gp season from the second row of the grid. france'sjohann zarco took pole for the qatar grand prix, but his hopes of claiming a first win in motor cycling's top category won't be helped by having reigning champion marc marquez alongside him. crutchlow was fourth quickest in qualifying. there are two matches in rugby league's super league today wakefield trinity and widnes vikings kicked off at 6.30pm. earlier warrington wolves thrashed

catalans dragons 26—0. ben murdoch—masila scored two tries. the defeat leaves catalans rooted to the bottom with just 2 points from their opening six matches. england'sjustin rose is making a charge up the leaderboard at the arnold palmer invitiational in bay hill, florida. he's three under for the front nine, moving him to seven under par for the tournament. sweden's henrik stenson and american bryson dechambeau share the lead on 12—under. tiger woods sits in 12th place. and just to recap our top story before we go. ireland have sealed their third grand slam after a 24—15 win over england at twickenham. they were already six nations champions. still 0—0 at old trafford. that's all from sportsday. there'll be more sport here on bbc

news throughout the evening. good bye. we have met office amber warnings across part of the south—east. not only do we have snow showers, but we have this lump of more persistence and working its way westwards through the night. could give 20 centimetres of snow over high ground and the south—west. where ever you are, it will be a cold night with widespread frost and the potential

for some ice. this area of snow will be very slow moving. a lot of snow piling up over parts of south east england —— south—west england. some showers elsewhere but these increasingly easy through the day and they will be drier through the day —— free afternoon. highs ofjust one orfour celsius. this is bbc news. i'm nicholas 0wen. the headlines at 8pm: russia is expelling 23 british diplomats — in the row over the nerve agent attack on a former spy. the prime minister insists the kremlin must account for its actions. were never tolerate a threat to the lives of british citizens and others on british soilfrom lives of british citizens and others on british soil from the lives of british citizens and others on british soilfrom the russian government. applause police investigating the death of a russian exile in london discuss others to discuss their personal safety. forecasters say snow

could cause further problems, across large parts of the uk this weekend. high winds and tides foresee a magician clifftop homes in norfolk, amid fears they could fall into the sea in the night. and ireland celebrates a six nations grand