cheaper than getting taxis everywhere and you are eco— friendly because you are riding a bike. and finally, if you can't start the day without a caffeine fix even while away on holiday, then the pakito cup could help. reusable coffee cups are nothing new and some offer a discount if you bring your own. that it can be annoying carrying those around. what is great about the pakito is it swishes down really small and extends to three different sizes. it is a little fiddly to pull out, but once fully extended you've got a full—sized cup. regular americano, please. cheers! hello, this is breakfast, with christian fraser and naga munchetty. temperatures plunge as low as minus 6 overnight as the "mini beast from the east" bites. icy conditions are causing problems for drivers and there are weather warnings in place across the breadth of the uk. amber warnings are still in force,

it is treacherous out there. in sport its gold at 7 back to our top story.

snow and ice has gripped much of the uk as a cold snap dubbed the "mini beast from the east" sweeps in from siberia. the met office has put amber warnings in place, and they are expected to last all day today in south—west england and south wales. in a moment we'll speak to sarah walton who's in elloughton in yorkshire, but first, let's go to sarah ransome haldon hill in devon. we have seen quite heavy flurries of snow falling yesterday and through the night and what you have got is a thin layer of snow which has frozen in the cold temperatures and high winds. we have just in the cold temperatures and high winds. we havejust seen in the cold temperatures and high winds. we have just seen snowploughs try to clear the fast lane of the a63. on higher ground you have got thicker layers of snow and lincolnshire police are warning people not to make anyjourneys if they can avoid it. greater

manchester police are warning that conditions over the pennines are really bad. they used the word bleak. they tweeted a video showing blizzard like conditions and they had snowploughs out on the m62 and they asked people to avoid those routes. we are seeing disruption on the trains. great western, north western and south—western. there was a coach running between manchester airport and europe, but the bad weather means the coaches cannot even run now. playing cancellations out of heathrow because the planes have to be de—iced. if you were planning to go on holiday today, you need to check with the website before you check. the good news is we are expecting conditions to ease the day. i say that as another flurry comes in. but it should be getting better through the afternoon. but if you have to make the journey, take care and leave

plenty of time. please check on all potential travelling disruptions. let's go to sarah in devon. those roads around dartmoor have really had it in the last few weeks. roads around dartmoor have really had it in the last few weeksm roads around dartmoor have really had it in the last few weeks. it is a case of here we go again. it absolutely is. tell us about the picture around dartmoor. overnight we had more snow, about an inch or more on higher ground and an inch where i am. but right across the uk we have a snow, high winds and plummeting temperatures, some down around minus six. around here minus four was the lowest temperature we had. three amber warnings in place in the north west, london and the south—east. and here in the south west right across the region for the

best pa rt west right across the region for the best part of the day. at the moment iam best part of the day. at the moment i am close to the a38 were a few weeks ago some drivers were left stranded. once again an emergency plan was put in place. behind me either tractor ploughs, strategically placed to make sure they are there if the snow comes. we are told more snow, around 25 centimetres in some places, could arrive around nine o'clock this morning. more high winds, up to 50 miles an hour in some places, so the message really from the emergency services is and do not travel unless you have absolutely gotten. thank you have absolutely gotten. thank you very much indeed. kent police have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after several people were injured when a car was driven into a busy nightclub in gravesend. police say the incident at blake's nightclub is not being being treated as terror—related. footage posted on social media appears to show a car inside a marquee at the nightclub, as officers led people to safety.

the russian ambassador to the eu, vladimir chizhov, has suggested that the uk's own research laboratory in wiltshire could be the source of the nerve agent used in the poisoning of a former russian spy in salisbury. the foreign office has called the russian account "absolute nonsense". here's our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins. two weeks after the chemical attack on sergei and yulia skripal, ambassador chizhov said there were no stockpiles whatsoever of nerve agents left in russia. but then in an interview with andrew marr he went a bit further. asked how the chemical weapon came to be used in salisbury, mr chizhov suggested... when you have the nerve agent or whatever, you check it against certain samples that you retain in your laboratories. and porton down, as we now all know, is the largest military facility in the united kingdom that has been dealing with chemical weapons research. and it's actually only eight

miles from salisbury. you're not suggesting porton down is responsible for this nerve agent? i don't know, i don't know, i don't have evidence of anything having been used. as britain continues to investigate the chemical attack, the foreign office dismissed this latest russian account as absolute nonsense with not an ounce of truth in it. a spokesperson said it's just another futile attempt by the russian state to divert the story away from the facts that russia has acted in flagrant breach of its international obligations. james robbins, bbc news. our correspondent richard galpin is in moscow this morning. they go to the polls today in russia and it is the election. it has been said that all week maybe the controversy and the crisis with the

west has been engineered to make more people come out to the polls. is that right? i don't know if it has been engineered, but it is significant that the russians decided to announce its retaliation just yesterday, on the eve of the election. it probably doesn't help his strongman image, vladimir putin, the man who has stood up for russia against the nasty west, which is how the west has been perceived by the kremlin and has been for a long time. vladimir putin has been in power since the end of 1999, so it does help him to stand up as the strongman. but in the election there is no doubt who is going to win. it will be vladimir putin, not least because the only serious candidate, the opposition candidate, was barred from taking part in the election. it is an almost inevitable outcome that vladimir putin will win with a

thumping majority. richard, thank you very much indeed. richard, thank you very much indeed. the foreign secretary has described russia's closure of the british counsel and consulate in st petersburg as "futile". writing in the sun on sunday, borisjohnson says the move will punish ordinary russians by depriving them of opportunities to learn english. the move was part of russia's response to sanctions by the british government, in the wake of the poisoning in salisbury. a group of mps says that the government should consider the possibility of delaying when we leave the eu if complex issues remain unresolved. the exiting the eu committee says more time should be allowed if a detailed and comprehensive agreement on the future relationship isn't settled by october. the brexit committee's view isn't unanimous though — a minority report by eight members warns that a long transition would be difficult. it might be freezing here, but take a look at these incredible pictures. this is what spring is supposed to look like. that is the south west of

china and what you are seeing some beautiful cherry blossoms. visitors across the country have been travelling to see them. people go to see the cherry blossoms coming out injapan as see the cherry blossoms coming out in japan as well, see the cherry blossoms coming out injapan as well, but this is south—west china looking absolutely stunning. spring has not come here, well, it springs and it retracts. it is not cherry blossom. the mini beast from the east has hit as in the uk and many people will be waking up to snow outside. and it is sticking. difficult travel conditions as well, so you are being urged to check all potential travel disruption on the trains and be very careful. particularly on flights, there are major problems at heathrow on short—haulflights, major problems at heathrow on short—haul flights, so check with your operator. injune 2017 buzzfeed published an investigation into 14 deaths on british soil they claimed

were linked to russia. after a poisoning of a former spy in salisbury, amber rudd has said she will look again into those deaths. one of the reporters behing the investigationjane bradley joins us now. the russian ambassador is saying the uk could be responsible for the poisoning because porton down is near salisbury. it is not surprising when you consider that russia is still denying being behind the poisoning of alexander litvinenko, despite the fact there is strong forensics evidence that russia was behind the murder of alexander litvinenko. pointing the finger at the british government is, as the

government says, nonsense. sergei skripal was helping the british intelligence services by passing on information to them. we know russia has a clear motive. we know russia developed the nerve agent in question and we had only recently discovered the nerve agent, the scientist, and he has said so. we are focusing this week on nikolai glushkov who is now subject to a murder enquiry. ijust wonder when you look at these investigations is it difficult to find the line between what might involve the state and what might involve the mafia? that is a very blurred thing. yes, absolutely. when we spoke to the multiple american and british intelligence sources and the ones who told us that they suspect all of these 14 deaths were assassinations

by russia, they pointed out that it was often quite hard to figure out whether this was directly the russian state or russian mafia groups. in russia there is often a crossover between the two. what is clear in all of the 14 deaths that we investigated last year was that there were questions to be asked. there were suspicious circumstances around all these deaths. we know about the death of boris berezovsky which the police declared as non—suspicious very quickly, despite previous assassination attempts, despite him being declared public enemy number one in vladimir putin's russia. in other cases basic these investigations were not carried out, forensics tests, witness interviews, even checking cctv cameras, whereas in this case, the case of sergei skripal and nikolai glushkov, there has been a very different response

from the authorities. it has been swift and bold and the language from the off has been describing these as suspicious deaths with potential links to russia. there has been as striking difference as to how the authorities have handled these latest attacks in the previous deaths and that gives us a better chance of getting the forensic evidence and things like cctv that they need to figure out who is behind these attacks. if it is difficult to differentiate between where the state ends and the mafia begins, as you were saying, should we not put more behind whatjeremy corbyn was saying? it is impossible at the moment to specifically point the finger at the russian state? we have had different evidence from the british government and the scientific evidence behind novichok, the nerve agent that was used. all the nerve agent that was used. all the evidence we have heard from express as well as the government says that this kind of deadly nerve

agent could only be manufactured in agent could only be manufactured in a state—sponsored laboratory, it is too dangerous to be made elsewhere, in someone's home or somewhere like that. we know it was developed by russia as the scientist discovered has explained. jane bradley, good to talk to you. it is quarter past seven and i think the person you really need to hear from is helen because people are waking up with travel disruptions outside. it is generally freezing across most of the country by a degree or two. for many waking up it is a winter wonderland, excitement for my little girls this morning, but on a serious note it is treacherous out there. this is a picture taken recently in the midlands. to give you a picture

of how much snow we have already got, places like nottingham have got 15 centimetres of snow. there is a lot of snow lying and on some of the parts of the motorways and the faster routes, it will be a dangerous driver if you are out today. the snow showers keep packing in across scotland and yorkshire and in the south and west we have got some more organised snow. that met office amber warning is in force for most of the day. these two amber warnings still cover the snow showers packing in behind it, but they will ease down through the day. they will not be as frequent as the word, but any more snow will add to the woes. some of the slowest areas at the moment are across somerset and dorset and in much of wales,

central and eastern areas of wales. it is pushing is way westwards on that gale force wind. that makes visibility very poor indeed. there will be snow showers for yorkshire, perhaps a few penetrating towards the west across cumbria. one or two in northern ireland, but a better chance of seeing sunshine here. in the central lowlands we have got five centimetres of snow and they will only slowly get cut off. but look at this area of snow. it will ta ke look at this area of snow. it will take much of the day to make its way further west across devon and cornwall and finally clear out of the way. it is tied in with a very slow clearing area of low pressure. we will see appreciable amounts of snow. already ten centimetres in places and you can double that easily. it could cut of small

villages and there could be some power line icing and we could see power line icing and we could see power issues. a lot to keep our eye on. overnight we cut off those snow showers. it is drier tonight, but still very icy. tomorrow the high pressure will squash those showers further and it looks drier as we start the new week. time now for a quick look at the papers. let's start with the sunday times. some nice pictures of the duchess of cambridge who is heavily pregnant at the moment. she has eyes shamrock on her lapel. main story, the crackdown on the oligarch is macworld in russia. apparently there will be a meeting next week which theresa may will share where they will look more closely at the russian wealth in the city of london. a quick look at the mail on sunday.

it is saying it will target russian dirty money as the escalating crisis sees the kremlin expelled 23 uk diplomats. sees the kremlin expelled 23 uk diplomats. let's go to pyeongchang because we have got two gold medals at the paralympics. tell us all have got two gold medals at the pa ralympics. tell us all about have got two gold medals at the paralympics. tell us all about it. paralympics. tell us all about it. paralympics gb have finished these games on a high and they have won two medals on the final day, a gold and a bronze, and i am nowjoined by our bronze medallists. sorry, gold medallists. you have got a huge collection in front of us. what an amazing games you have had. can you sum it up for us? i don't think i can. it has been absolutely astonishing the weight this week has gone from quite low to extremely high. you started with a fall on the

first day in your first event. what a huge recovery that has been. have you gained confidence as the week has gone on? definitely, as soon as we finished the second race my confidence got twisted and winning the bronze as well was amazing. then from the week that went on we have just been climbing and climbing and we have just enjoyed just been climbing and climbing and we havejust enjoyed it. that is just been climbing and climbing and we have just enjoyed it. that is the main thing for us. and it has been a nonstop programme for you, it feels like you have been in action every day. how does it feel now? we are tired underneath and running on a bit of adrenaline at the moment. this first bronze was an incredible achievement, to finish that race and wina achievement, to finish that race and win a medal. then to finish on a gold medal and put in one of our strongest performances this week is beyond words. it has not sunk in and

i think probably will not until we get back to the uk and we are back in ourown get back to the uk and we are back in our own beds having a lie in. get back to the uk and we are back in our own beds having a lie inlj imagine yourfamily in our own beds having a lie inlj imagine your family must be over the moon as well. definitely, they know how much we have worked with this. most of them were in tears because they were so happy for us. it is just amazing to have them here and i am really grateful. you are such a young partnership, only been together for two years. do all roads lead to beijing now? yes, absolutely. first we have got the world championships coming up in 2019. we will focus on that and there are ideas about beijing. we can reveal that you have got quite a big job this evening in the closing ceremony. can you tell us what you have got ahead of you? we will be

the flag—bearers. have got ahead of you? we will be the flag-bearers. an absolute honour. what will that be like? a bit of pressure. we better get practising. immensely proud of gb andi practising. immensely proud of gb and i am so happy to be the flag—bearers. and i am so happy to be the flag-bearers. huge congratulations, a gold medalfor paralympics gb on the final day of action. is that seven or eight? we have got seven medals and they have reached their target, so paralympics gb are very happy. we will speak to dame catherine granger later from uk at sport and she will tell us if that isa sport and she will tell us if that is a good achievement or not. andrew marr is on bbc one at nine o'clock this morning. what have you got lined up andrew? i have been talking to one of vladimir putin's top diplomats in the eu in the aftermath of the

salisbury attack. you will have seen a lot of the papers about an attack on russian dirty money. i have got borisjohnson here to talk about that and much more. a big week for labour. shami chakra barti, that and much more. a big week for labour. shami chakrabarti, will also be on the programme. busy at nine o'clock. busy at nine o'clock. we're here on the bbc news channel until nine this morning. coming up later in the programme: we hear how one village is honouring 61 young men who left for the great war and never returned home. we'll look back on gb's most successful performance at a winter olympics with the chair of uk sport, dame katherine grainger. tea m team gb has hit its target which was between 6—10. this is where we say goodbye to our viewers on bbc one. stay with us on the you're watching

breakfast from bbc news. time now for a look at the newspapers. jon tonge is professor of politics at the university of liverpool and is here to tell us what's caught his eye. that is a lot easier said than done. the question is, which people, which assets time to get legislation through the parliamentary timetable, i think that is less likely than probable, but there may be action against russia today, the tv station that has already been controversial for the off, has criticised it for lack of impartiality in the past and ruth davidson writing in the sunday papers today, the sunday telegraph, argues strongly it ought to be closed down. that would be pretty drastic in a free media country, to close down the tv station, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility. a big eu summit this week in brussels of course. we will talk about the transition but two

weeks ago theresa may said williamson compromise on the border issue in ireland. people look towards norway and sweden, the scandinavian border, and wonder whether that could be the template? it's an optimistic report on the paper in terms of what can be achieved through smart technology so we have a smart border rather than a staff border, based on the last carlson report, but many people would say that simply impossible and even carlson himself says technology can't be used in isolation but the idea is there would be no staffing of the border and they would simply use number plate recognition to avoid the queues that would come if you have to engage in vehicle checks. brexit, we can't avoid not talking about it nor should we. the daily mail, the mail on sunday, i should say, take a look at this. the mail on sunday is very pessimistic and makes the point they would be 30 mile queues in kent if you started checking every goods vehicle at dover. it would be the same at the other side. if they put border checks in place in calais they would have the same thing in france.

exactly, they say it would take at least one minute every vehicle to be checked. you wonder whether europeans are actually thinking actually this is not going to work for us i've even if we wanted to put a hardboard in place, we will have tailbacks on the european mainland. it isa tailbacks on the european mainland. it is a mutual interest in avoiding this, so that's the most alarming report in today's paper. where do you live? manchester but also in the wirral. which is worst hit? we were snowed in in both for the taxi did not arrive this morning. it was a tricky driver without my snow tires. you forget because it happened so it regularly here, you forget how much ca re regularly here, you forget how much care you should take on the roads and central manchester, there is snow about that thick and very rarely happens. in europe they put on their snow tires and are used to this, but in this country we are not prepared for it. it was highly

dangerous and i nearly swerved off the road three times getting it, a 50 minute drive. two weeks today, it's easter. i don't want to be gloomy about the weather but it's worth remembering snow is more frequent at easter than christmas. is it? it is, march, there's more days of snow in march than december. it is due to the weather forecast, because they forecasted the beast from east and the mini beast from east in advance. and there's lots of travel disruption. always busy in the nhs but it gets sticky when the clocks go forward. everybody misses their appointments. they go forward next weekend. what happens according to this report is people, there's a 596 to this report is people, there's a 5% increase in people missing their appointments as a consequence of that. it's very expensive because each missed nhs appointment costs

millions altogether which is very strange because most clocks change automatically now with technology, so why are people missing their appointments? they looked at 2 million appointments in the nhs, it's not a dodgy service. i'm going to defend people. i think mobile smartphones change but your clocks at home don't necessarily change. your microwave, cookers, things like that. speaking from experience obviously excavation mortgage on, we are going to see you in an hour. thank you very much. headlines coming up. thank you. hello. this is breakfast with christian fraser and naga munchetty. good morning. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. parts of the uk have been gripped with snow and ice, as the mini beast from the east has swept in from siberia. met office amber warnings of a possible risk to life are in place in south—west england, south—east and mid—wales and the west midlands all day, where five to 10cms of snow is forecast to fall widely.

there's also travel disruption and drivers are being warned to take care in the dangerous conditions. and it's not just and it's notjust the uk being hit by the cold snap was tempered as a plunged in other parts of europe. in eastern poland, it was more than 20 centimetres of snow. it is set to continue over the rest of a very chilly weekend. kent police have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after several people were injured when a car was driven into a busy nightclub in gravesend. police say the incident at blake's nightclub is not being being treated as terror—related. footage posted on social media appears to show a car inside a marquee at the nightclub, as officers led people to safety. the russian ambassador to the eu was told the bbc russia had nothing to do with the poisoning of a former spy do with the poisoning of a former spy and distorting salisbury suggesting instead britain could have been responsible for the

speaking to andrew marr, vladimir chizhov said one of the uk's own research laboratories could be the source of a nerve agent used in the attempted murder of sergei skripal and his daughter yulia. the account has been called absolute nonsense. a group of mps say that the government should consider the possibility of delaying when we leave the eu if complex issues remain unresolved. the exiting the eu committee says more time should be allowed for eight, brown said agreement not being settled by october. lets talk to jonathan blake in being settled by october. lets talk tojonathan blake in our london newsroom. jonathan, good morning. we are not surprised i suppose there was a disagreement, it is the impact this disagreement may have which will be important? yes, it shows just how divisive and issue brexiteers, not just just how divisive and issue brexiteers, notjust when you're arguing about it around the dinner table, chatting in the pub with your mates, but even among mps at westminster, so much so those on the committee whose job it is to oversee

and scrutinise the work of the government on brexit cannot agree for that they are put out a report which is an update on the progress the government has made so far in their negotiations with the european union, but only a majority of mps on that committee, not all of them, have signed up to the official report. and the issue is around a recommendation by the chairman that the government should consider extending the transition period thereby delaying the actual time that britain's new relationship with the european union comes into force. lots of the mps in favour brexit on the committee are not happy about that, one of them jacob rees mogg says the committee report is the prospectus for a vessel state and theresa may should reject it. the upshot of this is if the committee hoped to have any influence over government policy, their chance the dimming thatare government policy, their chance the dimming that are greatly diminished because they can't agree they don't have the authority to do that. jonathan, thanks very much in our

london newsroom. we have seven medals. in the paralympic games. it makes it the most paralympic winter games that we have ever had and not over yet. this is the final day of competition. there are no more medals up for grabs unfortunately. i thought there were because the slalom was supposed to be early on in the games so i thought brilliant, we have got a few more days left to go but because of the weather conditions out there, they have had to look at it again. the target was 6-10. to look at it again. the target was 6—10. seven is not bad. dane katherine grainger is coming on the programme later and she has said five would have been disappointing, six they would have been pleased with, seven, delighted to. we are officially delighted. and menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe, what i games they have had, two silvers, bronze and gold, finally beating the slovakian who has won all the

medals, four golds, and she was going for herfifth medals, four golds, and she was going for her fifth and they beat by 0.66 in the last. they were speaking to earlier. it's been absolutely astonishing the way that this week has gone from quite low to extremely high. you started with a fall on the first day, on your first event, you fell. what a huge recovery that has been for you. do you feel like you have a conference as the week has gone on? definitely, suzy crossed the race finish line, my confidence got boosted. and forwarding the bronze, as well, absolutely amazing. brilliant stuff from the paralympics gb and those two will be the flag—bearers as well for the team at today's closing ceremony so congratulations to them. it was the perfect end to ireland's six nations campaign, as they beat england 2a points to 15 at twickenham to win their third grand slam on st patrick's day.

joe wilson was watching for us. they came to token and never looked like losing. that so good ireland where. from the moment the ball was hoisted into the sky, ireland were on top for the anthony watson was there but not there. gary ring rose butter hand applied downward pressure for ireland. next, an electric move and when it came, the final stretch delivered the ball to the foot of the post, touched and thatis the foot of the post, touched and that is a tried too. england got a try through this cake by half—time they were further behind. because ireland's jacob stockdale kicked and touchdown before the line. painted blue in case of snow. his seventh try of the tournament. eddiejones's unbeaten run at twickenham was over. england menna fitzpatrick tried did nothing except to polish the day for the ireland's core and year. with these players celebrating behind me

from ireland, some of them experienced, some of less subtle. is easy to forget that ireland have lost some of their greatest ever player for a lost some of their greatest ever playerfor a time in recent years. no problem. it's a special day for eve ryo ne no problem. it's a special day for everyone involved in irish rugby and to be here and celebrate that, as opposed to top it off with winning somewhere like here, it's a fortress, tough place to go, and for a team to come here and do that is great. many of his irish players willaim to be great. many of his irish players will aim to be world cup winners next autumn. england need men to start again. joe wilson, bbc news at twickenham. there were also final day wins for scotland over italy and wales over france. so this is how the final table looks. ireland are champions. wales finish second. england supporters may want to look away. they sit only above italy in fifth. a terrible result for england head of the world cup finals next year. manchester united have made it through to the semifinals of the fa cup, beating brighton 2—0 at old trafford. romelu lukaku struck the first, and nemanja matic hit the second

in what has been a difficult week forjose mourinho, who didn't hold back in criticising his players even though they're through to the last four. when the sun is shining, it's easy to play football, you know what i mean? when you win matches, everything goes in your direction and even myself i can play when the sun is shining, but when it's dark, and when you are under pressure, only the top ones can do it and today we did not have many top ones. christian eriksen stole the show at the liberty stadium as tottenham also eased into the semifinals with a comfortable 3—0 win over swansea. the dane scored in each half, with erik lamela providing the other goal. liverpool's mohamed salah has been making headlines all season long for his outstanding performances, but perhaps this was his best yet. he scored four goals as liverpool ran riot against watford, winning 5—0. roberto firmino scored the other, assited by salah, who now takes his goal tally to 28 in the premier league, four clear of spurs' harry kane.

liverpool leapfrog tottenham into third place. it wasn't a good day for rock—bottom west brom. bournemouth scored late on to win 2—1. it's albion's seventh straight premier league defeat and heaps more pressure on manager alan pardew. there were also wins for crystal palace and everton. he's 36 is old but roger federer has not only reached the final at indian wells but it's also his best ever start to a tennis season. he will facejuan start to a tennis season. he will face juan martin del start to a tennis season. he will facejuan martin del potro in the final, his 17th consecutive win of the year, so passing his previous career—best of 16 back in 2006.36, not slowing down. mark cavendish, though, one of the unluckiest men in british sport. the british cyclist

suffered a concussion earlier this season and then in his first race back a fortnight ago he crashed and broke a rib, despite that it's gone the one—day race yesterday in milan but this happened, he crashed into a barlarge, he but this happened, he crashed into a bar large, he was in contention when this happened and i think in the slow motion you can see him crashing and then flipping over his handlebars. it's quite spectacular. italy took the victory. all rolled mark cavendish. i'm not sure the extent of his injuries but there he is on the floor for the oda, look at that. they do have some spectacular crashes in cycling, don't they? they've got to get up and carry on. they've got to get up and carry on. they are made of tough stuff, though cyclists. thank you very much. rotherham, rochdale, oxford and now telford. the list of british towns and cities rocked by child sexual exploitation scandals is growing. so how are the police dealing with it? joining us now from norfolk is the national lead for child protection, chief constable simon bailey. thank you very much for talking to

us on thank you very much for talking to us on breakfast this morning. good morning. this is an issue obviously that has touched so many people, not just those who are victims or who are relatives of the victims, but there is a concern that potential victims orformer there is a concern that potential victims or former victims and their issues are not being addressed by police at the moment. do you want to tell us where you are coming from in terms of this concern? there is no doubt over the last few years some absolute horrors in terms of child sexual expectation abuse has been uncovered. you have named a few of them and there's no doubt telford, backin them and there's no doubt telford, back in the 90s and early 2000 is ha rd back in the 90s and early 2000 is hard a real problem. operation chalice, led by that force, went to address some of those issues, a number of victims were spoken to, a

number of victims were spoken to, a number of victims were spoken to, a number of people were arrested, and subsequent convictions were secured. the current coverage ceased to shine a light on the challenges that we as a light on the challenges that we as a country faced with this particular model of group based offending. it is just model of group based offending. it isjust one model of group based offending. it is just one type of offending and what you have to accept as a country as we have children being abused in all sorts of different environments through different means and we have do, asa through different means and we have do, as a society, look at how we're going to tackle this threat but let's be very clear. the greatest volume of child sexual abuse takes place within a familiar environment. there are models of abuse which been perpetrated by mail of asian descent. and we really have to start looking at how we look at the cultural issues behind that. we have to a cce pt cultural issues behind that. we have to accept i'm afraid that i believe there is more abuse now been

perpetrated through the use of technology and the world wide web. last sunday, a report in the mirror said there were probably up to 1000 girls, some as young as 11, abused and authorities have failed to act on this over a0 years and then, in contrast, west may see a police said it was currently working with a6 people who were victims or at risk and yesterday on this programme we spoke to maggie oliver, who resigned from her role as a detective inspector on the rochdale case from greater manchester police, and she could not have been more clear that she believes there are hundreds of young victims who are being overlooked partly because of resources but partly because of a desire to under record what is reported. can i have your view on that? can you hear me? sorry, you've

just come back. there have been reports in the media of up to 1000 girls, some as young as 11 being abused, authorities failing to act over a0 yea rs abused, authorities failing to act over a0 years and yesterday we spoke to maggie on other who had resigned from her role as a detective inspector from greater manchester police and had worked on the rochdale case. she was saying that there are hundreds of unreported, under recorded cases by police and police seem to be, westminster police seem to be, westminster police says it is working with ford is its people who were victims and there seems to be a big gap between what the police are reporting and what the police are reporting and what is expected in terms of the true number of victims. all we can do is respond to reports... west

mercy... fourvictims... it is difficult to extrapolate based on reports... it is difficult to extrapolate based on reports... inaudible. we wa nt we want people to tackle the threat posed by those men, if that threat is still there, but i think we need to be really careful. i know lucy allen, mp, is talked about being inundated with further reports. i know the chief const of west mercy wa nts to know the chief const of west mercy wants to see those reports, so we can wants to see those reports, so we ca n start can start to address the concerns coming forward. that, as i said, we

need to be really careful. this is one model of child sexual exploitation being perpetrated by a small minority of the community and we shouldn't lose sight of that fa ct. we shouldn't lose sight of that fact. but we also have to accept this is one model of abuse and we are facing challenges as great, if not greater, being perpetrated through the use of technology and let's not lose sight of the fact abuse is taking place within the family environment more than anywhere else. cheese comes to simon bailey, thank you very much for your time. apologies to our viewers with some sound problems but hopefully you got the crux of what he was trying to say. if you've been affected by this story, there is information about help and support on the bbc action line website. it's not a very nice day out there at the moment, smelling pretty much across the country. here's helen with a look at this morning's weather. good morning.

you hit the nail on the head. it's a nasty morning out and about but i'm sure there will be some enjoying perhaps some sledging because we've had some considerable snow already and the met office weather warning is in force so it is treacherous out there for travel. it's quite dangerous i should imagine. i drove in this morning but we've already had 10-15 in this morning but we've already had 10—15 centimetres across the midlands, east anglia and we are seeing some snow in devon, fairly significant and more to come in this pa rt significant and more to come in this part of the world. let me show you the rainfall chart. this is all snow coming down from the sky and this particular mass across central parts of england app into wales, heavy snowfall drifting its way gradually westwards. these are the showers falling behind but fewer showers in east anglia and the south—east through the day so the met office weather warning across parts of

yorkshire, the midlands and the south and should diminish, still very treacherous because of the snow falling already and for the south and west we have got more to come, ten centimetres, at least double that, over the hills. as one of parts of wales, the snow stretching right the way up to the north, having real trouble implications here and it's likely to cause disruptions. it is worth noting the wind is strong. it is blowing the snow around so not only is it snowing heavily but the visibility is very poor, blizzards if you are travelling in as part of the world. there could be brightness around, more likely in north—west england across the north—west of northern ireland, north—west scotland. a few snow showers. we've had a covering through the central lowlands of scotla nd through the central lowlands of scotland overnight which will continue. towards the north and the west, 8 degrees yesterday, most of us just west, 8 degrees yesterday, most of usjust had to— west, 8 degrees yesterday, most of us just had to— three. we could see five, but clearly it will be another cold day and for much of the day its

nose and takes a long time for that to peter wright in southern and western areas as it tunnels as weight westwards. these are the figures today. it'll be freezing, i see as well. the snow was not the only issue. it is better out there. very little to choose between yesterday and today. the wind is not quite as howling across the north of scotland. we will slowly lose the intensity of the wind this evening and overnight. we change our wind direction. we switch around to a northerly wind. it does not mean it will be warmer overnight. a widespread frost and penetrating because of the wind in the south. tomorrow, tightly packed isobars. it would cut off the supply for the showers so it looks drier if rather i see tomorrow. thank you very much indeed. if you are flying today there are lots of disruptions at the airport so do check with your carrier this morning

because they have to de—ice the planes and it's so cold out there. we'll be back with the headlines at eight. now it's time for the latest from the world of technology with click. for almost 70 years, the uk's national health service has been a free service at the point of care. but that model is under strain as the population ages and chronic health conditions increase while resources shrink. a recent study by the royal college of physicians showed that almost two thirds of doctors think that patient safety has deteriorated with one doctor saying we are not robots. we are human staff with limits. should the nhs turn to robots to ease the strain on human staff? jane has been looking at how data driven technology could transform care in the nhs.

could artificial intelligence help save the nhs? more people are looking at innovative ways to ease the workload of doctors and nurses. computer programmes can rapidly analyse huge quantities of information in ways that humans do not have the time nor brain capacity to do. in 2016, click filmed google's deep mind at moorfield's eye hospital. they were developing an algorithm to identify abnormalities in eye scans. i am going to see three other projects integrating ai and data collection for monitoring, automation and decreasing waiting times. dementia is now the leading cause of death in the uk. at the manor hospital in coventry, software is being tested to remotely monitor patients on the dementia ward. this is one of the rooms on the ward. it looks like any other hospital

room except in this one there are two infrared illuminators and an optical sensor monitoring my movements including when i'm asleep. oxehealth uses a standard digital camera and the tongue—twisting science of photoplethysmography. every time your heart beats, your skin briefly flashes red. we can not see this but the sensor in the camera can detect these so—called microblushes. it even picks up my vital signs when i am hiding under a table in the room as those microblushes can still be seen on my arm. there is an alert if i leave my bed. and the nurse can click on a live feed to see what is happening and determine whether they need to come and check on me right away. for the staff, initially, when it looked like we had a camera in a box in a room, they were not happy about it. but when we spent some time with oxehealth, they explained to them and they see how it works, they love it. they love the fact it gives you an extra...

an extra support. the project is in the pilot stage and is awaiting medical certification. the data collected is being analysed remotely by a team in oxford and will be used to train the programme to be more predictive. we have never had this capability as a species, to constantly get heart rate, breathing rate, movement and routine data. there is no reason as we combine and we fuse the data using ai we cannot detect the onset of dementia or prevent it getting worse. we can detect problems early so you can stay in your own home or a comfortable setting without coming into hospital. that will save a huge amount of time. saving critical time was the motivation behind automating processes at nhs blood and transplant. a500 people receive a transplant each year, but 6500 are on the list. every day, three people die waiting for a transplant. a lot of information needs to be sifted through to make life—and—death decisions.

the nhs is now using public cloud technology from ibm to help maintain huge databases that used to be managed with a marker and a whiteboard. by working with some of this automated technology we can make sure we are making the best possible decisions and that our clinical teams are thinking through the best outcomes for all of the patients on the transplant waiting list, and that our staff, who are often working until three in the morning in a high—pressure environment, needing to allocate organs quickly, they are supported by this technology. in the future, the team hopes that artificial intelligence will be able to predict how long people will be on the waiting list for an organ. there is an average waiting time of two weeks to see a doctor in the uk. this can drop to two hours if you register with gp at hand. you can sign up if you live or work within certain zones of london. you need to give up your regular practice doctor and register with gp at hand's remote surgery.

26,000 people have registered so far. i had a chance to test it out, pretending i had a case of food poisoning. first i went through a triage with a chat bot on the app who recommended i speak remotely to a real—life human doctor. the doctor recommends further care and can even send a prescription to a pharmacy. the artificial intelligence in the app draws on billions of data points and can cross reference the latest medical research from journals and studies around the world. you use artificial intelligence to tell you whether or not to see a doctor. you are always free to see a doctor anyway but what we find is that a0% of the people who get reassured that they have everything they need, they stop there. the app has faced criticism from the royal college of gpswho say from the royal college of gps who say that younger users are being cherry picked for the service. nhs england lodged a formal objection to the planned

rollout beyond london. whenever anybody comes up with a great, exciting idea they are desperate to see it rolled out everywhere. i would say we need to give people safe, fair and equitable care. if we roll things out too quickly without ensuring that safety and fairness, we run the risk of causing unintended harm. so it is wise and sensible that independent evaluations are now going on of these new technologies so that people can be reassured that they are safe and they are fair for everybody. i think it is wrong. i genuinely think that slowing down what people want isjust not right. i cannot understand why people are hesitant. often it is because they are scared of new technology. they do not know what the consequences are. and that is fine. they need to check that and reassure themselves. there is nothing wrong with that. i have seen three ways companies are working with data to help with monitoring, automation and decreasing waiting times. all areas that could help an overstressed health service. could artificial intelligence help to save the nhs?

it is an exciting development worldwide but never more so than in healthcare and there are certainly things ai can help as we to plough through data we already have, and provide answers to the questions we didn't even know needed answering. but let's be clear, ai will never replace person—to—person interaction. the touch of a doctor, the looking deep into someone's eyes and recognising their physical, social and psychological make—up of the person is what matters, notjust a bleeding leg or a headache. it is much more than that and ai, it will be quite a long time before ai comes close. you think it ever will? i will be stunned if within my lifetime ai ever replaces a doctor. we are going to interrupt this broadcast with some breaking news coming into us here at the bbc. it is a world first,

bbc click presenter spencer kelly has been replaced by a robot. it has been dubbed robospen and the artifical intelligence machine is apparently capable of a whole host of emotions as well as understanding and writing stories and crucially, he never forgets his lines. robospen joins me now from the factory that created him. over to you. sounds like you said i was artificially intelligent. as a robot i am often asked to pose for photos and tv reports about al. while i am a humaoid robot, i am not intelligent. everything i am saying is written by a human. the point is, robots and ai are not the same thing. observe my articulated hands with four independent fingers powered by eight air cylinders. engineering arts has made a name for itself by making robotic performers, actors and communicators. which, according to will,

is pretty much the only reason the world might need humanoid robots. humanoid robots are great for entertainment and communication, if you want something that interacts with people, the best way to do that is to make something person—shaped. so if you think star wars, c3p0 — the robot that talks a lot, has a personality, doesn't do a lot of useful things. will and his team design and build robots here from scratch from the aluminium bones to the rubbery spines and plastic shells. while the robots they have made are more c3p0, the next wave our way are more c3p0, the next wave are way into the uncanny valley.

oh, my goodness, it has just come to life with the eyes there. you have seen silence of the lambs, haven't you? that is very eerie, that is. if you know what i mean. will is fascinated with how the human body works and a lot of this research concentrates on making natural looking body movements that are also very quiet.