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. it is something that he believes might find a place in the field of prosthetics, although he says there is still a lot

of work to be done. i don't have a single precision part in my body. how can i achieve this level of precision with these organic, bones and bits of mushy flesh. of precision with these organic, one of the biggest problems we have is that there is nothing as good as human muscle. so for all of this motor development that we have done, we don't come anywhere near to what a human can do. where you will see humanoid robots, you will see them in a commercial context, so you might go into a shop and you might see a robot in there that is trying to sell you something. don't worry about all the clever ai, that's really going to stay on your computer, on your smartphone, on a webpage. it's not going chase you up the stairs any time soon. that's it for the short cut of click this week. the full version is up on iplayer. join us next week for part two of our special look

at the future of work. don't forget we are on twitter at @bbcclick and on facebook too. isn't it time you were leaving? 0k, we're off. 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

gci’oss amber warnings are still in force across england and wales. it is treacherous out there. some places have seen 5—10 centimetres. join me in about 15 minutes for the forecast. good morning it's sunday the 18th of march. also this morning: a top russian diplomat insists russia had nothing to do with the poisoning of a former spy in salisbury and suggests britain could have been responsible. several people are injured after a car was driven into a nightclub in g raves car was driven into a nightclub in graves end. and we'll hear from a professional orchestra made up of disabled musicians and led by a disabled conductor. in sport its gold at the paras in pyeongchang! menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe are the paralympic slalom champions with millie knight

and brett wild winning bronze. good morning. first our main 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. sarah walton is in elloughton in east yorkshire. it looks cold, sarah. well done for being there. i can see the wind getting up. that is when it is really chilly. yes, and the wind has been causing problems. still very strong along the east coast. what's been happening all day yesterday and last night is we have had flurries of snow, some quite heavy. we have a little one coming in now. behind me

on the motorway they have had snowploughs and gritters out. where we have seen more problems is over high grounds. in lincolnshire people spent seven hours digging people out of snowdrifts. greater manchester police have warned that over the pennines the trans—pennine routes are very bad there. they tweeted a video showing blizzard like conditions. they had snowploughs out on the m62 and they found a coach that was stranded near blackstone edge and they have been helping passengers on the driver there. they are asking people to avoid the pennines if they can. disruption also on the trains. do check if you have to travel anywhere and also some flights cancelled out of heathrow. good news is that we are expecting things to improve during the day. the amber warning is due to end at nine o'clock. if you have got to go out, do take care.

end at nine o'clock. if you have got to go out, do take carelj end at nine o'clock. if you have got to go out, do take care. i hope you've got a flask of something warm. she is nodding. people living in 10 chalets perilously close to the edge of cliffs on the norfolk coast have been told to leave their homes because of strong winds and high waves. earlier, norfolk police said that six of the properties at hemsby had a very good chance of going into the sea. in 2013, tidal storms saw three homes in the village washed away. 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. are we expecting anything more from the kremlin today? well, obviously the key element today we are looking at is the presidential election which is now under way. i don't think there is going to be any surprise as to who will win. it's widely assumed it will win. it's widely assumed it will be vladimir putin, the man who has been in power since the end of

1999. he is seeking his fourth term in office and he will have another six years, assuming he does win. the only issue surrounding the election is what the turnout is going to be. people have seen mr putin in power for many years and whether there was a sense of apathy creeping in and thatis a sense of apathy creeping in and that is concern in the kremlin about that. they say they want 70% of the vote and 70% turnout. that is the question, whether they will achieve that. if it looks as if they won't achieve that, whether they're then becomes some element of fraud coming into the election. in 2011 there we re into the election. in 2011 there were huge protest during the parliamentary election when it was believed there was fraud during the vote. thank you forjoining us. 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 well, but this is south—west china looking absolutely stunning. i'm sure we will see something

similar here. byjuly. perhaps you haven't looked out the window this morning. if you do, you may well be greeted with snow on your doorstep. yesterday, snow showers swept across most of the uk, and with it continuing throughout today, people are beign warned about travel disruption. we can now speak with edmund king, president of the aa, in london, and meteorologist and weather presenter simon king. let's start with the roads. what is the picture looking like around the country? tell us about the picture on the roads? it is very busy on the roads this morning, certainly at the aaa we have had 200% more calls this morning than we normally would. ——

aa. that's people having flat batteries, the perils from potholes that hidden under the snow. the picture really is across the country from north west, north east, around manchester, the pennines, some of the west midlands and then down to the west midlands and then down to the m3 near basingstoke fled the snow led to an hgvjackknife in and blocking several lanes. part of the problem is when you are out on the roads, we are not prepared for it. i've read a report that you had written and he said that sometimes you go to people out on the road and they are in t—shirt and jeans.

you go to people out on the road and they are in t-shirt and jeans. there are things you can do. a decent set of tyres makes a difference. i was in sweden recently and there was a lot of snow and ice, but because they have good winter tyres, it was a problem. things are preparing your car, make sure you have washer fluid because in these conditions there is a lot of snow blowing around and it will mess up your windscreen, and indeed having warm clothes and a blanket. some people may think it sounds nanny state to say all of this, but if you get stuck in your car overnight, as many drivers did last night in lincolnshire, it can bea last night in lincolnshire, it can be a life—saver. have at least half a tank of fuel so that if you do get stuck, you can keep the heat to run, keep the engine going. it is really about being prepared. you can check things like the travel news before you go, you can check the aaa,

highways england, you can check on the app what conditions are like. —— aa. many police. a very good updates about the weather. listen to local radio and listen to the advice. if you do venture out, it's about driving ina you do venture out, it's about driving in a smooth way. keep your distance from the car in front, don't break or accelerate sharply. pull away in second gear rather than first gear. that. your wheels spinning. it's being prepared and taking it easy. thank you very much. simon, you will explain to us what is driving all of this and while we are experiencing these changeable weather conditions. it stems from what happened earlier in the year. the polar vortex was disrupted. i'll

try to explain that. if you imagine poaching and egg in a traditional way where you put the egg in and spin it, the high winds are keeping the egg in the centre and also the cold air. if you stop spinning the pan, the egg starts to dismantle and comes apart and that is what has happened. the winds around the arctic have weakened and that allowed these cold blobs of air to ease further southwards. but which way to spin the egg because normally spinning the other way. you spin it one way, but what we have seen is that the winds in the upper atmosphere have gone the other way and it allows its blocking pattern to happen. you have this big area of high pressure over scandinavia that has high pressure over scandinavia that

ha s a llowe d high pressure over scandinavia that has allowed an easterly wind to develop. normally in the winter we have south—westerly winds. it mild and stormy, but when you have this easterly winds, you drag in the cold airfrom easterly winds, you drag in the cold air from siberia easterly winds, you drag in the cold airfrom siberia and easterly winds, you drag in the cold air from siberia and russia. and when you do that, helen is going to tell us now what we end up with. simon, thank you very much. helen, bring us up—to—date. still treacherous out and about. the met office warnings are still in place. you can see what we have had already, so it's been a considerable amount of snow for this part of the world and there was more to come. it is falling quite steadily across wales in particular. reports coming in of seven or eight centimetres. it's heading westwards. these showers are following behind. not that many coming into the ease south

is region, but there has been a fair amount of snow there already. this amber warning is what concerns us. you saw how active it was on the weather system. it will bring snow in across wales. treacherous conditions and rose will become impassable would imagine. only that, but the wind is near gale force. it's blowing the snow around and visibility is poor. fewer showers following a cross is anger and the south—east, some across northern england are making their way across the western side of the pennines. they could be sunshine in northern ireland and scotland, but we will see more than the —— but we won't

see more than the —— but we won't see more than the —— but we won't see more than the dizzy heights of four or see more than the dizzy heights of fouror5 see more than the dizzy heights of four or 5 degrees. the weather front hanging across the west and parts of northern ireland for most of the day. because it is so cold, temperatures will be moving. we've had this blocking high pressure that has allowed the cold siberian air to come in and it will still be cold overnight. and clearing skies a wide spread of penetrating frost. the high—pressure cuts of the easterly wind eventually through the latter pa rt wind eventually through the latter part of monday and it allows driver whether because of high pressure to dominate. it's drier, still cold, while less cold because it's coming down from the north. we may see

temperatures creeping up a bit more tomorrow. perhaps five or 6 degrees, but later in the week temperatures will recover as we go back to our mah the atlantic south—westerly. thank you. a conductor for the bournemouth symphony orchestra is leading a new ensemble of disabled musicians. butjames rose, who's dreamed of a career in music all his life, doesn't have control of his arms. the conductor, who has cerebral palsy, uses a baton attached to his head to lead the group. they want to show that people with disabilities can be more involved in classical music. our reporterjames ingham was at one of their first rehearsals. classical music plays. music, james says, ignites a ball of fire in his stomach. it is a passion he was always determined to pursue as a profession to prove his disability is no barrier. james rose is on a unique

training placement with bournemouth symphony orchestra where he is fulfilling a long—held ambition, creating and directing his own group of musicians. one of james's mentors is roger preston, who has been a cellist with the bso for nearly a0 years. he recently became disabled as a result of cancer. while he still plays in the main orchestra, he is also part of a new ensemble. we don't want to be thought

of as we are successful because we are disabled ensemble. we want people just to listen to our music making and think that is really good. probably most disabled people even if they could perhaps play a bit would discount the idea of taking it further. it would be great to see a few more amateur orchestras incorporating other disabled people but if disabled people have to form their own ensembles or orchestras as well, great. the ensemble's confessional musicians like siobhan clough, who is partially deaf, have all fought hard to get where they are today. they are united in wanting to inspire others. all through my career i was told that i could not be a professional violinist and it was something i always wanted to do and now i am doing exactly what i want to do, so for me this is just reinforcing the point that it is possible, it just takes perseverance and encouragement. ensembles and orchestral situations have been inaccessible mostly because of the need to sight read. this means that i get

the opportunity to actually work, as in professionally work, as a musician in a professional setting with other professional musicians. james says he has always ignore people who have told him he cannot do something. he hopes to break what he sees as fixed ideas in professional classical music that have limited him and other disabled musicians in the past. he has got the drive and determination to do absolutely anything he wants, and he has got the musical talent to do it. i think he will do extremely well. you're watching breakfast from bbc news, it's time now

for a look at the newspapers. good morning. let's start with the front of the observer. basically doubted that was helped by facebook was taken with at user authorisation to then built a personal profile. facebook say that no data was breached in this respect. the difficulty with this

story is that social media is forming a bigger part of our own electoral campaigns. the electoral commission is looking at potential russian interference in the brexit referendum with fake news. most voters under 30 use social media as their main source of news. and this quy their main source of news. and this guy here, he is someone who used to work with cambridge analytica. he's talking about how they tailored adverts to the backgrounds that tailored from facebook. that's right. he is the whistle—blower. whether it changes things is difficult to answer. trump in terms

of the popular vote was miles behind hillary clinton. whether these adverts were productive is difficult to know. let's take a look at degrees. fees to hit £40,000 a year, soa degrees. fees to hit £40,000 a year, so a three year degree £120,000. look away now if you are thinking of going to university. when the government introduced £9,000 fees in 2012, that was the intention that there would be a market in education. the top institutes would charge £9,000 and others will charge less. but most universities to charge £9,000. but it's possible

that the elite universities will charge those eye watering sums. it was toxic enough when tuition fees we re was toxic enough when tuition fees were introduced. the labour party's proposal is to scrap them altogether. this is the view from the chancellor of britain's only private university. at my daughter a little short cut to school and there isa little short cut to school and there is a little pop that they have turned into three flats. i read here in the sunday mirror that 19 pubs week are closing. it's a sad story. 1000 closed last year. we have lost in three of them over the last decade. there is no end in sight. it's healthy living, is it? yes, and

drinking at home. also, the pubs are complaining about business rates and also the duty on alcohol. you say that there are raucous single sex groups of single people tottering down the road at 2am, according to the server. they say we are moving towards mixed gender stag and hen parties. there has been a 200 is an increase in mixed gender stag and hen parties. they are taking longer as well. one in 20 last week, which is probably longer than some the marriages.|j

last week, which is probably longer than some the marriages. i think it would have been lots of fun, but isn't the whole point that you are going to do that for the rest of your life? well, yes. so you go with your life? well, yes. so you go with your girlfriends or boyfriends. the idea is to take the staggering out of stag. more people are going to european cities. when i have been travelling on planes, with these groups, i don't think they are going to any cultural festivals. where you boisterous at your stag party? i can't say. i can't remember. lovely talking to you. coming up before nine: with its medieval architecture and superfast broadband, york has been named the best place to live in britain. we'd love to hear from you about where you live and whether it should have made the list. stay with us, headlines coming up.

hello, this is breakfast with christian fraser and naga munchetty. here's a summary of this morning's main 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 ten centimetres of snow is forecast to fall widely. there's also travel disruption and drivers are being warned to take care in the dangerous conditions. yes, we still have that amber warning in yorkshire. we have got some strong flurries coming down at times, and strong winds, as well. hitting the cold ground and freezing, we have had snowploughs and gritters go past in the last

three hours, but where we are seeing more problems is over high ground, so in lincolnshire, police say they spent seven hours last night trying to dig people out of snow drifts. greater manchester police warning that the conditions in the pennines we re that the conditions in the pennines were really bad. the words they used was" bleak. " were really bad. the words they used was" bleak. they are warning people to try and say away from those roads on high ground. we have got disruptions on trains, as well. i would take with the rail company before you go, and also if you're flying out of heathrow, we have seen some disruption, that. trains dart blades have had to be de—iced. we are hoping the weather will improve. if you have anyjourney are hoping the weather will improve. if you have any journey to are hoping the weather will improve. if you have anyjourney to make at all, give yourself extra time and take extra care. thank you very

much, indeed. and it's notjust the uk that's been hit by the cold snap. temperatures have plunged in other parts of europe too. the lublin province in eastern poland saw more than 20 centimetres of snow. and it's set to continue over the rest of the 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 been 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 has told the bbc that russia had nothing to do with the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in salisbury, suggesting instead britain could have been responsible. speaking to andrew marr, vladimir chizhov said one of the uk's own research laboratories could be the source of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of sergei and yulia skripal. the foreign office has called the russian account "absolute nonsense". 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. our political correspondent jonathan blake is in our london newsroom — how significant is this disagreement? ican imagine i can imagine many people saying no, we don't want to talk about this any more. let's face facts, this is such a detailed negotiation. yes, it's right. it is details. they have released their third officials report and the official line is that the government should consider extending that transition period and delaying the new arrangements, whatever they may be as far as our relationship with the european union

goes, but the problem is that there are several mphs on that committee in favour of leaving be you, you have released their own minority report, putting forward but the government has the right approach and should carry on as they are. there is division about brexit, as there is a costly delay table and between your weight in the pub. even in the government who are charing brexit. the vice—chairman of the committee said that the conclusions we re committee said that the conclusions were too negative and several mpwere not happy to put their name forward for it. the authority that this committee would hope to have over the government for brexit, is weakened because they cannot agree. those are the main stories this morning. no wait, there's another big story.

a simmering club in australia has asked for help to find its mascot. they did try to stop it from getting away, but she was too fast for them. i don't know how you hold onto that stuck. it is the size of a caravan. someone getting out of the cabin in the morning, thinking, how much should i drink last night? that is one, daphne the dark. celebration should be allowed for our paralympics. the closing

ceremony later on today, let's go live to our reporter kate gray who is in pyeongchang for us this morning. what a final day! yes, it has been a brilliant day for great britain. they finished these games ona high, britain. they finished these games on a high, winning two medals. it was gold form menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe. they become... this was their first jen kehoe. they become... this was theirfirst paralympic jen kehoe. they become... this was their first paralympic games and the gold came in the slalom event. they saved the best till last. after their first saved the best till last. after theirfirst run saved the best till last. after their first run they were sitting in second position by the very strong slovakian, but they managed to blood a perfect performance on their second run, and a time that was unbeatable in the end, and which britain are finally on the top of that podium. what of celebrations,

and their family that podium. what of celebrations, and theirfamily and that podium. what of celebrations, and their family and friends were there to chair them on. as you can imagine, the girls couldn't quite it believe what they had achieved. this was their fifth event of the games. it's been absolutely astonishing, the way that this week has gone from quite slow to extremely, extremely high. as soon as we crossed that finish line on the second race, our confidence got boosted, and winning the bronze, as well, it is absolutely amazing. to finish on a gold medal, and to put in one of our strongest performances this week is beyond words. it hasn't sunk in and i think probably won't until we get back to the uk and are back in our own beds and have a lie in. well, there was further successful great britain as millie knight and her

guide brett wild also one a medal in that race. that means that great britain has won seven medals overall here injohn britain has won seven medals overall here in john chang britain has won seven medals overall here injohn chang and they have reached their medal target set for them before these games. a brilliant result for british athletes here on the final day. menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe will lead them out on the ceremony as flag—bearers. it was also the perfect day for ireland. joe wilson was watching for us. so they came to twickenham and never looked like losing. that's how good ireland were. from the moment the ball was hoisted into the sky, ireland were on top. anthony watson was there, but not there. garry ringrose's hands applied the downward pressure. next, an electric move and when it came, the final stretch delivered the ball to the foot of the post.

another try. england got a try back through farrell's kick, but by half—time they were further behind, because ireland's wonder kid, jacob stockdale kicked and dashed and touched down before the line. the line was blue in case of snow. his seventh try of the tournament. eddie jones' unbeaten run at twickenham was over. england's late tries changed nothing except to polish the score. ireland's day, ireland's year. well, with these players celebrating behind me, some of them experience, some of them less so it is easy to forget that ireland have lost some of their greatest ever players for retirement in recent years. no o'gara, o'connor, no o'driscoll. no problem. it's a special day for everybody involved, in irish rugby, and to be here and come and top it off with winning here, this is a really tough place to go, and that is the sign

of a champion team to come here and do that. many of these irish grand slam players will aim to be world cup winners next autumn. england need men to start again. 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. manchester united have made it through to the semi—finals 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 semi—finals with a comfortable 3—0 win over swansea. the dane scored in each half, with erik lamela providing the other goal. they'll now have a home' match in the semi final at wembley. liverpool's mo salah has been making headlines or sleep is outstanding performances, but perhaps this was his best yet. he's good for mac goals, as they won 5—0. against watford. he now takes his goal tally to 28. liverpool leap frog tottenham into third place. not a good day for west brom. bournemouth scored. that leaves more pressure on to alan pardew. also more wins yesterday for crystal palace. he's 36 years old, but world number

one roger federer has not only reached the final at indian wells. it's also his best ever start to a season. he beat croatia's borna coric in three sets and will face argentina'sjuan martin del potro in the final. it was federer‘s 17th consecutive win of the year, surpassing his previous career best of 16 back in 2006. brilliant stuff. mark cavendish must be one of the most unlucky men in sport. he suffered a concussion early on in the season, and then in his first race back a fortnight ago, he crashed and broke a rib. he is backin he crashed and broke a rib. he is back ina he crashed and broke a rib. he is back in a one—day race, yesterday, but look, he hit that pollard, and you can see him flipping over his handle bars onto the road. to rub salt in the wounds, he was in contention when that crash happened. poor mark cavendish. another crash them. how many more bumps and

bruises can one man take? there he is in the road and everybody having juice deer around him. paralympics gb has won its first gold of the games in pyeongchang, making it our most successful winter olympics to date. britain's menna fitzpatrick and guidejen kehoe took gold, with millie knight and brett wild claiming the bronze medal. it means the team have met the target set for this games by uk sport. the organisation's chair dame katherine grainger is in our london newsroom. it is seven medals, that is the target hit. you must be pretty impressed. yes, once again, we set a big ambitious target for the paralympic team, as they know that they capable of some great performances. once again, some inspirational people come back with great medals. every time there is a

new games, whether it is olympics or paralympics, that medal target gets higher and and higher. this was paralympic gb‘s most successful games. is it all come down to just pouring millions into sport to keep that medal target taking up and up and up. because if it stays the same, be blogging to say why are you giving money to winter sport, as well. the money that is coming from the national lottery makes a massive difference. what it enables you to do is unlike anything else. so, it's still about the athletes developing those big moments, because although the money enables you to get the start line, you still have to produce the performances, which is why rely on more and more talent is coming in to do it. the great thing is that while the talent comes in, and the pathways are there, we will see more success, hopefully. you

talk about talent, men are fitzpatrick, jen kehoe... who are the stars for you? it was incredible. biggest medal numbers ever. they have all come from too much of our top athletes. they have got formal —— far more medals than i ever had. but, they will become celebrities, and they are so young, they are just celebrities, and they are so young, they arejust teenagers, celebrities, and they are so young, they are just teenagers, so it is very fitting to see where they can go next. what would you advise them to do, because you have had that experience of being thrust into a very different... you been used to being known in the sporting world, but when you are thrust into the media it is so different? it is different, and especially when you have been competing abroad as they have, ui in a very protective bubble. everybody talks about being ina bubble. everybody talks about being in a bubble. you come back to the uk, and there is always an incredible welcome back here, and

people want to hear the stories and celebrate with them. the biggest m essa g es to celebrate with them. the biggest messages to enjoy it. it feels quite a shock sometimes, but there are stories should be told. they have done amazing performances, and they deserve to celebrate, and i'm sure they will be celibate in for a long time, yet. you are saying it comes back to talent coming in, and that is asa back to talent coming in, and that is as a result in participation. do you see a correlation between people watching the winter olympics or the paralympics, and ashley going to try the sport. because the criticism about the tens of millions pounds thatis about the tens of millions pounds that is poured into winter sport is that is poured into winter sport is that it that is poured into winter sport is thatitis that is poured into winter sport is that it is in general fairly inaccessible for vast swathes of the british public. it costs a lot of money, you have got to travel abroad most of the time, whereas sports like basketball, they haven't got uk sport funding, but there's millions of pounds going into winter sports, and people can't try this pause. how do you get that balance right? it's

a slightly different argument. a huge amount i goes into participation. that is more the sort of home nations. sport england gets much more money than u:k.'s borders. that is to make sure that the grassroots is growing and exhibition numbers remains high. that is a massively important part of thought. the whole job that uk sports do is to make sure that success at inspiration comes from the very first level. we are allowed to focus our money on getting those medals. the argument is that we need both sides. in the winter sports, we have had huge reports from the snow domes in the country, from not be buzzing, where can i sign up, where can i try? they have had huge amounts of people wanted to take part in sterling. anyone can apply to discover your gold and wonder, how

cani discover your gold and wonder, how can i get involved? could i person on the podium? just go to discover your gold, it on the website. they could be the next champions. exciting work being done at the very top level, but also at the grassroots participation that you been talking about. producer much for being with us this morning. the manager medals debate rages on. well done, of course. brilliant stuff. seven medals, good hall. safe journey home. i've got work to do. 0h! journey home. i've got work to do. oh! this journey home. i've got work to do. oh! this is where christian news asked to andrew marr on bbc one. goodbye from me. it's helen. helen is going to tell us all about the weather, but cat would be listening, because she is going to go home not void the hours. if you are out on the roads, please

do be aware. it is treacherous out there. i am sure there'll be lots of delightful children looking for to some sledging. place i know from my youth as a badminton player, aptly, but i have never seen the high—street like this before. we have got quite a few centimetres of snow lying at the moment. but, i'm glad to say, across eastern areas, the snow is starting to ease a little bit, now. very happy through somerset and dorset and across wales. reports of seven or eight inches of snow in monmouthshire. it is really nasty out and about and the other problem is that it is blowing around in this near gale force wind. it has persisted through the past 24—hour was, so the visibility is almost zero in places.

so, more hours of treacherous conditions to come with the snow falling, across where we had the warnings out there. they are about to expand further east, but it will still be treacherous here, and i see. more snow will fall from showers, this time, across parts of northern england, and if you getting across towards the magister region. we have been hearing about issues of cost way of including north wales. further north west it is dry and bright, as it is in the north wales. further north—west it is dry and bright, as it is in the north—west of scotland, and showers continue in the east of scotland. at the moment, the east of scotland. at the moment, the sunshine across cornwall, but this know is edging its way westwards, so don't step out thinking it's fine and dry, because we are expecting that no to move further west. only one or 2 degrees above freezing. it will feel much colder. far north of scotland the wind is that in gzip little bit, now. that is to do with the change

thatis now. that is to do with the change that is coming. as the wind eases, we will see the conditions glaring and particularly penetrating the frost, because of the site of the wind in the south, and obviously very icy overnight, tomorrow. tonight, as we move into my morning's rush—hour, because the high pressure has been across scandinavia this weekend is sinking is way south—westward, it cuts off his easterly wind. that is the really cold air. it's not much warmer, but it does afford us a bit more sunshine, slightly higher temperatures, tomorrow, not much, but fewer snow showers. i is is the main problem. have a good day. u2, helen. look after yourself. the time now is nine minutes to nine. in november it will be exactly 100 years since the guns fell silent and the first world war came

to an end. to mark the centenary of armistice day — silhouettes of soldiers, are being put in towns and cities across the country — reminders of those who didn't come home. they're called silent soldiers and the first of them have appeared in the cheshire village of tarporley. stuart flinders has been to see them. i'm just installing one of these lovely silhouettes. in this tarporley parish church, they are getting ready for a special service this weekend. the villagers will be joined by these ghostly figures from the past, each one a reminder of a man who lost his life in the first world war. "remember the love of them that came not home on the war." this is how tarporley and that its war dead in the 1920s. here is a list of the names of those who died. 61 in total from tarporley, including three shaws. they were brothers. 61 dead in this small community. it must have made a big impression. by 1916, essentially, once the somme campaign had begun, the telegrams were arriving sometimes at a rate of one a week, and the community was really reeling in shock by the signing of the armistice in 1918.

one of those telegrams would have been received by the family of corporal roger martin, who was 29. this is roger martin, my great uncle. he worked as a groom in hunt and stables in tarporley. he was actually wounded in action treatise. —— three times. apparently so, yes. but died of his injuries after the third time, yes. there are 61 silent soldiers, here. once each of tarporley‘s first world war dead. when you put this number of people sitting here, you realise it is a congregation. it is two class sizes. there's a lot of people. what we are doing here is actually giving them a physical presence. we were at the very inspired by the diaries of the rector of tarporley at the time, when he was raising money to put up the village war memorial.

he told the community that this is the least that we can do, for the boys and men have done so much. that has really echoed through my head. the men of tarporley who died for their country have not been forgotten. lots of us are proud about the art from, but would you say that you lived in the best place in the uk? if you live in york, you can say that. that's according to the times. the uk's best city to live in. david collins is northern correspondent for the sunday times and johnny hayes is former chairman of york's bishy road traders‘ association. david tell us, how york, what was it

about york that made it to the top of the list? there were a number of things that our expert team of writers brought into account. for example, load crime rate in york, the fantastic schools. we looked at the fantastic schools. we looked at the league tables. york featured very highly. but also speaking to estate agents, we taken into account affordability of york, and york isn't cheap, however, compare to some areas, perhaps down south or winchester, for example, which is a previous winner, where the writers are very high,... what are you looking at for around in average home in york reyes 300,000 in york. for a start home will be at 180,000. one average home about 300,000.m all files good —— sounds good on paper, but how true is it in real life? is definitely true. york has

got obviously all the history. it's got obviously all the history. it's got the minster, the city walls, the tower, all of the wonderful places that everybody knows. it has also got a fantastically friendly, a very nice place to bring up children, brilliant schools, it is a great place to wander around. lots of people on bikes and on foot. it is one of those really, really special places, would spray lucky to live in such a nice place. at it is commutable to other major cities in the uk. one of them, you mentioned winchester, for a northern city to be honest this, the last couple were down south. the times are changing? well, york has been up—and—coming for a while, i think. it isjust great that a northern city has got this accolade, and it is two hours on the train from york to london, is soi on the train from york to london, is so i know personally people who live in york and commute to london, said there is no reason why they can't do

that, and also, there is a business boom in york, said there is a lot of high—tech companies that have moved into the company. have you seen that, is it changing the way that you feel? definitely. there is that sort of creative cultural aspect to the city. and the high—tech side that it the city. and the high—tech side thatitis the city. and the high—tech side that it is a gigabit city, the first in the country. what does that mean? you know, i don't know, really. very fa st you know, i don't know, really. very fast broadband and very much a high—tech city. it is a very important point, actually, because there is a huge development, is about to be developed at york central. what a fantastic place to have a business. this is a city that does like it is very much a young

city, now. what is the impact of going to be top of the list?|j suppose going to be top of the list?” suppose the impact is... we create a guide that is underpinned by statistical information, but also our writers have been going to these different places and checking them out for themselves. i think our guide this year does reflect that the north is booming. you have not just got york, he got older and, that was voted top in the north—west. that was voted top in the north-west. well, it was the doing very well. enjoy your journey back to york. safe journeys, very well. enjoy your journey back to york. safejourneys, and very well. enjoy your journey back to york. safe journeys, and thank you for talking to us, today. the reason that i am saying safe journey is that there is some bad weather across the uk. amber alert in place. keep track of all of it online. bbc website, stay safe, goodbye. this is bbc news.

the headlines at nine: motorists face treacherous driving conditions due to the cold weather. forecasters predict temperatures will feel as low as minus ten today. in east yorkshire wind, snow and ice are still causing problems for travellers this morning. the russian ambassador to the eu suggests the nerve agent used in the salisbury poisoning could have come from the british research laboratory at porton down. porton down as we now all note is the largest military facility in the

united kingdom that has been dealing with chemical weapons and research