this is bbc news. i'm ben brown the headlines at nine: another cold snap leaves motorists facing treacherous driving conditions. 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. i'm here in devon where it temperatures are plummeting. 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 now, is the largest military facility in the united kingdom that has been dealing with chemical weapons and research, and it is actually about eight miles from salisbury. a man's been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven into a nightclub in gravesend in kent. a number of people have been injured. this is not the response of a

country that wants to get to the bottom of what is going on. a man's been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven into a nightclub in gravesend in kent. a number of people have been injured. mps demand answers from facebook, after accusations of data being taken and passed on without users' consent. and britain wins its first gold at the winter paralympics — menna fitzpatrick and her guide jen kehoe took the the women's visually—impaired slalom. and in half—an—hour, here on bbc news, inside out goes to dover to look at what impact brexit will have on the region. the attorney general in the us state of massachusetts, is to begin an investigation, into claims that information from millions of facebook users, may have been used by a data company, during the 2016 us presidential election. a former employee of cambridge analytica, good morning and welcome to 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. a number of met office amber warnings of a possible risk to life have been in place in south—west england, south—east and mid—wales and the west midlands overnight. this is the current picture — most of the most serious warnings have now expired — but there is still an amber snow warning in place in the south west of england where forecasters say there is a good chance that some rural upland communities could become cut off. police say driving conditions are poor, with no safe routes across the pennines and snow ploughs dispatched to the m62. lincolnshire police said up to 35 vehicles were stuck overnight in snow drifts on the a158 near edlington. mountain rescue teams have been working through the night to help cumbrians in the show. meanwhile, airports including heathrow, gatwick, sta nsted and luton have urged passengers to check flight information before travelling due to possible disruption — and bristol airport and east midlands airports

are currently closed. our correspondent is in devon where the weather appears to be worsening. sarah, what are the conditions? temperatures are down 2—3d and i am told by police that the heavy snowfall we are expecting from about nine o'clock this morning is on its way. it's over dorset at the moment and is heading this way. where i am it's likely to be one of the first places it will hit. i am on haldon hill, which is notorious for drivers

being stranded. an emergency plan has been implemented and behind the you can see one of the tractor prowls. another one is out and about on the roads at the moment. they are here because if there is the heavy snowfall that is predicted, up to 25 centimetres on very high ground, about 10—15 somewhere like here. if that snow comes, these guys will get on the road and will be helping any motorists and lorry drivers who are stranded and stuck in the drift. this is a plan put into place some time ago and it worked effectively a couple of weeks ago. we hear overnight that there have been problems in the north of the region, somewhere like exmoor and north devon have been badly affected. temperatures are dropping. the wind is getting up as well. high winds

have been forecast. we're waiting for the snow. they have been a few snow flurries, but it's in the air, ican snow flurries, but it's in the air, i can smell it. sarah, thank you very much indeed. let's get more on the weather with helen. we've had one cold snap, this is a second. where has it come from? siberia. almost the same beast, you could say. the wind from the east is no good to man or beast and that's why it is so cold. how long will it last? the rest of today. the snow will ease and tomorrow week at the easterly flow and we picked up the northerly flow. that will cut off the cold air and the snowfall will stop. we will also have high pressure and it will become more

settled. which parts of the country has seen the heaviest snowfall? overnight, england and wales, places like nottingham had about 12 centimetres. places in the south east have had ten centimetres. we still have a met office warning out. this is south well this morning. amber warning is still in force for and wales. it's not arrived in cornwall yet. it is moving its way gradually westwards, so it has been snowing heavily across wales this morning, across dorset and somerset and the west midlands, moving gradually westwards all the time. this is what we would describe normally as the radar picture, but it is all snow. there are lots of snow showers coming into the east of scotla nd snow showers coming into the east of scotland and northern england, but the bulk of the snow will be across

south—western areas. it has not arrived in cornwall yet, it has been sunny day at this morning, but it's on its way. after today the temperatures will go up? yes, slowly. we lose the snow eventually. the quietened down overnight with a high pressure, but another cold nights and ice will be an issue tomorrow morning for the return to work. less snow falling tomorrow, but because it it is —— because it is still cold, it will still have an effect. temperatures should eventually spring back to double figures. when will we get spring? are there any more beasts from the

east coming up? there could well be because it's that time of year. i got married in march many years ago and we have the worst storm of the year that day and then the previous week we have had snow. is not unusual. i was going to say, was it a white wedding? not quite! the previous year we were in cardiff at the same time and the daffodils were out. it's topsy—turvy this time of the year. helen, thank you very much indeed. the war of words between moscow and britain continues. 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. let's talk to our political correspondent. the foreign secretary has been outlining the government is my position and their belief that russia and the kremlin were behind the attack in salisbury. the foreign secretary said that the russians had shown denial and delay. vladimir

chizhov claimed that perhaps the sample of murjayden used in the attack had somehow come from the uk. —— of nerve agent. -- of nerve agent. we have... it had also been creating and stockpiling novichok. that is a direct line? you will get that and that is exactly the tactics we have come to expect from russia over the last few years. the foreign secretary there are speaking about what has led the government to this conclusion that russia was behind the attack. he also outlined a little bit of detail about the process from here running. tomorrow experts from opc w will

come from the hague to the uk. they will be given a sample of the nerve agent which it's believed was used in that attack and they were tested independently in laboratories. that will form part of the ongoing investigation and the foreign secretary was also pressed about what other measures the government might take against russia here and he talked about the use of the criminal finance act and unexplained wealth orders which allows the government to freeze the assets of individuals who have brought property or are some how operating in the uk in with suspicion. there is also a clause that allows the government to act against individuals who are suspected of human rights abuse. thank you very much, jonathan. voting is taking place in russia's presidential election. incumbent vladimir putin, who is seeking another six—year—term, cast his ballot a short time ago. he's running against seven other candidates. the first results are expected this evening. let's hear from our correspondent

richard galpin. we are in moscow and it's quite lively. a bit of a festival atmosphere. it entered out a bit. there's a person in pink and food is on sale. this wonderful accordion player here is part of the attraction. all of this obviously to get people to come up and vote to make it attractive and fun. there are even guys make it attractive and fun. there are even guys providing entertainment. they want children here at the moment, but it's essentially for children to play hockey while their parents vote. it makes it easier for families to come

out together. there is, or has been a real drive in the last few weeks to get the votes out. this is one of the biggest concerns of the kremlin. there's almost no doubt whatsoever about who will win this election. it will be vladimir putin because the only serious opposition leader was banned from taking part in the election, so there is no doubt that pretty much, mr putin will win. the question is what the turnout will be and the kremlin are worried about that, hence this campaign to get people to come out. through social media, even actually printing on supermarket plastic bags, asking people to take part. mr putin will be legitimise for yet another period in office. it will be his fourth term in office. there will be some people who have speculated that maybe this nerve agent attack in

salisbury could have been tied into the election somehow to make mr putin more popular with his own people. has the way it's played in the media there had any impact on this election? it's a really difficult question to answer, but i think we can say it's not going to harm him, it's going to help him, in theory, because obviously throughout his tenure in office he has played the strongman, the president who has stood up for russia, increased people's pride in the country and stood up to the west. oversee what has happened, particularly yesterday, the day when russia retaliated to the measures britain has imposed on russia, there was russia standing up to the west once again and! russia standing up to the west once again and i think there is no doubt that plays very well with people here, the sense that the country has a strong leader. richard, many thanks indeed. richard galpin for us

in moscow. the headlines on bbc news: snow and ice are causing difficult driving conditions across much of england and wales. some police forces are advising motorists to avoid non—essential travel. the foreign office has dismissed claims that the nerve agent used in the attack in salisbury could have been produced in porton down. a man's been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven into a nightclub in gravesend in kent. a number of people have been injured. sport now, and for a full round up, let's cross to the bbc sport centre. paralympics gb are celebrating their best ever winter games — after winning their first gold medal in pyeongchang. menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe won the visually impared slalom — adding gold to the two silver medals and a bronze they'd already won. they'll be flag—bearers at today's closing ceremony. mille knight and brett wild won bronze in the same event — bringing paralympics gb‘s medal

tally to seven. it's been absolutely astonishing the way that this week has gone from quite low to extremely high. as soon as we crossed the finish line on the second race my confidence got boosted and winning the bronze as well, it was absolutely amazing. 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 probably won't until we get back to the uk and back into out owfi we get back to the uk and back into our own beds and have a lie in. ireland head coachjoe schmidt says his side's six nations grand slam victory was down to "class and courage". ireland provided the perfect end to theircampaign, as they beat england by 2a points to 15 at twickenham to win their third grand slam on st patrick's day. first—half tries from garry ringrose, cj stander and this one from jacob stockdale helped the irish open up a 21—5 lead, which they never looked

like relinquishing. it's ireland's first grand slam since 2009, but for england it's the first defeat at twickenham under head coach eddie jones. there were also final day wins for scotland over italy and 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. tottenham and manchester united are both through to the fa cup semi finals. tottenham beat swansea, while united saw off 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 its easy to play football, juno tamim? when you win matches, everything goes in your direction. even myself, i can play

when the sun is shining, but when it is dark, amid the top ones can do it, and today we did not have many top ones. liverpool managerjurgen klopp believes forward mohamed salah is "on the way" to being mentioned in the same breath as lionel messi. that's after the egyptian played another starring role in his side's 5—0 win over watford last night. salah scored four of his team's goals, with roberto firmino scoring 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. 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. now is mark cavendish one of the unluckiest men in sport? the british cyclist suffered a concussion earlier in the season, then in his first race back

a fortnight ago he crashed and broke a rib. despite that he took on the milan san remo one day race yesterday and crashed again. to rub salt in his wounds he was in contention when the crash happened. italy's vincenzo nibali took the victory. well the bad weather across the country has caused many events and fixtures to be called off. amongst those are the anglo welsh cup final between bath and exeter, which was due to be played at kingshoilm. also off are the women's fa cup quarterfinal ties between arsenal and charlton, and sunderland versus manchester city. and the championship game between derby and second placed cardiff is also off. there is lots of force rating that has been cancelled as well. you can keep up—to—date with that on our website. i will be back with more

for you in the next anwer. catherine, thank you very much indeed. see you later on. 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. this was moments after a car ploughed into a nightclub. at least two individuals were seen hit by the vehicle. police believe the driver was asked to leave the club following an earlier incident. my god, i nearly died. this car came through the club. a guy who did not get let in drove in the club. drove in the club. look! police and fire rescue services were called to the

scene where detectives have remain today. 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. very personal data was harvested

from people, plus all of their facebook friends, so you can see if we have an average of 200 frames per facebook user, that number can reach millions very quickly. a whistle—blower has come forward and said that the information was harvested without the facebook usehs harvested without the facebook user's knowledge and all of their friends and used to help get donald trump elected in 2016. cambridge analytica has denied it use personal data for a little purposes, but there has been a development in the last hour or so which has changed things quite a bit from a uk perspective. the chairman from the uk culture media and sport committee

has accused cambridge analytica of misleading parliament when it gave evidence last month and they gave forced statements. he will be calling them back to appear in front of mps. on top of that, damian collins said that facebook knew about this harvesting of personal information and deliberately avoided answering straight questions from the committee about it. as you can see, this has been ratcheted up a notch by mps and this issue of how you care for personal information. what other long—term implications for facebook and other social media, and the way we use facial media? what those underlines is one we click the box accept terms and conditions do we know what those terms and conditions are? four years ago when someone terms and conditions are? four years ago when someone handed over the details by clicking that box

allotting using your facebook profile, you will anger at to access your personal opinion on stuff, but that of all of your friends, without consulting potentially hundreds and thousands of friends. that is the issue. things such as it is then. if you —— things have changed since then. when you log on, you are only accessing your own personal details, but there was a big question over personal details when you agreed to log onto something. thank you very much indeed. 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 a village in cheshire. 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 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 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. the weather is causing a lot of problems across the country. let's get the latest. this picture was taken this morning. still ample warnings out from the met office, especially across the south and west. we will continue to see showers falling across the mob is -- see showers falling across the mob is —— across the north east. the north—western parts of northern ireland will see dry and brighter weather. this is the greatest concern. 10—20 centimetres, severe weather. it will be blowing a gale almost, said blizzard conditions and

bitterly cold with treacherous conditions for bows out and about. it stays bitingly cold even though we start to lose a lot of the snow. a penetrating frost because of the strength of the wind. dings. the crime down tomorrow as we get high pressure moving into cut of this —— to cards of this bitter east wind. this is bbc news. our latest headlines:

snow and ice are causing difficult driving conditions across much of england and wales. some police forces are advising motorists to avoid non—essential travel. the foreign office has dismissed claims that the nerve agent used to target the former russian spy in salisbury could have come from the nearby porton down research laboratory. a man's been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven into a nightclub in gravesend, in kent. 13 people have received treatment for injuries. mps are asking facebook for an explainiation, after accusations that profiles were used without users' permission, by a firm employed by donald trump's election campaign.