this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm: borisjohnson dismisses russian claims the nerve agent used to target the former russian spy in porton down couldn't have come from the porton down research laboratory. this is not the response of a country that rarely believes itself to be innocent. this is not the response of the country that really wants to engage in getting to the bottom of the matter. travel disruption and school closures in the south west of england and wales — as the so—called ‘mini beast from the east‘ brings snow and ice to much of the uk. a 21—year—old man is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder, after a 4x4 was driven at a nightclub in gravesend. and, teetering on the brink.

residents from clifftop chalets in norfolk are told to evacuate as their homes are at risk of coastal erosion due to the high tide. and an arts and textiles teacher from north west london, becomes the first person from this country to win a million—dollar teaching prize. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the foreign secretary borisjohnson says the government has evidence that, for the last ten years, russia has been making and stockpiling novichok, the nerve agent britain says was used to try and kill a former spy and his daughter in salisbury. mrjohnson accused the russians of ‘smug sarcasm' after their ambassador to the eu suggested the nerve agent could have come from britain's own

porton down research centre, which is near salisbury. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. after two weeks of delicate investigation and decontamination work in salisbury, in which police officers and troops have had to take extraordinary precautions to protect themselves, the russian ambassador to the eu chose to hint that britain might have been responsible for the nerve agent attack. 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. immediately afterwards on the same programme, this was the foreign secretary's riposte. this is not the response of a country that really believes itself to be innocent. their response has been a sort of mixture of smug sarcasm and denial, obfuscation and delay.

and he insisted the russians have been doing recent nerve agent research. we actually have evidence within the last ten years that russia has not only been investigating the delivery of nerve agents for the purposes of assassination, but has also been creating and stockpiling novichok. that was a direct lie that i was being given there? but you will get that. however the foreign secretary then had to concede that the wife of a former finance minister under putin had paid £160,000 in a conservative party auction to play tennis with him. did the tennis game actually happen? it did. after signs of a gap opening up last week between labour leadership and downing street over the salisbury attack, this morning the labour position was much closer to the government's. putin has questions to answer because this is highly likely it could be a state execution,

but what we don't do in this country is we don't leap to conclusions without the evidence. what we are saying to our international partners, working with the chemical weapons inspectors as well, working with porton down, we will now produce the evidence that leads us to a judgment that they can rely upon. the porton down military laboratory is where experts have spent two weeks analysing the rare nerve agent used. tomorrow, international specialists from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons will arrive here to start their own independent analysis of what left yulia and sergei skripal fighting for their lives. daniel sandford, bbc news. earlier we spoke to tom burridge in soulsby about the delegation of chemical weapons experts coming to the uk.

ican i can understand the delegation to be made up from officialfrom independently minded countries, countries which have an come out in support of britain in its diplomatic i’ow support of britain in its diplomatic row with russia. countries like officials from india and brazil. the delegation will go to porton down, the ministry of defence‘ scientific research laboratory in wiltshire. they will discuss with officials how samples can be transported abroad for tests to be run on those samples in independent laboratories to verify what exactly the nerve agent was used which ended up with sergei skripal and his daughter being critically ill over there on the bench beneath the white tarpaulin. will samples go to russia to be checked against the samples from porton down with whatever is

produced in russia? it is still unclear whether a sample of the nerve agent will be tested by russia, that hasn‘t been confirmed that the stage. given the level of the diplomatic row between moscow and the uk at this time, it seems unlikely. the foreign secretary, gave quite a strong statement. boris johnson said that the british government has evidence that russia has been producing the type of nerve agent allegedly used in the attack, called novichok, and a programme which russia completely denies has ever existed. 0ne scientist who defected to the united states, who said he was part of the programme, published a whole book on the idea and the programme behind novichok, but experts say little is known, these are very, very intricate, come placated nerve agents and little is known, particularly in the public

domain about them and about how they are used and developed. polls are closing in the russian presidential election with president putin expected to win a fourth term in office. the latest coming in from the central electoral commission, those officials we saw a moment ago, they are saying of the votes they have counted, 72% almost, of all vladimir putin. the state exit poll is giving him even slightly higher than that. it is giving him nearly 74% of the vote. of course, he had said he wanted, or his campaign had said they wanted a 70% turnout and they wa nted they wanted a 70% turnout and they wanted 70% of the vote. the last officially announced turnout data was 3pm in the afternoon our time

and that was just short of 60%. so we will see what happens later when those final votes are counted. but it looks like vladimir putin has got the comfortable victory he expected and everyone expected for him. now, let‘s turn to the weather. a met office amber warning of a possible risk to life will remain in place across south west england until 3am tomorrow morning. forecasters say there is a risk to some rural upland communities in the region. snow and ice have been causing disruption to road, rail and air travel across many parts of the uk. dozens of schools will be closed tomorrow in devon and the south wales valleys. most of the most serious warnings have expired. jane—frances kelly has the latest picture from across the uk. heavy snow made driving conditions treacherous on exmoor in north devon. strong east or north—easterly winds allowed snowdrifts to build up and the met office said the snow could strand some vehicles and passengers. an amber weather warning, meaning a possible risk to life,

is in place for much of south—west england. forecasters say there is a good chance that some rural, upland communities could be cut off. around exeter, there have been snowploughs to clear major routes, although there have been problems on the m5, a30 and a380 due to stranded vehicles and heavy snow. flybe have cancelled flights from exeter airport for the rest of the day. rail companies and airports are warning people to check before travelling. bristol, east midlands and bournemouth airports were all closed during the morning so their runways could be cleared of snow. 0vernight conditions were treacherous further north. snowploughs had to be sent to clear the m62. in halifax, a car overturned. in barnsley, drivers in 4x4 vehicles towed motorists to safety. but a lorry proved just too much.

the a66 route caught out one driver who was trying to pick up his daughter. she was staying at her friends and the police pulled up and say, can you stay at the community centre in brough. she has been there for about 12 hours now. in county durham, darren waters spent the morning digging history spent the morning digging his street out for his neighbours, even though he doesn‘t drive. but he enjoys the exercise. i haven‘t been to the gym for a week because i cannot be bothered trudging through the weather. sporting fixtures, including a number of half marathons have had to be called off, but it hasn‘t been doom and gloom for everyone. children have been getting their sledges out for the second time in a matter of weeks. with the weather set to improve over

the next couple of days. in devon, 60 schools will be closed tomorrow and flybe have cancelled flights to and from exeter airport for the rest of the day. 0ur correspondent sarah ransome is in haldon hill with the latest. we have been hearing over the course of the afternoon, one hospital has been asking for volunteer drivers who have 4x4 cars to help ferry staff to and from the hospital, because the weather is so severe. i am at holden hill and there are one or two cars on the road. earlier there were severe problems for drivers trying to get up and down the road because it was so severe, the snowfall, it came within about 20 minutes, a very heavy dump of snow. we had about five inches in that short period of time and that caused a few problems for drivers.

all night and today, the gritters and the tractor ploughs have been out keeping those lanes as clear as they possibly can. 0ccasionally lanes have had to be closed because they need to halt the traffic to make it safe for the drivers to get up there. but the roads are black, drivers are able to pass with caution. but, some of those snow flurries we have been talking about, it is still snowing this afternoon, they will continue on and off throughout the day. temperatures are dropping again and with that of course, that could mean with a lot of water on the ground, some of that could turn to ice. so the message from emergency services here certainly, where there have been a number of accidents on the a roads, in spite of their warnings, please don‘t come out unless you have got to. if yourjourney is necessary, that is fine, but unless you‘ve got to do that, stay at home.

sarah, we mentioned in the intro, perhaps a little bit more on the air travel because some flights are cancelled from exeter? that is right, some flights from exeter have been cancelled and there has been disruption throughout, notjust on the roads, but also on the trains. south western trains, great western trains have all said if you are planning to travel, please check before you leave because there has been disruption. whether it be either by train or by plane. please check either at the airport, train station or provider to see if they can actually go and that applies the tomorrow morning as well. this amber warning is going to continue until the early hours of the morning. that means there is severe possibility of disruption. with that in mind and obviously we were talking earlier about the number of schools that are closing, some hospitals are asking for volunteer drivers to get staff to and from work, they are asking, saying please

check, don‘t make yourjourney any more difficult than it might already be, or, you might have to make the emergency services come out and collected, because you haven‘t heeded warnings. a met office amber warning remains in place until the early hours of tomorrow morning. 35 vehicles were stuck overnight close to edlington. highways england told us about the road conditions across the country and had this advice for drivers. the current state of affairs is we are still in amber alert for two regions, north northeast and yorkshire. the north—east has been heavily affected by the weather over this weekend. there are still two closures on the a 66 and the a628.

check travel conditions and the highways england website as to whether roads are closed and the m62 is recovering well. we will repeat, please plan yourjourney, check the weather conditions before you head out. if you don‘t need to travel there i would advise you not to do so. there i would advise you not to do so. if you are planning to travel to regions where we are having particular challenges. if you do, prepare for thejourney, particular challenges. if you do, prepare for the journey, ensure your vehicle is roadworthy and pack a snow kit of some description, blanket, food, water and a shovel because actually, if you get caught on the network, you may be delayed for some time if you are caught up in severe weather conditions. just the very latest on whether impact,

all schools in blaenau gwent are closed tomorrow and a few schools in paris as well. we‘ll keep you informed as we get updates. the headlines on bbc news: 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. an amber snow warning remains in place for the south west of england as the so—called ‘mini beast from the east‘ brings wintry weather to much of the uk. scores of schools in devon and wales will be closed tomorrow. 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. a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after at least 13 people were injured when a car was driven into a busy nightclub in gravesend. it‘s thought the car drove

into a covered smoking area at blake‘s nightclub. 0ur correspondent simonjones sent us this update from the scene. the police remain at the scene. the police were initially called here after midnight. people heard a big bang when they we re people heard a big bang when they were trying to enjoy their night out. suddenly a 4x4 ploughed into a tented area at the end of the alleyway behind me. there was panic and people were screaming. one of the people in the club actually sent a text message to her family to say she loved them, because she didn‘t know what was going to happen. i am told security stuff quickly took charge and managed to get people out of the tented area and into the main part of the club and people were allowed to leave via the back entrance. the police say at least 13 people have been injured. those are the 13 they know about, but they believe other people may have suffered injuries and left

the club of their own accord. they are being asked to contact the police. we are told the injuries are largely broken bones, rather than life—threatening injuries. the police say a 21—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. according to the police, they believe he had left the club earlier in the evening after an altercation. for the people inside, it was a frightening situation and the owners of the club have posted a statement on their facebook page saying, they are very sorry people had to experience this and their thoughts are very much with those who are affected, those who witnessed it inside the club, those injured and with their security staff, who had to deal with the aftermath of it. chloe germaney was at the club with her friends and explained what she saw. i arrived about 11 o'clock and there was a man shouting because he was sent out of the club and he was restrained, and he was shouting and swearing.

i got into the club and i was there for about an hour, half an hour, 40 minutes. we heard a massive bang. we were going out to the smoking area outside. there was a big 4x4 driving about and it went through the gate and purposely hitting people. the security guards were shouting go back in, go back in. everyone was screaming and shouting. we went back in. after about five minutes they locked the doors and we couldn't go out. the music stopped. they were playing it to calm us down a bit, but it didn't help. everyone was screaming. we all ran to the other exit, but no one could get out of the exit, so everyone was pushing and there was loads of fights. eventually we did get let out

but everybody left their coats. i thought it was a terrorist attack oi’ i thought it was a terrorist attack or something. i thought everyone who walked through the door was going to kill us. i sent a text to my family saying where i was and i love them. i didn't know what was going to happen. we just got told to go, leave the club immediately. the turkish president says the northern syrian city of afrin is now under turkish control after its troops backed by syrian allies, entered the city centre. turkey has been engaged in a two—month battle with kurdish fighters and the kurdish administration of afrin says its forces will now strike turkish and allied militia positions at "every opportunity". mark lowen has this update from istanbul. the sound not a battle but of celebration, syrian rebel fighters backed by turkey,

taking the town of afrin after a lightning advance. there are flags marked the new order here. the ypg, kurdish militia, had promised to fight to the death in afrin but in the end their resistance looked to melt away. afrin fell within hours, the vestiges of the ypg wiped away in a few hours. in the name of god the merciful, we are now inside afrin liberated from terrorism, the city has returned to the syrian revolution and we call on all residents to come back the scars of this two month—long offensive are everywhere, a town in circles and besieged, residents fleeing the turkish advance. over 150,000 people are said to have escaped in recent days. a triumphant president announced the success. turks from all sides have rallied

behind an offensive targeting a group they say are linked to kurdish militants within turkey, crushing age—old foes is a rare writing force in this uniting force in this otherwise polarised country. translation: most of the terrorists have already fled with their tails between their legs. our special forces and members of the free syrian army are clearing the remaining pockets of resistance. in the centre of afrin, symbols of trust and stability waving instead of the rags of terrorists. as a kurdish statue in central afrin was torn down, a bad omen for the much needed reconciliation. many residents who will return are kurdish, hostile to turkey and syrian arabic writers. and syrian arabic fighters. in some areas of afrin, the rebels were welcomed as liberators, the question now is whether turkey will push on to the ypg held territory, that will be discouraged by the west,

which sees the kurdish as vital allies. but for now, victory is being savoured, and eight years into the war, each side continues to carve it up. staying in syria: a second major military offensive continues in southern syria on the outskirts of the capital damascus. thousands of people are reported to have fled fighting in the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta today. the syrian state news agency has released this picture, showing president assad visiting army positions in eastern ghouta. the military has called on rebels to withdraw immediately from the remaining pockets of resistance in the region. polls are closing in the russian presidential election with president putin expected to win a fourth term in office. it looks as if turnout may have been lower than the kremlin was hoping. let‘s go to richard galpin in a

moment, but first you can see, that is the central electoral commission and they have been announcing the figures. according to votes counted, president putin has won nearly 72%. they have only counted at this point, 21% of the ballots. he is far ahead, clearly and as expected, is going to walk into a fourth term. the exit poll from the state media is suggesting that he will get slightly above that at the end of the day. but the turnout seems a little unclear at this point and obviously he was concerned about turnout. we will go to richard galpin, our correspondent in moscow later on. we‘ll get more and that victory for vladimir putin. politicians in the us, including republican senators, have warned president trump against trying to shut down the special counsel investigation into claims of russian interference in the 2016 election.

donald trump has again called robert mueller‘s probe a witch hunt and his personal lawyer has called for an end to the inquiry. however mr mueller continues to gather information and its understood he has now spoken to andrew mccabe, the fbi‘s former deputy director who was sacked this weekend. chris butler explains the significance. andrew mccabe was the deputy director of the fbi and was there whenever president trump fired that then fbi director, james comey. that was very controversial and it was something that is still a contentious issue that is fought out. james comey is due to release a book next month in which he says he will reveal more about that. andrew mccabe had taken notes throughout the period. notjust notes on the events of that but his conversations

with president trump. he has given them to the special counsellor, robert mueller, subsequent to his firing. it is fair to say president trump had been pushing to fire andrew mccabe. andrew mccabe stepped down injanuary and was due to retire actually today, which he would have retired on a full pension after more than 20 years in the fbi. that is in jeopardy by the fact he was fired 26 hours before today, which is his 50th birthday. you have this very contentious argument between them about what was said, what was done and all of these details have now been passed on to robert mueller, the special counsel, who is looking at allegations of russian interference back at the elections in 2016, but a whole range of other measures that have shifted that have off shooted

from that effectively. residents from several cliff top seaside chalets in norfolk have been told to evacuate their homes due to strong winds. police say six properties in the village of hemsby are at risk of coastal erosion overnight because of the high tide. in 2013, tidal storms saw three homes in the village washed away. robby west reports. knowing the tide was drawing in, lifeboat crews helped moved people‘s furniture out. when stephen chadwick woke up yesterday morning, his garden had all but gone. yeah, bought it for sea views, beautiful sea views, now the has taken it away. woke up this morning, had a cup of coffee, half past seven at the back door and i felt, it was like an earthquake and the cliffjust went. it‘s just a terrible shock. watching people taking my house apart. i don‘t think they‘ll be here tomorrow. five years ago three homes were washed away following a storm surge. this time a fortnight of high tides and easterly winds have resulted in the coast‘s natural defences being washed away.

houses close to the see are just inches from falling in. there are probably five properties that are at the highest risk. this end one we are at now is the one that is teetering on the edge of the cliff and it wouldn't take much for it to start to fall into the sea. it's already twisted at the back so the doors can't open, so it is quite high risk. as the tide reached its peak, the road was closed. earlier on this evening we were just down there behind us, but now the police have moved us on because the weather has turned so bad. the houses are still standing, but they are now properly close to the edge. this morning people will return to find out if their homes have been lost to the sea. robby west, news. now, who do you think would qualify as the world‘s best teacher? well, the annual varkey foundation global teacher prize has awarded that status to an art and textiles teacher from an inner city london school.

andria zafirakou, who teaches in brent, becomes the first ever winner from the uk and has scooped a prize worth just over £700,000. accepting the award she called for more support for the "power of the arts" in school, particularly to benefit deprived pupils. andrea joins us now from dubai, where the award ceremony took place. many congratulations. thank you so much, i appreciate it. i know you don‘t want to boast about yourself but you have to be our key source on what is so special about your teaching? it is the work we do in the school, the way we support the children because some of them do come from deprived backgrounds. we make sure they have a fantastic experience and provide extracurricular activities, provide them with a breakfast club. we do whatever it takes to make sure they

thrive. you work in the arts and he wa nted thrive. you work in the arts and he wanted to emphasise in winning this prize the great importance of the art for kids. give us some concrete exa m ples of art for kids. give us some concrete examples of what that involves, what the children at your school can do? i have seen how it can really transform them from being very quiet, very withdrawn individuals. it gives them the opportunities to really identify with who they are in terms of the work they produce. some stu d e nts terms of the work they produce. some students are able to really use the materials and manipulate them to create some fantastic outcomes. it gives them confidence, it gives them self belief. these are the tools they need to take into other subjects. i am tremendously proud of being an art teacher and seeing how it does really have a huge impact on