this is bbc news. i'm carrie gracie. the headlines at 7pm: borisjohnson dismisses russian claims that the nerve agent used to target the former russian spy in salisbury could 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. the first exit poll from russia's presidential election shows vladimir putin winning comfortably with 74% of the votes. 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. my my god, i nearly died. this car come through... look. a 21—year—old man is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder, after a 4x4 was driven into a marquee at a nightclub in gravesend.

also coming up... teetering on the brink. residents from clifftop chalets in norfolk are told to evacuate their homes 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 says the government has evidence that russia has been creating and stockpiling the nerve agents known as novichok. speaking to the bbc, borisjohnson accused the kremlin of ‘smug sarcasm' in its response to the attack in salisbury two weeks ago. a senior russian diplomat has suggested that the substance used in salisbury could have come from the british research laboratory at porton down.

here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. today, despite the bad weather, troops and police officers continued the delicate and dangerously of decontamination and preserving the scenes in salisbury. it is clear now the focus of this investigation is sergei skripal‘s burgundy bmw car, with detectives still seeking more information on its movements on the day of the nerve agent attack. this morning, the russian ambassador to the eu, chose to hint that britain might have been responsible for the whole thing. 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 actually only eight miles from salisbury. you are not suggesting that porton down is responsible for this nerve agent attack? 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 rarely believes itself to be innocent. their response has been a sort of mixture of smug sarcasm and denial, obfuscation and delay. and with 23 diplomats due to leave the russian embassy this week after being expelled as spies, the foreign secretary made his most direct accusation yet that russia has 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. however, the foreign secretary then had to concede that the wife of a former minister under vladimir putin, had paid £160,000 in a conservative party auction to play tennis with him. did the tennis game actually happen?

it did. but the labour leadership‘s position on the salisbury attack now seems much closer to the government's than it was in the middle of last week. putin has questions to answer because this is highly likely this could have been a state execution. but, what we don't do in this country is that we don't leap to conclusions without the evidence. tomorrow, international specialists from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons will arrive at porton down to start their own independent analysis of wattel left yulia and sergei skripal fighting for their lives. daniel sandford, bbc news. vladimir putin appears to be heading for another six years in power as voting has ended in the russian presidential election. exit polls show him taking 74% of the votes. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports.

it looked more like a show than an election. russian polling stations providing free entertainment to boost the turnout. inside, you could cast a ballot and cast an eye at the art. pride of place here, reserved for a legendary russian ruler, who had battled the west. the current leader is facing international pressure after salisbury. still, vladimir putin was relaxed as he voted. i believe in the programme i am offering my country, the president said. and his supporters agreed. he is a genius, he says. putin wants russia to prosper and russians to live in happiness. it is thanks to putin, she says, that russia still exists. but, critics of the kremlin said the election was fixed, that only those candidates who stood no chance of unseating vladimir putin, were allowed to run. the problem with russia is, there is

no such thing as russian politics. politics has been eliminated in russia altogether. there is only one political situation in russia and thatis political situation in russia and that is the physical body of vladimir putin. which is wide the results of this vote was never in doubt. this election is less about choosing a new president, but more about reappointing the old one. the system vladimir putin has built ensures he doesn't face any challenge. he's set for a fourth term in the kremlin. but these images will embarrass the kremlin. caught on cctv, the woman stuffs but ballot box at a polling box at a polling station in moscow. suddenly there is two of them active. and in siberia, during the count, someone moves the balloon so they cover the camera. election officials say they will investigate alleged violations. but that won't change who will be

running russia for the next six yea rs. ina in a moment, we will have a summary of the day's news but much of the uk has been in the midst of a second snowfall of the winter. it has been combined with bitterly cold winds bringing misery to those travelling this weekend. 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 friend's 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 his street out for his neighbours, even though he doesn't drive. but he enjoyed the exercise. i haven't been to the gym for a week because i cannot be bothered trudging through the weather. ijust thought, i just thought, i ijust thought, i would clear some snow. 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. borisjohnson accuses russia of making and stockpiling deadly novichok nerve agents. of making and stockpiling deadly two weeks on from the collapse in salisbury of a russian spy and his daughter — the foreign secretary attacks moscow's attitude. the foreign secretary their response has been a sort of mixture of smug sarcasm and denial, obfuscation and delay. of mixture of smug sarcasm his comments come as a senior

russian diplomat suggests the nerve agent could have come from the british facility at porton down. from the british in russia — vladimir putin casts his vote in the presidential election — as he seeks another six years in power. a sunday white—out as driving snow, biting winds and ice affect much of the country. biting winds and ice affect and joy for britain as the winter paralympics come to an end — winning gold for the first time. paralympics come to an end — good evening. the foreign secretary says the government has evidence that russia has been creating and stockpiling the nerve

agents known as novichok. and stockpiling the nerve speaking to the bbc, borisjohnson accused the kremlin of ‘smug sarcasm‘ in its response to the attack in salisbury two weeks ago. to the attack in a senior russian diplomat has suggested that the substance used in salisbury could have come from the british research laboratory at porton down. from the british research here‘s our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. today, despite the bad weather, troops and police officers continued the delicate and dangerous work of decontamination and preserving the scenes in salisbury. decontamination and preserving the it is clear now that the focus of this investigation is sergei skripal‘s burgundy bmw car, with detectives still seeking more information on its movements on the day of the nerve agent attack. movements on the day this morning, the russian ambassador to the eu, chose to hint that britain might have been responsible for the whole thing. porton down, as we now all now, is the largest military facility in the united kingdom that has been dealing with chemical weapons research. united kingdom that has been dealing and it‘s actually only eight

miles from salisbury. you‘re not suggesting that porton down is responsible for this nerve agent? porton down is responsible for i don‘t know. immediately afterwards, on the same programme, this was the foreign secretary‘s riposte. on the same programme, this was the 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. of mixture of smug sarcasm and and with 23 diplomats due to leave the russian embassy this week, after being expelled as spies, the foreign secretary made his most direct accusation yet that russia has 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. of assassination, but has also been however, the foreign secretary then

had to concede that a wife of a former minister under vladimir putin had paid £160,000 in a conservative party auction to play tennis with him. did the tennis game actually happen? it did. but the labour leadership‘s position on the salisbury attack now seems much closer to the government‘s than it was in the middle of last week. closer to the government‘s than it putin has questions to answer because this is highly likely this could have been a state execution. because this is highly likely this but what we don't do in this country is that we don't leap to conclusions without the evidence. is that we don't leap to conclusions tomorrow, international specialists from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons will arrive at porton down to start their own independent analysis of what left yulia and sergei skripal fighting for their lives. daniel sandford, bbc news. fighting for their lives. in russia, polls have closed

in the presidential election, with president putin seeking another six years in power. seven other candidates are also standing. the are also standing. indications are that putin has won the indications are that putin has won by a 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg at the kremlin. thank steve rosenberg at the kremlin. you. according to results thank you. according to the latest results of vladimir putin has won more than 70% of the vote in the election, not a surprise, many russians support him. but crucially it‘s the political system mr putin put in place in russia that virtually guaranteed he would emerge the winner. it looked more like a show than an election. russian polling stations providing free entertainment to boost the turnout. free entertainment to inside, you could cast a ballot and cast an eye at the art. pride of place here reserved for a legendary russian ruler who had battled the west. for a legendary russian ruler who the current leader is facing international pressure after salisbury. facing international still, vladimir putin

was relaxed as he voted. "i believe in the programme i‘m offering my country," the president said. offering my country," the and his supporters agreed. offering my country," the "he‘s a genius," he says. offering my country," the "putin wants russia to prosper and for russians to live in happiness." to prosper and for russians "it‘s thanks to putin," she says, "that russia still exists." but critics of the kremlin says the election was fixed. but critics of the kremlin say the election was fixed. that only those candidates who stood no chance of unseating vladimir putin were allowed to run. the problem with russia is there is no such thing as russian politics. is there is no such thing as politics has been eliminated in russia altogether. there is only one political institution in russia and this is the physical body of vladimir putin. institution in russia and this is which is why the results of this vote was never in doubt. this election is less about choosing a new president and more about reappointing the old one. the political system, which vladimir putin has built,

ensures he faces no serious challenge and he‘s set for a fourth term in the kremlin. challenge and he‘s set for a but these images will embarrass the kremlin. caught on cctv, a woman stuffs the ballot box at a polling station near moscow. the ballot box at a polling suddenly, there are two of them at it, and something suspicious in siberia. at it, and something during the vote count, someone moves a tricolore of russian balloons so they cover over the camera. election officials say they will investigate alleged violations. they will investigate but that won‘t change who will be running russia for the next six years. running russia for the you running russia for the know, there is a joke doing ' rounds you know, there is a joke doing the rounds in moscow right now. in russia there are two things of which you can be sure. that the winters here will always be long and that vladimir putin will always win an election. studio: steve rosenberg,

thank you. much of the uk has been in the midst of a second significant snowfall of the winter. of a second significant for many areas it‘s been combined with bitterly cold winds, bringing misery to those travelling this weekend. frankie mccamley reports. travelling this weekend. as the snow gave no sign of giving up, neither did those trying to clear it away and keep traffic moving. but with strong winds causing blizzard conditions, here in devon driving became treacherous. blizzard conditions, here in some clearly struggling to keep control. in newcastle, for those just trying to leave the house, it wasn‘t an easy task. to leave the house, it i‘ve been here for an hour and i‘ve done about a quarter of this road, so i‘m making headway. we're not equipped here for the snow, it's not like if you live abroad and you have a lot of snow. the snow, it's not like if you live i think some of the biggest problems is the drivers themselves, they are not used to driving, if it looks like two flakes of snow, they're stuck, some of the people. flakes of snow, they're stuck, i don't think it's been too bad. flakes of snow, they're stuck,

railway stations across the country have also seen delays. the country have also seen in newbury all trains were stopped in their tracks. staff doing what they can to help. were stopped in their tracks. and as snow hit the south west, bristol airport stopped flights this morning with exeter cancelling flights for the rest of the day. the even for those wanting to brave the weather and support their local team, football and rugby fixtures were called off, including the anglo welsh cup final at gloucester. throughout the day the snow gates on the a66 remained closed between county durham and cumbria, keeping one family apart. basically, i‘m trying to get a draft pick my daughter up. basically, i‘m trying to get to brough to pick my daughter up. she‘s been stuck there since last night. so, it‘sjust a question of getting round. with around 11 centimetres of snow already falling on higher ground is like here in west yorkshire, more snow is still expected. west yorkshire, more snow is still but the majority tonight and tomorrow morning will be in the south—west of england. and tomorrow morning will be in the with amber weather warnings in place until 9am tomorrow morning. in place until 9am go!

in place until 9am it‘s not all doom and gloom, though, the so—called mini beast from the east has brought some fun with it too with all sorts heading out to enjoy the weather. as for when temperatures will get back to normal, things should be warming up by tuesday. frankie mccamley, bbc news, west yorkshire. the head of cambridge analytica, the data firm used by donald trump‘s election campaign has been called back before a committee of mps. they believe alexander nix has fresh questions to answer about the way his company used the personal details of up to 50 million facebook users. the personal details of up the social media giant will also be asked to appear. both deny any wrong doing. will also be asked to appear. here‘s our business correspondent joe lynam. the correspondentjoe lynam. idea that all women sho receive the idea that all women should receive the same message... meet alexander nix, he is the eton educated boss of the data mining company cambridge analytica, which specialises in something called psycho graphics. that is an understanding of your personality, because it‘s personality that drives

behaviour and behaviour that obviously influences how you vote. but now a committee of mps thinks he might have given parliament false state m e nts might have given parliament false statements about what his company did with millions of facebook profiles. he has been recalled for more questions. the facebook boss mark zuckerberg will also be called. it looks like facebook were trying to avoid difficult questions about this and people will rightly be concerned, are there other data breaches we don‘t know about? how effective our facebook actually at stopping people taking data from their platform and then using it in a way that suits them that facebook can control. at the heart of this was an app designed in britain in 2014 supposed to tell you a lot more about your own personality, but if you login using your facebook profile it allowed the app and its owners a ccess to profile it allowed the app and its owners access to some very personal data held on facebook, most astonishingly, though, it allowed the app access to all of your friends‘ personal data without their explicit consent. we are going to make america great again. it has

been claimed donald trump‘s campaign used personal data acquired from cambridge analytica to try and influence the election, something flatly denied by the company. and it was also at the top table when the leave.eu campaign was launched in 2015. but now denies it did any work at all on the brexit referendum. but it does raise the issue, though, of what happens when we click ok online. we see these quizzes pop up in our facebook timelines, we think it would be a bit of fun to be matched with which they must start and i? but what doing is handing every bit of your profile data onto a data collection service. much of this has come to light because this former cambridge analytica employee chris wiley has now claimed facebook knew what data the company held and how it could be used. facebook strongly denies his claims and suspended his own facebook account. —— christopher wylie. the social media giant said it was doing so because christopher wylie exploited facebook to harvest millions of

people‘s profiles. joe lynam, bbc news. 0n the final day of the winter paralympics in south korea, britain has won its first and only gold medal at the games. it was thanks to menna fitzpatrick and her guidejen kehoe who triumphed in the women‘s visually—impaired slalom. kate grey reports. visually—impaired slalom. it was the golden moment they‘d been waiting for. menna fitzpatrick and her guide jen kehoe saved their best till last to win gold in the slalom on the final day of these games. the pairwere in silver medal position going into the second run and displayed a perfect performance. the time was unbeatable. and displayed a perfect performance. commentator: she's in front! and displayed a perfect performance. their fourth medal here in pyeongchang to become britain‘s most successful british pa ralympians. it's been absolutely astonishing the way that this week has gone from quite low to extremely, extremely high. to finish on a gold medal and put in one of our strongest performances this week is beyond words. it hasn't sunk in and i think probably won't until they probably won't until we

get back to the uk and are back in our own beds and have a lie in. there was further success as millie knight and her guide brett wild managed to sneak the bronze in that same race, which means paralympics gb have reached their target of seven medals. but all dependent on one sport, one classification and a small number of athletes. classification and a small number i‘m proud of every single one of the 17 athletes that came here to pyeongchang to represent paralympics gb. yes, the medals came from snow but every one of those athletes did give it their all. but every one of those so, these games drew to a fitting close with britain‘s golden girls carrying the union flag, and the international pa ralympic committee could also celebrate with more nations taking part than ever before, and a record number of tickets sold. before, and a record number of they now call these games the greatest winter paralympics to date. the greatest winter kate grey, bbc news, pyeongchang. the greatest winter just before we go — a teacherfrom london hasjust won a $1 million prize. a teacherfrom london hasjust andria zafira kou — who teaches art and textiles at alperton community school —

was awarded this year‘s varkey foundation global teacher prize at a ceremony in dubai. the money works out to more than £700,000. that‘s it. to more than £700,000. i‘m back with the late news at 10:10pm — now on bbc one it‘s time for the news where you are. sunday has been another wintry day. he is the scene taken in devon earlier on in the dead. we have still got an amber warning in force from the met office with 20 centimetres of snow across parts of devon and cornwall which is valid until 3am this morning. snow flurries will be pushing west and merging with this snow. 0ne

flurries will be pushing west and merging with this snow. one or two scattered snow showers across eastern england and northern ireland. it stays bitterly cold. 0n sunday night we have this easterly wind across the country. high pressure is in charge as we head into monday. that should keep a lot of dry weather on the scene but it will be a cold start to monday morning. the cold shih in parts of scotland. monday it does look like a dry day. a few snow showers in the far south of england. channel islands might seem more snow through the morning. most places will be dry in the day and there will be sunshine. a bit more cloud moves and across eastern scotland and eastern england as well. in the week ahead things will be turning milder and there will be some rain later on in there will be some rain later on in the week, but we start a largely dry note. we have a north—easterly

breeze through tuesday. a weather front bringing a few rain showers but elsewhere, a lot of dry weather. the best of the sunshine through western scotland, north—west england and wales until bridges around about six to 9 degrees, creeping closer to where they should be for this time of year. heading into the middle of the week and you will notice the yellow colours returning to the map. indicating milder air moving yellow colours returning to the map. indicating milderair moving in yellow colours returning to the map. indicating milder air moving in from the south—west. 0n indicating milder air moving in from the south—west. on wednesday will be southern and eastern parts should be largely dry and bright. towards the north—west, more cloud bringing outbreaks of rain. temperatures still on the cool side bar back into double figures, eight to 10 degrees. goodbye for now. this is bbc news.

i‘m martine croxall. our latest headlines: 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. the first exit poll from russia‘s presidential election shows vladimir putin winning comfortably with 74% of the votes. 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. and an arts and textiles teacher from north—west london becomes the first person from this country to win a million—dollar teaching prize. now on bbc news, sportsday. hello and welcome. the headlines

this evening. in extra time winner for they izfi g“ cue semifinals. to reach the fa cup semifinals. southampton will be chelsea‘s poland at wembley. saints beat league 1 wigan. in britain‘s first gold medal at the winter paralympics comes on the final day of the games. good evening. chelsea are through to the fa cup semifinals after pedro scored in extra time to give them a 2-1 scored in extra time to give them a 2—1win against leicester. chelsea took the lead just before half—time.

willian broke free,