this is bbc news. i'm carol walker. the headlines at 11:00pm: a severe weather warning is in place, as snow causes travel chaos in southern england and wales. over 100 drivers are stuck on one road in cornwall. icame off i came off the a30 and was just slipping and i actually couldn't move my carfrom slipping and i actually couldn't move my car from about here, so slipping and i actually couldn't move my carfrom about here, so i thought it would be safer to not try and drive it. there's been a big increase in the number of young people contacting a suicide prevention helpline after the case of molly russell, a 14—year—old who took her own life a year ago the number of rough sleepers in england has fallen for the first time in nearly a decade. foreign secretaryjeremy hunt says brexit could be delayed if enough progress isn't made in the coming weeks to break the impasse. in sport, england are bowled out forjust 187 on the first day of the second test against the west indies, who finished the day 30 for none in reply. and at 11:30pm, we'll be taking another in—depth look at the papers

with our reviewers, guardian columnist dawn foster, and deputy political editor of the daily telegraph, steven swinford. stay with us for that. good evening. parts of southern england and wales have been hit by heavy snowfall which has brought chaos to the roads and warnings of communities being cut off and disruption to power supplies. the met office has a severe weather warning in place and is forecasting more snow overnight. south—west england has been particularly badly affected. in cornwall, the county council says around 90 schools will remain closed tomorrow. around 100 vehicles were stuck on the a30 in cornwall, and emergency services there say they're dealing with many calls

across the county. nearby on the a39, snow ploughs were brought in to clear the roads after heavy snowfall brought cars to a halt, with some drivers forced to abandon their cars after their vehicles became stranded. jon kay reports. when it came down, it really came down. a treacherous rush hour in devon tonight. main roads blocked. back lanes impassible. vehicles abandoned across dartmoor. i can't move my car, i came off the a30 and was just slipping and ijust couldn't move my car from about here. so i thought it was safer to not try and drive it. in cornwall, 100 drivers have been stuck on bodmin moor. police say they have been making intensive efforts to reach them. with traffic, that stands as far as the eye can see uphill and as far as the eye can see in the distance.

if these vehicles don't get moved, this could be a major incident, depending on how long we are stuck here, really. parts of mid—wales have had a pasting and, with more heavy snow due tonight, some rural communities are at risk of being cut off. 0n snowdonia, a warning for climbers and walkers. the wind chill factor at the top, you're talking about —20 degrees. so we are trying to emphasise the importance of preparing well before going out. in devon and cornwall, those who can are turning out to help. they are expecting to work right through the night. this is nothing like as bad as the beast from the east last year. this is just the wet stuff from the west. but, after a relatively mild few months, the snow seems to have taken many of us by surprise. i'm waiting for my husband, in his 4x4. so, hopefully he'll be able to get through. he's got snow tyres also because we ski so we are fairly used to it.

and he's got snow chains, i don't know if he'll throw them in the boot as well. he will be able to ski here tomorrow! i know, yes! looking forward to it! see you on the slopes! it's horrible, isn't it? no! it's lovely weather! says he, rubbing his hands, freezing! freezing cold. i'm getting in before we get snowed in. have a nice time. good luck. bye bye, mate. sliding! jon kay, bbc news, dartmoor. he made it, i am glad to tell you. we have had rather more snow tonight and we were predicting. i2 centimetres in parts of cornwall. it is now slowly, coldly making its way across southern england and into parts of south wales. that's going to cause big problems for lots of us tomorrow morning. british airways said there could be delays on shorthaul flights out of the south—east of england. south—west trains are also predicting some problems. so for the rush—hour tomorrow morning, bbc news teams in all those areas will have the very

latest for you and of course full coverage on bbc breakfast. well, that was john well, that wasjohn k reporting. —— well, that was john kay reporting. meanwhile, millions in the american midwest are experiencing a blast of arctic air so ferocious they're being warned they risk frostbite if they stay outside for more than ten minutes. at least eight people have died, and hospitals have been treating patients reporting frostbite as the region deals with the worst cold snap in decades. some 250 million americans overall have experienced the polar vortex conditions. social media companies are facing the prospect of new laws, giving them a legal duty of care to children and young people who use their sites. the culture secretary, jeremy wright, says he's considering the move very carefully following the case of molly russell, the 14—year—old who took her own life in 2017. her father says she was badly affected by graphic images of self—harm and suicide which she viewed on instagram, the social media platform owned by facebook. calls to a leading suicide prevention charity have increased

by 40% since we highlighted molly's case last week. this report by our correspondent angus crawford contains some distressing images. she had so much to offer. molly russell's story... and that's gone. ..has sparked a debate... these are companies that count their profits in the billions, and they turn round and say to us that they can't protect our children? ..that may change social media for good. do you have the power to compel them to do what needs to be done? yes, absolutely. and it's also struck a chord with families across the country. like ian and his daughter libby, so horrified by what happened to molly that they've decided to speak out. libby once had 8,000 followers on instagram. 16, and now firmly in recovery, libby used to self—harm, an obsession learned on and fed by the platform. i don't think it made me do it, but i think it definitely

accelerated the severity of it, because i'd see people and then you'd almost go, "that's ok, then, it doesn't matter how bad it gets because they're not dead, it hasn't killed them, doing that". so it kind of made it feel more safe to do it worse. her dad tried to get the worst content taken down, but says it was a waste of time. you go, "right, i'll try and get rid of this account, there must be a way to stop it", and there's nothing. and they're not interested. and until one of their close family members falls down that rabbit hole, they won't do anything about it. until it affects them or their wallet, they are not interested. meet chloe, who's 12, and her mum emma. shocked by molly's story, they rang the bbc. chloe had stumbled across just this kind of content. platforms on social media could, like, kind of stop a report or take

down bad things on the internet that are scaring people, because i know it's just notjust me who's getting scared by it. i know there must be other people. users should be at least 13 to be allowed on instagram, but emma says age restrictions aren't the point. the reality is that people are using them at that age, so whether there's the age limit... and when she's 13, what difference is there going to be? molly was 1a. does that mean it's acceptable for her to see those images? i don't think there's any age that's acceptable. a hard—hitting video with a simple message, encouraging young people to talk about suicide. molly's death has certainly done that. there's been a 40% rise in calls to this charity's helpline. this is james murray. his son ben took his own life last year, aged 19. a technology consultant,

james knows social media can change. do you think the penny is dropping? the penny‘s dropping. i think molly's case could be a turning point. what they should be doing when somebody is looking at self—harm or suicide is promoting positive content over and above the negative content. so the algorithm could be used for good? yeah, absolutely, and it's high time the social media companies delivered on the promise of social value and became a force for good in the community. instagram says: "we have a deep responsibility to make sure young people using instagram are safe" and it has begun "a full review of our policies, enforcement and technologies around suicide and self—injury content". molly's story has touched a raw nerve and sparked a demand for change. the social media companies now have to decide if they will embrace reform or have it forced upon them. the extent of rough sleeping in england is being under—estimated

and is not properly reflected in officialfigures, according to some leading charities. the latest offical figures suggest that more than 11,500 people slept on the streets of england last year, a slight fall on last year, but that overall figure does mask some notable increases in some of england's cities. ministers insist the strategy for dealing with homelessness is working, as our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. everyone calls it a young man's game. it shouldn't be no—one‘s game. i had a board and i had my sleeping bag. we had mice or rats. you don't really sleep, do you? just cat naps. this is england, in 2019. in the doorway of a shop selling thousand pound mattresses,

ten rough sleepers seek rest. more than 4,600 people sleep outside each night, 2% lower than last year, 165% higher than 2010. i was in and out of doorways before, and my mates said, "there's room in the tent for you." wayne has been rough sleeping for five years, forced from home, he says, after his marriage collapsed. why don't you take up the shelter? you end up getting bullied or picked on, don't you? i'd rather be out here, it's safer. it's safer? i feel a lot safer out on the street on my own. in greater manchester, the city centre is seeing more rough sleepers, but numbers have fallen in the wider region. this newly opened hostel is part of an initiative by mayor andy burnham to provide a bed to rough sleepers all winter. everyone says, you know, i've got more lives than a family of cats, never mind one cat. the place has been a godsend to scott, who was rough sleeping while suffering

from crohn's disease. i had to wear a stoma for 18 months, which sent me completely over the edge. i tried taking my life numerous times and that. i have the stoma there, like a bag with my colon coming out of it. trying to keep that clean while being on the street and no—one offering you any help, you know, i was just waiting to die. today's figures are a snapshot, a mixture of counts and estimates from one night in november. homeless groups say they are inaccurate. in east staffordshire, for instance, the officialfigure is 11 rough sleepers, but those working with local homeless people say the realfigure is a1. we know who is on the street. our local council knows pretty well who is on the street. and to come up with an accurate countjust seems a complete pointless waste of time and probably an expensive waste of time as well. this costs money that could be put to the cause of helping

those homeless people. while rough sleeping has increased in big cities, significant reductions in towns has led to the overall reduction. the government say their £100 million commitment to tackling the problem is making a difference. michael buchanan, bbc news. a coroner has ordered that the inquests into the deaths of five people in the guildford pub bombings should be re—opened more than a0 years after they were suspended. four soldiers and a civilian were killed in 1974 when two ira bombs went off. the orignal inquests were halted when four men were convicted of the attacks, convictions which were later quashed. footage showing the moment a three—year—old boy had sulphuric acid thrown over him in a shop, leaving him of serious burns, has been shown to a jury at worcester crown court. a man in white, shown here at the bottom—right of the screen, appears to throw something in the child's face before walking off. six men, including the boy's father, and one woman, are accused

of plotting the attack. the scottish budget has been approved after the snp struck a deal with the greens at holyrood. finance secretary derek mackay won the backing of green msps by providing more cash for local services and holding out the promise that council tax could be scrapped in the next parliament. the scottish finance secretary, derek mackay, who required opposition backing to pass the budget, said that he was pleased to reach agreement. the deal includes extra funding for councils and extra powers for them to levy local parking and tourist taxes. the energy company, npower, is set to cut up to 900 jobs as part of its plan to reduce operating costs. the german—owned firm employs over 6,000 people in the uk. the chief executive described the retail energy market as incredibly tough, but insisted that they will continue to focus on service and value for our customers. whatsapp

the united kingdom's departure from the eu might have to be delayed if a withdrawal deal is not agreed until late march. that was the admission by the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, who said extra time might be needed to pass the necessary legislation. that view was backed up the leader of conservative backbench mps, sir graham brady, who said he could accept a delay as long as a deal was already agreed. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar has the latest. something, anything, to brighten the brexit blues in downing street. chinese new year celebrations a week early. fortune cookies, too. what's in mrs may's? a last—minute delay to brexit? maybe. even if there's a deal to celebrate at number ten. if we ended up approving a deal in the days before the 29th of march then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation. but if were able to make

progress sooner than that might not be necessary. passing laws, shuttling legislation between mps and peers in parliament takes time. a late deal would need time to turn it into law. no deal could mean a rush to pass legislation on immigration, health, fisheries and more, ready for life after brexit day on march the 29th. today labour's leader said any brexit delay should be used to get a deal. the government has run down the clock and continues to run down the clock. it's possible there would have to be an extension to get an agreement because we cannot leave the eu on the 29th of march without an agreement. the brexiteers seem relaxed about a short delay as long as it is short. those who want the longer delay, the open—ended delay, we know what that's about. that's about opening the door to have a future referendum or to stop us leaving. 0nce we've reached an agreement and we know the terms of which

we're leaving, if we decide that we need another two weeks in order to finish getting the necessary legislation through parliament, i don't think anybody is going to be too worked up about that. the pressure is on. today, the government signalled next month's parliamentary break was being cancelled. we are making good progress. we are under pressure but it's all very much under control. the official line, brexit preparations are on track. all day the government's been reaching out to mps in all brexit factions — looking to build support for a deal. there's talk of more money for worse off areas. no—one will say it's about buying support but could it help win round labour mps? the areas that voted leave the most are the areas that have not had that investment. major investment, transformative investment, that's what i want to see. no—one knows if parliament will back a deal. so many minds on all sides still to change. in the final countdown to march the 29th, brexit could still be pulled up short. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. the headlines on bbc news: travel chaos on some roads in southern england as heavy snow

sweeps in from the west — a severe weather warning is in place the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt says the uk may need extra time to negotiate brexit if a deal isn't agreed quickly enough. and the number people sleeping rough in england has fallen for the first time in nearly a decade. victims of the contaminated blood scandal have still not heard whether they will be granted extra financial support, despite a plea by the judge heading the public inquiry. the inquiry is looking at how tens of thousands of nhs patients in the 1970s and 1980s were infected with hiv and hepatitis c in what's been described as the worst—ever nhs treatment failure. steve dymond, who died just before christmas, was one of those affected. his wife has told the bbc that many widows like her are being left with nothing, as our health

editor hugh pym reports. my fear was that he would pass unnoticed and he deserved better than that. if it was not for the generosity of my friends, i would be homeless and without income. yes, i was envisaging sort of sleeping in the car parked on the beach. the last time i saw steve and sue was in september. he'd suffered for much of his life with the debilitating infection, hepatitis c. in december, he became one of the thousands who lost their lives because of the contaminated blood scandal. i remember him as the funny, clever, gentle, loving guy that i first met as a teenager. i remember his intellect. he was just the other half of me. steve was a haemophiliac. his blood didn't clot properly. in the 1970s and ‘80s,

like many others, the nhs gave him medication to help his condition but it came from infected blood donors who had not been screened. the basic plan to have children, have careers, whatever. yes, the hepatitis c did damage that. so far there has been no official compensation to victims. there is a complex structure of payments which varies around the uk. for widows like sue in england there is a one—off payment of £10,000 which has not come through, beyond that she will have to rely on benefits. there are so many widows, of long date — some have been widowed for nearly 30 years — who are still fighting to keep their homes around them, who can't afford to live decently, who are borrowing money from family members so they can eat at the end of the month. in october, thejudge heading the public inquiry wrote to ministers saying... the department of health

said it was carefully considering what changes would be appropriate to address concerns raised. sue will be there when the inquiry starts up again in april but it will be without steve. i know that when i'm there on my own, there will be people around me, there will be arms around their shoulder. what there won't be of course is steve to share it with. he was wanting to be there, he was planning to be there, and he was wanting to participate. he was campaigning till the end. that report there by our health editor, hugh pym. two male students banned from the university of warwick for 10 years for their part in a group chat which threatened fellow students with rape are to be allowed to return later this year.

they successfully appealed against the punishment imposed by the university after a number of exchanges on social media. the police advised at the time that there were no grounds for criminal charges. but several female students say they're unhappy that the men will be back on campus. joan cummins reports. it was a university student newspaper that first published detail of a group chat threatening sexualised aggression against female students. today one of the girls spoke anonymously to radio. students. today one of the girls spoke anonymously to radiom students. today one of the girls spoke anonymously to radio. it was sexually explicit. we were com pletely sexually explicit. we were completely degraded and dehumanised with so many intimate details about the girls as well. it was so far beyond just locker room talk. the

post was revealed in 2018 and police decided no action would follow. at the university imposed sanctions. 0ne the university imposed sanctions. one student was expelled for life and two others for ten years. they have appeared and they have had the sanction reduced to a year. it shocked the student community. stu d e nts shocked the student community. students are questioning how you can reduce the sentence by that much and what are the grounds and what was said in the first place to have banned them 1a years. said in the first place to have banned them 14 years. many students we re banned them 14 years. many students were reluctant to go on camera saying they are concerned the internal processes has not been open enough. many say they are now questioning their future at the university because they are concerned about who they are sitting next to. those words her and i feel

that the university... they should not come back. i think if! that the university... they should not come back. i think if i went around yelling stuff like this in person, it would be dealt with very seriously. i would person, it would be dealt with very seriously. iwould hope person, it would be dealt with very seriously. i would hope so. person, it would be dealt with very seriously. iwould hope so. i person, it would be dealt with very seriously. i would hope so. i do not understand just because it was written down it is suddenly not a problem. the university have issued a new statement where they say they found the actions of the individuals culpable to be abhorrent and against the spirit of the community and have apologised that process have distressed so many people. the government is planning to introduce new powers to monitor young people suspected of carrying knives in england and wales. the proposed knife crime prevention 0rders would allow police to impose curfews, send those caught with knives to educational courses and in some cases restrict their social media use. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani has this report.

police rushing to a young man's aid. this was the scene in an ordinary north london street on tuesday. neither they nor paramedics could save 17—year—old nedim bilgin, stabbed to death in the street. his father said his wonderful son had gone out on his bike and never came home. the eighth killing so far this year in london. detectives are interviewing teenaged suspects. and now, ministers are asking parliament to create a new power to take more knives off the streets. the proposed knife crime prevention orders would target suspects bases the proposed knife crime prevention orders would target suspects based solely on detectives' suspicions that they're involved in knife crime. courts will be able to ban suspects from social media, used to whip up gang tensions. they'll be able to impose curfews and bar meetings with other suspects. and the suspect could be forced to sit anti—knife—crime courses to change their behaviour. the home secretary, sajid javid, meeting police in south london last night, said he has listened

to their concerns. i want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to stop some of this senseless violence that is taking place on our streets, traumatising so many communities, and ending too many young lives. and that means making sure, first of all, police have resources, and we're increasing that, making sure also they have the powers that they need, and this is a new power. this confrontation with a so—called zombie knife led to the attacker being jailed yesterday for 3.5 years, just one of the 40,000 knife crimes that led to a rise in violent crime last year. critics say that, if ministers really want to stop crimes like this, they need to go back to basics, and find the cash for more police on patrol. dominic casciani, bbc news. lorraine jones' son was fatally stabbed in brixton in 2014, at the age of 20. she now runs a boxing club in her son's memory, to try to inspire youngsters

who might otherwise become involved in gang culture. she gave me her reaction to these new powers intended to reduce knife crime. it is not about catching them before they get locked into the path of violence, it is about engaging with these children. we have to remember that they are children. we have the education system set up to work with children from five years old so we have at these establishments but what is lacking is the workers, the support workers, the workers who can intervene with the various challenges our children have as a result of poor social management. lycos said, there are are hardly any community centres so that children are fairly safe in school and then to learn and education. —— like i

said. but when they come out they are vulnerable and it is not the police's job to catch them at us to engage with them in a civilised and humane manner. you engage with them in a civilised and humane manner. you have been through the dreadful experience of losing your son and the dreadful experience of losing yourson and are the dreadful experience of losing your son and are now working with people who were in danger of getting caught up in some of the violence we have seen. do you think the government needs to do more to tap into the sort of experiences and understandings that charities like yours have? do i think? i know... it is heartbreaking. they have to take time out of parliament and meetings and takea time out of parliament and meetings and take a leaf out of david collins's book. come to live with us on our estates. experienced what we experience. take some time to stay

in the referral units where children have to cope with challenges. have some time at king's college hospital. watch what they have to do in the trauma unit. i had to go through that. wayne was stabbed, he was on life support machine for two days. all i could do was key cities fall had and feet. he was swollen yonder recognition because he was stabbed through the heart. it seems like the government at totally lost with the reality of the scale of urgency. ——at a loss. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers steven swinford, who's the deputy political editor of the daily telegraph, and the guardian columnist, dawn foster. that's coming up just after the headlines at 11:30. now it's time for the weather with stav da naos. to focus on service

and value for our customers. hello there. it was bound to happen at some point this winter. we have had a lot of cold air around the uk with some of the coldest nights of the winter so far. we just needed significant moisture input, that came about low pressure which moved in off the atlantic and brought central and southern parts quite a bit of disruptive snow through thursday. the area of low pressure will pull southwards. it will leave in its wake some sleet and snow showers for southern areas. and after the snow of yesterday, it looks like there will be an ice at risk through this morning, so some travel disruption is likely for friday morning. also, ice for northern and eastern parts of the country, as we see showers moving down of the north sea. sleet and hill snow on the south—east will peter out