$68“ seen £3 seen 3 w096 increase in russia. we've seen a 1096 increase in defence spending _ russia. we've seen a 1096 increase in defence spending in _ russia. we've seen a 1096 increase in defence spending in this _ russia. we've seen a 1096 increase in defence spending in this country. - russia. we've seen a 1096 increase in defence spending in this country. we \ defence spending in this country. we will sustain that increase in defence spending and he's absolutely right about the financing of putin's armed forces and the tragedy is they have been financed from the proceeds of the sale of russian oil and gas to western european nations and that's what's got to end. it is vital to stand in solidarity with ukraine in the face of outrageous russian aggression with robust far—reaching sanctions and by closing down london's money—laundering machine. sanctions on banks and oligarchs does not go anywhere near enough but with that we must also recognise the extent of russian meddling in our own politics so well the prime minister stop study is the ignoring the russia report which found credible evidence of attempts to interfere with the uk election process, will he commit to

an independent and comprehensive investigation. we an independent and comprehensive investigation-— investigation. we are going further than the russia _ investigation. we are going further than the russia report _ investigation. we are going further than the russia report on - investigation. we are going further than the russia report on am - than the russia report on am fermenting sanctions against russia and of course we will do anything to doubt any foreign influence and any uk election but i am not aware of any. i uk election but i am not aware of an . u, uk election but i am not aware of an . _, , ., ., _ any. i welcome the statement made by the prime minister, _ any. i welcome the statement made by the prime minister, tough _ any. i welcome the statement made by the prime minister, tough sanctions i the prime minister, tough sanctions require tough compliance. the prime minister mentioned uk individuals and entities should not have any dealings with the banks and russian individuals he mentioned, would he therefore given assurance that any uk individuals or institutions that do have dealings with these banks and individuals for them there will be the severest of penalties. yes

indeed, those _ be the severest of penalties. yes indeed, those who abate and help abeid anti—money—laundering provisions and help conceal beneficial interests will of course beneficial interests will of course be breaking the law themselves. the? be breaking the law themselves. they three oligarchs _ be breaking the law themselves. tue: three oligarchs sanctions be breaking the law themselves. tue three oligarchs sanctions today be breaking the law themselves. twe1: three oligarchs sanctions today have been sanctioned by the us for four years, we need to do better than that. well he re—examined the operation of unexplained wealth borders not one of which has been issued since he became prime minister and rocky publish the list of russians who have obtained fast track visas for residency he referred to earlier by giving cash to the uk exchequer. the national crime agency _ to the uk exchequer. the national crime agency is — to the uk exchequer. the national crime agency is pursuing - to the uk exchequer. the national crime agency is pursuing many - crime agency is pursuing many investigations against people for unexplained wealth orders but on his

point about visas we are topping to tieri point about visas we are topping to tier i visas from point about visas we are topping to tieri visas from russia. cani can i press on the add salt he gave, i welcome his statement and robust approach and the fact he has confirmed what president putin has done amounts to an invasion of ukraine but in answer the prime minister seemed to suggest that ever put putin has done was limited to these breakaway republics that was a line and he had to do something else to triggerfurther line and he had to do something else to trigger further sanctions. line and he had to do something else to triggerfurther sanctions. can i ask him to confirm that what he has already done means we will be following up with further and stronger measures even have president putin does no more. i think it is inevitable what is happening and ukraine that will

becoming forward with much bigger package of sanctions, what you have todayis package of sanctions, what you have today is an opening barrage that we are doing in common with ourfriends and allies. the are doing in common with our friends and allies. , and allies. the focus right there will be on _ and allies. the focus right there will be on the _ and allies. the focus right there will be on the here _ and allies. the focus right there will be on the here and - and allies. the focus right there will be on the here and know i and allies. the focus right there | will be on the here and know but when he reflects on the recent failures in afghanistan and also overwhelmingly clear russia was and is the biggest threats to peace in europe, i wonder whether he might conclude that the indo pacific tilt as outlined in the review will need to be reassessed. i as outlined in the review will need to be reassessed.— as outlined in the review will need to be reassessed. i am glad he has brouaht to be reassessed. i am glad he has brought the — to be reassessed. i am glad he has brought the review _ to be reassessed. i am glad he has brought the review up _ to be reassessed. i am glad he has brought the review up because - to be reassessed. i am glad he has brought the review up because he. brought the review up because he will see very early on in the integrated review we say clearly that the euro atlantic theatre is our number one issue of concern. i welcome the statement and commend

the prime minister and his government on its robust approach but i hope it takes away from this exchange today the strong cross—party support for tougher sanctions now because that is what is needed. i suggest that the russian invasion of ukraine and the fact we have now entered a new either in it comes to the battle for democracy globally will he considered a substantial and sustained increase in defence spending above the 2.li% required to ensure stability and peace in our time because effort is in the future will be more effective with stronger armed forces. i will be more effective with stronger armed forces— armed forces. i am proud of the substantial _ armed forces. i am proud of the substantial uplift _ armed forces. i am proud of the substantial uplift in _ armed forces. i am proud of the substantial uplift in our - armed forces. i am proud of the substantial uplift in our defence | substantial uplift in our defence spending we have been able to provide and with the strongest and

fastest—growing economy and you look as a result of the measures in the g7 is that is out of the measures taken i am confident we will continue to give our armed forces the investment they need. ukraine has been experiencing _ the investment they need. ukraine has been experiencing conflicts - the investment they need. ukraine has been experiencing conflicts in l has been experiencing conflicts in 2014, creating a crisis of 2.9 million people in need. can the prime minister is confirm the uk stands ready to work with the government of the ukraine and international partners in providing humanitarian assistance should the conflict exacerbate.— humanitarian assistance should the conflict exacerbate. yes, of course. i welcome — conflict exacerbate. yes, of course. i welcome the _ conflict exacerbate. yes, of course. i welcome the statement _ conflict exacerbate. yes, of course. i welcome the statement and - conflict exacerbate. yes, of course. i i welcome the statement and diameter calling today for the suspension of russia from the council of europe to stop it cannot be right for a country to have violated the human rights of another member of the

council of europe so profoundly. well he support my actions. i thank ou for well he support my actions. i thank you for everything _ well he support my actions. i thank you for everything he _ well he support my actions. i thank you for everything he does - well he support my actions. i thank you for everything he does on - well he support my actions. i thank you for everything he does on the l you for everything he does on the council of europe and the robust positions and i wholeheartedly support what he just said. i am support what he 'ust said. i am crateful, support what he 'ust said. i am grateful. the — support what he just said. i am grateful, the russian _ support what he just said. i:n grateful, the russian disinformation networks including ati, the wither of the opposition is right, those networks are critical to notjust justifying russian aggression but maintaining it as well. how much longer bowlby continue in this country to pretend that outfits like rt are some kind of benign equivalent to the world service, it is time they went. i equivalent to the world service, it is time they went.— equivalent to the world service, it is time they went. i think his point will be widely _ is time they went. i think his point will be widely shared _ is time they went. i think his point will be widely shared not - is time they went. i think his point will be widely shared not perhaps | is time they went. i think his point l will be widely shared not perhaps by everybody opposite but we have an

independent regulator of the media, we do not live and a country partitions can closed own media outlets, it is up to ofcom to rule. the prime minister is well aware that i am the group with that and the council of europe, we have ukrainians and the group who are under threat and their families are under threat and their families are under threat. they are going to be on the list the us has given to intelligence on what will happen. we must stand by these democrats, they are good people, i want them for ten years and would have nothing but praise for them. would you not agree the council of europe and other organisations need to stand up for democracy and democrats. i organisations need to stand up for democracy and democrats. i thank him and we should — democracy and democrats. i thank him and we should stand _ democracy and democrats. i thank him and we should stand by _ democracy and democrats. i thank him and we should stand by democratic - and we should stand by democratic ukrainian politicians, we have met them and all they want to do is live in peace and freedom and we should

work together to ensure that they can. ~ ., , work together to ensure that they can. , . , work together to ensure that they can. , ., , ~ ., can. many syrians will know the continuation _ can. many syrians will know the continuation of _ can. many syrians will know the continuation of putin _ can. many syrians will know the | continuation of putin aggression can. many syrians will know the - continuation of putin aggression was not only predictable, it was predicted. in this house on both sides of the socialist does the primer is that i can be that as was true and relation to syria the only response to aggression is coordinated international resolve matched by every possible action at home. including each of those as explained by the leader of the opposition. i explained by the leader of the opposition-— explained by the leader of the 0- osition. ~' ,,., ., opposition. i think the lesson from cilia is that you _ opposition. i think the lesson from cilia is that you cannot _ opposition. i think the lesson from cilia is that you cannot will - opposition. i think the lesson from cilia is that you cannot will of - opposition. i think the lesson from cilia is that you cannot will of the i cilia is that you cannot will of the end of a gym without being willing to build the means and that is what this government is prepared to do and if that is what the leader of the opposition is committing labour to then so much the better.-

to then so much the better. ukraine is not et to then so much the better. ukraine is not yet at — to then so much the better. ukraine is not yet at the _ to then so much the better. ukraine is not yet at the border _ to then so much the better. ukraine is not yet at the border of _ to then so much the better. ukraine is not yet at the border of the - to then so much the better. ukraine is not yet at the border of the eu i is not yet at the border of the eu nato but it has democracy�*s border and this house stands and full solidarity with our counterparts and people of ukraine including the people of ukraine including the people of ukraine including the people of donetsk. the prime minister mentioned nato members, can i ask him what more reassurance and practical support we can give nato members like poland and the baltic states who today are just able to bet more fearful. ihe states who today are 'ust able to bet more fearful._ states who today are 'ust able to bet more fearful. he is quite right to draw attention _ bet more fearful. he is quite right to draw attention to _ bet more fearful. he is quite right to draw attention to the _ to draw attention to the baltic states and poland, as he knows we have increased our support with 350 marines and in estonia we have

doubled our presence to 2000 and will continue to keep all and doing more in the high north as well as an romania and elsewhere and will continue to keep all these projects under constant review but we do other european countries are stiffening we bait in the house of commons now. a sombre and sober mood amongst mps. for people who are justjoining us, the prime minister has just told mps, yet knows what he called the first tranche of uk economic sanctions against russia after moscow ordered troops into eastern ukraine. in a statement to the commons, borisjohnson listed sanctions against five russian banks and three russian individuals. let's hear what he said. u nless unless the situation changes, the best efforts of the united states of

this country, france, germany and other allies to avoid conflict through patient diplomacy may be in vain. together we have explored every avenue and given putin every opportunity to pursue his aims by negotiation and diplomacy. i will tell the house we will not give up. we will continue to seek a diplomatic solution until the last possible moment. but we have to face the possibility that none of our messages has been heeded and that putin is implacably determined to go further in subjugating and tormenting ukraine. now the uk and our allies will begin to impose the sanctions on russia that we have already prepared, using the new and unprecedented powers granted by this house to sanction russian individuals and entities of strategic importance to the garment.

today the uk is anchoring the following five russian banks. rossi, is bank, general bank, from the as bank and the black sea bank. we are sanctioning three very high net worth individuals. any assets they hold in the uk will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be banned from travelling here. and we will prohibit all uk individuals and entities from having any dealings with them. this is the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do. and we hold further sessions at readiness to be deployed alongside the united states and european union if the situation is quite still further. so how much of an impact will sanctions have? with me now is our business

correspondent theo leggett. we paired banks and individuals being named. who are they and what sort of sanctions will be imposed. this is very much as a prime minister said a first tranche, a warning that could be much more significant actions further down the line but what we have had so far is an expansion of what the uk has been doing since 2014 with sanctions on individuals. in this case it is three people who are seen as being particularly close to vladimir putin. gennadi tim genco, one of russia's richest men. i and boris rotenberg, part of the inner circle. they will be subject to travel bans, they won't be able to travel to uk, any assets they have you will be frozen. if those assets be fun. there is a convocation here that many of the foreigners owned property in london that are three sheu property in london that are three shell companies based offshore, that can be difficult to find out who owns what. but in principle their assets will be targeted. there are

these five russian banks, their ability to do business will be curtailed. this is very much a first step, it doesn't goes for as many people wanted, but it does give the government the option of saying, look, this is what is happening now but if the incursions into ukraine continue, it if i gets worse, we will bring in severe sanctions further down the line. have we seen any impact from the announcements? in russia there are concerns about the ruble, the strength of the currency, the central bank there said it will step in. we are seeing at the moment is really the first salvos from the european union, britain, the united states, we seem to be coordinating their actions and one of the most of them cantona since we have had today came from the german leader olaf scholz, who said the nord stream 2 pipeline, a very large gas pipeline that goes underneath the baltic sea from russia to germany will not be certified for the moment. that is

bad for russia because russia was going to have the ability to send large volumes of gas, extra gas from russia through to germany which is one of its biggest customers and gain all the revenues from that without having to send gas through ukraine and paid ukrainian government transit fees. it also has a consequence for germany because gas prices are very high at the moment. germany wanted access to greater volumes to bring prices down, that will not happen. it shows the european union is willing to take some pain but germany is willing to take some pain in order to put pressure on vladimir putin. thank you. health leaders, unions and charities are calling for greater clarity on who is going to be eligible for free covid tests in england from april. the government says free tests will continue for those most at risk — and for staff working in social care in the nhs, with more details to follow. all covid restrictions will end in england on thursday — including mandatory self—isolation

for positive cases. free mass testing will stop from the first of april for most people. it's part of the government's "living with covid" plan. our health correspondent, katherine da costa, reports. in response to the covid crisis, the uk rapidly built up one of the biggest testing capabilities in the world. it came with a hefty price tag. infections are still high but the government said it's time to wind down free mass testing. so, what exactly is changing and when? from thursday, you will no longer be legally required to self—isolate but advised to stay at home for at least five days. routine contact tracing will end on thursday as well. the £500 self—isolation payments will stop this week. in april, free mass testing for the general public will end, apart from high—risk groups and those working with vulnerable people. we know that omicron is milder than delta. we know that the vaccines,

if you've had a booster comedy three vaccines work incredibly well against this. so, we have to take into account the changing situation. we also have to remain vigilant. from now on, the government says vaccines and treatment are the way forward. many at this club for older people will be eligible for the extra spring booster announced for the over 755 and for those with a weakened immune system. it's brilliant. anything that's going, i'll have it. it's a good idea, it protects you. i'm over 80 so i would - definitely have anotherjab. some health experts feel we can't rely on vaccination alone. they want extra clarity on who will be eligible for free tests. it will have such a disproportionate impact on the more deprived communities where people won't be able to afford tests, to self—isolate, they are exposed and more vulnerable to severe illness and long covid.

it's a big impact that would just exacerbate the health inequalities. the government says surveillance of the virus will continue and testing could be ramped up again in response to new variants. scotland, wales and northern ireland are still to set out their plans for living with the virus. washington, breaking all the time in relation to president putin's ordering troops into eastern ukraine. the white house says it welcomes the nord stream 2 halt, so thatisit welcomes the nord stream 2 halt, so that is it welcoming germany's decision to stop approval for a major gas pipeline that was due to bring gas from russia into germany. the white house welcomes that move by germany and says it will announce its own measures against russia shortly and that of course follows on from an smooth by the prime

minister borissov and so on —— boris johnson into five russian banks and three wealthy individuals. well, scotland's first minister will set out her plans this afternoon. nicola sturgeon's proposals are expected to be more cautious than the ones unveiled for england yesterday. our scotland correspondent, alexandra mackenzie, is in glasgow. nicola sturgeon is going to address the scottish parliament this afternoon. she said she wants to strike that balance between living a normal life but also controlling the virus. the scottish government doesn't want to see an end to free massive testing. they have said this is not the public health advice. the testing system is a uk initiative, so holyrood is seeking clarity from westminster as to how the decision in england is going to affect

scotland. borisjohnson suggested yesterday that if scotland wanted to maintain the current level of testing that they could fund that from their existing budget. nicola sturgeon also doesn't want to end self—isolation for people with covid, the strong advice for people in scotland who do test positive is to self—isolate. but that is guidance, not a legal requirement. the first minister could also indicate this afternoon when it rules on face coverings and covid passports could be relaxed. the scottish conservative party has said that now scotland is the outlier in the uk and has urged the first minister to relax the restrictions. three convicted terrorists including the brother of the manchester arena bomber have been found guilty of attacking a prison officer in belmarsh's high security unit. our home affairs correspondent,

daniel sandford, has more. you see in the cctv footage that was shown to the jury, hashem abedi who was the brother of the manchester bombers serving a life sentence for his part in those bombings, mining and interacting with two other prisoners, including the failed parsons green bomber, and then running off screen to savagely attack a prison officer in his office. attacking with an office chair, kicking him, punching him and it was only because of the high staffing levels in the high security unit in belmarsh prison that they were quickly pulled off him and he suffered relatively minor injuries, cuts to his head and some bruising to his body, but it does raise the question of why it is that two men serving life sentences for very serious terrorist offences were being held on the same spirit along with a man who had talked aspirational about carrying a knife attack on speakers' corner when he

was arrested and there they all are in the same unit and apparently idle to plan this attack on a prison officer just to plan this attack on a prison officerjust because he had taken away some of their privileges. it was a deeply unsettling case but they have all now been convicted and will get longer sentences than they were already serving. buckingham palace says the queen will miss planned virtual engagements today because she's still experiencing mild cold—like symptoms after testing positive for covid—i9. our royal correspondent daniella relph reports. asi as i described she is still having these mild cold like symptoms and therefore it has been decided she won't undertake of these plant engagements today. they were all virtual, online, they have been postponed. we last saw the queen towards the end of last week when she had this face—to—face meeting with military leaders at windsor castle. it was there she talked about feeling frail and not being able to move very well. palace official site at the moment she is

still able to do light duties, so that would be paperwork and perhaps a phone call and it is clear they are taking a day—to—day approach to the queen's diary and assessing what she is able to do. we are scheduled to see the queen next wednesday when she is due to host it at the permitted perception, that is still in the diary. newsnights emily maitlis and outgoing north america editor jon sopel have announced they are leaving the bbc. the broadcasters are leaving the corporation to launch a new podcast and host a radio show together on lbc. both matlis and sopel describe their new project as an amazing opportunity. the iconic dress madonna wore in the 'material girl�* video is going under the hammer in california in may. her entire ensemble outfit, which includes the dress, satin opera gloves and rhinestone bracelets is expected to sell for up to £150,000. wendy urquhart reports. this famous pink satin dress was originally made for the 1980 tv movie norma jean but

was rented for madonna's video which was inspired by marilyn monroe's performance in diamonds are a girl's best friend. it is one of the most historic and iconic pieces of madonna, we actually have it on the cover of our catalogue but very few items that are this iconic of hers are in the public domain, so we anticipate it will sell for a lot of money. madonna tends to keep her clothes now but back in the mid—80s she was not probably thinking about just how valuable things she wore in videos would turn out to be. the entire ensemble, which includes the dress, satin opera gloves and rhinestone bracelets, is expected to sell for between 100 and $200,000. also up for grabs is a rare drum kit from john lennon and paul mccartney's first band, the quarrymen. the main thing we have is colin hatton's drum kit that he used in the quarrymen. the quarrymen, of course, was founded byjohn and paul which was the very first band that they were in together, and colin was the drummer

from 1956—1959 and george harrison joined in 1958 so it is a really significant piece of rock and roll history. that little piece of history is expected to go for between 400 and 600,000 us dollars. there's also a whole bunch of other stuff up for auction including bruce springsteen's handwritten lyrics for glory road, eddie van halen's electric guitar and a diary of lyrics written by guns n roses frontman axel rose. i hope you've got deep pockets. wendy urquhart, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello, there. the three named storms which we've had over the past week produced a lot of damage and disruption from the wind, but also from the rain, and we're still feeling the effects of that, with dozens of flood warnings still in force across parts of england, wales and scotland. and severe flood warnings continue across parts of the north and the west midlands, up untilaround wednesday and thursday.

now we have had further rain with this weather front, which has spread southwards and eastwards across the country through the morning, eventually clearing away from the southeast around the middle part of the afternoon. then it's brighterfor all with plenty of sunshine, but there will be some blustery showers — starting to have a wintry flavour to them across the north and the west of scotland. it will be a windy afternoon — particularly across the north and the west of the country. gales in exposure around coasts and over hills. temperatures, on the face of it, though, not too bad for the time of year — highs of ten to 13 degrees. now, as we move through this evening and overnight, a ridge of high pressure builds in, so the winds will turn lighter again across much of the country — certainly england and wales — it'll turn chilly here with probably a touch of frost out of town. clearskies, lighterwinds, but further north it'll be turning wetter and windier. that's because we've got this very large, deep area of low pressure sitting out in the north atlantic, and that'll be influencing the weather across much of the north and the west of the country. so wet, windy across scotland and northern ireland for wednesday. see some wintriness over the scottish hills there. gales in exposure across the northwest.

for england and wales, a little bit of cloud, one or two showers for western england and wales. otherwise, quite a lot of dry and bright weather around, and it will be breezy here, as well, but not as windy as further north. and top temperatures again reaching around ten or maybe 11 degrees. now this weather front sinking south across the country on thursday is a cold front — it'll introduce much colder air as it pushes its way southwards. it'll be lying across central, southern, eastern parts of england thursday morning — could see a bit of sleet on this back edge as it eventually clears away. and then it's a brighter day with sunshine and showers — these showers will be wintry, with significant snow falling over central and northern scotland over the higher ground, and we'll have an ice risk here, as well. so a colder day to come across the board on thursday — temperatures in single figures for most, it'll be very windy with widespread gales. into friday and the start of the weekend, away from the far north west of the country it'll be a little bit quieter, a bit drier, winds a bit lighter — we should see some sunshine.

this is bbc news. the headlines: borisjohnson announces sanctions against russian banks and wealthy individuals — after president putin orders troops into eastern ukraine. the house should be in no doubt that the deployment of these forces in sovereign ukrainian territory amounts to a renewed invasion of that country. in germany, the government halts the process to approve a new pipeline from russia which could double europe's gas supply. ukrainians were told by their president to remain calm — he said his country was not afraid of anything or anyone. questions about who will be eligible for free covid testing — after the government announced

the end of universal testing in england from april.