today at one — heated clashes in the commons in the last hour over the government's new plan to stop illegal migration to the uk on small boats. labour said the government is all talk on the issue and no action — but rishi sunak claimed only the conservatives can stop the boats. it's clear what we stand for, mr speaker. we are acting with compassion, fairness and to respect the law and order of our country. this is their fifth prime minister, their six immigration plan, their seventh home secretary, and after all this time, all they offer is the same old gimmicks and empty promises. the bbc says it will have a "frank conversation" with star presenter gary lineker after he said the language used to launch

the government's asylum policy was "like 1930s germany." also in the programme this lunchtime. an arctic blast sweeps through many parts of the uk — with snow and ice causing travel problems. a big rise in the number of dog attacks recorded by police in england and wales. and a month on from the dramatic rescue of this man from the rubble of the turkish earthquake, he's reunited with the british search team who saved his life. and coming up on the bbc news channel — andy murray expects russian and belarusian players will be allowed to play at wimbledon this summer, and says he doesn't mind if they do. good afternoon. in the last hour, the prime minister

has been defending his government's new plan to stop migrants arriving illegally in the uk on small boats. rishi sunak told the house of commons that "only the conservatives" would stop the boats. but the labour leader sir keir starmer said the government is simply offering "gimmicks and empty promises". the measures announced yesterday would effectively ban those who come here illegally from claiming asylum, and require that they be detained and deported. our political correspondent david wallace lockhart reports. the prime minister has made a bold policy promise. can you stop the boats, prime minister? the figures spell out the challenge that rishi sunak faces. small boat crossing numbers were first recorded in 2018 when 300 people made the journey. they have risen considerably since. last year, over 16,000 people arrived in the uk this way. the latest figures show that in 2021 the uk received over 58,000 asylum applications,

more than some european neighbours, but less than germany, france and spain. cheering. the government record was under the spotlight at prime minister's questions. after 13 years, small boat crossings higher than ever. claims unprocessed. the taxpayer paying for hotel rooms. criminal gangs running all the way laughing to the bank. and an asylum system utterly broken on his watch. this is their fifth prime minister, their sixth immigration plan, their seventh home secretary. and after all this time, all they offer is the same old gimmicks and empty promises. mr speaker, illegal immigration enforcement, up. the amount of people processing claims, up. the backlog is down. the number of returns agreements is up. hundreds of people returned to albania and now new laws to detain and deter illegal migrants. it's clear what we stand for, mr speaker. we are doing what is right. we are acting with compassion, we are acting with fairness,

and we are acting to respect the laws and borders of our country. we are delivering what we said, and it is crystal clear listening to this, mr speaker, that it is going to be the conservatives and only the conservatives that stop the boats. the snp questioned the morality of government policy. this is the tory government that in recent months has— spoken of "invasions". just yesterday this was the tory government that said that - 100 million people could be coming to these shores. _ and this is the tory government i that this morning said that number could in fact be billions. complete and utter nonsense. the figure of 100 million, it doesn't come from the government, it comes from the united nations, mr speaker. and it illustrates the scale of the global migration crisis that the world is grappling with, which is why it is right that we take action, mr speaker. because if we do not... this debate isn't over. the illegal migration bill is set to be back in the commons on monday. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster.

the bbc says it will have a "frank conversation" with match of the day presenter gary lineker, after he compared the language used to launch the government's immigration policy to 1930s germany and called it "immeasurably cruel". the home secretary says gary linkeker�*s comments on twitter were "disappointing and unhelpful". this morning mr lineker has been tweeting again, saying he would "continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice". our culture and media editor katie razzall reports. 0ne one of the bbc�*s most high—profile presenters being accused by some of breaking the corporation's rules on impartiality. having called the government's new announcement beyond awful on twitter, the match of the day presented called it immeasurably cruel and said the language was not dissimilar to that being used in 19305 dissimilar to that being used in

1930s germany. the home secretary hit back. i’m 19305 germany. the home secretary hit back. �* , hit back. i'm disappointed, obviously- _ hit back. i'm disappointed, obviously. i— hit back. i'm disappointed, obviously. i think - hit back. i'm disappointed, obviously. i think it's - hit back. i'm disappointed, - obviously. i think it's unhelpful to compare our measures, which are proportionate and compassionate, the 19305 proportionate and compassionate, the 1930s germany. i also think that we are on the side of the british people here. it is plain for anyone to see that the british people have had enough of the situation. the bbc's director _ had enough of the situation. the bbc's director general, who is made impartiality a cornerstone of his leadership, will have a frank conversation with the star. it’s conversation with the star. it's totally appropriate that we speak privately to members of the team. according — privately to members of the team. according to bbc rules, staff and talent to work in these must act impartially. it's to make sure audiences feel the corporation represents them. gary lineker is a sports presenter, and because of that his risks of compromising bbc impartiality are deemed lower. however, he was found to have broken the rules last year over a tweet about the then foreign secretary urging premier league teams to boycott the champions league final

in russia. will the party had back donations from russian donors, he asked. as a high profile present at the bbc complaints unit said he had additional responsibilities and should avoid taking sides on party political issues. with some conservative mps demanding the bbc sacked him, gary lineker took to twitter this morning again, to say he was getting a lot of praise, adding that he will continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice. 0ur political correspondentjonathan blake is at westminster now. i suppose it shows how the battle lines are really drawn over this issue of migration between the government and the opposition. it really does. you only had to listen to the cheering and cheering of conservative mps and watch rishi sunak�*s animated, enthusiastic suna k�*s animated, enthusiastic answers sunak�*s animated, enthusiastic answers to sir keir starmer�*s

questions to sense that the conservatives feel they are on the front foot with this issue. the prime minister talked about it being the people's priority, as the labour leader tried to pin him down on exactly how many migrants had been deported over the government's new laws which are already in place, and accusing ministers of utter failures to tackle the issue. the prime minister hitting back, accusing the labour leader of not having any plan to tackle the issue himself and being just another lefty lawyer. it's that kind of language and some of the rhetoric the government is using to pitch this policy which is attracting attention and getting it into some trouble in certain quarters, not least an e—mail sent out in the name of the home secretary suella braverman to many thousands of conservative party supporters yesterday, talking about the government not being able to tackle this plan because it had been blocked by a blob of left—wing

lawyers, civil servants and the labour party. lots of people have accused the home secretary of potentially compromising the impartiality of civil servants, and it's part of their duty under the ministerial code to uphold that but a source close to the home secretary saying she didn't write the e—mail or sign off on it, it was actually prepared by conservative party headquarters. nevertheless, it was written and sent in her name, so a bit of an awkward embarrassment for the home secretary with that particular issue. as you say, it's clear from today's exchanges on the way this issue was dominating that it's going to form a major part of the run—up to the next general election. the run-up to the next general election. . ~ the run-up to the next general election. ., ~ , ., the run-up to the next general election. ., ~ g ., ., ., the run-up to the next general election. ., ~ ., ., �* .,~ election. thank you, jonathan blake, our political— election. thank you, jonathan blake, our political correspondent _ election. thank you, jonathan blake, our political correspondent at - our political correspondent at westminster. a blast of arctic weather has been sweeping across parts of the uk, causing widespread travel disruption. the met office has issued several yellow weather warnings today for snow and ice in parts

of scotland, northern ireland and southern england. it's been the coldest night of the year so far with temperatures plunging to minus 15 degrees in the highlands. the bitter conditions are expected to last until the weekend. jenny kumah reports. the gritters were out in force across south—west england overnight. but there was still travel disruption across the region and other parts of the uk. schools closed as staff struggled to get to work. people here in somerset and across other parts of the uk have woken up to the winter wonderland. this is one of more than 20 schools across this county that has closed today. there has been disruption across road, rail, and at the airports. arctic air brought some of the lowest temperatures this year last night. wiltshire saw some of the heaviest snowfall. here in bradford—on—avon in wiltshire, people have been making the most of the snow. hot soup, hot coffee,

lots and lots of winter weather. we are good, we are very good! this is my first time ever making a humongous snowman! flights were suspended until 11 o'clock at bristol airport. some have been cancelled and travellers are advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport. temperatures dropped to “4 in parts of wales and there was still full of up to five centimetres. ——temperatures dropped to “4 in parts of wales and there was snowfall of up to five centimetres. here in cardiff there was congestion and road closures. weather warnings for snow and ice are in place for the south and east of england, south wales, scotland and northern ireland, until early thursday. some evening rush—hour commuters will face disruption and the advice is to check yourjourney and plan ahead. jenny kumah, bbc news, somerset. 0ur correspondent tomos morgan is in caerphilly. it looks very pretty but i guess the driving conditions are a bit treacherous at the moment. yes, this

road which links _ treacherous at the moment. yes, this road which links to _ treacherous at the moment. yes, this road which links to cardiff _ treacherous at the moment. yes, this road which links to cardiff was - road which links to cardiff was closed this morning, it was completely driveable due to the conditions and several other roads have been closed in the south wales valleys as well. as jenny have been closed in the south wales valleys as well. asjenny mentioned, a number of people are also making the most of the weather, people have been sledging here. it has meant haswell a number of schools have closed in wales, around 200. and in caerphilly that's where the highest number of schools in wales have had to close. this cold snap is because there's been a breeze coming down from the north bringing down the arctic cold wind which means there is a yellow weather warning for ice and snow until the end of the week in many parts of the uk in wales, scotland, northern ireland and england. the advice is to play it

safe when it comes to travelling, the be vigilant and it could mean travel disruption and some power outages if things get worse. thank ou. and of course, we'll have a full weather forecast at the end of the programme. a weekly injection for losing weight has been approved for use by the nhs in england. semaglutide makes people feel fuller so they eat less. experts have described the decision to make it availbale on the nhs as a pivotal moment for the treatment of people living with obesity but others have warned the drug is not a quick fix. 0ur health correspondent catherine burns reports. the main weapons against obesity are exercise and dieting. but they are not quite cutting it. by 2035 we expect half of the world's population to be overweight or obese. but you might have heard recently about semaglutide,

weekly injections that make you feel full. studies show people losing about 12% of their body weight on them. one, two, three. kelly wood lives in america and has been injecting herself for seven months, losing a third of her body weight in the process. when you take this medication, it takes the work out of telling yourself, should i eat this, should i not eat this. you just stop eating when you're full. the papers are calling it a wonderjab. a drug called wegovy. but it is not going to be available on the nhs for everyone who just wants to lose a few pounds. the wegovy pen is a single dose, prefilled pen... it is mainly being recommended in england for people with a bmi of 35, severely obese. they must also have at least one weight—related condition like type two diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. like every medication, there are side effects.

it's mainly gastrointestinal side—effects such as nausea and vomiting. not all patients will experience that but it is really important that the care is there for the patients. so anyone being prescribed it on the nhs will get other support to help them eat healthily and exercise. and they will only get the drug for a maximum of two years. i welcome it as a tool but obesity is more complex than this and there are other aspects of obesity that need to be dealt with. moreover, after two years when you come off the drug, weight gain is likely, is highly probable. this is not a magic bullet. those not eligible for it on the nhs have another option, paying privately. but that will cost them at least £100 a month. catherine burns, bbc news. the un secretary—general is in kyiv today holding talks with the country's president,

volodymyr zelensky, about extending a deal which allows ukraine to export grain. the black sea grain initiative was signed injuly last year, and allows ships to sail from southern ukraine into the international waters of the black sea, avoiding mined areas. it has to be renewed by march 18th, but asjon donnison reports, there's concern russia might let the agreement expire. wheat. ukraine was once one of the world's biggest exporters. so when russia invaded and closed the country's ports last year, global food prices soared and millions faced severe hunger. but last summer shipments out of the ukrainian city of 0desa resumed after a deal was brokered by the un and turkey under which russia allowed some grain to be exported via the black sea. but the agreement has to be renewed every four months and russia has signalled it might not allow

an extension next week unless more is done to lift restrictions on its own agricultural exports. certainly ukraine needs this deal for our economy, yes. but ukraine will not starve anyway, the world needs this deal even more than ukraine because the black sea is vital for the food security of the world and everybody has now realised it. and all the while, as we head into spring, fighting in the east is intensifying. these pictures released by the russian defence ministry claim to show its tanks in operations striking at ukrainian units on the frontline. what remains of the eastern ukrainian city of bakhmut could fall to russia in the next few days, according to the head of nato in comments he made this morning.

so while there is hope today of diplomatic progress on wheat, the war shows no let up. jon donnison, bbc news. the time is 13:17. our top story this lunchtime. heated clashes in the commons over the government's new plan to stop illegal migration to the uk on small boats. coming up — what businesses in slough are hoping to hear in the chancellor's budget next week. coming up on the bbc news channel — there's100 days to go until the women's ashes, and the event has already broken sales records for england's women's fixtures — with 55,000 tickets sold for the series which begins at trent bridge injune. a bbc investigation has found the number of dog attacks recorded by police in england and wales has risen sharply. last year there were nearly 22 thousand cases of out of control dogs causing injury — that's an increase of almost 30% on five years ago.

the number of dogs being seized is also going up, meaning police have to spend millions of pounds on kennels and vet bills — as danny savage reports. whoa, whoa, whoa! the aftermath of a dog attack in london. police try and contain the animal with a fire extinguisher. but look at the strength in its pull. a 13—year—old child is being treated on the ground nearby. siren. this is a growing problem in the uk. it was a cross between a rottweiler and a shar pei. it was behind the letterbox waiting for me. it heard me coming down the path, and it was ready. as soon as i lifted that lid of the letterbox, snout was there. didn't see the snout, i wasn't expecting it. but it was there, and it were a clean bite. sarah king started 2022 with ten fingers — she finished it with nine. still hurts, very

numb, very sensitive. there's things i can't do. holding your phone, your mobile, you actually use your full handspan. little things, definitely. it has affected me. it feels like training dogs is of growing importance. clever boy, yes. this dog is not a dangerous animal, but more than 20,000 dog attacks on people or assistance dogs were reported last year. and the number of dangerous dogs seized has soared over the last few years. at the moment, if you've got money, you can have a dog. simple as. there's no kind of safeguards. there's no checks done. and basically, i think that's part of the problem. looking back, in retrospect, it could've been my throat. janet was attacked by two of her neighbour's dogs. pictures of her injuries at the time are too graphic to show. nearly a year on, she has to do physio and is expecting more operations on her arm.

they were with their owner, so it was a big surprise and a big shock to be attacked, and i didn't realise how much damage a dog can do in seconds. just... especially you don't see it coming. dangerous dogs are a growing problem, and all too often animals are left to bite again — with little meaningful action taken against owners. danny savage, bbc news. the largest rail union, the rmt, has called off its strike action planned for next week by members at network rail, the organisation which looks after track and infrastructure. it follows a new pay offer. but rmt staff at companies operating train services are still due to walk out in their long running dispute over pay, conditions and job security. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin is at king's cross station.

a slightly confusing picture, katy, but potentially some progress in this long—running dispute? news of an expected breakthrough came last night and it means members of the rmt union the work for network rail were no longer take part in a strike next thursday the 16th of march. by the overtime bans that had been due to follow. they will know that a referendum vote on an updated offer put to the union by network rail and i understand that changes from what was on the table before include elements of the pay offer so staff would get some money earlier and changes around contracts as well. we do not yet know as i speak to you now if the rmt will recommend the offer to members when it puts it to a vote. and importantly for passengers at this moment in time there will still be a strike next thursday on the 16th and thatis strike next thursday on the 16th and that is because members of the rmt

union who work for train companies are still due to walk out on thursday on the 18th of march, the 30th of march and the 1st of april. there have been fresh calls from industry and government for the rmt to also put the latest offer that was presented by the train companies to a vote but we have not yet had one at the rmt will do that but the union had said we should expect updates on all aspects of the dispute in the coming days. katie aston, dispute in the coming days. katie aston. thank _ dispute in the coming days. katie aston, thank you. _ a spokesperson for the duke and duchess of sussex has confirmed that their daughter lilibet was christened last friday. the ceremony took place last friday in los angeles. it was conducted by the archbishop john taylor. the statement was the first time that their daughter was referred to as princess. she became a princess when her grandfather the king acceded to the throne. next week the chancellor

will deliver his budget against a backdrop of high prices and weak economic growth. so what are businesses hoping forfrom jeremy hunt? to find out, our business correspondent noor nanji has been to slough. it might not feel like it, but spring is on the way and so is the spring budget. this florist on slough high street is seeing costs pile up. it wants those to be the chancellor's priority next week. i will keep my door open always as much as i can. but seriously, we need some support. the bills, the rent, electric, energy, the price is getting very, very high. we need a cooler system for the flowers. we have to keep it fresh at a special degree. we are seriously struggling in this situation. the flowers here are blooming, but the business itself is struggling to grow. customers are spending less because of the cost of living crisis, and with energy bills support for firms due to be scaled back from april, it's a worrying time. ramia is hoping jeremy hunt will announce new measures to help with energy costs. she'd also like the fuel duty cut to be extended.

rising costs are a problem for this gym, too. its overheads have risen by more than 30% in a year. recruitment is the other major challenge and one it hopes the chancellor will address. we make enough money to survive for the next month and then carry on running. a lot of the kids, if they didn't have this place in slough, they'd be on the streets fighting. they can't afford to pay. but if there was an opportunity where they were given some sort of funding to start their training, then it would help them not just in their training, but in their life. we actually lost one of our cousins six months ago to knife crime. we're even more determined now. it's really upsetting to think, because the cost of living is so high, i might not be able to carry this place on. ammar also wants to see an expansion of free childcare, allowing parents to get back to work. at this bakery, coffees and cakes are being served, but food prices have soared. the cafe manager wantsjeremy hunt to reduce inflation and taxation. food prices have gone up and energy prices after the pandemic

and the current situation that's happening in ukraine. i'm hoping that the vat will be cut and the business rate, as that will help us. and how likely do you think that is to happen, just given where the uk's finances are right now? well, i'm hoping they will work out something, you know, to help and to give support to the businesses. we'rejust going to wait for the plan. firms have drawn up their wish lists. the treasury said it has provided hundreds of billions of pounds of support to businesses during the pandemic and the war in ukraine, and said the budget will set out the next stage in its plans for growth. noor nanji, bbc news in slough. it's beenjust over a month since devastating earthquakes hit turkey and syria, killing more than 50,000 people. the uk international search and rescue team were one of the teams who arrived in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. and among those they helped, was a man who'd been trapped beneath the rubble in turkey

for five days. well now that survivor has been able to meet the rescuers who saved his life, as tim muffett reports. this is what bravery looks like. the earthquake happened on monday and we were well into the deployment on friday. one of our team heard some knocking and some voices. the building they were in was a hotel that had collapsed. 77 volunteers from the uk international search and rescue team and four specially trained dogs had been flown to turkey shortly after the devastating earthquake. this particular rescue was our most prolonged for the entire period of time we were there. ten metres of breaching through concrete with a mixture of tools, hand tools, we are literally trying to get things into buckets, pass them back. after 20 hours, the team found and rescued a woman who'd been entombed in a tight space forfour days, but was otherwise uninjured.

she alerted them to another man, serdar, who was still trapped. serdar was passing in and out of consciousness, so we knew he was more critically ill. hello, i'm malcolm, the doctor. it seemed that his legs were trapped underneath a sort of concrete block. and at that point, that's where we have to start making decisions about what's going to happen next in the rescue. and you were chosen to actually do the extraction. why was that? i'm quite a small and nimble member of the team, and these voids are very, very small. getting serdar out took several more hours. in hospital, he tweeted his thanks to malcolm, sarah and the rest of the team, but he also wanted to talk to them. you're about to speak to serdar. what's going through your mind?

i'm slightly intrigued as to what he's going to remember. we were in some very, very tight and awkward positions. but you kind of build an attachment to someone when you're in there for that long. you never really get to recontact people that you rescued. so this is a complete one off. malcolm! hello. nice to see you. serdar. hi. my mummy! hi. she says thank you very much. very much. it's our pleasure. daddy. 0h, she's beautiful. thank you! you are my hero. always been, you know. oh, that means a lot to us. and we're really, really pleased.

the whole team was so excited to hear that that we were getting to speak to you. one of 12 lives saved by the uk team in turkey. amidst a disaster that killed tens of thousands of people, a story of bravery, endurance and immense skill that ended well. tim muffett, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. and earlier whistle problems being caused by snow and ice? more snow on the way and it has been very cold as well. in the north of scotland it was —15. so more snow on the way for the rest of today. i don't want to call it blanket of snow because it is not falling as snow because it is not falling as snow everywhere. this is what it looked like at lunchtime. snow in

wales as we saw