is stepping down from his role at social media giant meta. and17—year—old darts sensation luke littler hopes to make history tonight if he can beat three—time former world champion michael van gerwen. hello, i'm annita mcveigh. amber warnings for snow and ice have been issued for large areas of england and wales this weekend, after an arctic blast pushed temperatures to nearly minus eight degrees celsius overnight. the uk health security agency has warned that vulnerable and elderly people will be at risk. gritters were out through the night and into the early hours making sure the roads were clear and safe. back in october when the winter season started here, this whole area was full of salt, and it was as high as the top of the pile you can see there. here, they are constantly monitoring the situation on the roads and the weather forecast, to see how much salt they need to use each day.

we do tailor what the actual gritters are putting on the roads, depending on the conditions, the temperatures, and that can be fed into the wagons, and then they dial up what is required, and the salt is dispensed accordingly. this is us watching in real—time. in the office is where they keep an eye on how much salt is needed and where it needs to go. so we are able to see that in real—time the temperatures were colder than we expected. so we were able to monitor that react accordingly. health care providers are also preparing. they have been placed on high alert for the coming days. people who are vulnerable to the cold weather could be at greater risk and might need help. in the east of england, extra ambulances have already been put on, as they have started to feel the pressure. our call levels are at the highest level that we have experienced ever. that typically we would see around 3,900 calls a day, and we have been receiving in excess of 5,700 calls.

some charities, including age uk, are warning that the government's decision to axe winter fuel payments for most pensioners will make some reluctant to turn on the heating during this cold snap. but the health secretary defended the choice. well, this is definitely a weekend to turn the heating on. and i willjust remind people that the chancellor did take the decision to protect winter fuel allowance for the poorest pensioners, to protect people this winter and in future winters. and of course the triple lock on pensions is guaranteed. so the state pension is higher this winter than it was last year. three, two, one, go! as snow had already started to fall, it is fun for some, and often beautiful. but others will be worried about how they are going to stay warm and get around safely. here in oldham, they say they will be monitoring the situation closely this afternoon, and their gritters will be ready

to go out when needed. jessica lane, bbc news. police are investigating after the father of sara sharif was allegedly assaulted in prison weeks after being jailed for the 10—year—old's murder. urfan sharif is said to have been attacked at belmarsh prison on new year's day by two other inmates in a cell. he's said to have suffered cuts to his face, and it is understood he received medical treatment inside the prison. a prison service spokesperson said: "police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at hmp belmarsh on 1january. adding, "it would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate." 43 year old sharif and sara's stepmother beinash batool were sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted at the old bailey last month of killing sara at their home

in woking. daniel sandford gave us this update. they were given a life sentence for murder with a minimum term of a0 years, so essentially it will be absolutely definitely at least a0 years in prison. just over a two weeks after that sentence was passed, on new year's day, a fan sharif was attacked in belmarsh prison in south—east london. —— irfan sharif. it is thought that two inmates were probably involved, and that the alleged weapon was part of a can of tuna. there had been reports that the injuries he sustained and included a cut to the throat. i don't understand that that is accurate. it seems that the injuries are cuts to the face. he wasn't taken out of prison, to a&e for example, he was treated in hospital. it sounds

like a significant attack, but the injuries perhaps were not massively significant. it is an indication of quite how serious the situation is in prison is at the moment, because assaults have become commonplace. 30,000 assaults in prison in england and wales in the year tojune last year, an increase of 2a% on the previous 12 months. of those assaults, two thirds are prisoner on prisoner. the others are obviously prisoners on staff. 20,000 assaults prisoner on prisoner, and that was up by 21%, so this is starting to become something which is growing at a very fast rate. there's been a change at the top of tech giant meta, owner of facebook, whatsapp and instagram. the former british deputy prime minister nick clegg is stepping down from his role as chief global affairs officer at the firm.

he is being replaced byjoel kaplan, a prominent republican. the change at the top of meta's policy and communications team comes weeks ahead of the inauguration of president—elect donald trump, who has had a fractious relationship with meta co—founder mark zuckerberg. let's speak to one of facebook�*s earliest investors and author of new york times best seller �*zucked: waking up to the facebook catastophe�*. roger, good to have you with ourson roger, good to have you with our son bbc news, thanks for your time today. what does the departure of nick clegg and the arrival ofjoel kaplan mean for meta? ., , ., , ., meta? for everyone listening to this programme, _ meta? for everyone listening to this programme, the _ meta? for everyone listening to this programme, the thing - meta? for everyone listening to this programme, the thing to i this programme, the thing to understand is that meta is no longer pretending to be neutral in politics. mark zuckerberg has had as a goal since the company began to create a global network on which every human being connected to the

internet participates, under his direction, a very authoritarian vision. in the united states, it has been on the defensive for many years and as a consequence has had to pretend political neutrality. when nick clegg was hired seven years ago, it was in direct response to the cambridge analytical scandal in the uk, and the absolute need at that time to settle political issues in europe. i think meta now feels it has control of the politics in europe to its satisfaction. it wants to focus on the united states. the promotion ofjoel kaplan, who has been calling the shots globally all through nick clegg's term there, is really incredibly symbolic, because i think meta is very confident it can buy its way to success with the trump administration. roger... i think we have a problem with the line. can you

hear me? roger mcnamee, we are just trying to re—establish that line with roger. so far without success. we will try to come back to roger mcnamee if we can. let's take a short break. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

before the break, we were starting to talk about the change at the top of meta, nick clegg replaced by republican joel kaplan. i'm pleased to say we can rejoin roger mcnamee, one of facebook�*s earliest investors, after those brief technical issues. you were just talking about the political impact of meta, so do you think underjoel kaplan, a republican, as we've explained, there will be less moderation of political content? what are

your thoughts on that? will be focus be on a certain type of political content, do you believe? i political content, do you believe?— political content, do you believe? ~ ~ , believe? i think the key thing to understand _ believe? i think the key thing to understand about - believe? i think the key thing to understand about this - believe? i think the key thing i to understand about this change is that nick clegg was brought on to solve a political problem in europe after the cambridge analytical scandal that took place in the uk. hisjob was analytical scandal that took place in the uk. his job was to make sure that meta didn't get into any long—term trouble in europe. he clearly has not got into long—term trouble. european regulators are unhappy with the company but they have not yet done anything meaningful. trump's election in the united states signals a huge change in us politics, and meta has been in conflict with trump because it banned him a number of years ago after the insurrection in washington, and kaplan, a long—time republican politician, is someone that they correctly believe can negotiate with all the correct

parties so that meta can buy its way to a favoured position with the administration. i don't think they are pretending to be neutral any longer. in fact, i don't think any of the tech companies in the us is pretending to be neutral. they are very clearly on the side of the republicans in the united states and authoritarians elsewhere. the technology is also authoritarian. we as the people who use it are put in a very awkward situation. it doesn't matter what they do with the content, what they are trying to do is control the communications systems in our society in a way that limits our options, and we as users i think really need to rethink our relationship with technology products, lest we fall victim to more problems going forward. let fall victim to more problems going forward.— going forward. let me then brina going forward. let me then bring into _ going forward. let me then bring into all— going forward. let me then bring into all this _ going forward. let me then | bring into all this discussion the question of elon mosque. what influence do you think he has ever donald trump —— elon

musk. people might see that he wants to be close to the administration and have control over regulation. what happens with al, though, influence over that the big prize as far as elon musk is concerned? i think the bi elon musk is concerned? i think the his prize — elon musk is concerned? i think the big prize for _ elon musk is concerned? i think the big prize for all _ elon musk is concerned? i think the big prize for all these - the big prize for all these people is global domination. i believe that the technology leaders in the united states all believe that their companies are sovereign, that they are equivalent to or more important than the countries in which they operate. for that reason, elon musk is particularly dangerous, because his vision is global. it is very much a surveillance based, essentially government subsidised, authoritarian vision. what i will be interested to see, and i say this with great fear, is how long elon musk can court trump before one of the other of them

gets tired. he may be the proof point that being incredibly rich doesn't mean that you are either wise or even particularly smart. he is a tremendous risk taker and he's been incredibly fortunate, the risk see has taken have worked out, but many of the things he has done don't make any sense, and his daily behaviour, if you watch it, is quite alarming. we willjust have to see how all of this turns out, but as an american, i'm embarrassed by what has happened to our country, and i'm terrified for the future. so country, and i'm terrified for the future.— country, and i'm terrified for the future. , ., , , ., the future. so you suggest that the future. so you suggest that the tech giants, _ the future. so you suggest that the tech giants, the _ the future. so you suggest that the tech giants, the people - the future. so you suggest that| the tech giants, the people who control the tech giants, could be as powerful, more powerful, you suggest, potentially, then states themselves. if we bring this back it's a huge topic to consider. if we bring this back to where we started the discussion, and the future of meta specifically, obviously it deals with some of the reforms

that many people are very familiar with and use in their daily lives, such as facebook, whatsapp and so on. what direction is meta heading in, in the short to medium term, do you think?— you think? so, all of the tech ciants, you think? so, all of the tech giants, including _ you think? so, all of the tech giants, including meta, - you think? so, all of the tech giants, including meta, have| giants, including meta, have placed an enormous bet on artificial intelligence. and they've done so because artificial intelligence essentially uses convenience to lure people into giving up control of their own lives. essentially, as we increasingly come to depend on artificial intelligence, we lose not only the skills to manage our lives but the actual decision—making power over the things that determine whether we are successful or not. meta's absolutely committed. they are not in as good a position as google or openai today, but they are determined to close that gap. the key thing for

anyone listening to understand is that al may seem like a step forward, but it's not a step forward, but it's not a step forward for us, only for the tech giants. it basically transfers from us control of our lives, centralising it into control for the people who operate the artificial intelligence. i don't think that's a good trade, and i would encourage everyone to resist this that with all their might. it is not solid or proven. the whole thing right now is very precarious. i am very concerned with what will happen is people blindly adopt a technology that doesn't work nearly as well as we've been told it does.— told it does. roger, iwish i had more — told it does. roger, iwish i had more time _ told it does. roger, iwish i had more time to _ told it does. roger, iwish i had more time to talk- told it does. roger, iwish i had more time to talk to i told it does. roger, iwish i| had more time to talk to you about this subject. it is really a fascinating one, really a fascinating one, really interesting to talk to you, roger mcnamee. thank re