Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171211

One of the most familiar faces of Childrens Television in the 1980s, has died after a long illness. He was 60. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. Snow, ice and plunging temperatures have caused major disruption across swathes of the country today. More than 1,000 schools have been closed in wales, the midlands, the south west and other areas. Rail travel across england and wales has been disrupted and hundreds of flights cancelled. Tonight, conditions on many roads are treacherous. Forecasters are warning that temperatures could hit minus 13 degrees overnight. That would make it the coldest night of the winter so far. 0ur correspondent steve knibbs has been in the forest of deane. A little earlier he told me how the community has reacted to the heavy weather. Well, over the weekend, well, overthe weekend, it well, over the weekend, it was a case of will it all wanted snow in many parts of gloucestershire but here in the forest of dean, it definitely did, along with the north cotswolds, cheltenham and tewkesbury, who suffered some really heavy snow showers. The police took over 400 999 calls, gloucestershire fire and rescue have been using 4x4s to ta ke fire and rescue have been using 4x4s to take paramedics to communities that have been cut up and win a e units have been busy and patients are told only to go to a e units if you have a life threatening condition. As ever, when you have snow like this, Community Spirit kicks in. It was a slow, cautious start for those who had to venture out and there were many places where the trees fell. Here in the forest of dean, the driver of this car, who didnt want to be interviewed, had a lucky escape when this tree slid down the bank in front of him last night. For people who did venture out yesterday, falling trees is a co nsta nt out yesterday, falling trees is a constant hazard. As i was walking down the forest, there were branches coming then left, right and centre and if you go and have a look, it is covered. Nudge a small branches, tree trunks. Many parts of the forest at the heaviest, thick snow seemed the years. Up to 1700 homes lost our duty cables being brought down. Across gloucestershire, 250 schools shut their doors, pupils, staff u na ble schools shut their doors, pupils, staff unable to get in. With many communities cut up and transport difficult, health has been at hand. Charlotte is a community nurse. Yesterday, on her day off, she asked her neighbour with a 4x4 to take her toa her neighbour with a 4x4 to take her to a vulnerable patient who needed urgent medication. It meant a lot to her and her family because this lady needed the pain reliever medication and she has it on a daily basis and without somebody going to give it to her, she would have been in a lot of pain and discomfort for potentially a long period of time. Although the gritters were doing their best, there was some communities where people had to dig them out themselves. Here in cinderford, they started digging early this morning to make sure people could get out. 0bviously, to make sure people could get out. Obviously, it is bedlam. It is not gritted enough, we dont see the council down here, so everybody got together, there was no hope yesterday a pa rt together, there was no hope yesterday apart for 4x4s. Conditions and impacted ice on the roads, everybody getting stuck. The student got the car stuck and he has asked a couple of old schlep stuck in health out. It shows that even though you are busy, you can dojust stuck. Exactly, the message to the public is if you dont have to drive, dont. Even we get stuck, dont risk it. And it is still not over yet, temperatures well below freezing are expected tonight and into late morning, so the snow and ice is here to stay the moment. Ican to stay the moment. I can tell you tonight, it is bitterly cold here in the forest of dean and it is thought that temperatures could drop as low, in some parts, two minus 15. That is a lot of slush and eyes and water on the roads, which could lead to problems driving around the county tomorrow. We already know tonight 30 schools have taken the decision to close already. It is worth checking on the gloucestershire website for closed schools, we are expecting a certain amount of disruption tomorrow and you can see the gritters are red from gloucestershire highways, they have been working for the last 48 hours, spreading all of the major routes tomorrow but some communities today we re tomorrow but some communities today were saying they didnt get any great because they are not on the main routes, c as you could see in the report, the communities were getting out, clearing those roads in the parts that were cut off. But i think it is fair to say, if temperatures do go as low as 15, we expect a fair amount of disruption again tomorrow. The Thames Valley has also been badly affected by the snow, with many households losing power. James ingham in basingstoke, told me how the snow had affected the area. Well, it has had a big impact, particularly in rural areas, where getting around has been extremely difficult and that has led to the closure of around 500 schools, primarily in buckinghamshire, 0xfordshire and wiltshire. 0xford Brookes University also closing its doors. 0n the roads, as you can see, gritted roads are running quite free but untreated surfaces remain incredibly icy and there have been a number of bumps and the usual inevitable little mishaps on the roads today. The aa, britains biggest recovery service, which is based here in basingstoke, received 14,000 call outs yesterday, that is 40 more than they would ordinarily get on a sunday and they say many of those calls that did relate directly to the snow and cold. They are telling motorists to take that little bit of extra care. The biggest impact has perhaps been for those who have lost Power Supplies to their homes. Snow and strong winds caused problems across the network, primarily again in 0xfordshire. At one point, 50,000 homes were without power yesterday. Teams from Scottish Southern Energy networks have been working really ha rd to Energy Networks have been working really hard to try and restore power today. It was around 800 that remain cut off and this evening, 200 homes still without power. Inches of snow injust 24 hours. Still without power. Inches of snow in just 24 hours. 0utside, still without power. Inches of snow injust 24 hours. Outside, the still without power. Inches of snow in just 24 hours. Outside, the work to restore power lines continued. Inside, people began a second day of trying to stay warm. The house gets colder and colder and you feel it around your ankles. Everybody kept saying it will be over by 2pm, but it wasnt, and then they said 11th at night and it came on for a few minutes, very dim, then disappeared again. They have had a horrible time with it, it has been a really nasty problem. This morning, as temperatures remained below freezing, hundreds of families in 0xfordshire woke up in darkness. 0ver 0xfordshire woke up in darkness. Over the last 24 hours, 50,000 people across South Central england have been without power and the reason for this, heres an example, the snow comes down on the trees, they get laden with the weight and hit electricity wires. This used to carry 11,000 volts but when they come together, they explode and burn and that is why so many have been without power. A team of 850 work for scottish and southern electricity this weekend, including engineers, tree surgeons and call handlers, as well as drivers of welfare funds, sensitive areas without power to provide people with hot food and drink. We have been tootling around the areas when there have been customers off, and when it comes back on, we go onto the next area. We realise that especially in this cold weather, hot cup of tea, coffee or soup or a hot meal is really important to give customers the chance to get hot food inside them. Despite the outage, with schools closed across the county, some people were making the most of an unexpected day off. The Electricity Company say they expect all homes to be reconnected by the end of the day and for any inconvenience. So a difficult day, james, for everyone, what is the prognosis for tomorrow . Well, temperatures already are very close to freezing, perhaps a little below at the moment and they will continue to drop throughout the night. It could reach 10 in 0xfordshire, 7 in berkshire, so tomorrow we are likely to wake up to some more treacherous roads. The gritters will be out in force again overnight but it is those untreated roads where people are urged to take extra care. Some of those 500 schools that remain closed today may still be shot tomorrow. We have heard at least seven in 0xfordshire has said they will close. Parents are urged to check the websites of local authorities in the morning. James ingram with us in basingstoke and earlier, we heard from steve knibbs in the forest of dean. Phil avery from bbc weather is here. How bad is going to get tonight . think the emphasis slightly shifts, we go away from the drama of the falling snow and the total is mounting on we have had 30 centimetres of limestone lad sennybridge, one of the bigger totals have seen, but the indications are it is going to be a particularly cold night and there are warnings from the met office faure is far more than thereafter snow. I think the areas that will pick up on snow will be the north and east of scotland, away from the central belt and some of the eastern counties of england could still see a feed of showers coming in off the north sea but i think the distinction we have to make year is it is more likely to be Higher Ground effect than more widespread, evenin ground effect than more widespread, even in the areas i have mentioned, above 150 200 metres, you could see not the we not the elsewhere, e elsewhere, tying elsewhere, tying in . Elsewhere, tying in with weekend. Elsewhere, tying in with the cold night, is i problems with the cold night, is the problems with ice and there are met Office Warnings for this for northern ireland, a good part of wales, good pa rt ireland, a good part of wales, good part of the midlands, is central southern england and down into the east of and i think the headline maker tonight, as has been alluded to by our correspondence, temperatures in the countryside over those snowfields could be down at 10, 11 those snowfields could be down at 10, 11 or those snowfields could be down at 10, 11 or 12 those snowfields could be down at 10, 11 or 12 and that is notjust a scotland feature as we so often see this time of year, that can be down into sunny old 0xfordshire in the south of england, so there is still some some still some issue, even though we dont have the drama of the falling snow, as i know you love. Also, builtup areas, big conurbations, temperatures will be freezing their severe Early Morning commute in london, manchester, birmingham, it will be problematic. That is if you get onto the commute, because as we have heard, a number of schools shutting so parents have an issue with childcare and, yes, quite often we talk about the major routes, the motorways and whatever but actually, it is getting down your drive and into the Major Networks where we dont seem to get the grit, for very obvious reasons, just in those side roads and the estates, which can bejust just in those side roads and the estates, which can be just as treacherous, even though you are only doing five or ten mph before you get onto the major a roads and the motorway network, where they manage to get the grit down to try and alleviate some of the problems with this we have been talking about. So although the drama has gone, it is that almost unseen hazard of this that i am concerned about through the rest of the commute tomorrow morning and i think once we have done with tomorrow, well probably out of the woods for the middle part of the week. I think that it will be the other face of winter, the wet and windy. That is the middle part of the week. How much longer is this cold snap going to last . I think once we are done with our crisp day on tuesday, tuesday night into wednesday probably wont be the same beast we have described because their fronts coming in from the atlantic. Some transient snow over highgrove but most of us will be going, it is bit windy wet and windy and a bit milder. And very british. Indeed, it makes you proud. And well find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrows front pages at 10 40 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are kate proctor, political reporter at the london Evening Standard and the broadcasterjohn stapleton. Should be fun, stay with us for that. The headlines on bbc news more than a thousand schools remained closed today, and hundreds households were left without power, as snow and ice covered much of the uk. Temperatures tonight could fall to minus 13. Two people have been arrested, after police begin a murder inquiry, following the deaths of three children in a house fire in manchester. Scientists trying to find a treatment for huntingtons disease think they may be close to the biggest breakthrough for 50 years. Now, time for a bit of sport from the bbc Sports Centre and holly hamilton has the details. Good evening. More on the Champions League injust a moment but good evening. More on the Champions League in just a moment but we will start with rugby and saracens slump continues after they suffered their sixth consecutive defeat in all competitions, beaten by per month over the champions cup this morning evening. Permanent of a clermont are describing it as a shambles the way it was rescheduled. 0ne shambles the way it was rescheduled. One of the biggest games of the champions cup so far, saracens didnt seem to have adjusted to the rearranged kick off time, caught cold as clermont wandered past them. Three times he went over inside the first half an hour. Last seasons beaten finalists owning payback through points. At one stage, this was going to be played behind closed doors. It seems as though saracens could have done with the privacy. They did wrestle back a penalty try but clermonts one man wrecking machine tore into them again, dismantling the saracens frozen foundations. Van der merwe continued the demolitionjob. The foundations. Van der merwe continued the demolition job. The saracens defence, known as the walk back, was a strangely scattered heard. The 18th of april 2015 was the last time saracens lost in europe. Their conquerors that they now their conquerors that they now their conquerors once more. Perhaps the end ofan conquerors once more. Perhaps the end of an era. To the Champions League drawing chelsea will have to find a way that has barcelona for the sixth time in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Tottenham had to deal with oui league. Tottenham had to deal with our seasons league. Tottenham had to deal with oui seasons runners up league. Tottenham had to deal with our seasons runners upjuventus, so lets ta ke our seasons runners upjuventus, so lets take a look at the draw in full. Manchester city were handed potentially the most straightforward pass. Manchester united will probably fancy their chances against sevilla with the second ledger to ta ke sevilla with the second ledger to take place at old trafford. And finally, liverpool are up against porto, they will be reasonably happy with their draws and chelsea looked to have the toughest task of those five english teams. Every game against chelsea and barcelona has been a great game. As we have seen in the past, we have had recent semifinals against each other, some have been controversial, others not and obviously the last time in the nou camp was a semifinal, the year that we went on to munich and the previous semifinal before that, Andres Iniesta scored that late, late goal to clinch it before barcelona, so every game we play against them is exciting. Now, we we re against them is exciting. Now, we were expecting drama at old trafford yesterday but it was the actions of player and staff after the Manchester City win over united that has caused more of a stir. The Football Association has asked both clu bs for Football Association has asked both clubs for more information after a fracas broke out outside the changing rooms. It is believed Jose Mourinho wasnt happy with citys supposedly excessive celebrations. Mourinho apparently had water and milk thrown at him and Manchester City coach mikel arteta suffered a cut head. The clubs have until wednesday to respond. England wicketkeeperjonny bairstow says the players have listened to head coach trevor baylisss warning that players will pay with their places in theiroff players will pay with their places in their off the field discipline doesnt improve. Englands ashes series, which they currently trailed 20, series, which they currently trailed 2 0, has been dogged by several of the field incidents. People have perceptions and will read things. I firmly believe there has been a lot of hype about it and it has been blown up, i think it has escalated a heck of a lot. We are in a position that hopefully with the results we get in the next three games, we can do the talking that has escalated off the field, we have an opportunity to do that on the field. We got ourselves into it and we need to get ourselves out of it and need to get ourselves out of it and need to win three test matches, that is the bottom line. There is no hiding away from that and that is the challenge we now have in front of us. And john higgins put his surprise uk championship lost to marking behind him to bijac lozowski 4 1 in the Scottish Open first round. Higgins was beaten finalistjust last Scottish Open first round. Higgins was beaten finalist just last year. And that is all the sports are now, i will have more in sportsday at pm. Two people have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of three children in a house fire in worsley, greater manchester. A 14 Year Old Girl, named locally as demi pearson, was pronounced dead at the scene, while an eight year old boy and a seven Year Old Girl died in hospital. The childrens mother, named locally as michelle pearson, is in a serious condition in hospital. A fourth sibling, a three Year Old Girl, is also critically ill. If a short street of terraced houses on the edge of manchester. If early today, it became a murder scene, when someone deliberately set fire to this house. Neighbours who knew the victims and saw what happened have been left deeply upset. And saw what happened ijust heard people screaming and shouting, and then ijust opened the bathroom window and just looked over, and it wasjust like. All i can imagine, like a big orange cloud. Just a bang and all fireballs coming from the house. Susan smith watched in horror as the children who used to pat her dog were rescued. All the ambulances, then the ambulances were pulling up at the side of our house because they couldnt get down. They were carrying the children to the ambulance. Awful thing to happen on your own street. Very. A 14 Year Old Girl died at the scene. An eight year old boy and seven Year Old Girl died later in hospital. The three Year Old Girl is in critical condition. Their mother is also seriously ill. Police in new york say an explosion at manhattans busiest bus terminal during rush hour was an attempted terror attack. The suspect was injured along with three others. He had a homemade bomb strapped to his body. There are some disturbing images from the beginning of nick bryants report. It is 7. 20, the height of rush hour, and a Security Camera appears to show an explosive device going off amidst a crowd of monday morning commuters. A picture taken from cctv appears to show him on the floor shortly afterwards. It was a low tech bomb which left the bomber himself with the worst injuries. Three others were treated afterwards for minor injuries, including a police officer, in what the authorities have described as an attempted terror attack. Police were called to a reported explosion, responding units found and injured 27 year old male. An injured 27 year old male. We have identified him as akayed ullah. He had burns and wounds to his body. An investigation at the scene indicates he was wearing an improvised low tech explosive device attached to his body. Coming at such a busy time in such a congested place, the intent appears to have been to cause maximum destruction. The Port Authority bus terminal serves 65 million passengers a year, this could have been so much worse. This was an attempted terrorist attack. Thank god the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals. Thank god our First Responders were there so quickly to address the situation to make sure people were safe. Whats remarkable is that within two hours of the attack, new york city has pretty much returned to normal. The subways are all open and people are going about their business. This attack failed to cause death and it failed to cause much disruption. The speed at which this city started moving again not only speaks of its determined resilience but also the creeping normalisation of these kind of attacks in the worlds major cities. New yorkers know that their Transportation Systems are vulnerable. The bbc has commissioned one of the Largest Surveys of Sexual Harassment at work. The poll of 6,000 men and women, found people working in the hospitality sector, self employed workers and those on zero hours contracts more likely to face unwanted behaviour. Among the other findings, 40 of women and 18 percent of men said theyd been sexually harassed in the workplace. Nearly one in seven women 14 said theyve been sexually assaulted at work. And 5 of women said they were told their career would be advanced in return for sexual favours. Lucy manning has been listening to some of the women affected. Ive had people ask me to send them nude photos in the workplace, and you feel like nothing is going to be done about it. As a waitress, i experience Sexual Harassment all the time. I almost think of my work as sex work. Hes drunk, and tries to come onto me wearing this like bathrobe. Hes disgusting. For many young working women, the question is not if theyve been harassed doing theirjob, but how many times. Its one of those things where there are so many examples of it, its difficult to choose one. Its difficult to even pick one thing because it seems so ingrained into every interaction you have. Honeyjamie worked in gyms, but had to leave the industry due to harassment by men and women she worked with. The bbcs poll of 6,000 people, the Largest Survey on harassment at work, found 40 of women said its happened to them. I was a teenager at the time, so i thought, almost in a way as well, that this must be just what its like to have a job. This is what its like to be a young woman. This is normal. A work contact of mine who wasnt in my company, a colleague from somewhere else, decided to stick his tongue down my throat, completely uninvited. She has the text sent by the senior colleague who lunged at her. Im like, you dont remember trying to kiss me . Hes like, oh, my god, im devastated. No, not at all. Im so sorry. Ive never done that in my life. The bbcs poll shows that 10 of women have experienced harassment in the last year. Is that something you find surprising . No. I dont think its getting any better with time. Ijust feel like its more normalised. I think women just accept it more. Not necessarily. People might think its surprising that so many women are still being harassed in this day and age. Icant imagine. When the whole metoo happened, it was not a single one of my girlfriends that was remotely surprised at how many people spoke up. The majority of my male friends just looked at me and went, i had no idea that this was so common. Female flexible workers are the most likely to suffer harassment at work, with nearly 60 saying theyve experienced it. I guess you just feel less worthy in precarious work. I suppose theres more people in our generation who are working like this. Nilufer prepares to head to her waitressing job. She works in the industry with the most harassment. The poll shows women in hospitality have experienced the most harassment, where more than half have suffered it, followed by the service industry. High rates of harassment were reported in the Public Sector and also in retail. I was pouring a bottle of wine for one guest, and a bit of wine splashed out onto his hand, and he told me to lick it off. The poll found few have spoken out. Of those women who say they were harassed at work, just 25 reported it to anyone at all. I know that i never reported it. I left twojobs because i didnt feel confident enough to report what was happening. Do you think the high profile cases are going to change it for women in the workplace . The high profile cases at the moment are what inspired me to speak up for the first time, because ive never spoken about it before. If famous, prominent women can be treated the way theyve now revealed, the reality for women in offices, cafes and shops is still largely hidden. On thursday, survivors and families of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire will gather for a special Remembrance Service at st pauls cathedral six months to the day that 71 people died in the disaster. This week on bbc news, well be featuring some of those affected by the fire. Tonight, we hear about the Community Response from reverend mike long, minister of the notting hill methodist church, which sits in the shadow of the tower. I remember a phone call, waking me up, from one of my church members, telling me that the tower was on fire. Were the closest church to the Grenfell Tower site, and when the building was opened, obviously, we were very close to what was going on. There was a huge amount of noise. Sirens wail emergency vehicles moving, the streets were full of people. The sights, the sounds, the smells were awful. I think many of us didnt want to look, at that stage. It was too dreadful a sight, and although we didnt know the number of people whod lost their lives, it was very evident that the death toll would be enormous, and that this was a complete catastrophe. People were, i think, so shocked and horrified, they were galvanised into some form of action. We were inundated not only with people offering their services, but people coming and offering money. We had donation boxes very quickly up and running in our building, and people were stuffing notes, coins. Sometimes people were giving us hundreds of pounds so that we could then offer them out to the local community who needed them, people affected by Grenfell Tower. By early afternoon, we had put signs on the building saying, no more donations, please because the building was full. The scenes for the first few days were utter chaos. Six months on, it feels like a very long period of time since the fire. For some, i suspect, its felt interminable. They may have onlyjust received news of loved ones. The recovery operation has onlyjust been completed. It still feels as though the heart has been ripped out of the community. Then, it was chaotic, noisy, hot, incredibly busy. Six months on, now, its calmer, its dark, its cold, and it still feels as horrible. That was the reverend mike long, minister of the notting hill methodist church. Commuters are facing major disruption at londons Waterloo Station tonight after a trackside fire. South western railway says Train Services have been cancelled or delayed by up to an hour. The disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day. Network rail says the blaze caused damage to trackside equipment. Much more coming up, no time for that important to look at the weather. All concern is overnight very much revolving around the amount of lying snow in some areas, and a widespread issue with ice as well. Quite windy conditions, easing across the south eastern quarter as the low pressure thats been around moves off to the neo con didnt. Behind, skies will clear, and as a consequence temperatures will fall away. Across the midlands and into eastern wales on the north, into scotland, you could be looking at 5 scotland, you could be looking at 5, 6 scotland, you could be looking at 5, 6 or even as much as 10 across snow fields. A crisper, brighter day in prospect. Watch out for form snow fields. A crisper, brighter day in prospect. Watch out forform in the morning, and that widespread ice problem. It stays bright until we bring new cloud and rain back into the North Western quarter, and for time that will deliver a bit of snow, particularly on high ground. More details on website. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines at 8. 30pm more than a thousand schools were closed today, flights have been cancelled and hundreds of households have been left without power, as snow and ice cover much of the uk. With warnings that temperatures may plunge to minus 13 overnight, well bring you the very latest from around the country, as well as a detailed Weather Forecast of what we can all expect. Police in manchester have begun a murder inquiry, after three children died in a house fire two people have been arrested scientists trying to find a treatment for huntingtons disease, say they may be close to the biggest breakthrough for 50 years. Tv presenter Keith Chegwin known for hosting swap shop and cheggers plays pop has died from a lung condition at the age of 60. Snow, ice and plunging temperatures have caused major disruption across large parts of the country today, with Central England being one of the worst affected areas. The treacherous Road Conditions have put the Emergency Services under severe strain. The heart of england Nhs Foundation trust was inundated with offers for help, after tweeting a message appealing for volunteers with 4x4 vehicles, to get in touch to help staff get to work. 0ur West Midlands reporter ben godfrey went to meet one man who responded to their plea. Former Army Commander paul lewis didnt waste any time. After seeing an appeal from the didnt waste any time. After seeing an appealfrom the nhs, he got in his full by ball and drove straight to the hospital in dudley. The major roads and side roads were covered in snow, yesterday morning i took some on all the way to stourbridge from the hospital. Last night i pick someone up the hospital. Last night i pick someone up from wolverhampton. Lined up someone up from wolverhampton. Lined up like ambulances, volunteers for their own vehicles, 70 of them, and last night they were taxiing clinical staff to and from work. Had a doctor who had just finished a makeshift with no means of getting home to stourbridge, sojump in and ill take you home. The roads were quite slippery yesterday morning after the snowfall. Got him home safe. Inside a indeed, theyve been busy. Theyve opened another triage unit to treat patients during the cold spell. Inside a e. This patient has arrived from maudsley, brought here by an ambulance four by four vehicle. We have full traction control so we can access areas where people who have been stranded where we were in a normal ambulance. Nurses and doctors are doing extra shifts. We would normally have four chi arch cubicles, we have increased that to 12 over the last fortnight. Triage cubicles. That gives us the ability to take more cases from the ambulances, turn them around a bit more quickly, also provide more dignity. As the roads clear, paul was back at muscle wall where they simply want to say thanks. What time we re simply want to say thanks. What time were you one till last night . think i got home at 20 past ten. Im no hero. It has given someone some help when needed. Through the snow and treacherous conditions, good Old Fashioned Community Spirit has kept the wheels turning. The weather has also brought disruption to many parts of wales with temperatures in some parts expected to drop to minus 14 overnight. Roger pinney reports from denbighshire. Its been a day to get back to normal, to get on with it, too clear and brush, scrape. The snow fell in parts of wales for two days, more or less nonstop. In denbighshire, it started on friday. For some visitors, that meant an extended stay. We have stayed an extra night. We will really grateful to the lettings people, because we were stuck. We came for a weekend, to go on the sunday express. We came to lapland. We thought we were going to wales last night, temperatures plummeted. Roads remained icy all day. But the cold meant the snow held, even in the trees. It really is very, very cold. Ive heard stories of 12 this morning, and the thermometer on my car has not been above freezing all day. That in itself causes problems for some people, the elderly and those who struggle to get about. For those of us struggle to get about. For those of us who battened down the hatches yesterday, today has been a chance to get out and enjoy some beautiful scenery. To get out and enjoy some beautiful scenery. It may be called still, but the snow has stopped. Back to normal then . Well, almost. Many schools we re then . Well, almost. Many schools were closed today, great for kids but not so good for some parents. Luckily enough i have mondays off and my wife is a teacher as well. Normally i have you on monday, and the schools are all closed, so not too bad but hopefully we can get to school tomorrow. Im too bad but hopefully we can get to schooltomorrow. Im a too bad but hopefully we can get to school tomorrow. Im a teacher too bad but hopefully we can get to schooltomorrow. Im a teacher not a problem for me. I know other people it can be a bit of an issue, cant it . But schools need to be safe. Its been really fun. I like staying at home. What have we been doing . Weve been sledging a lot. They should make the most of it, in a few days it will probably all be gone. The tv star Keith Chegwin better known to fans and friends as cheggers has died at the age of 60. He became a household name hosting shows like multi coloured swap shop and cheggers plays pop. In a statement his family said Keith Chegwin had passed away after a long battle with a lung condition. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at his career. His energy, his sheer enthusiasm, made Keith Chegwin into a household name. Welcome to our very special christmas edition of cheggers plays pop. From everybody here. All Merry Christmas a career on tv seemed somewhat inevitable, even in his early teens. He was a natural in front of the camera, in productions like this road safety video. Do you want to swap this . Just a few years later, cheggers, as the public now called him, was sharing the screen with some of entertainments most famous faces. How long did it take you to actually record the album . Figures who worked with Keith Chegwin have been paying tribute. I knew he was very unwell. I spoke to him about four weeks ago, and he said he was recovering, so i didnt expect this. Very, very sad news. His one time presenting partner and former wife, maggie philbin, said, its incredibly sad. Keith was a one off. Full of life, generous, and with a focus on things that mattered his family. Keith was loved by everyone who knew and worked with him. His career did decline for a time, and the public were shocked to discover that he was an alcoholic, something he spoke about when he appeared on celebrity big brother. What i did is all the tricks. You never buy a full bottle of whiskey, because you cant hide it, so you buy two half bottles. In fact, reality tv helped give him a new outlook. He was able to regain much of the fame from his early career, thanks to his honesty, personality, and endless ability to laugh at himself. Few tv stars can claim to have had a top selling chart hit, to have entertained and delighted millions while in their teens, and then to have still been doing the same for viewers decades later. Keith chegwin, whose death was announced today. Scientists are hailing a major breakthrough in the search for a treatment for the brain disease huntingtons. A Research Team at University College london has managed to correct the defect which causes the disease. Its being described as potentially the biggest breakthrough in 50 years as scientists look for a way to treat this and other brain wasting diseases. Our Health Correspondent James Gallagher was given exclusive access to the trial and has this report. When youve got something thats degenerative, you know that every day, the last day was probably better than the next one is going to be. The allen family has been blighted by huntingtons. They have seen their mother stephanie, uncle keith and grandmother 0live all die from it. They describe it as parkinsons, alzheimers and motor neuron disease all rolled into one. Frank, his sister sandy and also their brother peters brains will all slowly degenerate from huntingtons too but now they have hope. The treatment is called gene silencing. Every cell in the body contains genes, which hold the instructions for running the body. Huntingtons disease is the result of a corrupted gene that leads to the creation of a toxic protein which destroys the brain. A messenger carries the blueprint from the corrupted gene. This treatment sticks to the messenger, disabling it and lowering the production of the toxic protein. 46 patients had the experimental drug injected into the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. The trial showed the therapy was safe and effective. It was led by scientists at University College london, who say the results are of Ground Breaking importance. For the first time we have the potential and hope for a therapy that one day may slow or prevent huntingtons disease completely. This is the experimental therapy. It is exciting but its not a cure. It will require far more research and following patients for years to come. This is a brain dying of huntingtons. Doctors are starting longer trials to see whether targeting the protein can change the course of this disease for families like the allens. If it works and it stops me getting any worse, that will be fantastic. Personally i never really thought it would ever happen, that that would happen. Its all about can we stop it in other people, our children. Toxic proteins also build up in the brains of patients with diseases like alzheimers and parkinsons. Trials are now planned to see if gene silencing could help these patients too. James gallagher, bbc news. So what does this mean for other neurodegenerative diseases like alzheimers and parkinsons . To answer that i joined by david dexter, who is the Deputy Director of research at parkinsons uk. Thanks forjoining us, gene silencing, im assuming you have been aware of the work thats been going on looking at huntingtons and perhaps whether it is applicable to parkinsons . Thats right, this is a very important step forward for huntingtons and for other disorders like parkinsons which affects about 127,000 people in the uk at the moment. It could be a major step forward. Huntingtons is a slightly simpler disease because we know it isa simpler disease because we know it is a single gene mutation, causing huntingtons, whereas for the majority of people affected by parkinsons we dont fully know what the causes are. There are a subset of parkinsons patients where its caused by a genetic mutation, similarto caused by a genetic mutation, similar to huntingtons, so certainly for those people this could be a major breakthrough. As you mentioned in your piece, they are altered proteins which are commonly found in a lot of neurodegenerative disorders and parkinsons has one in particular. Whether gene silencing could actually be beneficial in parkinsons, to shutting down the production of that protein in the brain remains to be determined, but this is a major advance for neurodegenerative research. The sense that the scientists are giving is that this is a breakthrough, that they have not been this close to half a century. It seems remarkable that they seem to be getting this close to finding a way of dealing with this particular disease. Thats right, things are at an exciting point for most of these disorders, like parkinsons, the main therapy for that was developed almost 50 yea rs for that was developed almost 50 years ago. This is why parkinsons uk, we have started a campaign to start accelerating Drug Development in this field. These exciting new gene therapy really do open up exciting avenues for treatment. there enough Research Going on into parkinsons in the same way we seem to be getting this research was huntingtons . Certainly we have invested over £85 million in research so far, and we are accelerating our investment into parkinsons research. There is quite a lot of research being conducted into parkinsons, and certainly in avenues of genetics and also other approaches, where they use antibody therapies, to try to neutralise these proteins as well. We are still a long way away from what could be described as a cure . Yes, well, the first breakthrough is really do freeze people at the point of diagnosis. But also for huntingtons, you are slightly ahead of that because more or less you know who will be affected with the disease. For parkinsons, we dont have a test to see who will be susceptible to the disease yet, and that will be really key to developing a cure. Indeed. Still, exciting times, it has to be said. Thanks forjoining us. The headlines on bbc news drivers are being told to take care, flights have been cancelled and there are delays on the railways, as parts of the uk continue to suffer from the effects of heavy snow. Two people have been arrested, after police begin a murder inquiry, following the deaths of three children in a house fire in manchester. A breakthrough that brings hope for patients with huntingtons disease the biggest advance for fifty years. An update on the market numbers for you heres how londons and frankfurt ended the day. And in the the United States this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. President putin has ordered the partial withdrawal of Russian Troops from syria, during an unannounced visit to the country. Mr putin was met by syrian president bashar assad as he arrived at a russian air base. Russia first intervened in the conflict in 2015, staging air strikes in support of the syrian government. 0ur moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg reports. For more than two years, his troops have been at war in syria. Today, Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the russian airbase here. His Message Mission accomplished. Here to see him, and to thank him, was president assad. Its russias military operation which has kept the syrian leader in power. And then it was onto the soldiers. President putin told the troops, their motherland was proud of them. He expressed russias gratitude for what they had achieved in syria. Addressing the troops, president putin said that the russian and syrian armies had routed the most fearsome group of international terrorists. He announced the withdrawal of a large part of russias military contingent. The soldiers, he said, could return home victorious. The Russian Campaign in syria was controversial. Western governments claimed russian air strikes were targeting the moderate syrian opposition. Moscow ignored the criticism. Today, president putin said his troops had performed brilliantly, and the operation in the air and at sea had shown the growing power of russias military. Russia believes its military campaign in syria has been a success. Not only in terms of defeating isis and keeping a key ally, president assad, in power, but also the russians believe the campaign has raised their countrys profile in the middle east, and increased russias influence on the international stage. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. Three women who have accused donald trump of Sexual Harassment have demanded a congressional inquiry. At a press conference, they say that before he became a president ial candidate, mr trump groped them, and forcibly kissed them. The white house has said the claims are false. The women said there was a contrast between men whove recently been accused of Sexual Harassment and fired, and the president who is still in office. One of the women, jessica leeds, has been speaking to our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan. Speaking out about sexual misconduct, but in this case it is the most powerful man in the world they are accusing. In an objective setting without question, a person with this record would have entered the graveyard of political aspirations, never to return yet here are with that man as president. These women spoke out one year ago but in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal they are calling on congress to investigate the president. This is not a partisan issue. This is how women are every day. This is not a partisan issue. Jessica leeds who was at the News Conference said she was assaulted by mr trump decades ago while she was sitting next to him on a flight. The next thing i know, donald trump is over me like a wet blanket. He is kissing and fondling and everything and the next thing i realised was that he was putting his hand up my skirt. I grabbed my purse and went to the back of the aeroplane. It was after the release of this tape where mr trump can be heard bragging about groping women when more than a dozen accusers came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. All i can say is that is totally fake news, it is fake, made up stuff and it is disgraceful what happens, but that happens in the world of politics, john. In the past week, three members of congress have been forced to resign over accusations of sexual misconduct. In this current climate, many are asking whether same many are asking why the same pressure hasnt been applied at the gates of the white house. But many voters simply are not concerned. Donald trump won the election in spite of these allegations which he denies. At a time when so many women are sharing their stories, jessica wants to make sure that hers is not forgotten and that the president of the United States is held to account. People who have experienced this remember every detail. They remember when it happened, they remember who it happened with, they remember where they were, they remember how they got out of it, they remember going home and most of them would say, and i threw away my clothes. We dont forget this. Thousands more people have been told to leave their homes in california as one of the biggest wildfires in the States History moves towards the coastal city of Santa Barbara. Around 800 buildings have already been destroyed in the fires that have raged across california last week. Firefighters are battling six fires across the state with the largest having scorched an area of 230,000 acres. Simon cullen reports. Its a battle being fought both from the ground and from the air. Fanned by strong winds and hot weather, Fire Fighters are struggling to get the upper hand on a blaze which has become one of the most destructive in californias history. Hundreds of homes have already been destroyed and thousands of people have been forced to flee. Im scared to death. We packed up our whole car. We got evacuated this morning. Im a nervous wreck. Ive only lived in Santa Barbara five years, so this is the first time ive experienced a fire. So i have been in panic mode all day. The fire in the coastal areas of ventura and Santa Barbara, has now burnt out an area larger than the size of new york, and its still out of control. But its not the only one. And resources are being stretched to the limit. Weve been up im at 29 hours straight every other day. Everybody on this division is at 28, 29 hours. So we are exhausted. But they are not coming off until this is done. Several Fire Fighters have been injured, and one person, a 70 year old lady, has died while trying to flee. Santa Barbara Police department as the flames draw nearer, the mandatory evacuation zone has been widened. 0vernight, authorities went door to door, telling people to leave. This fire has acted in an unpredictable manner. It has been very rapidly moving. Its going to be a multi day event, so please do what you can now to prepare to evacuate. The fire front has become so large, it is clearly visible from space, giving a sense of the magnitude of the task ahead. The us President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency to provide extra resources to the worst affected regions. For now, authorities are focusing on bringing the fires under control. But soon, the focus will turn to assessing the damage and counting the cost of the devastating fire season. Simon cullen, bbc news. The uk has a new tallest mountain. Mount hope, which is sited in the part of the antarctic claimed by the uk, was recently re measured and found to tower above what had previously been considered the tallest peak Mount Jackson, also in the antarctic. 0ur science correspondent Jonathan Amos reports. You would think the entire world would be mapped to the nearest centimetre by now, but not it seems the antarctic. Its rugged, icy terrain is hard to traverse and no one has yet climbed all its mountains to measure their peaks. Cartogrophers rely on satellites to work out the heights of summits. When the British Antarctic survey did this recently, they found Mount Jackson long assumed to be the tallest on the antarctic peninsula was surpassed by mount hope. Satellites showed hope to be 3,239 metres high, just over 10,600 feet. The existing believed height of 2,850 metres, goes back to the 1960s from overland survey. Now with the availability of sub metre resolution satellite imagery, we have been able to get an accurate height to plus or minus five metres for mount hope. Accurate mapping is vital because scientists fly everywhere on the continent. If mountains arent featured or are in the wrong place, it can be very dangerous. American researchers are repeating the british re mapping exercise across the entire continent. It should be finished next year. That will turn antarctica from the worst mapped place on the planet to one of the best. Jonathan amos, bbc news. Now, the wintry conditions across the uk over recent days are nowhere near as cold as in some parts of the United States. Spare a thought for this deer that had to be rescued by a firefighter in the us state of oregon after it had become stuck in the middle of an icy pond. The fire service deployed a special sled, and then just gently nudged the deer towards the shore. It took a while, but eventually the animal did make it back to the land, and was finally able run off back into the wild. Time for a look at the weather. Thanks forjoining me, our real concerns over the next few hours into Tuesday Morning rush hour is the extent of the lying snow and the fa ct we the extent of the lying snow and the fact we may well find quite a widespread problem on untreated surfaces with ice. Disruption distinctly possible. Still picturesque where we have some lying snow, elsewhere the snow has been something of an issue on the highest ground. You have to really look for it, but otherwise its been a pretty decent sort of day. Still some showers to be had across northern and western parts of scotland, to northern ireland, west wales and into the south west. Still showers around that area of low pressure, reading some really windy weather from the south east. Gradually easing off. Clearing skies following on, even in towns and cities. Certainly where you have that lying snow, this is where we get the headline makers, 10, 11, 12 or so. Headline makers, 10, 11, 12 or so. Lets see how you will fare in your area as we start the new day on the school run on the commute. Enoughin the school run on the commute. Enough in the way in the cloud agrees to keep the frost day in east anglia but come inland and see how those temperatures plummet. Watch out for patches of fault as well. Even in the major conurbations across the midlands, 4 7, and up towards manchester and sheffield its 3, towards manchester and sheffield its 3, four or five. Towards manchester and sheffield its 3, four orfive. Not overly warm across the heart of scotland and northern ireland. But it is a brighter day for the most part, a crisp sort of day. That sunshine doing exactly nothing for the temperatures. Later in the day, another band of cloud from the atla ntic another band of cloud from the atlantic brings associated rain, and for time on a Higher Ground there will be some transient snow, as we bring watched in from the atlantic. Sunshine, yes, heat, no. 0ne, bring watched in from the atlantic. Sunshine, yes, heat, no. One, two or three degrees perhaps. Here is the picture tuesday to wednesday. 0ne also cloud, wind and rain works across the british isles. Some really hefty showers followed with an behind, bringing together to rob you of your sunshine. Until again we break out of the something if bit drier and brighter, temperatures are lost on the up. Hello, im ros atkins, this is 0utside source. Well begin in new york where theres been an attempted terror attack. Three people have minor injuries so does the suspect, whos in custody. Heres the citys mayor. There are no additional known incidents at this time, there are no additional no additional known activities. Its the last full day of campaigning in alabama ahead of a Senate Election thats become a national issue. Donald trump is supporting the republican roy moore, whos accused of child molestation. Vladimir putins been to syria to announce hes pulling Russian Forces out of the conflict. Hes also been to cairo and istanbul. Weve details of the deals done on each stop. And well be live in california as firefighters battle some of the worst wildfires in the States History