Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Five 20180227

Labours call to remain within a Customs Union. It would be a complete sell out of Britains National interests and a betrayal of the voters in the referendum. Police name three people believe to have died in an explosion in leicester and rule out finding any more suivivois. And Rupert Murdochs 21st century fox faces a fight to take to take control of sky, as the us cable giant comcast makes a bid worth £22 billion. Its 5 oclock. Our main story is that Train Services and flights have been cancelled and hundreds of schools have been closed because of the heavy snow and freezing conditions. Parts of south east and north east england, scotland and north wales are badly affected. Police say driving conditions are treacherous in places. There has been disruption on many major roads in southern england with the m20 in kent among the worst affected. Rail journeys have also been badly affected with southeastern cancelling more than 100 services between kent and london. Services in east anglia and north of london have also been affected. Many schools were shut and forecasters say some Rural Communities may be cut off. The met office has issued amber warnings for tomorrow with the heaviest impact expected in north east england and eastern scotland, although yellow warnings are in place across much of the rest of the uk. Warnings have also been issued for thursday when forecasters expect heavy snow to continue in the north east and across scotland, with conditions worsening in south west england. With the story of the day so far, heres our correspondent robert hall. The east coast had time to prepare but the snowfall sweeping in from europe gave travellers a taste of what this week has in store. Kent had declared a snow emergency, with gritting shifts working flat out. But the lack of traffic overnight meant that salt could not do its work and by the time the morning rush began, accidents and ice had closed a series of routes, including the m20 motorway which became a lorry park. Elsewhere, conditions added hours to journey times. Make sure you only take that journey if it is necessary. You can be assured that the motorways and roads have been cleared and treated, but that is not to say that other areas are not going to have snow on the ground and that may affect traction and the way your vehicle handles. Up to ten centimetres of snow fell in kent, surrey and east sussex. Farmers were put on stand by to keep minor routes open. Many families heeded advice to stay at home until conditions improved. Some towns and villages staged their own winter olympics. The greater hazards lie away from main roads where there is less traffic and the snow has had time to settle and freeze. That has brought a series of accidents that began before dawn. It has disrupted bus services and forced the closure of dozens of schools. In norfolk, where 36 schools were closed, the freezing conditions also affected rail services. Greater anglia trains were one of the operators who were forced to cancel services. 0ur trains have to go slower. The points and signals can freeze and that means that if the points freeze, basically the train cannot go in the right direction. The amber warning also covers north east england where the problems of snow and ice mirrored those further south. Crawling traffic, pedestrians slithering through their daily routines. But on tynemouth beach, these swimmers defied sub zero temperatures for a dip that was rather more thanjust bracing. The snow swept across yorks millennium bridge. Whitened the sands of scarborough beach. Scenes that will become all too familiar. The wind is going to change and that will push the heaviest snow across north east england and parts of scotland where areas will pick up five to ten centimetres of snow. There are areas that could get up to a0 centimetres over the next couple of days alone. Back in kent, the snow showers have eased. The dangers remain. Ice is likely to form later and snow will bring challenges in the coming days. We are going to have a Cross Section of views across the uk. We are going to go to North Yorkshire later. We are talking to peter on the m20. North yorkshire and harry is in pickering. Bring us up to date on the conditions and what the prospects are. As you can see, it is snowing heavily. I normally love this part of North Yorkshire. We have pickering down the road and the forest over there. You can sometimes hear and see the railway. As you concede on the road, there is nothing. There is nothing at all and nothing. There is nothing at all and no traffic. I know you like your fa cts. No traffic. I know you like your facts. This is the snow test. I think you can see that there is nine centimetres of snow. That has led to 50 schools in North Yorkshire being closed today. There has been problems on the roads, particularly at whitby. That is north of whitby and the road between whitby and scarborough is very treacherous. The biggest problem that is faced here is the prediction that could be another 15 to 20 centimetres of snow falling in the next 2a hours. There is also the problem of frost and that wind chill, it could be 10 tomorrow. Major problems around here. People just get on with life the best they can. That is the public house behind me. It is open for business tonight. Public house behind me. It is open for business tonightlj public house behind me. It is open for business tonight. I bet they are, harry. Thank you for the facts. Harry in pickering they are. Lets go straight to peter near maidstone in kent. Kent in particular is bearing the brunt of the of these problems. This area was one of the ha rd est problems. This area was one of the hardest hit in terms of impact to the traffic. I just hardest hit in terms of impact to the traffic. Ijust picked this up. Iamona the traffic. Ijust picked this up. I am on a bridge above the m20. That is why the m20 was closed in both directions until lunchtime. There we re directions until lunchtime. There were lots of collisions which caused disruption. According to one police officer, there were problems with the cars and traffic getting off the slip roads because there was so much snow. To give you some facts in kent as well, according to the police, we have had 255 weather related calls, when hundred and 85 collisions in the area. 339 schools have been closed in kent. As the snow went down across sussex, a further 100 schools closed in sussex and a0 in surrey. If you go over there is likely, you will see the high speed line that takes the eurostar and trains to and pancreas. There has been a speed restriction on that today. South eastern trains have said there should be a normal timetable tomorrow. If the situation deteriorates, there will be an emergency timetable. The forecast has got it spot on in this part of england. Tomorrow they are predicting five centimetres overnight. It is that wind tomorrow. They say it will be very cold. The big problem here will be the ice and what impact that has on the roads. We still have a lot of snow on them. Thank you for the update on the m20 in kent. We will make contact with ben Chester Railway station. We have lost contact for a moment but we will get back to him. Colchester. You can keep up to date with the weather and the travel situation in your area. There is a lot of information for you on line. If you go to the website you will see all the links they are and you can have a look at your own area and the nationwide picture. Do have a look at that. There is a lot of up to date information there for you. The time is ten minutes past five. The International Trade secretary, liam fox, has said britain must be free to make its own trade deals outside europe after brexit and that any form of Customs Union would be a sell out. But labour says that the government position would inevitably involve extra border checks. It described comments from the foreign secretary Boris Johnson, that the london congestion charge could be a model for avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland, as typically facile and thoughtless. 0ur Political Correspondent alex forsyth reports from westminster. He came to explain which way brexit is heading. Applause. Thanks very much. In front of business leaders, the International Trade secretary restated the governments case, arguing that staying in the Customs Union would bind the uk to eu rules and limit trade opportunities. It would be a complete sell out of Britains National interest and a betrayal of voters in the referendum. Then there is the issue of constraints on the ability to negotiate independent trade arrangements. A Customs Union would remove the bulk of incentives for other countries to enter into comprehensive free trade agreements with the uk. But only hours earlier, this man, who was until recently the most senior Civil Servant in the department for trade, warned in no Uncertain Terms that leaving the Customs Union and the Single Market would damage the economy. With Market Access we have now through europe and the preferential trade deals against bilateral deals with smaller markets, its like giving up a three course meal for britains business for the promise of a packet of crisps. A Customs Union means a single set of tariffs, taxes, is imposed on goods imported from outside the eu. Goods can then move freely, without tariffs, around the bloc, but members cannot do their own trade deals with other countries. The government, whose ministers gathered for a Cabinet Meeting this morning, says that leaving the Customs Union gives scope to strike trade deals with growing economies outside the eu. Renegotiating for a packet of crips . Hello. Salt and vinegar. But thats not to everyones taste. Labour now says that the uk should stay in a Customs Union with the eu after brexit, so there is a clear difference between them and the government, and some conservative mps agree with labour, making the politics of this as tricky as the practicalities. One of the questions is what happens with the irish border. What will be the frontier between the eu and uk. The question, how to avoid border checks . Today, the foreign secretary today claimed a solution was possible but was criticised for comparing it to the london congestion charge. Theres no border between camden and westminster, but when i was mayor of london, we anaesthetically and invisibly took hundreds of millions of pounds from the accounts of people travelling between the boroughs without the need for border checks whatever. For Boris Johnson today to say that the irish border is similar to two london boroughs is grotesque. The protests, the arguments, on both sides continue, as this complex negotiation about britains future heads towards crunch time. Alex there with the latest at westminster. The eus chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has confirmed that the European Commission will publish its first draft on the brexit treaty tomorrow. Lets talk to our brussels correspondent adam fleming. What can we expect . It is a real treat for brexit fans. The document is 120 pages long with 168 paragraphs which will lay out the pledges from both sides that were made in december and turn it into the kind of language that we will see in the treaties. It is very important and it will be interesting to see what the reaction is when those pledges are written down in black and white. Some people are suggesting there could be some concern of the European Court of justice and how to handle the irish border. We will have to see tomorrow when it is published. Lots of speculation about what it will say. Michel barnier was speaking earlier, he was updating the countries in which he does every month. Here is how he summed up the state of play when it comes to the talks of the implementation phase. Translation there are significant points of disagreement with the uk as to what we understand by transition, the conditions for such and the dimensions of such a transition. For example, the duration of the transition. Logically enough, we wish it to end on the 31st of december 2020 at the same time of the multi annual framework period. The uk, it seems, would like to maintain this duration open ended, which is not possible. Buy a coincidence, duration open ended, which is not possible. Buy a coincidence, a duration open ended, which is not possible. Buy a coincidence, a couple duration open ended, which is not possible. Buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. Aft buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. Aft buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. Aft buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. Aft buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. Aft buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. Aft buy a coincidence, a couple minutes duration open ended, which is not possible. After that news conference, i bumped into the Civil Servants who are running the negotiating ambassador to the eu. They were clear that their position is they wa nt clear that their position is they want the transition period to be time limited. They do not agree with Michel Barnier that they want it to be open ended. They wanted to stress that position. Michel barnier would rather than be talking to the british Civil Servants, he wants to see the brexit secretary across the table. I get the impression Michel Barnier thinks the talks are ending the road and you need to get the big politicians in to solve those disagreements. Thank you for the latest in brussels. Lets go live to westminster and talk to the former deputy Prime Minister lord heseltine. Thank you for coming in. How important is this draft treaty tomorrow and what will you be looking for in the document . tomorrow and what will you be looking for in the document . I think we will be looking for an interpretation of the language that has been used to describe the present situation. There is obviously has been the temptation to pick the issues down the road, for example the irish border issue. Kick the issues. Lets see what it looks like when it is in the hands of the lawyers. The total problem of all of these negotiations is that both sides are brief to really think they are an different interpretations are placed on that by supporters of both sides of the argument. When you see tomorrows document, there will have to be a black and white decision whether the document is right or wrong and how you can prove or change it. I think that will throw a bucket full of cold water over a lot of the claims being made by those in favour of brexit. Liam fox and borisjohnson interventions, they have done a pretty good job themselves. Producing a snowstorm in the european dialogue. What did you make of the parallel drawn by the foreign secretary, there are differences and pa rt secretary, there are differences and part of london that could be parallels to the position of Northern Ireland and the republic . Lysag ht Northern Ireland and the republic . Lysaght that. It confirmed my initialjudgment. Lysaght that. It confirmed my initial judgment. I lysaght that. It confirmed my initialjudgment. I saw that. You have to put the brexiteer is in charge. You see, of course you can detect remotely the number plates on a car provided you have a register of all the cars. That you can do electronic way. Suppose there is a terrorist in the car, is he supposed to put his head out of the window and say, hello, i am coming through. Suppose he has weapons and a lot of drugs or illegal goods, is he expected to stop and say, look, forgive me, i know there is no Border Control here, but this is what i am doing. The truth of the matter is, of course, there is no way electronic way of checking these things. When theresa may said we are going to be strong and tough and hold up the security of europe at large, is that compatible with the congestion charge mechanism between islington and camden . Well, you know, this is the foreign secretary talking. One despairs, really. You mentioned borisjohnson talking. One despairs, really. You mentioned Boris Johnson and talking. One despairs, really. You mentioned borisjohnson and liam fox, who said today that the logic of this was that britain had to be free to make its own trade deals after brexit and the could be no question of selling people out by having any form of Customs Union, the policy put forward byjeremy corbyn yesterday. Where do you stand on that . I stand with the wealth creators. As i warrant my party sometime ago, the labour party is already shifting and has shifted its position closer to that of the wealth creating companies, who a bru ptly wealth creating companies, who abruptly welcomed what he said. When liam fox starts talking about a sell out and a betrayal, the betrayal has already taken place. Britains self interest is being prejudiced by the decision to impose brexit. This is oui decision to impose brexit. This is our biggest market, our home market, it is just over the channel and all we get from the brexit fans are remote markets thousands of miles away, remote markets thousands of miles any remote markets thousands of miles away, many of which have language barriers, let it be said, if you look at germanys export figures, it will show that being a member of the European Union is not a barrier to trading with china. It is a question of having the good that china wants. When we look at the events of the next couple of weeks, what would your guidance to viewers be about where the crunch is likely to come . Is it going to be on the border in Northern Ireland and the republic or the Customs Union . Where do crunch coming . I think the ultimate crunch will depend on a limited number of very brave conservative members of parliament who are going to do that extraordinary thing that politicians are supposed never to do, follow their conscience and do what we believe is in the National Self interest. That is where the crunch will really be. I have nothing but admiration. I note the pressures to which they are subjected. I know the way the national tracts tv mac press behave, unforgivably. The other brave men and women and i believe they will hold their ground. That will be the crunch point. Thank you for coming to talk to us today. Lord heseltine with his views on where the Brexit Process is right now. The time is 22 minutes past five. A temporary humanitarian ceasefire to relieve the syrian rebel held territory of Eastern Ghouta appears to have collapsed on its first day. A british based Monitoring Group said Syrian Government forces had carried out airstrikes during the ceasefire which was put in place to allow medical aid in, and civilians out. A un spokesman said the fighting had made it impossible to reach those in need. The Emergency Services have named 5 people who are thought to have died in an explosion in leicester on sunday. The blast destroyed a polish supermarket and the two storey flat above it. A mother who lived in the flat and her two teenage sons are all missing, along with two young women. Police say the remains of five people have been found, but it will take some time before the bodies are formally identified. 0ur correspondentjames waterhouse is in leicester. A dreadful event. Tell us more, james. Here at the sight of this police cordoned, demolition diggers over my shoulder, has become a co nsta nt for over my shoulder, has become a constant for residents of this busy loads road in leicester. There has been a shift in focus because officers do not expect to find anyone else alive in the rubble, a gap in between victorian buildings. They will use camera equipment and sniffer dogs to go about the task to find any human remains, if there are any. There are people still unaccounted for. We have learned the names of those who are lost their lives. Shane was 18 and 17 year old sean. They lived above the flat. 22 year old victoria who worked in the supermarket as well. Because of the supermarket as well. Because of the devastating nature of the blast, there will be sometime before they formally identified. Why people are being treated in hospital and one person is being treated with life threatening injuries. Person is being treated with lifethreatening injuries. James, many thanks for the update there. Police in Northern Ireland say at least three people have died in a house fire in County Fermanagh Emergency Services remain at the scene at the property in derrylin. Police have arrested a 27 year old man on suspicion of murder. Americas biggest cable operator is trying to buy sky television. Comcast, which owns the Us Tv Network nbc and universal pictures, has put in a bid of £22 billion. The offer challenges an existing one from 21st century fox which already has a Minority Stake in sky. 0ur media editor amol rajan is here. This is hotting up, isnt it can smack it is a tangle and it is part of the friendly going on. It is three beds. 21st century fox, which several years ago tried and now it is trying to take control of the 61 of sky that it does not already own. There is a new bed now, a giant of broadcasting. They have tried to ta ke full broadcasting. They have tried to take full control. The only told sky moments before it was made public. The report murdoch bid faces problems. The fact they have too much control but the other bird does not face the same hurdles. It is a cash bid and full control and it is not going to be opposed in the same way. There is an attempt by disney to ta ke way. There is an attempt by disney to take full control of fox. This is a third thumbs up to sky. This is an attempt of consolidation, and the people who have all the content are trying to come together with the people who own the trial is for distribution to make sure they can compete with the big boys in silicon valley. Huge global businesses with national reserves, this battle is hotting up in a major way. If you area sky hotting up in a major way. If you are a sky customer and you are paying your monthly dues and all of it, you are a loyal customer, how does this affect your prospects as a customer . What are you going to be thinking . You now have three Massive International media giants who want to sell you more stuff. This is good news if you are a customer. Help millions of customers across europe. A couple of years ago when it looked like the company does not have a secure future, in outlooks like they are being inundated with offers because all of these people, disney and others have access to these customers. Are keen to have access. I think you will be sitting pretty today. What is your hunch in terms of the dynamics . We could see. If you are repowered martock, this is a turnaround. We could see the deal which was launched today it goes through and Rupert Murdoch becomes a shareholder, 33 , which she launched in 1990 to take on the bbc. He becomes a minority shareholder there. If the regulators stop disney taking control of fox, thatis stop disney taking control of fox, that is not the hollyrood ending. If you talk to people today who are close to the situation, it is the case that the deal does have a good chance of getting through the regulators. There are not worried about the rara t. It is a big offer. Plumed lara t. About the rara t. It is a big offer. Plumed lara t. Thank you very much. The latest about the battle there. We have been reporting on the Severe Weather conditions. The prospects Going Forward towards the end of the week. Lets have a look at good evening. We have seen snow showers around today. They have been sweeping their way westwards. It looks very picturesque but treacherous conditions. The heaviest snow has been in kent. Here in North Yorkshire, all of the showers coming in off of the north sea. You can see them in the distance. There will be more Severe Weather and weather warnings from the met office, which means travel disruption. If you thaw it was cold today, it is going to get colder tomorrow. Those eastern and winds will be Stronger Tomorrow. Snow showers and some towards the west. Clearer skies. Most of the snow showers down the eastern side. Blowing those snow showers into cold air. Icy conditions and frost. Temperature is similar to last night. The heavy snow showers will be north, across scotland and the central belt and the north east of england. Five centimetres. More over the hills. Heavy snow shower after heavy snow shower. Blowing in by the winds from the north sea. Further south, snow showers and sunshine in the south east. Becoming sunnier throughout the day. Those are the maximum temperatures. When you add an the strength of the wind, it will feel colder. More like minus ten. Into the cold air, snow showers across the north. This area of low pressure moving north words. It is going to bring wet weather and that means more organised snow that will develop over at the English Channel. Up develop over at the English Channel. Up into england and wales. A slice of drier weather, brighter and we still have the snow showers in scotla nd still have the snow showers in scotland and the north east. We end up scotland and the north east. We end up with two met office amber weather warnings for snow. The snow developing later towards the south west. Those are the temperatures. We will have the bitterly cold easterly wind, bringing the wind chill. Another cold day and more snow to come. The time is 530. Lets have a recap of the head lines. The Severe Weather is causing disruption. Hundreds of trains have been cancelled. The International Trade secretary has rejected labours brexit proposals. He said a custom union would be a sell out. Police have named five people believed to have named five people believed to have died at an explosion in leicester. Police have confirmed they do not expect to find other survivors. Challenging an existing offer. Let us have a look at the sport now. They will try to get s get the better of champion opposition when they host Sheffield Wednesday later. That swansea manager ten days ago held the Top Flight Team to a goalless score. A place in the quarterfinals against Tottenham Rochdale is the prize. That game is live tonight. Tottenham are likely to request that some of their Opening Premier League matches are away fixtures as they finish building their new ground. Spurs have been playing their new matches at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium which is due to be on course for finishing this summer. There is a contingency plan in case of hold ups. Neil lennon has received two charges from the scottish fa following saturdays drawer rack harmonic. He reacted angrily when the referee awarded come on at the penalty which led to their equaliser. He was sent to the stands and set the standard was mickey mouse. He is facing charges of misconduct and criticising a match official. Wyn jones misconduct and criticising a match official. Wynjones will wish the six nations because of handspring injury. Six nations because of handspring injury. Hamstring injury. Wales have chosen not to bring in a replacement. Chris farrell is set to miss the remaining of the six nations after injuring himself in training. He was named man of the match after making the six nations debut in saturdays win over wales. He had ligament damage after twisting his knee. Women golfers will play an amends to warm team event. The rider cup captain, thomas bjorn will partner Catriona Matthew near st albans in may. The event has a six hole matchplay format and will feature mens and womens teams. Its aim is to be the coverage of crickets 2020 competition. Mark williams has the beaten marking to move into the second round of the welsh open snooker championship. Although king managed to rally, the two time World Champion reach the next round. Williams is governed for a third welsh open title after having won the title back in 1999. In the first round, good news for another welsh player. Matthew stevens has beaten ken dougherty. That is live on the bbc sport website via the red button on bbc two wales. England fast bowler mark wood has trained before the Second One Day International against new zealand which gets under way in the early hours of tomorrow morning. The 28 year old missed the defeat in the first 0di on sunday because of an ankle injury. He could be available for the one day international. England 1 0 down. Have Live Commentary on five live sports extra. That is all the sport from now. We will have more for you at 6 30pm. Thanks very much. We have been reporting, lots of Train Services have been cancelled because of the heavy snow and freezing conditions. Parts of south east and north east england, scotland and north wales are badly affected. Up to 10cm of snow is expected today, and as much as 20cm is predicted in some parts of eastern england, scotland and Northern Ireland. Letters get the latest on the transport for you. We have two rail updates for you. We are at London Bridge in a moment. Ben is at colchester. The update is what . The update is very encouraging. It is fairto update is very encouraging. It is fair to say that things havent really been as bad weather wise as had been feared. When we were here first thing this morning, large numbers of trains were cancelled. Ba rely half numbers of trains were cancelled. Barely half the normal commuter trains were running into the capital from here. Many of the passengers stayed away having heeded the warnings. While there have been some slow flurries, large dumps of snow that were anticipated havent happened and things have got better. Network rail have told the Train Operating Companies they can run more trains. By the end of the day, Greater Anglia which runs the trains here says of the 1350 trains it would normally run, it expects to run 1000. That is not bad going. They are hoping to run a normal service tomorrow. That is the plan right now but there could be more snow overnight and that could change. At the moment, they are hoping to run a normal service on the basis of things today havent been as bad as they have worried. Encouraging news. Quite rightly, conditions could change in the next couple of days. Tom is at London Bridge. The rush hasnt quite happened yet. Tell us what the services looked like at the moment. It is Just Services looked like at the moment. It isjust beginning here. At services looked like at the moment. It is just beginning here. At the main entrance to the station, a lot of people coming in but it is relative normality. Encouraging signs. Looking up at the board, nine trains and two of which were cancelled. There is some disruption. Delays looking at the board but every train on that board is running. The picture is not looking bad tonight. There have been cancellations on south western trains, southeastern and services from essex into london. There has been disruption on the London Underground but minimal. Ive had an e mailfrom tefl underground but minimal. Ive had an e mail from tefl saying they are looking to try and get Services Back up looking to try and get Services Back up to normal. That seems to be the message from Train Companies tonight. It begs the question, it wasnt quite as bad as people feared and some passengers have been questioning whether the Train Companies have been too cautious. I spoke to a Passenger Group and they describe the measures by Train Companies as blanket suspensions which they said were worrying. They do understand there is a difficult balance to make but they feel the balance to make but they feel the balance between caution from the Train Companies today and the need to get people from a to b wasnt quite right. The Train Company says it is not just quite right. The Train Company says it is notjust about quite right. The Train Company says it is not just about the quite right. The Train Company says it is notjust about the snow but the freezing temperatures. Looking ahead to tomorrow, most of the snow was going to fall across parts of scotland. Scotrail saying there will be some cancellations but they are reassuring passengers that they will run as normal a service as they can. Many thanks. Thank you both for the latest updates on what is going on. The government has defended its strategy for trade after brexit dismissing claims from a former Civil Servant that it was like trusting in a fairy godmother. Some Martin Donnelly who was permanent stroe secretary until last year compared the brexit approach is trying to swap or three course meal for the promise of a packet of crisps. If you look at where we are now with fair and equal access to the very large, rich eu markets, which is nearly half of our service and good exports, plus preferential access to other markets which gets us access to other markets which gets us up to three fifths of our trade, if youre going to give that up for the promise of some bilateral deals with markets that are less important to us, it is like giving up a three course mealfor a to us, it is like giving up a three course meal for a packet to us, it is like giving up a three course mealfor a packet of to us, it is like giving up a three course meal for a packet of crisps. It is not equivalent. We have to recognise that reality before we ta ke recognise that reality before we take this decision. There has been a response from the foreign secretary, borisjohnson. But the foreign secretary Boris Johnson said he did not agree for a moment with sir martins verdict because the real Growth Opportunities were outside the eu. He said labours proposal for a long term Customs Union would lead to colony status for the uk. 0ne one of the points that people appreciate about Jeremy Corbyns decision, decision to stay in the Customs Union, the uk will be attracted by the lunar pool of the eu system, ultimately to remain within the lawmaking regime of the Single Market. We wont have the say around the table. We wont be there. It really is the worst of both worlds. What is advocating is commonly status for the uk and i think it is. Many people who voted labour on the assumption that he was committed to brexit are going to be disappointed. 0ur economic correspondent is with me now. There is the true value of the eu. We had borisjohnson saying trade with the eu has declined from 55 to aa . Over the last ten years. It is absolutely true that there is a percentage of uk services and the staff go into the eu has declined and those figures the foreign secretary are about right. The value in pounds and pence of those exports to the eu has been rising over that period but exports to the rest of the world have grown more rapidly. That means the eus share has declined. It is worth mentioning that perry did include the Global Financial crisis and a second wave of serious turmoil that hit eurozone is. Inevitably that hit demand for goods and services from the uk and anywhere else. The eurozone is recovering strongly and you would think it would begin to feed through into britains trade patterns. There we re into britains trade patterns. There were other figures into britains trade patterns. There were otherfigures in increasing british exports to, well, he listed them. He is trying to show there are other markets that are very important to British Business outside the European Union. He mentioned an increase of a0 in british exports going to the us and 100 in south korea. Also some striking numbers first saudi arabia andjapan. Striking numbers first saudi arabia and japan. The figures were right in round numbers. They do indicate there is life outside the eus Customs Union. It is important to note that in the case of south korea, there already is a trade liberalisation in force. That is negotiated by the eu and richest businesses are getting the benefit of it. In the case of japan, there is an agreement being negotiated by the eu, although it hasnt yet come into force. What do we make of the contribution of some art donnelly today, talking about the packet of crisps earlier on . He is a senior Civil Servant and right at the heart of government policy here talking about British Trade prospects not just in the eu and beyond . That were striking and the figures were right again. He was talking about trade including both exports and imports which gets you a higher figure including both exports and imports which gets you a higherfigure in relation to the eu. 0nce which gets you a higherfigure in relation to the eu. Once youve addedin relation to the eu. Once youve added in those countries with which the eu has some sort of trade agreement, south korea is one of them, we get to a total of about three fifths of trade as he said. You might think paradoxically these figures are actually all basically right but that is because they are and slurring slightly different questions. Sir martin is looking at the level trade now and the foreign secretary was looking at trends in exports over the last ten years and it is another question whether those trends continue in the future. Thank you very much. Let us have a look at the headlines. Snow and freezing temperatures causes disruption across the uk, travellers are warned of Hazardous Conditions on the roads. International trade secretary liam fox rules out any eu Customs Union deal post brexit. Police name the five people believe to have died in an explosion at a house in leicester. We were mentioning borisjohnson and aid and said the government will not fund aid agencies that exploits women in southern syria. It follows evidence given to the bbc that some women in the south of the country have been exploited by men delivering aid on behalf of the United Nations and international charities. 0ur Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale reports. The fighting in syria continues. Here, in rebel held Eastern Ghouta and elsewhere. And it has now emerged that some refugees fleeing the conflict have faced demands for sex from local syrian officials delivering aid on behalf of international charities. They were withholding the aid that had been delivered and then using these women for sex. So, this was a range of women, there were women of different ages in the group. Some were very distraught. Danielle spencers an experienced aid worker. She heard these stories from women who had fled tojordan and they told her that many refused to go to distribution centres because people would assume they had offered their bodies for aid. Two charities, care and the International Rescue committee, warned about this abuse three years ago and tightened up their procedures. But a report from the Un Population fund late last year confirmed that sex was still being traded for aid. Sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls has been ignored. Its been known about and its been ignored for seven years. This war is seven years old. The un and the system, as it currently stands, have chosen for womens bodies to be sacrificed. The department for International Development said it was not aware of any cases like this involving uk aid, and if there were, the foreign secretary said the funding would be stopped. Obviously, we have talked a great deal about this in the last few weeks since the whole business broke with 0xfam and so on, and Penny Mordaunt and i are absolutely committed to a zero tolerance approach. Can it be stopped . Well, we will not support agencies that engage in that kind of activity. Un agencies and charities said they had zero tolerance of exploitation, but were not aware of any cases of abuse by their own partner organisations, and one un spokesman played down the reports, saying they were incomplete, fragmented and unsubstantiated. James landale, bbc news. Sirjohn tusa has been at the heart of british broadcasting and the arts for almost sixty years. Along the way,he presented newsnight at its inception, he led the Bbc World Service during the eventful 19805 and later became managing director of the Barbican Centre in london. Hes brought his rich experience together in a memoir called making a noise getting it right, getting it wrong, in life, the arts and broadcasting a book which offers candid analysis of some of the greatest cultural changes of his time including the way Public Service broadcasting has fared in a volatile political landscape. And sirjohn tusa is here with me now. From lots of people renting this, they will not know a lot about your background and childhood. The fascination was how you came to this country at the end of the second world war. What would you say about that experience . At the start in 1939. We had this extraordinary experiments where we were coming out and as we came to the german dutch border, a woman in the same carriage as service said to my mother, will you take my children over the border because i am jewish and i you take my children over the border because i amjewish and i dont think that we will get across otherwise . What think that we will get across otherwise . What is think that we will get across otherwise . What is my mother to do . They dont have the papers and will be recognised as being jewish. She had to say, no which would not have been easy. It was agonising and she often spoke about it later. That was one of the close calls. If that had gone the other way, the wrong way for everybody, what would life have been like . There was the shoe company which was a model town with model buildings. We arrived in england and i thought, my goodness, czechoslovakia has followed us because the company in essex is a replica of the factory. As far as i was concerned, it was pursuing may and the village was pursuing me all over europe. It was a question of deciding which bit of me was czechoslovakian. Wanting to become far more english as well. My mother spoke to us and we asked her not to speak to us in czechoslovakian, but to speak in english. It was cemented by Public School and by national service. Being in the army, it helped. Being at cambridge, a very english, british experience. I had no direct about what i was but bits of me will always be czechoslovakian. The music that the language i like speaking. I am very proud of it. What was it about the cambridge experience that led you towards broadcasting and the bbc . Simply having friends who had applied for bbc traineeships. I thought i was going into the law and that wouldve been a bad idea. Suddenly, two very good friends, john timon and jon drummond, they wore more or less the same generation as me and apply for traineeships. I thought what a good idea. It was as casual as that. It was rather a good idea and im glad idid it. Was rather a good idea and im glad i did it. I am wondering in those early years, what was your sense of what organisation you joined . Early years, what was your sense of what organisation you joined . My sense was everything he did, i believed in. It was there to serve the audience. Wherever i went, i went to bbc bristol for a wild, but the programming was deadly dull. I came back to broadcasting house and saw the programme on the home service and thought it was deadly dull. The bbc wasnt a very well run organisation and that is one of the reasons why i left. I thought i would be stuck in this place, promotional would be very slow and i am not interested in a place as stodgy as this. Principles but the way it was run, a lot of the programmes it did were very poor indeed. What changed . People changed. The broadcasting in the 70s, a complete new look. The radio stations and a new spirit about how you had to speak to the audience. 0ne you had to speak to the audience. One of the things we did at the World Service was to see, you cant sound as if you are england in the 19305 sound as if you are england in the 1930s or 19a0s. You have to speak to people in a way that they understand now. There would need people like myself and my colleagues and when it came to newsnight, it was revolutionary. Before that, the news did what news did. The Current Affairs did what it did in a different way and a very good editor said you have to blend the two. There are always individuals who introduced radical change into the way programmes were made. We see this in the programmes all around us. This in the programmes all around us. Does it surprise you the bbc are talking still about the need to speak to talking still about the need to speakto an talking still about the need to speak to an audience in the way and language they understand . Speak to an audience in the way and language they understand . M speak to an audience in the way and language they understand . It is one of those neurotic things the bbc will always have to do. There will never be a time when you see we have now got the perfect language speaking to the audience. How you interpret that question is a very interesting question and there is no set answer. As far as i am concerned, there will be programmes which do it and certain probes programmes that dont. It is a part of the self examination that it co nsta ntly of the self examination that it constantly has to say, are getting through to the audience . The cancer will be temporary. Answer will be temperature. It has to be put again as audiences changed and their circumstances change. 0therwise as audiences changed and their circumstances change. Otherwise the bbc gets stodgy. In a couple of sentences, why are we having to make the case continually for arts funding when lots of people would say the case for arts funding and the enriching blend that it brings to public life is established . All the evidence is there. It has been stated many times and it is very good for the arts. This is why we matter and why they are relevant audiences. 0therwise if we didnt restate what we did every year, we will get stuck and complacent. It forces the arts to think the whole time about why we cant justify forces the arts to think the whole time about why we cantjustify our existence and our funding. Time about why we cantjustify our existence and ourfunding. It is time about why we cantjustify our existence and our funding. It is a way of trying to stay honest and releva nt to way of trying to stay honest and relevant to ourselves and to the audience. It is a great honour to have you in the studio. Good luck with this. We will catch up on the weather and what it is doing. We have had a few snow showers around. We have had a lot of snow in kent. Some very snowy conditions. This was North Yorkshire with the snow showers coming in. There will be more of them over the week ahead. More severe whether and met Office Weather warnings and travel disruption. The significant wind chill on the way as well. All coming from siberia but that easterly wind will be Stronger Tomorrow and the day after, which is why it will feel colder than it does. Easterly winds are not too strong at the moment. Blowing in more showers overnight, particularly across the eastern side of england and scotland. There will be some clear skies and cold air. Struggling to get above freezing. They will be below freezing overnight. The main focus of the heavy snow for tomorrow and thursday is probably going to be across scotland and across north east england. There could be more than that amount of snow falling over the higher ground. We have frequent snow showers and gale force winds. Further south, there will be a scattering of snow and some sunny will be a scattering of snow and some sunny spells. Those are the temperatures. Lower though we have had over the past few days but the wind will be stronger. Factor in the wind will be stronger. Factor in the wind and this is what it will feels like. Snow showers will continue overnight and we have this area of low pressure to complicate things moving up from iberia. That will bring some wet weather and we are more likely to get some snow. That is moving over the English Channel pushing into southern england and more focused on the south west. There we have a dry gap with fewer showers and some sunshine before we back into those snow showers across much of scotland and the of england. That amber snow warning continues into thursday. More heavy snow for some places. It still will be cold with those temperatures not changing much and we will still have that strong to gale forced easterly wind which will add to the wind chill and the cold over the next few days. Heavy snow causes disruption across large parts of the uk amid warnings there is a lot worse to come. Gridlock and accidents on the roads, as the coldest week of the winter blows in from the east. Up to ten centimetres of snow fell in some parts today, and hundreds of schools have been closed. Its still snowing now, the roads arent safe, and i just didnt want staff put at risk. This is the worst winter weve had for quiet a while. Well be live in some of the areas most affected and have the latest on the travel situation and the weather forecast. Also on the programme tonight, the International Trade secretary warns that trying to keep the uk in a Customs Union after brexit would be a sell out. Police say a mother and her two teenage sons are believed to be among the victims after an explosion in leicester