Blizzards are set to cause “treacherous conditions” in the UK on Thursday night and Friday morning – with winds of up to 50mph and up to 40cm of snow expected in some areas.
The Met Office has issued three amber warnings for northern England, the Midlands, North Wales and Northern Ireland, where “significant disruption” to transport and power supplies are expected as Storm Larisa continues to batter the country.
Three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued for several regions of the UK tomorrow from 4am until 10am – including parts of the Midlands, southeast and southwest England and South Wales.
The Met Office has warned that two to four centimetres of snow is likely in parts of Wales and on higher ground such as the Cotswolds.
Icy surfaces are also likely to develop, it warns, and areas of “mainly light” snow and ice could cause disruption to travel.
The cold spell has already caused travel disruption and snow closures, with some schools confirming they will be shut on Friday due to the Arctic conditions.
Further disruption is expected across Ireland on Friday as severe snowfall and ice continue to hamper commuters in their travels – with hundreds of people in Cork and dozens in Northern Ireland also left without power on Thursday night.
Image: A man and his dog go for a walk in Slievethoul, Co Dublin
Image: Sheep graze in a show covered field near Oundle, Northamptonshire
‘Atrocious travel conditions’
On Thursday evening, the Met Office warned that heavy snow and strong winds could cause blizzards and “atrocious travel conditions” in some areas of the UK.
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It said 10 to 20cm of snow could fall in parts of northern England and Wales covered by an amber warning tonight and tomorrow morning, while Northern Ireland could see four to eight centimetres.
Meteorologist Alex Deakin said rural communities could get cut off and significant disruption is likely in amber warning areas.
Friday will begin with widespread snow and rain in the early hours, covering central England and Wales, but the weather is set to clear as the day progresses.
Scattered snow showers will remain in Scotland alongside light rain in South East England.
Image: Pic: Cheshire East Council Highways
‘Gusts of 50mph’ and ‘treacherous conditions’
Another Met Office meteorologist, Alex Burkill, said that a pocket of western Scotland covering Glasgow and the county of Argyll could be the only region untouched by heavy rain and snow over the next day or so.
He warned that the worst of the weather is expected in northwest Wales and northern England, where “gusts of easily 50mph” are on a collision course with “30 to 40cm of snow”.
Image: Drone captures amazing shots of snowy Yorkshire Dales
Mr Burkill continued: “The combination of heavy snow and gales is why we’re likely to see blizzards and drifting snow which causes extra hazards on the roads.
“In places covered by amber warnings, there will be very difficult, treacherous conditions.
“Ideally avoid travelling in those periods – but if you have to head out then be aware that journeys could take significantly longer.”
Thursday night temperatures will be similar to Wednesday, which was the coldest night of the year, before even chillier conditions set in on Friday night.
Mr Burkill said that areas of the Highlands could see -17C, following this year’s record low of -16C, which was recorded at Altnaharra in the region.
Met Office forecasters also said this was the lowest March temperature seen in the UK since 2010, when -18.6C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.
Travel warnings
National Highways issued a “severe weather alert” for snow across the North East, North West and Midlands regions until 8am on Friday, with motorists being warned not to drive unless absolutely necessary.
Image: A snowy motorway
Meanwhile, the RAC said on Thursday morning that there had been 50% more breakdowns than usual in areas affected by snow, with some drivers stuck in the snow in areas of South Yorkshire and Wales.
East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire has temporarily closed its runway due to the weather “following a period of heavy snowfall”, a statement said.
Image: Heavy snow cover houses in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire
When will the cold snap end?
Although the weekend will be milder for a lot of the UK, a yellow snow and ice warning is in place for northern England and a large part of Scotland from 3pm on Saturday until 6am on Sunday.
Meteorologist Mr Deakin said next week could bring a “continued battleground” between colder conditions and milder air pushing in from the Atlantic.
He added there will be “colder interludes” and the “potential for further snow” next week.
School closures
A number of schools across the country have announced they are closing on Friday following the Met Office warnings.
Flintshire County Council in North Wales announced that all of its schools will be shut on 10 March – as a large part of North Wales is currently covered by an amber Met Office warning, with 10 to 20cm of snow likely.
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Snow piling up across parts of the country
At least five schools in the Welsh county of Wrexham have announced via Twitter that they will be closed on Friday.
While Sheffield Council has so far announced 10 providers will also be closed.
Schools in Birmingham and Wolverhampton have also let parents know about school closures via social media.
You can find out whether a school is shut using your postcode here.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
The comedian has previously denied the accusations, and said all his sexual relationships were “absolutely always consensual”.
Met Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
The last blast furnaces left operating in Britain could see their fate sealed within days, after their Chinese owners took the decision to cut off the crucial supply of ingredients keeping them running.
Jingye, the owner of British Steel in Scunthorpe, has, according to union representatives, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
The upshot is that they may have to close next month – even sooner than the earliest date suggested for its closure.
The fate of the blast furnaces – the last two domestic sources of virgin steel, made from iron ore rather than recycled – is likely to be determined in a matter of days, with the Department for Business and Trade now actively pondering nationalisation.
The upshot is that even as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.
The talks between the government and Jingye broke down last week after the Chinese company, which bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, rejected a £500m offer of public money to replace the existing furnaces with electric arc furnaces.
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The sum is the same one it offered to Tata Steel, which has shut down the other remaining UK blast furnaces in Port Talbot and is planning to build electric furnaces – which have far lower carbon emissions.
Image: These steel workers could soon be out of work
However, the owners argue that the amount is too little to justify extra investment at Scunthorpe, and said last week they were now consulting on the date of shutting both the blast furnaces and the attached steelworks.
Since British Steel is the main provider of steel rails to Network Rail – as well as other construction steels available from only a few sites in the world – the closure would leave the UK more reliant on imports for critical infrastructure sites.
However, since the site belongs to its Chinese owners, a decision to nationalise the site would involve radical steps government officials are wary of taking.
They also fear leaving taxpayers exposed to a potentially loss-making business for the long run.
The dilemma has been heightened by the sharp turn in geopolitical sentiment following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The incipient trade war and threatened cut in American support to Europe have sparked fresh calls for countries to act urgently to secure their own supplies of critical materials, especially those used for defence and infrastructure.
Gareth Stace, head of UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said: “Talks seem to have broken down between government and British Steel.
“My advice to government is: please, Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, get back round that negotiating table, thrash out a deal, and if a deal can’t be found in the next few days, then I fear for the very future of the sector, but also here for Scunthorpe steelworks.”
Prince Andrew’s efforts to make money from his Pitch@Palace project have been branded as a “crude attempt to enrich himself” at the expense of “unsuspecting tech founders”, as new documents may shed more light on what he and his team have been attempting to sell.
Today is the deadline for documents to be released relating to Prince Andrew‘s former senior adviser Dominic Hampshire and his interactions with the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
In February, an immigration tribunal heard how the intelligence services had contacted Mr Hampshire about Mr Yang back in 2022. Mr Yang helped set up Pitch@Palace China, a branch of the duke’s scheme to help young entrepreneurs.
Image: The alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo, has links with Prince Andrew
Image: Yang Tengbo. Pic: Pitch@Palace
Judges banned Mr Yang from the UK, saying his association with a senior royal had made Prince Andrew “vulnerable” and posed a threat to national security. Mr Yang challenged that decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Since that hearing, media organisations have applied for certain documents relating to the case and Mr Hampshire’s support for Mr Yang to be made public. SIAC agreed to release some information of public interest. It is hoped they may include more details on deals that he was trying to do on behalf of Prince Andrew.
So what do we know about potential deals for Pitch@Palace so far?
In February, Sky News confirmed that palace officials had a meeting last summer with tech funding company StartupBootcamp to discuss a potential tie-up between them and Prince Andrew relating to his Pitch@Palace project.
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The palace wasn’t involved in the fine details of a deal but wanted guarantees to make sure it wouldn’t impact the Royal Family in the future. Sky News understands from one source that the price being discussed for Pitch was around £750,000 – there are, however, reports that a deal may have stalled.
Photos we found on the Chinese Chamber of Commerce website show an event held in Asia between StartupBootcamp and Innovate Global, believed to be an offshoot of Pitch.
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Who is alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo?
Documents, released in relation to the investigations into Mr Tengbo, have also shown how much the duke has always seen Pitch as a way of potentially making money. One document from 21 August 2021 clearly states “the duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding”.
But Prince Andrew’s apparent intention to use Pitch to make money has led to concerns about whether he is unfairly using the contacts and information he gained when he was a working royal.
Norman Baker, former MP and author of books on royal finances, believes it is “a crude attempt to enrich himself” and goes against what the tech entrepreneurs thought they were signing up for.
He told Sky News: “The data given by these business people was given on the basis it was an official operation and not something for Prince Andrew, and so in my view, Prince Andrew had no right legally or morally to take the data which has been collected, a huge amount of data, and sell it…
“And quite clearly if you’re going to sell it off to StartupBootcamp, that is not what people had in mind. The entrepreneurs who joined Pitch@Palace did not do so to enrich Prince Andrew,” he said.
Rich Wilson was one tech entrepreneur who was approached at the start of Pitch@Palace to sign up, but he stepped away when he spotted a clause in the contract saying they’d be entitled to 2% equity in any funding he secured.
He feels Prince Andrew is continuing to use those he made a show of supporting.
He said: “It makes me feel sick. I think it’s terrible – that he is continuing to exploit unsuspecting tech founders in this way. A lot of them, I’m quite grey and old in the tooth now, I saw it coming, but clearly most didn’t. And a lot of them were quite young.
“It’ll be their first venture and you’re learning on the trot, so to speak. So to take advantage of people in such a major way – that’s an awful, sickening thing to do.”
We approached StartupBootcamp who said they had no comment to make, and the Duke of York’s office did not respond.
With reports that a deal may have stalled, it could be a big setback for the duke – especially with questions still about how he’ll continue to pay for his home on the Windsor estate now that the King no longer gives him financial support.