Labour EU ‘betrayal’
THERESA May accused Labour of betraying Britons over Brexit as she faced calls to put the country ahead of her Cabinet’s “oversized egos”.
The Prime Minister attacked Jeremy Corbyn’s latest policy after he confirmed the Opposition will back a “new and comprehensive” UK-EU customs union to ensure tariff-free trade. But the Labour leader hit back, insisting Mrs May is “incapable” of delivering a “coherent and decisive plan” for Brexit due to divisions in her Government. PEOPLE have been told to avoid travelling after the highest level of alert was issued for heavy snow in parts of Scotland.
The Met Office warning covered most of the country including central Scotland, Tayside and Fife, south west Scotland, the Lothians and Borders and Strathclyde areas. It warned of extreme conditions in those areas between 3pm yesterday and 10am today.
It is the first red alert for snow in Scotland since a new warning system came into place in 2011.
The definition of a red warning is “you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather” and it cautions that widespread damage, disruption and risk to life is likely.
The warnings came as hundreds of schools across Scotland were closed and there was severe disruption on the road and rail network as a result of heavy snow in large parts of Scotland yesterday.
A number of councils, including Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Clackmannanshire already announced that their schools will be closed today. In addition to schools, some universities and nurseries have also been forced to close.
There has only been one other red snow warning before in the UK, for south Wales in 2013. This is only the ninth red warning in the UK since 2011 for any kind of weather.
Meanwhile, Public Health England has urged people to plan ahead to ensure they have enough food and medicine.
Police across the country advised motorists to avoid driving if possible owing to poor visibility and treacherous conditions.
Four people were killed in crashes in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire on Tuesday, while there were several road accidents on Tuesday night and in the early hours of yesterday and a number of roads have been cleared and reopened. Disruption is expected to continue across many rail operators, with commuters being urged to check routes before travelling.
Farnborough in Hampshire recorded a low of minus 11C (12.2F) on Tuesday night, but for most places the mercury hovered at between minus 4C (24.8F) and minus 7C (19.4F). Forecasters predict the snow and freezing temperatures will continue, prompting the Met Office to extend some of its weather warnings. A yellow warning covering vast swathes of the UK has been extended until 9am on Saturday.
It is expected that the mercury could plummet to minus 15C (5F) by midweek where there is snow on the ground, rivalling temperatures forecast for parts of northern Norway and Iceland.
Rural communities could be cut off for several days, while power cuts and mobile phone network interruptions may occur, the Met Office said.
From Thursday, forecasters predict another weather system, Storm Emma, will bring blizzards, gales and sleet as it meets the current snowstorm later this week.