Snow warnings as UK cold snap prompts fears of winter energy crisis

Ministers taking advice on how to protect vulnerable amid weather alerts for large parts of country

Snow and ice warnings cover much of Scotland and northern and south-west England, as well as parts of Wales and Northern Ireland, as a cold snap prompts fears of a winter energy crisis.

Ministers said on Thursday they were taking advice on how to protect vulnerable people from the cold after research suggested millions of households could not afford to heat their homes.