hundreds more police officers on the streets in london after four murders in five days. one of the victims was just 15 — the london mayor says there is no quick solution. we've got to actually focus on a generation, and the reality is that it may be a generation before we get to levels of violent crime that are acceptable. we'll be looking at how much of it is down to the changing nature of gangs in the capital. also tonight... east sussex becomes the latest council to cut key services to avoid a budget crisis. just hours to go now until americans vote in the mid term elections — and deliver their verdict on donald trump. and how we shall remember them — and the effect the soldiers of the great war had on the britain they came home to. and coming up on bbc news... "bolder" and more "courageous" — that's what captain joe root wants from his england test side against sri lanka. good evening and welcome

to the bbc news at six. after four murders in five days in london, the metropolitan‘s police commander will put hundreds of extra police officers on the streets. so far this year 118 people have been killed in london. 73 of those deaths were caused by stabbing. more than a third of all recorded knife crime in england and wales happens in the capital. that's despite it making up around just 15% of the population the city's mayor says it could take up to ten years to solve the crisis and as our home editor mark easton reports, the changing nature of london's gang culture has contributed to the rise in violence. hundreds of extra police are on the streets of the capital tonight as

officers responded to a wave of deadly stabbing is thought to be driven by drug gangs. this arrest in a graveyard is connected to the latest killing in croydon. tragically we had four murders since the middle of last week across a number of borrowers, none of them connected and each and every one of those tragic murders affects families, it affects friends and acquaintances and i cannot imagine the emotions and the distress they must be going through. my heart goes out to them. gangs have changed, onceit out to them. gangs have changed, once it was largely about territory and tribes, now it's about drugs and profits. they are organised, business driven, secretive and ruthless criminals. these men are on the way to murder. a conventional map of london shows borough boundaries and familiar neighbourhoods, but there is another hidden map of gang alliances and rivalries. in waltham forest for insta nce rivalries. in waltham forest for instance academics are plotted the territories of 12 gangs including an new alliance between the established beaumont crew and newcomers in the

mali boys understood to be headed by men of somali origins. at the centre of the territory is valentin road. valentin road has been described as the most violent street in britain. with over 100 serious crimes including two murders recorded by police here in just including two murders recorded by police here injust the including two murders recorded by police here in just the last two yea rs police here in just the last two years alone. this is the unlikely front line in a turf war between organised crime gangs wanting control of lucrative drug markets. we've had a significant shift away from it being about respect and grudges between pockets of young people and into something more closely related to very organised networks of people supplying drugs on the street and being very focused on the street and being very focused on money and seeking to be more underground. the murder of 20—year—old lewis elwyn, stabbed to death outside a south west london

primary school in 2016 has never been solved. his brother has been campaigning for more to be done to stop gangs recruiting impressionable young men and women. the gangs are in the schools, there in the colleges, there are some people that have they changed schools just because there are gangs waiting outside the schools. they really have to have a look at what is going on. even if you don't want to be pa rt on. even if you don't want to be part of it you are part of it. from where you wear a tracksuit and look like them they are part of it. it's not just black like them they are part of it. it's notjust black culture, caribbean culture, african culture, it's everyone. and it's notjust london, it is the murder rate in london is similarto it is the murder rate in london is similar to last year but 118 homicides in the capital since january represents a huge political as well as policing challenge. we are working together to try and find are working together to try and find a wraparound approach because it cannotjust be a wraparound approach because it cannot just be about arresting people, we want to stop young people getting into harm in the first

place. some blame cuts to police and council budgets but here in glasgow where gang violence has reduced massively, they suggest treating it like a virus, implementing early intervention measures to solve the problem for the long—term. intervention measures to solve the problem for the long-term. their advice to us is we are not good to solve this overnight, it took them more than ten years to solve this issue and they say we have to focus ona issue and they say we have to focus on a generation and the reality is that it may be a generation before we get the levels of violent crime that are acceptable to our society. the reality is that police work incredible hard to tackle this now. tonight in clap of a job close to where17—year—old malcolm was stabbed to death last friday afternoon, another 17—year—old boy has been arrested. but few believe we can arrest oui’ way has been arrested. but few believe we can arrest our way to beating criminal gangs who are becoming more sophisticated and more callous. councillors in east sussex are planning to strip back core services to the bare minimum — to address a severe budget crisis. roads, libraries and social care

all face cuts in what is the latest in a number of councils forced to reduce key services — and there are fears many others may have to do the same. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth is in eastbourne — how much of an impact will this have on people there? the council here like many across england says it's struggling financially so it's announced more funding for next year and this year, but they see the problem is long—term and without a funding solution. doing everything but the basics, that means more cuts across the board to school improvement, to help families with young children, to social care and to libraries. there's a story behind this library. i think it's really cool. not yet officially open, these children are getting a sneak preview. i think it's the best library i've ever seen in my whole

life. this library is run entirely by volunteers in premises donated by a local shopping centre. they stepped in when the council library closed due to cuts. there is a wonderful feel about having a library that is being run by the community and we are very lucky that regard here in langley, but the bottom line is the funding for libraries and community services. balancing the books is a problem for county councils across england who face budget cuts and rising demand for social care. here in east sussex, the council plans to only offer essential services, with less money for highways, further cuts to the library service, slower assessments for children with special educational needs, and less preventative work in children's social services. but i think it's important that we give the government the evidence that they need. the council says that unless it gets more government funding, it will only be able to provide the bare minimum for the most vulnerable. clearly, we are having to make really, really difficult decisions. we taken the opportunity to raise

council tax as much as allowed by government, but it clearly doesn't take into account the increase in demographics and cost of providing those services. in last week's budget, the government gave an extra £650 million to councils to help with the costs of social care and more money for roads, and they're working on a whole new funding system, but many councils say they need more support and are watching what happens here in east sussex to see if they might follow suit. for the people who rely on support services like these carers, it's a worrying time. michelle's partner has multiple sclerosis. social services helped us for a very short time, and then that was that. donna's mum has alzheimer's. she looks after her along with her sister. you're given that helped and then nothing, so you feel abandoned. feels like nobody understands,

unless you are a carer yourself. denise cares for her husband reg who has dementia. daycare is the only respite we get. once a week is a lifeline. it's the only time you get to go out. they rely on this charity in east sussex to fill the gap left by shrinking services. their story is familiar as councils across the country continue to struggle. alex forsyth, bbc news, eastbourne. a man from gloucester has been jailed for life — with a minimum term of 29 years — after admitting the murder of his wife and step—daughter. prosecutors said christopher boon killed laura mortimer after she returned home from a night out in may. he then attacked ella dalby — who was 11 — as she tried to save her mother. the founder of celtic boys' club has been found guilty of sexual offences against three boys in the 1980s and 90s. james torbett — who is now 71 years old — was previously convicted for crimes also against three boys in the 1960s and 70s. the judge said torbett used the youth football club as a recruiting ground for boys he could abuse.

the uk government has been told by ireland to "stand by its commitments" on avoiding a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland after brexit. the irish prime minister leo varadkar has dismissed the idea of a temporary "backstop" solution — which guarantees that whatever happens there will be no return to a hard border. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is at westminster, theresa may is going to brief the cabinet tomorrow on the latest developments on trying to secure a brexit deal, no let up in the pressure. absolutely not. the uk and the eu are at our absolutely vital stage here, frantically working away, officials and ministers, to try to get the divorce deal done by the end of this month. it's still possible but there's not that much sense of flexibility in the air and remember what is at stake here is how we leave the european union. not the longer term relationship which will

define things for years and years to come. the sticking point as ever is the so—called backstop. they guarantee that the uk will give to the eu and to ireland that there will be no kind of going back to the ha rd will be no kind of going back to the hard border of the past between northern ireland and the south and they have given that promise and it has to be somehow turned into a legal guarantee that will last and last and last. what the two sides have agreed, broadly, is that unless there is some kind of big trade deal that can make this not a problem, there will be a way where the uk and ireland sticks broadly to the same rules. but for many ministers and plenty of tory mp's it's just not a cce pta ble plenty of tory mp's it's just not acceptable for the uk to sign up to that kind of thing unless there is an excellent route, a way out of that that the uk can decide on its own. but for the irish government that's not on either. so at the moment the two sides are both staring at opposite sides of a brick

wall. but it may well be that the pressure of an approaching deadline, the fact that time is running out, is just what is required to finally find a way through. we will see, laura at westminster, thank you. the time is coming up to a quarter past six. our top story this evening. hundreds more police officers on the streets in london after four murders in five days — the mayor says it could take a generation to tackle rising violent crime. still to come... as a new documentary this week charts life inside the classroom, we speak to the school boss about the challenges facing schools. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... james mcclean says the fa are turning a blind eye to sectarian abuse. it's after the stoke winger complained of anti—irish abuse from some of the club's fans. (pres) there are just a few hours to go before americans start voting

in congressional elections, a vote that's expected to define the rest of donald trump's presidency. the mid—terms happen every four years and take place in the middle of the president's four—year term of office. congress is made up of the house of representatives and the senate — both are currently controlled by the republican party, which backs donald trump. all 435 seats in the house of representatives are up for election. in the senate 35 out of 100 seats are being contested. overall, the mid terms are being seen in large part as a verdict on donald trump — and access to affordable health care has been a big issue. the bbc‘s james cook reports from sedona, arizona. the desert state of arizona hasn't sent a democrat to the us senate for 30 years, but the party hopes its drought here will end tomorrow. do you now know a lot more about health care policy that you did to begin with? yes, but it's all pretty much been self—taught. jeff james renounced

the republican party when he got throat cancer. i was a extremely right—wing conservative republican slash libertarian. what changed was 0bamacare, which extended health care to 20 million more americans. jeff said he would have died without it because no insurance company was prepared to pay for his treatment. well, if somebody is poor and they are dying of cancer without health insurance, they'll die. imean... the people that were swindled by junk health insurance plans, you don't hear them talking about their experience because they're dead. but it's notjust the economy. think about it. look at foreign policy. in sun city, republicans are campaigning on other issues. the speakers here did not mention their botched attempt to repeal 0bamacare. even the president's son was ignoring the

question. sir, what's your message on health care for people here? esther alberta is not a fan of 0bamacare. she says it was expensive. she couldn't see the doctor she wanted, and she wasn't covered when she moved state. how much has it cost you over all, being hit by that car? i'm probably into the $300,000 right now. how much? 300,000. and so what's your view about 0bamacare? i hope they repeal all of it. it's horrible. across this spectacular state and across the country, voters are now making their minds up. nationally, the campaign may have been dominated by the economy and immigration, but for millions of americans, the most pressing, most personal issue is health care. and how they feel about it may yet reshape the political landscape. james cook, bbc news, sedona. iran says it will defy tough sanctions reimposed today by the united states on its oil

and banking sectors, following america's withdrawal from the international nuclear deal agreed back in 2015. president rouhani says iran is in a state of economic war and will continue selling oil. there's been an angry response on the streets of tehran. president trump says the us is trying to stop what it calls tehran's destructive behaviour across the middle east. let's talk to our diplomatic correspondent james landale, who's outside the foreign office. just remind us how we got to this point and what impact these sanctions are likely to have? welcome over the last four years, the international and community and iran did a deal. they agree to restrict its nuclear programme and in return it would get trade from everybody else. the americans have decided that deal is no longer working, so they could be imposing sanctions across—the—boa rd including on oil and shipping. that clearly will have an impact on people on the

ground in iran. they will find it much harder to get food, fuel, medicines, things like that. it will have an impact here in the uk as well because british and other european firms and banks will find it much harder to trade with iran because if they do there is a risk that they will either lose their american trade or they could also incur some american sanctions. and penalties. so at the moment the americans say, look, the reason we are doing this is because they believe that iran is going to change its behaviour, that it will suddenly turn a page and become less aggressive, perhaps even get back to the negotiating table. i have to say, if you talk to people here at the foreign office and other european countries, they are much more sceptical. europe at the moment still lacks the iran nuclear deal. it opposes these american sanctions. and if you dropped a diplomat, some of them say, look, at the best, iran just sucks up the sanctions and enjoys the economic hardship. at worst, it could embolden and even strengthen the hardliners in the

government. fear not. thank you. demand for new cars has fallen again. the society of motor manufacturers and traders said 3% fewer new vehicles were registered last month compared with october last year. diesel cars saw the biggest fall, with a 20 % drop, while the number of electric and hybrid vehicles registered went up by 30%. now good news if you're a fan of the spice girls — they've announced they are to reunite for their first tour around the uk in a decade. # la la la la la la la.# they shared the news on their official twitter page with a video — but revealed that posh spice victoria beckham won't be joining the group for their re—launch. the group will begin the tour with six uk dates — starting with manchester, in june 2019. mps will hear more from teaching unions and school leaders tomorrow as part of an inquiry into school funding, looking at the long—term issues for schools in england.

also tomorrow a new bbc documentary series begins, looking at life inside three schools including some of the challenges facing headteachers. 0ur education editor, bra nwen jeffreys, reports from south gloucestershire. an ordinary secondary school facing ordinary problems. the school's vision, i think, will have to change and adapt in the future. i suspect there are definitely some things that you and your counterparts will have spent time on this year that we can... following the chief executive trying to solve them. i do have to balance the budget, and i do have to make sure that the organisation is effective. one of the things that is having a real impact... hearing about the challenges in the classroom. in that, as classroom teachers, i feel that we are now picking up more and more issues, pastoral issues. do you mind if i answer that? yeah, of course. we are in learning support and we're picking up lots of children with emotional and social problems. and the financial pressures. at a meeting where senior teachers are told theirjobs are being downgraded. they face a pay cut of up to £6,000 per year to help

balance this school's books. in terms of feedback for the consultation process, i think it sucked, as a word. yes. you restructure, that's going to have a massive impact on what we can provide for students, which is going to have a massive impact on results, and yet that's what we're here for. it's going to have a massive effect on these people in the room. that's going to have a massive effect on the students that we teach, day in, day out. is everybody ready for it? i'm just worried about that, really. for example, this music room, every time it rains heavily in the winter, that happens quite a lot. you've got a huge hole in the roof there. will roberts showed me the wear and tear in one of the buildings. as chief executive, he manages the budget for seven schools. there's nothing we can do about it other than replacing the building and we simply don't have the funds to do that. these schools are in a part of england that for many years has had less money. it's meant to be getting a bigger share as part of changes that are underway, but even with that

extra funding, all the demands and cost pressures that schools face mean it's increasingly difficult to balance their budgets. if we had to save any more money, we're going to have to be honest about what we can provide in return. there's no more efficiencies or savings that we can make without saying to parents that actually we can't do everything that we've done in the past. you might want to think about adding the other sport guys as well... for each pupil, less is spent in school than eight years ago. the government says they're still getting more than ever before. and it will decide about longer term funding next year. branwen jefferies, bbc news, south gloucestershire. and you can see the first in the series, school, tomorrow night, at nine o'clock, on bbc two. you're looking at thousands of flames, individual torches lit by beefeaters in the moat of the tower of london.

they're part of a new art installation to commemorate the centenary of the end of the first world war. this is what it looks like tonight, live. it'll run every night leading up to and including armistice day on sunday. our special correspondent allan little reports on how the nation's understanding of the war and its consequences have changed in the past 100 years. no war in history had demanded so much, mobilised so many, or killed in such numbers. and when it was over, the men who fought it began asking questions that have never gone away. what was it for? and was it worth it? we remember them now with public reverence, but the way we think about the war they fought has changed dramatically in the hundred years since it ended. this is dryburgh abbey in the scottish borders, where britain's military commander earl douglas haig is buried. when he died ten years

after the war ended, he was a venerated public figure, the architect of victory and national salvation. his funeral procession in both london and edinburgh drew more than a million people onto the streets. haig's reputation has risen and fallen over the century, as each new generation reinterprets the first world war in the light of its own values. by the 1960s, haig wasn't a national hero any more. he was a public villain, the butcher of the somme who had sent hundreds of thousands of young men to their deaths needlessly. in this version, the war was above all futile. in 1917, the war poets wilfred 0wen and sigfried sassoon met here at craiglockhart war hospital in edinburgh. but it wasn't until the 1960s, the age of emerging youth culture, vietnam, and anti—war sentiment, that their depiction of the horror and pity of the war gained widespread popular attraction. it timed well both in terms

of the cultural narrative, but also the military—political scene within the world at that time, and all of things have come colliding together and given 0wen a renaissance and a rebirth and that message of futility really strong in people's narrative at that time. the britain that emerged from the armistice would never be the same. the war had had a powerful democratising effect, for the men who fought it came home to demand a new place in society for the common citizen. we were promised lands for heroes to live in and all that sort of thing, but when we came home, we found nothing. there was no cheering, no singing. we were drained of all emotion, really. that's what it amounted to, you see. they started marching round the camp, singing out, "we want food. we want money." the government was obviously very concerned about what would happen

when the guys came back, particularly because the labour party had grown, and then there had been the russian revolution in 1917, so they were really scared there would be some socialist uprising. by the time the word citizenship comes into use in the 205 and 305, which never had been before, because the british were subjects of the crown. they we ren't citizens. which i think is something new after the war. they thought they had fought the war that would end all wars. they had not. but the britain we inherit today, its citizen's democracy grew out of their extraordinary sacrifice. allan little, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. it's been unseasonably mild, hasn't it? yes, today we got up to 17 degrees in the south of the country, which is pretty good for the time of

year. it should be closer to something like 10 celsius. tonight is of course bonfire night and a lot of us mark the occasion during the course of the weekend. but tonight is the official night and the weather is actually not looking bad at all for most of us. a lot of mild weather on the way but i think we also have a bit of mist and fog by the early hours of the morning. take a look at the satellite image. stormy across parts of western europe. this nasty weather in spain italy. that is actually helping to shove some warmer weather in our direction so we have a southerly coming straight out of the mediterranean and so we have those temperatures in the high teens today. 17 celsius this time of year doesn't feel as warm as 17 celsius in the summer because the sun is low on the horizon so we don't quite feel the sunshine. this is the weather. it is mostly dry for us tonight. damp weather for western areas. tomorrow, after the fog clears, the day is looking fairly

bright for many of us, even some decent spells of sunshine. again, warm as long as we have that southerly. 13 celsius in newcastle. watch this weather front out towards the west. that release builds a pretty u npleasa nt the west. that release builds a pretty unpleasant spell of weather over the coming days. a weather front stalls across and western parts of the uk. i think it is south—western parts of england and wales that is in for a real soaking on tuesday night and into wednesday. you can see the deep blue colours showing heavy rain moving into northern ireland and parts of scotland. further east, the weather will be better. certainly some sunshine around but also occasionally interrupted by occasionally interrupted by occasional showers and some of them will be quite heavy and this u nsettled will be quite heavy and this unsettled weather is going to continue into thursday and friday as well. but the good news is that it might be unsettled but at least it is not going to be cold. it is going

to stay relatively mild. thanks very much. a reminder of our top story: the metropolitan police sends hundreds more officers onto the streets after several murders in five days in london. it could take a generation to improve violent crime. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the metropolitan police say they'll step up patrols on the streets of the capital after four fatal stabbings in the last five days. mass protests in iran against fresh us sanctions. the us secretary of state has said there will be relentless pressure until it stops funding what he called violent and destabilishing activities. donald trump and barack 0bama both on the campaign trail with just hours to go until america's crucial mid—term elections. and do you really, really want to see the spice girls live?

in a moment, it will be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. in half hour, we'lljoin katty kay and christian fraser in washington for beyond 100 days as america builds up to the crucial mid—term elections. at 8pm, we'll be speaking to a former gang member about how to tackle knife crime — that's after four stabbings in five days in the capital. and later on, a look at tomorrow's front pages in the papers.