tonight at ten... an inferno on their doorstep — wildfires devastate areas in and around los angeles. at least two people have been killed and entire neighbourhoods enveloped in thick smoke and flames. got to get out of here. panic as residents try to flee before they're engulfed — tens of thousands have had to evacuate. emergency services are stretched to the limit with no chance of halting the spread of the blaze until powerful winds subside. we are live inside the palace sides evacuation zone. as the hillsides are still burning and the air is thick with smoke. the noes have it. unlock. also tonight — a tory attempt in the commons to force a new grooming gangs inquiry fails, but is there a change of tone from the prime minister? the 14—year—old boy stabbed to death

on a bus in south london — his mother says he was a victim of gang crime. spurs take the lead in the first leg of their league cup semi final — but was it enough to secure victory. we'll bring you the result. on newsnight at 10:30 tonight we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters. and of course, look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news. good evening. ferocious wildfires are ripping through suburbs around los angeles, killing at least two people and forcing tens of thousands to flee. the city's fire chief said the conditions are unprecedented, unpredictable, that there was no possibility of bringing them under control until

the strong winds subside. 1,000 buildings were destroyed in one area alone — the wealthy pacific palisades neighbourhood, which is home to many hollywood stars. the first fire around the palisades — between santa monica and malibu — started last night, driven by fierce winds. a state of emergency was declared after the blaze first took hold. it spread with terrifying speed, fanned by those hurricane force winds and tinder dry conditions. within a matter of hours, the region ablaze had doubled in size. emma vardy is in the palisades now. los angeles has never seen anything like this before directions and emergency services have become overwhelmed as homes and businesses are being destroyed. for those who

haven't yet evacuated, they are being urged to conserve water as fire crews are battling hard but haven't managed to contain these fires yet. as dawn broke, la awoke to an apocalyptic site. smoke blocking out the skies over santa monica beach after a terrifying 2a hours. the fire grew at an extraordinary speed, flames raging out of control as hurricane force winds battered the coast. and the fire continues to grow with 0% containment. we have over 500 personnel assigned and unfortunately, we have two reported fatalities to civilians. la county and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster. there are not enough firefighters in la county. along this coastal road we have been seeing the fires destruction. there is power lines down, patches still smouldering and the air is so thick with smoke

that we can barely see more than a few metres in front of us. this was the moment two residents found their house engulfed by flames. it's going to be ok, all right? we are going to be ok. la's governor watched as the fire spread across thousands of acres in hours. thousands made homeless, a state of emergency called in a situation out of control. some abandoning their cars to the mercy of the flames. 0thers made attempts to stay and save their homes. fire crews struggled against a terrifying inferno causing utter destruction. flights continued to land into la's main airport. passengers witnessed the frightening scenes below. oh, my god. emergency services have been

stretched to their limit, battling the unpredictable fires on multiple fronts. at least a thousand buildings have been destroyed as the situation took many people by surprise. my sister called and she was like, are you 0k? and at that moment, a helicopter flew over my house and just dropped water and i was like, it's raining. she was like, no, it's not raining, your neighbourhood is on fire, you need to get out. in one of the worst hit areas a reporter described the carnage. you're at the heart of the pacific in a neighbourhood that is completely lost. home is out in the street_ completely lost. home is out in the street gone. sis completely lost. home is out in the street gone-— street gone. as the second fire broke out. _ street gone. as the second fire broke out, elderly _ street gone. as the second fire broke out, elderly residents i street gone. as the second fire broke out, elderly residents of| street gone. as the second fire l broke out, elderly residents of a care home huddled in a car park. fit, care home huddled in a car park. lot of these people are terrified and they don't have a blanket, they

have nothing. in and they don't have a blanket, they have nothing-— have nothing. in some of la's most exclusive neighbourhoods, - have nothing. in some of la's most l exclusive neighbourhoods, hollywood stars left their homes to the flames. none of the fires have yet been brought under control. some returned to their neighbourhoods now turned to ash. i’m returned to their neighbourhoods now turned to ash-— turned to ash. i'm ok, i will be ok. i am tough — turned to ash. i'm ok, i will be ok. i am tough and we _ turned to ash. i'm ok, i will be ok. i am tough and we will _ turned to ash. i'm ok, i will be ok. i am tough and we will start - turned to ash. i'm ok, i will be ok. i am tough and we will start over, l i am tough and we will start over, even though i am 91 years old. i will start over again. this afternoon. _ will start over again. this afternoon, president - will start over again. this afternoon, president biden visited teams on the ground to get an update. teams on the ground to get an u date. ~ ., teams on the ground to get an udate. ~ ., ., , ., update. we will do anything and as lona as it update. we will do anything and as long as it takes _ update. we will do anything and as long as it takes to _ update. we will do anything and as long as it takes to contain - long as it takes to contain these fires _ long as it takes to contain these fires and — long as it takes to contain these fires and help reconstruct, make sure _ fires and help reconstruct, make sure we — fires and help reconstruct, make sure we get back to normal. it will be a long — sure we get back to normal. it will be a long way. sure we get back to normal. it will be a long way-— be a long way. many still unsure where to go _ be a long way. many still unsure where to go in — be a long way. many still unsure where to go in this _ be a long way. many still unsure where to go in this fast - be a long way. many still unsure i where to go in this fast changing situation. ., ., ~' where to go in this fast changing situation. ., ., ~ ., , �* , ., situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. _ situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. a _ situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. a dark - situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. a dark day - situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. a dark day fori situation. look at this. beyond - comprehension. a dark day for los anaeles. comprehension. a dark day for los angeles- the _ comprehension. a dark day for los angeles. the californian _ comprehension. a dark day for los angeles. the californian dream - angeles. the californian dream becoming a nightmare. emma vardy,

bbc news, los angeles. tanner charles is a film—maker and was in los angeles to document the fires. he was trying to help save someone's house when he and his companion had to save themselves. alarm blares. let's get out of here. we tried. wejust, you know, did everything we could do to prepare that house, to make sure it was as fireproof as possible, you know. but it proved to be too much and we had to get out of there. and we just ran out of there and drove away as fast as we could. i've never seen anything like this before. you know, we just saw on the news and everything is destroyed. it's crazy. got to get out of here. let's go back to emma now — this area is no stranger to wildfires, but nothing could have

prepared them for this? wildfires are common but what makes this so different is there are so many fires burning at once and they are burning so close to residential areas. emergency crews on the ground have admitted they don't have enough people to deal with this developing situation and some of those fires are still growing in size. down here underneath pacific palisades map the hillsides are still burning behind us and every time the winds blow, there is a gust of wind, we are just seeing flames burst back into life, a reminder of how unpredictable this fire is and how much the winds have been driving it and making life so difficult. but those winds are predicted to decrease which may help emergency services start to get a handle on this. we have been hearing about some serious injuries to residents who did not evacuate their homes, choosing to stay behind for

various reasons to try and protect their homes or simply leaving it too late. emergency services are continuing to warn people to take evacuation orders very seriously because this is a date like los angeles has not seen before and is not even close to being over yet. emma vardy reporting from los angeles. thank you very much. los angeles has been hit by devastating wildfires before, but weather experts say that it's being hit by the most destructive windstorm in decades, with winds of between 80 and 100mph. so how much of a role has climate change played in this extreme weather? here's our climate editorjustin rowlatt. still images show the fury and the horror of the fires engulfing parts of california. wildfires are a year—round threat in the state, but this year, it experienced its hottest summer on record. we know climate change is making the kind of hot, dry weather california has

experienced in recent months more likely, and scientists say that is increasing the number of what are known as fire weather days. now, this graph shows the increase in the area burned by fires in the us since 1983. as you can see, it appears to have been growing steadily over the years, and there is another factor this year — the winter rains that normally reduce the fire risk in california didn't come. in fact, downtown los angeles has only received 0.16 inches of rain since october. that is more than four inches below average. the california governor, gavin newsom, believes the pattern of wildfires is changing. we were here not too long ago, the franklin fire, a few weeks prior to that, the mountain fire. in november, december, nowjanuary. there is no fire season — it's fire year, it's year—round. and look how the wind has been blowing the fires.

these santa ana, or "devil winds" as they are sometimes called, are a normal part of california weather caused by cool, dry air blowing from the interior of the state to the coast. climate change doesn't appear to have altered the pattern of the santa ana winds, but as our world warms, the dangerous combination of strong winds with very dry vegetation is becoming more likely. and just look at the scenes on the other side of the country — the east coast and parts of central us are experiencing icy, cold weather and snow storms that have killed five people and left 60 million under extreme weather warnings. the contrast could hardly be more stark. justin rowlatt, bbc news. mps have tonight voted to reject the conservatives' demands for a national inquiry into grooming gangs, which has generated a lot of debate in recent days. let's talk to our political editor chris mason.

so as expected, the tories have lost this vote, but you've detected a change of tone from the prime minister. set ministers say this will help protect children and rejecting it would have the opposite effect and make the argument the conservatives have been opportunistic as they see it in mounting this argument. the context is elon musk and these posts on his social media site which have been, there have been gratuitous insults, have been full since. the prime minister was trying to rationalise the debate and try and take some of the heat out of it so he acknowledged that it was perfectly reasonable for some to make an argument that this should be

an public inquiry, it'sjust a view he didn't share. the conservatives say the prime minister calls for all sorts of inquiries in opposition so why not have one in this instance? they argue that it could otherwise look like a cover—up, the prime minister said that business information, that is lying ultimately. —— misinformation. the have launched an online petition to see if they can draw public support for an see if they can draw public support foran inquiry. see if they can draw public support for an inquiry. the term though from the government does seem to have changed, and acknowledgement that while they are holding the view that there should be an inquiry, they are willing to listen to those making that counterfeiting. so there is some wiggle room potentially for them to be able to move if the case for an them to be able to move if the case foran inquiry them to be able to move if the case for an inquiry became overwhelming. thank you very much. chris mason there. a vigil has been held in woolwich this evening for 14—year—old killian bokassa, who was stabbed to death on a bus yesterday. his mother says he was groomed by gangs after running away

kelyan bokassa died in woolwich in south—east london in what police say was a horrendous crime. the teenager's mother, mary bokassa, has been speaking to our correspondent, ellie price. two police officers came to the door, knocked on the door. and i don't know why, i could just see on their face. just...they tell me... they're sorry. mary bokassa last saw her son at 1pm yesterday afternoon. an hour and a half later, he had been fatally stabbed on a bus in south—east london. she says kelyan, appearing here in his own rap video under the name of grippa, had been groomed by gangs from as early as six years old. he felt that this is the only safe, this is the only protection he can get, because one day he said to me, "mummy, now we are safe. i have people that really can protect you."

he became so secretive, everything was to be kept secret. we was praying, "you don't want me to get stabbed. if you say anything, i will get stabbed, mum." knowing what you know and the route that your son was taking, do you feel surprised by what has happened now? no. i feel hurt because i tried to prevent it. i have tried so many, so many times. i scream it, i say my son has been killed. and i am sure next week there will be another one. ellie price, bbc news, south—east london. a body found in the search for two british men who went missing in the dolomites mountains in italy is believed to be that of 35—year—old samuel harris. samuel — here on the right — and aziz ziriat, who's 36, were last heard from on new year's day after sending messages home from the region.

an 18—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was killed in a drive—by shooting outside a church. the victim, 44—year—old michelle sadio, was standing among mourners outside the church in north—west london after a wake. the shooting happened on the night of december 14th. two men, both aged in their 30s, were also injured. the icy weather is continuing across the uk, with temperatures set to drop tonight. forecasters predict we could see the coldest night of the winter season over the next two days, with temperatures expected to fall as low as —15c or below. danjohnson is on the edge of exeter tonight, where snow has been causing travel disruption. it is not quite that cold yet, but it feels like it. it has been such a

difficult day for drivers out, particularly across the south—west, in parts of devon and cornwall the snow came on earlier than anticipated and heavier than expected and it caused major issues on major roads. the 838 out of exeter was totally blocked, drivers were stuck there, some of them for “p were stuck there, some of them for up to five hours in stationary traffic, the police had to escort gritters to get them through to clear those roads so that is why people like richard and his tractor here have had a busy day and will be out later this evening, many cars are to be recovered, some of them have one out their clutch is trying to get up hills, the slippery slope in this part of the country, so a difficult afternoon and evening out on the roads and those temperatures are set to drop even lower tonight in parts of scotland and northern england, it could be as low as —15 and even colder. the roads are starting to clear, the police and

authorities think everyone will get home tonight but there was a concern earlier that drivers may be stuck out on the road even though series sub zero temperatures will go into this evening, but there will be disruption into the morning tomorrow, it could be icy and already some schools in this part of the country have announced they will be closed. as we've been reporting, rising flu cases are putting hospitals across the uk under severe pressure and now around 20 hospital trusts in england have declared critical incidents, with patients facing long waits in a&e. several ambulance services have told the bbc that they're working at their highest level of escalation too. 0ur health correspondent, catherine burns, reports. the nhs is fantastic in principle but, as it stands, it is not working. yvonne wolstenholme contacted us. she went to a&e because she was struggling to breathe. she spent 13 hours in a wheelchair and only got a bed by taking matters into her own hands when another patient was moved.

and i literally stripped it and hand—washed it with the soap, another lady gave me a fresh sheet that hadn't been used, and i stayed there for the next two or three hours while i was waiting to go to ward. well, i would apologise, and i think that's not the care that we want to give, and it's not the care my colleagues want to give either. by trade, you're an emergency medicine doctor. how does it feel to you seeing these kind of stories? i absolutely get the distress that both my colleagues and i feel and my patients feel, and that's why i'm working really hard to always try and improve things. and we've really got to work over the next year or two with the government. each winter, the nhs comes under extra pressure to the point that it's now normal to talk about a winter crisis almost every year. this year, part of the problem is the flu. there are around 5,000 patients with it in hospitals in england, and nhs trusts are worried that the cold weather means things could get worse before they get better. so what is the situation right now?

well, we know that about 20 hospital trusts across england have declared critical incidents, which means they can get extra support and call staff back from leave. and look at these posts on social media. trusts from bradford to east sussex, appealing directly to patients. and the same word "busy" pops up over and again. anybody that is suffering i symptoms and not unwell, please do not visit the hospital. anybody that obviously requires treatment, . we will continue to treat. nine out of ten ambulance services in england have told us they've been working at a level known as reap 4, which means extreme pressure. in northern ireland, authorities say demand for care is well in excess of what the health service can provide. there's talk of immense pressure in wales, and the scottish government describes an extraordinary surge in flu cases across the uk. the message to patients is the same — if you need help, it's there,

but please avoid a&e unless it's necessary. catherine burns, bbc news. economists are warning that the chancellor could be forced to cut spending or hike taxes even further in order to meet her fiscal rules after government borrowing reached a nearly 17—year high. the rise has also seen the value of the pound plunge to its lowest level for nine months, but the government has reiterated its commitment to economic stability. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam, is here. talk us through the chancellor's problem here and what it might mean for us. today, the industry paid on government borrowing over ten years, that has gone up to a nearly 17 year high. let's look at a chart of that, and you can see there in the red, it is creeping up in december, and now there is a significant move, 4.8%.

let's bring on the next line, the us, this is happening elsewhere in many would argue that a lot of this has been driven from uncertainty in the us, but that's not the only source factor. it goes up more in the uk, there are specific factors here, concerns about growth and sticky inflation and general that interest rates will not be cut as far as had previously been expected. this is not fed through into mortgage markets but if it stays like this it will do eventually. where it is having a material impact, the government is putting together a new forecast for the end of march and when you have to spend so much money on servicing the big debt, that squeezes the money elsewhere, if you will meet your self—imposed rules, so the government say, we will meet them and if necessary we will adjust our policy and they stress that spending rather than taxes. the bigger picture here though is there are questions for the markets about the

growth strategy in general, what is it? maybe this idea of borrowing lots of money to fund the green transition, right or wrong, will cost the government more. and victoria derbyshire will have more on that story, on newsnight on bbc two shortly. we will dig into those borrowing figures with a lib dems, conservative and labour mp and our political and economic experts, could it mean we are heading for more cuts? welfare is top of the list. see you then. a former uk special forces officer has told a public inquiry into alleged war crimes in afghanistan that the sas had a "golden pass allowing them a "golden pass allowing them to get away with murder". to get away with murder". the officer was one of several the officer was one of several members of special forces members of special forces who registered concerns back in 2011 who registered concerns back in 2011 that the sas appeared to be carrying that the sas appeared to be carrying out executions and covering them up. the worst allegations — out executions and covering them up. richard bilton has the story. richard bilton has the story.

uk special forces are facing uk special forces are facing the worst allegations — that in afghanistan they murdered civilians and covered it up. a public inquiry has heard from senior officers from inside special forces who believe things did go wrong. "i thought and think that on at least some operations the sas "was carrying out murders." another senior officer was equally damning. "the sas had a golden pass, allowing them to get away with murder." and one junior officer said he'd been told young men and children were executed. "i suppose what shocked me most wasn't the execution of potential

well, you weren't there, so you don't understand. these guys do understand and they're still calling it murder. at bbc panorama, we've spent years looking at killings carried out by the sas. our work helped prompt the public inquiry. here in mad ali in helmand, the sas killed nine people after they said they came under fire. so these are the bullet holes? the inquiry noted our evidence of bullet marks low on the wall. the family say people were killed in their sleep.

we also came to musa qala. the sas killed eight people here, including one man who they said grabbed a rifle. emails released by the inquiry show senior officers didn't believe the account. today's evidence matters because it represents views from inside special forces. the inquiry is expected to continue throughout the year. richard bilton, bbc news. a large glass of milk a day may protect you against bowel cancer. scientists say it could lower your chances of getting it by nearly a fifth, though they are still not sure why. 0ur health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, explains. bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the uk, and experts believe poor diet is behind half of the cases. researchers at oxford university, funded by cancer research uk,

looked at data from around 500,000 uk women. the study lasted for more than 16 years. over 12,000 cases of bowel cancer were identified during that time, but researchers found that women who had an extra 300mg of calcium a day in their diets had a 17% lower risk of bowel cancer. that's equivalent to a large glass of milk. but researchers say dark leafy greens, bread and some non—dairy milks, which contain calcium, also had a protective effect. this is the most comprehensive study to look at diet and bowel cancer in a really large number of people with a large number of cases, and we're seeing a really exciting protective effect of dairy, likely due to calcium. and calcium is something that is already added to bread. it's something that's widely available in our foods. and if this could be having a protective effect of bowel cancer, then this

is a really exciting finding. this study also confirmed previous research — that alcohol and processed meat increased the risk of bowel cancer. it's not clear how calcium protects the bowel. one theory is that it may bind to some acids, preventing them from harming the bowel lining. but whatever the reason, scientists do think calcium is probably an important defence in the fight against this cancer. in football, and it was advantage tottenham as they beat liverpool 1—0 in tonight's first leg of their carabao cup semifinal. it took a late spurs winner to decide the tie, with the second leg at anfield next month. natalie pirks reports. enduring a bumpy ride in the league, spurs were hoping the cup would offer some respite. the early signs looked good. what spurs didn't need was another injury. bentancur was given oxygen

after a lengthy delay. liverpool's usually sure—footed keeper had a huge let off in the second half. porro squandering this gift. ange was incensed. after being left on the bench, trent alexander—arnold had a point to prove. dragusin was right on the spot to prevent a goal. spurs thought they had it. but for the first time in english football, fans could hear the referee's decision, and it was not what the home side wanted. bergvall�*s challenge was cheeky, was it worthy of a second yellow? he then pounced to score spurs' winner. liverpool have work to do at anfield. a new high—tech golf tournament, involving the world's best players, has teed off in the us. the tgl, or tomorow�*s golf league, is the brainchild of tiger woods

and rory mcilroy, who says he hopes it can take golf into the 21st century. here's andy swiss. it's golf, but not quite as we know it — some of the world's top stars in an indoor arena, thwacking a ball into a 60—foot screen. this is a giant simulator which then recreates where the ball would have landed — ireland's shane lowry the first to try it, phase one of a unique format. once it's near the hole, play switches to a real green, where ludwig aberg showed the 1,500 fans his very real skills. it's all been devised by tiger woods and rory mcilroy to attract new supporters through innovation. players have just a0 seconds for each shot. the simulator means any setting is possible — in this case, seemingly the grand canyon — while the green is rotated for every hole, and underneath it hundreds of tiny motors change its contours.

was it a hit? well, some certainly enjoyed it.