this is bbc news. wildfires threaten hollywood's best known and landmark. i people are confirmed dead. more than 130,000 have been evacuated. this is the scene live in los angeles where firefighters are struggling to contain fires in and around the city. it contain fires in and around the ci . , ., ., , ., city. it is without words that i can even — city. it is without words that i can even explain _ city. it is without words that i can even explain to - city. it is without words that i can even explain to you . city. it is without words that l i can even explain to you what is taking place, especially in my district in altadena but also the bordering area of pasadena. my heart is heavy. racism and bullying, a former security guard told the bbc what life was like at harrods under mohamed al fayed. targeting the finances of people smuggling networks, the uk's new plans to tackle illegal migration.

at least five wildfires are now raging across los angeles and its neighbouring ventura county. the latest blaze started in the hollywood hills in the past few hours — and has forced more people to evacuate, including in areas dotted with celebrity homes. these strong images we've recently received, show how whole blocks, whole streets — have been scorched — destroyed —— the pictures were filmed wednesday in the pacific palisades area of los angeles. across the city more than 130,000 people have been evacuated — and tens of thousands more have been told to pack and be ready to go. three of the fires are totally uncontained. this map helps us place where those pictures were filmed — the pacific palisades lies between santa monica and malibu. in just hours the fire doubled in size, fuelled by tinder dry conditions and high winds.

further east, inland of the palisades fire, is hollywood. here is the iconic sign — in the hollywood hills — standing right beside where the sunset fire is raging.|n these pictures shot from a helicopter, we can see the city of los angeles in the foreground there — and the hills on fire behind. hollywood is the home of the american movie industry, but of course the events for californians are very real. the 0scar winning actor jamie lee curtis was speaking on nbc�*s tonight show withjimmy fallon. it's f**king gnarly, you guys. it's just a catastrophe in southern california. obviously, there have been horrific fires in many places. this is literally where i live. everything the market, i shop in, the schools my kids go to. friends — many, many, many, many, many friends — now have lost their homes. this is what one of the fires

looks like right now, still burning furiously, and we hear the high winds are due to last — so no let up for the time being. helena humphrey looks back at events over the last day. the only thing that is standing, now it is nothing. fix, standing, now it is nothing. a picture of utter devastation. the flames here 5, sparing nothing in their path, not their gritty houses have pacific palisades nor the hillsides. it pacific palisades nor the hillsides.— pacific palisades nor the hillsides. it is not 'ustice community. h hillsides. it is not 'ustice community, the h hillsides. it is notjustice i community, the community hillsides. it is notjustice - community, the community next door, _ community, the community next door, i_ community, the community next door, i am — community, the community next door, i am sure all the people here _ door, i am sure all the people here have _ door, i am sure all the people here have everything, it is just— here have everything, it is just pretty devastating. i don't _ just pretty devastating. i don't think la are seen anything like this before. gur anything like this before. our house is definitely on fire. our— house is definitely on fire. our house _ house is definitely on fire. our house will— house is definitely on fire. our house will be - house is definitely on fire. our house will be next. i house is definitely on fire. i our house will be next. more

people are being told to evacuate their homes. faced with the agonising decision of what to take and what to leave behind. ., ., ., ~' what to take and what to leave behind. ., ., ., 4' ., what to take and what to leave behind. ., ., ., ~ ., ,., behind. you look at something, ou behind. you look at something, you think. _ behind. you look at something, you think. i _ behind. you look at something, you think, i can _ behind. you look at something, you think, i can let _ behind. you look at something, you think, i can let that - behind. you look at something, you think, i can let that go - you think, i can let that go and i took photographs and things that meant something, a little figuring that my daddy bought for me when i was five, those kinds of things. southern california is used to wildfires, but not like this. january is supposed to bring rain. instead, the ground is tinder dry. palisades, the first blaze to break out on tuesday, has now become the most destructive in la's history. hurricane—strength winds fanning the flames. some desperately trying to protect their homes. i know this looks pretty stupid, but if i can save one ember from burning down my house, i'll take the risk. the downtown of pacific palisades is nearly wiped out. its celebrity—filled suburbs, home to tom hanks, ben affleck and reese witherspoon, now deserted. vice president kamala

harris's los angeles residence also affected. what residents will return to no—one knows. i'll be ok. i'm tough and we'll start over. you are tough. even though i'm 91 years old, i'll start over again. 0n the ground, there's limited water supply. the wildfires have caused massive issues for power supply too, affecting 1.5 million people. and it is surreal. it is without words - that i can even explain to you what is taking place. my heart is heavy, but i have to say, resources, both - financial, but also resources for boots on the ground - are here and we're going to continue to fight this fight. | but promises of help will do little to calm fears. scientists warn that wildfires in the region are growing

faster and more unpredictable, fuelled by climate change. as residents watch the orange haze on the horizon, all they can do is wonder what the next hours will bring. helena humphrey, bbc news, los angeles. people living in the pacific palisades area nearby addresses have been bored to used only boiled or bottled water for cooking until further notice. as we have said, there are now at least five fires burning across the los angeles region. the woodley and 0livas fires have been contained. they are spread across a wide area — threatening coastal areas, communities near the hills, and two are close to central urban areas. 0ne is in the hollywood hills — which has led to scenes like this on the famous hollywood boulevard. the city's fire chief said as many resources as possible were being brought in to try to stop the spread of the fires, but so far, that task had proved impossible. the fire has been mapped this

afternoon at 10,600 acres, and it is still growing. we have 0% containment. we have over 750 firefighting personnel assigned on the line, and mutual aid resources from out of state, including arizona, have arrived to assist us with this firefight. let's show you now the moment one man in the pacific palisades had to flee his home — as the fire took hold. this was filmed by tanner charles — who was helping defend the house when it became too dangerous to stay. god protect this house in the name ofjesus, protect this neighbourhood. name of jesus, protect this neighbourhood.— name of jesus, protect this neighbourhood. this tree is auoin to neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill— neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill us. _ neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill us. there - neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill us. there is . going to kill us. there is nothing _ going to kill us. there is nothing we _ going to kill us. there is nothing we can - going to kill us. there is nothing we can do - going to kill us. there is nothing we can do now, | going to kill us. there is - nothing we can do now, bro. nothing we can do now. let's get out of here! we tried, we

tried, sorry. we tried our best. i'm sorry, bro. let's get out of here. tyler bridges is a resident of pasadena — and he and his fiancee chose to stay in their house despite officials recommending they leave late on wednesday evening. he told us about his experience. kind of nightmarish, a little bit, like armageddon. you know, it started with really, really powerful winds. you know, we get santa ana winds here, which is pretty common, but these were, i think, far worse than normal. you know, winds, gusts, you know, coming in at 85 miles an hour.

and, at first, that was scary enough because you have, you know, tree branches getting thrown around and falling on cars and on fences and on houses. and then the fire started and, you know, there's no way to stop or contain a fire that the winds are that powerful. and and itjust, it came so fast. and i think, like one of you guys said that, you know, it was raining ash. you go outside and ash would slam into your eyes and your face and your mouth, and it's hard to breathe, you're coughing and the worst part is the closer to the fires you get, the darker it gets. and very black, very dark. and, so, last night was a really scary time, i think, for pasadenans. i spoke to cbs news correspondent danya bacchus who is in la. she's in the pacific palisades area and described the impact the fire has had there and across the city.

i am in pacific palisades. it is a neighbourhood in los angeles. and we have been able to drive through the neighbourhoods here, the different areas and see that level of destruction caused by the pacific palisades fire. i mean, you are going through neighbourhoods and seeing home after home levelled. we also went to an area known as the village here, it has a lot of different shops and restaurants and grocery stores. all of that is completely destroyed. we were able to travel to altadena california, where fire has killed five people and exploded to more than 10,000 acres there. we were walking through the business district. i mean, you can't even begin to recognise the buildings that once stood there. some of them are still smouldering as we were walking through this evening. so right now what we are seeing is a lot of people really taking in the damage that has been done by all of these fires. also tonight, still a very active fire scene. even as we were driving to where we are now, we could still see the glow from the

palisades fire. we also know there was another fire that blew up in the hollywood hills area of los angeles that prompted evacuations. again, thousands of people trying to leave, because at this point in los angeles i think many people know that at a moment's time they are going to have to leave because they are able to see just how destructive these fires have been. everyone here is on edge. and what is the latest with efforts to try and contain those fires? firefighters are continuing to work throughout the night and there are multiple agencies from other states who are now coming to los angeles to join in on that fire fight. i have to tell you, that wind here have died down significantly. last night we were dealing with wind gusts of up to 60 mph where i am right now. and we just checked, wind gust here is at eight miles per hour. so that makes a huge difference in terms of the firefighting efforts. that means that firefighters

are able now to predict which way the fire is going to be burning. last night those erratic winds would send embers up to two miles away, so firefighters weren't able to predict where it was going. they also were not able to fly water—dropping aircraft that help to control the fires and make progress on the fire, so we are hoping tonight that, because the winds have died down significantly and they are expected to remain at this level, that there will be some progress made. but show you the scene live now. we are hearing about wind speed. they have died down but there are expectations that they are going to strengthen again throughout the day with gusts of up to a0 mph forecast across los angeles this afternoon. it isjust across los angeles this afternoon. it is just past 3am local time with more than 137,000 people evacuated so far in what has become the most

destructive wildfire in la's history. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

a warning now that some viewers may find our next story upsetting and offensive. a former security guard at harrods has been speaking exclusively to bbc radio 5 live about the "clear racism" and bullying he saw during mohamed al fayed s ownership of the department store. the bbc has heard from scores of women who say they were sexually assaulted or raped by mohamad al fayed when he owned the knightsbridge store. that followed a documentary in september, which included 20 women's claims about al fayed s behaviour. harrods said they were utterly appalled by the abuse allegations, and that harrods is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by al fayed . 5 live's clare mcdonnell told us more about this. mohamed al fayed back in 1995

sued vanity fair magazine. they allege that he was racist, alleged sexual misconduct. he vehemently denied the allegations in the case was settled out of court but i have been speaking to a former security guard at harrods, a man we are calling henry, and he says, over the course of two interviews, that mohamed al fayed before he did is daily morning rounds on the harrods shop floor, black members of staff would be asked to leave the shop or secret passageway into the road into an office opposite harrods and then when mohamed al fayed had left the shop floor they would be invited back in. his shop floor they would be invited back in. his words are soken invited back in. his words are spoken by — invited back in. his words are spoken by an _ invited back in. his words are spoken by an actor. - invited back in. his words are spoken by an actor. when - invited back in. his words are spoken by an actor. when he| spoken by an actor. when he came — spoken by an actor. when he came on— spoken by an actor. when he came on the shop floor you would _ came on the shop floor you would see a lot of movement. for example, i don't how to say this nice. — for example, i don't how to say this nice, you would see the women. _ this nice, you would see the women, who the world sees as attractive — women, who the world sees as attractive would stay on the floor— attractive would stay on the floor and those who the world do not — floor and those who the world do not consider to be attractive all of a sudden you would — attractive all of a sudden you would see a beeline of them

leaving _ would see a beeline of them leaving. beauty apothecary, blackall, white all the store, you would see them making a beeline — you would see them making a beeline to exit.— beeline to exit. who would sta ? beeline to exit. who would stay? what _ beeline to exit. who would stay? what kind _ beeline to exit. who would stay? what kind of- beeline to exit. who would stay? what kind of women| beeline to exit. who would - stay? what kind of women would be allowed to stay behind? we are talking young, thin, blonde. _ are talking young, thin, blonde, this type. and nobody had to— blonde, this type. and nobody had to tell them to leave. it was — had to tell them to leave. it was like _ had to tell them to leave. it was like robotic. and you would know _ was like robotic. and you would know something was happening because — know something was happening because a security guard to be moving — because a security guard to be moving around, the command staff— moving around, the command staff at — moving around, the command staff at the security would be manoeuvring through very quickly— manoeuvring through very quickly and people knew then that something was going to happen _ that something was going to happen. where did they go? the staff area — happen. where did they go? the staff area. if you go to dock number— staff area. if you go to dock number three, staff area. if you go to dock numberthree, it is staff area. if you go to dock number three, it is an escalator that goes down under the road — escalator that goes down under the road into the other building and this is where those _ building and this is where those people head. henry told us he was _ those people head. henry told us he was never _ those people head. henry told us he was never close - those people head. henry told us he was never close enough| those people head. henry told l us he was never close enough to mohamed al fayed to hear how he interacted with those who were allowed to stay on the shop floor but i asked him for further clarification of why he thought some people were asked

to leave the shop floor before mohamed al fayed did these rounds. ., .. , ., , rounds. the level of racism was very clear- _ rounds. the level of racism was very clear- l _ rounds. the level of racism was very clear. i don't _ rounds. the level of racism was very clear. i don't know - rounds. the level of racism was very clear. i don't know if - very clear. i don't know if they— very clear. i don't know if they were instructed to do that but it— they were instructed to do that but it seemed very much like the protocol that the black people _ the protocol that the black people would disappear. every now and — people would disappear. every now and then you would see one black— now and then you would see one black person in a particular beauty— black person in a particular beauty station or luxury retail or something like this. someone had to— or something like this. someone had to have been given instructions, why would they all lead? _ instructions, why would they all lead? why would they head out? _ all lead? why would they head out? ~ .. .. all lead? why would they head out? t ., ., ., , , all lead? why would they head out? ., ., ., , f, out? what have other stuff been sa in: out? what have other stuff been saying about _ out? what have other stuff been saying about these _ out? what have other stuff been saying about these claims? - out? what have other stuff been saying about these claims? we i saying about these claims? we have saying about these claims? - have spoken to other women in various roles at harrods who have corroborated henry's claims. there was one woman called anna whose job was to hire people and she was told, she told us not to hire black people as, i quote, customers wouldn't like it. someone else said they asked us to leave the shop floor, those who are overweight. henry said there was a culture of fear and bullying that stem from mohamed

al fayed and it was all about fear of losing yourjob. he told as a whole system at harrods and let women down with the various assault allegations and he said he wanted other security guards i him to come forward now in the way he has to talk about what they might have seen and known.- have seen and known. have harrods responded - have seen and known. have harrods responded to - have seen and known. have harrods responded to these allegations? lode harrods responded to these allegations?— harrods responded to these alleaations? . ., ., ., , allegations? we asked harrods for a response _ allegations? we asked harrods for a response and _ allegations? we asked harrods for a response and they - for a response and they referred us to our previous statement they gave to their bbc following their bbc documentary and they said they were utterly appalled by the abuse allegations and they said harrods to date are very different organisation to the one owned and run by mohamed al fayed. one owned and run by mohamed al fayed. and if you've been affected by issues in this discussion, there is a range of organisations and websites discussion, there is a range that can offer you advice and support. you can find them listed on the bbc�*s actionline website at bbc.co.uk/actionline. if you have information about this story that you would like to share please get in touch.

please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a bbc journalist. alarm bells are going off in financial markets as concerns mount about the uk's economic outlook. the pound has fallen to its lowest level for 1a months as uk government borrowing costs continue to rise, surging to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. economists are warning that the chancellor rachel reeves could be forced to cut spending or hike taxes as the government tries to meet its self—imposed borrowing target. mel stride questioned the government spending. millions of hard-working _ government spending. millions of hard-working people - government spending. millions of hard-working people up - government spending. millions of hard-working people up and| of hard—working people up and down our country are now having to pay the price for yet another socialist government taxing and spending their way into trouble. does the right honourable gentleman not now

accept that it is time to change course? i accept that it is time to change course?- accept that it is time to change course? accept that it is time to chance course? .. , ., change course? i am pleased the riaht change course? i am pleased the right honourable _ change course? i am pleased the right honourable gentleman - right honourable gentleman enjoyed my performance. i haven't— enjoyed my performance. i haven't even had my first cup of coffee _ haven't even had my first cup of coffee yet this morning. let me answer some of his questions. the honourable members should listen if the questions are so important to them — questions are so important to them he _ questions are so important to them. he asked me about the fiscal— them. he asked me about the fiscal rules. as i said in my statement, they are non—negotiable. as a chancellor set out — non—negotiable. as a chancellor set out in — non—negotiable. as a chancellor set out in the budget, we have day—to—day spending... debt day—to—day spending. .. debt should — day—to—day spending... debt should be _ day—to—day spending... debt should be falling and he talked about — should be falling and he talked about the debt this country has — about the debt this country has we _ about the debt this country has. we should reflect on how we have — has. we should reflect on how we have this debt. pre—pandemic, if you look at the burden of debt inherited by this government from the party opposite — this government from the party opposite from 2010 onwards, why did the _ opposite from 2010 onwards, why did the last government after borrie — did the last government after borrie so _ did the last government after borrie so much money every single — borrie so much money every single month, notjust to invest— single month, notjust to invest but to pay the

day—to—day bills? because of an absolute — day—to—day bills? because of an absolute failure to get growth into the — absolute failure to get growth into the economy. they could not make _ into the economy. they could not make the numbers add up, they— not make the numbers add up, they stacked up the country but my credit — they stacked up the country but my credit card, the left us to deal— my credit card, the left us to deal with— my credit card, the left us to deal with it and we are going to deal— deal with it and we are going to deal with it. that is why they— to deal with it. that is why they are _ to deal with it. that is why they are non—negotiable and public— they are non—negotiable and public spending will be in the number— public spending will be in the number set out in the budget. we conclude injune. public services _ we conclude injune. public services will have to live within _ services will have to live within their means. the chancellor has been very clear about — chancellor has been very clear about that and that is why with this government get economic stability— this government get economic stability and absolute clarity in public spending and that is why 1545 00:21: