:00:00. > :00:12.further behind. They could be heavy with rain st w
:00:13. > :00:16.Welcome to BBC London News. Thousands of police civilian staff,
:00:17. > :00:21.including those who handle 999 calls, are out on strike until
:00:22. > :00:29.midnight tonight. The 24`hour walk`out is in protest over a
:00:30. > :00:32.below`inflation pay rise. Scotland Yard says it has plans in place to
:00:33. > :00:35.cover the service. Marc Ashdown has this report.
:00:36. > :00:39.They call themselves the engine room of the Met Police. Civilians who
:00:40. > :00:42.perform vital roles, some on the front line. They should be answering
:00:43. > :00:46.999 calls, manning cells and helping victims of crime, but today, they
:00:47. > :00:52.are on strike. It's the lack of appreciation for what we do. It used
:00:53. > :00:55.to be that we were one team. When we delivered the Olympics last year, we
:00:56. > :01:00.all got little medals saying, you have helped to deliver the Olympics
:01:01. > :01:04.for London. All of a sudden, we are negligible. There are members in my
:01:05. > :01:08.branch who I represent who have to go to food banks, who have to walk
:01:09. > :01:11.to work because they can't afford to put petrol in their car or pay for
:01:12. > :01:15.public transport. All of the cost of living in London has gone so high
:01:16. > :01:19.now. They say a below inflation 1% pay rise is not enough. Around 500
:01:20. > :01:24.staff have walked out at police stations across London. We still
:01:25. > :01:26.have people that work in this organisation who don't receive the
:01:27. > :01:33.London living wage, which the Mayor keeps talking about. And that is sad
:01:34. > :01:36.times. We haven't struck since 977. The Met says demands of the 6% pay
:01:37. > :01:39.rise are unaffordable, and maintains the strike won't affect public
:01:40. > :01:44.safety during the New Year's Eve celebrations. We have well`tested
:01:45. > :01:48.and well`planned contingency for that event, and there will be no
:01:49. > :01:54.adverse impact on policing in London on New Year's Eve. There could be
:01:55. > :01:57.more trouple ahead. It's believed that in the spring, the Met may look
:01:58. > :02:01.at the possibility of privatising a large amount of its civilian
:02:02. > :02:07.operation. That, the union says could put around 4000 jobs at risk.
:02:08. > :02:14.The union says that means further industrial action is inevitable
:02:15. > :02:17.And in the last few minutes, firefighters across the capital have
:02:18. > :02:21.gone on strike as part of their long`running dispute with the
:02:22. > :02:24.Government over pensions. It's the second of three planned walk`outs
:02:25. > :02:28.over the festive period by the Fire Brigades Union. London Fire Brigade
:02:29. > :02:33.say contingency crews will respond to 999 calls.
:02:34. > :02:36.An elderly woman has been airlifted to hospital after suffering burns in
:02:37. > :02:41.a fire in west London this afternoon. 30 firefighters were
:02:42. > :02:51.called to reports of an explosion at a block of flats in Edensor Gardens
:02:52. > :02:54.in Chiswick. Two men were treated at the scene for breathing in smoke.
:02:55. > :02:57.The parents of teenager Jimmy Mizen, who was murdered five years ago in
:02:58. > :03:00.south`east London, have been recognised in the New Years Honour's
:03:01. > :03:03.list. Barry and Margaret Mizen from Lee have both been awarded MBEs for
:03:04. > :03:06.their youth work. Victoria Graham reports.
:03:07. > :03:10.They made a promise to honour his name, and today, in return, they
:03:11. > :03:13.have been honoured. Barry and Margret Mizen, whose son Jimmy was
:03:14. > :03:15.killed in May 2008, have been appointed MBE for their work
:03:16. > :03:23.increasing young people's awareness of the consequences of violent
:03:24. > :03:27.crime. On the night that Jimmy died, in the quiet of my bedroom, I
:03:28. > :03:31.promised Jimmy two things. That was that I would do everything to keep
:03:32. > :03:35.his name alive, and I would dedicate my life to working for peace. And as
:03:36. > :03:38.a family, that is what we want to do. And this MBE, which is
:03:39. > :03:41.wonderful, will help us do that Jimmy was killed the day after his
:03:42. > :03:44.16th birthday, in an attack in Lee, south`east London. Since then, his
:03:45. > :03:49.parents have launched a foundation that aims to help make young people
:03:50. > :03:51.safer. We don't want to carry on living with these fears of going to
:03:52. > :03:55.certain parts of streets, or worrying about our children when
:03:56. > :03:58.they go out. It can change, but it needs all of us to be part of that.
:03:59. > :04:01.Amongst the many messages of congratulations on social media for
:04:02. > :04:09.them today, one simply says, "Your courage, forgiveness and tireless
:04:10. > :04:12.campaigning inspires us all." We are Londoners, and to really be
:04:13. > :04:17.recognised for the work we are doing within London and around the
:04:18. > :04:21.country... It's just amazing. Well, there's just a few hours to go
:04:22. > :04:24.before the chimes of Big Ben usher in the New Year, and tonight around
:04:25. > :04:28.150,000 people are expected to gather on the banks of the Thames
:04:29. > :04:38.for the annual fireworks display. Our reporter, Emma North, has been
:04:39. > :04:43.taking a look at the preparations. Among the usual preparations to keep
:04:44. > :04:48.London safe tonight, one team is gearing up for its busiest evening.
:04:49. > :04:52.If there are people in the water, we will be pulling them out, reassuring
:04:53. > :04:59.them, warming them up and taking them to a place of safety. For us,
:05:00. > :05:04.it can be a very demanding, exciting and interesting night, but we would
:05:05. > :05:09.be perfectly happy to do nothing. Alcohol and the water don't mix and
:05:10. > :05:15.we have a lot of people, not about coal, and some dangerous water. Four
:05:16. > :05:21.people were fished out of the Thames last week, but a lot of the work
:05:22. > :05:27.they do is dealing with those who have enjoyed a bit much to drink and
:05:28. > :05:32.need rescuing from the pleasure boats. Thousands of fireworks will
:05:33. > :05:37.be set off from these barges. The weather isn't expected to get better
:05:38. > :05:42.around midnight, but for the 10 ,000 or so people coming down to the
:05:43. > :05:46.banks of the River Thames, they will get an extra special new sensory
:05:47. > :05:56.treat. Multisensory fireworks for all of London! They are calling it
:05:57. > :06:01.the night of 1000 tonnes, which is a neat combination of pyrotechnics and
:06:02. > :06:06.fruit. We are linking the fireworks and the colours UC in the sky with
:06:07. > :06:11.flavours, so as you see red you will be able to smell strawberries. As
:06:12. > :06:19.you see yellow in the sky, you will be able to see and smell bananas in
:06:20. > :06:25.the air. The science behind banana confetti remains a secret, but it is
:06:26. > :06:27.weatherproof. This is, of course, a London New Year.
:06:28. > :06:31.And, as usual on New Year's Eve free travel will be available across
:06:32. > :06:37.London ` on the Tube, buses, DLR, Tramlink and the Overground `
:06:38. > :06:39.between 11:45pm and 4:30am. What will the weather holds for
:06:40. > :06:50.those New Year's Eve celebrations? A dry interlude of whether at the
:06:51. > :06:54.moment, but we have scattered showers moving towards us as we go
:06:55. > :06:58.through this evening, and it looks like they will be in the west of
:06:59. > :07:04.London as we head towards midnight. With us all in the early hours of
:07:05. > :07:09.2014. They could be quite heavy and will continue into breakfast time
:07:10. > :07:14.tomorrow, eventually clearing away from mid`morning. Yet more wet and
:07:15. > :07:18.windy weather sweeping towards us for New Year's Day. The Met Office
:07:19. > :07:24.has issued some warnings for the rain to the south and west of
:07:25. > :07:28.London. We are back tomorrow lunchtime. From
:07:29. > :07:38.all of us on the BBC London News team, have a happy New Year.
:07:39. > :07:43.Good evening. It looks like mother nature may provide her own
:07:44. > :07:48.pyrotechnics in the run-up to bid night tonight. We have some heavy
:07:49. > :07:54.showers in western parts, starting to ease a bit across Scotland and
:07:55. > :07:58.Northern Ireland. But the showers further south are heavier, with some
:07:59. > :08:02.flashes of lightning as they move eastwards. They do get a bit more
:08:03. > :08:07.hit and miss as we head towards midnight, but a greater chance of
:08:08. > :08:12.getting wet in the south as we move into 2014. Cardiff and London could
:08:13. > :08:19.see heavy downpours. Further north, you could be greeting the New Year
:08:20. > :08:24.on a dry note. A touch of frost in northern and eastern areas going
:08:25. > :08:26.into New Year's Day. A few showers continue into the morning, but on
:08:27. > :08:27.New Year's Day,