0:00:00 > 0:00:01Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
0:00:01 > 0:00:01Have a very good night.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Good evening.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13I'm Asad Ahmad.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16There was panic on the streets of the West End this afternoon,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18as shoppers reported hearing gunfire.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Many who were taking advantage of one of the busiest
0:00:21 > 0:00:24shopping days of the year ran for cover.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26The police response was swift, but officers said there was no
0:00:27 > 0:00:30evidence of a weapon being fired.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Tonight, shops along Oxford Street, including
0:00:32 > 0:00:36the department store John Lewis, shut their doors early.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Our reporter Chris Rogers was in the area
0:00:38 > 0:00:41in the immediate aftermath.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45It's one of the busiest shopping days in one of the country's
0:00:45 > 0:00:49busiest shopping districts.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Everything the emergency services rehearse and plan for put
0:00:53 > 0:00:57into action just moments after reports of gunfire.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Keep on moving!
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Keep on moving!
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Lockdown in Oxford Street.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07We were having dinner at a restaurant, so we sat
0:01:07 > 0:01:09at a window, and then we looked and everybody started
0:01:09 > 0:01:12panicking and running, so we were like, what's going on?
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The police came, and everybody started panicking,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18and then everybody had to lay down on the ground and they had
0:01:18 > 0:01:20to make sure we were safe.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22As we move towards the scene to investigate, thousands
0:01:22 > 0:01:26of shoppers are being pushed back.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30It's unnerving.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39As the cordon gets wider, shop by shop, department store
0:01:39 > 0:01:45by department store, people are evacuated and moved on.
0:01:47 > 0:01:54People are scared, emotional, furious, but orderly.
0:01:55 > 0:02:04-- Kia Reus -- curious.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Then, panic.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10What happened?
0:02:12 > 0:02:15All of a sudden, people that were on the street
0:02:15 > 0:02:17are being moved up Regent Street, and they suddenly turned
0:02:17 > 0:02:18around and ran back.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22There was a lot of panic, women falling on the pavement,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24people pushing and shoving.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29We think it was startled by barriers being moved,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33which perhaps people mistook for gunshots.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36We are told to be vigilant, and the emergency services
0:02:36 > 0:02:38clearly take no chances.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40The cordon has just got even bigger.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42We are being pushed further down Regent Street, away
0:02:42 > 0:02:43from Oxford Circus station.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46For a while, press were allowed to film the evacuation.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Now we are being pushed right back, we are told, for our own safety.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53At the moment, there seems to be a lot of panic,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55a lot of people scared, and a lot of people not quite
0:02:55 > 0:03:00knowing what's going on.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04We are told to keep calm and carry on, and we famously do so.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07But what I witnessed today was the tension and panic among many
0:03:08 > 0:03:11that lies close beneath the surface.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Do we know anything more about what sparked the alarm?Nope, still
0:03:24 > 0:03:28confusion, but we just heard from the British Transport Police, who
0:03:28 > 0:03:32say their officers and the Metropolitan Police were called at
0:03:32 > 0:03:364:37pm over reports of shots being fired and officers were quickly on
0:03:36 > 0:03:40the scene. They say officers believe there was an altercation between two
0:03:40 > 0:03:45men on the platform and they'd now like to speak to these people and
0:03:45 > 0:03:49they have released CCTV images. They believe they have information about
0:03:49 > 0:03:52the incident and circumstances around it. They also want to speak
0:03:52 > 0:03:57to anybody at the station at the time. We have spoken to a lot of
0:03:57 > 0:04:01people, and many are adamant that they heard gunfire. Police still
0:04:01 > 0:04:05insist there was no evidence of a gun being shot at the scene. They
0:04:05 > 0:04:10haven't found a suspect. There was one casualty, and we clearly saw
0:04:10 > 0:04:13more in the panic that followed. Sadiq Khan has praised the emergency
0:04:13 > 0:04:16services for their rapid, and well rehearsed response.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18A leading motoring organisation is warning that,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20if police don't start treating thefts from cars more seriously,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23London could be on the brink of a crimewave.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26It comes as BBC London found that almost 99%
0:04:26 > 0:04:30of thefts from vehicles don't result in convictions,
0:04:30 > 0:04:31and often aren't even investigated.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Here's Alex Bushill.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37How seriously should we expect the police
0:04:37 > 0:04:38to take this sort of crime?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40How much should the police, well, police?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The Met have now said that, because of budget cuts,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46cutting car crime isn't as much of a priority and they
0:04:46 > 0:04:49will only investigate if there is video evidence.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52According to Seb Stevenson, they won't then either.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57The last thief, he took this tool box twice.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The same tool box, he took it twice.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04He has had his van outside his Croydon home broken into many times.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07That's why he has CCTV on his house.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09But, when he caught a thief on camera, he says
0:05:09 > 0:05:11the police still did nothing.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13It's an absolute free-for-all.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16The thieves know at the moment they will not be prosecuted.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20It's advertised on the radio and TV that the police will not
0:05:20 > 0:05:22prosecute these thieves.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24It's a free-for-all.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28That's why he has put up this poster to try to find his thief.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32He no longer bothers reporting anything to the police.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35BBC London can reveal that in the capital there were just over
0:05:35 > 0:05:3853,000 reported offences of thefts from motor vehicles,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41of which 796 were proceeded against.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46That means only 1.5% of these crimes actually led
0:05:46 > 0:05:48to charges being brought.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51So what was the Met's response to the criticism that this is now
0:05:51 > 0:05:54a free-for-all for criminals?
0:05:54 > 0:05:55In a statement they said: For the AA, it is deeply worrying
0:06:10 > 0:06:14so few are being convicted.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16They want a dedicated car crime unit, that the Met
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Once the criminals know these crimes will not be investigated,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23it can then lead to a crime because people basically know
0:06:23 > 0:06:25they will get away with it.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27What's more, it's not just phones and laptops being nicked.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30As this photos shows, airbags and steering wheels are too,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32with worrying implications.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34If airbags are being stolen, a proportion of those
0:06:34 > 0:06:40are going into cars that will crash, and the airbags have gone off.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43The airbags have been put in, but they won't work.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46He says potentially putting lives at risk.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48These latest crime figures are controversial, as is any
0:06:48 > 0:06:52decision to no longer investigate fully all car crime.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56But then who said budget cuts would be easy?
0:06:59 > 0:07:02That's it for now from me, but let's find out what
0:07:02 > 0:07:03the weather's up to with Stav.
0:07:04 > 0:07:04the weather's up to with Stav.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Good evening. A cold and frosty night leading into a cold weekend,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16but for many of us it should be dry with some trying. Tomorrow is
0:07:16 > 0:07:21looking good across the board but cold, five or six at best, and with
0:07:21 > 0:07:25a strong north-westerly wind to make it feel even colder. Similar on
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Sunday, after a cold and frosty start a bit of cloud building up
0:07:28 > 0:07:32across western areas later. Next week is going to remain cold.