0:00:00 > 0:00:01That's
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Good evening from BBC London News, I'm Victoria Hollins.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Tower Hamlets has become the latest London council
0:00:18 > 0:00:21to pay the Met Police directly for more police officers
0:00:21 > 0:00:24in the borough.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27It's paid the force £3 million to have more officers on its estates
0:00:27 > 0:00:30over the next 3 years.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32And the authority says it's already reaping the benefits -
0:00:32 > 0:00:35one estate has seen a fall in the number of crimes,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38with a raid on alleged drug dealers carried out this morning.
0:00:38 > 0:00:44Here's our Political Correspondent Karl Mercer.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It can be a tight squeeze in the lift on the way
0:00:46 > 0:00:47to a drugs bust.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Police, open the door!
0:00:50 > 0:00:52And sometimes things don't quite go according to plan.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Police, open the door!
0:00:56 > 0:00:58But within minutes early this morning,
0:00:58 > 0:01:06this team in Tower Hamlets were in, on the search for drugs.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09He has indicated on this drawer, which contains cannabis grinders.
0:01:09 > 0:01:15There is foil.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Traces of Class A drugs, maybe Class B and also a large weapon.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21As police burst in, bags of what they believe are heroin
0:01:21 > 0:01:23and crack were thrown from the flat.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27The two men inside were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28This operation is part of an intitiative being run
0:01:28 > 0:01:31by the police with the local council,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33which has paid £3 million for extra officers on its estates
0:01:33 > 0:01:35over the next three years.
0:01:35 > 0:01:43The problem is really bad.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47We have schoolchildren coming home.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48They are finding people on the stairwells
0:01:48 > 0:01:54injecting themselves.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58We have
0:01:58 > 0:02:01residents too scared because of drug dealers occupying the area who
0:02:01 > 0:02:04intimidate residents.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05It has been very successful.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08We using not just criminal justice powers, but also working with our
0:02:08 > 0:02:09partners, the local authority.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11We are trying to look at the bigger picture
0:02:11 > 0:02:16and get to the heart of the problem.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And also, it may jeopardise their tenancy.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21The money for the 30 extra estate police will come out
0:02:21 > 0:02:22of Tower Hamlets Council's savings.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And the local mayor, who launched the scheme back in October,
0:02:25 > 0:02:26says it is money well spent.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28We survey our local residents every year.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31They tell us that crime and anti-social behaviour are a concern.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35We have also seen big cuts in police officer numbers because of central
0:02:35 > 0:02:37government spending cuts, which means people don't get
0:02:37 > 0:02:42anything like the response they used to get.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44We have introduced funding for police
0:02:44 > 0:02:45officers funded by the borough.
0:02:45 > 0:02:46We have greater control over what they
0:02:46 > 0:02:48do.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Across the capital, other councils pay for around 350 police
0:02:50 > 0:02:53in their own areas.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56But today the mayor warned once again that police numbers
0:02:56 > 0:03:05in London could drop below 30,000 for the first time in a decade.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08During the course of 18-19, we will have an average
0:03:08 > 0:03:09of 30,000 officers
0:03:09 > 0:03:11across London.
0:03:11 > 0:03:17Don't be surprised if it goes below 30.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18And above 30.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19The average will be 30,000 across London.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22And by the way, we have not had so few officers
0:03:22 > 0:03:23for a long period of time.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25The government insists London does get its fare
0:03:25 > 0:03:27-- fair share of police funding.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28But as the row over funding continues.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32So will the raids.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38Louisa Preston has more on this.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42We heard about Tower Hamlets but 20 other councils across the capital
0:03:42 > 0:03:47are paying for extra officers, literally giving the Met police
0:03:47 > 0:03:51money, something like 350 officers being paid by local authorities and
0:03:51 > 0:03:57we know the Met police are under financial pressure and they have
0:03:57 > 0:04:00already saved £600 million and half to save an extra 400 million and
0:04:00 > 0:04:05they have been selling off police stations, we know the old Scotland
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Yard has disappeared. The number of community support officers has been
0:04:09 > 0:04:16slashed and the number of police officers and the bearer of London
0:04:16 > 0:04:19said there is a concern the critical level of 30,000 could drop, we could
0:04:19 > 0:04:23see the number of officers dropping below 30,000 but on a positive note
0:04:23 > 0:04:28we heard the extra money the Met police asked for from the government
0:04:28 > 0:04:33to fund the Grenfell Tower fire investigation, the mayor told the
0:04:33 > 0:04:37London Assembly he is hearing encouraging signs that they may get
0:04:37 > 0:04:40more money to follow that investigation.Thanks.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46The Mayor Sadiq Khan has lodged an application for a judicial
0:04:46 > 0:04:48review into the decision to release rapist John Worboys.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51The former black-cab driver is believed to have carried out more
0:04:51 > 0:04:54than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on women in London
0:04:54 > 0:04:58between 2002 and 2008.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Two of his victims have also started proceedings against the decision.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06The chief executive of the investment bank JP
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Morgan has told the BBC it could cut its workforce by more
0:05:09 > 0:05:12than a quarter if financial services aren't included in a future trade
0:05:12 > 0:05:18deal with the EU.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20He's warned of long-term damage to London as a financial centre
0:05:20 > 0:05:23if we don't get a Brexit deal based on regulatory alignment,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26but what does that mean and how likely are we to get it?
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Here's our Brexit correspondent Katharine Carpenter.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33They might have escaped to a pocket of Europe outside the EU,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35but the conversation about Brexit never really goes away
0:05:35 > 0:05:39for politicians and business leaders in Davos.
0:05:39 > 0:05:46Today, the Chief Executive of JP Morgan renewed his warning about job
0:05:46 > 0:05:50losses in the City if the UK's financial services get left out
0:05:50 > 0:05:52of a post-Brexit trade deal.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54They determine that you can't have reciprocal trade practices,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56reciprocal regulations.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It will be bad for jobs.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59How many?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01I don't know, it would be a lot, yeah.
0:06:01 > 0:06:024000?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It would be more than 4000.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09The numbers are important because that figure is much higher
0:06:09 > 0:06:12than JP Morgan's previous estimate that only 500-1000 of its staff
0:06:12 > 0:06:16would have to move elsewhere.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19And, if he sees reciprocal regulation as the key to preventing
0:06:19 > 0:06:25jobs leaving London, what does that actually mean?
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's what many here in the City see as the way forward
0:06:28 > 0:06:29for financial services.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Also known as regulatory alignment, it essentially means that the EU
0:06:32 > 0:06:36and UK's laws and rules are a mirror image of one another, with the same
0:06:36 > 0:06:37standards and regulations.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40If either side wants to change something,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42they have to agree on that and, crucially, there's an independent
0:06:43 > 0:06:46body to deal with any disputes.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49That might sound simple but it's got to get agreed by this man,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, who has
0:06:51 > 0:06:54previously ruled out a bespoke trade deal with the UK
0:06:54 > 0:06:57which includes financial services.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00The politics of the situation are going to be the really
0:07:00 > 0:07:05tricky parts to get right.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07You will have heard Emmanuel Macron at the weekend actually talk
0:07:07 > 0:07:09about a continuation of an arrangement specifically
0:07:09 > 0:07:13for financial services.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17But he was very clear, of course, that with any continued access,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20we will need to consider issues like contribution to the budget
0:07:20 > 0:07:26and free movement of people.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29So those are the tricky issues I think that will need to be
0:07:29 > 0:07:35resolved before this agreement can be put in place.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38But as one of the architects of the City's plan, she's confident
0:07:38 > 0:07:40a deal can be reached, and today the Government said
0:07:40 > 0:07:43it was still determined to build a deep and special partnership
0:07:43 > 0:07:44with the EU.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Of course, there are those who say all this talk of possible job losses
0:07:48 > 0:07:51is scaremongering and 4000 jobs are only a small proportion of all
0:07:51 > 0:07:54of those in the City of London.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56And, of course, the timing of this too is politically nuanced,
0:07:56 > 0:08:02as we're about to head into the next phase of negotiations,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04the details of which David Davis is expected to outline tomorrow.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Katharine Carpenter, BBC London News.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13He describes it "as one of the best jobs in the city".
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Aerial photographer Jason Hawkes has been recording London's changing
0:08:15 > 0:08:17skyline for the last twenty years.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22Marc Ashdown took to the skies to meet him.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23It's the most beautiful city.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27It's definitely one of my favourite cities.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30I have shot all around the world but when the weather is nice
0:08:30 > 0:08:32and particularly when the Thames glows, the sun on the water,
0:08:32 > 0:08:33it looks amazing.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36For 20 years, Jason Hawkes has been an eye in the sky,
0:08:36 > 0:08:46documenting our changing capital.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Which means, like most Londoners, he has a mini
0:09:00 > 0:09:02obsession with the weather.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07A lot of the time the weather is rubbish.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10We get that one day every two weeks that is going to be perfect
0:09:10 > 0:09:12for this kind of flying.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14And how the skyline has changed from before
0:09:14 > 0:09:16and after the London Eye, to the Square Mile.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Once fairly low-rise, who'd have thought now
0:09:19 > 0:09:28dominated by a Gherkin, a Cheesegrater and a Walkie-talkie.
0:09:28 > 0:09:29Then there is happening on the extraordinary,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31like Justin Bieber performing in Hyde Park.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34All these people, rather than looking at Justin Bieber,
0:09:34 > 0:09:40they have all got their phones out.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Would you say it is the best job in London?
0:09:43 > 0:09:45It is one of the best jobs, it is good fun.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47On a day like this, obviously it is very cold,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51it is a little bit choppy today, so you can feel a little bit sick,
0:09:51 > 0:09:52but yes, it is great fun.
0:09:52 > 0:09:52but yes, it is great fun.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55That's it for now from me, but lets find out what the weather's
0:09:55 > 0:09:56up to with Nick Miller.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02Thankfully tomorrow's weather will not be rubbish but after sunshine
0:10:02 > 0:10:06today there will be cloudy skies, and a small chance of a shower.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Otherwise it is dry. We have had the odd shower this evening but for the
0:10:11 > 0:10:18rest of the night, holes in the cloud. The temperature could drop to
0:10:18 > 0:10:232-3d. There may be a touch of frost. A lot of morning cloud and a chance
0:10:23 > 0:10:28of a shower and by no means everybody will get one and into the
0:10:28 > 0:10:31afternoon it will brighten up with sunny spells coming through. The
0:10:31 > 0:10:37coldest day of the week. Light winds. If you have sunshine it will
0:10:37 > 0:10:42not be too bad but chilly on Friday evening. Early sunshine on Saturday.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48Cloud and outbreaks of rain on Saturday afternoon. Not amounting to
0:10:48 > 0:10:53too much. The wind is starting to pick up and it will be a windy
0:10:53 > 0:10:58weekend. But a mild weekend. Temperature is higher by Sunday but
0:10:58 > 0:11:04Sunday looking dry.