04/02/2018 London News

There's more throughout the evening

on the BBC News Channel,

Now on BBC1 its time

for the news where you are.

Good evening, I'm Asad Ahmad.

More now on a fire at a residential

care home in Hertfordshire.

Managers there have promised a "full

and proper investigation" after one

of its elderly residents died.

Another person was critically

injured in the blaze

at the Woodlands View

home in Stevenage.

Richard Smith reports

from the scene.

Investigators trying to piece

together why there was an explosion

and fire at this care home.

At the time 41 people were inside.

Seven have been taken

to hospital, one of those,

a man in his 80s, has since died.

As visitors arrived today

they were met by police.

How could it ever happen?

I can't make out, how

could it have happened?

I am 91, I should be used to hearing

bad news and bad things,

but you never get used to it.

One woman returning to see her

mother described the response

by the emergency services.

I could see flashing lights

going past my mum's window.

It made my children quite upset

to see that something

was going on within this area,

so I went to see what was going

on and it was clear to see

that there was an issue,

but everyone seemed to be on top

and dealing with the situation.

Many of those inside made their own

way out, a few could not.

Five residents were rescued

by the Fire Service with a further

ten lead to safety.

It does appear that there

was an oxygen cylinder in the room

where the fire started and that may

well have played a part in the fire.

There has been a steady stream

of visitors to the home today.

Some family and friends have not

wanted to go on camera but have

spoken of a need to see

for themselves that their

loved ones are safe.

Some have expressed shock

at what has happened.

One woman has praised staff

for maintaining a sense of normality

in other parts of the complex.

Tonight in a statement the home's

owners say the safety of residents

is their number one priority

and their deepest sympathies

are with the family

of the man who died.

One of London's longest serving

leaders in a council which is among

London's most rapidly changing

is facing calls to step down

after over 20 years in charge.

Sir Robin Wales could soon become

the second senior Labour figure

to go after Haringey Council

lost its leader on Tuesday.

And that's all led to some members

voicing concerns about the direction

the party is going in.

Just a few weeks ago,

a magazine described Newham

as a one-party mini-state.

It was referring to its Labour roots

and the fact that in the past two

council elections it has won

every single seat.

Now Sir Robin Wales is backing calls

for open selection which means

he won't automatically remain

as Mayor if Labour win in May.

But he and others say his long

record is a proud one.

If we go back 20 years ago

and we look at education performance

for example in this borough,

it would be very low,

it would have been one

of the lowest in the country,

and that has been transformed.

But politics within Labour appear

to be turning with a contingent

of Labour councillors

challenging their leader's

renomination as Mayor.

This counciller has served

in Sir Robin's cabinet but he has

now turned upon him,

blaming what he called...

The absence of a decent

housing policy.

We are standing here

in the Carpenters' Estate

which we started decanting in 2005.

There are around 389 empty units

here and only last night

they evicted all the sleepers

from the Stratford Centre and gave

them community protection orders

to stop them coming back

while here there are 300 units

they could be sleeping in.

That is a disgrace.

It is important to note

that there is no evidence to suggest

that the increasingly powerful

pro-Corbyn movement momentum

that the increasingly powerful

pro-Corbyn movement Momentum

is behind the calls for a new Mayor.

Council and Labour MPs both say

they just want a fair election.

I think that at the end

of the day you select

the best person for the job.

Robin himself has said let's

have an open selection, let's open

it up and if he is selected

as a candidate...

We just want to go out and fight

so we can return a Labour Mayor

and continue to do good things.

But the Labour Party know that

if Sir Robin is removed,

it will inevitably be seen

as another victory for the left

of the party against Labour's

traditional centre ground.

It's been a chilly day,

so let's get the weather forecast

for tonight and the start

of the week.

for tonight and the start

of the week.

Good evening.

We are entering a very cold

spell of weather indeed.

In fact, tonight we have a Met

Office weather warning

out for snow and ice,

But not just for tonight,

but also into tomorrow

morning, including Monday

morning's rush hour.

Many places are dry overnight,

but we have got some showers coming

in from the Thames estuary.

It is likely to affect mostly

south-eastern areas of the capital

where we could see a few centimetres

of snow, enough to cause

travel disruption.

And those showers are likely

to continue for part

of the day tomorrow,

possibly pushing a little bit

further west, but many places

towards the north and the west

staying mostly dry, just a cold

easterly wind with top

temperatures just five Celsius,

but it will feel colder than that.

Staying cold for the rest

of the week, some freezing fog

maybe on Tuesday morning.

If you get caught up in any snow

tomorrow morning, send us your

pictures. The fastest way to get in

touch with us is on Twitter or on

Facebook.

Our next news on BBC

One at 10.20 tonight.

I hope you can join me then.