Commuters are being warned of icy roads and travel disruption, as temperatures plummeted again overnight across the UK.

Fresh weather warnings have been issued, with snow, ice and fog forecast across southern England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland on Thursday.

It will be mainly dry elsewhere with winter sunshine, but temperatures could fall again to as low as -16C on Thursday night.

The cold snap has already brought heavy snowfall to some areas, and dozens of flood alerts and warnings are in place due to either heavy rain or melting snow.

On Wednesday the lowest temperature recorded was -8.4C (16F) in Shap, Cumbria, according to the Met Office.

It comes as an amber cold health alert remains in place for all of England until Sunday, meaning the forecast weather is expected to have significant impacts across health - including a rise in deaths.

The Met Office says travel disruption to road and rail services is likely on Thursday in areas covered by warnings, as well potential for accidents in icy places.

There are five warnings in place:

• A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday
• A yellow warning for ice has been issued until 10:30 across southern England and south-east Wales
• Two yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force until 11:00 GMT - one across western Wales and north-west England, and south-west England; and another for Northern Ireland
• A yellow warning for fog until 09:00 in Northern Ireland

On Wednesday snow caused some roads to close and motorists to be stationary for "long periods of time" in Devon and Cornwall, according to authorities there.

Gritters working into Thursday morning have been fitted with ploughs to clear routes in the area.

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

"Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow," said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.

National Rail have also advised passengers to check before they travel, as ice and snow can mean speed restrictions and line closures.

On Wednesday evening, poor weather was affecting Northern and Great Western Railway.

Buses are also replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog until Monday.

• Get the forecast in your area on BBC Weather

The wintry conditions have caused significant disruption across the UK since snow swept many parts of the country at the weekend.

Hundreds of schools were closed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including schools in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the Midlands and Aberdeenshire.

The country has also been hit by widespread flooding in recent days. Currently there are 68 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - in England and three in Wales.

The weather is expected to be less cold over the weekend.

The Prince of Wales has wished his wife, Catherine, a happy birthday as she turns 43.

"To the most incredible wife and mother. The strength you've shown over the last year has been remarkable," William wrote in a message posted on social media.

"George, Charlotte, Louis and I are so proud of you. Happy Birthday, Catherine. We love you. W."

The princess has returned to royal duties after having preventative chemotherapy treatment as a result of being diagnosed with cancer last year.

Kensington Palace posted the personal written message from William alongside a previously unseen picture of Catherine taken by Matt Porteous in Windsor last summer.

The black and white picture showed the princess looking relaxed and smiling, wearing jeans, a white shirt and a scarf.

The Royal Family also wished her a happy birthday.

The monarchy's official media account shared a message on X saying: "Happy Birthday to The Princess of Wales!" along with a birthday cake emoji.

The post also had a photo of Catherine collecting flowers from wellwishers while attending church in Sandringham on Christmas Day.

That was the last time the Prince and Princess of Wales were seen together in public.

Some local councils in England would need to see at least a five-fold increase in new housing to meet government targets, analysis by BBC Verify suggests.

The BBC's figures lay out the immense challenge Labour has set itself in government with its "milestone" of building 1.5 million new homes in England over five years.

In total, 16 local authorities across England have new annual targets that are five times or more what they have recently delivered.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said setting a specific target will "give the British people the power to hold our feet to the fire".

With that in mind, the BBC has created a new online tool for tracking the government's progress towards this key goal.

Type in your postcode and see the house building situation in your own area.

The government has also set annual housing targets for each local authority in England, based on what it judges their contribution to the overall total should be.

The most demanding target is for the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which has been set a target for new homes nearly 22 times its recent average.

The target for Sevenoaks in Kent is five times what it has been delivering on average in recent years, while the target for Portsmouth is more than eight times the average.

These specific targets will enable us to incorporate information into the tracker on what's happening on house building in every district in England.

It will show the number of homes added in an area and compare it with the local target set by ministers.

Our postcode lookup tool also shows the share of planning applications for new homes granted permissions in an area in the most recent year there is data for, and compares it with the England-wide average rate, so you can judge whether your council is approving enough building plans.

The tracker will be updated when relevant official data becomes available.

Hugely ambitious

The new government has described its housebuilding objective as "hugely ambitious" and that is no exaggeration.

To deliver 1.5 million homes, defined as "net additional dwellings", over five years implies a strike rate of about 300,000 a year - a number not achieved since the 1970s.

But while the England-wide target is highly ambitious in a historical context, the targets handed down to some local authorities are arguably even more so.

To create our postcode tracker we processed local data on:

• the number of annual net additional dwellings required
• the number of net additional dwellings created on average each year since 2021
• recent residential planning decisions by councils.

BBC Verify's analysis shows Kensington and Chelsea, a London borough, has been given a target of 5,107 new homes every year for the next five years. But the borough delivered an average of only 236 net additional dwellings between 2021-22 and 2023-24.

It did, however, approve 89% of planning applications for housing in the year to June 2024, considerably higher than the national rate of 71%.

Portsmouth, on the south coast, also has a very stretching target. The local council is being asked to deliver 1,021 new homes per year, almost nine times the 120 it delivered on average over the most recent three years.

Hastings has been tasked with a smaller total: 710. But this is still five times the 142 it has delivered on average in recent years.

Portsmouth approved 74% of residential planning applications in the year to June 2024 and Hastings 75%.

Councils were consulted on the targets last summer, with many expressing concerns they were "unrealistic", and the numbers were revised.

Councillor Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea, said it was "out of touch to let algorithms set targets without understanding local context".

"You only have to walk through the streets of our densely built borough to see how unachievable it would be to build 5,107 homes a year here; this borough is only 4.5 miles squared."

She said there were two major sites in the borough that would provide 6,000 new homes in total.

Councillor Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing at Portsmouth City Council, said the target "does not work" because "most of the city is an island" with a dense population and "important heritage and natural assets".

"Portsmouth has approved more than 4,000 new homes in 2023 and 2024. Any lack of delivery is down to the rising cost of development," he said, "not whether the council approves them."

Sevenoaks councillor Julia Thornton said it was a "top priority" to protect greenbelt land, but added: "We will have a duty to do everything possible to meet the government's new housing targets."

Sir Keir's housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, has said if councils fail to deliver enough houses the government could intervene.

"The government can take a local plan off a local authority that is resisting putting one in place, and we are absolutely willing to do it, if we have evidence that [they] are refusing to comply," he told the BBC.

The obstacles

The government said it had "inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory" and "all areas must play their part".

It has set out "a major planning overhaul… unblocking barriers to building, and setting out targets for councils to ramp up housebuilding, so new homes are built where they are most needed."

Most housing experts agree planning reform is necessary.

Yet analysts say it is not the only obstacle.

The construction industry has warned it is dealing with a chronic shortage of skilled workers.

The Home Builders Federation has cited aging workers and Brexit as some of the factors behind shortages.

The Construction Industry Training Board estimates the sector needs to attract the equivalent of 50,300 extra workers per year to meet the levels of work expected.

There are also concerns about the availability of basic building materials including bricks and timber.

The Construction Leadership Council has warned a shortage of these could hinder the government's ability to get near its target.

Finally, many housing experts doubt private housebuilders are capable of delivering enough new homes each year to reach the targets.

This is because private housebuilders have a commercial interest in not building so many new homes that their average price declines.

The Competition and Markets Authority concluded in February 2024 "private developers produce houses at a rate at which they can be sold without needing to reduce their prices".

A sharp decline in residential planning permissions in England in the year to June 2024 - hitting a new record low - was due to a collapse in applications from private builders, not a decline in the share of applications being approved by local authorities.

This collapse in applications probably reflected the impact of still-high mortgage interest rates and high house prices relative to average incomes, undermining the ability of people to afford newly built houses.

That's why some argue meeting the government's targets will also require a major increase in Whitehall grants to not-for-profit local housing associations, enabling them to build tens of thousands of new social and affordable homes, mainly to be rented out, in the coming years.

Interactive tool developed by Allison Shultes, Scott Jarvis and Steven Connor

About the data

Annual data on new homes for England comes from the government's "net additional dwellings" statistics.

These figures are estimates of changes in the total number of homes in each area, taking account of new build homes and existing building conversions, minus any demolitions.

The targets are the government's new "local housing need" calculations, released following a public consultation.

Planning statistics are taken from quarterly data and combine applications decided for "minor" housing developments (fewer than 10 homes) and "major" schemes (10 homes or more).

The planning data for England is at local authority level. Applications decided by special authorities, such as those in charge of national parks, are not included.

We have included the latest data on new housebuilding "completions" by local authority area for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the 1.5 million homes target applies only in England.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

The pound has fallen to its lowest level for nine months after UK government borrowing costs continued to rise.

The drop came as UK 10-year borrowing costs surged to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis when bank borrowing almost ground to a halt.

Economists have warned the rising costs could lead to further tax rises or cuts to spending plans as the government tries to meet its self-imposed borrowing target.

The government said it would not say anything ahead of the official borrowing forecast from its independent forecaster due in March.

"I'm obviously not going to get ahead ... it's up to the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) to make their forecasts."

"Having stability in the public finances is precursor to having economic stability and economic growth," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride claimed that the Chancellor's significant spending and borrowing plans from the Budget are "making it more expensive for the government to borrow".

"We should be building a more resilient economy, not raising taxes to pay for fiscal incompetence," he said in a post on X.

Gabriel McKeown, head of macroeconomics at Sad Rabbit Investments, said the rise in borrowing costs "has effectively eviscerated Reeves' fiscal headroom, threatening to derail Labour's investment promises and potentially necessitate a painful recalibration of spending plans."

The warning comes after the cost of borrowing over 30 years hit its highest level for 27 years on Tuesday.

Meanwhile the pound dropped by as much as 1.1% to $1.233 against the dollar, marking its lowest level since April last year.

The government generally spends more than it raises in tax. To fill this gap it borrows money, but that has to be paid back - with interest.

One of the ways it can borrow money is by selling financial products called bonds.

Globally, there has been a rise in the cost of government borrowing in recent months sparked by investor concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump's plans to impose new tariffs on goods entering the US from Canada, Mexico and China would push up inflation.

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget in October, which increased borrowing, may have had a small impact but said the UK rises were similar to those in the US.

"In the UK higher yields put pressure on government finances and increase the risk that Reeves will come back with another tax raising Budget," he said.

But he also said the current rises in borrowing costs could be "a storm in a tea cup which dissipates quickly."

The official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will start the process of updating its forecast on government borrowing next month to be presented to parliament in late March.

Police are investigating the illegal release of two lynx in the Highlands and have urged the public not to approach the wild cats.

The alarm was raised at about 16:20 when they were spotted in the Drumguish area, near to Kingussie.

Specially trained staff from the Highland Wildlife Park are assisting officers to trace the animals.

The Cairngorms National Park Authority said they were shy and a "low risk" to humans but added they should not be approached.

A spokesperson said: "We condemn the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and we are also concerned for the welfare of the lynx that have been released."

The authority also said people should not attend the area and appealed to anyone with information about the lynx to contact police.

The wild cats were once native to Britain, but were driven to extinction 500 to 1,000 years ago.

But some conservation groups have been campaigning to have the wild cats reintroduced to Scotland.

Lynx to Scotland, a three-charity partnership working to restore lynx to the Scottish Highlands, said it had been made aware of the release.

Peter Cairns, executive director of Scotland: The Big Picture, one of the charities involved, said: "The Lynx to Scotland Project knows nothing of the origin of these two lynx, their history, health status, or who may have released them.

"We understand the frustration of all those who wish to see lynx restored to the Scottish landscape, but an illegal release is not the way to achieve that aim."

Mr Cairns said the project had never supported or condoned illegal releases.

He added: "This is unwelcome and grossly irresponsible, but comes at the worst possible time, when stakeholders are engaging in good faith with productive discussions about the possibility of a responsibly managed and fully resourced legal reintroduction."

RSPB Scotland said it was collaborating with the police, relevant governing bodies and partner organisations.

A spokesperson said: "Whilst we support lynx reintroduction as a formerly native species to Scotland, we work within official conservation translocation guidelines and therefore do not support unofficial releases which only set back approved conservation projects."

A spokesperson for farmers' union NFU Scotland said: "We hope that the released predators are caught as soon as possible and before any livestock or any other animals are destroyed.

"We ask all those living and working in the local rural community to be vigilant and report any sightings."

There is huge anger among campaigners who have long been arguing for these apex predators to be returned to the wild in Scotland.

It is a highly controversial plan and has required some careful manoeuvring by conservationists to try and make it a reality.

They are convinced these two animals have been illegally released by someone who has grown tired of that process and taken the law into their own hands.

It has happened before with another species.

Beavers were released illegally in Perthshire while consultations over their formal reintroduction were still ongoing and the population has since exploded.

Farmers hate the idea of wild lynx because of concerns they might target their lambs for food.

If that happens in the coming days, campaigners fear it would end their ambitions of a reintroduction for decades.

It is possible the two cats could disappear into the wild, mate and produce the first genuinely wild lynx in more than five centuries.

But experts say the fact these secretive animals have been spotted several times suggests they might actually be too domesticated to survive in the wild.

Raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles have spread to Hollywood Hills, a residential neighbourhood overlooking the historic Hollywood area of the city.

The Sunset fire broke out at around 18:00 (14:00 GMT) local time on Wednesday, covering much of Hollywood in thick smoke and forcing an evacuation order.

While driving in Hollywood, I saw many people running away from their homes with whatever belongings they could carry.

As I pulled over, some of them responded to me in fear and anxiety.

"Are you here to help people? Where do I go?" Anna Waldman asked as I got out of my car.

"Where is it safe?"

Above us, sirens had gone off and helicopter blades were whipping.

As I helped her get to a safe area, she told me she was walking her dogs and had planned to stop by a grocery store when she smelled heavy smoke.

She went back home, looked out her windows, and watched the fire move quickly through the Hollywood Hills to within a block from her home.

She packed what she could: food, clothes, blankets, food for her three small dogs.

"I can't believe this," she said in exhaustion.

Makayla Jackson, 26, held her two-year-old son Ramari on the corner of a street as they waited for a ride. They had been evacuated from a homeless shelter that was in danger of burning.

"They just told us to get out and go," she told me.

She said she was heading toward Hollywood High School, where more help was being offered.

Much of the heart of Hollywood is blanketed in thick smoke. You can barely see the tops of the towering palm trees that line streets here.

It is utter chaos on the streets near the fire. People are using sweatshirts to cover their faces so they can breathe. Many are carrying bags and suitcases looking for a place to go.

Some are wearing pyjamas, clearly taken by surprise.

Many of the roads near the blaze, such as the iconic Hollywood Boulevard, which includes the Hollywood Walk of Fame, are gridlocked with traffic.

Some are even driving on the wrong side of the road to escape.

The inferno could be seen from nearby freeways, lighting up the dark with bright red hues.

On the outskirts of the legendary city though, it is as though nothing is happening. People are eating dinner, shopping and going about their evenings.

The announcement of this year's Oscar nominations has been delayed by two days because of the deadly wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area.

It had been scheduled for Friday 17 January, but the stars and films up for Academy Awards will now be revealed on 19 January.

The voting for the nearly 10,000 Academy members, which opened on 8 January, has also been extended by two days, until Tuesday 14 January.

Former Oscars host Billy Crystal is among the celebrities who have lost homes in the blaze, as well as Paris Hilton, James Woods and Miles Teller.

'We are thinking of you'

In a letter sent to members on Wednesday, Academy CEO Bill Kramer said: "We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California.

"So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you."

Conan O'Brien will host the 2025 Oscars ceremony at the Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard on 2 March.

• Follow live updates on the LA wildfires

The fires have caused havoc for residents in Hollywood, as well as the area's film and TV industry.

A raft of LA events and movie premieres - including Unstoppable, Wolf Man, Robbie Williams' Better Man and The Pitt - have been cancelled or postponed.

On Wednesday, an event to announce the nominees for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards was also called off.

The contenders were announced in a press release instead, with Wicked leading the nominations.

The Substance actress Demi Moore boosted her chances of an Oscar nomination by bagging a Golden Globe award last weeeknd.

The Globes, the first major ceremony of awards season, are considered to be a strong measure of which films have momentum ahead of the Oscars. Other film winners included Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist and Wicked.

Firefighters in Los Angeles are battling a number of blazes in city suburbs, as tens of thousands of residents are forced to flee.

The rapidly changing situation is compounded by Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions. Currently authorities say there is no possibility of bringing the fires under control.

The Palisades fire, which is closest to the coast and also the largest, has ripped through picturesque suburbs which are home to many Hollywood stars. More than 1,000 buildings have already been destroyed.

Here's how the fires have spread and are affecting the Los Angeles area.

An overview of the current fires

Four major fires are currently being tackled.

The Palisades fire was first reported at 10:30 (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and grew in just 20 minutes from a blaze of 20 acres to more than 200 acres, then more than tenfold in a matter of a few more hours. At least 30,000 people have so far been ordered to leave their homes.

The Eaton fire grew to cover 1,000 acres within the first six hours of breaking out. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena at around 18:30 local time on Tuesday.

The Hurst fire is located just north of San Fernando. It began burning on Tuesday at around 22:10 local time, growing to 500 acres, according to local officials. It has triggered evacuation orders in neighbouring Santa Clarita.

The latest of the four fires is the Woodley fire, currently 75 acres in size. It broke out at approximately 06:15 local time on Wednesday.

• Follow latest updates on the LA wildfires
• Watch: Smoke billows as thousands evacuate in LA
• 'Run for your lives!' residents abandon cars to flee fire on foot
• Timelapse shows rapid spread of Palisades wildfire
• Watch: Inside a neighbourhood totally lost in inferno
• Pacific Palisades: The celebrity LA area ravaged by wildfire

How did the Palisades fire spread?

The Palisades fire has so far burnt through more than 2,900 acres. The map above shows how rapidly the blaze spread, intensifying in a matter of hours. At just after 14:00 on Tuesday it covered 772 acres and within four hours it had expanded approximately to its current size.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, as more than 1,400 firefighters try to tackle the blaze.

How does the Palisade fire compare in size with New York and London?

To give an idea of the size of the Palisades fire, we have superimposed it on to maps of New York and London.

As you can see, it is comparable in size with the central area of UK's capital, or with large areas of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

How the fires look from space

Another indication of the scale of the Palisades fire comes from Nasa's Earth Observatory.

The images captured on Tuesday show a huge plume of smoke emanating from California and drifting out to sea.

Effects of the Eaton fire

The Palisade fire is not the only one to have a devastating effect on neighbourhoods of Los Angeles.

The above images show the Jewish Temple in Pasadena before and during the Eaton fire.

The Jewish Temple and Centre's website says it has been in use since 1941 and has a congregation of more than 400 familes.

Police are investigating the illegal release of two lynx in the Highlands and have urged the public not to approach the wild cats.

The alarm was raised at about 16:20 when they were spotted in the Drumguish area, near to Kingussie.

Specially trained staff from the Highland Wildlife Park are assisting officers to trace the animals.

The Cairngorms National Park Authority said they were shy and a "low risk" to humans but added they should not be approached.

A spokesperson said: "We condemn the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and we are also concerned for the welfare of the lynx that have been released."

The authority also said people should not attend the area and appealed to anyone with information about the lynx to contact police.

The wild cats were once native to Britain, but were driven to extinction 500 to 1,000 years ago.

But some conservation groups have been campaigning to have the wild cats reintroduced to Scotland.

Lynx to Scotland, a three-charity partnership working to restore lynx to the Scottish Highlands, said it had been made aware of the release.

Peter Cairns, executive director of Scotland: The Big Picture, one of the charities involved, said: "The Lynx to Scotland Project knows nothing of the origin of these two lynx, their history, health status, or who may have released them.

"We understand the frustration of all those who wish to see lynx restored to the Scottish landscape, but an illegal release is not the way to achieve that aim."

Mr Cairns said the project had never supported or condoned illegal releases.

He added: "This is unwelcome and grossly irresponsible, but comes at the worst possible time, when stakeholders are engaging in good faith with productive discussions about the possibility of a responsibly managed and fully resourced legal reintroduction."

RSPB Scotland said it was collaborating with the police, relevant governing bodies and partner organisations.

A spokesperson said: "Whilst we support lynx reintroduction as a formerly native species to Scotland, we work within official conservation translocation guidelines and therefore do not support unofficial releases which only set back approved conservation projects."

A spokesperson for farmers' union NFU Scotland said: "We hope that the released predators are caught as soon as possible and before any livestock or any other animals are destroyed.

"We ask all those living and working in the local rural community to be vigilant and report any sightings."

There is huge anger among campaigners who have long been arguing for these apex predators to be returned to the wild in Scotland.

It is a highly controversial plan and has required some careful manoeuvring by conservationists to try and make it a reality.

They are convinced these two animals have been illegally released by someone who has grown tired of that process and taken the law into their own hands.

It has happened before with another species.

Beavers were released illegally in Perthshire while consultations over their formal reintroduction were still ongoing and the population has since exploded.

Farmers hate the idea of wild lynx because of concerns they might target their lambs for food.

If that happens in the coming days, campaigners fear it would end their ambitions of a reintroduction for decades.

It is possible the two cats could disappear into the wild, mate and produce the first genuinely wild lynx in more than five centuries.

But experts say the fact these secretive animals have been spotted several times suggests they might actually be too domesticated to survive in the wild.

If you think Ezra Collective's music is life-affirming, just wait until you meet them in person.

Tumbling into the BBC's Maida Vale studios, the band are boisterous and charming, the sort of people to greet a perfect stranger like a long-lost cousin.

Bandleader and drummer Femi Koleoso has a room-filling smile and a zest for life that infuses his music.

"We're just trying to bring something positive and joyful to whoever will listen," he says. "So anything that exposes us to more people is always gratefully received."

Today, that means the honour of being named runner-up in the BBC's Sound Of 2025.

The annual poll, which has been running since 2003, has tipped everyone from 50 Cent and Adele, to Raye and Dua Lipa for success.

Ezra Collective's addition to the list comes relatively late in their career. They've already won the Mercury Prize, for their second album Where I'm Meant To Be, and last November, they became the first jazz act to sell out Wembley Arena.

But to their minds, the band are still newcomers.

Koleoso recalls the thrumming intensity of making his Wembley debut.

"Fifteen minutes before the gig, I made the horrific mistake of reading the wall backstage," he says.

"They'd put up the names of everyone who'd played there before us. So it was like, 'OK, Beyoncé played here, and Jay-Z and Stormzy and Madonna… And now it's Ezra Collective's turn'."

If they were intimidated, it didn't show. The quintet turn audience participation into an artform, venturing out into the crowd and making fans part of their ensemble, almost like a New Orleans parade.

Reviews were ecstatic, calling the show a "masterclass in musicianship" that left "every single person with a smile on their face."

As a result, Ezra Collective's name will be added to the Wembley Wall – but Koleoso wants it to have a radically different effect.

"Wouldn't it be great if, in 10 years' time, some band is getting intimidated by Beyoncé and Madonna, and then they see our name, and they're like, 'Oh yeah, they came into our school to do an assembly - so we'll be fine'?".

Community and musical kinship is Ezra Collective's foundation stone; one that can be traced back to the youth club Tomorrow's Warriors, where they first met in central London in 2012.

The charity offers training to musicians who can't afford private tuition, with a special focus on "those with a background from the African Diaspora and girls, who are often under-represented in the music industry".

"It's where I met my best friends," says Koleoso, who remains a passionate supporter of youth clubs.

"Not to get too deep, but how do you fix domestic violence or the male suicide rate? You teach a 14-year-old boy how to deal with rejection, how to love people, how to control anger, how to respect others.

"Youth clubs can help with that. By the time someone's 24, it's almost too late."

When Koleoso first visited Tomorrow's Warriors with his brother TJ, they'd already formed a tight rhythm section in their church band. In fact, Femi had been playing drums since he was four.

"Maybe I'm slightly biased, but I think the drums are the best instrument, because you can see what's going on," he says.

"When I watch our horn section, I'm hearing thousands of notes, but I'm only seeing three valves. It doesn't quite make sense. But with the drums, you hit them and they make a sound.

"I wish everything was as simple as that."

Tomorrow's Warriors introduced Koleoso to jazz, a genre he'd previously considered elite and inaccessible, and to his future bandmates James Mollison (sax), Ife Ogunjobi (keyboards) and Dylan Jones (trumpet).

Together, they ripped the genre rulebook to shreds, magpie-ing elements of Afrobeat, hip-hop, grime, reggae, Latin, R&B, highlife and jazz to create a sound that bulges with possibility.

"We're the shuffle generation," explains Koleoso. "We listen to Beethoven and 50 Cent comes on straight after. That influences the way we approach music: We love jazz but at the same time I love salsa too, so why not try and get that in there?"

After playing their first gig in a Foyles bookshop, they released their debut EP, Chapter 7, in 2016, and a debut album, You Can't Steal My Joy in 2019.

Then Covid hit.

"We were meant to do a world tour but shortly after we arrived in New Zealand, we were told get back to London because the world was collapsing," says Koleoso.

Lockdown inspired their second album, but instead of introspection and gloom, it's an immensely energetic record, fuelled by the promise of post-pandemic reconnection.

"What we found was we had each other," says Koleoso. "It felt like we were meant to be together, and we made as many tracks as we could that articulate that."

When it won the Mercury Prize, the follow-up was already in the bag.

Dance, No-One's Watching was recorded over three days ("one was just setting up") at Abbey Road Studios, with the band still slightly worse-for-wear after a weekend at the Notting Hill Carnival.

The idea was to capture the excitement of their live show direct to tape – with an audience of family and friends to stop them obsessing over the technicalities of recording.

"What you're hearing is very, very real. We just played it and then had a listen back, and were like, 'Yeah, put it on a vinyl'."

That's why the album features a short, aborted performance of Ajala, with Koleoso instructing his bandmates to play harder on the next take.

"A lot of people think that's a skit, but it was a very real moment," he says. "I wanted the song to go off, but it didn't, so we stopped and tried again.

"Those things are precious, because they will never happen again.

"There's a lot of things in the world that don't feel real enough, but music shouldn't be one of them."

In contrast to its predecessor, the album is immersed in the real world. Themed around a night out in London, it celebrates the sacred power of dancing and losing yourself in music with other people.

There's even a song titled N29, after the night bus Koleso used to catch home from nights out in London.

Anyone who's braved one of those 3am rides home will recognise the song's mixture of post-club euphoria, random conversations and the backdrop of potential violence.

Koleoso says his first experience of that liminal reality came after his high school prom.

"Our school got one of those fancy little boats on the Thames and everyone paid their £20, which, for a state school in Enfield, was an impressive night out," he recalls.

"This was at the height of grime and funky house, so I'm just having the best time in my life, dancing on this boat in a suit… then I missed the last tube home."

In a time before Google Maps, it took a while to locate the right bus. When he finally clambered on board, it was carnage.

"I grew 10 years in that one journey, do you know what I mean?" he laughs. "I saw waaaay to much life!"

His desire to document life in all its messy, wonderful glory is the album's core.

"In 2022, we got to travel the whole world. We had amazing nights in New Orleans, on colourful streets with so much going on that it's hard to describe.

"And you'd think, 'How do I get this feeling into a song? I want someone in their flat in Edmonton to get a glimpse of this.'

"Or you'd go to the shrine in Lagos and be like, 'I need to convey the feeling of the shrine to someone who lives in Cardiff.'"

Ezra Collective's ever-growing audience suggests they've successfully completed that mission.

But there's one person who'll be surprised: Koleoso's A-level music teacher.

"Here's the secret, I got a D in music," he confesses.

"I was pretty embarrassed, because it made difficult to convince my parents that playing music was gonna be OK.

"But what it tells you is that exams can determine one type of intelligence, but they're not the be-all and end-all.

"If there was an exam in shutting down shows, I think I'd do better than a D."

Amen to that.

The affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades typically has strangers walking around, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities' houses.

Now, though, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire that is ravaging the area.

Across the city, more than 30,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes as winds stoke three fires. A state of emergency has been declared, leaving roads gridlocked as people flee.

Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to flee their usually idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Schitt's Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described evacuating his home on social media, and said he was not sure if it was still standing.

"It feels like losing a loved one," he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a house costing $4.5m (£3.6m) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The north LA neighbourhood is bordered on the south with a three-mile (4.8km) stretch of beaches on the Pacific Ocean, nestled between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is a hub for trendy shops, cafes and a farmers' market.

But the Palisades fire - which grew from 10 acres to over 2,900 in a matter of hours - has shattered they area's idyllic nature.

Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, called the blaze the "most horrific fire since '93" - which burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu - in a post on Instagram.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu "so last-minute there [were] small fires on both sides of the road".

Levy, who rose to fame for his role in film series American Pie, told local media he was forced to evacuate his home.

"The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark," he recounted to the Los Angeles Times.

Reality star's Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.

"I am beyond heartbroken for my brother, Heidi and the kids," she said. "Even the fire station in the Palisades has burned down."

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Keleigh, also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Mrs Teller shared a picture of the fires and a heart-break emoji. She urged people to leave bowls of water for animals as they evacuate their homes.

Meanwhile, Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for Police Academy, stayed to help firefighters by moving cars in order to make room for incoming fire trucks.

He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be moved out the way of firefighters.

"We really need people to move their cars," he told news outlet KTLA: "This is not a parking lot."

It is not just famous residents affected by the wildfire - notable buildings in the area are under threat as well.

The Palisades Charter High School - which has served as a set for movies and counts several notable people as former students - has been damaged by fire, local media reports.

The fire-stricken school has been used in films including 1976 horror classic Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Former students include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades that has a large collection of artworks and artefacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it had closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation on site had burned - but said that "no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe".

Star studded events due to take place in the area have also been cancelled.

Film premiers for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been called off, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.

Many black staff members at London's world-famous Harrods department store would leave the shop floor before Mohamed Al Fayed toured the premises, former employees have told the BBC.

Staff would be given a warning before he appeared, says a former security guard, which was followed by a "beeline of certain people, certain races", leaving the floor.

"The level of racism was very clear," said "Henry" (not his real name).

These accounts follow a BBC documentary broadcast in September which included claims from more than 20 women that Mohamed Al Fayed sexually assaulted or raped them.

Harrods responded to the latest claims about racism by referring us to a previous statement in which it said it was "utterly appalled" by the abuse allegations made against Al Fayed, adding that it was a "very different organisation to the one owned and controlled" by him.

In November, the Met Police said it had launched a new investigation after 90 alleged new victims had come forward.

Henry told BBC Radio 5 Live's Clare McDonnell that before Al Fayed's daily walks around the store, there was a five-minute warning announced on guards' radios.

He said black people, and also other staff who didn't fit a certain look, would then leave the shop floor, in a "robotic" movement.

"It seemed very much like the protocol that [they] would disappear," he added.

He said the staff would leave the building via an underground tunnel, connecting the main store to an office across the road. Henry said they would then file back once Al Fayed had gone.

Another former staff member, who wishes to remain anonymous, also told the BBC that many black members of staff went to stock-rooms or "on tea breaks" when Al Fayed was visiting the shop floor. They also said that some women were sent to put on make-up.

Henry said the only staff who stayed on the shop floor were "young, thin, blonde", although some non-white door guards also remained.

Since the BBC's investigation was broadcast, we have heard scores of accounts of Al Fayed - who died in 2023 aged 94 - favouring women with these traits.

'Here today, gone today'

Lisa, who used to work in HR at the store, confirmed that security would "warn" staff members when Al Fayed was about to come onto the shop floor, so people he would be likely to "pick on" negatively could hide.

"Not the girls that he would like," she said, adding that those "hidden" would also include people who were "overweight".

"They were good at their jobs," she said. "We didn't want to keep losing staff."

The BBC has been told that staff were frequently sacked. Jon Brilliant, who worked in Al Fayed's private office for 18 months, has previously told the BBC that within Harrods there was surveillance, sackings and a culture designed to keep top managers from trusting or communicating with one another.

Henry agreed there was a culture of "paranoia, fear and bullying" while he worked as a security guard there.

During his initial training, he said he had been warned not to invest in a monthly travel pass because "you could be here today and you [could] be gone today".

Another former member of Harrods HR staff, Anna, said when she worked for the men's tailored suit division she was told not to employ anyone who was black, because "the customers wouldn't like it".

Once, she said, the best candidate was a Caribbean man, who was "head and shoulders above anyone else".

"I just sat there thinking, 'What a waste of my time and your time. I cannot employ you because of the colour of your skin.'"

Anna said she recorded that in his recruitment notes, and was reprimanded for doing so.

Lisa said on one occasion, Al Fayed "came right up to my face" and used a racist word to describe the type of people he didn't want her to hire.

'Culture of paranoia, fear and bullying'

A number of employment tribunals, successfully brought by people claiming racial discrimination, took place during Al Fayed's ownership of Harrods.

Henry said he didn't witness any sexual assault when he worked at the store, but there was "hearsay" amongst staff.

"I had lots of people tell me things, I suspected a lot of things, I saw some things, but who am I going to tell?" he said. "You can suspect all you want, but without having some proof… it's not evidence in court."

Al Fayed was accused of racism by Vanity Fair in 1995, an allegation he vehemently denied. It sparked a libel lawsuit that the billionaire later agreed to drop, as long as further evidence the magazine had gathered in preparation for a trial was locked away.

Many years after leaving his post, Henry said he still feared reprisals from people in the former chairman's security team.

"Just a few things I said to you could cost me my life - and if not my life, my livelihood," he said.

Despite these fears, he said other members of Harrods security staff should come forward to the authorities.

"If they have daughters, they have granddaughters, they have a mother, they should tell [what they know]… but I can assure you those people would keep their mouths shut."

The statement received from Harrods also said: "These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms. We also acknowledge that during this time his victims were failed and for this we sincerely apologise."

It added: "While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future."

If you are affected by issues of sexual assault, information and support is available from BBC Action Line here

Hear the full interview with Henry on BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive programme on BBC Sounds, from 1600 GMT on Thursday 9 January

If you have information about this story that you would like to share please get in touch. Email MAFinvestigation@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.

Some local councils in England would need to see at least a five-fold increase in new housing to meet government targets, analysis by BBC Verify suggests.

The BBC's figures lay out the immense challenge Labour has set itself in government with its "milestone" of building 1.5 million new homes in England over five years.

In total, 16 local authorities across England have new annual targets that are five times or more what they have recently delivered.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said setting a specific target will "give the British people the power to hold our feet to the fire".

With that in mind, the BBC has created a new online tool for tracking the government's progress towards this key goal.

Type in your postcode and see the house building situation in your own area.

The government has also set annual housing targets for each local authority in England, based on what it judges their contribution to the overall total should be.

The most demanding target is for the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which has been set a target for new homes nearly 22 times its recent average.

The target for Sevenoaks in Kent is five times what it has been delivering on average in recent years, while the target for Portsmouth is more than eight times the average.

These specific targets will enable us to incorporate information into the tracker on what's happening on house building in every district in England.

It will show the number of homes added in an area and compare it with the local target set by ministers.

Our postcode lookup tool also shows the share of planning applications for new homes granted permissions in an area in the most recent year there is data for, and compares it with the England-wide average rate, so you can judge whether your council is approving enough building plans.

The tracker will be updated when relevant official data becomes available.

Hugely ambitious

The new government has described its housebuilding objective as "hugely ambitious" and that is no exaggeration.

To deliver 1.5 million homes, defined as "net additional dwellings", over five years implies a strike rate of about 300,000 a year - a number not achieved since the 1970s.

But while the England-wide target is highly ambitious in a historical context, the targets handed down to some local authorities are arguably even more so.

To create our postcode tracker we processed local data on:

• the number of annual net additional dwellings required
• the number of net additional dwellings created on average each year since 2021
• recent residential planning decisions by councils.

BBC Verify's analysis shows Kensington and Chelsea, a London borough, has been given a target of 5,107 new homes every year for the next five years. But the borough delivered an average of only 236 net additional dwellings between 2021-22 and 2023-24.

It did, however, approve 89% of planning applications for housing in the year to June 2024, considerably higher than the national rate of 71%.

Portsmouth, on the south coast, also has a very stretching target. The local council is being asked to deliver 1,021 new homes per year, almost nine times the 120 it delivered on average over the most recent three years.

Hastings has been tasked with a smaller total: 710. But this is still five times the 142 it has delivered on average in recent years.

Portsmouth approved 74% of residential planning applications in the year to June 2024 and Hastings 75%.

Councils were consulted on the targets last summer, with many expressing concerns they were "unrealistic", and the numbers were revised.

Councillor Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea, said it was "out of touch to let algorithms set targets without understanding local context".

"You only have to walk through the streets of our densely built borough to see how unachievable it would be to build 5,107 homes a year here; this borough is only 4.5 miles squared."

She said there were two major sites in the borough that would provide 6,000 new homes in total.

Councillor Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing at Portsmouth City Council, said the target "does not work" because "most of the city is an island" with a dense population and "important heritage and natural assets".

"Portsmouth has approved more than 4,000 new homes in 2023 and 2024. Any lack of delivery is down to the rising cost of development," he said, "not whether the council approves them."

Sevenoaks councillor Julia Thornton said it was a "top priority" to protect greenbelt land, but added: "We will have a duty to do everything possible to meet the government's new housing targets."

Sir Keir's housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, has said if councils fail to deliver enough houses the government could intervene.

"The government can take a local plan off a local authority that is resisting putting one in place, and we are absolutely willing to do it, if we have evidence that [they] are refusing to comply," he told the BBC.

The obstacles

The government said it had "inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory" and "all areas must play their part".

It has set out "a major planning overhaul… unblocking barriers to building, and setting out targets for councils to ramp up housebuilding, so new homes are built where they are most needed."

Most housing experts agree planning reform is necessary.

Yet analysts say it is not the only obstacle.

The construction industry has warned it is dealing with a chronic shortage of skilled workers.

The Home Builders Federation has cited aging workers and Brexit as some of the factors behind shortages.

The Construction Industry Training Board estimates the sector needs to attract the equivalent of 50,300 extra workers per year to meet the levels of work expected.

There are also concerns about the availability of basic building materials including bricks and timber.

The Construction Leadership Council has warned a shortage of these could hinder the government's ability to get near its target.

Finally, many housing experts doubt private housebuilders are capable of delivering enough new homes each year to reach the targets.

This is because private housebuilders have a commercial interest in not building so many new homes that their average price declines.

The Competition and Markets Authority concluded in February 2024 "private developers produce houses at a rate at which they can be sold without needing to reduce their prices".

A sharp decline in residential planning permissions in England in the year to June 2024 - hitting a new record low - was due to a collapse in applications from private builders, not a decline in the share of applications being approved by local authorities.

This collapse in applications probably reflected the impact of still-high mortgage interest rates and high house prices relative to average incomes, undermining the ability of people to afford newly built houses.

That's why some argue meeting the government's targets will also require a major increase in Whitehall grants to not-for-profit local housing associations, enabling them to build tens of thousands of new social and affordable homes, mainly to be rented out, in the coming years.

Interactive tool developed by Allison Shultes, Scott Jarvis and Steven Connor

About the data

Annual data on new homes for England comes from the government's "net additional dwellings" statistics.

These figures are estimates of changes in the total number of homes in each area, taking account of new build homes and existing building conversions, minus any demolitions.

The targets are the government's new "local housing need" calculations, released following a public consultation.

Planning statistics are taken from quarterly data and combine applications decided for "minor" housing developments (fewer than 10 homes) and "major" schemes (10 homes or more).

The planning data for England is at local authority level. Applications decided by special authorities, such as those in charge of national parks, are not included.

We have included the latest data on new housebuilding "completions" by local authority area for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the 1.5 million homes target applies only in England.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Ten-year-old Elliot, who is a big Pokemon fan, says he would like to put posters up and decorate his magnolia-coloured bedroom walls.

It's one of the things he and his four brothers would do if they had a permanent home.

Parents Sam and Jason have been living in temporary accommodation with their five boys for a year now after they were evicted from the house they were renting in Portsmouth.

Like many families, they had to move because the landlord wanted to sell and they couldn't afford "extortionate" rents when they started looking for a new home.

The local council placed them in a hotel for several weeks before moving them to a three-bedroom house.

The couple say living in limbo is incredibly hard and the uncertainty is distressing for the children.

"It doesn't feel like a home," says Jason. "We can't make this a home because we don't know how long we are going to be here for."

They are now one of more than 1,100 families on the waiting list for a council home in Portsmouth. Jason, 49, is a bus driver and says housing in England has become unaffordable for working families like his.

It comes as the government says it is now trying to tackle England's housing shortage by setting ambitious housebuilding targets for areas like Portsmouth, which could help people like Sam and Jason.

The aim is for 370,000 new homes in England every year, to fulfil a government promise for 1.5m new homes within the next five years. Local authorities are being told to give developers permission to build - and planning decisions will be pushed through by the government if necessary.

But some local councils in England will need to see a five-fold increase in new housing to meet government targets, analysis by BBC Verify suggests.

The BBC has created a new online tool to enable people to track the government's progress towards its goal where they live.

Portsmouth is one of a number of areas that will need to add more homes in one year than it has delivered in the previous five.

Between March 2019 and March 2024, Portsmouth added a total of 803 homes, equivalent to an increase of just under 1%.

This was the lowest percentage increase in homes of any local authority area in England, according to BBC analysis of housing data.

Portsmouth's target, set by the Labour government, is to add 1,021 homes a year.

The leader of the council, Steve Pitt says it will be impossible for the coastal authority to deliver that many homes.

He described the target as "stupid and arbitrary" and says it is pointless if there is nowhere to build.

"Portsmouth has a pretty unique geography. Eleven of the 14 wards in Portsmouth are on an island, so we only have a very limited amount of brownfield space," he says.

"We've always tried to explain this to government. They don't tend to listen."

Mr Pitt says the most homes the authority will be able to deliver is 800 a year, falling well short of the target.

"It doesn't matter whether they tell us to build more homes or not, or whether they want to fine us - they won't be built because there's nowhere to build them."

He accepts the area needs more homes and says the government should provide sufficient funding for affordable house building to get plans moving.

At the moment, he says it's "not viable" for social providers or private developers because they cannot guarantee future rental income will cover the build costs.

Housing is one of the biggest issues for people contacting us through Your Voice, Your BBC News.

Lily, 24, got in touch to say homeownership feels impossible and is "depressing".

She and her partner Jacob, 24 have two children and say thinking about where they are going to live is a "constant stress".

In 2023, they were evicted when their landlord wanted to sell the flat they were living in. They are now temporarily renting from a family member but would like their own home.

"All we want is for [our children] to have what we had when we were little, the security of a family home," says Lily.

Lily and Jacob say there are new homes being built in the area, but they aren't affordable for families like hers.

To try to save for a deposit, Jacob quit his job in a school and began working nights in a warehouse but he says he doesn't think there's "a chance in hell" of saving the £25,000 to £30,000 he says they would need to put down on a property.

The family live in the Gloucestershire town of Lydney.

BBC analysis of official data shows that areas in the South West delivered an average of about 23,000 new homes per year in the last three years.

Government targets suggest they are going to have to increase that amount by almost three-quarters, to 40,000 a year. Some recent local plans have been refused or faced opposition.

It's many of the London boroughs that face the most significant challenges. Kensington and Chelsea delivered just 245 homes last year. The authority's target is more than 20 times that; more than 5,000 homes per year.

Zach Murphy, 25, lives at home with his parents in the borough. He says there's little hope of getting on the housing ladder in London.

He moved back into his parents' home while studying for his Masters in environmental science.

"The whole reason why I did my Masters was to get a higher paid job. You need that to set yourself up better. If you want to have a family - you need a house."

Zach has been on the rental ladder before, sharing a home with two friends - each of them paying £1,000 per month. The high rent and cost of living left him with little to save.

BBC analysis has found some outliers in the data. Salford has built more homes in recent years than the government expectation.

Labour's mayor of the city, Paul Dennett, says most have been high-rise apartments in the city centre and not enough of them have been for those on low incomes.

"The market itself isn't delivering the level of truly affordable housing. It really isn't."

Salford currently has 5,000 households in temporary accommodation. The mayor has committed to building 600 council homes for rent during his five-year term.

Indeed, the council has set up its own business called Derive to build homes that will be for rent only. Tenants won't be able to buy them.

"Since 1980 we've lost over 10,000 homes under right to buy here just in the city of Salford," Mr Dennett says.

He believes the country needs to get back to councils building homes again rather than relying on the private sector.

He tells us he doesn't have a problem with the government setting targets - if authorities are delivering "truly affordable housing".

"We have inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory," says a spokesperson for the ministry for housing, communities and local government.

"This is why all areas must play their part to deliver 1.5 million homes."

The government says it has unveiled sweeping changes to the planning system and vowed to override "blockers" standing in the way of building the new homes.

Yet for families like Sam and Jason and Lily and Jacob, owning a home or even renting in the private sector, still feels like an unattainable dream.

Additional reporting by Jade Thompson

About the data

Annual data on new homes for England comes from the government's "net additional dwellings" statistics.

These figures are estimates of changes in the total number of homes in each area, taking account of new build homes and existing building conversions, minus any demolitions.

The targets are the government's new "local housing need" calculations, released following a public consultation.

Planning statistics are taken from quarterly data and combine applications decided for "minor" housing developments (fewer than 10 homes) and "major" schemes (10 homes or more).

The planning data for England is at local authority level. Applications decided by special authorities, such as those in charge of national parks, are not included.

We have included the latest data on new housebuilding "completions" by local authority area for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the 1.5 million homes target applies only in England.

Interactive tool developed by Allison Shultes, Scott Jarvis, Steven Connor and Daniel Wainwright

Design by Charlie Colbourne and testing by Preeti Vaghela

Commuters are being warned of icy roads and travel disruption, as temperatures plummeted again overnight across the UK.

Fresh weather warnings have been issued, with snow, ice and fog forecast across southern England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland on Thursday.

It will be mainly dry elsewhere with winter sunshine, but temperatures could fall again to as low as -16C on Thursday night.

The cold snap has already brought heavy snowfall to some areas, and dozens of flood alerts and warnings are in place due to either heavy rain or melting snow.

On Wednesday the lowest temperature recorded was -8.4C (16F) in Shap, Cumbria, according to the Met Office.

It comes as an amber cold health alert remains in place for all of England until Sunday, meaning the forecast weather is expected to have significant impacts across health - including a rise in deaths.

The Met Office says travel disruption to road and rail services is likely on Thursday in areas covered by warnings, as well potential for accidents in icy places.

There are five warnings in place:

• A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday
• A yellow warning for ice has been issued until 10:30 across southern England and south-east Wales
• Two yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force until 11:00 GMT - one across western Wales and north-west England, and south-west England; and another for Northern Ireland
• A yellow warning for fog until 09:00 in Northern Ireland

On Wednesday snow caused some roads to close and motorists to be stationary for "long periods of time" in Devon and Cornwall, according to authorities there.

Gritters working into Thursday morning have been fitted with ploughs to clear routes in the area.

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

"Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow," said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.

National Rail have also advised passengers to check before they travel, as ice and snow can mean speed restrictions and line closures.

On Wednesday evening, poor weather was affecting Northern and Great Western Railway.

Buses are also replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog until Monday.

• Get the forecast in your area on BBC Weather

The wintry conditions have caused significant disruption across the UK since snow swept many parts of the country at the weekend.

Hundreds of schools were closed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including schools in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the Midlands and Aberdeenshire.

The country has also been hit by widespread flooding in recent days. Currently there are 68 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - in England and three in Wales.

The weather is expected to be less cold over the weekend.

More than half of the county councils in England with elections scheduled for this year could seek to have the votes postponed, the BBC can reveal.

At least 12 out of 21 county councils due to hold elections in May are poised to ask ministers to delay the ballots to explore options set out in a major redesign of local government announced in December.

The government has set Friday as the deadline for areas to show interest in the first tranche of devolution plans.

But a delay in elections would see millions of voters "deprived of their local democracy," according to the District Councils Network, which represents smaller local authorities.

The government said no decisions had been taken.

Elections are due to take place in 21 county council areas in England in May, as well as some unitary authorities and elections for some regional mayors.

When it announced its devolution plans in December, the government suggested some of these elections, especially in county councils, could be delayed by a year or more. Scheduled mayoral elections will not be affected.

Under the plans, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, smaller district councils and larger county councils could be merged to create single councils to handle all services.

Ministers see the reorganisation of local government as a key part of their plan to devolve powers out of Westminster to local communities.

Local government minister Jim McMahon wrote to councils in affected areas asking them to express their interest in taking part.

Several councils are holding urgent meetings this week to decide whether to press ahead.

County councils that have indicated they are interested and could see elections postponed include:

• Devon
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Gloucestershire
• Hampshire
• Kent
• Norfolk
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• Warwickshire
• West Sussex
• Worcestershire

Ministers will make the final decisions on whether local elections are postponed.

Cllr Kevin Bentley, the Conservative leader of Essex County Council, said it was a "once in a lifetime chance to improve outcomes for Essex".

Cllr Tim Oliver, the Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, said: "We owe it to Surrey's residents to get the best devolution deal possible for our county."

Not 'dictating'

The elections in May are set to be the first electoral test for Labour since the party took power at Westminster in July last year, and an important measure of the public mood.

Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf criticised the potential delay, saying: "Labour and the Tories are so terrified of Reform's rise that they are colluding to rob the British people of their democratic rights."

Rayner told a select committee this week it would be "ludicrous" for councils to hold elections if they were planning to reorganise their structures.

But said the government was not "dictating" what should happen in council areas.

In 2021 the previous Conservative government delayed local elections in North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Somerset when councils in those areas were undergoing reorganisation.

But the current plans have prompted a backlash from some local leaders.

The District Councils Network claimed ministers had "rushed" the proposals to reorganise local government and were depriving residents of having a say.

The organisation's chairman Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen said: "The cancellation of the local elections comes after the government's general election manifesto neglected to mention that it sought to take power away from communities by replacing district councils with mega councils.

"Democracy is being side-lined with the local electorate being deprived of any democratic opportunity to give their verdict on a major reorganisation that will have far-reaching repercussions for the destiny of thousands of English towns and villages."

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "No decisions have been taken on postponing elections.

"We will only consider postponing elections for areas where the council concerned have requested it and where it helps an area to deliver reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeline."

New sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks will make it harder for gangs to profit from the deadly trade, the Home Office has said.

The government has said the proposed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration into the UK are expected to come into force this year.

The sanctions, designed to disrupt the flow of money, are thought to be the world's first to specifically target people smugglers.

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would hamper "illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe".

"We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders," the prime minister said.

Under the proposed measures, which are yet to be finalised, UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be banned by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.

The government will bring forward new legislation for the scheme, drawn up by government sanction experts alongside law enforcement and Home Office staff.

• How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will set out further details in a speech on Thursday.

Ahead of his address, he said the measures would "help to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK".

In 2024, the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter, from 29,437 in 2023 to 36,816.

However, this was lower than the record 45,755 seen in 2022.

Under enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling announced in November, the UK's Border Security Command was given permission to freeze smuggling networks' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, ministers announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers earlier this month.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Labour had "no credibility on dealing with the evil trade in people smuggling".

"In Parliament they voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent and campaigned in favour of the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders, over the safety of the British people."

A former police officer who led a grooming investigation in Oxford has said a similar type of sexual abuse is still happening, warning that the "guys we couldn't catch are still out there".

Simon Morton, former senior investigating officer for Thames Valley Police, told the BBC that perpetrators in the area are operating in plain sight and are "influencing and arranging others to do the same thing".

He added that it is "obvious" grooming is "happening in every city around the country" - a claim supported by another police source.

His comments come as a Tory amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would have forced a national inquiry into grooming gangs, was voted down on Wednesday evening.

The government has already said it would adopt the recommendations made in 2022 by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Mr Morton led Operation Bullfinch, then the biggest criminal investigation in Oxford's history, which resulted in the convictions of 21 men for offences spanning the late 1990s to the late 2000s.

He said calls for a new public inquiry are "pointless" and would be a waste of money.

"We've done the public inquiry. Every single investigation has been thoroughly reinvestigated and checked. We've had seven years worth of Prof Jay and her team looking at child sex exploitation and made the recommendations.

"Let's get it going. Don't waste your money on more pointless inquiries," he added.

That is a view echoed by a child sexual abuse survivor, who cannot be named, who said the focus in recent days has been misplaced with much of the debate surrounding whether there should be a public inquiry, rather than on what can be done to help victims.

"It's naïve to think [grooming] is not still happening and the political debate is not focused on the problem but on trying to outdo one another," she told the BBC.

"My life has been destroyed by this. People need to focus on us and how to stop this and not on scoring points."

On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced those who cover up or fail to report child sexual abuse could face professional or criminal sanctions under a new offence to be introduced this year.

But Mr Morton said survivors of abuse often don't trust anyone – including the police or social services.

He claimed perpetrators have been driven underground by the recent publicity about abuse but are still active.

Mr Morton said feelings of fear and shame often lead victims to cover up for their abuser by refusing to testify against them.

"When we did this investigation, we spoke to lots of girls and there were even more offenders or suspects," he said.

"We weren't able to turn some of the girls to talk to us and tell us their story. We took nine men to court, and we had only a small amount of victims come and give evidence. It was much bigger than that."

In response to Mr Morton's allegations, Thames Valley Police said that information uncovered during Operation Bullfinch, which was launched in 2011 to investigate allegations of historical sexual abuse, led to "24 convictions with sentences totalling over 250 years' imprisonment".

"There are now more police officers and detectives working in child abuse investigation and the management of sexual offenders and a new dedicated team monitor all investigations into missing people and identify patterns or underlying issues," it said.

The force added that the exploitation of children "is and continues to be a priority".

There is "little hope" of food prices "going anywhere but up" in the second half of 2025 due to changes announced in the Budget, a retail lobby group has warned.

The costs of higher wages and National Insurance tax changes coming in April will be passed on to consumers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.

It forecast food price inflation would rise from 1.8% last month to 4.2% in the latter half of this year, and that price rises will continue for vegetable oil, orange juice, butter, and coffee. It added that overall shop prices, which have been falling, will start rising again.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has previously said "the right thing to do was to ask businesses and the wealthiest in our country to pay a bit more".

In her October Budget Reeves said the National Living Wage for over 21s would increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April and that employers' National Insurance contributions would rise from 13.8% to 15%.

Retailers hit back, warning in November that higher wages and taxes would make job cuts "inevitable", and lead to price rises and shop closures.

On Thursday, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that modelling by the lobby group, combined with predictions from 52 chief financial officers, had led it to forecast much higher food price inflation in the latter half of the year.

"As retailers battle the £7bn of increased costs in 2025 from the Budget, including higher employer National Insurance, National Living Wage, and new packaging levies, there is little hope of prices going anywhere but up," she said.

The lobby group said food price inflation in December was running at 1.8%, which was its lowest rate since November 2021.

The BRC uses a different basket of goods to measure inflation compared to official figures from the Office for National Statistics, but they are broadly similar.

In the run-up to Christmas, prices went down in shops overall, but this was due to non-food goods deflation, BRC said.

The pace of price rises for fresh food such as fruit and vegetables went up 1.2%, while inflation for store cupboard goods was 2.8%.

Retailers have been warning about price rises due to the Budget measures.

This week Next announced that it will raise prices on some clothing from April to offset "an unusually high" £73m increase in staff wages and taxes.

Next said it expected prices to increase by 1% over a year, which is below the current rate of inflation. UK inflation hit 2.6% in the 12 months to November, the highest level for eight months.

How can I save money on my food shop?

Look at your cupboards so you know what you have already

Head to the reduced section first to see if it has anything you need

Buy things close to their best before date which will be cheaper and use your freezer

Read more tips here

The affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades typically has strangers walking around, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities' houses.

Now, though, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire that is ravaging the area.

Across the city, more than 30,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes as winds stoke three fires. A state of emergency has been declared, leaving roads gridlocked as people flee.

Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to flee their usually idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Schitt's Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described evacuating his home on social media, and said he was not sure if it was still standing.

"It feels like losing a loved one," he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a house costing $4.5m (£3.6m) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The north LA neighbourhood is bordered on the south with a three-mile (4.8km) stretch of beaches on the Pacific Ocean, nestled between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is a hub for trendy shops, cafes and a farmers' market.

But the Palisades fire - which grew from 10 acres to over 2,900 in a matter of hours - has shattered they area's idyllic nature.

Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, called the blaze the "most horrific fire since '93" - which burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu - in a post on Instagram.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu "so last-minute there [were] small fires on both sides of the road".

Levy, who rose to fame for his role in film series American Pie, told local media he was forced to evacuate his home.

"The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark," he recounted to the Los Angeles Times.

Reality star's Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.

"I am beyond heartbroken for my brother, Heidi and the kids," she said. "Even the fire station in the Palisades has burned down."

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Keleigh, also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Mrs Teller shared a picture of the fires and a heart-break emoji. She urged people to leave bowls of water for animals as they evacuate their homes.

Meanwhile, Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for Police Academy, stayed to help firefighters by moving cars in order to make room for incoming fire trucks.

He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be moved out the way of firefighters.

"We really need people to move their cars," he told news outlet KTLA: "This is not a parking lot."

It is not just famous residents affected by the wildfire - notable buildings in the area are under threat as well.

The Palisades Charter High School - which has served as a set for movies and counts several notable people as former students - has been damaged by fire, local media reports.

The fire-stricken school has been used in films including 1976 horror classic Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Former students include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades that has a large collection of artworks and artefacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it had closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation on site had burned - but said that "no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe".

Star studded events due to take place in the area have also been cancelled.

Film premiers for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been called off, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.

New sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks will make it harder for gangs to profit from the deadly trade, the Home Office has said.

The government has said the proposed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration into the UK are expected to come into force this year.

The sanctions, designed to disrupt the flow of money, are thought to be the world's first to specifically target people smugglers.

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would hamper "illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe".

"We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders," the prime minister said.

Under the proposed measures, which are yet to be finalised, UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be banned by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.

The government will bring forward new legislation for the scheme, drawn up by government sanction experts alongside law enforcement and Home Office staff.

• How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will set out further details in a speech on Thursday.

Ahead of his address, he said the measures would "help to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK".

In 2024, the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter, from 29,437 in 2023 to 36,816.

However, this was lower than the record 45,755 seen in 2022.

Under enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling announced in November, the UK's Border Security Command was given permission to freeze smuggling networks' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, ministers announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers earlier this month.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Labour had "no credibility on dealing with the evil trade in people smuggling".

"In Parliament they voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent and campaigned in favour of the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders, over the safety of the British people."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he risks fuelling accusations of "a cover up" by refusing to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

She also accused the PM of not wanting questions asked "of Labour politicians who may be complicit".

Sir Keir argued that several inquires had already been held into abuse carried out by gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, and that a new probe would only delay the action the victims wanted.

And he said he would "call out" anyone who prevented victims of sexual abuse from coming forward.

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which calls for a national inquiry.

In the unlikely event the amendment is approved the bill, which includes measures aimed at protecting children and tougher rules around home-schooling, as well as changes to academies, would be scuppered.

Sir Keir said it was "shocking" Conservative MPs would try to block a bill aimed at helping vulnerable children by voting for the Tory amendment and accused Badenoch of "weak leadership".

Making her argument for a fresh inquiry, Badenoch said "no one has joined the dots, no one has the total picture".

She noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which lasted for seven years and concluded in 2022, had not had a specific focus on grooming gangs.

"We don't need to repeat the work that has already been done. Let's look at new areas."

She said a new inquiry could explore "if there was a racial and cultural motivation to some of these crimes".

Sir Keir said "reasonable people could agree or disagree" on whether there should be a fresh probe and acknowledged that there were mixed views among victims and survivors.

However, he accused Badenoch of only recently taking an interest in the subject and said she had failed to take action when she was in government.

"I can't recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry," he said.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he risks fuelling accusations of "a cover up" by refusing to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

She also accused the PM of not wanting questions asked "of Labour politicians who may be complicit".

Sir Keir argued that several inquires had already been held into abuse carried out by gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, and that a new probe would only delay the action the victims wanted.

And he said he would "call out" anyone who prevented victims of sexual abuse from coming forward.

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which calls for a national inquiry.

In the unlikely event the amendment is approved the bill, which includes measures aimed at protecting children and tougher rules around home-schooling, as well as changes to academies, would be scuppered.

Sir Keir said it was "shocking" Conservative MPs would try to block a bill aimed at helping vulnerable children by voting for the Tory amendment and accused Badenoch of "weak leadership".

Making her argument for a fresh inquiry, Badenoch said "no one has joined the dots, no one has the total picture".

She noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which lasted for seven years and concluded in 2022, had not had a specific focus on grooming gangs.

"We don't need to repeat the work that has already been done. Let's look at new areas."

She said a new inquiry could explore "if there was a racial and cultural motivation to some of these crimes".

Sir Keir said "reasonable people could agree or disagree" on whether there should be a fresh probe and acknowledged that there were mixed views among victims and survivors.

However, he accused Badenoch of only recently taking an interest in the subject and said she had failed to take action when she was in government.

"I can't recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry," he said.

The pound has fallen to its lowest level for nine months after UK government borrowing costs continued to rise.

The drop came as UK 10-year borrowing costs surged to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis when bank borrowing almost ground to a halt.

Economists have warned the rising costs could lead to further tax rises or cuts to spending plans as the government tries to meet its self-imposed borrowing target.

The government said it would not say anything ahead of the official borrowing forecast from its independent forecaster due in March.

"I'm obviously not going to get ahead ... it's up to the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) to make their forecasts."

"Having stability in the public finances is precursor to having economic stability and economic growth," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride claimed that the Chancellor's significant spending and borrowing plans from the Budget are "making it more expensive for the government to borrow".

"We should be building a more resilient economy, not raising taxes to pay for fiscal incompetence," he said in a post on X.

Gabriel McKeown, head of macroeconomics at Sad Rabbit Investments, said the rise in borrowing costs "has effectively eviscerated Reeves' fiscal headroom, threatening to derail Labour's investment promises and potentially necessitate a painful recalibration of spending plans."

The warning comes after the cost of borrowing over 30 years hit its highest level for 27 years on Tuesday.

Meanwhile the pound dropped by as much as 1.1% to $1.233 against the dollar, marking its lowest level since April last year.

The government generally spends more than it raises in tax. To fill this gap it borrows money, but that has to be paid back - with interest.

One of the ways it can borrow money is by selling financial products called bonds.

Globally, there has been a rise in the cost of government borrowing in recent months sparked by investor concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump's plans to impose new tariffs on goods entering the US from Canada, Mexico and China would push up inflation.

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget in October, which increased borrowing, may have had a small impact but said the UK rises were similar to those in the US.

"In the UK higher yields put pressure on government finances and increase the risk that Reeves will come back with another tax raising Budget," he said.

But he also said the current rises in borrowing costs could be "a storm in a tea cup which dissipates quickly."

The official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will start the process of updating its forecast on government borrowing next month to be presented to parliament in late March.

Ryanair is pursuing legal action against a passenger who allegedly caused a major disruption on a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote.

The airline is seeking £12,500 in damages to cover expenses incurred when the plane had to divert to Porto, Portugal.

On Wednesday, the airline announced it had filed proceedings against the passenger, whose behaviour on the flight last April was described as "inexcusable" and "completely unacceptable".

Ryanair stated that it will "continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft" in an effort to ensure the safety and comfort of all passengers.

The airline said the passenger's behaviour forced the flight in question to divert to Porto, where it was delayed overnight, and caused 160 passengers to "face unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday".

The damages sought would cover the cost of overnight accommodation and other expenses for the passengers affected by the diversion.

Announcing what the airline described as a "major clampdown", a spokesperson on the airline's website said: "It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday – are suffering unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of one unruly passenger's behaviour."

The airline added it hoped the civil proceedings in the Irish court would deter further disruptive behaviour on flights.

The passenger has not been named.

Under EU laws, passengers are entitled to compensation for flights within the EU that are cancelled or delayed by three hours or more.

Hotel accommodation must be offered free of charge if an overnight stay becomes necessary, as well as transport between the hotel and the airport along with a free meal and refreshments.

A passenger who disrupted a Ryanair flight to Athens in 2020 was convicted last month in a Greek court and given a five-month suspended jail sentence, along with a €400 ($412) fine.

The BBC has asked Ryanair for comment on the details of the incident.

Firefighters in Los Angeles are battling a number of blazes in city suburbs, as tens of thousands of residents are forced to flee.

The rapidly changing situation is compounded by Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions. Currently authorities say there is no possibility of bringing the fires under control.

The Palisades fire, which is closest to the coast and also the largest, has ripped through picturesque suburbs which are home to many Hollywood stars. More than 1,000 buildings have already been destroyed.

Here's how the fires have spread and are affecting the Los Angeles area.

An overview of the current fires

Four major fires are currently being tackled.

The Palisades fire was first reported at 10:30 (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and grew in just 20 minutes from a blaze of 20 acres to more than 200 acres, then more than tenfold in a matter of a few more hours. At least 30,000 people have so far been ordered to leave their homes.

The Eaton fire grew to cover 1,000 acres within the first six hours of breaking out. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena at around 18:30 local time on Tuesday.

The Hurst fire is located just north of San Fernando. It began burning on Tuesday at around 22:10 local time, growing to 500 acres, according to local officials. It has triggered evacuation orders in neighbouring Santa Clarita.

The latest of the four fires is the Woodley fire, currently 75 acres in size. It broke out at approximately 06:15 local time on Wednesday.

• Follow latest updates on the LA wildfires
• Watch: Smoke billows as thousands evacuate in LA
• 'Run for your lives!' residents abandon cars to flee fire on foot
• Timelapse shows rapid spread of Palisades wildfire
• Watch: Inside a neighbourhood totally lost in inferno
• Pacific Palisades: The celebrity LA area ravaged by wildfire

How did the Palisades fire spread?

The Palisades fire has so far burnt through more than 2,900 acres. The map above shows how rapidly the blaze spread, intensifying in a matter of hours. At just after 14:00 on Tuesday it covered 772 acres and within four hours it had expanded approximately to its current size.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, as more than 1,400 firefighters try to tackle the blaze.

How does the Palisade fire compare in size with New York and London?

To give an idea of the size of the Palisades fire, we have superimposed it on to maps of New York and London.

As you can see, it is comparable in size with the central area of UK's capital, or with large areas of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

How the fires look from space

Another indication of the scale of the Palisades fire comes from Nasa's Earth Observatory.

The images captured on Tuesday show a huge plume of smoke emanating from California and drifting out to sea.

Effects of the Eaton fire

The Palisade fire is not the only one to have a devastating effect on neighbourhoods of Los Angeles.

The above images show the Jewish Temple in Pasadena before and during the Eaton fire.

The Jewish Temple and Centre's website says it has been in use since 1941 and has a congregation of more than 400 familes.

The neo-Nazi organisation Blood and Honour, which is linked to parts of the skinhead music scene, has become the first extreme right-wing group to have financial sanctions imposed by the UK government.

Treasury ministers said they had "reasonable grounds to suspect" Blood and Honour of being involved in "terrorist activities through promoting and encouraging terrorism, seeking to recruit people for that purpose and making funds available for the purposes of its terrorist activities".

The assets freeze - which was extended to all aliases or affiliate groups including Combat 18 and 28 Radio - means nobody in the UK can provide funding or financial services to those named organisations.

This is a different government response from proscription - in which the Home Office issues banning orders on extremist groups.

Blood and Honour was founded in 1987 by Ian Stuart Donaldson aka Ian Stuart. He was the lead singer for the skinhead rock band Skrewdriver.

He said he set up Blood and Honour, which takes its name from a slogan of the Hitler Youth, because he felt the National Front was not racist enough.

Blood and Honour promotes white power ideology through music and still holds regular festivals.

Combat 18 originally served as security for Blood and Honour and ended up controlling one of its factions. 28 Radio was an online radio station.

Donaldson said at one stage: "I'll die to keep this country pure and if it means bloodshed at the end of the day, then let it be."

He died in a car crash in September 1993 but Blood and Honour continued.

Over the last decade, six extreme right wing groups have been banned – or proscribed - by the Home Office as terrorist organisations, the first being National Action in December 2016. The list also includes Atomwaffen Division, Feuerkrieg Division, Sonnenkrieg Division, The Base and The Terrorgram collective.

But this action against Blood and Honour and its affiliates is led by the Treasury and seeks to limit the group by strictly limiting its financial capabilities.

Therefore, Blood and Honour has not been proscribed but is the first extreme-right wing organisation to face an asset freeze under the Treasury's sanctions regime.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he risks fuelling accusations of "a cover up" by refusing to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

She also accused the PM of not wanting questions asked "of Labour politicians who may be complicit".

Sir Keir argued that several inquires had already been held into abuse carried out by gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, and that a new probe would only delay the action the victims wanted.

And he said he would "call out" anyone who prevented victims of sexual abuse from coming forward.

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which calls for a national inquiry.

In the unlikely event the amendment is approved the bill, which includes measures aimed at protecting children and tougher rules around home-schooling, as well as changes to academies, would be scuppered.

Sir Keir said it was "shocking" Conservative MPs would try to block a bill aimed at helping vulnerable children by voting for the Tory amendment and accused Badenoch of "weak leadership".

Making her argument for a fresh inquiry, Badenoch said "no one has joined the dots, no one has the total picture".

She noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which lasted for seven years and concluded in 2022, had not had a specific focus on grooming gangs.

"We don't need to repeat the work that has already been done. Let's look at new areas."

She said a new inquiry could explore "if there was a racial and cultural motivation to some of these crimes".

Sir Keir said "reasonable people could agree or disagree" on whether there should be a fresh probe and acknowledged that there were mixed views among victims and survivors.

However, he accused Badenoch of only recently taking an interest in the subject and said she had failed to take action when she was in government.

"I can't recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry," he said.

The Metropolitan Police has passed a full evidence file about a Premier League footballer accused of rape to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision, the BBC has been told.

The CPS said it is carefully reviewing the file of evidence in relation to a man, while the Met said it is continuing to investigate following reports of alleged sexual offences between 2021 and 2023.

This follows on from a BBC News investigation which spoke to five women who accused the footballer of rape, sexual assault or controlling behaviour.

Despite four of those women reporting the man, who we are calling Player X, to the police, he has continued to play for his Premier League club.

One of the women, who we are calling Kira, first reported Player X to the police in August 2021 and is calling on the CPS to prioritise making a charging decision, due to the severe emotional toll the lengthy process has had on her.

She previously told the BBC the lack of action from the club and governing body the Football Association (FA) in response to the allegations, after she contacted their safeguarding teams, contributed to her attempting to take her own life.

"I didn't want to exist in a world where I'm constantly reminded that rape allegations can be ignored as long as you're talented enough," she said.

Another woman said they believe if Player X had been suspended by his club or the FA after the first allegation, she would not have gone on to be sexually assaulted.

The BBC investigation found seven out of 20 Premier League clubs have had players or bosses investigated by the police for sexual offences since 2020.

The FA and Premier League both say they take sexual misconduct very seriously.

Player X was first arrested on suspicion of rape in July 2022 following a report from one woman. Shortly afterwards he was also arrested for an earlier allegation of rape from a second woman, who reported him to the police in August 2021.

He was questioned by police in February 2023 about allegations of sexual assault made by a third woman.

In November 2024 the footballer was further questioned by police about an allegation of rape from 2023 made by a fourth women.

Privacy rules regarding the identification of suspects means the BBC is not naming the footballer. The player has denied wrongdoing, the BBC understands.

A Metropolitan spokesperson police told the BBC on Wednesday: "A full file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"Those who have come forward to police continue to receive support from Met officers."

The player's club and the Premier League previously told the BBC they were unable to comment on an ongoing police investigation.

What was the FA's response?

After first going to the police in August 2021, Kira emailed the FA, Premier League and the club about her allegations the following month "in desperation", as she was worried about him continuing to play on such a big platform while he was being investigated.

The club told her it couldn't discuss her allegations for legal reasons. The Premier League directed her to the FA.

More than four months after contacting the FA about her allegations, it told her in emails that it could take "no further action" as the alleged behaviour did not breach its regulations.

It stated there was "no evidence" to suggest that Player X "poses a risk of harm to children or adults at risk". It sent her a PDF document that was titled "Football's Safeguarding Children policy" - which did not apply to her.

"They were hiding behind their lack of policies whilst knowing that the regulations they did have set up were meant to protect profits, not victims," says Kira.

In July 2024, Kira again approached the club, Premier League and FA - sending them evidence that she was a "vulnerable adult".

In an email, seen by the BBC, the club told her they had passed her correspondence onto the Premier League and the FA. The Premier League told her it was unable to discuss allegations currently under police investigation. And the FA, told her it couldn't share any details or updates regarding if any FA interventions have been taken.

"Further, we refer to our email…where we explained we are not the employer of the individual," it added.

Speaking about the response Kira told the BBC their correspondence has "reinforced a devastating message that I don't matter, that more women coming forward doesn't matter, and that even when I meet safeguarding requirements, it will never matter".

Another woman - Mia - said she believes if the FA and club had acted when they were first alerted to a rape allegation in 2021, she wouldn't have later gone to the house of Player X where she alleges he sexually assaulted her.

"If they had decided to take the first allegation seriously... if they had suspended him, I never would have been in that situation that I was in that day," she told the BBC.

"Their decision caused me to suffer," she said.

While the FA has detailed policies in place for players accused of betting on the game, there isn't anything similar for players accused of sexual or domestic violence that takes place beyond the football environment.

Some lawyers in the UK have noted the many legal difficulties facing football clubs when considering how to deal with a player facing allegations of sexual or domestic violence, without overarching rules in place.

A spokesperson for the FA said: "Our safeguarding policies and procedures allow us to support and protect children and adults at risk within a football-related environment."

"Regardless of where the incident took place, if the individual has a role within football, we always carry out a thorough safeguarding risk assessment and take the appropriate action if we believe there is a risk of harm to children. We are unable to comment on specific cases, but that does not mean that we haven't taken the required action or applied appropriate safeguards within our jurisdiction."

If you have information about this story or abuse within football that you would like to share please get in touch. Email hannah.price@bbc.co.uk.

And if you are affected by any of the issues in this story, contact BBC Action Line for details of advice and support.