weather >> good afternoon. britain it's 12:00 on monday, the 23rd of april. >> five people are dead attempting to cross the channel to the uk. just hours after rishi sunak's flagship rwanda bill passed in parliament. we'll have more on that. plus analysis on what happens next with the deportation flights to kigali . deportation flights to kigali. >> the number of alcohol specific deaths has reached a record high, driven by a high surge in the number of booze related fatalities among middle aged women, experts say it's down to the pandemic . down to the pandemic. >> also, happy saint george's day red crosses are flying high as crowds gather across england to celebrate their patron saint. but would you like it to be a bank holiday?

>> well, would we like it to be a bank holiday, or would it simply cost too much money? there's one estimate that said it would cost the economy £4 billion for everyone to take a day off work, that being said, as, as andrew pierce was saying in the last show, we've got two bank holidays in may and none in april. couldn't we just make one of them? >> yeah . do swapsies that last >> yeah. do swapsies that last may. bank holiday. why do we have it? yeah. if you did a direct swap, surely that would work. although, interestingly, when i did a quick sort of straw poll amongst people this morning and you say have you ever celebrated saint george's day? they go , no, no. you know, for they go, no, no. you know, for many people the day passes by without them almost acknowledging it . acknowledging it. >> it's like because we haven't got that sort of focal point of

celebration . i think so often celebration. i think so often for people. well, right across the united kingdom , it's, it's the united kingdom, it's, it's days like sort of royal jubilee. that's the day it feels like we have so much to celebrate all those of us who are monarchists have so much to celebrate when it comes to the royal family that i don't know, saint george's day just doesn't figure i >> -- >> and -_ >> and yet, you know, saint patrick's day, saint david's day, saint andrew's day. >> yeah, yeah, i suppose that that to some extent the english identity gets a little bit swallowed up in the rest of, in the rest of the uk because obviously royal occasions are for the whole country. and so today is perhaps the only day that it today is perhaps the only day thatitis today is perhaps the only day that it is actually just, for just england. >> and also now i think amongst some people the word patriotic to say or patriotic has these negative connotations for some people, although not if you're in nottingham, apparently not. if you're a nottingham . that if you're a nottingham. that enormous flag they have, they they did a great sing song for us. goodness knows what they sound like when they've spent the afternoon in the pub and

they sing it all over again. we'll try and bring you that. >> absolutely . but. of course. >> absolutely. but. of course. are you english? and if you are, do you feel proud of your englishness? post your comments, of course. visit gbnews.com forward slash your say we're going to get englishness , rwanda going to get englishness, rwanda and a little bit on pub courts all after your news headlines . all after your news headlines. >> good afternoon. it's 12:03. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb news room. a child is among five migrants who've died trying to cross the english channel after their small boat got into difficulty off the french coast. the incident happened off wimereux beach near boulogne just before 2 am. a number of other migrants were rescued, with at least one now critically ill in hospital. gb news can also reveal that another three small boats launched from an area near the site of this morning's tragedy. latest figures show the number of migrants crossing the channel has increased by 24% this year. shadow home secretary yvette

cooper says it shows that urgent action is needed, shows how dangerous these boat crossings are. >> they put lives at risk and they are undermining our border security and criminal gangs are making huge profits from these dangerous boats and from putting lives at risk in this way. and that's why we urgently need proper action to tackle these dangerous boat crossings . dangerous boat crossings. >> this morning's incident comes just hours after the government's flagship rwanda bill finally passed through parliament. the prime minister called it a landmark law, promising that nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground. the cost of putting each migrant on a plane is expected to reach £11,000, while rwanda will get £20,000 for each asylum seeker who's relocated there. illegal migration minister michael tomlinson says flights will take off within weeks . off within weeks. >> we're keen to see things happening as as soon as possible

. the prime minister set out and made it very clear that it's going to take 10 to 12 weeks for the first flight to actually take off and to get off the ground. but you're right, last night was a momentous occasion. we were told that the bill would never pass, that we'd never get it through, and the prime minister was determined to ensure that we got the bill through. and we did that last night. and shortly after midnight, i found myself standing at the bar of the house of lords and listening to the final speeches. there where they confirmed that the bill was actually going to go through . actually going to go through. it's a landmark moment and an important moment for this rwanda scheme. >> meanwhile, the home secretary is echoing those comments as he prepares to discuss illegal migration with his italian counterpart. >> today is a landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats , the our plan to stop the boats, the james cleverly says. >> italy is one of britain's most crucial partners in tackling the shared challenge. he'll visit the coastguard in rome and discuss efforts to stem illegal arrivals from north africa. he'll also become britain's first government minister to visit lampedusa ,

minister to visit lampedusa, where around 110,000 migrants landed last year. where around 110,000 migrants landed last year . vladimir putin landed last year. vladimir putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue. that's according to a warning from rishi sunak . the prime minister rishi sunak. the prime minister will announce britain's largest ever package of aid for kyiv, worth £500 million, as he arrives in warsaw. he says the funding is essential for the defence of britain and all of europe against the russian president's brutal ambitions. ukraine's president zelenskyy welcomed the record military package , which includes package, which includes long—range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats in the us. donald trump will appear in court soon for a day. two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. the court has already heard. prosecutors claim the former president orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. they also argue that payments made to an adult film star, so—called hush money, were in breach of the law. donald

trump denies any wrongdoing . the trump denies any wrongdoing. the case could complicate mr trump's path to re—election match against president biden. but former nevada republican chairwoman amy tarkanian says it won't stop his campaign. >> he still campaigning. you better believe it. and even though he has a gag order, which he has a tough time following , he has a tough time following, he, from what i understand, behaved today inside the courtroom. but as soon as he stepped outside the courtroom, he had addressed to the media and continued to open his mouth and continued to open his mouth and complain once again . and complain once again. >> and britain's roads are in miserable state of disrepair. that's according to the rac, the company says breakdowns rose by 9% in the last year due to large numbers of potholes . it's led to numbers of potholes. it's led to more than 27,000 call outs in the year to the end of march, and the cost of fixing the problem across england and wales is estimated at more than £16 billion. and for the latest stories , sign up to gb news

stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news .com/ herts. now it's back to tom and . pip. tom and. pip. >> thanks, sophia. now good afternoon britain. it is 1208 and just hours after the government's flagship rwanda bill passed in parliament, five people have died whilst attempting to cross the english channel. that's just hours after the bill passed. >> among the dead is thought to be a child. reacting to the incident, north of bologna, the home secretary, james cleverly, said these tragedies have to stop. i will not accept a status quo which costs so many lives. we're joined live by gb news home and security editor mark white. mark what's the latest you can bring us on this ? you can bring us on this? >> well, the search and rescue operation is all but ended. really? but what we have now is

an operation to deal with multiple other small boats that, despite this tragedy at wimereux beach, which is just north of boulogne, have launched this morning heading for uk waters. now this incident happened in the early hours of the morning. a number, a small number of boats set off from the beach at wimereux . one got into wimereux. one got into significant difficulties . it's significant difficulties. it's believed that the boat got stranded for a while on a sandbank , managed to free sandbank, managed to free itself, but then there was some kind of movement on the boat in which a number of people toppled into the water, and then a big search and rescue operation underway involving several helicopters and various maritime rescue vessels . five people have rescue vessels. five people have been confirmed dead. three men, a woman and a young child. we believe a four year old girl. now, as i say in addition to this tragedy, we have the steady

flow of migrants continuing to make this illegal journey across the english channel. four set off. well, actually, more than that, about six boats set off. a couple have had to turn back because of the weather conditions, but for have three of them have made it to uk waters , another one is just waters, another one is just about to make it to uk waters already. the border force defender has arrived at dover harbour with 67 migrants on board and then another . a board and then another. a similar number of migrants has just arrived at dover harbour on another vessel, the rnli lifeboat from dover has also picked up migrants and it will be heading back to dover harbour shortly, probably within the next 15 minutes. so whatever the government does in terms of passing this bill, clearly designed to act as a deterrent for the moment at least, that is not proving to be a deterrent.

of course, no flights have yet gone to rwanda and that may change. but for the moment at least, the people smugglers are continuing to push people out on these very dangerous journeys . these very dangerous journeys. >> a hugely concerning picture. mark, thank you for bringing us the very latest there. of course, this is all in the context as what we were talking about at the top of the programme. this bill being passed, mark, in your estimation, do you think that it will be the case that a regular rhythm of flights, as the prime minister promised yesterday, will stop tragedies like this ? will stop tragedies like this? >> i'm not so sure, to be honest. i think if the rwanda bill had got off, or at least the rwanda plan had got off the ground when it was first announced. now more than two years ago by boris johnson at lydd airport in kent, then it could have had a deterrent effect. i was on the other side of the english channel, speaking regularly to migrants over there who were very concerned about

what it would mean for them. so there's no doubt, you know, they're plugged in, they know what was being planned in the uk and none of them wanted to end up in east africa. so it could have had a deterrent effect there. i think if the government is sincere in terms of pushing the vast majority, if not all of those who come over from the engush those who come over from the english channel over a certain time period say that the bill does get off the ground in july, then everyone that comes across for the next month or two is sent to east africa . yes, sent to east africa. yes, i think it could absolutely be a deterrent, but if we see a regular drumbeat of flights going to rwanda, which are relatively modest in nature and actually don't account for the majority of migrants who are coming across the english channel coming across the english channel, then i think people will still take the risk. they'll make the calculation on that. what? there's a 20% or 10%

chance of me being sent to east africa , and i'll still come africa, and i'll still come across the channel. well really really interesting stuff. the scale of this matters rather than just the binary it happening or not happening. mark white thank you very much . white thank you very much. >> as we said then that the rwanda bill passed overnight at exactly eight minutes past midnight. here's how the illegal migration minister, michael tomlinson, reacted . tomlinson, reacted. >> minister set out and made it very clear that it's going to take 10 to 12 weeks for the first flight to actually take off. it's a landmark moment and an important moment for this rwanda scheme . rwanda scheme. >> 10 to 12 weeks. a curious amount of time, given that they've had two years to prepare for this. but, as we heard from yvette cooper as well , labour's yvette cooper as well, labour's shadow home secretary this morning, this was her reaction, the problem with the scheme. >> and bear in mind, this is there was announced two years ago, they told us they were implementing this two years ago and they have just kept writing checks to rwanda. but the first thing they're going to now do is

write another £50 million check for rwanda . for rwanda. >> she's right there, another £50 million check, taking the total to £350 million. i noticed a bit a bit earlier that sort of reminded me of something £350 million. >> oh, was it something on bus? >> it was something on a bus. one one week of gross membership contributions to the european union. >> and if labour get in, then they will pull it anyway. yes. although it might take time for them to do so. so then there's all that money, half £1 billion at least. well down the drain . at least. well down the drain. >> really, really concerning. well, should we get the view of the labour party now? the former europe minister, labour politician denis macshane joins us now in the studio. dennis, i suppose it's going to be a real challenge for the labour party, say they win the election in the autumn. say that's after a dozen years, perhaps hundreds of flights have taken off at the labour party. really going to cancel this scheme? well let's

see if it works first. >> i've been visiting different refugee sites over my years in politics and as a minister, they're coming in to greece , they're coming in to greece, they're coming in to greece, they're coming in to greece, they're coming in to italy, they're coming in to italy, they're coming in to italy, they're coming into portugal, they're coming into portugal, they're coming into france, they're coming into france, they're coming into the atlantic. >> holiday resorts of the portuguese and the spanish have in the atlantic. and it's just not stopping because there's so much poverty, so much despair. we're going to send a few guys back to or sorry, not back. they're not going back. we're going to dump them in rwanda. a rotten little , east african rotten little, east african autocracy. it's not the great country that are the fastest growing countries in europe , in growing countries in europe, in in africa. >> look, when you start from after a genocide , you only have after a genocide, you only have to add, you know, £2 a day and you're the fastest growing percentage country . percentage country. >> it is a country that certainly we came back after a terrible genocide, but they've still got the same old guy running it, the same old autocracy. no press freedom .

autocracy. no press freedom. >> the he was the guy that helped end the genocide. sorry paul helped end the genocide. sorry paul. paul kagame was the guy that led the troops that ended the genocide. >> yeah, indeed. i'm not. >> yeah, indeed. i'm not. >> i mean, we celebrated that. that's 20 years ago. and once an italian guy, sorry, an african guy, italian guy . whoops. an guy, italian guy. whoops. an african guy takes over. it's very difficult to dislodge him. so human rights watch, amnesty international, we are taking asylum seekers from rwanda. i don't want to get into a pro or anti rwandan debate. it'll be decided by the courts. it could end up at the european court of human rights. i was there last year or last week where british parliamentarians said that kosovo could join the european convention of human rights to have the protection of the human court of rights. we now are possibly going to remove that from the british people. it's integral to the good friday peace agreement. i'm going a bit down the line now. i don't think a labour government is going to sacrifice the good friday agreement for a wacko scream

every person sent back has to be accompanied by three border force agents. it's going to be a nice , jolly aeroplane ride all nice, jolly aeroplane ride all the way to rwanda. a huge cost to the taxpayer. and as the israelis found out, they deported african asylum seekers there. and within two weeks, they'd all left because they're not under lock and key. they're not under lock and key. they're not under lock and key. they're not under armed guard. they're not under armed guard. they're not going to make a life in rwanda. they start heading north again. so, i mean, good luck to tory colleagues celebrating last night. don't know why it lasted so long. they got an enormous majority. all this rubbish. not in the house of lords. >> they hold 1 in 3 seats. >> they hold 1 in 3 seats. >> they've got there in the house of lords. enough lords, they're the biggest party. >> they don't have a majority. no, they don't have. >> no, they don't have a majority. that was deliberately dubbed by david cameron. i don't quite know why, but in any case it was delayed a short while and it's going to be delayed again because you only have to knock

on a judge's door, say hello. this is, x y z, mr qc. i've got a case of this guy who's been sent back. he fears because he's gay or he's a wrong religion. he'll be badly treated or ehhen he'll be badly treated or either. will you hear the case? and any british judge will. and so the whole circus starts again. and we have to. surely we should be asking. mark was asking it. your reporter, i thought, was excellent. if you go to all these other countries, they've received far more people by boats in greece, in italy, in spain and, and they keep coming. they put them on remote islands in the aegean. they keep coming. this is just fantasy politics. and i really don't think i mean, rishi sunak, when he was chancellor of the exchequer, told boris johnson it won't work, be very expensive. james cleverly has said we can't possibly leave the european convention on human rights european court of human rights, so they're buying a bit of time until the election. but i just say one tiny point i was out

canvassing with 60 labour canvassers yesterday in london for sadiq khan for the mayoral election. i canvassed 3 or 4 times a week, not once this year . tom, pippa has any person on the doorstep mentioned boat people or ru and compared to all the problems with european immigrants or before you were born when i was young, man, you don't pass time. all the immigrants from pakistan, india, afro—caribbean, 1970s, early 80s. this is a non—issue. lord ashcroft then, as i read your tweet on this. >> yeah, you were canvassing in westminster, weren't you? >> yeah. >> yeah. >> in the heart of the political bubble. yeah, absolutely. >> social housing. westminster i can see saint john's, smith square, the great church , and square, the great church, and all the politicians go to round the door from where it just it just might be it might feel a bit different. >> it might come up on the doorsteps a bit more if you're in kent or if you're in, i don't know, parts of parts of the red wall, sunderland . if you're in, wall, sunderland. if you're in, i'm bishop auckland, i'll be canvassing that too.

>> and i remember the impact of kosovo refugees. we all thought we should take them in in the late 1990s, arriving in rotherham and it caused a lot of resentment. and then i had to live as an mp on the phone ins on the doorstep with all of the william hague and nigel farage banging on about european immigrants. you know, i accept the result of the referendum, of course, but there's nothing like that. i'm prepared to bet, because i will be campaigning in red wall seats. it's just not an issue. lord ashcroft , okay, issue. lord ashcroft, okay, famous guy did a big poll and the majority thought the rwanda idea was nuts . idea was nuts. >> well, we'll have to see how it all turns out, but denis macshane, thank you very much for joining us and talking us forjoining us and talking us through your perspective . through your perspective. >> coming up very soon, we're heading to dartford, where plenty of people are celebrating all things english for saint george's day. you're with good afternoon britain on .

gb news. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 12:24. now, some breaking news just in our royal correspondent, cameron walker is here with us now because , cameron, there's now because, cameron, there's been an update from the royals. what is it there has tom. >> yes. kensington palace in the last few moments has released a new photograph of prince louis to mark his sixth birthday. i can tell you that it was taken by the princess of wales in the last few days in the grounds of windsor castle. i'm also assured that this photograph is unedited. if you remember the hoo—ha around the mother's day photograph with the princess of

wales and her three children, george, charlotte and louis. it was killed by photographers photo agencies. because of the apparent manipulation on this one. completely different. it is unedhed one. completely different. it is unedited to mark his sixth birthday, but this is not the usual way that a royal birthday photograph is released. it's usually released the day the evening before the birthday takes place, so the papers can have it for the following morning's edition. that has not happened. this time it appears. maybe there was a little bit of arming and arring from the prince and princess of wales whether they would release a photograph, but i'm getting the sense this morning that they were really grateful for all of the general public messaging and tweeting and putting on instagram a happy birthday, prince louis. and they wanted to thank the general public for their well wishes to their youngest son on his sixth birthday, which is why they have decided to release the photograph on their social media channels rather than giving it to the media first to then release it under embargo. so thatis release it under embargo. so that is why the prince and princess have decided to release

that photograph . and i that photograph. and i understand that when prince princess charlotte's birthday happens next month , a similar happens next month, a similar thing is going to happen. so it's going to be released on their social media channels for their social media channels for the people, not the press. >> well, cameron walker, thank you very much for bringing us that update. >> doesn't he look absolutely glorious? more and more like his big brother. now i'll be counting the fingers in the next advert. >> i know it's not edited. >> i know it's not edited. >> i know it's not edited. >> i know, but still loving that cheeky little smile. now, of course it might be prince louis birthday, but it is also saint george's day today and the birthday of william shakespeare. we'll cross to dartford now, where red crosses are apparently flying high. gb news presenters stephen dixon, ellie costello are there. stephen, over to you , are there. stephen, over to you, yes. good afternoon . you two yes. good afternoon. you two have to say, isn't that a great picture of prince louis? put a smile on my face today. look, we're here at down the pub, as you can imagine, as you would be getting ready for what is going to be a fantastic afternoon here in dartford . the parade is going

in dartford. the parade is going to be underway with 700 schoolchildren taking part and paper mache dragons and all sorts. there's loads going on here. hasn't started yet. that's the key, which is why we're we're still keeping a comparatively low profile till the fun begins. we think in about an hour or so and we'll bnng about an hour or so and we'll bring you full coverage of that. but the big question, well, there's a couple of big questions . should we celebrate questions. should we celebrate saint george's day? should we be more patriotic ? i guess why not? more patriotic? i guess why not? is the question, is the answer to that one? but also, what does it mean for towns like this? doesit it mean for towns like this? does it have a real impact when the community gets together and celebrates in this way? so i thought with that in mind, i'd send ellie out and about. >> yes, thank you very much, steve. and you can see the sort of impact that this is having on the high street here in dartford. it is packed in a squire coffee, the coffee and cake shop, you know me, can never get me too far from the

cakes. and the cakes do look wonderful here i'm joined by the owner, gurjit, who is with me now. gurjit what does a parade like this? one of the biggest in the uk . what does it mean for the uk. what does it mean for business here today? >> it's fantastic for business. year on year it's got stronger and stronger. >> you know credit goes out to jeremy kite and govinda for cohesion. they've they've put on a very well organised show. the kids seem to enjoy it don't you. back from school when they're doing their art and craft and bringing out all their posters and flags? it really is a real family orientated parade and it's just fantastic for business and i hope it continues for a long, long time to come. >> so we're expecting it all to start kicking off in about an hours start kicking off in about an hour's time. what can we expect? because you were telling me this happens every single year and it's just getting bigger, isn't it? >> i'll be honest with you. i think i probably answered that question better than me, because every every year they've got some great surprises as as you can see around us now, we've got an orchestra band that have just come in. there's stilt walkers, there's people dressed up outside. so every year there's a little bit more added on, which makes it gives it a bit more fun, a little bit more glamour.

each and every year. >> it looks absolutely packed out there on the high street already . we can see the security already. we can see the security presence already. is it something that we have to be aware of? obviously, with all the children around, it is a lot of organisation to keep everybody safe. >> yeah, absolutely . and again, >> yeah, absolutely. and again, it goes back to date and to, to jeremy and gurinder as well. and what they've done for the show, i think security for children is incredibly important. and although i've never seen any , although i've never seen any, any incidents ever happen here, but it's great to see the lads out there and make everyone feel safe and secure. >> yeah. and you're a local man. you're a local business owner. what does this mean for the local area ? why dartford. local area? why dartford. >> well i think it's crucial for dartford really. you know there's other parades that do go on. but this is what builds the high street, builds the community and makes people aware that there are businesses like myself out there so they can come in and visit us and also just see, you know, the growth of the children through the school as well. and they understand the history of british and english culture. >> gurjit wonderful to talk to you today. thank you so much for your time. better let you get

back behind the coffee counter. it's very, very busy in here. we can see a brass band have just walked into this coffee shop and there's morris dancers outside on the high street. we'll all ramping up now with the parade due to start in around half an hours due to start in around half an hour's time. tom and pip. >> marvellous. well, we'll be back with you when that parade is going. i look forward to it. and i look forward to seeing those papier mache dragons as well. marvellous stuff. thanks for joining us. >> i forjoining us. >> i was looking forward to seeing more of those cakes . seeing more of those cakes. >> i'm sure there will bring one back. plenty of both . plenty of back. plenty of both. plenty of both. unfortunately, it's just tea in my mug and not beer. but that's for after the show, well, we'll have much more to come, of course, on the programme. just a little update. not just out and aboutin little update. not just out and about in the country, but also on downing street . the common on downing street. the common sense minister esther mcvey, former gb news minister. she's hosting a saint george's day reception at downing street a bit later. it's just been announced, celebrating the best of english produce. so it's happening all around. but, much more to come, this is good afternoon, britain on gb news. coming up, we'll be discussing the alarming rise in alcohol related deaths in women. and of

course, more coverage of saint george's day across the country. but first, the headlines with sophia wenzler. >> thanks, tom. it's 1230. sophia wenzler. >> thanks, tom. it's1230. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your headlines. a child is among five migrants who've died trying to cross the engush who've died trying to cross the english channel after their small boat got into difficulties off the french coast . the off the french coast. the incident happened off wimereux beach near boulogne just before 2 am. a number of other migrants were rescued, with one now critically ill in hospital . now critically ill in hospital. gb news can also reveal that another three small boats launched from an area near the site of this morning's tragedy. latest figures show the number of migrants crossing the channel has increased by 24% this year. this morning's incident comes just hours after the government's flagship rwanda bill finally passed through parliament. the prime minister called it a landmark law,

promising that nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground. the government expects charter planes to depart from rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks, though ministers have conceded that the numbers on board will be small . numbers on board will be small. in other news, the prime minister will announce britain's largest ever package of aid for ukraine as he travels to berlin and warsaw. the £500 million pledge comes as rishi sunak warns that vladimir putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue. he says the funding is essential for britain's defence against russian president brutal ambitions. the funds will cover new weaponry following a request from ukraine's government and a new photo of prince louis has been released by kensington palace, marking his sixth birthday. the unedited close up image shows the young prince lying on a rug on the grass and smiling at the camera. it was taken by his mother at windsor

in the last few days. the family says they're grateful to all those who've wished them well . those who've wished them well. and for the latest stories , sign and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen , or the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. common shirts

i >> -- >> hello. welcome back. we want to talk to you now about the number of deaths specifically caused by alcohol across the uk, which has reached a record high. according to new figures. now, this includes a surge in the number of women losing their lives to drink related diseases. >> now, whilst the number of deaths for women remains lower

than the number of deaths amongst men, the rate of increase is higher. over the same five year period, deaths amongst men rose by 29, whilst deaths deaths amongst women rose by 37. >> well , let's speak to vanessa >> well, let's speak to vanessa hebditch about this. vanessa is the director of communications and policy at the british liver trust . very good afternoon to trust. very good afternoon to you, vanessa. a lot of this is being blamed on the panda. the pandemic is that too simplistic an answer ? an answer? >> so i think the pandemic did cause many of us to, drink a little bit more of people were very anxious , so perhaps people very anxious, so perhaps people were sort of turning to alcohol, i think it caused an increase in the numbers of us that were drinking at home. and that's probably continued after the pandemic. and i also think just the general stresses and strains, the cost of living crisis is also , increasing the

crisis is also, increasing the amount that many of us are drinking . drinking. >> so this is a very interesting and concerning trend because it's, it's limited perhaps to some age groups but not to others. what can you tell us about who particularly is at risk here? >> well, what these figures show is that, there's been particular increases in the middle aged, both men and women. but as you've just mentioned, particularly in women , and i particularly in women, and i think that part of the reason for that is i think there's been a big shift in the uk's drinking culture here, and, you know, many of us go around the supermarket now, we fill up our trolley with wine . we're trolley with wine. we're drinking at home, a glass of wine, perhaps while we're cooking, while we're watching tv, while we're eating our dinner. and all of this adds up. although alcohol related cirrhosis can take over a decade

to develop, people whose livers are already badly damaged can die when they suddenly increase their consumption . and so their consumption. and so because of this liver disease, mortality is a really rapid indicator of changes in alcohol consumption amongst those heavier drinkers . heavier drinkers. >> now, scotland also has a really bad problem as well. i mean, their number of alcohol related deaths increased by 25% in three years, but they have actually increased. i think their unit pricing will that make a difference, do you think? is that a good way to tackle this? >> i do think so. i think there are there are sort of three key drivers. one of them is affordability. and alcohol has become significantly cheaper , become significantly cheaper, another one is accessibility. it's available all, you know, all day, every day on, on at the local, you know, corner shop, etc. and then the third one is

that acceptability, you know , that acceptability, you know, many of us are drinking at all sorts of different times of the day . you know, there's prosecco day. you know, there's prosecco at brunch or, you know , it's at brunch or, you know, it's become much more acceptable within our society to drink. >> hang on a second. with those first two issues, affordability and accessibility in scotland for years now, they've had minimum unit level pricing. they've raised the price of alcohol. they're still having increased problems with alcoholism and alcohol related deaths . indeed, also in deaths. indeed, also in scotland, if you want to buy alcohol in the evening, you can't. you're forbidden from purchasing it after 10 pm, so it's less accessible and it's still having these problems. so perhaps the answers aren't making alcohol more expensive or less accessible. perhaps there needs to be a cultural change here. >> i completely agree that i think there does need to be a cultural change, but some of those other measures can sort of drive drive change, we also need sort of, you know , some shifts

sort of, you know, some shifts in, i think, you know, advertising and marketing , which advertising and marketing, which drives the consumption of alcohol, but also consumers need to be able to make a choice . so to be able to make a choice. so we need better labelling on alcohol products . it's crazy alcohol products. it's crazy that there's more information on, on a pint of milk than on a bottle of beer or wine, so people need to be able to make an informed choice, and i think it's become, as you say, so acceptable and ingrained in our culture that, people , people, culture that, people, people, people don't realise that actually drinking too much can be really dangerous. >> well, i mean, we're talking a bit about the binge drinking culture as well, aren't we? which still seems pretty prevalent amongst amongst young people, certainly in this country. i mean, i was on the train the other day near, near birmingham, and there was a gang of girls out for a night out, and they were just swigging from and they were just swigging from a whole bottle of wine , pretty a whole bottle of wine, pretty much finished it. and it was only about 8:00. vanessa >> yeah, i think i think the other key thing for liver

disease is that liver disease is a silent killer. there are usually no symptoms at all, in the early stages. so, the government actually recommends that men who regularly drink over 50 units, which is about the equivalent of 20 pints of been the equivalent of 20 pints of beer, or women who drink over 35 units of alcohol per week, that's about three and a half bottles of wine. should have a liver scan because it means that they're at risk . but we know they're at risk. but we know that the british liver trust that the british liver trust that in many parts of the country, patients are not routinely getting those liver scans. and we also know that when people do get a scan and they're told that their liver is starting to be a little bit damaged in those early stages, people are able to reduce their alcohol intake and sort of take alcohol intake and sort of take a step back. so so, i think that would be a really key way of supporting people. so. >> so do you think shock tactics come a little bit into this, i don't know that shock tactics are the right way. alcohol is

also incredibly stigmatised. we live in this sort of double standard where it's everywhere. it's part of our culture, it's part of our society. but when people do get into trouble and start drinking too much, then there really stigmatised and we need to make it much, more normal for people to ask for, for help if they feel that they do have alcohol problems and nobody needs to feel ashamed or to fear losing their reputation or their career. people need to be able to access help at a much earlier stage, much before they become, say, alcohol dependent, because this is not something that's happening only to i think there's this myth that it's just alcoholics. but actually many of us in the uk are drinking at a level that that could put our livers at risk. >> well, vanessa hebditch, thank you very much for talking through what are some fairly concerning statistics new out in the uk today? thank you very much indeed. director of communicate and policy at the british liver trust. somebody

said to me once only drink alcohol when you're happy , never alcohol when you're happy, never dnnk alcohol when you're happy, never drink it when you're sad. >> that's a good which is great advice in reality, it's tough . advice in reality, it's tough. i've got one. >> where? don't drink it alone. only drink it with friends. which i think which you think works quite well. but. but this 20 pints a week thing , that's 20 pints a week thing, that's less than three a day . less than three a day. >> i gives you, gives you an idea of how what you're drinking . if you're shocked about that , . if you're shocked about that, if you go, do you not think three pints a day is a lot? >> i think if you go to a pub, you can easily get through three pints, and that's just sort of but a day. okay, okay, maybe you don't go to the pub every, every day, but how much does that cost? oh, it depends where in the country you are and if you're going to wetherspoons or not. but but i don't know. i think there is this distinction to be drawn between problem drinkers and people who drink. perfectly normally and healthy amounts and the risk here, as we've seen in scotland, is what you do is you raise the price of alcohol and that just hits the

pockets of people who are dependent. yeah, because if you've got a dependency , it's you've got a dependency, it's not going to stop them more expensive. you're just going to spend more of your money on it. yeah. >> you said you said that you'd had some non—alcoholic beer and you couldn't really taste the difference. no, i quite liked it. so maybe it is psychological. >> i quite. well, there's just something satisfying about having a beer at the end of the day. and i think a lot of people in my generation are now buying non—alcoholic beer for, you know, during the week , which is know, during the week, which is actually cheaper. yeah. but also sometimes just as satisfying if you're only going to have one beenl you're only going to have one beer. i mean, why do you need it to be alcoholic? but maybe, maybe that's just me being incredibly millennial and out of touch with real britain. i don't know. let me know. gbnews.com/yoursay >> next we are going to cross to nottingham for more saint george's celebrations. i'm sure there's a little bit of alcohol involved there on today. it's allowed. exactly. don't go away

i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it's just coming up to ten minutes to one. now, we've been discussing a lot about saint george's day, but also about whether or not we should be drinking today. but also about whether or not we should be drinking today . a few should be drinking today. a few people have been getting in touch with their views on it . touch with their views on it. and there's a wide, wide range. ross has something to say to me. typical gen z probably drink, drink, man. you're british. well ihave drink, man. you're british. well i have to. i have to say i'm not a gen z. i was born just before generation z, so? so how dare you? well, paul , generation z, so? so how dare you? well, paul, you generation z, so? so how dare you? well, paul , you say squeaky clean. >> pippa. squeaky clean. pippa. trust me, people who know me know that's not the case. people like here are the problem. people like her are the problem with that attitude . three beers with that attitude. three beers is nothing. i just reckoned when . i mean, this is what you thought. but when you work it out over the course of the week, to me it seems like a huge

amount. but then i'm a wine dnnken amount. but then i'm a wine drinker, not a beer drinker. >> but also for women it's less. it's what is it? third, it's significantly fewer units than it is for men. so perhaps it would be a lot for you, but for not anyway. it's saint george's day today. it's april the 23rd, and communities across the country are gathering to celebrate england's patron saint. >> yeah, red crosses are flying against white backgrounds. knights are dusting off their chainmail . and yet some are chainmail. and yet some are asking who is saint george and why should we celebrate him? >> well, our east midlands reporter, will hollis has the story come rain or shine . story come rain or shine. >> colin, from carlton in nottingham, will celebrate saint george's day. he's been decorating his home with the saint george's cross for 30 years. >> it matches because 23rd of april is saint george's day and we've been forgotten about and we've been forgotten about and we've got to show our identity and show our patriotism . and show our patriotism. >> in the city centre, size matters . england's biggest flag

matters. england's biggest flag covers nottingham's council house. it appears every year many welcome it. some are indifferent. >> i think it's amazing, i do, i think it's absolutely amazing andifs think it's absolutely amazing and it's proud for something in our country. >> i think it's really good to see it up there. it's good to see it up there. it's good to see a celebration of england, the country. it's a flag . the country. it's a flag. >> it's. yes. yeah. i didn't even realise it was there for me. >> the red cross against white is saint george's emblem and the nation's flag. saint george has been celebrated as england's patron saint since the 14th century, but long before english knights wore the red cross over their armour while riding into battle, his story was being told in other parts of the world. legend states that george was a dragon slaying knight. history traces him to modern day turkey. a roman soldier who died defending christianity . in

defending christianity. in london, the royal society of saint george, a patriotic but non—political group, paraded with hundreds of cadets at the weekend. nik dutt is chairman. >> a lot of our fundamental beliefs and things that we hold dear are being undermined , so dear are being undermined, so i think it's important we come together and celebrate him as a unifying factor . unifying factor. >> here at the cenotaph, england's fallen heroes are honoured alongside the patron saint, laying a wreath ahead of the 80th anniversary of the normandy landings. d—day veteran henry rice, a proud englishman aged 98. >> we were taught all this. we were so proud just to be english saint george. >> yeah, he's a great guy and he. >> patriotism is sometimes criticised and english history isn't perfect, but a community of all cultures can cherish saint george . back in carlton, saint george. back in carlton, colin's raising a different flag

with a traditional anglo—saxon dragon. >> i present george , have >> i present george, have a great day. >> will hollis gb news in nottingham . nottingham. >> and we're joined by will now will, who are you with? >> yes. well, this is colin. you just saw him in the package there . one of the most proudly there. one of the most proudly decorated homes in nottingham, covered in saint george's crosses. you've just arrived at the saint george's party here in nottingham. how are you feeling on this special day for you? >> oh, it's fantastic, a great day. >> great to see friends, old friends who we don't see very often, but it's for great saint george's day to all gather together and celebrate it . together and celebrate it. >> a patron saint of saint george. it's fantastic. >> why did you want to decorate your home in such a way? i know that you've always got saint george's cross flying outside of your home, but why did you want to make an even bigger statement this year? >> because we've been forgotten about and like, our identity is getting pushed aside, like. and i just want people to know we are rings. we're still here, and we still want to show that we're engush we still want to show that we're english and we're proud. and

there's nothing wrong with being engush there's nothing wrong with being english and there's nothing wrong with being proud. and it's not racist to be english. >> and what are you going to be doing here today? i see you're going just into the pub. what is it? just a couple of beers with some friends, catching up, or is it just a nice peaceful time singing the national anthem ? singing the national anthem? >> i won't lie to you. we're going to have a few beers, celebrate with all the lads together like and celebrate our great day of saint george. like. yeah. >> thank you very much, colin. here outside of the old salutation inn on saint george's day . day. >> marvellous stuff. thanks very much, will. well my goodness, it seems that nottingham might be our most patriotic county today. i'm just looking at all those celebrations. yeah, although we will be back with steven and ellie, who are down in, in kent. it's dartford. >> yeah. don't annoy the people of dartford by saying nottingham and more patriotic. we're going to, we're going to start a bit of a ding dong. >> we are. goodness me. oh where are you in a more patriotic area. gbnews.com/yoursay say, interesting to hear, but this is of course, good afternoon britain on gb news, britain's news channel. much more coming

up in the next hour, including the very latest on what's on earth is going on with rwanda . earth is going on with rwanda. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello there. welcome to your latest gb news weather update. it should brighten up for many northern areas through the rest of the day, but it will remain fairly cloudy in the southeast . fairly cloudy in the southeast. that's because a weather front has been pushing along the southeast through late this morning. that's bringing this cloudier skies. it's fairly weak feature by the time we get to this afternoon, but it will continue to bring quite a lot of cloud around to many southern areas of england and the southeast . that's where we could southeast. that's where we could see some drizzly rain, particularly along the coast . particularly along the coast. elsewhere, it should stay dry through this afternoon, and there will be a good deal of sunshine for north and western areas. northern ireland, western scotland , northwestern wales as scotland, northwestern wales as well seeing highs of 15 or 16 degrees. so in the sheltered

sunshine, not bad at all. but if you are exposed to this northerly wind along the east coast, you're certainly going to nofice coast, you're certainly going to notice a chill in the air and there will be quite a bit more cloud around these areas as we lead into tonight as well. that cloud will continue to pull in off the north sea, keeping skies a little cloudier all along the east coast. we'll continue to see some cloud, mainly across parts of wales southern england two but across the north—west. clear skies will lead to another very chilly start. we could be down as low as minus four rurally, so a bit of a patchy frost is expected for western areas throughout wednesday. it will be a chilly start, but quite a bright start. will be a chilly start, but quite a bright start . there'll quite a bright start. there'll be more in the way of sunshine. still much of the sunshine will be restricted to western areas of the country and the far north, while the east still have this onshore wind, bringing in more in the way of cloud and the risk of showers and that chillier feel. so temperatures closer to 8 or 9 in the east and closer to 8 or 9 in the east and closer to 8 or 9 in the east and closer to 15 in the west. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on gb news.

weather >> good afternoon. britain. it's 12:00 on saint george's day. yes, it is. when? monday, the 23rd of april. >> five people have died, including a seven year old girl including a seven year old girl in the channel. just hours after rishi sunak's flagship rwanda bill passed in parliament. we'll bnng bill passed in parliament. we'll bring you more on that , plus bring you more on that, plus analysis on what happens next with the deportation flights to kigali . kigali. >> and in the past hour, kensington palace has released an unedited. also, they claim birthday photo of prince louis to mark his sixth birthday. it was taken by his mum . was taken by his mum. >> well, we're here in dartford .

>> well, we're here in dartford. ready for the saint george's day parade. 700 children, loads and loads of locals, all getting ready to march through the centre of the town. yes the clock is ticking down now we can hear the children. >> they're just starting to gather in their papier mache dragon masks. it's really going to be a sight. >> i think i said it was monday at the top of the hour. >> i don't know, i think you said it was wednesday. >> i really don't, honestly, as everything's upside down today, i can confirm it's tuesday, tuesday, the 23rd of april, which isn't just saint george's day, but also pippa's. you mentioned earlier shakespeare's birthday two, you can't get more engush birthday two, you can't get more english than that. >> and prince louis sixth birthday. >> wow. that's the that's the triumvirate of english icons, isn't it? but but the but the idea of saint george being associated with england originally comes from from, richard the lionheart as he went

crusading, through the middle east and that takes us back about 900 years of association with saint george and that cross and the english specifically. >> and he's also patron saint of a number of other countries as well. >> yes. georgia, bulgaria famously malta, but, but yes, perhaps , perhaps most perhaps, perhaps most significantly england, because for the longest time he's been associated with england ever since , richard the lionheart. since, richard the lionheart. and then, of course , the order and then, of course, the order of the garter. that was, henry the third, then henry the fifth, that agincourt cry good for. are we having a history lesson for the next, for the next hour? no, that's good afternoon, britain. a history lesson for you is over , but happy saint george's day. >> absolutely . and we want to >> absolutely. and we want to know what you're doing this saint george's day. do you celebrate ? have you celebrated celebrate? have you celebrated before gbnews.com/yoursay d'orsay is the way to join the discussion. but not just that. we'll be talking about many other big stories too. we've got a correspondent out following

the prime minister in his trip after the rwanda bill passed. all that and more after your news headlines . news headlines. >> good afternoon. it's 1:02. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your top story this houn newsroom. your top story this hour. a child is among five migrants who've died trying to cross the english channel after their small boat got into difficulties off the french coast . the incident happened off coast. the incident happened off wimereux beach near boulogne just before 2 am. a number of other migrants were rescued , other migrants were rescued, with one now critically ill in hospital. gb news can also reveal that another three small boats launched from an area near the site of this morning's tragedy. latest figures show the number of migrants crossing the channel has increased by 24% this year. shadow home secretary yvette cooper says it shows that urgent action is needed , shows urgent action is needed, shows how dangerous these boat crossings are . crossings are. >> they put lives at risk and they are undermining our border

security . vie and criminal gangs security. vie and criminal gangs are making huge profits from these dangerous boats and from putting lives at risk in this way. and that's why we urgently need proper action to tackle these dangerous boat crossings . these dangerous boat crossings. >> this morning's incident comes just hours after the government's flagship rwanda bill finally passed through parliament. the prime minister called it a landmark law promising that nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground . the cost getting off the ground. the cost of putting each migrant on a plane is expected to reach £11,000, while rwanda will get £20,000 for each asylum seeker who's relocated there. illegal migration minister michael tomlinson says flights will take off within weeks. >> i'm keen to see things happening as as soon as possible, the prime minister set out and made it very clear that it's going to take 10 to 12 weeks for the first flight to actually take off and to get off the ground. but you're right, last night was a momentous

occasion. we were told that the bill would never pass, that we'd never get it through. and the prime minister was determined to ensure that we got the bill through. and we did that last night. and shortly after midnight, i found myself standing at the bar of the house of lords and listening to the final speeches there, where they confirmed that the bill was actually going to go through. it's a landmark moment and an important moment for this rwanda scheme . scheme. >> in other news, vladimir putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue . that's is allowed to continue. that's according to a warning from rishi sunak, the prime minister arrived in warsaw a short time ago as britain pledges its largest ever package of aid for kyiv , worth £500 million. he kyiv, worth £500 million. he says the funding is essential for the defence of britain and all of europe against the russian president's brutal ambitions. ukraine's president zelenskyy welcomed the record military package, which includes long—range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats . now, crime vehicles and boats. now, crime in rural areas would be tackled

as part of a new strategy unveiled by the labour party . unveiled by the labour party. research shows that rural crime rates are surging faster than in urban areas. the strategy would see increased police patrols increase, with tougher penalties for thefts and anti—social behaviour. the government dismissed the plan as a toothless tweak around the edges. sir keir starmer says it will mean community laws that have been blighted by organised crime will be better protected in the us. donald trump will appearin in the us. donald trump will appear in court soon for day two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. the court has already heard prosecutors claim the former president orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. they also argue that payments made to an adult film star, so—called hush money, were in breach of the law. donald trump denies any wrongdoing . the trump denies any wrongdoing. the case could complicate mr trump's path to an election rematch against president biden. but former nevada republican chairwoman amy tarkanian says it won't stop his campaign still

campaigning. >> you better believe it. and even though he has a gag order, which he has a tough time following, he, from what i understand, behaved today inside the courtroom. but as soon as he stepped outside the courtroom, he had addressed to the media and continued to open his mouth and continued to open his mouth and complain once again . and complain once again. >> britain's roads are in a miserable state of disrepair. that's according to the rac . the that's according to the rac. the company says breakdowns rose by 9% in the last year due to large numbers of potholes . it's led to numbers of potholes. it's led to more than 27,000 call outs in the year to the end of march. the cost of fixing the problem across england and wales is estimated at more than £16 billion, and a new photo of prince louis has been released by kensington palace, marking his sixth birthday. the unedited close up image shows the young prince lying on a rug, on the grass and smiling at the camera. it was taken by his mother at windsor in the last few days.

the family says they're grateful to all those who've wished them well . and for the latest well. and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news common alerts. now it's back to tom and . tom and. pip. >> thanks very much, sophia. now good afternoon , britain it is. good afternoon, britain it is. it is 108 and our top story this houn it is 108 and our top story this hour, just hours after the government's flagship rwanda bill passed in parliament, five people have died whilst attempting to cross the english channel. among the dead is a child. yeah >> she's believed to be just seven years old. while reacting to the incident north of bologna, home secretary james cleverly said these tragedies have to stop. i will not accept a status quo which costs so many lives . lives. >> well, we're joined now by gb news home and security editor

mark white for the very latest. and mark, what more do we know about this tragedy ? about this tragedy? >> well, the incident unfolded in the early hours of wimereux, which is north of berlin. we're told that a number of boats entered the water. one got into difficulties. now some of the reports we're getting is that a number of other migrants who are not supposed to be on that boat, but who, for whatever reason, have not paid the people smugglers tried to storm that boat , got on that boat, smugglers tried to storm that boat, got on that boat, and may have added to the difficulties that boat got into. now, this is not uncommon . it's been not uncommon. it's been happening increasingly frequently on small boats where particularly african migrants who do not have the wherewithal, the money to pay these people smugglers have been adopting a tactic of waiting until the boats get pushed into the water,

go offshore , and then they try go offshore, and then they try to storm the boats, run to the boats and force their way on board. so that may well be true, because what is happening now, according to our kent producer, who is down at dover harbour, is that the dover lifeboat, which has come into dover harbour with 55 migrants on board now, we believe these are migrants who were taken off that small boat at the centre of this tragedy. it continued its journey after those that were on board fell off and were picked up by the rescue services. five, as we know, died and others taken to hospital . but that boat hospital. but that boat continued. it was when it made got to uk waters. those occupants were picked up by dover lifeboat. it is now in dover lifeboat. it is now in dover harbour and as we speak, police officers are searching everyone who comes off that particular boat, so that would lend some credibility to these

reports that this may have been a tragedy that was in some way exacerbated by a group of other migrants trying to storm the boat, get onto the boat. it was desperately overcrowded, according to the authorities, as it tried to make its way further into the channel >> mark, the prime minister has said this morning that the incident underscores cause why a deterrent is needed, why the rwanda scheme is needed. other people would look at that in a different way and say, well, actually, doesn't it show that flight s aren't going to stop people because they're willing willing to risk their lives by by drowning in the sea. so nothing's going to stop them if they're willing to take that step . step. >> well, there is certainly a calculation and a determination from those who travel thousands of miles from africa, from the middle east into europe, across the mediterranean , in many

the mediterranean, in many instances or further up through the balkans in that route. but they're travelling for many, many months over many thousands of miles with a determination to get to countries like france, germany and of course, the uk, and there is a calculation, i think, without a doubt in the minds of migrants, that the chance of them actually either being denied their asylum claim orindeed being denied their asylum claim or indeed being sent to east africa as is the hope of rishi sunak now that this policy has passed in parliament, that the chances of that are relatively small and they will take that risk . it all depends, really, on risk. it all depends, really, on what happens when , as rishi what happens when, as rishi sunak hopes, the first flights start taking off, in the summer, if there is this steady drumbeat and it is significant numbers that go across . but i can just that go across. but i can just tell you right now, as we speak ,

tell you right now, as we speak, in addition to those searches of those coming off that , lifeboat, those coming off that, lifeboat, we can confirm that more than 200 small boat migrants have made that illegal journey across the channel from france so far today, in for small boats . today, in for small boats. they've all now arrived at dover harbour. >> wow. 50 to a boat, incredible numbers, mark white, thank you very much for that latest updates. 200 now arrived today. now, of course, at eight minutes past midnight. finally the rwanda bill passed both houses of parliament. here's how a legal migration minister, michael tomlinson, reacted . michael tomlinson, reacted. >> minister set out and made it very clear that it's going to take 10 to 12 weeks for the first flight to actually take off. it's a landmark moment and an important moment for this rwanda scheme . rwanda scheme. >> west cross live to westminster to speak to gb news political editor christopher hope christopher , i just want to hope christopher, i just want to ask you first of all about

something that's come out in the last few minutes, the prime minister travelling to poland, where he's been speaking to journalists on the plane, actually presenting them with cupcakes to celebrate saint george's day . but he refused george's day. but he refused also to rule out this election being held in july. also to rule out this election being held in july . and wes being held in july. and wes streeting has also, mentioned it in, in the house of commons as well . well. >> yeah, that's right. the pm is making clear that his working assumption, his language is to have the election in the second half of this year. now, there are people on the tory side of the argument who are saying the pm should just pull us all out of our misery and say when the election is going to be. but he's choosing to . not so the he's choosing to. not so the remarks by the pm on the flight to poland today will just, further fuel the claims, which i do not think are realistic, but they might have the election in june or july that i say that because the pm said yesterday in his press conference he wants to

see a regular rhythm of flights taking off to rwanda if those flights do not take off until middle of july , and the labour middle of july, and the labour party saying, well, acts a scheme altogether, then you can't have a rhythm with nothing. with no time left before the election . so i think before the election. so i think they want to have a few months before the election and also take into account the september budget , take into account the september budget, probably. and even i was chatting with mps last night, pip and tom and two of them said they want to ensure they get paid for six more months before the election because many are fearing for their seats. >> it's fascinating to see how all of this ties in to, speculation and sort of political commentary, but but fundamentally, what matters here, i suppose , is results. and here, i suppose, is results. and this 10 to 12 week hiatus for many people is deeply confusing . many people is deeply confusing. >> yeah, it comes down to the nature of this legislation. it does allow for independent individual challenges by individual challenges by individual people being sent to

rwanda . and that's why there's rwanda. and that's why there's hundreds of judges ready to process these claims very quickly. and this is the point that robert jenrick resigned over the immigration minister back in december. the fact you can allow individual challenges, for all these different individual, people being flown to , to, to, rwanda is the reason to, to, to, rwanda is the reason why he was so concerned . and, why he was so concerned. and, earlier though, we heard from yvette cooper and it's clear they will act this scheme even if it proves successful . if it proves successful. >> the problem with the scheme and bear in mind this is there was announced two years ago, they told us they were implementing this two years ago, and they have just kept writing checks to rwanda. but the first thing they're going to now do is write another £50 million check for rwanda to. >> that's yvette cooper, the shadow home secretary. now, i can tell you that we expect this safety rwanda bill to become law, probably on thursday . and law, probably on thursday. and that will be quite important. that will trigger the ratification of the treaty with

rwanda. and at that point, the home office can start trying to round up people to put on the flight. so the process for them to leave the uk starts probably on thursday. tom and pippa catterall important note for the diary thursday royal assent ratification of the treaty. >> well then, a bit of lawyer time, but chris hope, thank you very much for joining time, but chris hope, thank you very much forjoining us. talking through those details . talking through those details. really important stuff. >> we're going to go to lincolnshire to speak to former chief immigration officer kevin saunders . so, kevin, very good saunders. so, kevin, very good afternoon. the prime minister saying that in light of this tragedy, this morning where five people, including a seven year old girl , people, including a seven year old girl, died in the channel, he's saying this underlines the need for the rwanda scheme, why it will be a deterrent . do you 7 ee. agree? >> i do indeed. >> i do indeed. >> we can't have these awful things happening with people dying in the channel. >> it's absolutely outrageous that this should happen. and a small child dying is even worse,

from from what the reports are, it looks as though migrants fighting amongst migrants was the cause of it as well . the cause of it as well. >> which is. oh, it's just unbelievable. so yes, we need rwanda. we need to stop the boats coming across. and at the moment, the only game in town is rwanda. so that's what we've got to go with because yvette cooper is . is. >> sorry, kevin, i just wanted to put to you what, yvette cooper said, calling it an extortion , really expensive extortion, really expensive gimmick and that, border security should be boosted instead . and that's the way to instead. and that's the way to go about it . go about it. >> oh, dear me, i get i get very upset when i hear this because realistically , we've been trying realistically, we've been trying to stop people coming across the channel now for 25 years. we were very successful. eventually

in my day, with the lorries, we managed it virtually. >> stop it all. that is why we now have the boats and yvette cooper comes up with with well , cooper comes up with with well, i'm afraid her ideas won't work, they just won't work. >> it's interesting because the labour party has this refrain that all you need to do is smash the criminal gangs. but, i mean, as far as i'm aware, the government has been sending out teams to smash these criminal gangs, seizing depots of equipment as far away as turkey. but but i suppose when you've, when you're playing whack a mole with these gangs, that's incredibly hard to do at source, it is virtually impossible. >> these gangs, as you so rightly say, are sitting in turkey enjoying their coffee and making oodles and oodles of money. now we can't send a british bobby out turkey to arrest them. we need the turks

to actually work with us and the turks are saying, well, show me the fence that these people are committing in turkey and we'll deal with it. >> but they're not they're not committing any offence at all in turkey. >> therefore, the turks are saying , well, you know what? saying, well, you know what? what do you want us to do about it? so the idea of us sending british bobbies out to turkey to deal with it is just nonsense. >> well, kevin saunders, thank you for the for the blunt appraisal that you've given there. it was, not not perhaps there. it was, not not perhaps the most cheery , assessment, but the most cheery, assessment, but my goodness, what a big issue we all face. thank you very much for joining us. former chief forjoining us. former chief border officer. of course. >> welcome . plete change of gear >> welcome. plete change of gear because we're going to be going to kent very shortly for live coverage of the saint george's day parade there. how are you celebrating or are you celebrating? let us know. this is good afternoon, britain.

good afternoon. britain. it is 1:24 now. earlier we were joined by stephen dixon and ellie costello in dartford in kent for their saint george's day pride parade. even. let's go back there. well, a parade with pride, i suppose, is a parade. but let's go back to ellie, where it really is kicking off, ellie, is your parade full of pnde? >> that. it certainly is. tom and pip. really good to see you. and happy saint george's day to you. you may need your earplugs if you're out and about in dartford today. very, very excited schoolchildren, 700 of

them from 24 schools, will be parading along dartford high street very shortly. they're just gathering here at the civic centre behind me. it is a wonderful sight with so much excitement and national pride for the young people of dartford. it's wonderful to see i'm joined by the tory mp for dartford, gareth johnson, who is with me now. really good to see you today and what can we see behind us, because it is really just the most wonderful sight, isn't it? >> it is a wonderful sight. we've got hundreds of schoolchildren from right across dartford who've come here to celebrate our national day, saint george's day. you know, this is a great opportunity for the whole community to come together, as we do for so many different events, not just saint george's day. we do it for diwali, for eid, for everything dartfordians don't need much to come together and celebrate. so, you know, it's great to actually celebrate our national day and we're celebrating with pride today in dartford. oh, that. >> you certainly are. for those listening on the radio now we can see the red roses of england, can't we? we can see a huge papier mache saint george, who is currently going up and

down the lines of children . what down the lines of children. what else can we see in this crowd? >> there's hundreds literally hundreds of saint george's flags. people with red roses , flags. people with red roses, people just celebrating englishness, which is a wonderful thing to do. you know, too often people hold back a little bit, i think, on this kind of thing. but no, you know, we're unashamed in dartford. we actually will celebrate this full heartedly. you know, it bnngs full heartedly. you know, it brings everybody together and celebrating our national day. and look at the weather. it's a very typical english weather as well. you know, cloudy with a spot of rain. but that's not going to hold us back. you know, we are really going to celebrate this in full style. >> it certainly is the most engush >> it certainly is the most english weather today. as you say, cloudy with a touch of rain. what does this mean for a town like dartford? and what doesit town like dartford? and what does it mean for local businesses? because it is so busy in town? we've got talking about the school kids here that are gathered, but there's so much happening in the town centre as well, isn't there today? >> there is. i mean, if you go down to the high street in dartford, we've got saint george's flags everywhere. we're going to congregate in the park. you know, this is a wonderful opportunity actually, for the

community to come together and celebrate something that we can all unite behind. and that's for great sort of local neighbourly feeling. it's really good for the schoolchildren. i think, to have a sense of national pride as well. for all those reasons, this is a really, really good event to have these children remember this for the rest of their life, and they'll remember that actually, you can take pride in being english, in being british. and that's something actually that we should take, you know, give a lot of credit to the children for. >> yeah. and you can see how much fun they're having. i mean, they're laughing. they're so excited to be here, aren't they. it's such a lovely lesson to instil in them so young. >> that's right. at the end of the day this is going to have a fun day today. they're going to enjoy it. and that's, that's the really good thing about this. you know it's about community. yes. there's values there as well. but you can hear the noise behind me. you know, they are excited. they can't wait to get the parade started and get to down dartford town centre and into the park. >> this is such a wonderful event that you've done every single year since you've been a tory mp since 2010. do you think there should be a public holiday? is this something that we should all be experiencing? the fun and the pride of saint

george's day? >> i think there's a really good for case having either saint george's day or the monarch's birthday, as a national day, instead of maybe one of the other sort of more controversial pubuc other sort of more controversial public holidays that we have. i think most important of all, though, i think we should celebrate saint george day and national day. every other country in the world pretty much has a national day, where they take pride in who they are and their identity. england should be no different to that. >> and just before we let you 90, >> and just before we let you go, i couldn't help but spot your badge here. i don't know if we can come in. ollie and see this badge. love england, love dartford . dartford. >> that's right. in both equal measures. oh, wonderful. >> and you've got your flag as well. very good. and you're going to be waving that proudly. >> yeah, absolutely. english and british and proud of it. oh, wonderful. >> gareth, good to see you. thank you very much indeed. well, tom and pip, let's hope that the clouds stay away for us. it is as you say, the most engush us. it is as you say, the most english day in terms of weather. today and so much english pride behind us with these wonderful school children. >> we wouldn't have it any other way. ellie costello, thank you very much for bringing us that. it's such a joy to see all of those, all those roses and

indeed the very english papier mache. yeah, that is there. of course , a grand english word . course, a grand english word. >> well, there were there were saint george's day cupcakes on the plane for journalists who flew with the prime minister to poland a little earlier today . poland a little earlier today. he went with chancellor jeremy hunt and the defence secretary, grant shapps. they're welcomed by the defence attache to the british embassy in poland. and rishi sunak is expected to announce this £500 million boost for ukraine and its largest ever provision of vital munitions. he's going to be meeting polish prime minister donald tusk to discuss deepening uk, poland relations. he's already made this big announcement, hasn't he? this 500 million that that came out earlier. >> if you're watching on television , you might be able to television, you might be able to recognise one of those journalists around the prime minister in the plane there, our very own katherine forster. where is she ? lift. she was in where is she? lift. she was in that first photograph that we saw. i don't know if we can run it all again. we'll see if we can. but she has, of course, travelled along with the prime

minister to poland this very afternoon . we're going to see if afternoon. we're going to see if we can speak. did she get a cupcake a little bit later? these are most important question. >> did she get a saint george's date? there we are. >> there are the cupcakes. >> there are the cupcakes. >> oh, those look scrumptious, don't they? >> and there's the prime minister in a white shirt and a red tie. the almost mandatory uniform for any man here on saint george's day. but but i do hear that our very own katherine forster has spoken to the prime minister. she's asked him a couple of questions, including something about saint george's day and whether or not it should be a bank holiday. so we'll catch up with her. after news headunes catch up with her. after news headlines with sophia wenzler. >> thanks, tom. it's 130. headlines with sophia wenzler. >> thanks, tom. it's130. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb news room. your headlines. rishi sunakis room. your headlines. rishi sunak is warning that vladimir putin will not stop at the poush putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue the prime minister arrived in warsaw a short time ago as britain pledges its largest ever

package of aid for kyiv, worth £500 million. he's due to meet the leaders of poland, germany and nato, warning that the defence of ukraine is essential to british and european security . ukraine's president zelenskyy welcomed the record military package, which includes long—range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats . a child is vehicles and boats. a child is among five migrants who've died trying to cross the english channel after their small boat got into difficulties off the french coast. the incident happened off wimereux beach near boulogne just before 2 am. we understand that another three small boats launched from an area near the site of the tragedy this morning. latest figures show the number of migrants crossing the channel has increased by 24% this year. now the prime minister says nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground after the rwanda bill finally passed through parliament last night, the cost of putting each migrant on a plane is expected to reach £11,000, while rwanda

will get 20,000 for each asylum seeker who's relocated there. and crime in rural areas would be tackled as part of a new strategy unveiled by the labour party. research shows that rural crime rates are surging faster than in urban areas. the plan would see increased police patrols with tougher penalties for thefts and antisocial behaviour. the government dismissed it as a toothless tweak around the edges. but sir keir starmer says it will mean communities are better protected . and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news .com/ alerts . alerts. >> cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report , and here's financial report, and here's a quick snapshot of today's markets . markets. >> the pound will buy you

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i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it's 1:36. now. in the past hour, we've had a royal photo released. us gb news, royal correspondent cameron walker has the story, and he joins us now. cameron >> hi, tom. yes. kensington palace has released a new photograph to mark prince louis sixth birthday. prince louis is the youngest son of the prince and princess of wales. the photograph was taken a couple of

days ago in the grounds of windsor castle. you see him there lying on a rug, wearing a shirt there. it's a really lovely photograph, but it is also unedited. royal sources have made clear. remember, we had a little bit of a scandal when it came to the mother's day photograph from last month, where the princess and her three children were pictured. photo agencies killed. the image because it had apparently been manipulated . and the other thing manipulated. and the other thing to say about this photograph is it wasn't released in the usual way. what usually happens for one of the royal children's birthdays is the photograph is released the day before, so the papers can print it on their front pages the following day. i understand that initially we, if you remember, following the princess of wales's cancer diagnosis , she asked for privacy diagnosis, she asked for privacy for her and her family while she undergoes preventative chemotherapy. she is still having preventative chemotherapy at the moment, but it's thought on balance. it's understood that the prince and princess wanted to thank the public directly for the birthday well—wishes they've

received for prince louis over the last well, today , so they the last well, today, so they directly released an image on their social media channels, unedited, for the public to see. it's also understood that when princess charlotte's birthday comes around next month , a very comes around next month, a very similar thing will happen. so a celebratory photograph to mark prince louis sixth birthday from the prince and princess of wales. and i should add that it was the princess herself who took the image . took the image. >> of course, princess catherine has been in hot for water releasing images herself, as you alluded to there. cameron what reassurances have you been given that this is a completely unedhed that this is a completely unedited photograph? >> we see the photograph of your screen there of the mother's day photograph, where there were a few little bits of manipulation on the image, including perhaps a missing finger. mingus, a princess charlotte sleeve was also slightly off, as well as the princess of wales's zip . the princess of wales's zip. nothing like that in this photograph. it's not been airbrushed. it is just a single shot of prince louis lying on

the grass. royal sources have assured me that this photograph has not been edited. i think we can believe them, to be honest. let's not get into conspiracy theories here, and the whole point of this photograph is to celebrate prince louis birthday. this kind of this unwritten rule between the royal household and the general public that in, in exchange for privacy for the royal children as they grow up as is clearly their right and the prince and princess of wales have the right to protect their children from the eyes of the media and indeed the general public. they have decided to release every year a photograph on their birthday, and we see them sporadically throughout the year as well. the royal children. so this is just keeping up with the tradition. but in a slightly more modern way, using their own social media channels to give the pubuc media channels to give the public the image. >> and let's just just talk about little prince louis because he is a little tinker, isn't he? cameron and he's he's very quickly become a firm favourite amongst royal watchers because he's always up to a little bit of naughtiness that seems to get captured by the

photographers. >> yes. and queen camilla told a member of the public last month that prince louis can be, and i quote, quite a handful, and i think we have seen that perhaps through the public, engagements and ceremonial events that have happened with the royal family over the last few years, most notably the late queen's platinum jubilee, where he had a little bit of a tantrum in the royal box during the pageants. and kate's very professionally calmed him down a little bit, him putting his hands over his ears during the royal fly pass for that jubilee service as well. and he had a little bit of a go pretending to be a motorbike driver on the balcony of buckingham palace during the coronation celebrations and or trooping the colour last year, one of the two. so he has been known to have a little bit of a cheeky streak in him. i think the general public love him for it and royal watchers alike. >> i wouldn't have it any other way. well, cameron walker, thank you very much for bringing us that latest photograph and the information surrounding it. good to know that it's the royal family have returned to sort of non photoshopped images. their

happy birthday to prince louis. yes. sharing it of course with well it's not saint george's birthday. it's the day that we think saint george died is the day that we celebrate , his day that we celebrate, his martyrdom. i suppose that's that's the whole. and we're also celebrating william shakespeare. yes, which is his. it's registered as the day he died and the day he was born. exactly. yeah. april, but stay with us, because we're hoping to cross to warsaw next, where the prime minister has arrived ahead of this announcement of the largest ever amount of military aid to ukraine, our correspondent, katherine forster has been travelling with him on the plane. she's even asked him about a new bank holiday. well, we'll get the answers very soon. you're watching. good afternoon britain on

gb news. good afternoon. britain. it is

coming up to 1:45. and the former united states president donald trump is back in court today facing charges of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments that were made to a porn star. >> just moments ago, he left trump tower and gave his usual wave. >> his hair's waving there to it is a little bit. >> must be breezy in new york, he is, we are told now in his car, making his way to court , car, making his way to court, although i think it was supposed to start at 130. our time . so to start at 130. our time. so we'll bring you the latest pictures as soon as we get them. and there they are. that is the courthouse in new york where the former us president is due any minute now. >> and very famous long, long corridor where i remember the first time we saw this corridor and we were just staring at that doon and we were just staring at that door, waiting for him to come out. and then there was this sort of ominous star wars like walk. you could just imagine the music playing in the background as he's sort of walking towards

the cameras, stops and then makes his big statement . he's makes his big statement. he's been making one of these quite political speeches each day that the court has been in session. >> but it's interesting today , >> but it's interesting today, day two, because the judge is going to be deciding whether he should be punished for violating a 939 should be punished for violating a gag order, which presents prevents him from criticising witnesses and others involved in the case. and prosecutors want the case. and prosecutors want the judge to fine him for criticising porn star stormy daniels and his former lawyer michael cohen. both of whom are expected to testify. now the judge could opt to fine him $1,000 for each violation or how many violations are there. >> that would be because i just think to a billionaire, $1,000 must not be a particularly large amount of money. >> well, absolutely, absolutely. but also , i think technically but also, i think technically the judge could also jail him for a few days . oh, that would for a few days. oh, that would be that would be a moment,

wouldn't it ? wouldn't it? >> but isn't this precisely what the prosecution wanted ? if the prosecution wanted? if you're going to put a gag order on anyone putting a gag order on donald trump, not a man known for being perhaps understated in how he puts across his case. they were just hoping that he'd walk into this sort of thing . it walk into this sort of thing. it it does seem like this does to some extent, feed into this narrative, some sort of trivial things around what is widely considered by political commentators in the states to be the least serious of all of the charges that he's facing this, this, this new york hush money case, much less serious than the case, much less serious than the case in georgia for example, it does seem that that it does feed into his narrative a little bit, that this is that this is all politicised. >> but if he keeps violating the 939 >> but if he keeps violating the gag order, i've just found the information here. the judge can send him to jail for up to 30 days. so that would be quite a twist. for his part, donald trump says this gag order, is a

violation of free speech. so we'll see. we'll see if he i keep saying it, fascinated about what he i can see a world in which donald trump being put behind bars for a month in the middle of campaigning. >> would you imagine what his surrogates would be saying on the television saying, look, this is this is biden locking up his political opponents ? his political opponents? >> you it would deepen his support, wouldn't it? surely he when he got his mug shot taken. >> yeah, that got turned into t shirts. yes. he sold that car bumper stickers, merchandise, no, i, i can't imagine actually weirdly, weirdly , i can't weirdly, weirdly, i can't imagine donald trump being sent to prison for 30 days doing him any harm . famously, he once said any harm. famously, he once said in the 2016 election, sorry, tom, no looking at the pictures i saw , i saw a bit of news, but i saw, i saw a bit of news, but it's glued to that door. >> no, that's clearly not trump

because he's in a shirt and short sleeve shirt. no we don't see the long red tie. >> maybe. maybe donald trump's wearing a red tie today, in honour of saint george, st george's day, i would have thought so. although, no, he's not english. he's of course got scottish ancestry. but but but i do think it is very curious how in 2016, of course, donald trump said that he could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot someone and his numbers wouldn't go down. we're really finding now in 2024, that theory , i now in 2024, that theory, i suppose metaphorically being put to the test, just how far can things go with his support? hardening and still behind him? yeah. well, we're looking now at that corridor as soon as donald trump does step out there and make some and make some noise, we will bring it to you. it doesn't look like there's a flurry of activity. exactly. >> so he must maybe they're running into court now and he's he's bringing up the rear. but yesterday he told reporters that the trial is election interference. his attorney attacked the proceedings ,

attacked the proceedings, calling it an affront to the american constitution , an it's american constitution, an it's hard because we don't want to cut away from the pictures , cut away from the pictures, because the minute we do, we might walk through through the doors. >> we should stay on this, because i think there is there is a lot more that we can say about what is going on in the united states right now, because the polls are actually aren't particularly wide . there was a particularly wide. there was a there was a widening. there's been a narrowing now, but crucially , in some of these crucially, in some of these swing states, donald trump is pretty far ahead. i think marginally most . psephologists. marginally most. psephologists. those who study elections say it's sort of his to lose, which is remarkable considering what's going on. >> yeah, but the other school of thought is that if he if he does get convicted, he's done for, so it's an interesting one. but listen, we'll we'll come straight back to those pictures, but we want to show you also show our prime minister, rishi sunak, arriving in poland, very, very recently , moments ago. here very recently, moments ago. here he is. coming off the plane

with, defence secretary grant shapps. >> and i think he was with the chancellor, jeremy hunt. >> looked like he was with him as well. >> but here he is with donald tusk, the new prime minister of poland, of course, formerly president of the european council. so a big, eu voice there recently won the polish election. >> well, donald tusk is of course known. during the brexit days, he became quite famous and infamous for some. >> but , but infamous for some. >> but, but now of infamous for some. >> but , but now of course, >> but, but now of course, president of a member state, rather a prime minister, i should say, of a member state of the eu rather than of the institution in itself. it has to be said that he, as prime minister of poland, has been talking tough on migration. he has perhaps been pushing back a little bit against the eu plan to sort of pool refugees and all of that sort of thing. so perhaps he's becoming a little bit more , i don't know, populist bit more, i don't know, populist in his new role as prime minister >> perhaps you have to and with with them there is the, nato secretary—general, isn't it? yes. jens stoltenberg. so rishi

sunak, holding talks with both of them. and of course, this comes on the day that, he has announced £500 million of uk military aid for ukraine, which the ukrainian president has, of course, welcomed. it will be spent , well, very much on course, welcomed. it will be spent, well, very much on air defence. that will be a main , defence. that will be a main, main part of the spending, along with armoured vehicles, small arms, ammunition, a lot of money, although comparing it to the tens of billions of dollars that the united states has just approved to go to ukraine, not quite as much as the united states is giving, but then again, as a proportion of the economy , still quite a large economy, still quite a large deal economy, still quite a large deal. of course, it all it all sort of pales into insignificance when you compare the other large amounts of spending that the uk government, puts out. this is , of course, if puts out. this is, of course, if you're to compare the amount of money we're spending on on the

eu compared to the amount of money we on on ukraine compared to the amount of money we used to the amount of money we used to spend on the eu, that was about £20 billion a year this , about £20 billion a year this, half a billion. but, you know, there will be big debates over whether this is money well spent and what it is actually , getting and what it is actually, getting in return. >> yeah. and the prime minister has also been stressing the importance of europeans investing in their own security and nato countries reaching their 2% defence spending commitment , because there are commitment, because there are calls for our spending commitment to be 3% by 2030. >> ironically, the next stop on the prime minister's visit is, of course, berlin. he'll be talking to olaf scholz, the chancellor of germany , who is chancellor of germany, who is calling for the uk to raise defence spending , but that from defence spending, but that from germany, a country that has not met its 2% target for years and years and years and years only, has just recently met its 2% target. i think it's a bit rich for the germans to lecture the

brits who've never missed our nato target, on spending a bit rich. for olaf scholz to say , oh rich. for olaf scholz to say, oh brits, you need to up your spending. but we've never, if that's what rishi sunak will say to olaf a bit rich, olav, i hope he says that. but of course, that's tomorrow's visit today. it's poland . this is the two it's poland. this is the two day, foreign visit of the prime minister. but we'll get more on that. and as soon as donald trump walks down that ominous corridor, we'll bring you that, too . but before all of that, too. but before all of that, let's get the weather with annie shuttleworth . shuttleworth. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello. good afternoon. >> hello. good afternoon. >> welcome to your latest gb news weather update should stay dry for most of us through the rest of the day and into tonight. and the best of the sunshine will be to the north and west. that's because we've got a large area of high pressure sat to the northwest of the uk, bringing that drier and brighter weather in the south

and east, though we've still got this weather front to clear through the next few hours, so risk of some drizzly rain across parts of kent, then that will be followed by a northerly wind that should bring some showers , that should bring some showers, particularly to eastern areas of england. coastal areas in particular, and that will also bnng particular, and that will also bring quite a lot of cloud along these coastal areas further north and west, though it will be a clear night. north and west, though it will be a clear night . and here is be a clear night. and here is where it could turn quite cold across parts of rural scotland could be down as low as minus four. the frost will be fairly patchy. that does develop and it should clear quite quickly as the sun does come up quite quickly as well, and it will feel fairly pleasant in the sunshine by the afternoon. if you are sheltered from the wind in the north and west, particularly parts of south wales , southwestern parts of wales, southwestern parts of scotland, we could see temperatures towards the mid—teens , but in the east it'll mid—teens, but in the east it'll be quite a different feel. still similar to how it has been recently that northerly wind keeping temperatures below double digits for some areas in northeastern areas of england . northeastern areas of england. it'll be a very cold start to thursday, and then we see an area of low pressure out in the nonh area of low pressure out in the north sea. bring this band of cloud and rain across northern

areas of england. parts of scotland as well. and then it does look like it will turn a little bit more unsettled from the south and west into the weekend, but it turns a little bit warmer. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on .

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gbnews.com for special extended episodes online. every friday at 9 pm, where we can truly get into the nitty gritty of what's going on. gb news, britain's news channel . news channel. >> good afternoon britain. it's 2:00 on tuesday, the 23rd of april, five people, including a seven year old girl, have died attempting to cross the channel to the uk just hours after rishi sunak's flagship rwanda bill passed in parliament. >> we'll bring you more on that, plus analysis on what happens next with the deportation flights to kigali . flights to kigali. >> and the prime minister has arrived in poland . he's expected arrived in poland. he's expected to announce the largest military aid package to ukraine. but also the germans are asking the uk spend more on our own army. we'll be crossing live. for more details as .

details as. >> fluid justice pubs, libraries and church halls should be used as pop up courts, apparently as as pop up courts, apparently as a way of clearing the backlog in criminal cases . that's the claim criminal cases. that's the claim from a high court judge. we'll be getting reaction from a publican . publican. >> us gb news is celebrating saint george's day with the nation. we're here in dartford and so many schoolchildren have just been parading through the streets with national pride. >> oh, it's been fantastic . so >> oh, it's been fantastic. so many kids showing so much excitement. we'll bring you all the very latest. >> now we're still waiting for donald trump to walk down that waiting corridor of doom at the new york courthouse . and indeed, new york courthouse. and indeed, we're anticipating talking to

our political correspondent katherine forster, live from poland as well . so there's a lot poland as well. so there's a lot to come this hour in terms of live events on both sides of the atlantic. >> yeah, the judge overseeing donald trump's hush money trial is going to decide whether he should be punished for violating a 939 should be punished for violating a gag order that prevents him from criticising witnesses and others involved in the case. and technically, he could be sentenced to 30 days in jail. so that would put a whole new twist , a whole new other twist on everything that's going on with the upcoming us presidential election. >> i just can't help but think he would revel in that, that he would say that his first amendment free speech rights are being breached , that this is being breached, that this is a new sort of tyranny, that that political opponents are locking up political opponents. you can just imagine how it can be painted as almost the perfect backdrop to the sort of narrative that donald trump is trying to build, and only serve to deepen his support ahead of that election, which is what, six months away? >> seven months away, not long

at all, so we're going to be bringing you those live pictures. and as tom says, we're also live with rishi sunak, and we'll be talking to our political correspondent, katherine forster, who is with him. let's bring you a round up of all the latest headlines now with sophia. >> thanks, pip. good afternoon. it's 2:02. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom . your top story the gb newsroom. your top story this hour. rishi sunak is warning that vladimir putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue. the prime minister arrived in warsaw a short time ago as britain pledges its largest ever package of aid for kyiv, worth £500 million. he's due to meet the leaders of poland, germany and nato, warning that the defence of ukraine is essential to british and european security . british and european security. ukraine's president zelenskyy welcomed the record military package , which includes package, which includes long—range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats . senior

vehicles and boats. senior figures from the united nations and the council of europe have criticised the government's plan to send asylum seekers to rwanda, warning that it sets a worrying precedent. the prime minister says nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground after the bill finally passed through parliament late last night. but officials at the un say it breaches the refugee convention and seriously hinders the rule of law by reducing the ability of law by reducing the ability of british courts to scrutinise removal decisions . the european removal decisions. the european court of human rights blocked deportation flights to rwanda in 2022, but mr sunak insists that won't happen again . a child is won't happen again. a child is among five migrants who died trying to cross the english channel after their small boat got into difficulties off the french coast. the incident happened just off wimereux beach near boulogne, before 2 am. a number of other migrants were rescued , with one now critically rescued, with one now critically ill in hospital . gb news can

ill in hospital. gb news can also reveal that another three small boats launched from an area near the site of this morning's tragedy. latest figures show the number of migrants crossing the channel was increased by 24% this year. shadow home secretary yvette cooper says it shows that urgent action is needed, shows how dangerous these boat crossings are. >> they put lives at risk and they are undermining our border security and criminal gangs are making huge profits from these dangerous boats and from putting lives at risk in this way. and that's why we urgently need proper action to tackle these dangerous boat crossings . dangerous boat crossings. >> now, crime in rural areas would be tackled as part of a new strategy unveiled by the labour party. research shows that rural crime rates are surging faster than in urban areas. the strategy would see increased police patrols with tougher penalties for thefts and antisocial behaviour. the government dismissed the plan as a toothless tweak around the edges. sir keir starmer says it

will mean communities that have been blighted by organised crime will be better protected . the will be better protected. the home secretary is travelling to italy for discussion on kerbing illegal migration. james cleverly says italy is one of britain's most crucial partners in tackling the shared challenge. he'll visit the coastguard in rome and discuss efforts to stem illegal arrivals from north africa. he'll also become britain's first government minister to visit lampedusa , where around 110,000 lampedusa, where around 110,000 migrants landed last year in the us. donald trump will appear in court soon for day two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. the court has already heard. prosecutors claim the former president orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. they also argue that payments made to an adult film star, so—called hush money, were in breach of the law. donald trump denies any wrongdoing . the trump denies any wrongdoing. the case could complicate his path to a rematch against president

biden ahead of november's election . britain's roads are in election. britain's roads are in a miserable state of disrepair. that's according to the rac. the company says breakdowns rose by 9% in the last year due to large numbers of potholes. it's led to more than 27,000 call outs in the year to the end of march . the year to the end of march. the cost of fixing the problem across england and wales is estimated at more than £16 billion, and a new photo of prince louis has been released by kensington palace , marking by kensington palace, marking his sixth birthday. the unedited, unedited close up image shows the young prince lying on a rug, on the grass and smiling at the camera. it was taken by his mother at windsor in the last few days. the family says their grateful to all those who've wished them well . and for who've wished them well. and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news common alerts. now it's

back to tom and . back to tom and. pip. >> thanks, sophia. now, welcome back to good afternoon britain here on gb news. >> our top story this hour , just >> our top story this hour, just hours after the government's flagship rwanda bill passed in parliament, five people, including a seven year old girl, have died while attempting to cross the english channel. >> well, reacting to the incident, home secretary james cleverly said these tragedies have to stop . i will not accept have to stop. i will not accept a status quo which costs so many lives. >> we're joined by gb news home and security editor mark white, who can bring us the very latest mark. obviously bring us up to date with this tragedy, but also how busy the channel is today with people trying to cross . with people trying to cross. >> well, indeed, that's a very good point , because clearly this good point, because clearly this tragedy coupled with the passing

of the rwanda bill, has done nothing to deter these small boat crossings. we can confirm that 210 channel migrants have made that illegal crossing of the english channel today, and have now arrived at dover harbour in three border force vessels and an rnli dover lifeboat . and one more boat, lifeboat. and one more boat, we're told is currently out there in the channel trying to make it to uk waters. still in french waters. with a bit to go. we're told, but trying to make it towards that point where they know, it is routine that once they get into uk waters because of british authorities say, the precarious nature of the fact that they are on overcrowded boats, they intervene and they pick them up and then they're taken to dover harbour. it's very controversial , but that is very controversial, but that is the process that we see played out day in and day out when the weather allows in the channel

and investigations are underway into this tragedy that unfolded into this tragedy that unfolded in wimereux , which is just north in wimereux, which is just north of boulogne, in the early hours of boulogne, in the early hours of this morning, a small boat that was vastly overcrowded got into difficulties just as it had pushed off from the beach. it was only a few hundred metres out from the beach, when a number of migrants ended up in the water. there was a huge search and rescue operation involving three rescue helicopters and multiple search and rescue and border patrol vessels from france. five people we now know have died , including we now know have died, including three men, a woman and a young girl. investigations are underway and we understand and into suggestions that a group of migrants who hadn't paid for that journey, they hadn't paid the criminal gangs, had tried to rush the boat, get on board that boat, and added to just how overcrowded it was and may have

exacerbated the end result of this tragedy . this tragedy. >> it's really concerning to see that this is still going on. of course, the government passed its bill last night. it passed the house of lords at eight minutes past midnight with the intent of stopping tragedies like this . but but i suppose it like this. but but i suppose it does need what what the prime minister set out yesterday in his address to the nation , that his address to the nation, that regular rhythm of flights before we can know if it's effective or not. >> yeah. we've got to acknowledge that despite the bill having passed and that clearly is a symbolic, milestone as well as the actual, power that the government needs, they say, to be able to get these boats, or the people from these boats, or the people from these boats into planes and off to rwanda , we have to acknowledge rwanda, we have to acknowledge that the first of those flights has not even left yet, and is likely to be the summer. so

until that actually happens, then perhaps the deterrent effect as such won't kick in. but much will depend on just how many people are on these flights. if it is just a trickle, of flights, even though they may be regular, if they don't account for the majority, if not all of the people coming across the channel in a set penod across the channel in a set period of time, then it's hard to see what the deterrent factor will be because there will be a calculation in the minds of the migrants that if the chances of not being sent to rwanda, are, you know, fairly high. in other words, there's maybe a ten, 20% chance you're going to be sent, then you're probably going to take that risk and to continue coming . coming. >> well, mark white, thank you very much for bringing us the very much for bringing us the very latest there from the channel and indeed from the reaction really, to what could be a very transformative piece of legislation. >> so after all that ping pong

between the lords and the commons, the rwanda bill, as tom said, passed overnight just after midnight . and this is how after midnight. and this is how illegal migration minister michael tomlinson reacted , michael tomlinson reacted, minister set out and made it very clear that it's going to take 10 to 12 weeks for the first flight to actually take off. >> it's a landmark moment and an important moment for this rwanda scheme . scheme. >> but the opposition shadow home secretary yvette cooper, said this morning that things weren't quite so rosy. here's her reaction. >> the problem with the scheme, and bear in mind this is there was announced two years ago, they told us they were implementing this two years ago, and they have just kept writing checks to rwanda. but the first thing they're going to now do is write another £50 million check for rwanda. >> well, let's cross live to westminster to speak to gb news political editor christopher hope. political editor christopher hope . hello, christopher. so 12 hope. hello, christopher. so 12 weeks, we're told, before these

flights can take off. but there are people who still believe that this scheme is going to get bogged down in the courts again. are they right ? are they right? >> well, they could be right. and that's the worry for the prime minister, people like the ipp are the think tank. warning there will be individual claims against this legislation. this is what robert jenrick, the former immigration minister, resigned from that role, number two, to suella braverman in the home office. of course, he resigned over this very point that there could be individual claims which could tie the whole thing down in legal red tape, like like liliput , tying down like like liliput, tying down some kind of giant, stopping these these, these moves to remove migrants from the uk, to rwanda. that's that's the big worry . i think rwanda. that's that's the big worry. i think that it rwanda. that's that's the big worry . i think that it gets worry. i think that it gets bogged down that the pm has said he's got hundreds of, judges ready to hear cases in short order. get them out of the country. but it'll be 10 to 12 weeks before this happens. that'll be mid to end of july.

some time away . definitely some time away. definitely missing his spring deadline and getting dangerously near when the next election could be even on the flight over to poland. he's not denying it either. prime minister that'll be. there'll be an election at some point in the second half of this yeah point in the second half of this year. well, the second half of this year starts at the beginning of july. but would he really want to have an election before his rwanda plan has even got a plane off the ground, knowing that labour will wreck it and axe it? i don't think so. i still think there'll be a november election, probably with a budget in september, to cut taxes, as the tories hope something else might come up to boost them in the polls. well let's hope that, if this if the lilliputians do tie down the gulliver of, of this legislation, it springs back up as in, as in the novel. >> but, but but but christopher, what is it was what is it exactly that we're going to see happen from now 12 weeks away takes us to july. yes. what is the prime minister expecting to

happen? and what does a regular rhythm of flights actually look like? >> well, it looks like tom is you, me and pippa don't talk about it anymore. what they want is this whole story to be off the news and to be a regular thing happening in government that yet, you know, hundreds of people are taking off from an airport somewhere in the south of england. i imagine flying to rwanda, where they'll be processed and probably stay there. that's what the government wants to happen, that we don't even talk about it, perhaps in the same way we can say how many arriving. we say how many are leaving in the same breath. mark white might take over covering this away from politics. that's what the government wants. but until then , it's highly divisive. the pm has staked his political credibility on getting these flights off the ground of literally stopping the boats , literally stopping the boats, not reducing them, or the numbers of crossing by 50% or 75% stopping the boats. and that's why it is so important this week. coming up thursday , this week. coming up thursday, we expect the king will give

royal assent to the safety of rwanda bill. that will mean that the treaty is signed by james cleverly, the home secretary with rwanda will come into force . and at that point, the government can start trying to get names together , find people get names together, find people to put on the first flights. that first flight will be will be an important milestone for the prime minister. he won't. he will be hoping to happen as soon as possible, but he's warning it could be 10 to 12 weeks. and then there's a whole battle through courts. and what i'm told by people who know about courts and judges is the pm's problem is he's losing control of the timeline. once judges get involved and lawyers get involved, politics is pushed to the background and their timescale is their own. and that means that they're the. the pm's political future is not in his control . control. >> well, christopher hope, thank you very much for bringing us the very latest there. let's get some more now with the director of the africa program at chatham house. doctor alex vines, because, doctor vines, many people have different views on where rwanda is as a country. is it a dreadful dictatorship that

has no human rights, or is it this wonderful panacea of growth and economic opportunity in africa ? or perhaps, is it africa? or perhaps, is it somewhere in between ? somewhere in between? >> oh, definitely. it's in between. so it's an authoritarian country and you couldn't have a debate like you have on gb news about politics in rwanda. but it does have impressive economic growth . it impressive economic growth. it is a secure country. if you abstain from politics, and so the reality isn't what andrew mitchell was depicting yesterday, that it's a lot better living in kigali than london, but it's by far not a basket case or a dangerous place. it's a lovely place to visit if you're on holiday, for example. >> and do we know how many, people rwanda is prepared to take? how prepared are they ? take? how prepared are they? >> oh, they are prepared, this

is a good deal for rwanda. it also builds in british government support diplomatically for rwanda, for a number of things, remember, rwanda is a east african landlocked country, it is a poor country. it is developing. it aspires to become middle income, and so the rwanda bill and this partnership with the united kingdom is an important one for rwanda. president kagame of rwanda. president kagame of rwanda , has very actively, sukh rwanda, has very actively, sukh visited multiple international partnerships, of which the united kingdom is a key part of that. >> yes. it is interesting to note the second half of the title of the treaty that we've signed with rwanda. it's not just the migration treaty , it's just the migration treaty, it's the migration and economic development treaty. these two things going hand in hand. greater trade ties, greater, ties between the united kingdom and rwanda diplomatically. but

also helping that sort of investment that might well turn into one of our key allies in the region . the region. >> yeah, the partnership with rwanda and the united kingdom government is strong. there's a very strong personal relationship between the british minister for africa, andrew mitchell , and president kagame. mitchell, and president kagame. but, you know, if there was a change of government, but, you know, if there was a change of government , there's a change of government, there's a very good relationships with with the with labour party , the with the with labour party, the relationship between tony blair and paul kagame is very, very close to so. so this transcends the labour party saying they would scrap the rwanda scheme. >> frankly, they would wipe actually, actually this is a point that i don't think anyone's raised before. how would they scrap the scheme if they couldn't just unilaterally withdraw from a treaty? this would be a very complicated process. unless they're going to break international law . break international law. >> so, you know, britain has its relationship shapps it can change its relationships. the

relationship between the labour party and paul kagame is developing at the cop summit in dubal developing at the cop summit in dubai, you had a meeting between keir starmer and paul kagame. so i wouldn't exclude anything. but i wouldn't exclude anything. but i do think it's right to say that the form that we're seeing at the moment through the rwanda bill would be amended by, by, by, by labour. and i think that's been very consistent on what they've been saying . what they've been saying. >> well, doctor alex vines of chatham house, really appreciate your perspective here. very, very interesting stuff. good to speak with you very shortly. >> we are going to kent to celebrate saint george's day and all things english. this is good afternoon britain on .

gb news. welcome back. and a happy saint george's day. we've been in dartford in kent, where there's been plenty of people celebrating , including been plenty of people celebrating, including our presenters and colleagues, stephen dixon and ellie costello, who are there, hopefully they're still there because we're going to try and speak to them there. >> he is unfortunate . all my >> he is unfortunate. all my equipment's just fallen off, so i can't hear a word you're saying back there in the studio. but it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter because it's saint george's day. we're all celebrating here. and joining me now is one of the man behind all of this. the leader of dartford council, jeremy kite. good to see you. this. hello there and happy saint george's day. i have to say this is fantastic . to say this is fantastic. >> well we're a council that likes to party and we believe in these celebrations. it's a big day for the country and we want to celebrate it. so no naysaying here. saint george's day for us. >> i have to say one other thing. when you're giving your

speech before, it's all about celebrating being english. whatever our background , which whatever our background, which is very nice. >> absolutely. i mean, we live in a diverse community here, and it's wonderfully colourful and noisy and brilliant, and we've got great people here. and the point is, this is one of a number of celebrations we do. so we'll celebrate every culture, we'll celebrate every culture, we'll celebrate every religion, every creed that's going on. we'll latch on to it, and we'll use it as a way of bringing the whole community together. so that's the that's the aim. >> and what impact has it had on on community cohesion? >> well, you've been here, you for see yourself. everyone's happy. i'm not sure. we tend not to use buzzwords like cohesion, inclusion. it'sjust to use buzzwords like cohesion, inclusion. it's just being a community and being together. people seem happy town centre happy because they get the business and people lots of footfall. so we're happy with that. yeah it isn't about buzzwords. it really is just about old fashioned community feeling. >> it does. i have to say it feels very english here today because it's just about people gathering and just having a good time and getting on with their friends and neighbours. >> well, it might feel english, but you look around, you'll see people here from all over the

world that are now settled in dartford and this is their home. we want to make them welcome. we want to explain about our culture, our wonderful, weird , culture, our wonderful, weird, mad culture. sometimes we've got a very large saint george here, a very large saint george here, a very large dragon here explaining the story, explaining about the love we have for our country, which is just about the things we do and the things we can achieve for the world and help. so that's it really. it's a it's a big event for us. yeah. >> it's been a fantastic one. >> it's been a fantastic one. >> you're very welcome. >> you're very welcome. >> yeah. thanks for having us. great to see you, jeremy kite. thank you. another flag. i'll have another flag. brilliant stuff. thank you. so it's been a great day here so far. and it's going to continue for a while. back to you. don't ask me any questions. i can't hear a thing. >> stephen. well, thank you so much for persevering. there despite the loss of any audio equipment in your ear, still, the most patriotic and wonderful display there in dartford. but we're interested if is where you at home? quite as celebratory as dartford is. we've seen that nottingham is . we've been

nottingham is. we've been talking to our reporter will hollis, a little bit earlier in the programme where they've got the programme where they've got the most enormous flag of saint george in the town square there in nottingham. >> yeah . >> yeah. >> yeah. >> there'll be a few points sunk by the end of the day. i'm sure people, people in costume, it's great. but we were saying earlier about how many of us actually don't celebrate saint george's day every year. it almost passes us by. and is it because it's not a bank holiday? >> you do have to be quite dedicated, really, to take the day off work to go to one of these festivities, to go to one of these celebrations , to own of these celebrations, to own a suit of armour, i don't think that's perhaps everyone across the country, but it does raise the country, but it does raise the question . we've got two bank the question. we've got two bank holidays in may. yeah, and none in april. that doesn't seem particularly balanced . particularly balanced. >> so you could you could do a swap on at the end of the may. put it in. but if you put the one at the end of may on the 23rd of april, does it make it

so close to close to easter on some years that could that be a little bit of a problem? >> but is that so bad? personally, i think that there's good utility in getting rid of. i think i think the first one in may we should get rid of that's may we should get rid of that's may day isn't it. the early may bank holiday. we should we should probably get rid of that one because the. >> is there a petition for that as well. are you going to start as well. are you going to start a petition that would make most sense, because you don't want all of the bank holidays to close? okay well look, let's let's go straight to the states because we're just hearing that donald trump, former us president, has turned up at the courthouse for day two of his criminal trial. i think he might have been speaking in the last few moments as well . well, he is few moments as well. well, he is due to head into the courtroom where a judge will decide whether he should be punished for violating a gag order. that prevents him from criticising witnesses. >> here it is . >> here it is. >> here it is. >> media. and we hope the people get out there and vote. it's

important to vote to let them know that we're coming on november 5th. we're coming big. today is very preliminary, but still it's very important and maybe they'll think also about the very good person who's running for the senate in pennsylvania, dave mccormick . pennsylvania, dave mccormick. and he's doing a good job. he's working very hard . successful working very hard. successful man wants to put his success to the country . it'll be a very the country. it'll be a very good senator. so hopefully they'll be behind dave and get out there and go today. so pennsylvania, get out and vote. what's going on at the college level. and the colleges columbia, nyu and others is a disgrace. and it's a it's really on biden. he has the wrong signal. he's got the wrong tone. he's got the wrong words. he doesn't know who he's backing, andifs doesn't know who he's backing, and it's a mess. and if this were me, it'd be after me. you'd be after me so much. but they're trying to give him a pass. what's going on is a disgrace to our country , and it's all by

our country, and it's all by default. and everybody knows that he's got no message. he's got no compassion. he doesn't know what he's doing. he can't put two sentences together. frankly he is the worst president in the history of our country . and again, what's going country. and again, what's going on is a disgrace. now, it's interesting outside for great americans, people that want to come down and they want to protest at the court and they want to protest peacefully. we have more police presence here than anyone's ever seen. for blocks. you can't get near this courthouse , and yet you have courthouse, and yet you have nobody up there to college where you have very radical people wanting to rip the colleges down, the universities down, and that's a shame. but it all starts with joe biden. the signals he puts out are so bad. and i can tell you he's no friend of israel, that's for sure. and he's no friend of the arab world, the world that you take a look at what he said he's no friend of. he doesn't know what to do . he doesn't know what what to do. he doesn't know what to do. he wants to take like a

middle ground . and often times middle ground. and often times that doesn't work. but it's certainly not working here. but what he's done to israel is abandoned them, and he's trying to be as nice as he can to the other side. call it the arab world, but that's not working ehhen world, but that's not working either, because they get him and he's an incompetent man. a peace will never happen with a guy like this. thank you very much . like this. thank you very much. nice protest, mr trump. >> you support school funding and police for our students and faculty. and if michael cohen . faculty. and if michael cohen. >> extraordinary sight, isn't it? trump giving this big statement about biden, about israel peace in the middle east, about to walk into his criminal trial, the man bidding to become president of the united states again, saying that biden is the worst president in the us has ever had. >> he really fit quite a lot into that little, that little sort of pre court address going from the number of police outside the courthouse to biden's middle east policy. i mean, it's a remarkable segue, but was the judge sitting there

just waiting for him to wind up? but no, this is what happens. anyway. we will be on the other side of the atlantic very shortly. the prime minister, rishi sunak, is about to start a press conference in poland, but that after your news with sophia wenzler . wenzler. >> tom. thank you. it's 233. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. rishi sunak is warning that vladimir putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue. the prime minister arrived in warsaw a short time ago as britain pledges its largest ever package of aid for kyiv, worth £500 million. he's due to meet the leaders of poland, germany and nato, warning that the defence of ukraine is essential to british and european security . ukraine's and european security. ukraine's president zelenskyy welcomed the record military package, which includes long—range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats .

armoured vehicles and boats. senior figures from the united nafions senior figures from the united nations have criticised the government's plans to send asylum seekers to rwanda , asylum seekers to rwanda, warning that it sets a worrying precedent. but the prime minister dismissed the concerns, saying nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground. after the bill finally passed through parliament last night . and a child is among five night. and a child is among five migrants who've died trying to cross the english channel after their small boat got into difficulties off the french coast. the incident happened off wimereux beach near boulogne, just before 2 am. we understand that another three small boats launched from an area near the site of this morning's tragedy. latest figures show the number of migrants crossing the channel has increased by 24% this year. now in the us, donald trump has arrived in court moments ago for day two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. prosecutors claim the former president orchestrated a

criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. they also argue that payments made to an aduu argue that payments made to an adult film star, so—called hush money, were in breach of the law . mr trump denies any wrongdoing . and for the latest story, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen , or the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. carmelites .

>> good afternoon. britain. it's 2:38. now. a former high court judge has said that pop up courts could cut criminal case backlogs and line up with community and justice. yeah those pop up courts could appear in your local pub .

in your local pub. >> theoretically. well, dame anne rafferty thinks judges of all types could sit in in pubs, in church halls and libraries to reconnect the justice system with local communities . with local communities. >> well, why don't we ask a pub owner what he thinks about it? i'm delighted to be joined now by city pub group founder clive watson. clive how would you feel? and perhaps how would those who visit your pub feel if it suddenly turned into a courtroom ? courtroom? >> well, i mean, obviously you've got to pick times when the pub is not going to be busy, obviously during the day . but obviously during the day. but yeah, i think it's a really good idea. i think pubs, are part of the community. i think, law courts aren't part of the community. and i think we can join the two together. so i think it's a good idea. >> do you think it would in any way trivialise the whole court system, though, because, you know, there is a certain , what's know, there is a certain, what's the word i'm looking for? gravitas. yeah. there's a gravitas to a courtroom, to a coroner's court. that just

simply wouldn't be there in a pub or in a library. >> well, i think you'd have to pick a pub that had a, like, a separate meeting room or something like that. i don't think it'd be appropriate if you had beer pumps behind it, or a darts board or a drink machine, but i think if you had a, as i said, a separate room where people could go in, it felt very accessible then i think that would definitely work. yes >> i don't know. there's a pub that near where i grew up that had a light up dance floor. it could go different colours depending if someone was found guilty or innocent. i think that would be a brilliant idea, but but clive, this isn't the first time that that pubs have been used as courtrooms. there was, there was the stay and house in stock and hounds and hounds in bristol. i've written a y when i should have written a g, the stag and hounds in bristol that was used as a pie powder court as recently as the 1800s. >> now we just need to explain what a pie powder court is, tom. it was. it was organised by a

borough, when there was a fair or market taking place and it had unlimited jurisdiction, apparently over personal actions or events that took place at the market. so that could be arguments between merchants, theft and acts of violence. carry on. yes >> so not the first time it's happened. >> well, there you are. you've got historical precedent that justice has been administered inside a public house. i think more people would turn up for the court hearings. i think when you go and look at some gloomy magistrates courts, all very victorian, it puts people off. they walk up to the steps and think, i don't actually want to be here. whereas i think if you're a defendant or whatever the situation is and going to the situation is and going to the pub, you'd actually get more people turning up . people turning up. >> how would it actually how would it actually work? would would, would pubs be paid for using their premises? i mean, is it could it be a little extra money earner for you? >> absolutely. yeah. why not? i mean , we're providing a public mean, we're providing a public service, people come in. who

knows, we might even get some extra custom if it's, the defendant successful, and he goes with his friends and has a quick beer afterwards. so. but i think being being slightly serious about it. yeah. why not? why why not change make make justice more accessible. make it normalised the, the proceedings of justice and have it in a pub or a church or village hall. i mean, i think that would be a really good idea. >> is there not a risk here, though, that this winds up, like many hotels have, have wound up sort of requisitioned by the government. the owners of the of the establishments having no ability to trade as normal and, and sort of seeing your business taken away from you is that not a is that a real risk here. >> well, i don't think it would be a question of requisition. i think it would be, yes. we have suitable parts of the pub which are quiet during the day, which we're happy for you to use to for your court proceedings. so i don't think the government could

say, look, we're having this pub at those hours , those court at those hours, those court hearings, whether you like it or not. so it's got to be obviously work for the pub as well. >> it would have to be, wouldn't it, for certain offences. sort of. summary offences that are heard in the magistrates court. i mean, especially when you think of the logistics, you couldn't bring a defendant in handcuffs to a pub could you. but you could, you know, prosecute somebody maybe for, for a driving offence for a drunk driving offence. >> offence . very good, very >> offence. very good, very good, no, of course you don't have to be for non high profile cases , as you say, not dragging cases, as you say, not dragging people out of cells or something like that. but you know what i call the lower end of the justice system, i think it would be absolutely perfect. speed up the cases. more and more people turn up, i think also the jp's and the magistrates would quite like a change. might actually improve their, their, their sort of working life. so yeah, i

think it's ticks all around personally. >> would they do sit by, sit behind the bar to deliver their verdict by the bar on stools? >> well, you'd have to have the judge on a stool and you could have the jury on the lower chairs, perhaps on the soft, soft bits at the side of the pub. you could, i could, i can imagine it's an image. >> it is an image i'm struggling with. i can, i can see it more in a library. >> you've made it my library is the thing. it's got to be in silence. so i think that'd be a bit difficult unless it's violent, silent justice. but i think you made a good point . think you made a good point. juries. you know, i'm sure a lot of people, as soon as they get asked to do jury service, are probably thinking, oh, do i really need to do this? but if it's going to be held in a pub, makes it a bit more interesting. so as i said, that's a that's a really good point as well. >> well, thank you very much . >> well, thank you very much. clive watson, the founder of the city pub group, really appreciate your thoughts on this topic would be very interesting topic would be very interesting to see if it actually does if it comes off. >> yeah. okay let's talk to our political editor, christopher hope.i political editor, christopher hope . i think political editor, christopher hope. i think can political editor, christopher hope . i think can talk to us,

hope. i think can talk to us, christopher , we are imminently christopher, we are imminently waiting for the prime minister to appear at a press conference. what is he going to tell us? he's in poland today and in germany ? germany? >> yeah, we'll wait and see. we're expected probably some news on defence spending of course. poland is abutting ukraine is in fully aware of the war going on not far from its borders. and so we'll be hearing more, i think, from rishi sunak the prime minister. and i think other questions too, about rwanda, from the travelling press pack, and i think it's a real moment here for the pm to assert himself on the world stage. his last visit overseas, i think, was december, when we went with him. didn't we, to the cop climate conference in december. he's not one for travelling at the moment. he's been kind of hunkered down, spending a lot of visits, around the uk, getting the election plans ready, allowing former prime minister david cameron to take all of the accolades on the global stage. the best part of being prime minister normally is

representing the uk overseas , representing the uk overseas, the best of british and the rest of it. and if you don't get that, those parts of the job, it can be quite a slog, i imagine. so i think here's his chance to almost to kind of flex his muscles on the global stage. >> well, we were seeing images earlier of him sort of strutting around with the polish prime minister, donald tusk, also with the outgoing , head of nato, this the outgoing, head of nato, this is a significant moment for a prime minister who perhaps has been much more domestically focused than his predecessors. he's had domestic portfolios for his entire, time as prime minister, whereas his two predecessors, well, they were both foreign secretaries . both foreign secretaries. >> tom, you're totally right . >> tom, you're totally right. this is a moment for him to try and to try and push the uk forward on a global stage. there may be something on defence spending, there's pressure to go well above 2.5% at the moment that the government is trying to hit at the moment of, of, of gdp and we may see the government go

to a bigger target, longer terms. we'll wait and see. and we could be seeing elements of what will be the tory manifesto written, if that's the case, because any, any future figure on defence spending will come after the general election. >> chris, i'm just going to jump in now because this is rishi sunak stepping up to the podium. let's listen to what he has to say. >> good afternoon . on my first >> good afternoon. on my first duty as prime minister is the security of the british people and fulfilling that profound responsibility is only possible because of you. just ten days ago, i gave the order for the raf to join an international effort intercepting a barrage of iranian missiles headed towards israel. those pilots like you, like every generation of british servicemen and women. before you were willing to put their own safety over the line for the security of others and the defence of our liberties and our values . from your regiment's values. from your regiment's service in iraq and afghanistan to your current role here in poland, protecting nato's

eastern flank , you've made those eastern flank, you've made those sacrifices in the service of our country . i am truly humbled by country. i am truly humbled by your courage and your professionalism . and on behalf professionalism. and on behalf of a proud and grateful nation, let me simply say thank you. but i haven't just brought you here together today to express my gratitude , i want to talk to you gratitude, i want to talk to you about how we equip you to do your duty in an increasingly dangerous world. we've entered a penod dangerous world. we've entered a period in history in which competition between countries has sharpened profoundly an axis of authoritarian states with different values to ours, like russia, iran, north korea and china are increasingly assertive . the danger they pose is not new. but what is new is that these countries or their proxies are causing more instability more quickly in more places at once, and they're increasingly acting together, making common cause in an attempt to reshape the world order. now, i know there are some people who will

think these are faraway problems, but they are not. they pose real risks to the united kingdom's security and prosperity. russia has already poisoned people on british soil with chemical weapons, caused energy bills to soar, weaponized migration and send technology to iran in exchange for weapons like the shahid drones that i saw myself are wreaking such devastation in ukraine. iran themselves have threatened to kill and kidnap people within our borders for exercising their right to free speech and use proxies like the houthis to attack british ships in the red sea, disrupting supplies of crucial goods to our high streets. north korea, too, is supplying munitions and artillery to russia , and their artillery to russia, and their hackers have targeted british businesses and the nhs and chinese state affiliated actors have conducted malicious cyber campaigns against british mps. china itself is engaged in a huge military modernisation

program. potential flashpoints in the indo—pacific could have an impact on the global economy, far larger even than covid, and china is increasingly working with others to try and reshape the world, including their so—called unlimited partnership with russia. so the new assertiveness of these authoritarian states far from our shores, must concern us because they are increasingly acting together against the fundamental values that we all hold dear of democracy, freedom and the rule of law . now, we and the rule of law. now, we must not overstate the danger we're not on the brink of war, and nor do we seek it. and people should feel reassured that the uk's armed forces are some of the most professional, well trained, well equipped and battle ready in the world. and i'm incredibly proud of all that they've achieved from patrolling they've achieved from patrolling the arctic circle as part of the joint expeditionary force to the campaign against daesh in the deserts of iraq and syria , from

deserts of iraq and syria, from protecting the freedom of navigation in the red sea to policing the skies above eastern europe . and just look at the europe. and just look at the investments we've made in the last decade , £40 billion in the last decade, £40 billion in the british army, who proudly provide one of nato's strategic reserves , with 16,000 troops reserves, with 16,000 troops deployed to europe this year , deployed to europe this year, the royal air force, equipped with new typhoons, chinooks , with new typhoons, chinooks, f—355, with new typhoons, chinooks, f—35s, with the gcap program delivering new fighter jets with japan and italy, the royal navy is a carrier navy once again , is a carrier navy once again, with 22 new ships and submarines on the way , and the historic on the way, and the historic aukus partnership building the most advanced nuclear powered subs the world has ever known, and we've launched a new national endeavour to invigorate and invest more in our nuclear deterrent. and all of this is combined with our outstanding diplomatic network development expertise, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and support for our allies. above

all, the £12 billion we've provided to ukraine. so i'm proud of our record on defence and confident in our ability to deter our adversaries and ensure the security of the united kingdom . but in a world that's kingdom. but in a world that's the most dangerous it's been since the end of the cold war, we cannot and must not be complacent. as churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is not to insert the imminence of war. on the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. i believe we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values. so today i'm announcing the biggest strengthening of our national defence for a generation . we defence for a generation. we will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2.5% of gdp by 2030. that starts today and rises steadily in each and every

year. rises steadily in each and every year . over the next six years, year. over the next six years, we'll invest an additional £75 billion in our defence, and it will be fully funded with no increase in borrowing or debt. so this is not some vague aspiration for the future. we have a clear plan for what will spend when we'll spend it, and how we pay for it. a plan that makes the united kingdom, by far the largest defence power in europe and second largest in nato . today is a landmark moment nato. today is a landmark moment in the defence of the united kingdom. this is a generational investment in british security and british prosperity. it makes us safer at home and stronger abroad . we will have three abroad. we will have three immediate priorities for this new investment . first, we will new investment. first, we will put the uk's own defence industry on a war footing. one of the central lessons of the war in ukraine is that we need deeper stockpiles of munitions , deeper stockpiles of munitions, and for industry to be able to replenish them more quickly . so

replenish them more quickly. so today we're giving ten. £10 billion in munitions support to give industry long time funding certainty, backed by long term contracts , so that they can contracts, so that they can produce more be readier to surge capacity and to move to always on production when required from surface to air missiles made in bolton to anti—tank weapons in belfast, we will replenish our stockpiles, all while supporting british jobs right across the union. but it is not just about investing more . we must invest investing more. we must invest better. for too too long, much of our defence procurement has been over complex, over budget and over time. so we are making radical reforms to our procurement model to make sure this new investment delivers value for money and to encourage private sector investment into defence production. i can also announce today that we're going to put beyond doubt that defence investment does count towards environmental , social investment does count towards environmental, social and governance assessments. there is nothing more ethical than

defending our way of life from those who threaten it. now all of this will put us at the forefront of the global defence industry, allow us to hugely ramp up defence production and give our armed forces the capability they need to keep us safe. but as in so many other areas of our lives, technology is changing the face of war. so our second immediate priority is innovation and new technology. we need to innovate and adapt faster than our adversaries in space and cyberspace. just as much as land, sea and air. look at ukraine now. many aspects of the war would be familiar to a soldier from world war 1 the war would be familiar to a soldier from world war1 or the war would be familiar to a soldier from world war 1 or 2. yet others would be unimaginably different. like the fact that cheap, high tech autonomous drones could disable large parts of russia's black sea fleet. now, the good news is that innovation is already one of our greatest strengths. the uk's own dragonfire laser directed energy weapon costs only £10 a shot,

yet it's accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from a kilometre away . a £1 coin from a kilometre away. and today we're going further. we'll increase our defence r&d at a minimum to 5% of the defence budget. invest far more in autonomous drones and we will set up a new defence innovation agency so that for the first time, decisions about defence innovation will be brought together in a single strategic agency . that will be freed from agency. that will be freed from red tape and work with the private sector on emerging new technologies. now, third, we must support ukraine for the long term. since the cold war ended, the freedom of our continent has been based on a simple idea that it is for people to decide the fate of their countries, not foreign armies , but allow putin to win armies, but allow putin to win in ukraine. and that principle of sovereignty would be undermined. we would be dragged back to a world where brute force rather than the democratic

will of free peoples, would shape borders and decide futures. and putin will not stop in ukraine win there, and he and indeed others will be emboldened. he has the desire, if not yet, the capacity , to if not yet, the capacity, to attack other countries in europe, potentially including nato allies, who we would be bound to defend just as they are bound to defend just as they are bound to defend us. the costs of failing to support ukraine now will be far greater than the costs of repelling putin, because only if he fails will he and other adversaries be deterred. and that is why the united kingdom, whose history of standing up to dictators is so much part of our national consciousness, has come together with our allies to stand with ukraine from the very start. today we go further . we will today we go further. we will send ukraine an additional half £1 billion, hitting £3 billion of support this year , and will of support this year, and will provide them with the largest ever package of uk military equipment. this will include more than 400 vehicles, 4

million rounds of ammunition , 60 million rounds of ammunition, 60 boats and offshore raiding craft, vital air defences and long—range precision guided storm shadow missiles . and as we storm shadow missiles. and as we make our historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gdp, we'll move past this stop start, piecemeal way of backing ukraine so that alongside our long term security guarantee, we are today providing a long term funding guarantee of at least the current level of military support to ukraine for every yearit support to ukraine for every year it is needed . that is the year it is needed. that is the longest commitment any nation has provided , and it shows that has provided, and it shows that ukraine is not alone and ukraine will never be alone. a decade ago, as russian tanks rolled into crimea and the fight against isil raged across the middle east, nato allies came together in wales and reached a historic agreement to increase their defence budgets to 2% of gdp. back then , the uk was one

gdp. back then, the uk was one of only four countries who did so. today there are 11 and i believe we will look back on this moment as a similar turning point in european security because for all that, we welcome the news over the weekend that the news over the weekend that the united states congress agreed a new package of aid for ukraine support that will be indispensable on the front line. this is not the moment for complacency. we cannot keep expecting america to pay any price or bear any burden if we ourselves are unwilling to make greater sacrifices for our own security. so i'm proud that the united kingdom is increasing our defence spending to £87 billion a year. the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation , defence in a generation, guaranteeing our position as the second largest defence power in nato after the us. all across europe, countries like poland,

germany, norway and the baltic nafions germany, norway and the baltic nations are stepping up to take greater responsibility for our own security. and i am confident that whether in months or years, others will follow to and at this turning point in european security , if 2.5% this turning point in european security , if 25% becomes a new security, if 25% becomes a new benchmark for all nato partners to reach allied defence spending would increase by over £140 billion. that would provide a level of safety and security for the british people and the people of all allied nations that far outstrips anything we could achieve alone. to conclude , we did not choose this moment, but it falls to us to meet it. in a world of increasing threats, we must show our enemies that we are resolute and determined that their attempts to destabilise our world, or redraw its borders by force, will fail , that with our friends will fail, that with our friends and our allies, will be at the forefront of the defence of the

free democratic world and under