gb news. >> morning. 930 on wednesday, the 24th of april. britain's newsroom on gb news with andrew pierce and bev turner. >> good morning . thank you for >> good morning. thank you for joining us. so defence spending boost. prime minister rishi sunak pledges an extra £75 billion in defence spending by 2030. will it go far enough though? we're going to be speaking to former armed forces minister james speaking to former armed forces ministerjames heappey later in the show and the miranda

aftermath , the prime minister aftermath, the prime minister faces big questions over whether those flights will act as a deterrent after 250 migrants attempted to cross the channel yesterday. >> and of course, we saw those five deaths and a prestigious award for former detective turned whistleblower maggie oliver has received the award for her courageous efforts to expose the rochdale grooming gangs. >> maggie will join us with her extraordinary story. and yes, what was it like? andrew back in your day? >> i don't think i can remember there was a horse and trap, right? it was before electricity i >> -- >> vie. >> vie. >> we say this because apparently now, according to an employment tribunal, it's. you're in breach of the law to say that to somebody. it's offensive. it could offend me. >> it could be ageist, though. it could be. it could be in this situation. it's a nurse, a

senior nurse who was said to this was was told this by a younger nurse. well, back in your day and i think it could be a bit flippant and critical. >> do you why would you go to laura beddow for it? just shrug your shoulders and say, oh, it's an employment tribunal . an employment tribunal. >> let us know your thoughts this morning. it's lovely to be back with you after my week off. gb views at no. gbnews.com/yoursay isn't it? of course. we've got our new message board first though. the very latest nude news with sophia wenzler. >> bev. thank you. good morning. it's 933. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom . your headlines. the gb newsroom. your headlines. the defence secretary has told gb news that rising conflicts around the world have made bolstering britain's defences more urgent. it's after prime minister rishi sunak announced that spending would increase to 2.5% of gdp by 2030, in what he called the biggest strengthening in a generation. grant shapps says a fall in inflation has

helped make the new investment possible, and it's important britain leads the way conditions are right now, but not only that, you know the situation in the world. >> you've seen what's been happening in ukraine with putin continuing to prosecute his illegal war. you've seen what's happening in the middle east with iran firing , going on on with iran firing, going on on israel. i think it's very important for britain to play its leadership part. the prime minister has stepped up and has done that in a very significant way. and i think this is very, very good news for the united kingdom, our security and also for our leadership in the rest of the world. >> meanwhile, in the us, the senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a long awaited aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan. it's expected to be quickly signed by president biden, ending months of uncertainty over whether the united states would continue supporting kyiv. it comes after the bill passed the house of representatives on saturday in a show of bipartisan support , despite considerable support, despite considerable resistance among some

republicans . ukraine's president republicans. ukraine's president zelenskyy says the aid approval to ukraine reinforces the us role as a beacon of democracy . role as a beacon of democracy. and the mother of one of the nottingham attack victims has written an open letter to police after graphic messages were shared in a whatsapp group. barnaby weber, who was 19, was stabbed and killed along with two others by 32 year old valdo calocane . barnaby's mother, emma calocane. barnaby's mother, emma has written an open letter to officers who were members of a whatsapp group in which graphic details about the attack were shared. mrs. weber says her son was described as properly butchered among other phrases, and has urged police to show the respect that was not given to her son. 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. common alerts . now it's back to common alerts. now it's back to andrew and . bev.

andrew and. bev. >> good morning. 935 is it monday? no, no, she's been away. >> i thought she's been in the sun. she's gone to her head. >> oh, it was so nice to be away. but it is so nice to be back. this is britain's newsroom on gb news. me, bev turner and andrew pierce. >> so we he took us all by surprise. actually, we need the prime minister was on his way to poland. he wanted to talk about the fact that, in his view, putin will not necessarily stop at poland's border. and he announced the biggest increase in defence spending in years. and years, saying he's going to take us up to 2.5% of gdp by 2030. and if you go back to the budget last month, it was we'll increase defence spending when the economic circumstances allow. nothing's changed in a month except the tory poll rating. >> he says that it's going to put the uk arms industry on a war footing, which i find a little bit concerning. he was also at pains to say this doesn't mean we're going to war, but the rhetoric is very much changed around this, hasn't it? and we'll we'll labour back this. well joining us now is

kevin schofield, political editor at the huffpost uk regular on the show. good morning kevin. good to see you in some ways it feels a little performative that rishi sunak is promising this money at this time because of course , he may time because of course, he may not be prime minister come 2030. call me psychic . call me psychic. >> i don't think he'd be prime minister come 2025. >> so . but will labour back? >> so. but will labour back? this plan? is he has he backed them into a corner that they have no choice . have no choice. >> yeah. well keir starmer said last week didn't that, labour would also go to 2.5% of gdp on defence spending once economic circumstance allow. now they're very nervous obviously at making unfunded spending commitments. so i guess the pressure now is on keir starmer to say whether they will match, but , rishi they will match, but, rishi sunak said yesterday or not now i think andrew hit the nail on the head there when he said the only thing that's changed since the budget, in which there was no new money announced for defence spending, that was only about six weeks ago. remember is

that the opinion poll ratings, if anything, have actually got worse for the conservatives. so we're seeing a lot of activity from rishi sunak this week ahead of the local elections on may the second, which are expected to be a bloodbath for the conservatives, after which, you know, a lot of conservative mps might be thinking, do we do we go with this guy? do we change him before the election? so i think he's basically setting his stall out now as a message to conservative mps as much as anything. please stick by me to lead us into the general election in june. >> kevin, because i was at a reception in westminster last night, a lot of mps there from both sides and i talked to quite a few tory mps and they all said the same look, they welcome it, but they know it's a response to the polls and they didn't think actually it will shift the dial. yeah, i think you're probably right, andrew. >> you know, i think the, the pubuc >> you know, i think the, the public have already made up their minds . they've public have already made up their minds. they've had a good look at rishi sunak over the last year and a half, or the opinion polls or the focus groups tell us they're not that

impressed . and it's not to say impressed. and it's not to say they're massively impressed by keir starmer either. but i think after 14 years of the conservatives, there's a mood abroad that, it's time for change. and yeah, announcements like yesterday might help shore up his support in certain areas. it might help, as i say, save his job after the local elections. but i don't think it's going to change the bigger picture about the general election result, actually, as the language also changed for labour on rwanda. >> kevin, because sometimes i would talk to labour mps, say it's just minor stuff, you know, it's just minor stuff, you know, it's just minor stuff, you know, it's just it's just a 30,000 is nothing. when you consider three quarters of a million people came here legally through legal migration . but when you see five migration. but when you see five people died yesterday, 14 have died this year. i don't think labour can use that argument anymore, can they? and, i think they're going to have to engage with the government differently on rwanda now . on rwanda now. >> yeah, certainly. awful news yesterday , those deaths in the yesterday, those deaths in the channel and the timing obviously just after the rwanda bill passing in parliament, a couple

of nights ago. so, so yeah, labour are still sticking to their message that they would ditch the rwanda plan, even if it's successful, even if it's working , should they win the working, should they win the next election? but i think, you know, as we get closer to election, i think there's going be a lot more pressure on labour to say precisely what they would do in practical terms , to stop do in practical terms, to stop the boats, because at the moment, you know, they're talking in generalities, really, about going after smuggling gangsin about going after smuggling gangs in that type of thing. and but, you know, if the rwanda plan is has actually shown to be working, then i think that will put more, more pressure on on keir starmer. >> i heard the lib dem leader, sir ed davey, this morning saying, oh, all you got to do, you've got to tackle the criminal gangs. what's he talking about? they've been trying to do that for flipping years and it's not working because they're cleverer than the french police and clearly cleverer than than interpol and mi5 . m15. >> mi5. >> well, they always seem to be one step ahead, don't they? and the numbers and the numbers are , the numbers and the numbers are, you know, going up. we saw figures from the home office earlier in the week that showed that the numbers crossing in the

first three months of the year, actually 24% higher than last yeah actually 24% higher than last year. so the current, approach isn't working, obviously rishi sunak dearly hopes that the rwanda plan , once flights get rwanda plan, once flights get off the ground, will act as a deterrent. but we'll have to wait and see whether that actually happens. >> it is election year, of course, kevin, probably. so there is a sort of strange political mood in the air, isn't there? and i think this viewer, alastair, who's got in touch on the website, sums it up very well , he says with a general well, he says with a general election in the office, we're beginning to see a pattern emerging. labour will announce a policy without any detail as to timings or cost. shortly thereafter, the government will make a similar announcement, but with timings and cost. labour will then claim the conservatives are stealing their policies. do you think that civil servants are tipping off labour as to the policies in the government pipeline, any truth to that, do you think? >> i wouldn't have thought so. i don't i don't agree with that. i mean, i think the person is right that clearly, labour are this is not the first time they're making a policy

announcement and then lo and behold, the government, are making the same announcement a couple of weeks later. i think the slight difference is that labour pressure is on them, as the opposition, to say exactly how they would fund it, whereas the benefit of being in government is you can just say it's going to happen and you don't face the same level of scrutiny. but in the election campaign, all these things will be in election manifestos, i'm sure, in which case guys like me will have the opportunity hopefully to scrutinise and ask questions of the politicians. so we'll just have to wait and see who's whose numbers add up. >> and of course, they're saying that they'll pay for the defence boost by cutting back civil servants . kevin talking, getting servants. kevin talking, getting rid of 75,000 civil servants. why not? because to be honest, not many of them are bothering to turn up for work anyway. are they? because they're all still working from home and output seems to be lower now than it was before the pandemic? >> i think the talking is at 70,000. i think they're talking about, reduction in headcount. i mean, again, we've been hearing this now for the last couple of years, and nothing much seems to be getting done about it.

although what i will say, i think that's going to save. they reckon £2.9 billion. they say that the spending increase for defence will be 75 billion. so thatis defence will be 75 billion. so that is a small change in comparison to the overall number. and it'll be interesting to see where the rest of the money comes from, especially at a time when the government is talking about cutting taxes. so i guess it can only mean spending cuts and other whitehall areas. >> okay. all right. thank you kevin , kevin schofield joining kevin, kevin schofield joining us this morning on those big stories , and he's done this at a stories, and he's done this at a time when they were poll by lord ashcroft last week showing unbelievably that labour are now ahead of the tories on who you trusted most on defence. extraordinary. well but where will this money be spent? is it on extra soldiers? do we need extra soldiers? do we need more people to operate drones and cyber warfare isn't that where it's all at now? >> and it's research and development. grant shapps was saying this morning, i don't know, i don't feel very reassured by research and development, just kind of really like a lot more bombs, please. or somebody to stop them, drop some way of them being dropped on us, andy has said, i don't

think the conservatives can do anything to save themselves. now. i don't think anyone i don't actually think anyone thinks labour will be any better, but people just want change. >> and to be honest, and again, at that reception last night, that's what people were saying. well, we know that labour won't be much better, but we're just sick to death of the tories. >> that's right, keep your messages coming in. gbnews.com forward slash. your say is the website. >> and we've got a really interesting interview coming up because we're talking to maggie oliver, the former detective turned whistleblower who's had an award incredible efforts to expose that rochdale grooming scandal . scandal. >> yeah. and we'll ask her about this story today about the police exchange ing totally inappropriate whatsapp messages over the nottingham stabbing shocking with britain's newsroom on .

gb news. greg. good morning. now, former detective turned whistleblower maggie oliver was presented with

a prestigious icon award at the annual shining stars ball on friday. this was to mark her fantastic efforts to expose the rochdale grooming scandal against all the odds back in 2012, as well as her continued efforts to support women from all walks of life . about time all walks of life. about time too. maggie was also commended for providing emotional support and legacy advocacy for over 4000 adult survivors of sexual abuse and rape through her charity, the maggie oliver foundation. >> well, she joins us now, former detective constable, of course, maggie from greater manchester police and rochdale. >> maggie, congratulations. when i saw that the awards yesterday, your name leapt out from the page and i thought, my god, long overdue. well done. do you feel it's recognition? long overdue . it's recognition? long overdue. >> hi, andrew. hi, bev. nice to be here, it makes a change, actually, for me to be here smiling. usually banging that drum onto, it. you know, i'm really proud to have got it because it was. it's not just me. it's all the work that we're doing at the maggie oliver

foundation. you know, the legal advocacy, the emotional support. and it's nice to be, you know, the nicest thing is that people know about the work that we are doing . and, you know, you always doing. and, you know, you always i'm always introduced as, you know, somebody who resigned over the rochdale grooming scandal. but the work now at the foundation whilst, grooming gangs and abuse of those girls is still a big part of our work. you know, we help, survivors of any , sexual abuse. so, you know, any, sexual abuse. so, you know, one rape or, somebody who's abusing the family or by a teacher, but we tend to pick up the, that's, you know, our own events, our our fundraising events, our our fundraising event , ourselves. and to get event, ourselves. and to get this from girls out loud , you this from girls out loud, you know, they kind of, they start this, journey with, with young women, with girls. before we become involved, we tend to pick up the pieces when the education

where the information and children being protected falls down, you know, girls out loud . down, you know, girls out loud. they provide big sisters for little sisters . so they go into little sisters. so they go into schools and they educate young girls , to try to prevent them girls, to try to prevent them falling through the gaps and becoming abuse victims . you becoming abuse victims. you know, my work is about picking up the pieces when it's far too late to prevent it. so to get this award from them, and to go to the event, which was really lovely and, you know, the, the award, you've just shown it, coincidentally , my dress matched coincidentally, my dress matched the star as well. i didn't know matt. >> always stylish. >> always stylish. >> it's part of the problem. still. it's part of the problem. still. it's part of the problem. still the police are still very male dominated, very blokeish . male dominated, very blokeish. is that part of the problem? >> yeah, i still think there is a lot of misogyny around for me, a lot of misogyny around for me, a big part of the problem is some still not acknowledging the failures and the, you know, the public. no, the criminal justice system is broken. and, you know,

i often say now everybody watched the alan bates against the post office and it exposed how these organisations will go to any lengths to cover up their wrongdoing. and that's what i've experienced in my journey over the past 12 years through the criminal justice system, you know , the complaints procedure know, the complaints procedure is completely, unworkable. it's not independent. it doesn't work . there's no accountability. and unless we see accountability, i don't think we will get the changes that we need. and children will continue to be abused. children will continue to be abused . and actually young abused. and actually young women, it's not just children. it is any victim of sexual abuse that we see every day doesn't receive , the service that they receive, the service that they are entitled to. and it's very much a postcode lottery as to what kind of service they get. there are some really, really good police officers . you know, good police officers. you know, i was a good police officer, but

there are there's a lack of training, there's a lack of investment, there are not enough police officers there. the courts are overwhelmed. the prisons are full, the legal system is on its knees and we need an acknowledgement of that. and, an award like this helps to keep it in the spotlight. it helps to raise awareness. it keeps the conversations going. and girls out loud are doing phenomenal work in schools, i hope quite often they show the drama three girls i worked on because that opens up the conversation. it prepares them for the dangers that lie out there. and the best form of protection is for them to know what the dangers are. we pick up the pieces when those kids , the pieces when those kids, unfortunately fall between the gaps and become , you know, gaps and become, you know, victims themselves. >> maggie, do you do you ever get contacted by politicians or those in power mps to say to you, come and see me, let's have a coffee. tell me what i need to do.

>> i have had those meetings and actually, beth, it's really interesting that you ask that question today because at 1:00 i've got my first 1 to 1 meeting with the chief constable of greater manchester police, and that's, you know, i've been calling for this. we do have, we have regular meetings now with gmp, and i have to say that we are making some progress. we've met, you know, we have got contacts with some really good senior officers who seem to be on our page. and i know that if they do work with us, we can change things. but it's again, very hit and miss. you know, anybody who saw the channel four documentary to capture copper , documentary to capture copper, would have been shocked. i mean, i'm not shocked , but it was i'm not shocked, but it was horrifying to see what can go on, behind closed doors. and it's often hidden. >> maggie, if they offered you a seat in the house of lords, would you take it? >> no . why not?

>> no. why not? >> no. why not? >> we need women like you. we need strong women making decisions on behalf of others. >> because i think i can use my voice far more effectively by, telling the truth to the public. because i do think it is public, power. it's people power that will change things. and raising awareness, being able to say exactly what the truth is without it being, political. >> in some ways . >> in some ways. >> in some ways. >> yeah, it's i'm not political, you know, if i'll call out the conservatives the labour, i want victims to get the, you know , to victims to get the, you know, to be dealt with with, compassion, with, empathy. i want communication. it's not about a conviction. it is not about . conviction. it is not about. it's about how they're treated through that journey. and when you know the less than 2 in 100 reported rapes ever reaches court 98, and every one of those victims needs to be, well, listened to. >> we've run out of time, maggie. the clock is against us. congratulations on your award.

good luck at your meeting. this this lunchtime. keep banging those heads together, right . those heads together, right. >> what a great woman. >> what a great woman. >> quick weather break. this is gb news. this is alex. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar , sponsors of weather on . solar, sponsors of weather on. gb news. >> morning. here's your gb news weather from the met office. it's a bit chilly out there at the moment , it's a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us, it's going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots , and there are rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. and here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and northern ireland. two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north—east. as we go through

tonight and most of the showers will die out. and so it is going to be dry for many of us. there will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning. then this morning , a chilly start for many morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. a few showers to watch out for across parts of central england into wales. there may be a few dotted here also towards the north—east, across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again generally fine and dry for many of us. perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures . double figures. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

gb news. way. >> 10 am. on wednesday. the 24th of april. this is britain's newsroom on gb news with me. bev turner and andrew pierce. >> huge spending increase on defence. the prime minister says he's going to put an extra £75 billion there by 2030. if you're still prime minister by then, of course. but will it go far enough? we're going to be speaking to the former. we're going to be talking to the former armed forces minister, james heappey, and a former labour defence minister. labour. later in the show and the rwanda aftermath, the pm faces big questions over whether rwanda flights will act as a deterrent after 250 migrants attempted to cross the channel yesterday. >> and of course, we saw those five deaths. also a former labour defence minister is going to join us to discuss that . to join us to discuss that. >> covid has scarred pupils . >> covid has scarred pupils. it's official children who started school during the pandemic will have worse gcse results up until 2030. school

closures have brought on prolonged damage for our pupils. how can it ever be recovered? >> i mean, that can be filed under the flippin obvious , under the flippin obvious, really, couldn't it? >> hindsight is a very easy thing , but we shouldn't have thing, but we shouldn't have closed the schools. >> what i find amazing as a parent is that we aren't apparently doing anything to plug apparently doing anything to plug this gap. now, this research is fantastic because it does confirm what many parents have suspected. but as a parent, it doesn't seem like the schools have any plan. >> and the government announced a big fund, billions of extra education recovery fund. but i don't think the money ever came forward. no. >> and that depended on finding tutors to do extra work. maybe there aren't enough tutors. what's your experience of this? whether you've got kids or grandchildren as well, let us know. do you see these gaps in their knowledge which were lost over those couple of years? gbnews.com forward slash. your say is the comment section to

let us know your thoughts. this morning. first though, the very latest news with sophia wenzler. >> bev thank you. good morning. it's 10:01. i'm >> bev thank you. good morning. it's10:01. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your top story this hour. the in the gb newsroom. your top story this hour . the defence story this hour. the defence secretary has told gb news that rising conflicts around the world have made bolstering britain's defences more urgent. it's after prime minister rishi sunak announced that spending would increase to 2.5% of gdp by 2030, in what he called the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation , grant shapps says that a fall in inflation has helped make the new investment possible, but that it's important. britain leads the way conditions are right now. >> but not only that, you know the situation in the world. you've seen what's been happening in ukraine with putin continuing to prosecute his illegal war. you've seen what's happening in the middle east with iran firing , on on israel. with iran firing, on on israel. i think it's very important for

britain to play its leadership part. the prime minister has stepped up and has done that in a very significant way, and i think this is very , very good think this is very, very good news for, for the united kingdom, our security , and also kingdom, our security, and also for our leadership in the rest of the world. >> meanwhile, shadow attorney general emily thornberry says labour wants to see details on how it will be funded . how it will be funded. >> keir said several weeks ago that we wanted to move towards spending 2.5% on defence and indeed when we were in power last, that was about the amount of money that we were spending, but we will do it as as circumstances allow. we will be looking with some interest at whether or not the government produces any details in relation to this. because, you know, the prime minister yesterday essentially committed to spending another £75 billion on defence by 2030. so they produced this 22 page document and not a single line of it was on where the money was coming from . from. >> meanwhile, in the us, the senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a long awaited aid package

for ukraine, israel and taiwan. it's expected to be quickly signed by president biden, ending months of uncertainty over whether the united states would continue supporting kyiv . would continue supporting kyiv. it comes after the bill passed the house of representatives on saturday in a show of bipartisan support. despite considerable resistance among some republicans, ukraine's president zelenskyy says the aid approval to ukraine reinforced his the us role as a beacon of democracy . role as a beacon of democracy. the mother of one of the nottingham attack victims has written an open letter to police after graphic messages were shared in a whatsapp messaging group. barnaby weber , who was group. barnaby weber, who was 19, was stabbed and killed along with two others by 32 year old valdo calocane . barnaby's valdo calocane. barnaby's mother, emma has written an open letter to the officers, who were members of a whatsapp group, in which graphic details about the attack were shared. mrs. weber says her son was described as properly butchered among other phrases, and has urged police to

show the respect that was not given to her son. she says she chose to publish the letter in the times newspaper after requests to address the officers directly were denied . the former directly were denied. the former leader of the democratic unionist party, sir jeffrey donaldson, has arrived at newry magistrates court, northern ireland's longest serving mp was suspended from the dup following his arrest last month for what's been described as historical sex charges. in his resignation letter, he said he would strenuously be contesting the allegations . labour says it will allegations. labour says it will fund an extra 13,000 neighbourhood police officers if it wins the next election. the party says it would guarantee regular patrols in town centres, with neighbourhood drug squads tasked with clamping down on local gangs . labour cited local gangs. labour cited research showing that 50% of the pubuc research showing that 50% of the public say they never see an officer on the beat , public say they never see an officer on the beat, up from 27% when they were last in office. the government has previously

announced plans to spend £230 million on new technology, designed to free up more time for police and former labour minister and crossbench peer frank field has died at the age of 81. lord field spent 40 years as mp for birkenhead and served as mp for birkenhead and served as minister for welfare reform in tony blair's government. he joined the house of lords in 2020. his family says he'll be mourned by admirers across politics, but above all, he will be greatly missed by those lucky enough to have enjoyed his laughter and friendship . laughter and friendship. >> here's to decide, right member. >> 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 andrew and . bev. and. bev. >> 1006 with britain's newsroom on gb news with andrew pierce and bev turner.

>> so the prime minister, rishi sunak, promises to increase uk defence spending to 2.5% of gdp by 2030, saying this will put the uk arms industry on a war footing. >> the defence secretary, grant shapps. he spoke to gb news a little earlier . little earlier. >> the world as we've been saying, as i was saying back in my speech in january, is looking more dangerous. i think it's very important for britain to play very important for britain to play its leadership part. the prime minister has stood up and has done that in a very significant way and i think this is very, very good news for the united kingdom , our security and united kingdom, our security and also for our leadership in the rest of the world. >> well, let's cross over now to westminster to join gb news political editor, christopher hope. good morning chris. good morning. so a big announcement today from the conservatives are inbox of viewers obviously saying, well is this really does it really matter because rishi sunak won't be prime minister by 2030? >> well, it does matter. it shows a direction of travel. this money is paid for. it's

covered by the cost by cutting some 10,000 civil service posts, some 10,000 civil service posts, some of those in the ministry of defence, it shows a political to will ensure this country is put on a war footing, it goes beyond where labour is. labour is saying they want to get to 2.5% of gdp. that's the government target two, but won't say how they'll get there or whether they'll get there or whether they can get there just yet. they're having a spending review if they win power in the november general election . so it november general election. so it does two things. it gives the tory party a dividing line on defence, with the labour party going into the long election campaign. it also, i think, secures to some degree mr sunak's position with his own backbenchers. i've been talking to a senior defence backbencher , to a senior defence backbencher, mp with defence interests on the backbench of the tory party he says. you know it's priced in. the tories will do not so well in next week's local elections and maybe even the mayoral elections . but and maybe even the mayoral elections. but this spending on defence is, is exactly what the right of the party wanted to see

happen and has now happened. so in a sense, mr sunak, politically, he wouldn't want to admit this is getting ahead of what could be a difficult weekend in eight days time and the following days after that, when summer forecast yet another challenge to his authority from the backbenches. so it is quite good politics. it's also very good politics. it's also very good for this country. if you do believe the concerns that the government has about the so—called this axis , opposing so—called this axis, opposing the uk, russia, china and iran , the uk, russia, china and iran, then what is announced here is getting ahead of that and leading the way to other nato countries to match 2.5% of gdp on defence spending, not just 2. >> all right, chris. thanks, chris. hope, who is our political editor in west news. we're going to talk now to kevin jones who's the labour mp for nonh jones who's the labour mp for north durham. and of course was a defence minister in gordon brown's government. kevin, morning to you. good morning, as a man who's got his finger on the pulse on defence issues, is this good news? >> no, it's what we've come to expect from grant shapps. most

shapps more spin and bull. frankly, the defendant, you know, they say they're putting the, nation on a war footing. defence expenditure next year goes down. if you take out the 500 million that is dedicated for ukraine. and that was confirmed by the finance director, who sat next to the secretary of state at the defence select committee a few weeks ago. >> so the i mean, they're talking aren't they, kevin? i mean about massive increase in armaments and ammunition to replace the stuff that's being sent to ukraine, but but it on papen sent to ukraine, but but it on paper, it's a huge increase. >> andrew. it's for the birds. this i mean the if backbencher tory mps have swallowed this one, they're very gullible , one, they're very gullible, because it is just spin. if you look, for example , next year, it look, for example, next year, it is a fact, you know, the defence budget declines. if we're on a war footing, why are you cutting the defence budget next year? and that's the 75 billion, it's

absolute nonsense. it's not a 75 billion. it'sjust absolute nonsense. it's not a 75 billion. it's just spin. absolute nonsense. it's not a 75 billion. it'sjust spin. if absolute nonsense. it's not a 75 billion. it's just spin. if you look at the, ifs figures this morning, you only get to 75 billion if you actually freeze the defence budget over the next six years, so there's no extra money. and i think the other thing you need to look at is that the defence budget is still 7, lower than it would than it was in 2010. but that's because the tories took 14% out of the defence budget until 2016, you know, sacked people, made people compulsorily redundant, and, you know, the point is, is that, this is just complete spin and it's for political purposes, internal management of the tory party, rather than helping our armed forces. >> who are we on a war footing with, by the way? because that's what he says. this will put us on a war footing. what war can we fight with the army at its lowest level since the napoleonic conflicts? >> well, we can't, and this is the nonsense that the portraying is, is, you know, you don't go on a war footing if you're going to cut the defence and the idea

that you're going to go, that you're going to balance the budget by cutting 10,000 civil servants, what people got to remember, these aren't pen pushers in whitehall. these are the technicians, these, scientists and others that actually develop , and support, actually develop, and support, defence equipment. so good luck with that. if you actually want to get procurement sorted out. so would you keep the civil servants? >> do you think kevin will labour keep such a bloated blob running the country ? running the country? >> vie it's well, it's all right to make bloated blob, but look at what they do. civil servants in the mod are armed specialists . they are scientists who? they are the people that do, for example, nuclear engineers on the replacing the nuclear deterrent . now, if you want to deterrent. now, if you want to get rid of some of them, fine. but that's all you'll do is actually gum up the procurement system. i'm all for efficiency wherever you can make it, but this is just complete nonsense that you can actually, balance the defence budget by cutting civil servants. >> but don't we need to boot out some of those involved in defence procurement, kevin, because, you know, when you were

a defence minister, there was a problem with procurement. it's continuing now under this government , the big defence government, the big defence budgets are always massively overspent , always behind overspent, always behind schedule. we've got we've got aircraft carriers which don't seem to be able to work. >> sir andrew, i don't like i told you so, but the reason why our defence procurement is such a mess is something called the, levine review and changes in the early two, 2012, which actually devolved the budgets to the mainline forces, took the eye off the ball in terms of control over this and made sure that decisions weren't taken at a strategic level . that's what's strategic level. that's what's actually happened to. and that's on the conservative party's watch . i'm sorry. this on the conservative party's watch. i'm sorry. this is on the conservative party's watch . i'm sorry. this is just watch. i'm sorry. this is just spin. and i think people just look at the figures and actually, you know, face down sunak and shapps and just say to them, well, come on, where are you going to get this money from? >> it does feel a little like rishi sunak is just throwing everything he's got at this now in this sort of final run up to an election to see what sticks.

our inbox shows that most people out there , the viewers are a lot out there, the viewers are a lot smarter than that, and they can see through some of the electioneering. what could make any difference for him, kevin? and when do you think that election might be? >> well, it's not for me to say the prime minister i think he's a big enough hole as it is. but if i was him, i wouldn't keep digging in, and bringing a jcb in and trying to, you know, think that the public are stupid. and, you know, some of us who are committed to defence and actually want to see our armed forces properly funded, are not going to be conned by this. this announcement. and, you know, people just look at this conservative party's record on defence, they've cut defence over the last 14 years. they're cutting it next year , even if cutting it next year, even if we're on a war footing, that's not what you do . not what you do. >> when do you want the election? sorry when do you want the election? >> i want it as soon as possible. because, frankly, you know, if this was a horse, you'd put it out of his misery that this government . this government. >> can we just ask you, kevin, can we trust your law on

defence? >> yeah, i think you can. i mean, you know, the situation is, andrew, you've known me a long time on defence and, even in the bad years of corbyn, i was still holding the flag there for defence. we've got keir starmer, who's committed to defence, and john healey, who i think is someone else who is committed to making sure that we make the right decisions for this country, not the cheap spin and playing politics with what's happenedin and playing politics with what's happened in the last few days. >> can we just ask you about these scenes yesterday on saint george's day in in london, with the police being very heavy handed , jumping out of vans, handed, jumping out of vans, ready to riot, did it look like this two tier policing that that they metta being accused of because we have pro—palestinian , because we have pro—palestinian, pro—peace, you might say, rallies every weekend and there is never that sort of muscular risk , boss. risk, boss. >> no, listen, listen. well, the great things about our country is democracy. we have freedom of speech to demonstrate and actually ensure that we can, you

know, have our rights safe. that needs protecting. that's something precious. that's what we fight. we fight for in this country. and democracy , the country. and democracy, the police have a difficult job in terms of ensuring that. and if demonstrations take place that turn violent, then the police have to make the appropriate response. if you see some of the individuals who are behind yesterday's. so saint george's day, you know , were they looking day, you know, were they looking for trouble? possibly they were, but, you know , demonstrations but, you know, demonstrations should be something we should actually cherish and think it's part of our freedom. democracy should always be done peacefully, and we should all support the police in terms of the difficult job they've got. okay >> all right, kevin, great to talk to you again. that's kevin jones. he's the labour mp for nonh jones. he's the labour mp for north durham and a former defence minister. great to talk to you. >> i like him a great man great i like him. >> he's very straightforward man. >> he is he's he's a he's from your part of the world and he's blunt northerner. >> you can see it can't you. in the blood right. still to come, the blood right. still to come, the last surviving veteran of a world war two special forces regiment shares his story. >> kids should know more about the sacrifice that their

forefathers made . not me. i'm no forefathers made. not me. i'm no hero, but they like they were the raf boys who died. and people like that. they don't realise that. they don't know much about it. they don't even know who hitler was. half of them are. >> he's about your age, isn't he? he's amazing. >> we should ask him. would it offend you if you say in your day, in your day, back in your day. but he's 102. day, in your day, back in your day. but he's102. he could be. he could be 80. he could be 80, couldn't he? amazing. that's amazing. >> right? don't go anywhere. this is britain's newsroom on .

gb news. right. good morning. it's 1020. right. good morning. it's1020. we are joined in the studio now by broadcaster mike parry and trade unionist and political commentator andy mcdonald. >> andy, is this your first time on? >> it is on britain's newsroom. >> it is on britain's newsroom. >> very good. well, you're very welcome. >> thank you. welcome. great to be here. >> yeah. welcome to the best

show on the channel. if we do say so, it is ourselves very much. >> and if you haven't said that, you can't come again. >> i do like everything here, right. shall we talk about this gap in the knowledge base of children who were locked down for two years, and they . our for two years, and they. our inbox has lit up with people expressing their frustrations. i have it as well as a parent, that we just neglected to do anything about this problem. >> yeah, absolutely . i mean, i >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, i think there was a strong focus on the year groups that were taking exams during covid, and obviously that was incredibly important to ensure that their futures were as unaffected as they could be by the coronavirus pandemic . they could be by the coronavirus pandemic. but it they could be by the coronavirus pandemic . but it was they could be by the coronavirus pandemic. but it was kind of an afterthought. the people who were in the developmental stages, people that were in, you know, the year five to year eight kind of category where it really was a key moment in their learning journey. and i think there does need to be some serious, serious provision offered to these students . now offered to these students. now they're getting to their gcse, their a—level years to kind of compensate for that. and some catch up work as well. >> there was a fund set up. it was an education recovery fund and i just think the money disappeared. it just didn't

happen. i think they announced it with a blaze of publicity , it with a blaze of publicity, but then nothing really came of it. >> £5 billion. >> £5 billion. >> it was it was billion. >> it was it was billion. >> so much money. >> so much money. >> i'd just like to ask andy because he's a trade unionist. >> what role did the teaching unions have in this whole horrible saga and how much can they be responsible? >> i mean, this report to me is a statement of the blinken obvious . oh, look, children obvious. oh, look, children couldn't go to school. they weren't being taught properly . weren't being taught properly. they're going to slip behind. they've had the worst possible start in life. but did the teaching unions have a role in this? >> well, in what, the coronavirus pandemic? i don't think so. >> but you know, i didn't want they didn't want their members to go to school. it was because they said they'd be exposed to they said they'd be exposed to the pandemic. >> well, they would be exposed to coronavirus. they would usually transmit it to other people. >> they were and of course, teachers. the children of key workers were taught exactly by teachers . teachers. >> exactly. >> exactly. >> sure. i mean, you know, the eu and the nhs , ut they took the eu and the nhs, ut they took the guidance at the time and they saw what they thought was the correct process. so i think there have been a few apologies made since, but generally i think they did what was in the interest of their members.

>> hindsight's a very easy thing, andy, but should the school should never have been closed. >> i, i, i don't know view. i, i think probably there should have been a short closing the schools but not to the extent that there was, and particularly not that second lockdown at the beginning of 2021. >> and they came back for two days at one point, didn't they. yeah, two days. and then closed them again . them again. >> and also, i think what this study has found and what we may be underestimating is like the psychological effect of that of changing the goalposts for kids. kids need consistency. and when you say you can go back to school, oh no you can't. you're going to go back to, we're going to send you home. we're dealing with that, and we're dealing with that, and we're dealing with it in so many different ways in terms, it's not just the teaching, it's the interactivity with children receive from going to school, even walking to school , you know, or going on school, you know, or going on their bike or meeting all their mates or after school activities, and that's all been rubbed away. >> and they've had a very, very difficult start in life and they've got to adjust now to some human skills which you take for granted, which they're going to have to learn. it's serious .

to have to learn. it's serious. >> and there are studies which show that there are months and months of education. they've lost. >> it can't come back. of course they have. they'll never get them back. i mean, you know what it's like on a curriculum if a child sadly has a long term illness is in hospital. they never catch up on their education. and this this stretch is now over. millions of children who are in that position, they will never get it back. they're the generation who've been betrayed by adults, in my view. >> absolutely. and karen's got in touch and said, my son's leaving school. and to be honest, he's not ready. he's missed five, almost two years. yeah through covid and then teacher strikes, not to mention all the holidays and five weeks. i honestly believe our schools are struggling. and it's the children who are suffering. my children who are suffering. my child now has a lazy attitude of who cares about school? that karen is absolutely on the money for me, where school used to be, the place that you wanted to be a part of, it's a recognition. >> you've got a badge on your blazer and all that. that's all gone, i think. i think children lost respect for the institution of being a member of a school. you know, i think it was easy for the unions to go on strike because closing a school down,

even during the three day week, we went to school every day, we went to school every day. >> but it just made it easier to close schools down with strikes because they were shut during the pandemic. >> oh, possibly. i mean, there were quite a few teacher strikes before the pandemic. i'm sure i'm sure you would report on those actually closing. i think in the same way, i think some of them were a lot of classes got sent home. i do recall, you know, even when i was at school, that happening, you know, my class was at any class and we, we got sent home. >> but andy, what i didn't see was teachers fighting hard to keep the schools open. they were either seen indifferent to it, shrugged their shoulders, or were in fact supporting the idea of keeping schools closed for longer . and teachers main longer. and teachers main priority is to teach children fight to keep the schools open. >> but they've also got to take into account what they had guidance at the time that they thought their personal safety was at risk. they were still providing in most cases, they were still providing educational provision for those students, but they were following their school guidance. you know, you can't go after the if you had an ipad, sure. you're lucky enough you can't go after, you know, some teacher who's on 25 grand a yeah some teacher who's on 25 grand a year. yeah. you know, it's not her responsibility. it's the

senior leadership team in the department of education to offer the correct guidance. >> but teachers, by their very nature, should have inquiring minds and should think, is there a better way of doing this? is this really benefiting the children? and i didn't see enough of that. >> well, maybe if they paid them better, if you paid, if you paid them better, you know, they might be a bit more inquisitive to do a betterjob. >> but that's a different argument. you know, teaching is two things, one, a job and two vocation. >> we can all agree, though. the kids were really badly let down. yeah, no doubt about it. >> yeah. it'll be interesting to see what keir starmer offers if he becomes prime minister well, he becomes prime minister well, he knows what. >> he will close the schools down even longer. >> he wanted more money down even longer would have. >> yeah, do you want to talk about prince louis being on the front page of the paper, mike, well, i do, but i want a birthday picture. >> yeah, i want to ask andrew a question as a former royal correspondent. yeah. isn't it a day too late this time? it is. >> i mean, we normally get the night is released the night before the birthday. >> exactly. normally we wake up on the day of the birthday on the on the pictures on the front. yeah and i thought that hasn't happened, but i think the royals must have had a big

rethink yesterday. they did, thinking that we must put this picture out. but it's a day late. >> we know catherine is sick and she's having treatment for. yeah over the cancer scare. but the decision had been taken. we're not going to put the photograph out all the rows over the picture, the edited photograph or manipulated photograph of her with the kids on mother's day. >> prince william made that decision, didn't he? >> yeah, but then, yes, yesterday they changed their mind. yes. it was as simple as that. and i think they just thought, and i'm glad they changed their mind because it's a glorious photograph. it is. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> he's a lovely belting little boy. yeah. and they've made it absolutely clear the photograph has not been photoshopped or edhed has not been photoshopped or edited in any way. >> that to me illustrates the. do you not believe that, andy, the bullying has had on on catherine, you know what i mean? the fact that that's made it absolutely clear. look, this picture has been edited. it's like they're living in fear. now, if anybody accused them of doing andy doesn't believe it wasn't edited. >> well, every single photograph in a newspaper is edited in some way. whether it's whether it's the saturation that's changed, it will have been edited realistically. i mean, you know, the backgrounds, the backgrounds, fuzzy, you know, one of his ears is more in focus than the other. >> she has made it clear, or the

palace has made it clear that there was no editing of that photograph. >> the palace can lie. i know the police can't lie, but they are capable of lying. >> but look, i think you're confusing editing with, you know, managing the picture. you can crop a picture because you want to get it into a certain space and still edit pose, but thatis space and still edit pose, but that is still editing. it's not editing. editing means altering the content of the picture. >> so you don't think they've changed any of the lighting, any of the saturation on that photograph? do you think the grass was really that green in march? it's. >> well, arthur edwards thinks it was. and arthur's, you know, the greatest fleet street photographer ever. >> that was taken yesterday , so >> that was taken yesterday, so it would be much rain we've had. the grass is very green . yeah. the grass is very green. yeah. >> it's been edited like, even if it's just even if it's just saturation, it's taken. it will have been edited. >> you're misleading our millions of viewers. >> she has obviously the millions of viewers at home. i'm sure you know they'll agree. it will have been edited. >> she's obviously taken it on portrait mode, i would suggest on her phone, because the back is a little bit blurry, but you don't. that's not manipulating. >> she's not taking it on her phone. that would have been a

photographer that will have taken that. yeah. no she took it. it's the royal family. >> yeah, she took her own camera. she does her own photos. that's the point. >> no royal family photographers that do the birthday photos. >> it's all there would be. there would be a by—line picture on there if a photographer taken. there's no. it's. that is her photograph. >> she has got very professional photographic equipment. she has nick read cameras and she's got a podium and all of that. >> she's just got and the king has just put her in that very special order of merit or something, because she's a good snappen >> yeah, but can we just reflect on how weird it is that we're so obsessed with whether the picture is genuine or not? >> what andy is? i didn't bring up the topic . up the topic. >> i'm just discussing it. >> i'm just discussing it. >> i'm just discussing it. >> i thought the you're suggesting the prince of wales is not telling it straight. >> yes, i probably not her. >> yes, i probably not her. >> it's some press officer making allegations. >> i believe her. yeah. >> i believe her. yeah. >> i believe her. yeah. >> i think they're really good. do you think they're in good shape? obviously. physically we know they're not. but in terms of the public feeling, feeling towards the royal family, andy, are they in a strong place at the moment. do you think? >> i think, you know, most people don't really care. you know, i'd say most people i think most people are just kind

of like andy. no not really. i don't really have an opinion on the royals. i think it's probably much more effort to get rid of them than it is, you know, to keep them. i think it sounds fine to me. i don't really care. i believe in a meritocracy, and i think royalty is contradictory to a meritocracy , but i don't really meritocracy, but i don't really care. i've got unfortunately, i've got bigger issues to think about. >> how old are you? do you mind me asking? >> 23. so you see, i think i think you're actually is absolutely typical of those people in their 20s. >> and, you know, i think that sort of ambivalence is how most people in their 20s do feel about the royal family >> remember, people in their 20s grow up to get a gas bill and have more respect for the royal family i do i do have a mortgage. >> well, i do have a gas bill and also the other thing i do pay and also the other thing i do pay bills, but and the other thing is what would you replace it with? i don't know, that's why i said i it's probably more effort to think about president blair. why would it be president blair? well, blair has not been a member of parliament for 14 years. >> he'd love to be. >> he'd love to be. >> of course, he would love to be. >> i'm sure he would be. >> i'm sure he would be. >> i'm sure you'd love to be a

president. no, it would not. would you not, president pierce? that would be fantastic, wouldn't it? >> no. bit of alliteration. >> no. bit of alliteration. >> no. bit of alliteration. >> no i'm not. we all agree that would be a terrible idea. yeah. >> what about president parry? yeah. >> president. alliteration, maybe, i don't know, one of these days. no, not for me. i'm staying a million miles away from politics because i can do a better job outside of politics. >> but also, i think the royal family are doing a pretty good job, and they're under a lot of pressure at the moment. so. and i'm wishing her well. >> i think she was terribly bullied. catherine on the original photograph don't know about you, bev, but i mean, the way that she had to put out that step forward, put out statements and at the time, she was, being treated for cancer. and i think now that really has rattled. and it was the royal family and, and their ability to communicate with the public. >> and it was the agency's use of the word manipulated. yes, exactly. it was a pretty emotive word, horribly handled. >> they got, you know, they got upset a lot of these agencies because they of course, used to take the pictures themselves and they had control over them. >> exactly. and they didn't like the idea that somebody else was having control over royal pictures. there was an element of that, too, for sure. >> right. >> right. >> mike parry, anna macdonald, thank you very much for now.

don't go anywhere, your news now with sofia. >> bev. thank you. it's 1030. >> bev. thank you. it's1030. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your headlines. the defence secretary has told gb news that rising conflicts around the world have made bolstering britain's defences more urgent . it's after prime more urgent. it's after prime minister rishi sunak announced that spending would increase to 2.5% of gdp by 2030, in what he called the biggest strengthening in a generation. grant shapps says he'll tell a nato summit in july that 2.5% should be the benchmark for all members of the alliance . meanwhile, in the us, alliance. meanwhile, in the us, the senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a long awaited aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan. it's expected to be quickly signed by president biden, ending months of uncertainty over whether the united states would continue supporting kyiv. it comes after

the bill passed the house of representative on saturday in a show of bipartisan support , show of bipartisan support, despite considerable resistance among some republicans. ukraine's president zelenskyy says it reinforces the us as a beacon of democracy . the mother beacon of democracy. the mother of one of the nottingham attack victims has written an open letter to police after graphic, graphic messages were shared in a whatsapp group. barnaby weber, who was 19, was stabbed and killed along with two others by 32 year old valdo calocane . in 32 year old valdo calocane. in an open letter, barnaby's mother emma says her son was described as properly butchered. among other phrases and has urged police to show the respect that was not given to her son. and two horses, which appeared to be on the loose in central london this morning, have now been contained . video posted to contained. video posted to social media appeared to show one of the animals covered in blood. city of london police says the horse will now be transported for care . and for

transported for care. and for the latest stories , sign up to the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. common alerts . gb news. common 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. >> the pound will buy you $12428 >> the pound will buy you $1.2428 and >> the pound will buy you 151.2428 and ,1.1631. the >> the pound will buy you $1.2428 and ,1.1631. the price of gold is £1,864.84 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8079 points. >> cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report . financial report. >> still to come this morning. the mother of nottingham attack victim barnaby webber has written an open letter to police after graphic whatsapp messages. we'll be speaking to counter—terrorism specialist for

that, chris phillips. this is britain's newsroom on .

gb news. good morning. it's 1038. gb news. good morning. it's1038. so the mother of nottingham attack victim barnaby webber has asked police to show the respect that was not given to her son. to other victims. >> so emma webber wrote an open letter to members of her police whatsapp group. after several graphic messages were sent about the killings of her student son, she said that her request to privately and anonymously address the social media group were denied, so she felt forced to write an open letter in the times newspaper. >> as the only way to reach the staff that were involved. >> and it's because the chief constable, who, by the way, has refused to meet her, refused to pass the letter on to the whatsapp group. her son, the chief constable son, was part of

that whatsapp group but was not involved in the offensive message, in the offensive messaging. >> and we're not going to give you all the details of the whatsapp messages because they were quite graphic. but one of the words they use is that some teenagers had been butchered, with some of the language that they used, and somehow these messages got released first, i believe, to other friends on the group or the family, and made their way to the mother of barnaby webber, who it sounds like has tried to handle it and to be heard in a very diplomatic , a very sensitive way. and the police have not allowed her to do that. and so she then wrote an open letter to the times newspaper. >> the police have formed for this. we had the police at channg this. we had the police at charing cross station, all those offensive whatsapp messages. remember the images that were shared of the two sisters who were murdered by police officers? yeah i think they went to prison. >> yeah they did. and actually, it just feels like these lessons are not being learnt, does it, in relation to these. but then maggie oliver was saying at the top of the show that she feels

there is a training issue with police officers. there's a funding issue and maybe they just aren't being taught enough about how to communicate on whatsapp. should you have to be taught that kind of thing? >> the common thread in all of these whatsapp messages, they were all male police officers. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> gbnews.com/yoursay to let us know your thoughts. but now the last surviving member of a special forces regiment during world war ii has fulfilled his dream to dine at the ritz hotel in london. >> he was celebrating his 102nd birthday in style this week @gbnews. royal correspondent cameron walker went to meet him . cameron walker went to meet him. >> war is not glamorous. cameron walker went to meet him. >> war is not glamorous . we >> war is not glamorous. we thought it was actually when you're young . you're young. >> john morris is the last surviving member of his sas regiment from the second world war. before joining the special forces, his service began in kent, shooting down german bombers targeting london. >> the only thing i shot down, actually was a chimney kitchen

chimney. accidentally by mistake. nobody had any breakfast that morning. i wasn't very popular. >> john was one of the last people to receive a 100th birthday card from queen elizabeth ii . elizabeth ii. >> all birthday cards from the children from christ church school celebrating his 102nd birthday this week . birthday this week. >> local school children made him cards thanking him for his bravery. >> i think kids should know more about the sacrifice their forefathers made . not me. i'm no forefathers made. not me. i'm no hero, but they like they were. the r.a.f. boys had died and people like that . they don't people like that. they don't realise that they don't know much about it. they don't even know who hitler was. half of them. >> john, who's now a chelsea pensioner, kindly agreed to share his wartime memories. in 1943 he was sent to north africa with the royal artillery and past special forces selection on taking part in the allied invasion of italy , 75,000 invasion of italy, 75,000 british and colonial troops were killed in italy. >> the germans fought back very

well . well. >> ultimately the allies were successful, but a much more powerful natural threat was not far away. mount vesuvius, famous for destroying the roman town of pompeii in ad 79, erupted . pompeii in ad 79, erupted. >> ad i woke up in the morning, i heard this rumble, looked outside and this wall of lava coming down. so never go on a volcanic island where i am, because it's very dangerous . because it's very dangerous. >> that year, allied forces landed on the beaches of normandy, known as d—day. landed on the beaches of normandy, known as d—day . the normandy, known as d—day. the operation led to the liberation of western europe and was one of the most famous and widely praised successes of the war. far away in italy , john and his far away in italy, john and his comrades were branded with a less than flattering nickname turned into a popular wartime song. >> we've done three days. we did the north african landing , we the north african landing, we did the battle of britain , and did the battle of britain, and we did the italian landing. we did the yugoslav savoia, albania, and they called us

d—day dodgers. moeen ali de dodgers out at harley i >> -- >> john celebrated his 102nd in style. first, a party with the chelsea pensioners followed by a champagne lunch organised by friend and irish guards ambassador frederick crum. the reds always had a wonderful relationship with the chelsea pensioners. >> we celebrate in style and he's never been to the ritz, so that will be worthy of the 102nd birthday, right, john? that's right. >> cameron walker gb news. >> cameron walker gb news. >> what a lovely, charming story. >> what a lovely man. >> what a lovely man. >> you take me to the ritz for lunch ? no, charming. lunch? no, charming. >> it's very nice.

>> i've been to it. i used to take mrs. thatcher to lunch at the ritz. >> no, you didn't , i did, and >> no, you didn't, i did, and every time we left, this was in her fading years, i would say. >> right as we left, the pianist would start playing a nightingale on berkeley square. and i'd be holding on to her arm. she'd say, do you know, dean arm. she'd say, do you know, dear, that was mine and dennis's favourite and of course, the pianist knew that. wow. every time i'd say most times when we left the or, the whole restaurant would stand up and give her a standing ovation. amazing. very moving. >> what was she like? >> what was she like? >> i loved her, i have a life that i've cut out of mrs. thatcher in my study, next to a life size cut out of dame joan collins. >> we'll have one of me one day. >> we'll have one of me one day. >> for dart ball practice. right. listen, this awful story that's been breaking in london this morning, we're going to try and bring you some footage of it after this quick break. but there were five people have been injured. there was two horses escaped. here we go. we've got some images of it here. two horses escaped from the household cavalry this morning. they went on a six mile rampage

through london. they smashed into cars. they cracked the windscreen of a bus. one of the horses obviously is injured. they're covered in blood . oh, they're covered in blood. oh, bless it, and they are. >> i mean, that is like if you connect with a horse in the on run, that's like being connected with a tank. >> yeah. well one of the soldiers was thrown off as well. we're trying to get a few more details of it, but just awful, extraordinary story. don't go anywhere. we'll try and

gb news. good morning. 1048. now the mother of nottingham attack victim barnaby webber has asked police to show the respect that was not given to her son in whatsapps talk. >> now to chris phillips, former head of the national counter terrorism security office. chris, good morning to you. >> this is . oh, i think we've >> this is. oh, i think we've lost we've lost him, chris. philip, we'll get we'll get him back. but this this is deeply distressing for, barnaby's mum. >> it really is. >> it really is. >> he's slain by a deranged

knifeman. >> calocane who isn't convicted of murder, even though he was convicted of attempted murder when he drove the van he was in. >> yeah, some passers—by vie. i don't understand the difference. and then she has to read these whatsapp messages. she wanted to communicate directly with the police officers and was told she couldn't by the chief constable. that's right. i think we've got chris now. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> chris, you're with us now, chris, this is a very distressing story for barnaby's mum, for any victims of crime to. but to read this, i mean, these police officers are just talking amongst. it's what, the sort of conversation i think you'd have probably heard in a police canteen 20 years ago. but now, because of social media, it's put in print. and that's what makes it look so crude and insensitive. >> yeah, absolutely . >> yeah, absolutely. >> yeah, absolutely. >> andrew. >> andrew. >> and, you know, whoever leaked this, this message should be absolutely ashamed of themselves because , yes, it was probably

because, yes, it was probably very young officers who were traumatised themselves. >> i would think i would imagine i would have been if i'd gone to the scene, talking amongst themselves. and, there's some lessons here about social media that anything you put on can be and probably will be in this day and probably will be in this day and age, broadcast, and it's unfortunate language, but, you know, it's the sort of language you would hear between military guys, between anyone in the blue light services talking to each other, having dealt with the most horrific incident. >> and is there, chris just playing devil's advocate for a minute? is there is there something, necessary about that in that in terms of the trauma that police officers have to deal with, the distress , the deal with, the distress, the worst of humanity, that they see that there is a sort of language which is often quite casual or sometimes crude, maybe. and that's part of the coping mechanism amongst friends. >> yeah. well, we've all heard of black humour and people used to deride, what went on in

police canteens. it wasn't terrible what went on in canteen. >> it was people who were in the same boat effectively talking about the situations that they were in. >> and, and, you know , there is >> and, and, you know, there is a thing called black humour. and of course, you know, that is part of it. you know, if you deal with some i mean, some of the things that i've seen and deau the things that i've seen and dealt with over the years, if i if i hadn't have been able to talk to it, talk about it and, you know, almost laugh about the ridiculousness of it, then then goodness knows what would have happened to me. it's, it's just part of human nature and unfortunate . it's a part that unfortunate. it's a part that you don't want broadcast to the rest of the world. and that's why i say the people that that put this out, i mean, i don't know what are they trying to achieve? i don't know, it's barnaby. >> barnaby's mum wasn't trying to cause trouble for these police officers, either. she wanted to be able to communicate with them directly in a letter. but the chief constable said no. and the chief constable. by the way, chris has also refused to meet barnaby's mum. i don't understand why wouldn't you meet a woman who's been through this terrible experience , this poor

terrible experience, this poor lady, i mean, the families. >> that was the most horrific thing, you know, you just can't imagine how bad that was for their for the family, for everyone involved . actually, the everyone involved. actually, the police officers, the ambulance people that turned up. goodness knows they need as much support as they can be given. and i think sometimes, you know, we are a bit the police. i'm saying we i'm not in the police anymore. they are a bit defensive but but at the end of the day, you know, it does pay to be open and to talk to people and, and understand them. and they've got, of course, family liaison officers and things that do that. but but with a case like this and this unfortunate incident that we're that's playing out today, i just think, they they deserve everything they they deserve everything they get from the police force, including as much support as possible . yeah. possible. yeah. >> can we also ask you, chris, whilst we've got you as the former head of national counter—terrorism, whether you saw the scenes yesterday in london from the saint george's , london from the saint george's, parade celebration, that horribly, predictably, became

violent and aggressive. now, some would say that that is because the police arrived and prepared for violence with their riot shields and the helmets , riot shields and the helmets, anticipating maybe that what they would call far right campaigners were going to kick off. it was very different style off. it was very different style of policing to what we see on the palestinian marches . the palestinian marches. >> yeah, i think they worked on intelligence , and sometimes intelligence, and sometimes their intelligence is good, sometimes it isn't , it is a very sometimes it isn't, it is a very difficult situation. i've talked about this a lot over the last few months. listen, the police are there to try and keep the peace, and if people are not allowed to go to a certain area, then they need to be stopped , then they need to be stopped, and of course, i think that's what was happening yesterday. it just the optics are terrible. you know, i think the police have been far too soft on some of the demonstrations that have happened over the last few months. there's absolutely no doubt about that. but you know, you have to bear with them as well, because they're trying to keep the peace and a large proportion of society does support what the marchers have

been saying. and, it's the police are just caught in the middle. whatever they do, if they go in hard, they're wrong. if they go in soft, they're wrong. >> just briefly, i'm pressed for time. it does reinforce the view though, doesn't it, of two tier policing cracking down really hard on this. on saint george's day, festivities, but not cracking down on those marches. who who've spewed out vile anti—semitism remarks. >> yeah, absolutely . and it just >> yeah, absolutely. and it just plays to that, that tune, doesn't it , unfortunately, doesn't it, unfortunately, i think the police do need to be harder with these , with with harder with these, with with what's been happening on the streets. generally, and need to be supported to do that. >> okay . all right. thanks so >> okay. all right. thanks so much. great to see you. chris phillips there, former head of the national counter terrorism security office. >> we've got two tier policing. suella braverman was right, >> we've got two tier policing. suella braverman was right , the suella braverman was right, the former home secretary. >> why why is that? >> why why is that? >> i just think they they're they're they're too fearful. they would never have done that to a woman in a hijab. told her to a woman in a hijab. told her to go away from march . would to go away from march. would they? there is a man who's

overtly jewish. outrageous right. >> let us know your thoughts this morning. gbnews.com forward slash your say here's the weather. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> morning. here's your gb news weather from the met office. it's a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us it's going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. and here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and northern ireland. two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north—east. as we go through

tonight and most of the showers will die out. and so it is going to be dry for many of us. there will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning. then this morning , a chilly start for many morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. a few showers to watch out for across parts of central england into wales. there may be a few dotted here also towards the northeast, across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again , generally fine otherwise again, generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side , spells, temperatures still a little bjust the low side , spells, temperatures still a little bjust about)w side , spells, temperatures still a little bjust about getting, spells, temperatures still a little bjust about getting into places just about getting into double figures . double figures. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> 11 am. on wednesday, the 24th of april. this is britain's news one gb news with andrew pierce and bev turner. >> so a defence spending boost. >> so a defence spending boost. >> incoming prime minister rishi sunakisin >> incoming prime minister rishi sunak is in germany meeting with its chancellor, olaf scholz, to deepen defence and security. this comes as he pledges an extra £75 billion in defence spending by 2030. >> not that it would be prime minister then the rwanda aftermath. will those flights to rwanda act as a deterrent? 250 migrants attempted to cross the channel yesterday and of course, we had those five deaths and count down to the olympics. >> we're going to be chatting to taekwondo star bradly sinden as he ups his training ahead of the games in the hope of winning a british gold . british gold. and we still want to know

whether you think the phrase back in your day would be offensive if said to you by a younger person. i'm deeply offended, obviously mortified. >> you are . >> you are. >> you are. >> what's wrong with the olden days? >> luckily, we're good old days. we're both quite impossible to offend generally, which is which is lucky, but if somebody said to you back in your day, that would never happen. would it be offensive? >> no. >> no. >> ridiculous. grow up right. >> ridiculous. grow up right. >> gbnews.com forward slash. your say is the website the comments page where you can get in touch with us first though the very latest news with sophia wenzler . wenzler. >> bev thank you. good morning. it's 11:02. i'm >> bev thank you. good morning. it's11:02. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom . your top in the gb newsroom. your top story this hour. the defence secretary has told gb news that rising conflicts around the world have made bolstering britain's defences more urgent. it's after prime minister rishi sunak announced that spending would increase to 2.5% of gdp by

2030, in what he called the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation, grant shapps says that a fall in inflation has helped make the new investment possible , but that it's possible, but that it's important britain leads the way conditions are right now. >> but not only that, you know the situation in the world. you've seen what's been happening in ukraine with putin continuing to prosecute his illegal war. you've seen what's happening in the middle east with iran firing on on israel. i think it's very important for britain to play its leadership part. the prime minister has stood up and has done that in a very significant way . and i very significant way. and i think this is very, very good news for the united kingdom , our news for the united kingdom, our security and also for our leadership in the rest of the world. >> meanwhile, in the us, the senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a long awaited aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan. it's expected to be quickly signed by president biden, ending months of uncertainty over whether the united states would continue supporting kyiv.

it comes after the bill passed the house of representatives on saturday in a show of bipartisan support , despite considerable support, despite considerable resistance among some republicans . ukraine's president republicans. ukraine's president zelenskyy says it reinforces the us as a beacon of democracy . the us as a beacon of democracy. the mother of one of the nottingham attack victims has written an open letter to police after graphic messages were shared in a whatsapp group. barnaby weber, who was 19, was stabbed and killed along with two others by 32 year old valdo calocane . in 32 year old valdo calocane. in an open letter, barnaby's mother emma says her son was described as properly butchered among other phrases and has urged police to show the respect that was not given to her son. she says she chose to publish the letter in the times newspaper after requests to address the officer's directly were denied. two military horses, which appeared to be on the loose in central london this morning, have now been contained. video .

have now been contained. video. posted to social media appeared to show one of the animals covered in blood. at least four people were reportedly injured as the animals galloped their way through the busy city streets. westminster police say they'll now be transported for care. the former leader of the democratic unionist party, sir jeffrey donaldson, has been released on bail. northern ireland's longest serving mp was suspended from the dup following his arrest last month for what's been described as historical sex charges, including one count of rape in his resignation letter, he said he would be strenuously contesting the allegations. a 58 year old woman has also been charged with aiding and abetting additional offences in relation to the same investigation . to the same investigation. labour says it will fund an extra 13,000 neighbourhood police officers if it wins the next election. the party says it would guarantee regular patrols in town centres, with neighbourhood drug squads tasked with clamping down on local gangs. labour cited research showing that 50% of the public

say they never see any officer on the beat, up from 27% when they were last in office. the government has previously announced plans to spend £230 million on new technology, designed to free up more time for the police, and a 20 mile speed limit on residential roads across wales could be scrapped by the end of the year. a record breaking petition opposing the speed restrictions has received almost 500,000 signatures. the welsh government warns that reverting back to 30 mile per hour speed limits could cost up to £5 million. ministers are now urging people to have their say on the policy, which could see councils given powers to return limits to where they were , and limits to where they were, and former labour minister and crossbench peer frank field has died at the age of 81. lord field spent 40 years as mp for birkenhead and served as minister for welfare reform in tony blair's government. he

joined the house of lords in 2020. his family says he'll be mourned by admirers across politics, but above all, he will be greatly missed by those lucky enough to have enjoyed his laughter and friendship . and for laughter and friendship. and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. comments. now it's back to andrew and . bev. to andrew and. bev. >> 1106 with britain's newsroom on gb news with andrew pierce and bev turner. >> so former dup leader sir jeffrey donaldson has been released on continuing bail after he appeared at newry magistrates court to face a number of historical sex charges. >> well, let's talk to our northern ireland reporter, dougie beattie dougie. >> this is he's a huge figure in northern ireland politics, isn't he? jeffrey donaldson, the longest serving , and i think we longest serving, and i think we could credit him for getting the northern ireland assembly back in business.

>> completely correct. i mean, he is quite the figure in northern ireland. his his policies have gone since 1983, when he helped , the ulster when he helped, the ulster unionist party and that of enoch powell regained his seat in south down. i mean, that's how far this goes back. and that's the sort of political, strategy that he had. and he has been very much at the forefront of the dup . those talks on the the dup. those talks on the protocol, the framework document andindeed protocol, the framework document and indeed restoring the stormont executive. so you can imagine this morning when he and his co—accused, they did arrive separately , that of his wife, separately, that of his wife, lady eleanor donaldson . they lady eleanor donaldson. they arrived here separately. sir jeffrey arrived with john mcburney, his solicitor, into a massive media scrum . and it must massive media scrum. and it must be said that he did look quite frightened going in the door of the court. the two of them appeared side by side in the box in the courtroom, flanked by two officers. i mean, from the heights of politics to that was

was basically shocking for someone like me watching that. and they had to answer charges. going from 1985 to 2006 that that include gross indecency and rape and that of aiding and abetting. they have been released on their own bail. and this will come back to court on the 22nd of may. >> you told me that you go politically. he's been suspended from the dpp, but does he continue to serve as an assembly member ? member? >> no, he's an mp. so he he continues to hold his seat in lagan valley because he says that he is innocent and he is going to contest what is going on here. but you could imagine that would be a very hard job for him to do. that's why he's looked for the bail conditions to be moved, that he can come back home and stay in his home in the lagan valley constituency that he represents . that he represents. >> all right. that's dougie beattie sue holderness story. >> such a big figure in northern ireland. thanks for joining

>> such a big figure in northern ireland. thanks forjoining us. >> keep your messages coming in this morning. why don't you gbnews.com/yoursay we are heanng gbnews.com/yoursay we are hearing from you about these horses that were spooked in london. this morning. we're going to be talking to somebody about this in just a moment, linares said. i've just read about the horse, the spooked household cavalry horses. what has spooked the animals. my heart goes out to the poor lad, thrown off and injured and those poor horses. it must have been absolutely terrifying for people witnessing it. and pauline saying, oh no, bev turner is back. saying, oh no, bev turner is back . oh look, he's got to go back. oh look, he's got to go out. oh look, you can't please everybody. >> not everybody likes me, apparently. >> anyway, pauline gb news will still be here when you get back from wherever you're going, right? the prime minister, rishi sunak, is in germany meeting with chancellor olaf scholz to announce deepening defence and security ties in berlin. >> and it comes after that big promise yesterday in that speech in poland, which spends more money in europe than any other country on defence to increase uk defence spending to 2.5% of gdp by 2030. >> all right, let's cross over to westminster to join gb news

political editor christopher hope. good morning chris. so the prime minister will be hoping that this gets all the positive headunes that this gets all the positive headlines and makes the people of this country feel that we are very safe in his hands. >> that's right. morning, bev. morning, andrew. that's right. yeah, he certainly hopes that. and he didn't hold back, did he, in his speech yesterday talking about an axis of autocratic states opposing the uk's interests russia, china, iran . interests russia, china, iran. the pm said we're not on the bnnk the pm said we're not on the brink of war, nor do we seek it, which is some relief, i'm sure, to all of us. but he did say that we are going to put the uk defence industry on a war footing. i think this is indication, i think, that the peace dividend we've all enjoyed since the end of the cold war in 1991 is rapidly coming to an end. 2.5% of gdp is now is now paid for, priced in by the by the tory government. it was announced, first of all by boris johnson in 2022, but no one knew how it would be funded. we now know it will be funded from cuts to civil servants bringing back the civil service to pre—pandemic levels. it's

created a problem for the labour party. they have said they won't support it yet until a defence review expected in the first yeah review expected in the first year. if the if that party forms the next government. so wait and see if that will happen. they want to get their to 2.5, but they're not sure if they can. the challenge i think the tories are saying politically to labouh are saying politically to labour, will you cut civil service jobs to fund defence? that's a question which labour will have to answer and will they answer it to ensure that people feel safe by voting? labour backbenchers are happy. i was with a senior tory mp , with was with a senior tory mp, with defence interests earlier or experience earlier forming serving officer. he said this is great. it's perfectly exactly what the backbenches want to heah what the backbenches want to hear. it helps sunak going maybe into the difficult period post local elections. the polls suggest it won't go so well for the tory party and the mayoralty votes in some of the big cities may also not go well, so that helps him. so all round it's pretty good politics, let alone trying to keep us safe. and i think that's the response we're

getting from his allies here. and maybe some of his critics, too , in parliament. yeah. too, in parliament. yeah. >> all right chris thanks. that's gp gb news political editor christopher hope. well, we've got james heappey, who is the former armed forces minister, joining us now, james, morning to you. is it fair to say that you effectively quit as a minister and you're standing down at parliament because you were pretty fed up that the government, the tory government, wasn't spending more on defence? >> no. >> no. >> i decided to stand down from parliament because i didn't want to be an mp for the next five years, and having made that decision, i made a decision that i should probably also step back as a minister to give myself time to a have six more months. >> being a backbench mp, but b to start having a think about what i would do next. >> but having left government, i have used the freedom that you get once you're no longer bound by collective responsibility to make the case for more defence spending. and i'm delighted that the prime minister has has

answered the call as emphatically as he has yesterday i >> -- >> well, -_ >> well, we talked to kevin jones, labour, of course. no surprise he said. this is all spin and hot air because next yeahin spin and hot air because next year, in fact , james, you would year, in fact, james, you would know better than anybody. defence spending will actually fall next year. >> well, i just. yeah. interesting, but is he right? 70 well, i mean, what was announced today is £75 billion more on top of what is already the largest amount of money the uk has ever spent on defence, and that will be transformative if we are getting to the point where that sort of announcement, the key principle of which is 2.5% of our gdp from the end of the decade, will be spent on defence. and between now and then we will move incrementally towards that target . but, and towards that target. but, and the answer, instead of matching it, which would be what putin would take notice of what our allies would take notice of and

what would cue defence industry to start scaling up, because they would have the confidence that irrespective of the general election result, there was consensus ? s labour instead are consensus? s labour instead are trying to sort of squabble over a footnote in the budget, that doesn't seem to me that they understand the strategic importance of the moment. >> how important is it that we have more funding to support the action in ukraine? james vital, and i think it's really important that people see those two things as clearly connected, because they both contribute profoundly to euro—atlantic security, but they are fundamentally different. >> so we must resource the ukrainians in order to keep them in the fight, because any outcome other than a uk, a ukrainian victory , would be ukrainian victory, would be grotesquely expensive for europe over the next 30 or 40 years, either a stalemate or a ukraine defeat, but separately. and every bit as important is our

investment in our own armed forces and the deterrence that they provide to our adversaries by demonstrating to our adversaries that we have forces that are lethal and sustainable, and that we will stay in the fight for as long as it takes to take to beat anybody that's stupid enough to take us on. >> can i just ask you, what does a ukrainian victory look like? >> well, i mean, i think that the line that we've used in government from the very beginning is terms, set by president zelenskyy that effectively, respects the sovereignty of ukraine. and if he were to choose to make a compromise, then that's fine. but but i think that what it definitely doesn't look like is russia breaking through the current lines and taking more ukrainian territory . current lines and taking more ukrainian territory. i also don't think it looks like a stalemate on the current line. i think ukraine has to recover,

some, some or even all of the lost territory , zelenskyy lost territory, zelenskyy himself has said that that includes crimea, and i think that the donor community has to be willing to stick with the ukrainians until that sort of outcome is achieved , because if outcome is achieved, because if it weren't, you would end up with a line across ukraine, eastern ukraine, with the russians on one side and a ukraine with a nato security guarantee on the other. that would mean nato would be in ukraine as part of that security guarantee . or if russia was to guarantee. or if russia was to break through, you would end up with the russians on the nato border in hungary, slovakia , border in hungary, slovakia, romania, poland, which again would mean a reinforced nato presence on that border in both scenarios, very similar to east west germany in the cold war. so, with all of the expense that that would bring with it over the next 30 or 40 years. so it is definitely the case that it is definitely the case that it

is cheaper to stay with the ukrainians for as long as it takes and do what's needed to get them the win, because the other two outcomes over the course of the century will cost us far more and could be incredibly dangerous . incredibly dangerous. >> just briefly, james, he talked the prime minister about putting us on a war footing. yeah. who are we going to war with? who does he fear? we might have to go to war with? >> no, no, i think that misses the point, andrew. so it is. i think it pays in the current geostrategy environment to believe that a war is possible. and if you believe a war is possible, then the best way to maintain the peace is to prepare for war, because that brings with it a deterrent effect. and one of the key things that underpins our war fighting capability is our industrial capacity, our ability to sustain ourselves. that's the thing we've been looking at of the russians over the last six months or a year. that's exactly what our adversaries would look at of us. and so that's what i think the prime minister was getting after yesterday, and rightly so. >> okay. thank you. james. james

heappey there, former armed forces minister, the donor community. interesting thinking means taxpayers. >> well around, around around the world and the world. yeah, of course we are committing £12 billion to ukraine. >> and good luck with, zelenskyy setting the terms of that. somehow a peace resolution there and getting back all of their land, including crimea. but buckle up for the long haul because that's not going to be easy still to come for. >> people have been taken to hospital after they were hurt when military horses to do with the household cavalry bolted through central london on a six mile rampage. we'll keep you updated.

1121. we got there in the end. you had britain's news on gb news. andrew bev turner. the panelis news. andrew bev turner. the panel is back. mike parry and trade unionist and political

commentator andy macdonald. >> right , commentator andy macdonald. >> right, gentlemen, commentator andy macdonald. >> right , gentlemen, let's talk >> right, gentlemen, let's talk about this welsh speed limit story, mike. yeah, absolutely, you know , inevitable it was you know, inevitable it was going to happen in the end. wales has become like a laboratory for every crazy political venture that you want to try out on. the united kingdom tried in wales first. >> labour government. yeah, exactly. >> so the nhs sort of collapses in wales or certainly doesn't do very well. and the 20 miles an houhi very well. and the 20 miles an hour, i mean, who was the retiring welsh minister who got so angry in the senate by drakeford , mark drakeford, who drakeford, mark drakeford, who got stung saying, you know, i want to save more lives and if somebody's got to go ten miles an hour slower, i get very angry about it. it was nothing to do with that. it was once again war against the motorists. it was 20 mile an hour speed limit at 430 in the morning on country lanes in the morning on country lanes in wales. oh yeah, that's really going to help the population survive. terrible injury isn't it. yeah. >> drakeford is gone and they're now they're now they're denying it's a u—turn but they're withdrawing it. and quite a lot of roads .

of roads. >> look we've all agreed outside schools outside hospitals in built up areas 20 miles an hour. but you know , i come to some tv but you know, i come to some tv studios in london sometimes at 4:30 am. in a powerful car. car that has got to do 20 miles an hour on deserted streets with no pedestrians and no other roads. it's just trying to control the motorists and also they get money out of you because woe betide you go over the limit. >> a camera will get you. >> a camera will get you. >> they it's run into millions now. literally millions. a friend of mine got done twice on the embankment in london in two days for doing 21 and 23 miles an hour before he'd even realised 20 mile an hour couldn't do that at 3:00 in the afternoon because it's nose to bumper. you know, this was early morning going to work, and it's really serious. >> a&e i was chatting to a woman that i met on holiday this week who was a taxi driver. she started driving taxis to just make some money and earn a living, and she got three tickets within a couple of weeks and like you say, 4:00 in the morning, going 34 in a 30 are

small misdemeanours. and because she got clocked on camera, she lost a license. and that's lost her livelihood. >> i'm bev remember that friend of yours also . sorry joana of yours also. sorry joana jaflue of yours also. sorry joana jarjue up there will be losing money because she only gets paid a set fare for the journey. but if the journey takes a third longer because you've got to go a third slower, you're losing money every day. >> i think you know 30mph that that's not a 20 mile per hour zone, 30 miles an hour. you could kill someone going at 30 mile an hour. there is a but there is a difference, though. yeah, there is a difference between that. i think, you know, in wales they did get it wrong. i think in densely populated areas there should probably be a safety limit. you know, that's that's agree. but i think they did take it too far on some of those longer country lanes. i think that's silly. and i think the new first minister, you know, new administration, new, you know, transport minister in wales, they admit it's a u—turn. it's probably just a game of spin, really, isn't it? he doesn't want to get bogged down in semantics, refining the policy . he's a u—turn. he's just policy. he's a u—turn. he's just his press officer has gone out. and you know he's not accepting it's a u—turn. probably because he doesn't want to play too much

into kind of car lingo there. >> but people respect politicians more when they admit we've got it wrong, got it wrong, got it wrong, and we're changing. >> and by the way, i've read that the initial planning for it and all the new signs cost £34 million in wales. >> there's a lot of things you can do with £34 million in wales. instead of putting in 20 mile an hour road signs, i can't, i can't bear it, right. shall we move to on booming economy, the booming economy? mike, who knew the ftse 100 stock index of the uk's biggest pubuc stock index of the uk's biggest public listed companies , has public listed companies, has reached a record high, apparently this country is doing well. >> we're doing extremely well, but it's not just the, it's not just the booming ftse. we've got a report from independent analysts saying that britain's output now is overtaking our european nations . i mean, we're european nations. i mean, we're already doing better than germany in our economy . germany germany in our economy. germany supped germany in our economy. germany slipped into recession before we did. but what i, what i most despair about is that when we get these great stories about how well our economy is doing doesn't really seem to get , you

doesn't really seem to get, you know, that wide an audience. why aren't government ministers jumping up and down? >> i don't know, we're doing very well. >> yesterday we had a government minister on the minister for exports. lord offered anybody here heard of lord offered? >> no, no, absolutely. >> no, no, absolutely. >> about how we've overtaken. we're now in the top four for exporting nations. that's right in france. and why isn't the chancellor saying it or the prime minister? >> i totally agree. i mean, in the uk, right. the figures are households are now splashing out, so home centres are selling more goods and all that. but our services sector, which has always been strong bars , always been strong bars, restaurants, law and accountancy and financial services are booming and helping to stimulate fairness. >> i do have a separate set of headunes >> i do have a separate set of headlines here. you know, six days ago in the ft. uk, rental costs rise at a record 9.2. that's because we have mortgages, mortgage, mortgage costs rise, you know, mortgage rises confirm higher rates. you know, that was in the bbc yesterday. retail sales shoppers shunned department stores as pnces shunned department stores as prices rise four days ago in the bbc for normal people in the uk ,

bbc for normal people in the uk, they're not seeing the benefit of this. obviously, prices are still rising , but a booming still rising, but a booming stock market is good for your pension. >> of course it is. okay, great for pensioners, but if you think about everybody else in the country, they're clearly struggling. >> people are about to retire. >> people are about to retire. >> that's good news because that's going to be reflected in their pension. >> yeah, i mean fantastic. i mean, you know they'll need a rise in their pension. you know, considering the rise in prices. that's going on, you know, in the headlines. >> well those those rising pnces >> well those those rising prices are actually coming down now. inflation is coming down. no it's not coming down. >> the rise of inflation is coming down. that's what i mean. >> but it's coming down. the pnces >> but it's coming down. the prices are still going up. and we all know that inflation was caused by factors outside anybody's control. the government have done a good job. it will soon be down to 2% this yeah >> prices are still going up. no, no no no technically the rise of prices is going down. it's good news, isn't it? >> if the rate of inflation is coming down, the prices aren't. >> the prices aren't going to be cut, are they? >> you have to concede some things are going rather well. can't you concede that for normal people they're not seeing the benefit? >> well, i think they are. >> well, i think they are. >> i think they are. if the, if the bar sector is booming, restaurants, you're obviously not normal. no, i'm i'm not

normal. i do hate it when some of our national broadcasters, you know, rush to lead the 6:00 news with britain goes into recession, you know, 0.2. and two months later, when we've come out of that, they ignore it. completely ignored, you're not normal, mike, are you? because you're what might be called a middle aged babe magnet is what you described. >> well, i'm sorry, that's, you know, that's a moniker attached to me. it wasn't my invention. >> you've got to tell us about this story, which suggests about reheating old friendships. >> what does this story tell us? >> what does this story tell us? >> well, what it says is never go back to old friendships because they don't work. now. they don't specifically say old boyfriend girlfriend. they say old acquaintances. now, funnily enough , quite recently i had enough, quite recently i had a lunch in fleet street with an old journalistic colleague i probably hadn't seen for 20 years. but for some reason our paths crossed and we went to it very well. yeah, legendary. it was shocking. we had nothing to talk about. nothing this male or female? male, male, an old colleague who i used to work with on the road and suddenly found that our lives had so diverse really. but my worst one is when i got into radio and, you know, had a public voice, an

old girlfriend from 28 years ago contacted me and wanted to get back together, and she came to london to see me and it was disastrous because, you know, phones weren't as good in those days.i phones weren't as good in those days. i didn't know what she even looked like. and i'm afraid the reunion in which she was, you know, very hopeful and adventurous about what might happen to you , she did want to happen to you, she did want to ravish me. i will admit that, because, you know something i can't deny. but i'm afraid you didn't want a robert hur. i didn't want a robert hur. i didn't want a robert hur. i didn't want a robert hur . and didn't want a robert hur. and i'm afraid that it all ended in broken heartedness. oh, dear, not on my side, but on the poor lady side. and i apologise for. because i love women, and i wouldn't be watching, you know, maybe. but then again , she might maybe. but then again, she might not know who i'm talking about. >> we've run out of time. that story, mike parry, andy mcdonald. >> i do hope you come back because as you've seen, it gets a bit surreal here. >> fantastic discussions, fantastic discussions, middle age babe magnet, middle age baby. >> i can only aspire. >> i can only aspire. >> good money to hear somebody

like mike parry chatting like that. right. thank you both , gentlemen. >> achingly frank is our mike. are >> time for your news in the gb newsroom. here's sophia wenzler. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> thanks, bev. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your headlines. the defence secretary has told gb news that rising conflicts around the world have made bolstering britain's defences more urgent. it's after prime minister rishi sunak announced that spending would increase to 2.5% of gdp by 2030, increase to 2.5% of gdp by 2030, in what he called the biggest strengthening in our generation. grant shapps says he'll tell a nato summit in july that 2.5% should be the benchmark for all members of the alliance . the members of the alliance. the mother of one of the nottingham attack victims has written an open letter to police after graphic messages were shared in a whatsapp group. barnaby weber, who was 19, was stabbed and killed along with two others by

32 year old waldo calocane in an open letter, barnaby's mother emma says police described her son as properly butchered, among other phrases and has urged officers to show the respect that was not given to her son. the former leader of the democratic unionist party, sir jeffrey donaldson, has been released on bail . northern released on bail. northern ireland's longest serving mp was suspended from the dup following his arrest last month for what's been described as historical sex charges, including one count of rape. his wife has also been charged with aiding and abetting in relation to the same investigation . in his investigation. in his resignation letter, sir jeffrey said he would be strenuously contesting the allegations . and contesting the allegations. and up to seven military horses on the loose in central london this morning have now been contained. video posted social media appeared to show one of the animals covered in blood. at least four people were taken to hospital after being injured as the animals galloped their way through the busy city streets .

through the busy city streets. westminster police says they'll now be transported by the army for care . and for the latest for care. and for the latest story, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. common 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. >> the pound will buy you $1.2429 and ,1.1630. the price of gold is £1,864.31 per ounce, and the ftse 100 are 8090 points. >> cheers britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report

i >> -- >> rafe. good morning. this is britain's newsroom on gb news. so the defence secretary has told gb news that rising conflicts around the world have made bolstering defences necessary, we will be maybe bringing you some footage of rishi sunak in germany , this rishi sunak in germany, this morning, meeting the german chancellor. >> he's on this grand tour of europe. you know, prime ministers often do that when they're reaching the end of their inaya. where was mrs. thatcher when her premiership came to an end? >> looking around the world, she was at the opera in paris. oh, and having dinner with you, by the sounds of it, also was one of her other options. now more than 400 migrants crossed the channel illegally yesterday, the day five other migrants, of course, drowned in french waters, according to latest home office figures. >> well, our home and security editor mark white joins us now. mark, i saw that footage, by the way, of the french police just looking the other way. they didn't give a hoot when that boat was loaded into the water and i think that was actually the one that lost the five. >> yeah, it was. >> yeah, it was. >> and actually we've got some

we've got some exclusive pictures of that very same boat thatis pictures of that very same boat that is out in the channel after the tragedy . the tragedy. >> remarkably, incredibly, those on board, the majority of them wanted to continue their journey to the uk. hopefully we can bnng to the uk. hopefully we can bring you those exclusive pictures just now, but they show that boat out in the middle of the channel, trying to make its way there. you can see that french patrol vessel just escorting it, because 58 of those remained on the boat, despite the fact that five had drowned, refusing to get off the boat, and they made their way to uk waters , where the dover uk waters, where the dover lifeboat picked them up and took them to dover harbour. now what's also shocking, come to light about the incident on the beach we revealed this yesterday afternoon is that a group of african migrants, a large group of african migrants, stormed this boat as other migrants were

pushing it into the to water go on this journey to the uk, they effectively hijacked it, forced their way on board. so instead of 5060 people on board, we had 112. and never before have we seen 112 on this small boat. this is when there is 58 on the boat heading to the uk . it looks boat heading to the uk. it looks absolutely packed now double that number is what was on that board. >> so those students who stormed the boat caused directly or indirectly, the five drownings? well that's exactly what the french authorities are now investigating . investigating. >> yes, it looks like the dangerously overcrowded boat just couldn't cope with that. they were falling off and had to be rescued. >> police on the beach and weren't they attacked by some of the migrants and they just backed off. >> well, the migrants were actually fighting amongst themselves because it was this group of african migrants armed with sticks, fighting the other migrants just to force their way on the boat. >> the police were trying to intervene. they were getting

fought back, you know, fought off as well by the guns. >> they've got guns in france . >> they've got guns in france. what's the matter with them? yes. i'm not suggesting they shoot them, but they could have pulled the guns, might have quelled the riot. >> i think the migrants obviously realise that the french police probably aren't going to shoot them. but it is very dangerous. french police are being injured in these clashes. but getting back to the figures, i think from yesterday, it's incredible that on this day that five people died, 402 migrants crossed the channel in seven small boats, close to what is a record for this year so far . it takes a total who have crossed this year so far to 6667. >> is are there any leaving? are there any crossing the channel today that we're aware of? no. >> the weather conditions have closed in again today. it's quite choppy out there. good. and so that will be them now until the weekend, friday i think we're looking at flat calm conditions so we can expect another significant surge if the police know about the weather,

because they can check in about why aren't they ready for them to stop them? >> the french police. >> the french police. >> well, if you're dealing with on that beach 112 and more, because the people smugglers gangmasters were there as well. you had half a dozen police officers or so to have that many police officers , the same number police officers, the same number to be able to deal with the migrants along a 7000 mile stretch of beach , they just even stretch of beach, they just even with all the millions of pounds that we're giving the french authorities, they just couldn't afford, they can't afford that many people. >> okay. thank you. mark, we want to bring you this story a little closer to home this morning. some astonishing footage to show you four people have been taken to hospital after they were hurt when military horses bolted through central london just a little while ago. joining us now is gb news royal correspondent, cameron walker. cameron, just explain to us what who who were these horses? what is their role? what were they? what are they doing in london in the morning? sure. >> well, it's been widely

reported that five of the household cavalry horses bolted the words, which the army spokesperson has told me this morning is became loose. so make of that what you will. they are used for ceremonial processions dunng used for ceremonial processions during royal events in central london and other ceremonial events as well. so trooping the colour, they'll be involved with things like that. but just before 9:00 this morning, the army were exercising five horses on horse guards parade in whitehall. and that is the moment just before 9:00 that they apparently bolted . they apparently bolted. something reportedly spooked those horses. now >> so unusual. they're so well trained. >> they're very well trained . >> they're very well trained. they're used to loud noises with the bangs of the cannons, etc. but of course they are fight or flight animals. so if they're spooked, they're going to run. three of the horses ran towards buckingham palace through saint james's park. they went down lower belgrave street, which is the south side of buckingham palace . one of the riders of the palace. one of the riders of the horses who was still on at that point was thrown off the horse

and he was injured, as according to witnesses speaking to newspapers, that household cavalry soldier was screaming in pain. he was treated by paramedics on buckingham palace road. one of the horses ran into a double decker bus, reportedly and smashed the windscreen and smashed the windscreen. we can see social media footage of the white horse covered in blood, and another one reportedly crashed into a black van and, sorry, a black cab and a mercedes van. so three of the horses ended up down there. the other two raced in the other direction towards the city of london, so they ran through aldwych . that's where the other aldwych. that's where the other one hit the white, the black cab. those same two horses are pictured near tower bridge and then they are eventually captured at limehouse, so east london. so a very, very long way. they ran an army spokesperson told me in the last few minutes that a number of military working horses became loose during routine exercise this morning. loose during routine exercise this morning . all of the horses this morning. all of the horses have now been recovered and returned to the camp . a number returned to the camp. a number of personnel and horses have

been injured and are receiving appropriate medical attention. the city of london police say they were called at around 840 this morning after horses became loose. our officers contained two of the horses on the highway near limehouse and were waiting army horse boxes to collect them, which clearly has now happened. >> i've never heard of anything like this before, because those those horses, they're out on parade every day. yeah, they're used to traffic, as you say. they're used to the sound of cannons. >> i've never heard of this. >> i've never heard of this. >> and this was middle of rush houh >> and this was middle of rush hour. 840. all of this kicked off. so there was a lot of cars about. i think it's a miracle that none of the horses were quite so severely injured or indeed the personnel riding them. it looks like one. one of them. it looks like one. one of the soldiers clearly was screaming in pain , according to screaming in pain, according to witnesses. so it was being treated by paramedics. london ambulance spokesperson said that they did send resources to buckingham palace road and the paramedic was indeed treating that soldier and the horse. of course, we've seen on social media covered in blood, but they are receiving, according to an army spokesperson, appropriate

medical attention. but the question remains what spooks the horses? and we don't have the answer to that question. >> sure, that can't happen again. >> exactly. fascinated to know how they managed to round them up in the end. >> yeah. and to separate, you know, areas well galloping in full speed like that's like a the equivalent of a tank coming at you. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> incredible animals. they're big strong. you can't rugby tackle a horse. so it's you know it's a lot to stop them if they're spooked. >> right. thank you cameron it's really interesting . right. less really interesting. right. less than 100 days until the 2024 olympics begin . so eyes are olympics begin. so eyes are turning towards paris and the athletes will be competing there. right wing star, 25 year old tai kondo. >> taekwondo, taekwondo . >> taekwondo, taekwondo. >> taekwondo, taekwondo. >> forgive me. champion bradly sinden has his sights set on gold after taking home silver at tokyo 2020 with a second world title under his belt. will he finally come out on top ? finally come out on top? >> oh, bradley's with us now. >> oh, bradley's with us now. >> this now. hello, bradley. >> this now. hello, bradley. >> sorry about that. there you are. brilliant. well, we just thought we'd give you that little moment of pause to build

up the tension there. because no doubt, the tension is rising in your household. how are you feeling with 100 days to go . i'm feeling with 100 days to go. i'm feeling with 100 days to go. i'm feeling good. like, obviously i won my second world title last year , and the body armour has year, and the body armour has changed. the system changed. so i had to get used to that and managed to come out on top there and then i had a rough back end of the year with a few, injuries set me back. but i've got all that all behind me now and then. it's all looking good for the prep coming up to paris. amazing >> did you see this story? i'm sure you did in the papers. how the track and field athletes are going to get a £40,000, bonus for a gold medal. none of the other athletes are going to. we had sir steve redgrave on this channel, and he said, actually, do you know what track and field already make plenty of money. we need sports such as martial arts, the minority sports, to get that kind of boost. he's right, isn't he? >> yeah, he's definitely right. but it has to start somewhere. someone has to step that forefront and go, all right, i'm gonna.the forefront and go, all right, i'm gonna. the athletes are the

commodity. the olympics, the sponsorships, everything revolve around the athletes. they're the ones who put put the bodies through hell day in, day out to become obviously become an olympic champion has always been my goal. i knew going into it it wasn't or it wasn't about the money or i'd try and be a footballer. but i think what we do and if we can push more money, make sure the athletes are set after give them that extra incentive. why not? and i think it's great that world athletics is setting the precedent and hopefully other sports can find a way to get the funding and help athletes secure a livelihood further on in the life, rather than after they finish the sport. it's then they have to figure out what's next. >> but bradley steve redgrave told us when he came back from atlanta, where he won gold, he was in the red. he was broke. is it tough? is it tough for you to balance your books because i presume you're training for hours and hours every day, for me, i've done quite well with. so athletes get apa. what's an

athlete? personal allowance. what's that? even though we're not employed, it's. it's an allowance to help us live. it's help us to get accommodation. even though gb taekwondo , they even though gb taekwondo, they provide accommodation for us. it's help us for food, nutrition all of that. so it's pretty much all of that. so it's pretty much a wage and i'm on the top end of that from getting my world gold and i've been on that for quite and i've been on that for quite a few years now so i can live quite comfortably. but for other athletes who are coming up, it can be a challenge for them. so i think the money incentives can help people, come up and help help people, come up and help help them live, especially with the living crisis at the moment . the living crisis at the moment. >> bradley, it feels to me now i'm going to show a little bit of knowledge about something here, but it really isn't very much. but martial arts, particularly with jiu jitsu with the mixed martial arts, fighting onune the mixed martial arts, fighting online and stuff, now it feels like you've never had so much attention and profile . is it attention and profile. is it like that within a martial arts sport at the moment, i think each martial arts is different.

so obviously the ufc, you've got the pfl, they're they're really pushing the forefront. >> taekwondo is it ultimate fighting ufc. >> yeah. or ufc or championship . >> yeah. or ufc or championship. so they're pushing and we've got a good connection with them. actually we've been to vegas with their training camp because one of our old sack coaches is a head coach there. now but i think taekwondo is still a sport. what's not well known. tokyo did us very well. tokyo if though were our sport, didn't get the results even though we didn't get the golds, we wanted the story and beginning it being the story and beginning it being the beginning of, tokyo helped us get the profile that our sport does deserve. but it's hard because you see us at the olympics and then it's another four years to see us again. really yeah. except the world championships is trying to keep that profile and promote the sport more and more. >> how different is it from judo? so someone who doesn't know much about martial arts , know much about martial arts, completely different. yeah. it's so judo . judo is completely different. yeah. it's so judo .judo is i, i don't want so judo. judo is i, i don't want to say it's similar to wrestling because the judo community won't

like that, but you could say it's more , more, more grappling, it's more, more, more grappling, more, doing takedowns , getting more, doing takedowns, getting each other to the floor. taekwondo. is it basically taekwondo stands for the way of the hand and the fist. so but mainly in taekwondo it's mainly kicking. so you kick each other to the body, try and kick each other in the face and you can punch to the body. so it's all on feet, no grappling, just trying to basically kick each other about. >> there's a lot of money in ufc now, isn't there a lot of money? is it the kind of thing you could transition to from taekwondo , so i think people taekwondo, so i think people have people do try, but jujitsu , have people do try, but jujitsu, jiu jitsu is a very key and wrestling as well, because you see, you can be amazing on feet, but as soon as someone takes you to the ground, then you're screwed. pretty much. it's because that's taekwondo as a on board sport or upper body stand on feet. but the difference is we've got that fundamentals and ufc is a lot longer. you can keep going into your 40 into the

40s. taekwondo is a younger sport so people do finish taekwondo and then spend years trying to masterjiu taekwondo and then spend years trying to master jiu jitsu. taekwondo and then spend years trying to masterjiu jitsu. you trying to master jiu jitsu. you can spend five seven years working on that game and then take it into employment . but one take it into employment. but one of my mates, who used to be on the gb taekwondo team, has now gone into mixed martial arts and he's doing very well. yeah he's learning the ground game, but on feet he's untouchable. people can't . yeah, people can't deal can't. yeah, people can't deal with the distance. >> just briefly bradley, who's a big threat for the gold medal. >> there's a few. so uzbekistan who beat me in the final last time and trying to get my revenge there. but there's a few guys now who are all in contention. so it's about me trying to be the best i can on the day. >> okay, well, bring your. yeah, bnng >> okay, well, bring your. yeah, bring your gold medal to see us, won't you? we've got great confidence in you. we love seeing the gb tracksuit on this channel. we're so glad you joined us this morning from my hometown of manchester as well. thank you so much. bradly sinden. their 25 year old world taekwondo champion and silver medal at the olympics in tokyo. right we're going to take a

quick break. are we now? and then when we come back, it's pmqs. it's wednesday. feels like a monday. see you in a minute. >> looks like things are heating up . boxt boilers sponsors of up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hi there and welcome to the latest update from the met office for gb news. >> a fine spring day for most of us today. dry sunny spells the odd shower here and there, most likely across southern parts of the country . we've got higher the country. we've got higher pressure to the north—west. that's where the sunniest skies will be across much of scotland into northern ireland, northwest england, north wales as well. elsewhere, cloud building and yeah, south wales, southwest england, east anglia could see the odd shower, but these will be few and far between for the vast majority is a dry afternoon and in the sunshine with light winds towards the northwest. although temperatures aren't going to be very exciting, it's going to be very exciting, it's going to be very exciting, it's going to feel fairly pleasant still . this cool breeze down the

still. this cool breeze down the nonh still. this cool breeze down the north sea coast 9 or 10 celsius on the cool side for the time of year into the evening, the cloud will tend to thin and break in places , but there'll be further places, but there'll be further showers coming into the north—east for a time and then some cloud development and some showers into parts of wales, western england as well, with the cloud, temperatures will stay up at 4 or 5 celsius. but where we do see some clear spells, well, it's going to be a frosty start on thursday, especially for parts of scotland, northern ireland as well. a chill in the air first thing, but plenty of sunshine here and actually it stays largely dry towards the northwest once again . whilst northwest once again. whilst i think a cloudier day is expected elsewhere, particularly into the afternoon where there'll be some showers for the midlands, east anglia and the south east. highs of 13 or 14 celsius. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> well, we're going now to gloria de piero and christopher hope because it's primed his questions. and they're in our westminster studio. >> yes . and, you know, we want >> yes. and, you know, we want to do for people at home listening or watching. we want to know what our viewers and listeners would be asking the deputy prime minister, oliver dowden, or indeed the deputy leader of the opposition, angela renee, because it's the deputies today, the battle of the deputies. >> yeah, that's right. >> yeah, that's right. >> please do send us your questions. tell us who you are and as importantly, where you're from. we'll put your questions to our panel email or go online to our panel email or go online to gbnews.com/yoursay i say pmqs live is all about you, not about us, but bev and andrew briefly, what will you be asking the deputy prime minister today? >> i'd ask oliver dowden, by the way. i think it's deeply unimpressive. i would ask him, does he think the french police are doing enough to stop migrants getting into those small boats across the channel?

>> wow, beth, i'm probably on that similar theme . i would say that similar theme. i would say that similar theme. i would say that if the planes now take off for rwanda and if they prove not to be a deterrent, what is plan b ? b? >> plan b? well, good. very good question. you're getting better. >> things are getting better every week. stronger. >> stronger. but that's enough of bev and andrew. >> it's fast approaching midday. this is gb news. >> britain's election channel pmqs live starts right now. 57 on wednesday, the 24th of april. this is pmqs live on gb news with christopher hope and gloria de piero. >> in just one moment, the prime minister's deputy oliver dowden, and labour's deputy leader, angela rayner will go head to head at prime minister's questions in the house of commons. will our full coverage of every moment, every spit and cough and getting full reaction from armed forces minister leo

docherty and shadow minister of state at the cabinet office, baroness jenny chapman . baroness jenny chapman. >> so let's go straight out to you. jenny chapman as the labour spokesperson today, what would you be asking the deputy prime minister? what should angela rayner be going on? it is what you might call a target rich environment at the moment. so we could go on the length of time. it's taking people to get hospital treatment. we could go on crime and policing. you can only have one, but you can only have one. i would be tempted , have one. i would be tempted, given the news we've had this week, that mortgage rates are not coming down like people thought they would, and people are really struggling to make those monthly payments at the moment. i think something to do with the housing market, be that leasehold renters or mortgages, i think that's something that people are talking about. people want to hear the labour party take the government on over. so i wouldn't be surprised, given that that's something that angela rayner is responsible for in her department as well, in communities that might be

something she might want to raise. >> leo docherty that's a worrying question, isn't it, because it's out of your control interest rates? >> well, i think interest rates are a function of the overall economic picture, which has a positive trend thanks to our wise management of the economy. we've seen inflation decreasing and in terms of people paying their mortgages, which i think is at the heart of jenny's question, you know, they're better off under a tory government because we will safely manage the economy. >> who is saying that? i haven't heard anyone say they're feeling better off with their mortgage under this government ever. before. we go to the house of commons before pmqs starts in about 35 seconds time. angela rayneh about 35 seconds time. angela rayner, your spokesperson today, she stands for in the labour leader when the prime minister is not taking questions because he is in germany. she's been in the news a lot. so it could be quite difficult for her because there are many questions which have yet to be answered. i think it's fair to say i mean, the tories are desperate to find something on this woman. they're going back in, you know, ten years ago where she might have

lived, who she might have been living with, all of that desperate, desperate stuff . she desperate, desperate stuff. she is a fighter. she's going to take that argument to the tories today on behalf of the labour party. you know, i think she's a really strong parliamentary performer and i would not want to be in oliver dowden shoes facing her, though. >> it's journalists, isn't it? at the times , the mail on at the times, the mail on sunday, the telegraph, other, the sun are all asking neighbours about andrew bain. it's not tories, it's journalists. >> it's extraordinary. i mean, i saw her child's birth certificate printed in the newspaper and to be honest, that's where it lost me. this story. i thought, this is too much. they're hounding her, but the police are having a look. she's going to give anybody any answers that they want from the police or the tax authorities. you know, we'll get to the bottom of it. >> leo. >> leo. >> doctor, just quickly on you . >> doctor, just quickly on you. you've announced this. a huge amount of defence spending, but the army's tiny. is the money going on weapons or soldiers? >> it'll go on. all of that . >> it'll go on. all of that. >> it'll go on. all of that. >> it'll go on. all of that. >> it'll what soldiers to it'll. >> it'll what soldiers to it'll. >> it'll what soldiers to it'll. >> it'll more and more soldiers will go on a whole range of institutional investment. >> it's a massive strategic investment for resilience and

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