Transcripts For GBN Martin 20240703

My leadership, the United Kingdom will always stand up for our interests, deter our enemies and defend our values. Now, as my enormous pleasure to introduce general stoltenberg, the nato secretary general. Jens, thank you for joining us today. Jens, thank you for joining us today. Over to you. Today. Over to you. Thanks so much, Prime Minister rishi, it is great to be here in poland together with you today. The United Kingdom is highly valued and staunch and essential nato ally, contributing greatly to our shared security in so many different ways. As you lead nato different ways. As you lead nato forces in estonia, british jets help guard the skies over our eastern flank. The royal navy helps keep critical sea lanes open. Helps keep critical sea lanes open. The United Kingdom is also open. The United Kingdom is also at the centre of the exercise. Steadfast defender currently underway and involving more than 16,000 British Military personnel. And we are today here personnel. And we are today here in poland with british troops, a physical embodiment of your commitment to nato. So thank you to all of you, Prime Minister your announcement today confirms the vital role the uk plays in our alliance. The United Kingdom our alliance. The United Kingdom will spend 2. 5 of gdp on defence by 2030. Allies agreed at our summit in vilnius last year that 2 is a minimum and once again, the uk is leading by example , just as you did in 2014 example, just as you did in 2014 after the illegal annexation of crimea , when you were one of the crimea, when you were one of the first allies to provide training and military support to ukraine, and military support to ukraine, and after the full scale invasion in 2022, you stepped up significantly, training thousands of ukrainian soldiers and providing billions of pounds of military assistance. And of military assistance. And today, your announcement of Additional Support, including more ammunition , air defence and more ammunition, air defence and deep precision strike capabilities shows once again the british peoples commitment to ukraine. I welcome your calls. Irelands commitment to continue these levels of support. Ukraine for as long as neededin support. Ukraine for as long as needed in nato , we are now needed in nato, we are now addressing how to put our support for ukraine on a more robust and predictable footing , robust and predictable footing, including with a multi year financial commitment. So Prime Minister, your commitment sets us on the right direction. I us on the right direction. I also welcome that other allies are taking action, not least poland , which provides key poland, which provides key capabilities to ukraine and hosts 1 million capabilities to ukraine and hosts1 million ukrainian hosts 1 million ukrainian refugees. Over the weekend, the refugees. Over the weekend, the us house of representatives approved a major aid package for ukraine. This will enable the us to provide substantial Additional Support to ukraine quickly. And last friday, nato defence ministers agreed to further bolster ukraines air defences. Germanys delivery of another patriot system is imminent , another patriot system is imminent, and other allies made concrete commitments in that nato meeting, with deliveries expected soon. Faced with the biggest conflict on the european continent since the second world war, our decisions today will have consequences for generations to come. We must not generations to come. We must not falter. We live in a more dangerous world, authoritarian powers are increasingly aligned. Russia is receiving support for its war of aggression from china, iran and north korea. China, iran and north korea. This reminds us that security is not regional. Security is global and we must work with our like minded partners around the world to preserve and protect transatlantic security. Nato is transatlantic security. Nato is a defensive alliance. We do not seek conflict with russia , but seek conflict with russia, but we will keep our 1 billion we will keep our1 billion people safe. The 10,000 nato people safe. The 10,000 nato troops based here in poland send an unmistakeable message that nato will protect and defend all allies. So, Prime Minister sunak, thank you again for uks vital contributions to nato. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome to the Martin Daubney show. That was the secretary general of nato, Jens Stoltenberg , speaking in warsaw, stoltenberg, speaking in warsaw, poland, short while ago. Prime minister rishi sunak delivered a comprehensive speech on defence spending. Lets get some instant reaction now with christopher hope, our Political Editor. Chris, welcome to the show. So chris, welcome to the show. So a comprehensive set of measures listed by rishi sunak there. Tell us what happened. Tell us what happened. Thats right. The pm set out what he described an axis of autocratic states russia, iran , autocratic states russia, iran, china. He said that hes working now with partners. He said china now with partners. He said china was working now, with an Unlimited Partnership with russia, the uk is very concerned about that. He announced plans to increase our spending to 2. 5 of our Gross Domestic Product , of our Gross Domestic Product, basically our uk turnover by 2030 to £87 billion a year by 2030. It starts now. That increase in spending, it puts the uk, he said, on a war footing , he made the uk, he said, on a war footing, he made very the uk, he said, on a war footing , he made very clear that footing, he made very clear that we will put the uk Defence Industry on a war footing, money spent on munitions support , spent on munitions support, surface to air missiles made in bolton, weapons made in Northern Ireland at the forefront of the global Defence Industry. The uk global Defence Industry. The uk will be the second biggest spender on defence in nato outside of the usa. 2. 5 of gdp is a lot of money. Its not as much as grant shapps, the defence secretary was calling for just last month. He wants for just last month. He wants that figure to be 3 in the tory party manifesto. This figure is being signed off by jeremy hunt, the chancellor. You see him walking down the steps there on the left of the picture, jeremy hunt in the middle, soon. Rishi sunak on the right. Grant shapps. Theyve hammered out this number, but its not as much as grant shapps wanted, but its backed by jeremy hunt, the chancellor. So thats iron clad now. But it wont be what the defence secretary wanted. Defence secretary wanted. And in fact, chris, you and i spoke about this 11 days ago, 2. 5 gdp. Thats precisely what the labour party was saying that they wanted to do. Included in they wanted to do. Included in the offering today, chris, was a huge amount of extra support to ukraine, £500 million, 4 million rounds of ammo, 400 vehicles, 60 boats, another huge amounts of support offered to ukraine. Thats right. And its sending a message , i think, to sending a message, i think, to the rest of the world, to act now, to save lives in ukraine. Weve seen David Cameron over in america. Hes been trying to drum up support for that package signed off by the house of representatives just last weekend, and he spent a lot of his own personal Political Capital on that. And i think thats why the uk is seen as a leader. Ever since Boris Johnson was Prime Minister, the uk has been a leader on getting this kind of action. Agreed by by western allies to support nato. Western allies to support nato. We havent heard yet from president zelenskyy of ukraine, but we will be on screen now. You see the pm. Rishi sunak. Taking questions from the travelling press pack and thats where hell be doing now. Where hell be doing now. And, chris, there was a huge amount of praise there from the secretary general of nato, Jens Stoltenberg, commending britain for its action in 2014, in crimea and of course , at the crimea and of course, at the beginning of the ukraine war. And nato is something which will no doubt come into view when , if no doubt come into view when, if theres a change of president in america in november, nato sees itself potentially as under threat. This. However, today, chris is a severe strengthening, a cementing of nato as a cohesive defensive force. Cohesive defensive force. Yes, certainly. If other countries follows through , the countries follows through, the uk is one of the first countries in nato to hit that 2 defence spending target of gdp , and now spending target of gdp, and now there are many as 11 of them. Dont forget, we remember, dont we, how donald trump drove that forward, he said in terms in that famous that nato summit, shortly after he became a president , back in the last decade, he made very clear that start spending the money or we cant guarantee to defend you in case of an attack. And that really was a wake up call, i think for nato countries, well see more similar language. I see more similar language. I think if donald trump wins the us election on the 5th of november later this year, and thats why its so important thats why its so important that i think the uk is taking a stand here. Its also , i think, stand here. Its also, i think, a signal, i think, to the European Union. Theres talk about more greater defence cooperation between eu nations and that is a threat, i think, to nato as it stands. So this is the uk saying we sit behind nato. Nato is the organ, the grouping, i think, which defends western europe against the threat from russia and further afield. The eu cant do that. But there is some pressure from, say, france and other countries to give that kind of extra defence angle to the eu and that is a threat to natos influence. And thats why i think the support we will be widely welcomed across the western europe. Yeah. And decrease, later in yeah. And decrease, later in the show will be speaking with defence analysts and experts. And we know, chris, that this will land very well with them because theyve been telling us for months and months and months that extra money is required. That extra money is required. Chris, we have the smallest british army since the napoleonic time, the smallest raf since its inception after the first world war. And so few sailors were decommissioning ships. So from a defence strategic analytical point of view, this is a much needed shot in the arm for the British Armed forces. Forces. Yeah, but judging from the detail we have and its quite scant at the moment, martin, from the Prime Minister in warsaw is it looks like its just spending on munitions and other weaponry, not on manpower in a sense that that people, they want to withdraw troops. So they want to withdraw troops. So they can from the front lines as much as possible and put machines and drones into their place, and thats whats happening here. So it looks like theres more money being spent, as i said, there on on sams missiles and others being made made in bolton, we havent yet heard from grant shapps. He will welcome this. But he did say as recently as last month that hes coined the coined the phrase moving from post war to pre war. We have to be much better prepared, he said. And he made very clear in an interview with the daily mail he wants 3 of gdp spent on on defence. Well, hes lost that battle. Its 2. 5 between now and 2030 and but even despite that, it does make britain and uk widely into an outlier in defence spending. Okay, chris. So thank you very much. Well speak to you later in the show and lets get some more reaction now from gb news home and security editor mark white. Mark, welcome to the show. So much anticipation and ramping up of spending as a proportion of gdp, 2. 5, a significant rise. The big significant rise. The big question is, mark, is it enough. 7 question is, mark, is it enough . Well, theres no doubt it is a significant rise. I think rishi sunaks position on well go to 2. 5 when the Economic Conditions are right was just unsustainable. When you have the likes of his own defence secretary talking about us being in a pre war world and the fact, as chris mentioned there, that he would like to see defence spending rise to 3. And of course, then you look at our allies around the world and especially in europe , they are especially in europe, they are ramping up their defence spending largely because of what is going on in ukraine. But also with an eye to the worsening situation in the middle east as well. So i think he had to come up with something. Its not the full 2. 5 right away. It will be phased in, over the next six years, but it will amount to £65 billion more in defence spending, and that will allow them to do things like, try to enhance our ammunition and missile stocks. Of course , much missile stocks. Of course, much of those, ammunition and missile stocks have been depleted, sending them off to ukraine. And they need to be, filled back home. But we also need to supply the regular drumbeat of ammunition and missiles for ukraine as well. But in addition to that, he spoke about the need to that, he spoke about the need to try to revamp our procurement process, which at the moment has seen vast overruns in terms of the cost, because you have very technologically advanced systems that a few years down the line, after systems are first commissioned, where Senior Officers are coming in and say, well, wed like this edition and that edition, all that adds to cost overruns and then take in the economic climate that were in with huge inflation in recent years as well, which has meant the increase that weve seen in recent years has actually been subsumed by this increase in inflation, which has meant actually, were seeing often, real terms cut in defence spending. So its certainly to be welcomed. And whats be welcomed. And whats interesting, i think, is just what labour will do now because it really piles pressure on them, is a new Labour Government, if they do come in, whenever that general election is called, as the pollsters are predicting, is the likelihood, are they going to say, were going to reverse this back to the process of 2 of gdp . Well, theyve got a Strategic Defence review that they are going to instigate the second they come into power. If they do indeed win the election. So it kind of , win the election. So it kind of, at the end of the day may be twisting their arm as well into actually following through on 2. 5. Just remember they have said that they are committed to 2. 5 as well. Again, when Economic Conditions allow, once they have been able to see if they have been able to see if the books balance up and they can sustain this. But now, of course, rishi sunak, is rather sort of piled on the pressure there. Its interesting, mark, you mentioned that 2. 5 from the labour party because in fact, 11 days ago, thats precisely what sir keir starmer announced as the labour policy. We spoke with defence analysts , we spoke with defence analysts, we spoke with conservative mps. They said thats a fantastic idea. And now thats a fantastic idea. And now heres rishi sunak delivering the same thing. Mark, i want to the same thing. Mark, i want to ask you about. I guess in the grand scheme of things, a relatively small amount of chump change, a mere half a billion thats been given to ukraine. Nevertheless, thats a significant amount of money, 4 million rounds of ammo, 400 vehicles, 60 boats, a huge amount of continued support to ukraine. How do you think that will land . I mean, were short of money in the uk. Its a lot of money in the uk. Its a lot of money. Is that required . Do we need to keep the pressure going in ukraine or or the pubuc going in ukraine or or the public running out of sympathy for that war . Well, certainly those allies of ukraine are more than alive to what is happening on the battlefields across ukraine at the moment where we are seeing a resurgent russia, pushing forward and making gains, due to an extent, because, you know, ukraine is not getting the, stocks of ammunition and air defence and, also offensive missile capabilities that its been asking for quickly enough. Youve had that budget, issue in the United States, where the budget for , sending billions of budget for, sending billions of dollars of extra aid to ukraine has been held up for so long, only finally passing , just in only finally passing, just in recent days there. So that money will be going to them. We had already committed over the next year into 2025, 2. 5 billion. Now an additional, half a billion taking that up to 3 billion. These these, leaders, rishi sunak and other western leaders see with alarm what is happening in ukraine and really fear that unless there is a significant upfickin unless there is a significant uptick in those stocks going to ukraine and going in a timely manner, then the outcome for ukraine does not look good at all. Okay. Mark wyatt, excellent analysis as ever. And of course well have more throughout the show on this developing story. Thank you. Mark white. Now a change of pace, because its the final week to see how your next houday final week to see how your next holiday could be honours. With your chance to win a greek cruise for 210 grand in tax free cash and Luxury Travel gifts. On top, its a prize worth over 20,000 of your english pounds and it could be yours. Dont miss out heres all the details that you need to hop on board. Its the final week to see how you can win our biggest prize yet. Theres an incredible £10,000 in tax free cash to spend however you like. 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Good luck great stuff. Now you may have noficedifs great stuff. Now you may have noticed its Saint Georges day and i hope youre having a fantastic day. Were about to cross live to dartford in kent, where a very special parade to mark the occasion has been taking place. Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel. On gb news, britains news channel. Holac welcome back. Its 323. Im Martin Daubney , and this is gb Martin Daubney, and this is gb news. Now to news of yet another tragedy in the channel. Just a few hours after the rwanda law cleared parliament in the early hours, five people, including a child, died while attempting to cross from the france to the uk. Im joined now by the conservative mp for lichfield, sir michael fabricant. Welcome to the show, sir michael. Another tragedy in the channel, i guess, proves that we are no nearer to stopping the boats. But youll be pinning your hopes , no doubt on the fact that the rwanda bill at last has been passed. And can that act as a deterrent that so desperately required . Required . Well, its interesting that the french have estimated that up to a third a third of all Channel Crossings end in drownings. I Channel Crossings end in drownings. I mean, that is a remarkable figure. So yes, i am hoping that the rwanda legislation that has gone through, by the way, that makes us nearer and not further away, as you said, martin, to actually stopping many of these boat crossings after all, when we said that we would be deporting all albanian crossings, albanians back to , albania, 90 albanians back to, albania, 90 of those crossings have now ceased. So while i dont think well be able to stop the boats completely, well certainly be able to reduce them substantially once those flights get going, because lets be in no doubt that those people crossing are mainly young men with women and children, but mainly young men whove got access to whatsapp, and they will know full well that they will know full well that they will be deported and will not be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom. If they come here illegally, as they are doing. Illegally, as they are doing. Isnt the huge problem here, though, sir michael, that you say you closed the bridge to albania, as it were , but now the albania, as it were, but now the majority are from vietnam. This is a global problem, an ever shifting problem, a problem that seemingly wont stop. And the big question is the relatively small numbers that can effectively, if indeed those flights take off, be, sent to rwanda, can it cope . Will it simply be overwhelmed by the numbers coming in . Well over 6000 already this year. Yeah. And as you quite rightly say, martin, this is a global problem, not just for the United Kingdom, but for the United Kingdom, but for the United States as well, who are seeing huge numbers , thousands, seeing huge numbers, thousands, hundreds of thousands of people moving from central and south america towards the United States. So its a major problem affecting all countries around the world. But yes, i do think itll work. I think people will be deterred from coming across to the uk if they think theres a reasonable chance that they wont be allowed to stay here. I might say that the labour party are offering a different solution. What theyre saying is that they will do a deal with the European Union and that deal will mean Something Like 150 to 200,000 people coming here in a quota. The problem with that is that those who arent in that quota will still try to cross the channel illegally, so itll be a double whammy for us 150 200,000 coming in all the time, legally with the eu, plus the boat crossings. We have to offer boat crossings. We have to offer a deterrent and that includes those vietnamese you mentioned. So michael, can i get a Quick Reaction from you . Please make it quick. If we could rishi sunak just delivered a huge pledge of extra defence spending in warsaw, the verge of £75 billion. Are you happy about that . Well im delighted. Look, ive just been looking. While rishi was talking at the scale, its worth noting that even now, even now, before the statement that he made, we are the we have the largest defence budget in europe, far bigger than that of france, far bigger than that of france, far bigger than that of germany. So weve got nothing to be ashamed of now, under spending and to go up to 2. 5, is fantastic. So im to 2. 5, is fantastic. So im very, very pleased. And we need it for all our safety here in europe. Okay. Thanks forjoining us on the show. Sir michael fabricant, conservative mp for lichfield. Always a pleasure to have you on the show. Now moving on. Its Saint Georges day and weve been getting into the spirit of things here gbnews. And lets cross now to dartford and join our presenter Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello. Hello guys. Dixon and Ellie Costello. Hello guys. Saw the wonderful parade guys. Saw the wonderful parade earlier. Youve captured the national mood. National mood. Oh, its been wonderful here, martin. Well i should say happy Saint Georges day and welcome. Welcome to dartford. Weve got a good few locals around us as theyre back in the pub, as you can tell, because the parades all done and dusted. But its been a wonderful experience and i think whats really important is so many children involved in this, because its not just about saint george and being sort of traditionally english, its about bringing people of all backgrounds together, actually here to celebrate having some National Pride in england and having that instilled in young people is really, really important. And really, really important. And its really celebrated here. Its just been a really lovely day. It was really lovely and thats the thing that struck us the most, actually, martin was when we were in front of the schoolchildren earlier, and they were just so excited. Theyve been preparing for this day for weeks. So we theyve been preparing for this day for weeks. So we saw this day for weeks. So we saw papier mache dragons, didnt we . And shields. And they were and shields. And they were engush and shields. And they were english roses. I mean , it was english roses. I mean, it was just wonderful. They couldnt wait to be there. And the weather held out for us, thankfully. So there was a bit of a worry, was it . It was very engush of a worry, was it . It was very english weather, very cloudy with a touch of rain, but it did stay nice and dry for us. And the children then paraded through the streets , through through the streets, through dartford high street and then onto the central park, wasnt it . It was wonderful. It was just the most wonderful celebration of being english and actually the lord lieutenant of kent, representative of his majesty the king was here and she gave a few words as well. So that was really, really nice to have. The kings representative here. I think if thats not an indication , this thats not an indication, this should be a bank holiday. I dont know what is. Well, speaking to people here on the street, that is something that they really support. It should be a bank holiday. In fact, a lot of people that weve met here today have taken the day off anyway. Theyve been in the pub drinking since about 10 00 this morning. Theyre still here now. A lot of them. So it has been a fantastic day for dartford. We were in businesses earlier werent we . Coffee shops and cake shops. They love Saint Georges day because they know this parade comes through the town every single year. It gets bigger every single year. More and more children and businesses and charities getting involved, and they love it. For local businesses as well. So its just a really positive day, isnt it . Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Smashing. I tell you what, martin, next year we need to get yourself out and about. Yeah i look forward to that. Drinking for england. Thats what they say. No doubt. They say theyre doing it for king and country. And by the way guys, its not lost on me. Your colour coordinated Saint Georges day outfits. Magnificent id expect no less from the pair of you. Looking good. Stephen dixon, ali costello. Superb all the fun of the fair there in dartford. Superb stuff. Now theres lots more still to come between now and 4 00. In a few minutes ill be joined by our royal correspondent cameron walker, as prince louis celebrates his sixth birthday with a wonderful royal photograph. But first, royal photograph. But first, its royal photograph. But first, wsfime royal photograph. But first, its time for your latest news headlines. And its ray addison. Cheers, martin 330. Our top stories this hour. The Prime Minister has announced plans to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp by 2030 on a visit to poland, rishi sunak said the budget will reach £87 billion by the end of the decade. The end of the decade. Addressing troops in a military hangan addressing troops in a military hangar, he also said the uk Defence Industry will be put on a war footing. Mr sunak a war footing. Mr sunak described it as the biggest strengthening of our National Defence in a generation. Defence in a generation. As churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is to not insert the imminence of war. On the contrary , if war of war. On the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. I believe we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values. So interests and our values. So today im announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence for a generation. We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Senior United Nations figures are criticising the governments plan to send Asylum Seekers to rwanda, warning it sets a worrying precedent. But the Prime Minister is dismissing the concerns , saying nothing will concerns, saying nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground as after the bill finally passed through Parliament Late last night. Well, in the us, donald trump is back in court for day two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. Prosecutors claim that mr trump orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. They also argue that payments made to an aduu argue that payments made to an adult film star, so called hush money, was in breach of the law. Mr trump denies any wrongdoing. Mr trump denies any wrongdoing. And for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen right now, or go to gbnews. Com alerts. Now, or go to gbnews. Com alerts. Cheers britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report. Financial report. Lets take a look at the markets. The pound will buy you 1. 2432 and ,1. 1625. Price of gold is £1,873. 67 per ounce, and the ftse 100, at 8036 points. Cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report. Financial report. Thank you. Right now theres a brand new way to get in touch with us here gbnews. 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This is gb news, the peoples channel gb news britains news channel gb news britains news channel. Welcome back. Its 337. Im Martin Daubney and this is gb news. Now, were not just celebrating Saint Georges day on gb news today, because also a very special day for prince louis. Yes, the prince and princess of waless youngest child , whos fourth in line to child, whos fourth in line to the throne, is today celebrating his sixth birthday. Im joined now by our royal correspondent , now by our royal correspondent, cameron walker. Cameron, welcome to the show. So as if Saint Georges day wasnt enough of a treat, a magnificent photograph has been released to mark the princes sixth birthday. Tell us more. Absolutely happy birthday to prince louis. Originally we thought we might not be getting a photograph of the young prince. Traditionally, the prince and princess of wales released a photograph the night before their childs birthday, so the papers can print this on their front pages. That didnt happen. The their front pages. That didnt happen. The prince and princess of wales are doing it in their own way, perhaps for a very special reason or a unique reason. I should say. Special reason or a unique reason. I should say. But special reason or a unique reason. I should say. But the reason. I should say. But the photograph itself was taken in windsor in the grounds of windsor in the grounds of windsor castle, over the last few days by the prince and by the princess of wales. It is also unedited and, if you remember back to mothers day, the princess, released a photograph of her and her three children, which appears to have some small manipulations, but then photo agencies killed the image, which was very embarrassing for kensington palace. So that is perhaps why, royal sources have made it very clear that this particular photograph of prince louis, is unedited. And i think the prince and princess of wales really wanted to thank. I understand the British Public or indeed pubuc the British Public or indeed public around the world, actually, whove been sending their well wishes to prince louis on his sixth birthday, wishing him a happy birthday when the princess revealed her cancer diagnosis and she is still undergoing preventative chemotherapy, she asked for privacy for her and her family. But its thought that Prince William and catherine, this morning felt, on balance, that it was right, and they wanted to release a photograph of prince louis to thank the public. But they did it on their own terms. They released it on their own social media channels. It wasnt a press release. It was them directly speaking to the public and thanking them for their support. Support. Cameron walker magnificent. I think its just a quiet act of respectful defiance. Her work was so micro and the lives around the world, and that mothers day photograph and simply popping this out and refusing to bow to her critics, i think its absolutely wonderful. Thank you very much. Cameron walker, for sharing this magical moment with us. Now, sir keir starmer has said that labouris keir starmer has said that labour is the Patriotic Party now, and it will celebrate Saint Georges day with enthusiasm. Well, is that right . Or is he trying to pull the wool over our eyes and make Saint Georges day a political football . Well have a political football . Well have that next. Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel. Gb news, britains news channel. Holac 2024 a battleground year. 2024 a battleground year. The year the nation decides. The year the nation decides. The year the nation decides. As the parties gear up their campaigns for the next general election. Who will be left standing when the british people make one of the biggest decisions of their lives . Their lives . Who will rise and who will fall . Lets find out together for every moment. The highs, the lows, the twists and turns, well be with you for every step of this journey in 2024. Gb news is britains election. Channel. Britains election. Channel. Welcome back. Its 344. Im Martin Daubney and this is gb news now. 4 00 love news of a massive increase in defence spending worth an extra £75 billion over the next six years. And you thought we were broke. Now scotlands new hate crime law came into effect at the start of the month, on april fools day , of course, and fools day, of course, and theres still huge controversy over that piece of legislation with prominent politicians and ordinary members of the public being the victims of vexatious complaints. Points to the cops. Complaints. Points to the cops. Well, gb news scotland reporter tony mcguire has this special report. Welcome to scotland, home of Humza Yousafs hate crime law , aka the clydes charter law, aka the clydes charter creep, a delightfully scottish word for a grass, a snitch or , word for a grass, a snitch or, in the context of russell findlays opening gambit during the hate crime debate at holyrood last week. Reporting your friends, family and neighbours to the police for alleged hate crimes, the snp responded by doubling down on the new laws ability to protect vulnerable victims. I am confident that we have robust legislation that will protect those who are vulnerable to harm, but other victims are emerging in the wake of this new legislation. As the bill moved through parliament concerned rows of police inundated with vexatious complaints targeting individuals who had committed no crimes. The First Fortnight of the new law gave rise to nearly 9000 complaints. The vast majority , at least the vast majority, at least 95, have been deemed not to be crimes. False reporting is nothing new. A social post from scottish conservative murdo fraser was flagged by a trans rights activist in november after police decided that no crime had been committed, but nevertheless that was recorded as a non crime hate incident. And our westminster leader neil hanvey, says he too has been targeted under pre existing legislation. Ive been the victim of at least one of those complaints and, you know, thats taken up the time of Police Officers thick skin can be expected over elected officials, but what about the public . 74 year old morag mcdougall. 74 year old morag mcdougall. Brown says she was reported to police by a neighbour and experience has taken its toll. I hate to think that anybody like me or similar to my age would ever have to go through this because i really dont think i will ever go over it. Its a danger to scotland. It affects us. It affects our freedom of speech. Its freedom of speech. Its a gagging order. In spite of everything, morag is full of praise for the attending officers, for swiftly concluding she was no hate monster. The Scottish Government now acknowledges the greater issue of misreporting. We must send a strong message to those making vexatious complaints to stop doing so. Complaints dropped 75 in the second week, but logging non crime hate crime incidents still concerns many , even on the still concerns many, even on the snp backbenches. Is it not even more insidious, actually, that you can have a black mark in your name without even knowing about it . Tony maguire gb news. Tony maguire gb news. Now its fair to say the labour party has changed massively in the four years since the keir starmer replaced Jeremy Corbyn as labours leader. And one of the biggest changes is how sir keir has tried to shake off the impression that labour doesnt like this country. In fact, in the run up to Saint Georges day today, he claimed that labour is the Patriotic Party now and it will celebrate Saint Georges day with enthusiasm. Well, to discuss this, im joined in our studio by the former conservative adviser Claire Pearsall and the former labour adviser matthew laws. Lets start with you, matthew. Where start with you, matthew. Where is this new found patrons . Is it patriotic streak come from . Is it part of my cynicism , just it part of my cynicism, just a blatant attempt to drape yourself in the flag to win the red wall . Is it just a cynical use of saint george as a political football . Absolutely not. I think labour has always been the Patriotic Party. I mean, im not a fan of Jeremy Corbyns, but he wanted it to be a bank holiday, which we may well come on to discuss. I mean, i think to be fair, Jeremy Corbyn wanted every day to be a bank holiday in an ideal world. But i can remember when neil kinnock had the union flag behind him. When i first joined the labour party, because im that old. Hard though it is to believe so. No, this isnt cynical at all. I think progressive patriotism, making sure that the union flag and the Saint Georges flag, if youre engush Saint Georges flag, if youre english or your flags in the other nations, belongs to all of us, and its not the property of those on the right of politics. And it should it should never be as such. So yeah, im very pleased that labour got it. Saint georges day message up on hp Saint Georges day message up on up on twitter x first this morning before the tories. And thats just a sign of the fact thats just a sign of the fact that labour isnt so happy. Saint georges day to you and everybody watching at home. Thank you very much. Thank you. Claire, it feels a bit like 1997. It feels a bit like, you know , wrapping yourself in know, wrapping yourself in a flag. All thats missing is d ream. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You see those those days that have gone. Its quite interesting, the turnaround in the labour party, they couldnt have been less interested previously, but now their leaflets are emblazoned with the union flag membership cards. Youve got sir keir starmer going out there saying how proud to be british. But in the background youve still got the problems that you have with Jeremy Corbyn, but also Emily Thornberry and her tweet of rochester, which matthew and i were discussing because rochester, very lovely place down the road from where, where i live. She couldnt have been more sort of snarky as somebody expressing their patriotism that day. So i think that its a remarkable turnaround. It feels a little bit opportunistic. A little bit opportunistic. Emily thornberry was sacked from my desk, when i was with ed, and we got back after a visit, and ed was absolutely incandescent with rage. I actually dont think i saw him as as incandescent about that incident, about that incident, because it didnt accord with what he believes. I mean, it was emily being emily. Emily sort of slightly tries to sort of take the waspishness to a level too far. She grew up on a Council Estate in kent, so it was a very peculiar thing for her to do. But i think we are fundamentally a Patriotic Party. And so, you know, and really interesting, john denham , who used to be john denham, who used to be a cabinet minister in the last government, has done an awful lot of work about labour and englishness, hes written books about it, and hes done a lot of advising of people that the party needs to, you know, it needs to remember that it needs to stuck up for english interests because , of course, at interests because, of course, at one stage when we had all those legions of scottish mps rather than the one we have at present, there was an issue about whether there was an issue about whether the party was was sort of tilted too far towards scotland. I mean, when i worked at before the 2015 election, in between the 2015 election, in between the 2014 Scottish Referendum and the 2014 Scottish Referendum and the 2015 election, do you remember evil english votes for engush remember evil english votes for english laws, which was people wrapping themselves in the Saint Georges flag, which the tories cameron did then committed to, but then it kind of died a death dunng but then it kind of died a death during brexit. But wasnt there also a little bit of a problem with the labour party and leaflets . So the majority of them are going to go out there with a union flag. But then there were some members that were saying they didnt want to do that in case they offended parts of their constituency. So i think the labour party really do need to make sure they know what it is they want to be, what how they want to present themselves, because you cant have this sort of two tier system where the union flag might be acceptable somewhere and not other places. Yeah, i think i mean, i say to our i mean, that tends to be white liberal guilt, but by, by some of our members in london thinking that, oh, you know, do this. But actually if you look today at the most patriotic estate in the country, which is this estate in bermondsey, with pictures of all over the internet, where the Saint Georges flag is flying absolutely in the heart of traditional labour territory, with the Labour Council and a labour mp and people from all backgrounds, not just all ethnic backgrounds, not just all ethnic backgrounds, but also people from across europe and. Yeah, as well. And yet a report out yesterday saying one eighth of labour voters think the Saint Georges flag itself is racist. That might be our scottish voters taking the mickey in the poll. I thought, i mean, look, theres a small minority of people who call themselves liberal who get who have , and liberal who get who have, and some of them are labour party members, some of them are party mps, some of them are Labour Party Ministers who get a little bit like that because obviously we have seen the Saint Georges flag used by not very nice people. Theres a slightly , people. Theres a slightly, slightly sort of icky demonstration going on and the streets of westminster outside. And that makes me, you know, that the answer to that, that makes me cringe as well. But the you know, shrug my shoulders and but the answer to that isnt pulling away from this flag. Its being proud. And im very pleased to see it flying, over Saint Margarets church, right opposite the house of commons today. As i came in and two women on the bus as i got here looked and was so pleased to see it flying. Its not been cancelled. Claire, how much of this is sir keir starmer saying, right, were going to present ourselves as a Patriotic Party and all of you lot who dont like it keep quiet, because this is how we get elected. I havent met them. Met them. No, no. Okay. You see, so i wonder, what dawn butlers opinion on this is. I wonder what clive lewiss opinion on this is. Diane opinion on this is. Diane abbotts opinion. I wonder what Jeremy Corbyns opinion on this. He wants the bank holiday. He wants the bank holiday. Well, he wants a day off. Hes called it. But he wants. He wants a four day working week. Lets be honest, i wonder how much of this is. And thats why it feels like blairism. It feels very centrally dictated. We are going to do this. Is there any merit in that, or am i just being a grizzled cynic . No, no, i think youre right. We all need to remember this is a general election year, whether we like it or not, and the parties are going to coalesce around certain points that they think are going to win them the most votes. And it does feel, and im with you on this, the cynicism that i have is that it is very opportunist for labour to say, look at us, were great. Were going to fly the flag. We want everybody to get round. And anybody that disagrees just for 24 hours, please be quiet. And i do think theres an awful lot of that there, just a slightly more organised than the conservative party at the moment, who were very laid out this morning with their social media. Welcome to Saint Georges day. Congratulations everybody. Have a lovely day. They were very slow off the mark, so i think that labour are just more organised in this respect. Lets see how that continues because the next problem will come up. Youve got local elections, youve got all of the rest of the year to get through. So one day is not going to define them. But weve seen at our annual conference weve always had a scottish and a welsh night for, you know, aeons and aeons. And obviously people didnt celebrate englishness as much anywhere in our society. Theres been an english night to go alongside the scottish and welsh night. For, you know, not just, you know, not just under starmer, but for , for some time. Starmer, but for, for some time. Okay. Thank you very much. A lively end to the hour. Claire pearsall matthew laza, thank you very much for joining pearsall matthew laza, thank you very much forjoining us on this very much for joining us on this patriotic debate on Saint Georges day. Now, rishi sunak has promised an extra £75 billion in defence spending over the next six years. Hes warned the next six years. Hes warned the world is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the cold war. Im it has been since the end of the cold war. Im Martin Daubney on gb news. Britains news channel will have a full update on that story after this. But first its time for your weather and its annie shuttleworth. Annie shuttleworth. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Hello. Good afternoon. Welcome to your latest gb news. Weather update should stay dry for most of us through the rest of the day and into tonight. And the best of the sunshine will be to the north and west. Thats because weve got a large area of High Pressure sat to the northwest of the uk , bringing northwest of the uk, bringing that drier and brighter weather in the south and east, though weve still got this weather front to clear through the next few hours, so risk of some drizzly rain across parts of kent, then that will be followed by a northerly wind that should bnng by a northerly wind that should bring some showers, particularly to eastern areas of england, coastal areas in particular, and that will also bring quite a lot of cloud along these coastal areas further north and west, though it will be a clear night. And here is where it could turn quite cold across parts of rural scotland could be down as low as minus four. The frost will be fairly patchy. That does develop and it should clear quite quickly as the sun does come up quite quickly as well, and it will feel fairly pleasant in the sunshine by the afternoon. If you are sheltered from the wind in the north and west, particularly parts of south wales, southwestern parts of scotland, we could see temperatures towards the mid teens, but in the east itll be quite a different feel. Still similar to how it has been recently that northerly wind keeping temperatures below double digits for some areas in northeastern areas of england. Itll be a very cold start to thursday, and then we see an area of low pressure out in the nonh area of low pressure out in the north sea. Bring this band of cloud and rain across Northern Areas of england, parts of scotland as well. And then it scotland as well. And then it does look like it will turn a little bit more unsettled from the south and west into the weekend, but it turns a little bit warmer. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on gb news as. Well i a avery a very good afternoon to you. And a happy Saint Georges day. And a happy Saint Georges day. Its 4 pm. And welcome to the Martin Daubney show on gb news. Broadcasting live from the heart of westminster and all across the uk on todays show, this afternoons big breaking news. Rishi sunak has confirmed a huge rise in defence spending worth an additional £75 billion over the next six years. And theres been another tragedy in the channel as five migrants have died, including a four year old child just hours after rishi sunak rwanda bill was voted through in a late night commons showdown. Will we ever stop the boats and put a stop to the human traffickers . And well human traffickers . And well cross live to my home city of nottingham , where theyre nottingham, where theyre celebrating Saint Georges day in style. With that massive flag, the biggest in the entire country. And thats all coming up in your next hour. Country. And thats all coming up in your next hour. Of the up in your next hour. Of the show, always an absolute delight to have your company, especially on this Saint Georges day. Are you celebrating Saint Georges day or have you had the enthusiasm for that trampled out of you . How often have we heard it called divisive, racist, even far right . Well, earlier on in dartford, gb news rocked up and had a superb time at the carnival. Stephen dixon and carnival. Stephen dixon and Ellie Costello are there and were about to go to nottingham, my home city. The biggest flag youll ever set your eyes on. The entire width of the Council House. Thats the place where bnan house. Thats the place where brian cluff lifted two two european cups , a magnificent european cups, a magnificent sight, a splendid patriotic sight. Thats what we want today. I hope you have a great day. Get in touch. Let us know your views on Saint Georges day orindeed your views on Saint Georges day or indeed anything else were covering today, including that whopping £75 billion extra to defence pledged by rishi sunak, the Prime Minister, a short while ago in poland. Send your views in and a new way. Its gbnews. Com forward slash your say get in touch. Well read out a few of those comments before the end of the show, but before all of that, its time for your latest news headlines. And its ray addison. Thanks, martin. Good afternoon. 4 02, our top stories this hour. Well, on the day that five channel migrants died off the french coast, including a four year old child, gb news can reveal that more than 250 others have crossed to the uk on a small boat. Got into difficulties off wimereux beach earlier near boulogne. That was before 2 am. A number of other migrants were rescued , with at migrants were rescued, with at least one now critically ill in hospital. Five other small boats have now been received by border force and the dover lifeboat, with migrants transported to the Processing Centre in dover harbour. A further two small boats are currently in french waters and making steady progress towards uk territorial waters. Well, the Prime Minister has announced plans to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. During a trip to poland, rishi sunak said the budget will reach £87 billion by the end of the decade, addressing troops in a military hangan addressing troops in a military hangar, he also said the uk Defence Industry will be put on a war footing. Mr sunak described the plans as the biggest strengthening of our National Defence in a generation. As churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is not to insert the imminence of war. On the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. I believe we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values. So today im announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence. For a generation. We defence. For a generation. We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Well, that big announcement comes as rishi sunak warned president putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue. Earlier, britain pledged its largest ever package of aid for kyiv worth £500 million. During the warsaw trip, the Prime Minister is holding talks with the leaders of poland, germany and nato , poland, germany and nato, warning the defence of ukraine is essential to our joint security vie. Ukraines president zelenskyy has welcomed that package, which includes long range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats. Senior figures from the United Nations and the council of europe have criticised the governments plan to send Asylum Seekers to rwanda , warning that it sets a worrying precedent. The Prime Minister says nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground. After the bill finally passed through Parliament Late last night. But officials at the un say it breaches the Refugee Convention and seriously hinders the rule of law by reducing the ability of law by reducing the ability of british courts to scrutinise removal decisions. The European Court of human rights blocked deportation flights to rwanda in 2022. Mr sunak is insisting that wont happen again. The home secretary is travelling to italy for discussions on kerbing illegal migration. James cleverly says the country is one of britains most crucial partners in tackling the problem. Hell visit the coastguard in rome and discuss efforts to stem illegal arrivals from north africa. Hell also become britains first government minister to visit lampedusa , minister to visit lampedusa, where around 110,000 migrants landed last year. Labour have outlined plans to tackle rural crime, Research Shows crime rates are surging faster than in urban areas. The strategy would urban areas. The strategy would see increased Police Patrols with tougher penalties for thefts and anti social behaviour. The government is dismissing it as a, quote, toothless tweak around the edges. However, sir keir starmer says it will mean communities will be better protected. Well in the united protected. Well in the United States, donald trump is back in court for day two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. Prosecutors claim mr trump orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. They also argue that payments made to an adult film star, so called hush money, was in breach of the law. Mr trump denies any wrongdoing. However, the trial is affecting his ability to campaign ahead of novembers election , and a new novembers election, and a new photo of prince louis has been released by kensington palace, marking his sixth birthday. The unedhed marking his sixth birthday. The unedited close up image shows the young prince lying on a rug, on the grass and smiling at the camera. It was taken by his mother at windsor in the last few days. The family says theyre grateful to all those whove wished them well. For the whove wished them well. For the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Now back to. Martin. To. Martin. Thank you ray. Now we start with the huge news that we brought you just over an hour ago. And rishi sunak has announced a massive increase in defence spending worth an additional £75 billion over the next six years. Well, im joined now by gb news home and security edhon now by gb news home and security editor, mark white. Mark welcome to the show. Rishi travelled to warsaw for 2. 5 gdp. Big numbers. Will it be enough . Thats the. Will it be enough . Thats the big question. Big question. Well, its never enough, sadly, as far as the Armed Forces Chiefs are concerned, they want more and more, and understandably so. They want the very best of equipment. They want as many men and women as possible to do the many tasks that this Government Asks of the armed forces, but it will be a significant amount. Theres no doubt its going to rise. Doubt its going to rise. Defence spending from £645 defence spending from £64. 5 billion at present to 78 billion by 2028, and then to 87 billion by 2028, and then to 87 billion by 2030. So effectively, over the next six years, we will see an additional £75 billion in defence spending. Its no small amount and that will help enormously in terms of dealing with what is a black hole in defence spending. With cost defence spending. With cost overruns on a number of defence projects, some of that has been brought about by years of very high inflation, which has meant that the cost for the materials that the cost for the materials that are used to build these very technologically sophisticated, defence equipment and ships and tanks and alike are much more expensive than they were. And so, of course, that will be welcomed by the defence chiefs. I think as far as the government was concerned, the position for rishi sunak really was becoming unsustainable in terms of not increasing defence spending , increasing defence spending, given what is happening elsewhere in europe, where, other countries are increasing their defence spending because of whats going on in ukraine, and also with an eye, to the worsening situation in the middle east. Given that, i think theres no doubt that, rishi sunak was going to at some point have to signal a more definitive rise in a budget rather than the vague commitment to 2. 5 of gdp when Economic Conditions allowed and mog and an additional half a billion £500 million to ukraine as well. But mark, theres another story just breaking now , what story just breaking now, what can you tell us about the news that has just broken . Thats more than 250 migrants have crossed the channel today alone. Crossed the channel today alone. Yes. And that might not be the last of it , 250, 210 have the last of it, 250, 210 have arrived in dover so far , in, for arrived in dover so far, in, for small boats , the first of those small boats, the first of those arrived mid morning , one of the arrived mid morning, one of the boats that arrived was the dover lifeboat. Carry some of those who were on board that small boat that got into difficulties off the coast of france , near off the coast of france, near wimereux, which is just north of boulogne in which five migrants drowned. Well, that boat remarkably continued, despite that terrible tragedy unfolding, continued on its way to the uk. Some of those on board, and we understand that there were there was an unprecedented 112 people on board that boat, absolutely overcrowded, to the point where people were falling off and drowning, that boat, was some of those offloaded onto a french vessel, others refusing to get onto that french vessel, then continued to uk waters where it was picked up by dover lifeboat and 55 people taken to dover harbour. So, so far where we are, martin is 210 people who have now arrived in dover. In addition to that, im told that two small boats have now crossed the line. Effectively, theyve entered uk waters. Theyre in the process of being picked up by border force. So add to that 210, at least another 100. And in addition to that, theres one more boat in french waters at the moment. But making slow and steady progress towards uk waters. So that could be, again, waters. So that could be, again, we could be looking at 300, 350, by the end of today. Astonishing. Thanks for that. Update over 300 on Saint Georges day. Will we ever stop the boats . Thank you, mark white, a comprehensive analysis as ever. And im joined in our studio in westminster by our Political Editor, christopher hope. Chris, lets start with the small boats there. Of course, rwanda. Last night was meant to be the deterrent. It was meant to be putting an end to this. This will stop the human traffickers. It will break their business model. The morning after. Is business as normal an insult, isnt it . To the attempt here by the pm to deal with it . The migrant gangs are thumbing their nose at the pms efforts on thursday. We the pms efforts on thursday. We understand the safety of rwanda. Bill will get league, will get will become legal. The king will give his assent to it. That will mean that the treaty with rwanda is officially ratified, which means that the authorities in this country can start trying to round up people who arrived here illegally and start the process. The long and laborious and Legal Process of getting these people onto flights to rwanda. Its very frustrating for the Prime Minister but he knows what hes up against and there are only a few hundred whove been 150 people whove been identified in britain before march last year, who are considered legally watertight cases to get to rwanda 150. Thats less than half of whats arrived today. Well, and before march last yean well, and before march last year, were now in april. 13 months ago, theyve been here. Now the only way a deterrent works is if you say the next 150 arrive here or off to rwanda. Thats how you stop the boats coming. You dont say, you can wait here 13 months or 12 months or eight months, and then youre off, because thats a long time to get established in this country. So what they want to do, and the problem is the legal wheels the government wants to get turning wont be fast enough. Ive been talking to experts about this and they want to get the numbers going. Weve heard hundreds of judges lined up heard hundreds of judges lined p by heard hundreds of judges lined up by the pm to make to process them. His Political Capital is invested in a structure he cant control, which is the legal structure. And 10 to 12 weeks is the target. Its an ambitious target. Its an ambitious target. Yvette cooper, the shadow home secretary today said that labour would not send a single Asylum Seeker to rwanda. Single Asylum Seeker to rwanda. If its in power, clearly theyre going to scrap this even if it gets off the ground. Care for calais saying Asylum Seekers will suffer irreversible harm. And were yet to see the judicial system grind into action. It seems the entire establishment is stacked against rishi sunak. If they start taking off in mid to late july, that leaves only a few months before the november election. For this rhythm of flights to take off. Earlier we heard from yvette coopen earlier we heard from yvette cooper, the shadow home secretary. Heres what she had to say. The problem with the scheme, and bear in mind this is there was announced two years ago. They told us they were implementing this two years ago, and they have just kept writing checks to rwanda. But the first thing theyre going to now do is write another £50 million check for rwanda. For rwanda. Well, lets continue that conversation now. Im joined by the human rights lawyer shoaib khan. Welcome to the show. Always a pleasure. So the rwanda always a pleasure. So the rwanda bill finally was signed off in the small hours. And yet over 350 more small boats arrivals have arrived today. And thats before the legal system. The lawyers sets its wheels in action against this plan. As a human rights lawyer, are you licking your lips at stopping the rwanda plan about stopping a single flight . Getting off the ground, well, i think those are two completely Different Things stopping the bill or stopping the flights because as weve been saying for years now, well, its been two years remarkably , its been two years remarkably, the rwanda bill isnt going to work. There arent going to be any flights. I still think there arent going to be any flights. No ones actually going to be on there. As you see, in the past, weve sent more home secretaries than Asylum Seekers. There and thats what everyone understands. You know, governments around the world, people around the world, Asylum Seekers, refugees around the world. If there was any hope, any chance that, you know, people would be sent there, we wouldnt have seen the hundreds who arrived today. I mean, i think, you know, if you know, thats such an insult, such an offence for this government, if they actually took a sensible stance, if they understood, you know, whats happening. Everyone knows they cant do it. You know, just going by the track record, they say things, obviously theyre saying even more things this year because its an election year, but everyone knows its not going to happen. Shirshov its chris hope in the studio here with martin. Why do you say that . No one will get on the flights. Why do you say that these flights will not happen . Well, mainly because its the tories and rishi sunak whose plan it is. I mean, weve seen, you know, everything theyve been doing. You know, priti patel, Suella Braverman, you know , all of these people, know, all of these people, everything that, you know, for everything that, you know, for everything theyve been saying, all their rhetoric, all, you know, actually quite hateful things that theyve been saying, about Asylum Seekers and immigrants. And you, have they immigrants. And you, have they actually done anything effective . I mean, can you name actually, you know, even 1 or 2 policies, even 1 or 2 actions at priti patel, for instance, or Suella Braverman , which actually Suella Braverman, which actually reduce numbers . The numbers arent going down. And we can see that theyre just going up. And, you know, we know the only way to change this and which lots of people have been saying for decades now, not even years. And thats, you know, safe, lawful legal routes for Asylum Seekers. If we wanted to prevent these deaths, you know, these tragic, awful deaths this morning, you know, declare another country to be safe, you know, by the British Parliament isnt the way to do it. The way isnt the way to do it. The way is we need to provide these people safe routes so they can get to a place of safety. Thats the way to stop these deaths. But the simple fact of the matter is theyre already in a safe country. Theyre in france. Theyre in france. Theyre in france. Well, yes. I mean, but why cant we take our share of those people then . And the point is, theyre not safe in france because if theres tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people there, i mean, we know the conditions they live in there. They dont even have housing. They dont have food. Theyre actually living there, you know, right by, you know, where theyre going to be boarding these, these dinghies or these small boats. Thats where they live. Thats their life. Are we suggesting thats a safe or decent or humane life for them . No, obviously france isnt doing its share. France hasnt been fulfilling its duty. And secondly, i mean, to be honest, why should just france do it . Why should you know greece, italy, other countries on the borders of europe be the only countries . The point is, we only countries . The point is, we are an island. If we are going to take any Asylum Seekers, how will they come . Either we send like we did with ukraine, like we did with afghanistan. Either we did with afghanistan. Either we send planes over and bring Asylum Seekers there or theyre going to come by boat. How else do we ever take any Asylum Seekers . Seekers . Okay, well have to leave it there. Thanks for joining okay, well have to leave it there. Thanks forjoining us. Human rights lawyer shakib khan. And also thanks for joining human rights lawyer shakib khan. And also thanks forjoining me and also thanks for joining me in studio, our Political Editor, chris hope. Fantastic stuff. Now its the final week to see how your next holiday could be on us here gbnews with your chance to win a greek cruise for two £10,000 in cash and Luxury Travel gifts, its a prize worth over £20,000 and it could be yours now. Dont miss out and heres all the details that you need. Its the final week to see how you can win our biggest prize yet, with thanks to variety cruises is a Family Company sailing since 1942. You have the chance to win a £10,000 seven night small boat cruise for two with flights, meals, excursions and drinks included. Excursions and drinks included. Youll be able to choose from any one of their 2025 greek adventures. Plus youll also win £10,000 in tax free cash to make your summer sizzle. And well pack you off with these Luxury Travel gifts. Hurry as lines close on friday for another chance to win a prize worth over £20,000. Text win to 63232. 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This group went past it and continued at whitehall when officers formed a cordon and asked the group to turn around, they reacted by violently forcing their way through. The mounted officers through. The mounted officers intervened with horses to restore the cordon. Well, just restore the cordon. Well, just an hour later, the Police Issued another statement and it read this whitehall has reopened to traffic in both directions following an earlier closure to deal with people trying to move away from the allocated event area. There have been no further incidents since that altercation and there is still a Significant Police presence. Yes, and were police presence. Yes, and were showing live pictures from whitehall right now. Im pleased to say that it looks calm. The police have restored order and its a nice calm scene. We want to see a nice, calm scene on Saint Georges day. Now moving on. Saint georges day is being celebrated across england today. Celebrated across england today. Were about to cross live to nottingham, my home city, where the biggest england flag in the country is in place. Doesnt that make you feel proud to be english . Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel this. Holac welcome back. Its 424. Im Martin Daubney , and this is gb Martin Daubney, and this is gb news. Now, in case you havent noticed, today is Saint Georges day, and gb news has been celebrating by broadcasting live from dartford in kent throughout the day. And the town hosted a Saint Georges day parade, a little earlier and early today. My little earlier and early today. My gb news colleagues, steve dixon and Ellie Costello spoke to the event organiser, gavin de sander. Sanden so weve been organising Saint Georges day events for about 15 years now here in north kent. About 15 years now here in north kent. And for me, some of my kent. And for me, some of my earliest memories was being racially abused and growing up. The flag to be the union flag or the Saint Georges flag was seen as the kind of owned by the far right. So for me, its about reclaiming the flag for the majority and not the minority. And so were so proud of what weve achieved here with the Saint Georges day celebrations. What does it do for the community . Does it really pull the community together, do you think . It certainly does. So youll see today, for example, weve got 15 local schools all different backgrounds, all different backgrounds, all different faiths. And thats what its about celebrating england in the context of 2024 and celebrating what unites us as communities rather than what divides us. Why do you think, in a way, the idea of being proud to be engush the idea of being proud to be english has become associate with, well, i mean, racism essentially. Essentially. Well, growing up, as i said, for me, thats what the association was. So what im trying to do an organisation similar to us up and down the country, is about using Saint Georges day as a as a way of bringing communities together as a sign of positive rather than negative connotations in terms of , of sort of negative connotations in terms of, of sort of racial tensions here in dartford as is that ease . I ease . I mean, does it really help moving forward . Well i would like to say that in terms of this work and the other work we do across dartford work with Dartford Borough Council by bringing communities together, celebrating what unites rather than divides. Inevitably, a consequence of that will be the fact that it should be easing tensions and we as a community are celebrating what brings us together rather than what divides us. And its about time, isnt it . I mean, right across the country that we were proud to be english, we could celebrate being english in the way that other nations celebrate their nationality. I think we can. And if you look at where we are in april, so in april, weve celebrated easter, weve celebrated vaisakhi , which is a big sikh vaisakhi, which is a big sikh festival. We celebrate eid with the muslim community, and today were celebrating Saint Georges day. Thats what it should be about. We are a diverse nation. Were a proud nation, and we should be using opportunities, be it Saint Georges day, be it vaisakhi, to be be easter for us to all to come together. To all to come together. Lowest of hats off to gavin newsom. Hats off to Stephen Dixon. Hats off to those magnificent morris dancers in the background there now the good people of nottingham, my home city, are also marking this special day. And lets head right there now and join our east Midlands Reporter will hollis. Will welcome to the show on Saint Georges day. That flag behind you, the biggest in the entire country, still proudly flying on Saint Georges day. Whats the mood on the ground . Whats the mood on the ground . Yes, well, that flag has been up for more than a week now, but still, youll probably see in the background lots of people stopping to take photos. I imagine many of them because they are here to celebrate Saint Georges day, and they want a photo with englands biggest Saint Georges cross on Saint Georges day. Its not, mister, its. Theres no escaping the fact, though, that it is the middle of the week. Its a tuesday, of course, lots of people are out working. Their children are at school, so they cant celebrate Saint Georges day by maybe coming down to the market square. But one of the market square. But one of the events that has been organised by the Royal Society of saint george, the Radford Branch here in nottingham , is at a nearby in nottingham, is at a nearby pub thats been running for a thousand years. The old salutation , and they host an salutation, and they host an open party for people of all faiths and backgrounds. For the non political group, the Royal Society of saint george. And ive been asking them today why are they so proud of that flag and celebrating being english . Well, its a georges day and we always celebrate it on the day we dont do it. The nearest weekend, and were just proud to be english. Its all about our identity and, if youre, patriotic , then and, if youre, patriotic, then today is the day. We all love england. Were all very proud to be english. Weve done this, my friend , for weve done this, my friend, for the last 15, 20 years. This should be more people come out and celebrate it. But a lot of people go to work on a tuesday as it is, today just means a lot to be british to and just to celebrate Saint Georges. Saint georges. The thing that ive been heanng the thing that ive been hearing so often for the last couple of weeks while recording all sorts of stories about Saint Georges day and the Royal Society of saint george, is that it is about patriotism. One of the things that ive been told is that so often patriotism is mistaken for nationalism. Nationalism could be described as something that can tear countries apart, whereas as the Royal Society of saint george say, patriotism can bring countries together. And i think thats ultimately what were seeing today on Saint Georges day here in nottingham, as well as across the rest of england. Oh, that magnificent Council House clock going in the background, will hollis, that is the sound of many a night out. Im loving your patriotic shirt and tie. And as for the, and tie. And as for the, salutation that was on my pub crawl start on the ball, went to the news house, went to the sally and then went to the trip to jerusalem with hollis. Magnificent. Thanks for bringing us that patriotic blast from nottingham. Superb stuff. Now theres loads more to come between now and 5 00, and ill talk about the alarming comments from a former chief inspector of prisons, whos warned that britains jails are a tinderbox that could ignite at any time , that could ignite at any time, in fact, will have that former inspector of prisons on the show shortly. But first, its time for your latest news headlines. And its realism. And its realism. Thanks, martin. 430 our top stories this hour. Well, on the day that five channel migrants died off the french coast, including a four year old child, gb news can reveal that more than 250 others have crossed to the uk. A small boat got into difficulties off wimereux beach near boulogne before 2 am. A number of other migrants were rescued, with at least one now critically ill in hospital. Five critically ill in hospital. Five other small boats have now been received by border force and the dover lifeboat, and two more are making steady progress towards the uk. The Prime Minister has the uk. The Prime Minister has announced plans to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. During a trip to poland, rishi sunak said the budget will reach £87 billion by the end of the decade, addressing troops in a military hangan addressing troops in a military hangar, he also said the uk Defence Industry will be put on a war footing. Senior figures a war footing. Senior figures from the United Nations and the council of europe are criticising the governments plan to send Asylum Seekers to rwanda, warning that it sets a worrying precedent. However, the worrying precedent. However, the Prime Minister says nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground. Thats after the bill finally passed through Parliament Late last night. Un Officials Say it night. Un Officials Say it breaches the Refugee Convention and seriously hinders the rule of law by reducing the ability of law by reducing the ability of british courts to scrutinise removal decisions. And in the removal decisions. And in the us, donald trump is back in court for day two of the first criminal trial of a former us president. Prosecutors claim that mr trump orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. They also argue that payments made to an aduu argue that payments made to an adult film star, so called hush money, was in breach of the law. Mr trump denies any wrongdoing. Mr trump denies any wrongdoing. For the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gbnews. Com slash alerts. Thank you ray. Now theres a brand new way to get in touch with us here gbnews. And heres bev turner with all the details. Bev turner with all the details. We are proud to be gb news the peoples channel. And as you know, we always love to hear your views. Now theres a new way of getting in touch with us gbnews. Com. Forward slash your say by commenting you can be part of a live conversation and join our gb news community. You can even talk to me, bev turner or any of the members of the gb news family. Simply go to gbnews. Com yoursay or say i join me. Camilla tominey every sunday at 930. When ill be interviewing the key players in british politics and taking them to task in this report basically says that hes not fit to stand trial with an upcoming election looming over westminster, now is the time for clear, honest answers. I agree, and thats precisely what ill get. Is he indecisive . Incompetent thats the Camilla Tominey show at 930 every sunday on gb news, the peoples channel on gb news, the peoples channel, britains election. Channel. Welcome back. Its 437 on Saint Georges day. Im Martin Daubney, and this is gb news. Now, there are a couple of worrying stories about the uks prisons id like to talk to you about now. First, theres a warning from the former chief inspector of prisons that jails are a tinderbox that could ignite at any time. Well, Nick Hardwick says there are too many prisoners and simply too few staff. And its also been claimed today that theres been a huge rise in the number of female Prison Guards who are having sex with prisoners. Well, im delighted to say that im joined now by Nick Hardwick on the show. The former chief inspector of prisons, nick, a delight to have you on the show. Delight to have you on the show. Read your report today in the times very , very concerning, but times very, very concerning, but something that probably wont come as a surprise to you or indeed anybody whos been watching gb news for some time. Quite simply, our jails are quite simply, ourjails are filled to bursting point, arent they . Yeah, thats absolutely right. And its not mainly about a question of the physical space theyve got available. Its simply we dont have enough experienced staff with the numbers of prisoners that need to be managed and then hopefully supported. So they dont reoffend when theyre when theyre released. So this isnt just a problem for prisons. Its a problem for all of us. Because when these men come out, theyre going to be living amongst us. And if we havent done the work to reduce their risk, then thats a problem for us all. And nick, you you name check a riot. Im very familiar with. I lived in manchester at the time. The strangeways riot , of time. The strangeways riot, of course, when prisoners broke out and staged a sit in on the roof. Are you serious . You think were getting towards a strange way type riot , i am getting towards a strange way type riot, i am more getting towards a strange way type riot , i am more concerned type riot, i am more concerned than ive ever been before, because i think you. To have a because i think you. To have a riot, you need a combination of things. You need on a whole prison is to have legitimate complaints , you need to have complaints, you need to have then someone whos a ringleader who can then take advantage of that and mobilise it. And you need staff to make a mistake or not control something quickly when it begins to go wrong. And when it begins to go wrong. And i think youve got a much greater risk now of all of those three things happening than has been the case for many years. You know, obviously, i hope very much it wont happen, but i think we need to be alert to the risks. And i can think of an occasion just recently when, one of the big prisons prisoners grabbed, officers keys, they got through a security gate and were stopped by an experienced officer. Rugby tackling them, basically. But that could have gone terribly wrong. And i think , there will be there are many other incidents where weve come close to stuff getting out of hand. Close to stuff getting out of hand. But often, thanks to the hand. But often, thanks to the bravery of prison officers, weve been able to stop that. But, you know, we should keep everything fingers crossed, toes crossed , everything crossed that crossed, everything crossed that they continue to do that. They continue to do that. And nick, we spoke with Ian Aitchison , a couple of weeks ago aitchison, a couple of weeks ago on the show. Of course, he was responsible for a big look into extremism within prisons. He extremism within prisons. He said a big issue is the islamic gangs against other gangs, and a feeling that prison wings are being lost in terms of control is it now the prisoners who are in control and the wardens who are running afraid . But. Well, i think you certainly have some elements of that. I mean, at one level, prisons have always required, staff and, and prisoners themselves to Work Together to manage. Theres always a lot more prisoners than there are staff. And the reason it normally works is that its in everybodys interest that they stay peaceful. Most prisoners want a quiet life. They want to get on with their sentence, see their family, make a telephone call or that kind of stuff. And staff generally dont want trouble , and prisoners mainly do trouble, and prisoners mainly do on hold want staff to maintain discipline. But when that breaks down, then there is a risk that gangs of whatever type start to have more influence. They start to run things. And then when to run things. And then when that happens and youve got inexperienced staff there, its very difficult for staff to get control back. You know, maybe look the other way rather than risk intervening and getting punched or worse. Punched or worse. And nick, whats the answer . I mean, do we get tougher on the prisoners . Do we clamp down on them . Do we release them earlier and keep the numbers down . Were seeing various measures of that, 60 days, early offenders being let out, or or do we need to build more prisons . But theyre not cheap, are they . Theres one in scotland, £210 million. Mean. Well, i would say as a society we need to have a sensible discussion about what we want. I mean, theres a number of ways you can deal with this. The government is spending £4 billion building new prisons, and, and, the labour party has said it will do the same as well. If were spending £4 billion on prisons, then thats £4 billion less to spend for defence. For instance. So we defence. For instance. So we have to make a choice about priorities. But even so, the priorities. But even so, the problem weve got ourselves into is that the prison population is rising faster than we can build the prisons and faster than we can recruit the staff. So its a very difficult position. And you know, i dont think releasing people early, you know, thats maybe its the least bad option. Its not desirable at all because that means that prisoners are being released without any kind of planning, often without accommodation. And then theyre put often theyre being recalled very quickly afterwards. So it is a real mess. I wouldnt want to disguise that. And nick preferential treatment, soft treatment of prisoners, something we talk about a lot. An astonishing report in todays paper , conjugal rights todays paper, conjugal rights not being performed by prisoners partners, but by female prison wardens. Why on earth is that allowed to happen . Why is it increasing . Well, i think what i mean, i think its a combination of inexperienced staff. Inevitably what youve got is some very manipulative prisoners. And who could take advantage . Youve got inexperienced staff and when you have that in different kinds of ways , theres a risk that staff ways, theres a risk that staff get corrupted, either through relationships or maybe bringing drugs in or whatever. I want to be clear, i think most prison staff do a great job in very, very difficult circumstances. They deal with something that the rest of us would rather forget, but if theres too few of them , if they havent got, if of them, if they havent got, if the new recruits havent got the supervision for more experienced kind of battle hardened officers, then theres a risk that things will go wrong. And that things will go wrong. And thats what were seeing. And you think, nick, an obvious solution to that is to have male only prison wardens in male only prisons, and vice versa, get the gender divide back. So the temptation simply isnt there. Isnt there. Well, i dont well, the problem with that is there simply arent enough male officers to do it. I mean, i dont think that i and i, and i certainly have seen some excellent female officers, excellent female officers, excellent male officers, i think its much more a question of experience than it is whether a man or a woman. Okay. Super. So thanks for joining us. An absolute delight to talk to you and share your expertise. Nick holbrook, the former chief inspector of prisons. Fascinating stuff. Now, prisons. Fascinating stuff. Now, if youre going on holiday to the continent later this year, im afraid ive got some very bad news for you. And its all to do with our old friends at the European Union. Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel gb news is the home of free speech. We were created to champion it, and we deliver it day in, day out. Free speech allows us all to explore and debate openly the issues most important to us, our families, and of course, the british people having challenging conversations to enlighten each other. Which is why we hear all sides of the argument. We are the peoples channel. We are the peoples channel. We are the peoples channel. We will always stand by the freedom to express yourself on tv, radio and online. This is gb news, britains news channel. News channel. Welcome back. Its 448. Im Martin Daubney and this is gb news. At 5 00 ill have news of a massive increase in defence spending worth an extra £75 billion over the next six years. But before that, british holidaymakers face hours of delays when using ferries at dover or the eurostar from this autumn and its all to do with new eu border rules set to be introduced, which will require people having their fingerprints and their photographs taken as they cross the channel im joined again in the studio by the former labour adviser matthew laws, and the former conservative adviser claire purcell. So lets start with purcell. So lets start with you, because im assuming youre a huge fan of the European Union, and im very sad that we left, but i respect the result. So what i want to ask you about this is the biometric scanning of the capturing of data by the eu , its being delayed for the eu, its being delayed for the olympics, monsieur macron. The president is getting a pass because we wouldnt want to upset the visitors going to the olympics, would we . But its going to kick in in britain in time for the october half turn. More importantly, in time for the general election. Are the eu punishing us . No, i dont think theyre punishing us in terms of the timing it for the election. I just think thats one consequence. I mean, after all, we could have had an election in two weeks time, and it wouldnt have affected it. So, with a general election on the day of the local election. So. No, but i think we are being were not being punished for leaving the eu. But obviously, i wish we were in the eu. Theres a real simple solution to this. If we hadnt simple solution to this. If we hadnt left, we wouldnt be doing any of this. You reap what you know. What thou sows or whatever the saying is. Im about to mess up and we literally its unintended consequences. This is what brexiteers wanted. They wanted us to be out. And if youre out, then you have to. The eu has got every right to enforce its border controls and britain needs to make sure that it does the sensible things, because the particular issues you say, martin, is, when you fly to an airport, youre going to be youll be youll be fingerprinted. Obviously, when you land. But when you, when you you land. But when you, when you get the ferry or you get the eurostar train, it happens at this side of the channel. And therefore thats where were expecting queues at Saint Pancras station, and at folkestone for the eurotunnel and at dover for the ferries. And they do it in dover or at eurostar because of course thats britains side. And theres rules about capturing data. But this will no doubt get blamed on brexit. But it does feel very much as if the eu do have it in. For us it is a punishment beating to bnng it is a punishment beating to bring this in. Theyre meant to have an app that is ready so that people can do these things in advance and remotely. And of in advance and remotely. And of course here we are not ready. So its an eu app. We have no control over this. And because control over this. And because theyre juxtaposed controls on theyre juxtaposed controls on the dover side, thats where youre going to get all of those queues for filling up. And if youve been to dover port, as i have many times, it isnt a very big road system going in. You get lorries, you get people going on holiday and as you say, this is going to come in in time for the october half tum. People wanting to get away and theyre going to be stuck for hours and hours in their cars, in their caravans and in their lorries. So yeah, its an absolute punishment beating. They could have got this off the ground, they could have got it sorted sooner or they could have not doneit sooner or they could have not done it and just continued as we do, allowing people to come with their passports using that system that we already have. But im not sure why they feel the need to take all of our data to harvest that. Who knows where and who knows what, but we cant complain about the eu, about having border a Stricter Border controls because we want to take back control of our borders. The eu has the legitimate right to do the same. Now were not a member. I mean, clearly its been postponed for the olympics because , macron has had olympics because, macron has had a word and as you say, hes got his wi a word and as you say, hes got his w from the eu and the commissioner said they will delay it. But i think overall its up to the brits to make sure it runs smoothly on this side of the this side of the channel. Well lets move swiftly on. Thats a nice segue into the next story. If only the European Union, particularly france, could stop people leaving their shores and coming to ours. Today weve had over 350 and five additional tragic deaths. Absolutely. I mean, its just the human price is just so extraordinary. And it reminds us why what we ultimately need to do is , is smash the gangs and do is, is smash the gangs and have people not coming over the channel so why rwanda is a total distraction and a very expensive distraction and a very expensive distraction. But from what we distraction. But from what we really need to do, which is, to have a much more focus on smashing the gangs, to be to prepared work to a new Cross Border Police force. And as Keir Starmers number one priority is to use Anti Terrorism legislation against those gangs, which rishi sunak could do tomorrow. But he refuses to do. Claire, its worth saying the morning after the night before the rwanda bill was meant to be this huge deterrent to stop people even attempting to get here. This is the worst morning news rush you could have. Not only the tragedy, but the sheer volume and additional for 350 on Saint Georges day. The morning after this bill came through. Can we ever stop the boat . No. Is the short answer to this. And its something that should never have been said. Put on a podium, put on a pledge card or whatever, stopping the boats isnt going to happen. It is virtually impossible to do so now. You can reduce the crossings. There is a lot you can do and france really do need to answer some of those questions as to why theyve taken our money and appear to not be doing their job. But not be doing theirjob. But having said that, there is also the problem much further up the line coming through europe and coming from the middle east. So this is a big problem. But i do think that the french really need to protect their coastline a lot better. They need to look at the gangs that are operating in the areas. They know precisely who they are. The coastline is enormous. Ive been there myself. Ive seen it. It is very, very difficult to police , but weve given them police, but weve given them a lot of money in order to do that. And you would have thought it would have focused some attention. Its also not great for them when you have these deaths occurring in the channel, because both countries look bad, both countries will have that on their conscience and it shouldnt happen. Okay. Claire pearsall matthew laza, thank you very much for joining us and well see you again soon. Now, rishi sunak sunak has promised an extra £75 billion in defence spending over the next six years. Hes warned the world is the most dangerous. Its ever been. We have the full take up on that. Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel, but now its your weather and its annie shuttleworth. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Hello. Good afternoon. Welcome to your latest gb news. Weather update should stay dry for most of us through the rest of the day and into tonight. And the best of the sunshine will be to the north and west. Thats because weve got a large area of High Pressure sat to the northwest of the uk, bringing that drier and brighter weather in the south and east, though weve still got this weather front to clear through the next few hours, so risk of some drizzly rain across parts of kent then that will be followed by a northerly wind that should bnng by a northerly wind that should bring some showers to particularly to eastern areas of england. Coastal areas in particular. And that will also bnng particular. And that will also bring quite a lot of cloud along these coastal areas further north and west, though it will be a clear night. North and west, though it will be a clear night. And here is be a clear night. And here is where it could turn quite cold across parts of rural scotland could be down as low as minus four. The frost will be fairly patchy. That does develop and it should clear quite quickly as the sun does come up quite quickly as well, and it will feel fairly pleasant in the sunshine by the afternoon. If you are sheltered from the wind in the north and west, particularly parts of south wales southwest and parts of scotland, we could see temperatures towards the mid teens , but in the east itll be teens, but in the east itll be quite a different feel. Still similar to how it has been recently that northerly wind keeping temperatures below double digits for some areas in northeastern areas of england. Northeastern areas of england. Itll be a very cold start to thursday, and then we see an area of low pressure out in the nonh area of low pressure out in the north sea. Bring this band of cloud and rain across Northern Areas of england. Parts of scotland as well. And then it does look like it will turn a little bit more unsettled from the south and west into the weekend, but it turns a little bit warmer. Looks like things are heating up. Boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. A very good afternoon to you. And a happy Saint Georges day. And a happy Saint Georges day. Its 5 pm. Welcome to the Martin Daubney show on gb news broadcasting live from the heart of westminster all across the uk. On todays show, this afternoons big breaking news. Rishi sunak has confirmed a huge rise in defence spending , worth rise in defence spending, worth an additional £75 billion over the next six years. Will it be enough . And theres been another tragedy in the channel as five migrants die, including a four year old child just hours after rishi sunak rwanda bill was voted through in a late night commons showdown. Will we ever stop the boats and put a stop to the human traffickers . And a the human traffickers . And a football row has broken out over an independent regulator for the premier league. One side says its a big risk. Keir starmer and the government seem to back it. All of that is coming up in your next hour. Well, welcome to the show. Always a delight to have your company. The rwanda bill was passed in the wee small hours after the midnight oil was burned. It was meant to be a deterrent. It was meant to be the clarion call to stop the boats. And yet today alone , 350 boats. And yet today alone, 350 migrants and rising have successfully crossed the channel successfully crossed the channel, and a further five of tragically perished in french waters. Will we ever stop the boats . Will rwanda ever get off the ground . A human rights barrister said to us earlier on in the show. They will do their damnedest to stop this. Will it work . Do you have any faith in this bill being the solution to stop those boats . Get in touch. This is your show just as much as mine. Theres a new way of contacting us. You can get in touch by visiting gbnews. Com yoursay. Please get those comments to me and ill read them out before the end of the show. But now its time for your latest news headlines. And its ray addison. Thanks, martin. Good afternoon. 5 02. Our top stories. Well, on the day that five channel migrants died off the french coast, including a four year old child, gb news can reveal that more than 250 others have now crossed to the uk in a small boat, got into difficulties off wimereux beach near boulogne, before 2 am. A number of other migrants were rescued, with at least one now critically ill in hospital. Five critically ill in hospital. Five other small boats have now been received by border force and the dover lifeboat, with migrants transported to the Processing Centre in dover harbour. A further two small boats are currently in french waters and making steady progress towards the United Kingdom. Senior the United Kingdom. Senior figures from the United Nations and the council of europe have criticised the governments plan to send Asylum Seekers to rwanda, warning that it sets a worrying precedent. The prime worrying precedent. The Prime Minister says nothing will stand in the way of flights getting off the ground. After the bill finally passed through Parliament Late last night. But officials at the un say it breaches the Refugee Convention and seriously hinders the rule of law by reducing the ability of law by reducing the ability of british courts to scrutinise removal decisions. The European Court of human rights blocked deportation flights to rwanda in 2022. Mr sunak is insisting that wont happen again. However, labour leader sir keir starmer says the scheme wont work. Government has lost control of the borders, but this rwanda gimmick is not the way to stop it. It cost an absolute fortune. £300 million already another 50 million either this week or next to remove a few hundred people. Thats a drop in the ocean. To thats a drop in the ocean. To put that into perspective, a week ago sunday, over 500 crossed the channel in small boats. Thats more than the entire number the government plans to remove in a whole year. The Prime Minister has announced plans to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. During a trip to poland, rishi sunak said the budget will reach £87 billion by the end of the decade. He was addressing troops in a military hangan addressing troops in a military hangar, where he said the uk Defence Industry will be put on a war footing. Mr sunak described the plans as the biggest strengthening of our National Defence in a generation. As churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is not to insert the imminence of war. On the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. I believe we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values. So today im announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence. For a generation. We defence. For a generation. We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Well that announcement comes as rishi sunak warned president putin will not stop at the polish border if his assault on ukraine is allowed to continue. Earlier, britain pledged its largest ever package of aid for kyiv, worth £500 million during the warsaw trip. The prime the warsaw trip. The Prime Minister is holding talks with the leaders of poland, germany and nato, and hell be warning that the defence of ukraine is essential to our joint security. Ukraines president zelenskyy has welcomed the package, which includes long range missiles, armoured vehicles and boats. Armoured vehicles and boats. Police were faced with violence at a Saint Georges day event in whitehall this afternoon , when whitehall this afternoon, when a group tried to force its way through a cordon. Mounted through a cordon. Mounted officers on horses were forced to intervene when the group broke through a police barrier. The force earlier said it expected some, quote, far right groups and groups linked to football clubs, end quote, to attend the event. The area was closed to traffic while police deau closed to traffic while police dealt with the incident. Labour have outlined plans to tackle rural crime Research Shows that crime rates are surging faster in the countryside than in urban areas. The strategy would see increased Police Patrols with tougher penalties for thefts and anti social behaviour. The government is dismissing it as a quote , toothless tweak around quote, toothless tweak around the edges. However, sir keir starmer says it will mean communities will be better protected in the United States. Donald trump is back in court for day two of the first criminal trial ever of a former us president. Criminal trial ever of a former us president. Prosecutors claim us president. Prosecutors claim that mr trump orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. They also argue that payments made to an aduu argue that payments made to an adult film star, so called hush money, was in breach of the law. Mr trump denies any wrongdoing. The trial is affecting his ability to campaign ahead of novembers election. For the novembers election. For the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code. Its on your screen right now or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Now back to. Alerts. Now back to. Martin. Thank you. Ryan. Lets start with some breaking news. Now following a tragedy in the channel when five migrants died earlier on and that news is were going to cross the uk. Im joined now by gb news home and security editor mark white. Mark, a tragic incident in the early hours. You have an update. Whats the latest . Whats the latest . Yeah, weve learned that french authorities are investigating whether a group , investigating whether a group, we believe, of african migrants who stormed that small boat as it was launching on that beach from wimereux, just north of boulogne, early this morning, may have contributed to this tragedy. We understand that a group of migrants who effectively have not paid for their voyage, try to clamber on board the already crowded vessel. It was interesting because some of the earlier reports we were getting spoke of 112 people on a boat. Ive never known a small boat, even though theyve increased in size over the years to hold 112 people. That was clearly very dangerously overcrowded. Its believed to have come aground on a sandbank, freed itself because of the number of people on board that vessel. Multiple people fell off and ended up in the water. Now this tactic, this phenomenon of groups of migrants trying to storm these boats, is growing. Its an increasing an increasingly common tactic used particularly by african migrants who are told, who do not have often the money to pay the people smugglers, the thousands of pounds for that voyage across the english channel. And the tactic is effectively, as the migrants are 4050 odd, are pushing their boat into the sea to head out towards the uk. Then you get a group of these other migrants. They can number up to 20, who just rush the boat and fight their way on. Really. They come up against some of the gangmasters , the people gangmasters, the people smugglers who are obviously there at that time as well. There at that time as well. There have been reports over recent months of migrants being stabbed in clashes with people smugglers , some that have smugglers, some that have actually been fatally stabbed. So an indication, i think really, of the growing levels of violence and chaos in the desperation there to get across the channel, the clashes with the channel, the clashes with the people smugglers who do not want people to get that voyage for free. And what is an increasingly lucrative business for them. And now were told, french authorities are looking into whether a group of migrants that rushed towards that boat that rushed towards that boat that clambered on board, it increased just how dangerously overloaded the boat was. Whether overloaded the boat was. Whether that may well have led to this tragedy that we saw this morning. Mark white, the rwanda bill was passed late last night. It was passed late last night. It was meant to be the deterrent. It was meant to be a full point to this. The picture youre to this. The picture youre painting, mark, though, however, is the exact opposite. Terrible news for the Prime Minister. This tragedy , and further proof this tragedy, and further proof of an increasingly, increasingly lawless situation on the french beaches. Theres no doubt it absolutely is. The French Police are coming under regular attacks in clashes with migrants. So under regular attacks in clashes with migrants. So as under regular attacks in clashes with migrants. So as well under regular attacks in clashes with migrants. So as well as migrants fighting amongst themselves and fighting in particular with those criminal gangs , youve got the police who gangs, youve got the police who are trying to intervene to puncture the boats, to stop them getting into the water, who are being pelted with bottles and sticks and other objects. In fact, there was an incident just near boulogne, again near the site of this tragedy. Actually a few weeks back, where police were attacked by a large group of migrants who actually poured some of the petrol they use to fuel their boats. Going across the channel, they poured that petrol across the beach to stop the police advancing towards their boat and set it on alight. A number of Police Officers have been injured in these clashes in recent weeks, but still the boats keep coming. Martin. And today again we brought you the news that now it looks that like were seeing possibly 350. I can confirm that so far 320 have now crossed. Thats gone up a little bit since the last time we spoke. Another boat, though, is still heading towards the uk waters to that demarcation point into uk waters. Its not far off, so when that arrives its probably going to be well in excess of 350, maybe 370. Who have crossed today. Okay. Thank you, mark wyatt, for that update on the tragedy earlier on in the channel. Excellent lots more on the migrant crisis and later this hour but now. So a huge increase in defence spending announced by the Prime Minister, rishi sunak, this afternoon. The Prime Minister says it will go up by an astonishing £75 billion in the next six years. And hes warned the world is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the cold war. Well, mark white is still with us, mark, £75 billion and rising, few people wanted more. Grant shapps promised. 5 hinted at that 2. 5 promised. 5 hinted at that 2. 5 until 2030. Will it be enough . Until 2030. Will it be enough . Yeah, i dont think grant shapps ever thought he was going to get 3 of gdp , but clearly to get 3 of gdp, but clearly the position was, increasingly unsustainable for rishi sunak to talk in vague terms about an aspiration to reach 2. 5 of gdp for defence spending when economic circumstances allow, you only need to look around the world, to the potential Global Threats out there. Russia and china, iran , theyre all china, iran, theyre all spending huge amounts on their defence and causing as far as the west is concerned , an the west is concerned, an increasing threat. And then to meet that, you see other European Countries like germany, for instance, which has always had, in recent decades, a fairly woeful level of defence spending has really significantly increased its defence spending to, in, you know, response mainly , to the threat, of mainly, to the threat, of course, from ukraine. So rishi sunak now saying that what we will get from the £64 billion annually now is 78 billion by 2028, and then up to 87 billion by 2030, that will be welcomed by 2030, that will be welcomed by the Armed Forces Chiefs. It will go a long way to helping fill that black hole that, has been ever growing over the years in defence spending. It will in defence spending. It will help them at a time, of course, when we know ships are being disposed of and laid up. There is not enough people coming forward to join up to the navy , forward to join up to the navy, the royal fleet auxiliary that supports the navy because of pay and conditions, the army has shrunk equipment is just not getting through quickly enough. It will help. Its never enough, it will help. Its never enough, but i think it will be very welcome , amongst the generals. Welcome, amongst the generals. Excellent stuff , mark white excellent stuff, mark white in fact, lets find out now because im joined by Lieutenant General sir simon mayall, whos a former army general and the former deputy chief of the Defence Staff. Welcome to the show, sir simon. So 87 billion by 2030, which makes the uk the second biggest nato contributor is that enough, in your opinion . Well, i think theres mark said. I think, you know whats enough when youre trying to deter and rishi sunak certainly made the case that money well spentin made the case that money well spent in advance is money saved later on. The cost of fighting wars is quite horrendous, i would say better late than neven would say better late than never. Its always going to be a question of how we spend it. Weve been notoriously bad at spending our money on big ticket items , it will certainly items, it will certainly encourage the americans part of this is making sure that the sort of noises we heard from obama and, and trump about, you know, if youre not to prepared shoulder your, your part of the part of the deal, were going to pull out and itll certainly help other people , make the help other people, make the statement, political statement that theyre going to improve spending. So this is about National Sovereign capabilities, but its also about nato collectively , rising, rising to collectively, rising, rising to meet the challenge. And you referred to germany earlier on. And sir simon, its also about another bumper giveaway to uk grain because as well as pledging 75 billion to domestic defence, also an additional half a billion £500 million today pledged to ukraine 4 million rounds of ammo, 400 vehicles, 660 boats. Is that money necessary . Can we afford it or necessary . Can we afford it or can we simply not afford to keep donating to ukraine . Well, the fact of live varne is, you know, since the end of the cold war, weve taken a huge peace dividend and weve basically secured our, you know, our prosperity on the back of the generosity of the american taxpayer , weve committed to the taxpayer, weve committed to the nhs, weve committed to the welfare state. Weve got, frankly, too many Civil Servants , and the consequences of the failure of deterrence is, is huge, to be honest with you, some of that money thats been pledged, of course, is to replenish stocks of ammunition and missiles that we have given to the ukrainians. I think that was the right thing to do, so some of it is money that, frankly, should be handed over anyway , but to be honest with anyway, but to be honest with you, at this moment, its the its definitely the right thing to do. Its very encouraging. We should have been doing this, i would argue, several years earlier, but if it locks the americans in and encourages nato , other nato nations to do their bit as well, then it will be money extremely well spent. And sir simon to finish here. Rishi sunak said that our defence is now on a war footing. Should we be concerned about britain getting dragged into a wider war across not only europe, but also perhaps in the middle east . Well, the middle east is it would be a National Decision , would be a National Decision, weve got to remember article five of the nato charter does commit us all for one and one for all type thing. An attack on one is an attack on all. So in many ways, if there is an attack on the baltics or poland or any other nato nation , then other nato nation, then technically we are committed anyway. The key is rishi did say was was deterrence is much is a much better effective use of money than fighting a war. They are hugely expensive, as weve seen in trying to keep the ukrainians in the fight against russia. Russia. Okay. Well, thanks for joining us on the show and giving us your expert insights. Lieutenant general sir simon mayall, whos a former army general and the former deputy chief of the Defence Staff , now chief of the Defence Staff, now get lots more on that huge story on our website. And thanks to on our website. And thanks to you, gb news. Com is the Fastest Growing National News website in the country. Its got breaking news and all of the brilliant analysis that youve come to expect from us here gbnews. 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Derby dh1 nine, double two uk only entrance must be 18 or oven only entrance must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On friday. Full terms and privacy nofice friday. Full terms and Privacy Notice gbnews. Com forward slash win please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck. Watching on demand. Good luck. Still to come. Tragedy in the channel as five die trying to cross into the uk. And it came just hours after the Prime Ministers rwanda bill was passed. Will the boats ever be stopped . Well discuss that stopped . Well discuss that next. Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel. News, britains news channel. Holac welcome back. Its 524. And a happy Saint Georges day to you. Im Martin Daubney on gb news. Now, on the day that five channel migrants died off the french coast, gb news can reveal that more than 300 others have now crossed to the uk. The tragedy earlier this morning happened just a matter of hours after the rwanda law cleared parliament, and im joined now in our westminster studio by our Political Editor , chris hope. Political editor, chris hope. Chris, a terrible tragedy for the Prime Minister, rishi sunak, to wake up to the rwanda bill was meant to be the beginning of the end. It was meant to be the deterrent. And yet today, over 300 now approaching 350, including another tragedy in the channel including another tragedy in the channel, has the good news of that been just been overwhelmed by whats happened today . Essentially, two planeloads have arrived here now 150 or so on each plane meant to be flying to rwanda. Thats the rhythm of these flights taking off for kigali. Maybe from mid to late july. And look what the numbers coming across already. And were coming across already. And were talking about numbers who have beenin talking about numbers who have been in this country for 13 months waiting to go on the first flight out. So what the pm should try and be should be saying if he could have control of this policy properly. Is anyone arriving from today will go straight to kigali . He cant do that because of the Legal Process. And then each each case process. And then each each case will be challenged. Each individual case will have a case to prove that whether theyll be okay and allowed to go to rwanda. And thats why robert jenrick, the immigration minister, resigned over this whole thing. The idea of individual challenges will just tie it in red tape like like the giant in liliput tied down by little bits of string. Very, very difficult. What happens next is on thursday, they should become law. It should get a royal assent by the king, and that will trigger letters going out. The rounding up of people who may go on these first flights in 10 or 12 weeks time. Thats three months away. This was an emergency. Legislation passed, announced by the pm last november. First flights dont take off until july. Very near to when the next next election will be. And yet we had a human rights barrister on the show earlier saying theyre licking their lips. Theyll do everything they lips. Theyll do everything they can to ground the flights. And of course , yvette cooper, the of course, yvette cooper, the shadow home secretary, today saying that the labour party wont allow a Single Person to leave for rwanda. Theyll scrap the plan. Yes. Shes not averse, though, to offshore processing. She said if something works, well look at it. But its not the rwanda plan. The rwanda plan is a deportation plan. Offshore deportation plan. Offshore processing may be in albania or somewhere else, like germany. Looking at this idea, they could come back to germany once theyre processed. But this is a deportation plan. Thats what they were against. And we spoke to yvette coopen and we spoke to yvette cooper. Lets see what she has to say. The problem with the scheme and bear in mind this is there was announced two years ago, they told us they were implementing this two years ago, and they have just kept writing checks to rwanda. But the first checks to rwanda. But the first thing theyre going to now do is write another £50 million cheque for rwanda. For rwanda. And lets cross now to the rwandan capital of kigali and speak to adam bradford, whos a british citizen who now lives in the east african country. Welcome to the show. Its always a pleasure to speak to you, adam. So the bill has finally been passed. Its finally law. Theyll do all they can to try and stop the flights going. But, adam, what do you make of it . I mean, youve been singing the praises of rwanda on gb news for many, many months. Many, many months. Yeah, and rightly so, martin, because its a safe country and theres never been a problem with it, i think actually we are the country of blaming everybody else. You know, eight years ago we decided that brexit was the solution to the immigration problem. Then we decided that that didnt work. And, you know, frankly , im not going to cast frankly, im not going to cast my own opinion. I think it was stupid. And i think it was stupid. And then now were blaming rwanda and talking about the safety of rwanda and whether this will work and that will work. And how much it costs. Well, at the end of the day, this immigration problem is not rwandas problem. Its doing its best to help. So i am very happy that its passed today, and so it should have two years ago. Adam, is chris hope in the studio here with martin, what is it . What is it . The process like in rwanda . Can you speak out against the government . Is it quite difficult to do that . Some people say there are various human rights issues with the country, which is overlooked by this country , i think this country, i think unfortunately , what those people unfortunately, what those people are saying is complete nonsense , are saying is complete nonsense, its completely misinformed, yes i theyre right to point out that 30 years ago there was a genocide here, but the country has rebuilt itself, the governance is strong and its perhaps to some peoples view, more strict. Because people are very polite and dont put their head above the parapet here because they trust the government to do they trust the government to do the right thing by them, thats something we probably dont always get from our government. But, what im trying to say is theres no regime , but theres theres no regime, but theres no regime in rwanda at all. Its a secure place, of course, being in the location that it is, its had to take hundreds of thousands of refugees, you know, some from dr. Congo , some from some from dr. Congo, some from libya and other countries , its libya and other countries, its used to taking people in. Theres no problem with it, i just wish the people who were criticising the country had actually been here and dont have a vested interest in one thing or another, thats whats annoyed me the whole time in this debate. Its never come from a place of real facts. From a place of real facts. Yeah. Adam bradford, thank you very much for joining us live from kigali. And youve been saying for a long time there are great Economic Opportunities in the country. If youre prepared to work. And in fact, adam has said that the accommodation thats being offered is fantastic. In fact, so much so that 70 of it has now been leased to locals. Its not even available anymore. Its very desirable. Adam bradford very desirable. Adam bradford lives there. Its great to get a voice from the ground now. Were going to move on now because theres lots more still to come between now and 6 00. And ill tell you how people across england have celebrated Saint Georges day. But first, its time for your latest news headlines. And its ray addison. Thanks, martin. Its 530. Our top stories on the day that five channel migrants died off the french coast, including a four year old child, gb news can reveal that more than 250 others have now crossed to the United Kingdom. A small boat got into difficulties off wimereux beach near boulogne before 2 am. A number of other migrants were rescued , with at least one now rescued, with at least one now critically ill in hospital. Five other small boats have now been received by border force and the dover lifeboat. A further two are making their way to the uk. The Prime Minister has announced plans to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Dufing spending to 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. During a trip to poland, rishi sunak said the budget will reach £87 billion by the end of the decade. Addressing troops in a military hangar, he also said the uk Defence Industry will be put on a war footing. Well, put on a war footing. Well, police were faced with violence at a Saint Georges day event in whitehall this afternoon when a group tried to force its way through a cordon. Mounted officers on horses needed to intervene when the group broke through a police barrier. The force earlier said it expected some, quote, far right groups and groups linked to football clubs , end quote, to attend the clubs, end quote, to attend the event. The area was closed to traffic while police dealt with the incident. And in the us, the the incident. And in the us, the judge overseeing Donald Trumps so called hush money trial warned that his lawyer was losing all credibility by claiming that he didnt violate a 939 claiming that he didnt violate a gag order. The order was intended to prevent the former president from criticising witnesses. His lawyers claim that comments hes made publicly were simply responses to what theyre calling political attacks. But the judge said that attacks. But the judge said that argument was without any evidence. The ongoing trial is evidence. The ongoing trial is affecting mr trumps ability to campaign ahead of novembers election. For the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gbnews. Com alerts. Gbnews. Com alerts. Cheers britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report. Financial report. Lets take a look at the markets. The pound will buy you 1. 2442 and markets. The pound will buy you 151. 2442 and ,1. 1630. Markets. The pound will buy you 1. 2442 and ,1. 1630. Price of gold £1,869. 69 per ounce. And the ftse 100 closed the day at 8044 points. Cheers. Cheers. Britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report. Report. Thank you ray. Now theres a brand new way to get in touch with us here gbnews. And heres bev turner with all the details. Bev turner with all the details. We are proud to be gb news the peoples channel and as you know, we always love to hear your views. Now theres know, we always love to hear your views. Now theres a know, we always love to hear your views. Now theres a new your views. Now theres a new way of getting in touch with us gbnews. Com forward slash your say by commenting you can be part of a live conversation and join our gb news community. You can even talk to me, bev turner or any of the members of the gb news family. Simply go to gbnews. Com yoursay say hey i 1 welcome welcome back. I welcome back. Its welcome back. Its 537. Im Martin Daubney on gb news. Youve been sending your comments in your your essays, and id like to read them a few out, because whats got you going is the Saint Georges day march, presently happening near trafalgar square. Theres been trafalgar square. Theres been an altercation between the police and some marchers there. And, jack says this. Why . Why do the Police Always refer to people who march on these kind of marches . Far right and why do they always seem to get stuck straight into them . Yet they straight into them . Yet they stand off the pro palestine marchers every day on a saturday. To me, this looks like clear, two tiered policing. Clear, two tiered policing. Well, joining me now is michelle jewellery. My favourite part of the day, especially on Saint Georges day. Jubes look at that. Resplendent in red and white for the day itself. White for the day itself. Whats on your menu . Well, i was going to come dressed up in some kind of saint george flag, but i thought, you know what, ill keep it classy for once in my life. I want to pick up on that conversation youve just been having, though, because surely it is two tier policing, martin, why on earth did the police feel the need to kettle these people . And i dont recall these people . And i dont recall them, branding people names and insults before an event takes place. Far right. This football hoougan place. Far right. This football hooligan that. What on earth is going on . So of course i want to explore that as well. But i want to look as well. Public toilets. You know, i was going to poo poo doing this as a story, right . But so many people have got in touch saying that they care passionately about the lack of pubuc passionately about the lack of public toilets. Apparently its very discriminatory against the elderly in society. So i want to elderly in society. So i want to ask, do we need more public toilets . And also what i what caught my eye . Martin in birmingham, theres an estate thats created this like, code of conduct, if you like a neighbourhood code is 30 odd pages of dos and donts. Neighbourhood code is 30 odd pages of dos and donts. And i pages of dos and donts. And i wonder, do you think we need a bit more of that in society . A few more boundaries around people or not . Yeah i think we do. And i think a great person to enforce them. Put the fear of god in them and make sure they follow the rules would be Michelle Dewberry 67 dewbs co watch. I think hed be straight out. I think hed be straight out. I think youd be great at it. Theyd be terrified of you in a good way. Dewbs co 67. On this Saint Georges day evening, the queen of prime time political debate. Superb. Now a rose broken out in the football world over an independent regulator , over an independent regulator, the premier league, has warned it poses significant risks of undermining the leagues global success. But the culture secretary, lucy frazer, says well run clubs have nothing to fear and sir keir starmer appears to have backed the governments plans. Now it comes after Lower League Clubs slammed the decision to scrap fa cup replays, saying it favoured the elite and was yet another blow to those with smaller budgets as well. Im joined now by the legendary football writer harry harris. Harry, welcome to the show. Always a pleasure, especially on Saint Georges day. More fans in control, more people power. What could go wrong . Wrong . Well, what could go wrong is whether the independent regulator, the government, are the right people in place to implement what is right for the game. Game. Of course, you know, what is wrong for the game is this blatant self interest, compared moeen ali, ignoring the wishes of the fans, completely ignoring the finances of Lower League Clubs. Itsjust the finances of Lower League Clubs. Its just appalling. You know, its really just an elitist view about what the National Sport that doesnt reflect what the entire country would like to see from its football. Football. Yeah, harry, there is definitely a feeling. I mean, im a Nottingham Forest fan. Dont get me started on the three blatant penalties we should have had against everton at the weekend, but var seems to favour the bigger clubs. The fa cup replays being scrapped due to fixture congestion, favours the bigger clubs. Theyve got loads of players they can rotate their squads. Is there a feeling, harry, that the entire game now is simply dictated by money . And its the big clubs that call the shots and the smaller clubs they can go to hell, correct . Hell, correct . I couldnt put it better. I mean, if the premier league had their way, i mean, theyre sidelining the fa, theyre making them. Its an embarrassment the way they are dictating the game. You go back a few years. You know when i was a few years. You know when i was a few years. You know when i was a chief football writer at the daily mirror, we campaigned vigorously to halt the premier league and take in a game or two, however many games they wanted to somewhere else around the world. Who cares about the fans being able to get there . Theyre not interested, but you put your finger on it now. Its the first time that a contract, for overseas rights is bigger than the domestic contract and the premier league are will go to any lengths, any lengths at all to protect the kind of football the kind of brand that theyre putting out around the world. So it doesnt really matter what they what happens outside of that premier league elite. Theyre not interested. And harry presumably. Well, we both know the answer to this. The last thing the premier league want, the last thing the big clubs want are disruptive fans, gobby fans inside boardrooms , actually speaking boardrooms, actually speaking the voice of the terraces. Theyre not interested in that. No, theyre not interested in that. And , you know, for years and, you know, for years theres been some kind of mechanism how to get fans involved. How would they be able to influence certain decisions . Well, thats never going to happen. Well, thats never going to happen. You could you could have happen. You could you could have nominee fans on a board, but they take no notice of them. They have no equity stake in the companies. But of course, this independent regulator for me , independent regulator for me, will it have some teeth . Will it actually do something. Because weve seen i have down the years, many decades as, all of these kind of commissions, they end up doing nothing because they dont have real teeth. Does they dont have real teeth. Does they dont have real teeth. Does the government really have the appetite to implement some of the things they want to . I doubt it would a Labour Government be better . Yes. They would. So ive got a lot of hope in an independent regulator and his team, but so far we havent seen too much, on that independent regulators team that i would say would have the knowledge to bnng would have the knowledge to bring into into reality some of the things we want to see. Okay. Harry harris , thank you okay. Harry harris, thank you for your input on this and yours. And ive always very much enjoyed your writing over the years. Great to talk to you, harry harris. Superb now still to come, our surge in Council House tenants unpaid rent is costing us taxpayers an astonishing £500 million a year. Well, on earth can we do to clamp down on that . Im Martin Daubney on gb news, britains news channel. Ella whelan welcome back. Its 547. Im Martin Daubney. This is gb news. Now, in case you hadnt noticed, today is Saint Georges day in gb news has been celebrating by broadcasting live from dartford in kent throughout the day. Earlier on, the town hosted a Saint Georges day parade a little earlier as ali costello reports. Yes, happy Saint Georges day to you. We are in the bull and vic in dartford today. Dartford, of course, being in kent, the garden of england and you can see this fantastic bar behind us here covered in the union jacks. Here covered in the union jacks. It is the Perfect Place to be on Saint Georges day. So ive got my soft drinks, theres no drinking on the job and i thought id introduce you to two very loyal gb news viewers who are here celebrating Saint Georges day. Colin and hayley, wonderful to be with you today. Wonderful to be with you today. And, colin, this is part of your tradition, isnt it . On Saint Georges day, every Saint Georges day, every Saint Georges day, every Saint Georges day always has been , georges day always has been, always will be. Talk me through the day. The day. Full english in the morning bath and in our enjoying the atmosphere. Wonderful. So what time did you have your first pint this morning . It was about half ten. It was about half ten. Now that is pretty good going, but pretty good going. And hows the rest of the day look, youre just going to be in the pub celebrating the day. Yeah. Give it another hour and a half and then go and put my feet up getting old now. So why is Saint Georges day so special to you . Why do you want to celebrate it . Well, its our you know, if you cant have this day right for yourself or your your engush for yourself or your your english pride, what they can you have, you know, why do you have to , you know, try and hide your to, you know, try and hide your identity on one day, but youre not allowed to do it throughout the year. But now the time has come. Today, april the 23rd is come. Today, april the 23rd is our day and we will celebrate it. And that is it. And you feel really passionately about that . Of course i do. Yeah, im english, i love my country. So you know , like, why shouldnt i you know, like, why shouldnt i celebrate on the one day that im allowed to celebrate it without being persecuted . Its without being persecuted . Its a no brainer. What do you love about being english . Well, just my family, my family orientation. Yeah. The way that we stick together as a family. Right. Because as engush family. Right. Because as english people, right. Should stick together. Like pakistani people, like hindu people , like people, like hindu people, like whoever, whoever you are, wherever you are identified as right, you should be able to stick together and be that way. And if people are trying to take that away from you, then they need to be stopped. And you and you were saying earlier, you , you just love earlier, you, you just love engush earlier, you, you just love english food as well. And the football and all these things that mean. Yeah, quintessentially english things youre very proud of. Yeah, im proud of it. Im proud to be. Why shouldnt i be proud to be. Why shouldnt i be proud to be. Why shouldnt i be proud to be . English . Theres nothing wrong in being proud to be english. And, hayley, how is your day been so far . I hear that you were up very early putting up a flag this morning. Saint georges flag . I had to get my steps out and, climb up. And he was inside, opening the window. So. Yeah but im watching gb news. You do get quite patriotic when you see how everyone else is celebrating, and then you realise , you know, people are realise, you know, people are passionate and tell are, well, do indulge me then. So you are very big fans of gb news successively day dot first day that you went out. First day that you went out. I was watching and i have done every day since. Done every day since. Oh well, that is just wonderful to hear. Colin and hayley, thank you so much. Enjoy your celebrations, enjoy the parade, enjoy the drinking, dare i say . Yeah. Thank you very much indeed. As you can see, its going to be a really exciting day here in dartford, packed with events, local communities coming together, including lots of schoolchildren, 700 schoolchildren across 24 schools coming together to celebrate everything it means to be english. Colin and hayley, absolute legends. Colin and hayley, absolute legends. Thank you so much since day one on gb news. Thank you so much. Ill raise a glass to you later on. Absolutely legendary there in dartford. Superb as well from Ellie Costello now moving swiftly onwards, theres been a surge in Council House tenants, unpaid rent. New government figures show arrears have doubled , costing taxpayers have doubled, costing taxpayers an astonishing £500 million. Well, im joined again in the studio by the former labour adviser matthew laws, and the former conservative adviser claire purcell. Clare, lets start with you. Half £1 billion in rent arrears, should we evict them . Them . Well, i think you have to look at yes as the answer to this, because its been going on for quite some time. You delve down into the figures and these are people who havent paid it for months. And months and in some cases years. So the council has just let that run. People are just assuming they dont have to pay. Now, if i stop paying my have to pay. Now, if i stop paying my mortgage, my house will be taken back by the bank and quite rightly so. They lent me the money under the proviso that i would pay it back. So it has to be the same way. If youre in a private rental and youre in a private rental and you dont pay, your landlord would evict you. Why should social housing be any different . Matthew so fundamentally, people should pay. But one of the problems is that the universal credit was introduced, which meant that rather than the money going straight to the social housing provider, the council, it goes via the tenant has to pay their rent. And its obviously to make sure people were budgeting more responsibly. I think that perhaps with covid as well, people who didnt get into the habit of doing that. But yes, councils need to reclaim the money. The worst offender from the figures that ive looked at is the tory council in welwyn hatfield, 100,000 people over £2 million owing, whereas bigger Councils Like birmingham, which is ten times as much, has got less owing. But they all need to make more effort to collect this money. So how do they collect the rent if they say, well, i havent got the money and if you evict me, ill be homeless . Yeah. Yeah. And thats the problem, of course, is then the council has a statutory duty to house them if theyre, if theyre homeless. So its difficult because what you used to be able to do is when it was paid direct, obviously you could get your money directly. This is the problem. One of the problems of universal credit has been if people its a big transition for people its a big transition for people who were used to you know, to having their rent paid directly, having to pay it themselves. But you do have to take some personal responsibility, and people have to learn to pay their bills on time. We all have to do that. And isnt that the point . If they know they cant get a btec because they know a council wont make them homeless . Just saying, well, ill put my feet up and just let the taxpayer cough up. Why is the incentive to actually take responsibility at that point . If you know that youre always going to be picked up after . And i think thats what we need to stop. Some councils will evict people. I mean, theyre particularly strong on anti social behaviour in the evicted people for that. So i think its time for councils to get tough now with the pandemic. Are we way down the down the history track. So lets lets get this enforced. Because even if it doesnt solve councils problems, it sends out to people who are paying increased council tax a bad message that not everybodys paying their share. Superb. Matthew laza and Claire Pearsall. Thank you. Absolutely splendid debate today. Thank you very much for joining us on today, Saint Georges day. And its quite nice to hear that you left the actually are feeling the vibe. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I mean go go go and have a pint of an english ale this evening. Well like a nice san miguel. How well thank you very much. Now thats all from me for now. Now thats all from me for now. As you know, dewbs co is up as you know, dewbs co is up next 6 to 7 pm. With Michelle Dewberry, the queen of prime time political debate. Dont forget to join us from 6 am. Tomorrow. Its breakfast with eamonn and isabel, tomorrow. Its breakfast with eamonn and isabel , followed eamonn and isabel, followed course by britains newsroom. 930 and then all the drama with pmqs. Thats chris hope and Gloria De Piero in this studio. Then live at midday, its tom and emily with good afternoon britain. Its actually one till three on a pmqs day now. Ill be back at 3 pm. Tomorrow. Ive been Martin Daubney thanks for joining me on gb news. Happy Saint Georges day first your weather and its annie shuttleworth. Shuttleworth. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Hello. Good afternoon. Welcome to your latest gb news weather update should stay dry for most of us through the rest of the day and into tonight. And the best of the sunshine will be to the north and west. Thats because weve got a large area of High Pressure , sat to the of High Pressure, sat to the northwest of the uk, bringing that drier and brighter weather in the south and east, though weve still got this weather front to clear through the next few hours, so risk of some drizzly rain across parts of kent, then that will be followed by a northerly wind that should bnng by a northerly wind that should bring some showers, particularly to eastern areas of england. Coastal areas in particular, and that will also bring quite a lot of cloud along these coastal areas further north and west, though it will be a clear night. And here is where it could turn quite cold across parts of rural scotland could be down as low as minus four. The frost will be fairly patchy. That does develop and it should clear quite quickly as the sun does come up quite quickly as well, and it will feel fairly pleasant in the sunshine by the afternoon. If you are sheltered from the wind in the north and west, particularly parts of south wales , southwestern parts of wales, southwestern parts of scotland, we could see temperatures towards the mid teens, but in the east itll be quite a different feel. Still quite a different feel. Still similar to how it has been recently that northerly wind keeping temperatures below double digits for some areas in northeastern areas of england. Itll be a very cold start to thursday, and then we see an area of low pressure out in the nonh area of low pressure out in the north sea. Bring this band of cloud and rain across Northern Areas of england, parts of scotland as well. And then it does look like it will turn a little bit more unsettled from the south and west into the weekend, but it turns a little bit warmer. Bit warmer. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers , sponsors of boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on. Gb football hooligans before it had even began. I cant remember even began. I cant remember seeing so many police, quite frankly. Vans, horses, you name frankly. Vans, horses, you name it. And by the way, after a certain outcome of a Certain Court case today, youd have thought that had perhaps been advancing things a little bit more caution. But no, it feels like two tier policing is alive and well in this country. Like two tier policing is alive and well in this country. Am and well in this country. Am i wrong or not . And rishi sunak has increased defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp. Is that enough . To 2. 5 of gdp. Is that enough . I cant help though, but think it sounds a bit rich talking about defence when you fail to defend your own border each and every single day. But were it not the rwanda plan to the rescue