Transcripts For GBN GB 20240703

With sofia. Darren. Thank you. Good afternoon. Its 12 02. Im sophia wenzler afternoon. Its12 02. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. The dutch act has been newsroom. The dutch act has been kicked out of Eurovision Song Contest grand final. The European Broadcasting Union says us klein wont compete, while Swedish Police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of the production crew. Meanwhile security has been tightened ahead of tonights show following pro palestinian demonstrations. Demonstrators have been rallying against israels participation in the event , with the countrys eden event, with the countrys eden golan qualifying for tonights show. Shes among the leading show. Shes among the leading contenders to win, but bookmakers have placed croatias baby lasagna as favourite. Baby lasagna as favourite. Heres what some of the fans had to say i understand it, i personally disagree with their involvement and a lot of the stuff thats happened in the past 24 hours, generally in eurovision, like with the possible disqualification of the dutch representative or the videos coming out from inside the arena. In general, it has become a bit too much. Were here to enjoy the stuff , bambi is here to enjoy it and were not bringing politics into it at all. Im not particularly political, so i tend to stay out of it, and i think a competition like this, its about bringing people together, not, you know, trying to cause a lot of diversity. So, you know, im sorry, division. You know, i just dont think thats the right kind of attitude to have about eurovision. We have managed to avoid most of anything thats going on. And i think, to be fair, its been a little bit exaggerated by broadcasting nothing against you guys, but meanwhile, 1981 uk winnerjay guys, but meanwhile, 1981 uk winner jay aston from bucks guys, but meanwhile, 1981 uk winnerjay aston from bucks fizz winner jay aston from bucks fizz believes the contest has become too political. I do feel very sorry for her because shes 20, you know, shes to me, shes a young girl or young woman and shell have all of this conflict. So shes going on stage and shes got cheers and boos and it will in a way tarnish her career. I mean, im sure shell be very successful in her homeland , but successful in her homeland, but its just really difficult. It does seem to be that eurovision, which is meant to be a bringing together of people to just listen to music and to be a happy event is more and more often being taken into a political arena, and its being used for that purpose. Meanwhile, the us says israel may have broken International Law in its use of american suppued law in its use of american supplied weapons in gaza. The state Department Says its reasonable to assess that theyve been used in ways that are inconsistent with israels obligations. It stopped short of a definitive assessment, saying the chaos of war made it difficult to verify alleged violations. The document also violations. The document also noted hamas uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes and civilians as human shields. The purposes and civilians as human shields. The findings come as israel warns residents in rafah to evacuate more areas of the city. In other news, a Police Officer has been shot in the leg with a crossbow in buckinghamshire. The officer was responding to a report of a stabbing in high wycombe last night. A 54 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was shot by an armed officer and is now in hospital under Police Supervision, with potentially life changing injuries. Two women accused of targeting the magna carta have been charged with criminal damage. John stacpoole posted a video of the pair armed with a hammer and a chisel, breaking the glass around the historic document. Yesterday the group says the women, both in their 80s, glued themselves to the display and held up a sign accusing the government of breaking climate laws. Theyve been released on bail and are due to appear in court next month. Drivers are court next month. Drivers are being warned to only travel if absolutely necessary following the unprecedented closure of the m25. Five the five mile stretch m25. Five the five mile stretch in surrey between junctions nine and ten is now shut until 6 am. On monday, causing delays and a 19 mile diversion. This is the first scheduled daytime shutdown of all lanes on the m25 since it opened back in 1986. Travel journalist simon calder has a warning for travellers. Big worry today and tomorrow and this continues until 6 am. On monday morning, is that people will just think, well, it was fine last time so we wont change our plans, if that were to happen, it would be, quite messy. Not least because theyre saying go by other forms of transport and you think, okay, well, i will go from to london portsmouth by train then, which you cant do because theres engineering works. Engineering works. And the Northern Lights lit up the skies across britain last night as one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years hit the planet. Usually theyre seen in the far north of the country and are caused by charged particles hitting the different gases in the earths atmosphere. And were in luck, as the Northern Lights might be visible in parts of the uk again tonight. And for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Now its back to gb news. Saturday thank you as ever, sofia. Lets get stuck in to todays topics. The economy has grown at the fastest rate in two years, outpacing both america and the eurozone. That means that the uk is officially out of recession, with many hoping for tax cuts over the next few months. Pretty good news for rishi sunak. After an abysmal performance at the local elections. But the good news for the Prime Minister doesnt stop there. Former labour leader lord kinnock claimed that voters in britain are not yet in love with sir keir starmer, with concerns emerging of a shock result in the upcoming election. Now back in 1992, kinnock lost an election that was thought to be unusable. Well, joining me now is gb news Political Correspondent, Katherine Forster now, catherine, at risk of asking you to play gb news very own mystic, meg, you sort of see where sir keir starmer, where lord kinnock rather is coming from on sir keir starmer and that a lot of voters just stayed home in those local elections. Yes, thats absolutely right. I mean, it was a terrible night for the conservatives as they lost just shy of 500 council seats. But labour only picked up, i think, less than 200. The lib dems did very well. The greens did very well and this led to this National Equivalent Vote share, saying that if that were replicated across the country in a general election, it would lead to a hung parliament. Now, of course , parliament. Now, of course, people tend not to vote in local elections often the way they do in a general election, because theyre voting for Different Reasons often. So i think that is a bit of a leap. But rishi sunak has grabbed a hold of this and said, look, all is not lost. Look at this. We could be heading for a hung parliament. Stick with me. The plan is working. And of course, yes, hes had all this good Economic News out of recession, the economy growing by 0. 6. And for labours part , you know, theres labours part, you know, theres been an assumption with apples 20 points ahead putting labour 20 points ahead putting labour 20 points ahead that they are. You know its going to be a walk in the park to a big majority. But lord kinnock suggesting too, that that might not be the case. Now, he has said that he thinks that labour will win , but hes that labour will win, but hes also admitted that people havent sort of fallen in love with keir starmer and labour particularly. There isnt the particularly. There isnt the sort of energy that there was behind tony blair in 1997. Now how much that matters, of course we dont know because we do know that lots of people are very, very fed up with the government and it could just be that they have had enough with the tories and they will turn to labour, even though theyre not wildly excited about them. All right. Katherine forster, thank you very much. Well be coming back to catherine shortly. Thats gb news Political Correspondent. But joining me now in the studio was former labour adviser Scarlett Mccgwire and the broadcaster mike parry. Mike, ill start with you then , because i mean, with you then, because i mean, do you do you think theres an element of truth here with kinnock saying, well, hold your horses, lets not get too excited. Im absolutely, impressed and amazed with lord kinnocks comments. Now, i was around in 92 and he did get it wrong. Then he said, well , romped then he said, well, romped home didnt he. 7 home didnt he . Not necessarily. The thing i remember is the morning after the election when all the reporters were standing outside his house to find out how hes going to react to losing an election. He thought he was going to win. And amazingly , he going to win. And amazingly, he came down, opened the door to pick up the milk on his doorstep. And the only quote he gave was, it feels so bad to have lost everything ive worked for the last eight years. Hed been labour leader for eight years. He was convinced he was going to do it, but he lost it. Some think , because he got think, because he got overconfident, but others are me included. Think that the people of the United Kingdom simply werent ready to trust labour with the economy because john smith, who was the shadow chancellor, had given a crazy briefing to journalists and done a sort of faux , budget in which a sort of faux, budget in which he actually said he was going to put taxes up. And this completely spooked the country. Honestly, to the extent where neil kinnock, lord kinnock now had to gather a load of political journalists around and take him to lunch in soho and say, look, you know, were not going to do it. But some of his comments here, i think are so pivotal, he was asked, is the country deeply disillusioned with the tories, but not yet fully convinced or in love with to labour which he says, and remember, he wants a Labour Government. Hes still a huge supporter. I think thats fair and i think its pretty natural. After 14 years of continuous conservative led and conservative led and conservative governments, theyve got to watch out. Hes actually giving the tories a warning sign about what theyve got to do. You know what i mean . Absolutely. I mean, there was that speech , scarlett wasnt that speech, scarlett wasnt there, where neil kinnock stood up and sounded maybe a little bit too overconfident. Sheffield. Yes. Yeah. I mean, i think we have to remember. I remember like mike, i was there , i like mike, i was there, i remember being at Labour Party Headquarters when the election was called and i said , were not was called and i said, were not ahead enough in the polls at that time we had a government that time we had a government that wasnt particularly popular, but but was was highly competent, right . Thatcher had only just gone , but but had a only just gone, but but had a budget surplus, had left a legacy, john major was sort of trying to get was still in his slight honeymoon period. And i, i remember saying its just not enough. Right. Were talking five points here. Weve got 20 points and weve got a government that is so unpopular that that interestingly so in richmond, which is basically lib dem territory, they, they, theyre so clever that they voted lib in in the london elections, they voted lib dem for their Assembly Member and labour for sadiq khan because they didnt want the tories to win. And the problem is for labour for, for is i agree with neil kinnock that labour still has a lot of work to do right. But actually they hate the tories. I mean, we can see it over and over again and the, the sheffield rally that scotts talking about, thats when he was thumping the lectern. Are we all right . Are we all right . He thought hed won it. Literally. He was going to go into it. But you see the problem is and scarlett hit on this, what were you going to replace the tories with. Is there anything as kinnock ism. And anything as kinnock ism. And this time people will be asking is there anything such as starmer ism . Thatcherism was a definitive political thinking tank. Definitive political thinking tank. Okay. Is there anything to tank. Okay. Is there anything to replace that . On the other side, consider that the labour party is a very different beast from what . But nobody knows what beast it is. Well, thats true, but nobody knows what beast it is. Scarlett. Hes flip flopping all over the place. Look at taking on right wing tories. Its mad. I know why he took on a right wing tory. Look, mike, the thing is, you talked. You talked about john smith, right . We have Rachel Reeves, Rachel Reeves. I Rachel Reeves, Rachel Reeves. I mean, you talk to any senior labour person and they they cannot move without Rachel Reeves saying you cant do this because its going to its going to cost too much money. I mean, we know exactly financially. I mean, the problem is, is, is how little labour will be able to do because of the fiscal rules, which is why i am really happy to see the economy improving. I think for most people, at 0. 6 Means Nothing in their in their food budget. I mean, all it food budget. I mean, all it means is and inflation coming down means that the prices are going up more slowly. So for most of us, 95 of us who are outside the westminster bubble , outside the westminster bubble, it is absolutely. What about the ons report from yesterday that is very, very good news. Weve now overtaken countries in europe, weve overtaken america in growth. When is somebody going to give credit . Look, ive just said im really glad the economy is improving. What im saying is two things is one is its not improving for most people, but its improving in the future. But if the when the ons says bad things, you go, oh no, they dont know what theyre talking about. So in the future it might improve exactly. Yeah. No hold improve exactly. Yeah. No hold on. But i think you dont understand how much. I mean, you know, if you go on the doorstep, if you go on the doorstep in tory areas, they are furious. Theyre not going to vote. I know that, scarlett, because i know the campaigners in the local election said all that. Is there a problem here coming down the tracks for laboun coming down the tracks for labour, though, with the weve seen it play out at eurovision, right. With the gaza issue , right. With the gaza issue, actually playing out on the streets over there. I think its minimal. I think people overrate the effect that could have on the labour party. Yeah, i do, i do because i think its happening, but its happening in intense small pockets. I dont think its a general trend , but compared to general trend, but compared to reform, come on, if were really talking about local, about general election, the as mike says, the might be a few small pockets. Pockets. Yeah reform have said theyre going to put up somebody against in every single constituency. Now i will be mystic. Meg. They now i will be mystic. Meg. They will not win one seat but they will not win one seat but they will lose the tories. Theres a report this morning saying the first rwanda flight will go on june the 24th. If that flight goes on june the 24th, it will be followed by other flights. Will starmer then stick to his absolutely rigid view . If it works, im going to view . If it works, im going to cancel it. Im still going to cancel it. Im still going to cancel it. Im still going to cancelit. I cancel it. Im still going to cancel it. I dont care if it works or people in the end are going to say what . Well, hang on a minute, because the one bloke that we have sent there has gone missing. Yeah, hes probably on his way back. His way back. Yeah. Yeah. But he went voluntarily the next, the next lot of people we 90, next, the next lot of people we go, look, this guy was clearly a chancen go, look, this guy was clearly a chancer. Oh three grand rwanda. When i get there, ill do a runner. But thats not going to be the first flight on june 24th. Well take people who are currently in detention places and being told they could go to rwanda when they do, when those planes take off. I do think that will change the mood. Actually, mike, again on the doorstep and im talking about tory areas here. What theyre saying is why are we paying millions . Why are we paying millions . Why are we paying millions for a few people to go to rwanda . They they are as angry about the rwanda flights as anything else. They actually think that what weve got to do is sort out immigration here. Youre right. Theyre very angry. 200. Theyre very angry about the number of people coming into the country, and they want to see an alternative. And keir starmer alternative. And keir starmer didnt exactly come up with an alternative. Yes. This week did it. Okie doke. Folks will be coming back to you both very shortly. Thats you both very shortly. Thats Scarlett Mccgwire and mike parry there. Now for all the latest analysis and opinion on that story and more, go to our website gbnews. Com. Now folks, its eurovision tonight. But some fear that the camp spectacle is already marred in controversy. Many people are actually calling for israel to be booted out of the competition due to the ongoing conflict in gaza. Now, eurovisions website states that peaceful protest is indeed allowed, stating that they are a firm advocate for freedom of speech and the right for people to express their deeply held views and opinions. And now the dutch act has been axed due to an ongoing incident. What on earth is going on . Well, joining me now to explain is the gb News Reporter, Charlie Peters. Charlie, it looks like a lovely day in malmo, but its not so lovely for the Eurovision Song Contest. It sounds like a total headache. Total headache. Its a bizarre mix of contrasts here. Darren. There are armed Police Officers patrolling the streets , looking patrolling the streets, looking down on us from the rooftops with their binoculars. And weve with their binoculars. And weve had news of a dutch contestant ditched just hours before the start of the grand final. And in a mere hours, we also will see a thousand strong pro palestine demonstration arrive at a park adjacent to the malmo arena, all while some of the continents leading cheesy pop music is being blasted into the area outside the arena. Its a very strange atmosphere here and some people ive spoken to today outside while queuing for the afternoon session told me they did not want politics to interfere with tonights contest i were here to enjoy the stuff. Bambi is here to enjoy it and were not bringing politics into it. Everybody has the right to protest. Everybody has the right protest. Everybody has the right to make actions whatever they feel is right. And its not for me to tell them what to do or vice versa. A competition like this, its about bringing people together, not, you know , trying to cause a not, you know, trying to cause a lot of diversity. So, you know, im sorry, division. You know, i im sorry, division. You know, i just dont think thats the right kind of attitude to have about eurovision. Its about bringing everyone and enjoying each other. Company. Yeah. Enjoying the day, having fun. Enjoying the day, having fun. Well, the dutch contestant, us klein has now been removed from the competition. The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the competition, said in a Statement Released in the last hour that he had made some verbal threats towards a female production member on thursday night. He did not rehearse twice yesterday and this came after an altercation at a press conference where he was sat alongside the israeli contestant eden golan. He wore a dutch flag over his face while she answered questions, and when a polish journalist asked her if she was concerned about safety members for others at the contest, the moderator said she did not have to answer it, but he interjected and said why not . Now the ebu has clarified that his removal from the contest has nothing to do with any other contestants or nafions do with any other contestants or nations present at this event. It is purely about this alleged incident on the thursday evening. So more drama as we prepare for that final tonight. Controversy. Certainly increasing as those concerns about those pro palestine demonstrators also rise. We saw over 10,000 here on thursday, including greta thunberg, the leading environmentalist campaigner from sweden. Here, of campaigner from sweden. Here, of course, the Swedish Police ive spoken to today reckoned that similar numbers could arrive and ill be here for all the developments throughout the day. I mean, just briefly, charlie , is there a increased security presence there . Is it obviously visible . Because, i mean, sweden , it hasnt been without its challenges in the eyes of terrorism. Terrorism. Thats right darren, and sweden has a four out of five on its internal Terror Threat level. Thats its assessment of the plausibility of potential terror attacks. At the same time, here in malmo in particular, has had a torrid time in the last decade with gang attacks, in particular with grenade attacks, which is quite unique to this area. And gothenburg further north in sweden. So those concerns will be at the forefront of the police and the security operation here. Its also worth noting that golan, the israeli contestant, as she faces calls for her removal from this competition due to the israeli war in gaza, sparked after the october the 7th attacks by hamas. Shes also enjoying Security Protection from the head of shin bet, which is the israeli version of m15. He has flown to sweden this week to manage her security operation. Manage her security operation. So serious, the israelis consider the security situation here in a 20 year old incredibly talented artist and she has to have the worlds very best security in to order ensure her safety. I find that absolutely depressing and extraordinary. Depressing and extraordinary. But Charlie Peters will come back to you shortly from malmo there. Thank you very much. Now, folks, theres still plenty of time to win our biggest cash prize so far , a whopping prize so far, a whopping £20,000. Imagine having that in your bank account this summer, but youve got to be in it to in the draw to actually have a chance to win it. Heres how. Dont miss your chance to win our biggest cash prize so far, a totally terrific £20,000 in tax free cash to make your summer spectacular. You could use that cash to splash out on a holiday, make the garden glam by a new car, or just save it for a rainy day. Whatever youd spend £20,000 on, make sure you dont miss the chance to make it yours for another chance to win £20,000 in tax free cash. Text £20,000 in tax free cash. Text win to 63232. Text cost £2 plus one Standard Network rate message or post your name and number two gb05, p. O. Message or post your name and number two gb05, po. Box 8690 derby rd. One nine, double tee, uk. Only entrants must be 18 or oven uk. Only entrants must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On the 31st of may. Full terms and Privacy Notice at gbnews. Com win. Please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck i watching on demand. Good luck indeed, very good luck to anyone who goes for it, folks. Youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. I thank you very much for your company. Loads more coming up on todays show. Harry and meghan are in nigeria to meet the countrys chief of Defence Staff to take part in cultural activities and promote the invictus games. Well bring you the latest all of that and more to come. Youre with gb news, britains news channel. Were gb news, and we come from a proud tradition of british journalism. Thats why im so excited to be here. Its something so new. Its something so new. The first news channel to be launched in britain in over 30 years. Launched to represent the views of the british people. Views of the british people. To go where other broadcasters refuse to go. How do you find out about the story in the first place . Launched with one aim to be the fearless champion of britain, its an absolutely fantastic atmosphere here. This is gb news lviv ofsted gb news. Britains news channel. Britains news channel. Britains news channel. Welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes, on your tv, online and on digital radio. Now, im afraid its digital radio. Now, im afraid wsfime digital radio. Now, im afraid its time prince harry and Meghan Markle have arrived in nigeria after flying to abuja from london. Now the sussexes have been invited to nigeria by the countrys chief of Defence Staff to take part in cultural activities. Meghan and harry activities. Meghan and harry will meet Service Members and their families as they participate in the activities. Well, joining me now is royal broadcaster and commentator and Meghan Markles biggest fan, Rafe Heydel Mankoo harry rafe good to be with you, darren. Now you have to laugh because ive just got this article up from the telegraph here and it says the telegraph here and it says the duchess of sussex thanks the people of nigeria for welcoming, welcoming me home. And i said, hang on a minute, right. Welcoming me home. And i said, hang on a minute, right. What hang on a minute, right. What youve got here is shes found some ancient and history somewhere, and now shes claiming that, you know, this , claiming that, you know, this, this means she is able to take all these identity check boxes, i assume. Yes. So, yeah, its their first visit to nigeria, but apparently shes going back home nonetheless. And its because on her podcast that her now cancelled podcast, she revealed that she had taken one of these online, you know, genealogy dna tests. And apparently shes 43 tests. And apparently shes 43 nigerian. According to this, although people have real genealogists have traced her ancestry actually to ghana actually. So how accurate this dna test is . We dont actually know. And because of that, when she signed the guest book upon arriving in in nigeria, she did say thank you to the nigerian people for welcoming me home. What if shes actually gone in . It may make a bit, make it, make a bit of a nonsense about all of that. And she referenced it again when she spoke to a girls school, and she told the children that her three year old daughter, lilibet, looked into her eyes and said, mama, i see me in you. And she said, and likewise, i see myself in all of you too , make of that what you you too, make of that what you will. The fact is, they are getting well received by people this trip. As you know, a way to promote the invictus games, which are taking place in february of next year in in canada and is also a way for prince harry to highlight the work being done in nigeria to rehabilitate soldiers and through sports, but actually , to through sports, but actually, to all intents and purposes, this is a royal tour by any other name. When they arrive, they were greeted by traditional dancers and musicians. They had a military salute at the ministry of defence headquarters. They were wearing the National Colours of nigeria green suit for him and a white suit for her. All things we associate with royal tours and thats quite deliberate because whilst meghan has her lifestyle brand to promote, harry still lost for a role in america but puts him into this environment and hes like a duck to water, this is what he knows and does best and more importantly for him, i think hes able to cut out those things he doesnt like. So none of the stuffy formality, no British Press pack following him around. And so its a chance for us actually to get to see the harry that we once knew and loved. Hes been really visible over the last few days, i would say being seen to be cheeky and fun loving and caring and passionate and i was just thinking what a great loss it was to us to lose him and meghan. You know, when they married there were so much goodwill behind them all and they were appointed as commonwealth ambassadors and i said at the time that meghan was like the heineken princess. They used to be a commercial heineken, the beer that reaches parts. Other beers dont reach. And she was going to be our heineken princess, reaching parts of the commonwealth that the monarchy perhaps had difficulty relating to. And we difficulty relating to. And we saw that in the initial time of the marriage, where she was actually connecting with young black youth in the caribbean and in africa and of course, weve seen the troubles in the canbbean seen the troubles in the caribbean with countries that are wanting to become republics. And if they hadnt turned their back on the monarchy and acted as they have acted, you know, we could have had a huge asset there, which would have been a great boost for the commonwealth. And i think this visit just reminds us of what a terrible situation we ended up with. All right. Rafe, thats perfect. Thank you very much for that update there. Rafe Heydel Mankoo always a pleasure. Of course. Royal expert like no other. Now, folks, youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on todays show. First of all though, were going to get your news bulletins with sophia. Sophia. Darren. Thank you. Its 1232. Darren. Thank you. Its1232. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. Your headlines. The newsroom. Your headlines. The dutch act has been kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest grand final. The European Broadcasting Union says used klein wont compete while Swedish Police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of the production crew. Meanwhile, the production crew. Meanwhile, security has been tightened ahead of tonights show following pro palestinian protests. Demonstrators have been rallying against israels participation in the event, with the countrys singer eden golan qualifying for tonights show. Shes among the leading contenders to win , but contenders to win, but bookmakers have placed croatias baby lasagna as favourite. A 54 baby lasagna as favourite. A 54 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a Police Officer was shot in the leg with a crossbow in high wycombe. The suspect was shot by an armed Police Officer and is now in hospital under Police Supervision , with potentially supervision, with potentially life changing injuries. Two women accused of targeting the magna carta have been charged with criminal damage. Just stop oil posted a video of the pair armed with a hammer and a chisel, breaking the glass around the historic document yesterday. Theyve been released on bail and are due to appear in court next month. And the court next month. And the Northern Lights put on a rare display right across the uk last night. As one of the strongest geomagnetic storms hit the planet in years, caused by charged particles hitting the different gases in the atmosphere, theyre only usually seen in the far north of the country. If you missed it, youre in luck because there may be another opportunity to see them. This evening. And for the latest stories , sign up to gb latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gbnews. Com alerts. Now its back to gb news. Saturday. To gb news. Saturday. Thank you sofia. Now remember , you can let me know all of your thoughts on all of the stories weve been discussing today by visiting gb news. Dot com forward slash tuc. You can join the conversation there or message us on our socials where gbnews now . Lots more coming up on todays show. Spring gbnews now . Lots more coming up on todays show. Spring is finally here. Believe me, i can feel it in this studio and today is set to be the hottest day of the year. So far, with high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon. All of that and this afternoon. All of that and more to come. Im Darren Grimes and youre with gb news, britains news channel 2024 a battleground year. 2024 a battleground year. 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 . Who will rise and who will fall . Lets find out together. Lets find out together. For every moment. The highs, the lows , the twists and turns. The lows, the twists and turns. Well be with you for every step of this journey in 2024. Gb news is britains election. Channel. Welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes on your tv, online and on digital radio. Now lots of you have been sending in your thoughts. Ive just had a big chuckle out of email. A message from martin who says, i got an email from megan asking me for £20,000 so she can unfreeze her bank account in nigeria. After bank account in nigeria. After she receives my money, shes promised to give me £50,000. Should i send her the money . I dont think thats Meghan Markle. Martin. Maybe theres a trick at play here. Wendy says harry and megs are the king and queen of woke and hypocrisy power for the very few and for not the many, whilst pretending to care. Wake up students and smell the coffee. You are being conned by questioning , by not conned by questioning, by not questioning what you hear. Thank you for all those conversations. Keep them coming in because i am reading them now. You go to gbnews. Com yoursay kwasi. In order to actually access this page that im reading, or you can join the conversation on our socials. Were gbnews now. Today is set to be the hottest day of the year so far , with day of the year so far, with high temperatures set to soar as high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon. And now the by this afternoon. And now the met Office Predicts highs of 26 c today in london, with forecasters predicting the mercury could actually reach 27 in the south over the weekend. Well, joining me now is gb news. News, east Midlands Reporter will hollis will thank you very much. I mean, you know, i was watching a bbc report from last month saying that actually april was the hottest on record. It didnt feel it to lots of people. So lots of people will be delighted that weve actually got a good weekend. Got a good weekend. Yes. Well, the hottest temperatures weve experienced this year so far, thats what were experiencing right now. This weekend in the south east, 26 degrees tomorrow, it might be even hotter. The clouds here havent turned grey yet, so people are able to enjoy this summery sunshine here alongside the river trent. And ive been the river trent. And ive been speaking to them about how theyre spending spending this unique, glorious spell, having some drinks and some food on the river. And then were going to go for some pizza and enjoy the sunshine and give the dog a nice long walk so he can chill for the rest of the day. Ill just go for a stroll now, maybe a few beers in a bit. Its nice to get out. Its nice to get out. Obviously, as you can see, its not going to last long. I dont think lovely day for it. Got plenty of water, keep me hydrated. Having a few beers later, getting out by the embankment, enjoying the sunshine. It feels like its the first good weather weve had about five months, so making the most of it. I think you do have to enjoy it when you can, and we only get a few days. It seems like we only get a few days each yeah like we only get a few days each year. Oh, its a ripper of day. The suns out, yeah. Get your guns out. All that sort of stuff. But yeah, making the most of it. Yeah. Im from australia originally, but the. Yeah, its probably just a bit crispier in australia than it is here. Yes. Well, this is the enjoyable bit. The bit that comes afterwards wont be so enjoyable for many people across the uk. Two yellow weather warnings are in place from the met office. Now they bring those in when there are low levels of disruption expected. Yellow being the lowest warning. Now that means that there could be effects to traffic and travel. There is around 31 or so flood alerts in place urging people to be prepared. In some parts of the country, those two yellow weather warnings, theyre in place on the western part of the uk for england and for wales. But theres a second one in Northern Ireland as well. Ive Northern Ireland as well. Ive got a quote here from the deputy chief meteorologist at the met office. Thats dan harris. He says that intense downpours are possible hail, frequent lightning strikes and strong wind gusts will bring additional local hazards. But thats local hazards. But thats tomorrows problem, isnt it, darren . For today , people are darren . For today, people are just enjoying the sun. Oh, absolutely. I wish we could just enjoy the weather. You know, its become everything has to be scrutinised and all the rest of it. The lord giveth and the lord taketh away, right . Thats what we get. Good weather one day and then not so good the next. Thats the way the world works. But gb news east Midland Reporter will hollister. Thank you very much. Joining me now is gb news scotland reporter tony maguire. Now, tony, you cannot tell me that the weather is even nice in bonnie scotland. Nice in bonnie scotland. Good afternoon. Yes. Well, indeed. Certainly the day started off quite well, but as is so often the case up here, you know, its starting to get that little bit overcast now thats not doing anything to the temperature. Were looking at about 24 degrees currently here in glasgow, which you know is usually the shadow darting wetter weather where everyone north of carlisle has to jump from one shadow to the other for fear of burning up in the daylight. But regardless, you daylight. But regardless, you know, ive been out and about here in glasgow today and talking to lots of people about our favourite sweet dairy treat ice cream, you know, and actually how much is too much for ice cream. You know, weve seen over the last few months a few reports from around the country. There was one in wales country. There was one in wales where a vendor of the classic 99 cone, you know, soft serve and a flake, and he actually went back to the 99 prices and result of our of our local poll. And then obviously in hyde park, we saw quite recently actually, that some vendors were selling it for upwards of £5, which is absolutely incredible. Now the averages are kind of split out regionally for your old soft serve. This one here in glasgow would average about £3. 30 and certainly the cheapest around the uk is where well was in the midlands. There around £2. So i went into the Botanical Gardens in glasgow just to simply ask people how much would you be willing to pay for a classic 99 . Well, i got one yesterday. Well, i got one yesterday. How much can i ask . How much it was . Its 350. Its 350. 350. Id say £2. Yeah, i would say £2. Yeah, i would say £2. How much would you spend . How much would you spend . So im probably about, i dont know, three, £4. Really. Yeah really. Yeah if you think about adult size. Yeah, yeah. And for the kids one probably 199 i think in the summer its just to be expected. You know people just talking about it here. One 5150 okay. Well, if i told you the average in scotland was 330, i do, i do tric award £3 Ice Cream Cone a i say two part max tric award. Max. Yeah definitely not 99, probably 8199 199. Yeah what if i told you it was 330 . Was the average in scotland . Is it 9990 . Now one of those gentlemen there activated my trap card. He said £0. 99. But, you know, its quite a common misconception that the 99 refers to the original price. Every days a school day here in gb news. So the 99, according to cadbury , is at the very least cadbury, is at the very least relates back all the way to the italian royal family, where the king used to have 99 guards and therefore everything that was elite or of the highest quality was referred to as 99. So there you go. There didnt know that actually. So ihave didnt know that actually. So i have learned something new every day. Its a school day, every day. Its a school day, tony. Youve been stood there with that ice cream all this time. It must have melted all over your hands. You must be stickier than goodness. All he knows what . I was listening to well. And he gave us a great, you know , he gave us a great, you know, report on the weather. But quite frankly, i think the pulitzers in the post for me, because i bought this coin at 12 15 there, andifs bought this coin at 12 15 there, and its still going, i think thats worthy of that award more than anything. It is. All right. Get it down your gullet, tony. Thank you very much. As ever. Thats our scotland reporter, tony maguire. There now, folks , youre with there now, folks, youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on todays show. French professional football Wonderkid Kylian Mbappe has confirmed his exit from Paris Saint Germain at the end of the season, but which club is going to snap him up . All of that and more to come here with gb news, britains news channel we are proud to be gb news the peoples channel. And as you know, we always to love hear your views. Now, theres a new way of getting in touch with us at gbnews. Com yoursay 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 win, slash your say. Gbnews. Com win, slash your say. Welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes on your tv online and on digital radio. Now, as i said before the break, there , the french break, there, the french professional footballer and Wonderkid Kylian Mbappe has confirmed his exit from Paris Saint Germain at the end of the season with a blockbuster free transfer to real madrid expected and real madrid strongly expected to be his death termination. Well, joining me now to discuss this and more is the brilliant sport broadcaster and journalist aidan magee eden. Always a pleasure my friend. Indeed. Now mbappe has. Well would you argue not fulfilled his full potential at psg . His full potential at psg . I probably wouldnt go. Yeah. Full potential if were talking full potential. They didnt sign him to win the league every yeah him to win the league every year. They were doing that every yeah year. They were doing that every year. Every year from when they stopped before they signed him in 2017. The big money went into that club from qatar in what, 20 2011. So theyre already on that, on that trajectory. They were Winning League titles. They brought a player like that to win the Champions League. And yeah, unfulfilled would certainly be a good word in respect of what he achieved in europe. I mean, if you think there was one Champions League final in 2020 with no fans there, they were comfortably turned over in the end by bayern munich. And apart from the odd semi final appearance and the huge disappointment of the other night losing to dortmund and having had a chance to beat dortmund over two legs as well, losing both of them, he was bitterly disappointed at the end. I do think he has an affinity with the club. He is parisian, of course, having signed for monaco, but at european level i dont think its unfair what you say. I think i think the word would be unfulfilled. Dont forget against all this in the backdrop hes been playing very well for france. He won the world cup in 2018, scored a hat trick in the 2022 final in qatar and they still were on the losing side. So nobody can argue what he did at international level. But i think the reason you go to real madrid, they are serial winners at european level, not just european level but Champions League level. Theyre in the final now. Of course, they could do it again. And if he goes there next year, whos whos to say he cant help them. Add to that number of Champions League titles. Theres a real magic with him. When youre in his presence at a game, right. Youve seen him . Youve seen him . Yeah, i was at the psg game at home at saint jamess park and you feel it. You feel that magic. I mean, we won. Thanks be to god. There are certain players like that, darren. You know, its the aura around them. You its the aura around them. You know, i used to find it with cantona when, when i used to watch, when i was with qpr watching man united play, you see the collars go up. Roy keane to a degree as well, because you see the players lining up behind him, knowing that if were going to win today, its because everythings going to go through this guy. Some players just maradona was like that when i was a child playing for argentina. The whole team was built around him, so some players just do. I remember some somebody saying to me at school they were a Charlton Athletic fan and alan shearerjust fan and alan shearer just completed his £15 million move to newcastle in 1996. They made a point of going to the fa cup tie in january 1997, which was one one draw at the valley just to see alan shearer. Of course. I dont think you played in the end. No, i mean, what do you thinks going to happen with Jude Bellingham . Because hes been the star player really for real madrid . I think hes going to no longer be the star player. Oh not necessarily i mean hes hes going so well there could be anything that he could achieve. He could even usurp. Achieve. He could even usurp. Weve weve seen big players go to real madrid eden hazard in 2018 for example, go to real madrid and be overshadowed by whats already there. Yeah. So for example , benzema kept for example, benzema kept scoring goals for real madrid. And so it could i think hell withdraw slightly into into midfield to accommodate him slightly. But whos to say they cant all play well. Yeah. Well a quick update on the premier league then. Eden where were at Manchester City are in action right now. Dont have a score to hand but they kicked off about ten minutes ago. I saw a few of them on the tube a while ago and enjoying the hot weather with at craven cottage. Arsenal in action tomorrow at old trafford at 430. Some big games at the bottom of the league today. Darren luton are at away to west ham where david moyes will probably have his last. Hes going to be having his last home game there, his last hurrah at the london stadium, Nottingham Forest, 530 kicking off against chelsea. They can secure survival by winning that game, but you just dont know what chelsea are going to turn up. You really dont , mauricio you really dont, Mauricio Pochettino said yesterday. It could easily be him deciding on his future rather than the bosss. Thank you very much, aiden , thank you very much, aiden, always a pleasure. Now, folks, youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Weve got lots more coming up on todays show. First of all, were going to get a quick look at the weather with craig. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Hello there. Welcome to your latest gb news Weather Forecast from the met office. Were looking ahead to the rest of this weekend. A change is in store. We start to say goodbye store. We start to say goodbye to this area of High Pressure and low pressure begins to take charge as we head towards next week. But back to the here and now. We still have some fairly fine and settled weather as we end at saturday, so a pleasant end at saturday, so a pleasant end to the day, some low cloud and mist just moving in from the east. But for many its another fairly good chance to see the Northern Lights tonight, especially across more northern parts of the country. And for parts of the country. And for all of us, its going to be a fairly mild night. Most towns and cities staying firmly in double figures. So we do start off sunday with some low cloud and some mist across the east that will gradually burn its way back towards the north sea. Elsewhere, plenty of sunshine as we go through the course of the morning and then into the afternoon. We start to see some scattered showers develop, and these will then turn quite thundery and heavy in places. There are warnings in force from the met office as we go through the met office as we go through the course of tomorrow. So do watch out if you are travelling about but in the sunshine. Highs reaching 26 or 27 degrees. Then as we move into next week we start to see low pressure take charge. This band of rain will move in during the course of monday across the southwest, giving a very wet picture here. Elsewhere, a mixture of sunny spells and showers. But as we go in towards the middle part of the week , temperatures will fall the week, temperatures will fall back down to where they should be for the time of year. Looks like things are heating up boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news as. Thanks very much craig. Lots more coming up on todays show. Former labour leader lord kinnock claimed that voters in britain are not yet in love with sir keir starmer. Are you in love with concerns emerging of a shock result in the upcoming election . What do you think of election . What do you think of that one . All of that and more to come. Youre with gb news, britains news channel. Hello. Hello. And a very warm welcome back to gb news saturday, im Darren Grimes, and for the next two hours, ill be keeping you company on tv, online and on digital radio. This show aims to keep you up to date on the stories that really matter to you. Coming up this hour, former labour leader lord kinnock says voters in britain are not yet in love with sir keir starmer, with concerns emerging of a shock result in the upcoming election. Could we see history repeat itself . Then its eurovision itself . Then its eurovision tonight. But some fear that the camp spectacle is already marred in controversy. Many people are in controversy. Many people are calling for israel to be booted out of the competition due to the ongoing conflict in gaza and the ongoing conflict in gaza and the dutch act has been axed due to an ongoing incident. Could it all kick off in malmo this evening and spring is finally here. Today is set to be the hottest day of the year so far, with high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon. As the south by this afternoon. As you know by now, this show is absolutely nothing without you and your views. Let me know your thoughts on all the stories. Well be discussing today by visiting gbnews. Com forward slash your say. Join the conversation there or message me on our socials. Were gbnews. First of all, heres your news with sofia. With sofia. Darren. Thank you. Good afternoon. Its 1 01. Darren. Thank you. Good afternoon. Its1 01. Im sophia afternoon. Its1 01. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. The wenzler in the gb newsroom. The dutch act has been kicked out of Eurovision Song Contest grand final. The European Broadcasting Union says us klein wont compete while Swedish Police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of the production crew. Meanwhile, security has crew. Meanwhile, security has been tightened ahead of tonights show following pro palestinian demonstrators. Pro palestinian demonstrators. Demonstrators have been rallying against israels participation in the event, with the countrys eden golan qualifying for tonights show. Shes among the leading contenders to win, but bookmakers have placed croatias baby lasagna as favourite. Heres what fans had to say. I think its great that they have that, the ebu didnt. They didnt back down cowardly from the protesters and they included israel and let and didnt like tamper with votes or anything. They let them through the final. I understand it. I personally disagree with their involvement and a lot of the stuff thats happenedin and a lot of the stuff thats happened in the past 24 hours, generally in eurovision, like with the possible disqualification of the dutch representative or the videos coming out from inside the arena in general, its become a bit too much. Were here to enjoy the stuff. Bam is here to enjoy it and were not bringing politics into it at all. Im not particularly political, so i tend to stay out of it, and i think a competition like this , think a competition like this, its about bringing people together, not, you know, trying together, not, you know, trying to cause a lot of diversity. So, you know, im sorry, division. You know, i just dont think thats the right kind of attitude to have about eurovision. We have managed to avoid most of anything thats going on. And i think, to be fair, its been a little bit exaggerated by broadcasting nothing against you guys. And 1981 uk winner jay aston from bucks fizz believes the contest has become too political i i ido i do feel very sorry for her because shes 20, you know, shes to me, shes a young girl or young woman and shell have all of this conflict. So shes all of this conflict. So shes going on stage and shes got cheers and boos and it will in a way tarnish her career. I mean, way tarnish her career. I mean, im sure shell be very successful in her homeland, but its just really difficult. It does seem to be that eurovision, which is meant to be a bringing together of people to just listen to music and to be a happy event is more and more often being taken into a political arena. And its being used for that purpose. Used for that purpose. Meanwhile, the us says israel may have broken International Law in its use of american suppued law in its use of american supplied weapons in gaza. The supplied weapons in gaza. The state Department Says its reasonable to assess that theyve been used in ways that are inconsistent with israels obugafions. Are inconsistent with israels obligations. Lie ins it stopped obligations. Lie ins it stopped short of a definitive assessment, saying the chaos of war made it difficult to verify alleged violations. The document alleged violations. The document also noted hamas uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes and civilians as human shields. The findings come as israel warns residents in rafah to evacuate more areas of the city. In other news, a Police Officer has been shot in the leg with a crossbow in buckinghamshire. The officer was responding to reports of a stabbing in high wycombe last night. A 54 year old man has night. A 54 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was shot by armed officers and is now in hospital under Police Supervision, with potentially life changing injuries. Now drivers are being warned to only travel on the m25 in surrey if absolutely necessary. It follows an unprecedented closure of the motorway, with five miles between junctions nine and ten closed to traffic until 6 am. On monday. Its created a 19 mile diversion which is causing delays. Its the first scheduled daytime shutdown of all lanes on the m20 five since it opened in 1986. Brits heading to mallorca or ibiza this summer may be rethinking their Holiday Plans , rethinking their Holiday Plans, it says. Authorities on the Balearic Islands cracked down on excessive drinking in some tourist hotspots. The move is in tourist hotspots. The move is in response to complaints by locals whove been reporting unacceptable behaviour, including visitors climbing into peoples homes. The sale of alcohol will be banned from 930 in the evening until eight in the morning, and the Northern Lights lit up the skies across britain last night as one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years hit the planet, caused by charged particles hitting the different gases in the earths atmosphere. They are usually only seen in the far north of the country and were in luck, as the Northern Lights might be visible in other parts of the uk again tonight. And for the again tonight. And for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. Com slash alerts now its back to gb news. Saturday thanks as ever, sofia. Lets thanks as ever, sofia. Lets get stuck into todays topics. The economy has grown at the fastest rate in two years, outpacing both america and the eurozone. We werent expecting that one, were we . That means that one, were we . That means that the uk is officially out of recession, with many hoping for tax cuts over the next few months. Pretty good news for rishi sunak after and it has to be said, abysmal performances at those local elections. But the good news for the Prime Minister doesnt stop there. Former labour leader lord kinnock claimed that voters in britain are not yet in love with sir keir starmer, with concerns emerging of a shock result in the upcoming election. Now, as the upcoming election. Now, as some of you will remember, back in 1992, kinnock lost an election that was thought to be utterly unlosable. Well, joining utterly unlosable. Well, joining me now is gb news Political Correspondent, Katherine Forster. I mean, catherine, we had neil kinnock, of course , had neil kinnock, of course, remembered for saying were all right. Were all right, stood up on stage with that sort of absolute confidence and determination that they were going to romp home in that election, and it didnt happen. Do you think hes right to highlight that the same could happen this time around . But happen this time around . But then again, it would be the biggest polling upset that weve seen since brexit. Well, yes, it really would. I mean, the polls often do get it wrong. They got it wrong about brexit. They got it wrong in 2015. We were expecting a hung parliament. And David Cameron got a majority. They do have a history of getting it wrong, but to get it wrong by 20 points i think would be beyond anything that we have seen. And i dont think it is terribly likely, but certainly, lord kinnock, i think right to be careful because of course, not a Single Person has voted in the general election, which so many people assume is a done deal. And things can always change and change fast. The general election i expect to be probably at mid to late november after the American Election , so after the American Election, so still plenty of time for things to improve. The economy looks to have turned a corner. Were out of recession. Growth of 0. 6, gdp of recession. Growth of 0. 6, gdp. Rishi sunak is clinging on to that and hoping that people will feel better off. But lord kinnock admitting that although people are very fed up with the current government, that doesnt mean that theres a wild enthusiasm for what labour are offering or for keir starmer. But he did say , first of all, but he did say, first of all, that he thinks, that labour will win, albeit possibly in a hung parliament. There might be the biggest party. But also, he said of keir starmer , keir sobriety, of keir starmer, keir sobriety, his maturity, his steadiness and his maturity, his steadiness and his dependability are really useful and essential features of the Political Landscape now. So i think the fact that , no, hes i think the fact that, no, hes not wildly exciting, but he would bring a calmness, potentially a competence , in potentially a competence, in contrast to the sort of chaos weve had of the tories whistling through, well, three leaders in the space of a few months, the mini budget debacle, etc. They think that a lot of people will be happy to go with that in preference to the conservatives. But of course things can always change and well, indeed, catherine. And surely though, we you know, its not just sir keir starmer that would be elected in a labour party government, right . There would be the backbench. Right . There would be the backbench. And of course, the backbench. And of course, the backbench. And of course, the back benches are arguing like rats, cats in a sack over the whole gaza issue. Right. Theres whole gaza issue. Right. Theres a real split there about what the labour partys actual response should be. So its not going to be this nest of singing birds, is it . Birds, is it . No, indeed. And of course, the gaza conflict has and is continuing to cause real problems for sir keir starmer right back from him making that , right back from him making that, speaking misstep, if you like, on lbc shortly after the conflict began , right through to conflict began, right through to the local elections, losing councillors resigning and local independence councillors getting elected by majority muslim constituents. Now, if there is not a ceasefire by the time of the general election, that could cause him further problems. And of course, George Galloway with his Workers Party of great britain, making a lot of noise about that. And of course , the about that. And of course, the party. You know, when keir starmer came in, it was seen as a ten year project to make labour electable because theyd had their worst results since 1935 under jeremy corbyn. I think its worth bearing in mind that what sir keir starmer has doneis that what sir keir starmer has done is quite extraordinary. In a short space of time hes made the party not scary to a lot of people in a way that many people were genuinely frightened of a Labour Government under, jeremy corbyn. But yeah, the party may. Corbyn. But yeah, the party may. Many of the members, many of the mps, are still exactly the same as they were then. So the person at the top has changed. But that doesnt mean that everything about labour has changed. But he is trying to keep a fairly firm discipline and a lot of upset, of course, about the fact that Natalie Elphicke, a very right wing mp for dover , has gone wing mp for dover, has gone across to labour. Plenty of labour mps very, very cross about that indeed. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, yes, theres going to be lots more to come between now and the general election. Right. This is not going to be plain sailing for anybody, i dont think. But catherine four fs today our very own Political Correspondent, thank you very much as ever. Now folks, for all the best analysis and opinion on that story and more, you can go to our website where gbnews. Com. Now, catherine touched on. Com. Now, catherine touched on it there, but in welcoming Natalie Elphicke, has sir keir starmer ditched labours morals in favour of winning a majority in favour of winning a majority in parliament . She becomes the third conservative mp to leave the party for the opposition benches under sunak. She defended her former husband, who was charged with three counts of Sexual Assault against two women. She had public spats with marcus rashford, the Manchester United footballer. Starmer and reeves of the footballers Free School Meals drive for that was that was all that argument back then, youll remember. But starmer defended her defection, saying that his new Labour Party Needs to have a broad church of opinions to succeed. There was even hints of nigel farage at one point, but considering all of elphicks controversy is welcoming her into the labour party a good idea . Well, joining me is political commentator kai willsher and gb news, host of the saturday vie Albie Amankona rayneh the saturday vie Albie Amankona rayner. Ill be. Ill start with you then. Are you very sad to see the back of Natalie Elphicke . Never sad to see the back of a turncoat. I think both of them. Keir starmer and Natalie Elphicke, have just shown that they have absolutely no principles whatsoever. Natalie elphicke darren is probably about as right wing as you are. You are. Shes one of the most right wing people in the conservative party she was very supportive of the rwanda plan. Shes very anti the rwanda plan. Shes very anti the boats crossing the channel. I think she has some views on issues such as abortion that the average labour voter member and mp would find very difficult indeed. I have absolutely no idea why shes decided to move to the labour party. We know shes standing down as an mp , but i standing down as an mp, but i just think the whole episode reeks of desperation for keir starmer. And do you agree with that . I mean , a lot of people would say, mean, a lot of people would say, well, hang on a minute. You know, its a Political Party under a first past the post system. It has to encompass a wide range of views, surely. Yeah, yeah, i agree. I mean, yeah, yeah, i agree. I mean, look, political defections are catnip for geeks like like us three. I think that if, you know, if it was, a eurovision though, keir starmer would be getting nul points , right . Its really nul points, right . Its really gone down like a cold bucket of sick. Hes gone down like a cold bucket of sick. Hes got gone down like a cold bucket of sick. Hes got criticism from sick. Hes got criticism from his backbenches , from sexual his backbenches, from Sexual Assault victims, from the conservative party. I dare say a few weeks ago he would have been getting criticism from Natalie Elphicke herself. Right . He was absolutely. But you can see some reasoning behind it, right . This strikes at the heart of dover and natalie elphicks constituency, which has been right at the heart of the migrant crisis, right at the time when rishi sunak seems to be turning some sort of corner, she has campaigned on rent freezes and homelessness. So there is some element of, you know, you can see why he might want to do this. But, you know, want to do this. But, you know, when youre when youre trying to argue for a broad church, they begs the question, what party are you actually creating . You made a big song and dance out of kicking out lots of the leftists. Rightly so. After Jeremy Corbyns period , he had Jeremy Corbyns period, he had an iron grip on the selection for the labour party in the upcoming election , but now hes upcoming election, but now hes completely gone the other way. Its another starmer u turn , and its another starmer u turn, and lots of people are wondering what are we voting you for . What are we voting you for . I mean, alby, do you think hes trying to establish a new sort of en marche in the style of Emmanuel Macron . Is he trying to do a centrist sort of party that encompasses more of the views of those in the sort of Centre Ground of the conservative party over actually a corbynista Old Labour Party . Well, of neil kinnock and all the rest of it. But that is, that is a blairite platform. Natalie elphicke does not fit in to a blairite platform. She doesnt. So we can talk about broad churches, but the church is so broad theyre doing bar mitzvahs. I mean, its just doesnt make sense to have a church this broad in the labour party where you have Zarah Sultana on one side of the party and Natalie Elphicke on the other side of the party. How does that possibly work . A lot of criticism is put at the conservative party for having the one nation conservatives, and then the more right wing brexiteer , thatcherite brexiteer, thatcherite conservatives, and people say thats a criticism. Now that is a broad church which works because, generally speaking, all conservatives , whether theyre conservatives, whether theyre one nation as or not, agree on the same principles. What the same principles. What principles do Zarah Sultana and Natalie Elphicke agree on . Yeah, thats a very good question. Do you think actually theres a problem here with, ultimately Party Politics and the command and control from the centre, from from a Labour Party Headquarters or conservative Party Headquarters that actually the people who want certain candidates to represent them in parliament, theres too much control from the centre now. And control from the centre now. And actually the parties are changing beyond all recognition because of the fact there is so much control from the centre. Look, i think having a well ordered Political Party is a good thing. Of course, theres got to be for space political independence for space political independence for mps, but you cant have a Political Party that is going to succeed unless everyone is broadly singing from the same hymn sheet. And one of the criticisms that is levelled at the conservative party is that its not unified enough, and people dont for vote disunified parties. I mean, albys got a point there, kid , has he not . Because there, kid, has he not . Because there, kid, has he not . Because the fact of the matter is , there the fact of the matter is, there are going to be a hell of a lot of disagreements within the labour party itself that just havent come to the fore yet. Yeah, were going to see that in government. Most likely. I doubt well see it before the election. As i say , hes got an election. As i say, hes got an iron grip on the party as it stands, especially lots of the candidates that are coming through. Youre starting to see splits, though, with the israel palestine issue in the labour party, and thats hit them in the polls as well. And if that continues, as catherine was saying, i think thats going to start bubbling up into the open and seeing some backbenchers really upping their criticism of starmer, i dont know what other flashpoints there might be. I mean, he has already rowed back on lots of the left wing policies that he committed to, you know, things like welfare reform, workers rights, the green new deal, those kind of things were sort of left wing, left wing totems. And now those are all gone anyway. So it does seem like anyway. So it does seem like hes a bit of a weathervane, but i dont see how thats going to change radically up until the election. To be honest , chris election. To be honest, Chris Packard in an open flame springs to mind for me. But im worried about the gaza issue because ive just seen a video earlier of, sir lindsay hoyle. I think he got a knighthood. Am i right in saying that . Yes , sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Lindsay hoyle, he, was being hounded by palestinian activists, by pro palestine activists. I should say. And i think a lot of people , certainly think a lot of people, certainly those that are commenting on the gb news page, right now, are saying, oh, i think labour is going to fold pretty quickly on issues like that. Therell be arms embargoes on israel, therell be boycotts and all the rest of it. Do you therell be boycotts and all the rest of it. Do you think actually there are a lot of issues where the labour party right now, their stance that theyre taking will change in office. The stance that labour and keir starmer takes on almost any issue changes , whether theyre issue changes, whether theyre in office or out of office. I mean, we just heard kai there talk about several measures that the labour party proposed. Theyve u turned on. So i wouldnt be surprised if as soon as they get into power, if they do get into power, their u turn on everything. You cannot trust Keir Starmers labour with anything. And Natalie Elphicke anything. And Natalie Elphicke joining the party, i think just proves that rudderless and without principle. Go on then, kai. Go on then, kai. I think in the infinite wisdom, though, the conservative party and the labour party are basically elected to political weathervanes, right . They change their mind depending on polling and focus grouping all the time. I think that is going to continue. But still, i think the argument against re electing the conservative Party Remains strong. You know, we saw, yes, the labour party did well in the locals, not as well as theyd hoped. Im sure thats going to continue, so no big upsets expected from this side. But i do hope that they actually get some, you know, get a grip. By the time theyre elected. All right. Dennis has commented, he says a broad church , more like a cesspool. Church, more like a cesspool. Yes. He didnt hold back. Yes. He didnt hold back. Anyway, well leave it there. Thats a cable show there. And gb news, of course. Saturday fives very own Albie Amankona. Fives very own Albie Amankona. Right. Theres plenty of time to win our biggest cash prize so far. Its a whopping £20,000. Imagine having that in your bank account this summer. But of course youve got to be in it to win it. Course youve got to be in it to win it. Heres how. Dont miss your chance to win our biggest cash prize so far a totally terrific £20,000 in tax free cash to make your summer spectacular. You could use that cash to splash out on a holiday, make the garden glam by new car, orjust save it for make the garden glam by new car, or just save it for a make the garden glam by new car, orjust save it for a rainy day. Or just save it for a rainy day. Whatever youd spend £20,000 on, make sure you dont miss the chance to make it yours for another chance to win £20,000 in tax free cash. Text win to tax free cash. Text win to 63232. Text cost £2 plus one Standard Network rate message or post your name and number two gb05, p0 post your name and number two gb05, po box 8690 derby rd one nine double tee, uk. Only nine double tee, uk. Only entrants must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On the sist lines closed at 5 pm. On the 31st of may. Full terms and Privacy Notice at gbnews. Com win. Please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck. Watching on demand. Good luck. Youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on todays show. Vladimir putin has admitted russia is going through a difficult period during a speech to celebrate its victory over nazi germany during the Second World War. But what does this statement mean about the war in ukraine . All of that and more to come. Youre with gb news, britains news channel. Join me. Camilla tominey from 930 on sunday morning when ill be grilling Deputy Foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell to find out if the governments stance is right on israel. Ill also be joined by labours Jonathan Ashworth to find out if keir starmer can really stop the boats. And Boris Johnson ally conor burns will be joining me in the studio to discuss whether the former Prime Minister may still stage a comeback. All that and more with me. Camilla tominey from 930 on sunday morning. Welcome back to gb news saturday with me , Darren Grimes saturday with me, Darren Grimes on your tv, online and on digital radio. So now Vladimir Putin has admitted russia is going through a difficult period dunng going through a difficult period during a speech to celebrate its victory over nazi germany during the Second World War. Now, of course, russia honours its success every year with victory day. However the parade in moscow only consisted of one tank, a single tank. Moscow only consisted of one tank, a single tank. While tank, a single tank. While joining me to analyse and discuss this is the former senior military Intelligence Officer Philip Ingram. Philip always a pleasure. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. How serious do you think it must be for bad vlad to sort of say to his population , you know, say to his population, you know, things arent going great at the minute . Minute . Well, its very serious indeed. He keeps trying to spin it, and in his speech he tried to spin, that russias success and russias place in the world, they parade in moscow was embarrassing because, as you say, there was only the t 34 tank, one that was developed dunng tank, one that was developed during the Second World War and actually built in ukraine. That led the parade, as it does traditionally , but there does traditionally, but there was no other tracked armoured vehicles that were there. And the number of troops that were on parade was lower than wed see beforehand. But many other may day victory day parades were cancelled around the rest of russia. And that has only happened, i think, once before. And that was last year. Yeah. Thats why is that the one tank thing . Because surely, you know, putin is a man no one renowned for wanting to show a show of strength. But actually show of strength. But actually that doesnt that doesnt really display a show of strength, does it not . Not at all. You know , his all not at all. You know, his all of his armoured vehicles are committed to the frontline. You know, even his brand new tanks, the t 14 armata, which they got onto parade a couple of years ago, and hailed them as being unbeatable, they then broke down and they havent been able to put them out onto the frontline, and they clearly havent been able to bring them out onto the parade. I think this is, you parade. I think this is, you know, the 14 armada was was the latest Tank Development , but latest Tank Development, but its, you know, its a clear sign that russia is having difficulty with its military capability and sustaining what its doing on the frontline in ukraine. And its just its just started to open up another front in the last 24 hours. Philip, we hired some interesting developments this week, of course, with the, the cyber attack on the British Ministry of defence. How we sort of had this consensus that wed moved away from the era of tank warfare. But now are we of the view that actually, you know, we were still in an era of tank warfare, but also having to deal with these challenges of cyber warfare and other things to a warfare and other things to a warfare is becoming more complex. But at its very basic level, it is still guttural. It is human being against human being. You know, being at charges, have happenedin you know, being at charges, have happened in just about every conflict weve been involved in. Eveh conflict weve been involved in. Ever, you know, there were bayonet charges in the, in the falklands war. There were bayonet charges in iraq where british troops had to attack the enemy with with knives stuck in the end of their rifles. Thats the end of their rifles. Thats what warfare is like. And ukraine is showing that, again, that, you know, heavy armoured warfare is something that is still out there. It suited our politicians and it suited our senior generals and admirals and air marshals who wanted to save money, to suggest that everything was going to go into cyberspace. But cyberspace is cyberspace. But cyberspace is important. And we saw what is likely to be a chinese attack against not the ministry of defence, but a supplier to the ministry of defence. So whats whats called a supply chain attack. But thats going on all of the time. So warfare has got so many different layers and components to it now. It is extremely complex, but the bottom line, its a human being against a human being in a muddy trench. Yeah. Philip, where do you think this ends then . Im sort of asking you to look into the future here, but this this war is not showing any sign of ending any time soon, is it . No, not at all. In ukraine, you know, the russians have just opened up a new front trying to tack into kharkiv in the north east, in the last, 36 hours, i reckon the next 2 to 3 weeks is going to be important to see what russia does , because to see what russia does, because its having some small tactical successes on the frontline. But successes on the frontline. But whilst its having tactical successes there, ukraine is having even more successes in attacking russian Oil Infrastructure , its air infrastructure, its air defences, its black sea fleet and hollowing it out from behind. And the reason why i say the next 2 to 3 weeks is because thats the length of time its going to for take this new, aid coming from the United States and from europe with more ammunition , more weapon systems. Ammunition, more weapon systems. And of course, weve got the long awaited f 16 aircraft coming in that will have an impact on being able to support operations from the air. So russia is going for it at the moment because they know this is the only real time window that theyve got. I dont think theyve got. I dont think theyve got. I dont think theyve got the resources to properly exploit what theyre going to do. Going to do. Well, i mean, just finally then, how long do you think actually the appetite of taxpayers in the west to, to keep funding ukraine and supporting ukraine will continue . Well, i hope it will continue indefinitely , until this is indefinitely, until this is fixed and taxpayers in the west have to realise that the money thatis have to realise that the money that is being spent is not going into ukrainian pockets , its into ukrainian pockets, its going into pockets in this country. Its increasing our manufacturing capability and defence. Its getting more jobs in defence, its getting more money paid back into the exchequer through taxes being paid. Its opening more bake and roll shops, coffee shops, Little Corner shops and all the rest of it because people in towns near where Defence Industry is have got more money in their pocket and can spend it. So its good for us, right . Okay. Former senior military okay. Former senior military Intelligence Officer Philip Ingram there. Thank you very ingram there. Thank you very much for your time. Right. Youre with me, Darren Grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on the show. First of all though, its your news with sophia. Darren. Thank you. Its 132. Darren. Thank you. Its132. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. We start with some breaking news. Two people have died following a house fire in wolverhampton in the early hours of the morning. West Midlands Fire Service says three other people were taken to hospital , people were taken to hospital, and a sixth person was discharged at the scene in. Investigators are working to establish the cause. Well bring you more as we get it. And in other news, the dutch act has been kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contests grand final. The European Broadcasting Union says joost kleine wont compete, while Swedish Police investigator complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of the production crew. Meanwhile, security has been tightened ahead of tonights show following pro palestinian protests. Demonstrators have been rallying against israels participation in the event, with the countrys eden golan qualifying for tonights show. Shes among the leading contenders to win, but bookmakers have placed croatias baby lasagna as the favourite. Baby lasagna as the favourite. The us says israel may have broken International Law in its use of american supplied weapons in gaza. The state Department Says its reasonable to assess that theyve been used in ways that theyve been used in ways that are inconsistent with israels obligations. The document also noted hamas uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes and civilians as human shields. A 54 year old as human shields. A 54 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a Police Officer was shot in the leg with a crossbow in high wycombe. The suspect was shot by an armed officer and is now in hospital under Police Supervision, with potentially life changing injuries and the Northern Lights put on a rare display across the night sky last night. As one of the strongest geomagnetic storms hit the planet in years, caused by changing particles hitting the different gases in the atmosphere. Theyre only usually seen in the far north of the country, and if youve missed it, youre in luck because there may be another opportunity to see them this evening. And for see them this evening. And 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. Thank you sophia. Now remember you can let me know your thoughts on all of the stories weve been discussing today by visiting gbnews. Com yoursay join the conversation there or message us on our socials. Were gbnews on our socials. Were gbnews now. Lots more coming up on the show. Spring is finally here today , set to be the hottest day today, set to be the hottest day of the year so far with high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon. All of that and more to come. And Darren Grimes and youre with gb news were gb news. And we come from a proud tradition of british journalism. Thats why im so excited to be here. Its something so new. The first news channel to be launched in britain in over 30 years. Launched to represent the views of the british people. Views of the british people. To go where other broadcasters refuse to go. How do you find out about the story in the first place . Launched with one aim to be the fearless champion of britain, its an absolutely fantastic atmosphere here. This is gb news lviv ofsted gb news. Britains news channel. Britains news channel. Britains news channel. Welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes on your tv, online and on digital radio. Now, youve been getting in touch, thick and fast with your thoughts. I thank you very much for doing so. Now, very much for doing so. Now, the. Well, lets actually says that the blue red political flip flop has ruined this once great nation, she says. He says rather, we gave the world democracy, industrial wealth, computers, many great inventions , the jet engine, penicillin, etc, etc. Now we just seem like the worlds back of the class. And james says, get used to it folks. This country is about to go into recession again. A labour win will leave a dormant and declining uk. Some disagreement there with that, and, well, i marion says , and i and, well, i marion says, and i think, i think there is an element of truth to this. Marion says it will be the apathy of the electorate that will win labour the next election, followed by a deep regret. I think that apathy comes from politicians promising one thing and then not delivering. Right. And then not delivering. Right. Weve been, i say , led up the weve been, i say, led up the garden path by politicians over many years , but continue to let many years, but continue to let me know your thoughts on all the stories weve been discussing today. You visit gbnews. Com yoursay and join the conversation there or message me on our socials. Were gbnews now. Today is set to be the hottest day of the year so far, with high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon, the met Office Predicts highs of 25 celsius today in london, with forecasters predicting the mercury could actually reach 27 celsius in the south over the weekend. Well, joining me now is weekend. Well, joining me now is gb news. East Midlands Reporter will hollis will thank you for your time, it looks slightly cooler where you are than it did a moment ago, but youve still not got your jacket on, so i assume it still can warm. Assume it still can warm. Yes. Well, if this was the depth of summer 26 degrees, we probably wouldnt be talking about it. But for the end of spring, these temperatures are very welcome across britain. Very welcome across britain. Now, here we are in nottingham. There are lots of people that are enjoying the sun. 26 degrees today, 27 tomorrow. The hottest temperatures that weve seen so far this year. Lots of people along the banks of the river trent enjoying picnics with their families. Occasionally you might see somebody going along in a canoe on the river trent. And ive been speaking to people about how theyve been enjoying this wonderful weekend weather, having some drinks and some food on the river, and then were going to go for some pizza and enjoy the sunshine and give the dog a nice long walk so he can chill for the rest of the day. Chill for the rest of the day. Ill just go for a stroll there, maybe a few beers in a bit , its there, maybe a few beers in a bit, its nice to get out. Obviously, as you can see, its not going to last long. I dont think its a lovely day for it. Got plenty of water. Keep me hydrated. Having a few beers later, getting out by the embankment , beers later, getting out by the embankment, enjoying beers later, getting out by the embankment , enjoying the embankment, enjoying the sunshine. It feels like its the first good weather weve had about five months so making the most of it. I think you do have to enjoy it when you can and we only get a few days. It seems like we only get a few days each yeah like we only get a few days each year. Oh, its a ripper of a day. The suns out, yeah. Get your guns out. All that sort of stuff. But yeah, making the most of it. Yeah. Im from australia originally, but the. Yeah its probably just a bit crispier in australia than it is here. Well, darren, sadly, it doesnt last forever. Weve had clouds rolling in over nottingham , so its not quite so nottingham, so its not quite so bright. A bit of a wind as well, so its a little bit cooler. Two yellow weather warnings are in place, one for the western parts of the country for england and for wales. Thats for thunderstorms. A second one in Northern Ireland as well. Now, while that is the lowest level of disruption expected, the met office is urging people particularly that might be travelling tomorrow to take a little bit of care. There are flood warnings, pardon me, flood alerts in place in parts of the country, meaning that flooding is possible. But for right now people are just happy to see the sunshine. Indeed we are. Well, hello there in the east midlands. Thank you very much. Well joining me now is gb news scotland reporter tony maguire. Tony, i see you have finally got round to demolishing that ice cream. Cream. Indeed. Good afternoon again darren. Its i would say it probably took me the best part of 20 minutes there, but 19. 5 of those minutes were certainly trying to clean my hands. After the fact. Because of today. Were up here talking about the age old question of ice cream. Ice cream . You scream, we scream ice cream . You scream, we scream it. The astronomical price of ice cream these days. And of course, you know, to give you some thing of a sense of the regional, you know, breakdown of how much it costs for ye olde soft serve with your little flake. And at the top, you know , flake. And at the top, you know, one of the cheapest regions actually ends up being east anglia for £2, which isnt isnt too shabby here in scotland youre looking at about 330 for your mr whippy and, you know, all the way down, in the, the midlands. Well, its looking at about £2 down at the cheaper end of the scale east anglia. Sorry. 450 and indeed over the last month weve seen reports from hyde park and some vendors charging up to 575. A cone that breaks down to almost £25 for a family of four, just for your old soft serve, so you can understand why. If its understand why. If its especially if the good weather comes and goes as quickly as it is going to this weekend, that people come to, the more artisan outlets like loop and scoop, which is here up on Great Western road in glasgow. Its a bit like a churro and gelato bar, and certainly , you know, bar, and certainly, you know, 350 for a scoop, 450 for two. You know, kind of almost average with some of the prices down in england. But certainly, you know , i would say that the quality is better and that the experience and the overall flavour, however, to drag it back to the old soft serve. Mr whippy, 99, with the flake. And whippy, 99, with the flake. And i asked some people today, you know, with this cost of living crisis, with the rising prices, how much they would pay for their 99 cone, well, i got one yesterday. How can i ask how much it was . Much it was . Its 350. Its 350. 350. 350. Id say £2. Id say £2. Yeah, i would say £2. Yeah, i would say £2. How much would you spend . How much would you spend . So im probably about, i dont know, three, £4. Really. Yeah. If you think about adult size. Yeah yeah. And for the kids one probably 199 i think in the summer its just to be expected, you know people just talking about it Early Morning. One 5150 okay. Well if i told you the average in scotland was 330, i do, i do £3, £3 Ice Cream Cone , i say £2. Max £3. Max yeah. Definitely not 99. Probably 8199. 199. Yeah. What if i told you it was 330 . Was the average in scotland . Is it. Sorry. So we scotland . Is it. Sorry. So we were setting up at about 24 degrees earlier on today were down by 1 to 23. And as you can see its a little bit overcast. See its a little bit overcast. But certainly the temperature remaining high due to , something remaining high due to, something of a football derby happening in the east side of the city. But for now, were just hoping and holding to on the last of the warm weather. Will it last . It looks like a couple of weeks of pretty bad weather in coming. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Good old glasgow all right. Good old glasgow there. Thank you very much as eveh there. Thank you very much as ever, tony. Right, folks, youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on the show. Its eurovision tonight. But up on the show. Its eurovision tonight. But some fear that the camp spectacle is already marred in controversy. So do you think its all going to kick off tonight in malmo . Weve seen protests. Weve seen threats. Weve seen all of it. All of that and more welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes. On your with me, Darren Grimes. On your tv, online and on digital radio. Now its eurovision tonight. But some fear that that camp spectacle is already mired in controversy. Many people are controversy. Many people are calling for israel to be booted out of the competition due to the ongoing conflict in gaza. The ongoing conflict in gaza. Now, eurovisions website states that the peaceful protest is allowed, stating that they are a firm advocate for freedom of speech and the right for people to express their deeply held views and opinions. But could that get out of hand now . The dutch act has, of course, been axed due to an ongoing incident. Well, joining me now to discuss this is gb News Reporter Charlie Peters. Charlie, whats the latest . Latest . Well, its all gone quiet here, darren. As the afternoon session has started in the malmo arena behind me, the loud music that was blaring out before has been turned off while that concert starts. And at the same time , ahead of that expected time, ahead of that expected thousand strong pro palestine demonstration. Later this afternoon. We have seen some of those protesters begin to arrive at the area at the same time, weve also seen the Police Continue to bolster their significant presence here. Counter terrorism specialist officers and armed Police Patrolling the area. Now, there will be 25 acts tonight when the competition starts at 8 pm. Here in malmo, in the south of sweden, because you include the dutch act has been removed after that ongoing incident reported on thursday evening by a member of the Production Team here. We understand that the Swedish Police are investigating that incident and that the dutch broadcaster has issued some concerns about the booting of their contestant. But the good their contestant. But the good news for dutch fans, even though they wont be able to cheer on their act tonight, they will be able to vote in tonights performances. All right, Charlie Peters there. Thank you very much. As eveh there. Thank you very much. As ever. Well join charlie a bit later. Now joining me in the studio is the Showbiz Reporter ellie phillips. I mean, ellie, how much politics has always influenced eurovision . Right. This isnt a new phenomenon , but this isnt a new phenomenon, but how serious is it this year . This is totally different because in previous years, when we talk about politics influencing the eurovision , its influencing the eurovision, its mainly all countries that are neighbouring countries are all going to for vote each other. Its whos going to get the deuce point. This year is totally different, and i think its because the precedent was set in 2022, when russia was booted out of eurovision. That kind of was like, well, if theyre not going to be in, why is israel in the competition this year after whats going on in gaza . And thats where the questions are at the moment. And putting that in a bit of context as well to add into the mix. The headline sponsor of eurovision is a brand called moroccan oil, which is an israeli brand. Yeah. So theyre israeli brand. Yeah. So theyre the biggest sponsor of eurovision as well . Yeah because the products, the moroccan products are sourced in morocco, but its an israeli brand. So that adds to kind of another dimension into it. When you look at it as a whole. And but the thing is, with eurovision, the European Broadcasting Union say that, you know, when it comes to the flags being flown and things like that, that only flags are allowed. There are those of competing nations and lgbt flags. So thats why we see that mix in there, because people are like, well, why are we seeing a trans flag . But were not seeing kind of flag for, you know, palestine , so that kind of adds palestine, so that kind of adds into all of that. Now this thats happened today with juice klein being booted out from the netherlands , that makes a big netherlands, that makes a big difference, not politically in terms of whats going to happen tonight, but in terms of whats going to happen tonight, because those jury votes have already been selected. So for countries that have given the netherlands a high amount or any amount, what happens to them tonight and also when eurovision is saying that its inappropriate behaviour, what is that inappropriate behaviour . Because there have been videos circulating of the israeli delegation of some of their delicate delegates harassing press, harassing other artists. Thats on video thats circulating. So is that not inappropriate behaviour . Its adding into the mix of where are their lines being drawn , what their lines being drawn, what are the rules and what are their stance and why. Some people are being treated differently to others and think thats where were at with it. All right. Its going to get very messy indeed. Ellie. Thank you very much for that update, folks. Youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Weve got lots more coming up on the show. First of all though, were going to get a look at the weather with craig. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Hello there. Welcome to your latest gb news Weather Forecast from the met office. Were looking ahead to the rest of this weekend. A change is in store. We start to say goodbye to this area of High Pressure and low pressure begins to take charge as we head towards next week. But back to the here and week. But back to the here and now. We still have some fairly fine and settled weather as we end at saturday. So a pleasant end at saturday. So a pleasant end to the day. Some low cloud and mist just moving in from the east. But for many its another fairly good chance to see the Northern Lights tonight , Northern Lights tonight, especially across more northern parts of the country. And for all of us, its going to be a fairly mild night. Most towns and cities staying firmly in double figures. So we do start off sunday with some low cloud and some mist across the east that will gradually burn its way back towards the north sea. Elsewhere so plenty of sunshine as we go through the course of the morning. And then into the afternoon, we start to see some scattered showers develop , and scattered showers develop, and these will then turn quite thundery and heavy in places. There are warnings in force from the met office as we go through the met office as we go through the course of tomorrow. So do watch out if you are travelling about, but in the sunshine. Highs reaching 26 or 27 degrees as then as we move into next week we start to see low pressure take charge. This band of rain will move in during the course of monday across the southwest, giving a very wet picture here. Elsewhere, a mixture of sunny spells and showers. But as we go in towards the middle part of the week, temperatures will fall back down to where they should be for the time of year. Time of year. That warm feeling inside from boxt boiler as sponsors of weather on gb news. Way. Way. Way. Hello and welcome to gb news saturday, im Darren Grimes. And for the next, next hour , ill be for the next, next hour, ill be keeping you company on tv, onune keeping you company on tv, online and on digital radio. This show keeps you up to date on the stories that really matter to you. Coming up this houh matter to you. Coming up this hour, former labour leader lord kinnock says voters in britain are not yet in love with sir keir starmer. Are you feeling the love for the starmer eater . With concerns emerging of a shock result in the upcoming election . Could we see history repeat itself then . Of course, its eurovision tonight, but some fear that that camp spectacle is already marred in controversy. Many people are calling for israel to be booted out, and the dutch act has been axed due to an ongoing incident. Could it all kick off in malmo this evening and spring is finally here . Today is set to be the hottest day of the year so far, with high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon. The south by this afternoon. Now, as you well know by now, this show is nothing without you and your views. Let me know your thoughts on all the stories. Well be discussing today by visiting gbnews. Com. Forward slash york. Join the conversation there or message us on our socials. Where gbnews. First of all, heres a news update with sofia. Update with sofia. Darren. Thank you. Good afternoon. Its 2 01. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. We wenzler in the gb newsroom. We start with an update on the breaking news. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after two women died in a house fire in wolverhampton. West fire in wolverhampton. West Midlands Fire Service says three other people were taken to hospital and a sixth person was discharged at the scene. Investigators are working to establish a cause. Well bring you more as we get it. In other news, the dutch act has been kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest grand final. The European Broadcasting Union says used klein wont compete while Swedish Police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of the production crew. Meanwhile, the production crew. Meanwhile, security has been tightened ahead of tonights show following pro palestinian demonstrations. Demonstrators have been rallying against israels participation in the event , with the countrys eden event, with the countrys eden golan qualifying for tonights show. Shes among the leading contenders to win, but bookmakers have placed croatias baby lasagna as favourite. Baby lasagna as favourite. Heres what fans had to say. I think its great that they have that, the ebu didnt, they didnt back down cowardly from the protesters and they included israel and let and didnt like tamper with votes or anything. They let them through the final i understand it. I personally disagree with their involvement and a lot of their involvement and a lot of the stuff thats happened in the past 24 hours, generally in eurovision , like with the eurovision, like with the possible disqualification of the dutch representative or the videos coming out from inside the arena in general, its become a bit too much. Were here to enjoy the stuff, familys here to enjoy it and were not bringing politics into it at all. Im not particularly political, so i tend to stay out of it. And i think a competition like this, its about bringing people together, not, you know, trying to cause a lot of diversity. So, you know, im sorry, division. You know, i just dont think thats the right kind of attitude to have about eurovision. We have managed to avoid most of anything thats going on. And i think, to be fair, its been a little bit exaggerated. Been a little bit exaggerated. And by broadcasting nothing against you guys. Against you guys. And 1981 uk winner jay aston from bucks fizz believes the contest has become too political i i ido i do feel very sorry for her because shes 20, you know, shes to me, shes a young girl or young woman and shell have all of this conflict. So shes all of this conflict. So shes going on stage and shes got cheers and boos and it will in a way tarnish her career. I mean, way tarnish her career. I mean, im sure shell be very successful in her homeland, but its just really difficult. It does seem to be that eurovision, which is meant to be a bringing together of people to just listen to music and to be a happy event is more and more often being taken into a political arena. And its being used for that purpose. Used for that purpose. Meanwhile, the us says israel may have broken International Law in its use of american suppued law in its use of american supplied weapons in gaza. The supplied weapons in gaza. The state Department Says its reasonable to assess that theyve been used in ways that are inconsistent with israels obligations. It stopped short of a definitive assessment , saying a definitive assessment, saying the chaos of war made it difficult to verify alleged violations. The document also noted hamas uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes, and civilians as human shields. The findings come as israel warns residents in rafah to evacuate more areas of the city. A Police Officer has been shot in the leg with a crossbow in buckinghamshire. The officer was responding to a reports of stabbing in high wycombe last night. A 54 year old man has night. A 54 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was shot by an armed officer and is now in hospital under Police Supervision, with potentially life changing injuries. His drivers are being warned to only travel on the m25 in surrey if absolutely necessary. It follows absolutely necessary. It follows an unprecedented closure of the motorway, with five miles between junctions nine and ten, close to traffic until 6 am. On monday. Its created a 19 mile diversion which is causing delays. Its the first scheduled daytime shutdown of all lanes on the m25 since it opened in 1986, and the Northern Lights lit up the skies across britain last night as one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years hit the planet, caused by charged particles hitting the different gases in the earths atmosphere. Theyre usually only seen in the far north of the country. If you missed tonights display , youre missed tonights display, youre in luck because there might be another visible in parts of the country again tonight. And for country again tonight. And for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen. Or go to gb news. Com slash alerts now its back to gb news. Saturday thank you very much, sofia. Lets get stuck in to todays topics. Now, the economy has topics. Now, the economy has grown at the fastest rate in two years, outpacing both america and the eurozone. That means and the eurozone. That means that the uk is officially out of recession, with many hoping for tax cuts over the next few months. Now that could be pretty good news for rishi sunak. After abysmal performance at the local elections. But the good news for the Prime Minister doesnt stop there, to according former labour leader lord kinnock, voters in britain are not yet in love with sir keir starmer, with concerns emerging of a shock result in the upcoming election. Result in the upcoming election. Now, as some viewers will be well aware, back in 1992, kinnock lost an election that was thought to be unusable. Well joining me now is gb news Political Correspondent, Katherine Forster. Catherine, were we expecting this Economic Growth . Because i was told that, you know, after voting for brexit, the uk would be moving along at snails pace, certainly not beating the eurozone in america. America. Well, yes, indeed. And in fact, we are doing better and actually have done better since brexit than many countries in europe, including germany and france. But certainly this is really , really good economic really, really good Economic News for rishi sunak and heaven knows he needs some. So we are out of recession. The chief economist at the office for national statistics, no less, says the economy is, quote, going gangbusters , growing 0. 6 going gangbusters, growing 0. 6 in the First Quarter of this yeah in the First Quarter of this year. So yes, of course , thats year. So yes, of course, thats very good news. Inflation is falling, has fallen a lot. They expect it to go down further soon. Interest rates not falling yet but indications that the bank of england may start to lower those come the summer. So lots of financial good news. And this is what rishi sunak has been banking on basically that the economy will start to improve and he can say, look, weve turned a corner, lets stick with the plan, dont take a chance and go back to square one by going over to labour. But the question is, will people really be feeling much better off by the autumn by a potential general election, say, in november . Its not that clear that they will. And of course, the government have cut National Insurance twice by £0. 04 now. And each time that theyve done that, the polls have not moved at all. Now theres some talk that they might take another £0. 02 off at a fiscal event in the autumn, but will it change the autumn, but will it change the governments fortunes . Its not very clear that it will. Yeah. Well catherine we shall see. We shall see indeed. Thank you very much. As ever, the gb news Political Correspondent Katherine Forster there. Now for all the best analysis and opinion on that story and more, you can go to our website. Were gbnews. Com now , the rwanda gbnews. Com now, the rwanda asylum policy thats due to end under labour, with sir keir starmer describing the scheme as an absolute waste of money. The party leader says he wants to create a Border Security command fund to tackle the small boat crisis. Sir keir unveiled proposals for stronger new Counter Terror powers that will effectively treat people smugglers like terrorists. It smugglers like terrorists. It will be supported by around 1000 additional officers recruited by mi5. Additional officers recruited by m15. Labour says it will spend £75 million on that plan. If it wins the general election, the equivalent of what would be spent sending migrants to rwanda for a year. Well, joining me to discuss this is the former labour special adviser, Paul Richards, and the former leader of ukip, henry bolton. Henry, ill start with you , because ill start with you, because weve spoken about borders and immigration a lot. Are you sympathetic to sir Keir Starmers proposals . From a political point of view, yes, i think hes hes playing quite a clever political trick. What hes trying to do is, appeal to the stay at home voters. Perhaps those wavering other wise or normally conservative voters who are highly concerned about immigration see the conservative party not dealing with it at all. And he might attract some of them, or at least stop them voting conservative with this policy. But its not going to change. Immigration figures at all. And the only way that this will stop the boats or dramatically reduce them is because with the plan that hes described, hes not told us all of it because it is going to require what hes suggested is going to require him to work, not just with the french, but with brussels. That will require him to agree to work with the European Union immigration and asylum system. And that will require him to agree to the uk taking Asylum Seekers as part of a share of that system. So for example, if greeks or the hauans example, if greeks or the italians let people in, who then claim asylum, then those people will be shared around the European Union. We wont get any European Union. We wont get any say as to who they are really, but it may stop the boats because there might be an arrangement whereby by the brussels will agree to send those people who want to come to the uk, to the uk, and so we wont see a reduction in the number of people coming to the uk. And thats the point here. I would have liked keir starmer to acknowledge the reality that immigration is a cost and a burden on society, and the or, you know, that hes going to deal with the economic migrants coming. Thats not it. And there are a whole host of other things that hes left out which concern me. Now , paul. I mean, a lot of now, paul. I mean, a lot of viewers who are watching in are saying, you know, things like, well, brendan says starmer calls it a waste of money. Yet on day one, hell squander all the taxpayers money already spent on it, any insight as to whats going to come under labour now . As henry said, it wouldnt be numbers coming down. Right . Because youre pooling resources with the European Union and people actually want numbers to come down. Well, immigration is not a burden on the economy. Its how you build an economy. And as our population gets older, we need young people to come here to do the jobs, particularly jobs that people dont want to do, who live here to build the houses were all going to have to live in to and contribute to growth. And in terms of his plan for two years, the Political Class and the journalists have been saying, wheres your plan . Wheres your plan . Weve got a plan. Its out there for all to see. Now you can disagree with it and say, it would be better to send people off to rwanda. But starmer has decided that the money is better spent on m15, on disrupting the boats , smashing the gangs, then boats, smashing the gangs, then this gimmick of sending people to off africa. And i think when the public look at that plan, i think theyll like it. I mean, the public and i know for a fact therell be people watching right now saying, hang on a minute, Robert Jenrick the former immigration minister, just put out this report through the centre for policy studies, which actually showed that immigration had been a massive impact on one, the housing deficit. And secondly, actually, deficit. And secondly, actually, there is no real evidence that suggests that the people coming here are actually massively benefiting the british economy. Benefiting the british economy. No, absolutely. No, absolutely. And if one looks at the data that the cps think tank put out in their report, well, lets deal with that. If you disagree with that startlingly clear evidence that the immigration is not costing or is costing the economy and society significantly, if you disagree with that point to what you disagree with, tell us why you disagree with, tell us why you disagree with, tell us why you disagree with that. But i dont see anybody doing that. Robert jenrick is absolutely correct, and to say that when you import literally hundreds of thousands, actually millions of people, the equivalent population to leeds every year to say that that does not have an impact on housing, it , it not have an impact on housing, it, it beggars not have an impact on housing, it , it beggars belief, because it, it beggars belief, because if without that you wouldnt need so much housing. I mean, its of course its got an impact. We are all, we are all we are all the sons and daughters of immigrants, arent we . Whether you know how far you go back, it doesnt matter. But the whole country is the son or daughter of an immigrant. When you go back in the history and the countrys population has been growing since roman times , this growing since roman times, this is not something to fear, of course, but its something you need a robust system to deal with it quickly now than its grown in the last couple of hundred years. Look, there is no doubt that even if and i would deny it, and the evidence of the cps has thinktank has produced denies it as well. But i would even if one accepts that there is an equivalence, people coming here contribute to the cost of looking after themselves and the additional housing and so on. Even if thats the case, you have to acknowledge that there is a catch up before you can produce that million. The houses for that million people, you need a Police Officers or whatever. You have to get ahead of it. They they have to come in to contribute. So theres a lag. So there is a constant pressure on the services that every, every, every man woman in this child at the moment is suffering. Yes. The economy is going in the right direction, but no per capita gdp is going is not is lower. Cant have it both ways. So people its great that the economys growing and then say these people are a lag on the economy. If the economy is doing well then thats under the numbers weve got now. They the economy has to support these people and get thats a cost. Well, and if you can sit there really and anybody can sit there really and anybody can sit there and say that when whether its 600,000 or 600,000 or 1. 2 million who come across in a particular year, that that has no impact on the housing stock. I mean, come on. I mean, stock. I mean, come on. I mean, thats just not not credible. Thats just not not credible. And we are not even able now to build the amount of houses that we want regardless of that. And is the point not its all well and good to say, oh, were an island of immigrants. But you know, if i go back through my family tree , it gets through my family tree, it gets to ireland. But thats a very different proposition than saying to someone culturally and values wise and someone from somewhere else. Nonsense. Nonsense. And the way. And the way. Is that true . Is that true . How is that your ancestors from ireland would have been seen as a foreign people to the indigenous population back in the day. Then they assimilated and they became part of british society. And that is the story for one, and that is the story of immigrants to this country going back centuries. Most of my adult career working in peacekeeping, peace support and conflict prevention and it is a taken it is so startlingly obvious when you work across the balkans, across nonh work across the balkans, across north africa, when you work across central asia, so on that, that when you have a rapid and overwhelming change, cultural change in society, the, the its not rapid, its not overwhelming i its rapid when its 1. 2 its rapid when its1. 2 million, when its it of course its rapid. Its rapid. And people out there will listen to you and say, of course its rapid. I feel it. And they feel insecure. It creates a sense of insecurity. Change creates a sense of insecurity. Creates a sense of insecurity. Now, im not talking about guns and bullets insecurity. Im talking about the rapid change of an environment. And that is a problem so that none of that is managed. Did you know there are 14 exemptions for learning engush 14 exemptions for learning english for people coming to this country who, given the right to remain 14 exemptions. There is no effort made by this country to integrate these people. If there was, then perhaps the impact the cultural and social impact . Well , i and social impact . Well, i think people should learn english and they should be integrated and assimilated. Integrated and assimilated. And thats the story of immigration in this country. Is it . Well, i worked for a labour it . Well, i worked for a labour minister who said that very loudly. We need to teach english story of this countrys immigration history in the past and recently and recently, i think it has recently, i dont i dont my wife teaches english to the immigrants who are in the hotels on the south coast. There are getaways and thats paid for through the home office. Well, look, i, i think it is for the people out there to decide whether or not immigration is impacting on their day to day life. Many communities in south wales in on the south coast across the country will tell you unambiguously, unambiguously it is go out and speak to them. Yeah, and steve has just commented saying the eu record on immigration is a joke. You know whats going on right now in greece and italy, for example, god help us if were pulling resources with between. Thats why starmers planned there. And hes about a tough there. And hes about a tough approach to this. But its sending in more people to disrupt the gangs. Leave it there, sadly. But i mean, to be continued, i suspect on. Yes, absolutely. Thank you very much. Thats a former labour special adviser, Paul Richards there. And the former leader of ukip, henry bolton. Thank you to both of them. Now, folks, as you well know by now, its eurovision tonight and its all kicking off some fear that that especially camp spectacle, is already mired in controversy. Many people are calling for israel to be booted out of the competition due to the ongoing conflict in gaza. Now, eurovisions website , of course, eurovisions website, of course, states that Peaceful Protesters are allowed, stating their ferm advocates of freedom of speech and the right for people to express deeply held views and opinions. But now a dutch act has been axed due to an ongoing incident. What on earths going on . Joining me now is gb News Reporter Charlie Peters. I mean, charlie, are you of the view that theres going to be people trying to sneak in palestinian flags . Theres going to be people trying to get their two minutes of fame by, you know, marching upon the stage. It just it feels like the environment is really bubbling up. Really bubbling up. Well, the only palestinian protest weve seen inside the arena was during the semi finals on thursday night, where we saw some cheering and also some booing when the israeli act was on the stage, we also saw a man waving a small palestinian flag that was removed because as part of the ebus rules and regulations for eurovision , only regulations for eurovision, only the flags of nations involved in the flags of nations involved in the competition are allowed to be brought into the arena. They also dont allow any political symbols to be displayed , and symbols to be displayed, and some acts have worked around that. Restoring fashion by wearing the keffiyeh. The pan arab scarf of solidarity, while theyve been on stage rehearsing or indeed performing dunng rehearsing or indeed performing during the semi finals. Weve also seen some jewellery in watermelons st giles, which is a symbol often co opted by the pro palestinian movement, but that signifies that protest is expected to take place here in the next 90 minutes. We saw over 10,000 people gather outside this arena on friday, according to the local police here. Weve also seen protests outside the hotel where the israeli act has been staying. Her team say that eden has not been able to leave the hotel while shes been performing here. Shes been going between that location and the arena and nowhere else. Israel has also said that theyve flown in the head of shin bet, which is the israeli equivalent to m15, their Security Service has personally flown in to head up her security section. And amid all of this controversy, i asked people on the streets here in malmo what did they think of the debate surrounding israels involvement in eurovision . Were here to enjoy the stuff. Bambi is here to enjoy it, and were not bringing politics into it at all. I think there is a silent majority that are pro israel. Without the crowd we saw with is italy televote. That was the majority israel. Majority israel. Everybody has the right to protest. Everybody has the right to make actions whatever they feel is right and its not for me to tell them what to do or vice versa. Vice versa. I think its a very beautiful song, the tweaks that theyve done are probably good. Good. Good. But its still, i think, the meaning behind it. People can feel, the pain of the country. I think a competition like this, its about bringing people together, not, you know, trying together, not, you know, trying to cause a lot of diversity. So, you know, im sorry. Division you know, i just dont think thats the right kind of attitude to have about eurovision. Its about bringing everyone and enjoying each other, enjoying. Yeah. Enjoying other, enjoying. Yeah. Enjoying the day, having fun. Well, those protests are likely to take place now from 5 00 here local time before the start of the grand final at 8 pm, 25 acts will be competing, down from 26 after the dramatic removal of the dutch performer earlier today due to an allegation of threats issued towards a female member of the Broadcasting Team here on friday where that investigation took place. We understand that malmo police are also involved in that situation, but as people move on from the situation involving the dutch contestant, much of the debate and focus tonight will be around. The israeli contestant will that act shine . Will it perform and could it win tonights edition of eurovision . Yes. Well, that would be a turn up for the books. And id be pretty a joyous one for me, ill tell you that much. But anyway, folks, theres still plenty of time after Charlie Peters there. Thank you very much. Theres plenty of time to win our biggest cash prize so far. Its a whopping £20,000. Imagine having that in your bank account this summer. But youve got to be in the draw for a chance to win it. Heres how. Dont miss your chance to win our biggest cash prize so far , a our biggest cash prize so far, a totally terrific £20,000 in tax free cash to make your summer spectacular. You could use that cash to splash out on a holiday, make the garden glam, buy a new car , or just save it for a rainy car, or just save it for a rainy day. Whatever youd spend £20,000 on, make sure you dont miss the chance to make it yours for another chance to win £20,000 in tax free cash. Text £20,000 in tax free cash. Text win to 63232. Text cost £2 plus one Standard Network rate message or post your name and number two gb05, p. O. Message or post your name and number two gb05, po. Box 8690 derby rd one nine, double tee, uk. Only entrants must be 18 or uk. Only entrants must be 18 or oveh uk. Only entrants must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On the 31st of may. Full terms and Privacy Notice at gbnews. Com win. Please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck youre with me Darren Grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on the show. Drivers have been told to only travel if absolutely necessary as a large section of the m25 in surrey has been closed for the weekend. Now, considering its the hottest day of the year, you dont want to be stuck in your car today. I bet you that for free. All of that and more to come. Youre welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes. On your tv, onune me, Darren Grimes. On your tv, online and on digital radio. Now, drivers have been told to only travel if absolutely necessary. As a large section of the m25 in surrey has been closed for the weekend. What a weekend. The closure is to allow weekend. The closure is to allow for ongoing improvements , with for ongoing improvements, with the potential for long delays and congestion for motorists all around the capital and beyond. Now considering, of course, its the hottest day of the year thus far, you dont want to be stuck in your car today. Far, you dont want to be stuck in your car today. Joining me in your car today. Joining me now is gb News Reporter ray addison. Rae, good to see you. Have we got you there . Weve got have we got you there . Weve got you. There you are right now. Well, its whats the latest . Well, its whats the latest . Well, its very, very busy here, darren. I was here since about 7 am. This morning. We had a small amount of cars at that time. Now its a very steady flow, a crawling pace and tailbacks, for several miles. I tailbacks, for several miles. I have to say, this is junction nine, at leatherhead , heading nine, at leatherhead, heading northbound on the m25. And im going to step out of the way. So you can properly see what were deaung you can properly see what were dealing with here. Were at junction nine. You can see on that right hand side there , the that right hand side there, the barrier thats been put in place across all of those lanes. And you might be able to see the smoke thats being kicked off by the various, heavy goods vehicles that that are coming along here, heading up, in heading towards the north. And theyre working on a bridge there, lowering into place some concrete pylons which are involved in the construction of that bridge. Concrete beams rather. And so thats whats going on at further down that road there. Its about five miles away. Of course , the aa miles away. Of course, the aa warning this was going to be incredibly busy. I went down to incredibly busy. I went down to junction ten as well of the m25 heading southbound. I have to say that was even worse than where i am now. And it kind of makes sense if, as you were saying, darren, its one of the hottest days of the year, people heading to the coast, going to some of those attractions, thorpe park, legoland in windsor as well, people, doing a bit of plane hopping. This is one of the main commuting commuting routes for people trying to get from heathrow to gatwick airports and vice versa, and so this has caused a major amount of disruption for people. What would be a five mile relatively quick journey on most days has become a 19. 5 mile diversion through some pretty, small villages. Now, as you were saying, darren, theyre being urged, people are being urged to only travel if absolutely necessary, that diversion taking people through the a2 one seven, the a2 40 and the a3 as well, past chessington world of adventures in oxshott and also one of the key things darren people being warned , people people being warned, people being warned to make sure that they take snacks, they take dnnks they take snacks, they take drinks because they might be stuck in traffic for a very long time. But when you do take that diversion , dont be tempted to diversion, dont be tempted to listen to your satnav go off that diversion and go other ways, because you could get stung for a ulez charge. If you follow the diversion , you wont follow the diversion, you wont be charged for ulez. If your car is not compliant. Be charged for ulez. If your car is not compliant. So make sure is not compliant. So make sure you follow that diversion. Otherwise you could end up with a hefty fine. Yeah. All right, ray, thank you very much for that update there, its it looks like that smokes billowing, isnt it . From that Building Work going on. But, thank you very much to gb News Reporter ray addison. Folks, youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. I thank you very much for being so. Lots more coming up on the show. First of all, though, were going to get a quick update from sophia. Thanks, darren. Its 232. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after two women died in a house fire in wolverhampton. Emergency services were called to a property in the Dunstall Hill area at 2 am. West Midlands Fire Service says three other people were also taken to hospital , people were also taken to hospital, and a sixth person was discharged at the scene. In discharged at the scene. In other news, the dutch act has been kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest grand final. The European Broadcasting Union says used klein wont compete while Swedish Police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of the production crew. Meanwhile, security has crew. Meanwhile, security has been tightened ahead of tonights show as pro palestinian protests continue to. Demonstrators are already gathering in malmo rallying against israels participation. Participation in the event after the countrys eden golan qualified for tonights show. Shes among the leading contenders to win, but bookmakers have placed croatias baby lasagna as favourite. A 54 baby lasagna as favourite. A 54 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a Police Officer was shot in the leg with a crossbow in high wycombe. The suspect was shot by an armed officer and is now in hospital under Police Supervision, with potentially life changing injuries. The Northern Lights put on a rare display right across the uk last night as one of the strongest geomagnetic storms hit the planet in years, caused by changes in particles hitting different gases in the atmosphere, theyre only usually seen in the far north of the country. If you missed it, youre in luck because there may be another opportunity to see them this evening. And for the them this evening. And for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen. Or go to gb news. Com slash alerts now its back to gb news. Saturday thank you as ever, sofia. Now remember folks, to let me know your thoughts on all of the stories weve been discussing today by visiting gbnews. Com yoursay and join the conversation or message me on our socials. Where gbnews lots more coming up on the show. Spnngis more coming up on the show. Spring is finally here. Today is set to be the hottest day of the yeah set to be the hottest day of the year, so far, with high temperatures set to soar as high as 26 celsius in the south by this afternoon. All of that and this afternoon. All of that and more to come. Im Darren Grimes and youre with gb news, join me. Camilla tominey from 930 on sunday morning when ill be grilling. Deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell to find out if the governments stance is right on israel. Ill also be joined by labours Jonathan Ashworth to find out if keir starmer can really stop the boats. And boris really stop the boats. And Boris Johnson ally conor burns will be joining me in the studio to discuss whether the former Prime Minister may still stage a comeback. All that and more with me, Camilla Tominey from 930 on sunday morning. Welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes, on your tv, online and on digital radio. Now, before we move on, nana akua has joined me in the studio. Nana what have you got coming up . Well, ive just made a very interesting observation that Darren Grimes has extremely long island long eyelashes. Theyre like tweety pie. Yeah, yeah. Do you know when i was a kid, apparently some woman said he was born to be a woman. These days, that actually means something, really, doesnt it . Something, really, doesnt it . Well, listen, coming up, were going to be talking about ozempic as Oprah Winfrey has come out and apologised for 25 years of lies telling everybody how she was going on these diets and things. And the truth was that she was taking all manner of slimming tablets. So were talking about some people, especially with the shortage of drugs as well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Doctor Renee Hoenderkamp will be there. Brilliant. Brilliant. Steve miller fat families lizzie cundy will be joining me slightly earlier and a mystery guest who will be discussing that in our round table discussion coming up, were also talking about keir starmer. Hes robbing peter to paul policies, his private School Policy where hes thinking of charging 20 on on private schools, which is already starting to, well, bear fruit in a bad way. So were doing all that. Plus obviously eurovision will be popping live to sweden to have a chat, will be popping live to sweden to have a chat , with Charlie Peters. And thats good timing because its going to kick off soon. They have the protests, the fight. Yeah, yeah. Not the contest. No, no no, not on air either. Not on your show. I never know, never know. The night is young. All right, nana, thank young. All right, nana, thank you very much. Well look forward to that. Right today , forward to that. Right today, folks, is set to be the hottest day of the year so far. And its not just because nana akua is on air, but temperatures are set to soar as high as 25 celsius in the south this afternoon. The met office is predicting highs of that 25 today in london, with forecasters predicting the mercury could actually reach 27 in the south over this weekend. Well, joining me now is a very hot gb news east Midlands Reporter will hollis will 0 the jackets on will the jackets on. You just never know what its going to be. The cloud keeps going to be. The cloud keeps going in front of the sun and then as soon as the clouds in front of the sun, it goes incredibly cold. And then as soon as the sun appears again, its warm. So ive just decided to stick with it, hot temperatures for this time of the year. The hottest of the year so far. 26 degrees today. Expected 27 degrees expected tomorrow. But expected 27 degrees expected tomorrow. But this expected 27 degrees expected tomorrow. But this really expected 27 degrees expected tomorrow. But this really is the enjoyable bit people out. Here enjoyable bit people out. Here by the riverside in nottingham enjoying a bit of a picnic, some people having a few beers at the local pub, even going to see Nottingham Forest play at the city ground. But it doesnt last forever does it . We are expecting thunderstorms as there are two yellow weather warnings in place for tomorrow. The met in place for tomorrow. The met office says that those low levels there could be low levels of disruption. Theres one yellow weather warning for thunderstorms in the western part of the country. Thats for england and wales. And then a second one for Northern Ireland. As well. There are also a few flood alerts in place, meaning that flooding is possible. But for right now , people are just for right now, people are just enjoying the sun. A little bit of something that we havent had so far this year, but not by any stretch. The best weather that we would like to expect, even here in britain. Here in britain. Yes. I mean, well, as its starting to pick up where you are, is it looking busier . Are, is it looking busier . Well, its always busy down here at the embankment along the river trent, englands third biggest river. Lots of people have been here today. I think now that it does start to get into the throes of the afternoon , people are heading home for their Early Morning barbecues or straight into the pub ahead of Nottingham Forest versus chelsea this afternoon. This afternoon. Indeed, thats going to be one to watch. All right, will hollis thank you very much. Thats our east Midlands Reporter. Well joining me now is gb news scotland reporter tony maguire. Now tony the sun is always shining on glasgow. Surely well lets see, it was maybe till about five minutes ago. It seems like the weather up here is doing much of the same as it is doing much of the same as it is for. Well, where that those clouds just keep playing peekaboo in front of the sun, but nevertheless, the temperature remains high. Were still sitting at around 23 degrees here in glasgow in the west end. And certainly today west end. And certainly today there have been the gelato shop behind me. Loop and scoop has been inundated with customers. Its safe to say now they sell a kind of an artisan kind of one upmanship and youre old mr whippy classic soft serve, but certainly that hasnt stopped people queuing up for 350 a scoop or, you know, 450 for two. But, you know, in the conversations weve been having today, weve discovered that all around the country , you know, around the country, you know, the price of ice cream continues to go up and up. And its not just a case of were in the middle of a cost of living crisis. I mean, if we look at east anglia, there kind of top of the table, £4. 50. Would you believe , for an ice cream at the believe, for an ice cream at the local park and then over in the midlands, a little closer to. Well, again, youre looking at about £2 for that. Flake inside youh about £2 for that. Flake inside your, your soft serve here in scotland. Its about 313. You know, earlier on i asked a whole bunch of people about, you know, earlier on i asked a whole bunch of people about , you know, bunch of people about, you know, what, what prices would they expect. And the range i got was quite interesting. Some people hoping maybe £2, some three, 350, pretty much dead on the nose. I 350, pretty much dead on the nose. I had one person, only one, mind you. That said £0. 99, you know, and as i was explaining earlier on today, well, theres that misconception that the classic 99 has something to do with the original price, but actually that traces all the way back to the italian monarchy, for hundred several years, when they had a really elite guard of about 99 soldiers and therefore everything that was of the highest quality, everything that was superb was described as a 99. So there you go. Thats why 99. So there you go. Thats why that coin has that name. That coin has that name. All right. Thank you very much. Tony maguire there. Gb news scotland reporter. Now, folks, youre with me. Darren grimes on gb news saturday. Lots more coming up on todays show. The former adult film star Stormy Daniels has concluded her her well was a very dramatic testimony at Donald Trumps hush money trial. Well bring you the very latest on all of that. Now, all of that and more to were gb news, and we come from a proud tradition of british journalism. Thats why im so excited to be here. Its something so new. Its something so new. The first news channel to be launched in britain in over 30 years. Launched to represent the views of the british people. To go where other broadcasters refuse to go. Broadcasters refuse to go. How do you find out about the story in the first place . Launched with one aim to be the fearless champion of britain i its an absolutely fantastic atmosphere here. This is gb news, whos channel gb news britains news channel. A very warm welcome back to gb news saturday with me, Darren Grimes on your tv, online and on digital radio. Now lots of you have been getting in touch. Sending in your thoughts. Arthur. Arthur. Well, actually, arthurs surname is forrest and hes very excited about the forest game later on, best of luck, arthur, stephen asks saturday five tonight. Dasa yes, absolutely. See you at 6 00, stephen. Hope youre enjoying the sunshine and the gb news and, tom says, oh, here we go. Darren heading into summer and the warm weather becomes a thing. Its called summer. Yes, i agree with you. Enjoying the sunshine. I mean, agree with you. Enjoying the sunshine. I mean, im agree with you. Enjoying the sunshine. I mean, im not agree with you. Enjoying the sunshine. I mean, im not in here, but you are at home and, stephen actually suggests that we need to invite those who are arguing about palestine in malmo in sweden right now, outside of eurovision, if theyd like to go do so in gaza with hamas , a less do so in gaza with hamas, a less receptive audience, and perhaps westerner western audiences. Now folks continue letting me know your thoughts on all the stories weve been discussing today. You can visit gbnews. Com yoursay and join the conversation there, or message me on our socials. Were gbnews now. As i said before, the break there, the former aduu the break there, the former adult film star Stormy Daniels, shes concluded what was a really dramatic testimony at Donald Trumps hush money trial fighting off all kinds of inquiries into her account of the alleged sexual encounter between her and the former president , donald j. Trump. Now it follows a scathing attack by the judge, who blamed trumps lawyers for letting daniels describe lurid details as he denied trump a mistrial for the second time this week. Well, second time this week. Well, joining me is the us political analyst, eric ham. Eric, a pleasure to be with you again, eric. How serious could this actually be for the former president , do you actually be for the former president , do you think actually be for the former president , do you think actually president , do you think actually the jail time is a genuine prospect that no many legal experts. Actually believe that experts. Actually believe that there wont be any jail time . Because while these are, felonies, but theyre the lowest type of felonies. Class e felonies in manhattan. Felonies are actually rated from a to e a, being the lowest type. And because this if donald trump is convicted, he would be seen as a first time felon. Its likely to involve more of a fine than it is prison time. However, we are getting very salacious details from this trial. And of course, from this trial. And of course, its continuing to rehash and replay. Some of those really replay. Some of those really dark moments from 2016. Also from the political standpoint where this is becoming increasingly problematic for the former president , were beginning to see joe biden actually, separate himself from donald trump in the polls, particularly in some of those key battleground states and in the all important money race. Right now, we know that donald trump is haemorrhaging money, and right now he has less than half the amount that the Biden Campaign already has on hand. And so this is becoming an increasingly difficult problem politically for the ex president. But, i mean, eric, we saw that in 2016, did we not, when donald trump won the president ial race against Hillary Clinton , hillary managed Hillary Clinton, hillary managed to fundraise a lot more than donald trump did. Donald trump did. Yes. But also, we know during the 2016 race, when donald trump became the official nominee , we became the official nominee, we know that the donors opened up their pocketbooks to donald trump. And while he certainly did not raise as much money as Hillary Clinton, he was still competitive in the money race. Right now, hes not even competitive. And just to give you an example already, we know the Biden Campaign has opened up statewide offices in key battleground states from michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania. Right now, theyve got more than 60 offices open in those three states. In the state of michigan, theyre expected to open a total of 450. Right now. The Trump Campaign has zero offices open in any of these key battleground states. Battleground states. Yeah, i mean, what are the key issues then, eric, where biden is starting to pull ahead on, is it the economy . On, is it the economy . Well, i think what were seeing is because donald trump is spending so much of his time in a new york courtroom, its keeping him off the campaign trail and also unable to actually meet face to face with many of those deep pocketed donors that he has to actually engage, to try to bring in money to be able to be competitive. In addition to that, again , i do addition to that, again, i do believe that what were hearing every day from this trial is beginning to actually penetrate to more of those rank and file voters. And thats also a problem. In addition to that, we problem. In addition to that, we know that Michael Cohen is going to be testifying on monday. So if you thought the Stormy Daniels testimony was explosive, its going to be, i think, downright nuclear when we see Michael Cohen on that stand beginning on monday. Yeah. I mean, theres a fair few viewers of the view, eric, that actually, you know, this is deliberate to keep President Trump off the campaign trail. Well , even if that trump off the campaign trail. Well, even if that is trump off the campaign trail. Well , even if that is true trump off the campaign trail. Well, even if that is true or if its not true, it is beginning to actually have a debilitating impact on the former president , both in his political standing and in his ability to raise money. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. All right. Eric ham there, us political analyst thank you very much for taking us to for you through the latest with donald j. Trumps explosive trial. Now, youve been with me Darren Grimes on gb news saturday. I thank you very much for your company. Dont go anywhere though because theres plenty more coming up on gb news today in just a moment. Its fiery debate with nana akua. And at 6 pm, im back for the saturday vibe. You wont want to miss that one, nor Benjamin Butterworth today. First of all, though, lets take a look at the weather with craig. A brighter outlook with boxt solar for sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Hello there. Welcome to your latest gb news Weather Forecast from the met office. Were looking ahead to the rest of this weekend. A change is in store. We start to say goodbye store. We start to say goodbye to this area of High Pressure and low pressure begins to take charge as we head towards next week. But back to the here and now. We still have some fairly fine and settled weather as we end at saturday, so a pleasant end at saturday, so a pleasant end to the day, some low cloud and mist just moving in from the east. But for many its another fairly good chance to see the Northern Lights tonight, especially across more northern parts of the country. And for parts of the country. And for all of us, its going to be a fairly mild night. Most towns and cities staying firmly in double figures. So we do start off sunday with some low cloud and some mist across the east that will gradually burn its way back towards the north sea. Elsewhere, plenty of sunshine as we go through the course of the morning and then into the afternoon. We start to see some scattered showers develop, and these will then turn quite thundery and heavy in places. There are warnings in force from the met office as we go through the met office as we go through the course of tomorrow. So do watch out if you are travelling about but in the sunshine. Highs reaching 26 or 27 degrees now as we move into next week we start to see low pressure take charge. This band of rain will move in dunng this band of rain will move in during the course of monday across the southwest, giving a very wet picture here. Elsewhere, a mixture of sunny spells and showers. But as we go in towards the middle part of the week , temperatures will fall the week, temperatures will fall back down to where they should be for the time of year. That warm feeling inside from boxt boiler as sponsors of weather on gb news. Away. Good afternoon, and welcome to gb news on tv , online and on to gb news on tv, online and on digital radio. Im nana akua. Digital radio. Im nana akua. And for the next few hours, me and my panel will be taking on some of the big topics hitting the headlines right now. This show is all about opinion. Its mine. Its theirs, and of course its yours. Well be debating, discussing and at times we will disagree, but no one will be cancelled. So joining me today cancelled. So joining me today in a few moments time is broadcaster and author lizzie cundy and also the fabulous matthew laza. Right. So coming matthew laza. Right. So coming up in the show, eurovision meltdown will be live in sweden as israels entry into the song contest prompts controversy. Controversy, then. For the great controversy, then. For the Great British debate this hour im asking, do you trust labour to tackle the Immigration Crisis . In his Counter Terror plan . Is that right then difficult conversations, hard gali x gambling addict will be here to tell me his story, his heartbreaking story, and in a few moments time, of course, well be mocking the week live in the studio with the fabulous one and only louis schaefer. But before we get started, dont forget spectacular scenes as well. The Northern Lights. They well. The Northern Lights. They lit the sky. Did you see them . All the best pictures coming up in click bait. But before we get started, lets get your latest news with sophia wenzler. Thanks, nana. Good afternoon. Its 3 01. Im sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. The dutch act has been kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest. Grand final. The european broadcasting