Transcripts For GBN Britains 20240702

Boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. Its good morning. At 930 on thursday the 23rd of may. Britains newsroom on gb news with Andrew Pierce and bev turner spoke with his majesty the king to request the dissolution of parliament. The king has granted this request, and we will have a general election on the 4th of july. It was a shambolic announcement, but the Election Campaigning begins as rishi sunak calls for a summer election. He spoke to gb news this morning. Question for the country is the choice of this election is, you know, whos got the boldest ideas, the clearest plan to provide a secure future for you and your family . A change for the better. Labour have kicked off their campaign. Sir keir starmer, campaign. Sir keir starmer, their leader, says his party will put the country before Party Interests a chance to change for the better. Your future, your community, your country and the lib dems in their words, are ready to win every single vote. Deputy leader daisy cooper spoke to gb news breakfast this morning. Spoken very movingly and very openly about his experience of being a family carer, and hes become a real champion for unpaid carers around the country. So it is absolutely the right leader for the liberal democrats going into this general election. General election. She was referring, of course, to party leader ed davey. So is it time for reform uk . They aim to put a candidate at every seat this election. Heres their leader, richard tice reform uks common sense policies that can now save britain. Now save britain. And in other news, immigration statistics are incoming. The home office will pubush incoming. The home office will publish their figures on those coming to the uk, including small boat arrivals. Were going to have them any minute now. To have them any minute now. Let us know your thoughts this morning. Gbnews. Com forward slash your say as we were coming on air. Well theres going to be a reform uk press conference about the immigration figures. And of course we do want to know if nigel farage told gb news last night hes going to sleep on it overnight. Is he going to run for reform uk . Are we going to get the announcement . I think i think just as we were coming on air and having our microphones put on, i think nigel farage was telling this channel he is not going to stand for reform at the incoming election, as predicted here, right. A lot to get through this right. A lot to get through this morning. If this feels like the start of the next six weeks, doesnt it . Dont go anywhere. First though, sam francis, with your. First though, sam francis, with your. News. Your. News. Very good morning to you. Its just after 930 and well start with just a quick bit of breaking news coming to us on those migration figures. As those migration figures. As andrew and bev were mentioning there, net migration to the uk, we now know, stood at an estimated 685,000 people in the year to december of 2023. Thats down 10 from the record figure of just over 760,000 in the previous year. Thats december 2022. Those figures just coming to us from the office for National Statistics this morning. So to recap their net migration to the uk now standing at 685,000 people in the year to december 2023, well, in other news, rishi sunak is urging voters to re elect him if they want to see the rwanda plan put in place, but admits that deportation flights will not take off before the general election. The Prime Minister election. The Prime Minister also says hell be putting the economy and Global Security at the heart of the Election Campaign. It comes as Political Party leaders begin their six weeks of campaigning after it was announced a summer general election will be held on the 4th of july. The timing of the announcement has come as a surprise to some, with labour polling 20 points ahead in the polls. Kicking off the conservative campaign this morning, rishi sunak claimed that labour would do absolutely nothing to stop the boats. Everyone else is starting to agree with my approach , which is agree with my approach, which is bold. The one person that doesnt is keir starmer. Thats a choice at this election. He thinks that we should just offer an amnesty to Illegal Migrants to make us the soft touch of europe. It would make us a magnet for thousands of migrants coming from everywhere. So thats the choice at this election. Do you think my plan election. Do you think my plan is the right one . Do you think im the one thats taking bold action to secure our borders and to stop the boats . Or do you think hes going to do that . And its pretty clear that on this issue, not only does he not share the countrys values, that its a problem. Hes going to do absolutely nothing about it. And staying with general election news, well cross live now to sir keir starmer, whos kicking off labours Election Campaign in kent this morning. The constituency like this one. That means supporting local businesses and our town centres. So places like gillingham can thrive once again. It means investing in our nhs so that we can bring down waiting lists and ensure people can get doctors appointments and it means more police on our streets so that people feel safe again. This is people feel safe again. This is a real opportunity for change, not just in gillingham and rainham, but across our country. So to kick off our campaign , so to kick off our campaign, please join me in giving a very warm welcome to the deputy leader of the labour party. Welcome to gillingham f. C. Angela rayner. Welcome to gillingham f. C. Angela rayner. Smashing. Thank you. Thank you so much. And i know youre going to be such a fantastic voice here in gillingham and rainham. And it is absolutely brilliant to be here and for the country to finally get a say on the future of britain, because we need to turn the page. Weve had 14 turn the page. Weve had 14 years of chaos and decline, excuses and people just feeling like their area is not getting the support they need. Whatever Service People try and access these days, they find its like wading through treacle. You cant. Im talking of wading through treacle. Were going to leave Angela Rayner to speak. Were going to go back when keir starmer starts talking to you all. Massive morning here of course, in gb news. And weve got sam lister with us. Political editor of the daily express and former labour adviser stella. Im never getting daikaiju. Thank you, stella chunder kudu. Im so sorry. I should have got that right by now, right. Reactions ladies. And andrew, to this news. Weve got an election. News. Weve got an election. Sam and i, i think, might have even talked yesterday because id heard before id left the show that this rumour was around. I thought by 1 00 i was around. I thought by 1 00 i was convinced. Yeah, it was happening. I mean, yesterday morning, westminster just went wild. But westminster just went wild. But westminster does go a bit mad sometimes, and you have to kind of step back and go, is this true . Is this real or is it just people kind of contagion . You know, everyone gets a bit carried away and you know, me and the other political editors were all chatting like, is this really on . Is it on . Its like , really on . Is it on . Its like, what does it actually feel like . And then we went to pmqs. Rishi sunak was given an open goal to deny he didnt. Yeah. And then we have a little huddle afterwards with number 10 where we all stand around and we kind of throw questions at them and they just would not kill this story. And then you just knew this is on. Sorry to interrupt, sam. Were going to go back to sir keir starmer in gillingham here. Heres thats a good place to start. But look at long last, the election has been called. The time has come and the wait is oven time has come and the wait is over. And that means through the power of our democracy, the voters now get to choose the power of the vote. The power each and every one of you has to change our country, our community and your future for the better. So whether youre a the better. So whether youre a family thats been battling the cost of living , dealing with cost of living, dealing with anti social behaviour , whether anti social behaviour, whether your anti social behaviour, whether your business thats been struggling for years against the odds of the economy thats in chaos under this government, whether youve served your country whatever way this election is for you, because you now have the power, the chance to end the chaos, to turn the page and to rebuild britain. Page and to rebuild britain. And weve had weve had 14 years of going round and round in circles, getting absolutely nowhere , chaos and division, nowhere, chaos and division, feeding chaos and division. And that has a cost, a human cost in Milton Keynes i met will, who was a fireman and he has a simple dream, not an unreasonable dream. He wants to own his own home. Hes got two extra jobs on top of being a fireman , but he still cant fireman, but he still cant afford it because the chaos and division of this government has robbed him of that dream. That is the price that he is paying. Is the price that he is paying. In alder hey hospital, which is a brilliant Childrens Hospital up in liverpool. A brilliant Childrens Hospital up in liverpool. I a brilliant Childrens Hospital up in liverpool. I went to the up in liverpool. I went to the heart transplant ward. It was incredible. But more children aged between 6 and 10 are admitted to alder hey hospital, this brilliant Childrens Hospital to have their teeth taken out because they are rotten than for any other operation. That is unforgivable. Operation. That is unforgivable. Theyre paying a very heavy price for this government now. When i was growing up, my dad was a toolmaker and worked in a factory and my mum was a nurse and they struggled. They struggled financially and they struggled financially and they struggled , particularly with my struggled, particularly with my mums health. And sometimes we couldnt pay the bills , but they couldnt pay the bills, but they had a comfort, a belief, a confidence that. The country confidence that. The country would be better for their children, that things would be better for the next generation and that kept them going. It comforted them as it did so many other people. But can we still say that we got that confidence in the future of our country after 14 years of this chaos and decline . I dont think so. For decline . I dont think so. For a government to leave after 14 years, our country with Living Standards worse than when they started is absolutely unforgivable. And what is their plan . Rishi sunaks plan £46 billion of unfunded tax cuts. Billion of unfunded tax cuts. They havent learned a thing. And if they get five more years, they will carry on in the same way. Nothing will change. So i vote for labour is a vote to stop the chaos. But heres the good news because you dont have to put up with this , you do not to put up with this, you do not have to put up. Keir starmer is talking about, frankly, the big news thats just broken is nigel farage has confirmed he will not be running for reform as a parliamentary candidate. Im not sure if hes going to be doing any campaigning for reform at all. Big blow for reform. And a huge sigh of relief, id say, for the tories. What do you think im thinking . Think im thinking . Hes going, he said hes going to spend a lot of time campaigning for donald trump in the us. Sure. Im thinking, is this going , is he doing this . This going, is he doing this . Because basically he will get an International Audience through that. And hes also at the same time feathering the nest to, to have a return to the uk politics and down the line even defect to the conservatives, perhaps depending if depending on what state the conservatives in after the next general election. Well, ive just messaged nigel farage. Lets hope he might come on and talk to us. If youre watching nigel, you know where we are. You know, ive known him a long time. Ive known him a long time. I talked to him a long for quite a long time. On monday, at the book launch. I would have been astonished if this decision was anything i agree, i agree. I mean, he has been looking towards washington for quite some time now and if you look at reform, it is its doing really well in the polls, but ultimately it doesnt really have the resources, the structure, the things in place to really fight this Election Campaign. And does nigel farage really want to fight for an eighth time and potentially lose for an eighth time, when he could be in washington, making a big difference over there for donald trump, his pal . So donald trump, his pal . So i think it was it was never going to be anything other. Nigel did say on gb news last night that he thinks rishi sunak. I mean, i guess nigel would say this, but he thinks rishi sunak going for this date was partly because of his fear of nigel and the reform party , of nigel and the reform party, and that he might come back. And if the reform party had had six months to get more organised, they might have taken a chunk out of them. Could that be true . I dont think so. I dont think a lot of things would have changed. I think what we know from the polls and from the local elections, i dont think reform was going to do any better. If anything, during general elections, the third parties, we know theyre going to do worse than than they would otherwise. And also you have you have Jacob Rees Mogg last week, right. Saying in his moggle mog monologue, monologue and his monologue, monologue and his monologue monologue that he ianes monologue monologue that he invites the reform party to join the conservatives. So i do think that for a lot of reform voters already, they have gotten the message that if they have a right wing enough mp standing in their constituency , they should their constituency, they should go for it. Right. Lets just talk, can we, about the announcement yesterday . I mean, it was extraordinary. Drowned rat was extraordinary. Drowned rat was what social media was saying. Unfortunately he does look a little bit like roland rat rishi sunak. Thats what these i mean, look look at the headline on the telegraph. This is the tory graph. The house journal of the of the tory party. Things can only get better. It wasnt a great look. Lets be fair. I mean, it just, you know, it just did not strike well, in terms of a great big bang election launch, did it . I mean, he he was drenched by the time that finished. And also there was come out with an umbrella. I know. Well, i know, but then you look like a rich man with somebody holding your umbrella. So you cant do that. You and i have been in there. Theres a magnificent media centre in there which cost the taxpayer. Or he could have done it in cchq. I or he could have done it in cchq. I think he wanted to talk directly to the nation, and it almost feels a bit more like you are connecting directly with people. If you are stood outside looking down that camera, it feels different to in some kind of staid room, and i think hes very keen to do that. But clearly it didnt really work out. And then you had steve bray, the perennial protester, blasting out his music, and it ruined everything. It was it was shambolic, stellar. And for me, it smacked a little bit of university politics. Somebody in there, some 12 year old in number 10, has said, i know go out in the rain and it will look like you will take on james bond. Yeah, even the james bond walking in the rain. Yeah and in fact, sunak tried to spin it this morning and said, im not a fair weather Prime Minister. And therefore i stood there. I was like, really . No, i think its quite the opposite. He is a fair weather Prime Minister because the reason why hes doing it now is because, and i completely sympathise, i understand him, he cannot take this anymore. Who could . He said hes his cabinet, soon to be shadow cabinet can also not take it anymore. And there were a lot of people saying, you know, fairness will start in august and you will have seen the weather today and he will probably have been dreaming of the california weather. No, i mean, that is incredibly cynical to say that hes doing this to put his kids in school in america. You have no evidence for that. Is it is it is it though you have no evidence . Okay. The evidence i have is that there is literally other than the element of surprise, there is zero reason for him to call the election. Now, at the very least, just at the very least, at the very least reason, because your reformer on the ropes and its flushed out nigel farage very quickly. Absolutely. Absolutely not. Like any. Its a very good reason. Its a very good reason. The if any Prime Minister who wanted a fair chance would wait till the last moment. To be honest, i hate to interrupt you. Its such a great debate. More of this this morning. We are running a little late because obviously theres lots of breaking news. Dont go anywhere. Were going to be looking at home 952. Thank 952. Thank you for joining 952. Thank you forjoining us. 952. Thank you for joining us. Rishi sunak has said that no Asylum Seekers will be sent to rwanda before the election , rwanda before the election, under the governments deportation scheme. I was very depressing, isnt it . Our Home Security editor, mark white, joins us now. Mark white i thought one of the reasons he was going now is because he was going to be able to point, look, ive got the planes in the air before july the 4th. And because and its a sign that the deterrent scheme is working. So whats he said . Well, i was saying yesterday that that, you know, getting 1 or 2 flights off is perhaps it makes a bit of sense because then you dont have to prove that it was actually a deterrent in the end, just that you followed through on your plan and under keir starmer that plan would be cancelled, but im genuinely shocked at the Prime Minister clearly admitting that no flights are going to go off. Theyre laying the groundwork, is what he said. This is what he told breakfast this morning. Plan is going to work and i announced a little while ago all the preparations that weve put in place to get those flights off. So weve trained hundreds off. So weve trained hundreds of caseworkers. Weve identified the cohort of the first people that will be sent. Weve got an that will be sent. Weve got an airfield on standby, weve booked flights, weve got the escorts ready. And as people have been watching on their tv screens and in the papers, weve already started detaining those who will then be removed in subsequent flights. And thats a choice at this election. Ellie, if you elect me, if im Prime Minister on the 5th of july, those flights will go off to rwanda and we will begin to put in place the deterrent that we need to stop the boats. Need to stop the boats. Its very clever in a way, because hes taken the pressure off that policy now in the run up to the election, saying they will take off, but it wont be the first week of july. It will be after that. So if you want me, youre going to have to vote for me if you want that. Yeah you see, its clever. Im not convinced. I think this is a very hard sell to the electorate. Now, if youve got a couple of flights off, albeit symbolic flights, at least you can turn to the electorate and say, weve done it. Its been really hard, but weve managed to get the first flights off, and this is the pattern thats going to continue. And as i say, you dont have to prove that the deterrent has worked. Going later in november actually shows you know, if lots of flights go off in, the deterrent doesnt work, then you really are in a very difficult place. Having spent half £1 billion on this, but at least get a couple of flights up. Maybe theyll but we cant go into it now. This is the thing. We cant hold him to it now that hes put his cards on the table and said they arent going to go off, it cuts the conversation. Well, youve allowed now immediately the labour and lib dems Yvette Cooper and the lib dems Yvette Cooper and the Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman both on this morning saying that this just shows you it was a complete and utter con from the start and that will be the messaging that they go into the election with and the immigration figures coming down. Mark, how significant is that, its significant. I think it does show , a downward trend it does show, a downward trend and that is likely to continue because these are figures to december of last year. They show that net migration fell from 764,000, which was shocking. Yeah, indeed , the previous set yeah, indeed, the previous set of figures to 685,000. So down about 80,000 or so. And these are figures to december. So about 80,000 or so. And these are figures to december. So they are figures to december. So they dont actually take into account the changes that the government had put in place on student visas. Youre not allowed in the vast majority of cases to take your dependents over. Vast majority of cases to take your dependents over. Theyve your dependents over. Theyve shown a drop in the first four months of this year by 79. Youre also not allowed if youre working in the health care sector, for the most part, to take your dependents over. Theyve shown a significant number of visa applications for dependents down. So theres a downward trend , but we wont get downward trend, but we wont get these figures until after the election. Youre not know exactly. And i know these are hot off the press, but weve got to go. Im afraid. Mark, im so sorry. Theres never enough mark white, right. Dont go anywhere. Weve got a lot to get through this morning. Quick break for the weather. 10 00 on thursday, the 23rd of may. This is britains newsroom on gb news with me, bev turner and Andrew Pierce. So nigel farage has confirmed he is not going to stand as a reform uk candidate. In a bombshell announcement. Bombshell announcement. And sunaks big gamble. The Election Campaigning begins as rishi sunak calls for a summer election. Its only six weeks to go. We spoke to gb news this morning. Question for the country is the choice of this election is, you know, whos got the boldest ideas, the clearest plan to provide a secure future for you and your family. And a change for the better. Thats what labour is saying. Thats what labour is saying. Theyve kicked off their campaign in kent. Sir keir starmer says his party will put the country before Party Interests a chance to change for the better. Your future, your community, your country and out of time. The lib dem leader, sir ed davey, didnt waste any time to react to the general election announcement either. This government is out of touch , its out of excuses and touch, its out of excuses and its out of time and net migration is finally down. Breaking news it now stands at 685,000in the year to december , down 10 from that december, down 10 from that record of 764,000 the previous year. Yeah elsewhere, i am very, very sorry. That was the message from the former post office chief executive, Paula Vennells, to subpostmasters impacted by the honzon subpostmasters impacted by the horizon it scandal. She continues to be questioned today, blamed. Today, blamed. She must be delighted that the elections Paula Vennells got the luckiest woman in britain because shed have been wall to wall a broadcaster. Outfits , newspapers. But its outfits, newspapers. But its not getting the coverage. Swinging on a giant hook. And now were not looking that way. Many times you think shes cried today . Four times yesterday. Well, i feel like i might cry today. Honestly i have to say there is some relief, is there . Not in this election being called, i didnt realise. I felt like i was sort of waiting for a very elderly relative to die, and now we can get on with things. Brilliant news gbnews. Com yoursay to let us know your reactions to the election coming on the 4th of july. First though, the very latest news with sam francis. Very good morning to you. Its just coming up to 10 03. A look at the headlines this morning. The Prime Minister is urging voters to re elect him. If they want to see asylum flights to rwanda, conceding they wont take off before the general election. Rishi sunak also says hes putting the economy and Global Security at the heart of his campaign. It comes as Political Party leaders are beginning their six weeks of trying to win votes after it was announced the polls will open on the 4th of july. The timing of the 4th of july. The timing of the announcement came as a surprise to some, with labour polling 20 points ahead in the polls, kicking off the Conservatives Campaign this morning, rishi sunak claimed labour would do absolutely nothing to stop the boats. Everyone else is starting to agree with my approach, which is bold. The one person that doesnt is keir starmer. Thats a choice at this election. He a choice at this election. He thinks that we should just offer an amnesty to Illegal Migrants to make us a soft touch of europe. It would make us a magnet for thousands of migrants coming from everywhere. So thats the choice at this election. Do you think my plan election. Do you think my plan is the right one . Do you think im the one thats taking bold action to secure our borders and to stop the boats . Or do you think hes going to do that . And its pretty clear that on this issue, not only does he not share the countrys values, that its a problem. Hes going to do absolutely nothing about it. Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the liberal democrats, daisy coopeh of the liberal democrats, daisy cooper, has ruled out a coalition with the conservatives. People want politicians to be talking about our nhs and social care and about the cost of living crisis. People are struggling to see a gp, theyre struggling to see a gp, theyre struggling to see a gp, theyre struggling to see a dentist, theyre battling long waiting lists. Theyre worried that if you call an ambulance, it wont turn up. And on top of all of that, theyre still struggling to pay the bills to put food on the table. Liberal democrats have been utterly relentless about talking about these issues for the last few months and years, and were going to keep on talking about the nhs and the cost of living over the next six weeks. And the labour leader is beginning his campaign in the south east of england today, hoping to make inroads there in conservative areas. Sir keir starmer says hes confident in the argument that his party has to make labour, and a vote for labouris to make labour, and a vote for labour is a is a chance to end that chaos, to turn a page, to change for the better of the country, to change our nhs , to country, to change our nhs, to change our Public Services, to make sure our economy is stable , make sure our economy is stable, to make sure our communities are cared for and to move forward and rebuild our country. That is the choice i accept. That is the choice i accept. Not a single vote has been cast. Im humble about this and i know every vote must be earned. But the power now under our democracy is with the voters to. Democracy is with the voters to. In other news, net migration in the uk stood at an estimated 685,000 people in the year to december 2023. New figures from the office for National Statistics says that thats down 10 from the previous year, from a revised record of 764,000. It said that 1. 22 Million People arrived in the uk, while 532,000 are likely to have left the country. Alan bates, the lead country. Alan bates, the lead campaigner for justice in the post office scandal, says he has no sympathy for Paula Vennells. She is giving evidence at the start of her much anticipated three days of questioning at the honzon three days of questioning at the horizon inquiry. The former head of the post office is giving evidence at the horizon inquiry in Central London in charge of the organisation from 2012 to 2019. Paula vennells was responsible for overseeing some of the subpostmaster who were wrongly prosecuted. The uks top wrongly prosecuted. The uks top Civil Servant is expected to give evidence this morning at the covid 19 inquiry. Simon case is likely to be questioned about his scathing views of Boris Johnson and the government at the height of the pandemic. His appearance follows his return to work as cabinet secretary after he stepped back in october due to a medical matter. In messages that were previously revealed in evidence, he had referred to the former Prime Minister as showing trump levels of madness. Weve trump levels of madness. Weve heard today that a second boy has died after two children got into difficulty in the river tyne in northumberland, police there have confirmed that the boy died in hospital on tuesday. The 13 year old was in a Critical Condition after the incident but later died. Despite the efforts of medical staff. The efforts of medical staff. His friend david radu died at the scene in ovingham on saturday. The parents of both boys, we understand , are being boys, we understand, are being supported by specially trained officers. The metropolitan officers. The metropolitan police has referred itself to the independent Police Watchdog after a man who officers were chasing died on the tracks at an underground station in london. Police had tried to detain the man at colindale station in the early hours of sunday, after reports there of a fight. He reports there of a fight. He fled but was fatally injured on the rails. British transport police say they are now investigating the circumstances of his death. And finally, some of his death. And finally, some weather news for you. Forecasters are warning of heavy rain that could cause a danger to life after a person died in a mudslide in North Yorkshire yesterday, an amber weather warning is in place for parts of north wales, northwest england, including manchester and in liverpool until midday today. Liverpool until midday today. Separate yellow warnings for rain have also been issued for the midlands north, northwards and parts of Northern Ireland and parts of Northern Ireland and scotland. Two. For the latest stories , you can sign up latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen , or the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Its 1008 with britains newsroom on gb news with Andrew Pearson bev turner. So the election is coming on july the fourth. So joining us now is our political editor, Christopher Hope, who i believe is travelling with the Prime Ministers team, and Katherine Forster who is outside labour party hq. Chris youre on a bus. What are you doing . What are you doing . Hi, hi. Hi, hi. Hi, hi. Hi, bev. Hi, andrea. Im on a bus going through the east midlands here with the Prime Ministers team on a tour of the four nations of the uk as he tries to get his campaign off to a better start than in the rain in downing street. There was some boost here for the tory party. We have got this news from nigel farage. He will not stand as a candidate for the reform uk party at the july fourth election, a tory spokesman tells gb news right now, it doesnt matter who reformers have standing at all, it all it does is make a big labour majority more likely. Labour majority more likely. Keir starmer wants you to vote for reform because he knows it will divide the tory vote. A vote for reform means a high government, the high a Labour Government, the high a Labour Government with higher taxes and amnesty for legal migration and amnesty for legal migration and a betrayal on the eu. Its very clear to me the tories believe that the reform uk polling was boosted by the hope that nigel farage would stand for that party and be its leader, maybe replacing richard tice. But that replacing richard tice. But that hasnt happened. And what may happen now is that voters may look at reform and say its not what they thought it might be, and they might go back to the tory party. So it could be a boost here on day one of the election for the tory party chris, have you got any sense from the team there whose idea it was to put rishi sunak in front of that lectern with no umbrella in the rain . Are they all despairing at that decision now . Not yet. I think weve heard from the pm himself today saying that he felt he had to do it from the lectern. Thats the tradition, and he couldnt do much else but go out when they thought there was a break in the rain. It didnt break. Hes never late bev and andrew for anything he does. He was seven minutes late. They clearly were waiting for a break in the clouds. Hes joking. Here in clouds. Hesjoking. Here in derbyshire he has got his his his brolly with him. Hes talked to factory workers here in the east midlands talking about the flights. Will take off in july. Hes got airports booked, flights are booked but probably after the general election. Hes been talking about the general, the nhs and his approach on net zero. Were starting to see a feel here for why he thinks he can get elected as as the next Prime Minister for an unprecedented fifth tory term. All right, thats chris hope, whos with the Prime Minister. Katherine forster is outside labour party hq. Catherine theyre all fanning out across theyre all fanning out across the country already. Yes they are. And good morning, andrew and bev, sir keir starmer of course, in kent this morning surrounded by People Holding placards that simply say one word change. That is labours key pitch, theyre saying in the speech yesterday where sir keir starmer was very warm and dry, wasnt he . Compared to the Prime Minister stop the chaos, time for change. And then build a better britain. Now im here in southwark, outside labour hq this morning. Ive seen sue gray and sir Keir Starmers chief of staff come in. A very controversial appointment. Wasnt its that last year, of course, shed led the partygate investigation. The partygate investigation. Also talking to some members of starmers team that i know that came over for a chat a bit earlier on, they are as shocked as anybody else in the whole of westminster, to be honest, that this is happening now. They were not expecting it either. But that said, and people close to starmer told me very many months ago that they were going to be ready for it whenever it happens. I did learn yesterday , happens. I did learn yesterday, though, that the speech that starmer gave was only written about 230 in the afternoon. All right, thats Katherine Forster outside the labour party hq. Who better to talk to than about the appalling launch for the tory party yesterday, then piers pottinger bell pottinger. And youve advised various tory leaders, Prime Ministers from thatcher, major. I leaders, Prime Ministers from thatcher, major. I mean, i couldnt believe my eyes pierced. Neither could i. And then i realised that rishi was probably auditioning for his next job, which is, i know youre a lover of musical theatre, and i think hes obviously lining himself up to play the lead in singing in the rain , and i mean, it was the rain, and i mean, it was just laughable. It was, im afraid, and shambolic and how the police allowed mr bray to attach a speaker to the railings of downing street and blast the Prime Minister, who wasnt making a political statement. It was a National Announcement and the police should have interfered, intervened and stopped that. At the very least. Stopped that. At the very least. That would have looked bad though. But i mean, from rishis point of view, its over. We should be looking at the next Prime Minister, the next the next leader of the not even a chance he can fight to a no parliament. Well, theres a slight chance because the labour party have chosen the word change weve just heard, and its very apposite because Keir Starmers policies change every five minutes according to what he thinks people are going to want to hear. But what he really believes we dont know. And that is his achilles heel. We dont know. And that is his achilles heel. Hes playing this game of dont do anything thatll rock the boat, because ive got to get in. I want power so much. So rishis opportunity so much. So rishis opportunity is to prick that balloon and say, come on, what do you really believe in . When you said Jeremy Corbyn would make a wonderful Prime Minister, something he never has rescinded. Incidentally did he mean it, or was he just saying that when he talks about his marxist views, which were very strong , which were very strong, incidentally, hes never rescinded them . Is he at heart a marxist . Are we going to be a country run by the dictator to by their paymasters, the trade unions . If labour get in, these are the questions we should ask. But the next leader for the conservatives is the most important. And in my view , that important. And in my view, that should be david frost. Lord frost, who is nothing to do with this lot but was a very effective negotiator on brexit. He is a statesmanlike figure with real vision, real principles, speaks enormously well and doesnt carry any of the baggage of any of the current cabinet, any of them. I current cabinet, any of them. I think Penny Mordaunt will probably lose her seat. Kemi badenoch has got too many enemies and a bit of a temper, im told, to really want to be a successful leader, and she carries the baggage of this bunch. So carries the baggage of this bunch. So weve got to look to the future. I think nigel farage not standing has helped the tories helped the conservatives immensely because theres no doubt at all if he did stand, it would be good. But david frost has said today in the Daily Telegraph that he would like to stand as an mp. Its up to the party. I hope they grab him and give him a safe, a safe as he can get seat because we need him for the future, because the day the labour party get in is when the labour party get in is when the british people will realise what a terrible mistake theyve made because sadly , made because sadly, traditionally people vote against things for not it and everyones fed up with the conservatives. What do you think the big themes are going to be . Were looking very much ahead there, but between now and july the 4th, piers, i keep picking up on this word that sunak is using a lot about safety and security, and weve had these very strange stories which have been in the press in the last 3 to 4 months. Would you go and fight for your country if there was a war . We need more defence spending. We arent in a position to defend ourselves against russia. If tensions , particularly in tensions, particularly in eastern europe, start to pick up, that will play to rishi sunak strengths, it should do. But on the other hand, i think people its a domestic election and people are more concerned about whats happening here. Cost of living. It goes back to the pound in your pocket. Yeah. It goes back to how people are feeling. And the problem is, although there are some trickling good news at the moment, its not going to have long enough to have the effect by the time the election comes. If it had been november , it is if it had been november, it is arguable that people would have been feeling better by then. And been feeling better by then. And the results of what sunak has achieved, at least with inflation. The bank of england would be able to reduce Interest Rates. They cant do that in the middle of an election, because they would be seen to be, or it would be claimed they were trying to influence the outcome of the election, which is a great pity, because if they did, and as i believe next month, they could probably could have, reduced the Interest Rates. But they cant now, which is a pity. So in some ways going early is a huge gamble. But it also, to me is a bit defeatist because i think rishi knows the game is up andifs think rishi knows the game is up and its over for him and his bunch of lets face it, not very impressive cabinet ministers. Well then who and id love to know who led him out with that launch, because if that becomes the metaphor for the campaign, well, it will do, im afraid, because, i mean, it was just shambolic. But i think what was also, you can stand there in the rain like that, if you can think on the on the hoof and you can make a, make a joke, the fact that he stood there and ignored the rain is what makes him a weak leader. Well, he was also reading a script, not particularly well. He didnt have the confidence or the authority. And now, of course, like starmer , they both course, like starmer, they both they all are obsessed with stand in a white shirt with their sleeves rolled up as if that shows theyre theyre getting ready to make a joke about the heavens opening. Of course he did. So many moving the furniture or the weather, he had to make a joke while he was on his. He could have sung a line from im singing in the rain. He certainly could have. Yeah, he could have. But you know, and also it just plays into this idea that, that, that he may not necessarily want this at this time or hes not bothered about winning. It smacks of i dont really care. Really care. But also why, given there were lots of umbrellas inside downing street, did someone not come out with one and stand behind him with an umbrella . The poor person keeping the rain off the billionaire because he looks like thats how it all plays out. Hes got that big enough umbrella. Would cover two of them. They should have just looked at the weather and thought , its at the weather and thought, its britain. Its may. You cant rely on the weather. Weve got a very nice media centre here. Well do it there or tory party hq outside tory party hq. Yeah, they could have done it inside. There are lots of places they could have done it, but they. It just smelt of rushing it. Yeah. And this, this again you know , it feels as though you know, it feels as though this was a rushed decision. Suddenly this is happening. It caught most of the mps off guard. Some of them last night were talking about trying to stop the election, which is absolutely absurd. Idea and of course hopeless. The other question i have is, which no one seems to have is, which no one seems to have mentioned, is weve been heanng have mentioned, is weve been hearing a lot of rumours about a lot of mps going to defect other than the poll man and that ghastly woman. Yeah, to become ghastly woman. Yeah, to become traitors, and there was someone saying there were as many as 26 about to cross the floor. Did he call the election to stop them crossing the floor . Quite likely. Quite likely. Thats a that is in the back of my mind. Yeah. There may have been more defectors lining up and he couldnt have stood. That would have been very. That would have been very. Couldnt have withstood that. Couldnt have withstood that. Very damaged, humiliated, would have finished his leadership actually , it would leadership actually, it would have done right. Pierce, thank you so much. Pierce, thank you so much. Much to talk about in the next during the next six weeks, still to come this morning. Its a left wing think tank, isnt it . Demos. It certainly is. It certainly is. They have reported that disinformation about low traffic neighbourhoods online was problematic because it changed how mps thought about that particular policy. In other words, lets clamp down on free speech from the left. This is britains newsroom on. Gb news. Good morning. It is 1023. It is the morning after the night before. Where rishi sunak announced a general election on july the 4th. Carole malone is with us. And also amy nicole turner. Ladies. Your reaction . Carole lets go to you. Nigel farage first. What do you think . Hes not going to stand for reform as a candidate. No surprise. I dont think thats the most important thing. I mean no, i mean its no surprise to me ehheh mean its no surprise to me either. But but that i thought the i thought the announcement, it was a huge shock. I was on my way somewhere and i thought, oh my god, my god, i should be at home doing some work on this. But, you know, ive read lots of stuff today. You know, andrew neil is very clear that he shouldnt have called it this thing. Tim stanley in the telegraph says the opposite. Hes saying, you know, whats he going to wait for . For what . It is over. Something might turn up and he and tim stanley is saying he thinks this is a really brave thing. You know, weve all been calling for sunak, havent we, to be braver and tougher and be bolder. And suddenly hes gone and done it with this. And im not sure this is the right thing to do. I think he probably is the right thing, you know, it probably is. But, you know, as as andrew neil was saying today, quite rightly, that, you know, Interest Rates are going to be falling soon. Mortgage rates are definitely falling. The economy is better and people have a bit more money in their pocket. Not a lot, but things could have got better by november. But its also next to christmas. And are people thinking about politics at christmas . I dont think they are. Dont you think people have made their mind up . I think, yeah, and you know, i think when a listening theyre not listening to rishi, i think a lot of them made it up at partygate. I think, you know, i hearit partygate. I think, you know, i hear it all the time and you guys must hear it more than me, they, they didnt forgive boris. Theyre never going to forgive the tories for that. Im not sure what. What any other government could have done better than than the tories dunng better than than the tories during covid itself. However, i just think it is overflowing. Its quite a brave thing to do. Its quite a brave thing to do. I just hope i just hope when labour get out there, i think i want people to grill them about how theyre going to do what they say theyre going to do, because they cant tell us what they are going to do. Well. Well. Well, well. Those pathetic pledges that starmer made last week that the even his own cabinet have forgotten about. But i want to know where the money is coming from, because we know its going to come from taxes and we know that everyones going to be hit really hard. And labour. I dont think labour ahead in the polls because theyre good. I think they were ahead in the polls because the tories have done so badly. So i want them to explain. It feels like weve got all this kind of there is a sense of political fatigue in this country, the public, weve even been feeling it. And i said it feels now its a bit like, you know, when youre waiting for an elderly relative to die and they go and its a little bit of a mixed emotion in that youre glad theyre out of their suffering, but also you realise how much youve all been on tenterhooks, actually, with this drawn out process. And i dont mean that as in the end of the conservatives, i dont mean that, but i just mean at least were all focused now, and at least peoples minds are now engaged on that deadline. Yeah, they are. However he did, he said to loose women that we could book our holidays. He did. So what did i do . I went and booked to go to vegas, so im not even going to be around. And but that was only in the last couple of weeks, he said. I think he said that last week. What changed . What changed . Well, what do you know what ive got . Ive got a theory about what changed. So now whats going to be in the wash up debates . Its going to be the compensation for the infected blood scandal. Also, the post office settlement. These are big, huge amounts of money. Im always going to go on Labour Government. Exactly. The government wanted to kick that can down. I dont think theyve done precisely that. Well, no, not precisely that. Well, no, not precisely that. Well, no, not precisely that. Well, no, not precisely that. But i think its certainly must have played a factor in, in, in their thinking. Because why do you lie. Why. It doesnt make any sense. Because the only two things i can think of is that they didnt want reform to be able to get the 650 candidates in place. They didnt want them to be able to vet them. So now they do get them in place. We can all kind of go through them and find their flaws very easily. They wont be completely checked. Theres not enough time and also, i do think that that the vast amount of money that it would have cost to settle the infected blood scandal, which the conservatives they want to look like they really care, but its just not financially possible for them to be able to deal with it. Deal with it. Parliament goes into recess for the summer, and he knows they cant do anything during recess. The tories cant achieve anything during the recess. So anything during the recess. So when they come back in september, theyre not going to achieve anything. So why not achieve anything. So why not now . I mean, why not now . I think to me it makes it, you know, but theres another factor in my view. Maloney its not just that because reform arent ready. They havent got the candidate. Theyve got the infrastructure or the money. And now we know they havent got nigel farage, which doesnt surprise me. The war in gaza continues apace and there will be a series of muslim candidates standing against labouh candidates standing against labour, and that will split the labour, and that will split the labour vote and could cost them seats. Well, George Galloway has already said hes going to stand people. Hes already said hes going to stand someone in Angela Rayners constituency. And this is incredible. We have we have a deputy leader whos actually now still under criminal investigation. Quite astonishing really, but but i think youre right. And we also have the labour party itself is completely split over gaza. Theyre at war with each other over. Oveh also, weve got rwanda up in the air. So now working as a rishi sunak can say, well, if you vote for me, then the flights will take off, which has changed from the flights will take off for vote for me. So its almost becoming a referendum on rwanda. Conversely , whats going to conversely, whats going to happenis conversely, whats going to happen is everything labour do wrong, theyre going to blame on brexit and theyre going to blame on the tories for the next five years. We know that lord frost had a really interesting piece today, in the telegraph. You know , saying basically that, you know, saying basically that, that, that starmer has already said he wants to go back in the customs union. Hell go back in there. Whats the other one . The there. Whats the other one . The the single market, the single market. And, and will become a satellite of europe all over again, which we i mean, that even hasnt been talked about yet, but that is whats going to happen and not something to vote for though. Thats, thats well, with a lot of people you should think should be the next tory leader. David frost. David frost. So do i. I mean, seriously, i think people trust frost. Hes a decent bloke. He was very decent dunng decent bloke. He was very decent during brexit. He i mean, you know, i think hes very effective. And he said today in the paper that, you know, if they make him an mp he would think about it. And i think we should. Can you think of anyone else . I cant, lets just forjust a little bit, lets look at this letter that nigel farage has submitted. He says that hes submitted. He says that hes thought long and hard whether to stand. Hes an honorary president , of course, of reform uk. I am fully supportive of richard tice leadership, urge voters to put their trust in him and lee anderson. I will do my bit to help the campaign. But he then says although the general election is important, the contest in america has huge global significance. A Strong America as a close ally is vital for our peace and security, and i intend to help with the Grassroots Campaign in america in any way that i can. Hes a patron to upset a few people, isnt it . Nigel farage there doing his bit for the country. Hes going to do his bit for reform uk though, and not make. Well, i think , you know, were saying in think, you know, were saying in the break nigel farage has lost eight elections. So i think if he stood its actually not that likely that he would have won anyway. But then if he did win a seat , say anyway. But then if he did win a seat, say somebody was pulling clacton as a potential seat, that he could win. Nigel farage, a type of person that actually wants to be an mp. He would also be probably the only reform party mp if you look at the polls. But thats a very lonely because he knows he knows. Reformer unlikely to win any seats probably. And if they won, wouldnt it be his . Why would he want to be in a party thats got a, you know, the tiniest minority in parliament and its not going to achieve anything . Farage wants more than that. And but i think the decision in america, i mean, i dont know whether we think that trump is employing him. Well, hes on the team. Hes going to be hell be doing a lot of the warmup for trump. Yeah, hes done it before and he does it very well. Yeah. And theyre very good mates and they get on very good mates and they get on very well. Yeah i mean thats thats kind of what that was much more glamorous than the american president. President. President United States. And you never know if trump gets a big job, it becomes president. Mr nigel farage, would you like to be my trade envoy adviser . Why not, should we have a quick look at this story about the princess of wales picture on the princess of wales picture on the front of tatler magazine . What is this story about, carol . I promise to have it flashed up on tv. Have we got this . So this is a portrait, right . This is her. This is her. This is a woman impression. This is a woman impression. Maybe like an artists impression. There it is. There it is. Have a look at that. If youre listening on the radio, there is a picture of somebody thats not nothing like the beautiful princess, you know. You know what . You know what . You know what . You look a bit like meghan. You look a bit like meghan. No, it looks like nobody. You know, those cartoons, though. It looks like it looks like a dummy. You know that the cartoons the male uses to illustrate features the faces. You know, kate is the most stunning, beautiful, incredible woman. And this, this makes her look like shes 70 years old. And. Dobby, whats with her hair . Shes never worn a hair like that in her life. Its awful. And the eyes, the nose, its just no smile. No warmth. No warmth. Theres not a flicker of resemblance of kate in that. And its not surprising because lets say this, this artist called hannah uzor, she hasnt met the princess or shes done. No, shes. She didnt. This princess didnt sit for her. Right. So what shes done is shes looked. She says she shes looked. She says she studied thousands of photographs. Well, she needs to study harder because our eyes have clearly played tricks because that doesnt look anything like nothing i had to say. I was scrolling twitter last night and it came up and it said something about prince of wales, but my brain wouldnt link the two and link the picture to the text. So i just scroll past it, and it was only when i arrived here this morning that i realised it really is. Im amazed i put a picture of kate. Me too, because its hideous. Me too, because its hideous. Because its not hideous. Because its not hideous. It is. It is hideous. It is hideous. Shes one of the most beautiful women in britain. She that is, thats thats just hideous. Its neither use nor ornament, as my mother would say, because it doesnt actually look like her. And it isnt an impressionistic version of her and somebody. Right. Weve got to go, ladies. Im so sorry. Carol eamonn. Youll be back in the next hour. Sam francis is waiting very patiently for us. Here he is. Here he is. Good morning to you. Just good morning to you. Just coming up to 1033, the headlines this morning. The Prime Minister is urging voters to re elect him if they want to see asylum flights take off to rwanda, conceding they wont get off the ground before the general election. In derbyshire, rishi sunak also says hes putting the economy and Global Security at the heart of his campaign. Meanwhile, in kent, the labour leader, sir keir starmer, told voters what the conservatives have done to the country is unforgivable and says voters now have the power and the chance to end the chaos and to rebuild britain. Net migration in the uk stood at an estimated 685,000 people in the year to december 2023, the office for National Statistics says. Thats down 10 from the record of 764,000 in 2022. Official figures suggest just over 1,200,000 people arrived in the uk last year, while an estimated 530,000 are likely to have left. The likely to have left. The metropolitan police has referred itself to the independent Police Watchdog after a man who officers were chasing died on the tracks at an underground station in london. Police tried to detain him at colindale station in the early hours of sunday, after reports of a fight there. The man fled but was there. The man fled but was fatally injured on the rails , fatally injured on the rails, and forecasters are warning of more heavy rain that could cause a danger to life after a person died in a mudslide in North Yorkshire yesterday. An amber weather alert is in place for parts of north wales and northwest england, including in manchester and liverpool, until midday today. Manchester and liverpool, until midday today. Separate warnings midday today. Separate warnings for rain have also been issued for rain have also been issued for the midlands and parts of Northern Ireland and scotland. Northern ireland and scotland. Thats the latest from the newsroom for now. Another update newsroom for now. Another update at 11 00. Until then, you can sign up to gb news alerts. Just scan the code there on your screen or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Slash alerts. Cheers. Britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news Financial Report, and heres a look at the markets this morning. The pound will buy you 1. 2717 and the pound will buy you 151. 2717 and ,1. 1734. The the pound will buy you 1. 2717 and ,1. 1734. The price of gold is £1,860. 24 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8363 points. Cheers britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news Financial Report. Well, still to come, the former post office chief executive, Paula Vennells, is giving evidence again today at the post Office Inquiry. Dont forget, shes very, very sorry. No doubt shell start blubbering very soon. This is britains newsroom on gb news. Let us know what you think this morning. Gbnews. Com yoursay. Now, then, terry has said. Is nigel doing an announcement at 11 00 . This is nigel farage. I bet the reform lads, cant wait. Now, of reform lads, cant wait. Now, of course, they are doing a press conference this morning, and nigels announcement will completely overshadow anything that thats said at the press conference. They. Theyre doing a press conference. Its tyson and widdicombe on the latest immigration figures. Thats right. But the only questions right. But the only questions theyll be asked about is farage. Absolutely, people are getting sick of us talking about the rain and the Prime Minister being in the rain. The rain and the Prime Minister being in the rain. Theyre being in the rain. Theyre saying, stop talking about it. Its not interesting. Okay . Okay. Thanks well, i think we thought it was. I think the thing is, its not that its about the rain. Its about competence. Yeah. And so that image of rishi sunak yesterday launching that election had to look statesmanlike. And instead it looked like some sort of humiliation ritual, as though we were back at Public School and people were making him do mean things in the rain. I mean, look at the headline in the telegraph, which is the tory tory paper. Things can only get wetter, drown and out. It was terrible. It was received just in the way that it should have been. Yeah dave is saying, bev, give it a rest. We know you love labour. I dont dave, i dont, i dont i see myself as pretty apolitical actually. I have principles that i stand up for, and i will vote for whichever party stands for the principles that i think are important. And andrew again, another one saying all this talk about rishi standing in the rain, it doesnt really matter. Look, weve got six weeks now, and i like the fact that its only six weeks. It might feel like a lot longer after seven with theresa may and i, but actually they are already out there already. Weve seen Christopher Hope on the bus with the sunak team this morning. Weve got Katherine Forster out there. Weve got keir starmer there. Weve got keir starmer who was down in kent this morning. You know theyre going to meet her in surrey. Theyre all focused. Theyre all trying to get your vote. Now all around the country. And so suddenly it feels like it all very much. Feels like it all very much. And you know, the house of commons doesnt get prorogued until next week. But i can tell you itll be a ghost town. Oh, you itll be a ghost town. Oh, im sure theyve abandoned ship in their constituencies. In their constituencies. Yeah. Good morning gary, youve said the biggest problem about the july the fourth will be the low turnout and the average person not voting because of all the extreme minority groups will be out in force , changing our political force, changing our Political Landscape for the next five years, or in some cases forever, where we wont recognise the uk anymore. I will be voting and it wont be labour, but i will not stand by and let the leftists and extremists win and take away my liberty and the way the country that i love, that election date is during wimbledon. Cheers. Its the day of Henley Regatta and its the day before tory voters there. I can tell you that the day before the euro, the euros quarter final, which of course , final, which of course, hopefully england and scotland will be in the quarter finals , will be in the quarter finals, theyll actually creates a sense of goodwill and a feel good factor. Yeah, right. Lets go and find out what everybody in scotland is thinking after this, announcement yesterday, scotland reporter tony maguire is with us there. Tony, a sense of excitement and exhilaration on the streets of scotland this morning. Morning. I dont know if you look at the weather behind me, i better watch what i say because much of the viewership might not seem like much more chat about the rain, but hey ho, yeah, indeed. Rain, but hey ho, yeah, indeed. Very much. In fact, i would say even before today theres a lot of, you know, excitement. And its almost like half of scotland has essentially got a sneak peek of Keir Starmers election branding change, change, change. That is all i have been hearing here in glasgow over the last week. And certainly, you know, its always interesting when you see the generational divide in terms of who is willing to give up their their voting intentions and whos not. Certainly the older generations i spoke to. Well, theyre all, you know, lining up behind keir starmer. But thats not to say that anyone should be discounting the snp at this stage either. Now certainly, of course, the minute have the most scottish westminster seats. And, scottish westminster seats. And, you know, people think that theyve been doing a fairly good job. They want scotland on the agenda with fairly high regularity, of course, john swinney , he is, you know, going swinney, he is, you know, going to have his first election test in last night. He spoke about his absolutely kind of fuming about how this election is falling right at the start of the Scottish School holidays. Up here, of course, our School Holidays run from pretty much the end of june, start of july through to the middle of august. So, you know, were not only not going to be able to, perhaps watch wimbledon and the euros as easily as we like without going out to vote. But were also essentially a lot of people up here are going to have to line up and get their postal votes sorted out. And then theres sorted out. And then theres people like myself, of course, who perhaps even, you know , are who perhaps even, you know, are planning and moving over this summer, and theyre going to have to deal with things that way as well. But certainly up here the mood is very much kind of, quite happy that were going to see some of that change. Okay. Thank you very much. Tony. Tony okay. Thank you very much. Tony. Tony mcguire there in glasgow and stay with scotland. Lets go to the liberal democrat mp for edinburgh west, Christine Jardine. Good morning christine. Thank you so much for joining us. Youve brought your umbrella. At least youre one step ahead in that regard. Marvellous. Good to see. Now why should anybody vote for the liberal democrats in july . Well, quite simply, we are second to the conservatives in a number of seats in england. We have a number of mps in scotland who can keep the snp out. People in scotland. I have to take issue with what tony was saying. People in scotland are fed up with the snp and their ineffectiveness, but if you want change then vote liberal democrat because we are the people who can deliver that change by defeating the conservatives in a lot of seats in england, and i think were going to see an increase in our seats, after the election, because we listen to what people say and we serve our communities, we work hard for our community, and weve done incredibly well over the past, four years. Ed davey has led us to four by election wins since the last general election. And in the local council elections, we did better than the tories and had our best result for 30 years. And if you think back when we did best before was in 96, just before, tony blair became Prime Minister and we went into our most successful penod went into our most successful period in the 20th century, christine , is it going to be an christine, is it going to be an issue in scotland in particular, the fact that from what tony was saying, that the schools will be on holiday, come on, come july the 4th, does that mean a lot of people are going to be away that that lie in from john swinney is just typical of why people swap and are fed up to snp. We have and are fed up to snp. We have an nhs in scotland which is crumbling. We have people cant get dentists , theyre doing diy get dentists, theyre doing diy dentistry, you cant get an appointment with your gp. Our education standards are falling and John Sweeneys response to general election is, oh, its at the start of the School Holidays. Well, people can get a postal vote. And you know what . If the snp paid more attention to actually fixing scotlands problems rather than concocting and sort of anti scottish narrative at every opportunity . They wouldnt be facing problems that they are facing in this election where they really look like having a hard time, a very hard time. I wonder, i wonder, christine, if well see anything of, Nicola Sturgeon during this campaign. Would you welcome her on the campaign trail . On the campaign trail . I would welcome her. I dont know, the snp would because she harks back to and you know, she harks back to and you know, she harks back to and you know, she harks back now to an era that they, they really dont want to be reminded of and situations that they dont want to be reminded of. And i, you know, Humza Yousafs have probably, you know, he harks back to a penod you know, he harks back to a period as well, but they dont want to be reminded of, and they have a problem because everywhere they turn, people are a reminder of the problems that the snp have not dealt with in scotland, some of them theyve created. And when it comes right down to westminster, they promised everyone in 2015 that, you know, they would turn the green benches tartan and they would be a louder voice for scotland. But they havent been. Scotland. But they havent been. Theyve been a pretty pathetic , theyve been a pretty pathetic, ineffective voice for scotland, andifs ineffective voice for scotland, and its time scotland had mps, including myself. I hope mps who including myself. I hope mps who will stand up for the communities and who will work for the communities and who will try to improve our lot, improve the economy, work to , put the the economy, work to, put the nhs on a stronger footing, improve our education. Instead of this constant harping on about independence and anti, you know how everybody is against scotland and this narrative of grievance which hasnt served us well. All right. Thats Christine Jardine whos the lib dem mp for edinburgh west. Thanks so much for joining us christine. Of forjoining us christine. Of course snp arent here to defend themselves and they would be robust in of course, saying that they have been a good voice for scotland. Now up next, the former post office chief executive, Paula Vennells, giving evidence again today at the post Office Inquiry. Hankies at the ready. I think so and im going to be reading your messages. Gbnews. Com yoursay say dont go anywhere. This is britains expert ex post office. Boss Paula Vennells. Well, she kept crying, didnt she . Yes, sir. And she gave evidence for the first time at the Public Inquiry into to the the post office. Shes back giving evidence. So joining us now is conservative mp for north norfolk and former subpostmaster, a friend of the show duncan baker. Duncan. Lovely to see you again. Look lovely to see you again. Look none of us like to take sort of gloat in somebodys an individuals misery , but she individuals misery, but she didnt look very happy yesterday. And this is a tough ask for her. Theres going to be some tough questions, but she has to answer them. Has to answer them. Yeah, i think very much that yesterday was probably the soft day. It was, getting her, going. Day. It was, getting her, going. And actually, i think the next two days are going to be even tougher. But its sort of what we learned yesterday thats most revealing, but she didnt seem to know very much at all, im not necessarily sure that thats going to hold up for the next two days, i mean, one of the revelations is that she didnt know for years about the prosecutions that the post office were conducting on those innocent, subpostmasters. I think well see with all of the, email transcripts coming out in the next 24, 48 hours, just what she did know and how much of what she said yesterday really will stand up, duncan, if she didnt know she had no right to be chief executive of an organisation like that, because this was a pretty major part of what was going on. Post office why i struggle to believe a word shes saying. Believe a word shes saying. I mean, you would have thought that as soon as you turn up as the chief executive, you would want to know about the biggest set of decisions and the biggest set of decisions and the biggest furore that is going on underneath the post office, underneath the post office, underneath you, which was all of these prosecutions, the horizon system , which clearly wasnt system, which clearly wasnt working, and not just a few handful of people being falsely accused, but as we know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. And to be laying out yesterday, well , i laying out yesterday, well, i didnt know about this and i didnt know about this and i didnt know about that, you just makes you think to yourself, well, what did you know about then . And i, im, you know, im very, very cynical. Im very, very, very cynical. Im very, very sceptical. Im, you know, very sceptical. Im, you know, im sorry about that, but i think we are going to find out in the next 24, 48 hours just what she did know. But yesterdays it didnt fill me with a lot of confidence. Yes. With a lot of confidence. Yes. No. Well, lets lets lets hope we do get some answers for all of those subpostmasters. Duncan baker, thank you so much for joining us. Still to come, forjoining us. Still to come, russia has started Tactical Nuclear drills that after the weather. A brighter outlook with boxt solar , the sponsors of weather solar, the sponsors of weather on gb news. Morning. Heres your latest gb news weather update brought to you by the met office on this rather wet wednesday. Heavy rain is going to spill across many parts of the country, and that does bring the risk of some flooding. Its already a wet start across parts of eastern england, and that rain spilling its way north and westwards across many areas. As westwards across many areas. As we go through the day, the rain is really going to be persistent and intense for some of us, and we are likely to see some impacts in association with such wet weather. There will also be some showers around towards the north and also the south of the country, but the sunshine is going to be relatively limited. Temperatures not as high as they have been recently, and under the wet weather its going to feel pretty unpleasant. Like i said, some showers developing, especially towards the south. Some of these could turn heavy and thundery as we go through the evening. Some frequent lightning, perhaps even some large hail to watch out for here. The greatest cause for concern, though, will be the very wet weather across parts of england and wales and into southern scotland. Two here the persistent rain could lead to totals building up as we go through today into tomorrow in excess of 100mm in some places, especially over the high ground of north wales, we are likely to see some impacts from it. Towards the northwest of scotland there will be some showers as we go through the day and again these could be a little bit heavy at times. Two through the evening and overnight. The rain does gradually make its way north and westwards, but it takes quite a while to do so , which is why while to do so, which is why were going to continue to see those rainfall totals building up, and why there is the risk of some impacts, including some flooding towards the south. As we go through the night. It should turn largely dry. There should turn largely dry. There may be some clear breaks, but on the whole staying quite cloudy. Temperatures for most not dropping a huge amount. Thursday does look like it will be another wet day for the northern two thirds of the country. Perhaps the rain not quite as heavy as through today, but nonetheless it is going to be quite a wet picture and that still brings the risk of some impacts because of the unsettled weather, drier and perhaps brighter towards the south. So temperatures still not quite as high as they were earlier on in the week, but feeling pleasant enoughin the week, but feeling pleasant enough in any sunshine by by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather on gb news. Its 11 am. Youre with britains newsroom on gb news. With Andrew Pierce and bev turner on. Take it. What day is it . Its thursday, the 23rd of may. It is a date that will be etched forever in our memories. Six weeks from the general election on june the 4th. Thats right. Rishi sunak has, of course , called for an has, of course, called for an election. He spoke to the gp, he spoke to gb news Breakfast Show this morning. Well show you that in just a moment. No flights to rwanda for the general election in july. That appears to be the bombshell dropped by rishi on us. So can he really stop the boats and nigel farage has confirmed this morning he will not stand as a reform uk candidate in a surprise announcement will bring you his partys press conference, though in the next 15 minutes. Was it a surprise to me and is it a change for the better . Well, thats labours mantra for this election. Keir starmer on the campaign trail in kent, says he puts the country before Party Interests. Thats a good place to start. But look at long last, the election has been called, the time has come and the wait is over and the liberal democrats say that they are ready to win every single vote. They might not be many of them, but they do want the votes that they can get. Deputy leader daisy cooper spoke to gb news breakfast this morning about her leader, ed davey , spoken very leader, ed davey, spoken very movingly and very openly about his experience of being a family carer, and hes become a real champion for unpaid carers around the country. So it is absolutely the right leader for the liberal democrats going into this general election i good news net migration down by 10 last year from that record high of 764,000. The tories say this show their plan is working. Are you convinced . Is working. Are you convinced . And im very, very sorry. Thats the message from former post office boss Paula Vennells to subpostmasters shes continuing to give evidence at the post Office Inquiry as we speak. Well, were getting a lot of reaction, arent we, from our viewers and listeners about the fact Farage Nigel Farage is not going to stand as a candidate in the general election. He is still going to be working with the reform party. Of course, he will spend the next six weeks, i imagine, on the election trail banging the drum for reform uk. But a lot of you are very disappointed that he isnt actually going to stand. Theres quite a lot of angerin stand. Theres quite a lot of anger in our inbox this morning. Gbnews. Com yoursay or you can tweet us gbnews as well. We will have a look at your messages while we hear the news from sam. From sam. Very good morning to you. Its just after 11 00. A look at the headlines this morning. The Prime Minister is urging voters to re elect him if they want to see asylum flights take off to rwanda. Though hes conceded they wont get off the ground before the general election. Before the general election. Rishi sunak also said hes putting the economy and Global Security at the heart of his campaign. It comes as Political Party leaders have begun six weeks of trying to win votes after it was announced the polls will open on the 4th of july. The timing of the announcement came as a surprise to some, with labour polling 20 points ahead, kicking off the Conservatives Campaign this morning, rishi sunak claimed that labour would do absolutely nothing to stop the boats. Everyone else is starting to agree with my approach, which is bold. The one person that doesnt is keir starmer. Bold. The one person that doesnt is keir starmer. Thats doesnt is keir starmer. Thats a choice at this election. He thinks that we should just offer an amnesty to Illegal Migrants to make us a soft touch of europe. It would make us a magnet for thousands of migrants coming from everywhere. So thats the choice at this election. Do you think my plan is the right one . Do you think im the one thats taking bold action to secure our borders to and stop the boats . Or do you think hes going to do that . And its pretty clear that on this issue, not only does he not share the countrys values, that its a problem. Hes going to do absolutely nothing about it. Absolutely nothing about it. Well, labour leader sir keir starmer has begun his campaign in the south east of england this morning. Hes telling voters that what the conservatives have done to the country is unforgivable , he country is unforgivable, he says, and that they dont need to put up with it. To put up with it. Labour and a vote for labour is a is a chance to end that chaos, to turn a page, to change for the better of the country, to change our nhs, to change our pubuc to change our nhs, to change our Public Services, to make sure our economy is stable, to make sure our communities are cared for and to move forward and rebuild our country. That is the choice i accept. Not a single vote has been cast. Im humble about this and i know every vote must be earned. But the power now under our democracy is with the voters to. Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the liberal democrats , stacy of the liberal democrats, stacy coopeh of the liberal democrats, stacy cooper, has this morning ruled out a coalition with the conservatives. People want politicians to be talking about our nhs and social care, and about the cost of living crisis. People are living crisis. People are struggling to see a gp, theyre struggling to see a gp, theyre struggling to see a gp, theyre struggling to see a dentist, theyre battling long waiting lists. Theyre worried that if you call an ambulance , it wont you call an ambulance, it wont turn up. And on top of all of that, theyre still struggling to pay the bills to put food on the table. Liberal democrats have been utterly relentless about talking about these issues for the last few months and years, and were going to keep on talking about the nhs and the cost of living over the next six weeks. Net migration in the uk stood at an estimated 685,000 people in the year to december 2023, the office for National Statistics says. Thats down 10 from the record of 764,000 in 2022. Official figures suggest. 2022. Official figures suggest. Just over 1. 2 Million People arrived in the uk last year, while 532,000 have likely have left in scotland. A former Scottish Health secretary has been suspended from Scottish Parliament and will lose his salary for 54 days. Michael matheson ran up £11,000 in roaming charges on his parliamentary ipad while on houdayin parliamentary ipad while on holiday in morocco last year. Later announcing that he would cover the costs himself. He revealed the bill had been the result of his children using the device as a wi fi hotspot to watch football. That punishment was handed down at holyrood earlier today and will now be subject to a vote in Scottish Parliament. Alan bates, the lead campaigner for justice in the post office scandal, says he has no sympathy for Paula Vennells. She is giving evidence at the start of her much anticipated three days of questioning at the honzon three days of questioning at the horizon inquiry. The former head of the post office has been questioned there over the reasons why she, during her time in charge of the organisation , in charge of the organisation, oversaw some of the wrongful prosecutions of subpostmasters. Prosecutions of subpostmasters. The metropolitan police has referred itself to the independent Police Watchdog after a man who officers were chasing died on the tracks at an underground station in london. Police had tried to detain the man at colindale station in the early hours of sunday, after reports of a fight there. The reports of a fight there. The man fled but was fatally injured on the rails. British transport police say they are now investigating the circumstances. Investigating the circumstances. And finally, some weather for news you. Forecasters are warning of heavy rain that could cause a danger to life after a person died in a mudslide in nonh person died in a mudslide in North Yorkshire yesterday, a amber weather warning has now been downgraded to a yellow weather warning, but remains in place for parts of north wales and northwest england , including and northwest england, including manchester and liverpool, until midday today. Manchester and liverpool, until midday today. A separate yellow midday today. A separate yellow weather warnings for rain have also been issued for the midlands, north west and Northern Ireland and scotland. Northern ireland and scotland. For the latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. Com slash alerts now though, its back to andrew and. Bev. Back to andrew and. Bev. Very good morning. Its 1108. Very good morning. Its1108. Huge day this morning. The morning after the night before when we had the general election announced. Were still getting over the shock of it, actually, arent we . I must say, when we were on air yesterday, phones were on air yesterday, phones were pinging. They were. We had a whisper, a rumour, but we didnt. We didnt believe it, but as i say, by 1 00 i was saying, yeah , by 1 00 i was saying, yeah, were having a general election. And actually i said to the boss here, do you like the fourth . He said, its a pretty specific july, the fourth, american independence day. And you know what . Ive been invited. I rarely get invited to number 10 for a reception. Ive been ianed for a reception. Ive been invited to number 10 for reception on july the 4th. Well, that wont be happening. Will it . And it means i wont be getting invited to number 10 for a very long time after that, because i dont think ill be on Keir Starmers guest list very often. Maybe you. Maybe they did a party that day for all the people that dont actually want to see the news, maybe theyre on that list. Andrew pierce lets get him on that day, john has said we are in serious trouble with choices of who will run our country, reform as much as i like, simply wont get the votes it needs. And that is the sad truth. A lot of you are disappointed with nigel farage, shauna said. Nigel is more interested in working in the america on the election for trump. Maybe theres a bigger payday trump. Maybe theres a bigger payday over there for him. Sorry nigel, just telling you what our viewers are saying , dave said viewers are saying, dave said that means only one thing about nigel. When trump gets back in as president , nigel is off for the job. Hes most probably been offered ambassadors to the uk is my bet. Nigel has always said he wants to see the political right in this country reformed , in this country reformed, regenerated, revived, basically brought back from the dead. And i think hes going to let this election go. And then hell then election go. And then hell then hell do what he needs to do next. I have some faith. I have some faith. See the scale of the tory defeat, whether whether reform have made a breakthrough they may get they may do what happened with ukip back in 2014, 2015 pile up loads of votes but only get one seat. Yeah, i jacqueline said i expected to see the left wing paper headline saying what a drip about the speech yesterday. I actually said that somewhere earlier the left wing. Im afraid its the right wing. Im afraid because it was the obvious headline , phyllis said obvious headline, phyllis said the tory party stabbed in the back with 2 million plus migrants coming here in the last three years. And that is net figure. Obviously, last year it figure. Obviously, last year it was 1. 5 million, came in 600,000. Almost left just over, leaving us with this seven 64,000. Yeah. Yeah. Because people forget you get you got to subtract the people that go out from people. But the actual total who came in was well over a million. Well, i would like to know how can our country cope with it . Well, i would like to know about these figures. And they have only just dropped this morning. These new immigration figures is how many of those that 10 thats gone down. Is it that 10 thats gone down. Is it that fewer people are coming here . Is that more people are leaving . No, i think it is fewer coming. And there will be a bigger drop in the next gap because of the changes in students , because the changes in students, because theyre making it harder for students. Students have to students. Students have to students cant bring in all their dependents. Sometimes theyre bringing 5 or 6 dependents. Outrageous. Yeah. So they have tightened the rules. A lot of you are disappointed in nigel de , who is a gb news in nigel de, who is a gb news member. Thank you for your support. De. We need all of it, support. De. We need all of it, she says. I am not disappointed that nigel will not stand for reform uk as an mp. Hell be put in a box. Nigels greatest talent is campaigning all around the uk as activists of the brexit party. Weve followed him all over the country and posted leaflets and newspapers after work and theres no doubt that he will do a very good job of campaigning because he hasnt done any campaigning for reform for some time. He didnt take part in any of the by elections, because i imagine that would have triggered all could have triggered all could have triggered ofcom issues because of his presenting role here. A lot of you are saying that ben habib is currently talking at the reform conference. We are going to bring you some of that conference with richard tice , conference with richard tice, the deputy leader of reform there, talking about the immigration figures. And theyre also, i gather, going to be at the press conference. Ann widdecombe. I dont know why they dont use Ann Whittaker more. I have to tell you, ive been mates with her for 20 odd years since 97, when she took on Michael Howard and accused him of you of lying when he was home secretary. Very brave she was to do that. And im a big fan of hers, and i think she cuts through to people. I think people get what she says, and shes very honest and very straight. But they hardly ever use her. I used to not be a fan of Ann Widdecombe, but like so many things in the last four years, ive completely revised my opinion on that as well. Now, opinion on that as well. Now, i quite like women of a certain age to give them a clipboard and age to give them a clipboard and a pot of tea. I think they could change the world. And Ann Widdecombe is on that list and shes very clever. Keith said. Im declaring independence and im declaring independence and im making my cat the Prime Minister. Oh, dont feel like name. Dont. Cats name keith. Its their room in the cabinet for my cat. Dont feel like that just yet, keith. Weve got six weeks to go on this. Dont give up. Ive got rosie and minnie. They could serve in the cabinet. Probably. Rosie. More than minnie, because minnie is a bit lazy. Right. Lets go back. Our very top story. Rishi sunak. Unless youve been under a stone for the last 24 hours, heres called an election. Should you lie the fourth . He spoke to gb news breakfast this morning after a difficult few years. Im pleased that economic stability is now returning to the country. Weve just seen that inflation has returned to normal. The economy is growing at a healthy rate again. Wages have been rising sustainably for several months now. And although i know not everyone is feeling the full benefits of that yet, its clear that we have turned a corner. So now is the moment to corner. So now is the moment to look to the future. Look to the future. And this is what sir keir starmer said whilst campaigning for labour. Yes, use his title. Yes, use his title. Thank you sir keir starmer. Why. Because because, because it drives his aides mad. Because they keep saying just call him keir. No, he took the title. Sir keir. No, he took the title. Sir keir starmer when he was director of public prosecutions. So well use it. I think hell use well he might use it a bit more because hes going on about secure. Have you heard how many times he said . Secure. Secure. Secure. Being secure. Here he is. He was in gillingham at the start of the show. The show. Labour. And a vote for labour is a is a chance to end that chaos. To turn a page, to change for the better of the country, to change our nhs, to change our pubuc to change our nhs, to change our Public Services, to make sure our economy is stable, to make sure our communities are cared for and to move forward and rebuild our country. That is the choice i accept. Not a single vote has been cast. Im humble vote has been cast. Im humble about this and i know every vote must be earned. But the power must be earned. But the power now under our democracy is with the voters. The voters. And big news from nigel farage this morning. If youre just tuning in, he will not stand as an mp for reform uk. But lets go to olivia utley in westminster. Olivia nigel will westminster. Olivia nigel will continue to support reform and some people are saying actually he might be more used just out there on the campaign trail. Tubthumping. For the next six weeks and generating a lot of noise around reform. Noise around reform. So thats quite possibly true. But i think the conservatives will be very, very relieved that nigel farage isnt actually going to stand. I think it was written in the sand. It it was written in the sand. It was quite clear that he probably wasnt going to stand. Hes been spending a lot of time in the United States recently. He has really quite a close relationship with donald trump, and i think he has a glittery career, probably over there if he chooses to take it up after the november election, i think it is probably quite bad news for reform. Reform have been polling pretty well, but in these recent by elections that weve seen those, good polling figures havent really been actualised reform wasnt doing nearly so well as ukip in 2015, for example. And of course, they failed to win seats in that election. So i think the conservatives will be very pleased that farage isnt standing. It means that their vote will be split, probably in fewer seats, but obviously this is still very, very difficult election for the conservatives to win, perhaps particularly now, rishi sunak has made the decision to go to the country in july rather than in the autumn, when it was assumed that things would be looking up a little bit for the country. It was assumed that Interest Rates would be going down, people would be feeling a bit richer. Flights to rwanda might be taking off. And apart from the news that farage isnt standing , it hasnt been isnt standing, it hasnt been a particularly auspicious start to this Election Campaign for the conservatives, migration figures have come out today, 685,000. Well, thats down 10 on 2022, but still incredibly high. And three times what they were back in. I think it was 2019 when the conservatives said that they would get the numbers down. Overall rishi sunak has also admitted that rwanda flights will not be taking off before the next general election. So probably good news for the conservatives that farage isnt standing. But thats pretty much the only good news. Okay, thank you very much. Olivia utley , still to come this olivia utley, still to come this morning, the met police have refused to follow advice to make fewer arrests. It sounds like fewer arrests. It sounds like common sense to us. Were going to be discussing that next. Dont go anywhere. This is britains newsroom on. Gb news. This is britains newsroom on gb news with me, bev turner and Andrew Pierce back. Thats right. Carole malone is here with us. And amy nicole turner, if we all calm down now from the excitement of the election being called. Carol. No, because i know you. We all know what the next few months, the next month and a bit, six weeks are going to be like, were going to be stowed under with stop your name. Do you know what you know . Its were going to see a whole load of boring people in suits telling us what theyre going to do, knowing that theyre not were not. What im dreading is the six weeks of, like, very polite political trash talk, which ive already heard rishi sunak kicking off this morning, where its like polite segue into saying why the other ones are terrible and i just get really bored of that. Just focus on your argument. Yeah, keir starmer says. Im going to put my the country before my party. No, really. Science that is. Yeah, thats a new. Yeah, thats a new. Why dont you just tell us something youre going to do . Yeah, i know what hes going to do. Hes going to book a flight to malibu on july the 5th, and thats it. What . Starmer or no . Starmer or no . Sunak sunak. Hes gonna say. Yeah. Hes not. Hell stay on as tory leader for a few months, i think. I dont know what youre talking about. I would bet you youre going to be in vegas, love, dont you . Ill be in vegas, just down the road, actually gambling, ready to welcome him in, should we do this, met police carol are not going to stop arresting criminals. Criminals. Im really glad to hear this. Im glad that rowley showed a bit of backbone here. This. This comes because rowley, being the metropolitan police commissioner. The police chief. This is because earlier in the week, they were told to make fewer arrests because our prisons are full. Now, this follows on the heels of a story a week ago where we were told that prisoners are going to get 70 days off their prison sentence. Yeah, because the prisons are full. It also falls on the heels of the judges and magistrates have been told not to send people to prison because there are no prison places. So mark rowley has said, no, im not going to arrest fewer criminals if someone is a danger. Im. I hate to interrupt you, carol. Were going to go and listen to richard tice talking at the reform party conference. Here he is. Our viewers do too. Like the tide. Here he is. Like the tide. Here he is. Weve ended up with the highest taxes for 70 years. The highest taxes for 70 years. The highest Government Spending , highest Government Spending, much of it wasted with the worst pubuc much of it wasted with the worst Public Sector outcomes for 70 years, the highest waiting lists since records began. Some 70 years ago. The highest National Debt for some 70 years is the lowest growth decade for 70 years. Youre getting the picture. And the longest picture. And the longest recession per person for 70 years. Yes, per person is what matters. Do people feel better or worse off and everybody feels worse off . After 14 years of tory failure , thats the result tory failure, thats the result of incompetence. And these experts , along with weak, feeble experts, along with weak, feeble politicians who have broken britain and sadly , that failure britain and sadly, that failure of the establishment and the experts manifests itself in the great scandals that we hear about with depressing regularity. The maternity scandals, the post office scandals, the post office scandal. And this week, the scandal. And this week, the infected blood scandal, the establishment Civil Servants , establishment Civil Servants, politicians covering things up, lying , deceiving, politicians covering things up, lying, deceiving, misleading. Its an absolute outrage. And Prime Minister and keir starmer , Prime Minister and keir starmer, its not good enough just to apologise. Ordinary people are furious about whats happened. Furious about whats happened. Talking of anger, i mean, we were promised as the video and ann talked about, were promised as the video and ann talked about , that ann talked about, that immigration numbers would come down. Now, lets be clear, smart immigration is a fantastic thing. But youve got to be smart about it. No one voted for Mass Immigration, but the figures just released two hours ago confirmed that for the second year running, weve now got Mass Immigration in the united kingdom, a city the size of birmingham arrived net in a city well bigger than the size of manchester. Okay, so thats richard tice doing his stuff. Carol, we were talking. We were talking about the met police refusing to arrest fewer criminals on the government edict. Now its quite right, you know, if someone is a danger to the public, youve got to get them off the streets. And i just think, you know, we keep on heanng think, you know, we keep on hearing this story about the prisons are full. Well, if theyre full, we need to be building more. There was a there was a report about a year ago saying we needed seven new prisons. We are actually prisons. We are actually building two and were getting 10,000 emergency places by the end of next year. But already thats going to be outpaced by demand. You know, society is changing. And i know everyone changing. And i know everyone doesnt agree with prison, but in my book, every you know, for every criminal, theres a victim and every victim as well as wanting to see a criminal rehabilitated, wants to see some element of punishment in their sentence. And this, this is now given a free for all to criminals to say go out and do what you want, because the likelihood of being sent to jail is almost nil. I agree with that. And the other thing i would do if i was in charge of the service, nicky, is i would kick out all these sorry. Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. Nicky. Amy. Nicky. Easily done. Sorry you used to do it with nicky. Yes, yes. Yes, yes. yes, yes. I would kick out all the foreign prisoners. Why are they here . Theres 11,000 of them. Get them out. Deport them to their own country. We dont want them here. We dont want to pay £38,000 a year to have a foreigner whos abused our hospitality here by breaking the law. Kick them all out. Law. Kick them all out. I think that the prison population has skyrocketed as inequality has skyrocketed. There is a direct correlation between poverty and crime rates. Between poverty and crime rates. So if we want to deal with the prison population, we want to reduce it. So we want less people. 11,000 is essentially what are they actually at the moment criminalising poverty in so many cases, particularly in the womens estate, the womens estate in many cases shouldnt even exist in prison work. In prison work wouldnt have re offending and we wouldnt need to have seven more prisons. Say people that are poor dont know the difference. I am not. Im not saying that bashing a pensioners head in is okay. If youve if youve come from a working class background or youre poor. Well, im no, im not saying that. And im not saying that poverty causes violent offences, but im saying i had a little look at the numbers of people in prison and for what offences and things like theft were very, very high. And that correlates with people not having enough money. Theres not that many people in prison on theft offences. You have to do something really bad to get sent to prison. But you know and dont and dont run down theft either, because when you break into someones house, the police stressing the police might say this is a low level crime , not to the person whose crime, not to the person whose house has been burgled. It wrecks lives. It makes people nervous, wrecks that makes them not want to be in there, think. I think thats a good point. And that was whats interesting about this story about mark rowley, because the government of law and order, the conservative party of law and order, have said, dont arrest non priority crimes. Do you know what one of those non priority crimes was . They were understood to include burglaries. That was top of the list. Dont arrest them. And burglars often repeat to it again and again and again and again. Oh, lets not bang them up so they can carry on burglary to their hearts content. Guess what i dont understand. Weve always had poverty, amy. Weve had worse poverty in the past. People consider themselves to be in poverty now. If they cant afford a smartphone or im generalising, but weve always had weve had times of extreme poverty. But what we didnt have was this idea that if im poor, i deserve to have the best of things, and im just going to go and take someone elses things because i deserve it. Thats why weve gone wrong. But its things like there were 4 million children in poverty at the moment. Theyre not the ones committing the crime, but its their mothers, their fathers that might be pushed to commit crimes. So what we saw last year was a rise in women stealing baby powder thats just gets trotted out every truth , just stealing baby every truth, just stealing baby formula. But it but it happened. Formula. But it but it happened. It happened. It happened. So theres lots of people watching this program who will have been struggling to make ends meet. Their answer isnt to go and break into somebodys electricity and they dont or break into someones house. They just have to get on and make do. And they dont really understand that. But you cant play understand that. But you cant play down the correlation between poverty and crime, the devastation that happens to the victims of these horrible people who who are violent, who are wicked, who hurt vulnerable people. You cant play down what happens to them either. But theres a big difference between them and a first time offender. They dont get sent. Woman. They dont get sent. Woman. Amy. They do not get sent to prison. They dont get sent. No they dont not shoplifting mothers. Well, that is a good thing. We would probably all agree that a shoplifting mother probably shouldnt get sent to. Maybe she wont. Maybe she wont. Well, it depends how often she does it, but less than 4 of the prison population is women anyway, so women are not getting sent out. We want to do a free nick gibb. We want to do the oh, this is free speech story. Amy called for stricter rules. For stricter rules. So theres a think tank called demos who have come to the conclusion that politicians should be subject to stricter rules on spreading disinformation, which dont have evidence to back them up ahead of the election. So what sprung to my mind . They use the example of 15 minute cities. So the mp maria caulfield, she repeated the untrue claims that there were plans for 50 minute cities. Mark harper, the transport minister, went further and endorsed false claims that low transport networks, well, they were responding to constituents saying, can you look into this for us . And then the left wing think tank are saying, we dont and then the left wing think tank are saying , we dont want tank are saying, we dont want this in the run up to the election . Well, theyll close down social media. Is that what theyre saying . Is that what theyre saying . Closed down. Closed down. But no, its what mps present in parliament. So i think when the trust in the government is as low as it is right now, there is a responsibility to present decisions and policies backed by by significant amounts of evidence. So this made me think of when rishi sunak stood up and said seven bins meat tax and scared the life out of a lot of the electorate. So my mum, shes not really into politics. She rang me up and said meat tax, i dont want to pay that. Im not going to be voting labour. So it does have implications for democracy. It does because people cant vote for falsehoods. They need to be given the correct. Given the correct. The solution isnt to say tell mps you cant stand up and Say Something that might have two sides to that story. I want to get to on this story, carol, before we go, Meghan Markle , is before we go, Meghan Markle, is she from malta . Okay. Are we going to half ago she was saying she was 43 nigerian Walking Around nigeria saying, im with my people, i love you all. And it turns out it turns out in 2000. No she hasnt. Turns out in 2015, when she was in malta, she was going, youre my people. I was going, youre my people. I look like you. I feel like im at home when im among you and she wrote all of this on her blog, the tig. It turns out genealogists have discovered even though its been really hard because no one knows the truth of meghans background , it truth of meghans background, it turns out that shes actually descended from an english foot soldier and an Irish Farmers daughter, which thats the other 57, obviously, from the nigerian hilarious , very boring episode hilarious, very boring episode of who do you think you are . If i ever saw one. Well, shes a classic candidate. She is. You are. She is. You are. But i bet she wouldnt agree to do it. No, no, because of course she likes to play on. I am an oppressed woman of colour. So is this somebody looked into her roots a genealogist . Yes, genealogists. Theyve got theyve done lots of. What do you call it . Research on this. Yeah. And. Yeah. And theyve. But i just think its a joke because i think i wrote a piece in the column last week saying that, you know, if shes 43 nigerian, what whats the other 57 . And i said anything that benefits the sussex brand. And i think thats exactly what this is all about. So wherever she is, she just goes, oh , im she is, she just goes, oh, im quarter percent whatever, whatever code shes in. I dont like this story though. I think its a bit stinky. I its quite because its reminiscent of the whole obama citizenship conspiracy theories when people are like, wheres he really from . And its wheres he really from . And its just i dont know about say, she was i. Yeah. And put that out in the pubuc yeah. And put that out in the Public Domain herself. But then at the time from this very newspaper was saying, oh, you cant find that out. How did you find that out . But now theyre saying, well, we can find it out. I think we should just leave it. Why . Why . We have to leave it . Because weve run out of time. Amy and carol, thank you so much for this morning. Sam francis is here with the latest. News. Here with the latest. News. Very good morning to you. Its just after 11 30. A look at the top stories. This morning. And we will start with some breaking news just coming to us out of North Yorkshire this morning , where were hearing morning, where were hearing that year six student Leah Harrison has been named as the girl who died in a mudslide yesterday, describing the incident as a heartbreaking tragedy. Mount pleasant primary school, where she was a student , school, where she was a student, says she was a much loved part of their community. Vie. In other news, rishi sunak has admitted that flights carrying migrants to rwanda will not take off before the general election in july. However speaking as he started his Election Campaign in derbyshire this morning, he started his Election Campaign in derbyshire this morning , he says derbyshire this morning, he says the scheme will continue if hes re elected as Prime Minister. Meanwhile, in kent, the labour leader, sir keir starmer , told leader, sir keir starmer, told voters that what the conservatives have done to the country is, he says, unforgivable and that they now have the power and the chance to end the chaos and rebuild britain. Net migration end the chaos and rebuild britain. Net migration in end the chaos and rebuild britain. Net migration in the end the chaos and rebuild britain. Net migration in the uk stood at an estimated 685,000 people in the year to december 2023, the office for National Statistics says. Thats down 10 from the record the year before of 764,000. Official figures suggest just over 1,200,000 people have arrived in the uk last year, whilst 532,000 are likely to have left. Former likely to have left. Former Scottish Health secretary Michael Matheson has been suspended and will lose his salary for 54 days. The punishment comes after he racked up £11,000 in roaming charges on his parliamentary ipad while on houdayin his parliamentary ipad while on holiday in morocco last year. Later announcing that he would cover those costs himself. He revealed the bill had in fact been the result of his children using the device as a wi fi hotspot to watch football. And hotspot to watch football. And the metropolitan police has referred itself to the independent Police Watchdog after a man who officers were chasing died on the tracks at an underground station in london. Police tried to detain the man at colindale station in the early hours of sunday, after reports of a fight there. He fled but was fatally injured on the rails. Thats the latest the rails. Thats the latest from the newsroom for now. For more, you can sign up to gb news alerts. Just scan the qr code on your screen or go to our website gb news. Com slash alerts. Gb news. Com slash alerts. Cheers britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news Financial Report , and heres Financial Report, and heres another recap of the markets this morning. The pound will buy you 1. 2727 and ,1. 1732. The price of gold is £1,859. 82 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8371 points. Cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news Financial Report here. Good afternoon britain. Emily and tom are here. Tom, do you have any voice left . You were on the telly a lot last night. I did five hours of live tv yesterday. Im just about holding on. But, if ever my voice does suddenly abandon me, as it has done several times this morning, emily is ably by my side. Emily hes hoping that the voice packs up and, yeah, you know, i get i get the show all to myself. No, we will struggle on. Tom doesnt want to miss a second of this Election Campaign , the this Election Campaign, the honey and lemon is a flowing. Im excited because were going to speak to Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, and theres a lot of gaps in their immigration policy. We want to know what kind of level of immigration would they be comfortable with. Yeah, if 685,000 is too much, what should it be . And also on illegal migration, lots of talk about how in practice, their policy means an amnesty for all those who are here already. So well be digging into that. And of course, its all about targeting the people smugglers. Well, i think thats what this lot are trying to do. Well, thats the thing, right . Theres a multi pronged approach happening right now which involves going after people smuggling gangs and also having a safe third country to deport people to, which is what the labour party seem to want to strip half of that policy away and think it will work better. I dont quite understand the logic, but i think theres something deeper here which the reform party has been talking about. This morning. They want to make this the migration election, and theres two different narratives depending on what time frame you look at. If you measure from january this yeah if you measure from january this year, there has been a considerable drop in migration. Thats true. Considerable different routes have up to 7,580 visa decline. That is hugein 7,580 visa decline. That is huge in terms of the drop in migration from january. However if you look at the quarterly stats, last year was another bumper year. So the question mark is and this is the question mark is and this is the question mark with the economy as well, the last quarter in 2023, britain was in recession. Migration was very high. Living standards were down, inflation was up. So if you look at 2023, this is a terrible backdrop for rishi sunak. This is a terrible backdrop for rishi sunak. It really is. But if you measure from january. Yeah the uk was out of recession. Inflation was tumbling. Migration was falling. All of these things start to feed into rishi sunaks narrative. So theres two narrative. So theres two competing narratives here and both are correct. Both are correct. The labour need to be honest and they need to tell us what they want immigration to be. Yeah. And what theyre going to do on illegal migration. We need more detail. We need more detail. We need more detail. We look forward to that. Emily and tom from midday. Dont go anywhere though. We are with you for another 20 minutes. Britains newsroom on. Gb news. It is 1141. Youre with britains newsroom on gb news. Andrew pearson bev turner. This is the first day of the Election Campaign. And nigel farage has put a statement out on twitter which says. Which says. He said, i have thought long and hard as to whether i should stand in the upcoming general election as honorary president of reform uk. I am fully supportive of richard tice leadership and urge voters to put their trust in him and lee anderson. He goes on to say, ill do my bit to help in the campaign, but its not the right time for me to go any further than that important though, the general election is the contest in the United States of america on november the 5th has huge global significance, a Strong America as a close ally is vital for our security. I intend to help with the Grass Roots Campaign in the usa in any way that i can. So people are jumping to a conclusion here. Weve seen it in messages coming in. Hes putting the American Election before the british one. And a lot of people are feeling very, very let down and very disappointed. He does say in there of course, doesnt he support reform uk. Thats his support reform uk. Thats his official position in this country. But a lot of you are country. But a lot of you are saying that you feel that hes let you down for ironically, his globalist ambitions over in america. Oh, hes going to go out and do warm ups for donald trump. Donald trump of course , is in donald trump of course, is in court. I think we get the verdict on the latest this Current Court case in the next couple of days. But we know hes a good mate and hell have an incredible profile. Gordon , who is the gb news gordon, who is the gb news member, has said a ben habib, deputy leader of reform. Of course, and whittaker and richard tice have just given speeches on various platforms. It was great to listen to people talking, absolute sense. Excuse talking, absolute sense. Excuse me, im so fed up with hearing all the lies and deceit from starmer and sunak , we might starmer and sunak, we might start to see this. You ne party, as they are often called conservatives and Labour Together start to divide now with the next six weeks, i think people can start hopefully to see some distinction between the two major parties clear red water, clear blue water, yeah, with or without people in boats in it and i think there will be big differences on immigration because i dont think labour has got a serious plan to cut immigration. I dont think they want to cut immigration. I dont i dont argue with my old sparring partner, Kevin Maguire from the mirror. Only the other day he said, why . Why are you so anti immigration . Because the country is full up. Theres no room. We dont need any more. Weve got millions of people on benefits who could be doing jobs that migrants are coming here and doing. Thats what we should be doing. Yeah, getting more people back to work. In terms of immigration, i think what were all seeing are particular in london is there are no Public Services which can support this number of people. Absolutely not. Im okay with immigration. If i can see my gp, im okay with immigration. If there are Great Schools that we can all send our kids to. I mean that im okay with immigration. If i can drive my car down the road and not be bumper to bumper for three hour round trip to do six miles like i was yesterday, find the Council House that you perhaps hoping you your mates were going to get has gone to a family of migrants. Exactly and the trouble is, weve got the worst of both worlds. Weve got enormous immigration in, and we have no resources to support the population in this country. Thats what it feels like , paula thats what it feels like, Paula Vennells lying again. A lot of you are getting in touch about her testimony this morning at the post Office Inquiry as to whether shes still swinging on this giant hook that we mentioned, and gary gb news member, youve gone down in my estimation, nigel. Im sure that nigel will be speaking on gb news at some point today. Yeah, he might, and hell come out fighting. He handles himself very well, doesnt he . Yeah, but i have to say, its no surprise to me about his decision. No whatsoever. No. No. No. Well, hes hes fought and lost seven general Election Campaigns. So this would be an eighth. And if reform dont do as well if he if he was to if he if , if he was as well if he if he was to if he if, if he was to be as well if he if he was to if he if , if he was to be the as well if he if he was to if he if, if he was to be the only if he was to be the only mp in the houses of parliament. Its a lonely place. Its a lonely place. I mean, martin bell, remember the man in the white suit . Its a lonely place to martin bell because he was independent. Yeah. Yeah. Nigel will be on gb news this evening. Of course, at 7 00. Obviously. Reform partys loss of an mp is gb news gain. And of an mp is gb news gain. And therefore you at home as well. So do tune in at 7 00 tonight to watch, nigel, now quick break, but, chilling story and i think this is going to play a part in our upcoming election. Perhaps russia has released footage of what appears to be a rehearsal of a Nuclear Attack on ukraine. It feels like we could be dangerously edging towards world war iii. Dont go anywhere. This is britains newsroom gb news. Begum. Its 1150. News. Begum. Its1150. Russia has begun the first stage of Nuclear Weapons drills in areas bordering ukraine. This. So. Could this be the last general election before, dare i say it, world war iii. Well, joining us to discuss is this defence and Foreign Affairs editor of the telegraph concocted. And i feel a bit of a fraud there, con because that is the headline in your very fine column today is this the last election before the next world war morning to you . How concerned are you that these tests were seeing russia doing, are a prelude to, to a much more bigger escalation of the military action . Well, good morning to you both, i mean, i think this is a very important subject that needs debate in the general election on. I mean, i do think seriously that the, you know, we are in a pretty perilous situation in terms of the Global Security landscape , and i say in security landscape, and i say in the column, you have to go back to the cuban missile crisis of the early 60s, when the soviet union , and the west nearly came union, and the west nearly came to blows, a nuclear war. Now, i mean, of course, weve seen a lot of bluster from putin in the past. And of course , his his his past. And of course, his his his latest offensive in ukraine has stalled. So, you know, this is classic putin, stage show, but id also point out that, you know, today the Chinese Military is basically conducting a massive punishment military exercise around taiwan because theyve had, the cheek to, to elect their own new president who doesnt want to be part of china. So if you look around the globe, theres a lot going on. And this involves britain. This and this involves britain. This is the this is the important point. The British Military , the point. The British Military, the british nation is involved in these conflicts, were involved in ukraine. We have guarantees for taiwan. Weve taken military for taiwan. Weve taken military action against iran , and the action against iran, and the houthi rebels, etc. So, you know, i do think very strongly that defence should take centre stage as an issue in this election. Election. And i hear that con and of course, the tories will make the point that theyre going to raise defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp. Theres been no commitment from labour to do that, or at least when theyll do it by. But you make the point to, the tories cant have it all their own way. Their cuts in defence spending, as you say, have hollowed out all three of our armed forces. They have, and, you know, the military is ill equipped for the challenges we face, and, you know, if you look at the navy, not enough ships, i mean, the carriers we spent , you know, carriers we spent, you know, upward of 6 billion on two carriers and theyre not not ready for combat operations. And you know, the chinese are churning out new aircraft carriers at the rate of one a year or so. So weve got to get, you know, got to get get out together. And the good news is that sunak has committed to this 2. 5 of gdp. Okay . Its not till 2030, but the direction of travel is correct. Labour is sitting on the fence and saying they want to have a fully funded plan, so well have to see what happens. I mean, its like so much of labour they talk the talk, but when you look at the detail theres nothing there. So cant we do . As i said, i think this should be a key issue in the election. Weve had these extraordinary stories in the last, i would say, 3 to 6 months, normalising the idea of world war iii, actually. Would you go and fight for your country if you have to . These have been headlines in the press and yesterday the government announced a new website that is basically encouraging us to become preppers. And saying we should have three days of food and water ready. I mean, this is an official government website , official government website, right . Should we be reading anything into the calling of this general election in july . Against this backdrop of potential danger to globally . Well, i hadnt seen that website , but it does seem a bit website, but it does seem a bit desperate if im honest , i mean, desperate if im honest, i mean, i think the best way to prevent world war three, is, is to make sure that we have effective deterrence. What stopped world war iii during the cold war is that we had effective deterrent deterrence. Our the us, the rest of the nato alliance. We made it clear to the russians and others that if you want to start a conflict , we will better you and conflict, we will better you and we will destroy you. So thats the best way to do it, im not sure how representative baked beans and some water jugs is the answer. So. So. So. Well, they said they might turn around and say, well, we did tell you to get ready. Khan. Great to see you. Khan. Offline. There we are. Done for another week. Emily and tom will be here. Well be back on monday. Have a great weekend. See you then. Another huge day ahead. Were across the width and the breadth of the country from north to south east to west, because live events are going on. The because live events are going on. The election is go and huge numbers on immigration published today. Were going to be speaking to the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper. What kind of numbers can we expect if labour win the general election . And also well find out a little more about their illegal migration plans. What are they . And nigel farage, who wont stand for reform . What do you make of that . Make of that . Looks like things are heating up boxt boiler is sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Weather on. Gb news. Good morning. Welcome to your latest gb news weather update brought to you by the met office. Further rain to come this morning with weather warnings still in force for some areas for much of the day, but it will turn drier as the day goes on. Amber rain warning still in force until around lunchtime for parts of northwest england, north wales and rain warnings for a large swathe of northern england, Northern Ireland and much of scotland as well. As i said, it will turn dry as the day goes on. But any further rainfall, particularly on top of the rain weve already had through wednesday and last night, will cause further travel disruption. A disappointing day with temperatures down below average and quite a breeze as well, particularly across the coast, so feeling a little bit cooler than it should do for this time of year. Cooler than it should do for this time of year. The rain will this time of year. The rain will continue across Northern Areas through this evening, but across the south it should turn that much drier. But still some heavy rain to come in from the north across much of scotland, a lot of low cloud around as well, but the heaviest rain is likely to build up across parts of southwest scotland, northwest england, cumbria, north wales as well through thursday afternoon across the south. As i said, it does turn drier as the day goes on through thursday and there could be some late sunshine across the south coast, but still, after quite a cloudy day, temperatures will still be below par. To end the day through tonight, well see that rain continue to fall across Northern Areas, but it will slowly turn lighter as the night goes on. Theres going to be a lot of cloud around. Could see some clearer skies across the far south and east, but most areas should see quite a cloudy start to the day on friday. A little bit cooler than it has been of late as well. Weve got slightly fresher air thats starting to move in now. That area of low move in now. That area of low pressure slowly starts to fill and as a result, that rain will ease through friday. So a drier day on the whole, we could see a few showers breaking out, particularly across Northern Areas, but across the south its going to be a drier day. Plenty going to be a drier day. Plenty of cloud around though, away from the far south coast. Thats where well see the best of any sunshine in that sunshine. Perhaps 19 or 20 degrees. But for most of us, still a fairly cool day for the time of year. By that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather gb news. Good afternoon. Britain. Its 12 00 on thursday. The 23rd of may. Im tom harwood. Im tom harwood. Oh, im not that was. Oh, im not that was. That was, unexpected. Im tom harwood and im emily carver. There you go. The perils of autocue. Its on. its on. In their first full day of campaigning, rishi sunak and keir starmer hit the road today as they battle it out to win the keys to number 10. Were across the width and breadth of the country as the leaders set out their stall last, nigel farage confirms he will not stand as a reform uk candidate. Instead, he will