king charles has carried out his first state opening of parliament as monarch. the speech, written by the government, has set out the plans for year ahead. proposed laws include tougher sentences for some crimes, a phased ban on smoking and more licensing for oil and gas fields in the north sea. our political correspondent helen catt has more. just before 11.15, the royal carriage drew into the sovereign entrance, carrying for the first time in seven decades, the king, to formally open parliament. while the monarch had changed, the pageantry remained the same. as is tradition, black rod went to the commons and had the door slammed shut against her by mps. before she summoned them to the lords. on the way, the prime minister and the leader of the opposition appeared to be having a friendly chat but this speech, written by the government, was in part about drawing dividing lines between them ahead of an election. but first, the king acknowledged the significance of this moment
lines between them, ahead of an election. but first, the king acknowledged the significance of this moment. it is mindful of a legacy of service and devotion to this country set by my beloved mother, the late queen, that i deliver this, the first king s speech in over 70 years. the impact of covid and the war in ukraine have created significant long term challenges for the united kingdom. that is why my government s priority is to make the difficult but necessary long term decisions to change this country for the better. there was an announcement of a bill to issue annual extraction licences for oil and gas, and a focus on crime, including previously announced measures. my government will act to keep communities safe from crime, anti social behaviour, terrorism and illegal migration. a bill will be brought forward to ensure tougher sentences for the most serious offenders and increase the confidence of victims. there was a promise to make it easier for leasehold homeowners to
Life changing. Plus, marine a is a free man. Royal marine Alexander Blackman, who was jailed for shooting dead a wounded taliban fighter, has been released from prison. Overnight. He received a life term in 2013 for murder, but his conviction was reduced to manslaughter. His wife spoke to this programme in march when she heard the news that he would be released. I spoke to him shortly afterwards and i think it took a little longer for the realisation to hit. I think he had worked very hard to prepare himself for not such good news, so once it had finally dawned on us that we were going to be together soon, we were very happy. Well bring you all the details in the next half hour. Hello, welcome to the programme, were live until am this morning. So much to talk about today, please get in touch, please get in touch. Porna bell was married to rob, a Science Journalist for three years before she discovered he was a secret heroin user. We have been speaking to her in her First Television int