the news with ray addison. >> thanks, nigel. good evening. i'm ray addison in the gb news room. our top stories this hour. a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teachers and a student were stabbed at a secondary school in wales while our tv news reporter, jack carson, is there for us now . jack, what can there for us now. jack, what can you tell us.7 >> well, it was 11:20 am. this morning that police say they were called to an incident here at the almond valley school in south wales. and as we've heard this afternoon in the confirmation that three people were stabbed in an incident here, two teachers and one teenage girl and the police also confirming that a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody. the investigations here still very active. the school will be closed tomorrow , school will be closed tomorrow, but police also confirming that a knife has been recovered from the school here and taken into evidence. superintendent ross evans spoke earlier on.

>> i am aware that there is footage circulating on social media and i would ask that this is kindly removed to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation and to avoid further distress to those involved. this was a very distressing incident and our thoughts are with the victim's . thoughts are with the victim's. >> well, of course, that appeal going out not only from the police but also from carmarthenshire county council as well. for those people that have circulated that those images on social media to remove them. but the welsh ambulance service, as well, at the time of the incident, did confirm that they sent for emergency ambulance to the scene here, including air ambulances as well, and that critical care was delivered here on site to those people injured. but we did get the confirmation earlier that certainly the pupils and teachers here at the school that those injuries so far were non—life threatening. the school will be closed tomorrow, but support will be provided to those who need it. >> jack carson there for us in

wales . thank you very much. jack wales. thank you very much. jack and obe following that into breakfast as well . onto other breakfast as well. onto other news, and three men have been arrested following the deaths of five migrants, including a young girl , while five migrants, including a young girl, while trying to cross five migrants, including a young girl , while trying to cross the girl, while trying to cross the channel yesterday, the national crime agency says they were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the uk illegally . and entering the uk illegally. those detained include two sudanese men aged 22 and 19, and a 22 year old. south sudan national comes as figures from the home office show more than 400 migrants crossed the channel yesterday. as we've been hearing, the prime minister insists that his defence spending pledge is fully funded , spending pledge is fully funded, though he declined to rule out cuts in other areas. the government has committed to reaching 2.5% of gdp by the year 2030, and is encouraging other members of nato to match that amount. speaking in berlin, to next his german counterpart, mr sunak said rising conflicts around the world are making

defence spending more urgent. >> we meet as a war rages on. our continent and new threats are rising around the world and olaf, i want to congratulate you on your leadership in recognising the zeit and vendor and you taking the historic decision to increase germany's defence spending . and we stand defence spending. and we stand here today together as the leading defence spenders in europe, unshakeable nato allies and the two largest military supporters of ukraine in europe. and together we will continue to provide unwavering support for our ukrainian friends. as you said, for as long as it takes . said, for as long as it takes. >> for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to news.com.au alerts. right straight back to . nigel. straight back to. nigel. >> good evening. i have no wish to be self—indulgent , but gb to be self—indulgent, but gb news has been making a bit of an

impact and i think over the course of the last six months, the channel has grown. certainly the channel has grown. certainly the viewing figures and the listening figures back that up. and i have to say, i'm very proud of the fact that some evenings this show gets more viewers, according to the official figures, than the other news channels added up together in line with that, i think gb news has influence over national debate is growing way beyond its size. now, look, of course we've got problems with the advertising industry. the boycott that was put on this channel before a single minute of transmission has made it hard. but there is an all out attack coming on gb news from existing established broadcasters. this was andrew neil, and bear in mind that andrew neil was the chairman for a brief period of this company. when it launched, he was andrew neil yesterday, speaking to a house of lords committee . house of lords committee. >> i'm surprised how tolerant

ofcom has been of gb news, i think it may be because ofcom knows that the rest of the broadcast universe is on the centre . centre left, a bit more centre. centre left, a bit more left, back ed. and so it gave gb news a bit more leeway to try and settle down. i, i am surprised that any regulator would allow politicians sitting in the house of parliament to present tv programmes, political tv programmes. i mean, if i had stayed as chairman, it would never have happened because i would not have had any politician present a television show in the first place. and i would certainly never have allowed politicians to interview other politicians from the same party. i mean, ijust find other politicians from the same party. i mean, i just find that incredible and i think on these areas, ofcom needs to find a backbone. >> well, andrew neil didn't last very long on this channel. he did eight episodes of his programme before he left, and i

think what he's saying sounds a little bitter, but my real complaint is nick robinson . yes, complaint is nick robinson. yes, he of the today programme, from his lofty and very comfortable perch at the bbc, he repeatedly, continually has a go @gbnews and today's tweet kind of just summed up where we are with nick. so nigel farage, one of the founders and owners of the reform party, can present an impartial programme on a tv news channel during the general election, according to the broadcasting regulator ofcom . broadcasting regulator ofcom. the leader of the party, richard tice, is only mp. lee anderson can also present programmes in the run up to the campaign alongside jacob rees—mogg. is this your idea of impartiality? well, i wonder, nick robinson , well, i wonder, nick robinson, how impartial are you? i mean, you were a member, weren't you, of the conservative party in years gone by? i mean you very recently , very recently said in recently, very recently said in an interview with lord cameron, almost a programme you said, but

when israel attacks and murders tens of thousands of innocent palestinians, and i could go back over the years and i could accuse you time and again of allowing your opinion to be expressed on the bbc. i don't think you're impartial either. i don't think any human being that works in news or current affairs is impartial. we all have our own personal opinion, but that's not the point. but have a look at what adam boulton said a few months ago. he of sky news, for over three decades. >> i think there is a delicate and important broadcast ecology in this country. i think , you in this country. i think, you know, gb news is trying to bust that ecology and frankly, what ofcom should do is shut it down like it shut down. rt >> forgive me for laughing. it's our pitch. it's our little game. we're the established

broadcasters. nobody else can be allowed to join our club. adam boulton, i remind you, in the early days when sky launched, sky actually had some very opinionated presenters. sky was the challenger. but now you're the challenger. but now you're the established agent. you don't want anybody else to be able to play want anybody else to be able to play with the bull. but here is why andrew neil is wrong. here is why nick robinson is wrong. our duty as broadcasters is not to be impartial and this channel has never pretended that it would have impartial presenters. ourjob as broadcasters is would have impartial presenters. our job as broadcasters is to give due impartiality. that is the definition . that is the law the definition. that is the law thatis the definition. that is the law that is laid down and due impartiality means that whilst we have our opinions and we can quite freely state them, we have to make sure that the other side of the argument gets a fair airing . all right. that is what airing. all right. that is what is demanded of us now. the pressures that are being put on

ofcom are absolutely enormous . ofcom are absolutely enormous. and yes, they have picked the channel up once or twice for things that have gone wrong, which, if you think about it, for a fledgling broadcaster, is not of itself particularly surprising. i would say this, and i really mean this. i think this channel gives more airtime to different views right across the political spectrum in this country than any of the other broadcasters. i don't believe we break the law. i think we give due impartiality . i don't due impartiality. i don't believe that gb news is biased at all. i think there's all out attack on us that is coming from the established broadcasters is rather like the way ukip was treated ten years ago as it was rising in the polls. human beings have got their own little club, never want anyone new to join. i'd love to get your views. farage gb news. com well, somebody who knows a thing or two about broadcasting is nick pisani, former series editor of bbc's question time, former head of presentation for david cameron . nick, you've worked,

cameron. nick, you've worked, you know, for many, many years in radio, in television. and we were chatting before coming on air about the great david dimbleby, and he was impartial in a way that we never knew what his view was. >> and in fact, i have no idea what his political view was, as you say, 40 years. he presided over general election debates. the euro referendum in and out. no one has a clue how david votes. if indeed he votes . and votes. if indeed he votes. and that did give him though a certain quality and enabled him without there being any complaints from the political parties , to do all of the parties, to do all of the election programmes and so forth, without any kind of controversy at all, which he did for half a century , and did it for half a century, and did it rather well. he did it very well, but there are plenty of other people in british broadcasting who have opinions and give their opinions or show their own personal preferences in debates, and there's nothing wrong with that, is there? i think you can go back to the early days or the mid—nineties with sky. i remember there was a weekly programme or a nightly programme called target, and it was presented, as far as i remember, by lord tebbit, norman

tebbit and austin mitchell, and they were either an mp or in the house of lords. and that was very controversial at the time because it was active politicians, presenting a programme , of course, balance programme, of course, balance one for the other, i wouldn't call gb news impartial. i think we all know where it's coming from , but and its presenters from, but and its presenters certainly are. i think that across the board are not seen as representing anything other than a centre right view. but i'm not sure the public as a whole would want to see gb news closed down clearly. i think people like you , if you were to stand in an election, that would change things. yeah, absolutely. fundamentally change things. i don't think there's any way you could take part during an election if you were a participant. but right now you're a rather influential opinion. former, and tv presenter. you're not really actively a politician in much as you may like to have been, had you may like to have been, had you won many of the elections you won many of the elections you stood for and lost in. well, won i two national elections, actually, for the european parliament. >> you might have forgotten that if you weren't at the bbc, you

would. >> i think most of us remember why david cameron was forced to call the election. sorry, called the referendum. >> gb news. it's you know, they are the new kids on the block. they have come in to challenge the broadcasting establishment, isuppose the broadcasting establishment, i suppose it's natural in some ways that we get these attacks from adam boulton and nick robinson. >> well, you know, the rules were drawn up in a slightly different era. the question is really, do people want access to a range of different, channels that have points of view? now, i'm not suggesting that we go down the fox route in america, but obviously cnn , msnbc, for but obviously cnn, msnbc, for instance, is seen as a kind of democrat leaning or sympathetic channel. and i think that there's a lot of output out there. much of it people would say from the bbc that is also of the centre left. the question is, overall , does it matter? and is, overall, does it matter? and would we as viewers be worse off or better off if channels like yours weren't allowed to exist? i think equally you could have another channel that stood on the other side of the political fence. >> it's called channel 4, not called channel 4, and it would

be regulated in a slightly different way. but we, the viewers, no longer really want to have that absolutely quite boring, often quite boring television because you're not allowed to have very clear opinions. all right. so it's fair also to say you do have a lot of people who contribute, not presenters who are of the left as well as the right. >> absolutely. and we have just stop oil and all different campaign groups on next day with me , i'm joined down the line by me, i'm joined down the line by john mayer, author and former bbc current affairs producer who's also worked for channel 4 and itv, john, you know , i argue and itv, john, you know, i argue very strongly that we meet the test of due impartiality . test of due impartiality. >> roger, what a delight to be, to be with you now , do you to be with you now, do you understand the concept of bias? do you understand the concept of impartiality? i mean, you're very lucky you've escaped the ofcom silver bullet because you're not an mp. maybe you're a shadow mp and you shouldn't be presenting shows. and what's the difference between news and current affairs? why are you guys allowed to present current

affairs and not news? i worked in current affairs for 40 years and i don't know the difference between that and news. so you know, come on, all these tory mps masquerading as impartial presenters, give it a rest . give presenters, give it a rest. give it a rest. >> no, no, john, you're missing the point. nobody on this channel says they're impartial. no one says that. what they do say is we obey the law. we obey the rules that ofcom give us, and we give you impartiality , and we give you impartiality, which means we can give our opinion, but we allow the other side of the argument to have their say as well . and we treat their say as well. and we treat john, we treat the public at home. we say, look , ultimately home. we say, look, ultimately you're big enough and ugly enough to make up your own minds. what's wrong with that? >> so when was the last time diane abbott was on? jeremy corbyn was on gb news. where's the balance? where where is the balance, you know? >> oh, they're invited , john. >> oh, they're invited, john. they're invited regularly. and, you know, i just literally as i was coming into the studio past nigel nelson, you know , who's

nigel nelson, you know, who's worked for the mirror group newspapers for nearly 40 years, who was an open labour supporter. oh, no. no, we absolutely make sure that all sides of the debate get a fair airing . airing. >> yes. i mean, it used to be said that the tory, the church of england was a tory party at prayer gb news is now now the tory party at prayer, isn't it. you know, come on, you know, i don't actually got away with it. >> i tell you what, john, if you actually ask gb news viewers what they think of the current conservative party, you might be quite surprised by some of the results you get. is there space? i mean, you've worked in this industry for decades and you've said already and all right, we're a disrupter. i get that. i accept that in very much the same way that sky were disrupters. as nick pisani said earlier, you know, putting norman tebbit on a tv show with austin mitchell, do you think that gb news should be allowed to continue as it is, or do you think, like adam boulton, that ofcom should close us down? >> i think ofcom should grow up here in terms of gb news and

other channels like you. i mean, itend other channels like you. i mean, i tend to agree with the awful andrew neil yesterday, but you know , where are the left wing know, where are the left wing channels is for marsh are going to pay to money set up a left wing channel to go against you . wing channel to go against you. >> we've got, we've got channel 4 news. they've been overtly a left wing campaigning organisation for decades . organisation for decades. >> you know you haven't missed reading channel 4 news. no, no . reading channel 4 news. no, no. you've disrupted the ecology . you've disrupted the ecology. all right. well andrew you got away with it for a couple of years now. now it's time to put your hands up and say we got away with it. now it's time for us to behave. >> all right. john, matt, thank you for your opinion. i've got a very quick question for you. i'm going to come back to you on that. yeah. >> well, i would just like to ask you, would you rather continue to be an influencer with a tv programme or a politician standing at the next election? >> you know, it's a hell of a question because i look particularly in america . i look particularly in america. i look at, whether it's the tucker carlson's or the sean hannity's on fox and certainly voices on the left with cnn. and i asked myself, have they influenced

american public opinion more as tv presenters with huge social media followings? would they have done more as congressmen ? have done more as congressmen? and so i think it depends who you are. >> but i'm asking you, i don't know, the upcoming general election. >> i don't know, i haven't decided, i mean, i very much enjoy what i do here. i genuinely and i'm here hand on heart to say that i genuinely enjoy being here. yeah, we're disrupters, of course we're disruptors. but, you know, as i said, sky was earlier , i've got said, sky was earlier, i've got to work out what i want to do with my life. i haven't worked it out yet. it's not a little bit bigger than nigel farage. >> and what he wants to do with the rest of his life. i mean, you have influence, for better or worse. yeah. politics in a way that few other non—politicians have no, no, this is a very attractive platform. >> who knows? i may well still be here, i may not, i haven't decided i might move to america. >> when will we find out? >> when will we find out? >> in a few weeks time. i promise you, i won't leave it long. nick pisani, thank you very much, john mayer. thank you very much, john mayer. thank you very much. well, folks, i tell you what i said at the top, i don't want to be self—indulgent, but there is a real debate going

on around gb news. i'm proud of what we do. some don't like it, but that's just the way that life is in a moment, priti patel writes in the express that rwanda will help us take back control of our borders. i wonder the labour party think it's so expensive they get rid of the legislation

well. rwanda's finished, of course, in the palace of westminster. but huge debate as to what it's actually going to mean. whether it's really enforceable. now, the labour party have been very, very clear on this legislation. they say that it won't work . they say that it won't work. they say that it won't work. they say that it's way too expensive and maybe they've got a point , maybe they've got a point, because we have spent £240 million on rwanda so far and not send a single person and after we send the first few hundred, the bill will go up by another 100 million. the argument, of course , that we get made by

course, that we get made by rishi sunak and others is that if you do that and it's a disincentive in the long run it will save money. labour have been very, very clear now. priti patel was, of course, the home secretary at the time when boris johnson went down to lydd airport and announced the rwanda plan. she's written very strongly in the express today, saying that rwanda will help us take back control of our borders. well, greg smith, member of parliament for buckingham, this this issue in terms of the conservative party's pitch to the country at the next election, appears to be as important as the economy. >> no, i think it is. and when i did my summer surgery tour last yean did my summer surgery tour last year, the number of people that came up to me in all the villages around the constituency saying, you've got to stop the boats was off the scale. when i go canvassing, it comes up on the doorstep all the time. it's in my inbox. this is something we are going to be judged on. >> is it the sense this is wrong or it's unfair? what is it that's really driving this? >> i think multiple things for different people. however it's certainly the cost of it. we had the best western in the town of

buckingham taken over as asylum hotel for a long time. thankfully, that's now closed and the university of buckingham have bought it to be new halls of residence. it's the injustice of residence. it's the injustice of how much it's costing taxpayers to put those that have illegally entered our country up in hotels. it's the very fact that some people are trying to shortcut the system by by risking their lives in the engush risking their lives in the english channel, so it plays on multiple levels. a lot of people we've got to do is stop it. >> a lot of legal immigrants who've come to britain been through the system, expensive, lengthy process, pretty unfair on them, too. >> it's totally unfair on them. the number of people that i help who have perfectly good cases of why they wish to be in the united kingdom. so it matters. >> it matters. it matters. they have to go through the ringer. it matters in the red wall, we know that. but equally it matters in buckinghamshire villages as well. oh, absolutely. which shows how important it is. absolutely. which shows how important it is . do you really important it is. do you really think this policy is going to work? do you do you believe in your heart, greg smith, that in 10 to 12 weeks time there will be aeroplanes taking off for rwanda? >> we've got to make sure that that happens . that happens. >> no, i'm not saying i didn't ask. i didn't ask that. >> am i saying rwanda is the be all and end all, and it is the

magic bullet that will solve illegal crossings. no it's not. it is one piece in the jigsaw puzzle. but i think it's a pretty big piece in that jigsaw puzzle. and if we can't get some planes off that we can't make this partnership with rwanda work . i think that will reflect work. i think that will reflect quite badly on us as a government and as a party. so we have got to get those aircraft in the sky. we've got to visibly show the people smugglers that if you take the thousands of pounds off people to risk their lives in the channel and bring them illegally into the uk, chances are they're not going to be staying. >> but here's the problem. yesterday, 402 people crossed the english channel. it was a relatively calm morning. you know, if rwanda can only take 2 to 300in the first few months, the numbers coming every day, i mean, if we get, let's say, in july , we get a fortnight of july, we get a fortnight of lovely settled weather, rwanda can't take the numbers, can it? >> rwanda on its own can't. no, but this is the first partnership. and i think a big, big chunk of the reason that it's taken so long to get to

this point and to have to pass multiple bits of legislation, and i regret we've had to pass multiple bits of legislation. if we put the notwithstanding clause in the first one, we probably wouldn't be having this debate right now. but it's about proving the concept . it's about proving the concept. it's about proving the concept. it's about proving that we legally can transfer those that have illegally entered the country to a safe third country. and once we've got people across to rwanda, that's when hopefully just as the eu, even the eu , are just as the eu, even the eu, are looking at this as a model to sign further partnerships. >> they've got other countries, they've got their own domestic problems. it's taken you two years we're around and say goodness knows how long the rest would take. final thought on this overnight, the council of europe have stated that they believe that the legislation that's been passed is contrary to their concept of european human rights, almost putting the european court of human rights in strasbourg on notice. yeah, well, rishi sunak really ignore rulings of the european court of human rights in strasbourg . human rights in strasbourg. >> well, i hope he will. i've

been a long time critic of the echr behalf of your party. love it. well, some of them do. yeah. you're right, i'm completely. you're right, i'm completely. you can't dispute the facts on that. but i've been a long time critic of the echr i think only domestic law should apply on that. we do need a british bill of rights. we need to enshrine in our own statute book that which we think is good and right for our country, and get rid of the jurisdiction of foreign courts. >> love to see it. thank you very much indeed . greg smith, mp very much indeed. greg smith, mp for buckingham. now, the last surviving member of a special forces regiment during world war ii had his dream fulfilled . he's ii had his dream fulfilled. he's gone to dine at the ritz hotel in london to celebrate his 102nd birthday in style. chelsea pensioner john morris volunteered for the pensionerjohn morris volunteered for the raiding support regiment and took part in the allied invasion of italy. gb news correspondent cameron walker went to meet him at the ritz today , war is not glamorous i >> -- >> we thought it was actually when you're young.

>> john morris is the last surviving member of his sas regiment from the second world war. before joining the special forces , his service began in forces, his service began in kent, shooting down german bombers targeting london. >> the only thing i shot down, actually was a chimney kitchen chimney . accidentally by chimney. accidentally by mistake. nobody had any breakfast that morning . i wasn't breakfast that morning. i wasn't very popular. >> john was one of the last people to receive a 100th birthday card from queen elizabeth ii. >> all birthday cards from the children from christ church school celebrating his 102nd birthday this week, local school children made him cards thanking him for his bravery. >> i think kids should know more about the sacrifice their forefathers made, not me . forefathers made, not me. >> i'm no hero, but they like their war. the r.a.f. boys had died and people like that. they don't realise that they don't

know much about it. they don't even know who hitler was. half of them. >> john, who's now a chelsea pensioner, kindly agreed to share his wartime memories. in 1943, he was sent to north africa with the royal artillery and past special forces selection , taking part in the selection, taking part in the allied invasion of italy. >> 75,000 british and colonial troops were killed in italy. the germans fought back very well . germans fought back very well. >> ultimately the allies were successful, but a much more powerful natural threat was not far away. mount vesuvius, famous for destroying the roman town of pompeii in ad 79, erupted . pompeii in ad 79, erupted. >> when i woke up in the morning, i heard this rumble, looked outside and this wall of lava coming down. so never go on a volcanic island where i am, because it's very dangerous . because it's very dangerous. >> that year, allied forces landed on the beaches of normandy, known as d—day. the operation led to the liberation of western europe and was one of

the most famous and widely praised successes of the war. far away in italy, john and his comrades were branded with a less than flattering nickname turned into a popular wartime song. >> we've done three days. we did the north african landing , we the north african landing, we did the battle of britain , and did the battle of britain, and we did the italian landing, we did the yugoslav savoia, albania, and they called us d—day dodgers. moeen ali de da dodgers out in italy . dodgers out in italy. >> he. was . >> he. was. >> he. was. >> john celebrated his 102nd in style. first a party with the chelsea pensioners, followed by a champagne lunch organised by friend and irish guards

ambassador frederick crum. >> the ritz always had a wonderful relationship with the chelsea pensioners. we celebrate in style and he's never been to the ritz, so that will be worthy of the 102nd birthday, right, john? that's right. >> cameron walker gb news. >> cameron walker gb news. >> well, what a delightful piece. and of course, i'm a 6th of june. it will be the 80th anniversary of d—day , probably anniversary of d—day, probably the last time there'll be a significant gathering of veterans in northern france to more contemporary military matters . the prime minister matters. the prime minister tells us we need to go on a war footing. we must up defence spending by 2030. but if we're on a war footing, why not up to defence spending now ? i'll be defence spending now? i'll be joined by lord

i'm joined down the line by general lord richard dannatt, former chief of the general staff . richard, the prime staff. richard, the prime minister, yesterday for the

first time, saying the country needs to go onto a war footing . needs to go onto a war footing. whilst i accept that the international situation is not very good, isn't that slightly over the top? >> well, actually, nigel, to be honest , i >> well, actually, nigel, to be honest, i think that's slightly, dare i say it, misinterpreting what the prime minister said, what the prime minister said, what he really said was actually putting british industry onto a war footing, and that that's what really matters , because what really matters, because actually it's british industry, along with american industry and german industry that needs to produce rapidly the wherewithal that ukraine needs to push back russian aggression . so the extra russian aggression. so the extra £500 million that the prime minister announced yesterday is all going to ukraine. most of that actually will probably go into ammunition factories run by bae systems and others to produce the one 55 millimetre shells. the missiles and so on and so forth. that ukraine needs. so that's what he was really meaning as far as that was concerned. okay. >> no, i take that point. now, of course, we've been giving a lot of our artillery shells and

other munitions to ukraine, which leaves us ourselves very short. and i completely understand what you're saying about our industry needing to gear up, but , about our industry needing to gear up, but, you know, i was asking yesterday, why now ? and i asking yesterday, why now? and i was perhaps cynically saying that it wasn't mentioned in the budget. perhaps it was done for political reasons, but forget that the question i want to ask you is why not now , if we're you is why not now, if we're going to increase spending from 2 to 2.5, if the need to get our industry mobilised for greater production is as great as many think, why not just do it now ? think, why not just do it now? >> well, nigel, i think in fairness again to the prime minister, actually it is now the commitment is there to spend an extra £75 billion incrementally and increasingly between now and 2030. but the real inwardness of this and many of us have been calling for raising our defence level of spending to 2.5, maybe

even to 3. and in the budget, jeremy hunt said , 2.5% when jeremy hunt said, 2.5% when conditions allow. well, actually, the dial has moved on. now the prime minister has said we are now committed to 2.5% and we are now committed to 2.5% and we will find that extra 75 billion increasingly between now and 2030. so actually that means the compensation for awkward people like me who believe we should be spending 3, we're bank 2.5% now, and the call now is to move beyond to 3% when conditions allow. and the other point that's really, well, several other points, actually. we're telling our adversaries, clearly the russians don't kick us around. we're serious about this. but we're also saying to our allies , come on, britain's our allies, come on, britain's showing leadership here. some of you aren't even spending 2. some are just over 2. we're going to 2.5. you just do your bit as well because we want to keep the americans in. and if we europeans don't do our stuff, the americans will sugar off. >> yeah. no. and donald trump

has made that perfectly clear, and i think joe biden feels in a very same way, many say that it's a very high probability that keir starmer will be the prime minister before the end of the year. how do you see the labour position on defence spending going ahead? they've made positive noises, have they not? >> they have. >> they have. >> they've echoed jeremy hunt in the spring budget by saying 2.5% when conditions allow . but the spring budget by saying 2.5% when conditions allow. but i'm afraid realpolitik is as it is . afraid realpolitik is as it is. but actually, if they walk back now from a firm british government of today's position of increasing to 2.5, 75 billion extra by 2030, they'll be pilloried for cutting defence. so i'm afraid keir starmer and john healey , have got no john healey, have got no options. they've got to move up to 2.5. they've got to match what, what, the present government is saying and i'd rather hint at a moment or two ago, the conversation then might move to 3. >> right. well i can assure you,

lord dannatt, that the overwhelming majority of viewers and listeners to gb news would back you on the 3. i have absolutely no doubt about that. keep campaigning. thank you once again for joining keep campaigning. thank you once again forjoining us on the again for joining us on the show. thank you. now i asked you the other night, should we have a go at the tric awards again? remember last year i won news presenter of the year because of the support that you gave me, and i sort of put it out there. hundreds of emails coming in from you saying, go for it, go for it. the show is going from strength to strength. let's get involved . let's try and win it involved. let's try and win it again. so let's try to do that. how do you vote for me as news presenter of the year? well it's poll hyphen trick trick .org .uk and you can see there there is up on the screen a qr code, a trick qr code that you can click on to. and with that you can cast your vote. now i'm not going to spend too long tonight

talking about it other than to say i will make sure over the course of the next few evenings that we get that qr code up, we get paul hyphen trick.org .uk up . so don't panic if you haven't got a pen next to you, haven't got a pen next to you, haven't got a pen next to you, haven't got a phone next to you, don't panic. i'll give you plenty of opportunities to do this over the course of the next few days , the course of the next few days, and the results will come out by the middle of may. and there are other gb news presenters who are in the hat as well. i'm looking folks for your support. let's go for it. let's win again and let's really upset those in the industry. the adam boulton's , industry. the adam boulton's, the nick robinsons, the ones that want to see us closed down. let's show them how we feel about this channel and why it really, really matters now . really, really matters now. there are very, very few figures in politics, particularly modern politics, that can command respect from both sides of the house that have stood out for decade after decade as being

people of genuine principle. frank field , i believe, was one frank field, i believe, was one of those people we heard this morning that he died. he'd been ill for a long time. morning that he died. he'd been ill for a long time . we heard ill for a long time. we heard that he died this morning at the age of 81. and gb news economics and business editor liam halligan was a very, very good friend of his. in a minute he'll come on and pay tribute to the life and career of frank field

first elected to the house of commons in 1979. frank field's career in the house of commons spanned decades. and of course, he finished up in the house of lords. liam halligan. you knew him very, very well. in fact, i think you even saw him last week, yeah. so i met frank field when i was a young academic, making my way in my early 20s, he he was a welfare reform

expert at the time. he was the chairman of the social security select committee. and then i stayed in close touch with him. i was a financial times correspondent when he was the minister, and have seen him over the years, many times since. why was i drawn to him and why did we become friends? we became friends. and i was drawn to him because he really was a man of principle. he was somebody very much of labour values . principle. he was somebody very much of labour values. he principle. he was somebody very much of labour values . he set principle. he was somebody very much of labour values. he set up the child poverty action group. he set up the low pay unit, two really important institutions in this country . really important institutions in this country. but he didn't always believe in left wing roots to achieve those labour outcomes , more help for the outcomes, more help for the poon outcomes, more help for the poor. so when it came to benefits, you can sum up frank field's, attitude in a phrase that he coined, but which many others have since used . give others have since used. give people a hand up, not a hand out. and in that sense, his politics were in some senses victorian self—help, bootstrap,

conservative ism, which does appeal to many labour voters and indeed, he came into the commons for birkenhead in the north—west, of course, a proud shipbuilding part of the world. back then, in the late 70s, as a young , rather effete southerner, young, rather effete southerner, and he got rip roaring majorities for the next, pretty much the next 40 years. on the welfare side of things, it was tony blair, of course, that asked him to go away and think the unthinkable. >> he did and got sacked for it. >> he did and got sacked for it. >> he did and got sacked for it. >> he did. >> he did. >> tony, have we listened to him? would things be very different now? i think they would. >> i think the welfare system would be different . it'd be a would be different. it'd be a lot less complex. i think we'd have a ten piece starting rate of tax, which he helped to introduce . gordon brown wanted introduce. gordon brown wanted to reverse it. he then attacked gordon brown. that was just one of the clashes between him and gordon brown when he went into government, not as social security secretary, which blair wanted to appoint him as. brown wouldn't have that because he knew field was a very, very quick thinker, very , very quick quick thinker, very, very quick with the numbers and the detail. and brown wanted to be that

person who had the policy detail in the room, and he didn't like to be gainsaid. this was the apogee of new labour in the late 90s, but already then you had the big tensions between brown and blair. they hadn't yet become volcanic, as they later did, but frank field was an early victim in that tension between brown and blair, because brown basically wanted to get rid of him. and so then blair abandoned him to mollify at that time, as chancellor, we think increasingly these days that, you know, somebody who's on this side of the divide can't possibly have a good relationship or like somebody on the other, it's one of the things that's gone wrong, actually, is we're not respecting the fact that other people have different points of view. >> but the remarkable thing about field all the way through was that he was able , wasn't he, was that he was able, wasn't he, to find friends in the conservative party as well as the labour party, as well as members of the business community? you know, i mean, how do conservatives deal with him ? do conservatives deal with him? >> well, so often he found friends across the aisle for a purpose . he famously riled the purpose. he famously riled the labour left when he started as a

constituency mp, along with an adjoining mp who was a conservative, lynda chalker, trying to save cammell laird shipyard up in birkenhead . and shipyard up in birkenhead. and guess what? he succeeded. and that really riled a lot of the labour frontbench because he had gone into bat single handedly pretty much against the iron lady , you know, mano a mano. and lady, you know, mano a mano. and she had been convinced by his arguments , and the good people arguments, and the good people of birkenhead had camel led for a few more years than they otherwise would have had. i think that is why, i became friends with him because i was attracted to the cross—party nature, not just of his mind , nature, not just of his mind, but of his life. talk to somebody like ian duncan—smith orindeed somebody like ian duncan—smith or indeed peter lilley. both people have served on the front bench, both in government and then in opposition respectively , then in opposition respectively, on that fiendishly difficult portfolio. social security . they portfolio. social security. they both really feared frank field because his endorsement of a particular policy would guide a lot of the rest of the house, because his expertise was there ,

because his expertise was there, in my view, nigel and i don't say this lightly, and i've thought about this even though he was only a backbencher for almost all the 40 years he spent in parliament, he wielded huge , in parliament, he wielded huge, huge, huge influence. and i think that's undeniable . but think that's undeniable. but more than that, when it came to his writing and his policy advocacy, i would say he was probably the most important thinker on the british welfare state since beveridge. >> wow. now that's a very, very big, big comment. and i love the story you told me earlier today about about his sister. >> you tell him a story. >> you tell him a story. >> well , well, well, >> you tell him a story. >> well, well, well, yeah. but you tell i'm just trying to think of a lesson. no, no, no, look, but it's the irish in you, liam. >> you tell very good stories . >> you tell very good stories. sometimes they're even true. well, you never know the one about his 30 years in the house of commons. >> so it was 2009, you know, the global economy was in meltdown. it was a difficult period. i was actually living abroad at the time. but frank's fantastic, parliamentary secretary, who i knew very well. and she will be

feeling this tonight. i knew her very well. jill hendy, who worked loyally for frank for many , many years. i'm glad i've many, many years. i'm glad i've managed to mention her. jill sent me an email and says i'm putting together a 30 year for frank, in part, you know, he'll do nothing himself. he'll just stay at home with his books and, and, and so on. so jill put this 30th anniversary in frank in parliament. and, you know, the guest list was unbelievable , the guest list was unbelievable, the various aspects of frank's life. right. so, frank and the church, the archbishop of canterbury, george carey, came to speak. frank and the labour party, you know, home secretary charles clarke came to speak. who happened to be neil kinnock bag carrier when frank had all those battles with militant in the early 80s, though, that bit of it wasn't. in charles clarke speech. it wasn't. in charles clarke speech . frank and the media, speech. frank and the media, andrew neil, someone that we all know well. and it was a real cross party group of people. i distinctly remember virginia bottomley , tory ex—cabinet bottomley, tory ex—cabinet minister, and alan johnson

standing there having a wonderful conversation. chinking glasses, because they knew they had this friendship with frank in common. and then, as i was speaking, compare ing, i think it was between andrew, and george carey trying to come up with some words off the top of my head as you do, nigel, in walks, and the room went completely silent, because, of course, there's a murmur when i was talking. i'm really interested in walks the iron lady , margaret thatcher. wow. lady, margaret thatcher. wow. now, i'm not sure if this was her last public appearance in westminster. the great charles moore biography, will probably tell us that, but it was certainly one of the last. this was late 20,009, and she walked up to me and she said, don't worry, young man. carry on, carry on. and you know why i'm here? and she turned round and she said, because he's a good man. wow. it's a pointing at frank field and frank. wow. now what were the labour left. think of that. but i think the country

admires that. or at least that generates admiration across a lot of the country. i can't speak for everybody. i think people want parties to work together. they want individual politicians of expertise and rank to work with the opposition parties. they want people to agree . and when they can agree. and when they can disagree, when they can't , but disagree, when they can't, but to do so in a way that's more about the policies rather than the personalities. and all the hurly burly of politics. and that's what frank field was in many ways. he was an anti—politician because he anti —politician because he always anti—politician because he always focused more on the policy part rather than the political part of making our laws and statecraft generally. >> liam, beautiful tribute to a figure much respected political figure much respected political figure . very few people that figure. very few people that i can think of in all the years that i've been involved in current affairs and politics, that would command that level of respect across the divide. jacob, he really was a well respected man, wasn't he? >> he was. everybody liked him, and he was noble and brave that

he put up with militant trying to get rid of him . and he was to get rid of him. and he was friendly and approachable. i didn't know him anything like as well as liam, but all my interactions with him were friendly and i think liam's point about how you can disagree with people fundamentally , but with people fundamentally, but you can still be polite and you can still actually quite like them, is, i think, very important. and civilising for politics. >> we need a lot more of it, don't we? >> oh, we definitely do a lot of the dislike in parliament is confected. yeah. and i think voters don't like that because they realise that it's fake and that we can't possibly dislike people that much over a difference in whether national insurance goes up or down by £0.02 in the pound. it's not as if you're going to war. and i think this is important that we should let the electorate know that there are many more cross—party friendships where people can do things. >> and that applies to those of you out there who hate gb news, who keep writing to ofcom saying we should be closed down, respect the fact we have different opinions now. jacob,

what have you got coming? i'm going to be talking about? >> well, i will be mentioning ofcom in their report, but i'm also going to be starting with david cameron, lord cameron saying we don't have to leave the european convention on human rights. typically helpful intervention by the foreign secretary. >> yeah, i have to say, i thought what cameron was really saying today was we should rejoin the european union. >> well, he seems to regret that we left because he was talking nonsense about dublin. we actually sent fewer people back to france than we took in under the tiny , weren't they? yeah, the tiny, weren't they? yeah, dubun the tiny, weren't they? yeah, dublin didn't work. it was a con. and anyway they under the refugee convention, you're meant to send people back to the first safe place that they've got to. so dublin was always an irrelevance. yeah. >> he's your foreign secretary. >> he's your foreign secretary. >> he's your foreign secretary. >> he's not mine. he's the king's. you're promoting me. >> jacob rees—mogg . thank you >> jacob rees—mogg. thank you very much indeed. well, there you are, lord cameron's going to get her right ear bashing in a moment from jacob rees—mogg. and quite right too. i'm done for the evening. back with you again tomorrow at seven. let's have a look first at the all important weather. >> looks like things are heating

up . boxt boilers sponsors of up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hi there and welcome to the gb news forecast from the met office. it's going to be chilly overnight through the next 24 hours. however, increasing cloud will bring further showers by the end of thursday . we've got the end of thursday. we've got higher pressure ebbing away towards the west and this increased influence from low pressure to the east in between some clear spells overnight and a chilly northerly airflow. that means temperatures will fall quickly under any clear spells in rural sheltered spots . in rural sheltered spots. temperatures will dip below freezing, generally in urban areas 4 to 6 celsius, and there'll be variable amounts of cloud first thing as well. they'll also be increasing amounts of showery rain moving through northern ireland, parts of wales , northern and central of wales, northern and central england, as well as the northeast of scotland . the northeast of scotland. the showery rain will become more widespread by the afternoon, so

for much of england and wales it's a case of bright spells interspersed by showers, drier towards the northwest and west of scotland, mostly dry, with some decent sunny spells. 12 or 13 celsius here. 14 or 15 in the southwest. just ten again on the nonh southwest. just ten again on the north sea coast. friday it starts off cold with a frost in many places . a sunny start, but many places. a sunny start, but quite quickly the cloud will build and we'll see further showers here and there, particularly towards the east. the weekend brings more unsettled weather from the south, longer spells of rain affecting many parts of england and wales. drier for scotland and wales. drier for scotland and northern ireland, a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> hello. good evening. it's me, jacob rees—mogg, on state of the

nation. tonight, the noble lord cameron has suggested the united kingdom does not need to leave the echr to stop small boats. echoing concerns by george osborne months ago. but is he right? can we stop the migrant crisis from inside the foreign court ? ofcom is sounding a court? ofcom is sounding a warning to broadcasters in the run up to the general election. what does this mean for gb news and for me? rishi sunak has said he would boost defence spending and put britain on a war footing. has he ensured the defence of the realm or edged us closer to conflict ? plus, the closer to conflict? plus, the defining issue of the season as the prime minister establishes his trademark shoes, the adidas sambas. i will be breaking my silence on the matter of footwear in politics. state of the nation starts now. i'll also be joined by my most pugnacious panel this evening,

former editor of the sun, kelvin mackenzie, and the historian and broadcaster tessa dunlop. as always, as you know, i want to hear from you. it's a crucial part of the programme. email me. mail @gbnews. but now it's time for the news bulletin with ray addison . addison. >> thanks, jacob. good evening. our top stories tonight. a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teachers and a teenage student were stabbed at a secondary school in wales. a man valley school was put into lockdown shortly after 11 am. after three people were injured . after three people were injured. emergency services responded, including wales air ambulance . including wales air ambulance. police say the injuries are not life threatening. forensic teams have been on site and a knife has been recovered . the suspect has been recovered. the suspect remains in custody. superintendent ross evans spoke to the media. >> i'm aware that there is footage circulating on social media and i would ask that this

is