royal family here in the the royal family here in the united kingdom. indeed, they both studied at oxford university. yes, which is very interesting. so a very tight connection with this country and our royal family. >> but what we're looking at now is that, the guard of honour is preparing to give a royal salute, and we will hear the national anthem any moment now, the emperor and empress of japan have been under a sovereign's escort under the command of lieutenant colonel matthew woodward . the blues and royals woodward. the blues and royals with the band of the household cavalry , mounted regiments cavalry, mounted regiments that's formed on horse guards parades just to the rear of the garden. honour, as , as the garden. honour, as, as the empress and emperor are making their way to this site that we're looking at now. >> yes, of course. and this is, as you said, the first state visit since the king was diagnosed with cancer, and he will, welcome them to the country in this state, visit

lots and lots of pomp and pageantry awaits on this beautiful tuesday afternoon. >> and this is something that we, as the british do . very we, as the british do. very well. of course, it's one of those things that perhaps is best for our international, connections. and those are let's listen .

so. so . the, so. the, >> east park . that he so. the, >> east park. that he said . >> east park. that he said. >> east park. that he said. >> the king arriving there at the pavilion . greeted by the the pavilion. greeted by the prime minister, rishi sunak. there on horse guards parade, he, of course, was introduced with a rendition of the national anthem, being played by the guard of honour on horse guards. is that, also james clement martin is the accompanied by other ministers , there to greet. other ministers, there to greet. >> yes. >> yes. >> lord cameron, the foreign secretary also there. so you

have the prime minister, rishi sunak , lord cameron, the foreign sunak, lord cameron, the foreign secretary, and james cleverly , secretary, and james cleverly, the home secretary. as is tradition, standing there on the pavilion, the king has now arrived . we are due to expect arrived. we are due to expect the empress and emperor, any moment now. that's the order of events here on horse guards parade. now, of course, joining us is charles rea, the former royal correspondent at the sun. and charles, this is a big moment of pomp and pageantry. >> well, it is tom, and good morning to both of you, it is , morning to both of you, it is, because this is the first state visit that , charles as king has visit that, charles as king has received in this country. >> so it is quite significant. >> so it is quite significant. >> and also the fact that the emperor naruhito and empress masako are both friends of the royal family, naruhito has spent a lot of time in britain, as did the empress at oxford. but more importantly , the emperor spent importantly, the emperor spent an awful lot of time with the

royal family you know, he went fly fishing with, the then prince of wales, and he recounts that they never caught a thing when they were when they went fly fishing. >> he's been driven around balmoral by prince philip, and he's had a barbecue with the late queen. >> so his pedigree with the royal family, who he treats as a second family, is second to none. >> naruhito became the emperor of japan in 2019. not that long ago. in the grand scheme of things, to some extent he's a relatively new, head of state, in the same way that our king is i >> -- >> yes, absolutely. >> yes, absolutely. >> they're both, if you like, novice heads of state at the moment. >> but of course, they've both got , huge >> but of course, they've both got, huge amount of experience in the background. i mean , in the background. i mean, they've been learning, their if you like their trade for many, many years, the only people that can teach them, and that is the previous, you know, monarchs and emperors. so yeah, you're absolutely right. they are. they are both to new this, to this

job, but in real realistic terms, they are very well versed in to what do and what to do. and the great thing about the, the japanese couple is they're very young. and so we would expect them to be around for many, many more years . many, many more years. >> and, charles, i understand that the political elements of this state visit have been somewhat stripped back. >> yes, because of our election , >> yes, because of our election, so i don't think there's going to be a visit to downing street, as was originally planned because of the election call. they don't want to be seen to be doing anything that may look like they're favouring one particular party against against another , but there are plenty of another, but there are plenty of things for the couple to do. and they have done. the thing that i found interesting is that the emperor has appeared, apparently has got a fixation with the thames barrier , and he's already thames barrier, and he's already he and the empress have been down to visit it. i don't know why he's got a fixation with the

thames barrier , but he has. and thames barrier, but he has. and he who wouldn't.7 >> charles is a marvel of modern engineering. it keeps us all safe. and perhaps the japanese want to learn from it, because of course, there has been some flooding. and actually there was that tsunami. not so, not so long ago. perhaps he would like to replicate that british engineering success may well be. >> it may well be, tom. but he's had a fixation with the thames barrier ever since his oxford days. >> yes . >> yes. >> yes. >> apparently it was something he researched the history and function of the river thames when he studied at merton college as a young man. he spent two years in four months in oxford studying. how very interesting . interesting. >> oh he sounds like a man after my own heart. yes, he does, no. really, really interesting stuff. we are expecting him to arrive in three minutes time. of course, the king and queen arrived at horseguards, ten minutes before for the emperor and empress , as is traditional, and empress, as is traditional, they'll be coming down whitehall and through the grand entrance of horseguards. as we can see on

our screens now, charles, this is a big moment for both of these countries , which have these countries, which have become increasingly close in terms of diplomatic and trade and even military terms. >> yes , absolutely. you're >> yes, absolutely. you're absolutely right. we we've got a very, very close relationship with japan over recent years. there's been, 2 or 3 state visits from , here to japan and visits from, here to japan and we've had them returned, as well from , from japan. and this is from, from japan. and this is the latest one to happen. i think both the couple were at the funeral of the late queen as well, but as i said, they are very close to this royal family in any case, they're very, very friendly, personally friendly, not just diplomatically friendly, so, but it is a great thing that we have got a good close relationship with a country like japan, you remember , i mean, remember it was, you know, 80 odd years ago, we were

at war with with the country as we were with germany. but all those sort of things are way, out of the scene now. and it's just friendliness now and diplomacy . diplomacy. >> and, charles, we should reflect on a princess anne will not be attending, of course, after this injury that we suspect was horse related , what suspect was horse related, what sort of role would she have played .7 played? >> well, she would have. >> well, she would have. >> she would have been there in her role as the princess royal and as a as a senior royal. so she would have been expected to help to greet . she would have help to greet. she would have beenin help to greet. she would have been in that greeting line as well that we saw earlier on, and she would have been there to just help smooth things over. she's a very good diplomat as princess anne, and it's a great shame that she's not there and she's had to cancel this trip that she was going to make later this week to canada. so it's upset all sorts of plans. and i have to say, the fact that she has, been injured just shows how

fragile the numbers of working royals that are left. and i just hope that they wrap the duke and duchess of edinburgh in cotton wool and keep them safe and sound for the for the next few days. >> i should say that we are now looking through the beautiful saint james's park at the mall, where, of course, crowds have been gathering for this state visit. i have to say , i was on visit. i have to say, i was on the mall over the weekend and saw it adorned with both british and japanese flags. so this has been quite some time in preparation over the last few days, making sure everything is perfect for this moment, charles, this is something that doesn't happen every day of the week. what's the difference between an official state visit and some of these other visits from foreign dignitaries that we've seen in recent years? >> well, in effect, tom, the pomp and ceremony that you have got, today, i mean , as you quite got, today, i mean, as you quite rightly say, we do it best of any country in the world. look

what happened at the weekend of trooping the colour with the rain that lashed down. i'm sure you got very , very wet as well. you got very, very wet as well. but this is a fantastic, brilliant day. and it's the sort of day that you know we love in this country because we can show off our troops and we're looking at a picture at the moment of the of the guards on horseback, and it's, it's really fantastic , and it's, it's really fantastic, event for a proper state visit and not just, you know, a diplomatic visit. >> absolutely . and, charles, a >> absolutely. and, charles, a state banquet, of course, is in an order what might feature on the menu. will there be a fusion between japanese and british cuisine, or will it be an entire british? what do you. what do you suspect? >> well, i'm not terribly sure. >> well, i'm not terribly sure. >> i'm sure. well, what will happen certainly is that both sides of the, you know, of the of the couples will have had a chat about what should be on the menu and everything will be agreed. and take into account things that are not liked by any

of the, any of the main participants, so i suspect there will be mainly a british, menu, but maybe a little bit of a hint of japan in tribute to the visitors . visitors. >> now we are expecting the emperor to arrive. any moment now. they've been processing down whitehall hall and will turn into, horseguards parade to be greeted by not only the king and queen, but also, of course, the prime minister, the foreign secretary, the home secretary as well showing the all levels of the british state. there for this reception. of course, the united kingdom and japan have a long history together, and before the acrimonious period, in the second world war, there were talks of alliances between the british and the japanese empire, and in many ways, japan and the united kingdom , two and the united kingdom, two strong island nations with, historical , strong island nations with, historical, huge strong island nations with, historical , huge roles to play

historical, huge roles to play in the world, royal families, parliamentary democracies. we can really see how these two countries are in many ways really quite aligned . really quite aligned. >> oh, well, it appears as though we may have lost . charles rae. >> no, sorry, i didn't realise you were talking. i didn't realise you were talking to me. apologies. sorry, tom, i do apologise, but you absolutely do. >> you know what? it's nice just to sometimes let a comment just sit, and then we can move on and talk about something completely different. no. charles. sorry, the history of these two parliamentary monarchies. >> yeah, yeah, they are. i mean, they've got lots of history between between the pair of them and, and it's nice to see that , and, and it's nice to see that, as we've already discussed, that they are very close . they're a they are very close. they're a very close links with japan , very close links with japan, diplomatically and friendly and everything else. and, you know, we are a country that does need

a lot of friends at the moment, that's for sure . that's for sure. >> and i understand, charles, they'll be visiting quite a few locations, a bit of a sightseeing tour as well as a state visit, visiting, westminster abbey, kew gardens. where else might they go? >> i well, they're going back to oxford to visit their old colleges as well. at some stage . colleges as well. at some stage. i'm not sure whether they've done that already, because they arrived on saturday. so they've, they've done quite a few bits and bobs already like the thames barrier. so the, the, the visit to the college is, has either happened or is about to happen after after this, after this day, and as you quite rightly said , there's a visit to windsor said, there's a visit to windsor castle. they want to leave flowers at the, grave of the late queen. so, you know, it's a full packed , visit for the king, full packed, visit for the king, who i have to say, when he arrived, he looked, he looked quite splendid. and walking quite splendid. and walking quite gingerly, but, you know, quite gingerly, but, you know, quite he looked quite well

because there was some speculation in terms of whether the king would play a large role. >> how much of this visit the king could actually have the energy to do. of course. still undergoing cancer treatment, but he is really putting on a show for this, for this royal state visit. >> he is tom, he is tom. and the thing is, he would have been kicking and screaming if they'd said, no, you can't go. this is this visit for him is extremely important and i'm not suggesting other other visits and other things aren't important, but this one is particularly important given his personal relationship with the emperor, so he will have made absolutely sure that he's on top of his game for this one. and of course, let's not forget that the australia tour that's coming up has been, amended to, you know, to make it a lot easier for the king with a two day break. they've cut out new zealand, and fiji and later in the year he will be going to samoa. something else in the

royal diary that's very, very important for the monarch, the government heads of state meeting, so he'll want to make sure he's fit and ready for those two. but everything will be done in consultation with his doctors, and, charles, in your mind, what do we gain from these state visits as a country ? state visits as a country? >> well, as a country in the background, i mean, we are seeing the pomp and circumstance and everything else at the moment, but in the background, there will be advisors from both sides having a chat and having to, you know, talking about exports and imports from to and from the countries, other , other from the countries, other, other links as well, will be talked about and we don't hear about those until we actually see, you know, what has been discussed and what's been agreed . and what's been agreed. >> it is fascinating to see the diplomatic ties that can be fostered by the royal families of both countries. the united kingdom is acceding to what's known as the cptpp, the comprehensive and progressive trans—pacific partnership, a

huge asia pacific trade area. that, of course, includes countries like australia and new zealand, japan, south korea, lots of these countries that were perhaps building a larger trading relationship with with our new role in the world, the asia pacific, specifically has been a big area of interest for our foreign and trade policy. >> well, i think countries like japan have become much more important since we, you know, divorced away ourselves, away from europe. so we've had to look at other, other areas more intensely , like japan for trade intensely, like japan for trade both ways , and, you know, it's both ways, and, you know, it's important that we carry on those relationships . shapps i'm not relationships. shapps i'm not suggesting we shouldn't be having relationships with europe . we are. but, you know, we're looking now further afield , you looking now further afield, you know, for trade, possibilities . know, for trade, possibilities. >> and we're expecting, charles, a royal salute to 41 guns in green park , by the king's troop, green park, by the king's troop, royal horse artillery. now,

that's under the command of major john bailiff, royal horse majorjohn bailiff, royal horse artillery . i suspect we will artillery. i suspect we will have that very soon indeed. yes we will, as we did for trooping the colour. >> they went off and did their 41 gun salute. it's a traditional way of greeting, you know, a visitor or, you know, an event, an event like this. and as i say, it's all part and parcel of what we do. and how we do it. and it's and it's going to be, you know, great to hear in a few minutes. >> i've always thought that 41 is a very peculiar number to be the traditional number of gun salutes for an occasion like this. of course, it has been for a very long time that that traditional number of guns. >> yes, it has. and don't ask me why it's 41. and what, 1442 i can't, i can't actually answer that question, it's one of those figures that you learn about when you're starting to cover royals. there is a 41 gun salute, but i don't think i ever bothered to ask why is it 41? >> i must say that we are

looking at the vehicles of the emperor and empress now , rolling emperor and empress now, rolling on two horse guards parade only eight or so minutes after we expected them to, but , who's expected them to, but, who's counting? and they will be driving up past, past the guard of honour , to greet his majesty of honour, to greet his majesty the king and the queen who wait there on the pavilion that has been erected on horse guards parade. so quite a convoy of cars for the japanese emperor just arriving now . just arriving now. >> yes, there must be near a dozen, cars going into the horse guards parade there. let's have a look at who's coming out of this car. there >> oh, this must be the emperor and empress of japan . and empress of japan. >> arriving there, they'll be greeting his majesty and queen camilla, i'm sure. there we go. a nice handshake , old friends, a nice handshake, old friends, old friends, old allies. >> and an important bond between two sovereign island nations

represented in these two ancient monarchies. and and that's something that's quite rare to see in the world today . these see in the world today. these ties between the united kingdom and japan. i think, are perhaps becoming more and more poignant and more important. but, behind the king and the queen are the politicians , the people who've politicians, the people who've been setting perhaps this train of greater integration between the united kingdom and japan. rishi sunak david cameron , james rishi sunak david cameron, james cleverly surrounded by senior military figures. charles rae, the former royal correspondent at the sun , is still with us. at the sun, is still with us. and, charles, this is , what we and, charles, this is, what we expect of , of a state occasion. expect of, of a state occasion. >> yes, we do, and i don't know if you noticed that, prince william, who had met the emperor and empress earlier on to escort them down whitehall, to this, to this point. so he's very much involved. and i suspect that

this evening we will see an appearance of the duke and duchess of edinburgh as well, at the banquet. so it will be a full turnout for those available royals who are not royals, who are not on sick leave at the moment. >> and of course, there are. we can't forget three royals who perhaps not all on sick leave, but certainly who have reduced capacity at this moment in time . capacity at this moment in time. although the king, making a marvellous effort to turn out to be there for this occasion. >> yeah, absolutely . and as >> yeah, absolutely. and as i said, this is one event he was determined he wasn't going to miss or, you know, cut back on. it was very important to him personally, never mind for the for the country as it's a state visit. but personally for him it very, very important. >> now i must say at this royal pavilion, their majesties, the emperor and empress are being greeted and received by sir kenneth alicia, his majesty's lieutenant of greater london. the silver stick in waiting, lieutenant colonel roland

spiller, and the field officer in brigade waiting, colonel guy stone, is also present there, and this is the royal pavilion greeting on horseguards parade . greeting on horseguards parade. >> fantastic stuff. and, charles, i must say that a couple of people have got in touch about the gun salute , so touch about the gun salute, so karen says the number of gun salutes varies depending on the location, with more salutes added to the standard 21 depending on where the saluting is taking place. so if the salute is fired from a royal park or a royal fortress, then 20 rounds are added, making it the 41 gun salute, she says well, that's called me. >> that's put me in my place then. well, there we go. >> that's, that's that's the, the reasoning there. so this was ordered by the board of ordnance in 1827. >> so whenever we hear any of these 41 gun salutes from green park, they're always 41 guns because it's a royal park . the because it's a royal park. the same would be true of hyde park, i suppose, but elsewhere in the

country it might be the more mundane run of the mill 21 guns. now there's quite some conversation, quite some back and forth going on, between the emperor, empress and the politician , but also those politician, but also those senior military figures and royal figures, all in the royal pavilion here as we await the gun salute. charles, what do you suppose they might be talking about, well, i think it will be. certainly it won't be anything controversial , that's for sure. controversial, that's for sure. it will be a small chit chat. he may well have met some of those military people before , and it military people before, and it will just be. hello. and the gun salute has begun. >> let's just listen .

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lord of. lord. >> now we're listening to, the guard of honour. giving a royal salute . and the japanese salute. and the japanese national anthem, being played. the emperor accompanied by the king. there has been inspecting the guard of honour , the queen the guard of honour, the queen and the empress, remaining there at the royal pavilion. but, throughout this afternoon, the king has been presenting many people to the emperor and the queen. indeed presenting to the empress as well. those individuals up there on the pavilion, sir kenneth olisa, his majesty's lord—lieutenant of greater london, the right

honourable rishi sunak, of course, the prime minister, lord cameron, the secretary of state for foreign affairs, and james cleverly, the home secretary as well. they're accompanied by many other people also here on the on the pavilion . the on the pavilion. >> and we have a carriage approaching a number of carriages, two carriages there to, presumably pick up the emperor and empress as well as his majesty, we also have in attendance alderman, professor michael mainelli, the right honourable lord mayor of the city of london. we have the alderwoman and sheriff, dame susan langley, the sheriff of london. we have another sheriff of london, we have the chief of the defence staff , admiral sir the defence staff, admiral sir anthony radakin. admiral sir benjamin k2, the first sea lord and chief of the naval staff. we also have general sir rowland walker, and we're just seeing on the screen there prince william, walking down the steps there at the pavilion. >> yes, of course, the, guard of honour has been giving this this royal salute. and now, there is a procession in these royal

carriages. charles rae still with us, interesting to note, those senior figures from the armed forces and from politics there, mixing with the emperor and empress . and empress. >> yes. it's what i would expect for any state visit like this that those senior politicians of whatever colour would be there, as well as senior members of the military. and we've got the two carriages, excuse me, we've got the two carriages, which are about to set off, and we have the king and the emperor , in the the king and the emperor, in the first carriage. and i see the, the back of the head of prince william in the second carriage. so there's going to be a carriage procession back down whitehall heading towards, buckingham palace, where everybody will be enjoying a lunch, there will be a lunch that's on top of the banquet tonight. so i'm hoping it's going to be a light lunch, because those, those banquets tend to be, you know, quite, a large affair of food .

large affair of food. >> yes, i can imagine. and i can't help but notice. i don't know what you think, but, prince william there, quite a solitary figure. of course, the princess of wales , is still recovering of wales, is still recovering from her treatment. of course, prince harry is nowhere to be found. he does look quite solitary. there. he has. he has a lot on his shoulders. >> well, he he does have a lot on his shoulders. i mean, i think as anybody would if they have got a very close relative like the catherine, battling away at cancer, he's got to carry on doing his royal duties as well . and i'm not suggesting as well. and i'm not suggesting that other people don't work when they've got cancer . that's when they've got cancer. that's that's not the point i'm trying to make. but he's got to carry on. i mean, it was nice to see him the other night, taking some time out with george and charlotte, at the taylor swift concert where he was, where twitter's gone on meltdown because of his dad dancing. i didn't think he did that bad, actually, to be perfectly honest, i'd be quite happy to

sort of moves , i have to say, sort of moves, i have to say, charles, the carriage procession has begun. the king and the emperor are in the 1902 state landau. this is the carriage that most often takes those , that most often takes those, visiting on, if they're a head of state. but the queen and the empress of japan are in a carriage behind the semi—state landau, and another one behind that with the prince of wales, and his excellency , mr hirofumi and his excellency, mr hirofumi nakasone , who's the head of the nakasone, who's the head of the official suite. and behind them , official suite. and behind them, ambassadors, chamberlains, grand stewards , and again, four more stewards, and again, four more carriages behind them with, other individuals. the chief lady in waiting to the empress, the private secretary to the queen. all these individuals, accompanied by their equivalents in the respective country . in the respective country. >> i mean, it's quite it's quite

a procession that's going to head down, you know, whitehall and we saw the sort of procession last, yeah. trooping the colour , and that was in the the colour, and that was in the rain, as we said. but this one is going to be quite nice. and hopefully there'll be quite a few cheers for the royal party, as they, as they ride down in the carriages under charles just to return to, the, frivolous story of taylor swift and that epic selfie that was taken of herself by herself and with prince william and, it was, george and charlotte, wasn't it, with him as well at the concert, taylor swift was accused of picking sides, taking sides, taking the side of prince william over prince harry. we are , of course, looking at the map. >> yeah, well, yeah, it may well be she's been accused of that. >> but don't let's not forget that they are quite friendly. taylor swift and, prince william. let's not forget that a year or so ago, i think it was where she enticed him up to join her and jon bon jovi in a in a

quick singalong of living on a prayer. so it's not as if, it's they've just suddenly met. they are quite friendly. and it was it's a really happy picture. that was the smiles on the children's faces and prince william and taylor swift. it was just a fantastic picture and appeared huge on over over a spread in most of the of the national papers. on the day after. it was a great picture. great, great picture. >> so rare to see two individuals genuinely in awe, to be in each other's company. >> yes, taylor swift there thinking, my goodness, i'm with the future king of england. and of course , the future king of of course, the future king of england there being. my goodness, i'm with taylor swift. hahaha >> yeah, it just goes to show the power of, the power of popularity. really. >> queen of pop , princess of >> queen of pop, princess of p0p, >> queen of pop, princess of pop, princess of pop, perhaps. >> but we are looking at the mall where these grand flags have been lining, mall where these grand flags have been lining , the mall there have been lining, the mall there for some days now. here is lord

cameron, back in the pavilion on horse guards . rishi sunak. james horse guards. rishi sunak. james cleverly and lord cameron have all remained there on the pavilion, their role very much reduced in this state visit. perhaps they would have originally been going on more of these sort of grand occasions riding in carriages. but of course, the election means that the meeting in downing street, that's off much of the role for these politicians now involved in an active election campaign, much reduced from what the original plans were. charles. >> yes, absolutely. >> yes, absolutely. >> yeah. the there are now on their way back now and presumably they're going to get back into the job of, campaigning for their party, and as you quite rightly said, anything to do with politics and the visit is now off the agenda, because it would be seen as favouring one side or above the other. >> charles, there's something quite moving about, these events, these state visits ,

events, these state visits, there are some people in our inbox questioning , you know, why inbox questioning, you know, why we have these types of things and the importance of them. but i think they do provide an element of, of unity, an element of being proud of our country and what it means to be british. >> i think, as we've said before, this is what we're seeing. and what we're hearing about now . state visit all over about now. state visit all over the, and the and the, look at looking at the guard of honour and everything else . but behind and everything else. but behind the scenes, there is a lot of work going on by representatives of both sides to improve our relationship with each other and including trade and export and import of goods that we badly need. and they badly need. so, you know, there's a there's a big behind the scenes event going on, you know, to try and get as as much out of this for both countries. that's why we have these state visits. >> yes. and what a marvellous,

resplendent scene it is there on the mall with the, guard of honoun the mall with the, guard of honour, galloping down. really. and i think that is a bit of a gap. well, perhaps it's a canter, but, but but the route of this procession , of course, of this procession, of course, is down the mall, through the queen's gardens on the south side and then onto the forecourt of buckingham palace, through that centre gate that i think we all know so well. this is the route we can expect . and my route we can expect. and my goodness, it does look, it does look really rather splendid . look really rather splendid. >> i mean, it's always fantastic to watch these guys, riding down in, in london. it really is fantastic. and it's just one of the things that we do so well. just brilliant . just brilliant. >> yes. truly beautiful, to see the flags lining the mall there. yeah. >> always feel a little bit sorry for rishi sunak james cleveland, lord cameron. they sort of had to slink off back to downing street, although it is, of course, directly adjacent to horseguards parade. not a long

walk, for them to return to downing street, but they did look rather grand in walking. >> we've seen them walking across the horseguards parade. have we? not as a trio. >> yes. they're walking to downing street very recently as well. oh, yes, that was for the south korean visit . south korean visit. >> the south korean visit . >> the south korean visit. >> the south korean visit. >> and there is the, 1902 state landau that premier carriage, and behind it the semi—state landau with the queen and the empress of japan within it, again, all of the individuals matched with their counterparts from the corresponding country behind that, another semi—state landau with the prince of wales and his excellency, mr hirofumi nakasone, the head of the official suite, of japan, and there is a further semi—state landau behind there as well, with the, grand master of ceremonies of the imperial household of japan , the household of japan, the ambassador and, press secretary

to the emperor of japan, and special assistant of the minister of foreign affairs, as well as viscount brooke bra, kg, lord in waiting . so my goodness, lord in waiting. so my goodness, quite an array of carriages as, many, many carriages i count actually a huge number of people involved. eight, eight carriages, by my count, coming down the mall, charles, of course . standard. and i think it course. standard. and i think it is very odd when we sort of say, oh, how very standard eight carriages down the mouth. but i mean, there's, there's nothing really particularly standard about this at all. yes, it's happened before . yes. whenever happened before. yes. whenever there's a state visit, we sort of see this and we talk of it as if it's a bit run of the mill. but my goodness, this is this is not run of the mill. this is splendid. >> oh, it is splendid. but i think you'll find, tom, that most of these state visits are quite splendid when they are held in like this in the sunshine. and we're now looking at the king's troop getting ready, or arriving with, with their guns. i don't i'm not sure

whether we've had this 41 gun salute yet , already or whether salute yet, already or whether they're going to be on their way to green park. but i think they're facing the wrong way at they're facing the wrong way at the moment. but, so, yeah, the carriages are have have arrived back at the palace and as i say, they'll be heading off to luncheon a very few , very few minutes. >> yes. and this, this lunch will of course, be a to some extent a diplomatic affair. but also to what extent will there be diplomacy here beyond niceties ? there are huge niceties? there are huge restrictions on what both royal families can do in terms of talking actual policy. this is about building friendships rather than thrashing out new trade terms or whatever else might be going on. you're absolutely right, tom, that it is about building on the friendship that already exists between these two countries. >> and as i said , the hard >> and as i said, the hard graft, the hard work of what what goes on between the two countries in terms of various, you know, export trade , other you know, export trade, other any other matters that need to

be discussed? they'll be held , be discussed? they'll be held, excuse me privately and away in at the end at the end of the visit, we will well, they both countries will then know what they have got and what they're what they're going to give each other, and the diplomacy carries on. but at the lunch themselves, these guys won't be discussing policies at all. they'll just be friendly chit chat, and nothing more than that. >> they can talk about the thames barrier, can't they, charles? but i don't know if you. i'm sure you you saw this too. they did seem very comfortable in each other's company. taking that taking that stroll around horseguards parade. >> i mean, both men had huge smiles on their faces. i mean, and as i said to you earlier on, this is a friendship that goes back many, many years from, the emperor's time at oxford and many visits here. i mean, he's been, as i said, he's been carriage driving with prince philip. he's been invited to a, a barbecue with with the late queen, and he went fly fishing

with the then prince of wales, so this is this is this is not just something that they've never met before. this is two friends meeting again after some time , and i'm sure the emperor time, and i'm sure the emperor will be expressing his , good, will be expressing his, good, good wishes for, the princess royal as well. >> we should say the carriage procession . and catherine has procession. and catherine has now arrived at the grand entrance of buckingham palace. we're expecting the guard of honour to receive of their majesties and his royal highness with a royal salute. and we're expecting as well the band to play expecting as well the band to play both the british national anthem and the japanese national anthem. now inside the gates of buckingham palace . company of buckingham palace. company of archers . archers. >> great foot . >> great foot. >> great foot. >> because they're having received orders . moving on.

received orders. moving on. holding those gates open . and holding those gates open. and it's relatively rare that we see these grand gates of buckingham palace completely open. of course, many guards around people won't be wandering in, but these , gates have been but these, gates have been opened to receive those eight carriages. all of those dignitaries , and to prepare for dignitaries, and to prepare for those national anthems to be played, this is kicking off the, isuppose played, this is kicking off the, i suppose most senior level of this state visit. of course, we've discussed the previous elements of this state visit, a visit to oxford, a visit, even to the thames barrier. but now the real highlight, i suppose, of the of the entire moment. these two heads of grand royal families of two proud, independent island nations together inside buckingham palace, preparing for a grand lunch.

palace, preparing for a grand lunch . now, charles, we're lunch. now, charles, we're seeing, what looks like a, moving on of many of those, horses that were involved and moving on of some of those guards. and do go on, charlie. >> that is the king's troop. and they are the. they've got the gun carriages and, you know, they're the ones who, you know, carry out the 41 gun salute. and as we saw , at trooping the as we saw, at trooping the colour, and they'll be doing the same today if they haven't already done so. i can't, i can't remember, i can't, haven't heard if the guns had gone off at all yet. >> and we couldn't quite hear those guns when they went off. i think i heard a few of the, of the shots, but it was during those national anthems. so so we heard those guns go off and now they're being brought back to, i suppose the, the other side of

saint james's park , where many, saint james's park, where many, many, guards, reside. >> and, well, charles, do we. >> and, well, charles, do we. >> oh, sorry. go on. charles. sorry. >> no, i'm just going to say that these guys are going back to their barracks now, and, you know, the horses prepared and get back into their, you know, working uniforms rather than their states, uniforms . their states, uniforms. >> okay. well, charles, thank you very much indeed for talking us through all of this fantastic event. us through all of this fantastic event . the royals have event. the royals have officially welcomed the japanese emperor and empress there we are looking at a final shot of buckingham palace outside after that carriage parade entered. thank you very much indeed. charles rea, former royal correspondent at the sun. >> and goodness me, what a marvellous, picture to end this first part of that grand element of this state visit, buckingham palace looking grand in what is going to be a really rather sunny day. stay with us here on gb news. we're going to be bringing you much more besides

this, royal occasion , not least. this, royal occasion, not least. what's this weather going to do to the channel crossings? how are we going to see these small boats down in the channel

not. >> in the united kingdom, it certainly looked like from the state visit there. sun shining over westminster and central london, yes, but. >> but . and why is it my turn to >> but. and why is it my turn to say the downcast, sad, sort of pettifogging rules. well, yellow heat. peter fogging, particularly jacob rees—mogg. yellow heat . health alerts are yellow heat. health alerts are in place for most of england this week , with temperatures set this week, with temperatures set to hit a balmy 30 c. >> yes, get your linen out. so after a frankly disappointing

cold and wet start to june, windy two is it time for brits to enjoy the sun or is it a bit too hot? and should we take cautions ? cautions? >> well, let's go to our east midlands. reporter will hollis, who's in sunny burton on trent and will, how's the weather? that where you are ? that where you are? >> good afternoon. yes, it wasn't quite the start to summer that many brits would be expecting, but lots of people here in burton on trent are enjoying the start of this summer sun. it has disappeared just for a few moments behind. a bit of patchy cloud, but i can assure you temperatures are expected to reach around 28 degrees here for this part of stafford shire, the highest temperatures across the uk today are expected to reach about 30 degrees, with most of the warm weather consist in the south. for today, there is a yellow weather warning in pretty much every part of the uk. these are heat health alerts and they come into place when the uk health

security agency and the met office sees that we are going to have a consistent period of hot weather, that could be troubling for some people in england, particularly vulnerable people , particularly vulnerable people, people that have multiple health conditions, take lots of medication , people in social medication, people in social care settings. so the advice really is to make sure that those people are cared for. we've putting out a warning so that they are making sure that people have enough fluids that are inside in, shady conditions and that people, if they are going outside, are wearing lots of sun cream. this is in place until thursday . it is only the until thursday. it is only the lowest run of the traffic light system , yellow, out of yellow, system, yellow, out of yellow, amber and red. but we know that if it does get a lot hotter to amber levels or to red, that's when serious problems can start with much greater effects to things like the nhs. but for right now, lovely, beautiful weather with a little bit of a warning as well. getting to me. >> will, i do believe you that it was very, very sunny just until we came to you.

>> it is the way, it's the way his jacket off, the way these things go, isn't it? >> you know, blistering sunshine in the moment that we cut to will, of course, the cloud comes over. >> oven >> oh well. >> oh well. >> well, thank you very much. will really appreciate your time. we'll come back to you in burton on trent when it will be more sunny . there's quite more sunny. there's quite patronising to older people, don't you think , i mean they've don't you think, i mean they've lived through, you know, high temperatures . oh they not that temperatures. oh they not that high was it, 1976. >> is it 76. »- >> is it 76. >> is it 76. >> i mean, when it gets to about 40 degrees that is worrying territory. we're not used to that in this country and we don't have the facilities to cater for it . cater for it. >> a lot of it 74 or 76, 28 degrees and slightly overcast. it was that glorious summer, perhaps the longest, warmest summer in the history, that people can remember. i'm sure people can remember. i'm sure people will write in the comments when precisely it was and what were you up to on that long, glorious summer in the 19705? long, glorious summer in the 1970s? everyone talks of it, don't they? >> yeah. anyway, have you ever wondered what's on the dark side of the moon? tom has. >> well, it's always been a

mystery, but china are about to get a step closer to finding out their challenge there. change six lunar probe has returned the first ever samples from the far side of the moon. >> okay, well, joining us now is space expert andy loudoun and andy. andy, what does this all mean ? mean? >> hi. yeah, i mean, it's just great the first time we're going to have samples back from the far side of the moon, and it could really open up, really the evolution of the moon itself. there's also an extra bonus with this one here, because the area where they've taken the samples from is an extremely ancient area of a huge basin . from is an extremely ancient area of a huge basin. basin, if you like, is a huge impact crater, but it's a basin, so it's not quite the same shape, but it's much older and larger. and at the time this basin was formed , the moon was a lot formed, the moon was a lot closer to the earth, and there was a large bombard going on at the time in the solar system. so there could be rocks, samples from the ancient earth, which actually has ended up on the surface of the moon. and the

sampling that could be done could actually bring back some of the samples. so what you'd be looking at is some of the oldest rocks from the earth collected from the moon. so that's actually quite an important excitement regarding the sampling from the far side of the moon . the moon. >> and this is particularly special, andy, because of course, the moon sort of rotates in a way that means that we only ever see one side of the moon when the apollo astronauts went, they went, of course, to the light side of the moon, much easier to communicate with the side that faces us getting around to the other side of the moon. very hard to communicate , moon. very hard to communicate, very hard to pick stuff up. it's quite a technological feat. what has gone on here? >> it's an incredible feat because as you rightly say, the moon has a captured orbit, so it's actually only one side faces us all the time, and therefore the chinese have used therefore the chinese have used the relay satellite, which they've got in orbit to keep in communication with the far side of the moon. but of course, that does require the complicated nature here of launching a

sample, because the sample was launched and docked with an orbiting vehicle, which they had placed up there in, in interesting , because it's almost interesting, because it's almost a miniaturised version of what they intend to do in 2030 when they intend to do in 2030 when they put attempting to put chinese astronauts on the surface of the moon. so it was quite a technical feat to actually do this. but of course, what they're doing is they're trialling out their technology. if you like , for their manned if you like, for their manned mission, which they hope to do in 2030, which will be quite fantastic. >> and, andy, we have a bit of a complicated, complicated relationship with china as a state. should we be worried at all about all this space exploration ? exploration? >> well, this mission is quite interesting because it also has experiment on board from, italy, france, sweden and pakistan. so they're actually doing an international program here. so they've got other partners taking part in it. i think we shouldn't be worried in, in many senses, certainly from not a militaristic point of view. i

don't think that's going to be an issue there. but of course, the issue of claiming elements of the moon is going to be a big story in the next few years, because obviously mineral resources on the moon, you know, if you can find helium three, which is used for fusion power systems or iridium or any rare earth metals , that is going to earth metals, that is going to be the big challenge. and i think we need to have international agreements now between ourselves and the international. it needs to be done there. but i think we need to see scientific partnerships coming closer together, especially with nations like china, because china are in really a race with the united states at the moment for getting resources from the surface of the moon. >> and we're running out of time, andy. but in a word, who's going to win the race? china want to get there by 2030. the united states want to return. i think it's by 2026, but i don't know if they'll actually be able to do that. who's going to win this new race to the moon? >> it's a new race. america have already been there. of course they got there. they've already been , and they're going back been, and they're going back again. i think the americans will get there. they're people there before the chinese in the latest back. but to be quite

honest, it'll be just so many people going there. and then in the next decade, it's the moon is actually going to get quite busy. >> absolutely fascinating. thank you very much indeed. andy lound. he imagined that the fight for resources on the moon, you can imagine some kind of war, can't you? >> the treaty that was signed in the in the 50s or 60s, based on the, the and the antarctic treaty, which means it's in common hold for all mankind. that's not going to hold as soon as people get there, establish a base there, start extracting things. it's no longer for all mankind. it's any

us. well. good afternoon. britain. it's 1:00 on tuesday. the 25th of june. i'm emily carver, and i'm tom harwood now. of june. i'm emily carver, and i'm tom harwood now . a major i'm tom harwood now. a major development in the election betting scandal today engulfing the conservatives. the party is now withdrawing support for their candidates accused of placing bets on the election date. but has the damage already been done? >> meanwhile, there's an election clash over immigration.

the conservatives say migrants are queuing up in calais, just waiting for a labour government to scrap the rwanda plan. labour has hit back, saying migrants aren't waiting and rishi sunak has failed to deal with the problem . problem. >> and julian assange, he's been released from prison after reaching a deal with the united states. he's now expected to be a free man. but is the wikileaks founder a hero , or did he founder a hero, or did he jeopardise national security by revealing military intelligence, saint or sinner, and the king and queen have welcomed the japanese emperor and empress , japanese emperor and empress, who are on a three day state visit to the uk. >> meanwhile , however, princess >> meanwhile, however, princess anne has spent a second night in hospital after her injury involving a horse . involving a horse. this one? >> well, all people actually in calais waiting for a labour

government. that's what the conservatives are trying to push. they're trying to say more people would be crossing right now if it weren't for the fact that labour may well scrap. well, they will scrap the rwanda plan as soon as they take office if they're elected. it's an interesting one because yes, there was a little bit of a slowdown in terms of boat crossings. but actually today, as we saw this morning on gb news breakfast, those boats are still coming over. >> yes, we have our eyes on the channel and we'll be bringing you the latest numbers as and when we have them. but it is interesting to see, given that the weather has been so very nice today, yesterday . are these nice today, yesterday. are these numbers the same level that we would expect or have we in the last couple of days seen some sort of effect, given the expectation of the election outcome ? that's certainly what outcome? that's certainly what the conservatives are trying to say. and there are some reports in the papers. one quote that was snippeted and tweeted out by the prime minister, rishi sunak, suggesting that people are waiting. that was from a reporter talking to people in

calais. but what's the truth? we're going to try and get to that in this programme and we want your views. what do you think is really going on there in calais with those preparing to cross gb news com forward slash your say? >> yes, that's the way to get in touch. but it's your headlines with sofia . with sofia. >> emily thank you. good afternoon. it's 1:02. >> emily thank you. good afternoon. it's1:02. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. and as you've been hearing, wenzler in the gb newsroom. and as you've been hearing , the king as you've been hearing, the king and queen are hosting a ceremonial welcome for the emperor and empress of japan. they began their three day state visit at an event in horseguards parade. this afternoon, with the royal couple greeting a line of dignitaries , including prime dignitaries, including prime minister rishi sunak. princess anne isn't taking part in today's welcome while she recovers in hospital after being injured by a horse . the wife of injured by a horse. the wife of juuan injured by a horse. the wife of julian assange says he'll seek a full pardon after agreeing to plead guilty to a single felony

count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security material. the 52 year old founder of wikileaks left the uk this morning and is due to appear before a federal judge in the mariana islands, the us territory in the western pacific . he's expected to be sentenced to five years, roughly the equivalent of the time he's already served in britain before returning to australia. the australian prime minister, anthony albanese, told parliament the case has gone for too on long. >> i've been very clear as both the labour leader in opposition but also as prime minister, that that regardless of the views that regardless of the views that people have about mr assange's activities, the case has dragged for on too long. >> there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to australia . australia. >> assange's release caps off a long and bitter standoff with the united states that started with his arrest on a swedish

warrant in 2010. he's since become a divisive symbol, celebrated by some as a crusader for truth, but criticised by others who view him as a threat to global security . through to global security. through wikileaks, assange has revealed state secrets related to us activities in iraq, and even published stolen emails from the us democratic party, which damaged hillary clinton's presidential campaign . in other presidential campaign. in other news, labour is pledging to half knife crime within a decade if it wins the general election . it wins the general election. the party's plan includes creating a new cross—government coalition to work on solutions, as well as community hubs involving youth workers and career advisers . sir keir career advisers. sir keir starmer says cracking down on knife crime is a moral mission. >> i was the chief prosecutor for five years and therefore i prosecuted many cases involving the use of knives and i've made it my personal mission to deal with this. it is a moral mission as far as i'm concerned. it isn't a question of urban versus

rural. in fact, i think there's more knife crime. sadly, in rural areas, or at least it's going up more quickly. and i think it's not fair on the families we've been hearing from this morning to simply point the finger to somebody else. this is something which a government needs to take responsibility for. i will take responsibility for. i will take responsibility for on a cross—party basis to make the change that we need . make the change that we need. >> meanwhile, the conservative party says it can no longer support two candidates accused of placing bets on when the election would take place. craig williams and laura saunders are the subject of inquiries by the gambling commission . both will gambling commission. both will still appear on election ballots because the deadlines for nominations has now passed . a nominations has now passed. a yellow heat health alert is in force across most of the country, with temperatures set to exceed 30 degrees today. yesterday's high topped 28 degrees in surrey, making it the hottest day of the year so far. that's almost certain to be surpassed today, with central london expecting some of the

hottest conditions . the rnli is hottest conditions. the rnli is urging people to take care with crowds expected to cool off in coastal areas . but forecasters coastal areas. but forecasters are warning that he won't last long, with showers and possibly thunderstorms predicted later tomorrow. meteorologist tamsin green says britain isn't prepared for hot weather. >> it's going to be hot, it is going to be unseasonably hot. >> temperatures are going to be above average for the time of year 10 to 12 degrees above average for the time of year for some of us, and, you know, obviously our our infrastructure isn't built for this kind of heat. we don't have air conditioning. we don't even have ceiling fans. you know, in order to stay cool, you've got to do just simple things like keep the bunds just simple things like keep the blinds or the shades down and your windows so the heat doesn't come in through the window. but also circulate the air through the day as much as you can. >> and the first samples ever collected from the dark side of the moon have arrived on earth . the moon have arrived on earth. china's lunar probe has returned, making the first country to successfully bring back samples from the moon's far

side. the re—entry capsule of the changi probe touched down in the changi probe touched down in the northern chinese region of inner mongolia this morning. the capsule was carrying lunar soil, which was collected earlier in june. it will now be analysed by scientists as china continues its efforts to become a space and science powerhouse . and for and science powerhouse. and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. com slash alerts. now it's back to tom and . emily. it's back to tom and. emily. >> good afternoon britain. it's 1:07 now we start this hour with that major development in the election betting scandal . election betting scandal. >> yes, the conservative party has now withdrawn its support for two parliamentary candidates. those candidates being investigated by the gambling commission. >> let's get more from our political editor , editor, political editor, editor, christopher hope, joining us live from westminster .

live from westminster. christopher, a lot of people are frankly bemused as to why this action now taken by the conservative party didn't happen a week ago . a week ago. >> well, not anyone there, tom and hi, tom. >> hi, emily. that's right. i mean, i was with the prime minister yesterday in edinburgh when he unveiled his scottish tory manifesto. he allowed us to ask him six questions from the travelling press pack with him afterwards . five of them were afterwards. five of them were about the betting scandal . and about the betting scandal. and then he disclosed to me when i asked him that the party is now investigating it for its own sake. this this issue, aside from the gambling commission, of course . and that's led to today, course. and that's led to today, the party's now withdrawn support for two candidates at the election, craig craig williams , the tory candidate for williams, the tory candidate for montgomery and glendower , and montgomery and glendower, and laura saunders, the candidate for bristol north west, that's an attempt, i think, by the party to get ahead of it because, frankly, until he dealt

with it and showed some strong action, he was going to keep being asked about it as he was yesterday. but as you say correctly, this first broke last thursday. that is the involve the allegations about, laura saunders. of course, her husband is the director of campaigns, tony lee. he's taken a step back andifs tony lee. he's taken a step back and it's another colleague there at the weekend, nick mason. he's also taken a step back from the campaign. this means, of course, that tony lee now can't campaign for his wife because she's no longer a candidate for the tory party, although her name is on the ballot paper in bristol nonh the ballot paper in bristol north west, there is a wider question, i think, about leadership. why didn't , the leadership. why didn't, the prime minister see it as an issue last thursday and act straight away? why wait so long? because of course, people are voting right now with their with their postal ballots. 1 in 5 people vote by post nowadays. so at any point this can affect the result of the election. but finally , it looks like the prime finally, it looks like the prime minister is getting ahead of it. >> well, christopher, of course

there is this parallel investigation being conducted by the gambling commission in, do you think do you suspect that rishi sunak thought he could just sort of leave it with the gambling commission? they'll work out what went wrong. and, i guess the problem is he was just being asked about it so much in the press and the media by journalists that he had to do something. yeah that's right, emily, we're asking about it because candidates tell us it is cutting through a bit like that d—day row when he came back early from normandy, for an itv , early from normandy, for an itv, itv news interview, it has cut through, i think, on the doorstep and he had to get ahead of it. >> the problem, the government's problem is they couldn't put any pressure on the gambling commission because that's independent correctly. they must do their own piece of work. but the clock is ticking the ballot. the people vote formally . 88 out the people vote formally. 88 out of ten of us will vote a week. thursday and they've got to get ahead of that and take action to try and put this issue to bed. and that's why i think he took

that action. but labour's pat mcfadden, he's a shadow cabinet office minister. he's been making clear this this is not enough. >> it's this whole affair shows is that if the conservative party won again on the 4th of july, they would think they could get away with anything. >> when the election was called , >> when the election was called, their first instinct wasn't to go out and campaign. >> it was to fill their boots. and it's taken rishi sunak two weeks to face up to the inevitable and withdraw support from these candidates. >> i think it's another instance of one rule for them and another rule for everyone else. >> remember, this wasn't just gambling, this was insider trading. betting on a sure thing because you were in possession of information that other people didn't have, and it was the misuse of that information that makes this such a scandal. >> it's quite the allegation there from pat mcfadden , because there from pat mcfadden, because of course, we don't know if

these individuals did actually know or if they just thought it's quite a bit of activity down the corridor. i think it might take a punt on that either way. i mean, bad look, terrible look, but isn't one of the most irritating things about this entire scandal just how trivial it is? craig williams is a man who is now likely to lose his £90,000 a year job who is now likely to lose his £90,000 a yearjob over who is now likely to lose his £90,000 a year job over a who is now likely to lose his £90,000 a yearjob over a £100 £90,000 a year job over a £100 bet. well that's right, of course. coui'se. >> course. >> i mean, craig williams has admitted having a flutter and an error of judgement. we don't we haven't heard yet a comment about what happened there with laura saunders, but yeah, no question . it is a tiny compared question. it is a tiny compared to the figures you're talking about , tom. a to the figures you're talking about, tom. a tiny amount of money, but i think it goes to the heart of an issue of trust. i mean, labour is making a lot of a lot of mileage here saying that they'll restore public service if they become the next government. and the feeling here that you've got people, whether or not they've done it looks like they it looks like allegedly , they may have taken allegedly, they may have taken action to enrich themselves with

knowledge they may have got from heanng knowledge they may have got from hearing it. chatter in the corridors somewhere in their workplace or in number 10. now they deny any wrongdoing. i'm sure we'll wait and see how it plays out, but that's the political damage from it. and that's why i think rishi sunak had to act irrespective of whether there's any wrongdoing, because people are voting next thursday and all the time we are asking about this very matter. i mean, today it's on page one of the telegraph with claims about the met police leaking this information and denied also by scotland yard. >> yes, i guess at the very least it shows a stunning lack of judgement , but christopher, of judgement, but christopher, i suspect i sense that the conservatives want to be talking about immigration today, specifically illegal immigration. they're claiming that, migrants are actually waiting, staying put in calais, waiting, staying put in calais, waiting for a labour government if that comes to pass, because then there's no chance of them going to rwanda to. >> that's right. that was a point made by rishi sunak , the point made by rishi sunak, the prime minister, on on a tv debate last night. and supported

by reporting by the telegraph today. they've been to talking migrants, waiting in the, in the, the grand synthe camp, in france, they have found people saying we are waiting for a change of government. we've seen evidence that this rwanda plan much attacked by labour and the opposition is working to a degree. you've got migrants moving into southern ireland to avoid being sent to rwanda . and avoid being sent to rwanda. and on day one, sir keir starmer, if he becomes prime minister has said he will abolish the rwanda plan. these first flights won't take off as the tories want in late july. there are a dozen or so challenges already to that happening, so there is some doubt that could happen. even if the tories do win the government and do win the election and defy the polls. but yeah, i think that's a point. i think that point is strike home in that tv debate last night, when the prime minister made that point, they were waiting for here a labour government. and of course, the labour would say, well, they think they can deal with the issue of small boats, by working more closely with

enforcement authorities on the continent. today's a big day, by the way. on the, on the, on the numbers of people who come across . it's 50. it's gone across. it's 50. it's gone through 50,000. we think since rishi sunak became prime minister back in october 2022. so 50,000 crossings, which should shortly be confirmed by the home office, have come across since mr sunak entered downing street. >> goodness me, a pretty symbolic moment there. christopher hope, thank you very much for all of that very latest , and it'll be fascinating to see the precise number today and where that matches with previous large days, given the weather. but christopher hope there, our political editor i don't know about you, but i just don't understand, considering these numbers, why this isn't being treated as as a national emergency. >> i mean, surely 50,000 people, just since rishi sunak became prime minister that is true in any sovereign nation. allow that i >> -- >> that's 25,000 a year. and compared to the numbers, the hundreds of thousands coming into italy, the i think 80,000

in, in germany , the higher in, in germany, the higher numbers in france, italy is in the mediterranean, right . the mediterranean, right. >> but but the benefit of being an island . an island. >> but but look at the context. >> but but look at the context. >> there's only a channel. look, it can't be beyond the wit of man to prevent such crossings. >> look at the context here. i mean, the millions, literally millions who have crossed from mexico into the united states across the southern border. okay. well, a border that's patrolled, not an issue. look, no, i'm saying that the united kingdom , comparatively, has less kingdom, comparatively, has less illegal migration than almost any other developed country. >> so we should be grateful. no. so we should be grateful. no. it's our government can't secure our borders. >> it's an issue. >> oh, it could be worse. we could be like italy, but it could be like italy, but it could be like italy, but it could be worse. could be worse. we could be like the united states. yes, of course, biden has absolutely failed when it comes to illegal. >> of course, it could be worse. >> of course, it could be worse. >> that's not a controversial thing to say. >> yes, but i'm saying that that doesn't matter because i care about this country. and i think border control has to actually happen. it makes an absolute mockery of our nation. anyway,

moving on now, the qualification for the knockout stage may not have come in the fashion that most fans wanted, but england are through to the last 16 in the euros. >> they are indeed now the three lions captain and all time top goal scorer harry kane was heavily criticised for his lacklustre performance against denmark. >> bbc presenter gary lineker called him out, saying he needed to do better . but called him out, saying he needed to do better. but manager gareth southgate knows that the shirt comes with pressure. >> we fully understand everything we do is going to be scrutinised so i'm very comfortable living that life and, but i don't need to engage in external because i'm my own biggest critic and, and i think our players are as well. so there's nothing to be gained from us that's going to help improve us. listening to. >> right. well, joining us now is gb news reporterjack >> right. well, joining us now is gb news reporter jack carson, who's in a fan zone in birmingham. i mean, jack, the match isn't for a little while. is there anyone there yet ? is there anyone there yet? >> well, preparations are

underway here in birmingham at this fan zone. of course. it's a boiling hot day. and can england deliver a scorcher of a performance on the pitch tonight against slovenia? i mean, you can see here some of the preparations, some of the benches getting ready. we've got plenty of alcohol in the boxes ready to be loaded into the bar because it's going to be a thirsty one tonight with how hot it is, as thousands of fans are set to descend both here and in fan zones across the country as well. but just what are really england's chances tonight? i mean, slovenia, we should beat them. this should be a comfortable game for us. and gareth southgate knows, of course , that this is a game that course, that this is a game that he has to win to really prove those doubters and prove the criticism, as you said, as has harry kane and declan rice as well, who have come out fighting, say, to judges after the tournament. but of course, really the performances on the pitch so far they'll know haven't been good enough and it's how they get themselves into the game tonight, how well they start and whether we'll see, as we have done over the last couple of games, do we sit

back after going one nil up or do we try and go for more, try and really put the game to slovenia and put it to bed, possibly before half time? england realistically need to win their group need to top the group today to face an easier side in the round of 16. even if we win and possibly come second, depending on how denmark's group 90, depending on how denmark's group go, we could well face germany in the round of 16, which is probably not something that england fans want tonight. but how are the england fans feeling? we've been out on the streets of birmingham today. here's what they told us. >> i think from watching their game the last two games, they're, not really playing as a team. i think they're playing individually. >> i think there's a lot of media bashing going on about how badly we're playing. >> we got we've got the point. >> we got we've got the point. >> we've got the points we needed at the beginning, slow and steady. >> i know it's not exciting. >> i know it's not exciting. >> he's not everybody's cup of tea the way we play. i think as individuals they could be playing better. but i think i think we'll win tonight despite being through anyway. >> i think england are going to come good. i know they haven't been playing well and you've got

harry kane having a go at lineker or lineker having a go at harry, but i think the boys are going to prove everybody wrong . wrong. >> we need a bit more convincing. >> we need to really say, okay, we're going to go out there and we're going to go out there and we're going to really going to get these. >> we want to win these. >> we want to win these. >> that team is the one to win. they're playing for the money, which they might be playing for. let's get out there and do what you can do. see if we can get through the semis or even the final and have a bit of quality in your heart. >> and start to show the performances that we know they can produce with the quality of players that we've got jude bellingham, harry kane, bukayo saka it's going to be a tough selection for gareth southgate tonight with the players. maybe that he hasn't been impressed with as much over the first couple of group games, but maybe, maybe i can give them a bit of a bit of good luck. we've got a target. oh, there we go. can can, can i do it? here we

go. yes yes, there we go. >> there we go. >> there we go. >> we never doubted you, jack . >> we never doubted you, jack. we never doubted you, jack. are you going to find yourself a little space on the bench for this evening? superstar >> well, well, maybe. maybe i'm. maybe i'm a decent second half substitute. maybe for one nil down. >> i meant i meant in the superfan. superfan section. >> no no no no, we need to. we need to ship you off to germany. jack carson, thank you so much for bringing us that . i'm sorry. for bringing us that. i'm sorry. i'm being told we can we can have a look at a replay now, a live action replay. >> there we go. >> there we go. >> here we go . and, oh, splendid >> here we go. and, oh, splendid stuff. oh, absolutely. i mean , stuff. oh, absolutely. i mean, jack, be honest when you practice that shot. did it go as well as it did on live television ? television? >> i had two practices beforehand . one missed very beforehand. one missed very badly and one went in. so third

time. lucky with me there. >> fantastic stuff. well brilliant to see you from a fan zone in preparation. and i'm noting that they've let you in early and there are boxes and boxes of booze . i think you boxes of booze. i think you probably deserve to crack one open, but but don't tell anyone. jack carson. thanks very much for joining us, really good forjoining us, really good stuff. >> oh, jack, you can see why he got an award for his reporting. aren't you 100? very good indeed. well, coming up, summer has finally arrived, as you can see. but there have been a few warnings, many warnings over the health risks of hot weather. but are such warnings really necessary or are we infantilizing people? is it time to just shut up and enjoy the sun

right. well. good afternoon. britain. it's 1:26,

right. well. good afternoon. britain. it's1:26, and the sun has come out across the united kingdom . but apparently it's not kingdom. but apparently it's not all sunshine and rainbows. >> no, a yellow heat health alert has come into force for most of england . as temperatures most of england. as temperatures are set to hit a balmy 31 c in many parts of the country . many parts of the country. >> but the question is, we were wondering, should we all just be quiet or shut up and enjoy the hot weather without thinking about all the potential risks? well let's pose that question to the pharmacist and health expert, thorin govind thorin. >> thank you so much forjoining us. this afternoon. a lot of people do get irritated when they hear these, quite opaque colour health alerts. i mean, goodness me, can we not just understand that it's sunny, probably wear a bit of sun cream ? >> well, 7- >> well, i 7— >> well, i was 7 >> well, i was just about to pop out for my ice cream . and so out for my ice cream. and so that's why i've come back here to speak to you. >> especially because obviously when the sun comes out, especially in england, and having probably spent most of the rest of the year with our

umbrellas, we all get a bit excited, and also , we're not excited, and also, we're not especially geared up our buildings , even, you know, buildings, even, you know, offices, they're not exactly geared up for the sunny weather. so i have to say, i understand why we all go, a little bit over the top, perhaps when the sun comes out and we all get a little bit excited, but there's lots of health conditions that we also have to think about when it comes to the sun. so when i was younger, i actually suffered from a bit of heat stroke. so i can definitely say it's something people need to avoid, andifs something people need to avoid, and it's very easy to spend some time in the sun and almost not think about how much water you're drinking , how hydrated you're drinking, how hydrated you're drinking, how hydrated you're staying, if you're out on those beaches , there'll be a few those beaches, there'll be a few people having a few pints and glasses of wine. and of course, alcohol can dehydrate you as well , but alcohol can dehydrate you as well, but there's alcohol can dehydrate you as well , but there's lots to be well, but there's lots to be thankful about when the weather comes out as well. so i think we've got to enjoy the boost it gives to our mood. but also think about our health as well. >> i mean, thorin, i mean,

millions of us, you know, decamp to the costa del sol or other sunny climates just to get some sunshine , just to get these sunshine, just to get these types of temperatures even hotter and we all seem to get along okay. do you think people take actually more precautions when they're abroad than when they're in this country? they assume that perhaps, oh, it can't be that hot here or i don't know. i'm trying to think of why we need all of these health warnings. >> well, i don't think we're used to dealing with the weather here. if you think about when we go abroad, i mean, half my suitcase, half your suitcase is probably packed with suncream with, clothes that are appropriate. and i have to say, some of the clothing you might wear on your beach resort might not be the ones you're going to be wearing to your place of work. so there's a few additional considerations when it comes to the weather. here and also, i think we aren't the buildings, you know, air con , buildings, you know, air con, we're probably i don't know about you, but sometimes when you're at work, you might be fighting about the temperature, i don't know. you'll have to tell me if you to fight over

you. between the. we fight for everything . well, but there's no everything. well, but there's no maximum or minimum temperature. it just has to be reasonable in the office. and what might be reasonable to one person might be horrendous to another as well. yes, it's true. >> men like it colder than women i >> -- >> yes, that m >> yes, that is true. >> yes, that is true. >> so women are there shivering in the office. unless of course, they're menopausal. they're not. probably benefit from the air con . but shall we bring in con. but shall we bring in comedian mike mclean because he thinks we should just enjoy the weather, forget about the public health warnings and the like. mike, do you think we go a bit overboard? i mean, we just went to bourton on trent. it was 28 degrees and overcast and there's a yellow heat warning . a yellow heat warning. >> well, i don't think you should ignore the weather. that's. i didn't say that, but that's. i think you should enjoy it. definitely. we don't get it as often as we should, in fact, i'm from manchester, so as soon as the sun's out, everybody's out. nobody goes into work. it rains 364 days of the year there, so i think it's great to get a bit of sun. it puts us in a good mood and we need to be in

a good mood and we need to be in a good mood and we need to be in a good mood. have you watched england lately? at the euros, that's another great reason we should be out in the sun. so i'm all for the sun. and plus, being spanish, i was. i grew up in spain, so the sun is something that i absolutely love. and it's nice to have it, isn't it? yeah >> foreign. do you think that sometimes we can almost have too much public health messaging and it almost makes us numb to when there actually is a need for pubuc there actually is a need for public health messaging? i mean, if the sun reaches 30 degrees, do we really need to blast all the airwaves with these yellow weather warnings ? weather warnings? >> we've got to be careful. >> we've got to be careful. >> i mean, sorry, let's throw that to thorin first. >> hopefully, people i mean people do check the weather before they go out, especially in manchester. both of us probably check the weather to see if we need our umbrella . at see if we need our umbrella. at least our umbrellas coming in handy today to protect us from the sun. so there's that benefit. and i think , yeah, we benefit. and i think, yeah, we can be overwhelmed with health care messaging, but, anything that tells me to go and buy an

ice cream is something that i am definitely supporting. >> well , definitely supporting. >> well, mike, do you think that sometimes we get a bit we're a bit infantilised by all these pubuc bit infantilised by all these public health experts? you know, we're told that we need to drink a bit of water. we're told that we need to put some sun cream on. we're told that we shouldn't eat cakes and sweeties. we're told. what else are we told? oh, you can't go near a vape or a or a cigarette. i guess we know that cigarettes are very bad indeed for us. yes. so maybe i'll leave smoking out. but we do seem to be bombarded by this messaging, don't we? >> we do. and, sometimes you like. my old man used to say. my old dad used to say. take everything with a pinch of salt. i do think you've got to put a lot a bit of cream on, but not lots of cream on. and i do think you should eat ice cream. lots of it. especially in the heat and it is safe to be. it's good to be hydrated as well, maybe it is a beer or two, i'm available, but yeah, they'd say no to the salt, though . salt, though. >> yeah, well, you can't ignore the science, can you? because that's what they're great at, you know? but what you can do is

just take everything in moderation. >> i'm just absolutely delighted that perhaps this is the first day of the year where public health messaging is saying, yes, please do eat ice cream rather than avoid all of the calories and all of the sugar. but foreign and indeed, to mike as well. thank you very much for joining us. really appreciate it. >> yes, thank you very much indeed. well, there you go. it's time to have an ice cream and a little bit of sun in moderation. anyway, still to come, the war of words between the tories and the labour party over the claim that migrants are waiting in france for a labour government before they cross to the uk. we'll be speaking to immigration minister tom pursglove, pursglove tom pursglove, after your headlines with sophia . your headlines with sophia. >> emily. thank you. it's 133. >> emily. thank you. it's133. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb news room. the wife of julian assange says he'll seek a full pardon after agreeing to plead guilty to a single felony count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security

material . the 52 year old material. the 52 year old founder of wikileaks left the uk this morning and is due to appear before a federal judge in the mariana islands , a us the mariana islands, a us territory in the western pacific. he's expected to be sentenced to five years, roughly the equivalent of the time he's already served in britain before returning to australia to the conservative party says it can no longer support two candidates accused of placing bets on when the election would take place. craig williams and laura sanders are the subject of inquiries by the gambling commission. both will still appear on election ballots because the deadlines for nominations has now passed. the labour party is outlining a plan to tackle knife crime. it will include creating a new cross—government coalition to work on solutions , as well as work on solutions, as well as community hubs involving youth workers and careers advisers. the conservatives criticised the plan , accusing labour of failing plan, accusing labour of failing to tackle knife crime in london.

the king and queen are hosting a ceremonial welcome for the emperor and empress of japan. they began their three state visit on the a three day visit at the event at the horse guards parade this afternoon, with the royal couple greeting a line of dignitaries including prime minister rishi sunak. princess anne isn't taking part in today's welcome while she recovers in hospital after being injured by a horse , and a yellow injured by a horse, and a yellow health alert is in force across most of the country today, with temperatures set to exceed 30 degrees. yesterday's high topped 28 degrees in surrey, making it the hottest day of the year so far, but forecasters are warning it won't last long, with showers and possibly thunderstorms predicted later tomorrow . and predicted later tomorrow. and for the latest story, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen , or go to qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. common alerts .

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good afternoon. britain. it's 1:39, and we're going to speak now to the immigration minister , now to the immigration minister, tom pursglove. because, tom, the conservative party is saying that people are now waiting to cross the channel in anticipation of a keir starmer

government. but how does that correspond with the fact that 50,000 people have now crossed the english channel since rishi sunak pledged to stop the boats ? sunak pledged to stop the boats? >> well, what is clear is that we are the only party with the ability and with a credible plan to get on and tackle illegal migration. ian, the fact is that we know deterrents work. they are vitally important in our efforts to tackle this issue head on. and we know that, for example, from the experience with albania, where we've seen a 90% reduction in albanian arrivals as a direct result of the cooperation with the albanian government. and we also know, for example, that in the context of rwanda, that in ireland there have been many that have been saying that they've gone to ireland as a direct result of the concern about being relocated to rwanda. so it doesn't surprise me, really, that we've seen these reports today with people explicitly saying that they want a labour government because they

think that with a labour government and they're right about this. of course they'll scrap the rwanda policy and then be able to come to the united kingdom in the way that they'd hoped. >> is there any concrete evidence, though, to support that claim, or is that just something you're chucking out there during an election campaign? is there any real hard evidence that people are actually in calais saying, you know what, i'm going to wait till july the 5th? >> well , you've seen rather like >> well, you've seen rather like ihave >> well, you've seen rather like i have the quotes in the newspapers with people saying very explicitly that their decisions are being dictated by the position that we have taken in saying that we're going to have these relocations to rwanda. and there is a very clear choice at this election. the labour party will cancel that policy , and these people that policy, and these people will then make those journeys via unseaworthy vessels , paying via unseaworthy vessels, paying a criminal gang to do so. that just cannot be right . what we just cannot be right. what we needis just cannot be right. what we need is a government that's going to deliver on that partnership with rwanda. to end the link between getting in a small boat, coming to the united kingdom, and simply thinking that you're going to be able to stay. as i say, we know

deterrence work because of the albanian experience. and candidly, what just isn't good enoughis candidly, what just isn't good enough is for the labour party to continually turn around and say, we're simply going to do the things that we happen to be already doing in relation to the small boats operational command, with no credible alternative country to send people to understand that. >> but a returns agreement with albania is one thing. getting the rwanda flights off the ground is another. as we've seen so many delays to this flagship policy, what guarantee is there that these flights will take off if the conservatives are re—elected ? re—elected? >> so we have a plan that is being operationalised to send these flights to rwanda in july, with obviously past the safety of rwanda legislation, which explicitly has switched off the grounds of appeal that have been used previously to thwart those relocations to rwanda. we are confident that that legislation will do the job. it's in line with our international obligations, but we can't continue to have those efforts thwarted . ultimately, this is

thwarted. ultimately, this is about putting those evil criminal gangs out of business and saving lives at sea. and as i say, there's just such a clear choice on this. at this election, a conservative government with conservative mps who back these efforts, or a labour party that just simply want to say that they have a plan. but all they're proposing is doing the things we're already doing with no alternative countries will be able to send people to, which simply means that you're willing to take unlimited numbers of people from certain nationalities . nationalities. >> tom, i think a lot of people find it very hard to see why the prime minister called the election for just before prime minister called the election forjust before , not a election for just before, not a long time before and not after, but just before these flights were scheduled to go off. he could have called the election for three weeks later if he really believed that these rwanda flights will go. is it not the case, as we've read in some reports, that there were going to be more legal hurdles in the way more activist lawyers trying to stop this plan ?

trying to stop this plan? >> well, we know that we've been presented with obstruction and challenges all the way through when it comes to parliament and the approach that parliamentarians in other parties have taken. but we've also had those concerns that the judiciary have raised, and we've responded to them very specifically through the legislation that is now in place . i actually think the prime minister was right to call the election and the media and others were continually speculating about what the date would be. i think the country does need certainty around the future governance. i think it is right that having made the economic progress that we have, that we give the country the opportunity to kick on with surety about the future and the falls in inflation that we've seen. getting back to that normal level when it comes to inflation, which will hopefully lead to mortgage rates being cut, is an important milestone. but there is this credible plan here and people have got a really clear choice about whether they want to address this issue or whether they're willing to pass on that. i would encourage people to get in behind us at this election and back. the plan that has

delivered results, but which the next logical step is to get these flights off the ground. and we've got the mechanics now available to us to be able to do that. >> and, tom pursglove, we're heanng >> and, tom pursglove, we're hearing today that the well, two candidates that have been caught up in this betting scandal have had conservative support withdrawn . they'll still be withdrawn. they'll still be standing in the election. did rishi sunak did he act swiftly enough? it's been days since we found out that craig williams had these allegations against him. >> so i am as cross and angry as the prime minister is about what has happened, and he's right to have said that . and i know that have said that. and i know that thatis have said that. and i know that that is a view that is shared amongst many conservative colleagues who have been out on the media and in other conversations that that we've been having. but it is right that we deal. in fact . and so that we deal. in fact. and so these internal inquiries have led to this decision today to withdraw support from those candidates. i support the stance that has been taken in that regard. but we have had to get to the bottom of that. and it is also right. i think that given

the sensitivities of the fact that there is this independent gambling commission inquiry going on as well, that we've had to tread carefully, the integrity of that does need to be. has he not already admitted is clearly not acceptable? is people placing bets on outcomes where they term insider knowledge? but i'd take craig williams as an example had he not already admitted that he placed this bet, had he not already apologised , why then was already apologised, why then was it not, you know, a fait accompli that rishi sunak would then withdraw that support or conservative hq would do the same? >> it seems all a bit slow , >> it seems all a bit slow, don't you see? >> i think it's right that. i just think it's right that the leadership has wanted to fully understand the picture and the sequencing and the chronology. i'm not close enough to the detail of those internal inquiries for obvious reasons. those have been handled at a level and in a way in which i'm just not a party to. but i do think we've got to the right conclusion here with that withdrawal of support for those candidates. and quite clearly , candidates. and quite clearly, it is just not acceptable to be placing bets where you have insider knowledge.

>> the right conclusion perhaps a week too late, but there we are, tom pursglove, migration minister, i really appreciate your time here on gb news. thanks for joining your time here on gb news. thanks forjoining us. thanks for joining us. >> well, thank you very much indeed. now we're still to come on the show, julian assange, he's been released from prison after striking a deal with the united states. he's expected to now be a free man. we're asking, is the wikileaks founder a sinner or a saint?

right. well, 150 is the time, and julian assange has begun his journey back to australia. following his release from a uk prison, the wikileaks founder reached a plea deal with the united states, which will see him plead guilty to one charge and go free.

>> precisely because he's already spent this time behind bars. >> yes, his wife told reporters that julian will be a free man once a plea deal with the united states is signed off by a judge tomorrow . tomorrow. >> well, the chair of republicans overseas, greg swenson , joins us now. and, swenson, joins us now. and, greg, to some people, julian assange is a freedom fighter, someone who who fought the monolithic state of the united states. and this surveillance state and all the rest of it to others. he's a real danger to national security. who didn't go through any sort of checks and just dumped data online, risking the lives of people, well , the lives of people, well, firstly, what's the view of the republican party on this ? and is republican party on this? and is this plea deal something that will have an impact, perhaps, on how people view the united states of america ? states of america? >> yeah. look, i think you can take both sides of this . i think take both sides of this. i think the republican party in general has people that would argue that

he is a sinner or a saint. and i think part of it is that there's a real defence of freedom of speech and of freedom of the press right now. and i think the conviction, a conviction of juuan conviction, a conviction of julian assange would have been a bit of a threat to free press and freedom of speech. so, look, that doesn't mean i agree with what he did. it doesn't mean i like him. it doesn't mean i'm on his side. i mean, in many ways, he's an enemy of the united states and of and of the uk. but this is a you know, this might be political . it's beau biden be political. it's beau biden kind of reaching for a, you know, the libertarian votes that might lean, lean his way because he, he pardoned or at least approved of the plea deal. and then and so i think it's important to keep in mind that you might not agree with what he did , but as a, as a member of, did, but as a, as a member of, of the press , he had that right. of the press, he had that right. so he might be a sinner, in my view , but he's not a criminal. view, but he's not a criminal. so i thought, i thought the outcome was very good, greg, does this guilty plea end the

debate about his innocence? of course. this is a very emotional debate for a lot of people. every time we see julian assange, huge numbers of protesters, he's got a huge amount of support worldwide. do you think this will put this all to bed? >> it very well might, emily, i think look, this might i think it's wise to remind people that that the real criminal here was bradley manning , who was bradley manning, who was actually guilty and received a guilty sentence for stealing secrets and releasing those secrets. so he broke the law, and that's very clear. whereas juuan and that's very clear. whereas julian assange, it's a little more of a grey area, you know, should he have released that information? i would argue no . i information? i would argue no. i wish he had more discipline about it. but that's his right. and so the press should be that the press should hold government accountable. that's what they should be doing, is investigating and they're not doing that enough lately , doing that enough lately, especially with with how one sided they are. but i also have to remind people that, you know, bradley manning was only his

sentence was commuted by obama only because he was in a favoured identity group. so i think that's, you know, we have to be really careful, you know, with the weaponization of the justice system that we've seen in the last few years in many cases. and this could be one of them where, you know, one side got some favoured treatment in in the case of bradley, chelsea manning , because he's in the case of bradley, chelsea manning, because he's in a favoured identity group, whereas juuan favoured identity group, whereas julian assange, you know, has been basically in jail for , you been basically in jail for, you know, or in captivity since 2012. i'm not sure that's the right outcome. >> okay. well, thank you very much indeed . craig swenson, much indeed. craig swenson, you're from republicans overseas. the chair , in fact, overseas. the chair, in fact, thank you very much indeed for your time , it's an interesting your time, it's an interesting one. let us know your thoughts. gbnews.com/yoursay also, lots of you have been getting in touch about the summer of 1976. lots of stories. >> oh my goodness, i've been loving reading these. we've just got a very little time. but, my goodness me, jerry says . of goodness me, jerry says. of course, it wasn't just the summer of 1976, but the spring flowers were out in february. no

light jacket was even needed until november the whole year was beautiful. >> keep them coming. we'll read some more in a little bit. stay with . us. with. us. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello. welcome to your latest weather update from the met office here on gb news. >> a hot one today for some, but not all. >> it is much cloudy across parts of scotland and northern ireland from this old weather front that is also introducing slightly cooler air to the far northwest, but ahead of it across the bulk of england and wales. >> it is a very warm day, hotter than yesterday for south wales and southwest england because it is a bit sunnier, but a cloudy day for scotland and northern ireland, brightening up in the west. >> but that weather front is also providing some outbreaks of rain across eastern scotland, and we might just see 1 or 2

afternoon heavy showers over the hills of northern england and southern scotland. >> temperatures in the north close to average, but in the south well above. >> we could easily top out at 30 celsius close to london this afternoon as we go into the evening, we'll still have some of that cloud and rain across the far north—east. >> so dull and damp end to the day across the east coast of scotland, but something a bit brighter further west. >> but it is quite a bit fresher here as well, the cloud breaking up a little more across northern ireland, so some brighter spells likely say the small chance of a shower or two over northern england and southern scotland, but plenty of fine dry and very warm weather here. but the heat is really across the south. >> a balmy summer's evening here as we go through the night. >> not a great deal of change. i think the rain will peter out across eastern parts of scotland could turn quite misty this evening, and the threat of this low cloud just sticking to that east coast as we go into tomorrow as well . still 1 or tomorrow as well. still 1 or 2 scattered showers over northern england and southern scotland, but most places dry. quite a contrast in temperatures. a comfortable night in the northwest with temperatures down

to single figures. much of england and wales staying in the mid teens. so quite a warm and humid night. and another hot day for many. tomorrow could be quite cloudy across the eastern counties of england. early doors. some uncertainty about whether that will clear away , whether that will clear away, but many places again, fine and sunny. still quite cloudy in eastern scotland, but a brighter day for northern ireland and again very warm in that sunshine over parts of eastern england. goodbye that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 2:00 on tuesday, the 25th of june. i'm tom harwood , and i'm june. i'm tom harwood, and i'm emily carver. a major development in the election betting scandal engulfing the conservatives. the party has now withdrawn support for their candidates accused of placing bets on the election debate. but

has the damage already been done? >> meanwhile , there's an >> meanwhile, there's an election clash over immigration. the conservatives say migrants are queuing up in calais, just waiting for a labour government to scrap the rwanda plan. labour has hit back, saying migrants aren't waiting and rishi sunak has failed to deal with the problem and julian assange is released from prison after reaching a deal with the united states. >> he's expected now to become a free man. but is the wikileaks founder a hero, or did he jeopardise national security by dumping and revealing all of this military intelligence and the king and queen have welcomed the king and queen have welcomed the japanese emperor and empress, who were on a three day state visit to the united kingdom. >> meanwhile, princess anne has spent a second night in hospital after a horse related injury . after a horse related injury. and, thank you very much indeed for sending in all your stories from 1976. it's been a it's been

very interesting, actually, because neither of us were around in 1976, as you might have, as you might have guessed , have, as you might have guessed, although you're ageing since you've been my co—host. yeah. janet says in 1976. we had heavy snow in the first week in june. a few days later, the heatwave started. after a few weeks, denis howell was appointed minister for the heatwave. yes, he was indeed, although i think they called it minister of the drought or something similar. he clearly did a very effective rain dance because it started to chuckit rain dance because it started to chuck it down. well, there you go. >> yeah. no and of course we've been talking about 76 because. yes you might have noticed the weather outside today is a little bit hot. it feels like summer has suddenly arrived . but summer has suddenly arrived. but we've been looking back, of course, at that famous, famous summer or not just summer, as gerry wrote in to say, of course, the whole year was unusually warm, and phil has written in to say that the whole summer of fun with great weather, with no commotion of scaremongering about that weather that we see at the moment, and sandra , the long, moment, and sandra, the long, hot summer was in 1976 and i was

expecting my first baby in june. >> the heat was unbearable and i spent a lot of time sitting in a bath of cold water. we didn't have a shower. well, i feel for you. oh, that must have been. yes a little bit unbearable, actually. >> stephen had a much, much better time. he was 15 years old and living on the isle of wight at the time, with three summer jobs. at the time, with three summer jobs . he'd start at the time, with three summer jobs. he'd start in the at the time, with three summer jobs . he'd start in the morning jobs. he'd start in the morning with a 7 am. paper round, then go on to work in a camp through the morning and then a cafe in the morning and then a cafe in the afternoon. but because it was so warm and the days were so long, he had time to relax on the beach all the way through to sunset. >> oh fantastic stuff. they don't make them like you anymore, do they, stephen, thank you very much for getting in touch with your stories. gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to. but it's your headlines with sofia. >> emily. thank you. good afternoon. it's 2:03. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom . your wenzler in the gb newsroom. your top story this hour. the king and queen put on a show of

pageantry and pomp this afternoon as they welcome the emperor and empress of japan. they began their three day state visit at an event in horseguards parade, with the royal couple greeting a line of dignitaries including prime minister rishi sunak. including prime minister rishi sunak . princess anne isn't sunak. princess anne isn't taking part in today's welcome while she recovers in hospital after being injured by a horse . after being injured by a horse. the wife of julian assange says he'll seek a full pardon after agreeing to plead guilty to a single felony count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security material. the 52 year old founder of wikileaks left the uk. this morning and is due to appear before a federal judge in the mariana islands, a us. territory in the western pacific. he's expected to be sentenced to five years, roughly the equivalent of the time he's already served in britain before returning to australia. the australian prime minister, anthony albanese, told parliament the case has gone on too long. >> i've been very clear as both

the labour leader in opposition, but also as prime minister, that regardless of the views that people have about mr assange's activities, the case has dragged on for too long. >> there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to australia . australia. >> assange's release caps off a long and bitter standoff with the united states that started with his arrest on a swedish warrant in 2010. he has since become a divisive symbol, celebrated by some as a crusader for truth , but criticised by for truth, but criticised by others who view him as a threat to global security. through wikileaks, assange has revealed state secrets related to us activities in iraq and even published stolen emails from the us democratic party , which us democratic party, which damaged hillary clinton's presidential campaign . in other presidential campaign. in other news, the conservative party says it can no longer support two candidates accused of placing bets on when the

election would take place. craig williams and laura saunders are the subject of inquiries by the gambling commission . both will gambling commission. both will still appear on election ballots because the deadlines for nominations has now passed. meanwhile labour is pledging to half knife crime with an in a decade if it wins a general election. the party's plan includes creating a new cross—government coalition to work on solutions , as well as work on solutions, as well as community hubs involving youth workers and careers advisers . as workers and careers advisers. as sir keir starmer says, cracking down on knife crime is a moral mission. >> i was the chief prosecutor for five years and therefore i prosecuted many cases involving the use of knives, and i've made it my personal mission to deal with this. it is a moral mission as far as i'm concerned, and it isn't a question of urban versus rural. in fact, i think there's more knife crime, sadly, in rural areas, or at least it's going up more quickly. and i think it's not fair on the families we've been hearing from this morning to simply point the finger to somebody else. this is

something which a government needs to take responsibility for. i will take responsibility for. i will take responsibility for , on a cross—party basis, to for, on a cross—party basis, to make the change that we need. >> a yellow heat health alert is in force across most of the country, with temperatures set to exceed 30 degrees today. yesterday's high topped 28 degrees in surry, making it the hottest day of the year so far. that's almost certain to be surpassed today, with central london expecting some of the hottest conditions. the rnli is urging people to take care, with crowds expected to cool off in coastal areas . but forecasters coastal areas. but forecasters are warning the heat won't last long, with showers and possibly thunderstorms predicted later tomorrow . meteorologist tamsin tomorrow. meteorologist tamsin green says britain isn't prepared for hot weather. >> it's going to be hot. it is going to be unseasonably hot. temperatures are going to be above average for the time of year 10 to 12 degrees above average for the time of year. for some of us, and, you know, obviously our our infrastructure isn't built for this kind of heat. we don't have air

conditioning. we don't even have ceiling fans. you know, in order to stay cool, you've got to do just simple things like keep the bunds just simple things like keep the blinds or the shades down and your window. so the heat doesn't come in through the window, but also circulate the air through the day as much as you can. >> and the first samples ever collected from the dark side of the moon have arrived on earth. china has become the first country to successfully bring back samples from the lunar far side. the re—entry capsule of the chang'e six probe touched down in northern chinese region of inner mongolia this morning. it was carrying lunar soil, which was collected earlier in june. it will now be analysed by scientists as china continues its efforts to become a space and science powerhouse . and for and science powerhouse. and for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news .com/ alerts. now it's back to tom and . emily.

back to tom and. emily. >> 50,000 the number that has been surpassed today in terms of individuals crossing the channel illegally since the prime minister, rishi sunak, cast his promise to stop the boats. well let's find out what is really going on with our political edhon going on with our political editor, christopher hope. joining us live from westminster, christopher , it is westminster, christopher, it is a stark reminder. >> tom. yeah. tom. hello there from college green here in in westminster. emily to that's a stark reminder i think of a failure by this prime minister to tackle the issue of small boats. of course, it became leader , didn't he, in october leader, didn't he, in october 2022. since then, over 50,000 people have crossed the channel and come here to the uk from northern france. we saw today nigel farage, leader of reform uk, out there bobbing around on on a boat in the channel, indicating another boat laden with migrants coming across with

a with a escort boat, a french navy boat following behind the politics here is difficult because, of course, the tory party say that if you vote tory, you re—elect this government and the first flights will take off for rwanda in late july. the first flights will take off for rwanda in late july . and for rwanda in late july. and that that means that should hopefully act as a disincentive for those trying to get across the channel from northern france. and we are seeing some of that disincentive working with people going to ireland, southern ireland, to escape the risk of going to rwanda. keir starmer for labour's point, they say just we will act on day one, spending money in a different way , working more closely with way, working more closely with enforcement bodies on the continent to stop these small boats coming across, whether that works, we don't know. and nigel farage for the reform uk party, he's making very clear that it party, he's making very clear thatitis party, he's making very clear that it is not going to work. he wonders why on earth we're spending, £480 million giving it to france, trying to ask them to stop these boats coming across with little effect . but the big with little effect. but the big number 50,000, that number past

today , or small boats, arrivals, today, or small boats, arrivals, people arriving by small boat is an embarrassment for the prime minister. >> yes. i mean, christopher, you say it's a failure of the conservatives and undoubtedly it is. but the odds have been stacked against the government for rather a long time, not least when it comes to the courts . courts. >> yes, of course, we, the european court of human rights, is the court which which these lawyers for these individuals will go to , to try and stop them will go to, to try and stop them being sent back to a country where they where they might be at risk. and that's and that in this tends to be rwanda. that's the concern. there are already challenges to the next cohort, which the tory government hopes will take off if they win power and take him to rwanda. the pm, for his part, is slightly made a bed for himself. he's admitted there was a problem with the european court of human rights, but rather than say he'll leave that court and take firm action, he says he won't let a foreign court tell us what to do. and he and he holds the right to withdraw. so i think the weakness of his political

argument is he said it's a problem. he's identified the cause of it , problem. he's identified the cause of it, which is the european court of human rights. but he won't go firmly and say, i will leave that court. he says he won't won't be bossed around by a foreign court is a form of words. and that, i think, allows nigel farage to come in those on the right of politics in this country and say, here's your solution. so the problem is you identify as a problem, but farage has the solution. that's quite a weak place to be in politics. >> i suppose farage will say he's got a solution whether or not turning back the boats is actually practicable . with actually practicable. with regard to how the french would respond to that is. another is another question. but i should say we're also joined by our political correspondent katherine forster, because, catherine, it's not just migration that's a big issue today, but also crime and specifically knife crime . specifically knife crime. >> yes, that's right. and good afternoon, tom and emily. sir keir starmer has been in london along with star idris elba, and he's been meeting families affected by knife crime . one in

affected by knife crime. one in particular was a mother whose son was killed by someone with a knife that had been bought onune knife that had been bought online and picked up by a 15 year old with no checks. what so even year old with no checks. what so ever. now, sir keir starmer has said that if labour come in, it will make it their moral mission to halve knife crime within a decade. they're saying they want to take the politics out of this, that knife crime has surged by, i think, 81% since 2015. so they're proposing various measures to tackle it, stronger sanctions on people, found to carry knives, a youth futures program to target the sort of kids and young people who might fall into that sort of world. and then a, a yearly summit to track the progress and also a cross party coalition with ministers, campaigners, tech executives, and also ,

tech executives, and also, crucially, the families that have had their lives torn apart by this , catherine? catherine, by this, catherine? catherine, do the labour party have credibility , though, when it credibility, though, when it comes to knife crime? sadiq khan , labour presiding as london mayor and london has seen a rise in knife crime , actually in knife crime, actually a higher rise in knife crime than anywhere else in the country . anywhere else in the country. >> yes. so knife crime in the capital is up 38% since sadiq khan became mayor, back in 2015. so, yes, it's a huge problem in the capital. and he also said a few years ago that knife crime was something that would take a generation to solve. that's a comment that i think would be no comfort at all to parents in the capital whose children are out and about. and of course, there are many, many families who've lost loved ones over the last

years because increasingly we've seen people die on london streets in broad daylight. you know, we had that horrific incident in hainault, just a few weeks ago, where a little boy who literally left his house to go to school, was killed in broad daylight at sort of 7:30 in the morning. and talking to knife crime campaigners as i was covering that story there, one of them was saying to me that, you know, it's not just enough to ban zombie knives and all these other knives that they that they try to, but that actually the vast, vast majority is of knife crime is carried out simply by people who have picked up a kitchen knife and used that . and they were saying that all knives, including kitchen knives and should have numbers on them so that they can be identified. but a huge amount of work to be

done on this. although sir keir starmer was stressing that he said rural knife crime has gone up more quickly, he said areas like hertfordshire apparently up 122. so a huge problem really right across the country. >> hertfordshire, of course, adjacent to london. but, but katherine forster, thank you very much for joining katherine forster, thank you very much forjoining us and giving that that update. but now some breaking news. the gambling commission has passed information to the metropolitan police alleging five more officers placed bets relating to the timing of the general election. that's news from the metropolitan police that a further five officers of the metropolitan police placed bets related to the timing of the general election. christopher hope, our political editor, joins us now. christopher, this is a shocking revelation . is a shocking revelation. >> it is. yeah. we knew one individual from the rishi sunak close protection unit had been arrested on suspicion of suspicions of placing a bet on

the date of the july 4th election. we now know that five more officers have been alerted. the detail has been given to the met police by the gambling commission. we don't know if those five officers were part of the team around the pm, the close protection team rishi sunak. some have protection unit or somebody else who may have told, but this shows how this scandal is widening and getting more and more serious. scandal is widening and getting more and more serious . and it more and more serious. and it shows, i think, a lack of discipline or people around with privileged information from the prime minister and elsewhere. elsewhere it looks like some people are taking action on that. we of course they would deny all wrongdoing, i'm sure, but this shows the issue has not gone away. we have seen earlier today, tom and emily. of course, the prime minister has ordered an inquiry by the party yesterday. today took to action remove the support of the tory party for craig williams and laura saunders, two candidates in the election. their names will appear still on the on the ballot paper when voters vote for them in montgomery and glendower and bristol north west respectively. but they will not have the support of the tory

party. but it just shows this problem. this scandal is deepening, not getting any easier for the prime minister. >> absolutely. but there's a difference, though, isn't there, between parliamentary candidates placing bets on the general election date and police officers are quite different in terms of the pressure on rishi sunak. surely >> yes, they're different in the sense of not a political one. i mean, rishi sunak can't be blamed for what officers guarding him are up to. it's up to the met has its own way of enforcing the law. there's also there's laws to be looked at for that, but it just shows this, this, this secret, this. the date was discussed quite widely around rishi sunak. george osborne, the former chancellor has said on his podcast 40 people, four zero people knew about the date before it was announced and it seems that were that the case, it seems that some people around the pm or heard from other people about the date and maybe allegedly putting some money on the, on the on the date of this, yeah, it just shows a kind of lack of discipline. but i agree, maybe

not so damaging for the prime minister. in a sense, it wasn't his key aides as far as we know or candidates at the election. and yet it seems that this scandal has been spreading and growing, and it does give this sense of momentum in this story, which is the very last thing the conservatives need. >> they announced this morning the suspension of those two candidates we previously mentioned, hoping i suppose, to put a lid on this story and yet more news is coming out. it starts to feel like that drip , starts to feel like that drip, drip, drip of partygate. yeah it does. >> oh he's disappeared. >> oh he's disappeared. >> to be fair to rishi sunak , he >> to be fair to rishi sunak, he doesn't he doesn't know who is putting money on the individual. individuals who did it wouldn't have told the prime minister they bet based on information they've been told. so he can't really control it. only yesterday did we see the prime minister trying to grip it and say, well, are our own investigation and tell the gambling commission what we found out. that's happened overnight and now we have two candidates being suspended. but

frankly, why didn't this happen last thursday when these names first emerged? and even before that, in the case of craig williams two weeks ago, i don't know why they've been slow to do this, because of course, people are voting right now about the tory party and whether it deserves another fifth term in office. the election, the polling day, of course, is a week thursday, but a fifth of votes are are carried out in postal votes, so why not act quicker? he hasn't. and yet again we saw the pm yesterday in scotland unveiling his scottish manifesto. i was one of six journalists asking questions. five of the questions were about the betting scandal, five of the questions were about the betting scandal , not five of the questions were about the betting scandal, not about policies, and that's why he had to get ahead of it and try and lance the boil. but as you say, the news here from the met police shows the problem is getting worse and worse. the scandal is nowhere near stopping. >> well, thank you very much indeed. christopher hope, our political editor there in westminster. with that breaking news that five more met officers have allegedly placed bets on the general election date and they're being investigated,

different though, right? i mean, the rishi sunak can't control the rishi sunak can't control the met police no, but can he? and whether they heard something about a general election date, surely . surely. >> but events, dear boy, events, as was once said. >> do you wonder if it's, you know, this. these people have been doing this for a long time, but this is a story that is cutting through the yougov survey tracking the number of stories that have cut through to the percentage of the population i >> -- >> there are three stories that have breached 25% awareness, and it is remarkable looking at these surveys, when you see actually working in news every day or perhaps being people who watch news programs every day, it's only ever really the saturation of the percentage of the population that notice these stories is remarkably low, lower than i think most people in politics would realise. but the three stories that surpassed 25% of the country noticing them and understanding them in the last few weeks. the death of michael mosley , the prime minister mosley, the prime minister returning early from d—day commemorations, and this conservative party linked

betting scandal. yes. >> i wonder if five questions on this, though, to the prime minister is, you know, a lot of people want to know what government is going to do once they get into office, whether it's keir starmer or rishi sunak . does policy matter more than these types of scandals, or are you horrified? lots of people are very horrified that this could happen so close , to the could happen so close, to the prime minister, particularly these parliamentary candidates as well, what were they playing at still to come, the search for 19 year old jay slater continues. >> we'll be hearing why the teenager's parents are unhappy with the police response in tenerife. you're watching good afternoon britain on

gb news. >> well. good afternoon . >> well. good afternoon. britain. welcome back. it's around 225 in the afternoon. and

the emperor and empress of japan have received a royal welcome to the united kingdom. as they begin their three day state visit. >> well, the couple were greeted with military pomp and pageantry before embarking on a royal carriage procession to buckingham palace. >> yes, but the princess royal will miss the state visit as she remains in hospital following a head injury thought to be caused by a horse. well royal reporter richard palmer joins us now to give us an insight inside this state visit and thank you so much for joining state visit and thank you so much forjoining us. much for joining us. >> i've read with interest your piece in the mail, which was pointing to not only the history of this royal family, our royal family and the japanese royal family, but how that history is intertwined in every aspect of this state. visit >> yes, it is really. i mean, the state visit is a celebration of the closer economic and military ties between the two countries post—brexit. >> really, the britain and japan signed a free trade deal in

2020. and this this state visit was postponed from from 2020 because of covid, but i think for people interested in the royal family, it gives us a real opportunity to compare and contrast two of the world's oldest monarchies , two of the oldest monarchies, two of the most successful royal families. i'd say , but both royal families i'd say, but both royal families have faced a fair bit of turmoil in the last few years, so i think it's interesting that the empress, for example , spent a empress, for example, spent a long time, out of the public eye. she spent 11 years away from public life because of a stress related illness that that was said to have been related to the fact that she couldn't produce a male heir. and in japan, only vie only men can inherit the throne , like like inherit the throne, like like our royal family. their royal family's slimming down, it's

been rather enforced on them as well by the fact that women who marry commoners have to leave the royal family. so i think i believe there are currently about eight former princesses at the moment. can't do royal engagements and are no longer princesses. so, absolutely fascinating, richard. really fascinating, richard. really fascinating , fascinating, richard. really fascinating, in terms of their friendship, his majesty and japan's emperor, it goes back a long way. they actually do have a real friendship, don't they ? a real friendship, don't they? >> they do. >> they do. >> it goes back at least 40 years, the emperor came to britain in 1983 to study at oxford, and within two days was ianed oxford, and within two days was invited to buckingham palace to have tea with the then queen. and he talked very fondly about his memories of her pouring tea for him, and talking about what he was going to do with his life . and, and then the following yean . and, and then the following year, while he was still at oxford , he got invited up to oxford, he got invited up to

balmoral and he talked about how the then prince charles taught him fly fishing . they didn't him fly fishing. they didn't catch anything, he was smiling when he said that, and he i mean, he held a news conference ahead of coming to the uk, which i think is interesting because we don't see that with our royal family. so he was answering questions from, japanese and i think a few foreign tokyo based correspondents, so yeah, he, he speaks , very nostalgically about speaks, very nostalgically about the hospitality that he was given by the royal family, and of course, they met up many times since, i think when he was, enthroned as emperor in 2019, i believe, after his father had abdicated. the, charles charles went along to that. charles charles went along to that . and so they've they've that. and so they've they've seen each other on numerous occasions . but seen each other on numerous occasions. but again, that's quite an interesting thing, you know , we saw on sunday that the

know, we saw on sunday that the grand duke of luxembourg is preparing the way to hand over power, to hand over the throne to his son. not quite abdicated yet, but he's preparing the way for that. and the japanese hadnt for that. and the japanese hadn't had an abdication since 1817. but, 2019, the emperor, who was then , i think 85 of who was then, i think 85 of them, rightly decided he was too old, and infirm to carry on work. he's still alive now, will will we perhaps see the same thing happen in the uk at some point in the future? not suggesting now, king, 75. he's been training the whole life for this job, and he actually was waylaid by his cancer , treatment waylaid by his cancer, treatment was was going at it with great guts , gusto. and i think he'll guts, gusto. and i think he'll want to have a good go at, putting his stamp on the on his reign, and but who knows in the future, perhaps the uk will

change its mind about abdication as well, because abdication has really been anathema to the windsors since the 1936 crisis. >> richard, i wonder in your article, you talk about his time at oxford as the grandson of the japanese emperor. i wonder what that would have been like. would everyone on campus have known everyone on campus have known everyone at the college he was at? i see there's a lovely picture in your article of him standing there with a with a bicycle, just a normal student. >> yes. i mean, i think they , >> yes. i mean, i think they, they obviously all knew who he was, and indeed his wife was, was, and indeed his wife was, was a student at oxford a few years later as well . and she was years later as well. and she was already, dating him at that point, so, but he seems to have got really heavily involved in student life. you know, he did a bit of rowing, played tennis. i think, talks, both of them , talk think, talks, both of them, talk very fondly about walking across christ church meadow. it's one of the things they're looking forward to doing is going there,

going back to oxford on friday to their former colleges to have a look around. they're both extremely keen on the cotswolds. they talk about their love of the cotswolds, which , was the cotswolds, which, was engendered when they were both living here. and i gather that, the cotswolds is a is a favourite wedding location and just a holiday destination for japanese. and perhaps they partly popularised that . partly popularised that. >> well, thank you very much for talking through what is such a fascinating visit with so many parallels . richard palmer, parallels. richard palmer, really appreciate it, your time and your expertise . and your expertise. >> well, coming up, we're going to be outside the australian high commission because julian assange has left the united kingdom. that's after your headunes kingdom. that's after your headlines with severe . headlines with severe. >> emily. thank you. it's 232. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom . your headlines. the newsroom. your headlines. the gambling commission has passed information to the metropolitan police alleging that five more officers placed bets related to

the timing of the general election. it comes after the conservative party withdrew its support for two candidates accused of placing bets on when the election would take place. craig williams and laura saunders are the subjects of inquiries by the gambling commission, both will still appear on election ballots because the deadlines for those nominations has now passed . nominations has now passed. juuan nominations has now passed. julian assange has touched down in thailand as his journey back to australia continues. the 52 year old founder of wikileaks left the uk this morning and is due to appear before a federal judge in the mariana islands, a us territory in the western pacific. he's expected to be sentenced to five years, roughly the equivalent of the time he's already served in britain before returning to australia . the king returning to australia. the king and queen are hosting a ceremonial welcome for the emperor and empress of japan. they began their three day state visit at an event in horseguards parade this afternoon , with the parade this afternoon, with the royal couple greeting a line of

dignitaries, including prime minister rishi sunak. princess anne isn't taking part in today's welcome while she's recovering in hospital after being injured by a horse . the being injured by a horse. the labour party is outlining a plan to tackle knife crime . it will to tackle knife crime. it will include creating a new cross—government coalition to work on solutions, as well as community hubs involving youth workers and careers advisers. the conservative has criticised the plan, accusing labour of failing to tackle knife crime in london and a yellow health alert is in force for most of the country, with temperatures set to exceed 30 degrees today. yesterday's high topped 28 degrees in surrey, making it the hottest day of the year so far, but forecasters are warning it won't last long, with showers and possibly thunderstorms predicted later tomorrow. and for the latest stories , sign up for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gbnews.com/alerts .

>> good afternoon. britain. it's 2:37. now. julian assange will seek a pardon from the us presidency after accepting an espionage charge for his freedom. >> yes. the wikileaks founder reached a plea deal with the united states and has since been released from uk prison . released from uk prison. >> well, the international federation of journalists has called the development a significant victory for media freedom . freedom. >> well, let's cross live to gb news reporter ray addison, who is outside the australian high commission, ray, bring us any updates on this story. what exactly has happened and what are the implications? >> stand by. >> stand by. >> hi, ray. are you there ? >> hi, ray. are you there? >> hi, ray. are you there? >> oh. hello there. hello, ray. tell us.

>> tell us what's happened to us. >> us. >> we're causing a little bit of interference. >> oh, no worries at all. tell us what's happened. well, absolutely. >> well. well, we know that juuan >> well. well, we know that julian assange will seek a pardon from president biden . pardon from president biden. that's what we're hearing from the family after he agreed with the family after he agreed with the united states department of justice to plead guilty to one charge under the espionage act in exchange for his freedom. now, the plea deal was signed last wednesday , and then a bail last wednesday, and then a bail heanng last wednesday, and then a bail hearing was held last thursday here at the high court, which is just about 50m away from the australian commission. here and that was held in secrecy at the request of mr assange. now he was freed from belmarsh high security prison after five years there yesterday afternoon and taken to stansted airport, where he boarded a specially chartered plane. now the australian government has paid around

£395,000 to charter that plane. however, the assange family is going to have to pay that money back. he departed the united kingdom , accompanied by kingdom, accompanied by australia's high commissioner and he travelled to bangkok in thailand to refuel. he's going to continue from there onto the northern mariana islands. that's the us commonwealth in the western pacific. so tomorrow morning , their time but midnight morning, their time but midnight uk time. assange will appear in front of a federal court judge to plead guilty to conspire to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information. and he's then going to be sentenced . we then going to be sentenced. we understand, as per this agreement, to sci to time served and allowed then to return to his home country of australia. at that point , the united states at that point, the united states is going to withdraw its extradition request. and of course, all of this follows 1314 years of efforts by the united

states to put assange on trial for releasing hundreds of thousands of top secret classified us military documents involving the wars in iraq and afghanistan, putting, they say , afghanistan, putting, they say, the lives of us sources and agents at risk. and, of course, if he had gone to the us to face trial, there, he could have faced a maximum sentence of around 175 years in prison . so around 175 years in prison. so what has changed? i think we are all asking. well, in may we know that assange won a bid at the high court to bring an appeal against his extradition to the united states. he had argued that he would be unable to receive a fair trial, predominantly because he would not, or it wasn't guaranteed at the time that he would be able to rely upon the first amendment right to freedom of speech. now that was hailed as a major, major moment by his supporters. and, of course, since then

there's been a lot of diplomatic pressure applied by australia, which has intensified since then. not everybody is happy with this decision. there's been a mixed reaction from republicans and americans we know former vp mike pence has criticised the deal , calling it criticised the deal, calling it a miscarriage of justice. but stellar assange , julian stellar assange, julian assange's wife, has said the priority is now to get julian home and get him fit and healthy. >> well, thank you very much, ray, for bringing us that live from outside the australian high commission. >> now, parents of missing british teenager jay slater say they've been left in the dark by police who's visiting tenerife, of course, to attend a music festival hasn't been seen for over a week now. >> while his family have now shared a blurry picture or indeed shared a blurry picture of cctv footage that could show the 19 year old's ten hours after he was first reported as missing. >> very blurry indeed. joining us now is journalist gerard cousins and gerard. we have some new information. do we coming in

that, dog reinforcements are being brought in, the police in tenerife announced today , a tenerife announced today, a couple of hours ago that, a specialist dog handlers from madrid have been drafted in to reinforce the dog handlers from tenerife that were already working on the ground, so and what they say specifically about those dogs is that they are trained, to, to, to search in large swathes of land, that the onesin large swathes of land, that the ones in tenerife that were already, working were , were, already, working were, were, trained to deal with smaller, smaller areas , so i think what smaller areas, so i think what this shows is obviously that the search is far from being scaled down is, is being ramped up, and it gives you the impression that the authorities, although they're not they're saying that they're not they're saying that they're keeping an open mind , they're keeping an open mind, you know, our focus is still on the idea that jay has become disorientated and is out there somewhere in the mountains in

this, in this very rough, and inhospitable terrain. >> goodness me . although if >> goodness me. although if he's, become disorientated, i mean, it's been more than a week, gerard, there's no easy way to say this, but is it particularly likely that they'll find him alive ? find him alive? >> well, the police on the record are saying that they're still hopeful of finding him alive. but you know, obviously, as every day goes past, it becomes more and less and less likely, i think as his mum as or his father has already talked about, you know, their fears that they're going to bring him home in a, in a body bag, but yes , if he, if he's out there, yes, if he, if he's out there, the chances of him being alive are remote . but, you know, the are remote. but, you know, the police are not going to give up, they're saying 100% focused on this search and they will continue searching. no one's talking about an end date, even even nine days after the start of this, of this search. >> and what do we know about jay slater and his family? his

family are becoming more vocal in the media, talking about the police investigation. there's been some disappointment vocalised to with how the police are carrying it out. is that fair? i mean, you seem to suggest that things are very much ramping up rather than slowing down. >> well, what you've got to understand is that there's two aspects of this police operation. there's the very visible search involving the helicopters, the dogs, the mountain rescue experts and the family have said on the record that they're they're happy with the information they're getting from the police in respect of that search. now, there's a parallel operation , which is parallel operation, which is being conducted by, what would being conducted by, what would be the equivalent of cid in the old cid in the uk, police investigators , who are doing investigators, who are doing work behind the scenes , and that work behind the scenes, and that information will not be shared. in theory, with the family, with the media, with anyone outside of the very small handful of people who need to be in the

know, and i understand the family are being critical of that side of the police operation, but it's a cultural thing. you know, the police out here, the civil guard especially, which is one of the two national police forces , do two national police forces, do not share information. they do not share information. they do not put as a general rule, family liaison officers in place to keep, friends and family informed of every move and every step they're making. so, i can understand the family's concern , understand the family's concern, and it must be very difficult for them in the situation they're in, to be not to be, to have the feeling that they're not getting as much information as possible, but it just will not happen with the way spanish police work. certainly not in terms of that parallel investigation , a huge cultural investigation, a huge cultural difference. >> well, gerard cousins, thank you so much forjoining us. journalist out in marbella. really appreciate your expertise i >> -- >> yes, indeed. now coming up england face slovenia tonight in the euros. we're heading to cologne

break. well. good afternoon. britain. it's 249. and the three lions. they won't be cutting their german summer holiday short with one game to spare. they've qualified for the euros knockout stages. >> but after a disappointing one all draw to denmark, england fansin all draw to denmark, england fans in birmingham want to see an improvement against slovenia . an improvement against slovenia. >> i think from watching their game their last two games, they're, not really playing as a team. i think they're playing individually. i think there's a lot of media bashing going on about how badly we're playing. >> we've got we've got the point. we've got the points we needed at the beginning, slow and steady. >> i know it's not exciting. >> i know it's not exciting. >> he's not everybody's cup of tea. the way we play. i think as individuals they could be playing better. but i think i think we'll win tonight despite being through anyway. >> i think england are going to come good. i know they haven't been playing well and you've got harry kane having a go at lineker or lineker having a go at harry, but i think the boys

are going to prove everybody wrong. >> we need a bit more convincing i >> -- >> we need to really say, okay, we're going to go out there and we're going to go out there and we're going to really going to get this. >> we want to win this. >> we want to win this. >> that team is like the ones who, when they're playing for the money, whichever they might be playing for. let's get out there and do what you can do. see, if we get through the semis or even the final and have a bit of quality in your heart, quality in your heart , a bit quality in your heart, a bit more oomph, a bit more presence, well, maybe those weren't the most hopeful fans, but perhaps this will put their pre—game nerves at ease. >> yes, taking a break from his lunch, fc cologne psychic goat mascot predicts england will beat slovenia in their last group stage game. wow. well, i mean , the psychic goat must know mean, the psychic goat must know what he's talking about. >> you can't trust a psychic goat. who can you? >> can you? in this world a you've heard it here first. hen is. the goat says it's coming home. >> well, calling in from cologne is sports journalist ben jacobs. and ben , this goat is he. does

and ben, this goat is he. does he have a better track record than paul the octopus? i think so far , so good as far as the so far, so good as far as the goatis so far, so good as far as the goat is concerned. >> we wait and see tonight. >> we wait and see tonight. >> he's put his reputation on the line, promising an england win. >> and that's exactly what they need. >> because remember through. yes but they've got to win the group. and if they don't then it's germany in the round of 16 which is not ideal. and i think if that goat right now is to make a prediction between germany and england, it would be in favour of the hosts. so it's a big night for england. they can't take their foot off the gas just because they are mathematically through to the last 16. >> i mean, let's be frank , ben, >> i mean, let's be frank, ben, we should be wiping the floor with slovenia . with slovenia. >> well, to an extent. but it's been a tight tournament and slovenia have got one of the real stars in benjamin sesko, who just before the tournament extended at leipzig when there was interest from chelsea , was interest from chelsea, arsenal, manchester united and even psg. so england haven't been great in terms of killing off games. if they score early, they have to show that they can do that because ultimately their

opponents do have goals in them. but you're absolutely right in what you say. on paper, england are the heavy favourites and now we wait and see whether we can see a different kind of mentality because england were nervy in the first game, but they got the job done, they were hesitant against denmark and they got punished. now they need to show they can keep a clean sheet and they can score more than one goal, because that's the kind of momentum that they need heading into the knockout stage. >> so what are the absolute numbers here? how well do we have to do this evening to try and avoid playing germany next time round ? time round? >> well, ultimately win and they win the group. it's as simple as that. but then lose. and there is a scenario where they finish in second place. so from england's perspective they're heavy favourites to finish in first place. but if they were to fall to defeat, then technically, actually mathematically speaking, they could even end up third. and that would be a very tough opponent in likely portugal. so england won't be thinking about that or the maths. they'll just be making sure that they get the job done. and to do that, it's

going to require some changes from gareth southgate. we understand that trent alexander—arnold won't be starting in midfield . that starting in midfield. that experiment hasn't worked so far. conor gallagher the chelsea midfielder, is expected to come in. kieran trippier trained but has had a calf problem. luke shaw is back with the squad as well so we wait and see who is at left back there, but that's been a little bit of a problem so far. been a little bit of a problem so fan and then phil foden still likely to start , even still likely to start, even though we haven't seen him shine in the same way that he has done for manchester city so far this season. so it's a test for gareth southgate not only to win the game, but who's he going to stick with and what is he prepared to change to try and get the best out of this england squad? >>a squad? >> a huge test, it'll be fascinating to watch, but for now. ben jacobs, sport journalist thank you very much for joining us live from cologne. >> yes, keeping everything crossed , we should win it. we crossed, we should win it. we should win it. don't want to go up against germany this soon. do we? >> no, no. although, i'm in the privileged position of presenting a show on gb news at 8:00, so i'll have to watch on an hour delay, so no one tell me what's happening . and i'll see.

what's happening. and i'll see. you have a choice. >> you have a choice. england versus . versus. >> but we're back at 12:00 tomorrow. up next, it's mark dolan in for martin daubney. don't go anywhere . don't go anywhere. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar . sponsors of weather on . solar. sponsors of weather on. gb news. >> hello. welcome to your latest weather update from the met office here on gb news. >> a hot one today for some, but not all. it is much cloudier across parts of scotland and northern ireland from this old weather front that is also introducing slightly cooler air to the far northwest, but ahead of it across the bulk of england and wales. it is a very warm day, hotter than yesterday for south wales and southwest england because it is a bit sunnier, but a cloudy day for scotland and northern ireland, brightening up in the west. but that weather front is also providing some outbreaks of rain across eastern scotland, and we might just see 1 or 2 afternoon

heavy showers over the hills of northern england and southern scotland. temperatures in the north close to average, but in the south well above. we could easily top out at 30 celsius close to london this afternoon as we go into the evening, we'll still have some of that cloud and rain across the far northeast. so dull and damp end to the day across the east coast of scotland, but something a bit brighter further west. but it is quite a bit fresher here as well, the cloud breaking up a little more across northern ireland. so some brighter spells likely, say the small chance of a shower or two over northern england and southern scotland, but plenty of fine dry and very warm weather here. but the heat is really across the south. a balmy summer's evening here as we go through the night. not a great deal of change. i think the rain will peter out across eastern parts of scotland could turn quite misty this evening. and, the threat of this low cloud just sticking to that east coast as we go into tomorrow as well . still 1 coast as we go into tomorrow as well. still 1 or coast as we go into tomorrow as well . still 1 or 2 scattered well. still 1 or 2 scattered showers over northern england and southern scotland, but most places dry. quite a contrast in temperatures. a comfortable

night in the northwest with temperatures down to single figures. much of england and wales staying in the mid teens. so quite a warm and humid night. and another hot day for many. tomorrow could be quite cloudy across the eastern counties of england. early doors. some uncertainty about whether that will clear away , but many places will clear away, but many places again, fine and sunny. still quite cloudy in eastern scotland, but a brighter day for northern ireland and again very warm in that sunshine over parts of eastern england. goodbye that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather

gb news. >> away . >> away. >> away. >> it's 3:00. welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news is presented today by me, mark dolan. live from westminster on a scorching day across the country, the immigration debate heats up in. >> today's papers report that

migrants in france are literally waiting for a labour government before making that channel crossing. >> and speaking of labour, why won't they reveal by how much they plan to bring down legal net migration ? also this net migration? also this afternoon, labour leader sir keir starmer announces a moral mission to tackle knife crime. but will we ever end this devastating social epidemic ? and devastating social epidemic? and tonight england are playing. is it time for bitter ex—players to pipe it time for bitter ex—players to pipe down and support the team ? pipe down and support the team? and last but not least, are we in for a long, hot summer? legendary tv weatherman john kettley may have good news for the nation . god knows we need it the nation. god knows we need it so i soa -- so a very busy three hours to come.

>> all of the election. >> all of the election. >> latest