have now crossed the english channel. so far this year alone, a further 315 illegals arrived today just hours after one died and 72 were rescued after their boat began deflating off the french coast near calais. >> and we've got exclusive footage of the arrivals and of that rescue. meanwhile, sir keir starmer has rolled out the red carpet to 50 leaders from the european political community at blenheim palace today. looks lovely, isn't it.7 with talks of a reset with brussels, will mr starmer, who campaigned to cancel brexit for five years, if you remember. will he now show his true colours? >> now he's our prime minister. and on the same point, european commission president ursula von der leyen was controversially re—elected as president today. but at what cost ? with yet more but at what cost? with yet more punitive green deals in store and backroom deals and no guarantees on border control, what will all of this mean for

britain? that's all coming up in your next hour . your next hour. you know, today is one of those days where i am just so fired up. i'm finding it difficult to speak . basically, difficult to speak. basically, we can't stop the boats. 15,000 this year alone, including dramatic footage we've got of a british vessel going into french waters to perform a rescue and then taking those people back to france. where's the french coast guard? meanwhile, why are we rolling out the red carpet to 50 european top brass politicians and as for ursula von der leyen getting voted in again today, five years ago i went to brussels as an mep. i voted against ursula von der leyen because i saw her for what she was and what she is today. she's got another bite at the cherry and the backroom deals will make your eyes water. i'll have the full details on this show today. get in touch your way. do you

trust the keir starmer on brexit, or do you think he's going to rejoin to the european union? gbnews.com/yoursay have your words now. it's your headlines. it's sam francis . headlines. it's sam francis. >> martin, thank you and good afternoon to you. it's just coming up to 3:03. and the top story this afternoon. well, sir keir starmer says that the report from the covid inquiry confirms that the uk was indeed unprepared for the coronavirus outbreak in the 240 page report released this lunchtime , released this lunchtime, baroness hallett found there were significant and widespread failures from successive governments . that report also governments. that report also condemns the 2011 pandemic strategy for being virtually abandoned when covid hit, with no focus, she says, on economic and social impacts. ten recommendations have been made , recommendations have been made, including more simple approaches to dealing with health emergencies and conducting uk wide pandemic exercises. every

three years. the prime minister says his government are committed to learning from the inquiry , as he expressed his inquiry, as he expressed his heartfelt sympathies to those who lost their loved ones during the pandemic. >> in 2019, it was widely believed in the united kingdom and abroad that the uk was not only properly prepared, but was one of the best prepared countries in the world to respond to a pandemic. this belief was dangerously mistaken in reality, the uk was ill for prepared dealing with the whole system. civil emergency of a pandemic, let alone the coronavirus pandemic that actually struck baroness hallett there. >> speaking after the report was released on the covid inquiry findings. well, volodymyr zelenskyy is among more than 40 european leaders meeting in oxfordshire today with more support being promised for ukraine and earlier when he arrived, the ukrainian president said he's counting on sir keir

starmer's support. >> the uk demonstrated leadership from the very beginning of russian attacks and all the strong steps and some, some not. simple steps, always uk and uk began, so i count on my meeting. i will have meeting with prime minister and also bilateral one, and also i will have , i will have meeting with have, i will have meeting with with the government. >> sir keir starmer is hosting that summit, which he is hoping will fire the starting gun on a new relationship with europe following brexit. the prime minister says he wants to reset our relationship with the continent and to push for closer security ties with other countries. the gatherings being hosted at blenheim palace in oxfordshire, the birthplace of winston churchill, who he paid tribute to in his opening speech. >> we stand for the values that he embodies around the world

liberty and democracy. yes, of course, but also defiance and resolve in their defence. >> and today, as a new storm gathers over our continent, we choose to meet it. >> in that same spirit, we want to work with all of you to reset relationships , rediscover our relationships, rediscover our common interest, and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that brighten the fabric of european life to the us. >> and in another blow to joe biden's efforts to get re—elected as president, he's now contracted coronavirus, forcing him to pull out of a campaign speech. the white house says the 81 year old is having mild symptoms from the infection , mild symptoms from the infection, but they say he is vaccinated. he's boosted and currently isolating while he continues his duties. it comes as the us president is facing growing pressure to step aside because of his age. this morning in an interview , the us president interview, the us president president suggested he would

pull out of the race if medical professionals advised him to. >> i made a serious mistake in the whole debate . and, and look, the whole debate. and, and look, when i originally ran, you may remember it. i said i was going to be a transitional candidate, and i thought that i'd be able to move from this to pass it on to move from this to pass it on to someone else . but i didn't to someone else. but i didn't anticipate things getting so , anticipate things getting so, so, so divided and quite frankly, i think the only thing age brings a little bit of wisdom, and i think i've demonstrated that i know how to get things done for the country. >> joe biden there, speaking earlier, well, i just want to bnng earlier, well, i just want to bring you a quick line from reuters that we're seeing in the last hour or so. president biden reportedly working towards a decision on whether to step aside from the election race. that's according to a telephone interview with senator john hickenlooper, suggesting that as i say, joe biden could make that decision , saying it would be the decision, saying it would be the best decision for the us. senator john

best decision for the us. senatorjohn hickenlooper best decision for the us. senator john hickenlooper ran, of course , against biden in of course, against biden in 2020, though in that interview he did stop short of suggesting biden should withdraw . he he did stop short of suggesting biden should withdraw. he is implying that a decision is being made on whetherjoe biden will step aside from the election race. any details on that we will bring to you as we get them. meanwhile, the families of two british men reported to be missing in sweden are appealing for information on their whereabouts and it's feared the men could have been victims of a double murder. 33 year old juan cifuentes and farouk abdul razak, who's 37, travelled for a trip there but haven't come home. officers are now investigating after two bodies were found in a burnt out car in malmo on sunday. local media they're reporting that they were shot, though police are still working to identify the victims. the author of an explosive report into the treatment of people taken into custody by greater manchester police is calling for urgent change. dame vera baird carried out the review following reports

that three women had accused the force of unjustified strip searches after being arrested. she says the inquiry has found that many of those arrests were unnecessary or unlawful, and greater manchester police has now apologised, saying it will accept the recommendations from the inquiry . an experimental the inquiry. an experimental drug has found that let's start that one again. an experimental drug has found that the lifespan of mice can be increased by 25, andifs of mice can be increased by 25, and it's thought that drug could also work on humans. researchers behind the trials say the animals were injected with an antibody called il 11, and the treatment cut cancer deaths, reduced chronic inflammation and saw less muscle wasting. all key signs of ageing, perhaps news presenting to a pet food made with lab grown chicken has been approved for sale in the uk. meetly is the first company ever to get the green light to sell its cultivated meat products in europe, the firm says it's done

tests to prove the food is safe and nutritious for animals. those are the latest headlines. for now, i'm sam francis. you're next update at half past three for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . forward slash alerts. >> thank you very much , sam. now >> thank you very much, sam. now what a cracking show ahead. so let's get stuck in. so keir starmer urged european leaders to address the illegal migration crisis and to stand firm in support of ukraine as he sought to strengthen the uk's ties with the continent. the prime minister is hosting the european political community summit, hoping it will provide an opportunity to reset the uk's relations with its neighbours after the turmoil of the brexit years. well, we can now cross to blenheim palace and speak with

gb news political correspondent catherine forsure. catherine looks absolutely wonderful. where you are there something of the entente cordiale in the air? is this sir keir starmer cosying up to brussels ? up to brussels? >> well, first of all and good afternoon, martin from blenheim palace. the birthplace, of course, of sir winston churchill. but just first of all, i'm struck again by the immense good fortune that sir keir starmer has had in when rishi sunak called the general election, because it's meant that only a week in he was able to trot off to washington for that nato summit, meet a lot of world leaders and a week later, he's not even been prime minister a fortnight yet. here he is hosting 45 european leaders. and it's all going very, very well. but the agenda was set. this was all organised under rishi sunak. and sir keir starmer is going to get the

benefit. but certainly he has made it abundantly clear that he wants a closer and warmer relationship with the european union. now. he started off talking as you would expect, of course, about ukraine and saying that the europe's support for ukraine must remain solid , ukraine must remain solid, reassuring president zelenskyy, of course , there is the looming of course, there is the looming prospect and something which will really worry a lot of european leaders of president donald trump potentially come november , and possibly a lot november, and possibly a lot less money coming from the us and a lot less support as well. so sir keir starmer has told his european colleagues under my leadership, britain will be a friend and partner ready to work with you, not part of the european union, but very much part of europe. and of course, what he wants, apart from cooperation and on ukraine and

security, is he is very much focused on tackling the small boats we've had over a thousand people cross the channel since he became prime minister. rwanda has gone, he said. it was a gimmick that's gone in the bin and so he has to crack the gangs now. much, much easier said than done. but clearly these people are coming all the way across europe, so you can only do that if you work more closely, with europe now, they would like a security agreement to be part of the eu's fingerprinting. scheme. so that would give them a huge intelligence if they were able to tap into that. when people arrived. and also they've been having small working groups of countries. giorgia meloni, who was a great ally of rishi sunak, of course, from italy and chaired one of those and a number of countries involved, because this problem with illegal migration is something which is really at the forefront of many minds in europe. so sir

keir starmer is by no means alone what he would ultimately like is an eu returns agreement with the eu. i have to say there's no immediate prospect of that, but we might get little bits and pieces here and there . bits and pieces here and there. there'll be a press conference at 5:00. so let us see what emerges. >> okay. katherine forster looks resplendent way out there. thank you very much for joining us resplendent way out there. thank you very much forjoining us on you very much for joining us on the show. it's worth saying that emmanuel macron has said there is no silver bullet to stop the boats. well, while they're inside enjoying their silver service literally today, 350 illegal immigrants have arrived on the shores of britain and we exclusively revealed on gb news yesterday. if you recall, 1.25 million illegal immigrants arrived in european union member states last year alone, and they're all being funnelled towards our shores . now. on that towards our shores. now. on that same point, more than 15,000 small boy, small boat migrants have crossed the channel so far

this year alone, gb news can exclusively reveal. the figure was reached after a further 315 migrants made that illegal journey today, and it follows another tragedy in the channel just hours earlier when one migrant drowned and another 71 were rescued after their boats began deflating off the french coast near calais and i can now show you exclusive radar footage of that journey. so on your screen here, you can see border force ranger. that's a british vessel leaving ramsgate , into vessel leaving ramsgate, into french waters there, where it circles for quite some time. it's about 7 pm. yesterday evening and this is where that craft was deflating. one died in this tragedy, 71 were then picked up. and as you can see shortly, the border force ranger vessel. this is a british vessel now goes to calais. it's literally performing the service of the french coastguard where is the french coastguard? border force ranger here performing that task. now the french. well,

they're very happy to bring the dinghies halfway , so we take dinghies halfway, so we take them home. and now here we are. last night in that terrible tragedy, one dead, 71 in the water, british vessels taking them back to france. well, at least they went back to france. i guess . now they've also been i guess. now they've also been reported that up to 90,000 migrants who are set for deportation to rwanda are now to be fast tracked to claim asylum under the new labour government . under the new labour government. immigration caseworkers could soon begin processing claims of people threatened for removal to the east african country. when the east african country. when the home secretary introduces this new legislation so , from this new legislation so, from rwanda to the red carpet, let's speak now to the research director at the centre for migration control, robert bates. rob simply astonishing that not a single flight took off with people who were forced to go to rwanda. two went voluntarily and now 90,000 earmarked for deportation to rwanda. they can simply claim asylum and stay in britain. rob bates quite simply,

what message does that send out to the people smugglers? well, both sides of the uni party have worked very hard on this one together. obviously the conservatives failure over successive years has led to this position where labour are now picking up the baton and, you know , the few news stories that know, the few news stories that you were just covering there seems to suggest that they haven't quite appreciated the scale of the problem and are making a bit of a fudge of it. the, decision to allow effectively amnesty to tens of thousands of those that would have been earmarked for rwanda, is essentially putting a huge green light on the white cliffs of dover and saying to those migrants that have reached the, reached the shores of northern france that you're absolutely entitled to come on over and we will do absolutely nothing to deport you or to tackle you, tackle your presence in this country. and i think the british pubuc country. and i think the british public are going to be watching the way labour handled this situation over the next few weeks and months, especially as they cosy up further and further into the europe european embrace and think that the they perhaps haven't appreciated how seriously the british public

treat this issue. and rob bates, just to explain, gb news viewers can now see on screen exclusive footage sent to me @gbnews of boats arriving this morning. that was the rescue mission from last night. the same border force ranger vessel there that was picking up and taking the, the vessel that capsized to france. go back now. this is the same vessel, border force defender there rolling into calais this morning. this is shortly after 930 this morning. 108 were on that one vessel alone, totalling 315. today rob bates, the weather forecast looks perfect . sailing looks perfect. sailing conditions for the next few days or even week ahead. back to this 90,000 total though. rob the refugee council has announced that they expect 60,000 of them to be able to have the right to remain in the uk. of course, all of those 60,000 who came here legally will be able to claim housing benefits, health care and even the right to work. what

does this say to the british public? would you say rob bates ? public? would you say rob bates? we voted in election after election after election to take back control . it shows absolute back control. it shows absolute contempt. it shows absolute contempt. it shows absolute contempt. it shows absolute contempt. i would argue the figure will probably be slightly more than 60,000, owing to the fact that the process is being so expedited and fast tracked that will simply end up with caseworkers, completely folding at the first semblance of a legal challenge from these, asylum seekers, legal representatives and ultimately, the figure will be a lot higher than that. i think what we're seeing here from the labour party is a pitch to try and take the pressure off themselves and to present it as a european wide problem. i think that's definitely what keir starmer is trying to do today, and this idea of a reset with the french is a is a bit rich, given that we haven't really actually had a relationship with the french on this issue over the last few years. you know, we've been very keen to send them hundreds of millions of pounds, but they they seem to be doing absolutely nothing to actually help us tackle our illegal migration crisis. so i think i think a lot of voters that voted for brexit

will be very concerned about the drift that we're seeing towards back towards europe. and then a lot of us who are equally concerned about the crisis on our borders will be very concerned because the close we work with europe, the close will will end up on the peripheries, if not at the very heart of reallocation programmes. and, you know, having to take a fair share of those that land on the shores of the mediterranean as well. so it's a it's an absolute cacophony of mess at the moment . cacophony of mess at the moment. and rob, bearing in mind we broke on this programme yesterday, 1.25 million illegal immigrants arrive in european union member states. last year alone, the european union can't control its own borders, so why on earth would they be interested in doing a deal? or how could they deliver on any form of deal with the united kingdom to lessen the flow towards us, when they can't stop the flow going into their own member states? well, i guess that my sense of fair play would dictate that if we are sending them hundreds of millions of pounds to do a job, that they would actually try and put some effort into delivering on that, that clearly doesn't seem to be

the case, and you are absolutely right, europe seems to be, switching on to the scale of its problem. and you see a lot of countries now, lurching further towards the right as a result of this issue. just at the same time, we seem to have gone the complete opposite direction. so i think unfortunately, we seem to be at a soft touch just at the time when, when european capitals are going to be looking for someone to pile all their problems onto, and unfortunately it's going to come and, bite us in the backside. okay robert bates, research director at the centre for migration control. thank you very much for joining us today on gb news. right. well, there's still plenty of time to grab your chance to win £30,000 in our great british giveaway. it's our biggest cash prize of the year so far, and it's totally tax free now what would you do with all that extra dough? well, here's how you could win the lot. >> it's a summer treat to you . >> it's a summer treat to you. your chance to win an incredible £30,000 in tax free cash. our biggest cash prize of the year so far, with an extra £30,000 in your bank account this year, you

could take the ultimate financial holiday and send some of those day to day financial stresses. packing £30,000 could get you those nagging home improvements done by that brand new car, or just enable you to kick back and relax for the rest of the year. for another chance to win £30,000 in tax free cash, text cash to 63232. text cost £2 plus one standard network rate message you can enter online at gbnews.com/win. entries cost £2 or post your name and number two gbo or post your name and number two gb0 seven, po box 8690 derby, de one nine, double t, uk only entrants must be 18 or over. lines close at 5 pm. on the 30th of august. please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. good luck . watching on demand. good luck. >> coming up, we'll discuss your eu commission president, ursula von der leyen, as she's comfortably re—elected by meps for another five more years in that top job, we'll be heading to european union capital for all the latest reaction on that

deal all the latest reaction on that deal, i'm martin daubney on gb news, britain's news channel

welcome back. it's 325. i'm martin daubney on gb news now. ursula von der lie—in won supports from european union lawmakers for another five year term. as president of the european commission, the eu's powerful executive body. the 720 member european parliament approved her with 401 votes in favour , 284 against and 15 favour, 284 against and 15 abstentions from the lie—in, who's part of the centre right european people's party, was first elected in 2019 and will serve now for another five years after she promised to champion european defence with further military spending and committed to sticking to climate targets. to discuss this now, i'm joined with brussels based journalist

jack patrick. jack, welcome to the show. so miss von der leon didn't just scrape through. she sailed through as much closer in 2019. tell us, though, about how she achieved those votes and what kind of backroom deals do you think she may have done to get over the line ? yeah, you get over the line? yeah, you could really see the relief on the face of ursula von der leyen as the result was announced, 401 meps voted in her favour, 41 more than she needed last time. as you say, it was only nine meps. that was the margin she had over the majority. she pumped her fish, she stood up. she was really, really pleased. and that's because, like you say, she's been sat in meetings day after day, hour after hour with meps from across the different political spectrum, mainly in the centre block , mainly in the centre block, trying to work out what they wanted and what she could say to them in order to secure their votes. this morning, early , votes. this morning, early, quite a few hours before the actual vote took place , she gave

actual vote took place, she gave actual vote took place, she gave a speech where she covered a multitude of different areas for instance, promising a defence commissioner in her next commission. even a defence fund talking about the potential for a european air protection mechanism to prevent bombs coming into the eu. she also said that they're going to ramp up frontex, the eu's border agency, with three times the number of guard guards up to 30,000 guards, so that shows that she's trying to work towards those harder, right factions that got elected in the european elections in june. she did though, as well, suggest that she would have a european housing commissioner. that's a play housing commissioner. that's a play for the socialists who are very worried about housing. she tried to cover as many bases as possible and look, martin to be fair to her, it worked. it did. one thing that leaps out, jack, is that the green mep, so you remember, were pummelled at the european elections. they had a dramatic downturn in support

from the public. green meps were celebrating as well because one of their clauses to give von der lie—in their backing was to make sure that the green new deal wasn't watered down. now the green new deal, of course, jack barrack was what saw so many farmers protest right the way across europe. the public rejected that policy. but now the greens, by doing a deal with von der elianne, have ensured that it will still be law. yeah, but let's see how this works out. because what she also announced was a new clean industrial deal. on top of this, i've been speaking just in the last few minutes and hours after this vote came through, and the result came through to eu observers and experts. and essentially what she's done by the looks of things, is saying that she's going to secure the eu green deal, that that's still the philosophy to get to net zero and make europe the first climate neutral continent, but instead , what the next five instead, what the next five years of her presidency of the

european commission is going to focus on is switching from just trying to reduce climate targets or carbon targets and carbon emissions to instead massively investing in industry and things like clean tech. and, you know , like clean tech. and, you know, progressive, technology and innovation . and that is innovation. and that is something that helps business. so they'll be on her side with that. >> important to say. she she said she'd announced that within the first 100 days of her, her leadership of the next european commission. >> so we probably won't hear anything about this clearly until, early next year, early 2025. but what it does do is shows that she's trying to walk this sort of tightrope between salvaging her green ambitions and supporting the business and industry community, which, again, i mean, it's worked in this instance. it got her re—elected . and, jack, there has re—elected. and, jack, there has been a very different metric of meps in this term. of course, we've seen a lot more right wing

meps, as you might call them, getting about 25% of the bloc now fallen to that. and yet they've been effectively frozen out of any positions of power within committees as vice presidents, the european union appears to have done what the french did and they've just formed an alliance, as they always do, to keep the so—called right wing out of any positions of power. this is the eu protecting itself once again , protecting itself once again, isn't it? it's a continuation of what's existed in eu politics for a really long time. they call it the cordon sanitaire. it's not a particularly nice term, but it basically means that if you're part of the right, far right or hard right bloc, then you're not really allowed in any of the decision making. the other the other groups won't for vote you to get those vice presidencies to take those vice presidencies to take those powerful committees, and that seems to have existed. now, while that is the case, there have been some meps who appear to have broken that, mainly

italian meps of giorgia meloni's brothers, brothers of italy party who sit in not quite the further right parties, but sort of what a party at the moment, the european conformist and reformist. it was actually set up reformist. it was actually set ”p by reformist. it was actually set up by the british conservative party when we were in the european union, and they appear to be sort of blurring those lines a little bit. the cordon sanitaire still exists, but you're right, it looks at the moment like most of the people, especially marine le pen's party, etc, they are not getting any of the powerful, powerful positions in the next mandate. it's fascinating stuff. and giorgia meloni now appears to become the queen of the rights. she's aligned with von der leyen and the eu on things like ukraine and le pen and the afd . ukraine and le pen and the afd. they're going to be sidelined. jack parrock that's what the european union does. it's protects itself . it's protects itself. it's fascinating stuff. thank you. as even fascinating stuff. thank you. as ever, my friend, for your expert insights. always appreciated now. loads more still to come between now and 4:00, including all the details of the public

inquiry says that the uk government and the civil service failed the public due to significant flaws in preparing for the covid 19 pandemic. how about they failed us by locking us all down for two years? but first, your latest news headunes first, your latest news headlines with sam francis . headlines with sam francis. >> very good afternoon to you. it's just after half past three and the top story this afternoon. the covid 19 inquiry has found the government failed the public because of flawed policy processes and planning for a pandemic. the 240 page document reveals the government made serious errors and that there were significant flaws in how the outbreak was dealt with in 2020. it also found the measures in place were outdated and complex. baroness hallett , and complex. baroness hallett, who organised the inquiry, has made ten recommendations to avoid a repeat of what she's described as those fatal flaws in any future health emergency . in any future health emergency. sir keir starmer says he wants

to use today's summit of european leaders to push for joint action on illegal migration. the prime minister is hosting around 45 foreign leaders at blenheim palace in oxfordshire, with defence, security and energy on the agenda. earlier, he used his opening speech to reaffirm the uk's support for ukraine, saying that the threat from russia reaches right across europe . in reaches right across europe. in the us, former house speaker nancy pelosi is reportedly backing calls for president biden to step aside in the presidential race. white house officials are suggesting she has told joe biden he cannot win the november the 5th election, echoing a growing number of democrats who've raised serious concerns about his ability to defeat donald trump. it comes after an assassination attempt on trump on saturday, which had initially seemed to reduce pressure on biden to withdraw. the white house, though, and pelosi's office have not commented so far as democrats grapple with the potential shift in their 2024 campaign. and it

comes as joe biden has been forced to pull out of a campaign speech after contracting coronavirus . and here in the uk, coronavirus. and here in the uk, a man who was wrongly convicted of rape and spent 17 years in jail could have been exonerated almost a decade earlier. that's according to a review out today. in light of those findings, andrew malkinson says a criminal cases review commission obstructed his fight for justice, and he says cost me an extra decade wrongly imprisoned justice secretary shabana mahmood says that the chairwoman of the criminal cases review commission is now unfit to fulfil her duties. it's understood that she wants helen pitcher to be removed from that position after the findings . a position after the findings. a football club in hertfordshire has paid tribute to one of the british men who's gone missing in sweden . juan cifuentes used in sweden. juan cifuentes used to play for welwyn garden city before disappearing alongside farouk abdul razak. their families are now appealing for information on their

whereabouts, amid fears that the men might have been victims of a double murder. men might have been victims of a double murder . and finally, double murder. and finally, a report has found that officers within the greater manchester police force have been abusing their power by carrying out unlawful arrests and treating victims as criminals. it was set up after complaints about the treatment of three women in custody, and it has found unlawful arrests and strip searches are being carried out. the author of the report, dame vera baird, has made a series of recommendations to make sure more humane and dignified treatment of those in custody is implemented. those are the latest headlines. for now, i'm sam francis polly middlehurst will have your next update at 4:00 for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone , sign direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com >> forward slash alerts .

>> forward slash alerts. >> forward slash alerts. >> thank you very much, sam. now, if you want to get touch with us here @gbnews, simply go to gb news. com forward slash your say and i'll read out the best of your messages a little later in the show. already hundreds coming in. i'm martin daubney

welcome back. your time is 339. i'm martin daubney. this is gb news. the covid uk inquiry 19 inquiry has published its first report today, laying bare the failures of the uk to properly prepare for a pandemic. the 240 page document reveals there were significant flaws in how the outbreak was dealt with in 2020, and people were failed by lack of preparation for a pandemic . well, our home pandemic. well, our home security editor, mark white, joins us now. mark white, welcome to the show. so what can you tell us about the latest? they're saying that we failed by a lack of preparation. perhaps

the bigger question is we were failed by a government that locked us down for two years and destroyed the economy . destroyed the economy. >> well, that aspect is certainly looked at in baroness hallett report as well and is addressed. but she says in terms of our preparedness for covid 19, that there was a complacency within government circles, a belief, a mistaken belief that the uk was one of the best countries in the world when it came to its preparedness for a pandemic. but she said they were preparing for the wrong, the wrong kind of pandemic. they were focused on an influenza type viral outbreak. rather than looking at the coronavirus outbreaks, which had been observed in parts of asia and the middle east in the years running up to this pandemic. and that plan, such as it was in a

plan that was devised in 2011, was just not robust enough. it didn't to stand up testing when the virus struck, and really, within no time at all of the outbreak striking the uk. those plans, she says , were simply plans, she says, were simply tossed aside. and on that point about whether we should have been locking down to the extent we were in the first place. she says she believes that the plans failed to adequately consider prevention or proportionality of response, and also paid insufficient attention to the economic and social consequences of pandemic response. well, we've been hearing from family members, lawyers representing some of the family members , some of the family members, including one lawyer representing 7000 family members who welcomed these initial

findings but said that the government had to now implement the recommendations made by baroness hallett. >> the preparedness was completely inadequate and the chair of the inquiry recognised that in her report and the families are pleased to see her recognition of it . we're also recognition of it. we're also pleased to see on the whole the recommendations that follow, although there are certain areas we'd have like to see further clarity. i think they were obsessed with the with the influenza pandemic, but even on that basis, they were not well prepared for that. there was really no preparedness at all. and it's not just for pandemics. i suspect we are poorly prepared, but all sorts of emergencies and disasters . emergencies and disasters. >> well, baroness hallett has still another nine reports to pubush still another nine reports to publish over the next couple of years. the recommendations she's

come out with today are ten recommendations key amongst them the creation of a statutory independent body to look after the country's preparedness for a future pandemic. >> okay. thanks forjoining us mark white. superb as ever. thank you . now moving on. the thank you. now moving on. the welsh parliament has come under fire once again, this time for passing a bill that offers financial assistance schemes to promote diversity in candidates. our national reporter , charlie our national reporter, charlie peters is here to tell us more. charlie welcome to the show. so i'm assuming when they say to promote diversity, they don't mean to promote diversity amongst everyone. they mean amongst everyone. they mean amongst certain groups. tell us more . more. >> well, martin, they won't tell us which certain groups they want to promote that diversity in, because this new bill passed on its fourth reading last week in the senate, it's called the elections and elected bodies bill does contain a section saying that the government has to promote diversity, and part of that includes recognising and

understanding if there are any underrepresented groups not only in the welsh parliament, in the senate, in cardiff, but also county councils and local bodies across the country. but it's the next section that has attracted some criticism when i've raised it with commentators , which is it with commentators, which is section 28, where the welsh government now says that ministers have the power to gather funds to give cash to those who have specified characteristics if they are candidates running for election. well, the welsh government won't tell me which specified characteristics do now make someone open to receiving these funds. if they're running for an election. well, the council general, the former council general, the former council general, he's now resigned over the first minister this week did say that this was a radical and groundbreaking bill that the bill's wider aim is to advance

democracy in wales. it's going to start the process for adding 400,000 new people to the electoral roll by automatically registering, registering people there, there's going to be a new website for signing up to the electoral roll as well . but it's electoral roll as well. but it's these concerns about this new plan for cash for diversity that has attracted that concern. a representative from the taxpayers alliance yesterday telling me that the welsh government should scrap this plan, that it was likely going to be costly and that it was divisive, and that people in wales should be focusing on the quality of candidates, not their characteristics, not their identity backgrounds. now, in response to this criticism and me raising some questions, the welsh government, a spokesperson from the welsh government, said to me that it's vital that our elected bodies represent the diversity of people in wales and this legislation will pave the way in tackling barriers to participation. we will set out proposals for what these protected characteristics will

be shortly, and these will be developed and consulted upon widely. all regulations will have to be agreed by the senate, and we will play no part in determining any financial assistance to individual candidates. well there you have it. they've passed this law. more cash for candidates , but more cash for candidates, but they won't tell us what characteristics they will be. and who could receive this cash . and who could receive this cash. >> utterly ridiculous. i think we all know what those protected characteristics are. they haven't even got the guts to tell us. charlie peters, thank you very much for joining us. now, don't go anywhere because up next we'll cross live to milwaukee ahead of donald trump's acceptance speech as he becomes the official republican presidential nominee. i'm martin daubney on gb news britain's news channel

welcome back. it's 10 to 4. i'm martin daubney on gb news now. tonight, donald trump is expected to speak for

the first time since he was shot at a rally as he accepts the republican nomination for presidency, he plans to build on his running mate, j.d. vance's vow to champion the forgotten americans with the central theme being to kick start a golden age and make america great. once again. let's cross now to milwaukee and join our man ray addison, who is there on the ground. ray, welcome to the show , ground. ray, welcome to the show, ray. so just five days ago. >> good morning to you , martin. >> good morning to you, martin. >> good morning to you, martin. >> so, ray, just five days ago, they tried to assassinate donald trump. now he's back making a massively anticipated speech. tell us everything about it, ray . tell us everything about it, ray. >> yeah, really? there is a huge sense of anticipation here, martin, as you said. and what a beautiful day it is as well. it's about 9:50 am. here in milwaukee , shaping up to be an milwaukee, shaping up to be an absolutely gorgeous day, not just for the city, but potentially for donald trump as

well. as we build up to that speech where he closes up the rnc convention and accepts the formal nomination from the republican party to be their presidential nominee. now, a good day for trump. not such a good day for trump. not such a good day for president biden heanng good day for president biden hearing in the last sort of ten, 15 minutes or so, that house of representatives speaker nancy pelosi has told president biden that she believes he cannot win the election. on november fifth, and she is now supporting calls for him to drop out and where nancy pelosi starts. many other significant democratic figures will no doubt follow. and obviously, this we're hearing of this, this morning. by the end of the day, there could be a flood of very senior senior democrat figures calling for president biden to stand aside. so that's a real blow for him. he had to cancel his speech yesterday as well. in las vegas, he's got covid, we're told,

although there's a bit of scepticism here among delegates and party members as to whether thatis and party members as to whether that is the case or not. but but yes, a bad day for president biden. it would appear donald trump will be coming here later to on close up that speech. it's going to be around 2 or 3 am. uk time, and the campaign has just got a lot of momentum at the moment. martin, you know, after that assassination attempt on saturday five days ago, as you said, there's been a coalescing around their candidate where people had doubts. they seemed to be now following him and putting their support behind him. i spoke to some people here earlier on to see what they expected trump to say tonight, what he wants to do to make america great again. >> you know, i do think after the assassination attempt that he's going to try to be a little more unifying. >> it's called veritatis splendour in latin. the splendour of truth. yes. hurrah >> we're going to get some truth from him. >> he's lying. punks i'm. i'm really hoping that he reaches

out across the aisle and talks to everybody. >> look, i'm super pumped. i can't wait to hear his speech. his speech. and i think it will be even more emotional. >> so trump closing out the conference before him eric trump, you can see him just down there, his son, he's giving an impromptu press conference there. he'll be making a speech. who else ? we've got, hulk hogan who else? we've got, hulk hogan as well. tucker carlson . and as well. tucker carlson. and then in true donald trump style, we're going to be hearing from ufc ceo dana white as well . he's ufc ceo dana white as well. he's going to introduce donald trump tonight . tonight. >> suburbs of ray addison. it certainly feels like all the energy is with team trunk. talk about hulk hogan showing up, having joe biden on the ropes. thank you very much for joining us. now don't go anywhere because we'll be discussing the huge news that 15,000 small boats migrants have crossed the engush boats migrants have crossed the english channel so far this year alone , whilst the home secretary alone, whilst the home secretary looks to give amnesty to 90,000 migrants who had been earmarked

for flights to rwanda . exclusive for flights to rwanda. exclusive pictures there on your screens for gb. news of those people coming ashore today, i'm martin daubney on gb news, britain's news channel now your weather with alex burkill . with alex burkill. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . solar sponsors of weather on. gb. news >> hi again. here's your latest gb news. weather forecast coming to you from the met office. temperatures are going to be rising plenty of fine weather for many parts of the uk. however, in the northwest there will still be quite a bit of cloud as we go through the end of the week and further rain to come to. we currently have a weather system which is gradually making its way a little bit further eastwards, but this is going to break up as we go through the day. so a little bit less rain overnight and any rain over scotland likely to be confined just to the higher ground and most other places turning drier after a warm evening. across england and

wales in particular, it is going to be a warm night, not a huge amount of cloud around, but temperatures not dropping a huge amount, some places staying with temperatures around 17 or 18 degrees. first thing tomorrow morning. there could be a few pockets of mist and fog around around western parts of england and wales, perhaps, but for much of england , wales it is going to of england, wales it is going to be a fine start, plenty of sunshine and with that, temperatures are going to start to rise pretty quickly. a cloudier story though, across parts of northern ireland and scotland. perhaps not as cloudy as today, but nonetheless a few spots of rain are possible as we go through the morning. perhaps the brightest weather will be across more eastern parts of scotland. a greater chance of seeing some sunshine here through the day. we are going to see a bit more cloud building across far western parts of scotland in the outer hebrides, some rain pushing its way in here, and there could be some strong blustery winds to go with it elsewhere. and for scotland, northern ireland, a drier day than today and a little bit brighter at times. but the best of the sunshine will be across

much of england and wales, and with that temperatures rising higher than today, highs of around 31 celsius in the south—east. but everywhere it is going to feel relatively hot as we go through the evening, we are going to see a bit more cloud and rain feeding into far north western parts of scotland and northern ireland, but staying fine towards the southeast. there will be some wet weather pushing its way through as we go through saturday and into sunday, but saturday and into sunday, but saturday could stay hot in the south—east by that warm feeling inside . inside. >> from boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on gb news

>>a >> a very, very good afternoon to you. it's 4 pm. and welcome to you. it's 4 pm. and welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news we're broadcasting live from the heart of westminster, all across the uk. coming up, gb news can exclusively reveal that more than 15,000 small boats migrants have crossed the

engush migrants have crossed the english channel so far this year. a further 315 illegals arrived today alone just hours after one died and 72 were rescued after their boat began deflating off their boat began deflating off the french coast near calais. we've got some exclusive footage of the arrivals and of that rescue mission. meanwhile, sir keir starmer has rolled out the red carpet to 50 leaders from the european political community at blenheim palace today with talks of a reset with brussels. will mr starmer, who, lest we forget, campaigned to cancel brexit for five years, will he now show his true colours now that he's our prime minister plus, european commission ursula von der leyen was controversially re—elected as their president today. but at what cost? with yet more punitive green deals in store and no guarantees on border control, what will this mean for britain? we'll have full analysis . once a show. always

analysis. once a show. always a pleasure to have your company. is it time to just admit we can't stop the boats? do we actually want to stop the boats ? actually want to stop the boats? 15,000. now, this year alone. and we're heading for a bumper week with millpond seas in the channel 315. rocked up to dover today. we've got some exclusive footage of that and an incredible rescue mission in french waters , performed by french waters, performed by a british vessel who then took those on board that deflating vessel back to calais. what on earth are we doing out in french waters? where are the french coast guards? do our politicians have the guts to ever stop this? they can't control their own borders in the european union. will this ever end? let me know your thoughts. gbnews.com forward slash your save. but before all of that is your headunes before all of that is your headlines with polly middlehurst .

headlines with polly middlehurst. >> martin. thank you. good afternoon to you. well sir keir starmer says today's covid inquiry report has confirmed that the uk was unprepared for the coronavirus outbreak. the 240 page assessment released this lunchtime by baroness hallett, found there were significant and widespread failures by successive governments. the report also condemns the 2011 pandemic strategy for being virtually abandoned when covid hit, with no focus on economic and social impacts. ten recommendations have been made, including a more streamlined approach to dealing with health emergencies and conducting uk wide pandemic exercises every three years. the prime minister says his government is committed to learning from the inquiry, and expressed his heartfelt sympathies to those who lost loved ones during the pandemic. >> in 2019, it was widely believed in the united kingdom

and abroad that the uk was not only properly prepared, but was one of the best prepared countries in the world to respond to a pandemic. this belief was dangerously mistaken in reality, the uk was ill prepared for dealing with the whole system. civil emergency of a pandemic, let alone the coronavirus pandemic that actually struck baroness hallett. >> speaking there now , volodymyr >> speaking there now, volodymyr zelenskyy is among more than 40 european leaders meeting in the uk today, offering more support for ukraine, and the ukrainian president says he's counting on sir keir starmer's support. >> the uk demonstrated leadership from the very beginning of russian attacks and all the strong steps and some some not. simple steps, always ukraine, uk began. so i count on

my meeting. i will have meeting with prime minister and also bilateral one. and also i will have i will have meeting with with the government . with the government. >> volodymyr zelenskyy speaking there. well sir keir starmer is hosting the summit at blenheim palace in oxfordshire, which hopes will which he hopes rather will fire the starting gun on a new relationship with the eu. the prime minister says he wants to reset our relationship and push for closer security ties with our near neighbours . the with our near neighbours. the group have agreed on boosting defence capabilities in ukraine as it defends itself from russia . as it defends itself from russia. >> we stand for the values that he embodies around the world liberty and democracy, yes, of course, but also defiance and resolve in their defence. and today, as a new storm gathers over our continent, we choose to meet it in that same spirit, we want to work with all of you to

reset relationships, rediscover our common interest, and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that brighten the fabnc friendship that brighten the fabric of european life. >> well, in the united states, the former house speaker, nancy pelosi, is reportedly backing calls for president joe biden to step aside in the presidential race. white house officials are now suggesting she's told joe biden personally he can't win the november 5th election, echoing a growing number of democrats who've raised serious concerns about the president's ability to defeat donald trump. it comes after the assassination attempt on mr trump on saturday, which had initially seemed to reduce some of the pressure on joe biden. well, the white house and pelosi's office haven't commented. as democrats grapple with the potential shift in their 2020 campaign strategy. but it does come as joe biden has been forced to pull out of a

campaign speech after his team says contracting coronavirus . says contracting coronavirus. >> i made a serious mistake in the whole debate . and, and look, the whole debate. and, and look, when i originally ran, you may remember it. i said i was going to be a transitional candidate, and i thought that i'd be able to move from this to pass it on to move from this to pass it on to someone else . but i didn't to someone else. but i didn't anticipate things getting so, so, so divided . and quite so, so divided. and quite frankly, i think the only thing age brings a little bit of wisdom. and i think i've demonstrated that i know how to get things done for the country. >> joe biden now here, one person has died and 71 people have been rescued after a migrant boat sank in the english channel late last night . all channel late last night. all those on board the vessel ended up in the water, but were picked up in the water, but were picked up in the water, but were picked up in a joint rescue operation between the uk and the french authorities . and just lastly, authorities. and just lastly, a

heat health alert has had to be issued for parts of england. temperatures are set to reach 30 c tomorrow. the uk health security agency alerts cover the east midlands, east england, london and the south east from tomorrow right through to saturday. it warns that expected hot weather may impact the social and health care sector. check on your neighbours, make sure the elderly have plenty to drink. it's going to be a great weekend. those are the headlines for now. i'm back in half an hour with more. see you then. >> for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . forward slash alerts. >> thank you polly. now sir keir starmer urged european leaders to address the illegal migration crisis and to stand firm in support of ukraine as he sought

to strengthen the uk's ties with the continent. the prime minister is hosting the european political community summit, hoping it will provide an opportunity to reset the uk's relations with its neighbours after the turmoil of the brexit years. well, we can now cross the blenheim palace and speak with gb news political correspondent katherine forster. catherine, welcome to the show. it looks absolutely wonderful. behind you there is this we saw in washington at the nato summit, sir keir starmer cosying up to european leaders. but that was a tea party compared to this. this is the real deal. it looks like a brussels love in. tell us more . tell us more. >> haha yes. good afternoon martin. it's pretty much a perfect summer's afternoon here at blenheim palace, the birthplace of sir winston churchill, of course, and we've long heard it, haven't we, from sir keir starmer that if labour came to power they would seek a closer relationship with the european union. and of course, they've said that doesn't mean

going back in, it doesn't mean the single market, it doesn't mean the customs union. but they do want to increase our links. and let's face it, having just thrown the rwanda plan in the bin, they say they're going to crack down on the smuggling gangs. well, they can't do that alone , clearly, because these alone, clearly, because these people come right the way across europe to get here. so this summit is all arranged by rishi sunak. but sir keir starmer has got the good fortune now to capitalise on it. 45 leaders of eu countries and non—eu european countries a big focus, of course , countries a big focus, of course, on security, on ukraine, on support for vladimir zelenskyy against russia. but a very big focus too, on illegal migration, something that's affecting the whole of europe and giorgia meloni and the pm, italy, who had a great relationship with rishi sunak, has hosted a working group here. sir keir starmer was in that, along with

a whole host of other countries. he wants a security pact, he wants access to fingerprinting information, he wants to be working upstream with all these other countries. of course, there's nothing easy about any of this. and he will be having dinner with emmanuel macron, the french president, tonight. could there be movement ? we've already there be movement? we've already got a nearly 500 million tied up in the deal that we have with france . could there be further france. could there be further movement there now, sir keir starmer will be holding a press conference at 5:00. we'll be bringing that to you. and the latest from this as the day wraps up a little bit later. >> superb stuff. thank you very much, katherine forster, for joining us on the show. thank you. now, more than 15,000 small boats migrants have crossed the engush boats migrants have crossed the english channel. so far this yeah english channel. so far this year. gb news can exclusively reveal today. the figure was reached after a further 315 migrants made the illegal

journey today and it follows another tragedy in the channel. just hours earlier when one migrant drowned and another 71 were rescued after their boat began deflating off the french coast near calais and i can now show you some. this is footage of boats rolling into dover earlier on today, and this here. this is a border force ranger , this is a border force ranger, vessel leaving ramsgate, and you can see they're circling. this is that disaster last night where one tragically died, 71 went overboard after a craft deflated. this is a british vessel performing a rescue mission . and you'll now see mission. and you'll now see shortly that vessel, border force ranger, moves towards calais. as you can see now, going back to calais, a british vessel in french waters performing a rescue mission begs the question why are british vessels so deep in french waters? getting involved of course this was a disaster. people's lives were at risk. but where were the french in that

issue now? it's also been reported that up to 90,000 migrants who were set for deportation to rwanda are now instead to be fast tracked to claim asylum under the new labour government . claim asylum under the new labour government. immigration caseworkers could soon begin processing claims of people threatened for removal to the east african country. when the home secretary introduces this new legislation, quite a change of position, isn't it? and to discuss that, i'm now joined by the former deputy chairman of the former deputy chairman of the conservative party jonathan gullis. jonathan, welcome to the show. it's been a long time. i hope you're keeping well . so hope you're keeping well. so we've gone from rwanda to rolling out the red carpet. it seems the refugee refugee council today has announced that of these 90,000 who are now able to apply for asylum, 60,000 will probably get the right to remain. jonathan goodies, what message does that send out to the people smugglers? >> well, martin, it's what we were warning for so long is particularly during the election campaign, that labour's migrant

amnesty is in full swing. >> and it's just very sad to see that people who wanted to see tough action on the borders wanted us to take back control, wanted us to take back control, wanted us to have that deterrent in rwanda has sadly been robbed and labour have lazily assumed that whilst they did indeed, of course, win the election, it was a very shallow victory. >> when you look at how many votes across conservatives, reform uk, who you know collectively were the most vocal voices for making sure that we had that effective deterrent, who wanted to see us stop the boats. and i think it sends the wrong message . it'll essentially wrong message. it'll essentially aid and abet the smuggling gangs in their operational model, be able to convince more and more people, thousands more people, to hand over their thousands of pounds to get in unseaworthy vessels and attempt to come over to this country illegally. >> if they think they have the very high chance of being processed, and therefore the very high chance of being approved to remain, unless labouris approved to remain, unless labour is going to suddenly announce they're going to do returns, deals with iran, with syria, with afghanistan, which, let's be honest, we don't think

is going to happen, and nor would it be appropriate for us to send taxpayers money to such to send taxpayers money to such to such countries where they would abuse the human rights of the individuals that we sent back there? >> doesn't that point to a quandary? you know, jonathan, it's fair to say that rishi sunak couldn't stop the boats any more than king canute could stop the tide . doesn't seem that stop the tide. doesn't seem that anybody can do this. and in fact, that's why the reform party probably gained so many votes on the conservatives that the immigration, the small boats, the illegal immigration, as well as illegal immigration into the country was a huge dividing point. but what do we do? i mean, what do we do? i mean, it seems that we've gone from the effective offshore processing deterrent. rwanda had its problems. only two people went voluntarily. nobody was ever forcefully deported. will we face the same old issue of the european court of human rights, of human rights lawyers simply blocking any form of deportations? jonathan, you can see on your screen now exclusive pictures obtained by gb news. this is border force defender rolling ashore this morning. 315

in 1 day. can we ever stop this or are we just stuck with it? >> well, look, martin, i think you've raised some very fair questions there. essentially, the rwanda deterrent, i believe, would have been very effective. but sadly, obviously we were unable to get it going before the general election and weren't able to win the election in order to display what i believe would have happened , which is would have happened, which is people getting on planes taken to rwanda, a safe third country, to rwanda, a safe third country, to start their lives, and ultimately would have smashed apart the operational model of the smuggling gangs. but you know, that decision by labour has meant that we have now no effective deterrent. they're now scrapping the right for people or scrapping the law change, which said that if you come here illegally, you can't claim asylum. so now they're saying you can that again aids and abets the smuggling gangs. and then on top of that we can also see the fact that it's all well and good. rebranding small boats commands. it's all well and good saying you'll do another deal with france, which you'll see, i'm sure. more taxpayers money. it's all well and good saying that you want to use some foreign aid funding down the

line in places like the horn of africa, where we know some of these migrants have come from. but until you tackle the fact that these people are predominantly coming from countries like syria, like iran, like afghanistan, as they're claiming the fact that over 80% of them are young, single men. until we realise the reality here, which is that we need to put them on planes and merely deport them. and whilst they're waiting in this country, they must be detained, not in hotels, not in social housing, but detained. so they understand that they don't have the liberties and freedoms that you and i enjoy, because we're law abiding citizens. and i enjoy, because we're law abiding citizens . they know abiding citizens. they know essentially, we're just opening ourselves up further down the track. and i think that it's just a very sad day to see that laboun just a very sad day to see that labour, i think, has this as their biggest weakness. and despite all the talk, i think the reality is we'll just see more and more boats coming over and very little actually done apart from tough rhetoric regarding more deals with france , regarding more deals with france, more share, more schemes with europe. i mean, i think it was reported to martin today in the times, that sir keir starmer is open to the negotiations with the eu of us being able to send to the eu, let's say an illegal migrant, but then obviously being able to accept one back

off them in return. what does that do? absolutely nothing, because it's one in, one out. and that's not what we should be doing. it should be zero in and everyone out who's come here illegally. >> jonathan, today at blenheim palace, sir keir starmer was with 50 european leaders. of course, that was that was a meeting set up by rishi sunak as an annual event. that was going to happen anyway. but in terms of looking to our european partners as they're called, for solutions to this, how is that going to work? we revealed on the channel yesterday there have been 1.265 million illegal immigrants into 27 eu member states last year alone. millions and millions across the countries, when you add them up over the past ten years. jonathan gunness. if the european union can't control their own porous borders, how their own porous borders, how the heck are they going to stop that inexorable flow of human traffic towards the french coast? and why would they want to stop it? >> well, i think you've hit the nail on the head here. and i

think if the european union doesn't learn from the absolute drubbing that the centrist and left wing parties received in those recent elections that saw the rise of centre right and right wing parties across europe, who all want to see much tougher and firmer action on migration, both legal and illegal. then obviously you'll see more unrest in europe, which is not what we want to see, as well as a lack of social cohesion that we sadly see in certain parts of our united kingdom. that's not what i or you or anyone else who's watching wants to see either. and i think it's therefore absolutely important that we look at countries, for example , look at countries, for example, like hungary, who have very firm stances. viktor orban, i think, has done a remarkable job. poland, under the former leadership of the law and justice party, also had a very firm stance when it came to tackling illegal migration as well. and essentially it's by working together collaboratively to offshore . offshore people put to offshore. offshore people put people on planes , deport them to people on planes, deport them to safe third countries. if we can do that collectively as an area,

then i think we will obviously, as i say, deter people from thinking that this is a journey worth risking. and it's, i think, important. and you always get it right. martin. there's a huge difference. there are people who are human trafficked and that's an absolute tragedy. but that is a small percentage of those coming here illegally via the small boats. most of them are smuggled here. those are people. therefore, migrants choosing to risk their lives, choosing to risk their lives, choosing to risk their lives, choosing to give thousands of pounds of smuggling gangs , pounds of smuggling gangs, choosing to get into small boats, choosing to enter our country illegally or mainland europe. and that is an abomination . we cannot stand for abomination. we cannot stand for it. borders, control . it. borders, control. sovereignty is something that is invaluable to every nation across this great world of ours, and we see, therefore, why joe biden on the united states side is also going to be in huge trouble when it comes to the fact that we see people flooding across the southern border. and why president trump and his vice presidential nominee, jd vance. i think a very fine combination of individuals will hopefully take the presidency in november this year. >> and jonathan, may i quickly ask you a personal question. you unfortunately lost your seat, as

did many conservatives at the general election. do you have any plans to get back into politics? >> so i'm coming to you live from a very empty office as i'm packing up. today's my last day in the constituency office. before i hand the keys back to the landlord, i would love, of course, to return to the green benches one day in the future. but that is a long way off. i'd have to find, whether or not my local association here or anywhere else were willing to have me . but, i've not done in have me. but, i've not done in westminster yet, but i hope to be a strong voice for the conservative party from the outside. in the coming weeks and months ahead, particularly on the leadership where i'd be personally backing priti patel to become the leader of the conservative party, someone who was served william hague in his private office when we were in opposition after a big electoral defeat , someone who served under defeat, someone who served under cameron, may and johnson. so he's able to appeal to the broad breadth of the conservative party someone who didn't serve under rishi or truss and therefore isn't tainted by those two administrations. but someone reform will themselves fear someone who was a spartan when it came to brexit. someone who

voted against windsor framework someone who is therefore very strong, very principled and has a massive charm and personality that will galvanise and energise our base and our members. and i think therefore, we can take the fight back. >> jonathan, i'm smiling because i can still see you got that fire in your bannau jonathan gullis, thank you very much for joining us on gb news. i know it's always sad to see an office be impacted, but i'm sure there'll be another chapter. all there'll be another chapter. all the best. take care. thank you my friend. on the way we'll discuss eu commission president ursula von der leyen as she comes to be re—elected by meps for another five years in the top job. we'll be heading to the european union capital for all the latest reaction on the backroom deals that got her to power, i'm martin daubney on gb news, britain's news

welcome back. it's 25. past four. i'm martin daubney and

this is gb news now. ursula von der leyen won supports from european union lawmakers for another five year term as president of the european commission, the eu's most powerful executive body. the 720 member european parliament approved her with 401 votes in favour, 284 against and 15 abstentions. now von der lie—in, who is part of the centre right european people's party, was first elected in 2019 and will now serve for another five years after she promised to champion european defence with further military spending and committed to sticking of course, to climate targets. well joining me now to discuss this and chew over the back room deals is peter clapp, editor in chief of brussels report. welcome to the show, peter. so in 2019 when i voted, it was a narrow margin of only nine votes today. ursula von der leyen in comparison, she breezed home. but peter, the big

question is what kind of deals? and with whom did she have to do to ensure she got that margin ? to ensure she got that margin? >> well, crucially, she managed to convince the greens, to, to support her. and that is very worrying. you know, it's one thing that her own faction, the epp, supported her very questionable. but well, and the socialists, of course, and the, the centrist renew group, but, yeah, the fact that the greens support her means that she has made it clear to them that she will not be unwinding, the european green deal. now, will not be unwinding, the european green deal . now, the european green deal. now, the european green deal. now, the european green deal is a huge package of , regulations, policy , package of, regulations, policy, central planning, really, that is imposing a very expensive climate targets on industry , on climate targets on industry, on farmers, which is why we saw all those, all those protests , in those, all those protests, in the european parliament elections, all the politicians

and political parties that were supporting the green deal, they were, by and large , punished by were, by and large, punished by voters and nevertheless, we now see the face of the green deal, miss von der lie—in, back in charge . charge. >> and, peter, that's an excellent point. and one i'd like to delve into a little bit further. isn't this just indicative of how brussels worked? the electorate gave the greens a battering at the elections in may. they totally reject not totally, but they they rejected the green deal after those farmers protests that we saw across holland , that we saw across holland, across belgium, even in brussels itself, where they were setting fire to tires right outside von der leyen's office, they were getting deals changed on cheap importation of meat and vegetables from south america into the european union. and then we thought the electorate thought they had a say. and today the greens were cheering.

they were whooping with delight when von der leyen got home because even though the public rejected them, von der leyen is making sure that their politics becomes law well, and von der leyen is really left green. >> she's nominally a member of the german christian democrats. but you know , if you look at her but you know, if you look at her policies, she went against her own college of commissioners to push through these green regulations. but, you know, in a way we shouldn't blame the greens. of course, they're delighted that they can, that, you know, that that this is happening, i mean, really, really at fault here are the, the centrist parties, the german christian democrats, you know, they did not even manage to get a promise from von der lie—in to, to reverse the ban on the combustion engine. so the eu is banning the combustion engine by 2035. but that's really tomorrow in industry terms. and you would think i mean, that would be the

very minimum, for, you know, for the epp and the german christian democrats to support her. she did not even, promise that despite the fact that at the moment we see that, european manufacturers, car manufacturers , manufacturers, car manufacturers, that they are not competitive when it comes to electric vehicles. europe is being flooded by, chinese evs and the same european union that is basically imposing electric vehicles by banning the combustion engine is now very close to imposing extra punitive tariffs on chinese ev imports. and so even then, the epp doesn't get it. i was even told that the french centre—right the party of michel barnier, who is very hostile to von der leyen , very hostile to von der leyen, that in the end they have supported, to her keep epp unity. so i think that's really the problem. also in germany you have the, the liberals in government, they could have, you

know, expressed the veto against the german government nominating, von der leyen in the first place. once again, they went against their own voters by not putting this on the table . not putting this on the table. >> okay, peter, and what we've also seen is that despite the fact the right wing now make up 25% of the parliament, in, in brussels, they've been prevented from getting into positions of power as vice presidents and so on and so forth, because of course, the european union does what it does and it protects itself and it freezes them out of power. look. fascinating stuff. thanks for joining of power. look. fascinating stuff. thanks forjoining us. peter clapp, the editor in chief of brussels report. thanks for your company. there's lots more still to come between now and 5:00, including how and why london is currently facing an epidemic of crash for cash, moped scams. stay peeled. they're out to rip you off. but first, it's your headlines with polly middlehurst .

polly middlehurst. >> the headlines this hour and news just in five. just stop oil protesters, including one of the co—founders of the group, have been jailed for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the m25 motorway, causing massive disruption for motorists back in 2022. roger hallam, daniel shaw, louise lancaster, lucia whittaker de abreu and cressida gethin organised 45 protesters to climb onto the gantries over the motorway for four successive days in november 2022. it is alleged the protests cost the metropolitan police more than £1.1 million, and caused more than 50,000 hours of vehicle delays for drivers. hallam was sentenced to five years imprisonment, while the remaining four defendants were each handed four years imprisonment respectively. judge christopher akua said the five had crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic .

concerned campaigner to fanatic. also in the headlines today, the covid 19 inquiry was released this lunchtime, finding that successive governments had failed the public because of flawed policy and process in planning for the pandemic. the 240 page document revealed the government made serious errors, and there were significant flaws in how the outbreak was dealt with. sir keir starmer says he wants to use a summit of european leaders to push for joint action on illegal migration. the prime minister is hosting around 45 foreign leaders at blenheim palace in oxfordshire, where defence, security and energy are on the agenda. earlier he used his opening speech to reaffirm the uk's support for ukraine, saying the threat from russia reaches right across europe and in the united states. the former house speaken united states. the former house speaker, nancy pelosi, is reportedly backing calls for president biden to step aside in the presidential race. white house officials are now

suggesting she's told joe biden he can't win the november 5th election, echoing a growing number of democrats who've raised serious concerns about the president's ability to defeat donald trump. it comes after the assassination attempts on donald trump's life and the revelation that joe biden has been diagnosed with coronavirus, and a man who was wrongly convicted of rape and spent 17 years in jail could have been exonerated almost a decade earlier. a review has found. in light of the findings, andrew malkinson says the criminal cases review commission obstructed his fight for justice and cost him an extra decade wrongly imprisoned . those are wrongly imprisoned. those are the latest news headlines for now. i'm back in half an hour with more. see you then for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts .

slash alerts. >> thank you polly. now if you want to get in touch with us here @gbnews seem to go to gbnews.com/yoursay. i'll read out the best of your messages a little later in the show. hundreds and hundreds. so far on the continued boats rolling up to dover and the controversial involvement of a british vessel involvement of a british vessel in a search and rescue mission deep into french waters last stay tuned. i'm martin daubney on gb news, britain's

welcome back. it's 438. i'm martin daubney. this is gb news now. according to the non—profit organisation insurance fraud bureau , london insurance fraud bureau, london is currently facing an epidemic of so—called crash for cash scams in these schemes, moped or motorcycle riders deliberately cause or stage accidents to fraudulently claim insurance

from the targeted motorists. and joining me now to discuss this scandal is the motoring journalist danny kelly. danny, great friend of the show. danny. this sort of thing absolutely makes my blood boil . this sort of thing absolutely makes my blood boil. i this sort of thing absolutely makes my blood boil . i see this makes my blood boil. i see this sort of stuff all the time on social media. people jumping in front of cars. now it's motorcyclists . and i've heard motorcyclists. and i've heard danny, in this case particularly targeting vulnerable motorists, mothers and the elderly . danny, mothers and the elderly. danny, tell us more. >> yeah. just when you thought it was the politicians at city hall who were engaging in a war with motorists, it's actually thugs on two wheels. >> martin and the metropolitan police and the insurance fraud bureau take an incredibly seriously. >> but what you touch on is incredibly , incredibly incredibly, incredibly unfortunate because these thugs, they prey on the vulnerable, so they prey on the vulnerable, so they won't necessarily when they profile their target market, they won't necessarily profile and go for people like yourself and go for people like yourself and myself. they'll go for single women or maybe older people driving nice cars, and they know that they're going to

have decent insurance policies behind them. and the way that it works, martin and again, prevalent really in london, not so prevalent in birmingham and manchester, mostly london. what they do. i hate driving in london. martin. and what you do you try and nudge out and you wait for a good samaritan to let you out, and they hold up their side of the traffic and at that very moment when you are vulnerable, these lunatics just drive head on to you into the front of your car, normally at a very low speed . and what they very low speed. and what they do, martin, they they get themselves up off the floor. they they clutch their neck. they they clutch their neck. they they clutch their neck. they they they look at their wrists and they start taking photographs of the very minimal impact, the very minimal damage. but although it's physical damage to metal, which can be repaired , martin, it's repaired, martin, it's a psychological damage. just imagine if you're a mum driving home with the kids on the school run. then all of a sudden some thug flies into you and it costs tens of thousands of pounds sometimes, mate. >> now, in this particular story here it was. it was a mum on her own driving the scooter went into a very low speed, ended up

making thousands of pounds of insurance claims. and danny, this sort of thing is on the rise. apparently there's been a 6,000% increase in the first half of last year, 30,000 incidents taking place like this every year. danny, you know your onions. how do people stay safe? i'm assuming what everybody needs to be doing is just getting a good value for money. dash cam , you can get a dash cam dash cam, you can get a dash cam for £2,025. >> martin. and whilst i was researching this story, the insurers, they want you to invest in a dash cam because again when these low lives profile the vulnerable, the needy, the single mum on the way back. if you from school, if you've got a dash cam they are less likely to ride into you and that's what they do. and social media is littered with these incidents . media is littered with these incidents. martin. if it media is littered with these incidents . martin. if it wasn't incidents. martin. if it wasn't so serious it would be comedically farcical. it would be hysterical because it's just so obviously a scam. but the thing is, if you are nudging out and if you're in a car and you are on the wrong side of the road, then these will go for you. and it's part of a bigger criminal network. whilst researching the metropolitan

police, they try and put people's doors through it. four in the morning. but most of these low lives have left the country. they're not even from the united kingdom and that's why it's making it so difficult for the met and for the insurers. a dash cam is a great £25 investment. martin >> yeah, you're getting on amazon all sorts of places . amazon all sorts of places. easy. just just pop on your windshield, switch them on. it connects to your phone. and that evidence, danny, can keep you safe and save you thousands in the courts and on your insurance. protect your no claims bonus. danny cowley, always a pleasure to have you on the show. thank you and never a chore. take care now. still plenty of time to grab your chance to win £30,000 in the great british giveaway as our biggest cash prize of the year, andifs biggest cash prize of the year, and it's totally tax free now, what would you do with all that extra dough? well, here's how you could win the lot . you could win the lot. >> £30,000 in tax free cash really could be yours . it's our really could be yours. it's our biggest cash prize of the year so far, and you could be getting that winning call from us to tell you that you're our next great british giveaway winner . i

great british giveaway winner. i can't believe this. >> oh my god, this is amazing. >> oh my god, this is amazing. >> that is absolutely fantastic . >> that is absolutely fantastic. >> that is absolutely fantastic. >> we're over the moon. i've never won anything like this in my life. oh, you shocked me. i never won a penny in my life. robert hur. i'll buy you a drink for another chance to win £30,000 in tax free cash, text, cash to 63232. >> text cost £2 plus one standard network rate. message you can enter online at gbnews.com/win. entries cost £2 or post your name and number two gbo or post your name and number two gb0 seven, po box 8690. derby d19, double two, uk only entrants must be 18 or over. lines close at 5 pm. on the 30th of august. please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. good luck i watching on demand. good luck! >> fill your boots now. don't go anywhere because up next we'll cross live to milwaukee ahead of donald trump's acceptance speech as he becomes the official republican presidential nominee. hulk hogan's there and so's nigel farage.

our man. ray addison i martin daubney on gb news. britain's news

>> i'm patrick christys every weeknight from 9:00, i bring you two hours of unmissable, explosive debate and headline grabbing interviews. >> what impact has that had? >> what impact has that had? >> we got death threats and the bomb threat and so on. >> as time passes, she could have said, stone, you made my argument for me one at a time. >> my guests and i tackle the issues that really matter with a sharp take on every story went everywhere. >> something practical could be done or i can become something different. >> patrick christys tonight from 9 pm. only on gb news. >> britain's news channel . >> britain's news channel. >> britain's news channel. >> welcome back. your time is 447. i'm martin daubney. this is gb news tonight. donald trump is expected to speak for the first time since he was shot at a rally as he accepts the official republican nomination for presidency. trump plans to build on his running mate j.d. vance's vow to champion the forgotten

americans, with the central theme being to kick start a golden age and to make america great once again. well, let's cross the pond now and go to ray addison, our man who's in milwaukee outside that venue . milwaukee outside that venue. ray. donald trump set. you're inside the venue now, donald trump set to appear on that stage in a few hours time. what's the mood on the ground? it seems like only five days ago they tried to assassinate donald trump . now it simply feels like trump. now it simply feels like team trump is unstoppable . team trump is unstoppable. >> well, a real sense of anticipation and nervousness, as i think you would expect. you could see behind me there on the stage the rehearsals, which are taking place, a range of speakers. but obviously donald trump making that keynote speech at the end of the evening, where he will formally accept the republican party's nomination to be their candidate for this election. so what are we expecting to hear from donald trump tonight? well presumably

we may well get his take on exactly what happened in pennsylvania around five days ago now, when he was shot by that would be assassin's bullet . that would be assassin's bullet. the impact that it's had on him, along with the usual criticism that we've seen from many of president trump's former president trump's former president trump's former president trump's rallies, where he's criticised president biden's handling of illegal immigration in the country and the us economy as well. now despite that, donald trump has indicated since that attack in pennsylvania that he very much wants to unite america. so it will be interesting to see what kind of tone he takes with that, whether he can achieve that, is it going to be statesman like, or will it be showman like, that showman who has divided so much of the us population? i spoke to people earlier here at the convention and asked them what they were hoping to hear, what he wants to do to make america great again. >> you know, i do think after the assassination attempt that

he's going to try to be a little more unifying. >> it's called veritatis splendour in latin, the splendour of truth. yes. ra we're going to get some truth from him. he's lying . punks. from him. he's lying. punks. i'm. i'm really hoping that he reaches out across the aisle and talks to everybody. look i'm super pumped. >> i can't wait to hear his speech. his speech. and i think it'll be even more emotional . it'll be even more emotional. >> well, it'll be interesting to see. also, if donald trump responds to comments made today by russia's foreign ministry, we know throughout this presidential campaign that he has promised to end the ukraine war within 24 hours of getting elected before he even takes office. if he were to take office. if he were to take office next year. but moscow is describing that pledge as pre—election rhetoric and they're saying that he'd also promised to end or achieve a middle east peace breakthrough . middle east peace breakthrough. and they say that he failed to do that during his presidency.

meanwhile, president biden, having another bad day in a in a series of bad days which seemed to have been going on for several weeks now, we're seeing reporting from senior white house officials that they believe that former speaker nancy pelosi has now told president biden that she believes he cannot win this election. and as she is now supporting calls, we understand for him to drop out, and i think we can expect to see a number of other senior democrats making that same call throughout this day building up to that big speech by donald trump. and that is, of course, a real blow for joe biden. we know that he's recently been diagnosed with covid. he cancelled a speech that he was supposed to be giving in las vegas. and while joe biden is presenting an image of weakness, it could be argued president trump continues to present strength and a very. >> and tonight in that arena there ray, we have some other guests. hulk hogan, the wrestler

is going to do a turn. kid rock. and of course, our own nigel farage. he'll be presenting his show on gb news live tonight from america. is there any chance, do you think ray of nigel farage grabbing a quick chat with his old mate donald trump? >> well, i think if nigel farage has shown anything over the last few years, never say never when it comes to what he could potentially achieve . i mentioned potentially achieve. i mentioned trump will be going for that statesmanlike approach, potentially, rather than the showman. maybe he's leaving that showman. maybe he's leaving that show element of it to those additional speakers. as he said, we've got hulk hogan, we've got the always controversial tucker carlson, formerly of fox news as well. and then , of course, in well. and then, of course, in very true donald trump style, he's going to be introduced by the ceo of the ufc, dana white, as well. and so that is going to be one heck of a moment.

>> sweepers of ray addison. we'll make sure we come back to you in the next hour. in the build up to that, massively anticipated first speech by donald trump only five days ago, an attempted assassination on his life. today, he'll be back on that stage and we'll make sure we bring you all the latest on that event throughout the show and beyond. now, loads of you have been getting in touch with your thoughts throughout the show and the one topic that's really got you going is border control or lack of. we showed you exclusive pictures at the top of the show of boats rolling into dover, 315 arrivals today alone and also we showed you exclusive footage of a search and rescue mission happening deep in french waters by a british vessel. this is what you've got to say, grumpy grandad says every country in the world has the right to defend its own borders. if they wanted to stop it, they could. they just don't want to stop it. and i think sir keir starmer's meeting with the european union today will confirm that in some

way. babs, however, has a very different take on that search and rescue mission, she says. we helped in french waters yesterday , taking migrants back yesterday, taking migrants back to france after the vessel deflated. we should help more often. prevention is better than cure. mandy is raging about the human rights lawyers, who seem to frustrate efforts to control our borders all along, saying we need a super lawyer to take on the human rights lawyers. why can't we have a lawyer to represent the human rights of british people against all the people arriving here illegally ? people arriving here illegally? come on, where is that lawyer and gb news viewer dave, as this we do have boats going to calais. they're called ferries. let's get the illegals on the ferries and let the french customs sort them out. now don't go anywhere because we'll be discussing the huge news that 15,000 small boat migrants have crossed the english channel so far this year alone , whilst the far this year alone, whilst the home secretary looks to give amnesty to 90,000 migrants who

had been earmarked for rwanda flights, it seems we've gone from just stop the rwanda, the rwanda programme to rolling out the red carpet. i'm martin daubney gb news now is your weather with alex burkill. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news . on gb news. >> hi again. here's your latest gb news, weather forecast coming to you from the met office. temperatures are going to be rising. plenty of fine weather for many parts of the uk. however, in the northwest there will still be quite a bit of cloud as we go through the end of the week and further rain to come too. we currently have a weather system which is gradually making its way a little bit further eastwards, but this is going to break up as we go through the day. so a little bit less rain overnight and any rain over scotland likely to be confined just to the higher ground and most other places turning drier after a

warm evening . across england and warm evening. across england and wales in particular, it is going to be a warm night. not a huge amount of cloud around, but temperatures not dropping a huge amount. some places staying with temperatures around 17 or 18 degrees. first thing tomorrow morning, there could be a few pockets of mist and fog around around western parts of england and wales perhaps, but for much of england, wales it is going to be a fine start, plenty of sunshine and with that, temperatures are going to start to rise pretty quickly. a cloudier story though, across parts of northern ireland and scotland, perhaps not as cloudy as today, but nonetheless a few spots of rain are possible as we go through the morning. perhaps the brightest weather will be across more eastern parts of scotland. a greater chance of seeing some sunshine here through the day. we are going to see a bit more cloud building across far western parts of scotland, in the outer hebrides , scotland, in the outer hebrides, some rain pushing its way in here and there could be some strong , blustery winds to go strong, blustery winds to go with it elsewhere. and for scotland, northern ireland, a dner scotland, northern ireland, a drier day than today and a little bit brighter at times.

but the best of the sunshine will be across much of england and wales, and with that temperatures rising higher than today, highs of around 31 celsius in the south—east. but everywhere it is going to feel relatively hot as we go through the evening. we are going to see a bit more cloud and rain feeding into far north western parts of scotland and northern ireland, but staying fine towards the southeast. there will be some wet weather pushing its way through as we go through saturday and into sunday, but saturday and into sunday, but saturday could stay hot in the south—east by looks like things are heating up boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb

>>a >> a very, very good afternoon to you. it's 5 pm. and welcome to you. it's 5 pm. and welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news. we're broadcasting live from the heart of westminster, all across the uk. on today's show, gb news can exclusively reveal that more than 15,000 small boat migrants have crossed

the english channel so far this year alone, and a further 315 illegals arrived today just hours after one died and 72 were rescued after their boat began deflating off the french coast near calais. we've got exclusive footage of the arrivals and of that search and rescue mission . that search and rescue mission. and meanwhile, sir keir starmer has rolled out the red carpet to 50 leaders from the european political community at blenheim palace today with talks of a reset with brussels. will mr starmer, who campaigned to cancel brexit, if you recall, show his true colours now he's prime minister, will also have a press conference shortly from blenheim palace and european commissioner ursula von der leyen was controversially re—elected as president today. but at what cost? with yet more punitive green deals in store and no guarantees on border control, what will this mean for britain? i'll speak to a swedish mep who voted against von dillian whyte shortly. that's

all coming up in your next hour. so surely it will be crossing to a press conference with sir keir starmer from blenheim palace . 50 starmer from blenheim palace. 50 european union top brass rocked up to the palace today talks of a reset with the european union top of the agenda of course, is immigration illegal immigration. emmanuel macron said there was no silver bullet. we can say that again because today alone, 315 illegals rocked up to the shores of dover, taking the total to 15,000 so far this yeah total to 15,000 so far this year. and when you think about that, think about it 15,000. yesterday we revealed on gb news and there's live pictures there of that press conference. we're waiting to go to that with sir keir starmer expected to speak. think about it,

keir starmer expected to speak. think about it , 15,000 keir starmer expected to speak. think about it, 15,000 this year alone. can we ever stop the boats? i want to hear from you. send your views and post your comments by going to gbnews.com forward. slash your save and let's get your headlines. and it's polly middlehurst. >> martin, thank you and good evening to you. well, the top story from the gb newsroom right now is that five. just stop oil protesters, including one of its co—founders , were jailed today co—founders, were jailed today for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the m25 motorway, causing massive disruption for motorists back in 2022. roger hallam, daniel schorr , louise lancaster, lucia schorr, louise lancaster, lucia whittaker, de abreu and cressida gethin organised 45 protesters to climb onto gantries over the motorway for four successive days in november 2022. prosecutors allege the protests cost the metropolitan police more than £1 million , and caused more than £1 million, and caused more than £1 million, and caused more than £1 million, and caused more than 50,000 hours of vehicle delays for drivers.

roger hallam was sentenced to five years imprisonment. the remaining four defendants were each handed four years. the judge in the case said the five had crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic . concerned campaigner to fanatic. well, sir keir starmer has called today's covid inquiry report, as has said that it confirms that the uk was unprepared for the coronavirus outbreak. the 240 page assessment by baroness hallett found there were significant and widespread failures by successive governments. the report also condemns the 2011 pandemic strategy for being virtually abandoned when covid hit, with no forward focus on economic and social impacts thereafter , ten recommendations thereafter, ten recommendations were made, including a more streamlined approach to dealing with health emergencies and conducting uk wide pandemic exercises every three years. the prime minister says his government is committed to learning from the inquiry and expressed his heartfelt

sympathies to those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic. well, sir keir starmer is hosting that summit at blenheim palace in oxfordshire, which he hopes will fire the starting gun . hopes will fire the starting gun. he says on a new relationship with the eu, the prime minister says he wants to reset our relationship and push for closer security with our new near neighbours. the group have agreed on boosting defence capabilities for ukraine as it defends itself against russia. sir keir starmer, referencing the qualities of the former prime minister winston churchill in his opening speech. >> we for stand the values that he embodies around the world liberty and democracy, yes, of course, but also defiance and resolve in their defence. and today, as a new storm gathers over our continent, we choose to meet it in that same spirit, we want to work with all of you to reset relationships , rediscover

reset relationships, rediscover our common interest, and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that brighten the fabnc friendship that brighten the fabric of european life . fabric of european life. >> mr prime minister, speaking a short time ago, well , volodymyr short time ago, well, volodymyr zelenskyy is one of those 40 european leaders meeting in oxfordshire today. all those leaders being encouraged to offer more support for his country , ukraine. well, the country, ukraine. well, the president says he's counting now on sir keir starmer's support. >> the uk demonstrated leadership from the very beginning of russian attacks and all the strong steps and some, some not. simple steps, always. ukraine uk began so i count on my meeting. i will have meeting with prime minister and also bilateral one. and also i will have i will have meeting with with the government volodymyr zelenskyy. >> well, as martin said earlier,

we are expecting sir keir starmer to speak shortly as soon as that begins, we will go to it. but in the meantime, let me tell you what's happening in the united states, where the former house speaker has reportedly backed calls for president biden to step aside in the presidential race, just as his staff tell the world he now has covid. white house officials suggest that nancy pelosi has personally told joe biden he can't win the election. in november , echoing the thoughts november, echoing the thoughts of a growing number of democrats who've raised serious concerns about the president's ability to defeat donald trump. and, of course, that comes after that assassination attempt on trump at the weekend, which had initially seemed to reduce pressure on joe biden to withdraw the white house. and pelosi's comments haven't been commented upon. but democrats are reportedly planning a shift in their 2024 campaign strategy, as joe biden has been forced to pull out of a campaign speech after confirmation he's gone down with coronavirus. >> i made a serious mistake in the whole debate and, and look,

when i originally ran, you may remember it . when i originally ran, you may remember it. i said i was going to be a transitional candidate, and i thought that i'd be able to move from this to pass it on to move from this to pass it on to someone else. but i didn't anticipate things getting so, so, so divided. and quite frankly, i think the only thing age brings a little bit of wisdom. and i think i've demonstrated that i know how to get things done for the country. >> just a quick word about the heat for you. now, if you're in the east or the south of england, a heat health alert has been issued for large parts of the country. temperatures set to hit 30 c tomorrow. it sounds nice , but it can be quite nice, but it can be quite dangerous. the uk health security agency alerts cover the east midlands , eastern england, east midlands, eastern england, london and the south east from tomorrow . right the way through tomorrow. right the way through tomorrow. right the way through to saturday, it's advising people to keep their homes cool by closing blinds and curtains , by closing blinds and curtains, drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding strenuous exercise and

checking in on vulnerable neighbours. those are the latest news headlines. for now. i'm polly middlehurst. i'm back in half an hour. see you then for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . slash alerts. >> thank you very much, polly . >> thank you very much, polly. now, as polly indicated, we are about to cross to blenheim palace. sir keir starmer is about to address the nation after that conference of 50 european leaders who are currently in britain , they are currently in britain, they are discussing closer ties, it looks like is this a rowing back on brexit? is this sir keir starmer getting closer to the european union ? you can see the stage union? you can see the stage there. sir keir starmer is due out very shortly. emmanuel macron said earlier today there is no silver bullet to stop the

boats . well, you can say that boats. well, you can say that again, monsieur macron, because today alone, 315, illegal immigrants rocked up to british shores aboard boats . we showed shores aboard boats. we showed you exclusive footage on gb news last night. we also saw a search and rescue mission deep into french waters, border force defender, a british vessel, went one of the crafts in the sea. a dinghy got into trouble. it was deflating. sadly, one person on that boat perished and 71 others were rounded up and took back to calais by a british vessel. today's conference was set up by rishi sunak. this wasn't sir keir starmer's idea, but of course sir keir starmer. he's known for his previous penchant for wanting to cancel brexit. are we about to see sir keir starmer make a dramatic announcement across that when it happens ? so moving on now more

happens? so moving on now more than 15,000 small boats migrants have crossed the english channel so far this year. gb news can exclusively reveal. the figure was reached after a further 315 migrants made that illegal journey. today alone. and it follows another tragedy. as i just said in the channel just hours earlier yesterday evening when one migrant drowned and another 71 were rescued after their boats began deflating off their boats began deflating off the french coast near calais . the french coast near calais. and i can now show you exclusive footage of that incident you see on your screen. now we can see a british boat. there it is. border force ranger left ramsgate there. goes out to into french waters. it pauses for some time. about half an hour. this is about 7:00 yesterday evening . it's, was getting to evening. it's, was getting to that craft that was in peril. that was deflating. one person tragically perished in the channel 71 others were rounded up and then taken . as you can up and then taken. as you can see now, border force ranger

moving towards calais. this is the british vessel performing a search and rescue mission taking back to france. so you might well say, why are british vessels getting involved in that? others have said, well, of course they should. this is a humanitarian mission and it's also been reported that up to 90,000 migrants who were set for deportation to rwanda or to be fast tracked to claim asylum under the new labour government, immigration caseworkers could soon begin processing claims of people threatened for removal to the east african country. when the east african country. when the home secretary introduces this new legislation. well, let's now speak to political commentator stephen carlton. was stephen, welcome to the show. so we've gone from rwanda. it would seem to rolling out the red carpet. the refugee council today stated it expects 60,000 of the 90,000 earmarked for deportation will now successfully claim asylum and have the right to remain in the

united kingdom. stephen, what message does that send out to the people smugglers? >> well, it's saying we're open for business and come and join us any time. >> really. that's the big message from it, >> but the what you've just said there about the in the system already, we've got 90,000 people in the system and it's the refuge refugees council that reckon that two thirds of them will be granted asylum , will be granted asylum, >> so it means that even if you break the law and you come here as an illegal immigrants, we're going to give you a pat on the back and say, yes, come in. >> and i just think that is the wrong message completely to be sending out, i mean, this is a knock on effect, really, when you think about it from the blair days where we had open borders. >> so when we had the conservative government trying to, achieve something by coming up with the rwanda plan, if it was good or bad, and they invested a considerable amount of money into this. but you've got, a yvette cooper now saying, oh, well , got, a yvette cooper now saying, oh, well, we're going to start saving money straight away. hang on a minute. we've lost millions

now with the deal that we're going to get to rwanda and we're under no obligation to get a penny of that money back . us as penny of that money back. us as a nation now are reneging on the deal that we've done with rwanda. so if yvette cooper thinks that they're going to hand over millions of pounds, i can't see that happening . can't see that happening. >> and with 60,000 people just from this tranche of people alone, stephen. now, automatically, if they get that asylum entitled to social housing, to benefits, to nhs treatment, the right to work, they are literally coming to this country illegally and they are literally being given the full rights of citizenship and yet, stephen, we can see on our screens now pictures from blenheim palace at the european political community sir keir starmer has got 50 european leaders, the top brass , leaders, the top brass, including european union top brass, over to britain looking to them for assistance in somehow trying to end this. but stephen, we announced yesterday exclusively on gb news

astonishing figures of 1.265 million illegal immigrants arriving in 27 eu member states last year alone. stephen. if the european union cannot even control their own borders, how on earth can we turn to them for assistance to keep illegals out of our country ? of our country? >> well, absolutely, and then they're still trying to dictate to us who we should be taking on.andi to us who we should be taking on. and i think this idea that secure come up with this morning about doing a deal that they can take some back and we will take on, legitimate, asylum seekers. i think that's a ludicrous idea again, because where do you draw the line there. and the saddest thing about all this is this genuine people in the world that do need to come to this country for asylum, and that means that we can't help them as well as we might do because of these illegal people. raided our shores, basically. and also , the shores, basically. and also, the other knock on effect of that is the infrastructure. our infrastructure, where you put a lot of people in one area where

the hospitals are struggling. you've got the, dentists. i mean, you try and get a dentist appointment now and it's, it's nearly impossible . so we're at nearly impossible. so we're at bursting point as it is with our with the people who currently live in this country. and to take endless amounts of people without any plans to accommodate for all this. it's an impossible situation , and it's just going situation, and it's just going to get worse and worse under this labour government. >> and stephen carlson was sir keir starmer, david lammy, nick thomas—symonds, the new commissioner, the minister for european relations, they've all repeatedly said that the labour party has no intention of reversing brexit, no intention of a second referendum. of course, this convention we can see on our screens now the european political community convention at blenheim palace that was set up by rishi sunak, that was set up by rishi sunak, that was set up by rishi sunak, that was a pre—booked diarised event. this isn't sir keir starmer organising this and that makes you wonder why on earth did rishi sunak call the election early ? he could have election early? he could have been him on this stage today

that's a separate issue. but do you think that actually sir keir starmer, who campaigned for so to long reverse brexit and he said he sees his natural spiritual homeland as brussels, not britain? do you think that these kind of events, while we might not see a formal realignment, we might see political deals done in the background, piecemeal deals on immigration, on energy, on who knows. what do you think we are seeing today? the beginnings, stephen, of a manoeuvre of a much closer alignment in a way that people never voted for when they voted for brexit in 2016? >> yes. well, absolutely. if you look at, sir keir's clip that you were playing earlier on all the language in that was geared up to our friendship with europe and reacting closer with europe and reacting closer with europe and forging closer links and working together all the language was there in that. in that statement that he made earlier on. the alarm bells are ringing for everyone now and, a

lot of people are going to be wondering why they voted the way they did. >> and, do you think that these kind of deals with piecemeal deals with countries? we've we saw rishi sunak when he was still the prime minister, cosying up to giorgia meloni. meloni has now got a lot more power in the european union. she's forged herself to be the centre heart of the right in brussels. now sir keir starmer is having meetings with giorgia meloni, but you look at these figures here, stephen. italy had 676,000 illegal immigrants arrive on its shores in nine years 2012 to 2023. sorry, 11 years. a total inability to control its own borders. the same with france 1.2 million. hungary 1.25 million. three quarters of a million. going to spain 2.15 million. going to germany, 1.8 million. going to greece. and these are just the illegals. these aren't the total asylum seekers. and do you fear,

stephen, that any kind of deal with the european union, with all these presents, with all these prime ministers, it will mean inevitably having to take our fair share of those massive numbers. >> well, this is why it's so important not to forge closer links with europe , because we links with europe, because we can't take on their problem. we've got our own problem and they're really fuelling the problem from not containing it themselves. and then, quite freely. this is why we're not seeing the french trying to stop them crossing the channel really, you was going on before, at the start of the programme, about one of our boats going over to france to drop them off. i remember earlier on in the yean i remember earlier on in the year, we had a boat go out to the a mile off the coast of france and then bring them all the way back to the uk. at least yesterday they actually sent them back to calais . yesterday they actually sent them back to calais. but, we can't really be cooperating with, europe agreeing to take any more people. this the illegal, migrations have to stop and europe have to work together and europe have to work together and stop that. and they've got

to come up with some tremendous plan. >> now, stephen carlton—woods some people might say we should be forging closer alliances. we could only solve this problem by working together, and then others might rightly turn around and say, well, if they can't control their own borders, and if they if they if their own voters are telling them, as you saw in france, as we saw in italy, that they need to get a grip, why on earth are they suddenly going to help people hurry through, sorry, keep them in their country rather than hurrying through to britain? stephen carlton—woods. thank you very much for your time on the show and you can still seen on your screen there live shots where the prime minister will be speaking shortly as he hosts the european political community summit. that's blenheim palace. we'll cut back to that when the prime minister emerges

welcome back. and you can see live shots on your screens. now, where? the prime minister will be speaking shortly as he hosts the european political community summit at blenheim palace. we'll cut back to that as the prime minister emerges. now moving on. ursula von der lie—in one supports from european union lawmakers for another five year term earlier today, as president of the european commission, the eu's powerful executive body, the 720. okay, we know we have to cut back now to sir keir starmer, who's speaking at blenheim palace . bringing blenheim palace. bringing together 46 european leaders , together 46 european leaders, including president zelenskyy, who addressed the plenary this morning. >> as i think you know, we discussed once again our commitment to stand with ukraine, a very important commitment made again today, including supporting their energy needs ahead of winter. so getting ahead of this winter and cracking down on the ships that

are helping russia to evade sanctions. >> now, we need to be clear . >> now, we need to be clear. ukraine is fighting not just for the ukrainian people, though. of course it is, but for the european people for freedom , european people for freedom, democracy and the rule of law. and our security therefore starts in ukraine. >> so we pledge to president zelenskyy once again that we will stand with for ukraine as long as it takes . long as it takes. >> we also had a productive discussion on wider european security, defending our democracies against russian interference and supporting countries like moldova who are deaung countries like moldova who are dealing with more direct threats . dealing with more direct threats. it's not just a good idea to work with our partners, it's essential. and i said on the steps of downing street that i would govern for the whole country, including those who didn't vote for us. and i meant

it. we can only make progress on the issues that so many people care about, like illegal migration and national security . migration and national security. if we have the maturity and leadership to reach out a hand to our european friends , and i to our european friends, and i want to congratulate ursula von der leyen for her re—election today as president of the european commission. >> so we are going to deepen our cooperation on defence and security and on illegal migration, where we are resetting our approach. >> and that's been central today. we are going to smash the gangs , break their business gangs, break their business model and secure our borders, and we'll do this not by committing taxpayer to money gimmicks, but with practical solutions that are in line with international law. as director

of public prosecutions, i saw the work that can be done across borders to bring terrorists to justice and break up their networks, and i simply do not accept that we can't do the same with organised migration, crime . with organised migration, crime. and we started that work here today we're increasing the uk presence at europol in the hague to play our full part in the european migrant smuggling centre. we've agreed new cooperation arrangements with partners like slovenia and slovakia to disrupt organised crime, and with our new border security command, we are going to work with our european partners to share intelligence, data and expertise and put the gangs out of business. but to stop illegal migration, we must also tackle it at source. so today i am announcing £84

million of new funding for projects across africa and the middle east. that includes humanitarian and health support, skills training, help with job opportunities and access to education. this is a vital part of gripping the migration crisis , of gripping the migration crisis, and it shows how we're going to do business on the world stage . do business on the world stage. we are facing up to the huge problems beyond our shores, because these problems echo at home. the effects play out on our streets and in a dangerous world, we serve no one and solve nothing by turning inward . we nothing by turning inward. we have to step forward and lead. and that's what we're doing . and that's what we're doing. that's what we've shown here today , because it's the best way today, because it's the best way today, because it's the best way to uphold our values and keep our people safe. so i'm proud to

leave this summit with stronger relationships across europe and to leave the epc in a stronger position as well , with a clear position as well, with a clear agenda for the coming months and the next summit confirmed in hungary this year and albania and denmark in 2025. thank you very much. and i'll now take a number of questions from the media starting. i think , with media starting. i think, with nick from the bbc. nick thank you, mr prime minister >> thanks very much. thank you, prime minister president macron said this morning that there is no silver bullet when it comes to solving the issue of small boats crossing the channel. he's right, isn't he? despite all the warm words today, it's going to be very difficult to deliver tangible progress on that. and if i may just quickly , on if i may just quickly, on ukraine, is there anything extra that you as prime minister are offering president zelenskyy when it comes to weapons or to money, or are you open to it?

well, let me take both of them. look there's no easy silver bullet. >> if there was, it had been fired a long time ago. it's difficult . it's hard, it's difficult. it's hard, it's challenging, but i'm absolutely convinced it's a very serious problem . and it requires a very problem. and it requires a very serious response. and that's why we have put to one side the gimmick of rwanda and are pursuing the serious response, which is to smash the gangs that are running this vile trade. and i've said it before, but i say it again, i have seen this. i have been in the room when operations have been conducted to take down terrorist gangs, sharing data , intelligence, sharing data, intelligence, thinking, strategy , including thinking, strategy, including where you're going to prosecute, which has to be the first decision, not the last decision to take those gangs down. and i'm convinced it can be done. but what happened today, which was really important because this is the first time that the apc has actually discussed this as a primary issue. and so

that's really important . and the that's really important. and the consensus, not just at the plenary, but particularly in the workshop, is that the focus needs to be on the gangs. if we're going to. and that was a really important moment. i think for us all, there's a high degree of consensus that we need to work in this way. a real interest in working with our border security command, and a sense of how can we how quickly we can get on with that. it's not there are no silver bullets. nothing is going to solve this overnight, and as i made clear in my opening plenary, we also have to tackle the problem upstream in relation to the drivers of migration, whether that's climate, whether that's poverty, or whether that's conflict. and that's why it's really important that i've set out the money that we've pledged to that here today. but i can tell you there was a real consensus that this is the serious response to a serious problem. thank you. and sorry, on ukraine, just in relation to

the capability, look, there's no change in position. there's no new decisions that we've taken as a government that weren't taken by the government of two weeks ago, but the support for ukraine, is as strong as it was and obviously stronger by having had 46 european leaders here today. had 46 european leaders here today . that's on top of the nato today. that's on top of the nato council. we had last week recommitting, and so that commitment is there, but there's no new decision or change of position in relation to the use of the capabilities that we're providing. thank you. nick, i'll go to robert at itv nora forster i tv. itv. >> prime minister, i think i'm going to say something that's a statement of the obvious , which statement of the obvious, which is that the arms manufacturing and defence capability of europe and defence capability of europe and the uk on their own is completely inadequate to support ukraine without america's help. >> so if america were to decide

to seek a peace treaty of some sort with putin, there's pretty much nothing we can do about that. and then on, asylum seekers crossing the channel unless and until you get these intelligence sharing policing agreements across europe, are you simply reconciled to the numbers crossing the channel, rising , rising, >> let me deal in relation to the first point, robert, one of the first point, robert, one of the things that came out of today and in fact , the today and in fact, the discussions we had in washington last week , was this commitment last week, was this commitment to an industrial strategy sitting behind the pure capability question for the very reason that you posed, which is the backfill, the capability when it comes to that. so that industrial strategy, was much discussed last week and that discussion has carried on, today, i'm not going to pre—empt what may or may not happen later this year in relation to the

election in america , but i can't election in america, but i can't underscore enough the shared commitment here today at the epcc hosted by us, the uk. and i'm really proud of the role that we've played in relation to ukraine. it has been a leading role and that is credit to the last government which we united with on this and have continued that work. but i'm not going to pre—empt what may happen in the elections later this year , other elections later this year, other than to say that industrial strategy, i think, is a very important component of the package that we need to put together in relation to what's happening, in relation to the channel no, i'm not resigned to anything. the work that we can do starts straight away. we've started on the command, but there's other things we can do sharing our intelligence and data. that's why we've put more resource into europol already, l, resource into europol already, i, when i was leader of the opposition, went to the hague to have discussions with europol to get ahead of this. essentially

to say, what can we do early on, to say, what can we do early on, to increase capacity to work in a different way with europol and of course , we need to get on of course, we need to get on with the measures that we can do here in this country. and, you know, the tragedy of all this is not just in the numbers that have crossed, but of course , the have crossed, but of course, the poor souls have been lost in the last week . one last night for, i last week. one last night for, i think, in the last seven days or so, which is a reminder of the human cost of the vile trade that these gangs are perpetuating, and that is why we must take them down. thank you. robert beth. >> thank you, prime minister. beth rigby, sky news, prime minister, over 550 people have arrived on small boats since you became prime minister. >> just two weeks ago. >> just two weeks ago. >> you know, this is a hard nut to crack. if the prisons crisis is, in your words , shocking. is, in your words, shocking. what is the small boats crisis and when do you expect to make progress that the public can actually measure? you on? and if

i may, donald trump's running mate , dj vance, is a vocal mate, dj vance, is a vocal critic of aid to ukraine. are you worried about that and how doesit you worried about that and how does it affect your roadmap to spending 25% of gdp on defence? thank you. >> thanks . i thank you. >> thanks. i think that's three questions packed into one, two, two, but look on the on the numbers and what's happened in relation to small boats crossing, we're inheriting a really bad problem here from the government who has not addressed this , nobody is suggesting it's this, nobody is suggesting it's easy. it is a test of government. and it was a test of us as the opposition before we came into government. but we've wasted time here. we've wasted resource. we've had a home office that has been dedicated to a gimmick that didn't work, and therefore the work that could have been done in relation to border security has not been done, in my view, in the way it should have been done. and the proof is in the pudding. we've got record numbers this year. we

can't switch that in 24 hours in one week. two weeks ago today, we were still knocking on doors asking people to vote for us. we can't turn it around that quickly, but the frustration that i have in relation to prisons is across this as well, because, so much time and effort has been spent on rwanda, a scheme which in my view was never going to work. and the proof is that it hasn't worked when the serious answers have been left unaddressed. which is why i'm pleased now that we're getting on at speed, i'm really pleased that we, the home secretary made an announcement in relation to the border security command so quickly. and here we are , you know, two here we are, you know, two weeks, 14 days after we were knocking on doors hosting the epc, where the focus is on how we work together with our colleagues across europe, to do the coordinated work that we need to do . so i'm pleased that need to do. so i'm pleased that we're making up ground. we will continue to do it at pace, but we've left it been left in a really difficult position yet

again by this government, which has, you know, it's been a dereliction of duty because border control is, is about our national security, and rather than address it with a serious answer, they addressed it with the gimmick . answer, they addressed it with the gimmick. the gimmick didn't work. and we're left with a very serious situation to try and turn around. and in relation to the situation in, america, look , the situation in, america, look, we'll have to i mean , those we'll have to i mean, those elections will take place. we will it will be for the american people to decide who they want to elect into office. and we will work with whoever's elected into office, as you would expect, that is what i mean about sort of maturity and leadership. not just within europe, but more widely. and of course, with the us and the special relationship that is there between the us and the uk was forged in the most difficult of circumstances. it endured a very long time, and we are committed to it. i discussed

that i've expressed my commitment to president biden. i spoke to president trump on sunday evening after the assassination attempt , where assassination attempt, where again, the special relationship featured in our discussion . featured in our discussion. thank you. beth, i've got a kieran, i think, from the guardian. >> kieran. thank you. >> kieran. thank you. >> kieran. thank you. >> kieran. stacey from the guardian. >> you spoke today to the albanian prime minister about their deal with italy to process asylum claims on italy's behalf . asylum claims on italy's behalf. >> could such an offshore processing deal work for the uk? >> well, i've always said i'll look at what works, but the focus today has predominantly been about the work we need to do on taking down the gangs and obviously, albania and italy, co—chaired the working group on migration today and that was predominantly and dominated by the work that we need to do sharing intelligence, taking down the gangs and, and this sense that the focus has to be on that aspect if we're going to

make progress and the sense actually out of the group that this is not a left right divide, it's actually a really important, pragmatic set of arrangements that we need to put in place with our european partners. and i felt there was a real sense of progress, over the course of the day in relation to those discussions. thank you . those discussions. thank you. kieran, i've got david from the daily mail. >> david. thanks, prime minister. >> you didn't seem to categorically rule out there the prospect of offshore processing centres in the future is that, can you categorically rule out, as part of your solution in the future? and, during your bilat with president macron later? will you discuss the possibility of a returns deal and what might that look like? would it be just a bilateral deal with france? would it be with the whole eu? and would you be willing to accept a share of migrants being sent here by the eu as part of any deal? >> well, look , in relation to >> well, look, in relation to the agreement between albania

and italy, obviously there's interest in how that might work, but that wasn't actually the central discussion in the task force, in the roundtable that we had. it was it was about the practical measures that , we want practical measures that, we want to discuss, which is about how we deal with taking the gangs down in the first place. but look, i'm a practical person. i'm a pragmatist. look, i'm a practical person. i'm a pragmatist . and i've i'm a pragmatist. and i've always said, we'll look at what works and where cases can be processed closer to origin, then thatis processed closer to origin, then that is something which of course ought to be looked at. but i do. i mean, the reason i'm putting it in this way is because the emphasis today was very much on the practicalities of dealing with the gangs in the first place. and that's where the second part of your question is answered as well. the returns agreement only comes into being , agreement only comes into being, at the end of the process , and at the end of the process, and my focus is at the beginning of the process to make sure we actually secure our borders, because the problem we've got at the moment is we've got tens of thousands of people who are

here, who shouldn't be here, who aren't being processed, that is not a sensible policy on any, you know , approach. and as for you know, approach. and as for a returns agreement, i've always said we're not going to be part of the eu scheme. that is for eu members. we're not an eu member. we've never wanted to or asked or sought to be part of that scheme. we're not going to be part of that. scheme. thank you very much. i've got george from the ft. george? >> yes. prime minister can i ask you about the economy? you've spoken about the your desire to have closer trade ties with the european union . i just wonder if european union. i just wonder if there's anything you've heard here today or in the last two weeks in the talks you and your colleagues have had with your european counterparts to encourage you to be more ambitious about what you're seeking. and when talks on the economy might begin. and since everyone else is asking two questions, i knew this would happen. >> i should have stopped it with nick in the first one, but i think , i think, i think it's think, i think, i think it's quite an important one. >> you mentioned the tragedy in the english channel on

wednesday, the fact that some of the migrants were picked up by a british boat and then returned to calais. i think that's quite unusual, isn't it? is that significant? does that show some new spirit of cooperation on this issue? >> well, let me on the economy, look, i've been pretty explicit here, and previously that we want to seek a reset with our relationship with europe, i said that in my opening remarks here. i've said it , before the i've said it, before the election and since the election and the impression i get is that there's a real appetite for that. you will all have probably spoken to some of the other leaders who've been in the meetings with us today. so you'll form your own view. but the appetite, i think, is for a uk, which is, as it were, back on the, international scene, playing a leading part with maturity and with a different stance in relation to our

relations with europe, both inside the eu and beyond . and inside the eu and beyond. and yes, we do want to get a better deal than the deal that we've got at the moment. we understand the challenge and constraints of any discussions. of the challenge and constraints of any discussions . of course we any discussions. of course we do. but i do think there's a closer relationship to be had that includes trade, that includes education and research and includes security , and, you and includes security, and, you know , that is partly what we know, that is partly what we mean by the reset. i think that's understood by, our partners and colleagues here and my strong impression is that we've been able to make some real progress today. but as i say, you will have you've interviewed some of them on the way out. i haven't, so you'll have formed your own view in relation to that. on the question of the operation that you referred to. yes, it is that that was an operation that took

people back to france. that's really an operational decision for those that are carrying out the exercise, and i think is done on a sort of operation by operation basis. there's no change of policy in relation to that. change of policy in relation to that . thank change of policy in relation to that. thank you. change of policy in relation to that . thank you. george, i've that. thank you. george, i've got, madeleine from develop , i got, madeleine from develop, i think. hi. yeah, thank you. >> prime minister magdalena rudkovsky dwelt europe is talking about building a stronger security architecture in the uk. wants to play a bigger role in that. what would that mean for the uk's nuclear deterrent? a german government official suggested that the uk could contribute to a european nuclear shield, in case nato sceptic donald trump gets elected. is that something you would consider? >> well , thank you for raising >> well, thank you for raising that. i mean, the first thing i should say is that we are committed to the nuclear deterrent. and i've been very clear that that includes all of the necessary upgrades. that are

there to keep the capability in place. that was something i was able to make clear in nato last week in washington and touched on on occasion today. i do think that this is more nato really than epc , that the uk does make than epc, that the uk does make a unique and really important contribution, particularly in europe, when it comes to security. because of the nuclear element, but because actually we stand full square on nato. we were as a labour government, proud signatories to the original nato treaty, which is in brussels at nato headquarters with the signature of our secretary of state on it. and we are as committed today. it's an unshakeable commitment to nato. my own personal assessment is that nato is as important, if not more important today than it's been for many years. and so that's where we stand on that

question. thank you. i've got oliver from the times . oliver, oliver from the times. oliver, >> thank you, prime minister just following up on beth's question, both donald trump and jd vance have been very clear and expressed extreme scepticism about continued american support for ukraine without pre—empting the election result . the election result. >> what is your message to them from this summit? and also , if from this summit? and also, if i may, two weeks ago you were in camden casting your vote in the general election and now you're hosting world leaders at blenheim. that's been a bit of a whirlwind on a human level. how strange has it been , strange has it been, >> i'm not going to pre—empt what may happen, but look, the stance we take is important. the stance we take is important. the stance that we took in washington at the nato conference mattered because it was intended to show to russia in particular, in particular, the resolve last week of the nato countries, a bigger nato, a stronger nato, a nato with increased resolve to stand up to

russian aggression. that was then repeated today that that matters as a signal, as a stance, and what we're able to do both last week and this week is to make clear that is in relation to russian aggression in relation to ukraine, of course, but also russian aggression in other forms that pretty well all of the countries representing represented here have experienced in relation to misinformation , cyber, you name misinformation, cyber, you name it. and moldova, of course, you know, so it's very, very important, that, that stance is seen not just as a reflection of current mood, which it is, but also as a signal to russia of our resolve . look, in relation our resolve. look, in relation to, the situation, camden is a fine place and i was very proud to cast my vote in camden, but look , we've worked really hard look, we've worked really hard to get into a position to win an

election. we've spent 14 years in opposition arguing about what ought to happen. what must happen, now we get the chance to actually deliver for the country. i hope that in the last two weeks, i've been able to at least give the sense of how we intend to go about that task as a task of service, a government of service, serving those that voted for us and those that didn't vote for us, and a government that says it's country first, party second, and therefore no more gimmicks, no more party policy, sort of masquerading as a serious answer to a question, but driven by service and to reset on the international stage alongside that of the national, the sense of a government of service, but then the international stage as well to, you know, cement some of the relationships which we've been building in opposition. many of the meetings i've had

today were not meetings for the first time, but they are take on a different character. that's something that i came into politics to do. i came into politics to do. i came into politics late in life. i didn't come in to sit on the opposition benches voting and losing every night. i've tried that, didn't like it very much. it is much better to be able to deliver, on the change that i think is desperately needed across our country . thank you very much, country. thank you very much, and tonella, antonella . and tonella, antonella. >> thank you very much, prime minister your predecessor, rishi sunak, could build up a special relationship with italian prime minister georgia meloni. >> are you going to have the same clothes? the same very close and friendly relations with her and why? and secondly, if i may, it was here. what do you think of the appeasing behaviour of hungarian prime minister viktor orban towards russia? did you discuss with that, or did you discuss that with him to today? thank you .

with him to today? thank you. >> look, in relation to my predecessor, firstly, can i say something which you didn't ask, but i do think is important. i think he's been incredibly statesmanlike and generous since the election, if i may say so. and i thought he, you know, made that very clear in the way that he replied to the king's speech yesterday, the relationship that he struck up with italy was important. i think we've got a long history between our two countries. and we both had the opportunity today to make clear that we want to continue with that we want to continue with that strength of relationship between the uk and italy. that is a good thing, and so we build on the relationship that rishi sunak, put in place, rather than start in a different place. and i think that's been an important part of the discussions i've been able to have here today. as for the discussions i've had with individual leaders , then

with individual leaders, then i'm not going to start , going i'm not going to start, going into the details of those as you would imagine, part of the purpose of these meetings is to have the opportunity to discuss issues of mutual concern with leaders of, in this case, 46 european countries or entities. and that's been, very good from our point of view. it's been a very successful , session today very successful, session today of the epc . i am very pleased of the epc. i am very pleased that we've been able to host it and to be able to host it here in this splendid place , with the in this splendid place, with the weather, which we can't take the credit for, has added to the real sense that , britain is back real sense that, britain is back on the world stage and i'm really pleased that most of the leaders, if not all of them, are leaving here, with a sense of renewed confidence in their relationship with the uk with a real understanding of what we mean by a reset, and i think looking forward to deepening the

bilateral relations that we have with all of them. that's been very much a theme of today. thank you all very much indeed. thank you all very much indeed. thank you all very much indeed. thank you . thank you. >> okay. and that was the prime minister, sir keir starmer there speaking at blenheim palace at the european political community summit . loads to unpack. let's summit. loads to unpack. let's bnng summit. loads to unpack. let's bring you up to speed. if you're just joining us now, the prime minister started by talking about ukraine. he said we will for stand ukraine as long as it takes. ukraine is fighting not just for its own freedom, but for all of the european people. on closer ties with the european union. when sir keir starmer was asked about that, he said it's not just a good idea to work with our european partners. it's essential for illegal immigration in particular. on ursula von der leyen, who was elected again for a second time as the president of the european commission today. he said i want to congratulate ursula von der leyen on her election. he talked about content. he's smashing the gangs as the solution. closer ties with europol at the hague,

increasing the uk presence at europol, a deal with slovakia and a deal with slovenia. he also then said he was announcing today a new deal £84 million, a package for projects for africa and the middle east, training and the middle east, training and aid to try and stop immigration downstream as he kept saying. he then said about macron earlier, said there is no silver bullet to solve illegal immigration. he picked up on that. he said if there was a silver bullet, it would have been fired. a long time ago. so clearly no quick solutions. he blamed the conservatives quite a lot for the situation in the country is in, he said. we're inheriting a really bad problem here. nobody said this was going to be easy. he didn't rule out an offshore containment deal with albania and albania style deal with albania and albania style deal, but he did a key point. he did rule out there is not going to be any part of any european union return scheme. so a lot of people have been talking about that. sir keir starmer categorically denying that would

be the case. he said there's a better deal to be had with the eu, so much to impact. no doubt that will continue in the next show. dewbs& co fantastic. thanks for your time on the company today. now it's your. weather. >> looks like things are heating up boxt boilers sponsors of weather on . gb. news weather on. gb. news >> hi again, here's your latest gb news, weather forecast coming to you from the met office. temperatures are going to be rising. plenty of fine weather for many parts of the uk. however, in the northwest there will still be quite a bit of cloud as we go through the end of the week and further rain to come to. we currently have a weather system which is gradually making its way a little bit further eastwards, but this is going to break up as we go through the day. so a little bit less rain overnight and any rain over scotland likely to be confined just to the higher ground and most other places turning drier after a

warm evening . across england and warm evening. across england and wales in particular, it is going to be a warm night. not a huge amount of cloud around, but temperatures not dropping a huge amount, some places staying with temperatures around 17 or 18 degrees. first thing tomorrow morning, there could be a few pockets of mist and fog around around western parts of england and wales perhaps, but for much of england, wales it is going to be a fine start, plenty of sunshine and with that, temperatures are going to start to rise pretty quickly. a cloudier story though, across parts of northern ireland and scotland. perhaps not as cloudy as today, but nonetheless a few spots of rain are possible as we go through the morning . perhaps go through the morning. perhaps the brightest weather will be across more eastern parts of scotland. a greater chance of seeing some sunshine here through the day. we are going to see a bit more cloud building across far western parts of scotland in the outer hebrides , scotland in the outer hebrides, some rain pushing its way in here and there could be some strong , blustery winds to go strong, blustery winds to go with it elsewhere. and for scotland, northern ireland, a dner scotland, northern ireland, a drier day than today and a little bit brighter at times. but the best of the sunshine

will be across much of england and wales, and with that temperatures rising higher than today, highs of around 31 celsius in the south—east. but everywhere it is going to feel relatively hot as we go through the evening, we are going to see a bit more cloud and rain feeding into far north western parts of scotland and northern ireland, but staying fine towards the southeast. there will be some wet weather pushing its way through as we go through saturday and into sunday, but saturday and into sunday, but saturday could stay hot in the south—east by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on gb. >>

summit today which saw keir starmer forge new ties with his european counterparts . so you tell me, do

counterparts. so you tell me, do we need closer links with them or not? and also a big policy announcement, £84 million of new money to be spent on things like health and education in africa and the middle east to try and prevent people migrating. your thoughts on that? and if you've ever played monopoly, you'll know that park lane is one of the most expensive spots on the board. it's one of london's most prestigious addresses . i'm prestigious addresses. i'm telling you, you will not believe what it looks like today. and there's been a campaign underway now to entice new recruits to the police. would you join up? and finally, a good news day, everybody, when it comes to just stop oil, fabulous news. we're going to get into it before seven. all of that and more. but first, the 6:00 news. >> michel, thank you and good evening to you. well, the top