slumps in the wake of nationwide riots. it comes as the top prosecutor in the country warns the most serious offenders face a whopping ten years in jail. i'm speaking to royal experts as locals fear meghan markle and prince harry are being manipulated with that unofficial royal trip to south america next week. is this entire thing a pr exercise for the colombian government and billie eilish , government and billie eilish, snoop dogg and the red hot chilli peppers are among those expected to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2024 paris olympics today, have the games left you jumping for joy or running to turn the telly off.7 i'm darren grimes and this is the weekend . is the weekend. this show is absolutely nothing

without you and your views much more important than mine. let me know your thoughts on all of the stories we'll be discussing today by visiting gbnews.com/yoursay and join that conversation now, before we get stuck into today's stories, here's the news with sophia wenzler . wenzler. >> darren. thank you. good afternoon . it's just gone. 1:00 afternoon. it's just gone. 1:00 i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. two migrants have died after their small boat got into difficulties in the english channel this morning, as hundreds more made the crossing to uk waters. french and british vessels rushed to the scene in this morning after the migrant boat got into trouble. more than 50 people were rescued and transferred to a french support vessel, maritime sources believe around 500 migrants attempted to make the crossing today, with as many as 400 reaching uk waters.

president zelenskyy has for the first time acknowledged that ukraine is conducting a military offensive inside russia's western kursk region. the surprise operation, which began five days ago, has taken russia by surprise and prompted mass evacuations across both sides of the border. russia's defence ministry has said. air defence units destroyed 14 drones and four ballistic missiles over the region this morning. meanwhile, ukraine says it destroyed 53 russian drones during an overnight strike. military analyst sean bell says there are three main reasons for ukraine's offensive. >> ukraine's got a very long border with russia. undoubtedly it'll put russia on the back foot. secondly is to demonstrate that russia is not in control in this conflict at the moment that actually there is a there are two sides here. and thirdly, just imagine the morale for ukrainian fighters that are actually starting to take the fight into russia. now many i spoke to a ukrainian the other day who said they wanted to see

a ukrainian flag planted in moscow . moscow. >> back in the uk, the justice secretary has warned that the impact of the riots seen across the uk could be felt for months and years to come. shabana mahmood made the remarks in a piece for the observer, as courts have been working to extend hours to deal with rioters. it comes as a 15 year old boy has become the first child to be convicted for his part in violent disorder in sunderland, meanwhile, hundreds of people involved in the riots are now set to appear in court, as a top prosecutor has warned they could face ten years in prison business and trade secretary jonathan reynolds says the government is prepared. >> yes, there is sufficient capacity in the prison system because of decisions that were made in the early days of the new government. we have seen. i think, 780 arrests, 350 people charged already, and there will be more to come, and it will be the case that people will face the case that people will face the full force of the law. i think it's important that the pubuc think it's important that the public see not just a judicial

system that's working well, but effective public services again in britain . in britain. >> meanwhile, the education secretary says children will be taught how to spot extremist content and fake news online in the wake of the riots. bridget phillipson said she's launching a review of the curriculum in both primary and secondary schools to arm children against putrid conspiracy theories. it comes as sir keir starmer has suggested the government will review social media laws as more sentences for online offences unked sentences for online offences linked to the riots are expected . linked to the riots are expected. the housing secretary has dropped conservatives plans to prevent recently arrived migrants from applying for council houses in england. the previous government had planned to introduce a uk connection test, which would have restricted social housing to those who've been a resident for ten years. but angela rayner has scrapped the plan and vowed to ramp up the provision of new social homes as part of a wider planning reforms to boost house building. it comes as almost 1.3

million households are on local authority waiting lists for social housing. donald trump's campaign has said some of the internal communications have been hacked, and suggested it was targeted by iranian operatives. it comes after us news website politico reported that it had been emailed campaign documents, including internal research carried out by trump's running mate jd vance. a campaign spokesperson said these documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the united states, intended to interfere with the 2024 election. and there's speculation that a new piece of artwork in london might be another banksy design. it appeared on a police box in the city of london. the art piece , city of london. the art piece, featuring a school of swimming fish, differs from the artist's characteristic silhouette artwork and has yet to be claimed. those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm sophia wenzler more in half an hour 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, sophia. let's get stuck to in today's topics. sir keir starmer's popularity has dropped significantly following criticism of his handling of recent riots in britain. polling for the telegraph shows a sharp decline in approval ratings, with a notable increase in the number of voters with a strongly unfavourable view of the prime minister. criticism has been directed at his slow response to the unrest, including a delayed decision to hold a cobra meeting. well, joining me now to discuss this is gb news political correspondent olivia utley . olivia, good to be with utley. olivia, good to be with you. what do you think actually

this will mean ultimately for the prime minister there won't be a change of tack, surely. i mean, he's pretty much nailed on and resolute in what he's saying and resolute in what he's saying and what he has continued to say in the context of these riots. >> well, he is i mean, keir starmer's honeymoon period was always going to end, but it does feel as though it's ended pretty abruptly with a jolt back down to earth this week, keir starmer has had to cancel his european houday has had to cancel his european holiday that he was supposed to be going on with his family in the next few days, and that is probably as a direct result of the criticism that he's been receiving. and this poll result, which shows that his favorability ratings have massively declined. specifically, what people seem to be annoyed about is, as you say, that slow response failing to call a cobra meeting. and actually people say that he hasn't been tough enough on the rioters. now, that's going to be hard for keir starmer to hear, because the labour government at the moment think that they've been very tough on the rioters. already 500 people arrested, 150 already convicted courts open

all the time, operating at a speed which we haven't seen at all in the last ten years or so. hard to see really, how he could be any tougher. as for how this, favorability rating will affect the way he deals with this crisis, i mean, as you say, he's he's chosen his path to go down. he is treating this. he's almost behaving more like the prosecutor who he used to be than the politician that he is now . he's than the politician that he is now. he's determined to than the politician that he is now . he's determined to get than the politician that he is now. he's determined to get as many people as possible in prison. what keir starmer really, really wants to avoid, but what probably he will have to talk about in the coming weeks is the causes behind the riots, which is ostensibly the immigration crisis. now, what is keir starmer going to do about that? that is a really tricky question for him, not least because the people who voted for labourin because the people who voted for labour in the last election were a hugely eclectic mix. you have left wingers, you know , long left wingers, you know, long life labour voters, many of whom genuinely believe that even talking about reducing

immigration is almost racist in itself. and then you have sort of people in the shires, people who you would normally think of as as true blue conservatives, perhaps, who felt so fed up with the conservative government at the conservative government at the last election that they decided to vote labour. their stance on immigration will be very different. and as boris johnson pointed out in the mail on sunday, yesterday, 34% of the general public actually believe that although they don't agree with what the rioters are doing, they believe that they have a legitimate cause in worrying about the effects of uncontrolled migration. so what is keir starmer going to do about that? if he can possibly , about that? if he can possibly, manage it, he will avoid all conversation about it and just carry on talking about throwing these rioters in prison . that's these rioters in prison. that's ground where he feels far more comfortable. >> and olivia , wherever are the >> and olivia, wherever are the conservative party out with this? because it doesn't seem to be much in the way of opposition, apart from perhaps elon musk. >> well, absolutely. i mean , >> well, absolutely. i mean, elon musk has been very, very vocal indeed on social media. >> he was roundly criticised

this morning by a member of the labour cabinet, jonathan reynolds, paymaster general, and, and there will be others who, who will, storm in with their criticism of musk, too. as for the conservatives, where exactly are they? i mean, it's a very good question. at the moment. they seem to be pretty wrapped up in their own leadership contest and not too concerned about what's going on. i think there's also a little bit on the conservative benches to get involved in this debate now, as it does feel as that, as though it's getting very toxic indeed. a couple of days ago, sadiq khan, the muslim mayor of london, said that he felt unsafe in london and actually pointed to conservative former ministers, including suella braverman and lee anderson, who he believes have stoked up the rhetoric on immigration. it could be that conservative leadership contenders at the moment think that it is easier to put their heads down and let keir starmer make his own mistakes, rather than risk wading in and avoiding controversy.

>> well, >> well, time >> well, time will >> well, time will tell, >> well, time will tell, olivia, but thank you very much for that update. that's our very own olivia utley there. i'm joined now in the studio by the former conservative special adviser , conservative special adviser, charlie rowley. charlie, thank you very much for your company. where are you at on that question of where the conservative party is on all of this? because sir keir starmer's numbers are plummeting, surely it's ripe for a good old kicking? >> well, it should be. >> well, it should be. >> and that's why i think, you know the conservative party. once it gets a new leader , once it gets a new leader, shouldn't hang around in trying to be that figure that, you know, can speak and articulate for the country where you need to hold the government's feet to the fire going on too long. >> this leadership contest. >> this leadership contest. >> i do you know, i, i do think it is a slightly too long. i mean, i think you know, the in terms of the polling figures for, for the labour party, i mean, we have to remember that i don't think there was this huge groundswell of support for labour anyway because turnout was so low. obviously they were able to secure a huge majority, and that's one thing. but in terms of actual, you know, the

numbers of people that turned out to endorse the labour party and how the labour government deaung and how the labour government dealing with the issues like we're seeing now , i think we're seeing now, i think there's no surprise that, you know, popularity is only going in in one direction. and but i think when you do have a, a new government that's come in that hasn't been in power for 14 years where they have, you know, there's a lot of low hanging fruit, if i can put it like that. lots of things have been said about you from the labour party, from labour frontbenchers, where i think you do need a leader of an opposition to be able to capitalise on it as quickly as possible, obviously allowing a time for reflection and licking our wounds and sort of, you know, analysing why the conservative party didn't do as well as it would have hoped. but i think those questions are obvious. you know, really it's not you don't need a great penod not you don't need a great period of time to work out that if you say you're going to cut immigration, you should probably do it. if you're going to stop the boats, you should probably do it. if you're going to cut taxes, you should probably do it. so. so there are a few things that weren't going well for the tories, plus the internal divisions and all the rest of it. but you know, we've now moved on. there is a government now, a labour government now, a labour government that isn't tackling the crisis that we're seeing

across the country and that has been reflected in that poll from the telegraph, which is why we do need a strong leader of the opposition to fill that void how. >> now. >> well, speaking of a leadership of the conservative party yesterday, the over the weekend, boris johnson has intervened in his daily mail column, he suggested that sir keir starmer needs to go on houday keir starmer needs to go on holiday to sort of re clarify everything. but i'm wondering where does boris johnson find the goal to lecture sir keir starmer on immigration when , starmer on immigration when, under boris johnson's leadership, the country saw record levels of immigration? >> well, i think, you know, it's a fair challenge and i think, you know, boris would, was trying to, i think, sort of point out the, the way in which the police and the criminal justice system have handled the prosecutions and the charges of those that have been taking part in the riots. and i think, you know, boris was effectively saying, look, you know, sir keir is has no real part to play. he's very ineffectual. he may as well go on holiday and let the sort of, you know, the institutions and the criminal justice system do its work as it

should, because he's not influencing it at all. there's been to be seen, other than turning up to, but i'm not sure in a good direction. well, quite. and not sort of articulating the very real problem that we've got to the conversation we've got to have with the country. so it's no good necessarily just turning up to a particular part of the country to go and visit a mosque , country to go and visit a mosque, for example, to replicate a particular part of the community within the country. everybody has a an opinion and a varied opinion and very strong opinions about migration in this country, particularly illegal migration. so you've got to be able to, i think, as prime minister understand that and be able to say to the country, look, we have to have a serious conversation about immigration. it's been too for too high long. you can easily say the tories have failed in that department. i'm going to tackle it. and there is a fine line between protest or a very clear line, i should say, between protest and then thuggery and what we've seen on the streets. and so it is right that some of these people are prosecuted, but then there is a wider conversation about the state of the nation, if i can put it like that,

because, you know, is there a do we have a policing system in this country where it does seem to take a more of a light touch approach? and even during the protests, we've seen police leaders talking about working with community leaders, in particular communities , and to particular communities, and to say that they have sort of policed themselves and therefore we don't need to turn up. well, that's completely wrong. it should be fair , fairly applied should be fair, fairly applied across the board, the policing system and the criminal justice system. and so when you see examples like that, of course it makes people anxious and it makes people anxious and it makes people anxious and it makes people very upset. you know, there's no justification for taking it out on religious institutions or for attacking the police directly or setting to fire any other shop. that's got nothing to do with the problem. so that is a line that has been crossed. and so there's no justification for the rioting. there's no justification why people are out there on the streets as they have been over the last few weeks. but it's an explanation as to why for so long, people in this country feel as though that particular issue , immigration, particular issue, immigration, hasn't been dealt with. and so, you know, tensions have now boiled over in the leadership

election. >> going back to that, priti patel has said former home secretary, of course, she's standing for the leadership. she has said that to leave the echr wouldn't actually be the right thing to do. the european convention on human rights others disagree with that and say that it is the root cause of britain's inability to have border controls. that's going to be an obvious dividing line between leadership candidates. is it not. >> it is. and you've had, tom tugendhat i think, for example, to say he is prepared to leave the hsi if that's what it takes. i think you're right. priti and james cleverly have already said that actually that might not be the approach. i think mel stride has said, that it's you've got to look at the situation . yes, to look at the situation. yes, yes. and there's i think one particular broadcaster only the other week sort of said to mel when they were going through the list of candidates, you know, naming them all, when asked by the public, do you know who mel stride is? the response was, who's she? >> so , so poor old mel needs to >> so, so poor old mel needs to get his name out there a bit

more. i think he's going to have any chance, but but to bring it back to the point, you know, he said, you know, you just need to look at how it operates currently. >> and if it doesn't work, well, in terms of what we want to try to achieve , to do, then of to achieve, to do, then of course you can. you can look at anything. i really hope that for the conservative party, this just doesn't become the biggest distraction. and, you know, whether you stay in the hcr, whether you stay in the hcr, whether you stay in the hcr, whether you leave it, frankly, for me, it's sort of a moot point. i want to see. i think, like most conservatives, just this country doing , you know, this country doing, you know, exercising its already, you know , exercising its already, you know, brilliant muscles and the ability to do things by itself and not pander to and not worry about court processes or worry about, you know, the ramifications if we, you know , ramifications if we, you know, about the echr, whether it's the european union, you know , the european union, you know, the biggest, the most flagrant rule breakers, by the way, of those that are in the eu, the european union, i think were france and italy. so, you know, we should be able to stand up on our own two feet whether we're inside these institutions or not. if it's something that isn't

working for the uk, you should act. and then talk about it later on, not delay processes , later on, not delay processes, not delay, for example, deportation flights because of a foreign court. you can deal with those ramifications after in a, you know, legal sphere. but making sure that this country has the, the, the gall, the bone and the brass to be able to do what it says it's going to do to deliver what the british people of this country have elected that government to do. and if anybody else has a problem with it, okay, we can enter those conversations afterwards. and i think that should just be you know, the situation where we have a leader of the conservative party, the leader of the opposition, that is prepared to do what they say they're going to do and has the ability to therefore manage whatever ramifications there are. >> there are for that. >> there are for that. >> there are for that. >> the state, the british state, can actually put its foot down when it wants to in the shamima begum case, it went all the way to the supreme court. the supreme court said no. what the government did was perfectly lawful . now it's going to the lawful. now it's going to the echr, charlie. so how perverse will it be that if britain ends up in the position where it has used its sovereignty to actually

make a decision and stand resolutely behind said decision only for a foreign court to say, well, actually, you've got to have this person back because you can't just strip her of her nafionhood. you can't just strip her of her nationhood . that would be, would nationhood. that would be, would it not, a real boiling point for the nation ? the nation? >> well, it would be, but it would be just one example and it would be just one example and it would be just one example and it would be one where, you know, i don't think if that is the situation and it's something that the uk hasn't been involved in before, then it's a case of who blinks first. now i'm a huge respect for the legal profession. i know lots of lawyers and people and i, you know, i it is absolutely right that we uphold the rule of law. >> and we i heard a little bird talk. well, you know, i quite like the wig and, but but but but but more than that , it's, but but more than that, it's, you know, there was always, you know, when i was a special adviser in government, you know, there was a bit of a saying that you know, if you get, you know, bad legal advice or if you get legal advice, that's actually sort of, you know, questionable or just sort of, you know, questionable orjust get another lawyer or or just get another lawyer or get a better lawyer because it's about opinions and it's about

interpretation of the law. >> and if you're pushing that particular example that you just made where you have the supreme court of the united kingdom, thatis court of the united kingdom, that is an independent sort of jurisdiction, independent nation state, versus what would be a foreign court or a foreign ruling that, yes, we are a part of, then, of course, you shouldn't just sort of, you know, carte blanche all over and say, okay, we'll listen to the hcr over our supreme court. you've then got to say, well, hang on, these are two different legal opinions. we can continue to fight it. but until that point, the uk is not going to accept someone back into the country or return that citizenship which has been stripped, which was a decision by the home secretary, someone who you would hope is more briefed on national security matters than either you or i or any other pundit or any other observer listening. so they've made that decision . that's the made that decision. that's the right decision. and, you know, we can fight about it later on. but you know what the uk says goes, well, charlie, i think you've just found a long lost backbone. >> not for yourself . >> not for yourself. politicians, politicians , but politicians, politicians, but charlie rowley. thank you very much for that analysis. now

folks, for all the best analysis and opinion on that story and more, you can go to our website gbnews.com right folks, we're going to take a short break. you're with me, darren grimes on gb news coming up. we're going to be discussing our meghan markle and prince harry being manipulated . by the colombian with a trip next week. we'll have more on that after

a very warm welcome back to the weekend with me, darren grimes. now meghan markle and prince harry are reportedly being used dunng harry are reportedly being used during their royal tour of colombia. the duke and duchess of sussex are scheduled to visit next week. however, many colombians are sceptical about the visit and worried that meghan and harry might be

exploited as part of a pr strategy by the government. well, joining me now to discuss this is the former bbc royal correspondent, michael cole. michael, always a pleasure. my friend. i'm wondering, is this a sign of the most vehement naivety , naivety, >> good afternoon darren. >> good afternoon darren. >> i think the duke and duchess of sussex should be concerned , of sussex should be concerned, thatis of sussex should be concerned, that is because , they have only that is because, they have only their celebrity to sell and they must be careful not to sell it too cheaply . too cheaply. >> and where they sell it. >> and where they sell it. >> and where they sell it. >> and colombia at the moment, with its president, gustavo petro, is a government that is mired in controversy. >> and some degree of scandal. now, i believe that the duke and we see him there would actually benefit by having the expertise of buckingham palace at this moment around him, because

before there's ever a royal visit anywhere, darren, there's careful consideration and research done . research done. >> and it is true that the late queen, the prince's grandmother, had very few regrets. but she did regret the state visit by nicolae ceausescu, the tyrannical president of romania, when he came to britain on a state visit in 1978. in fact, when he was wandering around the gardens , ceausescu, the queen, gardens, ceausescu, the queen, was said to have hidden in a bush that she didn't have to talk to him. well, 11 years after that state visit on christmas day , ceausescu and his christmas day, ceausescu and his unlovely wife were both shot by a firing squad by outraged, romanians. now when these visits take place, they do give credence to any particular regime that is being visited . regime that is being visited. and i think there is a danger. certainly the colombians seem to think there's a danger that

their being their celebrity, their being their celebrity, their good intentions, their willingness to help underprivileged people and to do goodin underprivileged people and to do good in the world is being undermined by, as you say, a certain naivety , certain naivety, >> and, michael, i wonder then you mentioned there that the their success currently entirely depends on their celebrity. do you think that's sort of dwindling ever so because, i mean, the fact of the matter is they're still having to hype up new interviews and new ideas of getting things done. the podcast was a total flop. i mean, is the independent sussex future in peril? >> well, you make a very good point. celebrity wears very thin, very quickly and america is a very different place. you know, america wants what's new, they want the next big thing. the question is, what are you doing now? this country, the united kingdom, and ireland, they're the home of nostalgia .

they're the home of nostalgia. that's where the old stars that used to be come here and appear in pantomime and do other things. america wants something new. and if you're not coming up with something new, you're old hat, to use a good expression . hat, to use a good expression. but to get back to colombia, they were invited by a vice president whose name is francia marquez, and she is the minister of equality and justice equity. and she has been described as a and i quote now a the biggest fraud on the black community because she writes around in helicopters and she's been accused of instead of paying attention to her job, but doing attention to herjob, but doing up the house that she wants to live in rather than the official residence for the vice president . residence for the vice president. so i think they've got to be careful. very, very careful indeed. britain is very careful about these things because there's many people out there , there's many people out there, malevolent and mischievous, who would prefer to use the prestige

and celebrity of the royal family for their own ends. and that, of course, is what prince harry, to a very large extent sacrificed when he decided in 2020, with his wife and young son to very peremptorily run away, first to canada and then to california, which may have been her preferred destination all along. so in a way i feel a bit difficult, a bit a bit sympathetic for them because i think they're probably innocents abroad and they don't realise what geopolitics is going on in the background. and how they may be used. >> yes, i mean, michael, just very briefly, if you would, one of our viewers has asked, well, has this royal tour of if it's been billed as such, been approved by the either the palace or the government? because, you know, it does seem to be being billed as an official visit. >> well, that viewer has a very good question, and i think the definitive answer is no, because they do not refer to buckingham palace about anything they do or

say. >> well, i mean, that is quite extraordinary in and of itself. one another viewer says a markle and windsor embark on a new leg of their worldwide privacy tour, so we'll leave it with that. michael, thank you very much for your company as ever now, i'm still joined in the studio by former conservative special adviser charlie rowley charlie. you dashed out to the shops when harry released his book, didn't you? >>i you? >> i did, i did from a cut leaf and a pint of milk, i should imagine, because i wouldn't be. >> i wouldn't be buying that, available from all good libraries, i should imagine. so audible is it audible that they're going out there trying to do good in the world, or do you think it's incredibly naive and they're simply being used as sort of, you know, nice little puppets? i mean, there is a level of naivety there, but i also think it's, i think what's so, you know , interesting i

so, you know, interesting i think if you can use that word about this particular story, is that what are they going to do, >> and i, i don't think if we were being a fair society, if we're being fair on clearly some one and a couple who have broken away from a family that they were once a part of no longer, it's been a very, very public spat. it's been a huge international story where there would have been all kinds of pressures, i'm sure, on all sides. but if you then want to start a new life, if they that's what they're doing, that's what they've claimed. and if you want it to be in charity and in helping good causes across the world, because you've got a lot of experience just from growing up within the royal family, a hugely popular international institution , an internationally institution, an internationally known institution, then fine, then go and do it, but i don't know what they're doing in colombia, and i don't think anybody knows what they're doing in colombia, and i'm not sure they know what, and i'm sure they know what, and i'm sure they do know they're just going on tour. yeah. and you think to yourself, well, what good is that going? how is that going to help a in colombia in any way.

how is that going to better any of our view of the world, if they're going to do any kind of media which no doubt they will, what is the point? and i think that's where it becomes slightly problematic, because if you, as i say, if you just want to have a new life where you are, you know, going to take on injustices, if they were going to colombia to cause a stir because there might be a problem with the government, or to challenge inequality or to challenge inequality or to challenge poverty or to challenge poverty or to challenge a particular person, then that's fine. perhaps the country might let you in. they might not, but at least you're drawing attention to something that actually is where they do have a platform, an international platform where we can all sometimes sit up and listen . they should be using listen. they should be using that, i think, for the greater good, not just their own, need or ego massaging , you know, or ego massaging, you know, whatever. just to go on a trip, just seems without a point, gathering their own nest. feathering. exactly >> well, charlie, i mean, just finally on that, i wonder, as a former government adviser , do former government adviser, do you see any foreign policy issues with the fact that it has

been billed essentially as a royal tour? and actually, they're still billed as the duke and duchess of sussex. their royal highnesses? is there an issue there when you're going around foreign countries with sort of sketchy, administrations ? sort of sketchy, administrations? is there an issue there that actually it looks official, but it ain't. >> yeah, absolutely. it will be a headache, i'm sure, for the foreign office and a on a particular level because, you know, that is the diplomacy department for the united kingdom. that is the one that would be advising the majesty back in the day, and certainly his majesty now. and royal visits to what is, you know, perhaps right, what should be avoided and the fact that there hasn't been any kind of conversation you allow perhaps a, you know, a tyranny or a government that is obviously, in trouble or whatever the situation is, whatever country they're visiting, whatever charity, whatever organisation, if it hasn't gone through those checks and balances, you allow that organisation or that particular country to throw it back into the uk's face and

certainly to the wider international community to say, well, hang on, we can't be that bad at tyranny or we can't be that bad an oppressive government. we've just had the duke and duchess of and you will play duke and duchess of and you will play on, on their titles and play play on, on their titles and play on, on their titles and play on their visits. so it would be a headache for the uk and its diplomacy efforts on the international stage. well, there we are, charlie rowley on their secret privacy tour , so thank secret privacy tour, so thank you very much for that. >> we'll be getting more from him throughout the show. you're with me. darren grimes on gb news coming up as the top prosecutor in the country warns serious offenders of the nationwide riots actually face ten years, ten years in prison . ten years, ten years in prison. we're asking, is that justified? that's to come after your headunes that's to come after your headlines with sophia wenzler. >> darren. thank you. it's 134. >> darren. thank you. it's134. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your headlines, president zelenskyy has for the first time acknowledged that ukraine is conducting a military

offensive inside russia's western cursed region. the surprise operation, which began five days ago, has taken russia by surprise and prompted mass evacuations across both sides of the border, russia's defence ministry has said. air defence units destroyed 14 drones and four ballistic missiles over the cursed region this morning. meanwhile, ukraine says it destroyed 53 russian drones dunng destroyed 53 russian drones during an overnight strike back in the uk, the justice secretary, shabana mahmood, has warned that the impact of the riots seen across the uk could be felt for months and years to come. hundreds of people involved in the riots are now set to appear in court, as a top prosecutor has warned they could face ten years in prison, business and trade secretary jonathan reynolds says the government is prepared. >> yes, there is sufficient capacity in the prison system because of decisions that were made in the early days of the new government. we have seen, i think, 780 arrests, 350 people

charged already, and there will be more to come. and it will be the case that people will face the case that people will face the full force of the law. i think it's important that the pubuc think it's important that the public see not just a judicial system that's working well, but effective public services again in britain . in britain. >> in other news, two migrants have died after their small boat got into difficulties in the engush got into difficulties in the english channel this morning. french and british vessels rushed to the scene after the migrant boat got into trouble. more than 50 people were rescued and transferred to a french support vessel, maritime sources believe around 500 migrants have attempted to make the crossing today, with as many as 400 reaching uk waters . and artist reaching uk waters. and artist banksy has confirmed he painted swimming fish onto a city of london police box. the look they look like an aquarium and it was first spotted this morning. this is the seventh new artwork to be revealed in the capital in many days. those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm sophia wenzler more in half an hour 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

>> welcome back to the weekend with me, darren grimes. now, folks, the top prosecutor in england and wales, stephen parkinson, has stated that hundreds more individuals involved in the recent riots will be brought to court with the possibility of facing up to ten years, ten years in prison for the most serious offenders. he anticipates a significant increase in charging decisions as police initiate a new phase of cases, while gb news, west midlands reporter , award winning midlands reporter, award winning reporter it has to be said jack carson has been out and about

asking for your opinions on the story and i'm delighted to say that he joins me now. jack, always a pleasure, my friend. what have you been hearing ? what have you been hearing? >> well, it really is quite a mixed reaction. of course, you know, we've seen this violent disorder on the streets over the past few weeks, and keir starmer said that courts would be open to be able to fast track these people through them, to be able to get them charged, get them sentenced quickly. and these comments are coming from stephen parkinson, who's the head of the crown prosecution service, is reported in the sunday times. you know , talking about the you know, talking about the amount of people that are still coming through the system, that will still be coming through this system for months that have been involved within the disorder and the protest that we've seen in the last few weeks. but he's talking now, as you mentioned, darren, about this new phase that's going to include more serious charges with stiffer penalties. now, a lot of the people that we've seen set charged and sentenced quite quickly in the last few in the last week really have been charged with violent disorder.

now, that carries a maximum sentence of up towards five years. so that's why this this new kind of, you know , charge of new kind of, you know, charge of rioting, which the crown prosecution has said that they are going to be charging more people with so much more serious offence, that, of course, can have, an imprisonment sentence length of ten years in prison. so he's talked about the fact that he warned of these consequences. that's what's being reported, that he said that he warned about the consequences, saying that they're going to deliver those consequences and he says it's not about exacting revenge for him. it's about delivering justice. of course, this has all been a big part of keir starmer's plan to almost use how quickly these people are being, you know, from from being involved in some kind of violent disorder to being sentenced to being charged and to being sentenced, trying to use that very much as a deterrent as well. but how is it going down with members of the public? i've been speaking to a few here on birmingham high street today. here's what they've told me. >> i think the question should

be who's getting sentenced? because if that's consistent across the entire people across the uk, then that's fine. but i think the biggest challenge is, you know, when we look at about the riots, is everyone getting treated . fairly? probably not. treated. fairly? probably not. i think what i've noticed and what i can see is different communities are getting treated differently and that's not fair. >> i think if people are going to do this sort of thing, yeah, then they must be prepared for then they must be prepared for the consequences. you know, normal people. well, i say everyone is normal to a certain extent. and if people want to go about doing their own business and people are going to keep writing , it's making other writing, it's making other people uncomfortable. so if the punishment is there for the crime, then they'll have to serve it, won't they? and if that's what the government need to do to make these people realise that, you know, you can't just go around doing what you want to do then. then they'll have to take the prison term, won't they? and i think that's fair. i think that's fair for everybody. other people just want to go about doing doing their own business and enjoying life, you know, and if these people are going to try stopping them, it's not right, is it?

>> i think it'd be, well, it's way too much because the government is concerned about financial gains and the actual debt as a country, and they're trying to claw back money. well, if you send one person to prison, i think it's about average, about £80,000 a year to look after one for one year. so it's ten years. it's like nearly £1 million. well, that's actually ridiculous . so we send actually ridiculous. so we send 100 away to prison. that's an awful lot of wasted money. i mean, there's got to be other ways of actually dealing with this situation than actually sending people to prison. and i think they're going to do better by because is it going to benefit him? no, it's not long term. he'll probably make them worse . woi'se. >> worse. >> because it's an important point, really, that that last person makes about the cost, of course, that that it takes, you know, to be able to imprison someone. how much? of course. and if you're if you're imposing these longer sentences , of these longer sentences, of course, that is going to cost a lot more within the system, particularly , of course, with particularly, of course, with the government. you know, rachel reeves admitting about the financial problems that they're facing. so, of course, we've already heard about the long term fallout that these, you know, disorder is going to have,

particularly with pushing back already a big backlog of cases within the criminal justice system. but the head of the prosecution service warning that there are stricter, tougher sentences coming for those that were involved in that violent disorder. >> right. thank you very much , >> right. thank you very much, jack carson. there's a very excited crowd behind you , and excited crowd behind you, and all i can say is gb news brings out the crowds. that's what it is.thank out the crowds. that's what it is. thank you very much , jack. is. thank you very much, jack. that was jack carson there in birmingham. i'm still joined by the former conservative special adviser, charlie rowley. charlie, i think they were there for you. >> well, i you're too kind , but >> well, i you're too kind, but i think the viewers of all kinds flocking to the channel the first man that jack interviewed as part of those interviews with the public, he said that actually he's worried that certain communities are being treated differently to others. >> now, that is a narrative that is starting to really break through . and are you worried through. and are you worried that faith in institutions will dwindle as a consequence? right. have the government got to get

this right? ten years in prison for a riot when actually sometimes we let people out that have had a knife and actually managed to kill someone, being let out in less time than that, it starts to look a bit malicious. >> it does. and the government's got to be careful because it's got to be careful because it's got to. in a situation like this where you have riots on the streets, you've got to be taken seriously and you've got to be credible in what you say. and i think, look, does anybody believe that someone is going to believe that someone is going to be sentenced to ten years in prison, even if they are, which seems extremely unlikely, unless you really do commit an absolutely awful offence , then absolutely awful offence, then you'll be let out in five. and if not five, it'll be reduced to, you know, a third. or do you know what i mean? so you know what actually believes that someone is going to serve ten years behind bars. so the government has to talk tough. it's done the right thing in order to get the criminal justice system working way in which people are going to court as soon as possible. and it is therefore having a ripple effect in terms of the deterrent. so i do think it's had an impact where people have suddenly

realised, oh, right. if i turn up to this riot or think about rioting, i could end up actually in court on monday. so it's not going to be a long process, you know. so i think it's had an impact . but know. so i think it's had an impact. but there is know. so i think it's had an impact . but there is a know. so i think it's had an impact. but there is a problem with public perception. if it is the case that people are seeing, different communities or different communities or different individuals being treated in a different way, the one thing that we all want in this country, you know, the one thing that makes us all proud to be british is just that sense of fairness. and when things like this appear, not to be fair. and so when you see, for example, maybe the police feeling more able because there's less fear of being called racist or there's less fear, about sort of getting into trouble with the community or upsetting a particular community, whether it's religious or otherwise . it's religious or otherwise. then it's very easy just to go and arrest maybe someone who is white british, as opposed to someone who isn't. >> well, they've had instructions from community leaders, whatever that means . leaders, whatever that means. >> exactly. and i don't berate the police necessarily. look,

the police necessarily. look, the people on the front lines, you know, the men and women, they are there in the riot gear. they are doing a good job. but when you do see, you know, exactly as you say, you know, the police talking to community leaders to self—police themselves when you get an anti—protest that turns up with weapons and the police say, just leave them in the mosque and we won't arrest you, that is two tier policing. you wouldn't see that in any other walk of life, in any other situation in this country. so the police really do.the country. so the police really do. the police at the top need to get a grip on what the situation is on the ground and make sure that it's fair for all. >> i couldn't agree more. charlie rowley thank you very much. now folks, you're with me. darren grimes on gb news coming up, the 2024 paris olympics come to a close today, but have the games been a success? that opener was a bit of a something r , wasn't it? we're discussing after the

break. welcome back. it's the final day of paris 2024 and great britain end with 65 medals to beat their

tally from tokyo 2020 by one. very good stuff. joining me now is sports broadcaster chris scudden is sports broadcaster chris scudder. chris would you say it's been a success? >> as far as the parisians and the france are concerned, very much so for britain, a bittersweet, i think , today, bittersweet, i think, today, because you just mentioned 65 medals, which is very good considering that team gb were tasked with getting between 50 and 70 and a place in the top five of the medals table. >> one of those things has happened, but sadly the second one hasn't. it looks as though britain are going to finish in seventh place, and the reason for that is , despite that very for that is, despite that very healthy haul of 65 medals, is that the golds by which it's all measured, we've not been quite so good, only 14 this time. >> and consider, that in recent games they've been, well into the high 20s in gold medals, just a few too many have not converted from gold as from from silver and bronze into the gold medal position . so a seventh medal position. so a seventh place finish. maybe not. what

britain were looking for, but when you consider that the highest ever overseas total of medals was 67, in rio, which was very successful for britain when they finished in second place in they finished in second place in the medals table at 65, is not to be sniffed at. >> yes, i mean , looking going >> yes, i mean, looking going forward, does this set us up quite well for when they, the olympic games travels to america? you know we are each time the olympics comes around, we're getting more gongs. are we not? >> yeah. i mean, the way it works, the funding system in britain is that from the lottery funding is that if your sport doesn't deliver medals, you have your funding cut, which is quite brutal. but that's the way it works, you know. and if you if you, if you're a very successful in a particular sport, then your funding goes up. so it kind of, you know , you get a perpetual you know, you get a perpetual thing really where the very successful sports like rowing and cycling and track and field do get a lot of funding. and those which don't deliver, you

know, then struggle. but you know, then struggle. but you know, i suppose that's giving it a competitive edge. i will say though, i mean the, the cyclists this time, you look at britain's total of gold medals in the last, in tokyo is three. in rio they got six in london, seven gold medals. if they got that, this time, britain would have beenin this time, britain would have been in third place in the in the medals table, only one delivered this time. that's a bit disappointing even though. and it does it does show you the strength of the british team. they've got eight medals, but four of those bronze, three silvers. and because of that , silvers. and because of that, they finished top of the medals table in terms of numbers but not the golds. >> thank you very much for that. we've done very well. you're with me, darren grimes on gb news after the break. we've got plenty more to come. i'll see you then . you then. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . solar sponsors of weather on. gb. news >> hello, welcome to your gb

news. weather update from the met office. plenty of warm sunshine on offer today. hot and humid for some of us tomorrow with the risk of thunderstorms in the north—west. looking at the bigger picture, we've got an area of high pressure across the uk, low pressure out towards the west and this is helping drive south easterly winds, bringing up that warmer air. so through the rest of this evening plenty of late evening sunshine. we'll see a breeze picking up. so some gusty winds along the south and west with thunderstorms moving their way north and eastwards. so mainly affecting parts of northern ireland. we've got a thunderstorm warning here and across northern england and scotland as well , so some scotland as well, so some torrential downpours are expected. it is going to be a warm and humid night tonight. temperatures possibly not even dropping below 20 degrees. so an uncomfortable night for sleeping. looking closer into the detail then through monday morning and we've got that thunderstorm warning in force across parts of scotland. so a heavy band of thundery rain is going to be pushing its way north and eastwards, so expect

some disruption from this with gusty winds and some frequent lightning and possible hail too. turning dry across northern ireland and elsewhere, many places are seeing a dry and bright start. perhaps some cloud across all western parts as well. so through monday morning rush hour across scotland, this band of heavy, thundery rain is going to be moving its way north and eastwards. there could be some thunderstorms at further towards the south of this as well, so take care if you are out and about early hours behind that turning drier , brighter and that turning drier, brighter and fresher as well. but towards the south. highs here of up to 34 degrees. so

>>a >> a very good afternoon on this gorgeous day, but not gorgeous enough for you not to be watching gb news. so thank you very much for your company folks. it's 2:00 on sunday the 11th of august. this is the weekend on gb news starmer's

popularity. it slumped in the wake of nationwide riots. this comes as the top prosecutor in the country warns the most serious offenders face a whopping ten years in jail. i'm speaking to royal experts as locals fear meghan markle and prince harry are being manipulated with that unofficial royal trip to south america next week. is this whole entire thing a pr exercise for the colombian government and billie eilish, snoop dogg and the red hot chilli peppers are among those expected to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2024 paris olympics. have the games left you jumping for joy or running off to turn the telly? i'm darren grimes and this is the weekend .

the weekend. now this show is absolutely nothing without you and your views. let me know your thoughts on all of the stories. we'll be discussing today by visiting gbnews.com. forward slash kwasi. lots of conversation going on already. come and join it now. keeping me company on today's show is the former labour party adviser matthew laza, and former conservative special adviser. that was a tongue twister. charlie rowley . but before we charlie rowley. but before we get stuck into today's stories, here's the news with sophia wenzler . wenzler. >> darren. thank you. good afternoon. it'sjust >> darren. thank you. good afternoon. it's just gone 2:00. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. president zelenskyy has for the first time acknowledged that ukraine is conducting a military offensive inside russia's western kursk region. the surprise operation, which began five days ago, has taken russia by surprise and prompted mass evacuations across both sides of the border.

russia's defence ministry has said. air defence units destroyed 14 drones and four ballistic missiles over the region this morning. meanwhile, ukraine says it destroyed 53 russian drones during an overnight strike. military analyst sean bell says there are three main reasons for ukraine's offensive planes got very long border with russia . border with russia. >> undoubtedly it'll put russia on the back foot. secondly is to demonstrate that russia is not in control in this conflict at the moment, that actually there is a there are two sides here. and thirdly, just imagine the morale for ukrainian fighters that are actually starting to take the fight into russia. now many i spoke to a ukrainian the other day who said they wanted to see a ukrainian flag planted in moscow . in moscow. >> the justice secretary has warned that the impact of the riots seen across the uk could be felt for months and years to come. shabana mahmood made the remarks in a piece in the observer. as courts have been have been working to extend hours to deal with rioters. it

comes as a 15 year old boy has become the first child to be convicted for his part in the violent disorder in sunderland . violent disorder in sunderland. meanwhile, hundreds of people involved in the riots are now set to appear in courts as a top prosecutor has warned they could face ten years in prison. business and trade secretary jonathan reynolds says the government is prepared. >> yes, there is sufficient capacity in the prison system because of decisions that were made in the early days of the new government. we have seen, i think, 780 arrests, 350 people charged already, and there will be more to come , and it will be be more to come, and it will be the case that people will face the case that people will face the full force of the law. and i think it's important that the pubuc think it's important that the public see not just a judicial system that's working well, but effective public services again in britain . in britain. >> meanwhile, the education secretary says children will be taught how to spot extremist content and fake news online in the wake of the riots. bridget phillipson said she's launching a review of the curriculum in both primary and secondary

schools to arm children against putrid conspiracy theories. it comes as sir keir starmer has suggested the government will review social media laws as more sentences for online offences unked sentences for online offences linked to the riots are expected . linked to the riots are expected. meanwhile, the funeral of southport stabbing victim alice da silva aguiar is about to begin today at a local church in the area. the nine year old was killed alongside two others at a taylor swift themed dance class on the 29th of july. in other news, two migrants have died after their small boat got into difficulties in the english channel this morning . french and channel this morning. french and british vessels rushed to the scene after the migrant boat got into trouble. more than 50 people were rescued and transferred to a french support vessel. maritime sources believe around 500 migrants have attempted to make the crossing today, with as many as 400 reaching uk waters . the today, with as many as 400 reaching uk waters. the housing secretary has dropped conservative plans to prevent recently arrived migrants from

applying for a council house in england. the previous government had planned to introduce a uk connection test, which would have restricted social housing to those who've been a resident for at least ten years. but angela rayner has scrapped the plan and vowed to ramp up the provision of new social homes as part of a wider planning reforms to boost housebuilding. it comes as almost 1.3 million households are on local authority waiting lists for social housing, and artist banksy has confirmed the painted swimming fish on the city of london police box is his. it looks like an aquarium and it was first spotted this morning . this is his seventh new morning. this is his seventh new artwork to be revealed in the capital in as many days. those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm sophia wenzler more in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone , sign up to 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 as ever, sofia. let's get stuck into today's topics. now, sir keir starmer's popularity has dropped like a very heavy stone following criticism of his handling of recent riots in britain. polling for the telegraph shows a sharp decline in approval ratings, with a notable increase in the number of voters with a strongly unfavourable view of the prime minister criticism has been directed at his slow response to the unrest, including a delayed decision to hold a cobra meeting. and there has to be said, the subsequent press conferences that have followed. well joining me now is gb news political correspondent olivia utley. well, olivia, all i can say is you got married not that long ago. i hope your honeymoon was nicer than his. >> well, actually, it was very rainy in the yorkshire. >> no, sure if it was , but yes. >> no, sure if it was, but yes. keir starmer's honeymoon period

seems to have come to an end with a bit of a bang. >> his approval ratings have absolutely plummeted as a result of his response to the riots. lots of people saying that he didn't act quickly enough, he didn't act quickly enough, he didn't call a cobra meeting for a whole week. for a while, it looked like he wasn't going to cancel his summer holiday with his family, although now he has decided that he will be cancelling that holiday. at the moment, keir starmer's strategy to deal with these riots has been to basically get as many people in prison as possible. he's kept the courts open for much longer. this was something which we, the courts backlog , is which we, the courts backlog, is something which has plagued the country since the beginning of the covid lockdown. it seemed like there was no solution to it . like there was no solution to it. well, keir starmer seemed to have whipped a solution out of the hat because now the courts are sitting for very long days indeed, 500 people have been arrested, about 150 people have already been charged. so it'll be tough for keir starmer to hear these accusations that he

hasn't been tough enough on the rioters. he certainly thinks he's been very tough indeed. i think what's also going to be very difficult for keir starmer going forwards is, is there going forwards is, is there going to be a big national conversation about immigration? because at the heart of it, that's what these riots have been ostensibly about. the immigration crisis. and actually, although almost nobody, almost no sort of ordinary brits sympathise with what the rioters are doing. quite a lot of people do sympathise with their cause. about 34% of people are quite sympathetic to the idea that there is too much immigration in this country. will keir starmer begin to address that problem in the coming weeks? it sounds from interviews that he did last week, as though he'd really rather talk about almost anything else. >> yeah, i mean , olivia, just >> yeah, i mean, olivia, just just briefly on that point, the express are actually saying, before i take this to my panel, the express are saying that reform , pose a significant reform, pose a significant threat to the conservative party

still. i mean, we've sort of forgotten about that post election, but will that be on the minds of the conservative politicians, not just, you know, sir keir starmer's dwindling popularity? >> well, i think definitely it feels at the moment as though we're witnessing a battle or quite a quiet battle, but a battle nonetheless. for the heart and soul of the conservative party. there are plenty of conservatives who think, as a result of their appalling election defeat, it's time for them to move to the right to talk more about issues like to immigration, perhaps adopt some of reform's policies on immigration. lots of conservatives who are deeply worried about the fact that a lot of those in a lot of seats where they lost the margin that they lost by was smaller than they lost by was smaller than the reform vote in those seats, which you could simplify as saying, well, if all of those reform voters had voted conservative, they would have done an awful lot better. that said, there are lots of conservatives in the party at the moment who point out that the moment who point out that the lib dems won an unprecedented 72 seats,

unprecedented 72 seats, unprecedented in modern times. i should say, at the last election. and if the conservatives had swept up just half of those again, they would have done a awful lot better. although they still wouldn't have won. so those conservatives who are arguing that actually perhaps it's time to sort of tack more to to the the centre and not give in to some of reform's demands, it'll be really, really interesting to see where that battle goes. and we shouldn't have too long to wait now. >> no. and i mean, it's got to be said, you know, the reform party came a strong second in many labour constituencies. you know, so the threats on both sides, i think . but gb news sides, i think. but gb news political correspondent olivia utley, thank you very much for your analysis there. now, joining me in the studio, we're going to be discussing senior tories fearing that there is that real prospect of the party being replaced by nigel farage's reform uk, with britain heading for a pivotal moment in politics. former brexit minister david jones very good man, warned a well issued a warning

that his party must actually earn the backing of voters across the country after what was its worst result at the ballot box last month. in over 100 years. well, let's see what my panel make of this. former labour party adviser matthew laza and former conservative special adviser charlie rowley . special adviser charlie rowley. charlie, i'll start with you on the threat to reform. then i'll come to matthew. on sir keir starmer's dwindling popularity . starmer's dwindling popularity. but that reform threat, it's worth noting there , isn't it, worth noting there, isn't it, that the labour party faced that threat too. but are you of the view that after five years of this government, if it lasts, that long, people might be like, well, goodness gracious me, i've made one hell of a mistake. is that what you're banking on, >> well, it's the first thing to say is that i don't think, as for the reasons that olivia was saying, you can't view the issues in left and right terms, i think, you know, people want

to . but if you i think, you know, people want to. but if you go i think, you know, people want to . but if you go back to 2016, to. but if you go back to 2016, lots of people, particularly in red wall constituencies, voted to leave the eu. they wanted to leave the eu because they wanted to take back control of their money, their borders in particular, and laws of this country. you know, boris johnson was able to capitalise on that in 2019 when a huge landslide, because of taking back control or getting brexit done . a lot of or getting brexit done. a lot of that was to do with immigration. so in those red wall constituencies that the tories won in 2019, well, and it's been thrown away because, you know, the government subsequently didn't tackle the issue. and so, you know these are labour heartlands. so these aren't traditional, you know, right wing constituencies. but they are people who are considering and do consider to vote reform because of that particular issue. so it's not a left or right divide. immigration is not a left or right. it is just an issue that many, many people in this country care about. and it needs to be dealt with. so i think that's the first fundamental thing to say, but i do think as time goes on, if this current government fails to address the issue, and if you

have , where i think nigel farage have, where i think nigel farage has, he is very outspoken. he is a great orator , but i think his a great orator, but i think his popularity has also dwindled this week just because of his handling, perhaps of some of the riots and perhaps not accepting at the earliest possibility or opportunity that some of the things that he was saying were stoked by you know, fake news as well, that has caused concern for people. so there is a now a question he didn't he didn't, you know, and didn't say anything. and he's entitled. he's entitled to do that. but you know, there are lots of questions that we can ask. but, you know, within the prism and sphere of the actual issue, it was sort of slightly wide of the mark. i think, you know, he's responsible for what he says, and, you know, it will have an impact on how voters robustly on this. he has, you know. absolutely. and viewers will decide and voters will decide. but where you've got perhaps that particular tough talking and that rhetoric which might turn off those tory voters that voted lib dem , where it might voted lib dem, where it might turn off voters, elsewhere, there needs to be a leader of

there needs to be a leader of the conservative party to sort of bring those all those sides back together. but you only do it not necessarily by trying to appeal to the right or to the left or to it is just literally articulating what are the issues that this country faces, what matters to people in this country? what do they care about? and at the moment, we haven't had a serious conversation about immigration. subsequent governments have failed to tackle immigration. the conversation about immigration, we've just not had any action about. exactly. and if it continues down that direction. so if labour failed to tackle the issue, if it only gets worse because there's a new deterrent or a lack of deterrent, if the numbers of small boat crossings only increase if you don't hear anything from ed davey, then there is a void there. there is a gap that could be filled by a sensible conservative leader to articulate the issues and actually have a real plan to tackle it. >> okay, spoken like backbenchen >> hahahahaha. backbenchen >> hahahahaha . thank you sir. >> hahahahaha. thank you sir. >> hahahahaha. thank you sir. >> are you are you worried about the sort of reform threat to

labourin the sort of reform threat to labour in those red wall areas? >> well, i think labour needs to be a conscious of both the threat from reform, but also actually the threat from the greens in other areas as well. >> actually, on immigration. >> actually, on immigration. >> yeah. look, i mean, i mean, i agree with charlie , there is no agree with charlie, there is no doubt that immigration and integration are concerns for millions of voters across the country, not just in the red wall. and so therefore, labour does need to listen to those voters . but it's a does need to listen to those voters. but it's a big difference between listening to the concerns of those voters and listening to what those who've been doing this week claim is the justification for their despicable actions. so i think, yeah, labour should always be conscious of reform, just as it should be conscious of the greens and in scotland of the snp, of course, who were beaten but not vanquished. >> so then , are you concerned >> so then, are you concerned that sir keir starmer's honeymoon is very much over? >> well, i mean, you know, i think is honeymoon is over because of events. i actually don't think that the, the riots we've seen were because of the labour government. they were because of, you know , agitation

because of, you know, agitation taking advantage of the tragedy that we saw. i think they could have happened under, under any government. so, yeah, i think the honeymoon is over, and, you know, in an ideal world, we would have had you'd have had a longer to bed in as a government, but instead i think it's needs to take this opportunity to sort of reset as we go into the autumn. it's awful to think we're going into the autumn. we're in august. but, you know, the sort of politics is like like the school year kind of, you know, starts again in september. and the lead up to the party conferences. and i think he needs to take that opportunity to kind of reset after what we've seen over the last few weeks. i mean, he's a popularity will go up and down. i suspect these polls were taken earlier in the week. there's always a kind of a couple of days lag time when it was, you know, people don't like it, are not keen on a prime minister if there's rioting on the streets. thankfully the actions of the prime minister took meant there was an action. there wasn't rioting on the streets later on. so there may be a bounce back a bit, but certainly it's been a lively start. >> well, charlie mentioned that the criticisms of nigel farage are they're valid criticisms of sir keir starmer for not coming

out and saying could he not have just said, look guys, i know that there is a real raw issue here in the country and people feel it. you know, completely. not everyone went out and burnt things to the ground, you know. but we all do. i, i personally feel quite angry , and i know feel quite angry, and i know that many of our viewers do as well. many of the viewers, according to polling gb news polling voters voted for the labour party. yeah. so, you know, i, i worry that actually he inflamed tensions. dare say. >> look, i don't think i mean, when he talked about, being fuelled by the far right, that was in the first couple of days when there was clear evidence, that, on social media, but also because the usual suspects turned up the kind of the far right were sort of beginning what happened then? we saw people sort of , frankly, you people sort of, frankly, you know, over the last weekend and the early part of last week, we saw sort of, drunk mobs effectively just leaping on the

bandwagon. i think he's absolutely right to have concentrated over the last week on the law and order situation and not to sort of not to seem to be nodding towards those who, frankly, would, you know, would take this , this debate and claim take this, this debate and claim it as their motivation when actually it's just thuggery. i don't think that's the moment to be having a national conversation about immigration and integration. i think now , and integration. i think now, though, as we, as we as, as the, as there's a little bit of water, clear water between the events on the streets and the start of the new political year, that's the moment to acknowledge those concerns. but also, as you say, it's to provide some answers. and labour does want to get both illegal and legal migration down from the record levels we saw under the tories. well, hang on then, because charlie, hundreds of, illegal migrants have arrived today , right? >> that's suggesting that it could be a record breaking year in that regard. there is no deterrent, right. the suggestion seems to be you get here, you'll be granted de facto amnesty to stay in this country. people are just going spare. what do they

do when the ballot box is fundamentally broken and what they keep voting for doesn't happen? you can sort of understand why people are pulling their hair out, screaming at their tellies totally. >> and that's why that's what gives rise to, new political parties. that's why reform acquired over i think it was 4 million votes of the ballot box. that's why even if you're not interested in voting labour because you didn't want it, you voted for the greens. you know, there are there is opportunity or you turn to the lib dems. you know, who got a good number of seats in this election. so it allows alternatives to come into play allows alternatives to come into play , so there is a real worry. play, so there is a real worry. i think about that. but it is just about delivery. you know, and what this government have got to do , they've had obviously got to do, they've had obviously a lot of time in opposition. you know sir keir starmer's leader of the opposition for 4 or 5 years. it's moving from campaigning and headlining to actually governing. and i know that's always a difficult challenge for governments to take when they sort of come into office, but i was chuckling to myself a little bit because the

word reset, i know rishi sunak kind of quite few resets in his premiership, as did i think theresa. so to be having a reset or talking about it sort of three, three, three months, in, three, three, three months, in, three months in, i'm thinking, oh, you know, it could be curtains conversation. it'll be it could be curtains. by christmas. >> don't get me saying like theresa may when she came out, when she resigned and she said, i tried three times, i failed. >> yes, yes, no , i mean, i know >> yes, yes, no, i mean, i know what charlie means in reset is that in politics, reset has that kind of has those connotations. >> i mean, i think this is this is this is more about sort of resetting the conversation than resetting the conversation than resetting the conversation than resetting the government, because clearly any government would be knocked off its course. you know, charlie knows what it's like. the grid of, of policy announcements and visits and speeches has obviously all been thrown out of the window because, and quite rightly, while the entire government focused its energies on combating the riots and protests and the very final thing and it's not, you know , it's not i'm it's not, you know, it's not i'm not blaming the government, but there is a sort of series of events where you, you know, you

come in day one to say, i'm going to scrap the rwanda plan because it's inhumane, it's too costly, and all the rest of it and everybody's got a different view about rwanda. >> but then when you see increases in the number of people coming into the country, you've got to then question, was that the right move? you're then sort of talking about, getting the protesters and the rioters through the criminal justice system a week after saying we're going to release prisoners early. it is not a you know, these are events that but in terms of a strategy, i think the government should probably slow down its announcement making and just concentrate on the issues at hand. and then when it feels confident enough, whether it's about housing, whether it's about housing, whether it's about health, service, education, it should then start to announce those things. >> regina says, can any politician use a calculator? 400 today, probably 4000 minimum a year by boat, 1 million plus on housing, waiting lists, benefits, health care, schooling, crime and they're just piling people onto an island that can't cope. they all need to be held accountable as politicians for this, for the damage they've done to this once beautiful country. and i think that expresses the sentiment of many who are messaging right now. thank you for all of that

commentary though. now for all the best analysis and opinion on that very story and more, you can go to our website gb news.com. folks, you're with me. darren grimes on gb news. coming up, our meghan markle and prince harry being manipulated by the colombian government with a trick next week. we'll have more on that after this

a very warm welcome back to the weekend with me, darren grimes. now meghan markle and prince harry are reportedly being used dunng harry are reportedly being used during their royal tour of colombia. now the duke and duchess of sussex are scheduled to visit next week. however, many colombians are actually sceptical about that visit and actually worried that meghan and harry might be exploited as part of a pr strategy by the government. oh dear, oh dear.

well joining me to discuss this, i can think of no one better is the royal biographer, angela levin. oh, angela, what a fine mess they've got themselves into again. >> well, they've been in an awful mess for years now, haven't they? for years. but part of the mess i would like to tell you, i think is extraordinary that if you didn't, weren't, weren't getting on with your father, if you weren't getting on with your brother, and you really wanted to make it a good, warm, relationship again, you wouldn't do something that would really annoy them to pieces, would you? i mean, i think this is appalling way to behave. there's got no reason to do it. i think they want to do it because they're going to stay in a four figure sum bedroom with all their own pond and all the rest of it. there and i think it's i think it's impossible because it is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, but there is a but on that is that,

sophie went to meet the same woman that, meghan is meeting the vice president. >> fancy marquez, to talk about women who are not treated very well. >> and she wanted to try and help her and suggest it. what could be done. so that was in 2023. i was absolutely astonished when i read that, because she's very close to the royal family and they wouldn't want harry and meghan to do that, but they obviously don't seem to mind sophie doing that. so it can't be absolutely as bad as everyone's trying to prove. but it's very, very dangerous. i mean, the vice president francia has people have been trying to kill her several times and that is with actual protection. so for them to do this, particularly that they're so keen that they have top rate protection in the uk and they

don't think it's good enough to them . so they're coming to one them. so they're coming to one of the worst countries in the world for safety. so, you know, what do you make of that i think is a way to slice the king again, to be unkind, to be very difficult and to make him furious, colombia is not in the, in the commonwealth, but nonetheless, it's a very dangerous thing to do. >> and so what's your take, then , >> and so what's your take, then, on normally with these kinds of visits, if the their royal highnesses, the duke and duchess of sussex wanted to go on some foreign trip, you would have to receive, put in the request to his majesty's government and of course, the palace itself. now, as far as we know, none of that has happened, right? >> no, but they didn't do that when they last went to africa. two months ago. they didn't do that. so this is causing all sorts of foreign policy headaches, isn't it? yes. the

other one place did call lots of foreign policy headaches because the man whose plane they borrowed and you know, they won't go anywhere unless they have a private plane , it was have a private plane, it was owned. he i think it was £20 million. he owned in america, and they were trying to get hold of him. so it doesn't look good if you are there. they're not representing the royals, but they're trying to represent the royals. and you look like, you know , someone who is actually know, someone who is actually a criminal or, you know, you sort of wonder what's going on, what's happening to the to us in london, if you're behaving like that, you cannot, unless they break themselves completely. they haven't got the right to do that. and i think this will be very annoying. it was very, very upsetting for the king and infuriating for william. >> all right. yeah. i'm going to bnngin >> all right. yeah. i'm going to bring in charlie rowley and matthew laza, who will join me now. i mean, charlie, the fact of the matter is, what angela is

saying there is that they continue to cause headaches. should it should they not have lost their royal titles to begin with to avoid this being an issue? >> i think that's probably right. and i think, you know, we do like things slightly more black and white in these circumstances. you're either in the royal family or you're not. and so this sort of halfway house that they've been able to have. so having the title still or you're using the titles still as the duke and duchess of sussex, all the while bringing out an autobiography that sort of slams and criticises your own family, where you have fallen out with your father, who is you know, the head of state, you know, the head of state, you know, not just for us, but, you know, not just for us, but, you know, across the commonwealth, you know, it's trying to have all of the perks of the royals, the royalty that they were part of, without any of the responsibility and without any of the, ways. and means of just how the family operated. so they have a platform, they have to use it responsibly . but i think use it responsibly. but i think there will come a time, actually, where king charles may

just have to say, you know what? enoughis just have to say, you know what? enough is enough. if they're going to do things off their own back, which is going to be detrimental to the uk, or to make it even more difficult for the uk, so the foreign office might have an issue with a country in which they've decided to visit, and that country will use it to their advantage to say, well, we've just had a royal visit, even though they're not royals or working royals, then that will be complicated at some point. >> matthew, as a labour man, are you sort of annoyed on behalf of the government that actually they're causing these kinds of sort of diplomatic nightmares? >> well, i think people may think that, you know, i think meghan might hope with her sort of her political stance that a labour government might be more sort of pro them. but i think you're absolutely right. whatever the government, the colour of the government in power, they are going to have issues with a pair who are trooping around the world taking foreign policy into their into their own hands, because at the best, they're going to be naive. and as we've seen, they can be exploited either by governments, potentially like colombia or by rich people who lend them a plane to try. and you know, whitewash their own curry favour or whitewash their own reputation. >> the problem is that you can't

it's not up to king charles to take away their titles. it has to be done through parliament. and if they take away his titles, he still remains a prince and she will become a princess. and i don't think they necessarily want that either. it's very, very difficult to handle it . i it's very, very difficult to handle it. i think the fact that they've drawn back , rather than they've drawn back, rather than trying to have open doors all the time, they're not closed, but they're not, you know , is to but they're not, you know, is to try and work out something to do. it's quite enough now. and this is a game. i think they'll love it. they'll go to every single country they can find thatis single country they can find that is actually inappropriate because it's punishment. and meghan in particular is determined to take a, you know , determined to take a, you know, to be very powerful. and yes , to be very powerful. and yes, revenge. yeah. >> and well, revenge is the word isn't it. yes. and, that's it's really depressing, actually , really depressing, actually, because, you know, at the end of

the day, it's a family. it's a family that doesn't a grandfather that doesn't see his grandchild children, and it's, it's sad at its very core. yes. >> and so they can't get together because you can't fulfil a hole in, in an argument in just ten, 15 minutes. no, you needit in just ten, 15 minutes. no, you need it for weeks. and they're not ever going to come for that. >> angela, thank you very much. as ever for your time. matthew and charlie, thank you to you to . and charlie, thank you to you to. right. you're with me. darren grimes on gb news coming up as the top prosecutor in the country warns serious offenders of those nationwide riots face a whopping ten years in jail. we're asking , is that justified? we're asking, is that justified? that's to come after your headunes that's to come after your headlines with sofia . headlines with sofia. >> darren. thank you. it's 233. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. your headlines, president zelenskyy has for the first time acknowledged that ukraine is conducting a military

offensive inside russia's western kursk region. the surprise operation has prompted mass evacuations across both sides of the border. russia's defence ministry has said. air defence ministry has said. air defence units destroyed 14 drones and four ballistic missiles over the region. this morning. meanwhile, ukraine says it destroyed 53 russian drones dunng it destroyed 53 russian drones during an overnight strike. the justice secretary, shabana mahmood, has warned that the impact of the riots seen across the uk could be felt for months and years to come. hundreds of people involved in the riots are now set to appear in court , as now set to appear in court, as a top prosecutor warns some could face ten years in prison. business and trade secretary jonathan reynolds told the told us the government is prepared. >> yes, there is sufficient capacity in the prison system because of decisions that were made in the early days of the new government. we have seen, i think, 780 arrests, 350 people charged already, and there will be more to come, and it will be

the case that people will face the case that people will face the full force of the law. i think it's important that the pubuc think it's important that the public see not just a judicial system that's working well, but effective public services again in britain , meanwhile, hundreds in britain, meanwhile, hundreds of mourners have gathered for the funeral of nine year old alice da silva aguiar, who was killed in a mass stabbing at a dance class in southport. >> the nine year old was killed alongside two others at the taylor swift themed dance class on the 29th of july. and two migrants have died after their small boat got into difficulties in the english channel this morning. more than 50 people were rescued and transferred to a french support vessel. maritime sources believe around 500 migrants have attempted to make the crossing today, with as many as 400 reaching uk waters. those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm sophia wenzler more in half an hour 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

>>a >> a very warm welcome back to the weekend with me, darren grimes. now nana akua will be live on gb news from 3:00. and she's joined me in the studio . she's joined me in the studio. nana everyone needs their nana. what have you got coming up for us today? >> i love it darren. that's one of my back in the day. an old promo look. i'm feeling a touch of the cove. it's ten years for protesting. i mean, you remember all the lockdown stuff? i'm getting in touch with that. so i'm going to be asking you whether you think ten years is a reasonable. or is it a good deterrent? do you think it's a good deterrent? i mean, your thoughts on that? i don't agree in protesting in terms of rioting and things like that. so a deterrent of some sorts is definitely needed. but is that good enough? is that long enough or is it a bit of a ridiculous

stretch? then lots of things happening with regard to the labour party. they're doing different things. i'm asking you, are the labour party doing a good job in your view? you've got angela rayner who's looking to, reverse some of michael gove's plans with regard to, housing migrants and housing lists. we'll be talking about that. plus, i've got, gymnast, sky diver now . he's a high sky diver now. he's a high diver. and also stunt man. and his name is nick staines. he will be joining me, as in my big interview. we've got a lot to get through. we're talking about russia, ukraine, all of that with my brilliant panel. >> goodness gracious. nana loads coming up . thank you very much coming up. thank you very much for that. we look forward to it. that's nana akua there. coming up at 3:00 now, folks. the top prosecutor in england and wales, stephen parkinson , has stated stephen parkinson, has stated that hundreds more individuals involved in the recent riots will be brought to court. now there's a possibility of facing up to ten years in jail for the most serious offenders, and many of you messaging me are asking,

you know, where are these kinds of sentences? for some of the most egregious criminals that commit the most awful things are they actually being applied disproportionately? well, stephen parkinson anticipates a significant increase in charging decisions as police initiate this new phase of cases. gb news west midlands reporter jack carson has been out and about asking for your opinions on the story, and i'm delighted to say he joins me now. jack, what are people saying ? people saying? >> well, it really is splitting opinion here on birmingham high street because of how extreme maybe to some that idea of ten years is of course, these are comments coming from stephen parkinson, who's the head of the crown prosecution service , crown prosecution service, talking really about the new kind of phase that he's calling it, of these people that have been charged, that have been unked been charged, that have been linked with the violent disorder that we've seen in the past few weeks, he said that, you know, a lot of these people that are

involved in these riots are still starting to come through the court system in the coming weeks and this new phase of more serious charges, it's thought he said, with stiffer penalties. these comments are coming in a in a report from from the sunday times. now, many of those already charged and sentenced within the disorder that we've seen have been charged with violent disorder. now that carries a sentence of only up to five years, many of those people that we've already seen, charged and sentence have been maybe sentenced to something like 32 months or between 2 and 3 years, typically that we've seen over the past week. but because of this new phase, as it's being called, of people being of charged, people being arrested and charged because of their involvement in the disorder that we've seen across the country that charge of rioting comes with a bigger sentence, comes with a bigger sentence, comes with a bigger sentence, comes with a sentence of up to ten years. now, mr parkinson is quoted as saying in the times that they warned of the consequences and that this is simply delivering those

consequences. he said it's not about exacting revenge, it's about exacting revenge, it's about delivering justice. keir starmer had talked about trying to fast track people through the court systems, even having them open 24 hours if necessary, to use it almost as a deterrent. it seems to have worked to some degree. he would say, because of the lack of protests that we've seen, certainly from the people that have, of course, been causing the disorder over the past week. plenty of counter protests to that argument, but of course, not necessarily as violent as we've seen over the past few weeks. so for him, really, the prime minister will be thinking that this is working. this is acting as a deterrent. but what are people on the street thinking about that idea of possible ten year sentences for those people that might have been involved in that violent disorder? we caught up with a few people earlier on. >> i think the question should be, who's getting sentenced? because if that's consistent across the entire people across the uk, then that's fine. but i think the biggest challenge is ,

think the biggest challenge is, you know, when we look at about the riots, is everyone getting treated fairly? probably not. i think what i've noticed and what i can see is different communities are getting treated differently, and that's not fair. >> i think if people are going to do this sort of thing, yeah, then they must be prepared for then they must be prepared for the consequences. you know, normal people. well, i say everyone is normal to a certain extent. and if people want to go about doing their own business and people are going to keep rioting, it's making other people uncomfortable. so if the punishment is there for the crime, then they'll have to serve it, won't they? and if that's what the government need to do to make these people realise that, you know, you can't just go around doing what you want to do then. then they'll have to take the prison term, won't they? and i think that's fair. i think that's fair for everybody. other people just want to go about doing doing their own business and enjoying life, you know, and if these people are going to try stopping them, it's not right, is it? >> i think it'd be, well, it's way too much because the government is concerned about financial gains and the actual debt as a country, and they're trying to pull back money. well

if you send one person to prison, i think it's about average, about £80,000 a year to look after one for one year. so it's ten years. it's like nearly £1 million. well, that's actually ridiculous. so we send 100 away to prison. that's an awful lot of wasted money. you know, there's got to be other ways of actually dealing with this situation than actually sending people to prison. and i think they're going to do better by because is it going to benefit him? no, it's not long term. he will probably make them worse . woi'se. >> worse. >> so yeah, a few different mixed reactions from the people that you heard there. of course, one person making the point about how it depends who is being sentenced, feeling that maybe there has been a lack of consistency across the policing , consistency across the policing, across these protests. now, the national police chiefs council have said that more than 770 people have been arrested over rioting, more than 340 of those already charged, plenty of charges expected still to come. but a turn in attention away from not just those people that maybe had been in attendance at the riots, but the npcc saying

that specialist officers had been ordered and tasked to start pursuing online offenders influencers they say, that are responsible for, quote, spreading hate and inciting violence on a large scale. so much of that, of course, that attention coming towards those people that are online as well. shabana mahmood, the shadow, sorry, the justice secretary, saying that this is going to have a long term fallout because of those, of course, these new people now being sentenced, going to the prisons, they've already been problems with capacity beforehand. of course, there's going to be a long term fallout from all of this disorder . disorder. >> absolutely. jack, thank you very much for that update. and i do apologise to viewers for that , do apologise to viewers for that, well, little salute that we saw there on camera. now, folks, you're with me. darren grimes on gb news coming up. we're going to be getting into the 2024 olympics. coming to a close today. olympics. coming to a close today . have those games been a today. have those games been a success? didn't start all that well did they? depending on your opinion, we'll be discussing that after this

welcome back to the weekend with me, darren grimes. as i mentioned before the break, it's the final day of paris 2024 and great britain ends with 65 medals to beat their tally from tokyo 2020 by one. but has it been a memorable tournament or one to forget? well, joining me now is sports broadcaster and journalist aidan magee hayden will you be tuning in with gusto? ready to watch the closing ceremony? do you think it's been a roaring success? >> i thought i might watch it just to see tom cruise just climbing down, climbing down the stade de france. i mean, it's interesting because they've decided to reintroduce the stadium for the closing ceremony. it was nowhere to be seen in the in the opening ceremony. and that's because it was an off the peg olympics. this was the olympics that paris wanted to do in london 2012. they didn't really build anything. roland—garros was

already there for the tennis. stade de france was built there for the back in 1997. in readiness for the 98 world cup. the velodrome was already there. sustainability is more important now. they're built for the olympics of around about 8.8 billion. is roughly what london paid in 2012. so what london were able to do was envelope the stadium. what's now the london stadium into the opening ceremony, whereas they didn't have that option in france because they'd built all this stuff already. they had to work, work around it. so the opening ceremony was, was was pretty good.i ceremony was, was was pretty good. i think that was it was divisive. well, it was divided. it was divisive, it was divisive. it got people talking down. that's what the if i, if i had just spent 8.8 billion of taxpayer cash and then i got some i think half of that i think be jesus christ, i'd be a bit like, i think i think only half of that went on. went on. selena. well, yes. >> yeah. and lady gaga, of coui'se. >> course. >> yeah, exactly. >> yeah, exactly. >> for some reason she was singing on her own. yeah, yeah. >> the boxing gender became the story of the olympics and that , story of the olympics and that, that, that will have besmirched the games in some ways. i would have thought the pollution in the end was very unedifying for

paris. someone vomited when they did, i did it was it was an issue from from day one. they spent £1 billion trying to dredge that. so i mean goodness knows what it was like before that you had the food , the that you had the food, the stories of the food not being up to scratch in village. i mean, you know, where was the fromage? you know, we associate food with france, don't we? for goodness sake. and then there was the crap medals as well. the terrible medals that somebody, somebody moaned about. their bronze medal was like when i bought a fake gucci watch in turkey in 1999. it looked golden on the airport at the airport i got back home, it suddenly turned green. so it was one of those. it was. there are little things that kind of punctuated the games, which, you know, maybe might , the games, which, you know, maybe might, might be dulled in, in the fullness of time. but if we look at the actual sport on the ground, i think it was a really a decent game for britain. for britain. yeah, i'd say so. i mean, you know, they, they were projected by uk sport to get between 50 and 70. we should remember though, it's no fairy tale. we put billions of pounds into this of lottery money since the late 90s, early 2000, ever since john major decided we should spend on sport. so these athletes are going to gain better prepared than than they've ever been.

it's not like back in the 90s where they were more famous, but somebody as celebrated as kriss akabusi couldn't quite get, couldn't quite get a gold. i mean, they were all opening supermarkets. now household names are on question of sport. you would argue now that a lot of our competitors are not as not as well known as they would be. i mean, i could list a whole load of competitors now who've got medals, and they wouldn't be known to people in the street. whereas back in, back when i was a kid, that's why they're all on only fans and things like this these days. i haven't seen them. i haven't seen no, no, i can't say i haven't subscribed. >> make him rush. what's absolutely what's only fan. oh well, i'll tell you. >> i'll tell you at the break. >> i'll tell you at the break. >> i'll tell you at the break. >> i seen it as a success, matthew. so i've been interested that there was quite a lot of scepticism within france, partly because it's a political crisis in france. >> and so the poor prime minister, they just had these parliamentary elections and the macron's prime minister was going to have to go. but he held on because they need to have stability in the game. so i think overall i think the french have done it. but i think the french up the food is though . oh yeah. >> oh well, yes. to put it in french. in french, in your. >> oh i see, i see, yes i wonder

yes that bombshell. we're going to leave it there aidan magee. >> thank you very much . coming >> thank you very much. coming in matthew laza you won't be ianed in matthew laza you won't be invited back at this week. and charlie rowley, thank you very much. thank you very much , much. thank you very much, matthew. thank you for that. you've been with me, darren grimes and gb news don't go anywhere because your nana's up next. i'll see you next time . next. i'll see you next time. >> looks like things are heating up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on . gb. news weather on. gb. news >> hello! welcome to your gb news weather update from the met office. plenty of warm sunshine on offer today. hot and humid for some of us tomorrow with the risk of thunderstorms in the north—west. looking at the bigger picture, we've got an area of high pressure across the uk, low pressure out towards the west and this is helping drive south easterly wind bringing up that warmer air. so through the rest of this evening plenty of late evening sunshine. we'll see a breeze picking up. so some gusty winds along the south and

west with thunderstorms moving their way north and eastwards. so mainly affecting parts of northern ireland. we've got a thunderstorm warning here and across northern england and scotland as well , so some scotland as well, so some torrential downpours are expected. it is going to be a warm and humid night tonight. temperatures possibly not even dropping below 20 degrees. so an uncomfortable night for sleeping. looking closer into the detail then through monday morning and we've got that thunderstorm warning in force across parts of scotland. so a heavy band of thundery rain is going to be pushing its way north and eastwards, so expect some disruption from this with gusty winds and some frequent lightning and possible hail too. turning drier across northern ireland and elsewhere, many places are seeing a dry and bright start. perhaps some cloud across all western parts as well. so through monday morning rush hour across scotland, this band of heavy, thundery rain is going to be moving its way north and eastward. there could be some thunderstorms at further towards the south of this as well. so take care if you are out and about early hours behind

that turning drier , brighter and that turning drier, brighter and fresher as well. but towards the south highs here of up to 34 degrees. so feeling very hot and humid. and there still is the risk of the odd thunderstorm across the east as well. so through monday evening many places are seeing a dry end to the day. plenty of late evening sunshine as well. and then as we go through tuesday, still holding on to some warmth across the southeast but turning more changeable with temperatures generally around average by by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of

>> good afternoon. it's just coming up to 3:00. welcome to gb news. we're live on tv, online and on digital radio. i'm nana akua and for the next few hours me and my panel will be taking on some of the big topics

hitting the headlines right now. this show is all about opinion. it's mine, it's theirs. and of course it's yours. we'll be debating, discussing and at times we will disagree. but no one will be cancelled. so joining me for the next few hours, broadcaster and author christine hamilton and also broadcaster and adam brooks is something else i can't remember. right. coming up, ten years of protesting, i'm getting a touch of the covid lockdown deja vu. thenin of the covid lockdown deja vu. then in my niggle, i'll be discussing the utter hypocrisy of the so—called peaceful counter protests, which saw our crew being attacked by a peaceful protester coming up, nicholas danes , gymnast, high nicholas danes, gymnast, high diver and stuntman. he's performed over 50 stunts in loads of different movies . performed over 50 stunts in loads of different movies. he's joining me for the interview. but before we get started, let's get your latest news with sam francis . francis. >> nana, thank you very much and good afternoon to you. it's just after 3:00 and the top story

this hour, the funeral of