has stormed into the for department transport today demanding the same pay rise as the aslef union got. now, keir starmer says more people should work from home, which means fewer people using the railways. presumably are the unions now taking starmer for a mug.7 >> yes. and the mystery of the sunken superyacht . the captain sunken superyacht. the captain has now spoken out for the very first time. he says that he didn't see this tornado coming, but british tech tycoon mike lynch and his 18 year old daughter are still sadly missing. our reporter, adam cherry, is on the scene as it emerges that mr lynch's business partner also died after being hit by a carjust a few days hit by a car just a few days before queen slammed trump. >> a bombshell new biography claims the queen thought trump was very rude and had some kind of arrangement with his wife , of arrangement with his wife, melania. but is it disrespectful to the to queen publish a private conversation? meanwhile, king charles is meeting with survivors of the southport stabbing attack. we'll bring that to you live .

that to you live. >> yes, well, loads on today, but i think this idea of mick lynch now predictably storming into the department for transport, demanding the same pay transport, demanding the same pay rise that the aslef union has got. i think starmer is probably going to have to give it to him. well, i mean, considering the huge donations that have been given to labour mps ahead of the general election, those that got elected back in july also to the labour party as a whole. >> i mean, it does seem it does smack a little bit of corruption. you know, you get the money from the trade unions. doesit the money from the trade unions. does it make it harder to say no? then when they come asking for more cash, when they come asking for better working conditions and the like ? i mean, conditions and the like? i mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? really? and this, this kind of line that we hear from ministers, well, this is cheaper giving these pay rises is cheaper than all the disruption we've experienced. well not if they then come back asking for more. yeah. >> no serious questions to answer. there and that is the question that we are going to be posing, you know, is keir

starmer taking the knee to the unions. we want you to send in your views and post your comments to us as well. you can go to gbnews.com forward slash your say. you can obviously get on to us on twitter as well @gbnews. so that's the question for us to kick start the show i think. do you think that keir starmer has taken the knee to the unions? >> yes. but first your headlines with sam. >> patrick. emily, thank you very much indeed. 12:02. and the top story this lunchtime. rescue efforts are continuing . day two efforts are continuing. day two in the search for six people missing at sea. after that, british flagged superyacht sank off the coast of sicily. among those unaccounted for are the british businessman mick lynch. mike lynch and his daughter. we also now know that morgan stanley's banking boss, jonathan blumer, and clifford chance, lawyer chris morvillo are also among those missing. 15 people, including the wife of mike lynch, have been rescued, though after the vessel capsized during intense storms yesterday. well

marco tilotta, from the palermo diving unit, has claimed they are now facing significant challenges reaching the wreck some 50m under the water. >> difficulties of the case are dictated by the depth that does not allow for long working times. so you understand well that the conditions of the hull are tilted in a 90 degrees. access to the hull is difficult. if you manage to get inside the hull, you understand well the inside there is a world of objects so penetrating inside and descending into the compartment below from the stairs that are narrow and going into all the cabins is a really hard and difficult job. >> well, meanwhile, the co—defendant of the british businessman, mike lynch, who is one of those currently missing off the coast of italy , has died off the coast of italy, has died after being hit by a car.

stephen chamberlin was killed while out running in cambridgeshire at the weekend. both men had recently been acquitted of fraud in the united states relating to the sale of mr lynch's software company to hewlett—packard for £86 billion in the us. joe biden became emotional as he delivered a farewell speech to the democratic national convention last night. the us president was seen wiping away tears as he addressed crowds on the first of addressed crowds on the first of a four day event in chicago. kamala harris will be formally declared as the party's candidate for the election later this week. mr biden says she is the right choice for america. let me ask you , are you ready to let me ask you, are you ready to for vote freedom ? for vote freedom? >> are you ready to for vote democracy and for america ? let democracy and for america? let me ask you, are you ready to elect kamala harris and tim walsh ?

walsh? >> and turning to news from the middle east. now, israeli officials say they have recovered the bodies of six hostages taken by hamas in the october the 7th attacks. the idf claims its forces carried out an overnight operation in southern gaza to try to rescue as many captives as possible. though it does appear, as i say, they have rescued the bodies of six. meanwhile, the us , egypt and meanwhile, the us, egypt and qatar are currently calling on hamas to agree to a ceasefire proposal. after that deal gained the backing of israel. last night, america's top diplomat antony blinken says it's now a decisive moment. but we're just heanng decisive moment. but we're just hearing from the reuters news agency that hamas have responded in a statement to that possible deal in a statement to that possible deal. they're saying the us's recent remarks are misleading. they say it doesn't represent the stance on reaching a gaza ceasefire , and hamas also saying ceasefire, and hamas also saying it goes against a previous agreement made on july the 2nd. so at this stage, it appears hamas are not going to move

forward with that deal. we'll bnng forward with that deal. we'll bring you any more details on that as we get it to the us now. and intelligence officials there say iran was behind a hack on donald trump's election campaign. it follows allegations tehran tried to infiltrate personal email accounts of around a dozen people linked to the former president and joe biden. the fbi and other federal agencies say the operation was designed to stoke discord and undermine confidence in democracy. here, rmt boss mick lynch has arrived at the department for transport earlier to discuss a pay offer with officials. here's what he had to say was overheard . say was overheard. >> well, we're having a meeting. we'll see how we get on. >> hopefully the deal . >> hopefully the deal. >> hopefully the deal. >> jayson molumby mick lynch there saying he is hopeful for a deal there saying he is hopeful for a deal, but at this stage it is just a meeting, he said it comes as the boss of that union says that workers want the same terms as those offered to aslef train

drivers, which was a 15% three year backdated pay rise. even then, though, their members working for lner are currently threatening a separate strike over working agreements . the over working agreements. the number of drug related deaths in scotland increased by 12% last yean scotland increased by 12% last year, figures released today show 1172 people died, reversing a trend of improvements seen since the peak in 2020. the national records of scotland found the country continues to have the highest rate of drug deaths in europe . young people deaths in europe. young people suspended from secondary school are reportedly twice as likely to be out of education of university or employment compared to their peers, a new report by the education policy institute found that those suspended even just once, are more likely to experience poor outcomes between the age of 19 and 24. that's as government figures show the numbers in england have reached a record high, with almost 800,000 pupils

suspended in the last academic year. suspended in the last academic year . the suspended in the last academic year. the final 31 ted baker stores are closing today after the company behind the fashion chain collapsed back in march. more than 500 jobs are now at risk, and they include jobs at locations at heathrow and gatwick airport , london's regent gatwick airport, london's regent street in bath, york, and in portsmouth. and finally, the king is visiting southport today to meet some of those affected by the fatal stabbings of three girls last month. his majesty is expected to meet some of the survivors of that attack and to thank emergency staff for their work in both the aftermath of that tragedy and the riots, which followed. our reporter cameron walker is in the town for us with plenty more on that throughout the rest of the day . throughout the rest of the day. those are the latest gb news headunes those are the latest gb news headlines for now. i'll be back with you 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 . slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it is 12:09. i'm going to start with that story that's been gripping the nation. divers have entered the nation. divers have entered the sunken superyacht as the hunt continues for the missing passengers, with experts dubbing the operation very complicated indeed. >> yes, british tech tycoon mike lynch and his daughter are among six tourists missing after this luxury yacht sunk in a tornado off the coast of sicily. >> well, the british registered 56 metre bayesian had 22 people on board when it went down after apparently being struck by a tornado, while a body believed tornado, while a body believed to be that of the vessel's cook has been found . has been found. >> yes, divers are now combing the waters as that search continues around the wreck. 50m

underwater now. so far, 15 people have been rescued, including the wife of mike lynch and a one year old girl. >> yeah, well, gb news reporter adam cherry is on the scene for us. adam, thank you very, very much. but what do we know about what's happened there? really? and the rescue operation that's currently taking place ? currently taking place? >> yes. so as you said, they're still searching for, i believe, six people. i've just arrived here on the port in porticello, where on monday morning the ship sunk or the yacht sunk. and in the last few minutes, i've seen a few more police cars and emergency services and fire crews arrive here. over my left shoulder. there's a helicopter, a fire service helicopter, and several ambulances and other emergency personnel here. and this area is all cordoned off. so this is where they're working as we speak. and literally a minute ago, another another police car arrived . and the most police car arrived. and the most astonishing thing is coming here really is that this is such a peaceful and beautiful area. and

it's incredible that just over 24 hours ago, there was something so horrific like this, a tornado no less. i mean, the weather here is now perfectly calm, so it feels like the most tragic and awful, calm, so it feels like the most tragic and awful , misfortune tragic and awful, misfortune here. really, patrick. >> yes. and, adam, there's been all sorts of talk of how this could have happened. of course, people talking about this freak tornado, essentially, that just hit this yacht. there were other boats that were nearby that weren't so badly impacted or. impacted at all. really, it does seem as though this was just the most incredible freak accident . most incredible freak accident. >> that's right. it's horrible. and as we heard in the bulletins, it's been very difficult for them to access the boat. they are making some progress , but given the way it's progress, but given the way it's landed, it's landed on the seabed and the debris and furnishing furniture within the vessel, it's proving very tough. we haven't found anyone else since yesterday. a body was found yesterday, but no more progress on that at the moment. but of course, this is an ongoing operation. more police

and emergency services are arriving by the minute, so hopefully there will be more progress soon, but at the moment we're in a bit of a holding pattern . pattern. >> yeah, indeed. alan, thank you very much. we're going to be getting regular updates there from adam cherry, our reporter on the scene. so if there are any developments, then we'll go back to adam straight away. i know that the captain of that boat was tracked down to a hotel room nearby. spoke out for the first time today. he just said, look, we didn't see it coming. and obviously if it was one of those freak weather flashpoints, then you can completely understand that. i mean, there are other elements to this story, aren't there? which is that mike lynch, his former business partner as well, was sadly his co—defendant and co—defendant in one of these, you know, quite epic court cases. that was taking place over the sale of his former business in america was hit and killed, hit and killed by a car just a few days ago whilst out jogging just a few days ago whilst out jogging in cambridgeshire. >> yes, apparently he was just out jogging and a car collided with him and he was fatally injured, but we're going to bnng injured, but we're going to bring you, as patrick says,

we're going to bring you some more updates as and when we get them, because this rescue operation is very much ongoing. and as we said, it seems to be extremely complicated given the size of the yacht and how deep it is underwater. >> yeah, we will get some developments for you as soon as they come in, but moving on is they come in, but moving on is the new labour government now bending the knee to the unions after a series of bumper pay offers, the rmt union's mick lynch has been seen storming into the department of transport today with most likely a blank cheque from the government to sign off on okay, okay, so he was walking into the into the department. sounds better though, doesn't it? >> storming you know mick lynch. he's got a big personality. he storms, he storms. but is this what we should expect from a cabinet who received hundreds of thousands of pounds in union donations? i mean, honestly , how donations? i mean, honestly, how can the prime minister and the chancellor say no to the people who donated around 2 million to the party? is that what this is all about? >> yeah, including members of the cabinet and indeed, sue grey's son as well. and now sir keir starmer wants to see more

people working from home. so who's going to pay for these empty trains operated by very expensive train drivers and train guards? you have the labour government now fallen into a trap or even capitulated to their union mates. >> well, we're joined now by gb news political correspondent olivia utley. it's quite a sight seeing mike lynch walking into the department for transport or storming in whatever you'd like to use, just off the back of aslef being offered this 15, 14, 15% pay rise, he wants the very same for his members, doesn't he? and do you expect keir starmer will agree to it ? starmer will agree to it? >> well, i don't think we can be surprised at all that mick lynch is asking for exactly the same pay is asking for exactly the same pay rise as the aslef union received this week, and i think we can expect to see other unions demanding similar already. the royal nursing college is demanding the same pay college is demanding the same pay rise that was given to junior doctors last week and the worry, of course, is that we end

up in a spiral where pretty much every public sector pay worker goes to keir starmer, demanding to get the same sort of pay rises that train drivers and junior doctors received last week. that is exactly what the conservative government warned about. it's a really tricky one for keir starmer because obviously he desperately wants to bring an end to the public sector chaos, to the strikes that have gripped the nation for the best part of two years now. and as you say, there is a little bit of an element perhaps, of the labour party being perhaps a little bit at the mercy of some of these unions because of course they do donate to the party. mainly, though, keir starmer said again and again during the election campaign that he wanted a politics that treads more lightly on people's lives. and that sort of politics certainly doesn't include strikes that cripple the nation every day. he does need to put an end to these strikes. the only way to do that, it seems, is to give these bumper pay rises. but of course, then he lands himself in another

trap over and over again. throughout the election campaign, keir starmer and rachel reeves said that they wouldn't be raising taxes for ordinary working people. that means they're in a bit of an economic straitjacket. they really don't have much money to play really don't have much money to play with, and if they start offering inflation busting pay rises to all public sector workers, they will have to either break their election promise and start to raise taxes or massively cut public spending in other areas, at which point they would of course , be accused they would of course, be accused of bringing back the sort of austerity that george osborne brought in in the 2010s. keir starmer and rachel reeves find themselves in a real bind here, and the conservatives are sounding quite gleeful today. >> i can imagine they are. yes, indeed. olivia utley, thank you very much. you'll be keeping us up to date. we'll probably get some kind of announcement from mick lynch and the rmt. i would imagine, maybe in the next hour or so. so there we go. gb news political correspondent olivia utley now for a bit more of kind of the political commentary on this, we've got the spectator's political correspondent, james hill, and james, i've been

reading some of your work with quite a lot of intrigue because, you know, the allegation is just allegations. but of, you know, cronyism and corruption or some kind of jobs for the boys type scenario here, it's looming large really over the labour party at the moment . quite party at the moment. quite significant donations from the unions, including one to none other than sue grey's own son, who now i believe does work at the department for transport. i mean , he got promoted very mean, he got promoted very quickly. it's almost like maybe he knows someone at the top, isn't it? but james, just talk to us about some of the questions that are whizzing around at the moment about the labour party. >> well, i think right now the danger is, of course, there's a wage price spiral, really, which is that you know, one trade union came to getting a big pay bump. a lot of the other trade unions start to want to get the same thing. >> so right now, i think aslef's settlement last week has encouraged some to go for that. >> also, the junior doctors got 22%. it's no surprise, therefore, that the royal college of nursing wants a similar settlement. the british medical british medical

association is also now getting involved. so i think the key thing right now, patrick, is people responding to incentives. and to be fair to the unions, you can kind of see why, which is that hang on a second. if other members are getting big pay other members are getting big pay bumps, they all want the same thing. so the danger for rachel reeves right now is that all of this spirals out of control. otherwise, there's also things in concern about whitehall over the summer, of course, labour claimed to be rewiring the whole state to kind of serve their missions. these were the big missions they got elected on. so right now there's a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes, and all of it is in keeping, perhaps with the spirit of labour's election pledges made just six weeks ago and james, why on earth is keir starmer talking about working from home in such positive terms, saying it's great for productivity and we need to end the culture of presenteeism and all of this at the same time as giving a pay rise to the railways, which we know aren't making enough revenue. >> as before, the covid pandemic, they were, and he's also giving pay rises to train drivers at exactly the same time as telling people that they can just work from home. i mean, it doesn't make sense to me. james makes sense of it.

>> well, i mean, it says a bit of a mockery, doesn't it? slightly of that growth, growth, growth mission. you know, they came in day one. they said , came in day one. they said, we're going to grow the economy. we're going to have wave a magic wand and sort of do away with the past ten years if it was that easy. and yet, of course, the first six weeks in office, labour have done a series of things which, frankly, you have to say will not boost productivity. you have this big package to the unions now being promised in a way in which you can have the right to disconnect. what about for instance, if a business needs a vital piece of information from that worker or a tool missing around the factory, something like that. these are all questions, you know, and you somehow will not be able to contact your employee about that. so i think there's big, big questions right now about how this right to disconnect is going to work. how will these different measures are adding more layers of regulation to business, more red tape. and i frankly think that, you know, the danger is they're getting all obsessed about the unions and people who are, you know, the producers of the services, the producers of the services, the people who are working on them. what about the consumers at the end of all of this? for the past 15, 20 years or so, since we've had the great financial crisis of 2008, it's been the private sector keeping this country going. if we're giving them too many burdens, i

fear the danger is you're going to have an exodus of capital and declining productivity once again. >> yeah. and just one more final quick one with you, james, because it does also appear that the cherry on top of this cake is that labour are about to make it easier for the unions to actually strike and do away with some of the existing trade union legislation. aren't they ? legislation. aren't they? >> yes, as well as that as well. they've already repealed the minimum service laws. they've got on with that. and that is the big thing the government are planning to do to kind of keep essential services running in the final year of its parliament. i think the key thing everyone will be looking at will be how many strike days were lost in 2023, and how many have been lost in 2028 because labour have always claimed to have a special relationship with the unions, they've said they need this money to kind of get these things settled. actually, it turns out one unions behaviour is encouraging another and i suspect we're going to see more industrial action at the end of this parliament rather than at the beginning. >> okay. well, thank you very much indeed. james heale political correspondent at the spectator magazine. i just don't understand why on earth would you tell people to work from home and that it's fantastic for productivity when our railways only make money from commuters,

they really don't make that much money from people just going down to the seaside or going at the weekend somewhere when the pnces the weekend somewhere when the prices are far cheaper. they need commuters. yeah, makes no sense. >> makes no sense. ties in with the idea of there being no conditions whatsoever attached to this pay rise, you know. so yeah, there we go. well, look , yeah, there we go. well, look, it's one to watch. we'll probably be getting some kind of announcement. i imagine, from mick lynch and the rmt very shortly . shortly. >> but we've got lots more coming up on today's show, including the late queen. she apparently apparently this is in apparently apparently this is in a new biography. apparently she slammed trump, called him very rude indeed. but is it disrespectful, actually for a biographer to reveal the details of what could have been a private conversation? stay with

us. welcome back. 1224 is the time

now. a new biography has claimed that the late queen elizabeth found former president donald trump to be very rude, particularly during their meetings. >> so the late monarch also reportedly speculated about the nature of his relationship with melania trump. but it kind of got me thinking a bit. really got me thinking a bit. really got us both thinking, didn't it? well, firstly, is this really true? but secondly, you know, the queen spent her entire life trying not to comment on this stuff. is it now quite disrespectful to hear this coming out? >> absolutely. particularly when she's no longer with us and can't reply. but joining us now to discuss this is royal correspondent michael cole. i mean, michael, we often have these bombshell biographies come out and they say all sorts of things. they make big claims based on alleged private conversations that have gone on. do you think this is the sort of thing that the late queen might have remarked upon? >> good afternoon emily. >> good afternoon emily. >> good afternoon patrick. fascinating stuff. the queen met 13 american presidents. the only one to miss out was lyndon b

johnson. he didn't come here dunng johnson. he didn't come here during his presidency, mr trump came here twice on a working visit, and then on a state visit. and he's always been a great fan, expressing huge respect for the queen. he was, his mother , who came from the his mother, who came from the isle of lewis in the hebrides, was a great admirer of the queen, and he shared that. and he's spoken out from time to time against prince harry. when things about the royal family have been said from california. so apparently this respect was not reciprocated . now, this not reciprocated. now, this story comes from apparently after i think it was the first working visit . the queen was working visit. the queen was having lunch and with her companion on the left or the right, i don't know , and right, i don't know, and expressed these concerns about trump looking over her shoulder to see if there was rather anybody more interesting or important to talk to. well, i suppose the queen was only about three quarters as high as the donald, so perhaps he did

eventually, from time to time, have to look over her shoulder. and then there was this strange remark about, the queen apparently speculating that he had an arrangement. i think it was with his his wife melania, there in the newspaper today where this appears, the daily mail , the doyenne of all royal mail, the doyenne of all royal reporters, richard kay, it says about this story that it's so incredible why he says that is because the queen was always very, very discreet and she would never vouchsafe her private thoughts to anyone other than her most trusted confidantes and close friends, and all those people were in that position because they would never blab or blab about anything. the queen said, or else they would find themselves banished to the equivalent of outer mongolia. so we don't know. but it's fascinating. it's in the book . it will hurt trump in the book. it will hurt trump actually , personally, that's one

actually, personally, that's one of the incidents that apparently she objected to because he stood in front of her. so she had to sidestep to come round on his right hand side. this was during the inspection of the guard at windsor castle. we don't know about it all, patrick raised a very interesting question. or was it you, emily? is it right for people to disclose private conversations? well, i think everybody has their own standards. speaking personally, i had a lot of personal trouble when one private conversation i had with somebody was leaked. but, that happened. that's history. as i say, it depends on your standing and your conscience when it comes to what you say about your friends and associates. >> yeah, well, we'll have to watch this space because. because i mean, if that is what the mail have decided to lead on, it's worth noting that apparently that biography is going to be serialised in the mail. so, you know, it is in their interest, isn't it, to try to drum up as much sensational currency as they possibly can,

but michael, thank you very, very much. it's michael cole there who's the royal correspondent. all the best. see you soon. thank you very much indeed. on a on a slightly different royal story, the king is set to travel to southport to pay is set to travel to southport to pay his respects to those who were affected by the mass stabbing that took place at a taylor swift themed dance school in late july . in late july. >> yes, three children tragically died and a further ten people were injured. following that incident in merseyside. king charles will thank emergency staff for their ongoing support in helping the local community. >> joining us now is gb news royal correspondent cameron walker, who is, i believe, in southport for us. cameron yes, great stuff. thank you very much for joining us. so what are we forjoining us. so what are we expecting then? what's going to happen ? happen? >> you're patrick, we're just over three weeks on now from that horrific attack in southport. and the king is interrupting his holiday in balmoral to travel down here to southport to continue to show his support for the local community here. so his first stop is the town hall, which is the building you see behind me

where he is expected to meet survivors of that taylor swift themed dance class where, tragically, three young girls lost their lives. he's also going to be meeting family members of those survivors. there are many members of the pubuc there are many members of the public who have gathered here around me in just before. of course, his majesty the king arrives. i suspect the king may wish to meet members of the public, but of course, buckingham palace has not confirmed those details. but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if he does a little bit of a walkabout, then he's going to move on to the community fire station, because, of course, the king was asked to be kept, given daily updates on the situation here in southport in the immediate aftermath of the attack. but then, of course, the riots, which were sparked by the attack itself, both here in southport, but then of course across the country as well, and he's going to be meeting first responders who dealt with the initial incident in southport, as well as the police officers who had to deal with the fallout from those riots. but perhaps very importantly for king

charles, he's also going to be meeting different faith leaders at the fire station. and king charles has done a lot of work throughout his life, even when he was prince of wales about community cohesion and getting different faith leaders to talk to each other and live in harmony, really, and kind of keep the peace. so i suspect that's going to be a real key theme of his majesty's visit here to southport . and then here to southport. and then tomorrow he's not going back up tomorrow he's not going back up to balmoral. straight, straight away. he's travelling back down to london because he will be meeting the families, buckingham palace have confirmed this morning. of those three children who lost their lives, bebe, king elsie dot stancombe and alice da silva aguiar and i also understand, having spoken to a family member of the young girl bebe king, that they are a extremely touched, that king charles is making the effort to come down here to southport to spend time with the community. but i also understand that those three bereaved families have been invited by taylor swift to wembley stadium tonight for her final concert here in to london watch the concert, and it's

understood that they will be meeting taylor swift tonight. >> what a lovely gesture from taylor swift there. thank you very much, karen walker. we're going to speak to you again later in the show when king charles does arrive in southport for those various meetings. >> yes, we'll take that live actually. so as soon as we get the word that the king is on the scene, we will we will go to it. but we've got loads more coming up, haven't we, including prisoners being released. so have i got this right? about 2000 prisoners could be released in a single day. >> september the 10th is the day. and then on october the 22nd, another further 1700 or so will be released. who exactly are these people and how have they been chosen to be the ones who will be released early? >> that's the thing . are they >> that's the thing. are they violent offenders? are they sex criminals? who are they or are they kind of your low level burglars? i think we need answers on this, don't we? especially if we are making room in prison for people who've been putting mean things on social media or whatever else, and not to diminish, of course, some of the unspeakable things that some people did during the riots.

but, you know, who are we releasing in order to make way for those people? i think it's an interesting point that we deserve some answers on. deserve some answers on. >> deserve some answers on. >> yes. should we get the news headunes >> yes. should we get the news headlines and come back? >> very good afternoon to you. it's just after 12:30 and the top story this hour, divers are continuing their urgent to search find six people still missing after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of sicily during a tornado yesterday morning. 15 people have so far been rescued, including a one year old girl. however, the wreckage is proving hard to reach. it's around 50m underwater and access to the sailboats cabins is understood to be blocked by furniture. the yacht's owner, british tech tycoon mike lynch, and his 18 year old daughter are among those still missing, and we now know that morgan stanley's banking boss jonathan blumer and clifford chance, lawyer chris morvillo are also among those unaccounted for. well, earlier

we spoke to matthew shank from the maritime search and rescue council. he told us that he thinks rescuers could still be working to access people stuck inside the vessel . inside the vessel. >> if they are there, they'll have to use specialist cutting gear and equipment to access it, but also have to do it in a safe way in order to not cause any any issues with the divers themselves trying to access it and also carry out significant damage to the vessel. so they'll have their sort of procedures and way of doing that. it's important to know that there's still a surface search going on as well. however, getting to people inside the vessel may take some time. and the authorities, the emergency services will be working out the most effective way of doing that, but also trying to minimise the damage and the risk to the rescuers . to the rescuers. >> meanwhile, the co—defendant of the british businessman mike lynch, who is currently one of those missing off the coast of italy , has died after being hit italy, has died after being hit by a car. stephen chamberlain was killed while out running in

cambridgeshire on saturday. both men had recently been acquitted of fraud in a trial in the united states, and that case was relating to the sale of mr lynch's software company for £86 billion. kamala harris made £8.6 billion. kamala harris made a surprise appearance at the democratic national convention in chicago overnight. the event happens every four years to officially announce the party's nominee for the upcoming us election. if elected in november, she would make history as the first female us president. mrs. harris, who will be formally endorsed at the event later this week, opened proceedings by paying tribute to her outgoing boss. >> i want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, joe biden . who will president, joe biden. who will be speaking later tonight? joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do. we are forever grateful to you .

are forever grateful to you. >> scotland's health secretary has called a 12% annual rise in drug related deaths there hugely concerning. today, new figures released show 1172 people died, reversing a trend of improvements seen since the peak in 2020. and as we heard from . in 2020. and as we heard from. cameron walker, there we go. that's the name king charles is meeting survivors of a stabbing attack in southport today, which left three girls dead last month. his majesty will also speak to emergency services there, who dealt with the incident, as well as the riots that followed . those are the that followed. those are the latest gb news headlines for now, i'm sam francis. up next, a quick look at the markets 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 . gbnews.com forward slash alerts. >> cheers! britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report , and here's financial report, and here's a quick look at the markets for you this hour. >> the pound will buy you $1.3 and ,1.1737. the price of gold just after midday , £1,940.20 per just after midday, £1,940.20 per ounce. and the ftse 100 is at 8296 points. >> cheers ! britannia wine club >> cheers! britannia wine club proudly the gb news financial

>> welcome back to good afternoon britain. now the government plans to release nearly 2000 prisoners next month in a bid to ease overcrowding in

jails, with more to follow in october. yes. >> so the move comes in response to the growing strain on the prison system, particularly following the surge in riot related arrests. well, joining us now to discuss this is retired scotland yard detective inspector hamish brown , m.b.e. inspector hamish brown, m.b.e. hamish, thank you very much indeed for joining hamish, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. how worried should we be? 2000 convicted criminals being released early on this very same day. do we have an idea of who exactly these criminals might be, what they might have been put in jail for? i mean, it's worrying . worrying. >> well, it certainly is worrying. and i think in the first instance it is the public have got to be reassured. now, this is difficult because, initially i thought it was going to be those serving up to 12 months or something like that, but it's considerably more than that now. it's around five years, and these would include violent offenders, but not sexual and not those including

terrorism . now, there's got to terrorism. now, there's got to be a big role here for the national probation service. and it's twofold. in the first instance, is absolutely essential that victims of violent crime are informed by the it's called the victim contact service. and i've done a little bit of work for them, not as a probation officer, but doing some support, and they inform victims of crime about significant changes in an offender's sentence. and of course, release is the ultimate i suppose. and my experience has been fury when i've told someone about, i don't know, they're getting a day release a town visit, this sort of thing, which can happen with the longest sentences and some of them are disbelief that people have been released saying, well, they only they've got 18 months or something, only a couple of

months ago. but with release and being released at the half time stage and early release , this is stage and early release, this is going to make a mockery of it. the second role the probation have, and this is absolutely crucial, is supervising the offenders or persons on probation as they prefer to call them. now, the probation service are absolutely. they're understaffed, overworked in a terrible situation, very committed people. i can say that firsthand, but it is for them to supervise these offenders and see what they're up to. and the catch here is they will be subject to probation. and if they break those orders, they break those conditions. the opfion break those conditions. the option is called what is recall? thatis option is called what is recall? that is you're going back to prison . so it's a vicious circle prison. so it's a vicious circle really. so the probation service certainly have their hands full but absolutely essential. the

public, particularly the victims of crime, are given that reassurance and kept up to date. >> well, well, exactly. and also the potential for a political backlash here. if one of these people, which you just said does include violent offenders, decides to go out and then commit another violent crime and somebody suddenly falls victim to that, they will be asking serious questions over whether or not those people were released to make way for people who might have said something online. now i'm not diminishing the fact that some of those people said some awful things online, and people might think that some of those people deserve prison. but there was a case yesterday actually , of case yesterday actually, of somebody who tried to smother a pregnant woman with a pillow, who was given a two year suspended sentence. and could you just explain to us and our viewers and our listeners why some people who maybe put something on social media will get banged up for two years, but someone who maybe does something more violent like that is still walking free with a suspended sentence. what's going on there?

>> well, i think in the first instance when we look at the riots and that's what they were the forefront of public safety and given the prominence of the crime. and we see this with other crimes as well . other crimes as well. substantial custodial sentences have been given. and, i hope i'm not jumping the gun here, but it may well have had an effect on on contributory effect and quelling the riots as far as other sentences are concerned, like the suspended sentence order, you mentioned just now, i don't know the full facts of it, but undoubtedly the hearing would have been adjourned for what's known as a psr, a pre—sentence report which the probation would have done. they'd have looked at all the circumstances and i don't know them off hand. perhaps you do. and the trial judge felt in the circumstances the appropriate sentence was that of, a suspended sentence. this can

often be health reasons, mental health reasons and a host of other things. it's difficult to comment, particularly about individual cases. but across the board the sentences are looked at very , very carefully. the at very, very carefully. the pubuc at very, very carefully. the public and i think it's just i think it's just sorry to interrupt you because we're running out of time. >> i think just for a lot of people, it's frustrating to see how quickly the criminal justice system can work when it comes to the violent unrest that we saw due to these riots after the southport stabbing. but then you see how slow it can be in other occasions, and how lenient some of these sentences look, hamish, we'll catch up with you again very soon. i'm sure hamish brown mbe , retired scotland yard detective. >> well, if there is the whiff, if there is the perception that, you know. keir starmer has decided to say to lean on the cps or lean on the judges and say we need to give long sentences. i mean, the home office has already tweeted out these criminals will face the full force of the law and people are pointing out, well, hang on are pointing out, well, hang on a minute. there is innocent until proven guilty. i mean, not all of these people have pleaded

guilty yet and things like that. so, you know, there are there are question marks. >> well, i mean, we're supposed to believe that letting out 2000 criminals early in one day will have no effect on crime, no effect on the public. i mean, it seems crazy. anyway, this is good afternoon , britain on gb good afternoon, britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show , including up on today's show, including david lammy. >> so he has been swerved by benjamin netanyahu. i mean, you just add this to the pitch. we'll talk about this in more detail. but is our actual foreign secretary an international laughing stock? and if he is, then, you know, it's probably a problem. stay tuned .

>> okay. welcome back. it's 12.15 now. the foreign secretary, david lammy, is meant to be building special relationships with our closest

allies. but instead, some argue that he's created enemies. >> israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu snubbed meeting mr lammy after the uk failed to withdraw its support for the international criminal court's arrest warrant. >> yes, this is all after he was forced to defend dubbing donald trump a neo—nazi sociopath. so is our so—called ambassador to the world tainting our reputation abroad? >> joining us now is the politics editor of huffpost uk, kevin schofield. kevin, thank you very much. great to have you on the show. is david lammy an international laughingstock ? international laughingstock? >> i mean, i think that's probably been a little bit harsh. it's probably a little bit early in his tenure to write him off just yet. i mean, it's worth pointing out that the foreign office insist that there was no snub, that there was never any intention to meet benjamin netanyahu. although i'd have to say, if you're foreign secretary going to israel and you're not seeking to meet the israeli prime minister, then that's a little bit that's a little bit odd, but yeah, it's not great, is it? to go there and not meet with the most senior politician in the

country? you mentioned what he'd said , obviously about donald said, obviously about donald trump. he said that before he became foreign secretary. he said, i think quite some time ago . so he's since, as you might ago. so he's since, as you might imagine, rowed back quite considerably on those comments. and if donald trump becomes the us president again, then i'm fairly certain that you won't hear david lammy criticising him. but but yeah, say the most remarkable thing. a little bit embarrassing. >> yeah i mean kevin, he does say the most extraordinary things. i remember when he called the erg, he said comparing them to nazis is not strong enough. he just throw around this nazi comparison quite a bit. but there was also a story that i saw about how he appeared to remove his hostage nbbon appeared to remove his hostage ribbon in showing solidarity to israeli hostages, still caught up in gaza, he appeared to remove it when he then spoke to the palestinian prime minister. i mean, is that the right thing to do ? to do? >> well, that's the first time i've heard about that. and that is that is quite surprising. you can't sort of switch on and off

your commitment to certain causes.i your commitment to certain causes. i think so. so, yeah, it's, if you'd been fair, i suppose you would say this is a learning curve for david lammy. there was obviously a lot of speculation, i think before labour won the election about whether or not he would be kept on as foreign secretary. keir starmer elected in the end to basically keep the same frontbench team as he had had in opposition. but, you know, there will be reshuffles down the line. there will always be speculation and you know everyone in the cabinet is on probation. effectively, you know, they're pretty new to the job, but they've got to perform. and if they're not performing then just like everyone else, then just like everyone else, then their jobs are potentially at risk. >> i suppose it's a question, isn't it, of that that credibility on the on the world stage, kevin, thank you very, very much. short and sweet, but thank you nonetheless. kevin schofield is the politics editor of huffpost uk. i thought it was actually remarkably diplomatic in his language about david lammy there, arguably on probation, auditioning, auditioning for the job of foreign secretary himself. there could could well do a could well do a betterjob. but, yes.

anyway, we've got loads more coming your way in the next houn coming your way in the next hour, haven't we. we're going to be talking about the latest, on this really kind of bizarre super yacht sinking situation and the rescue operation and the search operation there as well, aren't we? we've got a couple of other bits and bobs. we've got lots coming up. >> we're going to be reflecting again on that prison release. i just think it's quite extraordinary. 2000 people released early on one single day. get your thoughts in gbnews.com/yoursay. but let's get to the weather with alex burkill . burkill. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar. sponsors of weather on gb news >> how's it going ? here's your >> how's it going? here's your latest met office weather forecast for gb news. plenty of wet and windy weather pushing into northwestern parts tomorrow, but ahead of that, today is a day of sunshine and showers for many of us. we do still have the remnants of yesterday's front clinging on in

the southeast at the moment, but that's clearing away, taking the earlier cloud and rain with it and behind it then, yes , and behind it then, yes, sunshine and showers for many of us across much of england and wales, the showers will be quite hit or miss, and there'll be plenty of sunny spells further north. the showers will be much more frequent. some heavy ones, especially for western scotland where we will have some strong winds. gusts of around 40 to 50mph. perhaps that will add to the fresher feel for many of us. still just about getting into the low to mid 20s towards the southeast of the uk. plenty more showers to come as we go through this evening. there could be some rumbles of thunder mixed in with them, particularly across western parts of scotland. even further east, though, a few showers are going to make their way in and all the time we need to watch out for those blustery, gusty winds. also across northern parts of northern ireland, some blustery winds here and plenty of showers. but the shower risk does actually decrease the further south we 90, decrease the further south we go, particularly towards the southeast, some western parts of wales and southwest england may see a few pushing through at

times. more showers to come across northern parts as we go overnight further south, staying largely dry. 1 or 2 showers perhaps, but also some clear skies and things will settle down a little bit. many of the showers easing through the early hours and with the winds easing some clear skies, it's probably going to be a bit of a fresher night than of late for many of us. some places dropping into single figures and then through tomorrow a relatively bright start for many of us. a few showers here and there , but it's showers here and there, but it's later on that we are going to see increasing amounts of cloud and some wet and windy weather pushing in across particularly parts of scotland and northern ireland. this could lead to some impacts with a bit of flooding and also some travel disruption, likely staying dry and a bit warmer in the southeast by that warmer in the southeast by that warm feeling inside. >> from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

>> well . >> well. >> well. >> good afternoon britain. it's

1 pm. on tuesday. the 20th of august. i'm patrick christys and i'm emily carver taking the knee to the unions. mick lynch is seen leaving the department for transport now after demanding the same pay rise. the aslef lot got. but will keir starmer say that more people should work from home as well, which means fewer people using the railways? how on earth are we going to be paying how on earth are we going to be paying for all of this? are the unions taking starmer for a mug? >> and the mystery of the sunken superyacht. the captain has now spoken for the first time. he says he did not see the tornado coming. british tech tycoon mike lynch and his 18 year old daughter are still missing. our reporter adam cherry is on the scene as it emerges. reporter adam cherry is on the scene as it emerges . mr lynch's scene as it emerges. mr lynch's business partner died after being hit by a carjust a few days before him and the queen, the late queen, apparently slammed trump, a bombshell new biography claims that the queen thought trump was very rude and had some kind of arrangement with his wife, melania.

>> but is this massively disrespectful to the legacy of our queen to publish? what is a private conversation, if indeed it happened at all? >> meanwhile, king charles is meeting survivors of the southport stabbing attack. we're going to bring you that live . going to bring you that live. >> one thing we're also going to be talking about is this remarkable drug death statistic in scotland, actually, and ask, what the heck is going on there? there's a lot to talk about. i mean, if you look at european drug induced deaths, emily's got the stats in front of her. now it's i mean, scotland is very much an international outlier. >> so 277 deaths per million people. that compares to the eu average of 23. so that's more than ten times more per million people dying of drug deaths. what on earth is going on. there's apparently the first of its kind in the united kingdom, a treatment centre essentially , a treatment centre essentially, that's going to open today, i

believe, or this week, where you're able to take drugs but in a safe facility. i mean, is that progress? is that the way to go? is that the way to deal with this problem? just to sort of help people take drugs, but in a safe environment so they don't overdose? well, i suppose they will hope it will bring down the drug deaths, but it might not bnng drug deaths, but it might not bring down the drug usage. >> it certainly won't bring down the drug supply, will it? in all the drug supply, will it? in all the crime that goes with it. and there is a very obvious example of this. vancouver in canada, where actually they thought they'd try something like this and it has literally just turned the city into, frankly, a drug hellhole. so, yeah, but i mean, astonishing figures scotland, scotland, top of all of the wrong league tables. i mean , i wrong league tables. i mean, i just hope that whatever we decide to do, england , wales, decide to do, england, wales, northern ireland don't copy scotland's , scotland's example scotland's, scotland's example here we'll get we're going to speak to someone in scotland, try and explain what on earth is going on here with drug deaths in that country. >> it's out of control by the looks of it. compared to our european counterparts, and also to england and wales as well. so please do get in touch. what do

you think the answer is? gbnews.com/yoursay. but should we get your news headlines with sam francis ? sam francis? >> emily patrick, thank you very much. 1:03 and leading the news. this lunchtime. divers are still in the waters off the coast of sicily. they're trying to find six missing people after a luxury superyacht sank yesterday. one person has died. and among those unaccounted for are the yacht's owner, british tech tycoon mike lynch and his 18 year old daughter. we also heard this morning that morgan stanley banking boss jonathan blumer and clifford chance, lawyer chris morvillo are also among those missing. well 15 people have been rescued, including the wife of mike lynch. that's after the vessel capsized during intense storms yesterday . marco tilotta from yesterday. marco tilotta from the palermo diving unit in the region, claims they are facing significant challenges reaching the wreck, which is now some 50m

underwater. >> the difficulties of the case are dictated by the depth that does not allow for long working times, so you understand well that the conditions of the hull are tilted 90 degrees. access to the hull is difficult if you manage to get inside the hull, you understand well the inside there is a world of objects so penetrating inside and descending into the compartment below from the stairs that are narrow and going into all the cabins is a really hard and difficult job. >> meanwhile, the co—defendant of the british businessman mike lynch, who's currently one of those missing off the coast of italy, has died after being hit by a car at the weekend. stephen chamberlin was killed while he was out running in cambridgeshire on saturday. both men had recently been acquitted of fraud in the us relating to

the sale of mr lynch's software company for a reported £8.6 billion in the us. joe biden became emotional last night as he delivered his farewell speech to the democratic national convention. the us president was seen wiping away tears as he addressed crowds on the first of that four day event in chicago. kamala harris will be formally declared as the party's election candidate there later this week, and mr biden says she's the right choice for america. let me ask you , are you ready to for ask you, are you ready to for vote freedom ? vote freedom? >> are you ready to vote for democracy and for america ? let democracy and for america? let me ask you, are you ready to elect kamala harris and tim walz ? elect kamala harris and tim walz? >> news from the middle east. and at least ten palestinians have been killed in an airstrike on a school in gaza, which israel claims hamas was using as

a command centre. meanwhile, the israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of six hostages who were captured in the 7th of october attacks and that comes as the us, egypt and qatar are now calling on hamas to agree to a ceasefire proposal . to agree to a ceasefire proposal. after that deal was gained, the backing of israel last night, america's top diplomat antony blinken says it could be a decisive moment in the us intelligence officials say that iran was behind a hack on donald trump's election campaign. it follows allegations that tehran tried to infiltrate personal email accounts of around a dozen people linked to both the former president and joe biden. the fbi says the operation was designed to stoke discord and undermine confidence in democracy . here, confidence in democracy. here, rmt boss mick lynch says all pay offers would be considered by the union as he left talks for the union as he left talks for the department of transport today. the union boss says workers are expecting the same

terms as those offered to aslef train drivers, which was a 15% three year backdated rise . even three year backdated rise. even then, though, their members working for lner are still threatening a separate strike over working agreements . over working agreements. scotland continues to suffer from the highest rate of drug related deaths in europe, figures out today show. there was a 12% increase last year, 1172 people died in 2023, reversing a trend of improvements seen since the peak in 2020. young people suspended from secondary school are reportedly twice as likely to be out of education, university or employment compared to their peers, a new report by the education policy institute found. those suspended just once are more likely to experience poor outcomes between the ages of 19 and 24. that's as government figures show. the numbers in england, of those suspended, has reached a record

high, with almost 787,000 pupils suspended in the last academic year. suspended in the last academic year . well, the final 31 ted year. well, the final 31 ted baker stores are closing today after the company behind the fashion chain collapsed back in march. more than 500 jobs are now at risk . they include jobs now at risk. they include jobs at locations at heathrow and gatwick airports. london's regent street in bath , york, and regent street in bath, york, and in portsmouth . and the king is in portsmouth. and the king is visiting southport today to meet some of those affected by the fatal stabbings of three girls there last month . his majesty is there last month. his majesty is expected to meet some of the survivors and thank emergency staff for the work in both the aftermath of that tragedy and in the riots, which followed. our reporter cameron walker will be in the town for us with more throughout the rest of the day . throughout the rest of the day. those are the latest headlines from the gb newsroom for now. i'll be back with you at 1:30 for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone , sign

direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com >> forward slash alerts . >> forward slash alerts. >> forward slash alerts. >> okay good afternoon britain. it is now 109 and divers have now entered the sunken superyacht as the hunt continues for the missing passengers on board, with experts dubbing the operation very complicated. >> so british tech tycoon mike lynch and his daughter are among six tourists missing after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado. it's believed anyway , off the it's believed anyway, off the coast of sicily. >> yes. the british registered 56 metre bayesian had 22 people on board when it went down after being struck by this tornado. now a body believed to be that of the vessel's cook has been found. >> now there are some remarkable stories emerging out of this, including a mother who managed to hold her one year old infant

above the water for more than an hour after previously losing control of the infant in the sea. they are both now safe and well. divers are searching the waters now around the wreck. it's 50m underwater, apparently because the boat is completely intact. that makes it more difficult to enter as well. so the wife of mike lynch has actually already been rescued. but yes, our reporter adam cherry is on the scene for us. adam, what developments have you seen and what is the actual scene like there ? scene like there? >> so in the last hour, i've seen a couple of helicopters circling the immediate area behind me. as i said in the previous hour, there are more police arriving by the minute, essentially, and they're all stationed just behind me in a cordoned off area here and beyond, down onto the on the port itself, where lots of other boats are kept. and i've been able to see some of the

lifeboats in the water itself, you know, with the divers searching the wreckage, an ongoing operation as we speak. then some speculation, actually, as to why this ship went down, why the superyacht went down, and the current one of the current theories is that it's because this was a hot night. the they left the hatches and windows open, and that combined with this, this enormous 72 metre aluminium mast. so this is one of the biggest superyacht sailing super yachts in the world. those combination of factors are what caused this, vessel to go down. and as i say, we you know, we haven't found anyone else. the authorities have not found anyone else since yesterday. there are still six people missing . and in just the people missing. and in just the last five minutes, actually, we saw another helicopter zoom by and do a lap of the area. so that's where we are at the moment. >> and this has been called unprecedented by experts who've been asked . we've heard from the

been asked. we've heard from the captain of the boat, the local press found him in a in a hospital room. and i believe the only thing he really said was that he did not see this coming. this clearly struck them out of the blue. yes, the weather had been iffy, but this seems to have just been extraordinarily a freak episode, really, when it comes to this area of the world. what exactly do we know in terms of why this rescue operation is taking so long? is it, as patrick said, because the boat was completely intact? it's very hard to actually get into the rooms of this sunken boat. >> yeah, it's partly that it's the way it's landed, the angle it's landed on the seabed, and also the fact that there's lots of, furnishings inside which are blocking entry. so those combination of factors make it very difficult for them to get in and enter it. this is only the second day, of course, but they're working around the clock. and i believe their first dive was very early this morning about 530 to 6 am. so this is

an ongoing operation and it's taking some time. >> yeah, incredibly bizarre. just the whole thing, the idea that this boat was supposedly in the vicinity of other boats, which remained relatively unharmed, it would make sense, adam, if what you're hearing on the ground, there is indeed true that maybe they had some of the windows open, etcetera, and that that had an impact in a detrimental sense to what was going on. are the families of the people on board still there as far as we know? are they kind of waiting around the area? what's going on there ? what's going on there? >> well, there were there was a gathering of people behind me about an hour ago. but now, apart from the police, is very quiet, but i'm not sure exactly where the family are now, perhaps resting and recuperating. but at the moment, as i say, it's died down a little bit. and now it's just the police focusing on their work. >> yes, it's hard to imagine just how terrifying something like this happening in such an early hour of the morning. 5:30 am. so many, i imagine a lot of the passengers will have been fast asleep when this tornado

struck this boat. but thank you very much indeed , adam cherry, very much indeed, adam cherry, we'll come back to you a little later on if there are any developments in this search and rescue operation. thank you. adam. >> well, there's talk now as well. isn't there of a life raft that was used to save around 15 people from there , from that people from there, from that boat as well. so some of them managed to get out and locals saying that they did see flares being fired up. so there clearly was at least a moment of realisation that this was happening to them and that that boat was going under another kind of morbidly intriguing dynamic to this is that the former business partner partner of mike lynch was also, well , of mike lynch was also, well, was involved in an incident. anyway, he sadly has died after being hit by a car whilst out for a jog in cambridge , and it for a jog in cambridge, and it is just a few days before just a couple of days before this, this incident. >> but of course this boat being such a luxury yacht being so expensive to charter and rent for, for even a week, it wasn't your average joe on board. this tech tycoon mike lynch, who also had a boss at morgan stanley, a

very successful lawyer as well on board a hugely successful, influential people on board. this boat and the search and rescue operation very complicated. it's been described as. so we'll bring you any developments as and when we get them. yeah, indeed. >> we'll bring those to you. okay. so in other news though, is the new labour government now just bending the knee to the unions? it comes after a series of bumper pay offers and the rmt union's mick lynch has been seen leaving the department for transport now following a round of. well, it says here tense negotiations. i'm wondering how tense they were to be honest. >> but anyway, but, would you be surprised if keir starmer and the government decided to give rmt boss mick lynch what he's asking for, particularly when the cabinet have received hundreds of thousands of pounds in union donations ahead of the election campaign and simply in their history, support for the labour party. you know, how can the prime minister and the chancellor really say no to these union heads who donate

millions to the party? they haven't so far? will they stand their ground when it comes to mick lynch? does mick lynch and his union members deserve exactly the same pay offer? >> well, it's probably going to get it, i would have thought. but sir keir starmer, now, in his infinite wisdom, has decided that more people should be working from home. so who's actually going to be paying for these completely empty trains operated by very expensive train drivers and guards who, by the way, if their bosses at any moment during their lunch break, dare to say hello to them, get to start their lunch break again. it sounds all right. >> yes, and it's worth reminding us. >> don't drive a train. i don't know what i'm doing here. >> it's worth reminding ourselves that, of course it is. from commuter tickets that these rail companies actually make their money, make back their money, and that hasn't improved since the covid pandemic. but anyway , have the labour anyway, have the labour government fallen into a bit of a trap here, capitulating to their union friends? so quickly? >> well, let's bring in our political correspondent now. indeed, editor, it is christopher hope. christopher, good to see you. so yeah , i good to see you. so yeah, i mean, do we know anything so far about the latest round of negotiations between mick lynch

and the department for transport? >> well morning. both. look, the background to this is quite simple aslef, which is the train drivers. they got 14% over three years that was announced last week. and that's triggered more demands elsewhere. the rmt that's the rail and maritime and transport union. they maintain the network. they don't drive the network. they don't drive the trains. they were in talks with network rail and talks broke down in april when they refused a 3.5% pay increase. >> now the aslef deal announced last week is for this year 4.5%. so you can see where this is going. it looks like the rmt want 4.5%, the same as the drivers for this year. that's another 1%. then on their pay and that we all ultimately pay for as taxpayers. mick lynch is the general secretary of the rmt. he said today we need really need more to move on from the belligerent and hostile approach of the last government and reset industrial relations

to allow rail workers and royal fleet auxiliary seafarers to get on with the job. that idea of belligerent and hostile can mean asking for improvements in productivity and how you work. and as you said there, patrick, whether you can be spoken to by a manager and then not restart your break time, for example. so these ideas were being pushed by almost certainly pushed by under the tory government. and that has been left behind by a labour government . there's no strings government. there's no strings attached to the aslef deal, and it seems likely there will be no strings attached to the rmt deal strings attached to the rmt deal. it looks like it's going to 4.5% for this year, i would guess. again, we haven't heard from mick lynch coming out of the department for transport. he's seeing network rail on thursday , and it comes amid thursday, and it comes amid a backdrop here of lots of big pay rises going forward for public sector workers , 5.5% for sector workers, 5.5% for millions of public sector workers, costing about £10 billion. we've got 22% for junior doctors. we've got

demands, of course, ironically, from lner drivers. for more strike action on weekends going forward in september, october and november. despite the 40% pay and november. despite the 40% pay rise. so what's happening here is you have unions are getting emboldened by new management, new bosses, of course they do. they do get on because we know that unions do give millions of pounds to labour mps. half of the labour mps elected received nearly £2 million in donations just since may, going back before the election. so there is a relationship here. they get on better, but are they storing up problems in the past? because it's a it's a ratchet that will go only one way up, maybe in future years. >> i mean, christopher , it seems >> i mean, christopher, it seems perhaps a little a little naive to think that if you offer, you know, a generous pay offer with no strings attached, that people won't ask for more or that other trade unions won't threaten, strike to try and get the same. >> but also, i'm sure taxpayers are very much looking forward to the budget that's coming soon. in september , because there's an

in september, because there's an awful lot of money being promised and spent with all of these public sector pay rises and who do you reckon is going to have to pay for it? chris >> haha, well, ultimately we all pay >> haha, well, ultimately we all pay for it as taxpayers. you know the answer to that as well as well as i do. who's going to be picked on chris? >> who's going to be picked on in the budget? >> who's going to be picked on? oh i see, yes. well that well look well we don't know. the budget is at the end of october. we're looking at wealth taxes. will they try and increase capital gains tax to 40% from around 21% to tax income like wealth, the same amount. and that will hit pensioners, this government is making choices very early in its time in government. they've whipped away , government. they've whipped away, this winter fuel allowance and they're trying to today get poorer pensioners to sign up for the pension credit, which means they can get the allowance back. but they have made choices here. and we've seen all six candidates to be tory leader saying they would restore that, that winter fuel payment if they win . so yeah, i think a big

win. so yeah, i think a big choice to be made, probably more taxes. they think they've found the £22 billion, black hole. well you can add, add to that maybe 10 billion or so from these pay rises going through from this labour government. this government is making choices. and people who voted laboun choices. and people who voted labour, this was what's happening. it's what you what you voted for. and it may be goodif you voted for. and it may be good if you if you're supported by this. >> yeah. i mean look from from an outsider's perspective, it's very easy to think that maybe there's some element of scandal here or there's some element of corruption or cronyism or whatever you want to call it, really. we've had a couple of people who've donated to the labour party be given, you know, some top jobs in the, in the, in civil service, essentially, or advisory roles there. we now see these figures like however many million pounds it was that the unions have donated to labour. i think it's about 450 grand just to cabinet members alone over the years. one of them as well, sue greys , sue grey's son, and sue greys, sue grey's son, and now they seem to be getting exactly what they want. i mean , exactly what they want. i mean, is that not corruption? i know that labour would say it isn't,

but from the from the uneducated eye outside it, it's got the whiff of it, hasn't it ? whiff of it, hasn't it? >> i don't think it's corruption , >> i don't think it's corruption, patrick, i think you have big companies , big entrepreneurs companies, big entrepreneurs donating. donating to the tory party. people give money for access. they want to know where policy is going. you've got people putting money into the union movement. they are aligned. many of them are affiliated to the labour party. so there is you know that. and they also do say that maybe a couple of quid of your monthly sub or your annual sub will go to the labour party. so there's no nothing hidden here. but you have, you know, it can look a bit like they're getting a better deal than they would under labour, the tory government. i mean that that is actually true because you have got no strings attached on the train drivers deal. when the deal had try and add in improvements and productivity gains, that's not being asked for in some of these deals. so it's not corruption, but there certainly is a, a management in whitehall, a government which is more in tune with the labour, with the union movement. and

thatis with the union movement. and that is obviously helping oil these deals. >> yeah, indeed. look, christopher, thank you very, very much. we've got a heck of a lot to talk to you about a bit later on in the show as well on a couple of different topics. so thank you. as our political ednon thank you. as our political editor, christopher hope, from westminster there. keir starmer playing a little bit of a dicey game on a couple of fronts here. so we've already spoken today about these 2000 criminals that are going to be released early from prison in october, and another 2000 as well, that are going to be released in a couple of weeks, i think, as well. so if any of those go on to reoffend, then he could. it could be argued that he's bang in trouble there. if you look at this now, all these, you know, bumper pay offers, etc. for the unions, well, if they then continue to strike and taxpayers are going to be thinking, well, what was our money spent on there? so he's playing a bit of a dangerous game here. >> he just would try again, wouldn't you, to try and get a bit more after this pay deal. is over? i think the thing that and the question of inflation as well that people haven't really mentioned it could it could make that worse. we've got lots more coming up on today's show talking about things that aren't going very well, the rate of drug deaths in scotland, highest

ever record, complete outlier. when you look at other countries in europe and across the world, we're going to get stuck into that and find out what on earth is going on. this all under the snp, all under the snp. >> stay

for welcome back to good afternoon britain. now shocking new data has revealed that scotland has recorded more than 1000 deaths from drug misuse in 2023 alone. it tops the record tables this according to the national records of scotland. >> this is the second lowest figure since 2017, but comparing it to other countries, i mean it is off the scale. the nrs also found that deaths linked to drug misuse were more common today than in 2000. >> we are literally leading the way. i mean, the eu is way behind this. it's unbelievable. joining us now to discuss this

is former snp glasgow city councillor austin sheridan. austin thank you very, very much. i mean this has all happened under the snp. the top of the wrong league table aren't they. what's going on. >> oh well drug legislation is up to westminster and you know so at the end of the day the snp don't don't control, for example, legislation around drugs and how they're controlled. however they're one part of the snp do have control of is health. and what tends to happenis of is health. and what tends to happen is that when people obviously, you know, intake all through , through, through drug through, through, through drug taking, etc. and it then becomes a health matter. so, so my personal and belief is that drug legislation should be devolved to the scottish parliament. >> and of course, it should be treated as a health issue, >> but that doesn't explain why it's so particularly bad in scotland, though, does it? you can say that drug policy is dictated by westminster, but why then, should it be so much worse north of the border ? north of the border? >> yeah. i mean, you know, there can be a number of different

factors, you know, and, and why people take drugs , for example, people take drugs, for example, it can be in relation to poverty and so on. so for example, you know, and the tory westminster austerity certainly hasn't helped in labour's £22 billion worth of cuts hasn't helped. you know, actually target poor people. and then you what you tend to find is in poorer areas and you know, that drug use will be more prevalent. however, looking at it overall and i believe it should be treated as a health issue. and so, for example, when it comes to safe consumption rooms, that is something that we've been trying to introduce in scotland for a long time. however, in order to introduce those with actually face legal barriers and from the westminster parliament, you know, who have essentially said that they didn't want these things being set up. and so you can't blame the snp if we are trying to bring in, you know, could i, could i just say on that. >> yeah. on that. there is a debate though, isn't there , debate though, isn't there, austin. because yeah, i mean, but just, just introducing a safe zone for people to go and do drugs so they can be watched over and hopefully they don't slip into a drug induced coma and die doesn't actually solve the drug crisis that's going on

in scotland. i mean, the other underlying implication of this is that there's not just so many people dying of drugs, but they're using them. and it does appear that the snp solution to this was just to give them a room to allow them to do it. >> no, but that's not true at all. i mean, the ultimate solution to tackling drugs and drug deaths, in my opinion, is to, as a health issue and for a health service to be properly funded in to order get people into recovery, that is the way to ultimately solve the issue, however, and i think that we have to acknowledge that people are going to take drugs and then they're going to take them. >> i would much prefer that they had a safe, a safe place to do so. and if they do overdose and then i would much rather have then i would much rather have the help than not have help which would then, which would ultimately i think that's true. intervene and reduce drug deaths. >> yeah, i think that's true. i mean , if this safe facility can mean, if this safe facility can stop people from dying, then thatis stop people from dying, then that is absolutely fantastic if they're already hooked on drugs. but i guess it's a much harder question to answer. why are people in scotland getting hooked on drugs at a higher rate than other countries in europe ,

than other countries in europe, including england and wales? and why? why do they feel as though they want to take these illegal substances to such a large degree? that's a cultural problem. that's a societal problem. >> that's why it's a cultural problem. as a cultural problem. and as i say, a lot of it can be related to poverty and so on as well. and so, for example, you know, across a wide range of issues, you know, you know, where politicians make policy decisions, you know , these decisions, you know, these impact on our communities and these communities, you know , these communities, you know, especially our poorer communities is where this is more prevalent. so there has to be a wider focus, on, on lots of different areas in order to tackle drug deaths. but for example, another area that scotland had a problem with is alcohol, then went to just minimum pricing not so long ago. now, what we understood with minimum pricing is that that that was a longer term. initiative. because you're right, if people are hooked on alcohol and for example, it becomes it becomes difficult to get people off. however, if we can try and prevent younger people falling into that, then over a period of time, we're

going to see a reduction in alcohol related deaths and illnesses. >> so as i say, i'm sorry to cut in. >> we're going to have to leave it there because we're running out of time. but really great to speak to you. austin sheridan, former snp, glasgow city councillor. yeah, i mean, the minimum pricing for alcohol. i mean, there's a lot of mixed evidence on that, that actually if you're already a heavy drinker or addicted to alcohol in one way or another, it's not going to stop you if there's a little bit more expensive, you'll just get the really, really, really cheap stuff , but really, really cheap stuff, but there you go. good afternoon, britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up. >> yes, including the king is visiting southport. he's expected to be there actually in the next few minutes in fact, i think he might have just arrived. so we'll whizz you over to get your bulletins from san francisco and then we'll pick up on that when we come back. >> very good afternoon to you. 1:32. and the top story this houn 1:32. and the top story this hour. divers are still searching the waters off the coast of sicily, trying to find british

tycoon mike lynch and five others missing after their luxury yacht basin sunk in a tornado yesterday. rescuers are now attempting to access the ship's cabins, currently resting 50m underwater. of the 22 people on board, 15 have so far been accounted for , but one body was accounted for, but one body was recovered and six remain missing. british and italian officials say they are supporting the survivors as divers prepare for what they have described as a complex underwater mission. well, earlier we spoke to matthew shank from the maritime search and rescue council, and he suggested rescuers could be working to access people inside the vessel if they are there. >> they'll have to use specialist cutting gear and equipment to access it, but they'll also have to do it in a safe way in order to not cause any any issues with the divers themselves trying to access it. and also carry out significant damage to the vessel . so they'll damage to the vessel. so they'll have their sort of procedures and way of doing that. it's important to know that there's still a surface search going on

as well . however, getting to as well. however, getting to people inside the vessel may take some time. and the authorities, the emergency services will be working out the most effective way of doing that , most effective way of doing that, but also trying to minimise the damage and the risk to the rescuers . rescuers. >> meanwhile, the co—defendant of the british businessman, mike lynch, who's currently one of those missing off the coast of italy, has died after being hit by a car. stephen chamberlin was killed while out running in cambridgeshire on saturday. both men had recently been acquitted of fraud in the us relating to the sale of mr lynch's software company for a reported £8.6 billion. joe biden has referred to donald trump as a loser, as he delivered a farewell speech to the democratic national convention in chicago last night. the us president criticised his predecessor as he endorsed kamala harris to win november's election. if elected, she would make history as the first female us president. kamala harris, who will be formally endorsed later this

week at the event, opened proceedings by paying tribute to her outgoing boss. >> i want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president , joe biden . who will president, joe biden. who will be speaking later tonight? joe. thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation for and all you will continue to do. we are forever grateful to you . are forever grateful to you. >> scotland's health secretary has called a 12% annual rise in drug related deaths there. hugely concerning. figures released today show 1172 people died, reversing a trend of improvements that was seen since the peak in 2020. and king charles has now arrived in southport to meet survivors. there of the stabbing attack in the town, which sadly left three

girls dead last month. these are the latest images, just moments ago of his majesty arriving outside the town hall, where he is expected to soon be speaking to members of the southport community who provided support in the aftermath of that attack. his majesty will also be speaking to emergency services who dealt with that incident , as who dealt with that incident, as well as the riots that followed . well as the riots that followed. plenty more on that royal visit with patrick and emily later this hour. first, though, a quick look at the markets for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone . to your smartphone. >> sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . gbnews.com forward slash alerts. >> cheers! britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report . financial report. >> well, as promised, here's a look at the markets for you. the pound will buy you $1.3010 and ,1.1739. the price of gold is

£1,942.50 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8292 points. >> cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial

>> hello and welcome back to good afternoon britain. now moments ago, king charles arrived in southport. he's there meeting survivors of that mass stabbing that took place at a taylor swift themed dance school in late july. >> yes, three children tragically died. a further ten people were injured following the incident. king charles will thank emergency staff for their ongoing support in helping the local community. well, joining us now is gb news royal correspondent, cameron walker, who's there for us? cameron, tell us the king has now arrived . tell us the king has now arrived. >> he's in for an hour. >> yes, he certainly has, emily.

he arrives ten minutes ahead of schedule, actually, and made a bit of an unscheduled stop because here in the town centre of southport, the sea of flowers still remains, which obviously started following that horrific attack on the taylor swift themed dance class on the 29th of july. and the king spent some time looking at those floral tributes, as well as many cuddly toys which have been left in tribute to those three victims who lost their lives. bebe king elsie dot stancombe and alice dasilva aguiar. and the crowds cheered, actually, when his majesty arrived. and then he was greeted by the lord—lieutenant and the mayor of southport and went up the steps behind me into the town hall, where he is expected. we believe , right now expected. we believe, right now to be having a private meeting with family members and survivors of that horrific attack on the 29th of july. following that meeting, the king is going to come out of the town hall and meet the people behind me. you may be able to see a group of people who are just just behind my shoulder here.

now, these are members of the local community who kind of went above and beyond in the immediate aftermath of the riots, the people who were who have been looking after the flowers, moving the teddy bears out of the rain from that sea of tributes, but also a building merchant, for example, who, following the riots in southport, started to help rebuild the town free of charge as well as a local ice cream business, who gave out free ice creams to the emergency workers who were dealing with the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the 29th of july, and of course, dealing with the riots and the king following all of that , and meeting members of of that, and meeting members of the public here and showing his support to the local community. he'll be visiting the local fire station here, where he'll be meeting members of the emergency services who were part of that initial, who were helping out in the initial aftermath of the attack, as well as dealing with the riots that happened. but perhaps more important, as just as important, i should say, for his majesty the king is meeting faith leaders, different faith leaders from across the

community here because the king's life work. really, even when he was prince of wales, was all about community cohesion. getting different faiths to work together. and we know that in that immediate aftermath of the attacks, there was violent disorder outside the mosque here in southport. so the king will be making a point, really, of meeting different faith leaders from the community. he's taking time out of his holiday in balmoral. actually, he's come down from scotland this morning ready to be in southport this afternoon . tomorrow he will be afternoon. tomorrow he will be back in london because he's going to be meeting the families of the bereaved families. of those three children who lost their lives. and i spoke to a family member of bebe king earlier today who said she was incredibly touched that the king is making the effort to come here to southport to spend time with the community. and i also understand that those three bereaved families have been ianed bereaved families have been invited by taylor swift to attend her final uk concert at wembley stadium tonight, and it is expected to meet the pop star. >> thank you very, very much. that's cameron walker there who

is gb news royal correspondent. we'll be keeping you up to date as well as with the king's movements there as he goes and visits southport. a nice touch, i think really for him to cut his holiday short, to go and visit the families there as well. and also can i just say as well, i mean, we got wind of the king arriving there earlier on as you would expect. that's how the media can turn up to these things. but unfortunately, all too often that also means that they're not my king brigade. rock up as well. i think it's actually quite nice that they appear to have stayed away today, because the reason he's there is because unfortunately, children died and you don't really want to be hosting some kind of protest there whilst he's there commemorating that, do you? that's a very good point. >> and we know that the king, he was asking for up. it's on the disorder that followed the stabbings in in southport. so clearly he's been monitoring the situation very closely and see him there . i'm sure a lot of the him there. i'm sure a lot of the people there will be extremely touched that he's turned up and taken that time to make sure he meets everyone who's who's there and involved, including the emergency services. so we'll keep you updated because there's lots on his agenda today. as you just heard, this is good

afternoon britain on gb news. now we've got lots more coming up on today's show including this rather remarkable story in wales. apparently libraries are being told that they need to do more to be anti—racist. this is all about the plan to stop wales from being institutionally racist by 2030. what exactly that means, i don't know. didn't realise welsh libraries were particularly racist, but also sorry , how does so how does sorry, how does so how does wales just suddenly declare itself no longer institutionally racist when we could do that very easily now couldn't we? >> nowhere in britain is now any longer institutionally racist. bingo! done. move on. fix the potholes . potholes. >> also, it comes at a time when welsh children are doing extremely poorly in maths, engush extremely poorly in maths, english and science at the moment, go go figure. anyway, priorities. stick with us

break. okay, it's 148. you're watching

and listening to good afternoon britain. now the devolved welsh government is telling librarians to avoid holding meetings in what they're calling racist buildings. >> yes. ridiculous. one of those added to the list is the william gladstone library, named after the 19th century prime minister. this is after guidance introduced by the senate in 2021, put dozens of buildings in wales, from pubs to community centres, on a dossier of venues they say a link to slavery and colonialism and they want to eradicate systemic racism by 2030. it's not like they've got anything else on. it's not like the health system is in crisis. that children's education isn't doing particularly well. you know nothing to do with that. joining us now is the director of don't divide us. it's alex cuthbert. thank you very much. great to have you on the show. can a library be racist? >> hello, and thank you for inviting me, the year turned blue in our household when i read about this yesterday, but i'll try and be a bit more rational today. no, of course it

can't be. it's. this is just mythical thinking, really, isn't it? it's characteristic of pre—modern societies where people kind of, you know, do their ritualistic obeisances to their ritualistic obeisances to the gods . really, i don't know. the gods. really, i don't know. i don't know what rational aim the government is trying to achieve , but, it strikes me as achieve, but, it strikes me as very it's not surprising it's wales because their whole drive, it seems to me on their big anti—racist wales 2030 mission, seems to be entirely negative. it just seems to be defining itself as being like, you know, against anything british. i mean, you know, so you're very negative. >> it does look like that. i'm reading here that training is being devised as part of a £130,000 project to instruct local librarians in critical whiteness studies and how to deal with issues like the dominant paradigm of whiteness. i mean, librarians , every five i mean, librarians, every five year old needs to know that, don't they? >> i mean, it's just it's just

ludicrous. >> i mean, how are they going to judge this? are they going to be interviewing all the librarians beforehand to see whether they can see whiteness as a problem? and then after ten months, ask them again and see whether their views have changed according to what they would like them to be. i mean, it's like an effort in, in sort of mind control, really. and the thing is, if it gets accepted, it's changing a public service, which is what libraries are where which are meant to be, you know, bastions of upholding , you know, bastions of upholding, learning of individuals being able to access things that they perhaps could in their homes. and i mean, is it is it a coincidence thing? >> is it a coincidence that at the same time as the welsh government is focusing on things like this, the welsh performance has fallen to its lowest level everin has fallen to its lowest level ever in maths, reading and science tests taken by 15 year olds last year. that's the lowest of all uk nations and the results gap has widened. these

are the results. last year i mean priorities , that is such mean priorities, that is such a good point. >> you know, and really a responsible education department would be wanting to look at the correlation between introducing these kinds of anti—racist and decolonising policies into the school curriculum, into school practices and to see what actually, you know, what, whether there's a correlation between the kids, what the kids are learning, you between the kids, what the kids are learning , you know, are learning, you know, intellectually, the effects of these, these this kind of belief system is very corrosive because it doesn't recognise truth. and it doesn't recognise truth. and it doesn't recognise the normal standards that, you know, most people acknowledge are signs of success. you know, like your kids can use grammar properly or speak properly or , you know, speak properly or, you know, write, you know, decent handwriting, all these things are being seen recast as signs of privilege, of white privilege. so if you have an education profession and a cultural, a cultural institution that believes these things, or

even if it doesn't believe these things, just goes along with it, then those the normal standards of progress will be, will erode. yeah. >> but also , look, i'm just >> but also, look, i'm just going here now, this is in front of me here, the for office national statistics. i just thought i'd type in what is what is the demographic ethnic makeup of wales . all right. so it says of wales. all right. so it says here in wales the percentage of the population who identified as asian, asian, british or asian welsh was 2.9% as black, 0.9% mixed or multiple ethnic group was 1.6%. so with respect, that's not a particularly large percentage of the population. they did have a black first minister for a while. i'm just wondering, and they are also, numerous different places. there are also cities of sanctuary for asylum seekers. i just can't help but wonder whether or not they even do have a racism problem at all. >> i think what you've just pointed to, patrick, really shows the ideological character of this. that is to say, none of

this is a response to actual problems that people face. in reality , it's an attempt, a very reality, it's an attempt, a very divisive attempt to get to us accept. we don't we don't long. we no longer exist as a united general public, if you like. but we're groups. we're a little ethnic groups. it's sectarian. >> well, thank you very, very much , alex. great to have you on much, alex. great to have you on the show. you take care , the show. you take care, cuthbert. there. don't divide us. we've got loads coming your way, including our labour now in the pockets of the unions. but first, it's your weather with alex burkill . alex burkill. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on gb news >> how's it going ? here's your >> how's it going? here's your latest met office weather forecast for gb news. plenty of wet and windy weather pushing into northwestern parts tomorrow, but ahead of that, today is a day of sunshine and showers for many of us. we do still have the remnants of

yesterday's front clinging on in the southeast at the moment, but that's clearing away, taking the earlier cloud and rain with it and behind it. then yes, sunshine and showers for many of us across much of england and wales, the showers will be quite hit or miss, and there'll be plenty of sunny spells further north. the showers will be much more frequent. some heavy ones, especially for western scotland where we will have some strong winds. gusts of around 40 to 50mph. perhaps that will add to the fresher feel for many of us. still just about getting into the low to mid 20s towards the southeast of the uk. plenty more showers to come as we go through this evening. there could be some rumbles of thunder mixed in with them, particularly across western parts of scotland. even further east, though, a few showers are going to make their way in and all the time we need to watch out for those blustery, gusty winds. also, across northern parts of northern ireland, some blustery winds here and plenty of showers. but the shower risk does actually decrease the further south we go , decrease the further south we go, particularly towards the southeast. some western parts of wales and southwest england may

see a few pushing through at times. more showers to come across northern parts as we go overnight. further south, staying largely dry . 1 or staying largely dry. 1 or 2 showers perhaps, but also some clear skies and things will settle down a little bit. many of the showers easing through the early hours and with the winds easing some clear skies, it's probably going to be a bit of a fresher night than of late for many of us. some places dropping into single figures and then through tomorrow a relatively bright start for many of us. a few showers here and there, but it's later on that we are going to see increasing amounts of cloud and some wet and windy weather pushing in across particularly parts of scotland and northern ireland. this could lead to some impacts with a bit of flooding and also some travel disruption, likely staying dry and a bit warmer in the southeast by that warm feeling inside. >> from boxt

>> good afternoon britain. it is

2:00 on tuesday the 20th of august. i'm emily carver and i'm patrick christys now. the mystery of the sunken superyacht. the captain has now spoken for the first time. he says he didn't see the tornado coming. british tech tycoon mike lynch and his 18 year old daughter are still missing. our reporter adam cherry is on the scene as it also emerges. mr lynch's business partner died just a few days before hit by a car. >> yeah. very weird indeed. and the prime minister is in wales at the moment, hoping to make britain an energy superpower. we're actually going to be joined by none other than sir jacob rees—mogg to get his opinions on that. and no doubt the idea that labour is now taking the knee to the unions and an emotional farewell by joe biden, he shed a tear or two overnight as he passes the baton to kamala harris. >> we'll get the latest from our man in america . man in america. >> well, there's an interesting

compare and contrast going on at the moment because robert jenrick, who is tipped by many to be the next leader of the conservative party, has come out today and he said that look, our headlong rush towards net zero, you don't win any medals for it. we shouldn't be pushing to do it any faster than any of our counterparts. meanwhile, sir keir starmer there is in wales and some kind of onshore wind farm talking about how he's going to give ed miliband a load of money so he can play the ukulele in front of one of them, and you know, our bills are probably going to go up. just wondering if people think that's a good idea. i don't know, do they? >>i they? >> i don't even know what i say to that really. i mean, i mean, it's kind of true insofar as ed miliband is going to be given probably a lot of money to his department for his gb energy. we've rspb energy. ed miliband, in a slightly patronising comment a little while ago, did say that gb news viewers will absolutely love gb energy because it sounds like it. >> yeah, which is the kind of level that he thinks people are at, isn't it? really? but we've also dished out maybe a good thing. >> who knows, might be a good thing. >> dished out something like £11.6 billion so other countries

can try to improve the quality of their air. and i think, well, you know, is that not money that could be better spent here. you couple that with the amount of money we're shelling out for the unions and all of that stuff. labour are doing a lot of spending at the moment. >> a lot of spending, a lot of spending. and as i said before, i'm not particularly looking forward to that budget that we're going to get on october, where they attempt to claw back some of this money because it can't all be borrowing, and taxes may be high, but they can always get higher, can't they? but let us know. perhaps you think patrick's being a bit cynical, a bit cynical, and perhaps you know , wind energy is perhaps you know, wind energy is the future? >> well, possibly, but we're also spending a load of money on people coming across the channel people coming across the channel, aren't we? and them saying, oh, well, the tories are going to spend £70 billion on rwanda. well, fine. but if 100,000 illegal migrants cost us each £400,000 over the course of their lifetime, which is the projection there, then you get to 40 billion quite quickly, don't you? so yeah, there is a lot of expenditure going on from labour at the moment. >> gosh, that's all rather depressing. let's get the news

headunes. headlines. >> very good afternoon to you. it's just after 2:00. and the top story this hour, king charles has arrived in southport to meet survivors of a stabbing attack in the town there, which sadly left three girls dead last month. his majesty arrived at the town hall in the last hour , the town hall in the last hour, where he will soon speak to members of the southport community who provided support in the aftermath of that attack. he's also holding a tea for party some of the survivors and victims families. before he meets emergency services. later in other news today, rescue efforts are continuing for six people still missing at sea after a british flagged super yacht sank yesterday off the coast of sicily. among those unaccounted for is british businessman mike lynch and his daughter. we also now know morgan stanley's banking boss, jonathan blumer and clifford chance. lawyer chris morvillo are also among those unaccounted for. 15 people, though, including the wife of mike

lynch, have been rescued after the vessel capsized during intense storms , while marco intense storms, while marco tilotta from the palermo diving unit claims that they are now facing significant challenges trying to reach the wreck. >> the difficulties of the case are dictated by the depth that does not allow for long walking times, so you understand well that the conditions of the hull are tilted. 90 agrees access to the hull is difficult. if you manage to get inside the hull, you understand well the inside there is a world of objects so penetrating inside and descending into the compartment below from the stairs that are narrow and going into all the cabins is a really hard and difficult job. >> meanwhile, the co—defendant of the british businessman, mike lynch, who's currently one of those missing off the coast of italy, has died after being hit

by a car. stephen chamberlin was killed while out running in cambridgeshire at the weekend. both men had recently been acquitted of a fraud case in the united states relating to the sale of mr lynch's software company for £86 billion in the middle east, at least ten palestinians have been killed after an airstrike on a school in gaza, which israel claims hamas was using as a command centre. meanwhile, the israeli military says it has now recovered the bodies of six more hostages who were captured in the october the 7th attacks. that comes as the us, egypt and qatar are calling on hamas to agree a ceasefire proposal after it gained backing from israel last night. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, says it could be a decisive moment in the war. joe biden became emotional as he delivered a farewell speech to the democratic national convention last night. the us president was seen wiping away tears as he addressed the crowd on the first of a four day event in chicago.

kamala harris will be formally declared as the party's election candidate later this week. mr biden says she's the right choice for america. >> let me ask you are you ready to vote for freedom ? are you to vote for freedom? are you ready to vote for democracy and for america ? let me ask you, are for america? let me ask you, are you ready to elect kamala harris and tim waltz ? and tim waltz? >> a group of migrants were heard banging and screaming for help , concealed in help, concealed in a refrigerated van as they were slowly starved of oxygen. a court in lewes has heard today. anas al mustafa is on trial there for allegedly smuggling there for allegedly smuggling the seven people from france to the seven people from france to the uk via a ferry, hiding them in a cramped and fake compartment. crew members on that ship used an axe to free the migrants after hearing their pleas for help. two migrants lost consciousness before being rescued and reportedly an australian nurse on board helped

to provide oxygen. al mustafa, though, has denied those charges and the trial continues. though, has denied those charges and the trial continues . police and the trial continues. police say they are now treating a stabbing in manchester, which left a woman dead as a domestic incident. a 17 year old girl and a man aged 64, were also injured. they are now in hospital, suffering with life threatening injuries. a 43 year old died from her injuries. a 22 year old man is now in custody after police were called to an address in gorton on sunday night . scotland is continuing to night. scotland is continuing to suffer from the highest rate of drug related deaths in europe, figures show. there was a 12% increase last year, 1172 people died in 2023. in a reverse of the trend of improvements seen since the peak in 2020. young people suspended from secondary school are twice as likely to be out of an education university or employment compared to their peers , a new report by the

peers, a new report by the education policy institute found . education policy institute found. those suspended, even just once are more likely to experience poor outcomes between the age of 19 and 24. government figures show the numbers of those suspended in england has now reached a record high, with almost 800,000 pupils suspended in the last academic year. and the final 31 ted baker stores are closing today after the company behind the fashion chain collapsed back in march. more than 500 jobs are now at risk. includes locations such as heathrow and gatwick airports. london's regent street in bath in york and portsmouth . those in york and portsmouth. those are the latest gb news headlines for now. i'll be back with you for now. i'll be back with you for one more update from me at 230 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 the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts .

forward slash alerts. >> okay. welcome back to good afternoon britain. it is 2:09 now. divers have entered the sunken superyacht as the hunt continues for the missing passengers, with experts dubbing the operation very, very complicated. mainly, apparently because the yacht is intact at the bottom of the ocean. >> yes. so british tech tycoon mike lynch and his daughter are among six tourists missing after among six tourists missing after a luxury yacht sank in this tornado off the coast of sicily. >> yeah, so this this british registered 56 metre. bayesian had 22 people on board when it went down after being struck, apparently by a tornado in what is a massively freak incident, isn't it? unfortunately, the body of the vessel's cook has actually been found , but divers actually been found, but divers are now looking for the other people who are believed to be missing. 15 people rescued so far, thankfully, but gb news is. reporter adam cherry is on the

scene for us, so let's get to him. adam. yeah, look. what is the latest here? it does appear to be taking a heck of a long time, given we know where this yacht is, and there are divers there to actually get a few more updates on who is still on board that yacht. >> yeah. that's right. i mean, the main problem is they have to resurface every ten minutes. and as they're trying to navigate the wreckage and try and get down there, most of you would expect that most of the searches will be done in the cabins, given the time when the ship sank, and it's very difficult to access them, as we heard in the bulletins fire department saying there's a lot of furniture and debns there's a lot of furniture and debris blocking the entrances into the vessel, most of which is intact externally , the body is intact externally, the body of the ship itself. that's why it's taking a little bit longer than everyone would like. as for the 15 people who thankfully did make it out , we have now seen make it out, we have now seen footage of some of those survivors exiting the hospital. the nearby hospital about ten miles from here in palermo. they're exiting the main entrance and climbing into

vehicles. so they have now it appears, left, immediate care, which is some good news today, patrick and emily. but as i say at the moment, there's about 3 or 4 ships in the water, and they are continuing their search as we speak. >> yeah. no, indeed . and >> yeah. no, indeed. and obviously quite a few people were able to get off this, this stricken yacht, weren't they? and make it to safety. do we know exactly how that happened, that they managed to get into some kind of inflatable life raft? >> yeah, they were able to get onto a life raft and some local other ships are in the area, or boats in the area were able to help them and the reason the other boats weren't so affected by this and why, you know, they were able to attend to them relatively quickly in these circumstances was because they we suspect the main, the sunken ship, the superyacht had a lot of doors and windows open. it was just a confluence of really bad circumstances that led to this ship sinking, whereas

others i mean, there are lots of others i mean, there are lots of other ships here at the moment. still. why are they where they were able to survive? because it was a tornado and bad weather that influenced this. but again, a lot of bad luck really contributing to quite a horrifying scene here. >> absolutely. i should say we're just looking at some live pictures of the rescue operation there in italy, off the coast of sicily, there, near palermo . sicily, there, near palermo. porticello is the specific area, but as you can see, it looks it still looks the weather still looks quite blustery , at least looks quite blustery, at least obviously not horrendous weather, but it still seems like there's a lot of wind in the air. i don't know if that makes matters any more complicated, but a huge number of influential people on board this yacht i believe that they're still looking for a successful lawyer, clifford chance, at clifford chance, a morgan stanley bank chairman, as well a ceo of a gynaecological cancer research charity, this was a luxury yacht. and there's also a rumour

that this may have been a victory celebration following this, this legal battle . this, this legal battle. >> yeah. that's right. so, i mean, 22 people here celebrating on an enormous yacht, it's not a common occurrence. these people were high profile, very successful. and that's what makes this , in a sense, makes it makes this, in a sense, makes it so extraordinary. emily, yeah. we're still looking for six people. unfortunately, 15 have have survived so far . have survived so far. >> yeah, indeed. i mean, the other dynamic to this is that mr lynch and his family and his friends were on this yacht to celebrate what he was calling his second life after being acquitted of a load of charges in a us fraud trial. but this extraordinary twist is that his co—defendant in that, stephen chamberlain, who i must i'm at pains to say, was also cleared of the charges, has now died after being hit by a car while running in england. and that was over the weekend . so, i mean, over the weekend. so, i mean, it's an astonishing coincidence , it's an astonishing coincidence, it's an astonishing coincidence, it must be said, and a very

unfortunate set of circumstances for all involved. but, adam, look, thank you very much. if we do get any major developments, we'll be going back to adam cherry on the scene for us as quickly as we possibly can. you take care. so let's let's whiz ourselves on to matters slightly closer at home, shall we? >> yes. why not? is the new labour government bending the knee to the unions? we're asking this because after a series of bumper pay offers, the rmt union's mick lynch has been seen as storming. you could say that into the department of transport . into the department of transport. walking with confidence. i'd say, like a man who knows he's about to come into some money, maybe, maybe into the department for transport with the most likely a blank cheque for the government to sign off on. i mean, it does. i mean, it's easy for him to say, well, you've given this lot for this pay offer. why not us, so. yeah. >> well, is this what we should expect from a cabinet who received hundreds of thousands of pounds in union donations? honestly, how can the prime minister and the chancellor say no to the people who donated around £24 million to their party? the other aspect of this,

though, is that keir starmer is now saying he wants more people to work from home. what does that mean? a load of empty trains, some very expensive trains, some very expensive train drivers doesn't seem to quite add up , train drivers doesn't seem to quite add up, does it? >> no, not quite how the labour government fallen into the trap and capitulated to their union friends . so let's bring in our friends. so let's bring in our gb news political editor christopher hope. do we have any updates on this meeting between mick lynch and various officials at the department for transport? i mean, from your from your experience, do you imagine that mick lynch will get what he wants ? wants? >> afternoon, both. i would say it looks like it because the rmt union trained train guards and people who maintain the network were having all sorts of strike action over the past year or so. there was an offer of 3.5% pay rise for this year back in april that was turned down by mick lynch. if you look at the detail of the aslef deal, which is a new benchmark that was 14% over three years, including 4.5% for

this year and if you look like that's what, the rmt are going for 4.5% for this year, there's a broader trend here of everyone following and rising upwards with this new labour government coming in. mick lynch, he said today we really need to move on from the belligerent and hostile attitude of the last government and reset industrial relations to allow rail workers and rfa. that's a naval merchant seamen, seafarers to get on with, with their job. seafarers to get on with, with theirjob. what seafarers to get on with, with their job. what that seafarers to get on with, with theirjob. what that means is their job. what that means is that employers under the last tory government were trying to attach strings to these pay deals. it could be productivity. it could be ensuring they work harder for money. they receive. and that looks like it's been dropped. certainly with the aslef pay deal, the rmt is meeting with network rail on thursday, so you can imagine some news pretty soon on this . some news pretty soon on this. it does look like it's going in one direction, which makes it more expensive, maybe for taxpayers and certainly for companies to pay these people .

companies to pay these people. >> christopher, if there is no incentive to work any harder or no increase, production and labour are simultaneously saying that more people can work from home. is this not just going to add to inflation? >> well, yes, the jury's out on that. there has been some comment from the bank of england saying it could be inflationary, but they keep watch on that. as big a deal though is the numbers of private sector workers, if they start, if they start looking across to the public sector and that becomes a ratchet for the private sector, it could become inflationary. and that certainly is a worry. with inflation down at 2.2% for this month, scheduled to hit 2.75% by the end of the year, and then back to 2% the following year. that means that as long as it stays at 2%, everything is affordable. but it's a concern and a worry , and it's a concern and a worry, and people like others are concerned about this and wonder what jacob rees—mogg thinks. he'll be concerned too . concerned too. >> thank you very much indeed. christopher hope, our political editor there in westminster. so yes, for some more reaction,

let's get the thoughts of gb news presenter and former conservative mp sirjacob conservative mp sir jacob rees—mogg. sirjacob, conservative mp sir jacob rees—mogg. sir jacob, thank you very much indeed forjoining us, there is a concern that labour have come into power and they've decided that in order to end the strikes, they will deliver very generous pay offers to the trade unions . it would appear that, unions. it would appear that, once you give a very generous pay once you give a very generous pay offer, funnily enough, more demands follow . demands follow. >> yeah, that's absolutely right, >> it's kipling's poem about the danegeld. >> if you pay the danegeld, the dane doesn't go away. and they've given this enormous pay off to the doctors, to the junior doctors. well the nurses settled at a much more reasonable level . the nurses are reasonable level. the nurses are bound to come back for more. why wouldn't they? when you see this largesse being given to the pubuc largesse being given to the public sector unions, who, of course, are the major funders of the labour party, so they're using taxpayers money to pay off their friends. using taxpayers money to pay off theirfriends. it's using taxpayers money to pay off their friends. it's really pretty grubby, and i don't think

enough people are talking about this at the moment. >> jacob. but you alluded to it, which is that there was a period of time there where the teachers, some people who work in the nhs as well, and some civil servants looked as though they possibly would have settled at about 5.5%. but if they're now seeing the junior doctors getting 22% and mick lynch and mick whelan and all that lot getting around 15%, why on earth would they settle at 5.5%, which ramps up the bill yet again, doesn't it ? doesn't it? >> well, giving money to aslef is the most stupid thing that you can possibly do. it is an extremely aggressive union, and it shows that the worse you behave, the more obstructive you are, the more you insist on antediluvian, outdated working practices , the better you will practices, the better you will do. and this is what labour did in the 1970s. tony blair had the wit to learn that lesson and didn't give in. in this way, keir starmer is giving in and we will have much more union trouble because of it . trouble because of it. >> so some people there, jacob, might point out a few,

indiscretions during the conservatives time in government. there was a lot of ppe contracts or stuff like that given out that were seen as in a way that at the time, jobs for the boys. is this not a little bit like that? >> no, not at all. >> no, not at all. >> the ppe contracts are an entirely different matter. bear in mind, government ministers do notissue in mind, government ministers do not issue contracts. they are issued by civil servants. we needed ppe urgently. the whole world was buying ppe and a very small amount of ppe was bought. that turned out to not be usable, but actually we needed or we thought we needed vast quantities of it and the procurement agencies within government did a heroic to job get the quantities we needed. so no, it's nothing like that. >> jacob. there is an argument though, too, isn't there, that when the conservatives were in power, we had a huge number of strikes. we lost a huge amount of money as a result? the economy suffered as a result of what felt like endless strikes.

ministers in this new labour government would say that this will actually save us money. if you will actually save us money. if you pay will actually save us money. if you pay people, they'll go to work, they won't continue to strike and then the problem's fixed and it won't end up costing us more in the long run . costing us more in the long run. >> well, it's completely bogus argument because it becomes inflationary, because everybody starts asking for these pay increases. and actually when people go on strike, if what you do is respond by giving them super pay increases, you make the problem worse. you give an incentive for more people to go on strike, and therefore you end up losing more days from strikes, not fewer days. the last conservative government is absolutely right to stand up to militant trade unionists again. look at the lessons of post—war british industrial history, giving to in aggressive trade unions. the red robbo's that we're now getting, coming back in the form of mick lynch and so on, is a way to disaster economically. >> well, we've also, by the way,

got border force going out on strike in a few days time, i think as well. so we can add that to the list, can't we. but jacob, you are in the absolutely resplendent location of your own home and what what have you got coming up on your show? this evening ? evening? >> well, we're going to be talking a bit more about this because of the government saying that you lose productivity by expecting people to turn up to work , which is one of the most work, which is one of the most bizarre arguments i've ever heard. there has been no increase in public sector productivity. indeed, it's declined since 1997, and now this government is encouraging, supporting, backing, more working from home, which means pubuc working from home, which means public services don't get delivered properly. try ringing hmrc if you don't believe me. a test for gb news viewers between now and 8:00. ring hmrc and see if you get through. if you do get through mailmogg@gbnews.uk good stuff i like that. >> fantastic. every single time you try. as a bloke who has spent an unfortunate amount of time trying to get through to

hmrc, you know every single time you ring it doesn't matter what time of day or night it's always. we are experiencing a very high volume of calls, so we're trying, which i'm not entirely sure i believe. but anyway , jacob, thank you very anyway, jacob, thank you very much. we look forward to your show. jacob. >> oh, go on, go on. my pleasure. all right. >> we'll see you in a bit. take care. bye bye. bye bye. >> i'm just going to say. you've got to go. okay thank you. bye. >> oh, no. well, there's a cliff—hanger. perhaps you can tell us later. >> thank you very much. awkward ends to an interview, ever. but i'll see you in a second, jacob. all right. okay. anyway coming up, we're going to be getting the latest on the us presidential race. >> joe biden passing the baton, teary eyed to kamala harris. he's he insists he's not done yet, though . what does that yet, though. what does that mean? he is done. >> he's done

>> welcome back to good afternoon britain. it's 2:27 and

we can take you now to, king charles, actually. and these are live pictures from southport . so live pictures from southport. so he's arrived in southport and he's arrived in southport and he's actually been there for a little while now, meeting with various different people who were involved in one way or another in that deeply tragic incident where three people, three young girls, sadly lost their lives after a stabbing spree there. he's been meeting with the parents, as i understand it, meeting with some of the parents, some of the family members of, of those in the community and also some of the community and also some of the surviving children to this is at the heart space community centre. >> he's also going to be meeting merseyside's emergency services, as well as well as local community groups, hoping to provide some support as well. and recognition, i imagine, to those who had to deal with the consequences of this horrific , consequences of this horrific, horrific attack that took place, some people are saying, well, why is it taking him three weeks? >> just gauging the reaction to onune >> just gauging the reaction to online this, right. so some people are saying this is

absolutely brilliant, what the king is doing here. and i think that appears to be the overwhelming consensus, doesn't it? he's showing his face, cutting his holiday to balmoral short so that he can go and be there. the other aspect to it, i think, is the fact that he's now kind of let things die down a little bit. i think it's right that he took some space from something that had arguably triggered a huge amount of unrest in this country, violent disorder probably best that he, you know, didn't wade in, didn't wade in at right when things were so heated, so there's the king shaking hands with members of the public, exchanging some words with those who are waiting there to see him. it's also another good thing. unless unless we just aren't seeing this at the moment. but usually wherever the king goes, you now unfortunately see the not my king brigade there with the yellow signs, the shouting and screaming trying to ruin it. yellow signs, the shouting and screaming trying to ruin it . and screaming trying to ruin it. and that was sadly my first thought when i realised this morning that we were going to be taking a trip from the king to southport, that maybe the not my king lot would turn up. but they have so far, as far as i can tell, swerved, and i think

that's fair enough. and i think that's fair enough. and i think that's right that they've done that's right that they've done that because, you know, let's remind ourselves what this incident was all about initially, it was kick started by one of the most appalling attacks that i think i've ever seen in britain, where a room full of very, very young people, most of them young girls who were just trying to go to some taylor swift themed dance class where it appears anyway , stabbed where it appears anyway, stabbed in a frenzied knife attack. so yeah. >> and just just remember, really, he'll be speaking to some people today who, reacted to this event who must have seen some of the most traumatic, horrific, things of their lives, let's turn to cameron walker , let's turn to cameron walker, who has been there on the scene for us this afternoon . cameron, for us this afternoon. cameron, we're just looking at live pictures from southport, where king charles appears to be meeting and greeting members of the local community. cameron, remind us exactly who he's meeting today and what message he's trying to get across . he's trying to get across. >> yes, emily. so these live pictures you're seeing now of the king meeting some of the members of the local community.

these have been specially selected for their role in going above and beyond in the initial aftermath of the attack on the 29th of july, as well as the clearing up essentially after the riots which immediately followed that attack, where three young girls tragically lost their lives . so one man lost their lives. so one man there who you can just see to next the lady in the pink, who the king is greeting, he actually was involved in maintaining, i suppose, a sea of flowers with floral tributes, which had been left outside the town hall , which had been left outside the town hall, and meeting them. which had been left outside the town hall , and meeting them. the town hall, and meeting them. the king has just wandering coming over now to greet members of the general public who have been waiting very patiently for hours and hours to meet his majesty. the king, of course, it was all kept very much a secret until this morning that the king would be coming to southport. and, patrick, i heard you mention earlier. why has it taken kind of three weeks for his majesty the king to come and meet members of the local community? from my understanding, he always wanted to. he's been giving been

given daily updates of the situation here in southport and indeed the riots across the country. and by, of course, the king coming here. it takes a lot of police security. it takes a lot of organisation. and he didn't want to add an extra burden onto the police if they are clearly dealing with the aftermath of such a horrific attack and indeed the subsequent riots. so that's why now everything has died down a bit. the king has decided now is the moment to come to southport. of course, he's interrupted his own houday course, he's interrupted his own holiday to come here, perhaps giving you an indication of just how seriously an important he is. he he is taking this, and he really thinks it is important to spend time with the local community to show his support, as he has done really for the last three weeks or so. he put out an initial statement or buckingham palace did on his behalf. on the 29th of july, on the day of the attack, saying how shocked he was at the utterly horrific attack inside the town hall in the last half an hour or so, the king has

meeting in met even in pub in private. some of the survivors from that southport attack at the taylor swift concert. i'll just, put the microphone close to him and see if we can pick up what he's saying. king charles, they're missing some members of the local community here, and he's just skipping past the press pen. as you can probably imagine, it was about we're about two metres away from him, but, members of the public, let's see if we can grab a word with members of the public. excuse me . oh, she's public. excuse me. oh, she's gone. >> yes . >> yes. >> yes. >> did you get to see king charles? i'm just going to patrick introduce you to a lady who's been waiting a while , if who's been waiting a while, if that's okay. how was it? how was it? just seeing king charles i was quite special.

>> it was lovely to see him. it's so tragic to. in the circumstances that's brought him here. but i'm sure the family will take comfort from all that . will take comfort from all that. >> and what does it mean that his majesty has come here to southport in the aftermath of such a horrific attack? >> it's. it's very special. very special indeed for the community as well. you know, the community have come together with all this tragic circumstances. but yes. beautiful. >> thank you very much for speaking to me. and of course, community has been a key theme here of king charles's visits and following this walkabout here, his majesty is going to be going to the local fire station here, where he will be meeting members of the emergency services who are involved in that initial aftermath of the attack. as well as those who were clearly dealing with the riots, which took place, and the key theme that his majesty really wanted to emphasise here in southport is community

cohesion. and he will be meeting some faith leaders from different faiths here in southport. if you remember, immediately after a couple of days after there was some quite violent disorder outside of the local mosque here and one of king charles's key themes of his life's work, really, when he was prince of wales, was community cohesion and getting different community faith groups to talk to each other . to each other. >> merlin? indeed, no, absolutely. and i think cameron another aspect to this is that actually king charles himself does appear to look quite well , does appear to look quite well, which is, i think, very good considering he's had he's had his own health issues recently, hasn't he. so he appears to be he appears to be looking quite well i think at the moment, doesn't he ? doesn't he? >> yeah, he certainly does. patrick, considering it was only march. where or february? the buckingham palace announced that he was undergoing cancer treatment. he does appear very well. he appears very much in good spirits, full of energy.

clearly he wants to engage with members of the public. there was a time on medical advice that he wasn't allowed to be around large crowds, for obvious reasons, perhaps to do with his immunity with with cancer treatments, but come april, we saw him on easter sunday, greet members of the public outside saint george's chapel in windsor. and with the summer months, calls for more outdoor engagements. and the king clearly spending a lot of time outside in the warmer weather here in august, even though a bitterly cold wind, he is able to do that and i think him being head of state at moments like this part of his role is providing that reassurance that this country can continue even in the face of such unimaginable tragedy , where three young girls tragedy, where three young girls lose their lives in such horrific circumstances. he can come here to the community affected, bring people together and really emphasise that community spirit and also thank those who really did go above and beyond for their communities. as i was mentioning at the start of, of my piece here, speaking to those members like a local ice cream shop, for example, giving out free ice

creams to emergency services, the king has met the owner of that particular ice cream shop. the man involved in looking after the sea of flowers , which after the sea of flowers, which still very much remains here more than three weeks on from that horrific attack, as well as a local building merchant who was involved in rebuilding walls which were knocked down, and glasses, glass which were smashed after the riots here in southport. so it's all of those areas which the king is really wanting to highlight here in southport. and of course, meeting members of the local community and the survivors of that horrific attack at the taylor swift themed dance class. and tomorrow the king will be in london, where he will be meeting the bereaved families of those three young girls too. >> and cameron, how have they managed the numbers in terms of the crowds there today? how many people can you estimate have turned up? have they been freely allowed to turn up, or is it only a select few from the community who've who are there ? community who've who are there? >> well, emily, i think it was

definitely in the hundreds at its peak, if not over a thousand. i think this has clearly kept quite a secret engagement until around 10:00 this morning. the king just waving at a few other members of the public who had gathered , the public who had gathered, going over to meet a little girl and some family members there too. so people have been clearly hanging around for hours and hours and hours for this special moment to meet his majesty the king. so yeah, clearly very special for them. but i think the crowds have been pretty big considering they didn't have any nofice considering they didn't have any notice that the king was coming. the king just giving a final wave. there before he gets in his car and he's heading off now to that community fire station, which is just a short drive away. but he spent, i think , away. but he spent, i think, longer than he was expected to spend meeting members of the crowd, because i think one of the roles of the monarchy is to be as personable as possible, particularly in this modern age. he's got to be seen to be believed. and that's exactly what he's been doing here. >> yeah , he's got to be seen to >> yeah, he's got to be seen to be believed. but i also think

it's such an important thing, actually, because in the wake of what happened there, that was such an appalling attack, such an appalling attack . an appalling attack. >> and then in a way, it kind of got forgotten because we had a couple of weeks of, well, pandemonium, really in britain. and i think it's really nice that king charles has gone to that king charles has gone to that location there to, to mark what, what actually, really was, you know, the major incident of that time, something so shocking, a stain in britain's history, which is that three young girls, countless others by the way, injured and wounded, you know, in this, in this rampaging knife attack that took place there, he's actually gone to mark that and make sure that that hasn't been lost in all of the madness that we've seen afterwards . afterwards. >> yeah, absolutely. patrick i mean, on the day of the attack, he released a statement saying how shocked he was. so did the prince and princess of wales and express his sympathies for the victims and their families. but of course, it was such chaos in

the aftermath of that attack. three young girls lost their lives. the level of anger across the country because of that attack sparks riots. essentially and the king again, was very concerned about that. i understand he was asked to be he asked to be given daily updates on the evolving situation around the country. but he knows, as head of state, him coming too soon perhaps would have inflamed tensions. and he didn't want to do that. so he very much waited until everything had calmed down, until the police had time to gather themselves, essentially because clearly they had a very busy role in terms of in the aftermath of the attack and dealing with the riots. and he didn't want to add an unnecessary burden onto the police pressure , but now clearly police pressure, but now clearly was the right time. and this is the part in front of a town hall where members of the local community, whoever they are, just normal members of the public, could come out, see the king. the king could show his support for the community, show his support for them , speak to his support for them, speak to them, hear their stories, what they've been through over the

last three weeks. see the flowers. see the messages that have been left for those three young girls and the other victims who either were injured or lost their lives. and again, i think it puts southport back on the map a bit because it's very easy for some for such a horrific incident to fall off. the news cycle so, so quickly. but i think by a member of the royal family coming here, it does make the general public around the country remember that, yes, the attack happened, but also that there is a community still reeling and it's going to take years, if not decades for them to rebuild from this, that being there for us in southport to witness the king there, meeting all the local community there, lots of people who were involved or who had relatives that were sadly involved in what we saw in southport. >> not too long ago, but we'll catch up with the cameron walker, i'm sure. perhaps in martin's show too . but should we martin's show too. but should we turn our attention to the united states? because the democratic national convention kicked off in chicago ? what are you i need

in chicago? what are you i need freedom to move, i break chains, i and vice president kamala harris that you can see there . harris that you can see there. she surprised the crowds with a bit of an earlier than expected appearance. she heaped oodles of praise on president joe biden, thanking him for his leadership. >> i want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, joe biden . who will president, joe biden. who will be speaking later tonight? joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all. you will continue to do. we are forever grateful to you . are forever grateful to you. >> well, there we go. and our former secretary of state and 2016 nominee, hillary clinton, also took to the stage, didn't she? >> yes, she is. there she is, but not without controversy as mrs. clinton had to talk over chants of lock him up as she

mocked donald trump. yes, they were chanting that very loudly indeed. from what i could see. >> well, there we go. and finally, biden himself wiped away tears before calling trump away tears before calling trump a loser and fully endorsing harris's campaign. let me ask you , are you ready to for vote you, are you ready to for vote freedom ? freedom? >> are you ready to for vote democracy and for america ? let democracy and for america? let me ask you, are you ready to elect kamala harris and tim waltz ? waltz? >> yeah. i mean, the problem with that is like, are you ready to vote to continue to breathe? yeah i am, yeah. are you ready to vote to continue to blink. yeah. do you want, do you want to be able to eat food . to be able to eat food. >> we want to be able to eat food. this kind of stuff we vote for. yeah >> pointless. >> pointless. >> we speak to steven edgerton, our us correspondent who is in washington, dc. steven, your key takeaways from what we saw last night?

>> well, this was meant to be joe biden's convention, famously, until very recently , famously, until very recently, he was going to be the democratic candidate. he got 14 million votes from democratic voters in their primary elections. kamala harris hasn't achieved one vote from democratic voters. instead of this being his convention, the democrats decided to put him at 11 pm. on a sunday. on a monday night, the sort of dead hour of the deadest day of the convention, giving his speech endorsing kamala harris. you get the sense that the democrats are trying to make you forget, as soon as possible who joe biden is, what he's done for the democratic party, his legacy as president. and they want you to move on to the new candidate, kamala harris, who will be speaking later this week on thursday. they've also been bringing out other key democratic figures today. i think obama will be speaking. we'll also see from bill clinton . we'll also see from bill clinton. we'll also see from bill clinton. we had his wife, hillary, yesterday. so the convention is

an opportunity for kamala harris to really present herself to the nation. not too many people know too much about her as vice president. she's had a fairly low profile, but this is her opportunity to set her agenda out, to talk about the different policies that she wants to instigate as president, and to really define herself on the national stage . national stage. >> yeah, indeed. and it's not just her, though, is it? it's tim, tim walz as well. and we don't seem to know a huge amount about him. is it fair to say that kamala is trying to avoid the scrutiny of the media, though doing some very staged situations like this? we're heanng situations like this? we're hearing that she's not particularly forthcoming when it comes to actual interviews . comes to actual interviews. >> she hasn't done a media interview in over a month since she announced her candidacy for the presidency. she hasn't done a major sit down interview with any of the broadcasters in the states, which is quite surprising. you would expect that a major figure like the democratic nominee for president would do interviews with the

media. on the other hand, you have the republicans , jd vance have the republicans, jd vance and donald trump, who have been doing some interviews. i think jd vance did three interviews last weekend over the sort of sunday, and he's really criticising kamala harris and the democrats for not facing the kind of scrutiny that they're happy to put themselves up against. you've also got to talk about the debates as well, joe biden agreed for, i think, three debates, and now kamala harris has only agreed to two debates with donald trump . and tim walz with donald trump. and tim walz as well, has only agreed to do, one debate with jd vance . so one debate with jd vance. so i think they are facing a bit of a, you know, they're not facing as much scrutiny as perhaps they could. >> a lot of people even saying that kamala harris is going down a treat with gen z and women overin a treat with gen z and women over in the united states. is thatis over in the united states. is that is that true ? do the that is that true? do the figures reflect that? >> i think single women in particular have a major, major advantage for the democrats , advantage for the democrats, they will vote for the

democrats. i think something like 68% of single women, want the democrats, whereas married women, married men , married women, married men, married couples are more leaning to the republicans. but yeah, i mean, kamala harris has been painted by the us media as this new imagining her. >> sorry, stephen, i'm just imagining her doing all the single ladies. all the single ladies. i mean, she's all over tiktok, isn't she? she's all over tiktok. >> they call her her brat summer. i don't know if you've seen this, but she's very much like a brat. gen z, apparently, candidate. it all seems slightly inauthentic, if you ask me, but, a lot of young people do seem to support her. >> it's also just not very democratic. i'm sorry, but we cannot get over the fact that they were perfectly content for joe biden and whatever kind of issues he may have to hide away in the white house for however long, and try and hush that up. now you've got kamala harris there not doing any interviews at all. and it's not it's not very democratic, is it? but anyway, stephen, thank you very much. you're going to be a busy boy over the next few months, aren't you, stephen hutchinson there, our us correspondent right now. and we have got a load more coming up for you and

something that i think is going to rile a lot of you up. all right. so if you want to go to the eu, they're going to charge you £7 for an eu visa. the annoying thing for me is this there, there's no talk of us just doing the same thing to them. why not? >> why don't we just charge people £7 to come here? >> i get off at westminster station most days. they'd all pay station most days. they'd all pay that to go go and have a cheeky peek at big they love it. >> we'll

>> all right. 250 is the time now. next summer, if you're wanting to get away from a cloudy britain and hit the sunny beaches across europe, you're going to have to pay the price. yes, the european union is going to be charging us ,7 for essentially what one could call boosting their economy. this is ,7 for a new type of visa. so we by ,7 for a new type of visa. so we here by professor here we're joined by professor at the european institute at the lse, london school of economics,

ian begg. ian, it seems to be becoming a little bit more tricky, a little bit more bureaucratic for us brits to enter the european union . this enter the european union. this ,7 for this visa. what is this all about? >> well, it's very similar to the system we have in the united states called an esta, where you have to complete the form in advance, pay a small fee in order to travel to the united states. same with canada. so it's become a worldwide phenomenon. what was supposed to have happened was this should have happened was this should have been settled a couple of years ago, but the way in which it was brexit was negotiated, left it open to delay. and that delay is going finally to come to an end in november this year. what it means this is an advantage of the new system, is that once you register, you'll be able to go through the electronic gates at eu points of entry, airports or ports, instead of having to queue up with all the non—eu nationals from all over the world. >> oh, so this is a win. sorry,

i just want to drill down onto this because. so that is a win, is it? and in that sense so it's because people are going oh because people are going oh because we've left the eu. then you know this is another cost. but actually it's £7 over the course of three years to make sure that you can just queue up with the rest of everybody else and you don't have to get stuck in the old, you know, the other one, my passport. >> yeah. all these things , these >> yeah. all these things, these stamps are the result of going in and out of the eu. >> every time you go in, you have to be stamped. every time you come out, you have to be stamped. and we are not permitted at present to use the electronic gates. so once you register, which will be one a off for the three year period, you're going to be able to use the gates and get through far faster at borders. and i'm sure many, many brits have suffered this unexpected consequence of brexit. >> so what's the ,7 for? i mean, it's not a it's not a large amount of money, but will it be amount of money, but will it be a tricky process to get this sorted or is it something you do when you were, you know, by your houday when you were, you know, by your holiday plan, your travel?

>> well, it's not even in buying your holiday, it's just an entry permit. if you like . as i say, permit. if you like. as i say, very similar to the us one where you do it all online. it takes a couple of minutes. you pay using your debit card or credit card and that's it. what you then have to do is to be fingerprinted or have your eye's retina scanned at the airport or the port of entry. that happens once, and then once that's happened, you're free to go . happened, you're free to go. now, the problem with this is it's going to hit in november, and all of us are going to be queuing up to get these things done for the first time. that's going to cause delays. it's probably advantageous that it's happening in november rather than at the start of a holiday period. >> that's true. >> that's true. >> nevertheless, you're going to see queues and problems arising and no doubt plenty of reports saying, look at these dastardly europeans doing these terrible things to us. but my view is that it's going to be better for us in the medium to longer run , us in the medium to longer run, because we won't have to keep doing the same thing. yeah. and ihave doing the same thing. yeah. and i have to add pensioners

watching that they will get it for free. >> they'll get it for free. this is this is good stuff. >> i always i quite like getting the little stamps though. it does fill up your passport quite quickly if you're in and out of europe. >> well and ian showed us how unbelievably well—travelled he appears to be at the moment. so well done for him. all right, well, look, thank you very much. that's it from us now. martin daubney is up next. i will be on your screens for patrick christys tonight. 9 to 11 pm. >> so stay tuned for that. lots coming up . coming up. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on gb news >> hi, here's your latest gb news weather update brought to you by the met office. there will be some very wet and windy weather across the north west tomorrow, but for the time being we still have a blustery, showery theme across much of the country because of an area of low pressure just to the northwest of us, driving a fairly brisk westerly flow. and

it's on this flow . we're going it's on this flow. we're going to continue to see hefty showers, particularly to the northwest of the uk, as we go through this evening and the start of the night. elsewhere, many showers dying out and a lot of the showers will ease with clear skies developing and under those clear skies it is going to turn a bit cooler than it has done through some recent nights, especially towards the southeast, towards the north and west. a bit of cloud starting to pushin west. a bit of cloud starting to push in as we go towards dawn. we are then going to see increasing amounts of cloud coming in from the west as we go through the day, but starting off in the south, it's looking largely bright, just some hazy sunshine and a few showers towards western parts, sunnier and drier further east cloud then building across northern ireland through the morning and western parts of scotland. and here it will quite quickly start to turn pretty wet as a weather system makes its way in a drier picture, though for eastern parts of scotland, as we go into the morning, that wet weather then will spill across much of scotland , northern ireland and scotland, northern ireland and later into parts of northwestern

england and wales as we go through tomorrow. the heaviest rain will be across western parts of scotland, where totals could reach 100 to 150mm. as we go into thursday as well. so some disruption, quite likely with a warning in force, something a bit warmer and drier towards the southeast. here, temperatures getting into the low 20s. more wet weather to come as we go through the evening and overnight, particularly across scotland and parts of northern ireland. a dner parts of northern ireland. a drier story further south. so it is looking wet for many of us for a time on thursday as that system progresses its way further southeast, and then more rain to come on friday by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on