so i will defend our tough decisions all day long. it's the right thing for our country and it's the only way to get the investment that we need. chris mason and faisal islam are here with their analysis of the prime minister's speech which the tories say breaks election promises. also tonight — israel bans the united nations aid agency unrwa and says it will provide aid to the palestinians. people trust me, i never fail people trust me, i neverfail them. the people smuggler who claims to have helped over 1000 people across the channel. tonight in georgia thousands take to the streets — protesting at alleged russian interference in saturday's election. and we're at a music festival in atlanta to hear from young voters with a week to go until america goes to the polls. 0n bbc london: daejuan campbell, the 15—year—old stabbed

0n newsnight at 10.30pm tonight — we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day, with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters — and of course, look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news. good evening. sir keir starmer started laying the ground for what he called tough decisions in wednesday's budget — saying there will be tax rises, but that working people will be protected. the prime minister promised the money will be used to rebuild public services — and that he will prevent a return to what he called "devastating austerity". he also announced that the cap on bus fares in england will be raised from £2 to £3. well, in a moment we'll get the views of chris mason, our political editor, and faisal islam, our economics editor — but first this report from vicki young who was with the prime minister in birmingham. keir starmer says it's

time to be realistic about the challenges facing britain — a combination of depleted public services and a weak economy. today, he promised a credible plan to deal with what he called an unprecedented situation. to deal with what he called stability, to prevent chaos. to deal with what he called borrowing that will drive long—term growth. tax rises to prevent austerity and rebuild public services. we choose to protect working people. we choose to get the nhs back on its feet. ministers have struggled to define exactly what they mean by working people but the latest promise is to protect their payslips. it is likely that employers will have to pay more national insurance. you are promising to be honest with people but isn't this turning out to be a budget of sneaky tax rises? you are putting up employers�* taxes, which will be passed on to the working people that you say you want to protect. the purpose of the decisions we are making this week are to ensure that we do

stabilise our economy and ensure that we've got the foundations to rebuild our country, and that is vitally important. but the conservatives say the prime minister is not being straight with people. he's going to increase taxes. so after saying 50 something times during the general election campaign that labour would not increase taxes on working people, it's now very clear that they are going to do just that. 0ne budget detail has been confirmed today, the bus fare cap in england, which was due to end, will be extended for another year but will rise from £2 to £3. ministers say it will keep journeys affordable. do passengers agree? yes, we need to keep the cost of travelling down. they're using buses for a reason, because they can't afford cars. £3 is too much for a single fare. the government has spent a lot of time warning people that there are tough decisions coming this week. today, the prime minister was more explicit about taxes rising to pay for public services,

like health and education, trying to make the case that paying now will be worth it later. but for small businesses like morridge coffee shop, these are worrying times. 0wnerjames would have to pay for any rise in employers' taxes or the minimum wage. that's coming from somewhere, my salary, my profit, but that's already very thin as it is. so if we keep getting squeezed, well, i'll have to put up the prices of products or coffees or porridge. i might have to cut ours. i might have to cut hours. but if i can't, ultimately, i'll have to kind of make the team a bit smaller. there is a lot of detail to get right when you are preparing for a big occasion. people are braced for tax rises in wednesday's budget but the government is promising brighter days ahead. vicki young, bbc news, birmingham. joining me now are our political editor, chris mason and our economics editor faisal islam. i wanted to get both your thoughts on why it is that this government

seems keen to get the messages about this budget out well before the actual budget. it is intriguing because you would be forgiven for thinking the budget had already happened and that day still to go. we had an extra hour of prebudget chat because of the clocks going back and it kind of has felt that way. by the government wants to manage expectations, doesn't want surprises. there are reasons connected to the markets that faisal islam will talk about. it also for the politics. they don't want people to be surprised in a negative sense on the day because they want to do a lot of talk about how difficult it is going to be. they are going to put up plenty of taxes in advance. we don't want surprises when the budget is this big, someone said to me tonight, that's a reference to the tax increases. but expectations are where they need to be, so a sense of having the prime minister a couple of days before doing a bit of that picture rolling, as they call it, in advance. the psychology and promises here. the psychology of the labour party as they are always worried in a position that people

will not trust them on the economy so they tend to hug the conservatives quite close on tax, hence that promise on tax that they made, hence they were not willing in a position to oppose a cut in employee national insurance, now they find themselves having to put up they find themselves having to put up employer national insurance. they will try and make a political argument saying that they are for what they call investment, spending, versus what they claim would be conservative cuts. they have that to be the argument. the challenge for the government is does that spending actually translate into better public services because that ultimately is how all of this will be judged as opposed to the numbers. this is a very big budget, as chris says _ this is a very big budget, as chris says it _ this is a very big budget, as chris says it is — this is a very big budget, as chris says it is a — this is a very big budget, as chris says. it is a change in what we call the macro— says. it is a change in what we call the macro economic strategy. i don't remember_ the macro economic strategy. i don't remember a — the macro economic strategy. i don't remember a speech addressed candidly talking _ remember a speech addressed candidly talking about the need for tax rises to fund _ talking about the need for tax rises to fund book services since 2002 when _ to fund book services since 2002 when gordon brown made a similar manoeuvre — when gordon brown made a similar manoeuvre upping national insurance to fund _ manoeuvre upping national insurance to fund the _ manoeuvre upping national insurance to fund the nhs. and it does help when _ to fund the nhs. and it does help when you — to fund the nhs. and it does help when you are changing strategy like this to roti— when you are changing strategy like this to roll the pitch with the

market _ this to roll the pitch with the market. they are changing things like the _ market. they are changing things like the target as we discussed last week— like the target as we discussed last week and _ like the target as we discussed last week and they want that to land well in the _ week and they want that to land well in the markets because as one of the spending _ in the markets because as one of the spending rises, the injection into public— spending rises, the injection into public services, they are raising taxes _ public services, they are raising taxes by— public services, they are raising taxes by the same amount roughly, that's— taxes by the same amount roughly, that's their— taxes by the same amount roughly, that's their new role. the reason they're _ that's their new role. the reason they're doing that is because they want _ they're doing that is because they want to— they're doing that is because they want to keep interest rates across the economy, including mortgage rates, _ the economy, including mortgage rates, they want to keep those as low as— rates, they want to keep those as low as possible and leave the space for borrowing to invest in the future — for borrowing to invest in the future and growth in the future. see have the broad contours of this public— have the broad contours of this public out _ have the broad contours of this public out already —— budget out aiready~ — public out already —— budget out already. investment in growth in the future _ already. investment in growth in the future. highertaxes. but the details— future. highertaxes. but the details are still to come so carry on watching. details are still to come so carry on watching-— details are still to come so carry on watching. thank you both very much. and victoria derbyshire will have more on newsnight on bbc two shortly. reports tonight on labour will raise the minimum wage in the budget. we have the very latest. and in the united states the fallout from trump's new york rally continues. democrats and some republicans called it racist. what could it mean

in the race for the white house in the key swing states? newsnight, bbc two, bbc news and iplayer in about 20 —ish minutes. victoria, thank you. the un agency for palestinian refugees has been banned from operating in israel after a vote in the israeli parliament. it's a move that's brought widespread international condemnation, including from the us and uk. the agency itself said the measure would only deepen the suffering of the palestinian people. lucy williamson is injerusalem. what will be the impact of this on the ground? there have been long—running frictions between israel and unrwa but there is no doubt that after the past year those tensions have risen really sharply and they seem to have come to something of a head with israel passing these two bills, these two laws, banning all activity by unrwa and also banning all contact with unrwa by any state

authority and it has done that in the face of very open a very blunt opposition by the united states and others. the state department spokesman saying before the vote took place that the us was deeply concerned by the legislation and describing unrwa's role in gaza as critical and and replaceable. a reminder that israel is notjust facing diplomatic fallout from this legislation but also a very practical challenge in how to replace the services, the aid that unrwa delivers, particularly in gaza —— as critical and irreplaceable. it is built in a three month window into this legislation partly we understand to try and get some kind of arrangement in place. but there is no clear sign made public on this at this moment.— at this moment. thank you, lucy williamson _ at this moment. thank you, lucy williamson reporting. _ a vietnamese people smuggler, who entered the uk illegally this year in a small boat, has told bbc news that he's forging visa documents for other vietnamese who want to come here.

he's claiming asylum — despite admitting he's been people—smuggling for nearly 20 years. so far in 2024, nearly 30,000?people have crossed the channel in small boats — that's more than during all of last year. over 50 people have died attempting the crossing this year — making it the deadliest on record. now at nearly 17%, people from vietnam have replaced those from afghanistan, iran and syria as the biggest source of those making illegal crossings. it's a lucrative business. after an investigation lasting many months, andrew harding tracked down one people—smuggler who agreed to tell him about the illegal trade and his role in it. beside me on the sofa is a people smuggler, a prolific criminal now living here in britain. a man who's still helping people to reach this country illegally. we'll call him tan. it's a very lucrative business. if you have a good reputation, the clients come to you. no force, no violence.

tan came to the uk earlier this year. he was part of a sudden rush of people from vietnam using small boats to reach our shores. in the migrant camps in northern france, i'd already met with groups of vietnamese waiting to cross the channel. they told me they were in debt back home and were being trafficked to the uk by criminal gangs. already in britain and claiming asylum, tan agreed to meet me, and we agreed to keep his identity confidential in return for valuable information about the smuggling gangs. he soon began to reveal his life of crime and of lies. you told the british authorities you've been trafficked here, but that's not true, is it? no, i was not trafficked here. i said i was because that's just the way it's done. it's what you say in order to get asylum. but human rights groups

insist trafficking from vietnam is widespread in britain. i'm arresting you on suspicion of facilitating the illegal entry of non—uk nationals into the united kingdom... the authorities say vietnamese gangs are trapping migrants in conditions of modern slavery. tan himself became involved in smuggling years ago, running a gang at a time when people hid on lorries rather than in small boats to reach the uk. later, he moved back to vietnam for a while, and began forging documents for people trying to get visas to europe. he's showing me here some of the documents that he's actually forged. he's got copies on his phone. one is for a bank statement, another is for some payslips. and this is a hungarian visa, a genuine visa that one of his customers was given on the basis of his forged documents.

and he's still forging, and boasting of bribing banking officials in vietnam to provide false paperwork. i'm good at this work. people trust me. i neverfail. how do you justify what you do here? you've come to the uk illegally. you're still breaking the law by assisting other people to come here illegally. at the same time, you're taking british taxpayers' money to be fed, to be sheltered here in the uk. ijust do paperwork. i help people to travel. i don't force them to take certain routes. i think a lot of british people watching this will not buy that. they will say that you are a criminal and that you should hand yourself in to the police. i don't think i'm breaking the law here. i'm only breaking the law in vietnam. why have you chosen to talk to us,

to tell us all this, about all the crimes that you've been party to? i want people in vietnam to understand the truth that life here is no better. they should stay at home rather than make a dangerousjourney and get deeper into debt. but back in france, the smuggling goes on, and we're now trying to contact a different and elusive vietnamese gang operating near dunkirk. looks like the plan is working. my colleague here, she's been posing as a vietnamese migrant. she's now in touch with one of the smugglers. and that's him on the phone now, telling her "let's meet" and to follow his instructions. wearing a secret camera to allow us to see the gangs work up close, our colleague heads to a rendezvous point. we follow at a distance. the smuggler talks money. £2,600 for a small

boat ride to britain. but now, he wants her to move away, through a fence and into the woods. hands on head, she signalled that she's not comfortable with that, and we move in. hello. hello, guys. and there's the smuggler, dyed blonde hair, retreating fast. so we know for sure that that was our vietnamese smuggler. he disappeared into the forest here. we're not going to pursue him. we know a lot of these gangs are armed. there's been a lot of violence around here. but i think what we can say for sure is that the vietnamese smuggling business is continuing and is clearly very lucrative. andrew is here. a startling insight into this industry. are there any signs that the various governmental attempts to crack down on people smuggling gangs is working?

the short answer, no. the statistics do not look positive. the numbers of crossings are up as you saw and a number of deaths are up. the french police say we are stopping more boats on the beaches, interrupting more launches. the german authorities are stopping more equipment getting towards the french coast and yet the numbers are up and all the various different attempts to try and stop this huge flow of migrants across europe, well, so far, we still seem to be at an experimental phase in terms of government actions. we have seen the rwanda scheme come and go. the italians are talking about sending people to albania, the european union is trying to invest heavily in countries like tunisia to stop people crossing the mediterranean. so far, though, numerically and statistically, it is not having a big effect and i think people are waiting to see and that experimental sense what actually might make a

difference. ., ,, , ., sense what actually might make a difference. . ~' , ., , . difference. thank you very much. andrew harding there. _ the far right activist, tommy robinson, has beenjailed for 18 months for contempt of court. robinson, whose real name is stephen yaxley lennon, admitted ten breaches of a high court order preventing him from repeating false claims about a syrian refugee. after months of speculation, manchester united have sacked their manager, erik ten hag, after defeat at the weekend left them 14th in the premier league. ten hag was appointed in april 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, including the fa cup this year. katie gornall reports. for a while, it is felt as if erik ten hag was on borrowed time. he'd overseen one of the worst starts to a premier league season in manchester united's history. defeat to west ham yesterday proved the final straw. this morning, the club confirmed he had left his role, saying in a statement:

the loss was united's fourth in nine games and saw them fall further down the bottom half of the table. so far behind man city, so far behind arsenal and so far behind liverpool. you want to win the premier league, you've got to match what they have and we are a far bit behind, so we need to start this process now and not in the summer. the dutchman arrived at old trafford as one of the top coaches in europe, a league winner with ajax, silverware with united camejust months later in the carabao cup. in his second season, united lifted another trophy beating manchester city in the fa cup final. but poor league form left his job seemingly in the balance. the new owners kept faith. a few months later, their mood had changed. this was the most significant decision taken by the club's hierarchy since ineos bought into the club and it marks a big reversal. it was only this summer when erik ten hag was given a contract extension and backed in the transfer market.

today, though, patience has finally run out. he's done a pretty decentjob over the last two years, i think. he had a lot of injuries last year but this year, the wheels have fallen off. i don't think it'sjust down to the manager. i think the players need to take a long, hard look at themselves. there's a lot of issues| there and i don't think sacking the manager's really going to improve it. - now united turn to a fans�* favourite. van nistelrooy! with their legendary former striker ruud van nistelrooy taking over on an interim basis. in ten hag's three years here they spent more than £500 million trying to build a squad to challenge for the league title. if anything, united's glory days feel even further away. katie gornall, bbc news, manchester. tens of thousands of protesters have held a rally outside georgia's parliament in tbilisi in response to a call from the pro—west president to push for the annulment of the weekend's election result — which saw victory by the pro—moscow ruling party, georgian dream. protesters chanted and waved georgian, eu and ukrainian flags.

the us hasjoined european countries in calling for a swift investigation of reports of election—related violations. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has the latest. defiant, determined, thousands of georgians rallied outside the parliament building to accuse the ruling party georgian dream of stealing the election. and russia of playing a part in it. they want georgia in the european union. they're losing hope now that is ever going to happen. i am tired, everyone is tired, but we are going to keep fighting. because that's just what we do. the election's really upset me but seeing all of these people out in the streets is just making me really happy because it makes me believe that we all want freedom.

the kremlin denies meddling and georgia's ruling party insists it won fair and square — despite numerous reports of vote rigging. people here worry that georgia's european future has been stolen from them. but the irony is that the ruling party, though often accused of being pro—kremlin, also claims it wants georgia tojoin the eu. though perhaps it's talking about a different kind of european union. but what kind? here's a clue. arriving in georgia tonight, hungary's prime minister viktor 0rban. he favours a looser eu, less integration, more powerfor the nation states. it's the kind of europe moscow would almost certainly prefer to deal with. georgia's president backs closer ties with brussels. she's worried and is calling for help.

it's crucial that the georgian people express themselves, that's why it's crucial that our partners and with the population and support us to come back as soon as possible on the european path. but not to make it easy for russia to re—establish its domination on its neighbours. they made their voices heard but membership of the eu feels a long way off now for georgia. projected onto the parliament building, one word — stolen. for many here, that's notjust about the election, it's about their future. 0pposition mps say they are going to boycott the new parliament and there is talk of fresh protests at some point, but none of that is expected to change the result of the election or accelerate georgia's moved to the european union, which is basically

come to a grinding halt some time ago. brussels expressing concern about democratic backsliding in georgia. as far as russia is concerned, moscow says this has nothing to do with us and points the finger back at the west. for months now, russian officials have been accusing the united states and other western countries of trying to destabilise the situation in georgia. steve, thank you. and here... a graphic design student who used artificial intelligence to turn photographs of real children into indecent images has been jailed for 18 years. in what is believed to be one of the first sentences of its kind, the judge at bolton crown court said there appeared to be "no limit to the depth of depravity" in the images hugh nelson made and distributed. zoe kleinman reports on the challenges facing police when dealing with cases involving ai. my mind is very corrupted and warped.

this is hugh nelson in his police interview. he pleaded guilty to 16 child sexual abuse offences and admitted to encouraging the rape of children in online chat rooms. nelson, whose sentencing has been described as landmark in the uk, used a computer programme to create the images and sold them in a chat room for paedophiles. the court heard that he took requests based on images of real children. police forces say these types of crimes are on the rise are making theirjobs harder.— theirjobs harder. they differ to comes from _ theirjobs harder. they differ to comes from the _ theirjobs harder. they differ to comes from the fact _ theirjobs harder. they differ to comes from the fact it's - theirjobs harder. they differ to l comes from the fact it's whether theirjobs harder. they differ to - comes from the fact it's whether or not the images are actually deemed to be photographed in the traditional sense and how far it departs from that original image plays a really significant point in terms of the legislation framework and what we charge offenders bar. duds, and what we charge offenders bar. aa powered picture generators have become extremely popular, they are used to create artwork, party invitations and advertising. as you can see, we are using one right now.

much of this software has guardrails built in to try to prevent misuse. this might mean for example that it won't create ai images of real people but there are also those who managed to trick the software into breaking these boundaries. it is already illegal to possess, distribute or sell child sexual abuse material in the uk, whether it is made by ai abuse material in the uk, whether it is made by al or not but internet safety campaigners say additional laws are now needed. this safety campaigners say additional laws are now needed.— safety campaigners say additional laws are now needed. as an example, the possession _ laws are now needed. as an example, the possession and _ laws are now needed. as an example, the possession and distribution - laws are now needed. as an example, the possession and distribution of- laws are now needed. as an example, the possession and distribution of a i the possession and distribution of a manual instructing people how to create ai images is not criminal, which is one positive step that can be taken. , ., . , ., . be taken. greater manchester police said huh be taken. greater manchester police said hugh nelson _ be taken. greater manchester police said hugh nelson thought _ be taken. greater manchester police said hugh nelson thought he - be taken. greater manchester police said hugh nelson thought he could l said hugh nelson thought he could get away with what he was doing by using new tech but the message today as this is just as serious a crime and as more cases like this emerge, the law will have to keep up as ai gets more sophisticated. zoe kleinman, bbc news. with just over a week to go until the us election, early voting is already under way in several states.

millions of americans will cast their vote before the 5th of november — including the current president, joe biden, who voted today in his home state of delaware. well, radio 1 newsbeat is travelling across the country talking to young americans about the issues that matter to them. the first stop for political reporterjordan kenny is atlanta, georgia — one of the seven swing states where this election will be won or lost. georgia is a young state with a high share of potential voters under 30. it was won byjoe biden for the democrats in 2020 with a small majority ofjust 12,000 votes. here's jordan's report. atlanta, a city of the south. i'm here as both candidates are neck and neck and targeting young voters. # keep me warm, love me long, be my sunlight. # tell me lies, we can argue, we can fight. # yeah, we did it before, but we'll do it tonight...# and thousands of them are out having a good time. # with dark skin, looking

at me like he know me...# this festival is celebrating the city's links to hip—hop music — a genre all about words and people having their say. # someone to love me. # i need someone who needs me. # cos it don't feel right when it's late at night. # and it'sjust me in my dreams...#. but between the performances... if you have voted already... ..the election is a hot topic. you haven't decided yet who you're going to vote for? no, it's undecided. we are definitely undecided. georgia has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country and gun control is thought to be one of the top issues for young voters. i am an expert shot. i do practice safety, as far as guns in my home, but i do believe that everyone should have the right to protect themselves. i don't feel like

guns is a bad thing. i feel it's the person that's holding the gun. i feel like we've just got to figure out a way to, like, control the gun violence. have you decided who you're going to vote for or is your vote still up for grabs? it's still up for grabs right now. is yours up for grabs? no. who are you going to vote for? i'd rather not say. # i want someone to love, that's what i really want...#. i've already voted. ijust feel no matter who you vote for, it's important to get out there and vote. i personally am pro—guns, just because i've been in certain situations where i wish i had a gun. like i went to a party in college and it got shot up. hi, my name is sebastien. i guess this is a fit check. i've got this sweater, super mario. hey, i'm bryan, i'm at the world music fest. i feel like hopefully it goes in the direction i would like it to go. i'm democratic so i'm going to vote for kamala. so before we came out here, a lot of people told us

we were going to encounter some swingers in the swing states, are you guys swingers? both: no. # i want someone to love me...#. so while sebastien and bryan have made their minds up, many other young georgians are still waiting to be persuaded. jordan kenny, bbc news, atlanta. and, of course, there's lots more us election coverage right across the bbc including — catriona perry and sumi somaskanda who'll be bringing you all the developments through the night live on bbc one and iplayer. the bbc�*s live page will have all the results from every state as they happen. across the bbc�*s radio networks, nuala mcgovern and ros atkins will bring you live coverage and analysis. and for in—depth analysis you can listen to the americast podcast at anytime on bbc sounds. and finally tonight, manchester city midfielder rodri has won football's most prestigious individual award, the ballon d'0r. he becomes the first premier league footballer to win the title of the world's best mens player

since cristiano ronaldo in 2008. barcelona midfielder aitana bonmati won the women's award for a second successive year. time for a look at the weather. and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at ten, please turn over to bbc one, or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight.