local health ministry the local health ministry claiming 12 people have now been killed, including two children. israel is yet to comment. >> sir keir scrounger. the prime minister has declared more free tickets and gifts than any other major party leader in recent times, with his total reportedly now topping £100,000 after recent support for his lifestyle from labour donor waheed alli . from labour donor waheed alli. >> reforming the nhs health secretary wes streeting not pictured here, will soon be speaking at a news conference. we can see live pictures from where he'll unveil labour's plans to save the national health service. well, that's what they say will be there live . what they say will be there live. now it's the 18th of september, i think. >> what date is it, tom.7 >> what date is it, tom.7 >> the 18th. 18th. 18. >> the 18th. 18th. 18. >> 18. >> 18. >> yeah. wednesday.

>> yeah. wednesday. >> wednesday. wednesday. >> wednesday. wednesday. >> i got the wednesday. >> i got the wednesday. >> right? >> right? >> yeah, it's a wednesday, in fact. and there is no prime minister's questions today. there is not, because it is yet again recess. >> it's lucky for the politicians it's just holiday after holiday isn't it. >> about two weeks back didn't they. >> if that about two weeks back off again already after their what was it, 8 or 10 weeks summer recess. now there's a conference recess. soon there'll be a christmas recess . there's a be a christmas recess. there's a half term as well. i mean, my goodness me, these these politicians barely do any legislating at all. although to be fair, that is something i'm heartily in favour of less and less time to do to do damaging legislation. maybe it's a good thing and the like or just thing and the like orjust banning everything. >> nanny state policies. but, keir starmer's been having fun, hasn't he? £100,000 in gifts and trips and nice luxury things. >> it's more than any other member of parliament since 2019. no, i don't think you'd think that looking across the whole roster of all 650 mps, you wouldn't think that mr rules mr integrity keir starmer would be shovelling the most gifts into his back pocket. but that's what's been going on for me.

>> it makes it worse that you're a, you know a socialist on the left of politics because you talk about how important it is to redistribute and to help those on low incomes and to, you know, do your bit, those with the broadest shoulders. are you suggesting that while having a hand out? >> are you suggesting this is not redistribution, it's just distributing two sir keir starmer one more. >> the poor , poor senior lawyer >> the poor, poor senior lawyer on a lowly £170,000 a year salary. >> this is the sort of redistribution we need in this country, from one richer millionaire to an impoverished, slightly less rich millionaire. >> anyway, get your thoughts in gbnews.com/yoursay. but it's the news headlines with sam francis . news headlines with sam francis. >> very good afternoon to you. just coming up to 12:04. and the top story this afternoon. leaders in the middle east are accusing israel of pushing the whole region to the brink of war. that's as the death toll

from hundreds of simultaneous explosions across lebanon and parts of syria has. now. we understand, risen to 12. and that does sadly include two children. the hezbollah terrorist group and the lebanese government have accused israel for what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting handheld communications devices. hezbollah militants and the iranian ambassador were among those who were wounded. as tensions between israel and the militant group continue to rise here, the foreign office is urging british citizens in lebanon to leave, warning they could be trapped in a war zone and development minister anneliese dodds says the uk will be supporting civilians impacted in the explosions. >> like many others, i woke up this morning to the news and reports of developments in lebanon and this clearly is an awful situation and very concerned to hear about the reports of civilian casualties . reports of civilian casualties. clearly, i don't know all of the details of this . and as i say,

details of this. and as i say, we woke up to this news, but the uk will be working with, particularly with our humanitarian partners in the region . region. >> in other news, a massive blast has rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot , forcing a mass depot, forcing a mass evacuation. video you can see here shows a major fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions, while nasa says it also detected intense heat over also detected intense heat over a 14 square kilometre area. local officials confirmed the blast, but details at this stage are limited, with the media there under military censorship. a pro—russian blogger, though, has claimed everything that can burn, they say, is already burning but no casualties were reported. ukraine's security service says the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv at this stage is yet to officially comment . stage is yet to officially comment. post stage is yet to officially comment . post office boss nick comment. post office boss nick read will step down next year after a turbulent tenure marked by the horizon it scandal. read

called it a great privilege to lead through extraordinarily challenging times for the post office and postmasters. he, of course, took the helm in 2019 after the controversial departure of paula vennells, who faced backlash over her handling of that horizon crisis. mr reid's departure follows criticism from mps and his exoneration from misconduct allegations earlier this year. inflation remained above 2%, unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data out this morning. pficesin with new data out this morning. prices in hospitality holidays and hotels possibly boosted by the final leg of taylor swift's toun the final leg of taylor swift's tour, are driving inflation, with the services sector seeing inflation at 5.6% in august. treasury chief darren jones says years of sky high inflation continues to put strain on british families , despite the british families, despite the slower rise. he added that the government is determined to fix the foundations of the economy . the foundations of the economy. former scottish health minister,

first minister alex salmond says every nation deserves a second chance. on the 10th anniversary of scotland's failed independence bid. he's predicting the country will be independent within the next decade, and, reflecting on the 2014 campaign, he admitted there were mistakes in its final week but doubts that a different strategy would have changed the outcome. since that vote. support for independence has remained largely static, frustrating many who blame the current scottish government for a lack of action. alex salmond insists the push for independence , though, needs to independence, though, needs to accelerate, saying that scotland doesn't have time on its hands. ban the irgc . that's the call ban the irgc. that's the call from robert jenrick, as he argues. the iranian revolutionary guard should be labelled a terrorist group. the conservative leadership candidate wrote in the daily telegraph saying labour had once promised to take action, but has failed to deliver. jenrick argues the irgc is the world's chief sponsor of terror. well,

let's take a quick pause from that story and take you live now to westminster, where the health secretary, wes streeting, is speaking. >> there we go , thank you very >> there we go, thank you very much for inviting me here today, phones on silent. much for inviting me here today, phones on silent . a lot changes phones on silent. a lot changes from opposition to government. i've gone from an office of seven staff to a department of 3500 people insist on calling me by my title rather than my name , by my title rather than my name, and the most frustrating change, and the most frustrating change, and i'm sure i won't be the first to have said it has been the pace or lack of it, at which the pace or lack of it, at which the whitehall machine works. so for ara to have published two reports in the past two weeks, both over 100 pages long, packed with expert analysis and huge amounts of data, is really putting the british state to shame, especially when the first of those two reports, he put together in just two months. he

is on a one man mission to solve our country's productivity puzzle. but the d'arcy investigation into the nhs and the final report of ipsis health and prosperity commission complement each other. taken together alongside the obr's fiscal risks and sustainability report, they depict a perfect storm of rising pressures on the nhs, growing numbers dropping out of the workforce and spiralling costs to the public purse at a time where there is already a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. this is what we are up against. i have beenin what we are up against. i have been in the department of health and social care for two months. day after day i'm shown graph after graph with all the lines going in the wrong direction. recognising this is criticised by some for being gloomy. it's not actually, it's something this country hasn't been used to for a long time. this country hasn't been used to for a longtime. it is

this country hasn't been used to for a long time . it is honesty. for a long time. it is honesty. this country has had enough of politicians who turn a blind eye brush issues under the carpet and delay decisions until after the ever looming next election. this government has resolved to be honest about the problems facing our country and serious about solving them. you saw both in keir's speech last week, honesty about the state of our nhs and a serious agenda for turning it around as the prime minister set out in his speech. continuing with the status quo isn't an option. sticking plasters won't cut it. we're going to have to make big changes, many of which will come up against loud opposition. so don't be surprised that we are making the case for change at the same time, if anyone was in any doubt about the scale of the challenges before the nhs, then the d'arcy investigation published last week made it abundantly clear. i asked arrive for hard truths, warts and all. he delivered and then some. he has given a raw and honest

diagnosis the promise that the nhs will be there for us when we needit nhs will be there for us when we need it has been broken for almost a decade , 100,000 infants almost a decade, 100,000 infants aged between nought and two were left waiting more than six hours to be seen in a&e last year. cancer is more likely to be a death sentence for nhs patients than patients in other countries. 50 years of progress on cardiovascular disease is going into reverse, and patients have never been more dissatisfied with the service they receive . the report is they receive. the report is equally on the causes. first, a decade of underinvestment which left the nhs 15 years behind. the private sector on technology with fewer diagnostic scanners per patient than almost every comparable country, including belgium, italy and greece, and mental health patients treated in victorian cells infested with vermin, where 17 men are forced

to share two showers in 2024. second, the disastrous 2012 top down reorganisation, led by andrew lansley, as the report states and i quote it took a scorched earth approach to health reform. the effects of which are still being felt to this day. just imagine if all the time , effort and billions of the time, effort and billions of pounds wasted on dissolving and reconstituting management structures had instead been invested in services for patients, clearly the nhs would not be in the mess it finds itself in today. third coronavirus the damage caused by the pandemic has been plain to see, but what we didn't know until the darzi report is that the pandemic hit the nhs harder than any other comparable healthcare system in the world. patients in this country saw far more operations and routine care cancelled than anywhere else. it is not just that the

conservatives didn't fix the roof while the sun was shining . roof while the sun was shining. they doused the house in petrol, left the gas on and covid just lit the match. that is why the backlog ballooned to 7.6 million today. when i use that metaphor in the house of commons last week, a conservative mp from the tone police department told me that my tone was inappropriate and not befitting the chamber. it felt very much like an arsonist heckling the fire bngade. arsonist heckling the fire brigade . fourth, the failure to brigade. fourth, the failure to reform a 17% increase in staff working in hospitals, which didn't lead to better outcomes for patients, but a huge fall in productivity. staff put into the wrong place without the tools to do the job, instead of treating patients, too many are trying to find them . beds, find somewhere find them. beds, find somewhere to discharge patients or dealing with slow, creaking outdated. it an enormous waste of talent and money when so many other parts of the nhs were crying out for

investment and the effective reforms implemented by the last labour government , which drove labour government, which drove better performance and better care for patients, were mostly undone. care for patients, were mostly undone . activity based funding undone. activity based funding was ditched in favour of block contracts, incentives to reform and modernise ways of working have been stripped out, translated into plain english to many parts of the nhs, are now paid for effort, not for outcomes. that has to change and we will be saying more about that in the coming months. some of the most shocking findings in the darzi investigation weren't about the sickness in our national health service, but the sickness in our nation . children sickness in our nation. children are sicker today than the generation a decade ago. adults are living longer but falling into ill health. earlier in life. and as this report from the ipsis puts it, we are in danger of literally becoming the sick man of europe. the result is a rising tide of pressures on the nhs. i've said it before,

but i don't think the message has yet got through . if we don't has yet got through. if we don't act now. ever increasing demands for health care threaten to overwhelm and bankrupt the nhs , overwhelm and bankrupt the nhs, our sick society is also holding back our economy, a drop in productivity due to ill health has cost our economy £25 billion since 2018, 900,000 more people are off work than would have been on pre—pandemic trends. that's more people than tesco. sainsbury's and asda employ put together, fail to act and by the end of this parliament, 4.3 million people could be off work sick, millions of people left behind the welfare bill ballooning and growth hampered to build a healthy economy , we to build a healthy economy, we need a healthier society. to achieve that, we need reform of the health service and public health reform too. that was the great thing about the darzi report and actually about ipsos

conclusions today. this is not a left wing or a right wing view of the nhs. it's hold hard truths to both sides of the debate, and it forces me now to take on both left wing and right wing orthodoxies. i've got two voices on my shoulder in this debate for simplicity's sake, we'll call them the guardian and the daily mail. we'll call them the guardian and the daily mail . the daily mail the daily mail. the daily mail says we're encouraged by what you're saying on nhs reform. you're the only party that can do it. now get on and deliver. but we can't stand this nanny state stuff. you need to stop. the guardian says you're absolutely right on prevention and we love nothing more than filling our comment pages with pieces about the social determinants of health. but we're nervous about all of this crass talk of nhs reform. it sounds far too much like alan milburn, and we've heard he's back, which is terrifying because he makes that streeting look left wing. both are half

right and half wrong. the lesson from the darzi report is clear the tories did neither. this government has got to do both. unless we do public health reform, the right will have to accept higher costs for healthcare paid for by higher taxes . i don't think that's taxes. i don't think that's a price. working people can afford to pay. the left have to accept health service reform or there will be no health service, at least not as we currently recognise it. reform has always had opponents, often vocal and powerful opponents, but believe me, when i say the prime minister and i will face down that opposition because it is in the interests of patients , the the interests of patients, the health service and taxpayers in this country. it really is reform or die, and we choose reform. as the prime minister said last week , radical surgery said last week, radical surgery is required. we will publish a ten year plan early next year that will set out how we will deliver three big shifts in the

focus of the nhs, from analogue to digital hospital to community and sickness to prevention and what gives me confidence that this can be done is the innovation we already see taking place in our health service and our country today, pointing the way to a better future at the royal free hospital in london. the hospital which treated my kidney cancer, new pet scanners work four times faster than standard patients are seen days, not weeks, after being referred cutting delays in diagnosis. that can be the difference between life and death. think of the number of lives that could change if rolled out across the country. that is why we are committed to putting an ai enabled scanner in every hospital, freeing up valuable staff hours and getting patients diagnosed much faster in the south—east of england , virtual south—east of england, virtual wards have to led 9000 fewer hospital admissions per year. patients living with long term conditions like heart failure , conditions like heart failure, are cared for from the comfort

of their own home, freeing up vital hospital beds and saving more than £10 million. our commitment to invest in more district nurses will make sure more patients across the country can get the treatment they need without having to step out the front door better for patients and less expensive for the taxpayer. and as the prime minister said last week , by minister said last week, by marrying our country's leading scientific minds with the care and compassion of the nhs, the fruits of the revolution taking place in life sciences can be secured for nhs patients that pubuc secured for nhs patients that public private partnership health secretary wes streeting there setting out his plans to reform the nhs in a brazen speech. >> some might describe it as he hit out at the left and the right, he hits out at the right, describing them as the sort of daily mail types for saying all of his reforms about prevention are simply nanny state. but he also hit out at the left, describing them as the guardian types, saying that reforming the

nhs is bad and right wing. >> so basically he managed to upset everyone or whatever paper you're reading . you're reading. >> alternatively, what he's done is , is say that half of what the is, is say that half of what the guardian says is right in terms of their backing. the nanny state prevention stuff, half of what the daily mail says is right there backing the reform of the nhs. stuff that that stuff is, potentially, trying to build a bridge. although what he might have done is caused a bit of a chasm. >> it is true, actually, the guardian does tend to write up a lot of stories to do with the nanny state. a lot of things about preventative care and the like. so they must be pushing that message to wes. he's listening, he's listening. but there you go. there he is at the ippr, which is a left wing think tank delivering this speech on nhs reform. i guess the proof will be in the pudding. >> but of course, what clouds all of the attempts for this new government to try and reform any

service, whether it's the nhs, whether it's the prison system, whether it's the prison system, whether it's the prison system, whether it's any of the other big reforms that this government is attempting, is, of course, the row that keeps on giving over donations, passes for glasses, free tickets, free gifts , free jackets given to gifts, free jackets given to lady victoria starmer. yes, keir starmer has declared more free gifts and tickets than any major party leaders of recent times, topping £100,000 in gifts more than any mp since 2019. >> yeah, and if you listen to sir keir starmer's rhetoric over the years in opposition and also as prime minister, you might be surprised by that to find out he's received the most gifts. he's accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets during his time as labour leader, including 4000 of hospitality at a taylor swift concert, which he went to with his wife and his wife, then went a second time. >> did she really? >> did she really? >> twice, yeah. >> twice, yeah. >> telegraaf reporting today. but this week sir keir starmer

came under fire for the scale of gifts given to him by lord alli, including clothing, accommodation and, of course, glasses. >> yes, of course, glasses to gb news. political correspondent katherine forster is in the studio with us now, we're heanng studio with us now, we're hearing more and more about just the scale of all these gifts. £100,000? >> yeah, it's quite it's quite something, isn't it? and also the fact that if they thought that this was just a preoccupation of sort of right wing media, the daily mail and so on, they're very much mistaken because the guardian today has assembled all the details of all the things that he's taken, £100,000 more than any, recent party leader from 2010. they've gone through all of them. and this is far, far beyond 2500 pounds from lord alli just on glasses, apparently, for the prime

minister, so the row is not going away at all. and we've got a breakdown of it. 40 sets of tickets , sets of free tickets. a tickets, sets of free tickets. a lot of them to arsenal games, 20,000 for accommodation during the election campaign. the list goes on and on. now, pat mcfadden, the cabinet office minister, has today come out to defend the prime minister, saying he's a person of enormous integrity. well, that might be the case. and certainly the prime minister is keen to stress that he's followed the rules. but i think the optics of this, when they're cutting pensioners winter fuel allowance is very tncky. tricky. >> the optics of this, the opfics >> the optics of this, the optics of this. catherine, you've been following the prime minister for the last couple of weeks. you were with him in, in washington dc. you were with him in rome, as we can see on our screens how. in rome, as we can see on our screens now. and i did you nofice screens now. and i did you notice that his glasses looked particularly snazzy? do these look like glasses that are worth 2500 pounds?

>> i'm imagining that he must have multiple pairs for 2500. i mean, these were about seven, but okay, he needs to look good. and he does . but the point is, and he does. but the point is, he and his wife have a combined income of, what, at least £200,000 and people saying , £200,000 and people saying, well, you know, in the, in the america, they have a budget. well, the president has a budget , well, the president has a budget, but the first lady does not have a clothing budget and that is an official title, whereas lady starmer does not have an official role . and yet, you official role. and yet, you know, we hear of this £5,000 donation, which they did declare late now when we asked him in rome , he was absolutely keen to rome, he was absolutely keen to say, well , we went to the say, well, we went to the parliamentary authorities asking what we needed to do because we wanted to make sure it was all in order. now it turns out they were late . they'd passed the 28 were late. they'd passed the 28 days. that's a technicality. but the trouble is, when he was leader of the opposition and rishi sunak missed this

declaration date, he was incredibly critical and thought that this was sort of beyond the pale. so it does feel like a it's a double standard. >> he missed the declaration. i mean , we're more than 70 days mean, we're more than 70 days into this new government. he criticised boris johnson for going 28 days late for a declaration. i mean, this is more than twice that. >> well, they're basically saying that they didn't think because he's for lady starmer that they needed to mention them at all. and then they just thought recently, the week or so before the story broke in the sunday times, they recently thought, oh, we'd better just double check that . and then they double check that. and then they found that, in fact, they should have done. but he just said, i mean, we asked him in rome over and over again. he was asked on broadcast. he was then asked , broadcast. he was then asked, with the huddle of political journalists repeatedly in many different ways about this. and if he would be taking further gifts from lord alli. he he ignored that question. >> so we can maybe something post already, but he clearly

just his argument is i followed the rules. >> it's important to follow the rules and be transparent. i think that's missing the fact that politically this is a bad look. and you know, his popularity ratings have already fallen through the floor. >> that's true . that is true. >> that's true. that is true. off the back of this, i'm sure to some extent. but it's the double standards, isn't it? more than whether he filled in a form correctly and at the right time. it's how pious he was over the wallpaper issue with boris johnson and other accusations of sleaze, corruption, taking donations, etc. when it was the conservatives in office. >> it is, and i think they need to be careful because sure, they've got this massive, massive majority and they're talking about a decade of national renewal. but a lot of those seats , they've only got by those seats, they've only got by very, very slim margins. now, as we saw when boris johnson got an 80 seat majority in 2019. and look where the conservatives are now. things can change very fast now. things can change very fast now. he won this election largely promising change. and i think a lot of people will look

at this and see politicians taking gifts, allegations of cronyism, etc. and draw the conclusion that this is not changed. this is more of the same. and even one of his own mps, rosie duffield, had retweeted something about this with the word change. >> now, catherine, you're talking about the time that you've spent with the with the journalist lobby, with the prime minister we've got a picture of you here. of course, with him on the plane on the way to the united states. there's been a lot of criticism about all of these journalists sort of having a chummy time with the prime minister laughing along with him, sort of leaning around. everyone's having a bit of a giggle. was it like that, or was there actually some serious questioning of what he's up to ? questioning of what he's up to? >> yeah, they've attracted a lot of criticism. these pictures in fact, the conservatives used one of them and not one of these as an attack ad what i would say is that when we go out on the plane, the journalists have sort of 20, 25 minutes. everyone gets

one question to the prime minister most of it, and you gather around because you're trying to record, because you want to write it up later, so you're very close physically because it's noisy on a plane, most of them were actually very serious because most of them were around ukraine. storm shadow missiles, potential for escalation , etc. of course, escalation, etc. of course, those are not the most interesting pictures. the more interesting pictures. the more interesting pictures. the more interesting pictures that of course get people laughing are things like when he was asked about if we should be worried for the nation's pets because of donald trump making the allegation of eating the cats, the dogs. he's obviously just got a kitten. things like that, and other comments. and there's and other comments. and there's a brief moment of laughter , but a brief moment of laughter, but it's quite quickly over. whereas, you know, you look at a snapshot and you think, oh my goodness, they're all just having an amazing time. and they're very pally. that that's they're very pally. that that's the split second, you know? >> no. really good to get that

insight there catherine. yeah. thank you very much for talking us through what is yet another scandal for this new government. >> well, over in the middle east, at least 12 people have been killed and nearly 3000 injured, including members of the hezbollah terrorist group. >> well, the incident happened when their pages exploded in what's being described as the biggest security breach since fighting broke out in israel almost a year ago. >> well, we're joined now by gb news home and security editor mark white, who broke this story yesterday on our show. towards the end, actually, we've learned a lot more since, haven't we? >> yeah. i mean, we realised it was a huge event that was unfolding , but quite how unfolding, but quite how massive. we didn't know at that time. and now 5000, we believe was certainly the number of pagers that had been compromised and impregnated with this military grade high explosive, whether all 5000 went off or not, we're not sure. but a very

significant proportion of that must have done, because we've got almost 3000 people who have been injured. now 12 confirmed fatalities as well, interestingly, just an idea on the types of injuries the source was telling me late yesterday afternoon that what appears to have happened is that, the explosion was designed to go off by a trigger. a trigger message sent to the pagers which bleeped the pagers and resulted in most cases of people taking the pager as you would do instinctively, to then take a look at it and to see what the message was when people had hands blown off, people had hands blown off, people had hands blown off, people had serious facial trauma , people had serious facial trauma, including being blinded. indeed, an ophthalmologist, very experienced ophthalmologist at the mount lebanon university hospital in beirut said he had

had to remove. and it's grisly. i apologise for this, but he'd had to remove more eyes yesterday than his entire 25 year career. most of those who were injured, he said, were young men in their 20s with very as fighting aged men. well, exactly. we've heard a lot that has been said by those who of course, like to direct rage at israel, moments like this about this being an indiscriminate attack that's led to a massacre on the streets of lebanon. well, i would argue that actually, this is a very indiscriminate attack aimed at those who were wearing pagers provided by hezbollah because they were members of this terrorist organisation or close associates of this organisation. >> the iranian ambassador to

lebanon somehow got injured in this in this attack. lebanon somehow got injured in this in this attack . are you this in this attack. are you seriously suggesting that that the iranian ambassador, how on earth could he have had one of these pages? i don't quite understand. >> well, it's a question that once the iranian ambassador to lebanon recovers from the facial injuries, he suffered, maybe he would be able to answer. but of course we know, don't we, that iran is the proxy, the backer, the funder of this terrorist group. >> well, just remind us exactly hezbollah's aggressions at the moment towards israel. rockets firing over what's the scale of the war. so this is two nations currently. >> this is a really good point. actually, the war cabinet in tel aviv yesterday announced that they were broadening the scope of the war in gaza. so it wasn't just about dismantling hamas. and getting the hostages safely returned. it's also about

ensuring that those displaced israeli citizens from the north of israel can return to their homes in the north. and indeed, when i was out in the aftermath of the attacks on october 7th last year, in my hotel were dozens of these displaced israeli citizens from the north. because in the months since the october 7th attack in the now almost year , hezbollah have almost year, hezbollah have fired more than 8000 rockets, missiles and drones at northern israel in particular. so they have been sorry since october 7. last year, more than 8000 bears repeating missiles, rockets and drones fired into israeli territory and so the israelis, of course, now, because they've expanded their war goals, are determined to take this fight to hezbollah as well. and they have

clearly done that in very significant terms with thousands of their fighters now injured in hospital, 2750 still in hospital with varying degrees of injuries. >> well, mark white, thank you so much for that. we'll be having more on this topic and more from you at the top of the next hour. >> we will indeed. that was mark white. of course, we've got lots more coming up on today's show. it turns out there are many out there, convicted who've been spared jail. this comes as some senior politicians call for a rethink on huw edwards unduly lenient sentence. they say that's after the . news. that's after the. news. >> tom. emily, thank you very much. and plenty more on that. news from israel and hezbollah in the next few hours . first, in the next few hours. first, though, turning to some breaking news. we're just hearing that aslef have announced train drivers have voted overwhelmingly to accept a multi—year pay deal, ending

their two year dispute at 16 train companies. the vote to accept was a significant 96.6%, and the union has just posted on social media thanking their members for support and solidarity. their commitment and strength. the pay deal will result in almost 15% rise over the next three years. so that news just into us regarding the pay news just into us regarding the pay deal with aslef train drivers . a massive blast rocked drivers. a massive blast rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot, forcing a mass evacuation. videos have shown a fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions, while nasa says it detected intense heat over a 14 square kilometre area. local officials confirmed the blast, but details are limited with the media there. under military censorship. a pro—russian blogger has claimed

everything that can burn, they say, is already burning, but no casualties have been reported. ukraine's security service says the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv has yet to officially comment here. post office boss nick read will step down next year after a turbulent tenure marked by the horizon, it scandal reads. called it a great privilege to lead through extraordinarily challenging times for the post office and postmasters . he, of course, took postmasters. he, of course, took the helm in 2019 after the controversial departure of paula vennells , who faced backlash vennells, who faced backlash over her handling of the horizon crisis. mr reed's departure follows criticism of him from mps and his exoneration from misconduct allegations earlier this year. the company says the effort, though, to support postmasters and achieve justice, is ongoing and some potentially sad news for food lovers. tgi friday's uk operators has entered administration today. the company is scrambling to sell its 87 restaurants

nationwide. host more. the chain's parent company hopes to complete the sale by the end of september, potentially saving thousands of jobs. however, it's september, potentially saving thousands of jobs. however, it's not clear if a buyer will be not clear if a buyer will be found. those are the latest gb found. those are the latest gb news headlines for now. i'll be news headlines for now. i'll be back with you for a full roundup back with you for a full roundup at 1:00 for the very latest gb at 1:00 for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone , news direct to your smartphone , news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . gbnews.com forward slash alerts . escaped gbnews.com forward slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it is gbnews.com forward slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it is 12:37 now. experts are warning 12:37 now. experts are warning that less than 20% of convicted that less than 20% of convicted of accessing child abuse images of accessing child abuse images get custodial sentences. get custodial sentences. >> yes, this is quite incredible >> yes, this is quite incredible and of course comes as huw and of course comes as huw edwards left court on monday edwards left court on monday with a six month jail term with a six month jail term

suspended for two years. so he suspended for two years. so he escaped prison sentence. he's just one of a growing number of onune just one of a growing number of online spared jail , and this has online spared jail, and this has been revealed by a sun probe. the sun newspaper. >> well, joining us now to discuss this is the deputy editor of spiked magazine , editor of spiked magazine, fraser myers fraser. it's pretty extraordinary when you see it in black and white. the number of people convicted for accessing it must be said. many more images and videos than than. huw edwards was convicted of also escaping any time behind bars, including the convicted who suppued including the convicted who supplied huw edwards. these images . images. >> yes, i think a lot of people will have been shocked by the leniency of the sentence handed down to huw edwards and then a lot of legal commentators were out in force telling people actually, quite rightly, that these sentences are fairly standard for this kind of crime. it is very, very common for people to walk free after

accessing these really, really sick things. there was

offensive things. there was a woman called julie sweeney from cheshire, elderly lady. she has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for an intemperate facebook post, a facebook post that the judge accepted was not intentional, was , you know, done intentional, was, you know, done intentional, was, you know, done in the heat of the moment. and that will, you know, steal her liberty for 15 months. i'm not condoning this behaviour, but to me it seems quite striking that why are we so liberal about something? i think everyone would recognise is a sick and twisted crime, but very harsh on, you know, essentially people using offensive speech that that reveals a very twisted set of priorities to me. yeah. >> i mean, it all feeds into the idea of , of >> i mean, it all feeds into the idea of, of this two tiered justice, whether it's perceived or real. it certainly feeds into that. what message is it sending? i mean, looking at some of the people who've been who haven't gone to jail, i mean, you've got an east london councillor who had in quotes, sadistic child images, one year suspended term. you've got a

medical student who got eight months suspended jail for having images as well, and he worked with children. you've got an nhs consultant, had abhorrent images, given an eight month suspended term , so many suspended term, so many suspended term, so many suspended sentences and an actor on cbbc, the children's channel as well. >> i mean very, very extraordinary. >> yeah, this is this is really shocking. and it also it's worth remembering that , you know, remembering that, you know, under the law, the maximum penalty for these crimes is ten years. whereas the examples i gave of people being done for communications offences , their communications offences, their maximum sentence should be about two years or in some cases it's an unlimited fine or even less. you know, it's not recommended that they get anything more than a community order. so it's not necessarily even that there's a problem with the law. it seems as if for whatever reason, the judiciary or the justice system has taken this approach . on the has taken this approach. on the one hand, you know, i do understand that not every person who comes before a court and has

done something wicked should go to prison. there are good reasons for having non—custodial sentences . and, you know, if the sentences. and, you know, if the justice system decides that people are very low risk of re—offending , i can understand re—offending, i can understand that. but it's just when you stack it up against crimes that any reasonable person would consider far less serious, you really have to ask what is going on. >> yeah, i think that's the real the real point here, right ? when the real point here, right? when we're seeing people who have quote unquote spread misinformation online, which wouldn't pass the incitement bar in a jurisdiction like the united states of america, but doesin united states of america, but does in this country, you really start to ask questions about the proportionality here. but i do want to pick you up on what what that point is, many people in the legal profession and many people in the sort of prison reform movement would also say short sentences don't work if you send someone to prison for a year or even two years, they're more likely to reoffend . at the more likely to reoffend. at the end of that sentence, they'll meet other criminals inside, sometimes sending people to prison for short rather than

long periods of time as as could have been the case in many of these cases. actually, you're going to compound the issue. you're going to create more of a monster . monster. >> and that can certainly be the case in britain with our woeful prison systems. it's actually not the case if you look at places like scandinavia, where prisons are much more effectively run, something i've been looking into recently . so been looking into recently. so yes, i understand the point and i think low level crimes. if you send someone into prison and they come out and even worse, criminal, then clearly that is something that needs to be looked at, but i wouldn't necessarily rule out short sentences on principle on that basis. >> yeah. and also, if you're going to send people to prison for, for other crimes, that one might perceive as being lesser anyway, well, then you've got to be consistent at least. fraser myers. thank you very much . myers. thank you very much. deputy editor at spiked. he's got a piece in spiked magazine on exactly this issue. the idea that huw edwards was given an

unduly lenient sentence. >> yeah, a bit more on that later in the program . this is later in the program. this is good afternoon, britain on gb news. lots more coming up on today's programme as well, including nhs reform. can the health service be reformed? and in the words of the health secretary, should it reform or die

good afternoon britain. it is 47 minutes past midday. now earlier, the health secretary, wes streeting, unveiled labour's plans to reform the nhs. >> yes, he said the nhs has been in crisis for nearly 15 years, so let's have a quick listen . so let's have a quick listen. >> myths that the nhs will be there for us when we need. it has been broken for almost a decade. 100,000 infants aged

between 0 and 2 were left waiting. more than six hours to be seen in a&e last year. first, a decade of underinvestment which left the nhs 15 years behind. the private sector on technology with fewer diagnostic scanners per patient than almost every comparable country , every comparable country, including belgium, italy and greece . greece. >> fewer diagnostic scanners per person than greece. goodness me. well, let's discuss this prognosis with kevin schofield , prognosis with kevin schofield, the political editor of huffpost uk. kevin, you were at the speech there some moments of levity, but a strong message . levity, but a strong message. >> yeah. it was i mean, he's he made a good point. i think that it's labour who are the ones who can be trusted. you know, people see them as the party of the nhs. so if anyone's going to bring in big wide scale reforms, then voters by and large think that labour are the party to do it. they're always a little bit

suspicious of the conservative party's intentions. when it comes to the nhs, but there's absolutely no doubt that he's got a huge job on his hands trying to reform it, while also trying to reform it, while also trying to reform it, while also trying to make up for, as he would describe it over a decade of underinvestment at a time when there isn't a lot of money kicking around. so yeah, it's a big job on his hands. he seems he seems up for it, but again, he'll be judged by what comes out at the other end of it . out at the other end of it. >> i mean, kevin, we've heard a lot about just how badly the nhs is doing in different ways, particularly when it comes to saving lives and other health outcomes falling behind other countries similar to our own in terms of gdp, at least, what did he say in terms of actually what he's going to do to fix it all? >> well, i've got to say it was a little bit light on specific, >> well, i've got to say it was a little bit light on specific, recommendations or specific recommendations or specific policy ideas. what he's talking policy ideas. what he's talking about today mainly was in about today mainly was in response to a report on public response to a report on public health. so he says that there health. so he says that there needs to be a real drive to needs to be a real drive to

improve the health of the improve the health of the country . there's no point, he country . there's no point, he country. there's no point, he says, in us living longer, if country. there's no point, he says, in us living longer, if we're going to get sicker we're going to get sicker earlier, because that just earlier, because that just obviously piles more pressure on obviously piles more pressure on the nhs and drives up costs. so the nhs and drives up costs. so there will be work on public there will be work on public health. although interestingly, health. although interestingly, health. although interestingly, health. although interestingly, he was asked, by chris hope of he was asked, by chris hope of gb news actually about this talk gb news actually about this talk of banning smoking outdoors. he of banning smoking outdoors. he poured cold water on that . i poured cold water on that . i poured cold water on that. i have to say, he says he's not poured cold water on that. i have to say, he says he's not interested in being the fun interested in being the fun police. he's not going to be police. he's not going to be poking his nose in people's poking his nose in people's curtains at night to see if curtains at night to see if they're smoking or eating cakes, they're smoking or eating cakes, which he says he's also not which he says he's also not going to ban cakes from the going to ban cakes from the department of health. so, so department of health. so, so yeah, i think there will be a yeah, i think there will be a light touch when it comes to light touch when it comes to nanny state ideas such as that nanny state ideas such as that one. but but yeah, in terms of one. but but yeah, in terms of concrete policy ideas, he talks concrete policy ideas, he talks about reform, but the devil will about reform, but the devil will be in the detail i think. be in the detail i think. >> kevin, you say a light touch, >> kevin, you say a light touch, but to declare an interest i was but to declare an interest i was i found myself in the smoking i found myself in the smoking area of a bar over the weekend. area of a bar over the weekend. i don't smoke, i've never i've i don't smoke, i've never i've

never smoked was never smoked . i've never bought never smoked. i've never bought a cigarette. but i enjoy being in a smoking area , bought in a smoking area, bought a cigarette. i've never bought a cigarette. i've never bought a cigarette. never. never. but i enjoy being in a smoking area to talk to other people , to take a talk to other people, to take a break from the music. and, you know, it's a, it's a social area. i just can't understand why this government is going to ban smoking areas from pubs and clubs and bars. i mean, that's not a light touch . not a light touch. >> no, sorry. what i said was he poured cold water on that idea. he didn't he certainly didn't say that. it was definitely going to happen. he said there will be

going to happen. he said there wilyou t ' going to happen. he said there wilyou reform ' 90mg to happen. he said there wilyou reform such — going to happen. he said there wilyou reform such a ' going to happen. he said there wilyou reform such a beast? i do you reform such a beast? i mean, the inertia must be magnificent . magnificent. >> well, absolutely. and yet, on top of that, you've got 7.5 million people still waiting for nhs treatment. so he has to bnng nhs treatment. so he has to bring that down pretty sharpish as well. now, he said as well that he hinckley opposed to private sector involvement in the nhs. so i think we're likely to see much more of that. obviously that sets up a bit of a battle with the trade unions, with the left of the labour party sounded rather blairite and as we know, he's got alan milburn in giving him advice. a former new labour blairite health secretary back in the days of tony blair. so, so yeah, i think we'll probably see, reforms along those lines . but reforms along those lines. but at the same time, as i say, they need to find money from somewhere because at the end of the day, it's going to need more money. but what he says is you need to make sure that that money is spent wisely, particularly at a time when obviously, pounds are rather hard to come by. >> yes , indeed, he joked about

>> yes, indeed, he joked about alan milburn making wes streeting look left wing , which streeting look left wing, which isuppose streeting look left wing, which i suppose is an accolade for the guy that has been the bogeyman of the left of the labour party for some time. kevin schofield, thank you so much for joining for some time. kevin schofield, thank you so much forjoining us from the institute of public policy research at that big speech by wes streeting. >> did it bother you that he was reading his jokes? it doesn't really have the same impact, doesit really have the same impact, does it , when really have the same impact, does it, when you're reading a joke. i don't mind when it's a guardian said this. the daily mail said this when it's a government minister reading a big speech, they're allowed to read. >> i think they're allowed to read. >> it doesn't work when it's jokes, though. but no , i think jokes, though. but no, i think maybe it doesn't work. >> maybe you should have learnt the joke, although, i mean, it was you know, he does have a bit of charisma doesn't he. >> at times it was sort of funny imagining the daily mail on one shoulder and the guardian on the other, pulling him in either direction. >> but much more to come in the next hour of this programme, we'll be back with the very latest on those exploding pages. what's being known as the bleeper bombs? who on earth was

behind it? was it israel and how did they do it? >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar, sponsors of weather on gb news . news. >> hello. good morning. welcome to your latest gb news weather update. another sunny afternoon to come. for many of us once this early cloud lifts and clears, but it will be a fairly breezy day, particularly across southern areas as we do have an onshore breeze from the north sea. that's thanks to this area of high pressure, which is bringing that fine weather we're seeing at the moment, but also an easterly breeze . and that an easterly breeze. and that breeze will be quite brisk actually, particularly across southeastern areas close to the channel and also across more western areas of southern england later on today, particularly to the western areas of high ground across parts of wales. but elsewhere clouds should clear up quite nicely as we head into this afternoon, and there will be more in the way of that september warmth to come, perhaps still a bit of cloud lingering around the eastern coast of northern scotland. we

could still see some fog across some areas up here, but for most of us it will be a dry and fine day through the rest of today, and the winds will be lighter across more northern areas. so across more northern areas. 50 across more northern areas. so across the northwest it will chill off a little actually as we head into this evening. but once the sun, whilst the sun is still up, temperatures in the high teens for many of us, but of cloud already starting to come in across northeastern areas of england, parts of east anglia and the southeast this evening, and that cloud will probably be a bit more extensive tonight compared to recent nights across many eastern areas of england, as well as scotland. so it will probably be quite a cloudy night across these eastern areas. across the west, though, another clear and starry night to come and with clearer skies and light winds across northwestern areas, temperatures could dip down close to zero. but for most of us, a fairly mild night for the time of year as that brisk breeze continues across more southern areas. so another pretty breezy day to come across the south tomorrow, and as i said, probably a little bit of a cloudier start. the cloud will last just that much

longer, i think through thursday , longer, i think through thursday, lingering more so across eastern coasts of northern england as well as scotland through more of the day, but further west, plenty more sunshine to come through the day and in the sunshine. still temperatures reaching the mid 20s by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb. >> well .

>> well. >> well. >> good afternoon britain. it's 1:00 on wednesday the 18th of september. i'm emily carver and i'm tom harwood. sir keir scrounger, the prime minister has declared more free tickets and more gifts than any other major party leader in recent times. the total is reportedly now topping £100,000 after the recent support he received from labour donor waheed alli for his lifestyle and such things. >> deadly bleeper bombs israel's mossad spy agency placed

thousands of explosives in hezbollah pages before they detonated across lebanon, with the local health ministry claiming 12 people now killed , claiming 12 people now killed, including two children. israel are yet to comment and reforming the nhs is perhaps a little change in tone. >> health secretary wes streeting tells gb news he does not want to be the fun police and ban cake in offices, but he does say the right will have to accept higher taxes to fund better health care. >> a gender fluid dash hunt has been caught up in an lgbt row after it was used to promote a council at a pride event. i don't know what this is. help! help me make sense of it. goodness me. more on that later. >> tom, did you know you could have a non—binary dog? >> i didn't, i there are just no

words. i didn't, i didn't know, i didn't know, i mean, i have trouble with people sort of anthropomorphising dogs in the first place, sort of dressing them up in human clothes and giving them, you know , i just giving them, you know, i just don't cause them any harm, does it? >> i don't think so. >> i don't think so. >> it's not very classy, is it? >> little bow, a little, little spectacles on a dog. it's quite amusing. >> amusing for a short period of time. >> jumper, little football shirt . >> jumper, little football shirt. come on, little taylor swift t no . okay, well, anyway, no. okay, well, anyway, apparently this dog is. is genderfluid, non—binary, whatever . and it's genderfluid, non—binary, whatever. and it's caused a bit of a hoo ha. so we will get you the details on that. we do promise it's news to us as well. did the today have any say in this is my question, or was this sort of overbearing parenting you're looking out for your feline friends? >> yeah, i'm a big, big dog fan. >> yeah, i'm a big, big dog fan. >> big dog fan. >> yeah, i'm a big, big dog fan. >> big dog fan . well, there you go. >> dogs over cats any day of the week. >> you know, i agree with you.

sorry to the cat lovers at home, but interesting what wes streeting had to say about how he's not the fun police. good pivot. he doesn't want to ban cakes. he doesn't want to ban cakes. he doesn't want to ban cakes in offices. so what was all this talk about? banning smoking outside pubs? what was all this talk about banning junk food ads? i mean, they're hardly treading lightly when it comes to the nanny state. >> keir starmer was talking all about it and now we're being told news today it will only be a consultation that the health secretary will take note of. i mean, they seem to be all over the place in this stuff we're doing. the nanny state hokey cokey all over the shop, all over. >> oven >> but there's no shortage of pubuc >> but there's no shortage of public health experts to tell us how we have to ban everything. they're very much waiting to talk to any politician. i think. anyway, we're going to get to the news headlines. we'll be back in a second. >> very good afternoon to you. it is just coming up to 1:04. and the top story from the newsroom this lunchtime, america's top diplomat antony blinken has said the united states was in no way involved in the thousands of simultaneous

explosions across lebanon and parts of syria. the us secretary of state has been holding a press conference in cairo after what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting handheld communications devices. the hezbollah terrorist group and the lebanese government are accusing israel for that attack, as the death toll has now risen to 12. sadly, including two children, hezbollah militants and the iranian ambassador were among those wounded in the attacks here. the foreign office is urging british citizens to leave lebanon, warning they could be trapped in a war zone. and development minister anneliese dodds says the uk will be supporting civilians impacted in the explosions. >> like many others, i woke up this morning to the news and reports of developments in lebanon and this clearly is an awful situation and very concerned to hear about the reports of civilian casualties. clearly, i don't know all of the details of this. and as i say,

we woke up to this news, but the uk will be working with particularly with our humanitarian partners in the region . region. >> some breaking news this lunchtime that drivers from the aslef union have overwhelmingly backed a new pay deal from the department for transport, ending a dispute that began in 2022. that deal promises drivers a 15% pay that deal promises drivers a 15% pay rise over three years, with almost 97% of the union's 20,000 members voting in favour. since july of 2020, two, train drivers have walked out for 18 days, crippling services across the country. but with the new agreement, passengers can now look forward to some long awaited stability on the railways post office boss nick read will be stepping down next year after a turbulent tenure marked by the horizon it scandal, reads called it a great privilege to lead through extraordinarily challenging times. he said for the post office and postmasters, he took the helm in 2019 after the

controversial departure of paula vennells, who faced backlash over her handling of the horizon crisis . the over her handling of the horizon crisis. the public inquiry into the crimes of convicted child serial killer nurse lucy letby is continuing today. the investigation is scrutinising how letby, now serving 15 life sentences, was able to murder seven babies and injure seven more while she was working at the countess of chester hospital yesterday. the mother of child d told that inquiry that having cctv in her daughter's hospital room could have prevented her murder, and the inquiry is now looking into whether all neonatal units in england should install cctv. well, our north—west of england reporter, sophie reaper is live for us in liverpool, where that inquiry is taking place . sophie more taking place. sophie more parents of letby victims today giving evidence. what more have we heard ? we heard? >> well, this morning we heard from the mother of twin boys e

and f letby was found guilty of murdering e with an injection of air and attempting to murder f via insulin poisoning. this morning. she described the impact this has had on her. she said the impact has been enormous. it changed the course of our life completely. she also described the events leading up to the death of child e. she went to visit him on the neonatal ward, found him screaming and bleeding from the mouth, she said. lucy letby was in the room, told her all was fine and that she should go back to the ward. in retrospect, she said, i blame myself for leaving. i can't turn the clock back. that's something i'll have to live with. >> sophie, thank you very much. sophie reaper that live for us in liverpool, where that inquiry is continuing. much more on that as it continues over the next few weeks, i'm sure. well, in other news, inflation has remained above the 2% target, unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data out today. prices in hospitality holidays and hotels are driving up inflation, with the services sector hitting

5.6% in august. treasury chief darren jones says years of sky high figures continues to put strain on british families, despite that slower rise. and we've been out on the streets of birmingham today to hear some of your thoughts on those figures. >> i think it's it sounds good, but us as consumers don't see in the shops and that that the pnces the shops and that that the prices are holding, they feel like they're going up all the time. it's still too high to be fair. it's too much. prices are expensive. you go in the shops and they've gone up by 30 and £0.40, not pennies like they used to. >> i think it's quite a crisis for students especially, you know, with student finance. it's not sufficient enough for students these days. >> keir starmer what is the business? keir starmer what's happening. keir starmer how. keir starmer fix the economy. you're the. you're the man in charge. keir starmer you're the big man. >> the thoughts of people on the streets of birmingham there and

finally t.g.i. streets of birmingham there and finally tgi. friday's uk operator has entered administration as the company scrambles to sell its 87 restaurants nationwide. the chain's parent company hopes to complete the sale by the end of september, potentially saving thousands of jobs. september, potentially saving thousands of jobs . but it's not thousands of jobs. but it's not clear if a buyer will be found in the company says it may not be enough to cover their debts . be enough to cover their debts. those are the latest gb news headunes those are the latest gb news headlines for now, i'm now very hungry for a burger. that's where i'm heading. see you soon for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . forward slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it's 1:09 now. tensions on the israel—lebanon border have increased following that mass pga attack yesterday. indeed,

we're joined now by gb news home and security editor mark white with some breaking news for us. >> well, the terrorist group hezbollah, of course , that was hezbollah, of course, that was targeted in these major bomb attacks yesterday, has vowed revenge on israel. no indication of a mass attack yet, but rocket alerts as we speak, sounding in nine communities in northwestern israel. just near that border with southern lebanon, where these hezbollah terrorists are based. you can see up there this is a map from a rocket alert app that i downloaded. actually, dunng that i downloaded. actually, during my time out in israel, it came in very handy and gives you a moment by moment update on the alerts coming in. and this is just in the last few minutes. you can see those different communities that the alert sirens have sounded , such as sirens have sounded, such as there are people there. they

will be going to the shelters, but of course 60 to 80,000 people are still displaced elsewhere. further south in israel. to get away from these constant rocket and missile attacks from hezbollah. now, of course , this terrorist group course, this terrorist group will have taken a very significant battering yesterday. their communications system has been shot, obviously, in terms of their ability to perhaps coordinate a mass attack, but there is no doubt that in the days and weeks ahead, when they get that capability back, that is what they will intend to do as some sort of revenge . they've as some sort of revenge. they've said this for what happened yesterday . and then, of course, yesterday. and then, of course, you've also got iran , who we you've also got iran, who we were expecting to launch a very significant missile and drone attack on israel . anyway, after attack on israel. anyway, after the assassination , again the assassination, again believed to have been carried out by israel in the iranian

capital tehran, of ismail haniyeh, the political leader of hamas, that those tensions had just eased a little as there was room being given for the negotiations between hamas and israel to bear some fruit. they haven't as yet. but bearing in mind what's happened now with hezbollah, anything could potentially happen in the days ahead. and that's why antony blinken, the us secretary of state, who is in egypt today meeting his counterpart there , meeting his counterpart there, has one said the us had no involvement in this coordinated attack yesterday, but also called for calm head. let's listen to him. the united states did not know about, nor was it involved in these incidents. >> and we're still gathering the information and gathering the facts, broadly speaking, we've been very clear, and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any

steps that could further escalate the conflict that we're trying to resolve in gaza, to see it spread to other fronts. it's clearly not in the interest of anyone involved to see that happen. and that's why, again, it's imperative that all parties refrain from any actions that could escalate the conflict . could escalate the conflict. >> so of course, a great deal of concern. i mean, he's involved in these intense negotiations anyway, to try to secure a deal between hamas and israel so that that war in gaza can be ended. the hostages, those that are still surviving, can hopefully be returned . but given what has be returned. but given what has happened now in hezbollah in lebanon against hezbollah, it of course ups the ante even more. but israel would argue , listen, but israel would argue, listen, that those tensions have been upped over many, many months by hezbollah themselves firing

indiscriminately these rockets into northern israel, more than 8000 since october the 7th last yean >> but as it stands, we don't know the scale of the response. we know that rocket alerts are sounding in northwest of israel, but we don't know if there's been any damage done yet. well, it's clear whatever's happening at the moment, emily, it's a limited response. >> i just don't think hezbollah will have the capability at the moment to launch anything very significant and meaningful just just now. i mean, they have a very large rocket, missile and drone stockpile there and a capability that is much greater than hamas in gaza . but because than hamas in gaza. but because around 3000 of their fighters , around 3000 of their fighters, their terrorists have been either severely injured or certainly compromised to a large degree, and the communications system working through these pages has been very significantly impacted. it might be difficult for them in the

hours and days ahead to launch anything meaningful, but i think we can see the intent there. they're trying to show the message they've still got a capability. they're going to continue to do what they've been doing for the past year, almost. >> and so far, israel have have are yet to say anything . are yet to say anything. >> they have they have a policy of neither confirming nor denying operations involving their security services. but we have heard from despite what anthony blinken said, their security sources in the us, who said they were informed by israel , after that attack was underway. >> okay. very interesting. thank you very much . mark white, our you very much. mark white, our homeland security editor. >> well, we're joined now by chris doyle, the director of council for the british arab understanding, thanks. so much, chris, for joining understanding, thanks. so much, chris, forjoining us. first of chris, for joining us. first of all, how will this have affected tensions in the region? i mean,

these these hezbollah and israel have been exchanging blows for some time, but i suppose this has upped the ante . has upped the ante. >> well, it has ever since last october, we have seen an escalation of for tat between hezbollah, who started an attack on the 8th of october, all in the aftermath of those dreadful attacks, obviously emanating out of gaza by hamas. and it's escalated from a low intensity conflict to a medium one. and the fear that the likes of anthony blinken has, that this could come a full on war that would suck in outside powers appeared, on the one hand, iran and its allies and of course, the united states, as well as israel. and if that was to happen , what we see in gaza happen, what we see in gaza today, which is obviously so awful, would be far greater because of hezbollah's greater capabilities than they've demonstrated, that actually, dunng demonstrated, that actually, during the last year , their during the last year, their ability to penetrate israel with

drones, to take photographs of key sensitive military installations, that they could also make israel pay a very heavy price if there is a full blown conflict. obviously, israel has huge military capabilities. we all know that. it's made very clear that if there was serious attacks on israel, that it would respond in a way that would see the destruction of much of the south of lebanon, even into beirut. so the stakes are high, and i think it requires now the diplomats to try and calm it down, because there is no win win scenario here. it's all lose lose. there are going to be civilians who are going to be civilians who are going to get caught up in this, and even in those attacks yesterday, civilians have been killed and not all necessarily hezbollah. we've seen two children, being victims of this. it is terrifying. and i think also of both israeli and lebanese civilians here, lebanese civilians here,

lebanese are not all uniformly behind hezbollah, far from it. many of them oppose it. they don't want to see their country being sucked into a war with israel. given all that's happenedin israel. given all that's happened in lebanon in the last few years, the massive beirut explosion. sorry, just sorry to just interject, but but on to on to that point. >> how how how are israel supposed to respond? 8000 or so rockets sent over the border from hezbollah are widely agreed to be a terrorist organisation, some are arguing that this is a very precise defensive attack on on the terrorists themselves . on the terrorists themselves. >> i'm not saying it is easy, but often what you get with israeli actions is tactical successes. but strategic failures. and the very fact that hezbollah is still, in lebanon, it's a state within a state. if it's a state within a state. if it is so powerful that it came into being after the israeli invasion of 1982, i think actually highlights what i'm saying, that often you get these

operations that are carried out highly effectively, but actually politically , has israel advanced politically, has israel advanced its own security? is it more likely to be in peace in the region further down the line? now, i'm not saying that israel shouldn't be taking action against hezbollah, but one has to be very, aware of the longer time frame of how does israel manage to find itself. you know, peace and security within the region. and if it doesn't, if it carries out attacks that terrifies civilians all across lebanon. i mean, these bombs were going off in supermarkets. yes. it may be a hezbollah guy who has a pager, but imagine if that person is driving a truck, and the truck then veers into a crowd of people. so it's not a totally targeted attack where civilians are, you know, somehow insulated from the consequences could be very dangerous. and it worries me going further forward in other conflicts, other actors

who will think, okay, let's attack supply chains. it may not be mobile phones or pages, it could be food, medicines , fuel, could be food, medicines, fuel, water, cruder attacks . so water, cruder attacks. so i think it is important to stress the international legal parameters to this. i think it's important to get the diplomacy, because i don't believe there's a military scenario and an outcome for either lebanese or israelis. that's going to be beneficial. we need to get a diplomatic solution to stop it. that's the way forward. >> well, chris doyle, director of the council for arab—british understanding, or indeed british arab understanding, thank you so much for joining arab understanding, thank you so much forjoining us and talking much for joining us and talking through that issue. >> okay. well this is good afternoon britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. we're going to be checking in with our political edhon checking in with our political editor, christopher hope to see what's going on in the heart of westminster

>> good afternoon britain. it's 1:23. now earlier, the health secretary, wes streeting, unveiled labour's plans to reform the nhs, saying it's been in crisis for nearly 15 years. but can the labour party now in government, turn it around? >> well joining us now is our political editor, christopher hope. christopher, interesting what wes streeting had to say there lots of information about just how badly the nhs is doing and how badly it's been let down by previous governments of a of a blue shade, but he also spoke about about the nanny state. it seems like he's backtracking. maybe christopher . maybe christopher. >> that's right. i can just just hear you over there. they're breaking for lunch here at the ipp, so it's quite loud in this room. but wes streeting set out how, as health secretary, he's got the left and right on his shoulder. he said it was the guardian and the daily mail. the guardian and the daily mail. the guardian are saying we're worried about health reform.

will that mean more private involvement? and streeting said very clearly i'm not worried about that. and the daily mail and, you know, the right, he said, are concerned about nanny state. and that's a question i asked him because i was intrigued about the issue of cake offices. here's what he had to say . you wouldn't ban to say. you wouldn't ban bringing cake into offices, if you remember. is that still the case? now you're in government and has the nanny state gone too far by banning smoking in pub gardens and just finally, it's a very nice suit. did he pay for it yourself ? it yourself? >> i did, thank you very much. i always take compliments where i can get them, especially from you. i was at nhs england the other day and saw an abundance of sugary treats around the building. i've not, i've not reported them to the chief medical officer yet , but medical officer yet, but there's, there's a serious kind of point. there's serious point here. i'm really not interested in being the fun police or telling people how to live their lives. and people certainly

won't have to worry about closing their curtains at night in case i'm peering through the window and looking at what they're eating, drinking, or smoking, that's that's not the kind of society i want to live in. >> so that's wes streeting, er, telling gb news that he thinks that he's not going to be the fun police. but equally, it's incumbent on all of us to try and lead healthier lifestyles. i was struck by his by his statement during the speech he gave to the ippr that if we don't act now, he said , then we don't act now, he said, then we will bankrupt the nhs. and he said the rights have to accept that help that they will get will have higher health care costs. unless we all get healthier and that will lead to higher taxes. so i think it's quite clever politics here. wes streeting he's linking what will come next months higher taxes in the budget almost certainly. but if we can all work together to get healthier, that might bring the burden down eventually . but the burden down eventually. but of course, that's set against all of our freedoms. i asked him to directly, why are you banning smoking in pub gardens? he said, smoking in pub gardens? he said, smoking is an easier thing to go

after. it's seen as being an aften it's seen as being an unhealthy habit. but there's no question as we go forward with this government, they are trying to be more nanny state with us. and his question is how much more can we take? >> well, one would one would ask perhaps is it, is it, is it any longer a choice to be able to overindulge? or are we now being forbidden that to preserve the nhs? well, chris hope will be back with you of course, a little bit later on. thank you very much for joining little bit later on. thank you very much forjoining us. >> yes. nhs with a with a country attached to it. is that the joke? >> well that's the phrase we must all live for the nhs that used that thing and he said , oh, used that thing and he said, oh, we don't want to become an nhs with a country attached, which is why we're going to save the nhs by controlling everyone how they live their lives. i don't quite you can just imagine the ad campaign i exercise for the nhs. >> i eat salad for the nhs, i'm a good person . look at me, i'm a good person. look at me, i'm going to shine my halo . oh, going to shine my halo. oh, there you go. >> people should be should be allowed to not exercise if they

don't want to. >> yeah, you can be lazy if you want to. you can be lazy. >> yeah well you would in a free country, but i think we've learned we've learned increasingly over the last. >> please do eat healthily. it'll make you feel better, >> anyway, keir starmer has been declaring, aside from a free country, free tickets, free tickets and gifts more than any major party leaders in recent times, his total now tops over £100,000. >> that is a big figure forjust gifts and things like that . gifts and things like that. anyway, the prime minister, he's accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets during his time as labour leader, including £4,000 of hospitality at a taylor swift concert . you know what? keir concert. you know what? keir starmer is he really a swifty? could he have given his ticket to, you know, a little girl who would have loved it, a teenager, maybe he is just a little girl at heart. >> maybe, and this but also not not just little girls who like taylor swift, rishi sunak famously a big swifty fan. >> that's true, but he probably paid for his own tickets. it's true. >> well, this week keir starmer came under fire for the scale of gifts given to him by lord alli ,

gifts given to him by lord alli, including clothing, accommodation and famously glasses. >> okay gb news political correspondent katherine forster joins us now in the studio. catherine, you've been looking over all of the detail of this and how many gifts keir starmer has received in all of this. has he been particularly greedy ? he been particularly greedy? >> i think you could certainly say he likes the freebie, doesn't he? i mean, 100,000 is a lot, and it is more than any party leader. since 2010. so some of these include like 18,500 for arsenal tickets. we know that he loves arsenal , he know that he loves arsenal, he told the political journalist in rome. the other day that if he couldn't take these hospitality tickets, that obviously he couldn't go in the stand because of security and that basically he wouldn't be able to go, which he wouldn't be able to go, which he thought would sort of be beyond. >> and yet yoshi sunak was prime minister. he went in the stand, there's photograph after

photograph after photograph. he was handed a special box. >> well indeed. indeed. also 2500 pounds on his spectacles , i 2500 pounds on his spectacles, i imagine more than one pair. we knew that lord alli this big labour donor, had given a lot of money to the prime minister dunng money to the prime minister during the election campaign, and since we also know that he had a temporary pass to downing street, we don't know why that was , but yes, some of these sums was, but yes, some of these sums of money have emerged. now, the £5,000 for lady starmer's clothes, a story in the sunday times that broke at the weekend because they didn't declare that within the 28 days that they should have done. now the prime minister's been very clear that that was an oversight, that they basically didn't realise, and they went to make inquiries and they went to make inquiries and they found that, yes, they should have done it. and very keen to say it's important to abide by the rules. we are doing. keir starmer was one of the most senior lawyers in the country. >> he was a man that was paid

more money than i think i'll ever see in my life. to know every jot and tittle of the law. don't do yourself down, does he really, genuinely believe that people are going to believe that mr rules? mr director of public prosecutions mr legal degrees from here there and everywhere didn't know what the rules were . didn't know what the rules were. >> well he's arguing that because these were clothes for his wife it was different. so they didn't know they had to declare them. the problem is there was something very similar with rishi sunak and sir keir starmer was all over that in the house of commons, pointing out you've got 28 days, so it's difficult, but i don't think most people will care about whether they miss the date. to declare. but it's a lot of money, a lot of clothes. we have lady starmer looking fabulous at london fashion week in a borrowed dress, but you know, people will just see the prime minister and his wife going to events looking amazing while cutting pensioners fuel

allowance, i suspect, and we know there's a lot of pain coming in the budget. and i think they're clearly living beyond their means. catherine tone deaf. well, you mentioned that. just worth saying that in the last few minutes it has emerged that sue gray, the prime minister's very controversial chief of staff, is in fact paid more than the prime minister. £3,000 more. she's on £170,000. he is only, i use the word in inverted commas , but you know, inverted commas, but you know, it is a big job. only paid £167,000. now it was apparently suggested to her that she might take a few thousand less than the prime minister to avoid a story like the story that has just emerged about this emerging . just emerged about this emerging. and she declined. >> that's that is amazing. so she she someone suggested , oh, she she someone suggested, oh, do you mind just cutting your salary a bit? so the boss looks like he's got the most money. oh, that is just wonderful. >> who's the real prime minister here? but i suppose i suppose

this makes this makes perfect sense. does it not? if sue gray, who was in charge of ethics, has been overseeing all of these gifts and looking at what the prime minister has been doing, if she thinks £167,000 a year is not enough for her to live on. well, of course she's going to approve all of these gifts and freebies. £100,000 for sir keir starmer. well £167,000 by most people. >> 100,000 in gifts, 100,000 100,000 in gifts. but you know his his salary of 167, most people would think is really rather a lot of money and enough that you can pay for your own ticket, spectacles, etc. >> so sue gray doesn't. >> so sue gray doesn't. >> there's plenty of bosses. get a lot, a lot more than that. but sue gray is very influential. she was on the trip to washington. she had a seat at the table with the president and the table with the president and the prime minister, and the foreign secretary. she was also on the trip to rome . she is ever on the trip to rome. she is ever present now. there's all sorts of stories about her and tensions within downing street,

power behind the throne. et cetera. et cetera. and the prime minister did say that most of those were wildly wrong, most of those. >> but she will not accept a pay deduction to just make things look better. >> if she's paid more, follow the money. is this the real prime minister here? >> catherine, thank you very much indeed for bringing us that and that breaking news line re sue gray. i do think sir keir scrounger and lady victoria sponger do have a do have a nice ring to it. >> goodness me. >> goodness me. >> you don't know what they'd say about that you wasted in broadcast. >> emily, you should be in tabloid headline writing stand up. lots more coming on in today's programme. indeed, teachers working from home. how does that one work out? we'll have more on this curious story after . news. aften news. >> very good afternoon to you. i would highly recommend emily stays in news instead of stand up. let's take a look at the headunes up. let's take a look at the headlines this lunchtime , headlines this lunchtime, america's top diplomat antony blinken says the united states

was in no way involved in the thousands of simultaneous explosions across lebanon. the us secretary of state has been holding a press conference in cairo , after what's believed to cairo, after what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting handheld communications devices. the hezbollah terrorist group and the lebanese government are accusing israel for that attack, as the death toll has now risen to 12. sadly, including two children. here, the foreign office is urging british citizens in lebanon to leave, warning they could be trapped in a war zone . train drivers have a war zone. train drivers have called time on strikes, with a pay called time on strikes, with a pay deal now agreed . aslef union pay deal now agreed. aslef union members voted overwhelmingly to accept a 15% pay rise over three years, ending two years of industrial action. the strikes, which began in july 2022, caused major disruption across england and with 18 days of walkouts and overtime bans, the dispute impact millions impacted millions of passengers. now, though , with that deal approved

though, with that deal approved by 97% of aslef's members. services are expected to return to normal . turning to news in to normal. turning to news in the russia ukraine conflict, a massive blast has rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot, forcing a mass evacuation. video you can see here shows a fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions while nasa says it detected intense heat over a 14 square kilometre area, local officials have confirmed the blast, but details at this stage still limited with the media there under military censorship. ukraine's security service says the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv hasn't yet commented . kyiv hasn't yet commented. posting voice recordings online could lead to scam attempts, according to a leading bank. starling bank says a! voice cloning technology is being used to imitate people's voices, allowing scammers to target family members for money. almost half of those surveyed by the bank had no idea such such

scams, even existed, while 1 in 12 said they would still send money even if a call seems strange. to prevent fraud, people are advised to agree on a safe phrase with loved ones. tgi friday's uk operator has entered administration as the company scrambles to sell its 87 restaurants nationwide. the chain's parent company is hoping to complete the sale by the end of september , potentially saving of september, potentially saving thousands of jobs. however, it's not clear if a buyer will be found and it may not be enough to cover the company's debts. and just before i go, a quick update on news coming to us regarding that incident in hezbollah, the militant group. tuesday's pager blasts killed, we now know, 19 iranian revolutionary guards and wounded 150 in syria. that's according to saudi television that latest line just coming to us from the

reuters news agency. the death toll now continuing to rise, it seems, as we are hearing, 19 iranian revolutionary guards killed in that pager blast. we'll bring you plenty more on that with our correspondent, mark white later this hour. now, though, back to tom and emily for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code , or go to the qr code, or go to gbnews.com. >> forward slash alerts . >> forward slash alerts. >> forward slash alerts. >> cheers! britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report . financial report. >> let's take a quick look at the markets for you this lunchtime. the pound will buy you $1.3207 and ,1.1872. the price of gold, £1,947.44 per ounce. and the ftse 100 is at 8258 points. >> cheers ! britannia wine club

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>> well welcome back. it is now 141. you're watching listening to good afternoon britain. now teachers, they're going to be allowed to work from home under labour plans to tackle the recruitment crisis in schools. >> yes, headteachers will let their staff do marking and lesson planning away from the classroom in a wider bid to reset the relationship between government and teaching staff with flexible working. >> they really love the flexible working at the moment. well, teachers leaving the profession could this approach work to retain some of our teachers? >> well, joining us now is head teacher at lvs ascot, christine khalife, christine , do teachers khalife, christine, do teachers not do lesson planning at home already? >> yes they do. i must admit, i nearly fell off my chair when i read this this morning. as if we

need another problem at the moment . moment. >> well, is this another problem then, christine? so if this was something that all teachers at your school could demand, you know, it's my right to have the working from home and the flexible working. i mean , how flexible working. i mean, how would that be to organise as the head teacher of a school? >> well, i think we are. we do have constraints of the timetable to start with. but also you do need a number, a certain number of student teachers on site during the day for insurance purposes. and just in case there was an incident of some kind and people get taken ill during the day. so sometimes we might need to cover as well. so it's not as easy as it seems, you know, i'm for all bringing more teachers into the profession, but i think what we need to look at is the reasons why. the real reasons why people aren't coming or staying in the profession and not giving a couple of hours off a week to work at home. >> be curious. i mean, i know several teachers and they do do an awful lot of work, probably more working hours of a day than than most professions, really,

in terms of the number of whether it's marking or lesson planning or all the rest of it thatis planning or all the rest of it that is done in the evening. but isuppose that is done in the evening. but i suppose this proposal is about people nipping home in the middle of the day. if they teach one lesson in the morning and one lesson in the morning and one lesson in the morning and one lesson in the evening, why not pop back in the middle? i mean, is it is it that damaging, or would this sort of undermine the cohesiveness of a school? >> i think it does undermine the cohesiveness of a school. but also you've got to think about those staff who can't pop home dunng those staff who can't pop home during the day for a reason. you know, they might live 40 minutes away or even more so they can't. they don't have the opportunity to. and also that we do work together, and there will be times when we have to cover for each other . or times when we have to cover for each other. or as i said, if there is an incident in school, we need to have so many staff on site to ensure the safety of the children. so if you're going to do something like that, it's got to be fair for everyone. >> yeah. also i don't know. i remember i'm casting my mind back to when i was a pupil at a school and it was quite nice

knowing that the teachers were there throughout the day, regardless of whether you happen to have a lesson with them planned for that day to just be able to sort of knock on their door or grab them in the corridor to ask a quick question about something or perhaps a little bit of pastoral care. if you were worried about something or, you know, these sort of interactions. i fear if teachers are just sort of popping home for a bit of working from home time , you well, that atmosphere time, you well, that atmosphere is gone, isn't it? >> yeah, it is exactly that. it's nice to be able to, to be there, ready for children when they need some help during the day, whatever that help looks like, whether it's academic or as you say, wellbeing as well. and i think, you know, it's getting away from the real issues regarding recruitment . issues regarding recruitment. it's a token gesture and it won't make any impact. i do know some schools who are doing this already. they managed to do it quite successfully, but it's not going to manage across the board. so it depends what you as a head teacher want for your school community and what you expect of your teachers. there's other ways of giving back and

trying to reduce workload rather than taking time out of the school day. >> yeah, i suppose that is. that is the crux of it, but of course, every school is different. every school will have a different set of pupils, will have a different set of teachers with different specialisms and different ways of working. i suppose the answer here might be to avoid a one size fits all policy. and different schools do things in different schools do things in different ways. >> yeah, you've got to have flexibility. what works for you. you know your staff, you know what the demands are. you know what the demands are. you know what your recruitment issues are as well . but i what your recruitment issues are as well. but i think it's still it is moving. it's detracting for the real reasons why people aren't coming into the profession or staying there. and it's always christine, christine, what are the reasons why teachers are giving up on the profession? well, if you look at some of the surveys that have been done about why people leave, it could be because of behaviour in schools, lack of support , workload generally, i support, workload generally, i think pay and conditions are improving. i think there's some good work being done on that .

good work being done on that. teachers have paid a lot more money than they were a couple of years ago, but it's still not enough. so, for example, if you're a good maths or science graduate, you would. what you're going to do in less teaching is your vocation. are you going to go into teaching or maybe go and get a job in finance in the city and earn a lot more money? it depends where it lies in life. and i know one of the reasons for doing this is to try and attract more women into teaching. but teaching is one of the best professions . if you are the best professions. if you are a family person, if you've got a family and you need to look after your children as well. i've raised three children and yeah, i had some help from my in—laws. but being a teacher with the term term time and the holidays that we could share together, that's invaluable and i really do. >> is it worth it? why is it worth it for you, then, christine? i mean, you've got to the top of a school. you're a head teacher. you obviously put in a lot of graft and time. head teacher. you obviously put in a lot of graft and time . what in a lot of graft and time. what made it worthwhile for you? >> i think because i could have a profession and i could be a mum as well. it was really important to me to spend that time with my children. and so

therefore we did have the holidays together. so it's all about managing your professional life and your family as well. and i think , yeah, there has to and i think, yeah, there has to be consideration for that. but i think given a couple of hours off during the term, you know, dunng off during the term, you know, during the week is not enough to address those recruitment issues and they need to look at what the real problems are. >> well, christine khalife always a pleasure to speak to you, head teacher of lvs ascot. thanks for joining you, head teacher of lvs ascot. thanks forjoining us. thanks for joining us. >> why is the government always have to think that they know best about the minutiae of how things like schools or or businesses decide to behave? >> i mean , politician god >> i mean, politician god complex, isn't it? i know you don't want to stand everything. you don't need to boss everything . anyway, we've got everything. anyway, we've got lots more coming up on today's show. we are going to get to that gender fluid dog. we have found out what was going on there

next. >> good afternoon britain. it's

just gone 10 to 2 now. a gender fluid dog named pabllo vittar, inspired by a brazilian drag queen, as it happens, has been caught at the centre of an lgbt row after it was used to promote a council at a pride event. >> yes. okay, so a social worker was harassed. there's the dog, by the way. a social worker was harassed by colleagues at cambridgeshire county council after being accused of making non—inclusive and even transphobic comments about the dog, and was subsequently formally disciplined by managers. she has since been awarded a total of £55,000 compensation for her loss of earnings and injuries to feelings , so this is this is a feelings, so this is this is a very 2024 story, isn't it? really everything about this story is bonkers. >> there's a there's a gender fluid dog. there's someone who was offended by the fact that someone dressed their dog up as a gender fluid thing. and then there's somehow £55,000 in a payout because someone had hurt

her feelings. i mean, everything about this is bonkers . about this is bonkers. >> no, but it's one the who is the one who said something deemed transphobic. who got the money. yeah, because she she was found to have been treated badly by the council , but found to have been treated badly by the council, but part of that money was for her feelings. >> so i think on both sides there are just nonsense. >> i don't know, i think you should be able to stand up to some ridiculous colleague talking about their gender fluid dog, don't you think? >> yes, yes, but then you shouldn't. you should be able to make a joke about that, of course. >> and then if you get fired as a result, or you lose some earnings as a result, you should be able to claim compensation for your loss of earnings. i can be gender critical about a dashers hurt feelings. no not for hurt feelings. yeah, not for hurt feelings. >> i don't quite understand how a dog is gender fluid. i mean, well, that's another question, isn't it? dogs don't have the sort of concept of, of, of sort of gender that humans do, as far as i'm aware, as far as i'm aware, there are girl dogs and boy dogs. >> so sex matters when it comes to dogs. does it job? >> well, i just think that dogs don't really have they don't have a gender identity. i don't

think they do. >> well, what if that dachshund believes that it was born a woman? born a woman when it was assigned male at birth ? i told assigned male at birth? i told you , bigot, he's a bigot. you, bigot, he's a bigot. >> i have to say, i think that in this case, it might be the owners doing a bit of projecting. maybe, upon the dog, rather than this being an innate sense of the dog itself. >> our producer told us a little earlier that he had a tortoise, a pet tortoise, and thought it was a boy. very much turned out to be a girl, as it became pregnant. >> and these these are all of the babies of the tortoise . baby the babies of the tortoise. baby tortoises. 40 tortoises now don't know what to do with them, but. oh, of course, adorable things. but i suppose this is, in a sense, a gender fluid animal. thought it was a bloke. turned out to be a bloke that got pregnant. oh wait, it's a girl, pregnant tortoises ? yes. girl, pregnant tortoises? yes. no. so, thanks to lewis mckenzie , no. so, thanks to lewis mckenzie, our wonderful producer, for bringing us those pictures of his own tortoises. now, much

more to come up on the show, including news from the middle east. much more serious. don't go anywhere . go anywhere. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on gb news >> hello. good morning. welcome to your latest gb news weather update. another sunny afternoon to come. for many of us, once this early cloud lifts and clears. but it will be a fairly breezy day, particularly across southern areas as we do have an onshore breeze from the north sea. that's thanks to this area of high pressure, which is bringing that fine weather we're seeing at the moment, but also an easterly breeze. and that breeze will be quite brisk actually , particularly across actually, particularly across southeastern areas close to the channel. and also across more western areas of southern england. later on today , england. later on today, particularly to the western areas of high ground across parts of wales. but elsewhere clouds should clear up quite nicely as we head into this afternoon, and there will be more in the way of that september warmth to come, perhaps still a bit of cloud lingering around the eastern

coast of northern scotland. we could still see some fog across some areas up here, but for most of us it will be a dry and fine day through the rest of today, and the winds will be lighter across more northern areas. so across more northern areas. 50 across more northern areas. so across the northwest it will chill off a little. actually, as we head into this evening. but once the sun, whilst the sun is still up, temperatures in the high teens for many of us, but of cloud already starting to come in across northeastern areas of england, parts of east anglia and the southeast this evening. and that cloud will probably be a bit more extensive tonight compared to recent nights across many eastern areas of england as well as scotland. so it will probably be quite a cloudy night across these eastern areas . across the west, eastern areas. across the west, though, another clear and starry night to come and with clear skies and light winds across northwestern areas, temperatures could dip down close to zero. but for most of us, a fairly mild night for the time of year, as that brisk breeze continues across more southern areas. so another pretty breezy day to come across the south tomorrow. and as i said, probably a little bit of a cloudier start. the

cloud will last just that much longer, i think through thursday, lingering more so across eastern coasts of northern england, as well as scotland, through more of the day but further west. plenty more sunshine to come through the day and in the sunshine. still temperatures reaching the mid 20s by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> good afternoon britain. it's 2:00 on wednesday, the 18th of september. i'm tom harwood and i'm emily carver deadly bleep bombs. >> israel's mossad spy agency placed explosives in thousands of hezbollah pages before they detonated across lebanon. israel is yet to comment. we'll have the latest . the latest. >> reforming the nhs. health secretary wes streeting tells gb

news he does not want to be the fun police and ban cake in offices, but he says the right will have to accept some nanny statism and higher taxes. >> yes, to fund it, i guess. inflation rates have held steady at 2.2% despite a jump in airfares. so are consumers really feeling this ? really feeling this? >> in the last few minutes, we've learnt that sue gray, the chief of staff to the prime minister, earns more than the prime minister, £3,000 more every year. >> and apparently behind the scenes, she was given a nudge and said, you know, would you mind just taking a little pay cut just so it doesn't look like you're earning more than the prime minister? apparently she said, absolutely not. so there you go. she stood her ground. she didn't want to take a pay cut to make the prime minister look good. >> i'm starting to feel sorry for keir starmer now. i'm

starting to feel. >> absolutely not. >> absolutely not. >> i'm starting to feel that this guy, you know, we're all told he's the prime minister. we're all told he's making the decisions . we're all told he's making the decisions. but we're all told he's making the decisions . but clearly he's not decisions. but clearly he's not at the top of the tree when it comes to income. is he not at the top of the tree when it comes to running the country either? is the country actually being run by someone who's been, well , partly being run by someone who's been, well, partly running the civil service for the last decade or so? is the is the country actually now being run by sue gray? >> and of course, she was totally impartial at the time of course. >> naturally. and her and her, she was impartial. her son, who's now a labour mp, was impartial when she moved from being in the civil service and, of course, investigating boris johnson. and then became suddenly the chief of staff to the leader of the opposition. that was entirely impartial as well. >> always impartial, always , >> always impartial, always, always best and brightest in our civil service but yes, it does. it does look a bit odd, doesn't it? sue gray but then, to be fair, there are nhs managers who earn more than the prime minister. there are heads of councils, aren't there, who earn

more. there are many a job paid for by the public purse that is paid more. probably whoever's leading on hs2 is probably paid more. >> and yet and yet i don't know about you. >> i think it's a bit close to home though, isn't it? >> £167,000 a year for keir starmer. i mean, it's a huge salary. >> it's not. not enough, though, is it, to keep him in the lifestyle he's become accustomed to? >> 1% salary and i would be >>1% salary and i would be amazed if this is the prime minister, if this top lawyer for decades hadn't saved a little bit away. this person who was paid just just gargantuan amounts of money as one of the most senior human rights lawyers in the land, and then the director of public prosecutions, a man with a pension so gold plated that the house of commons legislated for it individually. it was a statutory instrument laid during the coalition years , laid during the coalition years, entitled the pension of mr keir starmer. i mean, that's how much

cash this guy has. and yet and yet he's accepting gifts. he needs his glasses bought . needs his glasses bought. >> he needs a brioni suit. and those cost thousands, you know, needs to have the gucci glasses. can't just be having specsavers, you know, as if as if. can't just be having specsavers, you know, as if as if . anyway, you know, as if as if. anyway, thoughts? gbnews.com/yoursay always welcome. we will get to some very soon because some of you are very funny indeed. but first it's the news headlines with sam francis . with sam francis. >> tom. emily, thank you very much. good afternoon to you. the top story at 2:00, america's top diplomat, antony blinken says the united states was in no way involved in the thousands of simultaneous explosions across lebanon. the us secretary of state has been holding a press conference in cairo today , after conference in cairo today, after what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting handheld communications devices. the hezbollah terrorist group are accusing israel for that attack, as the death toll in lebanon has

now risen to 12, including two children. we've also heard in the last hour or so that 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria. that's according to reports on saudi television here, development minister anneliese dodds says the uk will be supporting the civilians impacted in the explosions. >> like many others, i woke up this morning to the news and reports of developments in lebanon and this clearly is an awful situation and very concerned to hear about the reports of civilian casualties. clearly, i don't know all of the details of this. and as i say, we woke up to this news, but the uk will be working with, particularly with our humanitarian partners in the region . region. >> plenty more on that story with our home and security editor mark white later this houn editor mark white later this hour. in other news, drivers from the aslef union have

overwhelmingly backed a new pay deal from the department of transport, ending a dispute that beganin transport, ending a dispute that began in 2022. the deal promises drivers a 15% pay rise over three years, with almost 97% of the union's 20,000 members voting in favour. since july of 2020, two, train drivers have walked out for 18 days, crippling services across england and beyond. but with the new agreement, passengers can look forward to some long awaited stability on the rails. post office boss nick reid will step down next year after a turbulent tenure marked by the honzon turbulent tenure marked by the horizon it scandal. reid has called it a great privilege to lead through extraordinarily challenging times for the post office. he took the helm in 2019 after the controversial departure of paula vennells, who faced backlash over her handling of the horizon crisis. mr reid's departure follows criticism from mps and his exoneration from misconduct allegations earlier this year . misconduct allegations earlier this year. the public inquiry

into the crimes of convicted child serial killer nurse lucy letby is continuing today in liverpool. the investigation is scrutinising how letby, now serving 15 life sentences, was able to murder seven babies and injure seven more while she was working at the countess of chester hospital. yesterday, the mother of child d told the inquiry that having cctv in her daughter's hospital room could have prevented her murden daughter's hospital room could have prevented her murder. the inquiry is now looking into whether all neonatal units across england should install cctv. a north west of england reporter , sophie reaper is in reporter, sophie reaper is in liverpool for us today where that inquiry is taking place. >> this morning we are expecting to continue with evidence from parents. we're expecting to hear from the mother of child e and child f, twin boys, who were both attacked by letby. child e was murdered by an injection of air and child f. it was an attempted murder charge, a poisoning with insulin. he did survive. now this morning we are unable to go into liverpool town

hall. into the inquiry itself. partially because of concerns around anonymity, but also, as i'm sure our viewers can understand, it must be incredibly, incredibly difficult for those parents to stand up and to share the impact that this has had on them and the lives of their wider family. >> sophie reaper there for us in liverpool, while inflation remained above the 2% target today, unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data out earlier. prices in hospitality , earlier. prices in hospitality, holidays and hotels possibly boosted by the final leg of taylor swift's tour, are driving the inflation figures , with the inflation figures, with inflation in the services sector up to 5.6% in august. treasury chief darren jones says years of sky high inflation continues to put strain on britain's families , put strain on britain's families, despite the slower rise. he also added the government is determined to fix the foundations of the economy to ease pressure on households . and ease pressure on households. and we have been out speaking to a

number of people on birmingham's streets for their thoughts on the figures . the figures. >> i think it's it sounds good, but us as consumers don't see in the shops and that that the pnces the shops and that that the prices are holding. they feel like they're going up all the time. it's still too high, to be fair. it's too much. prices are expensive. you go in the shops and they've gone up by 30 and £0.40, not pennies like they used to. >> i think it's quite a crisis for students especially, you know, with student finance. it's not sufficient enough for students these days. >> keir starmer what is your business? keir starmer what's happening? keir starmer how? keir starmer fix the economy. you're the you're the man in charge. keir starmer you're the big man. >> a range of opinions there on the streets of birmingham. finally for you tgi friday's uk operator has entered administration as the company is scrambling to sell its 87 restaurants nationwide. the chain's parent company hopes to

complete the sale by the end of september, potentially saving thousands of jobs , but it's not thousands of jobs, but it's not clear if a buyer will be found. and they say it may not be enough to cover the company's debts . those are the latest debts. those are the latest headunes debts. those are the latest headlines for now. i'll be back with you for another roundup at 2:30 for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . forward slash alerts. >> well, in the middle east, at least 12 people have been killed, nearly 3000 injured, including members of the hezbollah terrorist group. now, the incident happened when their pages exploded in what's being described as the biggest security breach since fighting broke out, with israel almost a year ago. >> well, delighted to be joined in the studio now by gb news home and security editor mark

white. and mark, it was about this time yesterday when we first started to hear of this remarkable operation. >> yes, indeed. and we didn't really appreciate just the enormous scale of what had gone on.and enormous scale of what had gone on. and still now , 24 hours on on. and still now, 24 hours on news, breaking all the time on this and the latest we're getting from al—hadath tv channelin getting from al—hadath tv channel in saudi arabia, is that 19 iranian revolutionary guard members have been killed, and 150 others wounded in these pager blasts. now that proof, i think if proof were ever needed about the close links of this axis of terrorism that sees iran at the head and the likes of hezbollah , hamas, the houthis in hezbollah, hamas, the houthis in yemen , you know, why would these yemen, you know, why would these iranian revolutionary guard

operatives, you would think , operatives, you would think, have these pagers unless they were so closely linked to the terrorist group hezbollah and their knock on effects of this targeted attack through these pages ? pages? >> hezbollah, there are rocket sirens now in northwest israel. are there not people taking shelter as potentially rockets are coming over the border? you've also got syria involved as well, potentially, of course, western leaders talking about the need to de—escalate. but what are the chances of that? >> well, i mean, the hope is they can de—escalate . but i they can de—escalate. but i think that without a doubt there will be significant retaliation. hezbollah will need to get itself back into a position that it's able to do that it was able to according to our sources, launch about ten rockets into northern israel . just an hour northern israel. just an hour ago, we reported on that last houn ago, we reported on that last hour. they have all impacted areas, some close to

communities. one started a fire but no injuries reported. but it shows. of course they still have capability. they are much more capable than hamas was for instance, who have, you know, even though the israelis have gone into gaza to dismantle hamas still to this day, will launch semi—regularly rockets into israel and hamas. hezbollah is much more powerful in terms of the men at arms that they have and also the rockets, the missiles and the drones. >> now, for many years, we've known that hezbollah is funded by iran. and, well funded by iran. as you as you say, an absolutely enormous arsenal, far, far outstretching anything that hamas has. but are we only now sorry . now sorry. >> what's this? >> what's this? >> we're seeing just to say this is the images of that rocket attack and the fire that has been caused by one of the

rockets that landed. you can see very close to that community in northwestern israel. there so a determination absolutely , on determination absolutely, on behalf of the israeli military to go after hezbollah. and that was the israeli cabinet that ordered the widening of the war goals to try to go after hezbollah. sorry, tom, you were saying i was going to say these 19 members of the iranian revolutionary guard that have been killed in this attack , been killed in this attack, having hezbollah associated pages on their person, the iranian ambassador to lebanon, being injured. >> i think partially blinded by this attack as well. are we only now learning with fairly definitive proof that it's not just money that iran is giving to hezbollah, but its commands, its direction? in many ways, hezbollah might well be acting as an arms length unit of the

iranian revolutionary guard. >> i think you're absolutely right. and, you know, they've always had plausible deniability about just how closely linked and aligned they are to these groups in terms of their day to day operations. so we've always known that iran is the main backer and financier of hezbollah, the houthis , hamas. hezbollah, the houthis, hamas. but they've always said, you know, that they had no word, for instance, in advance about the october 7th attacks. they don't have any word about what hezbollah might be doing. they're completely independent. well, that clearly is just not borne out by what we're seeing. if the iranian ambassador in lebanon himself had one of these hezbollah terrorist pagers and was injured as a result of viewing it when it went off, if these 19, iranian revolutionary

guards men have been killed and 150 others injured in eastern syria, it just shows you the tentacles of this terrorist network, let's say, headed by iran , but spreading right iran, but spreading right throughout that area of the middle east, surrounding israel and israel will argue, as they do very publicly, that they've got to go after this axis of terrorism to deal with them. >> but yet there is a lot of condemnation already of israel's decision to launch this attack on hezbollah , as there always is. >> yes, is.- >> yes, of is.— >> yes, of course is. >> yes, of course there are those who will always urge restraint on the part of israel, but israel will argue, and they have argued that if we take it from october 7, that, you know, they had to respond to that they were responding to that they were responding to that they were left with no choice but to

degrade. and dismantle hamas, to get the hostages freed and have no option but to respond to the 8000 plus rockets , missiles and 8000 plus rockets, missiles and drones that have come over from hezbollah, from southern lebanon into israeli territory since the october 7th attacks. >> well, mark white, thank you so much . absolutely fascinating so much. absolutely fascinating developments in the middle east. and we'll keep an eye on. we're going to turn to domestic politics now. health secretary wes streeting unveiled labour's plans to reform the nhs, saying the nhs has been in crisis for nearly 15 years. but can the new government turn it around? >> well, joining us now is our political editor, christopher hope. christopher watson. was there some meat on the bones when it came to actually what reform means ? reform means? >> yes. hi, tom. hi, emily. hi. welcome to the westminster, where wes streeting the health secretary. secretary has just spoken to the ipp. he gave some interesting , indication of his interesting, indication of his thinking going forward as he

tried to get us to eat more healthily, be more healthily and help the nhs when we get ill. he says on his shoulder he's got the guardian on one shoulder and the guardian on one shoulder and the daily mail on the other. the guardian saying don't reform the nhs, don't make it more privatised, the daily mail says don't be too nanny state about it. make sure you stay out of our lives. it's trying to marry those two, the spaces and those those two, the spaces and those those two, the spaces and those those two inclinations he's got as the health secretary. but he said there's a real problem here. he said that 900,000 fewer people are working since the covid pandemic. he said that if we don't act now and demand for healthcare will bankrupt the nhs. a ten year plan for the nhs will be unveiled in early next yean will be unveiled in early next year. we've had many of those over the years. i can remember many of them as you both can, i asked him for gb news about the issue of the nanny state and how far he felt that might go under this labour government. here's what he had to say to us. you wouldn't ban bringing cake into

offices if you remember. is that still the case now you're in government? and has the nanny state gone too far by banning smoking in pub gardens? and just finally, it's a very nice suit. did he pay for it yourself? >> i did, thank you very much. i always take compliments where i can get them, especially from you. i was at nhs england the other day and saw an abundance of sugary treats around the building, i've not, i've not reported them to the chief medical officer yet, but there's a, there's a serious kind of point. there's a serious point here. i am really not interested in being the fun police or telling people how to live their lives, and people certainly won't have to worry about closing their curtains at night in case i'm peering through the window and looking at what they're eating, drinking or smoking. that's that's not the kind of society i want to live in. >> wes streeting now saying he doesn't want to be the fun police. you don't have to draw your curtains to avoid the prying your curtains to avoid the prying eyes of officials, seeing if we're eating healthily at

home. i also asked him about who paid for his suit. that's because of the of the donations from lord alli has paid for thousands of pounds worth of clothes dresses for lady starmer and of course, famously glasses for sir keir starmer, amongst other things. he said yes, i paid for this suit. >> well, thank you very much indeed. >> well, thank you very much indeed . christopher. christopher indeed. christopher. christopher hope, our political editor. there in westminster, he was listening to wes streeting, the health secretary, talk about the nhs, there's some other news going on in the political world, isn't there, tom? >> absolutely. there's lots of talk about money, about gifts as as chris was mentioning, the dresses, the glasses. but now there's a question mark over salaries too, because in the last hour or so, we've learnt that the chief of staff to the prime minister, a lady named sue gray, actually earns more than the prime minister here to tell us all about it is our very own political correspondent, katherine forster. pretty extraordinary story. >> yes, it really is. so the

prime minister earns £167,000 a year from his role , but his year from his role, but his chief of staff, sue gray, of course , a very controversial course, a very controversial appointment because she was a hugely important whitehall civil servant for a long time. she led the partygate inquiry, which was a factor. let's face it, in the fall of boris johnson , she is fall of boris johnson, she is apparently on more than the prime minister, £3,000 more, a £170,000. now, it is said that it was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less to avoid this very story that's now being reported , story that's now being reported, and she declined. i would say subsequently, an unnamed labour source has apparently said that she's the only pensioner in the country to get a pay rise. the conservatives have retweeted the

original story and made it into an attack ad, and dominic cummings remember him. boris johnson's chief of staff, has put out a very acerbic post on x saying that, the dresses and the spectacles and sue gray all this proves that this government is as good as politics as rishi sunak and liz truss. now, dominic cummings did not have a high opinion of any of the recent tory leaders. >> no one does he have a high opinion of anyone. besides himself. >> i just i just tried to look up the, the image on, the message he posted on x, i noficed message he posted on x, i noticed that his, his , his cover noticed that his, his, his cover photo is a picture of william pitt the younger, who i suppose he probably thinks was the last good prime minister in the late 1700s, also , the new president 1700s, also, the new president of el salvador seems to be there as well. so there you go. interesting cover photo, so he

does have some heroes, i think. oh, and also, of course, the first leader of singapore away from keir starmer. >> if i were a cabinet minister, if i was david lammy or wes streeting, i'd be a bit miffed. who's this? sue gray taking all the money? >> the real prime minister, the real prime minister katherine forster. thank you so much for that. yeah. well, we've got much more to come on the programme of course, including we're going to be back with what are we, what are we going to do? the inflation. inflation? yes. it's sticky 2.2%. >> will they cut interest rates though . will they. will they do though. will they. will they do it

next. >> good afternoon britain. it's 2:26. inflation remained above the 2% target unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data

showing that out today. yesterday prices in hospitality, holidays, hotels possibly boosted by the final leg of taylor swift's uk tour. >> maybe are driving inflation. with inflation in the services sector up to 5.6% in august. >> taylor swift she's she's driving inflation. no doubt starmer's the starmer's two trips to those to those taylor swift concerts are also to blame. i wonder if we're going to ask the prime minister about that in the fullness of time. but these latest figures come as the bank of england is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 5% when it meets on thursday. >> well, an economist has just leapt into the studio. thank you very much indeed for coming. economist and co—founder of regent lee, justin urquhart stewart. thank you very much indeed. what are we to make of these these figures that inflation stubborn, not much higher than target though. >> i mean, these figures month by month actually look at the overall trend. and you know, we've seen them coming down. but be wary now. there are still big

inflation issues . traditionally inflation issues. traditionally british inflation normally came from wage rises. and those sort of things that go back to the 70s when we got to actually 25% inflation. remember, in one year it was appalling. most of this inflation is actually down to supply and constrictions of supply. so actually all it takes is one boat getting stuck in the suez canal . and just in time suez canal. and just in time delivery suddenly falls apart and so you end up then with this rise of prices coming through, which actually the government can't do anything about, if it's domestic, then there's something they can try and do . but the they can try and do. but the main thing is here is to try and get the economy going . so the get the economy going. so the question about having interest rates at 5%, they should be significantly lower and a quarter percent is not going to make much difference. >> but justin, the economists across the board are guessing that the bank is not going to agree with you tomorrow. >> yep. they're guessing that the bank is going to go cautious. cautious, although some might call it reckless reckless and keep rates at 5%. well i mean, we go back to the

banking crisis where they cut rates right the way down. >> and then they found themselves rates going up. and, you know, the economy has been slow. what do you try and do, keep the cost of money lower . keep the cost of money lower. and it has the one great thing i'll give you is a bit more confidence. it's not going to mean people going to rush out and spending, but those who are on, say, tracker mortgages and things like that. and the idea that money is getting cheaper therefore adds to the view that businesses can start investing again. so it's a little it'll make a change quarter percent, not much, but it's a change in attitude where are we with the investment at the moment ? investment at the moment? >> because, there's been quite a lot of made of, of high net worth individuals deciding actually i'm going to up sticks and go to somewhere where i feel more appreciated and where perhaps there are lower taxes. there's a lot of fear around this budget, isn't there? yeah, there is a business fean also, consumer fear. it's there. consumer fean it's there. >> well, the trouble is we see previous labour governments don't actually have a very good track record on these sorts of things. and we know what politicians are like. technical term. is it lying sometimes, but in terms of actually what would

be happening here is that, you know, they're trying to get the bad news out of the way first, but it's going to be very difficult. what we need to look is actually how can we finance finance in the businesses , not finance in the businesses, not by government money. what you should have is government incentives. we've got the enterprise investment scheme. you know, you could make that on a regional basis so more money can go into the regions to do it. the government doesn't have to spend anything, provide the guarantees and support. so if you actually businesses get into trouble they can then claim if it goes bust. but it doesn't cost the government anything, at least not up front, not up front. >> but but but but there is fear that actually we are we are potentially going to see a huge amount of fiscal consolidation. so there's going to be spending cuts and there are going to be tax rises at a time when our economy is trying to recover. is there a risk that this sort of i mean, i suppose we could call it austerity 2.0 might choke off that recovery. well very easily indeed. >> you know, and that's the life is very fragile . there's only

is very fragile. there's only a certain amount that government can do. again. covid kristian niemietz of inflation. it's overseas inflation that impacts on this. and so when last year when we had the prime minister saying i'm going to cut inflation, he can't it's not within his bailiwick to do so. what he can try and do is actually make sure that it's the taxation is more encouraging to investment, domestic investment and overseas investment. remember, we are actually set up more businesses in this country than france and germany together in any one year. it varies, but we're really good at being entrepreneurial where we're bad at is actually then taking it to the next stage in terms of secondary financing. you say, well, the banks do that. no they don't. that's not they provide cash flow support and things like that. >> so we say stays very small. we don't grow our businesses. you know, that's just well that's something that we can work on as a country isn't it. >> napoleon called us a nation of shopkeepers. he meant it, of course, as an insult. but i think it's something we can be proud of. justin urquhart stewart, thank you so much. my pleasure. talking us through that, we've got lots more coming up on today's show, including

labour's own border chief. >> this was the role that was unfilled for very long. he said that actually smashing the gangs isn't good enough. it's not going to stop the boats. so what's next after the . news? what's next after the. news? >> very good afternoon to you from the newsroom. 2:32. the latest on the news from the middle east. and hezbollah has launched rockets on israel, marking the first cross—border attack since explosions rocked lebanon. the terrorist group have accused israel for what it believes to have been a remote attack, targeting handheld communications devices. the israeli defence forces say they did strike a hezbollah target last night, but haven't commented on their involvement in the explosions. 12 people, including two children, were killed in the blasts and nearly 3000 remain in hospital. we've also heard this afternoon that 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria, to

according reports on saudi television development minister anneliese dodds has also said today that the uk will be supporting civilians who were impacted in the explosions. train drivers have called time on their strikes, with a new pay deal now agreed . aslef union deal now agreed. aslef union members voted overwhelmingly to accept a 15% pay rise over three years, ending two years of industrial action. the strikes , industrial action. the strikes, which began in july 2022, caused major disruption across england, with 18 days of walkouts and overtime bans. the dispute impacted millions of passengers now, though, with the deal approved by 97% of aslef members. services are expected to return to normal . a massive to return to normal. a massive blast has rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot, forcing a mass evacuation. videos seen here show the fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions while nasa say they also detected intense heat over a 14

square kilometre area. local officials confirmed the blast, but details still limited with the media there. under military censorship, ukraine's security service says the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv has not yet officially commented . posting officially commented. posting voice recordings online could lead to scam attempts, according to a leading bank. starling bank says a! voice cloning technology is being used to imitate people's voices , allowing people's voices, allowing scammers to target family members for money. almost half of those surveyed had no idea such scams existed, while 1 in 12 said they would still send money even if a call seemed strange. to prevent fraud, people are being advised to agree on a safe phrase with loved ones and tgi friday's uk operator has entered administration as the company scrambles to sell its 87 restaurants nationwide. the chain's parent company hopes to complete the sale by the end of september , potentially saving september, potentially saving thousands of jobs. however it's

not clear if a buyer will be found and it may not be enough to cover the company's debts. and if you're watching on television eagle eyed viewers, you may have noticed one of those burgers was upside down. those are the latest gb news headunes those are the latest gb news headlines for now. i'll be back with you. no i won't. sophia wenzler will be here 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

>> good afternoon britain. 2:38 is the time, and there's plenty more coming up on today's programme. but before that, of course , martin daubney is up at course, martin daubney is up at 3:00. and martin, what's coming up on your show ? up on your show? >> top of the show today, guys. we've got a sensational gb news exclusive. could the reform

party's leader, nigel farage, be kicked out by a democratic change to the party? thanks to a hostile takeover to discuss that, we're joined in the studio by reform lee anderson. and as well as all the latest on free gean well as all the latest on free gear. keir and lady victoria sponge. i'll be asking lee anderson, do you pay for your own suits? do you pay for your own suits? do you pay for your own football tickets? and an astonishing report today shows that only 20% of convicted in britain end up going to jail. are we simply going too soft on despite a 25% increase in those crimes in the past year alone, according to the nspcc? of course i'll be putting that to lee anderson as well. an action packed show all coming from 3:00 pm sounds fantastic martin. >> and it also does sound like we are going incredibly soft on. all of these suspended sentences, no one seeing any time actually inside a cell for their crimes. but martin, it sounds like a fantastic show. i'll be tuning in that hostile takeover of the reform party

that could get messy. >> well, they've been promising a constitution for quite some time, promising a democratic way to remove whoever is the leader. isupposeit to remove whoever is the leader. i suppose it just depends what that threshold is. if they if they create a system like the tories have, they'll have a new leader every week. >> well, speaking of constitutional changes and the like. very good. it's been ten years since the scottish independence referendum where 45% of the nation voted to leave the united kingdom to go it alone . alone. >> yeah, it's a separate split partition. the country. >> well, the united kingdom of 84.6%, it was the highest recorded turnout for any election or referendum for over a hundred years. >> but is there any appetite for another vote? and has scotland changed much in the last decade? >> let's say some of my scottish family, some of their friends anyway, are very pro a scotland leaving the united kingdom. really? yeah. >> is that why you were wearing blue today? >> no, no , no. but our scotland >> no, no, no. but our scotland reporter tony maguire can

actually tell us what it is on the ground, what the mood is like on this . tony, ten years on like on this. tony, ten years on from that referendum , from that referendum, independence still controversial as ever . independence still controversial as ever. where are the people of scotland ? scotland? >> good afternoon, will. certainly you know, it's the kind of the whole story is really over the last couple of years as well, the snp has seen something of a decline in support and that actually support and that actually support for independence has stayed somewhat steady but steady below the 50% mark, which is kind of kind of an important detail there, i think that we've seen quite a lot of, of leaders sort of come and go. and if the leader goes to every prime minister and every prime minister and every prime minister refuses, last year, of course, we had the courts also refusing scotland to find their own way. so scotland and or the snp is essentially in a bit between a rock and a hard place because it has no routes open and at the same time it's trying to run the country as well as keep the momentum going. now

john swinney today, he had a speech here in edinburgh and it was interesting to hear him almost get quite, you know, fondly looking back at those years, despite the result and very much looking at what scotland is now ten years later, that he is at the helm of its government. but i think we've got a wee clip just to give you some, some insight into the words from scotland's first minister. this morning the world was watching us, waiting to see if they were about to witness the birth of the world's newest independent country. >> this poland. they approached. you could barely walk ten yards without spotting a window poster or stumbling across a street stall or a campaign rally, or eavesdropping on the folk at the bus stop, or in the queue at the post office. having an in—depth philosophical discussion about economic or defence policy. today, in 2024, we must reawaken that sense of hope, of optimism

and of possibility that was so prevalent. ten years ago. it is time for us to talk to each other again. and when i see each other, i mean to talk to everyone in scotland . everyone in scotland. >> now, certainly there's been marches and rallies recently that haven't been the best populated, but tonight there's one. and i'm telling you, by the way, that they've blocked all the streets and pavements off around holyrood. it certainly seems like they're expecting big numbers. we'll certainly need to keep an eye on that. but ten years on i think scotland is really just in a nostalgic phase at this point , as and really just in a nostalgic phase at this point, as and when we'll see another referendum or if, as i think we'll need to leave that up to the leaders of our country, really, i must say, is thatis country, really, i must say, is that is a beautiful day in edinburgh, by the looks of things very warm indeed. >> no jacket needed. thank you very much , tony maguire, for very much, tony maguire, for bringing us that ten years on. >> of course, if scotland had voted to leave the united kingdom, it would be a very grey

and dreary day today. >> some of you, some of you have got into clearly shining upon the united kingdom. some of you are quite harsh on the on the scots here. no, yeah. i mean, nicholas says just i'm not sure if i can say that word on the telly, can i? >> what's that word? oh, no, you can't, you can't say no. >> oh, just get lost. yes. get lost. and good luck with your shortbread. and whisky. scotland has more important things to worry about. sorry was that nicholas? >> nicholas? this country was built by scots . all of the built by scots. all of the success that this country has had since the early 1700s. and actually before then, since the union of the crowns, what has created the most successful political union known to man has been the union of our two countries. this has created the greatest modern enlightenment, the most inventions , the the most inventions, the greatest technological progress. exporting democracy around the

world. >> i get the point . >> i get the point. >> i get the point. >> i get the point. >> i just cannot stand english people saying, go away, scotland. >> no, but hang on, hang on, hang on. there are a lot of people who are just sick of all the hatred of the english coming from north of the border and i say that as someone who is half scottish, there is a lot of it. but there is a lot of blaming england for everything. there is a lot of this that is completely misplaced, that give some englanders who might then be these, you know, these english people are mistaken. >> these people think that the snp speaks for scotland. i think, well, there's going to be an election in the next 12 or so months in quite a lot of people though, and i think, i think we're going to learn, given that the number of snp mps collapsed into single digits from over 50, i think we're going to learn , i think we're going to learn, actually, that the snp really does not speak for scotland and scotland will vote in a very, very different way. >> on an annual pilgrimage to the adam smith statue, don't you?in the adam smith statue, don't you? in in edinburgh i have had an annual pilgrimage. selfies with the adam smith statue. >> we all have our heroes. >> we all have our heroes. >> yes, we've got lots more

coming up on today's show. we are going to be finding out what exactly that border security commander in the new job has to say about the smash the gangs policy. next

master keir starmer's new border chief has emphasised that the uk needs a strategy to deter small boat crossings. in addition to the prime minister's focus on dismantling the people smuggling gangs. >> we need a strategy. do we? we need a strategy? is that why we've hired a very expensive border security expert to tell us, to tell us that we need a strategy to smash the gangs? >> not enough. not enough. the prime minister has been vocal about his commitment to addressing the migrant crisis by targeting these gangs, insisting that he's absolutely convinced that he's absolutely convinced that smashing the gangs is the

best way forward. >> well, joining us to

best way forward. >> weso joining us to best way forward. >> weso many; us to best way forward. >> we so many obstacles, best way forward. >> weso many obstacles, aren't many, so many obstacles, aren't there in terms of in terms of trying to enforce our borders? >> well, let's be honest. martin hewitt wasn't even the first choice to do the job. the first choice to do the job. the first choice was neil basu, who looked at it and said, no way, jose, this is a no win job and it is a no win job. he can't possibly win. i mean, you will remember with the previous border force commander that we had, dan o'mahoney, former royal marine gentleman who said he was going to stop the boats . well, he to stop the boats. well, he didn't he got the sack and he got the blame. so, i'm afraid, mr hewitt will probably go the same way. give him a couple of years, and then the labour party will get rid of him and blame him on blame everything on him. i feel sorry for the chap . i feel sorry for the chap. really. i can't think why he took the job. >> well, hopefully it's out of,

you know, commitment to the security of our borders, love of country , respect for the british country, respect for the british pubuc country, respect for the british public and understanding that people are concerned about this issue. we want to get the government to control this . government to control this. hopefully it's all of those things. hopefully it's not expecting an easy ride. >> well, it's not going to get an easy ride . and, with a an easy ride. and, with a pubuchy an easy ride. and, with a publicity like that, you ought to work for the home office, this is , this is a no win this is, this is a no win situation to smash the gangs . situation to smash the gangs. you have got to, first of all, have a huge deterrent to stop the people wanting to come . the people wanting to come. after all, if nobody wants to cross the channel, you won't need gangs. and we've been at this since 2001. now, we did have success with the lorries because we made it virtually impossible to get across. dover, calais in the back of a lorry . calais in the back of a lorry. boats we can't control. the

french are saying they are now deploying 1700 people to the beaches. but you're looking at a 200 mile stretch of coast, which they've got to police, and that's difficult . that's that's difficult. that's difficult. i mean, they're stopping about 40%. >> so i mean, kevin and yesterday we just we just hit that 10,000 milestone just since labour got into power in at the beginning of july. i mean it is crazy. kevin. thank you very much. kevin saunders, former immigration former chief immigration former chief immigration officer at the uk border force . shall we end with border force. shall we end with some views? >> let's end with some views. you've been you've been very active writing in throughout the programme . so, so let's get some programme. so, so let's get some of those up now. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> dawn this is on the sue gray. sue gray earning chief of staff earning more than the prime minister. three grand more a yean minister. three grand more a year, dawn says sue gray higher income than the prime minister. it's just a prelude to the prime minister giving himself a huge, unwarranted , unjustified pay unwarranted, unjustified pay rise, taking taxpayers as fools

yet again. all your cynical dawn, your cynical, doreen says funny that sue gray has such a lucrative job now. must be a huge coincidence that she has it after being key in the downfall of boris. yes, lots of you were blaming sue gray for boris johnson being booted out. >> yeah, lots of lots of comment on sue gray and that extraordinary issue. but of course, few people writing in about scotland as well. ten years today. now lots of people ihave years today. now lots of people i have to say writing in didn't quite agree with me about there wasn't there wasn't a lot of love for scotland, although i have to say where where was it? i've just lost it. >> i'm trying to find the one there. we go. >> angela. angela. thanks, tom, for sticking up for the scots. some people need to educate themselves. i'm going to read that angela and i love most scots, just not the ones who hate england. >> find it hurtful. hurtful. >> find it hurtful. hurtful. >> there you go. well, thanks for thanks for joining us. >> there you go. well, thanks for thanks forjoining us. good afternoon . britain martin afternoon. britain martin daubney is, of course up from 3:00, so don't go tomorrow .

3:00, so don't go tomorrow. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on gb news . news. >> the latest gb news, weather update staying dry and sunny for many of us through the rest of today. still a breeze though across southern areas that'll last into tomorrow as well. and tonight we'll see that cloud pushin tonight we'll see that cloud push in from the east coast as well. with high pressure. sat to the north and east of the uk bringing settled weather, but also this easterly wind. and that's what we'll bring in the cloud overnight tonight across many eastern areas of england, parts of eastern scotland as well. we could see some sea fog by tomorrow morning. so perhaps a bit of a murky start for many eastern and central areas by tomorrow morning across the north and west, tomorrow morning across the north and west , though, a fairly north and west, though, a fairly dry and bright start to the day, clear skies overnight mean temperatures could fall down close to zero, but it should be a fairly mild start for most of us. first thing on tuesday, but probably quite dull actually for

the large proportion of england and wales, with the best of any brighter weather across more northwestern areas. so still a risk of some low cloud across the far northern parts of the highlands, the northern isles as well, but western parts of the highlands, as well as the western isles, will see plenty of sunshine that includes northern ireland, parts of northwest england, west wales, southwest england too. but the further south we go, the stronger the breeze will be. so it'll be another easterly breeze through thursday, bringing a slightly fresher feel but still going to feel warm in the sunshine once it does develop. and much of that cloud should break out. break up across central areas though across the east coast it will likely linger through much of the day. probably a bit of a cloudy day for eastern areas and as a result, a cooler day for northeastern areas of england. parts of eastern scotland too, but still another warm feeling day across the south and west of england in particular. then into thursday evening. it's a rinse and repeat situation. that cloud will return back in from the nonh will return back in from the

north sea, pulling into many central and eastern areas, and then we see a risk of showers, some quite heavy, potentially thundery showers developing for many southern areas of england and wales from friday all the way through to sunday. by by. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers . sponsors of boxt boilers. sponsors of weather on

>> well . >> well. >> well. >> a very good afternoon to you. it's 3:00 pm and welcome to the martin daubney show. of course we're on gb news broadcasting live from the heart of westminster and all across the uk on today's show, gb news can sensationally and exclusively reveal that changes to reform uk's constitution could mean leader nigel farage gets booted out if more than 50% of members triggered a leadership vote. now the big question is this does this leave the upstart party at the risk of losing mr farage? if

enemies join up and deliberately trigger a bloody coup ? next up, trigger a bloody coup? next up, sir keir starmer has taken so many freebies from donors a record £100,000 in fact, including free suits, luxury holidays and taylor swift tickets. he's earned the new nickname free gear. keir starmer promised change, but has he got his snout in the trough just like all the rest? and in the wake of the huw edwards scandal, an astonishing report today shows just 20% of get a custodial sentence. and that's despite an nspcc warning that such offences soared by an incredible 25% last year to 33,000. why on earth aren't we jailing more ? and at 5:00 pm, jailing more? and at 5:00 pm, i'll be joined in the studio by reform party firebrand lee anderson. well today's show. i'll ask him if farage could get the boot . should sama get back the boot. should sama get back those suits? and if he thinks

we're doling out soft justice to, that's all.