and deliberately enemies join up and deliberately trigger a bloody coup .7 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. come in on an action packed show . i want to action packed show. i want to show a pleasure to have your company. so, a sensational exclusive from chris hope, our political editor. he's sat next to me now going through the reform party's constitution in a bid to make the party more open, more democratic, more accountable. could there be a fatal cat flap open to the enemies of reform? could they come in and do a trojan horse and try and get nigel farage booted out? it's a fantastic story. we'll go through all the details on that soon. plus i'll be joined by lee anderson later in the show. but that very question to him is this a posing question to him is this a posing question for reform uk get in touch gbnews.com/yoursay your time to get involved. before all of that, here's your headlines with sophia wenzler. >> martin. thank you. good

afternoon . it's just gone. 3:00. afternoon. it's just gone. 3:00. these are your headlines . these are your headlines. >> hezbollah has launched rockets at israel marking the first cross—border attack since explosions rocked lebanon. the terrorist group have accused israel for what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting hand—held communication devices. >> the israeli defence forces say they did strike a hezbollah target last night, but have not commented on their involvement in the explosions . in the explosions. >> 12 people, including two children, were killed in the blast and nearly 3000 remain in hospital. >> 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria. that's according to a report on saudi television 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. >> now, drivers from the aslef union have overwhelmingly backed a new pay deal for the department of transport, ending a dispute that began in 2022. the deal promises drivers a 15% pay the deal promises drivers a 15% pay rise over three years, with almost 97% of the union's 20,000 members voting in favour. almost 97% of the union's 20,000 members voting in favour . since members voting in favour. since july 2022, train drivers have walked out for 18 days, crippling services across england. but with the new agreement , passengers can look agreement, passengers can look forward to some long awaited stability on the rails. 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 took the helm in 2019 after the controversial departure of paula vennells, who faced backlash over her handling of the horizon crisis. mr read's departure follows criticism from mps and his exoneration from misconduct allegations earlier this year . misconduct allegations earlier this year. the company says the effort to support postmasters and achieve justice is ongoing now. in other news, 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 worked at the countess of chester hospital yesterday. the mother of child d told the inquiry having cctv in her daughter's hospital nursery room could have prevented her murder. the inquiry is now looking into whether all neonatal units in england should install cctv. our

north—west of england reporter, sophie reaper is in liverpool for us, where the 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're 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 and finally, inflation remained above the 2% target, unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data out today. >> prices in hospitality holidays and hotels possibly

boosted by the final leg of taylor swift's uk tour, are driving inflation 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 british families, despite the slower rise he added the government is determined to fix the foundations of the economy to ease the pressure on households . experts believe the households. experts believe the figures point to the bank of england keeping interest rates at 5% tomorrow. i think it's it sounds good, but us as consumers don't see in 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 help keir starmer fix the economy. you're the you're the man in charge keir starmer you're the big man. >> some members of the public giving their opinion on the inflation figures there. now those are the latest gb news headlines. now it's back to martin for the very latest gb news to direct your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gb news. >> .c0m gb news. >> .com forward slash alerts . >> .com forward slash alerts. >> .com forward slash alerts. >> thank you sophia. now let's get cracking. we've got a great show ahead. and first off, gb news can exclusively reveal that changes to reform uk's constitution means that leader nigel farage could get booted out if 50% of members triggered a leadership vote. and the big question is this does this leave the upstart party at risk of losing mr farage if enemies joined up and deliberately

triggered a bloody coup? well, joining me now in the studio is the man who got this exclusive gb news political editor chris hope.thank gb news political editor chris hope. thank you forjoining us, hope. thank you for joining us, chris. so the conversation for some time now, a lot of it initiated on this channel. in fact, in that very chair was the party should be more open, more democratic, more accountability, more accountability , that has more accountability, that has happened. in fact, you have the constitution there, and you spotted something in there which may leave mr farage vulnerable. tell us more. >> well, this matters because reform uk is a company. there are 15 shares in the company. there are eight of them are owned by nigel farage. i mean, in modern day democracy, you can't have a company with with a few shares. really having any, any pretence to forming, to forming a government. i think nigel farage knows this. he told me for gb news on the eve of the election back in july , that he election back in july, that he will democratise, reform uk and he's done. so this is the copy of the constitution. this is

being voted on by by members of the party, this you see on the screen now, forgive me this weekend, the bit i'm zooming in on, though , revealed by gb news on, though, revealed by gb news now is the no confidence motions part. it says there that if half the members of the parliamentary party want a vote of no confidence, that will happen, but only when there's more than 100 mp5. but only when there's more than 100 mps. so we're some way off that. but crucially, the second part, if more than half of members of good standing members of their party write to the chairman, zia yusuf, requesting a motion of confidence that will happen.the a motion of confidence that will happen. the board will vote on on the future of the leader, and if that person, the leader loses that vote on the board, they have to resign. it's the first time we've had this and there was risk attached to this, martin, because of course we saw, didn't we previously with labour party. precisely. and i know you're concerned about that. >> so the precise point here is when you are more accountable, there is a risk of nefarious external influence coming in. we saw with the labour party join up for a fiver. i know a load of conservatives joined and voted for jeremy corbyn because they

wanted, as they saw at the time, the worst leader for the labour party could. this model allow people who wish ill intent towards nigel farage or the reform party to join up and cast their votes and try and do a hostile takeover to have him kicked out of the cuckoo's nest. >> in theory, that could be the case. now i've gone to the party and asked that question . we'll and asked that question. we'll bnng and asked that question. we'll bring you the answer through the afternoon on gb news. but, maybe it could be that if you're only if you're a member in good standing. so if you're seen to be somebody who is doing it just to force out nigel farage, you're not in good standing. you could be disqualified from voting. so there's wriggle room here, possibly . but i do voting. so there's wriggle room here, possibly. but i do think this is an attempt by nigel farage and probably a correct one to modernise his party. make it more accountable. we've heard about the criticism from ben habib . of course. he's the habib. of course. he's the former deputy leader. it's like falling out, i think, with the leadership and not an mp. so not really involved in the same way in the party. he's been calling for this for some time. i'd be

interested to hear what he says about it, but, the zia yusuf, the chairman of the party, says that nigel farage has signed away his majority holding in the company that owns the party. and it's becoming a company limited by guarantee, not by shares that means there are no shareholders. it's owned by its members . it's it's owned by its members. it's a vital thing they're doing here at reform uk. if they want to be the, you know, if they want to replace the tories at the election as they say they do, we'll hear more about that this weekend. this is a very important first step on that route. >> and of course, it's the party's conference this weekend. so this has happened ahead of that. no doubt. it'll be a huge talking point and we'll be joined in the studio at 5:00 today by lee anderson from reform. so we'll put this to him then. great story . let's move on then. great story. let's move on to another huge talking point today. and of course it's the ongoing scandal around who they're now calling free gear care. so many freebies handed out . in fact, care. so many freebies handed out. in fact, i put a tweet out earlier. let's get it on the screen now, just outlining the freebies that sir keir has taken since he was the party leader of the labour party. it looks like

the labour party. it looks like the winnings of a of a of a game show. basically it's got £20,000 in hotels, £12,000 in suits, a four and a half grand welsh holiday, £4,000 taylor swift tickets . there is 40 sets of tickets. there is 40 sets of free tickets, mostly arsenal and england. taylor swift, welsh houday england. taylor swift, welsh holiday six £700 to see coldplay and frocks and fashion shows for the missus. so they are now calling lady victoria sponge. not the kind of nicknames that you want. it feels like he's won the first prize in a game show. the question is this chris? now he maintains he hasn't broken any laws, but he did say before he was elected, i will change politics. this doesn't feel like change. it feels like more of the same. it feels, in fact, like sir and lady starmer are just boris and carrie with different coloured rosettes to many people. >> well, yeah, i think there was an issue raised about personal probity by sir keir starmer when he was leader of the opposition, and boris johnson was spending donors money on doing up the

flats above downing street, having a big row it was, and it was singled out and made to weaken johnson by starmer. so it's come back on him. there is nothing wrong with this. all of this information is declared eventually in the in the various places in parliament where you declare this kind of thing, there was a delay in declaring some of these gifts to lady starmer. i think it's £5,000 worth of high end dresses. she's benefited from many of the donations from waheed alli, lord alli, a labour peer. some will question, i think, and perhaps you are certainly gb news viewers and listeners. listeners may well ask why a guy on £167,000 a year plus his wife's income needs to have things given to him. i mean , i guess given to him. i mean, i guess that's your suit. is it martin you're wearing? of course it is. it's my suit. >> if anyone out there wants to send me a free suit, i'll have one. but i'm not the prime minister. >> i mean, earlier i spoke to wes streeting, a senior labour politician. the health secretary. i asked him about his suit. here's what he had 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 ? 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 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 that we have it wes streeting. >> yeah, i wasn't i was being, i was just sort of the nice suit where i wasn't being too complimentary. i was asking about the nanny state and about how to make the country

healthier and all that kind of thing. and that's why it's a double a double handed question. but yeah, there's going to be questions asked now at this labour conference starting shortly after reform's one on sunday, about why on earth people need freebies to be given to them. of course, the reason why you give a freebie to somebody may be to ingratiate yourself and maybe pick up the phone more, and that's why this kind of thing matters. phone more, and that's why this kind of thing matters . and kind of thing matters. and that's why it's declared the reason why we have in our democracy we declare this stuff because then we know if people are trying to get in there with politicians, we can see it in plain sight quickly. >> before we finish about wes streeting speech today about the nhs . now, interestingly, he was nhs. now, interestingly, he was saying he's expecting and i think actually this is true of a lot of things labour party planning . lot of things labour party planning. he's he's lot of things labour party planning . he's he's expecting to planning. he's he's expecting to get grief from the left of the party and the labour party, the old corbynistas, the lefties and, and the right, the right because he basically wants to go towards what we would call a two tier nhs part private for those who can afford it. nigel farage actually wants the same thing. the lefties are going to hate that the people on the right

will like that. but he's talking very much like a change candidate for the nhs . but will candidate for the nhs. but will he be allowed to get his own way? >> that's so interesting. i mean, i think he's, he's one of the best things to happen to the nhs. i'll explain why i think only a labour politician can have the space to reform it, as it needs to be reformed. the tories should have said this. well, the tories, they've got too much baggage and they're always battling with unions and like i think a labour government can reform the nhs if it wants to. and he was saying there in that speech he's got two voices on his shoulders the daily mail and the guardian. that's right. the guardian worried about reform privatisation. the daily mail saying nanny state, nanny state, nanny state. now he was saying there i have no problem with being the privatised parts of the nhs. equally, he wants to make sure we are more healthy. he says unless we deal with this, we will, we will, we will, we will act now or the demand for healthcare will bankrupt the nhs. and he also said that the right should recognise that and unless we do more to help with healthcare outcomes, we're paying healthcare outcomes, we're paying higher costs in our taxes.

so i think it's a fascinating debate. i think he's got a chance to reform the nhs, and probably we all should wish him well. but the nanny state issue is one that dominates and worries gb news viewers and listeners. >> chris hoban, excellent start to the show. thanks for the exclusive . you're on the fire exclusive. you're on the fire today. beautiful stuff. thank you very much. now still to come, is the middle east on the bnnk come, is the middle east on the brink of all out war? once again, i'm martin daubney on gb news britain's news

welcome back. it's 321. i'm martin daubney on gb news now. leaders in the middle east are accusing israel of pushing the region to the brink of war. as the death toll from hundreds of simultaneous explosions across lebanon has risen now to 12, including two children, while nearly 3000 are injured. the hezbollah terrorist group and the lebanese government have accused israel for what's

believed to have been a remote attack targeting hand—held communication, paging devices. it's an astonishing story, and joining me now is gb news home and security editor, mark white. mark this this story happened 24 hours ago during our show. it just felt like an episode of homeland. and now the information is continuing to pour out. what's the latest? >> yeah, the situation continuing to escalate. we've got breaking news of a new what may be a new wave of explosions that are being reported in the lebanese capital, beirut, in the dahieh district in southern lebanon, known as a hezbollah stronghold. we're looking at live pictures of the lebanese capital at the moment. to the right of the screen, there you can see some smoke rising from there. there are additional reports of explosions in the bekaa valley and other areas of lebanon. and we are also seeing

some video that's beginning to emerge, showing some injured people. one at least looks to be a man lying on the ground. now, this would be very puzzling indeed, because you would imagine that anyone with any sense at all knowing what happened with thousands of these pages yesterday, would have disposed of their pagers to sweet. so we await confirmation of what is going on here. but the times of israel is suggesting that this could be a second wave of these pager or pager type explosions that are being reported. i should also add, martin, that within the last couple of hours we have had and you're looking at images there, explosions in northern israel from a wave of rocket and drone attacks coming over the border from southern lebanon , border from southern lebanon, clearly launched by hezbollah ,

clearly launched by hezbollah, some kind of retaliation for what happened in lebanon yesterday . now, what we are yesterday. now, what we are heanng yesterday. now, what we are hearing in the way of explosions now in beirut and other parts of lebanon could be some kind of israeli retaliation for those drone and rocket strikes on northern israel. so a very, very volatile , tense situation in volatile, tense situation in northern israel and indeed in southern lebanon as the repercussions of this extraordinary, audacious attack yesterday are beginning to be felt. >> and mark white when this happened yesterday, we were speculating, could this be the precursor to a more traditional rocket type attack? you'd have to be a particularly stupid type of turkey. voting for christmas to keep one of those pages about your person, would you not? after what happened yesterday? so it would be extraordinary if it were if these explosions

within lebanon were from pages, it looks more likely this is an exchange of more traditional missile warfare. does it mark well, this dahiya area, this southern suburb of the lebanese caphal southern suburb of the lebanese capital, as i said, is a known hezbollah stronghold. >> it has been targeted in the past . information from my past. information from my colleague charlie peters about a recent attack that was launched by the israelis that was aimed at eliminating a hezbollah terrorist there, again, as part of the operations to deal with these rockets and missiles that are coming over that southern lebanese border into israel. so it's not uncommon for israel to strike even into beirut when they're targeting these hezbollah members. so we're still in the very early stages

of what is being reported here. the images, just to reemphasize that you're seeing there are in northern israel of one of the drone attacks. and again, we can show you this is a map of kiryat shmona, the area there in northern israel, which was subjected to a drone and missile attack just within the last hour , attack just within the last hour, fired over the border from southern lebanon into that area. and that was the second such attack. martin, in just the space of an hour. so more than two dozen missiles and drones launched. it shows that hezbollah, of course, still has capability to do this. this was an enormous attack aimed at degrading hezbollah's capability in the command and control system. but in comparison to hamas, the terrorist organisation in gaza that launched those attacks on october seventh last year, that

caused so many deaths in these hostages to be taken as well, compared to the power and the weapons at hand that hamas has, there is no comparison. the hezbollah is a magnitude several times that of hamas with not just rockets, but missiles and drones and the capability to launch these missiles much further into israel to target the major population centres. and there is real concern, martin, that we may be heading ever closer to a more regional war. and that's certainly what anthony blinken, the us secretary of state, who is on a visit to egypt , has been secretary of state, who is on a visit to egypt, has been urging in terms of restraint, has been urging restraint in the wake of what happened yesterday. >> okay, mark, what 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, happen. and that's why, again, it's imperative that all parties refrain from any actions that could escalate the conflict. >> so, martin, this story developing all the time, and my colleague charlie peters just passing on new information from a security source saying that the apparent wave, new wave of explosions now in lebanon , in explosions now in lebanon, in beirut and other locations may well be linked to walkie talkies, handheld devices that it seems were purchased at the same time as 5000 pagers were

also purchased by hezbollah. this, their attempt to try to prevent israel from launching or from monitoring their phone messages, so they purchased 5000 pagers. they also purchased many walkie talkies. it seems handheld radios, which it seems are now , if the latest reports are now, if the latest reports are now, if the latest reports are to be believed, are also detonating . detonating. >> mark white a comprehensive update on an astonishing story. thank you very much, and we'll catch you again in the next houn catch you again in the next hour. now, delighted to say i'm joined in the studio now by andrew fox, who's the middle east and disinformation researcher from the henry jackson society. welcome to the show , andrew. and i just would show, andrew. and i just would like to add to the viewers now, you know, your stuff. 16 years of military service, three tours of military service, three tours of afghanistan, including one for the us army special forces . for the us army special forces. you've served in the parachute regiment. you know what ground combat is like. you know this region from what you're seeing

on our screens there, the more traditional exchanges of missiles and that astonishing development, it made you really raise your eyebrows. yesterday it was pages. today it's walkie talkies. an incredible escalation of warfare in the area. what's your take? >> yeah, it's an astonishing effort, this is science fiction territory. >> now, the extent to which hezbollah have been infiltrated by the israeli security and intelligence forces is unprecedented. i think at this point . but in terms of unprecedented. i think at this point. but in terms of the escalation to a conventional type of warfare, it can only really escalate from one direction. and that's israel. we know the 98th division, which is their commando division, is now moving north, we're seeing an increase in airstrikes, but it's suffice to say that hopefully this is just a deterrence effort by israel because nobody's interested in a ground war in lebanon . hezbollah aren't lebanon. hezbollah aren't israel, i don't think are all israel, i don't think are all israel needs is for people in northern israel to be able to move home safely . and with a bit move home safely. and with a bit of luck, this flexing and this show of force and this

incredible intelligence operation will have a deterrent effect that might hopefully get hezbollah to back off. >> andrew, yesterday we saw that the ambassador to iran was involved in this today , we're involved in this today, we're learning that the iranian national guards have been taken out in some cases. so you said yesterday it's absolutely no surprise that iran has got its fingers on this, as hezbollah is basically a wing of iran. does that increase the likelihood of this expanding or now they've kind of been, if you like, kind of chased out into the open. we know that iran is directly involved. might that make them think, actually, we'd better go back because israel are pretty well armed and iran doesn't have a great domestic capability. >> you know, they're still using fighter jets and >> you know, they're still using fighterjets and ships >> you know, they're still using fighter jets and ships from >> you know, they're still using fighterjets and ships from the fighter jets and ships from the 19505 fighter jets and ships from the 1950s and 60s. you know, this is a this is not a modern army that can go toe to toe with the israel defence forces. so what they're going to try and do, i'd imagine, is escalate through their proxies. and i would imagine that looking very much like an attempt to increase rocket fire from lebanon. but we've seen just in july this

year that israel have a really good way of stopping those from happening with airstrikes. but the west bank, i think, is vulnerable. so i can imagine iran will try and flood the west bank with arms and try and stoke something akin to a third intifada. >> and your reaction there when mark white said this may be walkie talkies, was visceral. and i want to ask you, as somebody who's served on the ground in terms of troops on the ground in terms of troops on the ground , troops in the area, ground, troops in the area, israelis, the public, the war of information, finding out, you know, methods of attack like this are going on. we have live pictures on your screen now there from beirut. i believe we have fresh explosions raining out. andrew fox in terms of the psychological impact, you mentioned the degree of penetration of hezbollah with pagers , with walkie talkies. pagers, with walkie talkies. it's an astonishing coup de gras. >> the really key message here, i think, for hezbollah from israel is it's not just your commanders that we can strike. that's what they've been focusing on airstrikes for the last 11 months. and the dahiya district of beirut was where

they killed, fouad shaher, who was the second in command of hezbollah. >> and that's why they dropped using gps , mobile phones, using gps, mobile phones, because they could be traced. exactly. >> so, but now the message to hezbollah is it's not just your commanders. we can strike. we can touch your foot soldiers as well. and that's going to have a huge, demoralising effect on morale. >> excellent. thank you so much for coming in. andrew fox, middle east and disinformation researcher from the henry jackson society. please come back into the studio. you'll always be welcome here. thank you very, very much. now, loads more still to come between now and 4:00 including is the uk going way too soft on? but now here's your latest news headunes here's your latest news headlines with sophia wenzler. >> martin thank you. good afternoon . it's 333. these are afternoon. it's 333. these are your headlines now as you've been hearing in the middle east where a blast has taken place in beirut, a security source has told reuters that handheld radios have been targeted in the latest attacks in lebanon, rather than pages. it comes as hezbollah has launched rockets

at israel, marking the first cross—border attack since the explosions rocked lebanon yesterday . the terrorist group yesterday. the terrorist group have accused israel for what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting handheld communication devices. the israeli defence forces say they did strike a hezbollah target last night, but have not commented on their involvement in the explosions. 12 people, including two children, were killed in the blast and nearly 3000 remain in hospital . 19 3000 remain in hospital. 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria. that's according to reports on saudi television development minister anneliese dodds says the uk will be supporting civilians impacted in the explosions. now, back in the uk, train drivers have called time on strikes with a 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, with 18 days of walkouts and overtime bans. the dispute impacted millions of passengers. now, with the deal approved by 97% of aslef members. services are expected to return to normal . a expected to return to normal. a massive blast rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot, forcing a mass evacuation. videos showed a fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions, while nasa detected intense heat over a 14 square kilometre area. local officials confirmed the blast, but details are limited with the media under military censorship. ukraine's security service says the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv has yet to officially comment. and finally , tgi comment. and finally, tgi fridays uk operator has entered administration as the company scrambles to sell its 87 restaurants worldwide. the chain's parent company hopes to

complete the sale by the end 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. those are the latest gb news headlines. more in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gb news. >> .com. forward slash

>> welcome back. time is 339. i'm martin daubney on gb news. let's bring you another update on a breaking news story. now you can see here we have pictures, live pictures of beirut explosions have been reported across southern beirut in the dahieh suburb of beirut. and that's a hezbollah stronghold. and also in the

bekaa valley and sidon. that's the third largest city, an astonishing news coming in yesterday of course, this was over 3000 injured and 12 dead after electronic pager devices exploded in a dedicated orchestrated attack and believed to have been injected, potentially with explosive fluid explosives, perhaps in hungary. when they were intercepted, they were ordered by hezbollah in what's been described as the most audacious and orchestrated takedown of a terror unit, perhaps in military history. we were joined a short while ago by andrew fox, a middle east and disinformation researcher from the henry jackson society . he the henry jackson society. he served 16 years for the military, including three tours of afghanistan and one tour with the us army special forces. and we broke the story momentarily ago that a new wave of explosions that have happened within lebanon or believed now

to be walkie talkies. so a similar type of attack, but it appears now not pagers, but walkie talkies. one could only assume that that is a very similar attack to yesterday, but with different devices. perhaps ordered via hezbollah also. so now those those explosions happening on the ground and there has been an exchange of rocket fire into, northern israel. we can see pictures now of those explosions from earlier. so an exchange of a more traditional type of warfare, you may say, believed to be rockets and drones into that buffer zone between lebanon and israel that's been subjected to many, many rocket attacks over the past year since the course of that october 7 invasion by hamas. you can see there the sites of those rocket attacks from earlier. and in response to that, now appears, astonishingly, that walkie talkies and i'm hearing even

potentially laptops have been set off in in lebanon to target hezbollah there. we're also finding out, again, these are live pictures from beirut. we're actually also finding out that iranian national guards have been taken down in this . and been taken down in this. and yesterday we found out the iranian ambassador to lebanon was also injured in this. thereby directly implicating what many people knew . iran thereby directly implicating what many people knew. iran is directly involved. it would seem in this hezbollah contact and therefore the conversation now is, are we going to see a broader move towards a bigger conflict in the area? an astonishing development of course. we'll bring you more and more on that as it develops throughout the afternoon. now, i'd like to get quickly to a few of your sides . now, that's a of your sides. now, that's a load of emails from you at the top of this hour. back to

domestic politics. now. we ran the exclusive story of the reform party. could be open to a hostile takeover, potentially, or an ousting of nigel farage in a bid to make the party more democratic , members will have democratic, members will have the opportunity to for vote a leadership challenge if more than 50% of them vote for a leadership change of leadership, that could dramatically mean, potentially, that hostile outside agents could suddenly become reform members, pay their dues and try to do a coup. do you remember with the labour party, a lot of conservatives were joining up as labour party members for £5 to try and make sure jeremy corbyn was voted in andindeed sure jeremy corbyn was voted in and indeed he was. external forces trying to have an impact. could this happen to the reform party? i'll be joined by lee anderson soon to ask him that question. but just quickly, james has got this email for us. you're saying don't get rid of farage. he's done what's needed to get to reform where it needs to get to reform where it needs to be. finally, the silent majority has a voice. i hope

they stick to their guns. so moving on now. it's been ten years since scotland voted to stay in the uk has much changed since ten years on. was indyref a total waste of time? we'll have that next. i'm martin daubney

welcome back. time is 346. i'm martin daubney. this is 346. i'm martin daubney. this is gb news now. leaders in the middle east are accusing israel of pushing the region to the bnnk of pushing the region to the brink of war, as the death toll from hundreds of simultaneous explosions across lebanon has now risen to 12, including two children. while nearly 3000 have also been injured . and the also been injured. and the situation is escalating as we speak. and joining me now to discuss this is gb news homeland security editor mark white and also our national reporter charlie peters. gents, welcome to the show. mark white, let's start with you. we heard momentarily ago that now there's

an astonishing accusation of walkie talkies exploding in the area on top of an exchange of perhaps more traditional warfare. tell us more about the latest. >> yeah. so a dramatic situation thatis >> yeah. so a dramatic situation that is unfolding across lebanon at this hour with multiple explosions in the lebanese caphal explosions in the lebanese capital, beirut, and in other locations across lebanon with, as you say, quite rightly , as you say, quite rightly, reports that handheld devices have detonated in what we believe now is a fresh wave of explosions targeting these devices that hezbollah had been issued with the information quoting security sources, is that handheld devices were purchased by the terror group hezbollah at the same time that they purchased some 5000 pagers

earlier this year. and that was in response to the leader of hezbollah, hassan nasrallah , hezbollah, hassan nasrallah, telling those following those members of the terrorist organisation to not use phones as much, to go old school and to use the likes of pagers will, of course, we got that first wave of attacks with thousands of pagers detonating today. it looks like a second wave of attacks and one of those explosions occurred at the funeral that was taking place for one of those who died in the first wave of attacks. i think we've got that particular vision we've got that particular vision we can bring to you now. let's listen . in. listen. in. aslef victor gao .

aslef victor gao. well, of course, many thousands of people were there gathered for a number of funerals. we were told that 12 people died in this first wave of explosions in lebanon . charlie peters lebanon. charlie peters alongside me here and charlie, clearly a very significant escalation with what is a second wave of attacks, not just a one off, a second wave of attacks and using potentially a different form of technology now to target hezbollah with this new set of explosions, we're seeing some additional footage appearing from that, seeing some additional footage appearing from that , explosion appearing from that, explosion at what appears to be a funeral for a hezbollah member who was killed in the explosions yesterday via the pages. >> it's extraordinary footage. i hope we can bring it to you soon. a new angle on that

footage. we just showed you several hezbollah flags in the scene. an ambulance where you'd expect the body would have been taken out for that funeral. and then suddenly, one man near the front of that ambulance explodes, and the crowd rapidly disperses. he's then seen writhing on the floor in reaction to the large explosion that goes off just on the edge of the picture. now, this comes as you said mark, after a wave of major explosions yesterday. now, hezbollah has been using pages for its main communications for the best part of two decades now. >> they removed mobile phones from their front line forces soon before the 2006 full scale war, due to concerns about signals intelligence intercepts and cyber warfare. >> referring now back to a more analogue form of communication. >> but they'll be concerned now with a second round of explosions potentially focusing

on a new form of technology that even further levels of their technology will be compromised with explosive devices. >> and charlie, we're just heanng >> and charlie, we're just hearing now that three people have been killed as a result of this latest wave of explosions targeting the lebanese capital and other areas of lebanon. these reports coming through from lebanese officials and from health officials, an earlier report spoke of dozens who had been injured, dozens injured and now that confirmation out of beirut that some three people so far have been confirmed as having died in this latest wave of explosions, we're also seeing from the times of israel, lebanese media reporting , as you lebanese media reporting, as you said, mark three dead, but also people being targeted in the soma town in the bekaa valley.

>> dozens are reported to be wounded across the country. so this is not just the original report that we heard of an explosion in the danniyeh suburb of beirut , a stronghold of of beirut, a stronghold of hezbollah, where they've previously launched airstrikes. the israeli air force have into the area to target senior commanders. it appears now that this second wave of explosions is happening across the country, in what will be seen as a significant escalation, but also potentially another major israeli security success to infiltrate the hezbollah terrorist organisation. >> well, it's very interesting that the first wave of attacks really followed just hours after a declaration from the israeli war cabinet that they were widening the scope of the war in gaza. of course, that original war launched after the october 7th terrorist attacks , which 7th terrorist attacks, which killed so many, injured many , killed so many, injured many, many more and resulted in those hostages being taken as well, at

least 100 of them still being held. the war, sort of parameters have been widened to go effectively after hezbollah. now, to ensure that those , now, to ensure that those, communities in northern israel, those individuals, some 80,000 who are still living in places like tel aviv because they can't go back there, can return to their homes and that means clearly taking the fight to hezbollah . we're seeing that how. >> now. >> and, mark, i'm just hearing now another line coming in from syria. now, assad's regime reportedly issuing a countrywide emergency order for all intelligence directorates and military units to dispose of two way radios and hand—held communication devices . now, communication devices. now, bashar al—assad, the president of syria, is a key ally of lebanese hezbollah and the wider iranian proxy axis. that shia

crescent stretching from tehran right the way through to beirut, through syria, through iraq, through syria, through iraq, through baghdad, they're now reportedly issuing an emergency order for all intelligence directorates and military units to get rid of their two way walkie talkie radios and communication devices. clearly a very sharp and now international emergency security reaction to this latest wave of explosions . this latest wave of explosions. >> and very surprising, actually, that those handheld radios and other communication devices were not ditched or at least checked somehow in the hours after that first wave of explosions, because the information, as we understand it, is that these handheld devices were purchased around five months ago at the same time as some 5000 pagers. it wouldn't be too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that any right thinking individual is

going to be rather suspicious of the new radio devices that they have. but now, as we say, the second wave of explosions being reported in so many areas around lebanon. >> and mark, we had reports this morning that the israeli security services could have launched this wave of very targeted, discriminate attacks on hezbollah members as a consequence of fearing that the plan could have been used by the terrorist organisation in lebanon, us foreign policy sources were briefing that to the international media this morning . that could have morning. that could have suggested that this was being prepared for any potential israeli invasion, a decisive action they could have taken should they be required to move into southern lebanon. repeating that invasion of 2006. there, of course, have been cross—border barrages between lebanese hezbollah and the israeli defence forces since the 7th of october, when the war started . october, when the war started. after that terror attack launched by hamas in gaza. but

it seems as though this plan launched, as we were told yesterday, that could have been sped up as ahead of any decisive action for an invasion. now has action for an invasion. now has a second prong to it, a 24 hour delay with another wave of devices being targeted. this will have a crippling effect on the hezbollah communication capabilities. they'll be looking around at every technology and equipment they have and asking what works, what can we trust, what works, what can we trust, what is safe ? what is safe? >> you're now looking at live pictures from the northern israel, lebanon border fires that have been sparked there. now, some of that may be related to some of the rocket attacks that have been taking place over the last couple of hours, fired from hezbollah positions in southern lebanon. it may be retaliatory fire from the israelis. so you've got really a multi—dimensional scene that is

unfolding in lebanon. there is clearly now this apparent second wave of explosions targeting more communication devices that are being used by hezbollah. but in addition, hezbollah firing rockets and launching drones towards northern israel and the israelis responding to that as well. and latest information we're getting now here to gb news. is that more than 100 people have been wounded with that number of casualties expected to rise as more information comes in. we are just still in the very early stages of this unfolding incident, and we've just heard also from the idf saying they intercepted some more rockets that were launched, about 20 rockets fired from lebanon at qiryat shemona, which is in the border region of northern israel. >> about an hour ago, they said there were no reports of injuries. hezbollah has taken

responsibility for the attack, claiming that they targeted an israeli military base. continuing the now almost year long barrage almost daily barrage of missiles and mortars and anti—tank guided munitions fired from southern lebanon into israel, and it comes after the israeli military has improved its number of forces deployed to that border region. it decided to send the 98th division, which has most recently been deployed to the gaza strip, and fighting very consistently there towards that border region, potentially shifting its focus away from its southern arena to that northern one. at various points in this conflict. for the last year, mark, those two sections of the conflict have fluctuated in importance. but now, with this , importance. but now, with this, what appears to be a brazen but very successful security operation with these exploding walkie talkies and pagers, as is being reported, we could see a more significant focus on that northern border region .

northern border region. >> yeah, i mean, it is an immensely complicated situation. you have got the war that is being levelled against the terrorist group hamas in gaza, but we have for almost a year now had 8000 missiles, drones and rockets that have been launched from southern lebanon , launched from southern lebanon, from hezbollah into israeli territory . israel has decided territory. israel has decided enoughis territory. israel has decided enough is enough. they're going after hezbollah . after hezbollah. >> hey, mark. charlie, thank you very much for that update. of course, we'll have much more on this story throughout the next houn this story throughout the next hour. the escalating conflict in the middle east, precipitated by a second wave, an astonishing wave of seemingly walkie talkie attacks in the area. gentlemen, will be back to you shortly for more on that. but for now, it's 4 pm. and welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news. of course, we're broadcasting live from the heart of westminster and all across the uk, and the breaking news that fresh waves of bomb attacks have been reported in lebanon, as you

heard and on to our next story. gb views can exclusively reveal that changes to reform uk's constitution means that leader nigel farage, who is on your screen a moment ago, could get booted out if 50% of members triggered a leadership vote. does this leave the upstart party at risk of losing mr farage if enemies of the party join up and deliberately try to trigger a bloody coup ? next up, trigger a bloody coup? next up, sir keir starmer has now taken so many freebies from donors a record £100,000, in fact, including free suits, luxury holidays and even taylor swift tickets that he's earned a new nickname free gear. keir and starmer has promised change. before he was elected in as prime minister but has he got his snout in the trough? just like all of the rest of them? and a debate coming up in the show next is the wake of the eu in the wake of the huw edwards scandal, an astonishing report today shows that just 20% of get

a custodial sentence, and that's despite an nspcc warning that such offences soared by 25% last year to 33,000. why on earth aren't we jailing more? and at 5:00 pm i'll be joined in the 5:00pm i'll be joined in the studio by reform party firebrand lee anderson. i'll also ask him about if farage could get the boot thanks to that change in their constitution. should sir keir starmer give back those free suits ? and does he think free suits? and does he think that we're doling out soft to? justice that's all coming in the next hour . thanks for justice that's all coming in the next hour. thanks forjoining next hour. thanks for joining me. always a pleasure to have your company get in touch all the usual ways. send your views and post your comments by going to gbnews.com/yoursay. but before we carry on, here's your headunes before we carry on, here's your headlines and here's sophia wenzler . wenzler. >> thanks, martin. good

afternoon. it'sjust >> thanks, martin. good afternoon. it's just gone 4:00. these are your headlines. first to the middle east, where more blasts have reportedly killed three people and wounded hundreds more. in beirut, a security source has told reuters news agency that handheld radios have been targeted in the latest attacks in lebanon , rather than attacks in lebanon, rather than pages. it comes as hezbollah has launched rockets at israel, marking the first cross—border attack since explosions rocked lebanon yesterday. the terrorist group have accused israel of what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting hand—held communication devices. the israeli defence forces say they did strike a hezbollah target last night, but have not commented on their involvement in the explosions. 12 people, including two children, were killed in the blasts and nearly 3000 remain in hospital . 19 3000 remain in hospital. 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria. that's according to reports on saudi television 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, the uk will be working with, particularly with our humanitarian partners in the region. >> now, drivers from the aslef union have overwhelming overwhelmingly sorry backed a new pay deal from the department for transport. it's 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. almost 97% of the union's 20,000 members voting in favour . since members voting in favour. since july 2022, train drivers have walked out for 18 days, crippling services across

england. 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 horizon. it scandal. reid called it a great privilege to lead through extraordinarily challenging times 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. mr reid's departure follows criticism from mps and his exoneration from misconduct allegations earlier this year. the company says the effort to support postmasters and achieve justice is ongoing now. in other news, 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 worked at the countess of chester hospital yesterday. the mother of child d told the inquiry having cctv in her daughter's hospital nursery room could have prevented her murder. the inquiry is now looking into whether all neonatal units in england should install cctv. our northwest of england reporter, sophie sophie reaper, is in liverpool for us, where the 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're 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 . the lives of their wider family. >> and finally, inflation remained above the 2% target, unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data out today. prices in hospitality, holidays and hotels possibly boosted by the final leg of taylor swift's uk toun final leg of taylor swift's uk tour, are driving inflation 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 british families, despite the slower rise. he added the government is determined to fix the foundations of the economy, to erase the pressure on households. the public have been giving their view on the inflation figures today . inflation figures today. >> 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 know, with student finance, it's not sufficient enough for students these days . 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. >> those are the latest gb news headunes >> those are the latest gb news headlines for now. more in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . gbnews.com forward slash alerts. >> thank you sophia. now latest reports say that three people have been killed and hundreds wounded following a fresh wave of attacks in lebanon. a day

after 12 people were killed by major explosions. at least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organised by hezbollah. after those killed yesterday. it's an astonishing development. and joining me to discuss this now is gb news homeland security editor, mark white, and also our national reporter, charlie peters. gentlemen, welcome to the show. a short while ago, i was joined by andrew fox in the studio. 16 years service in the area. 3 to 3 tours of afghanistan . one tour 3 tours of afghanistan. one tour with the us army special forces. he was in the studio when that news broke of the walkie talkie attacks. he said, this is sci fi stuff now, and an astonishing wave of attacks. bring us up to speed. well, a second wave of attacks now taking place right across lebanon . across lebanon. >> and we've been talking, of course, about these handheld devices, these walkie talkies that have been exploding, walkie talkies that were bought as backup devices to help with the

communications across the hezbollah terrorist network. but in addition to that, we're also getting reports of mobile phones that have been exploding. a mobile phone shop that is on fire, an atm somehow that has exploded. it is astonishing information, charlie, that is coming out of lebanon at this houn coming out of lebanon at this hour, coming out of lebanon. >> but also from israel, where reporters there are hearing from sources in the israeli intelligence circles that the personal radios that are exploding now were booby trapped in advance, reportedly by the israeli intelligence services. and then to and then were delivered to hezbollah as part of the militia's emergency communications system. so the explosions we're seeing today, a day after the pages were exploded , were part of an exploded, were part of an emergency system, a backup effort to be used when the front

line communications were disrupted. well they've been disrupted, reportedly by the israeli forces themselves. so in effect, it appears that they had not only a first strike attack for this critical communications system, the pages that hezbollah have been relying on for the best part of two decades in to order avoid signals and cyber interference. but they also prepared for them to switch to radios and walkie talkies. also bugging those and booby trapping them with small levels of explosives to prepare for them to switch to that technology and launch another attack 24 hours later. >> now, the fact that we are into this second day and a second wave of very significant bomb attacks that are taking place across lebanon really does raise the prospect of further military action in the hours and days ahead . there had been a lot

days ahead. there had been a lot of , sort of days ahead. there had been a lot of, sort of information that was coming out from security sources. i shall put it that way, that this may have been a prelude. there were other reports suggesting that actually yesterday's first wave of bomb attacks had taken place because this system of pagers may have been compromised in terms of hezbollah being aware of an issue with this, and they brought that forward. i'm not sure whether that's true or not, but the fact is they have moved into a second day and a second wave of multiple explosions. and as i speak , amid the confusion as i speak, amid the confusion thatis as i speak, amid the confusion that is in lebanon and in beirut, in particular, we're looking at images now that show un vehicles from the un forces. of course, that are based up in beirut being targeted, attacked

by people on the streets, pelted with stones and other missiles and mark this will demonstrate further the intense psychological toll that this sort of operation will be having on the lebanese population, and indeed more targeted the hezbollah ranks. >> this will increase the paranoia and the fear that those fighters, those terrorists, will be feeling now and potentially moving. and to influence the militia's leadership to change its policy with regards to its conflict with israel. and in reaction to the attack that happened yesterday, those thousands of pages exploding, we heard from the us secretary of state, antony blinken, in a press conference in egypt earlier, saying that the united states wasn't involved . it had states wasn't involved. it had no knowledge of the pager attack, and he said that all parties must avoid taking steps that escalate the conflict and widen it to more fronts. well,

just hours after he said that , just hours after he said that, it appears that a second wave of explosions is going on, potentially also without washington being aware. and when he talks about risking widening on other fronts, we've also heard from reports from syria, where the assad regime is now issuing a countrywide emergency order for all of its intelligence directorates and military units to drop two way radios and handheld communication devices, talking about the psychological toll, but also the military and communications effects. this will have . those fighters will will have. those fighters will be grappling to work out how they might communicate again, following on these two attacks. >> yes, and understandable that we're seeing this reaction in syria and this message to urge people to dis discard these mobile devices because, of course , yesterday on this first course, yesterday on this first wave of attacks , it wasn't just wave of attacks, it wasn't just isolated to lebanon, it was also

throughout syria where those that are linked to hezbollah and those you might not think are directly linked to hezbollah, but they are the iranian revolutionary guard members. reports that 19 iranian revolutionary guard members were killed and 150 others wounded when their pagers detonated. so all of those who had been issued with these thousands of pagers by hezbollah had suffered. obviously, in the detonation of these devices. and what it shows you is the very firm proof, if proof were ever needed of this axis, which, of course begins right at the top with iran and its proxies, hezbollah , hamas, its proxies, hezbollah, hamas, the houthi rebels and aligned forces in iraq and syria, who are being sponsored, who are being encouraged by iran to

carry out these attacks on israel, will now, of course, israel, will now, of course, israel going after hezbollah, targeting hezbollah . but those targeting hezbollah. but those that are aligning themselves to hezbollah and dealing with them directly. >> and mark, we were just showing now some footage of the major attack that happened yesterday, footage of an explosion in the corner. i think we can now bring you some images of one of the walkie talkie radio explosions that happened earlier today at a funeral in beirut just a couple hours ago . beirut just a couple hours ago. post office . post office. james matthewson one.

>> five. >> five. >> what an extraordinary footage there of those explosions at a funeral taking place in beirut. just an hour or so ago. that second angle showing people gathering with hezbollah flags around an ambulance. and, mark, we were talking about the psychological toll that this sort of effect and this sort of attack will have on the population. both the lebanese people, but more specifically hezbollah for them to target a funeral will just be devastating to those fighters. >> well, there's no doubt about that. and yes, the psychological toll the confusion that these attacks bring is important. that is one dimension. but i think probably the most important element that israel will want to gain from this is to bring down that network of communications that network of communications that this terrorist organisation has been employing on a daily basis, multiple times a day to

launch these thousands of rockets , missiles and drones rockets, missiles and drones into northern israel. now, while their communications are effectively down, they are not in any position to launch a major offensive at this point against israel. so we watch what will happen, charlie, in the hours and days ahead as to israel's next move, does it signal a more concerted campaign against hezbollah from the air and potentially from the ground? >> yeah, significant situation here, mark. and as i was saying, the militias emergency communication system appears to be what's being targeted here. how will they communicate next? how will they communicate next? how will they react? very tense times on the lebanese and israeli border at the moment . israeli border at the moment. >> mark white charlie peters, an excellent comprehensive summary of an astonishing situation and organisation. hezbollah, an

army, nations too afraid to communicate and able to communicate. they are forces on their knees. it's an astonishing attack. what a story. thank you very much, gentlemen, for bringing us all the latest, and we'll come back to you of course, for more on that later in the show. thank you gents, there's lots more to come on the show today , including the prime show today, including the prime minister has declared more free tickets and gifts than any other major party leader in recent times. more on free gear. goodie bag soon. i'm martin daubney on gb news

channel. welcome back. time is 422. i'm martin daubney on gb news now. gb news can exclusively reveal that changes to reform uk's constitution means leader nigel farage could get booted out if 50% of members triggered a leadership vote. now the big question is this does this leave the upstart party at risk of losing mr farage? if enemies of

the party joined up and deliberately attempted to trigger a bloody coup? well, it's a shakespearean story, and here's its author, gb news political editor chris hope, who joins us now in the studio. a fantastic story, yes. and of course, this all comes out of the fact that the party is attempting correctly to be more democratic. but could that carry a price? tell us more. it will do. >> reform uk is a company , 15 >> reform uk is a company, 15 shares in it, eight of them controlled by nigel farage. anyone would agree that a company a company can't run the country or even be the official opposition. so the reform uk is changing into a political party. and here is the constitution to be voted on by members of reform uk this weekend on the on the screen. now you're seeing it there now we've zeroed in on parts of this constitution looking at when they when members can call a no confidence vote in the leader nigel farage and we've seen that on screen. now you see it there that if

more than 50% of mps vote for it, well, only if there's 100 mps will that apply, though. only five at the moment. but more importantly, if 50% of members of good standing of members of good standing of members of good standing of members of this party vote for nigel farage, they have no confidence in the leader. that means the board will then have a vote on his future or her future. if it's a different leader, and then he could be required to leave. it's the first time ever that members have been given this opportunity to decide who is the leader of reform uk. it's about time it happened. even nigel farage, were he here now, would admit that he told gb news me for gb news on the eve of the election interview with gb news. he will democratise this party. he's doing it now. martin. it's a good thing . good thing. >> it is a good thing and it's all out in the open. but of course there could be a catch. and we saw with the labour party a lot of people who weren't even labour party supporters became members because they wanted to influence the leadership vote. in particular, they paid £5 to back jeremy corbyn because they thought he was a terrible leader. they outsiders infiltrated the party in attempt infiltrated the party in attempt in an attempt to hijack its

democratic process. could that happen here? >> well, i think it could happen only members of good standing. what does that mean? well, quite of good standing can be defined in different ways. so that could be a way to weed out entryists who come to try and change the leadership. but don't forget, i'm old enough to have covered all that drama with labour. it happened because ed miliband was trying to remove the party support reliance on unions, he said let's bring in anyone who would join for 5 or 10, £10. you could then get a say on the future. you know, they flew, they flooded in by the hundreds of thousands. the left, they got jeremy corbyn onto the ballot. and look what happened in 2017 and 2019. in two elections, of course , the labour party lost. course, the labour party lost. so that could happen in this case. i'm sure they'll be taking measures to stop that happening. but that is the price, i think, of this party becoming a normal political party. you open up to the members and their views. nigel farage, and he may not like that, but that's how it is . like that, but that's how it is. >> and of course they'll have to like have a good think about this. and indeed, at 5:00 in

about 35 minutes time, we'll be joined here by lee anderson , the joined here by lee anderson, the chief whip of reform uk, to put this to him , they must have this to him, they must have thought about this. if they haven't they need to do. >> is he aware of his new constitution? >> i tipped him off. i tipped him off that. well, it went live at 3:00 when you broke exclusive. so i'm out . kirsty. i exclusive. so i'm out. kirsty. i sent it to him. let's see what he has to say. they need a plan. if the outsiders come to in try and cause them malodorous intent. which of course they will, because they would like to try and upset the reform party in any way they can. let's talk about a different political leader with a bit of a headache today. and that's the prime minister. they're now calling free gear keir £100,000 worth of free gear keir £100,000 worth of free beers has been sent to him. in fact, i think we've got a list of those on screen. i did a tweet earlier. if we can pull that up, it reads like a list of pnzes that up, it reads like a list of prizes within a game show, £20,000 worth of hotels, 12 grand's worth of suits, a four and a half grand holiday luxury houday and a half grand holiday luxury holiday to wales, £4,000 taylor

swift tickets. all that's missing is a speedboat. now, is this the kind of thing that we expect of a prime minister? the big question is this, chris. so keir starmer promised change. this feels like more of the same. >> and when he promised change, he was referring to the personal probity of the prime minister, because that's what sir keir starmer picked up on when boris johnson was the prime minister. he attacked him for trying to get donors money to spend on gold wallpaper. it may not have even been put in into that flat above number 11 downing street, where the johnsons lived. but it was used by sir keir starmer in the house of commons on this list. there on the screen, martin, you tweeted earlier it does look like a like a bullseye list of prizes of all apart from the speedboat. >> you pointed out spelt keir wrong. i spelt it in the keir as in kir royale. wrong. i spelt it in the keir as in kir royale . you'll notice in kir royale. you'll notice there's a champagne bottle next to it. you're dead right? but look, sir keir starmer will maintain correctly . this look, sir keir starmer will maintain correctly. this is perfectly aboveboard. perfectly legit. but i guess it's back to that thing of because it is. >> he's. we know this because

he's declared it. some of these declarations have been late. we do know about the £1,000 of many thousand pounds of dresses given to lady starmer by donors. it has been declared late. they've admitted that it's been corrected. there's no investigation. it's all out there. but the point is, viewers and listeners might wonder why on earth a man paid as we know, £167,000 from being an mp and being prime minister would need to receive gifts like this. >> well, chris, stick around. we might get our next guest in a pincer movement. it's the former labour mp , shaun simon. shaun, labour mp, shaun simon. shaun, welcome to the show. so the list is out there. and to repeat, you know, nothing is dodgy here. this is all above board. it's allowed. but my question is quite simple. sir keir starmer and lady starmer said they were going to be changing politics. there'd be no more of this freebies, no more cronyism. but today they look like boris and carrie, but just in different coloured rosettes .

coloured rosettes. >> my first answer martin and hello by the way, my first answer is that that i do agree. it's not a good look, i think. >> i think they've been a bit naive and but one of the two main causes of this is that keir starmer is actually a stickler for the rules and what he's rather naively believed is that all you have to do is make sure that you declare everything and it's all transparent, it's all above board, and everybody can see it, and that's all fine. >> and of course it's not fine because, you know, people like you will have a field day, taking the mick about it all the second, the second important difference to understand is that keir starmer has never been in government before , all his government before, all his career in politics. so far, he's been an mp, not a minister. once you're a minister, as the previous lot all were for the previous lot all were for the previous 14 years. you you

hardly have to declare anything as a minister because if you're if you're offered so, you know, if you're offered so, you know, if you're offered so, you know, if you want to go to an arsenal game as a minister, they'll invite you as a minister. and you don't have to declare that if you're invited as a minister, if you're invited as a minister, if you're invited as a minister, if you're invited as just an mp, you have to put it on your declaration and so on and so on and so on. so that's why he looks like he's got far more to declare. and because he's very scrupulously declared it all. but i agree. so it's come off it. >> it's chris hope here in the studio with martin. come off. come off it sean. i mean this shows complete political naivety to accept this kind of level of gifts and not expect people to think it looks bad. he promised change. it's more of the same. i mean, how can he possibly have thought this is a good idea? and who's advising him ? who's advising him? >> i mean, as i said , i do think >> i mean, as i said, i do think it does show a little bit of naivety to think that, as as he clearly does think the that as long as you declare everything in a very transparent and by the ball by the book way, then that

that's fine and it doesn't, it doesn't matter what it is, yeah. i think that was a bit naive. and i think that is, there's a danger of that becoming a bit of a bit of a theme of the, of this government. so far. and the, the sense that as, as long as you scrupulously stick by the rules, as long as you do the, like the logical, reasonable, rational thing, then that's okay. and then the old rules of politics, kind of how things look shouldn't matter. but the bottom line is it does matter. >> so, sean, i want to ask you a question. i speak to a lot of people who are involved in the labour party privately, they're seething about this because they didn't want there to be this continuity of, you know, be it wallpaper for boris johnson. now, be it free suits and taylor swift gigs and luxury holidays for sir keir starmer, especially now, there's constant talk of a

£22 billion black hole winter fuel allowance has been cut. politics is all about timing , politics is all about timing, and the timing of this just looks terrible . looks terrible. >> yeah, i mean, i don't think i've i've found people to be seething , but i've i've found people to be seething, but i mean nobody i don't find anybody saying, oh yeah, this is great. it's really great that that's what, this is what we're talking about. >> i don't find that you say that i'm having a field day. maybe you'd be having an absolute tap dance with a party hat on. if this was boris johnson or rishi sunak, you know, you'd be filling your boots. >> captain, i think so. i think there's two different things, aren't they? there's the question of whether, you know, whether he's done something wrong and, and, and ultimately that's what that's the change that's what that's the change that he was talking about. he was talking about the previous lot who carried on as though it was one rule for them. and another rule for us. and he genuinely doesn't believe that. and he genuinely doesn't act like that. he genuinely sticks by the rules. but that doesn't

mean that if you accept lots of free tickets because you're an mp and you declare them all very, scrupulously, then everybody will say, oh, well done for declaring them. and nobody will say, look at all those free tickets. >> okay. thank you very much . >> okay. thank you very much. well, there has been changed. they're not taking wallpaper. they're not taking wallpaper. they're taking london fashion week tickets. sean simon, thank you very much. always a pleasure to have you on the show. and thanks to you, chris hope. excellent stuff. there's lots more still to come between now and 5:00 including. it's been ten years since scotland voted to stay in the uk. how much has changed? but first, here's your headunes changed? but first, here's your headlines with sophia wenzler. >> martin. thank you. good afternoon. it's 433. i'm sophia wenzler in the gb newsroom. first to the middle east where more blasts have reportedly killed three people and wounded hundreds more in beirut . it's hundreds more in beirut. it's understood that handheld radios have been targeted in the latest

attacks in lebanon, rather than pages. it comes as hezbollah has launched rockets at israel, marking the first cross—border attack since explosions rocked lebanon. the terrorist group have accused israel for what's believed to have been a remote attack targeting hand—held communication devices. the israeli defence forces say they did strike a hezbollah target last night , did strike a hezbollah target last night, but have not commented on their involvement in the explosions. 12 people, including two children, were killed in the blasts and nearly 3000 remain in hospital. 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria. that's according to reports on saudi television. development minister anneliese dodds says the uk will be supporting civilians impacted in the explosions. now, back in the uk, train drivers have called time on strikes with a new pay deal 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 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, with the deal approved by 97% of aslef members, services are expected to return to normal . in expected to return to normal. in other news, a massive blast rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot, forcing a mass evacuation there. videos showed a fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions , while nasa detected explosions, while nasa detected intense heat over a 14 square kilometre area. local officials confirmed the blast, but details are limited, with the media under military censorship. ukraine's security services says the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv has yet to officially comment. and finally , tgi comment. and finally, tgi friday's uk operator has entered administration as the company

scrambles to sell its 87 restaurants worldwide. the chain's parent company hopes to complete the sale by the end of september, potentially saving thousands of jobs. however, it's not clear if a buyer will be found , and it may not be enough found, and it may not be enough to cover the company's debts . to cover the company's debts. those are the latest gb news headlines. now it's back to martin 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

>> welcome back. your time is 439. i'm martin daubney on gb news now. it's been ten years since the scottish independence referendum where if you recall, 45% of the nation voted for a fresh start. it had the highest recorded turnout for an election

or referendum since 1910. our scotland reporter tony mcguire , scotland reporter tony mcguire, has this ten years on report . has this ten years on report. >> tomorrow is our opportunity of a lifetime . all we have to do of a lifetime. all we have to do is to go into a polling station and put a cross on a piece of paper. papen >> ten years ago today, a record number of scots did just that, but 55% of those crosses said no to independence before the first vote was even cast. scotland was divided. >> yes, because we need to take responsibility for our own affairs. >> definitely no , no, no. >> definitely no, no, no. >> definitely no, no, no. >> i think it's time for us to stand on our own. two feet. >> i am still undecided. >> i am still undecided. >> a lot of turn and froing , >> a lot of turn and froing, arguably the once in a generation narrative has been a thorn in the side of the movement ever since. >> but despite all the routes blocked through westminster and the courts, snp first minister john swinney says independence remains urgent and essential.

>> i will make sure that independence is understood as the route to a stronger and a fairer country, understood not as nice to have, but as urgent and essential here and now. that is how we will make independence happenin is how we will make independence happen in the days before the referendum, thousands felled scotland's streets in a sea of saltires. >> but this past weekend, former first minister alex salmond addressed mere hundreds at an event marking the milestone anniversary. >> we are here today to demonstrate that we can recapture that mood of optimism and determination of people wanting to reclaim their country. that's what we have to do . do. >> a decade after campaigning for great britain being better together, scottish labour leader anas sarwar remains optimistic for scotland's future despite the prevailing negativity surrounding the topic. there's lots that people can look back on and feel quite negative about, but actually , despite

about, but actually, despite that negativity, despite those challenges, i actually feel really optimistic about the future because i think it's really important that we don't just think about the past and reflect on the rights and wrongs of that debate. >> i think it's really important, actually, that we think about the future. >> should scotland be an independent country, an unambiguous question asked and answered by the people in 2014. the question now is will the people of scotland and this generation or the next, ever be asked again? tony mcguire . gb news. >> well, the scottish public voted no to discuss that further. i'm now joined by the former msp and the msp , brian former msp and the msp, brian monteith, who joins me now on the show. brian, welcome to the show. always a pleasure. so mr salmond felt referendum would leap like a salmon. it didn't. it flopped like a caber into a bog. now you've written an excellent piece today saying a referendum is dead. for now, tell us more. >> yes, well, i think we all

know the result. >> and when you look back ten years, you have to draw some lessons from it. and the lesson i was wanting to write about today was to say to people who believe that scotland's place is in the united kingdom, that they should never be complacent and they should not appease nationalism. they should make work to make sure that scotland actually works well. it delivers its education and health service is a bustling economy that is successful, to and talk scotland up and not to see scotland as a place for subsidy . and we should place for subsidy. and we should be proud of our culture and proud of being british and the wrongs that need righted can be corrected. i think all these things can be done with scotland being in the uk, and what worries me is often the complacency that, oh, we beat the nationalists. this time they'll go away, they won't go away. we need to regularly tell

new generations why it is to good be in the uk. >> brian monteith i remember at the time covering this as a reporter, alex salmond's entire economic medal model it felt, was founded on north sea oil and scotland's right to have that resource itself. but now they've committed economic. harry carey oil is a dirty word , so if there oil is a dirty word, so if there were to be a future independent scotland, how on earth could it fund itself ? fund itself? >> well, what scotland has to do is to be part of the british economy so that it's spread across a number of different sources of revenue to pay for the public services , and not the public services, and not just oil revenues , but and not just oil revenues, but and not just oil revenues, but and not just the subsidy that comes through the scottish block grant, but the actual taxes that are raised in scotland from activity goods, sold services sold, income tax, vat, all those

revenues from a healthy economy to rely on one source as the main way of income is a recipe for disaster in any country. >> superb, sir. thank you very much for joining >> superb, sir. thank you very much forjoining us on the show, much for joining us on the show, bnan much for joining us on the show, brian monteith. and incidentally, the chief whip at the brexit party, mr whip, who we used to call him, trust me, a man not to be meddled with. now, coming up soon, i'll be asking a headteacher about new labour party plans for teachers. incredibly, to start working from home but will our children suffer while the while the teachers put their clogs up? i'm martin daubney on gb news, britain's news channel

welcome back. it's 448. i'm martin daubney on gb news now get ready for this one because in order to

tackle the recruitment crisis in schools, teachers will be allowed to work from home and the labour party plans teachers working from home. now they will apparently be able to do marking and planning away from the classroom. whatever's next. well, joining me now to discuss this is the global education consultant and the former headteacher tim clarke. tim good to said my mum was a teacher for her entire career , so was my her entire career, so was my auntie. i come from a family of teachers. i've never heard anything more bonkers in my entire life. at a time when we need more and more teachers in the classroom, drilling the kids , the classroom, drilling the kids, making them the grade a gold standard. pupils we need to be an economic powerhouse. how on earth can it be a good idea to make teachers part time ? make teachers part time? >> afternoon, martin. >> afternoon, martin. >> well, the first thing to say is there is no doubt about it, the single biggest issue facing schools today is the recruitment and retention crisis. >> and there is no other word to

use other than crisis. >> and it is the perfect storm because it's teachers leaving the profession in droves and we aren't having having enough young new blood coming into the profession. so it is a crisis. and in some ways i want to say anything that is considered to try and tackle that must be a good thing. but my argument with this policy is that it is based. it's pure sophistry because it is based purely and simply on a total misunderstanding of just how hard teachers work. and it's also based on a misunderstanding of how schools actually work . so of how schools actually work. so what do i mean by that? well, your typical school, i was a secondary head . i can't really secondary head. i can't really speak about primary schools, but a typical secondary school timetable would have, what, 25 hours of teaching a week, possibly slightly more . but the possibly slightly more. but the average teacher works well over 50 hours a week, so already well

over half a teacher's time is working at home. so i can't actually see why giving a teacher another hour or two at home is actually going to make any difference. but the other side of the coin is a school timetable is like a massive jigsaw , and if you allow one jigsaw, and if you allow one member of staff to go home early on a wednesday afternoon , on a wednesday afternoon, someone else has to work on a wednesday afternoon or another subject has to be put on that afternoon . so whether or not it afternoon. so whether or not it could actually work? yes, possibly on a one off, ad hoc voluntary basis, a school could come to an agreement with a teacher to have some time off. but if teachers were given the right to have this school timetable, simply could not function. >> and tim isn't that the danger? because i think it does feel like the labour party have been saying we want four day weeks for everybody, let alone teachers. and if that extends to the teaching institution

teaching profession, that means you're going to need more teachers. because if you take 100 teachers and make them part time, well, you need what, 25 more? therefore, you're creating a fresh recruitment chaos. >> yeah. unless of course , if >> yeah. unless of course, if you did have a four day week, you did have a four day week, you sent the kids home for the fifth day. now the parents i don't want my kids to be at home. exactly the point you. then what about parents who work and the whole thing is, i say it's just sophistry. it's trying to make out that they've come up with a great plan to make life easier for teachers. it simply will not work. >> yeah, but that seems to be the direction of travel. and one of the one of the eye popping figures that come out of this, tim clark, is that in 2022, 2023, 32,000 women left the teaching profession. so this carrot is being dangled. oh no. don't leave. you can go and be a part time charlie. that's not the way to improve the profession by by bowing to the wind of part timers. surely >> absolutely. and i mean, that figure is actually worse than

that, martin, because the total figure, if you include male teachers quitting the profession last year was over 40,000. and that's for reasons other than retirement. so over 40,000 teachers quit last year, which is over 9% of the workforce. and on the other side of the coin, one half of teacher training places were vacant last year. this is an absolute crisis, but what we're being offered here is simply tinkering at the edges. >> and i think, tim clark, we can all agree that teachers don't get paid enough. they they work incredibly long hours. you know, i've got loads of mates who are teachers. i play football with teachers. my missus is a ta, i love teaching, i get it, they're not paid enough. trouble is, the biscuit tins empty? >> yes. i mean , it's interesting >> yes. i mean, it's interesting what you say about pay. obviously the current government has given teachers a pay rise and i'm sure that will be well received and they certainly

deserve it . but received and they certainly deserve it. but i don't think the issue primarily is money. i mean, if you look at the teacher strikes last year , which were strikes last year, which were primarily about pay, they were about other things, but they were primarily about pay over 50% of teachers didn't even bother to vote in the ballot. it's other things . it is it's other things. it is workload in many schools. sadly, it's poor pupil behaviour and it's poor pupil behaviour and it's things like that that is driving people out of the profession . profession. >> okay, tim clark, i'm afraid we have to leave it there. thank you for that. a star for you. excellent as ever. thank you very much. now stick around because after the break, i'll be joined by lee anderson in the studio. reform party firebrand. i'll be asking him about the exclusive. we revealed today. could a coup of membership try and kick out leader nigel farage? could there be bad intent to get rid of nigel farage? i'll be asking lee anderson that next. i'm martin daubney on gb news business news channel, but now's your weather.

sally shuttleworth . sally shuttleworth. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . solar sponsors of weather on. gb. news >> two 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 will 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 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 up. break up across central areas though across the east coast it will likely linger through much of the day. probably a bit of a cloudier 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. but by. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> a very good afternoon to you. it's 5:00 pm and welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news. we're broadcasting live from the heart of westminster and all across the uk on today's show, more blasts in beirut have reportedly killed three and wounded hundreds in the middle east on the brink of war. live pictures. there on your screens will bring you all the latest updates as they come in. and next story. gb news can exclusively reveal today that changes to reform uk's constitution means that leader

nigel farage could get booted out if 50% of members triggered a leadership vote. does this leave the upstart party at risk of losing mr farage if enemies devices. the israeli defence forces say they dipartyke risk leave the upstart party at risk of losing mr farage if enemies of losing mr farage if enemies of the party join up and of losing mr farage if enemies of the party join up and deliberately triggered a bloody deliberately triggered a bloody coup? i'm joined in the studio coup? i'm joined in the studio by lee anderson to answer that by lee anderson to answer that one. next up, sir keir starmer one. next up, sir keir starmer has taken so many freebies from has taken so many freebies from donors a record 100 grand, donors a record 100 grand, including free suits , luxury including free suits , luxury including free suits, luxury holidays and taylor swift tickets. all it's missing is a including free suits, luxury it's missing is speedboat. he's earned the new tickets. all it's missing is a speedboat. he's earned the new nickname free gear. keir starmer nickname free gear. keir starmer promised change but has he got promised change but has he got his snout in the trough? just his snout in the trough? just like all the rest of them? and like all the rest of them? and as i said, i'll be joined in the as i said, i'll be joined in the studio by reform party firebrand studio by reform party firebrand lee anderson on today's show. lee anderson on today's show. i'll ask him if mr farage could i'll ask him if mr farage could get the boot , should starmer get the boot , should starmer get the boot, should starmer give back the suits, and if he get the boot, should starmer give back the suits, and if he thinks we're doling out soft thinks we're doling out soft justice to, that's all coming in justice to, that's all coming in the rest of the show . what was the rest of the show

the rest of the show. what was the rest of the show. what was the show? we've got an action packed hour ahead. as i say, lee anderson is sat in the studio primed, coiled like a cobra to answer all your questions. we'll get to that too. sweet. send your views in all the usual way. gbnews.com/yoursay national headunes. gbnews.com/yoursay national headlines . here's sophia wenzler. headlines. here's sophia wenzler. >> martin. thank you. good afternoon . it's just gone. 5:00. afternoon. it's just gone. 5:00. these are your headlines . first these are your headlines. first to the middle east, where more blasts have reportedly wounded hundreds of people in beirut . hundreds of people in beirut. it's understood that handheld radios have been targeted in the latest attacks in lebanon, rather than pages. it comes as hezbollah has launched rockets at israel, marking the first cross—border attack since explosions rocked lebanon. the terrorist group have accused israel for what's believed to have been a remote attack, targeting handheld communication devices. the israeli defence forces say they did strike

justice to, that's all coming in the rest oiending ow justice to, that's all coming in the rest oiending a/ justice to, that's all coming in the rest oiending a dispute that 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 2022, train drivers have walked out for 18 days, crippling services across england. but with the new agreement, passengers can look forward to some long awaited stability on the rails now. in other news, the rails now. in other news, 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 worked at the countess of chester hospital yesterday. the mother of child d told the inquiry having cctv and her daughter's hospital nursery room could have prevented her murder . the room could have prevented her murder. the inquiry is now looking into whether all neonatal units in england should install cctv. our northwest of

england reporter, sophie reaper is in liverpool for us, where the 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 f, twin boys who were both attacked by letby . child e was 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're 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 to parents stand up and to share the impact that this has had on them and the lives of their wider family . the lives of their wider family. >> meanwhile, buffer zones will come into force around abortion clinics in england and wales from the 31st of october. it will make it illegal to protest or hand out anti—abortion

leaflets within 150 metre radius, or obstruct anyone using or working at an abortion clinic. those convicted of breaking the new law will face an unlimited fine. a spokesperson for right to life uk said the zones will mean vital practical support provided, which helps to provide a genuine choice and offers help to women who may be undergoing coercion will be removed . and coercion will be removed. and finally, inflation remained above the 2% target, unchanged at 2.2% last month, with new data out today. prices in hospitality holidays and hotels possibly boosted by the final leg of taylor swift's uk tour, are driving inflation, 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 a strain on british families, despite the slower rise. he added the government is determined to fix the foundations of the economy, to erase the pressure on households. experts believe the

figures point to the bank of england keeping interest rates at 5% tomorrow. those are the latest gb news headlines for now. more in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . slash alerts. >> thank you sophia. now, latest reports say that three people have been killed and hundreds more wounded following a fresh wave of attacks in lebanon , a wave of attacks in lebanon, a day after 12 people were killed by pager explosions. at least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organised by hezbollah for those killed yesterday. an astonishing story. and joining me now to discuss more on this is gb news national reporter, charlie peters. charlie, an incredible escalation of affairs, it seems yesterday. pages today. walkie

talkies, perhaps even more electronic devices in what has been described as a sci fi level attack. tell us more. >> well, marty, we've just got a fresh number from lebanon's health ministry now raising the number of killed to nine and over 300 wounded in this afternoon's dramatic explosions, not just in beirut, afternoon's dramatic explosions, not just in beirut , the capital. not just in beirut, the capital. originally, explosions were reported in a suburb known as a hezbollah stronghold. but now across the entire country, another breaking line. again, just in the last couple of minutes, the defence minister of israel, yoav gallant , says that israel, yoav gallant, says that israel's focus has moved to the northern front as a new phase of the war is beginning. the centre of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces there we are at the onset of a new phase in the war. it requires more courage , requires more courage, determination and perseverance from us. that coming in just now from us. that coming in just now from yoav gallant, speaking to israeli air force personnel at

the ramat david airbase in israel. now we'll bring you those live pictures of beirut as the sun begins to set on the mediterranean coast there. but that will be a city in shock as a second wave of explosions rocks the hezbollah capital with yesterday, as you said, martin, thousands of pages exploding in an apparent sudden attack launched with support from the israeli intelligence services. and we're hearing now that it's walkie talkies and radios being exploded. 24 hours later, the personal radios we're hearing were booby trapped in advance by the israeli intelligence services. and delivered to hezbollah five months ago as part of the same order that brought in those pages. now we understand that they were the militia's emergency communication system. one source speaking to prominent israeli media, saying that these devices, these radios, would

have been taken out of storage recently, possibly just after that latest attack, in order to be a backup device after the pages went down, hezbollah has relied on more analogue and less mobile forms of communication, fearing interception from the israeli intelligence services. their signals intelligence is very intense, but this attack this afternoon has come also at funerals for those killed in yesterday's strike. we can bring you some footage of the explosion that happened at a funeral in sidon , which is about funeral in sidon, which is about 40km south of beirut . a 40km south of beirut. a hezbollah guard there next to an ambulance, where several hezbollah flags were shown hit in a blast there. we understand four wounded in that particular attack. this has been met with widespread reaction. and the first statement came out from syria. now syria is aligned with the irgc, the islamic revolutionary guard corps , revolutionary guard corps, iran's proxy organisation

operating from tehran to beirut throughout the shia crescent, now assad, his regime in syria have said they've put a blanket ban now on any two way communications device across their military and their intelligence directorates. a sharp and rapid reaction to this latest round of explosions, which appears to demonstrate that hezbollah's communications devices and their counter intelligence have been penetrated very successfully by the israeli intelligence services. this will have a devastating psychological toll on the hezbollah fighters. thousands of them will be out of action, potentially for a long time. some of them forever. the extent of the injuries that we saw yesterday being so severe and that situation will cause a significant weakening towards the hezbollah activities. they've been exchanging cross—border attacks , missile cross—border attacks, missile barrages with the israeli forces since the start of the israel—hamas war on october. the seventh. but a widespread state of paranoia, fear and indeed

chaos in lebanon after this latest round of explosions . latest round of explosions. >> and charlie peace, of course, as well as the psychological victory of this, of that warfare and the direct human impact, especially at the funeral , especially at the funeral, saying no place is safe. what it also does, of course , it also does, of course, it obliterates the abilities of hezbollah to communicate across iran , across syria, within iran, across syria, within lebanon, a army that cannot communicate is an army on its knees. communicate is an army on its knees . charlie peters and as a knees. charlie peters and as a precursor to what could be now a more directional and traditional warfare on the ground, it will be looked upon, i'm sure, as an astonishing first move in this next step. charlie peters, an excellent summary. thank you very much for joining excellent summary. thank you very much forjoining us on the very much for joining us on the show. thank you. now moving on. gb news can exclusively reveal that changes to reform uk's constitution means that leader, mr nigel farage, could be booted out if 50% of members triggered a leadership vote. now, does this leave the upstart party at

risk of losing mr farage if enemies of the party join up and deliberately attempted to trigger a bloody coup ? well, trigger a bloody coup? well, joining me now in the studio to discuss this is gb news, political editor chris obe, and i'm also joined by reform, uk mp for ashfield and their chief whip, lee anderson. gentlemen, welcome to the show. let's start with you, chris, for a summary of a story you broke on my show at 3:00 pm today. the party moving towards a more democratic, open nature . nigel democratic, open nature. nigel farage agreed. that's a good thing. we can all agree on that . thing. we can all agree on that. but does that leave open manoeuvre for attack? tell us more. okay, so here we are. >> this is the constitution of the reform uk, and members of this party vote on it on saturday. currently, reform uk is a company, so it's got 15 shares in the company, eight of which are controlled by one nigel farage. a company can't really have have have any chance of, of forming the official opposition because there's got to be owned or run by members. nigel farage gets that, he told

gb news. for me, for gb news on the eve of the, the general election in july, he would democratise this party. he's done that through through the use of, the chairman on the screen there. you see this this constitution i've highlighted there a section where it looks at how you can get a vote of no confidence in the leader. it says there that half of all members and half of all members of the parliamentary party can order a vote of no confidence, but only if there are more than 100 mp5. but only if there are more than 100 mps. only five, of course, one of whom is an integer. now lee anderson. so it does allow there for 50% of members in good standing writing to the chairman, requesting a motion of confidence and this is the issue that you've picked up on. martin because there might be a concern here that any entryists could pay here that any entryists could pay £25, join the party, and then vote out nigel farage. there's 80,000 members as we sit, but we've been looking through the constitution in further detail. paragraph 4.4 does allow for members who are

who are not aligned to the values of this party to be excluded. so that should allow entries not to be able to force out farage. but there's a risk there. but then again, i think this party is growing up. it was a company. now it's a proper party. this is the risk which nigel farage correctly is taking on. >> well, let's put that question now then, to lee anderson. so lee, the obvious line of attack, if you throw open your membership to all and sundry, is any old tom, dick or harry could get through the cat flap and try and cause you trouble. could that happen here? >> well, i mean, fair play to nigel and yousef have been working incredibly hard to democratise the party, and this was one of the questions i posed to just a few weeks back. >> and he reassured me that if there was a sudden surge in membership applications, this would be looked at immediately. and bear in mind at the moment, martin, we've got probably about 80,000 members. >> it would take at this present moment in time, 40,000 members to send a letter to yousef, like

a vote of no confidence . a vote of no confidence. >> if you like to get rid of leader, i think now we're probably the most democratic party in the country. and if the other political parties had this system in place, i tell you what, keir starmer would be sacked this week. >> do you reckon that would happen? do you reckon there'd be enough, upset people within the labour party? don't forget , labour party? don't forget, that's what started this ball rolling. don't forget that. £5 to join the labour party. absolutely miliband. the other. >> the other political parties do not have this mechanism in place where they can remove, remove a leader. this is andy doven remove a leader. this is andy dover. and what nigel's actually doneis dover. and what nigel's actually done is given his shares away. this will happen on saturday and he's given the party to the membership. and that's a wonderful that's a brilliant thing. >> but of course it's not quite that case, is it, because the board could then vote to keep him in. i mean, all that happens, all that happens is the membership can have the order of vote of no confidence and the board can say, if you have a massive surge in membership, like ed miliband, when he solved the labour party for £3, i knew ukip as that were joining the labour party to vote for jeremy corbyn if we see a massive surge in thousands and thousands

joining, that's that's a red flag and that's what we're there for, to look at stuff like that. >> but but if enough members did want him out, the board would have to go with the membership, wouldn't they? >> they couldn't overrule the membership. >> yeah, i think so. i mean, if they've got reasonable grounds. but you know what? at the moment, as we know, i think they're clutching at straws. the pair of you and nigel farage is the most popular political leader in this country at the moment. you're looking you're looking for a story that's not there. he's not. >> he's popular among his own fans. but not not not amongst labour or tory mps. >> and hang on, if 40,000 people came along and knocked on your door and gave you £25 a pop, presumably you take the cash anyway. >> i'd take the cash. yeah and then look like i said, martin, this is look, look for surges in applications. this is what happened with the labour party. it's quite simple. there was thousands and thousands of people, i think, over 100,000 joined the labour party to vote jeremy corbyn in. you know, if that happens in reform, you know, we'll be looking at that very, very closely. >> all right. well, let's move on now to another story that's caught your eye today. you've been very vocal on this. well, you're vocal on almost everything you talk about, but this is, sir keir starmer. it's

the £100,000 worth of freebies. i think we can get that tweet on the screen now. just. it's like a it's like a roll of, prizes from a game show. let's be honest, it's £100,000 worth of freebies. in fact, he gets so many freebies now they're calling him free gear. keir, you can see it there. 20 grand accommodation. lee anderson, 12 grand in suits. almost two and a half grand's worth of free specs. 40 free tickets, by the way, a terrible taste in music. coldplay and taylor swift tickets to the football. tickets to england, free frocks for the missus. i mean, is this kind of thing acceptable? you know, when he came in, lee anderson, sir keir starmer promised to be a change candidate. are you seeing any change, or is this more of the same? >> well, i'm looking at that there, martin. £12,000 for suits. i think he ought to give a couple of them suits away to you and chopper by looking at you and chopper by looking at you today in the studio. but seriously, guys, he is now probably the uk's number one spongen probably the uk's number one sponger. i mean, look at that list. there's £100,000. no other political leader is accepting gifts like that. >> to be fair, lee, he's he's

declared it. some of these have been late declarations for his wife, but he's declared. have you ever accepted any free suits? no. not suits. wearing a nice t shirt. >> does that mean we should have a free suit? that's from asda. that's from asda. i would never accept any free clothes or anything like that. no, it's. have you been offered them though? no, no, i've not been offered tickets. i've i've had, i've had two. i've had one football ticket. i think it was at a forest where i took a constituent with me who'd been a carer, and another was a rugby ticket ticket where i took some constituents who said, why do people do it? >> why give 100 grand's worth of, of goodies like a game show to him? what's in it for me? >> it's a good question. i mean, people are currying favour, aren't they? i mean, this man, i think he owes about £170,000 a yeah think he owes about £170,000 a year. i think his missus earns a 50 grand a year. he's got a good income coming in. chopper. over 200 grand a year. it's supposed to be a socialist. he's very good at redistributing people's income, just not his own. it's. it's absolutely disgraceful, actually. you know, if this had been boris johnson or rishi sunak or any of the other prime

ministers, they'd have been going crazy over this. >> well, i want to bring it back to that because boris johnson, carrie, of course, over the wallpaper, over the refurbishment of the flat, you were still in the conservative party at that point and keir starmer, the entire labour party, they were absolutely all over this story saying it was proof of the snouts in the trough . typical tories. and trough. typical tories. and isn't that the point? everybody gets freebies in politics to a certain degree, but when you set yourself out as a candidate of change, as a prime minister of change, as a prime minister of change, then people say , change, then people say, actually it's more of the same. he's got it kind of set himself up for this fall. >> he has i mean, i don't know who's advising him, but they're not very good at this, this politics malarkey. martin. the bofis politics malarkey. martin. the boris johnson thing with the wallpaper and carrie, that was actually wallpaper being put into downing street . that's into downing street. that's a pubuc into downing street. that's a public building that belongs to the taxpayer. he's off on freebies. going to watch arsenal. he's going to taylor swift concert. you know what? i could have a little bit of sympathy for him if he actually shared a little bit of his wealth. what he's getting from from donors with his constituents, if he's got taylor

swift, concert tickets, a constituent with you? yeah, yeah. and it does throw up question marks about why it's happening and giving for money clothes for lady starmer. >> yeah. i mean, i don't know why he isn't just pay for it himself. i mean, it just seems odd, doesn't it? i think we asked wes streeting earlier who who paid for your suit. where's i mean, that's it's it trickles down into other members of the cabinet. >> and interestingly, when you ask any of these senior labour politicians about these, these donations, they can't answer you. >> i want to get you on another topic . i know you've been very topic. i know you've been very vocal on this week, and that is, of course, the sentencing of huw edwards. you were very outspoken about the fact that you didn't think he was getting enough of a sentence . there's an astonishing sentence. there's an astonishing report out today, lee anderson, only 20% of convicted in britain. court access in child abuse images get a custodial sentence. are we simply being too soft on? >> well, of course we are. that figure should be 100%. martin, we have a problem in this country, it would appear, with protecting our young people. we see it all over. we've seen it

with the grooming gangs in the north of england. we've seen the latest bbc come out and they've had quite a few come out in in the past few years and this man, this huw edwards, i mean, i've pred this huw edwards, i mean, i've ripped my tv licence up, as you know, a while back i had a reminder last week that's gone in the bin. i'm not paying for huw edwards pension scheme because he's going to get hundreds of thousands of pounds. this man's a. is disgusting and he needs caging. >> all right, well, he has been sort of convicted, you know, let's be let's be a little bit careful on the language. i know that's your opinion. >> is it just my opinion? he should be locked up. >> okay, but another astonishing part of this report today is that the nspcc has put some fresh data out saying that despite the fact that only 20% get custodial sentence, there's been a 25% increase. lee anderson in child abuse images being collected and 33,000 cases. now, do you think that there's a mindset now that this kind of thing isn't something that we should put in jail? it's something we could medicalize something we could medicalize something we could medicalize something we can cure. it's like

a liberal disease, and we're not taking paedophilia anywhere near seriously enough . seriously enough. >> there's no medical cure for this, martin. well, there is a cure for it. i'm not going to say it on this tv show. these people need locking up. and the key throwing away. >> it's as simple as that. why did the magistrate not give it to a crown court? to give a proper sentence? >> it's a good question. i do not know. i know richard tice has actually written to the justice secretary to ask this question, to review this a chief magistrate, it was, it was, it was the best in the country doing this. >> it wasn't. well the chief magistrate is someone who is the top magistrate. he was ruled not in other cases. the other cases involved in this case have got suspended sentences too. so i think it's where we are with the law. i mean, you can compare it with other, other, other instances of justice over facebook and twitter on this one, they've said to him, here's a six month sentence suspended for two years. >> all he's got to do is not use the internet for two years for downloading, for looking at this filth and meanwhile, people are going to jail for facebook posts and throw a mountain bikes at hotels. >> lee anderson, thank you very much. always a pleasure staying with you, chris hope. great exclusive today. even though lee

anderson didn't think it was much of a story, i did. now moving on. is the middle east on the brink of war? i'll be speaking to a former chairman of cobra about that next. i'm martin daubney on gb news business news

channel. welcome back. it's 526. i'm martin daubney. this is gb news. back to our top story. now tensions escalate in the middle east as handheld radios detonate across lebanon. and we're joined now by the former british army commander, colonel richard kemp. colonel kemp, always a pleasure to have you on the show. so a significant escalation of the situation in the middle east today after audacious attacks using pages and latterly walkie talkies . now, it seems the talkies. now, it seems the latest news is we're moving towards a fresh look at the northern front, the fronts between israel and lebanon

seemingly now opening up. tell us more. us more. >> us more. >> yeah, i mean, this has been a war in the north that's been going on since the 8th of october for nearly a year now, in which the hezbollah, another iranian terrorist proxy, began firing missiles almost daily into israel, into northern israel, allegedly in sympathy with hamas in gaza, and israel's got to deal with it at some point. it looks now as if it may be we're seeing the opening scenes in these very , very scenes in these very, very audacious attacks against, hezbollah terrorists using pagers and radios. hezbollah terrorists using pagers and radios . we may be pagers and radios. we may be seeing the opening scenes of a more intensive conflict in southern lebanon now. >> and, colonel kent, we have fresh pictures on our screens here of a car that's detonated. we've also heard of atms exploding and extraordinary footage we had earlier , colonel footage we had earlier, colonel kemp, of a bomb going off at a hezbollah funeral. and of course, the message this sends

out, colonel kemp, is that nowhere is safe. it's that funeral. now, you see a bomb going off shortly at a hezbollah funeral from somebody who was killed yesterday. so this sends out the message. colonel kemp doesit out the message. colonel kemp does it not that nowhere is safe. nobody is safe. no communication method is safe. and the psychological victory of that, that it sends out a fragmented army, one that's afraid to communicate . richard afraid to communicate. richard kemp is one on its knees. >> this is devastating for hezbollah for a number of reasons. firstly, because israel , reasons. firstly, because israel, assuming it is israel that has done this and of course, they haven't said they have. then, you know, it shows the extent of their intelligence penetration of hezbollah, which is very , of hezbollah, which is very, very impressive, extraordinary. secondly it shows every hezbollah terrorist that israel can get them almost anywhere using almost anything and their equipment, their weapons, their radios, their communications equipment, almost anything. they

use can be weaponized against them. now, that is terrifying. they did not sign up for this. they did not sign up for this. they signed up to be for the glory of being jihadist martyrs on the battlefield , not for on the battlefield, not for being detonated by remote control by a pager. so this will this will really, really be a problem for hezbollah's morale as well as their operational capability, because probably it's taken out some significant leaders, some certainly a large number of terrorist fighters and of course, their communications equipment. so now now hezbollah is probably at one of its weakest moments. how long it takes. it for? >> yeah. we've got some live pictures there of the night time. it'sjust dusk pictures there of the night time. it's just dusk in beirut. i think we still have colonel richard kemp on the line there. can i ask you, colonel kemp, about what this means now, for the fragmentation of hezbollah as you say. and we understand that the assad regime in syria has also ordered a countrywide dispersal of all two way radios.

we also saw the ambassador to iran in lebanon was injured yesterday. and a number of iranian national guards injured in in today's attacks and yesterday's. so the tendrils of hezbollah expose the capabilities to communicate have been ceased. so in many ways, tactically, colonel richard kemp, this is an extraordinary softening up exposing of them , softening up exposing of them, perhaps with a final thrust now into their territory. >> it could well be it's it shows the connections, you know, that you mentioned the iranian ambassador getting hit himself by one of the hezbollah pages that he had . it shows the depth that he had. it shows the depth of involvement between hezbollah, between iran and hezbollah, between iran and hezbollah , and also every hezbollah, and also every element of the iranian terrorist web will be exposed now by this, as you mentioned, syria, iran itself will be frightened about what's going to happen to it

next. it may be in a similar form, same with other proxies in places like yemen and even iraq. so i think, yes, this could be it could well be, it would be a classic way in some ways of, of , classic way in some ways of, of, of, you know, the opening stage of, you know, the opening stage of softening up hezbollah now for, for, for hitting them a great deal harder, which i have to say is somewhat overdue. you know, they've been hitting israel now for many months, and they really do that really does need to be put a stop to if israel can find a way of doing it. >> and colonel kemp, can i quickly ask you, we just have a quickly ask you, we just have a quick minute here in all of your many, many years, your huge experience of taking part in military engagements, have you ever seen anything like this ? ever seen anything like this? >> no, it is unique. i think there's certainly been efforts by british and other forces to use communication systems by terrorists to attack them, and that has been done. but not on anything like this scale. i think this is an extraordinary example of maybe the future of

warfare, which, you know, it's a one off opportunity, probably, but it does show the vulnerability of terrorist groups when they're facing such a highly sophisticated enemy as as israel is fantastic. >> so thanks for your comments. always a pleasure . former always a pleasure. former british army commander, colonel richard kemp, thanks for joining me on the show . now, there's me on the show. now, there's lots more still to come between now and 6:00, including the rapper involved in barack obama's presidential campaign. p diddy has been denied a $50 million bail on sex trafficking charges . bombshell developments. charges. bombshell developments. stay with us. but first, here's your headlines with sophia wenzler . wenzler. >> martin. thank you. these are your headlines at 533. first, to the middle east, where more blasts have reportedly wounded hundreds of people in beirut. it's understood that handheld radios have been targeted in the latest attacks in lebanon rather than pages. it comes as

hezbollah has launched rockets at israel, marking the first cross—border attack since explosions rocked lebanon. the terrorist group have accused israel for what's believed to have been a remote attack, targeting hand—held communication devices. the israeli defence forces say they did strike a hezbollah target last night, but have not commented on their involvement in the explosions. 12 people, including two children, were killed in the blasts and nearly 3000 people remain in hospital. 19 iranian revolutionary guards were also killed in syria, according to reports on saudi television. now, development minister anneliese dodds says the uk will be supporting civilians impacted by the explosions . train drivers have explosions. train drivers have called time on strikes with a pay called time on strikes with a 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, with 18 days of walkouts and overtime bans. the dispute impacted millions of passengers. now, with the deal approved by 97% of aslef members , services 97% of aslef members, services are expected to return to normal . are expected to return to normal. in other news, a massive blast rocked russia's tver region after a ukrainian drone strike hit a major ammunition depot, forcing a mass evacuation there. videos showed a fireball lighting up the night sky with explosions , while nasa detected explosions, while nasa detected intense heat over a 14 square kilometre area. local officials confirmed the blast, but details are limited with the media under military censorship. ukraine's security services say the strike destroyed missiles and artillery shells, though kyiv has yet to officially comment. and finally, tgi friday's uk operator has entered administration as the company scrambles to sell its 87 restaurants worldwide. the

chain's parent company hopes to complete the scale sale by the end 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. those are the latest gb news headlines. more in half an hour for the very latest gb news to direct your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gb news. >> .com forward slash alerts . >> .com forward slash alerts. >> .com forward slash alerts. >> cheers! >> cheers! >> britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report , and here's a quick report, and here's a quick snapshot of today's markets. >> the pound will buy you $1.3203 and ,1.1870. the price of gold is £1,947.51 per ounce, and the ftse 100 closed the day at 8253 points. >> cheers britannia wine club

proudly sponsors the gb news financial report . financial report. >> thank you sophia. now we have lee anderson in the studio a short while ago, talking of course about the plans potentially to get people infiltrating reform's membership to help kick out nigel farage. dean says this nigel farage will never be ousted. even if some infiltrate the system. there'll be too many backing nigel and his support is continually growing. all the other political parties feel threatened by nigel and reform. well, joining me now is michelle dewberry, of course, dewbs& co 617, the queen of prime time debate, resplendent in red. jeeves, what's on your menu? >> well, of course, these new wave of explosions that i've just seen you discuss. and we'll be looking at that . i've got be looking at that. i've got peter hitchens and aaron bastani, so interesting debate will follow on that subject. i am sure. i also want to look at these buffer zones around abortion clinics. what do we think to that? there's very different opinions between my panel on that topic.

different opinions between my panel on that topic . and of panel on that topic. and of course, i need to look at the ridiculousness of keir starmer. i know you've looked at that as well. and also it's time now , well. and also it's time now, surely, isn't it, forjust well. and also it's time now, surely, isn't it, for just to well. and also it's time now, surely, isn't it, forjust to be surely, isn't it, for just to be sent to prison? and i would argue now to make chemical castration mandatory as well. my panel don't agree with me. there >> sounds superb. hard hitting as ever . dewbs& co 617 >> sounds superb. hard hitting as ever. dewbs& co 617 thank you very much. make sure we stay tuned for that coming up soon. we're talking about the extraordinary case of p diddy. could it be rap's metoo moment all the way to the top with barack obama?

soon. welcome back. it's 541. i'm martin daubney on gb news. the rapper involved in barack obama's presidential campaign , obama's presidential campaign, sean diddy combs, has been denied bail on sex trafficking and racketeering charges and a bombshell development in his spectacular downfall . now, he

spectacular downfall. now, he denies the claims, which include allegations of drug fuelled freak offs. is this raps metoo moment now? joining me now to discuss this is the showbiz journalist hayley palmer. hayley, it's an astonishing story. so a huge sum of money involved in the bail at the at a heanng involved in the bail at the at a hearing yesterday. tell us more. >> yeah . i mean, when you think >> yeah. i mean, when you think of p diddy, i mean , i just of p diddy, i mean, ijust think, wow, what a star he was. >> and it seems that they have this kind of dark side sometimes . this kind of dark side sometimes. i mean, you know, he had three grammy awards, two mtv music awards and a guinness world record for most successful rap producers. you're talking mega star here. and as the news is just unfolding, you're thinking, oh my goodness, is this. actually, i'm actually reading this . it's absolutely insane. this. it's absolutely insane. but yes, you're right, he has been accused of kidnapping, drugging and coercing women into sexual activities, sometimes through the use of firearms and threats of violence, he's actually been accused of beating

up more than women. now, cassie , up more than women. now, cassie, his ex—girlfriend, had come forward. >> i don't know if you video that we saw earlier on in the yean that we saw earlier on in the year, and i saw that video, it was very, very disturbing to watch. >> and no getting away from the fact that you could see what was happening right in front of you there. now, he was arrested last night. >> his stay in detention in new york as he awaits trial, >> now, his lawyers are saying that he's a fighter. he will fight this until the end . he's fight this until the end. he's totally innocent, and obviously , totally innocent, and obviously, it's just a it's a crazy trial, and it seems to be getting even bigger. what's coming out. >> and they attempted to put up bail of $50 million so he could maintain his liberty. now, that was spectacularly declined. now, tell us about what he put up for his bail. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> i mean, it was a complete, desperate attempt, >> he actually proposed his own home and his mother's homes, >> which is craziness. >> which is craziness. >> and that was declined. and something else that came out,

which was incredible, was that when they searched his miami mansion, i think that's what we can see on our screens now. yeah they found three a ar 15 assault rifles in various component parts. and then they intimated that that maintained their decision to refuse bail because he could be a danger to those around him and potentially even the public. yeah. >> i mean, that los angeles mansion that you can see there, that's where he actually had his 53rd birthday party and you had massive stars attending that mary j. blige. >> travis scott, >> travis scott, >> so the fact that they raided this mansion, must be a real shock to america, right now. but, i mean, listen, i don't know what will happen, but, you know, he could be at least two decades behind bars. >> and we saw with the r kelly scandal, of course, you know, here again, was somebody who was a superstar of family name , a superstar of family name, especially a superstar in black america. very involved in the

whole scene. and again , sean whole scene. and again, sean combs here was very involved in the barack obama's campaign photograph with the dignitaries, the celebrities, you know, part of black american, you know , of black american, you know, a—list. and so that makes this downfall even more spectacular. now, his lawyers maintain that this was consensual and that they they said a statement the government should stay out of our bedrooms. so they're maintaining this is innocent and they want a fair trial. he will fight. but it's an astonishing story. >> it really is. >> it really is. >> and i mean, we haven't seen what's happened there, but what ihave what's happened there, but what i have seen from the video of his ex—girlfriend, that was very, very disturbing to watch. you're right, that's what his lawyers have said. and i know his three sons have flown in to support him as well, but it just makes me think these celebrities that are caught doing these things, do they think they're never going to get caught?

>> i don't know, but it just seems that so many stories are unfolding. >> and for me, it's very shocking to someone that has been an icon in the music industry , i guess. industry, i guess. >> then the questions will be asked. r kelly was first sean combs now being locked up ahead of a potential trial? could this be rap's metoo moment or movement? because of course, we know with the lyrics, with the lifestyle, with with the whole rap thing, could this not just be these two individuals, but could there be more people implicated? as this investigation broadens out ? investigation broadens out? >> it could well be. but all i know is at the moment is very, very serious allegations. and serious consequences to be had. >> okay. thank you very much for joining us on the spectacular downfall of sean combs. p diddy now moving on. a cold, refreshing beer makes for a lovely treat at the end of a show. and don't i know it, you can't beat a good pint. but guess what? woke scientists are

trying to kill off the great british pint. stay away. sacred i martin daubney on gb news britain's news channel

welcome back. 10 to 6. we're on the final . final back. 10 to 6. we're on the final. final furlong with me. martin daubney on gb news. now what? on earth is happening to the great british boozers? well, woke scientists from the university of cambridge want to do away with the great british pint to kerb the nation's boozing. apparently for the good of our health. well, keep your paws off our pints. joining us now to discuss this is the director and the chair of the british pub confederation, greg mulholland. greg welcome to the show. what on earth are they doing poking their noses into our pints? i'm assuming they're trying to be killjoys. and it's meant to be for our good health. is it? tell us more.

>> well, this is a very strange study. >> and actually, if you look at what they have done, it really doesn't. >> it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. >> scientific or common sense, >> scientific or common sense, >> first of all, they they tried to do this in a number of pubs. they only managed to find 13 outlets who were to , prepared to outlets who were to, prepared to be involved in the in the study , be involved in the in the study, and the conclusion is that there was 10% less beer drank in these 13 pubs. now, that doesn't seem to pay any account to those people who actually will have gone to a different pub where they could still get a pint or just stayed at home and had a had a bottle from the supermarket instead, but our beer martin, is some of the least strong beer in the world, and yet some of the most flavoursome and excellent, and it really isn't the cause of

problem drinking, so it's frankly nonsensical. and yes , frankly nonsensical. and yes, everyone realises we need to as a society, deal with problem drinking, but a pint in a pub of, you know, 4% beer is absolutely not part of the problem. and as i say this study, it just frankly, makes no sense at all. >> and so what they're doing in this study, greg, they're specifically giving out short measures. in fact , they're measures. in fact, they're giving out beer in two thirds of a pint glass. now, i've lived in australia before. don't they call that schooners out there? so it's a short measure. all i know is that a schooner barely touches the sides. a pint is a pint. and guess what? if you give people smaller glasses, some might drink less. some might buy more. surely it's about the choice. and is this actually, greg, do you think more of a broader assault on hospitality? we're seeing smoking bans inside first. now outside. we're trying to get them. they're trying to cut us

down. they're not giving you guys any help whatsoever. are they just determined to try and kill off the great british boozer? >> well, it does seem that some people are wrongly associating the great british pub with, you know, the serious problem drinking that frankly happens from, you know , cheap alcohol from, you know, cheap alcohol bought in supermarkets. people drinking at home, people drinking at home, people drinking in non controlled environments. the idea that a pint of 4% excellent beer that you might enjoy in the pub is part of that is simply nonsensical. now i have to say that there are actually quite a few pubs and bars up and down the country that do as a choice, as an option, serve two thirds pints for, you know, for some of the more modern craft beers, some of the beer that's perhaps a little bit stronger and we're all for choice. you know, if that works for a particular pub. but the idea that you should ban a pint, because that will help with problem drinking is, is, is nonsensical as well. well,

frankly, as scientifically illiterate. but also, let's face it, there is absolutely no way that any sensible government or even a not very sensible government would even consider banning the great british pint. so i think this is a story that, frankly , misses the point. it's frankly, misses the point. it's a scientific study that isn't worth the paper it's written on. so let's get on with concentrating on supporting pubs and calling on the government to support pubs through this cost of living crisis. >> well , greg of living crisis. >> well, greg mulholland, i'll dnnk >> well, greg mulholland, i'll drink to that. but please don't give them any ideas about banning pints. they're sure to take it up. absolute pleasure to talk to you, greg mulholland. thank you for joining talk to you, greg mulholland. thank you forjoining us on the thank you for joining us on the show. hands off the great british pints. in fact, i'm going for one straight after the show, as is my want. thirsty work. talking for three hours. talking of which, i'll be back three till 6 pm. tomorrow. up next, though, is dewbs& co. hope you've enjoyed the show today. lee anderson was certainly on form. what he didn't say isn't worth repeating. look back on the youtube player. i'll be back at 3:00 tomorrow on martin

daubney. on gb news. now your weather is andy shuttleworth . weather is andy shuttleworth. >> looks like things are heating up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb 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 will 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, 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 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 or break up across central areas, though across the east coast it will likely linger through much of the day. probably a bit of a cloudier 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. but by. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather

at that. also, keir starmer, quite frankly everyone, i think we're all in the wrong job. if we're all in the wrong job. if we were him, we'd been able to have bagged £100,000 worth of freebies. what's going on? do the labour party not understand optics? why is sue gray advising

them? she now apparently even earns more than the prime minister. goodness gracious me , minister. goodness gracious me, what a mess. also, when it comes to abortion, where are you on buffer zones? they will soon come into play. do you support that or not? also, the amount of avoiding jail. it repulses me and i know it will do many of you too. so now is it time for mandatory jail sentences for these people? and i would go a step further. chemical castration to . all that and castration to. all that and more. but first o'clock. first at 6:00 news headlines . at 6:00 news headlines. >> good evening. i'm sophia wenzler with your headlines just after 6:00. first to the middle east, where another wave of explosions have wounded hundreds of people in beirut. it's understood that handheld radios have been targeted in the latest attacks in lebanon, rather than pages. it comes as hezbollah has

launched rockets at israel, marking