>> good afternoon britain. it's 12:00 on wednesday the 25th of september. i'm emily carver and i'm tom harwood live at the labour party conference, where a union led vote has just in a non—binding way, called on the government to ditch its planned cuts to winter fuel allowance. >> more as we get it. >> more as we get it. >> thank you very much indeed. and leave lebanon now. the prime minister demands brits evacuate immediately as the conflict in the middle east escalates and yet another labour donation blunder. the prime minister accepted accommodation worth over £20,000 from guess who.7 lord over £20,000 from guess who? lord alli asked why starmer said it was to help his teenage son peacefully study for his gcses. has he not heard of a library and met badge outrage? metropolitan police officers have been banned from wearing a badge that commemorates hero cops killed in the line of duty.

why and he's back. philip schofield is set to make an unexpected return to television 16 months after exiting itv over his widely reported affair scandal . scandal. well, tom, you're at the labour party conference. it's the last day. keir starmer is no longer there, but people are voting against his policies. >> yes, it's a controversial move, emily. this vote was originally meant to take place on monday when, for convenient scheduling reasons, it was announced that there was simply not time to have this vote earlier on in the conference. a lot of unions cried foul play at that. clearly, the idea from those that organised the conference is they didn't want this embarrassment to take place earlier, to take place on monday

ahead of the prime minister's speech. it's easier for the labour party to take this non—binding vote on the wednesday when the prime minister has already jetted off to new york, when a lot of people have already left this conference, they left this until the last possible minute to hold this vote. why? well, it was inevitable they lost it. >> they can sweep it under the carpet. perhaps we shall see if there's any impact to this vote. non—binding, you say, but it could cause quite the stir . could cause quite the stir. thank you very much indeed. tom harwood. we'll catch up with you in a little bit. please do get in a little bit. please do get in touch at home. i want to get your thoughts on this winter fuel payment vote. keir starmer wasn't there to see it through. he had already disappeared off to the united states . also, your to the united states. also, your view on this £20,000 of accommodation that keir starmer has taken as a freebie, apparently because his son needed to revise in a peaceful environment, is that peaceful environment, is that peaceful environment an £18 million penthouse in central london? very odd indeed. but get your

thoughts in gbnews.com/yoursay. let's have the news headlines with tatiana . with tatiana. >> emily, thank you and good afternoon. the top stories. a motion calling for labour to reverse its cut to the winter fuel allowance has been backed by party conference members in a blow to sir keir starmer , say blow to sir keir starmer, say the winter fuel save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel . that fuel, save the winter fuel. that was the unite union members chanting against it early this morning. and while there's no binding, there's nothing binding about the vote. it puts further pressure on labour over its decision to take away the benefit from millions of pensioners. the motion was put forward by the unite union, which has accused the government of embarking on austerity. mark two whilst it's a step in the right direction, unite union's general secretary sharon graham told gb news the vote should have happened sooner. >> well, look , i think this vote >> well, look, i think this vote should have happened on tuesday.

i mean, the vote was down under the economy debate on tuesday and i think it is disrespectful to the issue that we weren't heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on under the economy debate. look, the reality here is that they're going to have to reverse this allowance in terms of putting it back into the pockets of pensioners, and we're asking them to do that. i disagree with what the prime minister is saying on this. i'm really glad we've got a labour government. i think britain is better off with a labour government. but on this issue it is a huge misstep and he needs to change what he has done. and i think the country out there is not really what happensin out there is not really what happens in this hall that's important. it's what's happening there in the real world. they are furious about it. >> the health secretary has told the labour party conference on its fourth and final day that the nhs is letting people down, as he also promised to defend it as he also promised to defend it as a public service. wes streeting says we can only build recovery with reform, as he vowed to make the health service fairer. >> i know the doctor's diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear, but if you do not have an accurate diagnosis, you will not provide the correct

prescription. and when you put protecting the reputation of the nhs above, protecting patients, you are not helping the nhs. you are killing it with kindness. so i say respectfully but unequivocally i will not back down. the nhs is broken, but it is not beaten and together we will turn it around . will turn it around. >> in other news, the prime minister has suggested he accepted £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his gcses while his family home was besieged by journalists dunng home was besieged by journalists during the election campaign. sir keir defended his decision to take gifts from labour peer lord alli amid criticism, saying he was not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong. and he also said the freebies didn't cost the taxpayer a penny. but sir keir signalled he could continue to accept hospitality from donors, saying it was a matter of judgement for individual mps. he also said the

transition to downing street had been really difficult. his two children, who were previously raised in north london. the prime minister's told britons in lebanon to leave immediately as around 700 uk troops are deployed to cyprus to oversee an emergency evacuation. it says. sir keir starmer is in new york for the un general assembly . for the un general assembly. warning sirens sounded in tel aviv this morning as a missile was intercepted by air defence systems after it was detected crossing from lebanon. that coming from israel's military. no injuries or casualties have been reported. terror group hezbollah has confirmed it launched a rocket targeting mossad headquarters near israel's capital. hezbollah says the mossad is responsible for assassinating leaders and blowing up pagers and walkie talkies in lebanon, a claim which has been denied by the israeli president. sir keir starmer says the government are

ramping up the contingency plans in light of the escalation, with fears growing of all out war between israel and hezbollah. more than 500 people, including women and children, have been killed in the past 24 hours. sir keir starmer says benjamin netanyahu's criticism of the uk government's decision to suspend some arms export licences to israel, amid concerns they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law, is wrong. the prime minister rejected his israeli counterparts accusation that the move had been misguided. he described israel as a very important ally and said he'd long respected and supported its right to self—defence, but said britain had to comply with international rules. the new labour government has suspended about 30 out of a total of 350 arms export licences to israel, after a uk assessment suggested they could be used to breach international rules . the police international rules. the police memorial trust has unveiled a specially commissioned memorial

stone dedicated to the memory of police sergeant matt ruttner of the metropolitan police service. sergeant ruttner, a new zealand born british police officer, was shot and killed in croydon custody centre in london in 2020. the officer was nearing retirement, having served 30 years in the police. louis de soysa opened fire at the croydon custody suite. de soysa, whose autistic had earlier been arrested and searched but officers had failed to find the gun.the officers had failed to find the gun. the 26 year old had in an underarm holster despite discovering bullets in his pocket . phillip schofield has pocket. phillip schofield has announced he will return to television 16 months after his departure from itv's this morning. the former tv star will appear on a channel five special called castaway. in a post on instagram, he said now you know how i spent my summer alone for ten days. no food, no water, no crew. he then goes on to say my

story of survival, both on a desert island and off it. the 62 year old resigned from itv last may after he admitted to an unwise but not illegal affair with a younger male colleague . with a younger male colleague. and a new weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the met office, which could cause further widespread flooding and travel disruption. the yellow warning has been issued for much of england and wales, apart from north wales, parts of the west midlands and the north west of england. between 5 pm. tomorrow and 10 am. on friday. the met office says there is some uncertainty in the details of this warning, but some areas could see up to 30mm of rain in 2 to 3 hours. it's in addition to the yellow rain warning, which was previously issued for tomorrow, lasting all day and covering much of the north east of england . and those are the england. and those are the latest gb news headlines for now. i'm tatiana sanchez, more from me in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news

alerts by scanning the qr code , alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . slash alerts. >> well good afternoon britain. it is now 12:10 and we'll start with that. breaking news. in the last few minutes. the labour party delegates have voted to reverse the proposed cuts to the winter fuel payment. that would affect millions of pensioners. the result is non—binding but will still come as a blow. perhaps a bit of a humiliation for sir keir starmer, who's already been accused of losing control of his party. just a few months after winning a landslide in july's general election. well, let's go live to liverpool now and speak to gb news political correspondent olivia utley. who's there for us? olivia this is quite a humiliating moment, i suppose, for the prime minister >> well, it absolutely is. the conference began badly for keir

starmer. there was an opinion poll out on the eve of the conference showing that his popularity rating is now lower than rishi sunak's —26 points to rishi sunak's minus 25. and it has ended very badly indeed with this symbolic vote by labour members to reverse the removal of winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners, two of the biggest unions, the eu and unite, teamed up together to make this vote happen. it's symbolic, it doesn't really matter in terms of policy. keir starmer can still go ahead with the cut and it very much sounds as though he's going to go on a media round this morning. he refused four times to apologise to pensioners and again and again him and his cabinet are digging their heels in and saying this is a necessary , saying this is a necessary, unpopular action, but necessary action because of the mess that the conservatives left labour and he talked again about that alleged £22 billion black hole. but as you say, emily, it does begin to suggest that keir

starmer is sort of losing control of his party, which is a bizarre thing to be saying just two months after such a big general election victory. i think the problem for keir starmer is that although labour won with this enormous majority. keir starmer's own popularity ratings were never particularly high. labour seem to be popular, partly because the conservatives were so unpopular, and that means that labour mps and labour members don't really feel a sense of gratitude to keir starmer himself. they don't feel as though he is responsible for their election victory, and that means that they don't have that much loyalty to him. and so something like this vote today was able to happen. it doesn't really mean anything concrete in the short term, but i think it is a bit of a blow for keir starmer's authority very, very early on in his premiership. >> and olivia, it does not look at all like rachel reeves and keir starmer are going to budge on this one centimetre. keir starmer on the media around refusing to apologise to

pensioners who will be impacted by this. this policy is going nowhere . nowhere. >> this policy is going nowhere. absolutely. i mean, there has been so much pressure for weeks and weeks now on the labour party to reverse this decision, both from inside parliament and of course, from the unions, some of course, from the unions, some of whom are, you know, help fund the labour party and labour still hasn't moved. i think if it was going to move, it would have moved already. the only potential chance that rachel reeves and keir starmer change their minds over this is if this turns out to be a really, really cold winter. and already we know that ofgem is increasing the price cap, the energy price cap, so people's bills will go up if it turns into a really, really cold winter. that could be politically very difficult for the prime minister and the chancellor. so perhaps we might see some movement in a few months time. but for the time being it very much seems, as you say, no apology at all, as though the chancellor and the prime minister are going to stick to their guns on this. >> well, thank you very much

indeed. >> well, thank you very much indeed . olivia utley, our indeed. olivia utley, our political correspondent outside the conference hall there in liverpool. now this all comes against the backdrop of sir keir starmer, who is embroiled in yet another freebie scandal. he's claimed he accepted £20,000 in donations towards accommodation. he says. sir keir starmer says that he had to do this £18 million penthouse, courtesy of lord alli, so that his son could study for his gcse undisturbed in a peaceful environment. let's take a listen. >> beginning of the election, which we didn't know when it's going to be called . my boy, 16, going to be called. my boy, 16, was in the middle of his gcses. i made him a promise a promise that he would be able to get to his school , that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams without being disturbed . we had lots of being disturbed. we had lots of journalists outside our house where we lived and i'm not complaining about that, that's fine, but if you're a 16 year old trying to do your gcses and it's your one chance in life, i promised him we would move

somewhere we'd get out of that house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying. somebody then offered me accommodation where we could do that, and i took it up and it was the right thing to do for my boy. >> well, we can now discuss this further with gb news tom harwood. tom thank you very much indeed.thank harwood. tom thank you very much indeed. thank you. this is quite extraordinary , actually. £20,000 extraordinary, actually. £20,000 luxury accommodation courtesy of lord alli. of course, everyone's favourite labour peer and donor, because his son needed to study in a peaceful environment . in a peaceful environment. >> yes. it's strange, isn't it? when i did my gcse, i didn't necessarily need an £18 million luxury apartment complex in covent garden to do so. but clearly keir starmer is 16 year old son did. that's the view of the now prime minister, he says that there were too many

journalists camped outside the house where he normally lives, and needed to find alternative accommodation that makes sense to some extent. of course you would not want to be disturbed by hordes of journalists outside a house. the question mark, however, comes with regard to the scale of this accommodation. the cost of this accommodation, could they really find no other place than an £18 million luxury apartment complex that was worth £20,000 for the period of time in which it was stayed? but also it's interesting to note that the stay wasn't just for the penod the stay wasn't just for the period of the gcse exam timetable. it carried on for almost a month after gcses finished, which does raise a question mark over this explanation . explanation. >> and tom, as far as we know, the whole family were staying there in this luxury penthouse apartment. they put it down in

their declaration as about £20,000 worth of accommodation. i mean, you say it's reasonable to look for another accommodation if journalists are disrupting. has he not heard of a library ? a library? >> well, yes. you would have thought that there were many other options other than one of the most exclusive and expensive addresses in london, right at the heart of covent garden. i've seen some of the pictures inside this accommodation, and it is really quite lavish now that is a question mark. did did this scale of luxury? was that particularly necessary? these will be questions that are asked of keir starmer and this excuse about gcses. well i mean why then did the family need the whole family need to stay there. why did they need to stay there after the period of time at which gcses ended? and we're also hearing that this

particular luxury penthouse was where keir starmer watched the election results as well. it seems it goes far deeper than the particular circumstances of keir starmer's son. so there are question marks being made over whether or not the particular issue of gcse revision was really the reason behind the necessity of this £18 million penthouse accommodation , like it penthouse accommodation, like it was just a luxury stay for the family that they were offered. >> but i think the difficulty here politically is, well, one of the issues is that it seems to be fine for keir starmer to pay to be fine for keir starmer to pay for privilege for his son, but not okay for parents to pay with money that they've earned for their children to use the independent sector. the private sector, for their schooling . sector, for their schooling. >> that is an excellent point, emily. of course, there are many, many children who are

doing their gcses and have been over the last couple of years who have far more disturbance at their family home, who have far fewer quiet places to stay, who share rooms or don't have study space, or all the rest of it . it space, or all the rest of it. it is a question mark in terms of why the prime minister needed an £18 million mansion, £20,000 worth of that for the time penod worth of that for the time period in which it was stayed in at the heart of london, in covent garden. it is a question mark there as to why that was so necessary, especially at a time when sir keir starmer is taking away the right of many people on more moderate incomes to send their children to the independent sector by increasing bills by 20% there. it also raises a question mark over whether or not keir starmer paid for his own fuel bills, when they're, of course, at the labour party conference here. we've just had a motion passed condemning the government for

their decision to remove winter fuel payments from pensioners, and it really does sort of show the comparison there , where the the comparison there, where the prime minister is not paying for his own accommodation, is likely not paying for his own fuel, and at the same time making this decision to withdraw this benefit from millions of pensioners . pensioners. >> yes, it does sound as though he's happy to accept privilege if he doesn't have to pay for it. if he's not the person who earned the money to pay for it. anyway. tom, while i've got you, we are going to be catching up with christopher hope, who is in the united states with the prime minister. but tom, just tell us, what is keir starmer doing in new york? >> well, it's the unga annual event that's the un general assembly. keir starmer will be making a speech at the united nafions making a speech at the united nations headquarters in new york, meeting with many world leaders. there and it comes just as labour party conference. i

must say, in the last two minutes, has concluded. i've just been hearing in the background emily, the annual rendition of the people's flag. the people's flag is deepest red. it's our martyrs dead that was being sung, followed by jerusalem. so it's been a nice little background. i'm not sure if you've been able to hear it, but while we've been talking, there's been this little serenading from just beyond the camera. a nice little serenade of jerusalem in the background. >> lovely stuff. thank you very much indeed, tom, and thank you for covering the labour party conference so well for us on this show. we'll catch up with you later, now for more reaction . you later, now for more reaction. i am joined by gb news senior political commentator nigel nelson. nigel, thank you very much indeed forjoining me on the show. this £20,000 of accommodation from lord alli because his son needed somewhere peaceful to study . nigel, can peaceful to study. nigel, can you justify that one for us? >> look, i appreciate emily. the

opfics >> look, i appreciate emily. the optics on this are not terribly good on the basis. >> they're not terribly good. they're terrible . they're terrible. >> especially after £100,000 worth of freebies that keir starmer previously took up. so i think that the justification is the one that the prime minister gave. i'm sure if wajid ali had had a three bed semi spare, the prime minister and his son would have been quite happy to have used that. >> nigel, what evidence do you have to suggest that? >> well, what i'm saying is that that that if you're offered a place by a very rich person which is worth £18 million, i'm just suggesting that maybe wajid ali didn't have that spare three bed semi that they could have used instead. >> oh, come off it . >> oh, come off it. >> well, what i'm saying is that that was what was offered. that's what he took. now i'm not actually defending all this because i think that there is a real problem with the various

things that keir starmer did take. however, we should make some distinctions here that when it comes to hospitality, i'm not too bothered about that . the too bothered about that. the free football tickets, for instance, i don't think are a major problem. i do think that any mp, whoever they are, should avoid taking expensive gifts, and i think that was the bit. the clothes and the glasses were the real problem. and it's quite right that keir starmer should say right. i realise i made a bit of a mistake there. on the bafis bit of a mistake there. on the basis of that, i won't be taking any more, but why should we even believe this weird justification that it was because his son needed somewhere peaceful to study in the run up to his gcse? >> because we can look at the detail of this donation that's been declared, this accommodation , and it lasted far accommodation, and it lasted far longer than the period of the gcse. yes, yes. >> and i'm not i'm not defending what happened here except that that i do, i do take into account keir starmer as a

parent. his explanation for what he did that obviously slightly cunous he did that obviously slightly curious situation. it's not like the rest of us, that he's got journalists right outside his home. it is incredibly disruptive. i've been one of those journalists. so i know how disruptive it can be for families. so it's okay for him. >> it's okay for him to take donations to improve the life of his child, to privilege his child. but then parents who save up and work hard and try to earn and make the decision to send their children through the private school system are going to be taxed for that choice. do you see how it smacks of hypocrisy ? it's one rule for hypocrisy? it's one rule for keir starmer when it comes to his children. they need the very best. he needs to study in peace. in this £18 million penthouse. he couldn't possibly do that in a library like everyone else or at home in his own room. but then, you know, parents who are saving up and sending their children to private schools, they get

hammered . hammered. >> no, i take the point that there will be kids all over the country who had to do their revision on the kitchen table, and they'll not be best pleased kitchen table, revision on the kitchen table, and they'll not be best pleased about seeing this. i think when about seeing this. i think when we when we come to the, to the we when we come to the, to the vat on private school fees, vat on private school fees, we're talking about something we're talking about something different here. what was the different here. what was the danger of all this is? we're danger of all this is? we're confusing what the various confusing what the various things keir starmer has done, things keir starmer has done, and some of which he shouldn't and some of which he shouldn't have done with government have done with government policy. now the point about the policy. now the point about the private school fees, the private school fees, the question here is, is it right question here is, is it right that the taxpayer subsidises that the taxpayer subsidises other people's choices? i think other people's choices? i think people should be able to spend people should be able to spend their money exactly as they their money exactly as they wish. however, i don't expect wish. however, i don't expect the taxpayer to subsidise that. the taxpayer to subsidise that. that's why if you're you're that's why if you're you're paying that's why if you're you're paying private school fees , you paying that's why if you're you're paying private school fees , you paying private school fees, you ought to pay full whack. there's paying private school fees, you ought to pay full whack. there's no sign . with school fees going no sign . with school fees going no sign. with school fees going up 55% in real terms. no sign. with school fees going up 55% in real terms. >> it's interesting that you say >> it's interesting that you say not taxing something is akin to not taxing something is akin to a subsidy . i a subsidy . i

not taxing something is akin to a subsidy. i would i would not taxing something is akin to a subsidy. i would i would disagree with you fundamentally on that. but nigel, we'll have to leave it there because we've come to the end of our allotted time. but thank you very much indeed. nigel nelson, gb news senior political commentator. thank you very much.

senior political commentator. thank you upped1uch. t w" senior political commentator. thank you upped the. t w" senior political commentator. thank you upped the ante t w" hezbollah upped the ante overnight by firing its first ballistic missile at tel aviv, which in military terms is quite an escalation, the israelis today have responded by continuing their, aerial attacks against hezbollah targets in lebanon, meanwhile , there are an lebanon, meanwhile, there are an estimated 10,000 british, subjects in lebanon who must be thinking whether they should stay or leave . the foreign stay or leave. the foreign office guidance is to go now , office guidance is to go now, and starmer and the british government are putting together an evacuation force in cyprus, i've actually been evacuated from lebanon in the past, and that that's the tide and the tried and tested route to get out of beirut to safety. and it takes about an hour. so, hopefully that's all in place, depending on how this, this very dynamic situation unfolds.

>> and from your understanding, what is israel's main goal here? to completely take out hezbollah, all its operatives , hezbollah, all its operatives, all its military centres and the like ? like? >> well, certainly what they what the israelis want to do is that what he wants is to secure the btheer and get, those that what he wants is to secure the btheer and gywantose that what he wants is to secure the btheer and gywant toe that what he wants is to secure the btheer and gywant to do is what the israelis want to do is stop hezbollah attacking israel. stop hezbollah attacking israel. and this all started after the and this all started after the october the 7th attacks. october the 7th attacks. hezbollah's an ally of hamas in hezbollah's an ally of hamas in gaza and the south. and after gaza and the south. and after after israel launched its after israel launched its retaliation against hamas in retaliation against hamas in gaza , hezbollah in support of gaza , hezbollah in support of gaza, hezbollah in support of gaza, hezbollah in support of hamas , started firing at israel. hamas , started firing at israel. hamas, started firing at israel. this has meant that an estimated hamas, started firing at israel. this has meant that an estimated 60,000 israelis have been forced 60,000 israelis have been forced to flee their homes in northern to flee their homes in northern israel. this has been going on israel. this has been going on for nearly a year, as i said. for nearly a year, as i said. and, israeli prime minister and, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared benjamin netanyahu has declared that what he wants is to secure that what he wants is to secure the border and get, those the border and get, those

israelis back into their homes. that that is basically the stated objective of the israelis. but big questions remain about whether this is doable. hezbollah is a very well established presence in southern lebanon. it's very well armed. it's got 60,000 fighters estimated at. so this is a big challenge . so, the problem challenge. so, the problem really for the israelis is this doable? but at the moment, really for the israelis is this doable? but at the moment , the doable? but at the moment, the main the main issue for the israelis is to stop hezbollah firing these missiles . and we'll firing these missiles. and we'll have to see if that works. >> and is hezbollah stronger and more determined than some may have thought or predicted ? have thought or predicted? >> well, it certainly seems the case.i >> well, it certainly seems the case. i mean , i when i was in case. i mean, i when i was in beirut in the 80s, hezbollah first appeared and it was a very small organisation, today it's got, as i said, between 50 and

60,000 fighters. it's got about 100,000 missiles. it's supported by iran. iran sends regular shipments of arms through syria to southern lebanon. so basically, this is iran's front line in its war against israel . line in its war against israel. and the iranians are watching this very closely. and will be

and the iranians are watching this very closely. and wil good >> emily, thank you and good afternoon. the top stories, the motion calling for to labour reverse its cut to the winter fuel allowance has been backed by party conference members. in a blow to sir keir starmer to save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel , save the winter winter fuel, save the winter fuel. winter fuel, save the winter fuel . now, while there's nothing fuel. now, while there's nothing binding about the vote, it puts fuel. now, while there's nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on labour over further pressure on labour over its decision to take away the its decision to take away the benefit from millions of benefit from millions of pensioners. the motion was put pensioners. the motion was put forward by the trade union forward by the trade union unite, which has accused the unite, which has accused the government of embarking on government of embarking on austerity. mark two whilst it's austerity. mark two whilst it's austerity. mark two whilst it's a step in the right direction. austerity. mark two whilst it's a step in the right direction. unite union's general secretary unite union's general secretary sharon graham, told gb news the sharon graham, told gb news the what. now, while there's nothing vote should have happened 5001191“. 5001191. vote should have happened 5001191'. >> soonen >> well, look , i think this vote >> soonen >> well, look , i think this vote >> well, look, i think this vote should have happened on tuesday. >> well, look, i think this vote should have happened on tuesday. i mean, the vote was down under i mean, the vote was down under the economy debate on tuesday the economy debate on tuesday and i think it is disrespectful and i think it is disrespectful to the issue that we weren't to the issue that we weren't heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on under the economy debate. look, under the economy debate. look, the reality here is that they're the reality here is that they're going to have to reverse this going to have to reverse this allowance in terms of putting it allowance in terms of putting it back into the pockets of back into the pockets of pensioners, and we're asking pensioners, and we're asking

them to do that. i disagree with them to do that. i disagree with what the prime minister is saying on this. i'm really glad we've got a labour government. i think britain is better off with a labour government. but on this issue it is a huge misstep and he needs to change what he has done. and i think the country out there is not really what happensin out there is not really what happens in this hall that's important. it's what's happening there in the real world. they are furious about it. >> well, in the last few moments, we have heard that labour has reaffirmed its decision to cut the winter fuel payment after those party delegates voted for the government to reverse the move. and i'll have more on that in the next hour. the health secretary has told the labour party conference the nhs is letting people down, as he also promised to defend it as a pubuc promised to defend it as a public service. wes streeting says we can only build recovery with reform, as he vowed to make the health service fairer. >> i know the doctor's diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear, but if you don't have an accurate diagnosis , you will not accurate diagnosis, you will not provide the correct prescription. and when you put protecting the reputation of the

launched a rocket targeting mossad headquarters near israel's capital. hezbollah says the mossad is responsible for assassinating leaders and blowing up pages in walkie talkies. in lebanon, a claim which has been denied by the israeli president. sir keir starmer says the government are ramping up the contingency plans in light of the escalation , with in light of the escalation, with fears growing of all out war between israel and hezbollah. more than 500 people, including women and children, have been killed in the past 24 hours and those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm tatiana sanchez. more from me in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . forward slash alerts. >> welcome back to good afternoon britain. it is now 1234. now yesterday the prime

minister announced a bold new housing plan to ensure that veterans, young care leavers and domestic abuse victims are guaranteed a roof over their heads. now the initiative promised to end local residency rules for social housing, though critics warn that a lack of homes could undermine the pledge. okay well, joining me now is gb news political correspondent , katherine correspondent, katherine forster. catherine, considering the number of veterans who are sadly living on our streets, who are without a home, who are sofa surfing and are living in temporary accommodation, this is a big promise. >> yes, indeed. good afternoon . >> yes, indeed. good afternoon. emily, this new government is making a lot of pledges. making a lot of plans. a lot of them are very controversial. they're upsetting plenty of people with things like the cuts to the winter fuel allowance. but this announcement, i think, is one of the few that will have broad consensus and broad support. sir keir starmer yesterday in his first speech as prime minister

to conference, saying that veterans and young care leavers and also domestic abuse victims would be prioritised for social housing. he says that there will be homes for heroes, those were his words. so at the moment, often you have to prove a local connection to qualify and a lot of veterans fall down on that. and as you said , emily, an awful and as you said, emily, an awful lot of the people that tragically end up homeless on our streets are indeed veterans, men and women who have served this country very bravely, you know, taken the ultimate risk and often they have terrible post—traumatic stress disorder , post—traumatic stress disorder, mental health issues. they turn to drink or whatever, and they find themselves ultimately on the streets, i think 80% of

homeless veterans, left the military five years ago or more . military five years ago or more. and that's the point at which you've got to prove a local connection. so this should make a difference. and it has been broadly welcomed and help for heroes who, of course, support our veterans . say, however, that our veterans. say, however, that homelessness is rarely an issue that occurs in isolation because of course, often there's mental health issues , there's other health issues, there's other issues going alongside it. and of course , although the of course, although the charities are working with domestic abuse victims, with veterans with care , leavers have veterans with care, leavers have been supportive of this. the fact of the matter is they're saying, you know, it's all very well saying this, but there simply is a huge shortage of houses for social housing. shelter, for example, is saying >> well, you know, traditionally the consersocialparty >> well, you know, traditionally the conser social housing. houses for social housing. shelter, for example, is saying that the government needs to we that the government needs to we

need to have another 90,000 need to have another 90,000 houses available for social rent houses available for social rent every year for the next ten every year for the next ten years to begin to meet, meet years to begin to meet, meet every year for the next ten years to begin to meet , meet the years to begin to meet, meet the demand for social housing. so a every year for the next ten years to begin to meet , meet the years to begin to meet, meet the demand for social housing. so a great pledge, but how it's going great pledge, but how it's going to happen and how soon it's to happen and how soon it's going to happen. well, that's going to happen. well, that's another question entirely , isn't another question entirely , isn't another question entirely, isn't it, really? another question entirely, isn't it, really? >> catherine, that we don't have >> catherine, that we don't have adequate supplies of social adequate supplies of social housing just waiting to be taken housing just waiting to be taken up housing just waiting to be taken ”p by housing just waiting to be taken up by veterans or domestic abuse up housing just waiting to be taken ”p by housing just waiting to be taken up by veterans or domestic abuse victims or care leavers and the victims or care leavers and the like that is the issue for the like that is the issue for the government. they need to have government. they need to have more housing if they're going to more housing if they're going to supply it to these types of supply it to these types of people. and then of course, people. and then of course, you've got the additional you've got the additional pressure of recent immigration pressure of recent immigration as well to look for housing for as well to look for housing for all of those numbers . catherine, all of those numbers . catherine, all of those numbers. catherine, the conservatives have come out, all of those numbers. catherine, the conservatives have come out, tom tugendhat and he said, well, tom tugendhat and he said, well, labour can't be trusted on labour can't be trusted on veterans because they got rid of veterans because they got rid of the veterans minister in the veterans minister in cabinet. is that fair ? cabinet. is that fair we cabinet. is that fair? >> well, you know , traditionally

>> well, you know, traditionally the conservative party

look, i know i'm sorry. often we haven't, you know, done well enough by you and even serving armed forces often the military accommodation they're being put in is really, really substandard. so yes, the conservatives will point their fingers at labour. but i have to say the tory record on this, isn't fabulous either. >> well, thank you very much indeed. katherine forster, our political correspondent there in liverpool outside the labour conference, we're going to move on because a memorial for police sergeant matt ratner is being unveiled today. he was shot and killed at croydon custody centre on the 25th of september, 2020. now, the new zealand born officer had nearly 30 years of service and was nearing retirement at the time. well, gb news national reporter charlie peters joins us now. charlie, please do tell us. >> it was a moving and solemn ceremony that we had here at the

croydon custody centre, just closing in the last hour. croydon custody centre, just closing in the last hour . emily. closing in the last hour. emily. and as you said, over 30 years of service in the metropolitan police for sergeant matt ratana killed in the line of duty four years ago today at this custody suite, he moved to this location having worked in boroughs across the country's capital, because he thought that the custody suite would be a safe place to end his career. and approach his retirement. it wasn't to be, as he was shot in the heart by someone who was being processed and arrested for possession of cannabis at around 1 am. four years ago today. that man, now serving a whole life order in prison. he will never be released. but today was about remembering the man who was killed, remembering a man who was known as a larger than life colleague within the metropolitan police. now, just to my right to some of the wreaths that were laid moments

ago . one tribute to him saying ago. one tribute to him saying rest in peace , brother. and just rest in peace, brother. and just to the left of that wreath is the tribute from sir mark rowley , the tribute from sir mark rowley, the tribute from sir mark rowley, the commissioner of the metropolitan police, who said thank him. he was thanking him for his service. he spoke movingly earlier today but after the commissioner spoke, we also heard from matt's son, himself a police officer in the police in australia. he came here to deliver a tribute to his father , deliver a tribute to his father, saying that matt ratana was a brave officer and this memorial that had been unveiled represents several sides of what it means to be a police officer . it means to be a police officer. >> this stone, with its double sided design, reflects that reflects that sided design, reflects that duality to the public. one one duality to the public. one one side stands as a reminder of the side stands as a reminder of the sacrifices made in their service . sacrifices made in their service . sacrifices made in their service. but for the officers driving in sacrifices made in their service. but for the officers driving in into and out of this place, it's into and out of this place, it's a personal reminder of the risks a personal reminder of the risks

that we are, that we are faced that we are, that we are faced with, and the camaraderie that with, and the camaraderie that sustains us as well. sustains us as well. >> matt ratana had previously >> matt ratana had previously worked in the royal protection worked in the royal protection department for the queen mother department for the queen mother and also diana, the princess of and also diana, the princess of wales. his career was wales. his career was commemorated today. his heroism commemorated today. his heroism and his front line service. we and his front line service. we also got to speak to one of his also got to speak to one of his former colleagues, inspector former colleagues, inspector chris excel, who told us what chris excel, who told us what today meant to him . today meant to him . today meant to him. >> it kind of applies to both, today meant to him. >> it kind of applies to both, you know, our our lives inside you know, our our lives inside and outside the job. but but and outside the job. but but matt said , in his in his address matt said , in his in his address matt said, in his in his address matt said, in his in his address to the rugby club. you know, to the rugby club. you know, whatever your talent, skill set, whatever your talent, skill set, whatever your talent, skill set, whatever your talent, skill set, whatever your background , whatever your talent, skill set, whatever your talent, skill set, whatever your background , whatever your background, there's a place for you here, whatever your background, there's a place for you here, and that resonated with me and that resonated with me because when i started out in because when i started out in the job, he that that was that the job, he that that was that was what he personified is that was what he personified is that there was a place for everyone. there was a place for everyone. and he nurtured and engaged and he nurtured and engaged everybody. and that would be the everybody. and that would be the really the most endearing memory really the most endearing memory that i have of him . that i have of him . that i have of him. >> sergeant matt ratana is the that i have of him. >> sergeant matt ratana is the

first police officer to have been killed in a custody suite, and he was the first police officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty since 2012. we heard from many of the speakers this morning that while there are so many memorials for the soldiers, sailors and airmen who defend the united kingdom, all too often people overlook the service and the sacrifice of our police officers, dozens of whom who have died in the line of service. the police memorial trust were also represented here and were involved in the unveiling of this memorial. they said that it was right that sergeant ratana's service and his sacrifice were honoured with this memorial, and that people can come here to remember his service, his sacrifice and what it represents to the metropolitan police , metropolitan police, >> absolutely right. charlie a very sad reminder of just the

risk that our police officers take in their day to day service

or revising at their grandparents wherever to try and get some peace and quiet. not an £18 million penthouse. it does appear as though it's one rule for keir starmer and one rule for keir starmer and one rule for the rest of us, when he's banging on about how private parents who put their children through private school should pay through private school should pay more in tax, whereas he's quite happy to get all the privilege for his son when it matters , and he didn't even pay matters, and he didn't even pay for it. so there you go. go figure. please do keep getting in touch about that one, paula says. so covent garden , one of says. so covent garden, one of the busiest tourist areas in london, gave his son a peaceful place to study. yes, paula, that is what we're to told believe. although presumably, if it's a penthouse, it's far away from any of the, you know, the noise or the riff raff in covent garden. but there you go. this is good afternoon, britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. phillip schofield, he's making a return to television. did anyone want it ?

welcome back to good afternoon britain. it is now 1250 and phillip schofield remember him . phillip schofield remember him. he's set to make a surprising return to television . he's return to television. he's starring in a secretly filmed channel five survival show. there he is on a desert island. by there he is on a desert island. by the looks of things, after a 16 month absence following his rather high profile scandal, the former this morning host will be marooned on a remote island off madagascar for ten days in what promises to be a raw and emotional challenge. well, there you go. i'm joined by showbiz journalist suzanne baume. suzanne, thank you very much indeed. just your thoughts on this. clearly trying to resurrect his career after everything that happened with this morning, is there appetite ? this morning, is there appetite? >> well, look, i've been looking at the news and looking at the social media comments. i think

there's appetite. i think with phillip, if you know , you either phillip, if you know, you either hate him or you like him, there's obviously a lot of the former, from having read even the daily mail comments and the only thing i can think of is channel five are going to be the winners of this, you know, that's a real coup for them to get a show like this. i think it's a little bit like i cover the nicola bulley story, for example, a couple of years ago and channel five then ran the interview with her husband , and interview with her husband, and channel five will be bringing in the viewers. i think you know, people will watch it , and even people will watch it, and even seeing schofield's instagram today, i noticed over 30,000 people have liked his comments. so that's quite a lot of people. so that's quite a lot of people. so i think that is quite a lot of people. >> he still clearly has a lot of fans who are interested in what he's been up to and interested in him telling his story, because that's what it seems to because that's what it seems to

be about, doesn't it? i'm reading that there are already clips that have been shown from this show, where he does address what he went through with all the scandal. >> i think what stuck out for me, he says. i know what i did was wrong, but was it is it enough to destroy someone? that's what the clip shows and i think , no, but that is toxicity think, no, but that is toxicity of social media, of twitter that i've come off because it's just a cesspit of hate . and yes, he a cesspit of hate. and yes, he did wrong, but, you know, just on that point, remind us of exactly what happened, because it was a little time ago now , it was a little time ago now, just to remind our viewers exactly what went down at this morning , is it not on the show morning, is it not on the show now? oh did you want me to remind you? yes. >> please remind. remind us of the of the scandal and why it's such a surprise that we're now seeing him back on the he's

reaction you get, and then he's going on this show. so i do think people are going to watch it. look, he's got 2.7 million followers, which is a lot. i don't think he lost that many. when you know , he left the show when you know, he left the show and was under all this scrutiny. so i think people will watch it. obviously people love a comeback, don't they, suzanne? >> people love a comeback. thank you very much indeed for your time. we'll have to leave it there. suzanne baume, showbiz journalist. thank you very much indeed. phillip schofield's big comeback. are you ready for it? we've got lots more coming up on today's show. don't go anywhere. we are going to be checking in on what's been happening with regards to keir starmer on his trip to the united states. stay tuned for a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on gb. >> news . >> news. >> news. >> hi there and welcome to the latest forecast for gb news from the met office . it's a fine the met office. it's a fine start in the north today, but it is turning increasingly cloudy with outbreaks of rain turning

up from the southwest because low pressure is arriving from the atlantic. that low taking a southward path across the uk. and so it's already turning wet across wales and the southwest. and those outbreaks of rain are steadily moving northeastwards through the day, reaching london and the south—east by the mid—afternoon. parts of northern ireland likewise. meanwhile, northern and some parts of eastern england staying largely dry, with some cloud showers for northern scotland and a cold wind here. and that's where it's going to stay here for the next few days. but further south, where we've got that rain to end things on wednesday, some brighter skies returning to cornwall and devon , but across cornwall and devon, but across much of wales and the midlands into the southeast, it's a damp evening rush hour. northern ireland, parts of northwest england , southwest scotland also england, southwest scotland also seeing the cloud and rain turning up by this stage. but

northern scotland, a mix of bright spells and showers as we go into the evening. now the rain in the south will steadily journey north and then it will tend to stall across northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england, as well as nonh northern england, as well as north wales. overnight, the rain will be heaviest for north east england and it will be accumulating significantly through thursday, with the risk of 80mm in places, particularly over the likes of the north york moors and parts of the pennines . moors and parts of the pennines. that could cause some issues first thing thursday. tricky travel conditions and the risk of localised flooding further south. things do brighten up through thursday morning, but there will be some heavy, potentially thundery showers across the south and southeast in scotland, as well as northern ireland. things do brighten up and we'll see a mixture of sunny spells with some scattered showers in the far

gb. news >> well .

>> well. >> well. >> good afternoon britain. it's 1:00 on wednesday, the 25th of september. i'm emily carver. >> and i'm tom harwood live as been killed in the line of duty. why would they ban such a '.|ing ? september. i'm emily carver. >> and i'm tom harwood live as the labour party conference the labour party conference concludes. concludes. >> fantastic stuff. now leave >> fantastic stuff. now leave lebanon now. the prime minister lebanon now. the prime minister demands brits evacuate demands brits evacuate immediately from the country as immediately from the country as the conflict in the middle east the conflict in the middle east escalates and yet another labour escalates and yet another labour donation blunder. the prime donation blunder. the prime minister, he accepted minister, he accepted accommodation worth over £20,000 accommodation worth over £20,000 from guess who? lord alli asked from guess who? lord alli asked why he did this. starmer said it why he did this. starmer said it was to help his teenage son was to help his teenage son peacefully study for his gcses. peacefully study for his gcses. has he heard of a library and has he heard of a library and met badge outrage? metropolitan met badge outrage? metropolitan police officers have been banned police officers have been banned from wearing a badge that from wearing a badge that commemorates hero cops who have commemorates hero cops who have been killed in the line of duty. been killed in the line of duty. why would they ban such a thing ? why would they ban such a thing ?

been killed in the line of duty. why viministery ban such a thing ? been killed in the line of duty. why viminister hadn such a thing ? been killed in the line of duty. why viminister had left, h a thing ? been killed in the line of duty. why viminister had left, hadthing ? prime minister had left, had left this conference quite so early. >> yes, i think it was all carefully timed , don't you? carefully timed, don't you? thank you very much indeed, tom harwood. we'll catch up with you in a little bit. and in the meantime, please do get in touch at home. gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to do so. i am going to get to some of your comments because lots of you are, let's say, a little enraged about this latest freebie that we're hearing. keir starmer got his hands on gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to get in touch. but first, the news headlines with tatiana sanchez . tatiana sanchez. >> emily. thank you. the top stories labour has reaffirmed its decision to cut the winter fuel payment after party delegates voted for the government to reverse the move to save the winter fuel , save to save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel. while there's nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on labour over its decision to take away the benefit from millions of

pensioners. the motion was put forward by the unite union, which has accused the government of embarking on, quote, austerity. mark two. whilst it's austerity. mark two. whilst it's a step in the right direction, unite unions general secretary sharon graham told gb news the vote should have happened 5001191'. >> soonen >> well, look, i think this vote should have happened on tuesday. i mean, the vote was down under the economy debate on tuesday and i think it is disrespectful to the issue that we weren't heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on under the economy debate. look, the reality here is that they're going to have to reverse this allowance in terms of putting it back into the pockets of pensioners, and we're asking them to do that. i disagree with what the prime minister is saying on this. i'm really glad we've got a labour government. i think britain is better off with a labour government, but on this issue it is a huge misstep and he needs to change what he has done. and i think the country out there is not really what happensin out there is not really what happens in this hall that's important. it's what's happening there in the real world. they are furious about it. >> health secretary wes streeting has told the labour party conference on its fourth and final day. the nhs is letting people down, as he promised to defend it as a

pubuc promised to defend it as a public service. >> i know the doctor's diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear , can sometimes be hard to hear, but if you don't have an accurate diagnosis you will not provide the correct prescription . provide the correct prescription. and when you put protecting the reputation of the nhs above protecting patients, you are not helping the nhs. you are killing it with kindness. so i say it with kindness. so i say respectfully but unequivocally i respectfully but unequivocally i will not back down. the nhs is will not back down. the nhs is broken, but it's not beaten and broken, but it's not beaten and together we will turn it around . together we will turn it around . together we will turn it around. >> in other news, the prime together we will turn it around. >> in other news, the prime minister has suggested he minister has suggested he accepted £20,000 in donations accepted £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise son needed somewhere to revise for his gcses , while his family for his gcses , while his family for his gcses, while his family home was besieged by journalists for his gcses, while his family home was besieged by journalists dunng home was besieged by journalists during the election campaign. dunng home was besieged by journalists during the election campaign. sir keir defended his decision sir keir defended his decision to take gifts from labour peer to take gifts from labour peer lord alli amid criticism, saying lord alli amid criticism, saying he was not going to apologise he was not going to apologise

for not doing anything wrong. for not doing anything wrong. and he also said the freebies and he also said the freebies didn't cost the taxpayer a didn't cost the taxpayer a penny. sir keir signalled he penny. sir keir signalled he could continue to accept could continue to accept hospitality from donors , saying hospitality from donors , saying hospitality from donors, saying it was a matter of judgement for hospitality from donors, saying it was a matter of judgement for individual mps. individual mps. it was a matter of judgement for individual mps . the prime it was a matter of judgement for individual mps . the prime individual mps. the prime minister's told britons in individual mps. the prime minister's told britons in lebanon to leave immediately as lebanon to around 700 uk troops are deployed to cyprus to oversee an emergency evacuation. it says sir keir starmer is in new york for the un general assembly . for the un general assembly. warning sirens sounded in tel aviv this morning as a missile was intercepted by air defence systems after it was detected crossing from lebanon. terror group hezbollah has confirmed it launched a rocket targeting mossad headquarters near israel's capital. hezbollah says the mossad is responsible for assassinating leaders and blowing up pages and walkie talkies in lebanon, a claim which has been denied by the israeli president. sir keir starmer says the government are

ramping up the contingency plans in light of ff so i say

minister's told britons in lebé appear on minister's told britons in lebéappear on a minister's told britons in lebé appear on a five will appear on a channel five special called castaway . in special called castaway. in a post on instagram, he said now you know how i spent my summer alone for ten days? no food, no you know how i spent my summer alone for ten days? no food, no water, no crew. the 62 year old water, no crew. the 62 year old resigned from itv last may after resigned from itv last may after he admitted to a, quote, unwise he admitted to a, quote, unwise but not illegal affair with a but not illegal affair with a younger male colleague and a new younger male colleague and a new weather warning for heavy rain weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the met has been issued by the met office, which could cause office, which could cause further widespread flooding and further widespread flooding and travel disruption. the yellow travel disruption. the yellow warning has been issued for much warning has been issued for much of england and wales, parts of of and wales, parts of the west midlands and the of england and wales, parts of the west midlands and the north—west of england, between 5 north—west of england, between 5 pm. tomorrow and 10 am. on pm. tomorrow and 10 am. on p.m. tomorrow and 10 am. on friday. the met office says p.m. tomorrow and 10 am. on friday. the met there is some uncertainty in the p.m. tomorrow and 10 am. on friday. tsomezt p.m. tomorrow and 10 am. on details of this warning, but friday. tsome uncertainty in the there is some uncertainty in the details of this warning, but some areas could see up to 30mm some areas could see up to 30mm of rain in 2 to 3 hours. and of rain in 2 to 3 hours. and those are the latest gb news those are more from me in an headlines. for now i'm tatiana sanchez. more from me in half an hour for the very latest gb news sanchez. more from me in half an hour for the very latest direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning

the qr code , or go to gbnews.com the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . election i spent summer forward slash alerts. >> okay welcome back. this is good afternoon britain. now as we've been discussing sir keir starmer, he's embroiled in yet another freebie scandal. he accepted £20,000, over £20,000 in donations towards accommodation so that his son apparently could study for his gcses undisturbed. yes, this was all. apparently he took this £20,000 worth of accommodation from lord alli, of course, who else? this penthouse, this £18 million penthouse in covent garden. yes. all because. all so that his son could be undisturbed by the press or any reporters that might be outside his house. he needed to be able to study for his gcses. unperturbed. well, let's take a listen to sir keir starmer's

justification beginning of the

sanchez. more from me in half an hour for the vearen'test sanchez. more from me in half an hour for the vearen't an £18 £20,000, that aren't an £18 million luxury penthouse in the heart of covent garden, the most expensive postcode in the country, one would have thought that perhaps alternative accommodation could be found, but also, i think there's a deeper question here, which is the timing and the dates. the starmer family stayed in this penthouse long beyond the end of gcses, meaning that perhaps this wasn't entirely a gcse related decision. it is of course, interesting to look at the context of all of this. the number of free gifts given by lord alli to the prime minister to his wife, to his top team, to the chancellor, to the deputy leader of the labour party, it all starts to look very curious that this one man is bankrolling the lifestyles of some of the most senior politicians in the country. and it is interesting

also to note that these politicians have now said that they won't be accepting any more free clothes or the like from lord alli or any other donor. that begins to point to the idea that perhaps these politicians know that what they were doing in taking all of this free accommodation, free clothes and gifts was untoward, was was, was not the right thing to do. otherwise why would they have stopped doing it now? >> is there a worry, tom, that so many of our senior labour politicians, including the prime minister, almost appear to be reliant on this one labour peer, this one labour donor , for so this one labour donor, for so much of their lifestyle ? much of their lifestyle? >> yes. it's strange, isn't it, that this wasn't a taking donations from across the board from many different donors. as you might see in the united states , this was entirely, as states, this was entirely, as you say, reliant on one donor

for so much of the lifestyle, the clothes, the accommodation and everything else of these senior politicians . perhaps it's senior politicians. perhaps it's little wonder that this labour donor got given an exclusive pass to downing street in the early days of this administration, the sort of pass that even senior cabinet ministers don't get. that's the sort of access that has seemingly been bought. now that pass has been handed back. lord alli, we're told, no longer has a pass to downing street. and yet reports after report appears of lord alli having meetings in downing street despite not having that pass any longer. so yes, there are questions about how close this individual is to decision making in this country, how reliant politicians have been upon this individual and what that means for our democracy, what that means for the integrity of the government?

>> yeah, it doesn't really pass the sniff test, in my opinion. >> and in the opinion of many people who are getting in touch with us on the show today, tom, i must say also, we also found out this week didn't we, that keir starmer has paid off his entire mortgage on his £2 million london home, this is very interesting because if correct me if i'm wrong, but he made a little bit of political caphal made a little bit of political capital, didn't he, in the run up to the election, off the back of saying that he understood people's concerns about interest rates? well, does he ? rates? well, does he? >> well, this is a this is a question. of course , because the question. of course, because the labour party was very quick to throw questions of rishi sunak's wealth into the political fray when he became prime minister suggesting that perhaps rishi sunak, as a man of means, didn't understand the trials and tribulations that ordinary people go through day to day trying to live paycheque to paycheque. well, now it turns out that keir starmer doesn't have a mortgage, has a £2

million home, has been staying in luxury apartments that he does not have to pay for, has his clothes bought for him, and indeed , that's all on top of his indeed, that's all on top of his £167,000 salary as prime minister. significant capital gains receipts that he has had through the sale of other land . through the sale of other land. this is a very, very wealthy man. now, there's nothing wrong with being a very wealthy man. he has been incredibly successful. he has been a very successful. he has been a very successful lawyer. he's clearly a very intelligent individual. but the hypocrisy charge is one that stands when the labour party in opposition, made political capital out of attacking the former prime minister over his wealth and is now trying to avoid that precise scrutiny. when the shoe is on the other foot , and also when the other foot, and also when you're seen to want to make life more difficult for parents who decide to send their children to private school . private school. >> but then you're very happy to take donations to give your son

every privilege he needs. an £18 million penthouse stay to revise for his gcses. i mean, that would be nice, wouldn't it ? would be nice, wouldn't it? >> yeah, i think everyone would like the privilege of staying in an £18 million luxury penthouse to have the peace and quiet to revise for gcses. one might suggest that that's more of an advantage than going to a fee paying advantage than going to a fee paying school , advantage than going to a fee paying school, but advantage than going to a fee paying school , but clearly that paying school, but clearly that is another charge of hypocrisy. theidea is another charge of hypocrisy. the idea that the labour party has not been in favour of parents making choices for their own children on the grounds of equality, that is a line we often hear from labour politicians, labour delegates here at the conference. and yet that's precisely what the prime minister is doing not sending his child to a fee paying school. but but through donations , but but through donations, providing privilege to his child in order to have the best chance at the best gcses. >> yes. and i would like to put to the prime minister whether

perhaps he may have , given his perhaps he may have, given his child the privilege of private tutors alongside that state education. we shall see. perhaps we'll find out. i don't know, but tom harwood. thank you very much indeed. outside the conference in liverpool, that has wrapped up in recent minutes, i guess. anyway, in other news, tensions are continuing to increase in the middle east as israel's iron dome is forced to intercept missiles fired by hezbollah after thousands of pages and walkie talkies unexpectedly exploded in lebanon. israel launched its biggest offensive yet on the country . now, yet on the country. now, thousands of british nationals in the area are being told to leave immediately for their safety. well, joining us now is former nato commander and former ministry of defence director general chris parry. chris brits and others being to told evacuate the area as quickly as possible does show how dangerous the region is becoming . the region is becoming. >> well, i think the region's been pretty volatile for some time now and if you're a brit

there, you've been expecting this for some time. i think so, chris. >> you're not surprised by the recent escalation then? >> not at all. i mean , if you >> not at all. i mean, if you bearin >> not at all. i mean, if you bear in mind that 80,000 people in northern israel had to evacuate their homes back in october, they want to get back to their homes. they want a stable northern border. and i think we've discussed before that at some stage, israel is going to have to deal with hezbollah, and they've obviously decided this is the time to do it. >> and how much, in your view, from what you can tell, has >> and how much, in your view, from what you can tell, has israel managed to , weaken israel managed to , weaken israel managed to, weaken israel managed to, weaken hezbollah ? hezbollah ? hezbollah? >> hezbollah is very strong in hezbollah? >> hezbollah is very strong in terms of its material on the terms of its material on the ground. it's got a very good ground. it's got a very good sort of cellular structure sort of cellular structure whereby they can build up whereby they can build up capacity pretty quickly if they capacity pretty quickly if they want to do something, but want to do something, but they're being thoroughly they're being thoroughly disrupted right now by the disrupted right now by the israelis and their technology. israelis and their technology. you mentioned the pages, the you mentioned the pages, the walkie talkies. i'm sure there walkie talkies. i'm sure there are a few other surprises for are a few other surprises for hezbollah as well , the real hezbollah as well , the real

hezbollah as well, the real strength of hezbollah, of hezbollah as well, the real strength of hezbollah, of course , strength of hezbollah, of course, is in its ballistic and, rocket launchers, probably got about 150,000 of those, that could saturate the iron dome and the other defensive measures that israel have got. but i'm sure that israel probably has a plan for those, i think i think israel has made 7 of the

haven't done that. so one of the things we might anticipate is an israeli ground offensive to actually push them back to the litani river, so they can't actually mobilise all those fighters. and we've seen in, in, in gaza that the israelis are capable of doing that. and i suspect that's the next move . suspect that's the next move. >> and unfortunately, there have been a considerable number of civilian casualties , civilian casualties, >> this is a war zone, i visited, beirut back in the 19705 visited, beirut back in the 1970s with the royal navy. i was there when the confrontations were starting in 1983, and it's been pretty belligerent ever since. and i'm afraid to say, if you live there just as you you live on the slopes of a volcano, things are going to happen every now and then. and it's very regrettable. but if you get between two conflicting and contesting powers and then these things are going to happen. >> well, thank you very much indeed, chris parry, for your time. appreciate it . former time. appreciate it. former ministry of defence director general and nato commander,

thank you very much indeed. well, this is good afternoon, britain. we're on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. yes, the winter fuel vote. it didn't go favour labour's decision to scrap those winter

next. well good afternoon britain. it next. well good afternoon britain. it is now 123 now labour party is now 123 now labour party delegates have voted to reverse delegates have voted to reverse the proposed cuts to the winter the proposed cuts to the winter fuel payments that will affect fuel payments that will affect millions of pensioners . now the millions of pensioners . now the millions of pensioners. now the result is non—binding , but it millions of pensioners. now the result is non—binding , but it result is non—binding, but it will still come as quite a blow result is non—binding, but it will still come as quite a blow to sir keir starmer, who's to sir keir starmer, who's already been accused of losing already been accused of losing control of his party just a few control of his party just a few months after winning his months after winning his landslide in july's general landslide in july's general election. now, this is a election. now, this is a difficult one, so you've got difficult one, so you've got keir starmer and rachel reeves keir starmer and rachel reeves who are absolutely adamant that who are absolutely adamant that this is the right policy for this is the right policy for

britain. this is how they're britain. this is how they're going to going to prove that labour can be trusted on the economy. this is how they're going to ensure that that 22 billion financial black hole is

that that 22 billion financial blacito ole is that that 22 billion financial blacito the is that that 22 billion financial blacito the prince of wales, turn to the prince of wales, because he says this year's earthshot prize finalists are the most exciting nominees ever. that was in a video prince william released, where he also unveiled those who had made the shortlist. now our royal correspondent cameron walker has done some digging. he has more. >> i'm delighted to introduce you to this year's 15 new earthshot prize finalists . these earthshot prize finalists. these solutions are some of the most exciting , innovative and exciting, innovative and impactful we've seen and the people behind them are true inspirations. i know you're as passionate as i am about making a difference to our planet, and we can't wait to share their stories with you. >> prince william's unveiled his fourth cohort of earthshot prize finalists, each finding a new solution to repair the planet with an ambition to scale it and tackle what are claimed to be urgent climate challenges. 15 finalists from across the world are now in the running to receive five £1 million prizes, which will be awarded in cape town this november. british finalists douglas martin, who

founded mialgae, offering a sustainable, plant based alternative to fish oil and dimple patel from nature metrics, which uses edna to produce an accurate picture of an area's biodiversity, explains how prince william is having an impact. >> the networks that prince william is able to open and honestly, just to be here and to see the people in the room is a testament to the amount of work that he's put in, is able to really drive forward that conversation. >> if we can do this properly, we can use the right data, we can quantify our impact, and then we can hold people accountable to make sure that we're taking the steps we need to build a greener future. >> the prince of wales started this mission in 2020, keen to turn doom and gloom scaremongering into climate optimism . there are five optimism. there are five categories all earthshot protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste free world and fix our climate. inspired by john f kennedy's moonshot project, achieving the seemingly impossible task to put a man on the moon, prince william wants

to find seemingly impossible solutions to restore the planet he's taking after his father. the king and grandfather, prince philip. as environmentalists and michael bloomberg, who now advises earthshot winners, believes the future king's focus is young people. >> the prince is helping the next generation lead the way by building on his family's long track record of environmental stewardship from transforming food waste into nutritious ingredients to bringing clean energy to rural africa. >> this year's finalists are hoping to make a global impact. the prize ceremony is just weeks away, but that will just be the start of their journey to make that dream into a reality, cameron walker . that dream into a reality, cameron walker. gb that dream into a reality, cameron walker . gb news. cameron walker. gb news. >> well, there we go. this is good afternoon, britain on gb news. now we've got lots more coming up on today's show. that winter fuel payment vote. we will be speaking to an expert on

that very shortly. what does it mean for keir starmer ? has it mean for keir starmer? has it shaken his authority after your headunes shaken his authority after your headlines ? headlines? >> emily thank you. the top stories. labour has reaffirmed its decision to cut the winter fuel payment , after party fuel payment, after party delegates voted for the government to reverse the move to save the winter fuel , save to save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel. while there's nothing nothing fuel. while there's nothing binding about the vote, it puts binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on labour over further pressure on labour over its decision to take away the its decision to take away the benefit from millions of benefit from millions of pensioners. the motion was put pensioners. the motion was put forward by the unite union, forward by the unite union, which has accused the government which has accused the government of embarking on, quote, of embarking on, quote, austerity. mark two. whilst it's austerity. mark two. whilst it's austerity. mark two. whilst it's a step in the right direction, austerity. mark two. whilst it's a step in the right direction, unite unions general secretary unite unions general secretary sharon graham told gb news the sharon graham told gb news the vote should have happened vote should have happened 5001191'. 5001191'. >> soonen >> well, look, i think this vote >> soonen >> well, look, i think this vote should have happened on tuesday. should have happened on tuesday. i mean, the vote was down under i mean, the vote was down under the economy debate on tuesday the economy debate on tuesday and i think it is disrespectful and i think it is disrespectful to the issue that we weren't to the issue that we weren't

heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on under the economy debate. look, under the economy debate. look, the reality here is that they're going to have to reverse this allowance in terms of putting it back into the pockets of pensioners, and we're asking them to do that. i disagree with what the prime minister is saying on this. i'm really glad we've got a labour government. i think britain is better off with a labour government, but on this issue it is a huge misstep and he needs to change what he has done. and i think the country out there is not really what happensin out there is not really what happens in this hall that's important. it's what's happening there in the real world. they are furious about it. >> the health secretary has told the labour party conference on its fourth and final day that the nhs is letting people down, as he promised to defend it as a pubuc as he promised to defend it as a public service. >> i know the doctor's diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear, but if you don't have an accurate diagnosis you will not provide the correct prescription. and when you put protecting the reputation of the nhs above, protecting patients, you are not helping the nhs. you

are killing it with kindness. so i say respectfully but unequivocally, i will not back down. the nhs is broken, but it's not beaten and together we will turn it around. >> phillip schofield has announced he will return to television 16 months after his departure from itv's this morning. the former tv star will appear on a channel five special called castaway. in a post on instagram, he said now

called castaway. in a post on instagram, he said ifori i'm gb news headlines for now. i'm tatiana sanchez. more from me 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

>> well welcome back. it is now 135. now we're going to be catching up with tom harwood, my usual co—host, who is still in liverpool for us at the labour party conference. i want to ask him a little bit about what wes streeting had to say. he gave his speech earlier this morning about the nhs. were there concrete policy proposals on how he's going to reform the nhs? there's been a lot of talk about how bad the nhs is, hasn't there? there's been a huge amount of talk about how it's not efficient enough, how it's not efficient enough, how it's not saving enough lives, how

people are having to wait endless amounts of times to try and get an appointment or a surgery or whatever else it is. so now it's time to start fixing it , isn't it? so what so now it's time to start fixing it, isn't it? so what big changes are coming down the line for the nhs? it certainly needs them, doesn't it? but you've been getting in touch a lot about keir starmer and this freebie that he's accepted, another freebie that he's accepted from lord alli. this time it's the 20 zero zero £0 worth of accommodation from lord alli , which was to stay in an alli, which was to stay in an £18 million penthouse in covent garden, central london. keir starmer said it was so that his son, who was studying for his gcses, could do so peacefully without the threat of the press being outside their £2 million london home. do you buy it, kev? certainly doesn't. you're in manchester, you say labour are insulting the public with all their. the dog ate my homework. excuses for their freeloading. yes. have you noticed actually that when labour politicians, ministers have been asked about freebies that they've accepted

or that keir starmer has accepted, they often use the excuse of , well, it was a nice excuse of, well, it was a nice thing for my children. stop bringing the children into it. just admit that you took something because you wanted it, anyway, a concerned peaceful patriot says funny how labour socialists want to be millionaires and live the millionaires and live the millionaire lifestyle. angela rayner will be a millionaire in a couple of years along with her fellow hypocrites. i think there's quite a lot to that. you know, clearly the left wing ideology of wanting those with the broadest shoulders to take the, the, the largest burden when it comes to tax. okay, that's absolutely fine . but it's that's absolutely fine. but it's interesting, isn't it, that you have many ministers , including have many ministers, including the prime minister, who are wanting to live a lavish lifestyle beyond their means, beyond their means, and as long as it's being donated by someone else, that's absolutely fine. that's absolutely fine, robert says starmer is not the only mp who caught up in their self—importance. they're thinking they do not need to obey the laws rules which they command. others to, leaders who

have good judgement ensure they try hard to be above criticism. unfortunately for him, he does not appear to have good judgement and also does not care. and jonathan, this is an interesting point from jonathan. he says . how does keir look when he says. how does keir look when he said he'd refuse private health support during the debates? absolute hypocrisy emily. yes, it does cast that comment in a different light. if he's happy to take donations from a millionaire when it comes to accommodation, why wouldn't he take a donation for, say, another luxury like private health care? it all doesn't stack up, does it? and also, it's quite worrying that one single man is bankrolling luxury lifestyle for so many of our of our ministers, including our prime minister. it's very, very odd. very, very odd. something isn't quite right there , and we isn't quite right there, and we spoke to nigel nelson a little bit earlier who didn't completely defend keir starmer, but he did put his side across a little bit. someone here said

given we all pay tax, which goes into education, you cannot say you are giving a tax break to those who choose to send their kids private. these parents are effectively paying twice. yes. keir starmer talked about how he needs to put vat on private school fees to level the playing field, to level the playing field, to level the playing field for everyone between state and private school, and to help equalise things, what's equalising about, putting your son up in a £18 billion penthouse so he can study for his gcses? i mean, it just does not stack up at all. fed up says why didn't starmer book a houday why didn't starmer book a holiday home and his wife go and live in it with their children? well, yes. why not rent somewhere quieter for your son? i mean, you've got the money. clearly you've paid your mortgage on your £2 million london home. i mean, there was a lot of talk about how rishi sunak was so out of touch because he was so rich and things, is there that much of a difference when you're taking donations from millionaires and living that lifestyle, but not on your own dime. well, we're

going to keep your views coming in. please do. we're going to be catching up with tom harwood in just a moment, but just to let you know as well that there's still plenty of time to grab a chance to win an incredible £36,000 in the great british giveaway. that's like having an extra £3,000 in your bank account each month for a whole yean account each month for a whole year, which means the next year could be could be on us and it could be could be on us and it could be could be on us and it could be a rather nice year. here's how you can make all of that tax free cash yours. >> you can be the next great british giveaway winner with a whopping £36,000 in tax free cash in your bank account. imagine getting the winning phone call for that £60,000 cash. >> oh my god, i'm gonna cry. >> oh my god, i'm gonna cry. >> yes, you see, that is absolutely fantastic. we're over the moon. oh my god , this is amazing. >> for another chance to win £36,000 in tax free cash, text cash to 632321. entry cost £2 plus one standard network rate message or text bonus to 632325 entries. cost £5 plus one

standard network rate message. you can enter online at gbnews.com/win . entries cost £2 gbnews.com/win. entries cost £2 or post your name and to number gb08, p0 or post your name and to number gb08, po box 8690. derby d19, dougie beattie, uk only entrants must be 18 or over. lines close at 5 pm. on the 25th of october. please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. good luck . watching on demand. good luck. >> well there you go. that's how to win £36,000 in cash on us. this is good afternoon britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. keir starmer, has he been dealt a blow with this revolt at the labour conference? when it comes to the winter fuel payment, the unions aren't happy. many labour members aren't happy. will he u—turn on this or will he stay adamant that cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners is the way, apparently, stabilise our economy? stay

us. well, good afternoon britain. it is now 145. now this is an interesting one. do you know your courgettes from your cucumbers, your turnips from your parsnips or your beetroots from your radishes? well, i hope so. i hope you do. but according to a new survey, children are struggling to correctly name their vegetables and the ones they struggle with the most are beetroot, squash and courgette. but in more positive news, nearly half of primary school kids have now tried to grow their own. really that's very interesting, annette. joining us now is parenting journalist annette kellow. thank you very much indeed forjoining us now. why do you suppose some children don't know their vegetables? >> well , i don't know their vegetables? >> well, i think it's a whole conundrum, actually, with children not knowing their vegetables. >> i think it's a lack of exposure. but also whilst they say they're growing them in school, i think there's a lack of education. but you combine

that with time constraints and money. i think it would be rude not to talk about some people do would find it difficult to always have the best organic. and i think you have sort of a recipe for disaster, no pun intended. >> that's a controversial point. you make there, because when people say healthy food is more expensive and less accessible, i always get people writing in saying healthy food is the cheapest. you can get vegetables for next to nothing. you can get your parsnips for next to nothing. you can get your squash, you can get your beetroot, you can whip something up a home cooked meal, and it will cost you far less than getting something pre—packaged. >> well, yes, i do think you can. you know, there's a market near me, a pound, a bowl at the end of the day you can get stuff, but i think if we're looking at it as a whole, for example, things like as well, not just vegetables but meat, you know, that can be very, you know, you want to have all the components to have a nutritious meal. also, i think there's a psychological thing with children, you know, they get

fussy about certain vegetables. they get, you know, i know, for example , my son, he just loves example, my son, he just loves avocados. he'd have avocados all day . so you avocados. he'd have avocados all day. so you have this thing of they get preferences and then you have to go with it. >> yeah. i mean this interesting too, that so many children are growing their own vegetables. i didn't know that. is that at school or is that at home? >> yeah, i think there's i mean , >> yeah, i think there's i mean, itook >> yeah, i think there's i mean, i took my son in the summer to gardening club. that was really good. lots of fun growing things. i think that's becoming very popular to learn about it. but we have to remember, especially in cities, children don't necessarily have the space or the garden. >> mark white yes, if you don't have a garden, it's a bit tricky. you could try it on your windowsill, give it a try. >> it's always good, but i think as well children need to know about making the food where it's coming from as well . you often coming from as well. you often see parents hiding vegetables in sauces or like getting frozen veg because they're like, oh, that's quick and easy. but i think it is really important to go back to basics and try things like there's also pick your own farms. they're really good. i've been to them. you go, you weigh

everything. there's some turn food into a hobby basically. >> well that makes it fun, doesn't it? and parents often say that if you cook with your children and they're involved in the process, then they're going to be far more likely to try something new. so try that funny looking vegetable. try that lentil that they've never seen before. you know, things that young children might go turn their nose up at. actually, if they're involved in the process, like if they're involved in the actual growing of the produce, they're far more likely to actually get stuck in get in the zone with it. >> yeah, i agree with you, but i also think they need to do it. they can't just also rely on schools. for example, i know a lot of parents think, oh, it's all happening at school. they're getting the nutrition. they're learning about veg. they're but i also think we have to look at schools . it is £2.30 per meal schools. it is £2.30 per meal per pupil , but 40% of that goes per pupil, but 40% of that goes towards staff electricity and overheads. so their meal is about £1 something. so i don't think they're necessarily getting the food education at school. i know that sounds harsh, but i think it's about

knowing yourself. >> yes, true. and of course there are some kids who bring in their packed lunch and it's just, you know, a white bread sandwich with a bit of jam inside or you know, one piece of cheese. not very diverse in what they're in, what they're getting. but what would you recommend to parents who are, who have children, who are , who who have children, who are, who just won't eat these types of vegetables that we're looking at, just won't eat the turnips or the parsnips or the carrots or the parsnips or the carrots or the parsnips or the carrots or the courgettes or anything that looks a bit different . what that looks a bit different. what do you think parents should do to try and encourage the children to actually try those things? >> well, i think they could start by going and finding gardening clubs , finding an gardening clubs, finding an allotment, finding pick your own farm. basically, we're blaming it on the parents. we're saying get to it . it's down to the get to it. it's down to the parents. it's not down to the school, to educate. >> yeah, i think i agree with you that a lot of parents seem to think that the, you know, the school can just deal with that part of bringing them up, but actually it's at home really,

where you get to know new cuisine and all of that. thank you very much indeed for coming into the studio. parenting journalist annette kellow. thank you very much. right. well, it's now 150 and we can head back to liverpool and speak to tom harwood . tom, just seeing the harwood. tom, just seeing the breaking news actually, that michael gove has been hired as the editor of the spectator magazine . magazine. >> yes, michael gove is back in the fore in terms of having one of these jobs. that will be a pubuc of these jobs. that will be a public facing role. of course, he was a journalist for many years before he became a member of parliament back in 2005 for surrey heath, then one of the safest conservative seats in the country, now held, of course, by the labour party. but michael gove chose to stand down at the last election, but he's always been a fairly prominent voice of course, on the conservative side of politics in the united kingdom, when he was briefly out of cabinet, when theresa may

first became prime minister, he took up a column with the times, his former newspaper. so i think many people were expecting that michael gove would have a role in print journalism in one form or another. i'm not sure how many people were expecting, however, that that would be as an editor, as editor of the spectator , replacing fraser spectator, replacing fraser nelson, who held the role for 15 years, i believe the longest serving editor of the spectator in that magazine's history. and of course , many people call the of course, many people call the spectator the tory bible. it is a very important, spectator the tory bible. it is a very important , influential a very important, influential publication. it will be interesting to see how this new editorship michael gove, in his role of steering that debate , role of steering that debate, how that changes, how that develops going forward . he is develops going forward. he is due to take on the role in just two weeks time, shortly after the conservative conference

finishes . finishes. >> very interesting indeed. we'll keep our eyes on that story as it develops. but in other news, keir starmer this winter fuel vote at the labour conference that was taken a little bit earlier. how significant is that loss? the fact that labour members , fact that labour members, including the union representatives who back the labour party in government, that they voted against what has become a keynote policy ? become a keynote policy? >> yes, it shows a real sense of disquiet, a real sense of unease. not just, of course , the unease. not just, of course, the opposition benches in the houses of parliament that are opposing the labour party on this policy, not just the conservative party, which has put posters up around liverpool, around this conference venue trying to shame the labour party about this policy . but it's also, of policy. but it's also, of course, people within the hall, its delegates at the labour party conference. and we learn this well, this afternoon or just this morning when the vote

was that . it's a majority of was that. it's a majority of delegates at this conference that oppose the labour government's on this policy. however, the vote was non—binding. this isn't going to change the policy of the government, but it will indeed shame the government. >> and tom, just very quickly, while i've got you reading that britain's economic growth forecasts have been revised up sharply ahead of the budget next month, your thoughts on that ? month, your thoughts on that? >> yes, this is good wiggle room for the chancellor, but of course we're expecting various different changes to policy. it's been widely trailed that there will be tax increases despite the increase in growth forecasts . i think if i were forecasts. i think if i were a betting man, i'd say that this wiggle room that the chancellor has found with the surprisingly stronger economy that was bequeathed to this government by the last government , it's bequeathed to this government by the last government, it's more likely that this chancellor will use that on spending increases

than tax cuts . than tax cuts. >> yes. and rishi sunak, i believe, on social media, has already taken credit for that. taking credit for the revising up of economic forecasts. thank you very much indeed. tom harwood our political deputy political editor there at the liverpool conference for the labour party. this is good afternoon, britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. we are going to be checking in with our political edhon checking in with our political editor, christopher hope, who's beenin editor, christopher hope, who's been in the united states with keir starmer. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar, sponsors of weather on gb news >> hi there and welcome to the latest forecast for gb news from the met office . it's a fine the met office. it's a fine start in the north today, but it is turning increasingly cloudy with outbreaks of rain turning up from the southwest because low pressure is arriving from the atlantic. that low taking a southward path across the uk.

and so it's already turning wet across wales and the southwest. and those outbreaks of rain are steadily moving northeastwards through the day, reaching london and the southeast by the mid afternoon. parts of northern ireland likewise. meanwhile, northern and parts of eastern england staying largely dry with some cloud showers for northern scotland and a cold wind here. and that's where it's going to stay here for the next few days. but further south, where we've got that rain to end things on wednesday some brighter skies returning to cornwall and devon, but across much of wales, the midlands into the southeast, it's a damp evening rush hour. northern ireland, parts of northwest england, southwest scotland also seeing the cloud and rain turning up by this stage. but northern scotland, a mix of bright spells and showers as we go into the evening . now as we go into the evening. now the rain in the south will steadily journey north and then it will tend to stall across

northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england as well as north wales. overnight the rain will be heaviest for nonh the rain will be heaviest for north east england and it will be accumulating significantly through thursday, with the risk of 80mm in places, particularly over the likes of the north york moors and parts of the pennines. that could cause some issues first thing thursday. tricky travel conditions and the risk of localised flooding further south. things do brighten up through thursday morning, but there will be some heavy, potentially thundery showers across the south and southeast in scotland as well as northern ireland. things do brighten up and we'll see a mixture of sunny spells with some scattered showers in the far north. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb

>> good afternoon britain. it's

2:00 on wednesday the 25th of september. i'm emily carver. >> and i'm tom harwood live as the labour party conference concludes. >> thank you very much indeed. now leave lebanon . now the prime now leave lebanon. now the prime minister demands britain's evacuate immediately as the conflict in the middle east escalates. and yes , it's yet escalates. and yes, it's yet another labour donation blunder. the prime minister turns out he accepted accommodation worth over £20,000 from guess who? lord alli asked why he did this, starmer said it was to help his teenage son peacefully study for his gcses and met badge outrage . his gcses and met badge outrage. metropolitan police officers have been banned from wearing a badge , a badge that commemorates badge, a badge that commemorates hero cops killed in the line of duty. why was it banned ?

duty. why was it banned? well, tom, i'm going to put you on the spot and ask you what was your highlight and low light of the labour conference >> oh, emily, that's a big question. i have to say. probably a highlight was last night watching the culture secretary, lisa nandy , attempt secretary, lisa nandy, attempt some karaoke on the stage at the mirror party that was something that will, i think, stay in my mind for a long time. low lights. my goodness me. hard to suggest i actually, this sounds too mean , but but yesterday i too mean, but but yesterday i had to wake up very early to help step in and host a panel discussion , which that was discussion, which that was a fantastic panel discussion. it was on i one of my favourite things in the world. so it was a privilege to do. but my goodness me, it started far too early in the morning. >> oh, these are all the things i know nothing about. me and paddington. no idea that you were doing panels on artificial intelligence, but there you go.

you're you're you're you're very much wanted, aren't you ? you're much wanted, aren't you? you're in demand, tom harwood. we'll catch up with you in a little bit. and please do at home. get in touch as well. post your comments. visiting gbnews.com/yoursay. that is the way to get in touch. but first let's get to the news headlines. >> emily, thank you very much. and good afternoon. the top stories this hour. labour has reaffirmed its decision to cut the winter fuel payment , after the winter fuel payment, after party delegates voted for the government to reverse its controversial move to save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel . fuel, save the winter fuel. while there's nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on the labour government over its decision to take away the benefit from millions of pensioners. the motion was put forward by the unite union, which has accused the government of embarking on austerity. mark two whilst it's austerity. mark two whilst it's a step in the right direction, unite unions general secretary sharon graham told gb news the

vote should have happened 5001191'. >> soonen >> well, look, i think this vote should have happened on tuesday. i mean, the vote was down under the economy debate on tuesday and i think it is disrespectful to the issue that we weren't heanng to the issue that we weren't hearing that vote earlier on under the economy debate. look, the reality here is that they're going to have to reverse this allowance in terms of putting it back into the pockets of pensioners , and we're asking pensioners, and we're asking them to do that. i disagree with what the prime minister is saying on this. i'm really glad we've got a labour government. i think britain is better off with a labour government, but on this issue it is a huge misstep and he needs to change what he has done. and i think the country out there is not really what happensin out there is not really what happens in this hall that's important. it's what's happening there in the real world. they are furious about it. >> meanwhile, the health secretary wes streeting, has told the labour party conference on its fourth and final day that the nhs is letting people down as he promised to defend it as a pubuc as he promised to defend it as a public service. >> i know the doctor's diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear, but if you don't have an accurate diagnosis, you will not

provide the correct prescription. and when you put protecting the reputation of the nhs above, protecting patients, you are not helping the nhs. you are killing it with kindness. so i say respectfully but unequivocally i will not back down. the nhs is broken, but it is not beaten and together we will turn it around . will turn it around. >> the rmt union has announced that rail workers have voted overwhelmingly to accept pay offers from train companies and network rail. members of the rmt union backed a one year rise of 4.5% at network rail and increases at train operators of 4.75% for the last year and 4.5% for this year. and next. almost 99% of train company members voted in favour, while network rail workers backed their pay rise by 88%. the rmt said the ballot results mean that the

long running national rail dispute is now over. the prime minister has told britons in lebanon to leave immediately, as around 700 uk troops are deployed to cyprus to oversee an emergency evacuation. it says. keir starmer is in new york for the un general assembly . warning the un general assembly. warning sirens sounded in tel aviv this morning as a missile was intercepted by air defence systems after it was detected from crossing from lebanon. terror group hezbollah has confirmed it launched a rocket targeting mossad headquarters near israel's capital. hezbollah says the mossad is responsible for assassinating leaders and blowing up pages and walkie talkies in lebanon, a claim which has been denied by the israeli president. more than 500 people, including women and children, have been killed in the past 24 hours. in other news, the prime minister has

suggested he accepted £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his gcses, while his family home was besieged by journalists during the election campaign. sir keir defended his decision to take gifts from labour peer lord alli amid criticism, saying he was not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong. and he also said the freebies didn't cost the taxpayer a penny. sir keir signalled he could continue to accept hospitality from donors, saying it was a matter of judgement for individual mps. now the police memorial trust has unveiled a specially commissioned memorial stone dedicated to the memory of police sergeant matt ratana of the metropolitan police service. sergeant ratana, a new zealand born british police officer, was shot and killed in croydon custody centre in 2020. the officer was nearing retirement, having served nearly 30 years in the police. louis de soysa opened fire on him at the croydon custody suite. de soysa

had earlier been arrested and searched, but officers failed to find the gun that the 26 year old had hidden in an underarm holster. despite discovering bullets in his pocket . philip bullets in his pocket. philip schofield has announced he will return to television 16 months after his departure from itv's this morning. the former tv star will appear on a channel five special called castaway. in a post on instagram, he said now you know how i spent my summer alone for ten days? no food, no water, no crew. the 62 year old resigned from itv last may after he admitted to a, quote, unwise but not illegal affair with a younger male colleague and a new weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the met office, which could cause further widespread flooding and travel disruption. the yellow warning has been issued for much of england and wales, parts of the west midlands and the north—west of england , between north—west of england, between 5:00 tomorrow afternoon and 10 am. on friday. the met office says there is some uncertainty

in the details of this warning, but some areas could see up to 30mm of rain in 2 to 3 hours. and those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm tatiana sanchez. more from me 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 alerts . >> .com. forward slash alerts. >> .com. forward slash alerts. >> for good afternoon britain, it is now 208 and sir keir starmer, he's making his un debut as prime minister in new york today, where he's expected to promise global leadership as tensions in the middle east continue to flare up and the bloody war in ukraine grinds on. now sir keir starmer is also hoping to have meetings with us presidential candidates kamala harris and donald trump, with the election just over a month away. well, let's go live to new

york now and speak to gb news political editor christopher hope, who's been with the prime minister. christopher, please detail what keir starmer is set to do in new york over the next couple of days. and you spoke to him on the flight, didn't you? >> that's right. hi, emily. >> that's right. hi, emily. >> welcome to new york city, where it's breakfast time here. so keir starmer is here, he's in new york. he's doing meetings all day. we're expecting meetings later with world leaders ahead of speaking to the un general assembly tomorrow afternoon. he's got a meeting with the security council. it's quite a big gear change from what tom was describing in liverpool, where of course, he's been had a real blow to him on his own authority with the with the party members voting against his controversial plan to withdraw winter fuel benefits from 10 million pensioners. so he's doing interviews with journalists here. he spoke to me for gb news and that interview will run at 5 pm. tonight on gb

news. so do try and stay tuned for that if you can. not quite yet. overnight he's changed gear and not quite yet emily. but overnight he's changed gear and the government has ordered uk nationals to leave the lebanon. they have got two warships in the region . they're very, very the region. they're very, very concerned about the hezbollah fighters and israeli troops exchanging fire. you're seeing from the images on on gb news news bulletins really worrying andifs news bulletins really worrying and it's escalating. there and i think quite quickly the, the focus for the prime minister is going into keeping the peace globally . and zelenskyy is here. globally. and zelenskyy is here. he's talking about his own victory plan. he wants to get support for that from the outgoing us president, joe biden. and there's even an off chance we're told he may want to try and meet with maybe kamala harris, who , or donald trump, harris, who, or donald trump, two of the two of the two candidates to try and succeed joe biden . so as ever in joe biden. so as ever in politics, in life, when you're prime minister it comes at you very quickly. >> and christopher, he was keir starmer, he was he was forced to comment on one of his ministers

comments about donald trump, wasn't he? was there a little bit of a row ? bit of a row? >> yes. he kind of swerved that one. that was angela eagle, who's the home affairs home office minister. she spoke about the language. she was saying. it was racist language fuelling division on the streets. she blamed trump for that. that got short shrift from the trump spokesman. and when asked about that on the flight over here, sir keir starmer avoided getting into a row between donald trump and one of his ministers, but said that he's any kind of language which fuels hatred on the streets he's against. but as even the streets he's against. but as ever, he's treading very delicate line. sir keir starmer and you will see more answers to more difficult questions on gb news at 5:00 pm. >> well, fantastic. we've been talking quite a bit about this latest in the freebie scandal engulfing the prime minister particularly this £20,000 for accommodation gifted by guess who lord alli. again, the excuse this time is that his son needed

to be peaceful when he was studying for his gcses, so he needed to use this £18 million penthouse. >> that's right emily. he's very protective of his children. we don't know where they are not named publicly. but he did say today i thought , surprisingly, today i thought, surprisingly, he brought his son into the conversation, saying that he accepted this donation. it was a free use of a flat. it's been valued at £20,000 of benefit to him. so his family and particularly his son have some some peace in the maelstrom of a general election campaign, any parent would understand that. some might wonder, could you not have found someone like a relation, a neighbour, someone out of the public eye where his son could have done revision? he said he did take the benefit of lord alli £20,000 donation. he's been pressed on that again in new york. so he tried to move on from the issue of freebie spectacles, clothing for his wife and other senior cabinet ministers. but it keeps coming back to get to him, and i wonder whether he may think it may

start to wonder whether he should be giving away freebies in the same way we heard from emma lewell—buck , this rather emma lewell—buck, this rather admirable mp from south shields, labour mp. she said when she gets sent freebies, she gives them away to charity or they go back where they came from. i wonder whether that's where this story is going. >> well, perhaps , christopher, >> well, perhaps, christopher, just, just lastly, there has been a little bit of criticism from some quarters that keir starmer and the new labour government haven't been as vocal with their support of ukraine, haven't promised perhaps as much as conservative prime ministers, particularly boris johnson, have in the past. will keir starmer be very much banging the drum to continue support for ukraine? >> he will do, i think i think that that that that would definitely be denied by the team around keir starmer. they are clear to us when they speak to us, they are full square behind zelenskyy. we are very generous as a country, donating arms. they're trying to get behind this victory plan and the issue

of storm shadow missiles. the reason why they haven't been sanctioned to use against russia in russia, the uk has withheld support for that. and also there's a requirement for us guidance systems to be approved first or else they can't hit their targets. so the uk and the us are working together. but there's been i would say there's been no difference in our commitment to supporting ukraine as a country, from the tories to laboun >> okay. well thank you very much indeed. i'm looking forward to that interview with sir keir starmer a little bit later on 5:00 during martins martin daubney show. so definitely stay tuned for that. christopher, thank you very much indeed. there's christopher hope in new york city, but let's return to tom harwood in the just as glamorous location of liverpool outside the labour party conference, they're just hearing from christopher about keir starmer's trip to the united states, his trip to new york. he'll be wanting to forget about the scandal, the freebie gate, the scandal, the freebie gate, the winter fuel allowance vote that's been going on while he's beenin that's been going on while he's been in the united kingdom, and

while he's been on that flight to the united states as well, and turn his attention to presenting himself on the international stage . international stage. >> he certainly will. and it's been an advantageous trip just from its timing, given that keir starmer left this conference yesterday after his speech and thereby avoided the votes that happened today, where the conference roundly condemned the government for its decision to remove winter fuel allowance from most pensioners. now this is, of course, clearly a split in the labour party. you can see that the there is real anger from delegates around this decision from the government. so keir starmer being 30,000ft above the atlantic or indeed several thousand miles across the atlantic, by the time that vote happens, it is clearly an advantageous position to be in avoiding the repercussions of that vote. a non—binding vote,

though it was still a big moral condemnation of the government's decided chosen path and presumably at these meetings in new york, he'll want to put across two themes quite strongly. >> firstly, that we remain 100% committed to ukraine and its defence, but also that question of de—escalation in the middle east. >> certainly. and the middle east has weighed heavily as an issue here in the labour party conference over the last few days. of course, we saw multiple hecklers , both for the prime hecklers, both for the prime minister and for the chancellor on the issue of gaza . clearly, on the issue of gaza. clearly, this is a position that the labour party has found very difficult to handle. on the one hand, the labour party has been going to say , on the one hand going to say, on the one hand the labour party has been saying that they're going to withdraw ,

that they're going to withdraw, arms sales from israel. clearly the labour party has been saying that they will do all of that. and thereby in so doing, they have in so doing, they have annoyed both sides of this particular debate. >> yes, indeed. well tom harwood, thank you very much indeed. i'll leave you there in liverpool for the moment. tom harwood there. thank you very much. right. well tensions as we mentioned, continue to increase in the middle east as israel's iron dome is forced to intercept missiles fired by hezbollah after thousands of pages and walkie talkies unexpectedly exploded in lebanon. israel launched its biggest offensive yet on the country. now, thousands of british nationals in the area are being told to leave immediately. well, let's get the thoughts now of former chairman of the defence select committee, tobias ellwood. tobias, thank you very much indeed for joining tobias, thank you very much indeed forjoining us this indeed for joining us this afternoon. it's a very worrying time for those watching what's happening in the middle east and

for those living in both israel and lebanon. keir starmer, he's had a very important meeting today in the united states. what message should he be trying to get across? >> yeah, i mean, fascinating that president zelenskyy is there in new york at the un general assembly, hoping to secure those long—range weapons systems from the west. but his plea is being overshadowed by these unfolding events in the middle east and on current trajectory. it's very sad to say the middle east is sliding towards war, and this is a combination of factors a perfect storm of instability , no storm of instability, no country, no single stakeholder in charge. israel has got its mighty military strength . use it mighty military strength. use it in gaza. but with the absence of a long term strategy, what is the effort to make a ceasefire? what's going to happen with security and governance afterwards ? it's still not afterwards? it's still not clear. and now hezbollah, which don't forget, is the most heavily armed non—state actor in the world, supported by iran,

has ratcheted up its attacks from southern lebanon. and of course, this has prompted israel to understandably retaliate. and it now looks like they may indeed invade southern lebanon as well as israel has now made securing the north of its country and returning the citizens there a war aim. but hezbollah still seem committed to continue their attacks until there is a ceasefire in gaza. so you have iran. what will they do next? the united states seems to be that could be so influential, seems to be distracted by presidential elections. and of course, the un itself. they're usually the custodians of international security. is completely paralysed. what sits behind hezbollah and hamas is, of course, iran. and what now sits behind iran is russia. and of course, they're going to veto any proposal that might be put forward to the un general assembly. so this prospects of further escalation are serious. it's quite right that the

british government instructs all britons to leave and task military assets there. we don't want to see a repeat of the chaos that we saw in kabul in the evacuation there back in august 2021. >> well , absolutely. august 2021. >> well, absolutely. keir starmer, understandably, is saying that he's very worried about the escalation in lebanon. he's calling for all parties to step back from the brink and de—escalate. we hear a lot of that word de—escalate. what are the chances that we will see this situation de—escalate ? this situation de—escalate? >> not for the moment. i mean, it'll be very interesting to hear what prime minister netanyahu says at the un general assembly. he is there is going to attend on friday, but we still have this elusive ceasefire in gaza to pursue. and, of course, this new instability in northern israel, southern lebanon, there is a ceasefire resolution there, actually, for the lebanese, the un resolution one. 701 this was a framework from a previous encounter mandating the

withdrawal of hezbollah forces to the litani river, which is about 30km in. but hezbollah currently refuses to do so until israel withdraws from gaza. so what happens at the un and the prime minister will be doing this? is the bilaterals behind the scenes discussions. that's where perhaps the west can collectively work together to put pressure on israel and indeed the other side to de—escalate, come around the table and try and sort out a longer term solution. but right now, that does look pretty grim. >> and, tobias, i must ask , what >> and, tobias, i must ask, what what are your thoughts when you hear benjamin netanyahu say that sir keir starmer has been misguided and that he's undermined the israeli state and that the arms embargo or partial arms embargo sends a horrible message to hamas, is he right? >> well, there's been a lot of internal israeli politics at play internal israeli politics at play here. a lot of friction at

the highest ranks in the in the politics as well as in the military as well. and i'm afraid this does play out a bit with the rhetoric that comes out. there has been a frustration by the international community in the international community in the way that israel is using its superior military. might. i touched on it earlier. what is the strategy? where do these tactics go? you've charged into gaza. it's now pretty much broken. what are the next steps? how are we going to get those hostages back? these are the questions that everybody is asking prime minister netanyahu. and now this second front has opened up. where does it all lead using your superior military force? these are the questions that i hope israel can provide answers to , because only provide answers to, because only then can we help israel defend itself. >> okay. well, thank you very much indeed for your time. really appreciate it. tobias ellwood, former chairman of the defence select committee. thank you very much indeed . well, this you very much indeed. well, this is good afternoon, britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. wes streeting the health secretary, he delivered a speech today about how he's going to reform

and improve our ailing nhs. what might that look like ?

well good afternoon britain. it is now 226 now nhs leaders have voiced growing concerns over the government's broken messaging, warning that it could harm patients confidence and staff morale. yes, the health secretary, wes streeting, has repeated use of the term broken to describe the nhs, along with claims about cancer and maternity care, has sparked unease within the service. i mean, i think you can understand why morale is already low if you keep saying the nhs is broken, the nhs is broken , it needs the nhs is broken, it needs reform, it needs reform. it's not saving enough lives. you might see how that might be quite damaging perhaps to morale, even if perhaps it's true. well, joining me now to

discuss this is former chairman of the nhs trust roy lillie. roy do you think there's something in that that if you continuously say how dreadful the nhs is, how it's in need of so much reform, how it's not saving enough people's lives, how cancer patients are being left to wait for huge lengths of time that actually it might make the nhs a bit worse in terms of staff morale. >> well, i think you're right. i mean, all of that list that you've just gone through is true. i mean, the nhs has accumulated a whole load of problems, you know, following a ten years of austerity, the covid experience, the big reforms that andrew lansley, the former secretary of state for health, tory, introduced. i mean, there's no question about it. >> the nhs is in a mess, right, right, right. you do know the nhs was ring fenced. it didn't experience austerity and cuts in the same way as other departments. it was it was ring fenced throughout. it may not have risen to take me on on the numbers. >> the figures were 1%, 1.2%,

1.25% and for ten years it was under 2%. when it normally needs from 1948 to today, the average is 3.3 3.78%. it needs about 4% a year to keep its head above water. during that ten years, it had under 2%, and that's when we didn't recruit enough people, buy enough kit, do enough innovation stuff and all of the rest of it. and now the chickens are coming home to roost, so we know where we are . and i think, know where we are. and i think, you know, to say the nhs was broken during the sort of election campaign. it was sort of the hyperbole of the election and it was a nice soundbite and it was okay. but what i think streeting and others have got to realise now they are the government, they are the employers of 1.4 million people who they are going to have to rely on to sort the nhs out. they can come up with whatever policy they want. they can come up with more money or less, and they can come up with more ideas

or fewer. but at the end of the day , it's the goodwill of the day, it's the goodwill of the people working in the nhs that's going to turn it round. and i don't know anybody working in the nhs who doesn't really want to turn the nhs around. i mean, they all know they've got clunky it to work with. they all know there are 7.6 million people waiting for treatment, many of whom will be their neighbours and friends and relatives. they know the position they're in, but to get somebody like streeting to keep saying it , i streeting to keep saying it, i mean, he said at the party conference, i don't know if you've seen his speech. he was kind of he was kind of red meat for the labour faithful. you know, he had a go at the tories and they all cheered. and he said, it's all dreadful and they all cheered. but i think what we need now is a maturity and an understanding for a, for a group of people who've never been in government. and it's been okay for them to sort of run their mouths off and say whatever it is they want. when you're in opposition now, you're the government. you've got to be a

bit more mature about life. and i think that's really where we're at. >> yeah, he's trying to play good cop, bad cop, i think. i mean, he did warn in his speech against, what he called killing the nhs with kindness, what do you take from that? what do you think he means there ? think he means there? >> i think, in fairness to him, there's some reality in that. i mean, i think it is important that we don't say keep saying the nhs is wonderful and everything's going to be all right. and, you know, it's not i mean, and people understand it's not you know, you've only got to look at the waiting list. i mean labour have got one job. their one job is to reduce waiting lists. and we really don't have a, a viable policy of how they're going to do it. but so , they're going to do it. but so, so it's not okay to keep saying the nhs is wonderful and it's not okay to keep saying that everything's going to be okay. what it is fair to say is that they've accumulated a huge load of problems that they're trying to work through. winter is coming where god knows what's

going to happen this winter with that number of people on the waiting list. if we get a bad winter, you know, you and i are going to be back talking about pictures of ambulances queuing up outside the hospitals again. i mean, they really do now have to roll their sleeves up and get going with some proper policy, some targeted funding and get ready for what's to come. you know, it's okay. the election's oven know, it's okay. the election's over. they've had their fun. now let's get on with it. pedal to the metal. let's make sure the nhs is ready. and part of that is getting the mindset of the people working in the nhs, knowing that their boss in inverted commas, is there to help them. i wrote a piece the other day where i said that i've seen about nearly 30. i think it is nhs. health secretaries of state for health and i've gone back over them and i've tried to think of the number of times the secretary of state said , i'm the secretary of state said, i'm the secretary of state said, i'm the secretary of state for health, and i've how can i help? and i can only remember one of them

saying , and, and that was saying, and, and that was a labour member that said that, you know, i'm to here help you. and that's really not also, roy, you know, all of these very well paid nhs executives, managers, they need to roll up their sleeves, too. >> it can't be all on wes streeting shoulders. he is one man. he is just part of the government. he's not working on the nhs in the nhs, day to day managing all of that as well. roy lilley, thank you always great. >> i agree with that. and if you look at the dodi report that's just come out, that was very critical of the nhs. one of the things it does say is the nhs doesn't have enough managers, less than 2% of the of the staff in the nhs are nhs managers. and if you make comparisons across europe, you'll find that, you know they're eight 9%. >> it's very interesting you make that point because a lot of people would say, oh, there's too many, too many managers, there's too much bureaucracy in that respect. >> but you're not the first

person to make that point, and you won't be the last. tom harwood my co—host, usually he always makes that point. actually, we should have more managers, not fewer . thank you managers, not fewer. thank you very much indeed, roy lilley. thank you. former chairman of nhs trust. thank you very much indeed for your time . i agree indeed for your time. i agree with roy lilley on quite a lot there. apart from i'm not sure you can continue to put 4% more into the nhs every single year. i mean, where's the money coming from? if our economy isn't growing, which is just more and more of our gdp, national income on the health service , is that on the health service, is that sustainable? anyway this is good afternoon britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. we are going to get to the story that the met police have banned a specific badge for police to wear or reveal which badge and why. after this . after this. >> emily. thank you. the top stories. labour has reaffirmed its decision to cut the winter fuel payment after party delegates voted for the government to reverse the move to save the winter fuel , save to save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel, save the winter

fuel. >> save the winter. >> save the winter. >> while there's no nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on the government over its decision to take away the benefit from millions of pensioners. the motion was put forward by the unite union, which has accused the government of embarking on austerity. mark two whilst it's austerity. mark two whilst it's a step in the right direction, unite union's general secretary sharon graham, earlier said the vote should have happened sooner. the health secretary has told the labour party conference on its fourth and final day, the nhs is letting people down, as he promised to defend it as a pubuc he promised to defend it as a public service. >> i know the doctor's diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear , can sometimes be hard to hear, but if you don't have an accurate diagnosis you will not provide the correct prescription. and when you put protecting the reputation of the nhs above, protecting patients, you are not helping the nhs. you

are killing it with kindness. so i say respectfully but unequivocally, i will not back down. the nhs is broken, but it is not beaten and together we will turn it around. >> and the rmt union has announced that rail workers have voted overwhelmingly to accept pay voted overwhelmingly to accept pay offers from train companies and network rail. members of the rmt union backed a one year rise of 4.5% at network rail, and increases at train operators to 4.75% for the last year and 4.5% for this year and next. almost 99% of train company members voted in favour, while network rail workers backed their pay rise by 88%. the rmt said the ballot results mean that the long running national rail dispute is now over , and those dispute is now over, and those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm tatiana sanchez. there's more news in half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news

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>> well good afternoon britain. it is now 239 now. police officers have expressed their anger at what they're calling an insulting decision by the metropolitan police to ban them from wearing badges that honour fellow officers who've been killed in the line of duty. now, the thin blue line emblem is worn as a mark of remembrance and respect for those who have paid the ultimate price to maintain law and order. but the met police commissioner, sir mark rowley, has recently introduced a hard line ban on officers wearing any badges, lanyards or patches which advertise causes, beliefs or charities. right. well, gb news national reporter charlie peters joins us now . national reporter charlie peters joins us now. i national reporter charlie peters joins us now . i mean, with this

joins us now. i mean, with this rule on badges and lanyards, you can understand it. when it's political issues. you can understand it when it's the sort of lgbt or pro—palestine or whatever else it is that the police need to be very neutral when it comes. i'm not sure this was what they had in mind when they were talking about this ban. >> i think some commentators and critics might ask the met, did you come down hard on police officers who took the knee dunng officers who took the knee during the black lives matter protests in 2020? or is this a only in one direction sort of ban on coppers wearing badges? and i have to say , speaking to and i have to say, speaking to some police officers this morning at a memorial i attended for a sergeant who was killed four years ago, people didn't want to touch on this issue, as you can imagine, but in the wider policing community, people have spoken to me about the timing being especially bad. they're making this edict, this new announcement in the last week, just as this memorial has gone on and taken place. and i attended it this morning, very solemn and sober experience. and rick prior, who's the chairman

of the met police federation, represents police officers, said officers will be extremely saddened and angry to hear this news. he went on to say the families of officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep the public safe will be equally dismayed. i urge the commissioner to urgently reconsider this decision, but at the same time, i actually spoke to another police officer this morning, obviously, on the condition of anonymity. and they told me that this decision was good. they say it's not uniform . good. they say it's not uniform. wearing pin badges on the cloth of the country, the policing uniform looks shabby. they went on to say that the thin blue line badge in particular is a bit of an americanism, and it's of the worst kind of americanisms. they said it perpetuates a sort of victim mentality among coppers, where they say we're doing the hardest job in the world. et cetera. et cetera. but in reaction to that,

i mean , i attended this memorial. >> they said that about it perpetuating a victim mentality. >> a police officer i spoke to, i'm not going to name them emily because they're a serving coppen because they're a serving copper. but when i went to this memorial today, i did hear a lot of testimony from police officers about how this is one officers about how this is one of the hardest jobs in the world. we send police officers into danger every day with little more than a taser if they're lucky, and some cuffs , they're lucky, and some cuffs, and expect them to do all the dufies and expect them to do all the duties that they are required. it is enormously dangerous. sergeant matt ratana, who was killed four years ago today, was shot in the custody suite , shot shot in the custody suite, shot through the heart by a man now serving a whole life order. he'll never be released from prison. so it was right. and quite beautiful, actually. today, to honour his service and his sacrifice. after 30 years in the met, he was born in new zealand. there was a maori tribute act and a haka was performed. but to have that memorial go on at the same time as the met is fighting back against claims made by the policing federation that officers will be saddened that

they can't remember their fallen comrades who were wearing, who could be wearing that, that thin blue line badge. it's not great timing for them in their defence, the police have said straight up impartiality is key, maintaining the confidence of all the communities we serve. that's a vital part of their work, they say with a lot of engagement, both formal and informal groups. they've updated their uniform policy. there are some exceptions, two exceptions, in fact , to this policy. that's in fact, to this policy. that's the red haig poppy, which will come out in november, of course. and the police memorial badge dunng and the police memorial badge during respective periods. but the thin blue line, a lot of police officers , you'll see them police officers, you'll see them in london all the time still wearing it. that will change now of course, throughout the year as a constant commemoration and as a constant commemoration and a maintaining of that sense of memorial for police officers who've been killed in the line of duty that's going to be scrapped, that can't be worn any longer. >> it's very interesting that there are two such distinct views on this that some feel

that the badge actually perpetuates a type of victim mentality among police officers and others think it is very much their right and perhaps a duty also to wear these badges to show that camaraderie and remembrance too. but does this feed into the idea that the police in general, or police officers aren't feeling backed up enough? we've heard stories about how police have been handing in their tasers and the like. they've sort of given up. they feel under attack sometimes. >> well, there's no doubt that there's well, there's no shortage. isn't there really, of testimony from anonymous police officers, some of which we've just heard about the levels of distress? and as you have suggested, disrespect that they feel from seniors and also often from members of the public. i mean, let's not forget, this is an enormously dangerous job. i mean, a lot of police officers suffer extreme injuries and violence quite regularly in their roles. i always think when i'm asked to speak about policing experiences that the average human being will have a

handful of traumatic experiences in their lives. handful of traumatic experiences in their lives . police officers in their lives. police officers are expected to have dozens, if not hundreds, of traumatic experiences throughout their careers, and we expect these people to get back to their borough command unit at the end of the day, get to the police station, get to the nick, put it all in a locker and go home and that's it. so i think there is a as you'd expect, a sense of camaraderie among police officers and that they want to express that through a for symbol remembering those who have fallen in the line of duty is entirely understandable. but the met still thinks that it is a potentially partial expression. and also there is this criticism. i've heard this morning, as i said, emily, about it being shabby, that it reduces the uniformity and the quality of how metropolitan police officers present themselves . i officers present themselves. i have to say, i saw some fabulous drill this morning by police officers on duty at that memorial service. they were uniform and they looked pristine. if one of them was wearing a thin blue line badge,

i think it probably would have affected the quality of that demonstration such as that marching as they were in uniform, and also almost in a military fashion. a couple of those on display were wearing operational service medals from tours that they've obviously been on before. they joined the police. now in the military, of course, you can't just wear a badge whenever you want. and this is a similar sort of approach that they're bringing forward. yeah. >> it's interesting isn't it, that the they're clamping down on this badge , when we have all on this badge, when we have all of us have seen that the police officers, you know, when they've been dancing, sort of helping protesters, of course, you know, doing all this type of thing. it's interesting that they decide to clamp down on this one. i would say very quickly, charlie. yeah >> some people don't know what is political. i think the police quite often would suggest that those symbols are saying the lgbt flag is not a political symbol, but there are plenty of people who say there's a lot of politics and a lot of personal views involved in that as well. >> absolutely. well, thank you very much indeed, charlie, for bringing us that story. gb news

national reporter this is good afternoon, britain . we're on gb afternoon, britain. we're on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show , including up on today's show, including the princess of wales . the princess of wales. catherine. she's preparing for the christmas carol concert. more on that after this

break. well, it's been reported today that princess catherine is planning for her long awaited return to public duties. now, earlier this month, the princess of wales, she gave us all an update on her cancer treatment. she told us her course of chemotherapy had been completed and now, according to new reports, she's holding meetings to plan the annual westminster abbey. carol concert. well, joining us now is royal broadcaster helena chard helena. thank you very much indeed. this is very promising news afternoon. >> oh, it's fantastic.

>> oh, it's fantastic. >> we're thrilled to hear this. i mean, obviously, we understood that she was going to, begin a light schedule of engagements, and this certainly is happening. and to hear that she's actually going to work on one of the highlights of the royal calendar, is wonderful. and it's certainly a sort of slow and measured return. and obviously we heard she had a meeting in windsor, but that was a sort of roundtable meeting to do with her early years last week. so to hear that she she had another meeting, is absolutely fabulous. meeting, is absolutely fabulous. shows her determination and sort shows her determination and sort of we're all really willing her of we're all really willing her on as well. i mean, she wants to on as well. i mean, she wants to get completely well, and you get completely well, and you know , get back and work. that's know , get back and work. that's know, get back and work. that's that's her sort of ambition, and know, get back and work. that's that's her sort of ambition, and thinking that she's spent all thinking that she's spent all she's that time as well just planning, that time as well just planning, we're all excited about this we're all excited about this concert and it's the annual concert and it's the annual together concert. i think that's together concert. i think that's what it's called. and just to what it's called. and just to remember, it's westminster abbey remember, it's westminster abbey

andifs remember, it's westminster abbey andifs remember, it's westminster abbey and it's a really huge deal, and it's a really huge deal, she's she's host, hosted and worked on this for four years. and to remember, it's the sort of local charities and we have celebrities there each year. >> so it's absolutely it's been a staple hasn't it. it's become a staple hasn't it. it's become a staple hasn't it. it's become a staple to see princess catherine at this carol concert is very much a part of the festive calendar, for i'm sure millions of people in this country and possibly around around the world too. we're also looking out for her to be at the

try and fit in. if she will try and fit in. if she feels well. i'm just trying to think we've had trooping of the colour, wimbledon, obviously the cenotaph, the concert. but she continues to work on her early years projects as well. and i just, you know, just to remember that she will it's not going to be i guess, as normal as as she previous. i think she will be working as hard as possible. but not to forget she's there. she's supporting the future king of england. she has a young family to look after and she wants to make the most of that at this time. when she's when she's queen.in time. when she's when she's queen. in due course , there will queen. in due course, there will be many years of absolutely full on work. so. but we're so excited to hear that she's working away at the concert. can't wait to see it. and see who's going to be there. it's always a fun time , starting to always a fun time, starting to feel strangely festive already, andifs feel strangely festive already, and it's not even the end of it's not even the end of september. >> i think the change in the weather has made it look forward

to the christmas that will be certainly a highlight of the festive period. it always is quite magical at that concert. thank you very much indeed . thank you very much indeed. helena chard royal broadcaster, great to speak to you. thank you very much indeed. well, that's it from me . thank you very much it from me. thank you very much indeed for watching. good afternoon britain and help make sense of that latest freebie that sir keir starmer couldn't do without a nice stay in an £18 million penthouse paid for by a labour donor. don't go anywhere. martin's going to pick up and we're going to have an exclusive interview with keir starmer, i believe. so stay tuned . believe. so stay tuned. >> for a brighter outlook with boxt solar, sponsors of weather on gb news >> hi there, welcome along to the latest update from the met office for gb news cloudy and wet for many of us through the rest of today, the rain does clear from the south. later on as this area of low pressure moves its rain bands north

across the uk, clearing to showers in the southwest, whilst brighter skies remain for northern scotland, albeit with here also a few showers as we go into the evening. the main area of rain though, moves through wales into the midlands and then eventually settles upon northern england. southern scotland and northern ireland. a damp night to come in these areas, whilst showers push back into the south and southwest. some heavy downpours overnight, along with a gusty wind 12 to 13 celsius by dawn in the south, so mild here, but rather chilly as we begin things for northern scotland. a few showers but otherwise bright enough for the far north of scotland. some sunshine around first thing. caithness, sutherland , orkney as well as sutherland, orkney as well as the western isles seeing blue skies but come further south into central belt. it's cloudy, it's damp and the more persistent and heavier rain will be affecting northern ireland and most especially northeast england, where there is the risk of localised flooding. some transport disruption first thing because of 50 to 80mm of rain expected to accumulate through

the day. that rain also continuing to affect north wales, parts of the north midlands. but for the southern half of england, as well as south wales , well, there will be south wales, well, there will be some brightness around, but also some brightness around, but also some heavy showers , perhaps even some heavy showers, perhaps even the odd rumble of thunder and some gusty winds along the coast. those winds, though coming from the southwest, will bnng coming from the southwest, will bring milder air. so where we avoid the showers, temperatures will reach 18 celsius further north. a cold day to come, particularly under the rain across northern england . then across northern england. then that rain continues into the evening. it does gradually sink south and it becomes heavier for a time through parts of mid wales, into the midlands and east anglia. that again could cause some issues. by friday, the rain's clearing away and we'll see a mix of bright spells and showers saturday and sunday. also look brighter. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers. sponsors of

>> well .

>> well. >> well. >> a very very good afternoon to you. it's 3:00 pm. >> a very very good afternoon to you. it's 3:00pm. i'm in a great mood today. welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news broadcasting live from the heart of westminster and all across the uk , the winter fuel save the the uk, the winter fuel save the winter fuel, save the winter fuel. winter fuel, save the winter fuel . the winter fuel, save the winter fuel. the unions are winter fuel, save the winter fuel . the unions are revolting, fuel. the unions are revolting, sir keir starmer suffered an humiliating defeat when his union paymasters vowed to keep the winter fuel allowance and voted his vote down. is this the beginnings of a left wing revolution? a plot to topple starmer, who's rapidly becoming the least popular prime minister in recent history ? and in recent history? and yesterday, keir starmer's new homes for heroes policy won the backing of patriotic brits. but doesit backing of patriotic brits. but does it really prioritise armed forces veterans, or could they still find themselves behind asylum seekers at the back of the queue? and on that point, gb news political editor chris hope today sat down with the prime

minister in new york and