tuesday the 8th of 12:00 on tuesday the 8th of october. i'm tom harwood and i'm emily carver. soft touch britain. an albanian burglar who sneaked back into britain after being deported, has now won the right to stay in the uk. all because he had a baby with his lithuanian girlfriend, now wife. deporting him would apparently breach his rights to a family life. we're asking, has the echr become a charter for criminals? >> and it's a knockout for will become three today as conservative mps dump another leadership contender this afternoon, we'll bring you the very latest free prescriptions on the chopping block. >> rachel reeves is facing mounting pressure to scrap free prescriptions for those aged 60 to 65 years old to save the treasury. billions. would you back such a move and would it actually save billions? >> and the great british millionaire exodus fear ahead of the budget , millionaire exodus fear ahead of the budget, high taxes and changes to non—dom rules are driving away wealthy brits. the problem is apparently getting so

bad that some economists are now calling for an exit tax on those who dare to leave the country. is that a good idea ? is that a good idea? >> and join us later to find out why heinz are facing calls to apologise for this advert. >> yeah, we were talking about this before coming on air about how we're hearing that lots of millionaires are leaving the country. okay, that's one problem. but now economists, in trying to fix the problem of losing millionaires and presumably the tax that they provide to the treasury are now saying, okay, we know what to do. geniuses in the ifs and the ippr. oh, we'll just tax them on their way out. can anyone think of any problems with that ? of any problems with that? anything, anything you can. >> i can. if i were someone who wanted to start a business, would i want to make money in

the united kingdom ? if i knew the united kingdom? if i knew that if i the united kingdom? if i knew thatifi ever the united kingdom? if i knew that if i ever wanted to go abroad, i wouldn't be able to take that money with me. would i? move to the united kingdom? were i a wealthy investor from overseas? if i thought that all of my money would be trapped in this country if i were to stay there? i mean, it's the sort of policy that we saw before margaret thatcher, and it's the sort of policy that was trying to avert capital flight. but instead just made all wealth creators decide that the uk wasn't a good place to do business. >> can you imagine charlie mullins face? can you imagine an exit tax? goodness me. are you joking? >> well, this is all coming up to the budget and another measure being discussed by many is of course , removing free is of course, removing free prescriptions from people aged 60 to 65. we want your thoughts in particular on that. gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to get involved. well, that's come, of course, after your headlines with sam francis . with sam francis. >> tom, emily, thank you very much and good afternoon to you.

it's 12:02. the top story this lunchtime. water companies in england and in wales have been ordered to return almost £158 million to customers for failing to meet crucial targets on pollution and interruption to water supplies . ofwat demanded water supplies. ofwat demanded that money comes off bills for households and from businesses in 2025 to 26. it follows a previous order to repay £114 million last year. well, with water bills set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years. the chief executive of ofwat says that financial penalties alone won't solve the industry's deep rooted issues. meanwhile , though some companies meanwhile, though some companies have made progress on leaks, though none have achieved the top rating . the uk population top rating. the uk population has seen its largest annual increase since 1971. new figures have suggested. the office for national statistics estimates the total population grew by 1% in just a year, reaching 68.3

million people by mid 2023, covering england , scotland, covering england, scotland, wales and northern ireland. the ons says that migration was the main factor behind the latest rise, as deaths exceeded births by around 16,300. in the same penod. by around 16,300. in the same period . the race to lead the period. the race to lead the conservative party is in its final stages, with just two days left to decide, with just days left to decide, with just days left to decide, the opposition leader , four candidates are leader, four candidates are battling it out robert jenrick, kemi , badenoch, james cleverly kemi, badenoch, james cleverly and tom tugendhat. but by tonight one will be eliminated. then on wednesday, the final two will be selected, leaving conservative members to make the ultimate choice . and this ultimate choice. and this morning we were joined on breakfast by shadow minister for education damian hinds, and he told us there's a field of force standout candidates to choose from. >> we've not made a declaration. i think we've got four really strong candidates. obviously we've got we've got around

today, another round tomorrow and then there will be the and then there'll be the members round. i took a decision at the start of the contest not to make a declaration until we got to that final, until we got to that final stage. but i think it's been a very well contested election. obviously, the party conference last week , that was conference last week, that was a really important opportunity for people to set out their stall. and i think both party members and of course the wider public got a chance to see all four of them in action. >> well, some breaking news from the foreign office in the last hour or so. they have now imposed sanctions on russian troops accused of using chemical weapons in the battlefield in ukraine. those sanctions target russia's radiological, chemical and biological defence troops, along with their commander. the uk government made that move just hours ago, calling it part of ongoing efforts to hold russia accountable , though at russia accountable, though at this stage there's been no response from moscow so far . response from moscow so far. turning now to the middle east and more than 80 missiles have

been launched from lebanon towards northern israel in a significant burst of fire this morning. that's according to the israeli military. well, these are the live pictures we can bnng are the live pictures we can bring you now of the scenes above beirut. you can just about make out there, the smoke lingering in the air following those strikes. it comes less than 24 hours after israel marked the anniversary of the hamas attacks and killed a key hezbollah commander in beirut. meanwhile , evacuations are still meanwhile, evacuations are still underway in the lebanese capital. 400,000 people have already fled seeking safety in syria amid growing fears of a wider conflict in the region over 1400 people have now been killed in lebanon, while the death toll in gazais lebanon, while the death toll in gaza is closing to in 42,000 people. here, meanwhile , people. here, meanwhile, pro—palestine activists have targeted the offices of financial services firm allianz across the uk. police have had to cordon off offices in the heart of london's financial

district after protesters covered buildings with red paint . covered buildings with red paint. palestine action says the protests are over. the business's alleged links to an israeli defence firm. ten of allianz offices were hit in those protests, including its headquarters in guildford, where demonstrators are still protesting . and in the us, protesting. and in the us, donald trump marked that one year anniversary of the hamas attack on israel, calling it a nightmare. speaking to a packed ballroom at his miami golf club, the former president addressed a group of supporters blaming the rise of anti—semitism in the us on democrats. >> a lot of that has to do with the leadership of this country, this attack . the october 7th this attack. the october 7th attack would never have happened if i was president. i can. >> and with just 29 days until the us election, kamala harris

has been facing questions on critical issues, including the middle east. in a one on one interview with cbs news amid growing criticism over her limited media appearances, the vice president addressed topics like ukraine, gun ownership in the us and immigration. then, in one tense moment, she refused to call the israeli prime minister a strong ally of the us. after recent disagreements . recent disagreements. >> but it seems that prime minister netanyahu is not listening . listening. >> we are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the united states to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end . for this war to end. >> staying with international news and turning to germany, christian brueckner, a suspect in the disappearance of madeleine mccann, has today been acquitted in an unrelated sexual abuse case involving three counts of rape, two of sexual abuse. the 47 year old is under investigation for the suspected murder of madeleine mccann, but hasn't been charged in the case.

he lived, of course, in portugal around the time of madeleine's disappearance in two thousand and seven, but still denies any involvement . and finally , involvement. and finally, hurricane milton has been upgraded to a category five storm, prompting florida's biggest evacuation in seven years. the satellite images show the storm churning through the gulf of mexico, with winds reaching up to 180 miles an houn reaching up to 180 miles an hour. it's set to make landfall on wednesday, with forecasters there warning of storm surges up to 12ft. that would be the highest ever for the region. florida's emergency departments, meanwhile, say residents should prepare for the largest evacuation since hurricane irma in 2017. and it comes just two weeks after hurricane helene claimed over 200 lives in the southeast of the united states . southeast of the united states. those are the latest headlines for now. i'll be back with you for now. i'll be back with you for another round up in about half an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your

smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it is ten minutes past midday now. later today a quarter will become a trio. or really, that should be a quartette should become a trio in the conservative leadership race at this party's mps vote to further whittle down their field, yes, four will become three. >> former immigration minister robert jenrick. he remains the favourite, just as he still has the most public backers. but shadow home secretary james cleverly appears to be gaining rather a lot of momentum after what most people consider a strong showing at the conservative party conference. some commentators, it seems. >> well, he seems to have been given a boost with the endorsement of mel stride, whose 16 supporters in the last round

could be key in such a tight race. >> okay, meanwhile, the lord alli cash for access row looks set to be reignited as a new book claims fresh revelations over the extent just how far his influence was and is on the new labour government. >> well, let's get more on all of this now. gb news political correspondent katherine forster. because, catherine, it's this afternoon that four will become three. >> yes, it is good afternoon, tom and emily. i was just over in portcullis house in westminster talking to people . westminster talking to people. it gets serious today and tomorrow . four will become three tomorrow. four will become three today, and then three will become two tomorrow. and then those final two go to conservative party members. we'll have the new leader, not till november. the second mps start voting from 1:30. we will get the result at 330. in committee room 14. now all the leadership candidates teams are talking positively this morning

to me, as you would expect. but the current expectation is that it is most likely that tom tugendhat will go out today, probably. and robert jenrick team feel as they've felt right throughout the campaign. to be honest, weeks and weeks ago they said to me they were confident of making the final two and kemi badenoch the other favourite are. her team have said they're feeling pretty bullish, but they've also admitted that it is going to be tight. they feel that there has been a stop kemi campaign because the polling of members shows that if she gets to the members , she's likely to to the members, she's likely to be elected leader. but i think there's a big question mark over whether it's going to be her who gets to those final two or james cleverly because he does seem to have gained momentum. he had, i would say, the best conference last week. his speech and

talking about being optimistic and being, frankly, a bit more normal went down very, very well in the hall , both robert jenrick in the hall, both robert jenrick and kemi badenoch and had a few rocky moments last week. so it will be very interesting to see. but james cleverly is not a without problems too , because of without problems too, because of course, this row that's exploded over the chagos islands while he was foreign secretary, he was helping to negotiate that that was happening on his watch . when was happening on his watch. when david cameron came in, he put a pause on that. and labour, of course, have got it over the line to the fury of many. so there's some other teams that think that that could hurt james cleverly. it certainly feels like he's got the momentum at the moment. and of course mel stride has come out to support him. he had 16 mps and backing

him. he had 16 mps and backing him in the last round, but of course there are a fickle bunch conservative mps. i think we can't just assume that because mel stride says he's backing james cleverly, that all those 16 people are going to go over to james cleverly. so a very interesting vote this afternoon, and then an even more significant one tomorrow at 330. >> yes, i guess who you backed a month ago may well be quite different today after everything that's happened after the tory conference, after all the headunes conference, after all the headlines , various gaffes as headlines, various gaffes as well. to catherine, thank you very much indeed . katherine very much indeed. katherine forster gb news, political correspondent there from westminster. shall we now speak to political commentator benedict spence? benedict keir starmer, he's hosting his his cabinet this morning. we'll be speaking to christopher hope, our political editor, very soon, to see what exactly was said there. but it's rather a different looking number 10 operation, isn't it ? operation, isn't it? >> it is now that sue gray has sadly departed for more tropical climes in the nations, and

regions, heading up her new role as the prime minister's vizier. you know, it's gone really well, hasn't it? the first hundred days, we're not even at the first hundred days yet, and we're already having the sort of the fantasy football wild card opfion the fantasy football wild card option of having to rip up your team and starting again. look, i mean, it's in some ways it's quite reassuring to know that actually , even though actually, even though government's change in fighting in number 10 doesn't, this was one of the things, of course, that put paid to boris johnson when all things were going very swimmingly for him, his factionalism. morgan mcsweeney, who is the person who is now charged with taking over from sue gray and is supposedly the mastermind behind labour's election win, in which they simply had to not be the tories and to win a majority and they did very well. this is now the person that is effectively going to be running. the operation, supposedly is much more blue laboun supposedly is much more blue labour, i suppose, which is what the novara media crowd would therefore call a tory. but but you know, realistically, what does that mean? i doubt very

much that we're going to be seeing any of the sort of the flagship policies that rachel reeves has been sort of floating in the budget taken off the table or anything like that. it's still a bad time for growth, a bad time for free speech. it'sjust growth, a bad time for free speech. it's just hoped, hoped that things are going to go a little bit more smoothly is i think the what we have to look forward to. >> but benedict to weave these two stories together, i mean, do the tories really want to be narrowing down their leadership options? it seems that without a leader, without the focus on the conservative party, there's been rather a focus on the labour party, on the new government, on the sleaze, on the scandal and on the mismanagement, frankly, behind that shining black door to number 10, perhaps the conservative party would be better off not having a leader for a little while longer. >> i mean, there is something to be said about an individual becoming a lightning rod for everything possibly going wrong. and this is, i suppose, something that we are going to find out as we whittle it down from four to 3 to 2, is that far more will be made of the track records of whoever it is that wants to become the next leader

of the opposition. and of course, we've already discussed this, haven't we? what with the james cleverly riding high at tory conference going all very well. and then. oh dear , these well. and then. oh dear, these islands that he was negotiating over have been given away and suddenly people remember that that's that that's something that's that that's something that happened. we're going to get more of that obviously when it comes inevitably. look robert jenrick is going to get probably into the final two, at which point people will start remembering that once upon a time he was a centrist cameroon and not this sort of right wing firebrand. and people will start asking questions like, okay, the last six months you've been very right wing. where were you for the rest of your time as a conservative mp? and you'll get similar things with kemi badenoch. we've already seen it. of course, the sort of the personal barbs about her rudeness, about her tardiness, all that sort of thing that will intensify if she gets to the final two. but right now, i mean, as katherine forster was saying, that it looks like tom tugendhat is probably gone, which is ironic because he's the one that pulls the best in the country at large. so that would be very, very typical of the conservatives to get rid of the most popular candidate. and then

it looks like it's probably going to be james cleverly and realistically robert jenrick, at which point the fun can begin and we can start sticking the boot back into the tories once again, because we'll have two actual candidates that we can pay actual candidates that we can pay attention to. and that's within our bandwidth. i think two is enough. >> how exciting. benedict. thank you very much indeed for your time. benedict spence, political commentator we were just mentioned by benedict, just mentioned by benedict, just mentioned robert jenrick. and of course, he's been talking a lot about leaving the echr and speaking of the echr and albanian criminal who sneaked back into britain after being deported, well, he's won the right to stay under the european convention on human rights. >> yes . ardit benaag was freed >> yes. ardit benaag was freed six months ago in into a two and a half year jail six months ago in into a two and a half yearjail sentence for a half year jail sentence for burglary and deported as part of a prisoner transfer agreement with albania. >> but he came back to britain to be with his lithuanian girlfriend and now married . he girlfriend and now married. he is staying here as he apparently has a right to a family life. >> okay, well, joining us now to discuss this is a human rights

lawyer, doctor shoaib khan . and lawyer, doctor shoaib khan. and firstly of all shoaib, this is someone who entered the country illegally twice and now can stay. is this not just a green light to anyone who enters the country illegally? you know, hook up with a girlfriend and bob's your uncle. >> yeah, well, i guess it depends on how you. you know, how you treat family life or how you treat you know, i mean, the whole point is, it's not just about a girlfriend. obviously. they married now she's a wife, but secondly, they have a son. the point is, yes, he committed a crime. he was in his 20s. he went to prison for it. you know, he was released early under a legal scheme, under a treaty agreement that the uk british government had signed. so he did nothing, you know, so he completed his time there and now if he has a son, then i don't see why he should be. you know, or particularly, why should the son, the baby be deprived of being able to live with his father now? >> i mean, shoaib, the echr is disproportionately helping people who come to this country and commit crimes , isn't it?

and commit crimes, isn't it? some are calling it a charter for criminals now. >> no, of course it's not. i mean, and that's the whole point. you know, we were just talking in the previous segment about freedom of speech, right to fair trial. there's so many other things. obviously, that's what the echr does. the point is that most of those times, i mean, in fact, without naming names, but, you know, so many times, so many politicians, when they do get in a bit of a pickle, let's say it is human rights law that they go for. so many media personalities, so many, you know, right wing media channels and newspapers and so on. so whenever there are some problems, then it is human rights that they go for echr human rights act. that is what they are, and that is the whole point that they are for all of us. they are. isn't there a difference here, shoaib? >> i mean, in some countries , >> i mean, in some countries, like the united states of america, for example, you've got a bill of rights. that is a list of restrictions on what the government can do. that's very clear. the government shall not infringe upon your right to do x, y, or z in the european sphere. instead, we have all of these positive rights, these things that the government must

do for you. these are impositions upon the individual rather than freedoms for the individual. it's completely inverted way of looking at rights. and so what we have here is two non citizens, one who entered twice to this country illegally, have a child in this country who now has the positive right to free education paid for by the taxpayer, to all of these services that people can expect in this country. is this not an inverted way of looking at rights compared to how, for example , traditionally british example, traditionally british people would look at rights or how americans do today? >> no, because, i mean, i mean, obviously they are positive rights and in fact, they are under most rights charters. but this isn't , in fact, even this isn't, in fact, even a positive right. the point is that they are a family. they have a baby, they're in the uk. the government should not separate them. >> and that's what in this country illegally should be done. so did you actually believe, do you actually believe that anyone who arrives in this country illegally, who has a prison sentence, who then leaves

the country and come back, comes back in, makes a woman pregnant, who also isn't british, should just be allowed to stay in this country because of their human rights. i mean, does that not just send an incentive that we dont? >> what do you mean makes a woman pregnant is a married couple who are having a baby? i mean, for anyone else, you know, we'd be celebrating. >> neither party. neither party are british and one entered illegally. >> i mean, the wife, she she's a lithuanian national and she came here under eu free from right to freedom when she was able to do that. so there was free movement rights and lots of brits went abroad, married european citizens and so to say, oh, here's a non—spanish person having a baby in spain, here's a non—french person having a baby. but the british, they were european. they were allowed to do that. how many people? how many? >> there's an illegal migrant here. i mean, we had i don't know how many hundreds of thousands of legal migrants come to this country over the course of the last year. i think it was gross, maybe, perhaps 800,000 or something like that. in the last 12 months, you would have

thought that if someone wanted to come to this country, had something to offer to come to this country, given the historically high levels of legal migration, they could do so legally. >> firstly, i mean to be honest, that is. >> firstly, i mean to be honest, thatis.i >> firstly, i mean to be honest, that is. i mean, yes, if you want to come here as a student, if you want to come as a worker, that is, you know, relatively easier to do if you want to come here to join family, that is very, very hard to do. i mean, even look at the spouse visa, you know, the income threshold used to be 19,000. now it's gone up to 30,000. so many women. i mean, essentially if you have your husband living abroad, you're basically a single mother bringing up children. you can't work full time. you can't earn 30,000. and those women can never legally be joined by their husbands then. and that's the whole point. if we did away with that, then yes, of course you might have a point and we could say there are so many legal routes, then why do people have to sneak into the why did this person have to sneak sneak into the uk to be with his girlfriend? >> his girlfriend? you don't believe there's any such thing as an illegal migrant? show him. i mean, i'm sorry. he he he was illegally here when he. when he

fathered a child. >> girlfriend. the girlfriend was here legally. >> a lot of people will be watching this. a lot of people will be watching this and saying, well, why doesn't he take his girlfriend to albania? but apparently the echr said that she might not get appropriate health care over there. so now we're responsible for albania's health care provision. i mean, it is crazy. >> we are responsible for is a lithuanian woman. and as far as i can see, even gb news others have been reporting that she suffers from serious depression. so if she's a seriously depressed woman, she's had a baby. we shouldn't either separate the family or we shouldn't. so why should she go to albania? what's albania got to albania? what's albania got to do with the lithuanian woman ? to do with the lithuanian woman? that's the whole point. they met in the uk. they got married here. they had a baby here. the uk is their home now. it doesn't matter what the colour of their passport. what's albania got to do with the lithuanian woman? okay. why should the family just uproot and go to albania? i just don't understand. >> if someone comes here on houday >> if someone comes here on holiday and has a baby, are they automatically british? >> no, no they're not. that's the whole point. they weren't. >> this person was illegally here. >> yes, well, he was here for

ten years. she's been here. i don't know how long. they've had a baby together. they want to start a family in the uk. i mean, why should the lithuanian woman go to albania? isn't that okay? >> well, we do have to get to a break, but we'll be back to this later in the show. but for now, doctor shoaib khan, really appreciate your time discussing this contentious issue with us. >> yes, thank you very much indeed. well, let us know your thoughts at home. gbnews.com/yoursay. we've got lots more coming on today's show. we're going to be returning to the

>> good afternoon britain. it is 28 minutes past midday now. we're going to return to the story that we were discussing slightly at the top of the hour thatis slightly at the top of the hour that is the turmoil in number 10. joining us is the former labour mp bill rammell, because bill, it's not particularly unusual, not particularly ordinary to lose a chief of staff within 100 days of government . government. >> well, look, it's not been our

best few weeks. i would acknowledge that. and i've got a lot of time for sue gray. i worked with her when i was a government minister. however, clearly i think the appointment wasn't working out. she had to be removed. i think keir has taken ruthless action in doing that and he's resetting the organisation within number 10. i think the broader message is that when you're in government, you need a constant narrative of what the government is doing, why it's doing it and how it's doing it. and i think that's been missing, you know, there's . been missing, you know, there's. lots of good stuff that's been happening around the national living wage about reinstating house building targets to kick start the economy. the new deal for working people. all of that needs to be communicated relentlessly . so, you know, relentlessly. so, you know, these are missteps . i think these are missteps. i think morgan mcsweeney, who is a

superb political operator, making him chief of staff, will bnng making him chief of staff, will bring coherence and professionalism to number 10, and we can move forward and deliver and, bill, the issue of lord waheed alli isn't going anywhere either. >> front page of the daily mail today is that a new book is going to be published by political journalist tim ross, which really highlights just how involved lord ali was in decision making. drawing up the timetable for the party's first 100 days, advising on appointments, even attending talks with with civil servants. this is likely to reignite the sort of cash for access claims. is it not? >> look, there's a feeding frenzy going on around lord alli by conservative supporting newspapers. ali was a labour party member and a labour peer. way, way before he became a donor to the labour party. and it is absolutely acceptable for

a labour peer or a backbench labour mp to be involved in meetings with ministers or or at number 10. there have been no rules broken in this regard. compare and contrast. you know, we keep getting the accusation well , this is just like the well, this is just like the tories. it's manifestly not just like the tories there the rules were broken. the ministerial code was repeatedly breached and nothing was done about it. there's no sense that anything like that has happened around lord alli curious that he doesn't have a formal title, a formal position if he's doing all of these things. >> behind the scenes meeting ministers had a temporary downing street pass, but wasn't given a formal role in the in the running of number 10, i sort of struggled to sort of realise why. that's if it's all above board. why was it kept so hush hush? bill, i'm afraid we're going to have to get to the news headunes going to have to get to the news headlines because we've got a very anxious christopher hope, our political editor, racing down downing street to deliver us a readout of the cabinet meeting this morning that's coming after your news headlines. stay with us.

>> very good afternoon to you . >> very good afternoon to you. 12:32. a recap of the stories making the news this hour. sir keir starmer is set to attend crucial talks in berlin, joining leaders from the us, from france, germany and others on sunday saturday. rather, the meeting will focus on the ongoing war in ukraine and the escalating situation in the middle east. it comes as tensions are rising in lebanon, prompting urgent diplomatic efforts among the so—called quad nations. efforts among the so—called quad nafions.the efforts among the so—called quad nations. the prime minister's spokesperson said this morning the meeting highlights the uk's commitment to tackling international issues alongside its allies . well, that meeting its allies. well, that meeting comes after israel has launched operations in southwest lebanon today but says they're limited. they're localised and targeted. those strikes come as more than 80 missiles have been launched from lebanon towards northern israel, in a significant burst

of fire. this morning. meanwhile, evacuations are still underway in the lebanese capital and more than a fifth of the population are now displaced . population are now displaced. over 1400 people have been killed in lebanon so far during the conflict . here, water the conflict. here, water companies in england and in wales have been ordered to return more than £157 million to customers for failing to meet crucial targets on pollution. ofwat, the regulator, has demanded the money comes off of bills for households and businesses in 2025. it follows a previous to order repay £114 million last year, with water bills set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years. ofwat says that the financial penalties alone won't solve the industry's deep rooted issues . industry's deep rooted issues. and the race to lead the conservative party is in its final stages, with just days left to decide. the opposition leader, four candidates are still battling it out robert

jenrick, kemi badenoch, james cleverly and tom tugendhat. but by tonight one will be eliminated. then on wednesday, the final two will be selected, leaving conservative members to make the ultimate choice . that's make the ultimate choice. that's the latest from the newsroom. for now. back to tom and emily for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts

>> okay, it's now 1237. you're watching listening to good afternoon britain. and we're going to go live to downing street and speak to gb news political editor christopher hope, who is fresh out of lobby for us. christopher, lots of movements within number 10, a cabinet meeting this morning. what's being said ?

what's being said? >> hi, tom. emily, from a very wet number 10 downing street. that's right. morgan mcsweeney, the new chief of staff for the prime minister, sir keir starmer, was in the cabinet meeting . sue gray wasn't. she's meeting. sue gray wasn't. she's now the envoy for nations and regions. number 10 officials telling us that it is quite normal for mcsweeney to be there. he was there previously, but more significant, of course, he now has the levers on how this government acts and maybe pulling it out of its kind of slough of despond we've seen in recent weeks after that rather urgent start they made in the first part of the 100 days, which, of course , deadline the which, of course, deadline the anniversary of which is next week . but the cabinet was quite week. but the cabinet was quite a sombre affair, spoke about the october seventh attacks. there was a briefing now to ministers saying there was a real risk of miscalculation in the middle east, with the fighting between israel and hezbollah and hamas and iran. of course, there was a briefing to them on the employment rights bill that's

the first reading of which is on on thursday this week. and there's a meeting today between angela rayner, who's the deputy prime minister, jonathan reynolds, the business secretary, with a whole array of unions, including usdaw, the tuc, the cwu , unison, as well as tuc, the cwu, unison, as well as employers, the cbi institute directors and the british chambers of commerce. they're all meeting for a kind of modern day version of the beer and sandwiches meetings we saw in the 70s. ahead of this moment on thursday, which we've long seen coming. there's also there's a also ministers were talked about told about next monday's investment summit when the government is trying to bring in lots of foreign investors to the uk, encourage them to invest. i asked, will investors want to come to a summit given the budget is three weeks away and thatis budget is three weeks away and that is feared by many businesses, there's going to be a problem for them on areas like pension investment and also capital gains tax. but we're told that companies are still investing in this country, notably amazon and blackstone. an important moment, we were

told elsewhere. not much to tell you about hs2 going to euston. that was floated by louise hague today. currently it stops at old oak common outside london. no news, no news, no news there. but we're told there'll be an announcement very, very soon by louise hay, the transport secretary. the issue of the chagos islands was not raised and there are no plans yet for and there are no plans yet for an investment minister. so steady as she goes, despite polling today giving the labour just one point lead over the tory party, not a lot of news out of this cabinet really interesting stuff. >> christopher, thank you so much for bringing us that . it is much for bringing us that. it is concerning perhaps that the government is trying to sort of brush under the carpet the sheer consternation that has been going on in that building behind you. did you get a sense talking to the prime minister's official spokesman , that that they sort spokesman, that that they sort of understand the gravity of what's gone on?

>> well, they appear not to. and i ask them things like, is it a mistake to wait 16 weeks for a budget when tony blair's government in 97 waited just half that time? is this government drifting ? no. they government drifting? no. they say they're getting on with the priorities. they list what they've done so far. gb energy nationalising the rail. of course, the increase in in the pubuc course, the increase in in the public sector pay . and they've public sector pay. and they've taken away the benefit from 10 million pensioners this winter. the winter fuel benefit they maintain there's no problem here. but i do know there's very little planned to be announced between now and october 30th. i mean, really, everyone is waiting on tenterhooks for the budget. it's like a massive a tsunami about to break on whitehall, and we're not sure how it will be, how how the world will look after that. it's a big issue, i think. but i think as for now, they're to happy carry on governing without any big announcements. tom and emily, particularly when there are there are so many indicators that actually this, this very

long wait for the budget is having a negative impact on our our economy. >> anyway, thank you very much indeed. christopher hope, our political editor, will speak to you a little bit later. and speaking of the budget and all things financial analysis by the adam smith institute claims that britain is set to experience the worst exodus of millionaires in the world. >> well, this is all due to the government's new plans to increase wealth taxes , make increase wealth taxes, make changes to non—dom rules and all the other ideas floated about this big disaster budget. >> yes, the analysis predicts that the share of the population who are millionaires is expected to plunge by 20% over the course of this parliament. in contrast, germany, france, italy, they're all predicted to grow their share of millionaires. >> well, let's get the thoughts now of doctor phil white, a founding member of a group calling themselves patriotic millionaires uk . they're the millionaires uk. they're the sorts of millionaires who are keen to pay more tax. doctor phil, thanks for joining keen to pay more tax. doctor phil, thanks forjoining us. phil, thanks for joining us. first of all, should we be concerned that many of your millionaire compatriots don't really seem to agree with you on high levels of taxation ?

high levels of taxation? >> well, hi tom. emily, i think firstly we need to look at that where that report came from and what it actually says and what it means. but then secondly, i think we need to come on and look at actually what the real issues in the country are. and how the finances affect those. but firstly, you know, if we look at that article, it came from the adam smith institute, which was a big backer of liz truss and her campaign and her fiscal policies, which frankly, didn't end well. secondly, it was published by the daily telegraph, and there was a similar article in the daily mail, both of which are owned by non—dom millionaires. so frankly, not exactly an impartial. >> so, doctor phil, i take your point. i take your point. these are editorial choices. of course they are. what to publish. and yes, that think tank is a free market think tank. so they do campaign for lower taxes. of course they do. but does that not make it true? is it not the case that we may well see millionaire behaviour change as a result of high taxes? as a result of this long wait for the

budget, where capital gains might go up, where there are changes to non—dom status, where potentially there could be other tax rises, surely behaviour will change. >> yeah, we could see changes in behaviour and again the report does confuse demographic changes with people leaving. but you know one example we can you know there are examples around the world of putting wealth tax in place. one example is norway. there was a lot of publicity. around 30 millionaires left norway for switzerland, but 236,000 decided to stay. so, you know, any changes that we see there tend to be very small because people, you know, but you could also you could also point to france, which has long flirted with the idea of wealth taxes. >> they brought them in and then been forced to remove them because what did they see? an exodus of millionaires. it was also found that these types of wealth taxes were very hard to make work. it's very hard to judge exactly someone's wealth. and if you do slap a wealth tax on someone, well, then the next year there's less wealth to tax.

>> there are practicalities, as you know. i mean, france was a much more complicated. and there were things on high levels of income tax and so on coming in there. but yes, it is difficult to measure. and again, we're proposing that actually wealth taxes should kick in at quite high levels of wealth . so you high levels of wealth. so you know, you're not dealing you're deaung know, you're not dealing you're dealing with people. maybe with a wealth level of over £10 million. so it's a finite set of people. and you can start to assess wealth at that point. and we do that anyway for inheritance tax and those things. >> so and we know how inequitable inheritance tax is appued inequitable inheritance tax is applied because it turns out if you if you've got £10 million, you've probably got very good lawyers, very good accountants, you're probably one of the most mobile people on the face of the planet. and isn't this the issue here that we're dealing with a hypermobile class of people? and this is why it's not just the adam smith institute, the telegraph and the mail saying this. it's the treasury being reported as saying some of these taxes that have been floated would actually be counterproductive. you can't squeeze non—doms anymore because

they'll just depart the country will become a country where these hyper rich people simply do not spend more than 90 days of their time. >> it is true that capital is mobile, and that's a real issue, and we need to close off those loopholes that allow the very wealthy to continue to extract this wealth from society and not pay this wealth from society and not pay their fair share of tax on it. and that's really important. we're pressing internationally for that to happen. as well, because that parity across countries is important. >> that's a really interesting point that you made. extract this wealth from society. do you not believe that millionaires create money? do you think that there's a flat rate of money and all that happens is it piles up at one end? surely, surely you believe that there is such a thing as economic growth? >> well, economic growth we can measure through gdp or whatever measure through gdp or whatever measure takes our fancy kind of thing. but yeah, economic growth does exist, but it's not created exclusively by the wealthy. it's created by people working by people doing hard work, by people doing hard work, by people being motivated to work, by people being interested in working. and, you know, a good

health system, good public health. that means they're not off sick for half the time in this kind of thing. so actually, no, it's not just, you know, the top 0.1% that's creating all that wealth. and, you know, we've seen the fallacies of that kind of trickle down argument in the past, which frankly, has been discredited over the last ten years or more. so yeah, economic growth is important, but it's not due to the very wealthy . yeah. wealthy. yeah. >> i just worry that if we see all these millionaires leave, it's going to be the ordinary, the ordinary joe who has to cough up the extra tax to keep everything going. that's what i'm worried about. that's what our viewers are worried about, that's for sure. doctor phil, thank you very much indeed . thank you very much indeed. doctor phil white, founding member of patriotic millionaires uk. >> well, this is good afternoon britain on gb news lots more coming up on today's packed show. yes. heinz has apologised for their latest ad campaign. can you see anything wrong with this particular advert ?

>> right. well, 51 is the time and heinz has been forced to apologise after an advert featuring an interracial couple drew criticism for the omission of the black bride's father. >> well, social media users accused the brand of reinforcing stereotypes about absent black fathers. heinz acknowledged the concerns , promising to be more concerns, promising to be more mindful in future campaigns. in a perhaps surprising to some apology. >> yes, joining us to discuss this is founder and chairman of frank pr, graham goodkind. graham, how much did they stick their foot in this? and were they right to apologise? what do you think ? you think? >> i think yes, absolutely. they were right to apologise because they certainly caused offence to some people . and at the end of some people. and at the end of the day, they're a brand trying to promote themselves in the best way they think possible. and if they do hurt individuals feelings and a whole group of individuals feelings in this case, then i think it's right that they apologise. i think it's a case of them trying to be

a little bit too woke , and it a little bit too woke, and it backfired on them. i don't think there's no there's a negative intention there obviously from them. but i think as i said, it's them trying to be a little bit too woke and they shot themselves in the foot a bit. >> isn't this the risk though? if you sort of try and go too far one way, then you might go the other way and you might upset both groups in the process. i couldn't see anything. to i had read the articles to sort of discover what people had wrong with this advert. i mean, it doesn't seem the most offensive thing to me, but maybe i'm just just not awake enough to the concerns that some have. i don't. i mean, should, should heinz have drawn attention to it, perhaps by apologising if a few people on social media complain about something, can't a brand stick their foot in it to a greater extent by drawing attention to those people who have criticised it? >> you're talking a different strategy here, which is people cause controversy deliberately as a way to garner more publicity. and it's a pr stunt in this case. i don't think it

is. you know, heinz are a major corporation , i'm sure, with corporation, i'm sure, with a lot of black employees as well. and they wouldn't have wanted to offend that community. for me, this smacks of a bit more is a lack of diversity in the industry that's coming up with the creative ideas for this sort of thing , and the ad industry of thing, and the ad industry and in my industry, indeed, the pubuc and in my industry, indeed, the public relations industry, there is a woeful lack of diversity. and i think, you know, if there were i don't know whether there were i don't know whether there were any black people in the room when this ad was created or devised or approved or discussed at any meeting. i'm sure if there was, then they might have raised the real fact that it's called offence to some people, and there is a lack of diversity in this industry. and as i said, i point to my own industry in that, in that respect, indeed, i think if there were more young people in the potential meeting where this ad was aired, discussed, raised, approved, whatever i think they'd have probably spotted it. >> yeah, i think to be honest, i actually do think i can see why people find this one offensive, actually, because you've got the

white parents there and then you've got a single black parent there. no father present. i can see why it's found offensive. i do wonder whether these apologies are real, though. it's all a bit sort of. i don't know if it's just for just all a bit sort of. i don't know if it's just forjust so all a bit sort of. i don't know if it's just for just so they get more clicks. i don't know. graham goodkind, thank you very much indeed. you're the chairman of frank pr. thank you for your time. >> well, goodness me much more to come on. good afternoon britain, including more on the turmoil in downing street and of course, what the tories can make of it, that after the weather. >> ooh, a chilly start will give way to a lovely warm afternoon. boxt heat pumps sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hello. very good day to you. here's your latest gb news weather update coming to you from the met office on what could be quite a thundery tuesday for some of us. yes, there will be some sunny spells around, but also plenty of showers because low pressure is dominating the story and this low pressure is leading to quite

an unsettled, unstable picture across the uk at the moment. it's also bringing some blustery winds, especially in the southwest, but also some strong winds across northern parts of scotland too . otherwise, and scotland too. otherwise, and there's going to be some persistent rain across parts of northern england and into southern scotland, and then plenty of showers for many other areas, especially towards the south southeast , where they south southeast, where they could turn heavy and thundery temperatures are going to be a little bit on the high side for the time of year. highs of around 18 or 19 celsius towards the south a bit fresher further north. as we go through this evening, there will still be some heavy thundery downpours to watch out for, particularly across central southern parts of england and wales. could be some disruption. we do have a warning in force further north, something a little bit more persistent rain wise across parts of perhaps northern ireland, but also northern england and southern scotland, and then further north north—east across scotland. yes, it's going to still be quite windy and there will be some further outbreaks of rain as we go through the end of the day. more unsettled wet weather to come for many of us as we go

through the end of the day and overnight. the rain and showers starting to ease a little bit, so turning a bit drier as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning. but still some wet weather around. there will be some clear spells here and there, but largely cloudy, so towards the south in particular it's going to be a relatively mild night. a little bit chillier though . further north chillier though. further north with temperatures dropping mid single figures for some as we go through tomorrow. a bit of a wet start across eastern parts of scotland, some parts of northeast england and rain continuing here for a time. but it should break up and clear away later on and otherwise there'll be some showers around again, but they don't look like they'll be as frequent or as intense as the ones that we're going to see today. temperatures still on the relatively warm side towards the south, but turning colder from the north with a northerly wind, we can expect clear skies leading to a light and warm day ahead

well . good afternoon britain.

well. good afternoon britain. it's 1:00 on tuesday the 8th of october. i'm emily carver and i'm tom harwood. thisjust october. i'm emily carver and i'm tom harwood. this just in the mi5 i'm tom harwood. this just in the m15 have foiled more than 20 deadly iranian terror plots on the uk in just the last two years. they're now warning of an increased terrorist due to conflict in the middle east and soft touch britain. >> an albanian burglar who sneaked back into britain after being deported, has now won the right to stay in the uk, all because he had a baby with his lithuanian girlfriend, now wife. deporting him would apparently breach his right to a family life. we're asking has the echr become a charter for criminals? >> and it's a knockout for will become three today as conservative mps dump another leadership contender this afternoon . afternoon. >> free prescriptions on the chopping block. rachel reeves is facing mounting pressure to scrap free prescription prescriptions for those aged 60 to 65. this could save the treasury millions. would you back such a move ?

back such a move? >> do you know lots of people getting in touch about the free prescriptions? lots of people pointing out that in scotland, northern ireland and wales you have free prescriptions for life. so how can it be that in england you have to pay for them and then they're trying to get rid of them for 60 to 65 year olds as well? >> because paying for prescriptions is good, actually. >> so why does scotland, wales and northern ireland get away with it? >> the nhs performance in these countries is not particularly higher, and one of the big concerns that the nhs has is if prescriptions are free, people get frivolous . prescriptions. get frivolous. prescriptions. >> i'm not saying whether it's a good or bad policy, it just should be the same across the board. >> surely i can understand why we have some graduated delivery of it . i can't understand why of it. i can't understand why people who are between the ages of 60 and 65 who are who are not pensioners, why are we, i mean,

this was a benefit that was initially introduced for pensioners. the pension age grew, but the age of prescriptions didn't grow. i mean, it seems like a mismatch to me. i think sharon got in touch a little bit earlier, actually, and she said that she went after the dentist. >> she had a prescription and she was shocked to find out that she was shocked to find out that she didn't have to pay for it. she said, oh, i'm not on benefits. yes. and then they said, no, you're over 60. so there you go. 60s. not that old 60s. >> the new 50. i mean, no one should. it's. yeah. anyway, we're going to get on to that and so much more throughout the programme. do keep your views coming in. gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to get involved. all that to come, including this new line out of m15. after your news headlines. >> tom. emily, thank you very much and good afternoon to you. 1:02. we start this lunchtime with that news that the director general of m15 has warned that isis and al—qaeda are on the

rise again, with an increased terror risk linked to the conflicts going on in the middle east. in a stark warning today at the counter—terrorism operation centre , ken mccallum operation centre, ken mccallum revealed that iran has been unked revealed that iran has been linked to at least 20 deadly plots in the uk over the past two years. he says both groups are attempting to export terror and highlighted the recent deadly attack in moscow as a brutal demonstration. he says of what isis is capable of. well, as the conflict between israel and iran intensifies, m15 is on high alert for potential repercussions here in the uk. mccallum also pointed to a worrying rise in state sponsored threats, particularly from russia . and speaking of russia, russia. and speaking of russia, the foreign office has imposed sanctions on russian troops today accused of using chemical weapons on the battlefield in ukraine. those sanctions target russia's radiological, chemical and biological defence troops, along with their commander. the

uk government made the move just hours ago, calling it part of ongoing efforts to hold moscow accountable. though at this stage there has been no response from the kremlin . and sir keir from the kremlin. and sir keir starmer is set for crucial talks in berlin this weekend, joining leaders from the us , from france leaders from the us, from france and germany. that meeting will focus on the ongoing war in will and germany. that meeting will focus on the ongoing war in ukraine and the escalating ukraine and the escalating situation in the middle east. it situation in the middle east. it comes as tensions are rising in comes as tensions are rising in lebanon, prompting urgent lebanon, prompting urgent diplomatic efforts among the diplomatic efforts among the so—called quad nations. the so—called quad nations. the prime minister's spokesperson prime minister's spokesperson says that meeting highlights the says that meeting highlights the uk's commitment to tackling uk's commitment to tackling international issues alongside international issues alongside its allies . meanwhile, water its allies . meanwhile, water its allies. meanwhile, water companies in england and in its allies. meanwhile, water companies in england and in wales have been ordered to wales have been ordered to return more than £157 million to return more than £157 million to customers for failing to meet customers for failing to meet crucial targets on pollution and crucial targets on pollution and interruption to water supplies interruption to water supplies off what's demanded that the off what's demanded that the money comes off of bills for money comes off of bills for households and from businesses households and from businesses

in 2025 to 2026. it follows a in 2025 to 2026. it follows a previous to order repay £114 million last year, with water bills set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years. the chief executive of ofwat says that financial penalties alone won't solve the industry's deep rooted issues. however, some companies have made progress on their leaks, though none have achieved the top rating . turning to the us and rating. turning to the us and there are just 29 days until the election, then kamala harris has been facing questions on critical issues , including the critical issues, including the middle east conflict. in a one on one interview with cbs news amid growing criticism over her limited media appearances during the campaign, the vice president addressed topics like ukraine, gun ownership and immigration. there was one tense moment, though, when she refused to call the israeli prime minister a strong ally of the us. >> but it seems that prime minister netanyahu is not listening. >> we are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for

the united states to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end . for this war to end. >> and in some more news on election results and votes, while the to race lead the conservative party is in its final stages here with just days left to decide, the next opposition leader , four opposition leader, four candidates are battling it out. robert jenrick , kemi badenoch, robert jenrick, kemi badenoch, james cleverly and tom tugendhat. but by tonight one will be eliminated. then on wednesday, the final two will be selected, leaving conservative members to make the ultimate choice. this morning we were joined by shadow minister for education damian hinds and he told us he thinks there's a field of standout candidates. >> we've not made a declaration. i think we've got four really strong candidates. obviously we've got we've got around today, another round tomorrow and then there will be the and then there'll be the members round. i took a decision at the start of the contest to not make a declaration until we got to that final, until we got to that final stage. but i think it's been a very well contested election. obviously, the party

conference last week, that was a really important opportunity for people to set out their stall and i think both party members and i think both party members and of course the wider public got a chance to see all four of them in action. >> christian brueckner, a suspect in the disappearance of madeleine mccann, has been acquitted today in an unrelated sexual abuse case involving three counts of rape and two of sexual assault.

evacuation in years. warning that time is, he says , going to that time is, he says, going to start running out for residents very, very soon. these satellite images show that storm churning through the gulf of mexico, with winds now reaching up to 180 miles an hour. forecasters are also warning of an 8 to 12 foot storm surge possible that would or go to gbnews.com forward slash surge . or go to gbnews.com forward slash surge possible that would storm surge possible that would be the highest ever for the be the highest ever for the region and could bring some region and could bring some widespread flooding. well, it widespread flooding. well, it comes just two weeks after comes just two weeks after hurricane helene claimed over hurricane helene claimed over 200 lives in southeastern united 200 lives in southeastern united states . are the latest headlines states . are the latest headlines states. are the latest headlines for now, we can now hand states. are the latest headlines for now, we can now hand straight back to tom and emily straight back to tom and emily for an update on that breaking for an update on that breaking news with mark white for the news with mark white for the very latest gb news direct to very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . slash alerts .

slash alerts. >> welcome back to good afternoon britain. it is now 1:09 and we're going to bring you some more on the

around two 2017, with the resurgence or with the rise of the terror group isis and all of the terror group isis and all of the related terrorist attacks that took place in the uk at that took place in the uk at that point. but now they're in another very busy period of very complex threats, ranging from organised terror groups such as al—qaeda and isis to lone actors and state actors. as well. and as far as the organised terror groups are concerned, very worrying. the indications that al—qaeda and isis are on the rise again and actively looking to attack . the west, in to attack. the west, in particular because of the middle east conflict. al—qaeda is calling for attacks on the west. isis, according to ken mccallum, although it's not the force it was before the coalition forces bombed it back into submission in syria and iraq. it is

increasingly proving to be a potent threat again, more diffuse in different countries. we saw, he said, the very significant terrorist attack in moscow in march, in which 145 people were killed in a concert hall and 500 others were injured. this is what he said about the potential for the middle east, sparking more in the way of attacks in the west since january 2022, with police partners, we have responded to 20 iran backed plots, presenting potentially lethal threats to british citizens and uk residents as events unfold in the middle east, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in or a broadening of iranian state aggression here in the uk. so there he was talking specifically about iran, a state actor, and the fact that over the last year, 20 separate plots have been thwarted, deadly ,

have been thwarted, deadly, potentially deadly plots and we are concerned that as israel takes a fight to iran and its proxies, that there is this potential for more attacks, but more broadly on the threat from other groups such as isis and al—qaeda. this is what he said today. >> we are powerfully arrived alive to the risk that events in the middle east directly trigger terrorist action in the uk, as we saw with last october's knife attack in hartlepool, the ripples from conflict in that region will not necessarily arrive at our shores in a straightforward fashion. they will . be filtered through the will. be filtered through the lens of online media and mixed with existing views and grievances in unpredictable ways . grievances in unpredictable ways. >> i think a lot of people will have forgotten that there was a confirmed terror attack in hartlepool because of the way the reporting restrictions were appued the reporting restrictions were applied at the time, we weren't allowed to talk about this as it

was a terror attack until after the sentencing. i've always been fascinated about this because some countries are much more liberal with their media in terms of being able to call a spade a spade. in the uk, it seems that there was this , not seems that there was this, not not just the court restrictions, but also this idea that if we talk up the threat of terrorism, perhaps it's more likely that more will be inspired to commit terrorism. >> yeah. and there were particular issues around hartlepool as well , particular issues around hartlepool as well, pointing to the mental health of the attacker, the killer, the murderer who's now been convicted, of course , of that convicted, of course, of that horrific attack at the time. so actually that was addressed by ken mccallum in his speech. he's saying that, you know , the saying that, you know, the police and the security services sometimes at times find it very difficult to make that call and say that this is definitely a terrorist attack or not, because

some of these actors are not, you know, responding to direct instructions from terrorist groups , the information, the groups, the information, the electronic information that's out there on their devices doesn't necessarily point to the fact that they've been inspired or radicalised by a particular ideology right away, and that can take a bit of time. so, yes, i think a little bit of a defensiveness from m15 about really what the is . clearly really what the is. clearly amongst the general public, a growing distrust of what we're heanng growing distrust of what we're hearing from the police at times about whether they are reluctant to call things a terrorist attack, when to most people it is obvious that it is a terrorist attack. >> yeah, i think it's a similar case in in quite a few european countries. also a suggestion about just how many young people children are being taken in by these ideologies. there's also talk about the extreme right wing as well as islamism, people

getting younger and younger, being tracked by the m15 and other security. yeah. >> so on the on the split and it's worth getting into this because we hear an awful lot in certain sectors of the media about the rise of the right. 75% of the terror threats that m15 are involved in investigating are involved in investigating are still . islamist related are still. islamist related plots. 25% can be characterised as far right. but on the issue of younger individuals under 18, there has been a 13% increase in there has been a 13% increase in the numbers or sorry, 13% of all those suspects are actually under the age of 18, and a significant proportion of those are far, far right inspired more than islamist inspired. the younger cohort. but overall, the overarching threat from terrorism is still 75%, three

quarters of the work that m15, the case work is islamist related and fascinating to see. >> that distinction now for decades it's been non—state actors that we've been most concerned about the likes of isis and al—qaeda. of course, now on the rise again, the big warning, but fascinating that 20 attempted attacks by iran, a state, a rich state, a petrostate have been foiled by mi5. i petrostate have been foiled by m15. i mean, this is a shadow war. >> yeah , and it's been going on >> yeah, and it's been going on for years. but in particular over the last years, that uptick of 20 separate attempts to cause harm to individuals here. now, some of that was directed at what the regime in tehran look upon as those that are sort of dissidents that are speaking up against the iranian regime, such as iran international, which is

that news channel, 24 hour news channel coming out of the west being beamed into iran and being, you know, very sort of anti sort of mullah, the mullahs and the, the tehran regime and in the outlook and we know that one of the reporters from that particular channel was attacked and stabbed and seriously injured outside his home in london earlier this year. so a very real threat here and a real concern that that issue of focus of iran on going after sort of dissidents and the like could spread as iran and its proxies in that region come under more sustained attack from israel, that it could spread to the likes of israeli and jewish interests or even western interests or even western interests in the uk and beyond. >> that's very interesting. the focus for a long time, yes, on

the dissidents who may be living in the uk taking protection here, but moving towards more large scale terrorism , large scale terrorism, disturbing, very worrying. we'll come back to that later in the show, i'm sure. >> well, later today in parliament, a quartette will become a trio in the conservative leadership race, the party's mps to vote further whittling down that field. >> yes, former immigration minister robert jenrick, he remains the favourite. he still has the most public backers. but shadow home secretary james cleverly appears to be gaining a bit of momentum after quite a strong showing at the conservative party conference. well , he's conservative party conference. well, he's also conservative party conference. well , he's also been given well, he's also been given a boost with the endorsement of mel stride, who's 16 supporters in the last round, could be key in the last round, could be key in such a tight race. but meanwhile on the side of labour, the lord alli cash for access row looks set to be reignited because a new book is set to make fresh revelations over the extent of his influence on the new labour government. >> well, let's get reaction now with gb news political editor christopher hope, who joins us from westminster. indeed , from

from westminster. indeed, from downing street, which seems to be a little drier than last houn be a little drier than last hour, when we spoke. christopher, at least i hope so. firstly, tell us what was said in cabinet today. it seems that sue gray has been swept aside. >> yes. welcome back to downing street . tom and ellie and >> yes. welcome back to downing street. tom and ellie and m. that's right. yes. sue gray not no longer in the building . she's no longer in the building. she's the envoy for nations in the regions . instead, we, morgan regions. instead, we, morgan mcsweeney, the new chief of staff, was on the margins of that cabinet meeting, chaired by sir keir starmer, the prime minister, i should say morgan mcsweeney, has been there before in his old role as the director of strategy in number 10, but now he's pulling the levers of power and trying to restore this government towards having a degree of momentum. it lost really, after the first few weeks in power of course, the 100 day anniversary is next week, when there will be lots of reflection on how it's going for this labour government. but the cabinet meeting was dominated by talk about the october 7th

attacks. keir starmer told the meeting that hostages must be released immediately. around 100 are still held by hamas, according to a report. and also he talked about the risk of miscalculation as the hostilities get worse and worse between israel. hamas , hezbollah between israel. hamas, hezbollah and iran. and real concern. i think in the room there, we heard the cabinet ministers heard the cabinet ministers heard there from angela rayner, jonathan reynolds about the employment rights bill that is being published on thursday. there's a meeting, a beer and sandwiches meeting this afternoon between unions and employers and angela rayner and others about what this will mean for workers. it will mean day one rights for maternity pay and other other measures which which employers are worried about. we'll hear more about that on thursday. also, there's some briefing ahead of monday's investment summit, which rachel reevesis investment summit, which rachel reeves is holding a lot of store by. they're trying to bring in big u.s. by. they're trying to bring in big us. companies and other companies to invest in the uk,

amazon , blackstone have already amazon, blackstone have already announced multi—billion pound investment plans. i asked in the lobby , will these companies want lobby, will these companies want to be there when there's so much concern about the october 30th budget? they said, no, look at what's happening already. and they believe they can get money in all eyes still on on the budget on october 30th, rachel reeves did brief cabinet ministers about her current thinking , ministers about her current thinking, but we won't know anything until that date. and many critics are saying, why on earth are we waiting so long for this budget? and that's maybe one reason why this government appears to be stuck in first gean appears to be stuck in first gear, nowhere near fifth gear, where they should be given a scale of their victory. back in july . they are not having to july. they are not having to announce their budget yet because of this requirement for the obr, the office of budget responsibility, to check out the numbers and not prompt a run on the pound that we saw under liz truss. but i do think there has meant this government is installing mode with not much

planned to be announced between now and the budget coming up. >> well, thank you very much indeed. christopher hope, our political editor there outside downing street. >> fascinating point there that many people have been saying that sue gray was the big problem. the big on the government having a competent comms agenda. but what if it wasn't? sue gray, what if it's actually the idea that we haven't had the budget yet? we're not having it for weeks ? we're not having it for weeks? is that the actual problem that people can't announce things until the budget has sort of held everything up in this government. it's not allowing these other stories. >> it's not a way to run the country. it's also not very kind to the public . people are to the public. people are genuinely worried about what might be in that budget. it's not good for business. it's not good for consumers. it's not good for consumers. it's not good for consumers. it's not good for people and their mental health. you know, actually, genuinely, there's been doom and gloom since day one in this government. yeah. you know, do you know whether to invest in property. do you know where to buy a house? do you know whether to get a new job? you know, the jobs market we're reading is pretty slow at the moment . but pretty slow at the moment. but all the while people aren't hiring. >> there's all of this rumour about what's going to happen to

inheritance tax, what's going to happen to a capital gains tax. so people of means are moving things around, right now, which means that if taxes do come in, they're going to have have less of an effect. i mean, you're right, it makes no sense from either side, does it really? >> anyway, we've got lots more coming up on today's show, including whether the echr has become some kind of charter for criminals. apparently, it's just near impossible to deport criminals who are here illegally. that's next.

right. well, it's 126. you're right. well, it's126. you're watching and listening to good afternoon britain. now an albanian criminal who sneaked back into britain after being deported has won the right to stay in this country under the european convention on human rights. >> what else? well, rights. >> what else? well , arjit rights. >> what else? well, arjit binag was freed six months into a two and a half yearjail sentence

for burglary . and a half yearjail sentence for burglary. he was deported as part of a prisoner transfer agreement with albania. >> but, but but he came back to britain to be with his lithuanian girlfriend. and now he's staying here as he has a right to a family life. his girlfriend has had a baby and he has subsequently married her. >> well, joining us to discuss this is the international security and border control expert henry bolton obe . henry, expert henry bolton obe. henry, should we be surprised at this? i mean, this is a family of three. there's a baby who was born in this country. there's a mother who has a right to be in this country, and a father who does not have the right to be in this country. but because of the other two, now, he does have a right to be in this country. i mean, that's sort of what the echr says. >> indeed, tom, first of all, no, we shouldn't be surprised at this. the latest figures that i've got, 2023 the there were 4000 foreign national criminals who were deported . now, bear in who were deported. now, bear in mind that if you cooperate with

the programme for removals, whilst you're serving in jail, you can leave up to 18 months before you've served your sentence and you can be paid £1,500. resettlement grant to cooperate with going back to your your country. so yeah, that's number one. but number two there were 11,800 people who were supposed to be deported. but because the home office had not got its act together logistically or administratively, instead of being deported, those foreign national criminals were released back into the public, if you like. and you know. so they're still floating around. as far as i know, there's 11,800 of those. so there's no surprise that we've got a problem. and it's not all down to the echr. some of it's down to a large part of it is down to the inefficiency of the home office. but yes, the echr enables criminals to play the game to sort of to game the system in this for case,

example, an individual marries a woman who's got the right to, to stay here, has a child by her. now, i don't know their domestic situation. of course i don't. but it leaves open the ability or the possibility that hardened criminals are actually abusing vulnerable people in such a way. i'm not suggesting that's the case in this situation. i just don't know. but of course, if you can, you know , claim that you can, you know, claim that you've settled down with somebody and had a child with somebody, whether you have any intention of that relationship continuing or not, you've you've bypassed the system because there is this right to family life. now, i believe that when somebody comes into this country illegally or legally , they illegally or legally, they should be required to sign a document that demonstrates that they have been briefed and that they have been briefed and that they understand that should they, in the event of conduct or committing a crime, or being found guilty of committing a crime of a certain level, then they will be deported. whether

they will be deported. whether they serve their sentence beforehand or not, they will be deported. and they understand that. and they they have no rights. but to do that, we have to leave the echr. it has an article, article eight, which which means that what i've just suggested is not possible legally . legally. >> in this case, and in others similar, the judge has to interpret the law. does he or she not? and perhaps he could have could have gone in another direction, could have made a different decision based on the same information ? same information? >> probably not my understanding in this case is that the judge acknowledged that this individual abandoned. but whatever his name is, this, this albanian national, who's the burglar that he actually waited until until this child had been born before launching his appeal because he was gaming the system. the judge acknowledged that. but there was nothing the judge could do about that,

because the law is pretty clear. if he's got a claim to i mean, even then, in fact, in this case, the judge was minded to deport the judge was minded to deport the individual. but then there were appeals launched on the bafis were appeals launched on the basis of the mother, the wife of this individual that she's got mental health issues, and she's been through certain anxieties and stresses as well. so put all that together in the context of article eight of the european convention on human rights. and you have a no win situation for the uk government, no matter how dangerous this individual may be to the british public. if he served his sentence, then the courts can do nothing. so that's the fundamental here. the court has taken upon itself the sort of ability to morph and develop the law in terms of because it's regards the convention not as a written document as such, but as a living document that constantly can be evolved by by the decisions that the court

makes. so they're sort of kind of making their law up as they go along and imposing it on. on the signatories to the convention. that's what's happened here. the british government has no , no say in it. government has no, no say in it. >> and that's a change as well, because when this document was drawn up and when we're consistently told this document was drawn up by churchill and the likes of those that won the second world war, it wasn't interpreted as a living document until the 1970s. well, after that generation had passed on. but henry bolton, i'm afraid we've run out of time. thank you so much forjoining us and talking through this issue. it's of deep concern to many, many people watching, i'm sure. yes. >> well this is good afternoon britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. what do you make of this? should we scrap free prescriptions for 60 to 65 year olds in england? apparently , olds in england? apparently, rachel reeves is being urged to do this to save some money. >> very good afternoon to you from the newsroom. it is just after 1:30. the top story from

the newsroom this morning. the boss of this afternoon, rather the boss of m15, says the rise in the number of children being investigated for terrorism in the uk is staggering, and warned that online memes are drawing them into extreme ideologies . in them into extreme ideologies. in a speech this morning, ken mccallum revealed that 13% of those being investigated for terrorism are under the age of 18. that's a three fold increase in the past three years. he also warned that isis and al—qaeda are on the rise again, with an increased terror risk linked to the conflict ongoing in the middle east. in the us, 51 florida counties are now under a state of emergency after what's being described as a monster hurricane named milton sweeps ever closer to an already battered coast. in a news conference on that hurricane, florida governor ron desantis has just told people they need to prepare for the largest evacuation in years , warning evacuation in years, warning that time is going to very shortly start running out. more

than 200 healthcare facilities in the path of that storm have already been evacuated . and you already been evacuated. and you can see here satellite images showing the storm churning through the gulf of mexico, with winds now recorded up to 150 miles an hour. winds now recorded up to 150 miles an hour . forecasters are miles an hour. forecasters are also warning of an 8 to 12 foot storm surge, possible that would be the highest ever for the region and could bring widespread flooding. well, it comes just two weeks after hurricane helene claimed over 200 lives in the united states . 200 lives in the united states. here, the race to lead the conservative party is now in its final stages. with just days left to decide the next opposition leader, four candidates are still battling it out robert jenrick kemi badenoch , out robert jenrick kemi badenoch, james cleverly and tom tugendhat. but by tonight one will be eliminated. then on wednesday, the final two will be selected, leaving conservative members to make the ultimate choice. this morning we were joined by shadow minister for education damian hinds, and he said that there is a field of

standout candidates to choose from . in other news, water from. in other news, water companies in england and wales have been ordered to return more than £157 million to customers for failing to meet crucial targets on pollution. ofwat, the regulator, demanded the money comes off of bills for households and businesses over the next two years. it follows a previous to order repay £114 million last year. well, with water bills set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years. ofwat says that financial penalties alone won't solve the industry's deep rooted crisis. meanwhile , some crisis. meanwhile, some companies have made progress on leaks, though none have achieved the top rating . damage to the the top rating. damage to the brainstem might explain the frustrating symptoms. some experience with long covid, according to new research in a pioneering study from the university of cambridge, ultra high resolution mri scanners uncovered long lasting brain changes linked to inflammation in covid 19 patients. the

abnormalities were found in areas responsible for breathing control, they say , suggesting control, they say, suggesting a potential link to extreme fatigue , breathlessness and fatigue, breathlessness and mental health issues. some patients experience . that's the patients experience. that's the latest from the newsroom for now. a full round up at 2:00. we will be back with tom and emily very shortly after this break. >> 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 alerts

>> good afternoon britain. it's 1:39. now the chancellor , rachel 1:39. now the chancellor, rachel reeves, is being pressured to cut free subscriptions prescriptions rather for those aged between 60 and 65. >> free subscription to netflix.

>> free subscription to netflix. >> free subscription to netflix. >> free subscriptions. i mean, i know it would be nice, wouldn't it? free subscription would be nice. >> i quite fancy watching the new jilly cooper film. >> oh, do you think you could get a free subscription? we're talking about prescriptions, prescriptions at the doctors when you're unwell and you need a prescription. >> yes, they're thinking about axing them for 60 to 65 year olds for free anyway. the intergenerational foundation charity says it could raise the treasury up to £6 billion scrapping these free prescriptions. but would it be another blow to pensioners after many had their winter fuel payments stripped? >> well, joining us is the former head of health at the office for national statistics, jamie jenkins. jamie, first of all, i'm struggling to understand how people could believe this would save £6 billion. i mean, the entire budget of the nhs is around £180 billion this year. i'm not sure that 6 billion of that is going on. pensioners aged between 60

and 65 free prescriptions . and 65 free prescriptions. >> yeah. good afternoon. i think it's a bit of a maths trick because what i think the 6 billion comes from the savings over ten years. so you're right to point out, tom, that it's not a massive saving in one year. but i think what this does raise is potentially some kind of inconsistencies between labour party policy. if they were to do this, because what you've got to consider is that in wales, which the welsh labour party run, the nhs, there are free prescriptions for everybody . so prescriptions for everybody. so regardless of your age, if you're 20, 30, 40 you get free prescriptions in wales, whereas obviously in england only certain groups are exempt. so if the labour party were to go down a road of, say, withdrawing some free prescriptions in england , free prescriptions in england, there'll be a clamour to say, well, hang on now, how come people are having to get them free in wales but not in england? i think that's going to be the big tension for any labour politician to do any tinkering of the prescription services in england . services in england. >> ron fair, come to think of it, that if you happen to be in

england, you have to pay for your prescriptions , but if your prescriptions, but if you're in wales, scotland or northern ireland, you get them for free free for life. >> i think that's part of the choice is obviously what devolution allows you to do. you can. people in wales would argue that free prescriptions is a bad thing to some people, because they could be investing the money in other things. there's obviously a cost benefit analysis when you're trying to weigh up. should you give free prescriptions? you know, if you if you offer free prescriptions for people who can pay, that's probably a bad use of money. but there'll be some people who may choose, well, i can't afford the prescription, so i'm not going to go and see the doctor to get a prescription for something. so you have a poorer health outcome. there . but there outcome. there. but there clearly is some unfairness within the health system that depending on where you live, you get a free prescription or not. and that's ultimately one of the challenges when you do have devolution and allow politicians to tinker with different policies, when ultimately people think of it as a national health service. but technically it's a postcode lottery. >> that is a very, very good point. and i suppose one of the

arguments they're perhaps considering the health outcomes in wales compared to health outcomes in england, ambulance waiting times in wales compared to ambulance waiting times in england. very often it seems to be that wales is lagging behind england. do you think that could be because money that could have been invested in, you know, the physical infrastructure of the nhs instead has been giving wealthy people free prescriptions. >> well, those are the choices. some people are making and that will be a factor because obviously whatever you're investing on free prescriptions, you could be investing in other parts of the health service. it doesn't necessarily mean that that money is lost to the health service. you could be doing things in a different way and waiting lists are worse in wales. i think ultimately the challenge with free prescriptions for all is that it does lead to tends to lead to overuse. so some people will just go to the doctor, get a prescription. they cost more money potentially than if you just go to the to the kind of the chemist yourself and get some stuff that you don't need a prescription for. so i think there's a challenge there. but

but going back to the original point on will rachel reeves look at this. i think ultimately it's at this. i think ultimately it's a very small amount of money in the grand scheme of things per yeah the grand scheme of things per year. so i think, you know, we've got somebody calling for this. i cannot see this one happening because as we say, if they were to do this in england, there'll be a clamour. well hang on, you're going the opposite way to what you're doing in wales. and there'll be some infight within the labour party. >> yeah, well they've already had that over the winter fuel payments, so perhaps they're up for another fight. jamie jenkins, thank you very much. former head of health at the ons. a statistics lots of you been getting in touch about this general cream. slight. i don't think that's your real name. is it? making 60 to 65 year olds pay it? making 60 to 65 year olds pay prescription charges only in england, whilst the other home nafions england, whilst the other home nations have them free? is a terrible idea . debbie says. no, terrible idea. debbie says. no, stop free prescriptions,. £1 an item affordable for all. would that make make up the money? >> well, i mean, one of the problems with having free prescriptions is that people get prescriptions is that people get prescriptions that they don't need. they just go and stock up

and it drains the system of these resources . if it's a these resources. if it's a trivial price, then you don't solve that problem. no. >> also the nhs, do we always get do we always get drugs at a good price? i'm not always sure how good our negotiation skills are. lots of you getting in touch. we'll read out some more of your views a little later on in the show. someone says. sally says why do healthy working 60 year olds need free prescriptions? i would insist on paying prescriptions? i would insist on paying for mine as still earning a good wage at 62. well, there's a good wage at 62. well, there's a view as well. >> yeah, and of course, i mean, 60 year olds are not elderly , 60 year olds are not elderly, infirm people. they're not pensioners. i mean , i would find pensioners. i mean, i would find it insulting, but but but you're more likely to be on more, you know, prescriptions, aren't you? >> the older you get. yeah. 60. yeah. yeah. not everyone's as fighting fit as you. >> i think most 60 year olds are. this is good afternoon britain on gb news. lots more coming up on today's programme including we're talking about the chagos islands. was it actually pressure beau biden that made us give up

sovereignty

good afternoon britain. it's 1:49 now. the uk's relationship with the united states was at risk if they didn't strike a deal for the chagos islands. well, that's according to reports. soon after their landslide victory in the general election, president joe biden pushed the labour government to surrender the overseas territory to mauritius, so it's claimed. >> so why on earth would they do this? well, joining us to discuss this is former conservative mp colonel bob stewart . thank you very much for stewart. thank you very much for joining us. is this true? do you believe that joe biden was behind this? >> i've got no idea . behind this? >> i've got no idea. but if he if he was, then shame on the government for giving in. >> we've given up a sovereign territory which is strategically important for our defence. >> and frankly, most chagossians don't want us to give up that

sovereignty. and then we're giving up the sovereignty. and apparently we're paying money to give it up to mauritius. that's deeply in hock to the chinese. and who could well allow the biggest maritime protection zone in the whole world be invaded by chinese fishing vessels. these are all the threats, of course, but fundamentally, we've got a strategic asset here which is sovereign territory, and we've given it up, and we're actually apparently paying to money give it up to mauritius. >> is the issue here for the united states that they don't give a fig about british sovereignty over islands. they don't give a fig about all of the other islands in this archipelago. they only care about diego garcia, where the joint uk us base is. and given there was this non—binding ruling from some international court saying that the uk must cede sovereignty over these islands, the americans were so very keen to save diego garcia

from any international ruling and stick by international judgements that, in their view , judgements that, in their view, they didn't give a fig for british sovereignty. they they thought they wanted to save the base. and so in order to do that, they engineered a deal where the brits basically swap all of those islands for a 99 year lease on this military base. >> well, i don't know, but if we've got sovereign sovereign rights on it, it's up to us to decide , you know, this, this, decide, you know, this, this, this chagos, this, this. diego garcia base is strategically, very , very important in the very, very important in the middle of the indian ocean. give it up to mauritius. and i wonder how long it will be before you see chinese aeroplanes landing there. >> is this done? and dusted now? is this just how it is? the chagos islands are no longer under our control. chagos islands are no longer under our control . surely there under our control. surely there must be more process to this. it seemed to come out of nowhere. >> you would think so, wouldn't you? you'd think the whole matter would be referred to

parliament, you know, which is actually the final arbiter. you would think that the chagossians and there are large sections of them living around crawley. for example, i was on the chagos all party group until i stopped being in parliament this summer. you'd think they'd be asked about this, but no, it seems to have been a high handed, high handed decision and actually , handed decision and actually, shame on the foreign secretary for giving giving up something that's a strategic asset, a jewel, actually, in the in the middle of the indian ocean, which is crucially important to the defence of the west . the defence of the west. >> david lammy, the foreign secretary , yesterday before the secretary, yesterday before the house of commons, stood at the despatch box, stood at that despatch box, stood at that despatch box, stood at that despatch box and said throughout this process the chagossians had been consulted. they'd been spoken to throughout this negotiation and then we learn that actually the chagossians were told about one hour before the announcement was made. do you think, colonel bob, that the

foreign secretary has told a mistruth from the despatch box? >> well, it seems like it . well, >> well, it seems like it. well, if he technically he said they'd been informed throughout. well, for the last hour or so, may be the case, but frankly, they should have been involved in the whole process from the start, because after all, it's where they've come from and where they might want to go back to . the might want to go back to. the fact of the matter is that we if this is the case, that the american president has forced this upon us, shame on the foreign secretary, because we should have more courage than that. i mean, it would be ridiculous, wouldn't it, considering joe biden is going to be out of office very soon indeed, it would seem awfully silly, but colonel bob stewart, thank you very much indeed for joining us. >> former conservative mp and colonel, thank you very much. well , just give in. just roll over. >> oven >>i oven >> i find it i find it extraordinary, but i do i do wonder if this is the fate of this country and has been since

suez, that , you know, we don't suez, that, you know, we don't have an independent foreign policy. the foreign office will always look to the united states before we make a single decision. is that is that the world we live in? >> well, that's what richard says to the us. we're just another country to be used and exploited. the chagos islands is just another example. could that be true ? we've got lots more be true? we've got lots more coming up on today's show, including the news that m15 have foiled more than 20 potentially deadly iranian terror plots in this country. stay with us. >> there will be a light breeze in the morning leading to a warm front . boxt heat pumps sponsors front. boxt heat pumps sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hello. very good day to you . >> hello. very good day to you. here's your latest gb news weather update coming to you from the met office on what could be quite a thundery tuesday for some of us. yes, there will be some sunny spells around, but also plenty of showers because low pressure is dominating the story and this low pressure is leading to quite an unsettled, unstable picture

across the uk at the moment. it's also bringing some blustery winds, especially in the southwest, but also some strong winds across northern parts of scotland too. otherwise , and scotland too. otherwise, and there's going to be some persistent rain across parts of northern england and into southern scotland, and then plenty of showers for many other areas, especially towards the south southeast, where they could turn heavy and thundery. temperatures are going to be a little bit on the high side for the time of year. highs of around 18 or 19 celsius towards the south, a bit fresher further north. as we go through this evening, there will still be some heavy thundery downpours to watch out for, particularly across central southern parts of england and wales. could be some disruption. we do have a warning in force further north. something a little bit more persistent rain wise across parts of perhaps northern ireland, but also northern england and southern scotland, and then further north northeast across scotland. yes, it's going to still be quite windy and there will be some further outbreaks of rain as we go through the end of the day. more unsettled, wet weather to come for many of us as we go through the end of the day and overnight, the rain and showers starting to ease a little bit,

so turning a bit dry as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning, but still some wet weather around there will be some clear spells here and there, but largely cloudy, so towards the south in particular, it's going to be a relatively mild night. a little bit chillier though . further north chillier though. further north with temperatures dropping mid single figures for some as we go through tomorrow. a bit of a wet start across eastern parts of scotland, some parts of northeast england and rain continuing here for a time. but it should break up and clear away later on and otherwise there'll be some showers around again. but they don't look like they'll be as frequent or as intense as the ones that we're going to see today. temperatures still on the relatively warm side towards the south, but turning colder from the north. with a northerly wind, we can expect clear skies leading to a light and warm day ahead. >> lovely boxt sponsoi's sponsors of

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

2:00 on tuesday the 8th of october. >> i'm tom harwood and i'm emily carver . carver. >> uk terror risk increased m15 have foiled more than 20 deadly iranian terror plots in the uk in the last two years, and the agency is now warning of an increased terror risk due to conflict in the middle east. >> police racism worries white police officers are hesitating when dealing with ethnic minorities over fears they could be investigated on the grounds of racism. we'll bring you that exclusive next. >> it's a knockout for will become three today as conservative mps dump another leadership contender this very afternoon . afternoon. we'd all been led to think that groups like al—qaeda and isis had been beaten back, that they were a thing of the

past , that we weren't at risk of past, that we weren't at risk of any large scale terror attacks these days. but we only need to look at actually the number of attempts and some successful in the last few years. i think that sort of broad narrative that these groups are much, much smaller than they once were, doesn't mean that they're any less threatening. yeah. >> i mean, the idea that we've foiled , well, the m15 have foiled, well, the m15 have foiled, well, the m15 have foiled 20 potentially deadly attacks from iran. just iran is absolutely, quite incredible . 43 absolutely, quite incredible. 43 terror plots have been foiled. these included bomb threats to kill thousands of people, 20 schemes backed by iran. this all in a matter of years. i mean, if those had gone ahead, it would have been absolutely devastating. but it just shows how how how big that threat is consistently, absolutely. >> and as the ira used to say, they only have to be lucky once. i mean, it seems that our security services are very good, but let's not discount the

amount of luck that also needs to be applied here. we need to be lucky. every single time. >> this director general pointing out that we face not only these threats from islamist islamic extremists, also russia, iran, china. surely our defence budget now needs to go up. >> you'd think, but. but i don't think the government's committed to that. they say the budget. they say it's an ambition rather than a commitment. >> yeah, yeah. i mean, do you feel safe? i mean, is it just a matter of time? i don't want to, you know , fear monger, but is it you know, fear monger, but is it just a matter of time before we see a large scale terror terror attack in this country? i mean, we rely on these services to foil these attempts. >> yeah. i mean, it wasn't that long ago that we had some large scale attacks back in 2017. we'll all remember the manchester arena bombing, the london bridge attack, the westminster bridge attack. they sort of came in a in a flurry. i don't know if our security services have got better, but clearly it's an unusual press conference with the director general of m15 releasing this information today publicly.

there used to be a time when we weren't allowed to know even the name of the director general of mi5, but name of the director general of m15, but now this is a sort of pr push to show that they are on the case. is this meant to reassure us? does it reassure you? well, contact us at gbnews.com/yoursay. but all that to come and so much more after your latest news headlines. >> tom. emily, thank you very much. good afternoon to you . it much. good afternoon to you. it is 2:03. the top story from the newsroom. the boss of m15 has warned that russia is on a mission to create what he's called mayhem in the uk and on european streets. ken mccallum says britain is now facing an increased threat from putin's henchmen and plot after plot. he said from iran . since 2017, m15 said from iran. since 2017, m15 have disrupted 43 late stage terrorist plots , with some of terrorist plots, with some of those planning mass murder. well, in his wide ranging

speech, mccallum also revealed a growing number of children are being investigated for terrorism in the uk. and it comes as islamic terrorism is also on the rise. again, with the biggest threat, m15 say, from al—qaeda and in particular from islamic state, due to the conflict in the middle east. and israel has launched operations in southwestern lebanon, but says they are limited , localised and they are limited, localised and targeted at this stage . the targeted at this stage. the strikes come less than 24 hours after the anniversary of hamas attacks in israel on october the 7th, and after israel killed a key hezbollah commander in beirut. meanwhile, evacuations are still taking place in the lebanese capital as 400,000 people have so far fled seeking safety across the middle east amid growing fears of a wider amidgrowing fearsofa wider people have been killed in 1400 people have been killed in lebanon, so far, while the death toll in gaza is now close to

42,000 people. and just a quick bit of breaking news for you. we can bring you the details from israeli defence minister yoav gallant. he says that it appears the replacement of hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah, who was himself, of course, assassinated, has also been eliminated. that, according to yoav gallant, eliminated. that, according to yoav gallant , israeli defence yoav gallant, israeli defence minister, he was a top hezbollah official widely expected to take on that top job after nasrallah's death. but it wasn't confirmed whether he was indeed dead or alive. still unconfirmed at this stage by hezbollah itself . but at this stage, as itself. but at this stage, as i say, it appears israel are confirming he is indeed dead. hashem safieddine. that is the top hezbollah official expected top hezbollah official expected to take over from hassan nasrallah. well, in other news, sir keir starmer is set for a crucial talk in berlin this weekend, joining leaders from the us, from france and germany. that meeting will focus on the

ongoing war in the middle east and, of course, in ukraine too. it comes as tensions are rising in lebanon, prompting urgent diplomatic efforts. among that so—called quad nation. the prime minister's spokesperson says the meeting will highlight the uk's commitment to tackling international issues alongside its allies . to news here at home its allies. to news here at home and the race to lead the conservative party is in its final stages, with just days left to decide the next opposition leader. four candidates are still battling it out robert jenrick kemi badenoch, james cleverly and tom tugendhat . but by tonight one tugendhat. but by tonight one will be eliminated. then tomorrow the final two will be selected, leaving conservative members to make the ultimate choice. this morning we were joined on breakfast by shadow minister for education damian hinds, and he told us that there is a field of four standout candidates. >> we've not made a declaration. i think we've got four really strong candidates. obviously we've got we've got around today another round tomorrow and then

there will be the and then there'll be the members round. i took a decision at the start of the contest not to make a declaration until we got to that final, until we got to that final, until we got to that final stage. but i think it's been a very well contested election. obviously, the party conference last week, that was a really important opportunity for people to set out their stall. and i think both party members and of course, the wider public got a chance to see all four of them in action. >> in the us, 51 florida counties are now under a state of emergency. florida governor ron desantis has been telling people they need to prepare for the largest evacuation in years, warning the time for them is going to start running out very soon. you can see here pictures live of a florida highway. it appears at this stage, traffic moving relatively freely, although as you can tell, they're all moving in seemingly one direction. and that would of course be away from the path of the incoming hurricane milton satellite images have also been showing the storm churning

through the gulf of mexico, with winds now reaching 150 miles an houn winds now reaching 150 miles an hour, and forecasters warning of a storm surge up to 12ft. that would be the highest ever for the region and could bring widespread flooding. well, it comes just two weeks after hurricane helene claimed over 200 lives in the southeast of the united states . staying in the united states. staying in the united states. staying in the united states. staying in the united states, donald trump marked the one year anniversary of the hamas attack on israel, calling it a nightmare. speaking to a packed ballroom at his miami golf club, the former president addressed a group of supporters blaming the rise of anti—semitism in the us on the democratic party. >> a lot of that has to do with the leadership of this country. this attack , what leadership ? this attack, what leadership? the october 7th attack would never have happened if i was president. i condemn . president. i condemn. >> well, with just 29 days left until the us election, kamala

harris has been facing questions on critical issues, including the middle east in one. in a one on one interview with cbs news amid growing criticism over her limited media appearances, the vice president addressed topics like ukraine, gun ownership and immigration. but in one tense moment, she refused to call the israeli prime minister a strong ally of the united states . ally of the united states. >> but it seems that prime minister netanyahu is not listening . listening. >> we are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the united states to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end . for this war to end. >> right. it's 209, and let's bnng >> right. it's 209, and let's bring you some more on the breaking news that m15 have foiled more than 20 deadly iranian terror plots on the uk in the past two years. >> yes, m15 is now warning the country is under an increased islamist terror threat due to

tensions in the middle east, not just from iran, but from a resurgent isis and al—qaeda to. >> yes. well, joining us now with the latest is our home and security editor, mark white. a very worrying picture is being painted. >> yeah, m15 and police counterterrorism officers have never been busier for a very long period of time now. and it's certainly the threats are facing are the most complex they have ever been , ranging from have ever been, ranging from those organised terror groups like isis and al—qaeda. now resurgent in their ambitions to launch deadly attacks. but also the lone actors who get inspired by these organised terror groups, and then the state actors, the countries like iran and russia, who are getting involved increasingly in launching attacks in the west, as well as far as the middle east is concerned, some very real concern from ken mccallum,

the director general of m15, that isis in particular has bounced back from being pummelled, as we know, for years, by the western coalition in syria and in iraq, and they are now launching deadly attacks. we saw the moscow theatre attack, in which 145 people were killed and 500 others were injured. and those attacks that they don't carry out directly, they are inspiring others. as i say . but with others. as i say. but with regard to the threat from the conflict in the middle east, this is what ken mccallum said today. >> we are powerfully alive to the risk that events in the middle east directly trigger terrorist action in the uk. showing picture as we saw with last october's knife attack in hartlepool , the ripples from hartlepool, the ripples from conflict in that region will not necessarily arrive at our shores in a straightforward fashion. they will be filtered through the lens of online media and mixed with existing views and

grievances in unpredictable ways . grievances in unpredictable ways. >> and one of the real concerns that they have is not just al—qaeda and isis again, rising and posing this threat, but it's alongside the likes of the state actors we see with iran. of course, israel now really taking the fight to its proxies, having largely dismantled hamas in gaza and now going after hezbollah in southern lebanon and, of course, about, we believe, to launch a significant attack on iran for the ballistic missile attack that iran launched on israel last week. and so there is real concern that iran, through its proxies, may well target israeli, jewish or even just western interests in the uk. and speaking to that, ken mccallum spoke already about the number of plots that directly link back to the iranians . the iranian

to the iranians. the iranian state since january 2022 with police partners, we have responded to 20 iran backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to british citizens and uk residents as events unfold in the middle east, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in or a broadening of iranian state aggression here in the uk. >> now we have seen quite a few lone ranger attacks. an islamist with a knife who tries to harm as many people as he can in the vicinity. on a on a smaller scale , when we talk about 20 scale, when we talk about 20 iranian backed terror plots that have been foiled, could that have been foiled, could that have been foiled, could that have been very large scale bomb type attacks like we've seen unfortunately, in this country in previous years? >> well, we certainly believe there were some of them, at least attacks that planned to disrupt and harm to a very

significant extent. those involved in the likes of the iranian international channel that broadcasts, of course, messages of freedom to the people of iran , dissidents that people of iran, dissidents that are seen by iran as enemies of the state. but the concern is it will widen in its scope to not just include those dissidents, but others, such as israeli or jewish targets. here in the uk and elsewhere. we've seen that with attacks on the continent that have targeted synagogues and places that have been frequented by jewish people. >> it used to be the case that the spooks of m15 kept themselves to themselves, that we didn't see the face of the director general of m15 , that director general of m15, that certainly they wouldn't hold a press conference like this. why do you think that's changed and

why now? why are we hearing from them now? >> well, to be fair , it changed >> well, to be fair, it changed quite a few years ago. there was a period where the security services and we hear sometimes as well from the head of m16, they felt they needed to be seen and to be more accountable and to articulate the very real threats and challenges that they face in trying to keep us safe and the fact is, our security services are lucky or not lucky, but very skilful in the sense that they manage to thwart the vast majority of these threats and attacks that are being planned against us. and we don't hear about them very often , hear about them very often, except when individuals like ken mccallum get up there to articulate just the level of threat that this country faces. but as the old adage goes, you know, from the times of the ira ,

know, from the times of the ira, we only need to be lucky once. and of course, we know the terrorists in the past have had a few successes. >> it does seem that this is a sort of check our progress bank, our progress , because they can't our progress, because they can't guarantee that something won't get through. perhaps in the near future . it's a troubling future. it's a troubling thought, but mark white, thank you so much for bringing us up to date with all of that news. thank you very much . thank you very much. >> well, later today, about now, i think the voting is going on. >> voting has started. >> voting has started. >> yes, this is the conservative leadership race being whittled down from 4 to 3 contenders. >> yes . robert jenrick down from 4 to 3 contenders. >> yes. robert jenrick and james cleverly are believed to be the front runners at the moment, with the former immigration minister jenrick having the with the former immigration ministerjenrick having the most minister jenrick having the most pubuc minister jenrick having the most public backers. >> however, james cleverly , who >> however, james cleverly, who is shadow home secretary, he appears to be gaining a bit of momentum. he did quite well at the conservative party conference, quite a few conservatives thought. >> meanwhile, the turmoil engulfing the government seems to be showing no sign of

abating, with a new poll showing that labour is now just one point ahead of the conservatives. perhaps they shouldn't elect a new leader . shouldn't elect a new leader. after all. with no leader, they seem to be doing rather well. >> just three months after a landslide victory. to be just one point behind the conservatives, who don't even have a proper leader at the moment. >> its margin of error stuff . yeah. >> shall we speak to gb news political editor christopher hope? christopher, you are outside number 10. fantastic stuff. we have this conservative leadership contest ongoing. is the voting now currently happening ? happening? >> hi, emily. hi, tom. yeah, it's an overcast number 10 downing street, where i've been here for the cabinet meeting earlier, but shortly the action moves quite rapidly to parliament, where tory mps are voting right now on the new leader to replace rishi sunak voting starts at 1:30 pm. it should be all over by 3 pm. announcement by bob blackman, the 1922 chairman, at 3:30 pm. it doesn't take long, frankly, to count 119 mps anymore. so in the old days, it would take 2 or

3 hours to do this exercise. you can do it in a blink of an eye. basically, i'm we're expecting robert jenrick to tick up slightly to around 3435 mps. most of the mps that supported mel stride in the last round of voting before the party conference, 16 of those votes, they are probably going to go towards jenrick and james cleverly, who should get a big jump cleverly, who should get a big jump in his popularity. he's around 21 mps supporting, so we're expecting, i think, tom tugendhat to drop out today and overnight a battle for second place between robert jenrick and kemi badenoch and then the final two, whoever they are , announced two, whoever they are, announced in just over 24 hours. time to go forward to the membership. so, as you say , those polling so, as you say, those polling numbers are disastrous for the labour party and they've happened without any actual meaningful real opposition from the leader of the opposition, because he basically hasn't been around that much . rishi sunak around that much. rishi sunak could be around in pmqs tomorrow ,

could be around in pmqs tomorrow, but i think one and more or two more after that. but really the problems for labour have happened without any real opposing by the tory party, christopher, that that is to some extent why there's been more focus on the government. >> of course there should be more focus on a government. the government are in power, the opposition are not. but the fact that there isn't a lightning rod leading the tories, to whom the media can go, oh, well, you did this in government. it's more amorphous and therefore all of the labour party's claims that, oh yes, we're accepting freebies or there's some sleazy appearances here, but look at the other lot doesn't seem to work. so well . work. so well. >> yeah, it's a great point. i mean, i hadn't thought of that. of course you could be right there. i mean, james cleverly for example, last night was not in that chagos statement to mps. he was a former foreign secretary. the current shadow foreign secretary is andrew mitchell. so he answered on behalf of the government. but james cleverly, he kick started those talks when liz truss was

prime minister back in september 2022 when he wasn't around, didn't have to be around. fair enough. tom tugendhat was there for sure , calling out the labour for sure, calling out the labour position on the chagos islands and the sovereignty being passed to mauritius. but it might well be that the yeah, it's like kind of like a like jelly trying to nail it to the wall. you can't really get get a handle on the tories. so it's been hard for the labour to push back against them. that could well be the case. >> okay. well thank you very much indeed christopher hope gb news political editor there outside number 10, a big day for the conservatives. i don't know, i mean, i take your point that yes, there hasn't been a proper leader of the conservative party to sort of chuck things at. yeah, but you have had four leadership contenders sort of saying all sorts of things. yes. you can go at i mean, how many gaffes have there been over the course of this leadership contest? you've had kemi badenoch all over the press over her comments about maternity pay- her comments about maternity pay. you've had jenrick saying all sorts about the sas and things. yes, there have been things. yes, there have been things to go at. >> yes, but because none of them

are leader, you can't really. no one's going to put that on the front page. >> the same accountability, although although i mean perhaps, perhaps we're reading too much into it. >> perhaps it's that the conservative party simply don't matter that much anymore. there are only 121 of them in parliament. they are. so they are. they are the smallest they have ever been since the party was founded in 1834. in terms of their scale in parliament, and their scale in parliament, and the labour party is just completely dominant of all of our politics. so perhaps it's right that everything looks at what labour does. they are the government. they will be the government. they will be the government for a full parliamentary term. i think that might be it. >> they might need to get used to it. i think that might be it. but i also think how much scrutiny did keir starmer get as leader of the opposition? did he get enough? did people know exactly. you know, what was coming up if they voted labour necessarily, and did we were were journalists too quick to sort of scape skate over the sums where the labour manifesto

said we're not going to raise any taxes , but expected to sort any taxes, but expected to sort of believe that there would be more investment or that there would be no extra investment. >> they wouldn't settle any of the pay disputes, for example, that wasn't budgeted for in the manifesto. i mean, there were loads of holes in that manifesto. >> we tried to pin them down so many times. >> however, we had times we asked about capital gains tax. we asked about where are you not going to settle ? is there going going to settle? is there going to be no new money to settle junior doctors because you haven't put any funding for that any , any, any roots for that in any, any, any roots for that in the manifesto costings document? i mean there were all of these questions reveal basically anything about the tax regime. >> no, i remember one interview with emily thornberry. she could not be pinned down on on anything at all. yvette cooper couldn't be pinned down on when it came to what's going on with the boats. what exactly her plan was to stop them. it was all rather vague, but that's very vague. that served them well. maybe. >> maybe that's what you get afforded. if you're the opposition, you don't have to present full, full blooded , full

present full, full blooded, full fat policy, full fat, full fat policy. >> we've got lots more coming up on today's show. we have an exclusive from charlie peters. this over the claim that apparently white officers are a bit worried about dealing with ethnic minorities. and perhaps this is making a this is become a problem when it comes to policing. we'll reveal

okay. 226 is the time. now the chairman of metropolitan police federation has said that white officers hesitate when dealing with ethnic minorities over the fear that they could be investigated on the grounds of racism. >> yes. ric prior spoke to gb news exclusively saying that racism of low expectations means that the met does not criticise bad behaviour. >> okay, well, we're joined by gb news national reporter charlie peters. charlie, can

this be true? that white police officers are hesitating to such a degree when it comes to ethnic minorities? that is something that someone like this has to note. >> yeah, well, i mean, i've yet to be told by a police officer and i speak to several that this isn't the case. and rick perry has made quite a strident intervention with these comments. and it comes on the back of a couple of investigations by the office for police conduct, and they've been overturned in two quite key cases. and in one, which was four years ago, two olympic sprinters were stopped and searched driving. and in central london that took a four years to be overturned. and the police appeals tribunal described the investigation and the original findings by the panel that originally kind of found the officers to be in disgrace as irrational and a decision it couldn't understand. that's now been overturned after four years of a of a complaint procedure to go through. and another example, which rick and i spoke about at length last night, was about this incident in croydon in south london last year, where a

police officer was working with a revenue protection team supporting the tfl on the buses , supporting the tfl on the buses, and he asked a lady coming off the bus to see her oyster card to prove that she had paid her fare and she refused. it escalated. he arrested her and he was then convicted of assault by a judge at westminster magistrates court last week. that conviction was overturned. the met was grateful, but in its statement about it, the met said that the case had divided opinion and that the black community was had been upset by this situation. now what rick is telling me about this racism of low expectations. he says that the met is too shy to criticise poor behaviour by members of the pubuc poor behaviour by members of the public if they come from an ethnic minority background for fear of upsetting communities. and i actually spoke to him this morning on air about that. i think we have a clip we can show you now, and the behaviour of certain individuals clearly falls below that of which society expects. >> i think it's incumbent on police leaders to support their

officers who are charged with deaung officers who are charged with dealing with these type of incidents, to come out and call out that behaviour. and i mean, the example of which, you know, i relate this to was the again, the recent croydon bus incident matter , where it was clear that matter, where it was clear that the lady in question behaved poorly. it's a quite reasonable expectation of society that if you travel on transport, london transport and the buses, the trains, you know that if you are asked to produce a valid ticket for travel, you show that ticket. had that happened in this case, there would have been no incident. and so it was the behaviour of the lady in question that instigated the whole matter. >> it seems that this is the case that we hear over and over again. the same with this lady on the bus. the same with the olympians who were stopped. they were obviously stopped after that car was chased for a considerable amount of time because it refused to stop for the police car . it's because it refused to stop for the police car. it's a because it refused to stop for the police car . it's a difficult the police car. it's a difficult issue here because clearly there issue here because clearly there is an issue of trust amongst the

black community in particular, and the police less willing to stop if the police say stop, less willing to cooperate, if the police want you to cooperate and that then breeds more distrust. i mean, the circle has to be broken at some stage. how? >> well, rick fryer, he represents 30,000 police officers in london. he says that circle should be broken by trusting police officers and backing them in the lawful execution of their duties. he says all too often , police says all too often, police officers who want to apply the law fairly and accurately to all people, regardless of background, are not doing so because they fear vexatious and malicious political witch hunts. investigations into their lives, and those investigations can ruin their careers. that's a given. but also their mortgages and their marriages and their wider lives. if you're a young constable with a family, why would you go out and take that risk? indeed, the met seems to in a sense agree with rick

prior's assessment because they no longer support tfl revenue protection teams. ever since this incident in croydon in south london, it's been quietly announced. it just doesn't happen anymore. if they call up, they'll get a to bobby react in good time, but they're no longer attached to them. that's what rick prior told me last night. >> well, what rick prior is saying, how does that stack up with the claims that the police are institutionally racist? we've seen reports into the police claiming that. so on the one hand, you've got potentially issues of racism within the police, but then also white officers being so hesitant to deal with ethnic minorities for fear of being called racist. can both of those things be true? at the same time? >> well, the met's never accepted the branding that they are institutionally racist, and i've personally never spoken to a police officer who thinks that that claim has merit. and i've spoken to hundreds over the last few years in this job and several police forces across england and wales and indeed, police scotland have made that concession. but the met is refusing to do so. i think a lot of officers are reassured by that. but at the same time they

do want the met to go further, to do as rick says, call out bad behaviour to back the police officers who are making those controversial interceptions when they are needed to do so. >> it's such a tricky issue, isn't it, because they're clearly was racism in the metropolitan police in the 19805. metropolitan police in the 1980s. clearly, things are a lot better now, but that distrust between certain communities and the police still exists. and then the effects of that ricochet and you get these escalating incidents that then put the police at risk. and all these tribunals , it's a mess. these tribunals, it's a mess. it's a total and utter mess. >> it's very difficult for phillips to understand all the all the community tensions as well, that are at play often. charlie peters, thank you very much , gb news national reporter, much, gb news national reporter, for bringing us that exclusive from the police. >> now, we must say that andy george, the president of the national black police association, has told gb news this there have been many seminal reports into the racism that black communities suffer at the hands of met officers in london over many years. it is ridiculous that rick pryor and others should try to use a small

number of high profile cases to delegitimize the evidence found in many reports. >> the met police is in a crisis of its own making , and it >> the met police is in a crisis of its own making, and it is disappointing that while scrutiny should be rightly appued scrutiny should be rightly applied given the tragic murder of sarah everard, people like rick pryor are pushing back on this accountability. okay, what make of that? what you will. this is good afternoon britain on gb news. we've got lots more coming up on today's show. have you seen shocking footage from a florida? a hurricane is incoming. people are being forced to evacuate. that's after the news headlines . the news headlines. >> very good afternoon to you. it is just after 2:30. the top stories from the newsroom this afternoon. the director general of mi5 afternoon. the director general of m15 has warned that isis and al—qaeda are on the rise again, with an increased terror risk unked with an increased terror risk linked to the conflicts ongoing in the middle east. in a stark warning today at the counter—terrorism operations centre, ken mccallum revealed that iran has been linked to at least 20 deadly plots in the uk

over the past two years. he says both groups are attempting to export terror. highlighting the recent deadly attack in moscow as a brutal demonstration of what isis is capable of as the conflict between israel and iran intensifies. m15 is now on high alert for potential domestic repercussions. mccallum also pointed to a worrying rise in state sponsored threats, particularly, he said, from russia . in the particularly, he said, from russia. in the us , 51 particularly, he said, from russia . in the us , 51 florida russia. in the us, 51 florida counties are now under a state of emergency as what's being described as a monster hurricane named milton sweeps ever closer to an already battered florida coast. the governor, ron desantis, has told people they should prepare for the largest evacuation in years, warning that time is soon going to start running out. you can see their live pictures of the evacuation underway on a florida highway. seems at this stage to be moving relatively freely, though they are of course, moving in one direction. and that would be, of

course, in the direction out of the path of that hurricane. as evacuations continue , more than evacuations continue, more than 200 healthcare facilities in the path of the storm have so far been evacuated. and we've just heard that ports across the whole of florida are now also closed to vessels, according to the us coast guard. forecasters are warning of storm surges up to 12ft. that would be the highest ever for the region. it comes as two weeks after hurricane helene claimed over 200 lives in the southeast of the united states . here, the united states. here, conservative mps are now voting in the latest stage of the race to replace rishi sunak. four candidates are battling it out robert jenrick kemi badenoch, james cleverly and tom tugendhat. but soon one will be eliminated . we're expecting the eliminated. we're expecting the results from that vote at around half past three. we will, of course, bring that straight to you when we have that result tomorrow, though, the final two will then be selected, leaving conservative members to make the

ultimate choice . water companies ultimate choice. water companies in england and in wales have been ordered to return more than £157 million to customers for failing to meet crucial targets on pollution. ofwat has demanded the money comes off of bills for households and businesses in the next two years. it follows a previous order to repay £114 million last year. well, with water bills set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years. ofwat says that financial penalties alone won't solve the industry's deep crisis . solve the industry's deep crisis. and the uk population has seen its largest annual increase in size since 1971. the office for national statistics estimates the total population grew by 1% in just a year , reaching 68.3 in just a year, reaching 68.3 million by mid 2023. that covers england , scotland, wales and england, scotland, wales and northern ireland. the ons says migration was the main factor

behind the latest rise, with deaths exceeding births by around 16,300. in the same penod. around 16,300. in the same period . that's it from me for period. that's it from me for now. lewis mckenzie will be here with a full round up at 3:00. tom and emily up next. but first, a quick break for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone . your smartphone. >> sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com . forward slash alerts

>> okay, 240 is the time. coming up next after our show is martin daubney. he's up at three. martin, what have you got on your on your menu for us then . your on your menu for us then. >> well in around about an hours >> well in around about an hour's time we'll find out then. there were three who will be the final trio for the tory leadership. will they play it

safe and go back towards the centre? james cleverly. currently the bookies favourite, or would it be robert jenrick lurch towards the right in what seems to be a reform tribute act? will longshot tom tugendhat drop out? where will those votes go? all to play for in about an hours go? all to play for in about an hour's time. we'll have the full results on that as it comes in. plus we'll have an emotional interview with a brother . his interview with a brother. his brother was taken hostage by hamas a year ago yesterday at the nova music festival. he's travelled the world, spoken with 50 foreign ministers and presidents. he's even prayed with the pope for the return of his brother. we'll talk to him about his tireless quest for the liberty of his brother and students. he takes him three hours to read a book, apparently. well, i'll be joined by a bloke who sold quite a few books, 320 million books. in fact, sir jeffrey archer. well, he had to say about the terminal decline, it seems, of human intelligence. that's all coming. three. two. six. >> oh, absolutely fascinating. we were discussing reading books

earlier, whether we've read a long book recently, i could only come up with political biographies, but political biographies. >> i've read rather a nice novel the other day, but i can't remember what it was called. but yes, it's a bit worrying that literature undergrads can't read books in less than three weeks. anyway , martin, thank you very much. >> we look forward to your show and we'll be tuning in 330 for that result . but in other news, that result. but in other news, a study has revealed that more than 1 in 5 job candidates over the age of 50 fail to mention their age on cvs to avoid being stereotyped. >> yes, apparently , if you're >> yes, apparently, if you're over the age of 57, you're now considered too old. can that be true? >> well, joining us now is the founder of pro fina property recruitment , sally aisling. recruitment, sally aisling. sally, thank you so much for joining us. how do we how do we find out that such a high proportion of people over that age simply don't put it on their cvs ? cvs? >> i can understand why i'm a specialist in the recruitment

industry for the property sector, and as you know, recent shows on tv like meghan mansion hunters and selling sunset's all glamorise the property industry. so people think it is such a young person, a sort of sexy young person, a sort of sexy young person's career. and actually the nitty gritty opposite is true. and so many brilliant people are actually in their 50s and early 60s, and they have so much to offer. we're dealing with an industry in lettings where there's over 170 pieces of lettings legislation, so you could have anything from a call coming in about a tenant who's got bedbugs through to a complex lease, and that means you need a lot of experience in life to be able to be empathetic, sympathetic and deal with these situations properly. and in my experience , properly. and in my experience, that kicks in in your sort of 50s and sometimes you're 60s. and so it's not actually that uncommon to want to seek that

expertise. and experience out. >> i mean, to write off people at the age of 57 is just ridiculous. i mean, people are younger than ever, aren't they? a lot of people, anyway. and experience, experience is almost, almost priceless in some industries. it'sjust almost, almost priceless in some industries. it's just such a shame that that people are having to hide their their age. now , how? what should older now, how? what should older people do? i mean, i feel a bit harsh saying older people, i guess middle aged people, what should they do if they're made redundant or they've been looking for a job for so for so long, should they start removing experience from their, you know , experience from their, you know, from their cv that shows their of older age? i mean, is it as bad as that? >> no, i think, but it is really important that cvs aren't cluttered with so many jobs and so many different things. i'm a big advocate in tailor your cv for the job that you're going to go for the interview for or to apply go for the interview for or to apply for, and then really enhance the experience that

you've got in that sector . you've got in that sector. leaving the trail of goodness knows how many jobs off the cv, because it's not relevant. what is relevant is your experience and your expertise for the job you're applying for. >> now, that makes a lot of sense. well , sally, aisling, sense. well, sally, aisling, thank you so much for joining sense. well, sally, aisling, thank you so much forjoining us and talking through what is a fairly concerning story. >> i think there is a lot of ageism, i absolutely do. i remember when we were talking about something similar a few months ago, people getting in touch saying , i've been looking touch saying, i've been looking for a job for ages. i was made redundant. now i'm considered too old. i think it's very much a real issue. anyway, we're going to go to the united states because a 51 florida counties are now under a state of emergency in what's being described as a monster hurricane that's sweeping closer to the already battered coast. >> yeah, really dramatic. this in a news conference on milton , in a news conference on milton, florida governor ron desantis has told people should prepare for the largest evacuation in years, warning that time is going to start running out very sooi'i. 500“. >> soon. >> yeah, it's quite the warning to the people of florida. more

than 200 health care facilities in the path of the storm have already been evacuated. satellite images here show the storm churning through the gulf of mexico. winds are being recorded up to 150 miles an houn recorded up to 150 miles an hour. forecasters are warning of an 8 to 12 foot storm surge, the highest ever for the region, and also widespread flooding to come as well. >> and of course, this all comes just two weeks after hurricane helene claimed over 200 lives in the united states. >> well, joining us now is a resident in florida, dan costa. dan, thank you very much indeed for joining us. this is very, forjoining us. this is very, very worrying . everyone being very worrying. everyone being told essentially get out of the area as quickly as possible . area as quickly as possible. >> yeah, we're actually in one of those areas where they're telling us a mandatory evacuation to get out, because this is going to be one of the worst storms to ever hit tampa bay in 100 years. >> that is extraordinary. we've seen some of the footage of queues, traffic jams, real trouble for people trying to leave fuel shortages in some

areas. how is it where you are? >> yeah, we're experiencing the same things. we actually live, you know, really close to tampa bay tropicana and there's just cots and there's emergency vehicles everywhere, just lots of people that are preparing for the absolute worst disaster that could possibly ever hit tampa bay in 100 years. yeah, it's really terrifying. >> yeah, i'm reading that the population of the area is 3.3 million. i mean , for all of million. i mean, for all of those people to take to the take to the highway and try and leave the area as quickly as possible, i mean, it's going to be absolute gridlock, isn't it , dan? >> yeah, it's been gridlock. we've been trying to think of, you know, a time that's going to be good for to us leave, you know? so we have a, you know, me, myself or me and my girl and our three animals and we've been trying to, like, find locations, you know, in neighbouring states of where we can go. and then they're all booking up really fast. they're all booking up really fast . so it's been terrifying fast. so it's been terrifying not only where, you know, we have to leave here, but being

able to take or go to a state that's going to actually take us in because just everybody is fleeing florida. so it's really terrifying, you know, with with everything that's happening right now and then not having opfions right now and then not having options of where to go. >> certainly. and dan, just lastly, i mean, you haven't left yet, am i am i right? i mean, time is running out. when are you going to leave. >> yeah, we haven't left yet. you know, we're we're still monitoring the situation on when to leave, when it's going to be the best time. you know, we are looking at it the past couple of days and they were just gridlocked everywhere. so the storm is supposed to hit us right around wednesday evening. so we still have about 30 32 hours left in to order leave, so we still think we have some time. but if you are here in the tampa bay area, clearwater , fort tampa bay area, clearwater, fort myers, and you're in an evacuation zone, you should definitely leave as soon as possible. >> well, thank you very much indeed for talking to us and stay safe. dan cresta , resident stay safe. dan cresta, resident in florida. i must say i'd be out of there as quickly as possible, as quick as you can

say hurricane . we did just show say hurricane. we did just show some live pictures of the highway. it looked actually all right, but previously there was massive gridlock . but there you massive gridlock. but there you go. >> but do with us here good afternoon britain. lots more coming up in

>> right. well phillip schofield, he's reignited his feud with eamonn holmes accusing him of betrayal during his exit from this morning. >> schofield claims that holmes threw him under the bus and mocked his personal scandals. the rivalry has deepened since schofield controversial department depart. departure from itv. >> well , joining us now is >> well, joining us now is entertainment reporter hayley palmer. hayley, phil's got quite a lot to say when it comes to eamonn holmes, doesn't he? >> yeah, he really does. i mean, he has said repeatedly, oh i'm sorry hayley, your line is crackling a lot. >> we're going to have to try

and check check on that because it's inaudible isn't it? yeah. >> no we're going to try and we'll hand you back to back to our elves behind the scenes. >> well, we'll never know. we'll never know what was going on with eamonn holmes and phil schofield. >> no. it is interesting though because this has been a big, big row. i mean, it's rocked the british television world and i find it fascinating that phillip schofield has decided to go back on television to , to appear on on television to, to appear on this, this castaway show. do you think he should have just slowly sort of retired? i think he should have taken a bit of a moment, you know, to sort of a leave of absence. i think , i leave of absence. i think, i think moment of silence with a moment of silence and a leave of absence. >> no, i would never want you to do such a thing. >> well, no, i don't think i've been disgraced quite yet. >> our viewers and listeners would be devastated. gutted if you were to take a leave of absence. >> no, i wouldn't dream of it. i wouldn't dream of it. >> you have to be here. have to be here by my side. >> but, but, but but other television individuals who have perhaps left their roles in a cloud of disgrace. perhaps it is time for them to have some

moment, you know, to themselves never to be seen again. >> anyway, we're going to leave you with the tory tory leadership contest are getting very exciting indeed. down from 4 to 3. who will make it? not long now before bob blackman, the chairman of the 1922 committee, announces that result that will be live here on gb news. >> you want to stick with us for that result. it could determine the course of politics at least in five years time. >> perhaps . >> perhaps. >> perhaps. >> despite the morning rain, it'll be a nice, warm, cosy day ahead. it'll be a nice, warm, cosy day ahead . boxt heat pumps sponsors ahead. boxt heat pumps sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hello, very good day to you. here's your latest gb news weather update coming to you from the met office on what could be quite a thundery tuesday for some of us. yes, there will be some sunny spells around but also plenty of showers because low pressure is dominating the story and this low pressure is leading to quite an unsettled , unstable picture

an unsettled, unstable picture across the uk at the moment . across the uk at the moment. it's also bringing some blustery winds, especially in the southwest, but also some strong winds across northern parts of scotland too. otherwise, and there's going to be some persistent rain across parts of northern england and into southern scotland, and then plenty of showers for many other areas , especially towards the areas, especially towards the south southeast, where they could turn heavy and thundery temperatures are going to be a little bit on the high side for the time of year. highs of around 18 or 19 celsius towards the south, a bit fresher further north. as we go through this evening there will still be some heavy thundery downpours to watch out for, particularly across central, southern parts of england and wales. could be some disruption. we do have a warning in force further north, something a little bit more persistent rain wise across parts of perhaps northern ireland, but also northern england and southern scotland, and then further north north—east across scotland. yes, it's going to still be quite windy and there will be some further outbreaks of rain as we go through the end of the day. more unsettled wet weather to come for many of us as we go through the end of the day and

overnight, the rain and showers starting to ease a little bit. so turning a bit drier as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning. but still some wet weather around. there will be some clear spells here and there, but largely cloudy, so towards the south in particular, it's going to be a relatively mild night. a little bit chillier though. further north with temperatures dropping mid single figures for some as we go through tomorrow. a bit of a wet start across eastern parts of scotland. some parts of northeast england and rain continuing here for a time. but it should break up and clear away later on and otherwise there'll be some showers around again, but they don't look like they'll be as frequent or as intense as the ones that we're going to see today. temperatures still on the relatively warm side towards the south, but turning colder from the north with a northerly wind. oofi >> a chilly start will give way to a lovely warm . boxt

>>a >> a very, very good afternoon

to you. it's 3:00 pm and welcome to you. it's 3:00 pm and welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news. we're broadcasting live from the heart of westminster and of course all across the uk on today's show in around about 30 minutes time, the tory leadership finalists will be whittled down to the final three. the bookies favourites is james cleverly, with robert jenrick a close second, but could kemi badenoch go long shots tom tugendhat pull off a last minute surprise. we'll be live from the commons for the results as soon as they come in, and the european court of human rights is under fire today on two separate fronts. firstly, it's allowed an illegal albanian immigrant to remain in britain to be with his lithuanian wife, who he got pregnant. so article eight protected his human rights to a family life. what a disgrace . and secondly, three disgrace. and secondly, three sas veterans have blasted the echr on the same day , saying it echr on the same day, saying it is hounding our betrayed military heroes over allegations of historic wrongdoings. i'll be

joined by a former