>> good afternoon britain. it's 2:00 on wednesday the 16th of october. >> i'm tom harwood and i'm emily carver broken promises today it's revealed that the government is not only continuing to use hotels to house illegal migrants, but they're looking for more hotel owners to house even more at taxpayers expense. >> this despite the government's pledge in opposition to put an end to the use of taxpayer funded hotels. >> okay, so what's changed? and a halloween spooky budget on the way. chancellor rachel reeves is now reportedly drawing up plans for up to £40 billion worth of tax rises and spending cuts, all to avoid a return to austerity , to avoid a return to austerity, apparently. but do the numbers stack up? >> and the plot thickens. it turns out not only did keir starmer and his family attend

the taylor swift concert after she received a vip blue light escort, but they even met the pop escort, but they even met the pop star and her mum backstage . pop star and her mum backstage. >> and we're going to be live outside, downing street because a petition pushing for the reinstatement of the winter fuel allowance. well, it's trying to get to starmer to u—turn on his controversial policy. we'll be there live for you . there live for you. >> yes, we'll be live on downing street this afternoon in around half an hour's time this petition will be delivered, a huge petition that has had many, many thousands of people signing to try and keep their winter fuel allowance . fuel allowance. >> they might have a bit of a rabbit up their sleeve for pensioners in this budget. they've taken a huge amount of heat over this winter fuel allowance rightly so. in my opinion. do you think there will be any shift, or do you think rachel reeves is just tunnel

vision? this is what i've got to do. >> i think for her political integrity, she's got to stick with what she's said. she can't be seen to be u—turning on this. now, the government's line is and will continue to be that actually the state pension is going up. they're keeping the triple lock . so it's going up by triple lock. so it's going up by over £400 this year, despite the loss of the winter fuel allowance , pensioners will be allowance, pensioners will be better off. that's what the government will say. >> yeah, but the winter fuel allowance kicks in far sooner than that. new pension and people will be very cold this winter if they don't have that allowance. and when we talk about means testing, i mean, they say all means testing. is that a good idea? people say, you know, a lot of people say, yes, it is, but i don't think they mean this type of means testing where you're essentially taking it away from 9 to 10 million pensioners in one swoop without having seen the workings of really how they're working it all out anyway. gbnews.com/yoursay do you think the chancellor might actually shift things around a little to soften the blow of that winter fuel payment cut? tom's not convinced. we shall see. we shall see. gbnews.com/yoursay. shall we get the headlines with sam francis ?

sam francis? >> very good afternoon to you. it's just after 2:00, and we'll start this out with a recap of the sports news. and thomas tuchel says that he is very excited and honoured after being confirmed as england's new head coach. he officially starts on the 1st of january with the goal of qualifying for the 2026 world cup.the of qualifying for the 2026 world cup. the fa says his appointment gives england their best chance of winning. earlier, prince william also congratulated tuchel, telling him we're all behind you and the former chelsea and bayern munich boss is the third non—englishman to take the job, following sven—goran eriksson and fabio capello. speaking just moments ago at a wembley press conference, he had this message for critics who believe an englishman should lead the national team. >> hopefully i can convince them and show them and prove them that i'm proud to be the english manager. i will do everything to show respect to this role to and this country, and the target for the next 18 months is nothing

else than and the biggest one in world football. and everyone can be assured of no, no matter what nationality my passport is . nationality my passport is. >> well. turning to politics and rishi sunak has slammed china for its unwarranted aggressive and he says intimidatory military exercises near taiwan, accusing labour of failing to prevent foreign interference. in an unexpected focus on foreign affairs at prime minister's questions this afternoon, the conservative leader pushed sir keir starmer to answer whether his foreign secretary, david lammy, will use his upcoming meetings in china to condemn them. >> the last government also established a new system of registration and monitoring to protect the uk from interference from foreign states, including china, russia and iran. called the foreign influence registration scheme, it was described as essential by m15 in the fight to help keep britain safe, but since the prime minister took office, he has halted its implementation. why yes . yes. >> well, the prime minister, sir

keir starmer , pushed back and keir starmer, pushed back and said that. well, he said this one of the shortest answers on record. >> well, that isn't correct. it's not correct . it's not correct. >> rishi sunak. >> rishi sunak. >> well we'll just bring you a quick breaking line . we're quick breaking line. we're heanng quick breaking line. we're hearing from northumbria police this afternoon a sadly a seven year old boy we now know has died following a large explosion in newcastle. that's according to the police force there. drone footage you can see here just shows that wreckage with the roof collapsed and debris strewn across the street. that blast took place just before 1:00 this morning, destroying a home, leaving three adults in hospital. at this stage, we don't know their condition. but as i say, we can now confirm that a seven year old boy has sadly died. residents there are being told to keep their doors and windows shut while road closures remain in place. the fire brigade are also still at the scene , checking the wreckage

the scene, checking the wreckage of that home and dampening any flames that may still be there in that wreckage of the explosion. any more details on that? we will keep across and bnng that? we will keep across and bring to you? well, the government is scrambling to find more hotel spaces for migrants after a surge in small boat arrivals. almost 14,000 have now arrived under labour, overtaking the number of crossings under the number of crossings under the previous conservative government in 2024. meanwhile, italy has been sending asylum seekers to albania under a new controversial plan, with a ship arriving on monday transferring 16 men from bangladesh and egypt. italy says up to 36,000 asylum seekers could be sent to albania each year, but they say only non—vulnerable men from safe countries will qualify . the safe countries will qualify. the debate on assisted dying is intensifying as new legislation set to be introduced in parliament for the first time in nearly a decade. dame esther rantzen, who has stage four lung cancen rantzen, who has stage four lung cancer, has been calling for careful legislation, sharing her

fears of a painful death and urging the public to write to their mps ahead of the vote. however, the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, is warning that the law could, he says, lead to a slippery slope. labour mp kim leadbeater, though, says the bill will have strict criteria and safeguards. >> i've spoken to my parents about it. you know, i said, dad, you do know you don't have to do it and he went, oh yeah, no you don't. of course you don't. it's about personal choice and personal freedom and autonomy. that's the crux of the issue. so lots of safeguards and protections for terminally ill adults only. so this is not about disabled people. let's fight for the rights of disabled people. absolutely. i am front and centre of that campaign as well. and i understand it creates a nervousness within the disabled community. but it's not about them. it's about terminally ill people and their choice and their right, so that we don't have to hear stories after stories, after stories of people who have had a horrible end of life. >> well, as we heard from tom and emily at the start of the houn and emily at the start of the hour, hundreds are set to gather in parliament square today, calling on the government to protect the winter fuel payment

for older people on lower incomes, led by charities. those campaigners are delivering a petition with over half a million signatures to the treasury, and in the next half hour or so to downing street. they are demanding the payments are extended to more pensioners after the government's decision in the summer to limit it to those on pension credit. supporters say the cut could leave millions at risk during the colder months . and finally, the colder months. and finally, inflation has dropped below the 2% target for the first time in over three years. figures for september show it fell to 1.7%. that's the lowest since april 2021. analysts had expected a smaller fall to 1.9%, and now warn that inflation could rise again due to the higher energy costs. coming up on the horizon, the ons says that lower petrol prices, cheaper airfares both drove that drop . however, food drove that drop. however, food inflation picked up again, rising faster than it did in august. treasury chief darren jones says it is still good news for british families , good news

for british families, good news for british families, good news for family finances that inflation has fallen below 2%. >> but of course there's more work to be done to protect working people and bring stability and growth back to the economy, which is what the chancellor and this government is doing now. and in the run up to the budget at the end of october. >> very about to start all over again and say, very good afternoon. that's it from me for now. i'll be back with you at 2:30. >> good afternoon britain, it is 2:09. now a ship carrying the first migrants from italy has arrived in albania today, marking the start of a controversial plan to process thousands of asylum seekers in the balkan nation. yes. >> so while italy is deporting migrants who have arrived in the country illegally, here in the uk, the government is actually actively looking for more hotels to put arrivals up in. >> well , this despite keir >> well, this despite keir starmer promising to end the use

of migrant hotels during the election campaign and of course, slamming the conservatives record on the issue. let's have a listen to what he had to say on the issue of migrant hotels last year. >> they sit in hotels and digs for months on end at the taxpayers expense. last year, he promised to end the hotel farce thatis promised to end the hotel farce that is the talk. but because of his mess, there are thousands of people who can't claim asylum and cannot be returned. so where does he actually think they are going to end up? >> okay, so he doesn't like hotels , but unfortunately, hotels, but unfortunately, presumably because of the tories record on all of this, they're going to expand the use of hotels. >> you know, the frustrating thing about prime minister's questions today, rishi sunak going on very important issues. of course you know china foreign affairs rishi sunak couldn't ask on this issue because of his own record on it. but rishi sunak could very easily have given that same speech that keir starmer gave last year to keir starmer gave last year to keir starmer this year. >> yeah , he definitely could

>> yeah, he definitely could have. well, our home and security editor mark white is with us now. it's all rather depressing isn't it? you have a government who used hundreds. i don't know how many. how many hotels are currently being used. do you know the number on that? >> well, in terms of bed spaces at its peak last year, 56,000 bed spaces in up to 450 500 hotels right across the country. now, ironically, and i think rishi sunak did miss a trick, he could have said that under his government towards the latter stages of his government, they'd reduced the reliance on hotels, freeing up 150 hotels back into the community and freeing up 20,000 bed spaces that were heading in that direction. but sir keir starmer has clearly realised coming into office he is dealing with a very significant problem that is just

not going away. and of course, we've passed that grim milestone of more people having come into the uk by small boat in the three and a half months since labour took power , than in the labour took power, than in the entire six months of this year, when the conservatives were in charge. >> so the conservatives were actually making some progress in terms of not needing this hotel accommodation any longer. so closing down the use of some of these hotels, and i think it's worth reminding people because they may not have a migrant hotel near them. they're not absolutely everywhere in the country, but they are sometimes in very small communities. so it seems to take over quite a large part of various towns and things. >> yeah, you'll often see them in towns, small towns and villages just in the middle of nowhere. that is probably as a hotel. it was good for sort of passing trade and, you know , passing trade and, you know, business types going into the area and the like. but what that doesin area and the like. but what that does in taking that hotel out of commission for a local community is it denies sometimes the only

amenity that that community has for big venues like weddings or funerals or, or whatever other functions. and as i say, business people and tourists that might want to come to the area. >> well, i don't understand, mark. during the election, the then opposition now government was saying that they were going to deport all of these people without the use of a third country, because they talk very nicely to the governments of the countries from which they came. and they said they'd end the use of hotels because they'd processed these people quickly. and they said that no more people would come on these boats because they'd smashed the gangs three clear promises. but we don't appear to be anywhere on any of them. >> yes, the home secretary, yvette cooper, bet the house really on being able to process asylum seekers very quickly so they could get them out of hotels. what we know that lawyers and human rights groups are expert now at being able to ensure that those they represent

at some point, more often than not, get leave to remain in the uk. and sometimes when they get turned down for the first time or even the second time, it goes to appeal and appeal and it can drag on for a while . so they are drag on for a while. so they are learning that the hard way in the new labour government, and not just that, but the other plank, the main plank of the government's small boats policy, is to smash the gangs. and while you can set up a new border security command, as they have done, you can provide more resources to that. taking the fight to these very sophisticated criminal networks that have, you know , tried and that have, you know, tried and tested lines of supply in place and know how to evade law enforcement is a long process that may never actually deliver what the what the government in this country and other countries want, which is to completely smash the gangs. so what do you do when you have now 14,000,

almost 14,000 migrants coming across under labour's watch? they've got to be housed somewhere. and that's why they're now going back to these hotel chains. and looking for accommodation and bed to space put these people. >> there's a big question mark over this speedier processing of claims, isn't there? and what exactly that amounts to. does that mean almost an amnesty. just, you know, get them through quickly and then they can get into social housing and jobs and whatever. >> well, whatever you call it, the fact is , under the previous the fact is, under the previous government, as now with this government, as now with this government , the vast majority of government, the vast majority of those who come across do get leave to remain because they're either legitimate in terms of the asylum claims, but actually a very significant proportion of them might not be legitimate in them might not be legitimate in the asylum claims, but they can't be returned to the country of origin because it's iran or it's iraq or it's syria or it's afghanistan, where it's not safe to return them to. >> but the government might then say, if it's not safe to return

these people to these countries, they are legitimate refugees. they deserve protection from the united kingdom. >> well, certainly in terms of the country that you want to return them to , there are return them to, there are elements of the regime in place for the likes of iran, where it could be argued that these are not safe countries to return them to. so getting involved in a very lengthy process and fight is probably not the way that any government wants to go. at the end of the day, they don't get asylum, but they get what's called either, you know, temporary leave or indefinite leave eventually to remain. same thing really. these people are still being allowed to remain here. that's why i think the italian model, now that giorgia meloni has hatched up with albania, looks like potentially a game changer here. they've figured out these 21 safe countries where you shouldn't have the right to claim asylum and where you can be returned to

relatively safely . and that, relatively safely. and that, they believe, could account for up to 56,000 people a yearjust up to 56,000 people a year just coming into italy. >> so my suggestion we should all spend our time looking more at italian models. yeah . at italian models. yeah. >> you're talking about ferrari, are you? yeah . are you? yeah. >> sports models. clearly. clearly talking about asylum . clearly talking about asylum. mark white, thank you very much for coming. on that note, all of that for us. >> i do. on a serious note, i do wonder whether this is simply a higher priority for giorgia meloni than it is for our current prime minister. i'm not sure this is in his top five or even ten priorities, but i suppose it built her electoral coalition. >> she is much more a politician elected on this issue. for our prime minister, it was almost incidental to his win. >> yeah, certainly not passionate about it. anyway . in passionate about it. anyway. in other news, sir keir starmer has been accused of reducing britain's global influence by proposing to increase the number of permanent members on the un security council. >> now, this really matters. the un security council was set up

in the wake of the second world war to have five permanent members with veto power. they are the united states, the united kingdom, france, russia and china . the five big powerful and china. the five big powerful countries in the in the world, the ones that won the second world war. now the proposal would see us being taken off that list that list being widened, diluted, no longer existing because representatives from africa and some other asian countries feel left out. >> yes. it's very interesting, isn't it? it appears there are fears that this could play into china's hands, for example, or into russia's hands and weaken our influence. is that a good thing? i don't think so. we're now joined by defence analyst chris newton. chris, thank you very much. what do you make of this story then ? this story then? >> good afternoon. >> good afternoon. >> before i set out my stall and what i believe in, i think it's important to recognise that there are sort of reasonable arguments for reform. >> so for example, as you allude

to and the p5 reflects the, the great powers at the end of the second world war. and of course, now the geopolitical situation has changed. you've got more powers, more countries gaining influence . and germany, japan influence. and germany, japan and india and so forth. but but i would agree with, with the argument that this does dilute british influence. you know, if you add more members to the to the permanent members , then then the permanent members, then then it would dilute british influence. i also agree that you know, a lot of these new members would potentially be more favourable to our adversaries. russia , china and indeed russia. russia, china and indeed russia. and china are courting influence over countries in, in africa and asia. >> chris, if you allow me just

to jump in here, there is the question, i suppose, about what the world might be shifting. right. but but the question is, does the british government bat for britain, or does the british government try and accelerate the change that might be going on in the world? of course, the united kingdom isn't the superpower that it was at the time that the second world war ended. but i mean, it strikes me as frankly bizarre that the united kingdom's government is trying to hasten that decline . trying to hasten that decline. >> yeah, i agree with you. i mean, this government seems to be sort of making big gestures, grand gestures , and to the grand gestures, and to the world. so we've got this example. you have the chagos islands decision last week. you had what we what we discussed yesterday about the eu. and, you know, our greater potential integration with eu foreign and defence policies . and these are

defence policies. and these are great, you know, gestures . but great, you know, gestures. but but ultimately we're in an era of state based competition of great power rivalry. and ultimately what matters is our own interests. and i don't really see this government putting our interests first. well , chris putting our interests first. well, chris and chris putting our interests first. well , chris and chris newton, well, chris and chris newton, sorry, we'll have to leave it there. >> but thank you very much indeed.i >> but thank you very much indeed. i couldn't agree more. defence analyst thank you very much, chris newton. yeah, it's why can't we just put britain first? isn't that the job of the british government? >> you know , i think i think >> you know, i think i think they would think that they're trying to trade hard power for soft power and try and try and say, oh, look, look how sort of generous. nice being diluting our position on the permanent five. getting diluting our veto power at the un in return for what good favour in return for sort of this, this idea that we're a nice country. i mean, that's not real power in the real world. >> also, the assumption that, you know, every every single other country is acting in its own interests. right. but no, britain has to act in everyone's

interests. oh, we just have to be, you know , this nice, fluffy be, you know, this nice, fluffy country and then. >> and then be no country for some of our power. yeah, well, lots more coming up on today's programme, including the latest twist in the conservative leadership race that next.

>> okay, well, it's 225. you're watching, listening to good afternoon britain and the battle for the conservative leadership has taken a bit of an ugly turn today as robert jenrick battled back at kemi badenoch. he battled back. who claimed the party would cease to exist if he was elected leader? gosh. harsh words from kemi. well, was elected leader? gosh. harsh words from kemi. well , the words from kemi. well, the former business secretary warned her that generic could reignite divisions within the party by framing the european convention on human rights debates. >> in a leave versus remain manner. >> well, he's already done that, hasn't he? he said, i'm for

leave. yes. well, you'll be able to hear from both of these candidates tomorrow night on gb news, because we are hosting an exclusive leadership event in the evening where both candidates will pitch their vision to the tory membership for why they should lead the party. >> well, joining us now is the current shadow secretary of state for business and trade of the uk , kevin hollinrake. kevin, the uk, kevin hollinrake. kevin, this is an interesting contest. do you think things are getting a little bit more heated now than they were perhaps a couple of weeks ago? >> well, good afternoon . >> well, good afternoon. >> well, good afternoon. >> well, good afternoon. >> well, it's bound to be a bit a little bit more like that i think because you're, you're you're debating single ideas and i'm sure on your show tomorrow night it'll be an interesting contest. >> i mean, i really hope it doesn't get in any way acrimonious. >> it shouldn't do that. >> it shouldn't do that. >> but it's important that people see what both candidates stand for. personally, i'm really pleased with both the candidates got through to the final. >> i mean, clearly i'm a kemi

supporter, but you know, i thought we had four very good candidates through to the final stages and now two very good candidates in the very final stage . stage. >> so i'm looking forward to the debate. >> it should be an open and free one. >> kevin kemi doesn't appear to be putting herself out there as much as robert jenrick. robert jenrick is very much getting himself out on the media left, right and centre. you know, he's got opinion pieces near every day. kemi seems to be taking a bit of a i don't know, she's taking a bit of distance perhaps. is that, is that right? >> well, she's on your show tomorrow night. >> i know, i know that, which is fantastic , which is fantastic, fantastic, which is fantastic, but i think people haven't seen as much of her necessarily as they have robert jenrick. >> that's not something anybody's said to me. i think all the people that i speak to, the members particularly, have got this decision to make . i got this decision to make. i haven't heard any of them say they haven't seen enough of kemi. there'll be plenty of opportunities over the next few days and weeks to be able to sit, hear more of her, including on your show tomorrow night. so

i mean, clearly it's either candidate to choose their way of taking their campaign to the members. so i've personally seen lots of communications from kemi as a member as well as as somebody who supports her and her team. >> it is interesting. i wonder perhaps if this is a sort of favourites versus underdog situation. kemi badenoch of course, most of the polls say that she's ahead with the membership. she doesn't want to do much to upset the apple cart. does robert jenrick need to make more noise in order to get heard? is that the sort of dynamics we're seeing here? >> i honestly don't know, tom. i'm not that close to the kemi campaign to let you into any secrets about how that's been run. i say i see i mean, you saw kemi non—stop all the way through the conference and before it, and i've seen a lot after she's been on the campaign trail in various different constituencies through the on the council elections last week. and she's been plenty of members events. so i think she's hopefully up to north yorkshire not too distant future. so i'm

very happy with what she's saying. and her availability and her opportunities to get out there and say it. >> yeah, i mean, her latest piece , she actually wrote piece, she actually wrote a wrote a column for the telegraph yesterday. she said, i'm labour's worst nightmare. they can't paint me as prejudiced. why is that ? why is that? >> i didn't read the article, so i don't know the context of it, i'm sorry to say, but i think she's talking about identity politics, isn't she? >> that's something she's been railing against throughout her campaign and possibly throughout her career . her career. >> well, i tell you what i think about it. i mean, i do think she's labour's worst nightmare because she tells it like it is. and i've seen her so many times in the chamber, both as a backbencher and as a minister, absolutely wiping the floor with those on the opposition benches who are who try to use identity politics to somehow describe this country, has not been a great country or one that doesn't. it doesn't. it's not a good place for ethnic minorities

to live. and that doesn't have opportunities across the piece . opportunities across the piece. and she speaks very clearly. she thinks this is a fantastic country. it has a fantastic future, as do all of its citizens. and i really like the really her willingness to stand up and say what she feels and be brave, but also optimistic. >> now, kevin, tory members have started voting online today, but here's perhaps a difficult question. does anyone care? the conservative party has 121 mps, barely above the level of the liberal democrats in parliament. the labour party won the biggest majority it has ever won in its history. i mean, you're going to be out of office for a decade . be out of office for a decade. >> i'll tell you who does care. >> i'll tell you who does care. >> tom and i obviously try and do my best to look after the business community, which which pays for everything in this country. private sector produces all the taxes for in terms of the all the public services. so

hugely important. and we're seeing business confidence