a notorious gangster was in fact a notorious gangster with a string of convictions for stabbing and grievous bodily harm. he was due to stand trial for shooting a man in a nightclub just days before he was killed, and big up keir starmer, an inmate, let out of jail early today, has heaped praise on the prime minister as he walked out of prison to meet friends in a convoy of a white bentley and a black mercedes. >> we'll be live outside british prisons today as 1100 inmates are released early and disrespect down under . disrespect down under. >> a statue of queen victoria in sydney has been vandalised with red paint just hours before king charles and queen camilla were set to meet the crowds in the australian city. has the royal tour come under strain .7 tour come under strain? >> it's astounding what we now

can reveal to the public. the media are now allowed to talk about chris kaba past and the various allegations against him, the time he spent in prison , the time he spent in prison, this recent two shootings in the last week before he was killed by that police officer, the gun residue found on his arm that was not allowed to be discussed dunng was not allowed to be discussed during the tribunal. >> so many different instances where people have frankly been gagged for two years, but now it's all coming out and my goodness me, this show is going to be jam packed with many more nuggets of information that, frankly, have stayed hidden for too long. one of the most pernicious aspects of this was that chris kaba mother has been painting him as some sort of sweeter than sweet sort of individual over these last two years. the photographs being put out of him, sort of as if he's sort of an upstanding member of

society. well, there are more photographs of him looking much more like a gang member. but also she wanted these restrictions to go on in perpetuity . perpetuity. >> yeah, in perpetuity. and it does. >> yeah, in perpetuity. and it does . the problem is, well, one does. the problem is, well, one of the many problems here is that chris kaba a lot of people were defending him. a lot of people were using this case as a way to, you know , beat up police way to, you know, beat up police officers to say that they shouldn't have arms, to say that they're institutionally racist, to say that this police sergeant was in some way a crook and a wrong'un himself. this man has gone through so much . the police gone through so much. the police officer, i'm talking about two years. there is still a police investigation going on internally, but i can't imagine what that what that's like and who would now want to pick up an arm? who would want to be an armed police officer? if you can just, you know, go down or potentially go down. >> and for the people that sort of blindly rushed in to defend chris kaba, they have not done anything for race relations in

this country . the people that this country. the people that were blindly defending this guy as if he was the best person on earth , are feeding into earth, are feeding into stereotypes, which they shouldn't. >> yeah. and it just tells you, it just shows you how you need to wait for the facts to emerge before you have a big, big, big opinion on it. anyway. gbnews.com/yoursay please do let us know what you make of it all, but let's get the headlines with sam francis. >> very good afternoon to you . >> very good afternoon to you. fast approaching 12:04 and as we heard there, let's get a roundup of that news that it can now be reported that chris kaba was a key figure in one of london's most dangerous gangs and was accused of being involved in two shootings just days before police shot him dead in september 2022. court reporting restrictions have been lifted today, revealing his ties to a nightclub shooting and a second incident with gunshot residue and a balaclava found on him when he died . police officer

when he died. police officer martyn blake was cleared of the 24 year old's murder yesterday after a jury acquitted him in just over three hours. kaba's family say they are devastated over that verdict and are vowing to continue their fight for justice. meanwhile, the independent office for police conduct is now considering whether blake will face any disciplinary action. more than 1000 prisoners will be released early today as part of the government's efforts to free up space in jails in england and in wales. 1700 inmates were freed last month after warnings that as few as 80 prison places were available. currently, there are just over 2000 free spaces, but that number is expected to reach critical capacity again by july next year. those released today will have been serving five years or more behind bars and completed at least 40% of their sentences . however, justice sentences. however, justice secretary shabana mahmood says the emergency measures will only buy the government some time and that comes as the government is

also launching a review of prison sentencing today , prison sentencing today, considering tougher punishments outside of jails. it's being led by the former justice secretary, david gauke, and is expected to explore using technology like sobriety tags and nudge apps to monitor offenders. the results from that review are expected by the spring of next year. from that review are expected by the spring of next year . we've the spring of next year. we've heard this morning that water companies in england and wales want to raise their bills, even higher than they had first requested, southern water is seeking an 84% hike, while thames water, the uk's biggest provider, wants to raise its bills by 4,053% by by 2030. only wessex water isn't pushing for more than what was asked for in july. off . what's interim july. off. what's interim decision had allowed for a 21% rise, with the final ruling expected in december . government expected in december. government borrowing has surged to its highest level since the pandemic, driven by public sector pay rises and rising interest rates on debt.

borrowing. last month hit £16.6 billion. that's the third highest september on record , highest september on record, despite a rise in tax revenue. the ons says that the gap between what the government took and what it spent was less than expected, but still above forecasts for the year. treasury chief secretary darren jones has, though, defended the pay rises, saying strikes would have cost the economy much more . cost the economy much more. >> it was right to settle the strikes that were strife across pubuc strikes that were strife across public services under the last conservative government, because it was costing the economy and taxpayers £3 billion a year. but the budget on the 30th of october will get a grip of pubuc october will get a grip of public finances and start to fix the foundations, so we don't have to go through that trouble again in future years. >> next news in ireland, where police are searching a house in county louth as part of their ongoing murder investigation after an eight year old boy went missing from his home. there, officers began forensic and technical examinations of the property. this morning. that's after extensive searches

elsewhere prove no trace of kieran was found, and no arrests have so far been made . their have so far been made. their search is now focused on finding clues to the boy's whereabouts following his disappearance on the 30th of august. he is chief superintendent alan mcgovern. giving a statement earlier , giving a statement earlier, despite extensive enquiries carried out by gardai to date, garda siochana have been unable to either locate, can't identify any information on his current whereabouts or any evidence that he is currently alive . he is currently alive. >> following enquiries to date , >> following enquiries to date, investigating gardai now believe that kieran is missing, presumed dead. >> a man has died after two trains collided in wales. according to the british transport police. 15 others were taken to hospital , though their taken to hospital, though their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. most passengers were safely evacuated from the train. investigations are now underway to understand what to led that crash. emergency services did respond

quickly to the scene and there is now a heavy police presence thatis is now a heavy police presence that is expected to continue in the area over the coming days. network rail and transport for wales say their thoughts are with the victims families. the cambrian line remains closed while specialist teams investigate and we'll just end this update by taking you live to the middle east. i think we can get pictures for you of the beirut skyline as smoke appears to continue billowing into the air after recent strikes there, we have heard today that 13 people, including a child, have been killed after one israeli strike hit a site close to lebanon's biggest public hospital in the capital. people have been searching through the rubble for survivors following that attack, 57 others were wounded and at this stage seven are believed to be in a critical condition that comes as america's top diplomat, antony blinken , has arrived this blinken, has arrived this morning in israel to continue pushing for a ceasefire in gaza. he'll be continuing that middle

east trip tomorrow, visiting jordan and qatar to east