he's been accused of having close personal and financial links to an alleged chinese spy who is now banned from britain, reports he even attended the duke of york's birthday party. >> and ed miliband's renewables blitz. the energy secretary will overrule local residents and allow thousands more wind farms to be built across britain. new wind turbines could be up to 800ft high. how do you feel about that? >> and could ed's big day be overshadowed by an ongoing row between himself and the cabinet colleague wes streeting over syria? what about his £43,000 office refurb? >> i mean, so these stats on the economy. okay, so we shrunk in october. now, the budget wasn't until october the 30th, charlie.

so this must be down to all the negative, what i would call trash. talking of the economy that was done throughout the summer months. negativity. things are going to get worse before they get better. >> well, i hate to use the term bnnk >> well, i hate to use the term brink of a recession is some of the language we've seen from economists today. it's two months in a row, this contraction now. but while manufacturing is suffering, we've also heard that law firms and legal requests are surging. so there's some economic benefit there. it pays to have a human rights law all about perhaps a good time to be in the trade. >> well, actually you're right. new government, lots of new laws, lots of more work for lawyers to get into. so there you go. good time to be a lawyer. but not a builder, perhaps. but there you go. but what do you make of ed miliband's renewables blitz? these wind farms, could that be a boost to the economy? could that bring us out of a potential recession? >> i think everyone would love that. but so far today, ed miliband, it seems the energy secretary not confirming if he believes that this process will reduce bills in time for the

next election. they're saying they're aiming for 2030, but of course we've been in this cost of living crisis now, emily, for a few years. so i think there's some really pressing concerns there. >> i'm just thinking these new, these new additions, wind turbines. so the normal ones are 200ft, which is quite high. apparently these new addition ones going to be 800ft high. i mean, how do you fancy that in your backyard? >> it can't be a skyscraper in london, but you can get a wind turbine out and about. yeah, i think i'd probably pass if that was threatening to arrive in my backyard. >> i mean, i don't think even ed miliband would force you to have it in your garden, but who knows? and we are also running a christmas tree special today, so we want your pictures of trees into us by sending them to gbviews@gbnews.uk. com and this is because apparently people aren't buying big christmas trees anymore. >> i think we might have bought all of them, to be honest, in the studio. i mean, there's enough big christmas trees around us in central london, but but also we would love to hear your thoughts on all of today's stories, not just your christmas

trees on gbnews.com/yoursay, but first. and before we get cracking, it's your headlines with tatiana sanchez. >> charlie, thank you and good afternoon. the top stories this houn afternoon. the top stories this hour. we start with some breaking news that president emmanuel macron has named centrist veteran francois bayrou as france's new prime minister, according to a statement from his office. bayrou replaces michel barnier, who resigned last week after far right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple the government, plunging france into its second major political crisis in six months. more on this breaking news story as we get it. in other breaking news this hour, 609 migrants arrived in the uk yesterday after crossing the english channel after crossing the english channel, according to figures from the home office. the cumulative number of arrivals by small boats this year now stands at a provisional total of 34,582. that's i9% higher than

at the same point last year. the crossings yesterday were the first for eight days. they also represented the highest daily total since october the 18th, when 647 migrants arrived. nine boats arrived yesterday, which suggests an average of around 68 people per boat. in other news, the uk economy shrank for the second month in a row in october as concerns about the budget continue to weigh on confidence, the office for national statistics said. output fell 0.1% following the 0.1% decline 0.i% following the 0.1% decline recorded for the previous month. the figures showed zero growth in the powerhouse services sector, with manufacturing and construction declining at a pace of 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. the ons says activity had stalled or declined, with pubs, restaurants and retail among sectors reported weak months. chancellor rachel reeves said she was disappointed by the data, but it's not possible to turn around more than a decade of poor economic growth and stagnant living standards in

just a few months. >> but you'll see from the plans we've been announcing whether thatis we've been announcing whether that is the energy reforms we've published today, the reforms to build 1.5 million homes that we published yesterday, the pensions reforms, the creation of a national wealth fund. this government are getting on with the job in improving economic growth and driving up living standards. >> shadow chancellor mel stride says the falling growth shows the stark impact of the chancellor's decisions and continually talking down the economy. >> well, it's not good. these are stark figures. this is the second consecutive month in which the economy has contracted. now, bear in mind that the government actually inherited the fastest growing economy in the g7 inherited the fastest growing economy in the 67 from the last conservative government. and what this shows is that this government's constant talking down of the uk economy is coming through in these numbers. now, of course, we've had a budget. we're going to be seeing higher taxes, higher inflation, higher interest rates, downward pressure on wages and higher unemployment. and so it's no

surprise that businesses right up and down the country are now sounding the alarm. >> now, according to reports, an alleged chinese spy suspected of having links to prince andrew has been banned from entering the uk on national security grounds. the man, known only as h6, was found to be a close confidant of the prince and was reportedly invited to the duke's birthday celebrations. the home office has accused the individual of covert and deceptive activity, acting on behalf of the chinese communist party. buckingham palace has declined to comment at this time. an investigation will take place after reports a member of buckingham palace staff was arrested after a christmas party, according to a palace spokesperson. the spokesperson said appropriate action would be taken after the palace was made aware of the incident. the metropolitan police told the sun officers had been called to a bar in victoria street after reports a customer had smashed glasses and attempted to assault a member of staff. they said a 24 year old woman was arrested

on suspicion of common assault, criminal damage and being drunk and disorderly before being released after being given a penalty notice. in other news, the actions of armed police who surrounded and arrested a 13 year old boy after an officer mistook his water pistol for a real gun, were apparently reasonable in the circumstances, according to the independent office for police conduct. the boy suffered soft tissue injuries after he was rammed off his bike by a police van and handcuffed as he was confronted by marksmen in hackney, east london, in july last year, with the iopc said it investigated allegations of adultification and discrimination by police officers against the child. campaign group the alliance for police accountability, which supported the mother of the child, has criticised the decision . elsewhere, planned decision. elsewhere, planned strikes by workers on avanti west coast have been suspended. members of the rmt union were due to walk out on three days the 22nd, 23rd and 29th of

december. the union members, who work as train managers, will now vote on a revised offer aimed at resolving a row over rest day working at avanti west coast, spokesperson said they were pleased that the rmt union have decided to suspend the strikes, which would have caused major disruption to their services dunng disruption to their services during the christmas period. they added that they remain open to discussion with the rmt and await the outcome of the referendum, where train managers can also vote on the offer. the government has unveiled a clean power action plan to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030. number 10 claims the move will protect households from any future energy spikes, boost growth and tackle the climate crisis. meanwhile, some government backed researchers have warned. secretary of state for energy and climate change ed miliband's plans could actually increase energy bills, as people could be forced to pay premium to secure the correct technology. and two people have been taken 1512 00:08:58,424 --> 00:08:58,