a national prime ministers posed a national security risk. the businessman, known only as h6, was barred from the uk last year after reportedly infiltrating high profile circles, including attending events with david cameron and theresa may. home secretary yvette cooper says britain must maintain economic ties with china, but will act strongly against security threats. critics, including nigel farage, are calling for the man to be named, while the duke of york, meanwhile, insists no sensitive matters were ever discussed. and he says all contacts stopped following government advice. those are the latest headlines for now, it's back to mark dolan 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/alerts. >> thank you tatiana. it's just

gone 9:00 and this is the final mark dolan tonight of 2024. in the big opinion, serial runner up gareth southgate is to get a knighthood. whilst the most consequential politician of his generation, nigel farage, gets nothing. our honours system is a reward for failure, mediocrity and wokery in the big story. has brexit been a triumph or a disaster? i'll be fighting it out with the man who thinks we should rejoin the eu. also tonight, should the king strip scandal hit prince andrew of his duke of york title. i'll be asking one of the country's leading royal journalists. meanwhile, kemi badenoch has ruled out a deal with reform uk. is this political suicide? i'll get the views of a well connected tory insider and this is pretty special. in an hour's time, in the last take, at ten

of the year, one of the bbc's biggest stars, mastermind, host and bbc news presenter clive myrie, has launched an attack on gb news. i'll be giving my reaction. have i got news for him? let me tell you that clive myrie and the bbc will find tonight's take at ten uncomfortable viewing. that's in an hour, but very comfortable company tonight because we have a stellar line up of pundits, broadcaster and former conservative mp sir michael fabricant, former government minister and broadcaster edwina currie and a brand new star on mark dolan tonight. political commentator andy williams. so two hours of big opinion, big debate and big entertainment. don't miss that. take at ten. in an hour's time.

be ready folks. but first, my big opinion. yes, folks, lots to get through. but we'll start with this. it is official gareth southgate is to receive a knighthood. i'm sorry, but did i miss something? did he win the world cup or the euros? no, he's won the woke cup, that's all. with eight years of virtue signalling, rainbow flags and cringeworthy political correctness. he has spent his time trying to make the world a better place, rather than making england a better team. this man, soon to receive the greatest honourin soon to receive the greatest honour in the land, has won precisely zero trophies as england manager, in spite of getting the easiest set of draws in recent memory, rarely having to face the best teams until reaching the finals that he lost. southgate was gifted a

golden generation of players who could have scooped silverware in the right hands and whilst a very worthy knight of the realm, sir alex ferguson fostered a ruthless culture of winning. at manchester united. southgate fostered a culture of empathy and inclusivity. he wanted his players to be, and i quote , players to be, and i quote, storytellers. well, the story was ultimately one of failure. and as for all that touchy feely stuff with the players talking about their feelings and emotions, he was supposed to be a head coach, not a life coach. instead, he got them to focus on being great role models and great human beings, teaching them the art of taking the knee oven them the art of taking the knee over, taking corners and free kicks. and it was southgate's england team who insisted on still taking the knee many months after international teams, often featuring players of an ethnic background, watched in total bafflement as we

continued with that divisive pantomime. although they reached the final of the euros, england played terribly throughout. even gary lineker, with whom i don't often agree, lambasted them in the strongest possible terms. does gareth southgate really deserve the same venerated honour as, for example, sir paul mccartney, a man who has sold a billion records and changed the world with the beatles? is southgate up there with sir james dyson, the billionaire inventor of the dyson vacuum cleaner? compared to dyson? southgate sucks. is he up there with sir winston churchill, who defeated fascism and saved the free world? southgate couldn't save a penalty and certainly not score one. and what about a few candidates for the top gong who got nothing? david beckham, who has won every conceivable trophy

in club football and as one of the most famous englishmen in the most famous englishmen in the world, is a global ambassador for the uk. plus, he has done a vast amount for charity. or what about this guy? do you know him? nigel? paul farage. the most consequential politician of his generation and the man who masterminded our departure from the european union, who launched a broadcasting revolution here @gbnews and exposed the de—banking scandal. footballing also ran. gareth becomes the. sir nigel gets sweet f.a. look, i'm sure that gareth southgate is a nice guy and he spoke up for some of our brilliant players when they suffered horrific racial abuse and his record in competitions on paper was very good. but to be a knight of the realm, you must be a winner. coming second is not a

trophy. it's not a victory. ask serial trophy collector jose mourinho, who literally threw his europa league runners up medal into the crowd last year. such was his fury at losing in the final. arise, sir gareth. not on my watch. your reaction? gareth southgate does he merit a knighthood? should nigel farage be sir nigel farage? what about sir david beckham? let me know your new year's honours nominations. but i want to know, are there double standards at play? gbnews.com/yoursay. first up, tonight's top pundits, and we have broadcaster and former conservative mp sir michael fabricant. we have former government minister and radio and tv superstar edwina currie. live in studio. what a treat. and a brand new star on the show. political commentator andy williams. edwina. it would be both ungallant and foolish not

to start with you. arise, sir. gareth. you're having a laugh. >> well, i'm delighted to say that unlike somebody sitting close to me, i have never been on the honours list. i've never got anywhere near. >> you're a rebel, isn't it? you don't toe the line. >> i've always said what i think. i've always said it in a very simple northern fashion. >> you're not a brown noser like this one. >> oh, how could you? he didn't. >> oh, how could you? he didn't. >> he didn't have a problem with the knighthood because he's always on his knees. >> well. doing what? careful. family show. yes. >> let's not go there. no. you're right, i think. i mean, one of the problems for me being one of the problems for me being on your programme is that i tend to agree with you too much. big problem. you're right about this. i'm not sure that southgate is the right person to do it. on the other hand, you missed out somebody who i think should have been in in the honours list, and that's actually boris. and if you think about it, what's boris done? i mean, they're talking about sadiq khan, mayor of london, getting a knighthood. boris was

mayor of london twice, got elected twice. he was the editor of the spectator. and that deserves a knighthood in itself. he's been an mp, he's been the foreign secretary and he was prime minister. yeah. and why isn't. >> and he ended the brexit deadlock. i mean, some people aren't happy with brexit. but he did break that impasse didn't he? >> and this is all because that honours committee which thought you were so lovely and has ignored me i am is just ignored me i am isjust a collection of i don't know what you'd call them to be polite, really. you know, the people who know what the rules are, the people who know who to be smart, to be nice to? >> well, i think that's right. and of course, many would argue, andy, that there are nurses and other people in the public sector who do a huge amount who probably deserve this kind of gong themselves. yeah. >> and i think lots of mbes and obes go to people who work in the private sector and make great contributions to charity and all of those sorts of things. i'm sure boris will get his knighthood in time. most prime ministers tend to in the end. and gareth southgate, let's

just look at his record as england manager for a minute. he's represented england as a manager and a player more than anybody else in history. that's right. he has the second best loser. he has the right. he has th