>> this morning, 930 on wednesday the 18th of december. live across the uk. britain's newsroom with andrew pierce and bev turner. >> good morning. so the government refuses to compensate women born in the 1950s who were not aware of state pension changes. this is the waspi women they are vowing to fight on. here is the work and pensions secretary, liz kendall. >> the government does not believe paying a flat rate to all women, at a cost of up to £10.5 billion, would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers money. >> so that's another betrayal of pensioners. a new report says police must be better prepared for violence on our streets, as

it's revealed they missed warning signs before the riots this summer. after the southport killings, more on that to come. >> nigel farage has met elon musk at donald trump's mar—a—lago residence as the world's richest man looks set to bankroll reform uk. are we going to witness a political revolution? >> i'm breaking this morning. inflation has risen to 2.6%, up from 2.3%. don't worry though, the chancellor says it's in line with other developed nations. >> and with a new year comes a new set of train strikes. that's right. avanti west coast have announced five months of weekly walkouts starting on guess what, new year's eve. >> unbelievable war in europe and conflict in the middle east. the prime minister still, however, will not commit to a 3% defence spend and insists working with nato allies is the best plan of action. >> and as christmas day fast approaches, tell me about it. should mobile phones be banned at the dinner table on the big

day? the question is why are they at any dinner table on any day? we're going to be debating that. this elon musk story is making its megxit, isn't it? >> i talked to candy nick candy, the new reform treasurer. last week we did a big piece about him in the mail at the weekend. they are really i think they're going to get big bucks. they're not going to get 80 million. nothing like it. but i think they're going to have a few million. and why not? he's he's a supporter of free speech. >> and what would that mean. what would that mean for you at home. what will it mean for politics. because you don't buy elections in this country. however, having significant resources to get your message out there is really key. >> and the labour party have had the trade unions for years. well, let's not forget it. >> yeah. trade unions versus twitter. who's going to win? gbnews.com/yoursay first, the very latest news with katie

bowen. >> bev and andrew. thank you and good morning. your top stories this hour. uk inflation has risen to its highest level since march, according to official figures. the office for national statistics said inflation rose to 2.6% in november, up from 2.3% the previous month. this is the highest rate since march and the highest rate since march and the second rise in two months. the figures come ahead of the bank of england's latest decision on interest rates tomorrow. the ons's chief economist said the rise was dnven economist said the rise was driven by an increase in petrol prices. chancellor rachel reeves reacted to the figures earlier on. >> the inflation numbers today show inflation at 2.6%. that is comparable to other countries around the world. in the united states, it's 2.7%. it's a slightly higher . states, it's 2.7%. it's a slightly higher. in the euro area, it's 2.3%. so broadly in line with our international peers. i recognise that the cost of living crisis continues to

bite. that's why in the budget we increased the national living wage. a pay rise for 3 million workers. and it's why we froze fuel duty so that motorists are not paying more at the pumps. so we recognise the challenges that families remain under and are taking action to address that ongoing cost of living challenge. >> elsewhere, a police report has found that officers were unprepared for the scale of the summer riots, which followed the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in southport. the report, conducted by his majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, also found that there were gaps in intelligence unked there were gaps in intelligence linked to social media and the dark web in the lead up to the riots. police officers were recognised for immense bravery and personal sacrifice in the report. it comes as axel rudakubana is due to appear in court today charged with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article following the deadly stabbing incident in southport in july. chancellor

rachel reeves has said today that she understood the waspi campaigners were disappointed, but paying an expensive compensation bill was not the best use of taxpayers money. it comes as the government is facing backlash after sir keir starmer and senior members of his cabinet backed the waspi campaign, while labour were in opposition. in march, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman recommended the government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men. leader of the liberal democrats, sir ed davey spoke to gb news earlier on. >> it's particularly relevant for the waspi pensioners, the these women who've campaigned for a long time, that they had an independent review with the ombudsman. the ombudsman looked at this subject for five years and focused on the period back in the last labour government, when the dwp failed to notify women and many of them just didn't understand what was going on and weren't aware of it. and it's the independent ombudsman

that's made these recommendations. i think the government needs to look at this and needs to change its mind, actually. >> those are the latest gb news headlines. now it's time for bev and andrew 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. >> gbnews.com/alerts. >> good morning. welcome to britain's newsroom. are you ready? not really. you're sorted. you've got your phone plugged in. you got your laptop charging. marvellous, right. bev and andrew with you until midday. >> so promise after promise after promise before the election to those pensioners, the waspi women, that is women against state pension inequality. and the government has now said they ain't getting the uprate that they expected. >> that's right. so this is almost 4 million women who were

born in the 1950s, who were not basically properly informed of the rise in the state pension age, which would bring them in line with men. the government have now said they are not going to pay them compensation, despite an independent ombudsman saying there should be compensation of between. >> i think up to £3,000. that's a lot of money. so this is what shadow cabinet ministers said when they were in shadow cabinet. here was yvette cooper, who's now the home secretary, speaking in 2017 here with the five towns in yorkshire. >> waspi women, they've been running a great campaign on behalf of women right across this area, but across the country as well. >> they've been so badly treated by this tory government, they've had their pension age increased. >> no proper warning. it's moving the goalposts when people can't plan. it's completely unfair. >> i've been joining them and fighting to try and get this changed. i think it's completely unfair, and i want to keep fighting for a fair deal for the waspi women. >> so angela rayner also backed the group back in 2019. here you

go. >> well, the government failed the women who were born in the 19505. the women who were born in the 1950s. they stole their pension, that contract, that agreement that contract, that agreement that they thought they had and then accelerated it so that those women didn't have the chance to prepare for that. we've said we'll right that injustice. and within the five years of the labour government, we will compensate them for the money that they've lost. >> you can add our prime minister, sir keir starmer. the chancellor, rachel reeves, both said exactly the same. >> and also the work and pensions minister, liz kendall. that was until yesterday when she announced this. >> the government does not believe paying a flat rate to all women at a cost of up to £10.5 billion, would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers money. >> well, extraordinary stuff isn't it? let's talk to the labour mp for salford, rebecca long—bailey, who's been a long time campaigner for those women. good morning to you rebecca. very nice to have you on the program again. what's your reaction? >> thanks for having me

pleasure. >> what's your reaction? the women, the waspi women are saying betrayal. >> i was shocked, if i'm honest. i'm the co—chair of an all party parliamentary group for state pension injustice. and we've received countless testimonies from women who weren't adequately notified of their state pension changing. and we heard from women who lost everything heard from w