comes as sir reported it. it comes as sir keir starmer prepares for donald trump's presidency. the newspaper reports this evening that the prime minister believes the labour veteran has the trade expertise and networking abilities to bring the uk and america closer together. dame karen pierce, the current ambassador, will remain in the post and mr trump is inaugurated on january 20th, according to the times. well, earlier today, sir keir starmer insisted he would not have done anything differently if he were to start his tenure as prime minister again. he was facing questions from senior mps and government departments at the liaison committee this afternoon. the question in focus on the state of the uk economy, potential trade deals for the country, housebuilding targets and the need for a ceasefire in gaza. at the end, the prime minister was asked if he would do anything differently following criticism for decisions including denying waspi women compensation, imposing new inheritance tax

measures on farmers and the cut to winter fuel payments. >> no, we had to do tough stuff. we're getting on with it and i'm very pleased to be delivering and delivering from a position of power rather than going around the division lobbies, losing every night. i've had too much of that . much of that. >> water bills in england and wales are to rise by an average of 36% over the next five years, water regulator ofwat announced today. that's the equivalent of an extra £31 a year. the regulator said the increase would pay for £104 billion upgrade of the water sector to deliver substantial, lasting improvements for customers and the environment. four teenage boys have been detained for life for the murders of two best friends who were stabbed to death in a case of mistaken identity. mason rist, 15, and max dixon, 16, died from stab wounds after being chased by the four armed teenagers in the knowle west area of bristol on january 27th this year. their

attackers, riley toliver, 18, cody westcott, 17, and two boys aged 15 and 16, who cannot be named due to their age, have been driven by anthony snook, 45. all five were convicted of two counts of murder last month following a six week trial at bristol crown court. snook was was later jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 38 years. mason rice uncle david knight spoke outside of court. >> no family should ever have to go through what our two families have gone through. these juveniles have not only destroyed our families, but to an extent, their own lives and that of their own families. and we hope that as they grow older and mature, hopefully in prison, they do fully come to realise they do fully come to realise the extent of what they have done. on that evening of saturday, the 27th of january, and they have to live with that

for the rest of their lives. >> there's been some football action this evening in the efl cup. manchester united lost four three away to tottenham hotspur in the quarter final fixture. the semi—final draw was also made this evening. arsenal will play made this evening. arsenal will play newcastle and tottenham will play. liverpool. meanwhile, chelsea won five one against irish side shamrock rovers in the uefa conference league. those are your latest headlines. that's me done for the day. a very good evening to you. >> now back to headliners 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. >> hello and welcome to headliners. you first look at tomorrow's top stories with three comedians. first things first, though, let's take a look at what leo and nick will have

to work with on friday's front pages. the daily telegraph has pm pics. mandelson to win over trump. the i extra water bill hikes will follow 36% increase unless labour kills failing watchdog. the daily express has giselle's brave message of hope after horror. the metro i have no regrets on the same story. the independent freedom for aung san suu kyi, and we've got the daily star , who goes with daily star, who goes with world's bossiest boffin. afterlife is real interesting stuff. well, let's see what. let's see if we can make sense of this one. we can start with the telegraph. first of all, leo. >> so the telegraph leads with the story that the prime minister has picked mandelson, peter mandelson, a name you might remember from a couple of decades ago, to win over trump as the sort of ambassador to washington. it's an interesting choice, given that peter mandelson, mandelson was previously the bbc commissioner and described mr trump as a bully and a mercantilist. i mean, your one hope is that, you know, trump doesn't have

dictionary. >> is that a wig that you wear lower down.7 >> that's an angular merkin. >> that's an angular merkin. >> that's an angular merkin. >> that's the one. i knew it was something. >> he doesn't like bullies. >> he doesn't like bullies. >> but remember this was new laboun >> alastair campbell featured quite prominently in it. so they might be pro bully. >> yeah, so maybe that was actually a compliment. maybe mr trump will take it as such. but it's interesting that farage is sitting there, has offered his services to act as a sort of bndge services to act as a sort of bridge to washington, which would make sense because he's got a very good relationship with trump. and j.d. vance has a relationship going back years and could probably build those bridges. and, you know, trump trump has made no secret of the fact that he's going to punish other countries, whether they're seen as friends or foes, if they have any sort of trade deficit. and we're getting into that later in the show. but there is a trade deficit. i think it runs about $1.5 billion a month. so, you know, trump is going to be looking to turn the screws on britain. and our screws are already quite turned. so we don't want that just quickly. >> that was satirical content about alastair campbell. please don't sue me alastair. it's christmas love the podcast. but yeah, i just wanted to say about

mandelson, i knew a few. i'm not a genius, but i worked out a few weeks ago that mandelson was going to get this when he did this interview where he said, hey guys, we need to calm down about all this trump stuff. let's get more mature and let's stop. and i was like, oh, he's getting the ambassador job. because with labour it's just a choice of who's insulted trump the least egregiously. right. because it's like david lammy, all right. can't be him. but it's like there's a meeting anyone that hasn't called trump hitler, you know, keep your hands raised sort of thing. and then you have to get rid of everyone that's called him hitler. so mandelson is probably the least ridiculous choice, right.7 obviously be better if it was someone from reform or something. but that was never going to happen. >> somebody who could actually get something good to happen. and some people have criticised the choice of peter mandelson. novara media, i think, came out and criticised it, saying that peter mandelson has been to epstein island, but like they wouldn't have gone to epstein island if they got invited. i think anybody who got the chance to go on a private jet to like a fantasy island that looked like a james bond baddie lair with, you know, stephen hawking and bill clinton, you totally go there. >> so you are just to be clear, you're pro epstein island. i'm pro and you would have gone, no,

i'm pro going to epstein island. >> i think the concept of the island is terrible. >> if you if you went there just to chat with stephen hawking about hawking radiation, and you know what happens when a black hole eventually ends its life.7 amazing. whereas the other people can do whatever they want there. you just focus on the chit chat with hawking. yeah, yeah, that's what i would have done. absolutely. so the question i didn't think we'd have to answer on this show, what would you have done on epstein island? >> yeah, i would have not gone. you guys would both have gone. that's fine, you know. all right. >> good choice. but i mean, out of all the people to pick, you're right. everyone else in labour said far worse. but trump's not going to mind the previous insult. jd vance also said some mean stuff about him. and look, as long as you pivot, he's fine with it. >> but i think jd vance is more useful to trump. he had something to offer. britain really doesn't have that much to offer. i mean, apart from, you know, we've got exports of wensleydale cheese, but that's about it. >> yeah, but don't you think there's a reason why peter mandelson will do really well in america? he sounds like what americans think brits sound like. yeah. and they're going to love that. 1520 00:07:57,53