never the evil people smugglers never stop, not even at christmas. the king will deliver his most personal christmas message yet from a former hospital chapel. and, according to new research, a record number of young people will be spending christmas alone. if you're watching and alone. if you're watching and alone this christmas, it's an honour to keep you company. all of that to come and plenty more. first, the news with sam harris. >> very good evening to you. the top story tonight. while thousands of migrants are gathering along france's northern coast, preparing to cross the channel as weather conditions are set to improve on christmas day. exclusive gb news footage shows hundreds at camps near dunkirk, with thousands more spread along a 50 mile

stretch towards calais and boulogne. smugglers are offering so—called christmas specials for crossings, with uk and french authorities bracing for a possible surge over the next five days. border force says it is on a heightened alert as strong winds are set to ease overnight, allowing for more crossings. more than 35,000 migrants have now made the journey so far this year. that is 20% higher than last year's total. sir keir starmer has come under fire today for planning to jet abroad over new year after spending christmas at chequers with his family. critics have slammed his travel habits with over 170 hours spent in the air since july, while key domestic issues remain unresolved, they say. the prime minister's team won't reveal his destination for the new year, but insists he'll stay in charge rather than handing over to his deputy. his latest foreign trips to norway and estonia wrapped up only just last week, looking towards a better and a brighter future. thatis better and a brighter future.

that is the prime minister's christmas message, his first in power. six months into his leadership, he's urging people to look after those around us with calls for peace in the middle east. opposition leader kemi badenoch struck a personal note in her christmas message, calling the season her very favourite time of year and thanking the public for their support and kindness. meanwhile, lib dem leader sir ed davey has paid tribute to young carers sharing his own experience of looking after his sick mother as a child. there's been more christmas eve frustration today for morrisons customers, with deliveries either late or even cancelled, and that comes more than 24 hours after a system glitch first disrupted orders yesterday. the chaos on the 23rd of december, the busiest grocery shopping day of the year, left shoppers waiting for deliveries worth hundreds of pounds. morrisons has apologised but hasn't revealed the cause of the problem, despite repeated requests . and nasa's parker requests. and nasa's parker solar probe is set to make history today on christmas eve, with the closest ever approach

to the sun. the spacecraft will skim just 3.6 million miles from the star's surface, enduring temperatures of nearly 1000 degrees and speeds of 430,000 miles an hour. scientists say the mission will uncover secrets about the solar activity of the sun, helped to protect satellites, power grids and even astronauts. the spacecraft will then reconnect with earth on the 27th of december, after hopefully safely completing that record breaking flyby. those are the latest headlines for now. i'll be back with you very shortly 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. >> when we think of those alone this christmas, we might picture someone slightly older, perhaps bereaved. i often think of my friend bren, who lost her husband last year. not that year old bren, but a study out today from the policy institute at king's college london reveals a

disturbing trend compared to when king charles first became prince of wales in 1969. young people are now nearly ten times more likely to be alone this christmas. what used to be 1 in 100 21 to 35 year olds spending christmas alone is now 1 in 11. it's also concerning that the total proportion of people alone has, over the last 55 years, more than doubled from 5 to 11%. and that increase has come from across nearly all demographics. in fact, the only age group to not go up is the over 65 seconds. it's not like that's a good thing for older people. i wish no one who didn't want to would be by themselves at this time of year, but i wonder how much of this trend is from those who do want to be alone, who prefer to be alone? and how much of this points to an ever more fragmented society? whether you're religious or not? and even though this same report indicates a decline in the religious significance of christmas, it has been countered by an increase in those who consider it a family occasion. whatever the reason, for most of

us as social animals, it's about having an excuse to gather together, be with one another as we eat too much, drink, argue, annoy, catch up, watch telly, pass out. so what then, is keeping some younger people away isolated? what this study doesn't cover is why? why are we more apart overall? how can we fix it? as part of a larger study, finding how britain's core beliefs and how we live have changed over the last half century. hopefully the answers are there somewhere. maybe travelling home is now far too expensive. but then why aren't they meeting with friends locally? personally, i think there are three factors at play. i wonder if intolerance of other people is part of it. those with different ideas and political beliefs. the opinionated family member who'd force your bubble to be popped over xmas dinner. i'm talking about myself, by the way. my sister banned me a few years ago. technology could also be part of it. maybe people do have communities, but they're digital. all the distractions of our phones provide us with a facsimile of human interaction. most concerning, though, is how

many of those younger people aren't in relationships. relationships are wonderful, but they require work. more and more young people may no longer have the patience for that. are we less able to compromise? more selfish? the thing is, if there are less relationships, then that means less marriages and most importantly, less children. at a time when our government needs to be doing everything in its power to encourage people to have kids, like i said, i've got no answers, just questions. what i do know is, is that we need one another. lockdown showed how many, how much that is true and any excuse, if even perhaps the best excuse to get together. christmas isn't working for some in our society. i don't want to be alarmist, but then if that trend continues to its inevitable conclusion, where do we stop even being a society? right. let's get my thoughts of the panel here. my thoughts. your thoughts please. hello, we have jonathan lis, journalist and political commentator esther krakue, journalist and broadcaster and charlie rowley former adviser to michael gove.

but just before i get to them, let's have a quick look where santa is on the tracker. central african republic. and he's going for nigeria. wonderful. 3.5 million presents. he's been a very, very busy boy. well, panellists welcome on this christmas evening. hannah good evening as well. thank you so much for joining evening as well. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. much for joining us. thank you. esther, what did you think? did you see that original report? >> i did, i mean, i think of the three sort of reasons that you stated, the one that kind of jumped out to me as the most obvious is the relationships. you know, young people are getting into relationships, not starting families. if they're not spending christmas with significant others or their children, which we know fewer and fewer young people are having children because for various reasons, they can't afford it. they can't afford a home. fewer social bonds. and that's an obvious reason. and i think that's quite concerning, because older people, they could say, you know, my family's moved away. we've become a much more fragmented society. when you're young and in the prime of your life, you really should have those social bonds. now more than ever at that point in your

life, more than ever, because you're creating communities and you're creating communities and you're building sort of your tiny villages, so to speak. and i find that really concerning. >> yeah. i mean, charlie, you're going to be here tomorrow. so you have us here as well as youn you have us here as well as your, as your, as your company. but i mean, do you, have you seen this as a notice, as a trend? i say this as a young person. i don't actually know how. i just know you're younger than me. all of you are younger than me. all of you are younger than me. >> yes. well, no, i can't wait to be here because, >> yes. well, no, i c