>> good afternoon britain, happy new year! it's 12:00 on wednesday, the new year! it's12:00 on wednesday, the 1st of january. my wednesday, the 1st of january. my name is tom harwood. now over to the united states, where at least ten people are feared to have been killed after a vehicle struck the crowd celebrating new year in new orleans. we're going to bring you the very latest on this developing story throughout the program. three. two. >> one. >> one. >> back in blighty, britain fingsin >> back in blighty, britain rings in the new year in style with a sparkling fireworks display in london. despite a wave of cancellations and weather warnings across the country. and the prime minister hails a year of change as he delivers his first new year's day message since the general

election , with a plan for more election, with a plan for more cash in your pocket by 2025, until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of britain again, then this government will fight for you. well, a very happy new year from all of us here @gbnews to you, wherever you are and however you celebrate it. very jealous of those of you who are still in bed. of course, very jealous of those of you who have had the wise decision to take today off. but this, of course, is good afternoon, britain, and we're going to be dancing around the country looking at all sorts of stories in the run up to what is going to be a very busy year in terms of news. we're going to be looking at how people celebrated new year, but we're going to be looking at the more serious stories as well. a complete

smorgasbord of news for your new year's day. so do send in your views and post your comments by visiting us at gbnews.com/yoursay to get involved throughout the programme. we'll be reading out some of your comments a little bit later in the show. but before all of that, it's time for your very latest news headlines. >> good afternoon. it's just gone. 12:00. these are your headunes gone. 12:00. these are your headlines from the gb newsroom. now more on that breaking news coming to us from the us. ten people have been killed after a vehicle ploughed into crowds of people celebrating the new year in new orleans. it's understood 30 people have been injured in the incident, which took place on the corner of the popular bourbon street in the french quarter of the city. it's popular with tourists. it happened at around 3 am. local time, and we will bring you more on this story as we get it. now,

sir keir starmer has hailed 2024 as a year of change as he shared his first new year message as prime minister. sir keir declared that the uk will embark on a year of rebuilding and rediscovering the great nation we are in 2025. >> until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of britain again, then this government will fight for you. >> but the conservatives have accused labour of offering change for the worse, as kemi badenoch used her own new year message to warn that efforts to turn around tory fortunes would be bumpy. >> happy new year! like all of you, i am looking forward to a 2025 that is full of hope, security and prosperity. the conservative party is also going through a period of change. this process of renewal will be a long term project. things may be bumpy along the way, but the party i now lead is going to do things differently. watch this

space. >> meanwhile, reform uk leader nigel farage addressed the nafion nigel farage addressed the nation from blenheim palace. >> you know the fish rots from the head down. we have been appallingly led in this country now for several decades. we are in societal decline. we are in economic decline. most people are getting poorer with every year that passes, we're losing any sense of national identity, and we're actually teaching kids at school that people like winston churchill, born in this palace, are bad people, and that our country's history is something to be ashamed of. >> and sir ed davey, the leader of the lib dems, also looked back on 2024 devastating effects of climate change, from floods to wildfires. >> so much instability and insecurity all made worse by donald trump's victory in november. but despite all that,

i think we can all look forward to 2025 with genuine hope. hope because i know that uk can rise to these challenges at home and abroad. we have the people, the grit, the talent, the businesses and the right values to change things for the better. >> britain rang in the new year with a spectacular fireworks display on the banks of the river thames, as london defied weather warnings, which led to cancellations of other events around the country. on. strong winds, rain and blizzards meant many fireworks events were cancelled last night in parts of the uk, including hogmanay in edinburgh. fortunately, the bad weather did not put a dampener on london's sold out new year's eve display. meanwhile, following a stormy new year's eve, the wild weather looks set to continue with london's new year's day parade delayed due to high winds. forecast. more than

150 flood warnings have been issued across the uk, as parts of the country are set to be battered by wind and rain on the first day of 2025. the met office has issued yellow warnings for wind and rain for much of wales, north—west england, yorkshire, the east midlands and southern england, while a snow and ice warning has also been issued for northern scotland and domestic energy pnces scotland and domestic energy prices have risen, with more pain for bill payers set to come. the second increase in ofgems price cap this winter takes effect today, and it means someone paying by direct debit and using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,738 a year. that is a £21 a year more increase than under the previous cap. so billpayers are being urged to submit a metre reading to avoid overpaying on estimated usage. bills are about 50% higher than pre—covid levels, and analysts predict they will rise by a further 3% in april. those are

the latest gb news headlines. now it's back to tom. >> good afternoon britain. it is six minutes past midday on this the 1st of january. now multiple people are feared dead after a massive vehicle charged through a crowd of partygoers in new orleans in the early hours of this morning. well, emergency services have said at least ten people have been killed after a vehicle struck a crowd celebrating the new year. the incident happened at around 3:15 am. on new year's day in the united states. the number of injured survivors is still unknown. this is a story that is, of course, developing. we're going to keep tabs on it throughout the programme. but joining me now is the retired scotland yard detective, mike neville. mike, this is such a shock, a tragic tragedy, but

also , strangely, i think also, strangely, i think something that perhaps people have become a little numb to given we saw a very similar eventin given we saw a very similar event in germany just a few days ago. >> yes, it's absolutely tragic, isn't it.7 people out celebrating in crowds and these vehicles being turned into weapons. and the reports are, you know, wild. you know, there's also talk of a man getting out with an assault rifle who had a, who had a flak jacket on. it's unclear whether anybody's been arrested yet, whether the suspect has been detained. and one of the lessons, i think, from germany, really, is that the german police were quick to get out information who the man was, where he was, the information they had. and that was very much at variance with the experience we had in the united kingdom with the southport attacks, where the authorities sort of sat on the truth for months and months. and i just think that causes massive amounts of

speculation, real fear amongst communities. and i think the american police need to look to the german police about getting information out to the public are assured. but this is these are assured. but this is these are terrible things. and douglas murray writes in recently has said that this becomes almost an annual event, something that we expect. and it is a terrible thing that in the west that we are under. but people cannot feel safe when they should be having a lovely party. >> no, it is a real shocking event and of course our thoughts and hearts go out to everyone affected. some of the images that we've been seeing are truly, truly horrific. but mike, how does a police service go about trying to keep people safe.7 is it possible in the 21st century to keep large events, large celebrations like we've seen in cities the world over.7 is it possible to deliver the sort of level of safety that perhaps you would have expected several decades ago.7 >>