>> hello, good afternoon and welcome to gb news. we are live on tv, online and on digital radio. >> i'm nana akua and for the next few hours, me and my panel will be taking on some of the big topics hitting the headlines. >> right now. this show is all about opinion is mine, it says. and of course it's yours will be debating and discussing and at times we will disagree, but no one will be cancelled. so joining me for the next three hours, political commentator lin mei and also chief executive officer of the youth vote, alex cairns, any minute now, reform uk chief whip lee anderson is taking to the stage before nigel farage at the reform uk conference. you will hear those speeches live in my show. lee is set to declare the gloves are off as they vowed to escalate campaigning efforts. then, coming up in the british debate are we ask, do you think reform uk will be the next gen will win the next general election? in my niggle, i'll be taking on head,

head, head. what am i talking about? head on. what's her name? jess phillips and her comments. and also keir starmer is all the failures with the grooming gangs. then for the great british debate, i'm asking, do we need a national inquiry into grooming gangs? and there is a pile up on x? what do you think? cast your vote. difficult conversations as well. sexual abuse advice. survivor ambassador at the maggie oliver foundation kelly lees will be joining us. but before we get started, let's get your latest news with sam francis. >> nana, thank you and good afternoon to you. it's just gone 3:00. well, the top story this houn 3:00. well, the top story this hour. the prince of wales and his wife have said they are shocked and saddened by the death of his former nanny stepson in a vehicle attack in new orleans. the 31 year old edward peta depher was one of 14 people killed when a pickup truck ploughed through crowds on new year's day, injuring at least 35 others. the king has

offered personal condolences to the pettyfer family, who say edward was a wonderful son and a friend, adding they are devastated by the loss. meanwhile, police say the suspect, shamsuddin jabbar, also fired shots before being killed by officers at the scene. the fbi confirmed an islamic state flag was found in the vehicle while president biden linked the attack to terrorist motives. reform uk leader nigel farage says the gloves are off, vowing to ramp up his campaigning in kemi badenoch constituency today. it follows claims from the conservative leader that reforms online membership tracker was fake. that's despite several news outlets reporting the membership data was accurate. speaking earlier at the reform event in north—west essex, reform uk chairman zia yusuf poked fun at badenoch. >> we all know that we should be very grateful to kemi. we should be very, very grateful to the leader of the tory party because

in the preceding 24 hours of her ill advised outburst, reform uk signed up more members than in any 24 hour period in our entire history. so can we please give a big reform round of applause to kemi badenoch? >> gb news can exclusively reveal that the first boatload of 50 illegal migrants this year has crossed the english channel. a border force vessel picked up 50 migrants from their small boat early this morning, and is currently on its way back to doven currently on its way back to dover. it comes after nearly 37,000 people made the treacherous journey in small boats just last year. the uk is braced for heavy snow and icy rain this weekend, with the met office warning there could be considerable disruption in some areas. two amber and two yellow alerts have been issued by the met office across most of the country, with up to 30cm of snow expected. forecasters say power cuts are also likely and that vehicles could become stranded

on roads as wintry conditions continue. trains and flights could also be delayed or even cancelled. and a judge in the us has ordered donald trump to be sentenced next week in his new york hush money case, but he has suggested the us president elect won't be jailed. in a surprise move, the sentencing has been set for ten 10th of january, just ten days before the presidential inauguration. trump's spokesperson called the case lawless and a witch hunt, in a statement released after that date was announced. those are the latest headlines. i'll be back with you in half an houn be back with you in half an hour. now, though, it's over to nana 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.

>> i've put my teeth back in. let's cross now to chelmsford, where reform uk chief whip lee anderson is speaking at his party conference. mr >> i think i'm in with a chance. >> i think i'm in with a chance. >> i think i'm in with a chance. >> i want to be knighted. let's face it, all i've got to do really in my constituency is increase crime. >> make sure the streets are unsafe, increase the amount of homelessness and steal money off motorists. >> that's all i've got to do. and i'll get a knighthood. oh, by the way, a massive congratulations this week for mayor khan, who's been knighted. yes. can we give him a big round of applause, please? ooh, a bit posh, as you know, the mayor of london and i are very good

friends. and he is living proof that in politics, anything is possible. but let's not be too harsh on him, because he's one of the people that helped me be here today with you. the people's army. you know what? in february last year, i made a few comments about the mayor, mayor of london, which got me into a spot of bother with the conservative party. they took the whip away from me. yeah, i was told i had to apologise and itold was told i had to apologise and i told them there's no way i'm apologising to that man. he's given our city away is a disgrace and he should apologise. now then, as soon as the tory party took the side of mayor khan against me, i knew it was over. i knew there was no way back. and i also knew that reform uk was my destiny. and i

became reform uk's first ever member of parliament. you can clap for that. but i'll tell you what conference. i never really envisaged a career in politics. inever envisaged a career in politics. i never thought i'd be an mp. yet in just a few years i was the deputy chairman of the conservative party, and now i am the chief whip and a member of parliament for ashfield, which, by the way, is the capital of common sense. and i am. i feel so proud, i feel so it's amazing. it's a truly amazing experience to be, to be in this party. and i feel like i'm part of a truly amazing party that's captured the hearts and minds of people, millions of people all around the country. good people like you. these people, by the way, are true british patriots, but they're not far right. we

are just decent, hard working people who love our country and want to leave our country in a better state than when we arrived. nothing wrong with that. i know, i know, i know, there's huge pressure on us. five reform uk mps in parliament to take our country back and that's what we're going to do. this is a battle, guys. it's a battle for the heart and soul of our great country. i love my country and so does reform uk, which is why we will never apologise for our history, our heritage or our culture. yeah. go on. my message is clear. if you do not want to embrace our way of life, if you do not like our history, our heritage, our culture and respect our laws, then clear off. arne slot grey

belt. all right. parliament keeps trying to give our country away, and we must together fight back this useless labour government wants to take more money off all of us and give it to other countries, or to people arriving here illegally. look at net zero. what a load of nonsense that is. it will make every one of us in this room poorer and colder. and it will affect the poorest in our society the most. our businesses are already paying the most expensive electricity prices in the world, which is costing jobs. meanwhile, china is leading the world in renewables, yet still opening coal fired power stations. it's madness. we're closing coal fired furnaces so we can no longer make virgin steel. utter madness. this government is

quite happy for us to import steel goods from all around the world made with fossil fuels. but we refuse to make world made with fossil fuels. but we r