broken ranks and said there should be one. charlie peters joins me with the latest and let's talk about the economy. >> every pound we spend on debt interest is money we cannot spend on the public's priorities. >> hear, hear. but there's a flaw in that plan, because the cost of our borrowing has now gone right through the roof. so what's going to happen next? then tax rises, spending cuts, interest rate rises. what on earth do you think we do to fix our problems? and the foreign secretary here is to launch the world's first sanctions regime to snare people smugglers. will it make a blind bit of difference, though, when it comes to channel crossings or not? and uk. i shouldn't laugh,

but the uk should take back isis members in syria. that's been one suggestion by the uss new. territory chief, a really. sometimes i can't help myself but laugh because so much that goes on seems absolutely ludicrous. anyway, my panel tonight to get stuck into it all. alex dean, the writer and political commentator, and bill rammell, the former labour minister. also, i can tell you someone that's not been given an easy ride today. steve reed the farmers were having none of him. but before we get stuck into it all, let's cross live for the 6:00 news headlines. >> good evening. i'm sophia wenzler with your headlines from the gb newsroom. the mayor of los angeles has given an update as wildfires continue to rage across the region. karen bass said the historic winds and extensive droughts created the

perfect storm, but dropping winds mean firefighters are now able to tackle the fires from the air, and authorities are hopeful the tide is turning. the hollywood hills blaze, described as the most destructive in la's history, has claimed five lives and forced 179,000 people to evacuate and reduce sunset boulevard to rubble. meanwhile, officials are warning about looting after some 20 people were arrested for taking part staying in the us. president joe biden has delivered the eulogy for the late former us president jemmy carter at his state funeral, following his death last month at the age of 100. president biden, who has declared a national day of mourning, spoke in front of all four living former presidents, saying jemmy carter made a powerful difference. carter, a nobel prize winner and the 39th us president, is being remembered for his leadership and humanitarian work. now back in the uk, andy burnham has

split with sir keir starmer to call for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. speaking to a local radio station, the labour mayor of greater manchester said he believed there was a case for a limited national inquiry that draws on local reviews into historic child sexual exploitation. it's after labour mps rejected a conservative push for a new national inquiry by 364 votes to 111. this government has removed the highest number of illegal migrants from the uk in more than half a decade, according to the home office. 16,400 immigration offenders and foreign criminals have been returned in a crackdown on abuse of the immigration system. it comes amid a new sanction regime introduced to target people smuggling gangs and boost border security, as part of the government's plan for change. over 36,000 people crossed the channelin over 36,000 people crossed the channel in 2024, fewer than in

2022, but still a major concern for ministers. sir keir starmer says he won't stop claiming liz truss crashed the economy despite legal threats from her team. truss's lawyers have issued a cease and desist letter, calling the claim false and blaming it for damaging her re—election prospects. the dispute centres on her 2022 mini—budget, which caused market turmoil, though her team points to a report showing economic growth afterwards. >> rachel reeves has pushed this country to the brink of economic crisis through high taxes, high regulation and disastrous net zero policies. when i tried to fix these problems back in 2022, i was undermined by the economic establishment and i was forced to reverse the policies before they were even implemented. i was blamed for the ldi crisis,

which the bank of england has subsequently admitted was their fault. >> downing street says the prime minister stands by his remarks, urging critics to ask the public about the impact on mortgages and inflation. now everton have sacked their manager, sean dyche, with immediate effect. in a statement, the liverpool based football club said under 18 seconds head coach and former player leighton baines and club captain seamus coleman will take charge of first team affairs on an interim basis. it's the second sacking of a premier league coach in under a week after lopetegui left west ham yesterday. those are the latest gb news headlines. now it's back to michel. >> thank you very much for that, sofia. i'm michelle dewberry and i'm with you till 7:00 tonight alongside with my panel, alex dean, the writer and political commentator, and bill rammell, the former labour minister. good

evening, gents, to both. good evening, gents, to both. good evening to you. and a happy new year to you both as well. and you know the drill on this programme. it is about you guys at home getting in touch with me. let me know what's on your mind tonight. all the usual ways you can email me. i'm old fashioned gb views @gbnews. com go to twitter or you can get me there. or of course you can go to the website gbnews.com/yoursay. before we start, there's so much doom and gloom in the world, isn't there? so should we just start by saying happy birthday? is it your birthday at home? and if it is, you share it with princess catherine. she turns 43 years old today. i like that i thought i would just put it in because it's, you know, she's had a tough year, hasn't she? so happy birthday from all of us. >> happy returns. >> happy returns. >> do you want to sing happy birthday bill to her? >> maybe. i can't remember being 43, so it must be good for her. >> you know, i was only kidding. but do you know what i like best about bill bill rammell? i didn't expect him to sing happy birthday, but i like the fact you contemplated it. >> you thought about it. >> you thought about it. >> he really thought about it.

seriously considered. do i need to sing happy birthday on national television? so i appreciate the contemplation that you gave to that. i wouldn't have made you sing. >> the last time i was with you was the christmas eve show, where i had that silly hat on, and you turned to me and you said, you really don't like wearing this hat to you. >> he didn't. he didn't like it. if you saw that christmas eve special every couple of minutes, he kept trying to take it off. now, can i take it off now? i said, no, you can't take it off. quite frankly, everyone's got people like that in their family, haven't you, though over christmas you pull your crackers. there's always one that won't put that piece of paper on their head, didn't they? everyone's got one of those on the family, not me. i'd stick about three of them on if i could get away with it. but anyway, happy birthday from all of us here @gbnews. i bet she's watching right now. so happy birthday to you. look, the big news. we've been discussing this for many, many days. these rape gangs, that's what i've decided to call them now. i'm not going to call them now. i'm not going to have any what we call straps at the bottom of the screen. i'm going to stop them saying grooming gangs now on this

programme. i'm not having it anymore. we're going to call them what they are, the rape gangs. well, of course there was that big vote, wasn't there, last night in the house of commons. we all knew which way it was going to go. but anyway, 364 to 111. that was how it ended up. so basically no to a national inquiry currently. let's cross live there. to our reporter. he's done a fantastic job. this man everybody charlie peters there he is in rotherham charlie, you know you've been talking to victims for a long time now. how has this news gone down about the vote. >> well michelle, i'd just like to start with some breaking news because the former labour mp khalid mahmood has told gb news in the last 15 minutes that he is backing calls for a national pubuc is backing calls for a national public inquiry into the grooming gang scandal. mr mahmood was an mp in birmingham from 2001 to 2024, and his intervention comes after andy burnham, the manchester mayor, said this afternoon that he would also be backing calls for a limited

national inquiry into the scandal. so two labour figures now hitting back at the government's position after last night's they voted down that tory 1505 00:09:10,928 --> 00:09:11