>> good evening. as andy burnham breaks ranks, i'm going to ask the simple question are labour completely out of touch when it comes to a national inquiry into the rape gangs and blackout? britain? would you believe yesterday it was cold? yes, it's cold winter and there was almost no wind at all. and guess what? our friends in europe weren't that keen to export their electricity to us because they need it, and we nearly had blackouts. are we completely mad with our energy policy? and i thought only dictators cancelled elections, but it looks like conservative county councils up and down the country are looking to delay the may the 1st elections. up to 9 million people could lose their vote. what does that mean for our democracy? all of that in just a moment. first, let's get the

news with sophia wenzler. >> nigel. thank you. good evening. these are your headlines. at 7:00, 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 means 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 a pakistani muslim, former labour mp has backed calls for a grooming gang inquiry. ex—birmingham labour mp khalid mahmood has told gb news that he backs a national public inquiry. he said we need to address the issues for the victims. they've had no respect or dignity given to them. it comes after andy burnham has split with sir keir starmer to call for a national inquiry. speaking to a local radio station, the labour mayor of greater manchester said he believed there was a case for a limited national inquiry into grooming gangs that draws on the 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 new sanction regime introduced to target people smuggling gangs and boost border security. as part of the government's plan, over 36,000 people crossed the channel in 2024, fewer than in 2022, but still a major concern for ministers. and everton have sacked their manager, sean dyche, with immediate effect. in a statement, the liverpool based football club said under 18 a statement, the liverpool based football club said a statement, the liverpool based player leighton. baines and club captain seamus coleman will take

charge 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 nigel. >> so let's once again remind ourselves of the prime minister's case as to why we don't need an inquiry into what we used to call it grooming gangs. i think now we all call it rape gangs or frankly, gang rape, rape gangs. but let's hear what starmer had to say yesterday. this is the government justification for not holding an inquiry, not once in eight years did she stand here and say what she has just said. >> not once in eight years. they didn't act on the recommendations. they want a national inquiry. we had a national inquiry. we had a national inquiry, the jay inquiry, the j report, 20 inquiry, the] report, 20 recommendations, not a single

one implemented, not a single one implemented, not a single one implemented. >> well, he is right about kemi badenoch, who not once in her eight years in the house of commons, despite for two years being women's minister, did she even being women's minister, did she ever, ever mention this subject? but his justification appears to be the jay inquiry, and i'll come to that in just a moment. but let's have a listen to sarah owens. she is the labour member of parliament for luton north, but perhaps more significantly, the chair of the women's and equalities committee. let's listen to what she had to say today in the house of commons. >> what about the group of 70,000 men in germany that had a group that shared tips on how to rape, how to drug, how to get away with sexual assault, how to wreak revenge on women and girls . wreak revenge on women and girls. just in germany, 70,000 men sharing tips on that. can we guarantee that there isn't something similar happening

closer to home? probably not. >> well, if sarah owens, you're so concerned about what's happening in germany, and earlier on in that speech, you talked about sexual assault and rape in the congo, and you asked the question, could it be happening here? why on earth did you go along with the labour whip yesterday and vote against there being an inquiry? and i think the accusation of hypocrisy that hangs around much of what has been said by labour mps over the last few days holds very, very strong. i think it is significant that andy burnham today has broken ranks and called for a limited national inquiry, and that's what we're calling for. the jay report, prime minister was a shotgun. it was talking about abuse of children at all different levels. what we're asking for is a rifle shot that focuses on these grooming gangs. and yes, there's no getting away from it. there is a big emphasis on

particularly elements of the pakistani community within this. that's what we want. we don't want it to take seven years. we want it to take seven years. we want it to be over in a year. but we want the victims to be able to speak because they're the ones that were ignored. they're the ones that weren't believed by social services, by the police. they need a stage on which they can tell us the truth about what happened. and we need to know how widespread this problem was. i thought it was half a dozen northern towns. charlie peters, our investigative reporter, says he now has evidence of at least 50 towns in britain where this has happened.so towns in britain where this has happened. so you tell me , folks happened. so you tell me, folks at home are labour out of touch. tweet hashtag farage on gb news or email farage at. gb news dot com. i am joined in the studio by lord glasman, labour life peer and tom pursglove, former minister of state for crime, policing and fire and previously illegal immigration and various other things. quite a few home office, various others over the years in the home office. lord

glasman , that speech by sarah glasman, that speech by sarah owens is just just quite extraordinary, isn't it? i think so. 50. >> so. >> i mean, the inability to face up to the horror that has happenedin up to the horror that has happened in our country, systematic rape, neglect, disbelief. this is a this needs to be exorcised from the body politic. i, i completely agree. i think we should have a nine month commission. i think we should have powers of arrest. i think it's got to look absolutely at pakistani gang rape, systematic abuse and the people who have been reluctant to investigate it have got to be themselves investigated. this is absolutely this is not. see, you went on about the tories also playing politics, putting it in with an educational build. this needs to be a very clear call from the government. >> the rifle shot is what i'm talking about. >> let's call it show trials. you know, something like that. >> and do you find, as i find

that the cover ups seem almost as obscene as the crimes because it's the trusted elements of society, it's social services, it's police. >> if we can't trust these people and it's and it's ministers as well. i mean, i'm going to come to him in a minute. no, no, but this is the reality. the reluctance to fully face up to the disgusting things that have been happening in our society. there needs to be an exorcism, nigel. you know, it needs to be. so i'm not into the i today. just to let you know, i've heard much softer voices from number 10 that it's a reasonable thing to have a specific inquiry, that that's okay. okay. what i'm saying is things are on the move. i just want to share with you 1504