>> away. >> away. >> good afternoon britain. it's 1:00 on friday, the 31st of january. i'm emily carver. >> and i'm tom harwood. >> and i'm tom harwood. >> well, it's a happy brexit day. yes, it has been five years to the day since the uk officially left the european union, but what have our politicians actually done with their newfound freedoms? >> with the illegal and legal migration levels soaring since the uk left the eu, the government has this week published. its landmark. >> border security. >> border security. >> asylum and immigration bill. will it help keir starmer fulfil his pledge to smash the gangs? well, critics say it will make the problem worse.

>> and as the search for answers continues following the tragic plane crash in washington, dc, investigators have now actually recovered the black boxes from the american airlines plane. what will they show? tom? was tom, you were one of the keenest proponents of brexit in the country, i think certainly one of the youngest at the time in the build up to the vote, for sure. how do you feel about it all now? >> it's interesting. i was looking back because it's not just the five years since we actually left the european union. it was 2015 when david cameron unexpectedly won the general election. the country knew we were getting a referendum. it was in his manifesto. so really from 2015, that's when i sort of got involved with what became the vote leave campaign. that's been ten years now. that's been a decade since the country knew it

was getting a referendum. and that process went forward. there were moments in that five years between the referendum becoming a certainty and the uk actually leaving the european union. there are moments when it looked like people would be made to vote again. there were moments when it looked like it would all be lost, when it could all be abandoned. i mean, thinking about it, i mean, that was five years. there were three different prime ministers. there were two general elections, and there was one referendum. i mean, it was a crazy time in our politics, but if anything, the topsy turvy world we live in, the covid pandemic and everything else that happened since we left the european union has been just as crazed. >> yeah, but let's be frank, frank, i think the vote has definitely been betrayed. i mean, if you voted for control of your borders, take back control of your borders, you haven't got it. if you voted for

an improvement in living standards when it comes to economics and everything else, you haven't got it. and yes, there have been, you know, global kerfuffles, not least the pandemic and the ukraine war and everything like that. but our politicians. what has brexit proven? it's proven that the calibre of our politicians here in the united kingdom is not up to scratch. >> yeah, they can't blame brussels anymore. for their mistakes. but but isn't it funny ? mistakes. but but isn't it funny? on the 31st of january 2020, britain left the european union legally, but also the first two cases of covid were diagnosed in the uk. and this is the most frustrating thing of the last five years that for every economic metric there has been since britain left the european union, you've got one side saying that was all covid and the other side saying that was all brexit. and if only it had happened a few years earlier, we'd be able to sort of. >> separate would be worse if we were still in the european union. we'll never know. we'll

never know. >> we wouldn't have anything like an ai sector in this country, because the ui act, that's just one of the 395,000 pages of regulations that the eu has passed since we left. it's all very well and good saying, you know, we haven't repealed enough eu law and we definitely haven't. but my goodness me, we've avoided a lot more extra eu law that they've been busy legislating. >> yeah, things aren't exactly that great on the continent are they really? gbnews.com/yoursay. please do get in touch. but it's your headlines first with aaron armstrong. >> very good afternoon to you. our top stories. police have now confirmed a woman's body has been recovered from the river dee in aberdeen, near where two sisters were last seen, henrietta and eliza hastie, who were triplets, moved to scotland from hungary, where they were last seen on january the 7th at 2 am, a huge search was launched amid fears for their safety. police were alerted this

morning to a body seen in the river that has since been recovered. three judges who oversaw court proceedings involving sara sharif in the years before she was murdered, can be named for the first time, judges alison raeside, peter nathan and sally williams involved in family court heanngs involved in family court hearings related to the ten year old. between 2013 and 2019, the last of three sets of proceedings saw sarah placed in the home of her father, irfan shanf the home of her father, irfan sharif, and her stepmother, vinash batool, who were jailed for life last year for her murder in 2023. the press was previously barred from reporting the names of the judges and other professionals involved in the case. tests are being carried out on the black boxes recovered from the passenger plane, which collided with a us army helicopter yesterday, killing 67 people. live pictures here from the us capitol. officials there say they are going to try to salvage the

wreckage of both aircraft today. efforts to recover the bodies were paused overnight because of difficult conditions at 40 have been found, which leaves 27 people unaccounted for. while authorities have promised to issue a preliminary report within 30 days. however, an investigation by the new york times claims the helicopter flew outside an approved flight path and there were staffing irregularities in air traffic control at reagan national airport, with one controller juggung airport, with one controller juggling two jobs, planes and helicopters. at the same time. however, president trump has made his assessment. he's blamed diversity policies introduced under the biden and obama presidencies. >> the faa's website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and

dwarfism. all qualify. the initiative is part of the faa's diversity and inclusion hiring plan, which says diversity is integral to achieving faa's mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel. i don't think so. 50. >> so. >> meanwhile, details about some of the 67 people who died in the crash are now beginning to emerge. at least 14 us. and russian figure skaters were on board the plane, including former world champions evgenia shishkova and vadim naumov. the couple, who were coaches, were returning from the us ice skating championships with a group of young skaters whom they were coaching and included 12 year old olivia terry and teenager corey haines, who was on board with his parents. three hostages, who are set to be released on saturday as part of the gaza ceasefire deal, have been named by hamas. they are keith segal, ofir calderon and

yarden bilbassy, now bilbassy, who was taken alongside his wife and two young sons on october the 7th, 2023. the man in your picture now is believed to be the only surviving member of the family. it follows the release of eight hostages yesterday amid chaotic scenes in southern gaza. three israelis and five thai nationals were held in total . three israelis and five thai nationals were held in total. in exchange, 110 palestinians were later released from israeli prisons, including 32 with life sentences and 30 minors. the uk is marking five years since it left the european union, severing almost five decades of political ties, free movement and free trade. for supporters, the uk became a sovereign nation in charge of its own destiny. opponents believe it has isolated the country and damaged the economy. we'll be focusing on this issue throughout the day here on gb news and hearing from those who have been affected. well, despite the economic

impact, conservative leader kemi badenoch remains positive. >> years ago we had. >> years ago we had. >> what was the greatest vote of confidence in our country. and as brexit secretary, i removed lots of eu regulations. i ended the study of the european court of justice. but there's still a lot more to do, like a trade deal with the us. that's a brexit opportunity that we need to take. we started those negotiations when president trump was last in power. he is back again. the biden administration didn't want it i think. keir starmer needs to look at that. look at where the opportunities are. that's where the growth is going to be. >> and some of the world's biggest music stars have performed in los angeles for a benefit concert to help the area recover from the devastating wildfires earlier this month. >> i'm high, but i'm grounded. i'm ashamed, but i'm overwhelmed. i'm lost, but i'm hopeful. >> alanis morissette. they're also performing on two separate venues rod stewart, green day. 151