>> hello. >> hello. >> good afternoon. and welcome to gb news. we are live on tv, onune to gb news. we are live on tv, online and on digital radio. i'm nana akua. over 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. it's mine. it's theirs. and of course it is yours. we'll be debating, discussing and at times we will disagree, but no one will be cancelled. so joining me for the next few hours, the former deputy leader of reform uk, ben habib, and also co—founder of novara media, aaron bastani. coming up in my niggle, i thought sir keir starmer was going to smash the gangs. >> to make it work is to smash the gangs that are running the vile trade. >> and instead he's making things more attractive to them. as labour pushed for a change in the tories illegal migration act, which will mean migrant adults can say that they are children and most children migrants end up being allowed to

stay. why on earth would sir keir starmer be doing this when he previously had this to say.7 >> the previous government were running an open borders experiment. >> so what is this? surely, prime minister, you are now trying to run your own. so for the great british debate this yean the great british debate this year, i'm asking our labour making the uk more attractive to illegal migrants. you can also cast your vote on our gb news poll. go to gbnews.com/poll. and in our great british debate this houn in our great british debate this hour, i'm asking should the uk join the eu customs union? the prime minister is being urged by arch—remainer sir ed davey to do just that. european leaders tomorrow he's meeting them. but wouldn't this just be the first stage of dragging us back into the eu? and why on earth would you do that at this time when donald trump is about to set tariffs on them? so if the great british debate this, i'm asking should the uk join an eu customs union? but before we get started, let's get your latest news with aaron armstrong.

>> very good afternoon to you. our headlines. sir keir starmer has rejected suggestions that the uk will rejoin the eu, saying the decision is settled as he faces calls to broker a customs union with the bloc. speaking during the visit of the german chancellor, olaf scholz, to chequers, the prime minister said i do want a reset of the relationship that does not involve a return to the eu. now the two leaders met at the prime minister's country residence ahead of sir keir's visit to belgium for a summit of european leaders. the lib dem leader, sir ed davey, has urged the prime minister to start talks on a new union with the eu, claiming it would boost the uk economy and strengthen trade against the us. the uk is set to become the first country in the world to criminalise owning ai tools that create images of child sexual abuse. home secretary yvette cooper says offenders could face up to five years in prison under

the new crackdown. owning ai paedophile manuals could carry a three year sentence. meanwhile, ministers are warning that al generated images are being used to blackmail children and push them into live streaming abuse. new laws to target smuggling gangs have been introduced in an effort to stop small boat crossings and migrant deaths in the english channel. the home office hopes these new counter—terror style powers will enable authorities to go further in dismantling the gangs and their ability to operate. the government has also announced millions of pounds worth of funding to tackle the root causes of illegal migration. canada and mexico have announced retaliatory tariffs after the united states imposed import taxes on the two countries, and china and donald trump ordered 25% tariffs on canadian and mexican imports and 10% on goods from china. he says it's to hold

his largest trading partners accountable for failing to halt drug trafficking and illegal immigration. well, china has indicated it will challenge those tariffs through the world trade organisation. but the mexican president, claudia sheinbaum, and the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, have responded immediately with countermeasures. >> i am announcing canada will be responding to the us trade action with 25% tariffs against $155 billion worth of american goods. >> well, trump has defended the move on social media, saying the decades long rip off of america in regard to trade, crime and poisonous drugs is over, and he suggested similar sanctions may be imposed on the eu. >> the european union charges us 20% plus plus plus a vat tax called a vat tax, very similar and it costs us an absolute fortune. we are treated so badly and we have a tremendous deficit with the european union. so we'll be doing something very

substantial. >> barclays says the technical problems that left some customers unable to access their accounts for several days have now been resolved. the glitch, which began on payday friday, left some people unable to make transactions access their account or even in some cases, pay their tax bills. barclays has apologised. it says delayed payments have now been processed and it will ensure no impacted customers are left out of pocket. hmrc has extended the deadune pocket. hmrc has extended the deadline for payments until the 1st of march. a woman has died in australia and thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes after severe flooding in northern queensland. authorities say it could be the worst flooding to hit the region for more than 60 years, with water reaching the second storey of some houses. almost 40in of torrential rain has fallen since friday, leading to thousands of people in townsville leaving their homes for higher ground. the woman died when the dinghy

rescuing her hit a tree and capsized, and a pennsylvania in the us and the annual groundhog day ceremony, where thousands of revellers have been gathering at gobbler's knob in the town of punxsutawney to get weather predictions from a small, furry rodent. the tradition, which goes back to 1886, was made famous through the 1993 bill murray film. so what was punxsutawney phil's prediction for the end of winter this year? >> no, no, what you see. it's punxsutawney phil. >> i miss my coop, so i'm headed back down. there's a shadow up here. get ready for six more weeks of winter this year. >> who? >> who? >> yeah, only in the united states do you get a small, scared rodent making weather

predictions. not here in the uk. i'll be back with more news in about half an hour. >> for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gb news dot com forward slash alerts. >> good afternoon. it's seven minutes after 3:00. welcome. this is gb news. we are britain's news channel i'm nana a queer coming up in this hour. labour are to repeal laws introduced by the conservatives. that means that those who arrive here on a small boat could almost never become uk citizens. we'll discuss why on earth they're deciding to take that away, that deterrent away. then, for the great british debate this year, i'm asking, are labour making the uk more attractive to illegal migrants by repealing these laws? cast your vote in our poll gb news.com and a world view will cross live to los angeles to

speak to the host of the politics people podcast, paul duddridge, and get the latest news from around around the world. as it turns out, donald trump was deadly serious about those tariffs. all of that coming up as ever. send me your thoughts, post your comments gbnews.com/yoursay. so the labour government is watering down border laws which were aimed at blocking illegal migrants from obtaining citizenship and force them to submit scientific age checks. now, the home office is to repeal rules that were introduced by the tories. that meant that those who arrived here on small boats could almost never become uk citizens. chris philp, the tory shadow home secretary, has called the news a total capitulation to people who would make the uk a soft touch of europe now. joining me now the research director for at the centre of migration control, robert bates. robert, why on

earth would the labour government be targeting that aspect of the illegal migration bill? surely having these two aspects, first of all, scientifically proven age and also the fact that that if you've come here via small boat, you've come here via small boat, you can't become a uk citizen or it'll be nigh on impossible. why do you think a labour government would look to repeal or change that? >> well, they. >> well, they. >> are. >> are. >> looking to repeal it because they are putting all their eggs. >> in the. >> in the. >> smash the gangs basket, and therefore anything that was brought in before they. 1514 00: