>> good evening. well, the prime minister announces a 0.2 percent increase in defence spending. but is it enough? ahead of the big meeting he's going to have with donald trump in the oval office on thursday, one of the senior figures in ofgem has explained the increase in the energy price cap, saying that it's the result of high natural gas prices. i will show you why thatis gas prices. i will show you why that is completely and utterly untrue. we'll talk about an eventi untrue. we'll talk about an event i went to last night that was ambushed by antifa, a violent protest, including somebody having a tooth knocked out. we'll ask what is reasonable when it comes to

political protest. and the national farmers union had a conference today. and i've got to tell you, they're not exactly happy with the environment secretary. all of that and a packed programme. but first, let's get the news with sophia wenzler. >> nigel. thank you. good evening. these are your headunes evening. these are your headlines at 7:00. sir keir starmer has blamed a dangerous new era for his decision to increase defence spending and cut foreign aid. earlier today, the prime minister announced a major plan to increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2027, calling it the biggest sustained increase since the cold war. but to fund it, the budget will be slashed from 0.5% to 0.3% of national income, sparking backlash from charities who warn of devastating consequences. addressing the nation today from downing street, sir keir starmer said the defence and national

security of britain must come first. >> are ready to meet the challenges of our volatile world. the reason for this is straightforward. putin's aggression does not stop in ukraine. we will fund the initial increase in defence spending by cutting our spending on overseas development, moving from 0.5% of gnp to 0.3%. i want to be clear, that is not an announcement that i am happy to make. however, the realities of our dangerous new era mean that the defence and national security of our country must always come first. >> now energy bills are set to rise again, with ofgem confirming a higher than expected increase of more than £100 a year from april. the 6.4% hike will push annual bills for a typical household to £1,849,

affecting 22 million homes across england, scotland and wales. the regulator says rising wholesale costs are to blame, and suggests customers consider fixing tariffs, but prices could fall again in july. standing charges are also going up for gas, and consumer groups warn the increase will hit struggling families the hardest. in other news, the bbc has issued a pubuc news, the bbc has issued a public apology after a review revealed missed opportunities to address concerns over former radio 1 dj tim westwood's conduct. while the report found no widespread knowledge of serious allegations, the broadcaster admits it fell short of its values, apologising to those affected and promising changes to prevent future failures. westwood, who strongly denies all allegations, was accused of creating a toxic work environment during his time at the bbc. the £53 environment during his time at the bbc. the £33 million environment during his time at

the bbc. the £3.3 million review also outlined steps the bbc has already taken to tackle bullying and harassment, and the vatican says the pope is in a critical but stable condition for the fourth day running. the 88 year old has been at rome's gemelli hospital since the 14th of february, and is being treated for double pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. the pope's prognosis, it says, remains guarded. those are the latest dup news headlines. now it's back to nigel. >> for the very latest gb news direkt your smartphone. sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to gbnews.com/advent. >> good evening. well, it's not a great surprise, but the prime minister told the house of commons today, as you've just seen on the news, that defence spending is to increase from 2.3% of gdp to 2.5% of gdp.

perhaps we didn't expect him to say that that would come out of the foreign aid budget. but i just wonder, looking at the big picture, is that really enough of an increase in defence spending? and i mean that really in two ways. one, in terms of what our capabilities need to be. but secondly, he is going into the oval office to meet donald trump on thursday. trump all through his first term in the intervening years. and now he's saying europe really must and britain really must spend a lot more money in defence. is a 0.2 percent increase going to impress the american president? we will see. is this enough? you tell me what you think. tweet hashtag farage on gb news or email farage. gb news. i'm joined by panel regular joe joined by panel regularjoe phillips, journalist and former spin doctor. and i'm also joined by emma trimble, writer and broadcaster. joe, we kind of thought this is what the

increase would be. we didn't know that foreign aid would be cut, but given how robust trump has been, and quite right, too. you know, i think when he first came into power in 2017, the only five of the then 28 nato members were even paying 2%. that did go up in the intervening years. but is this enough to impress the american president? >> well, i don't know. i think, you know, it's important to say that trump wasn't the first american president to say it. i mean, it goes back to jfk in the 1960s. obama said it. various other american presidents have made the point that europe needs to contribute a lot more. i mean, i think it is significant in terms of keir starmer saying something concrete because at the weekend, the ministers that were doing the broadcasting rounds were unable to say when this might happen. very vague. yeah. so that is something it is a move in the right direction. and it does mean that he can go to washington for the meeting on

thursday saying, look, we've done this. you know, there are going to be an awful lot of people who think cutting the aid budget to pay for defence is a travesty. and we'll be deeply disappointed. >> and others that think it's good. >> idea and others that think it's a good idea. but i think the most important thing is that this is something where it's not an awful lot of money, given the challenges that we face, but it is important to work out how it is important to work out how it is best spent. >> and he is saying, we'll go up to the next part 3%. >> but i mean, it is still. >> but i mean, it is still. >> less something. >> less something. >> it's something and it is it's i think it's an indication. it's an expression of we hear you, mr president. yeah. we've now set date. >> to move in the right direction. >> it is a move in the right. >> it is a move in the right. >> direction because, you know. >> direction because, you know. >> anything from where we are, unless it's, you know, reducing spending would be a move in the right direction. and the concern is that, you know, even though it might be a gesture to donald trump of good faith that actually it's not enough and it's not fast enough. i mean, i think poland is the only country

who's even nearing 5% of gdp, which is really ideally where we would be at senior figures. >> i mean, 5% is a bit i mean, you know, throughout most of the cold war, we spent about four, four and a half. but but but trump. >> still i mean 3% is. yeah. is not really that significant in terms of, you know, percentage of gdp. >> so where would you cut. >> so where would you cut. >> i mean, i like the idea of taking the money from from foreign aid. i think that's it makes sense. i mean, we're giving all sorts of payouts to various countries that we shouldn't be countries like india or china, where it really doesn't make sense for us. and it's an obvious place for us to be targeting. you know, some of. >> the you sound like we need a british doge. >> well, i. >> well, i. >> can't say i disagree. >> can't say i disagree. >> with that. maybe musk can come over and lend us some advice. i think there are a lot of areas where the state could be saving money that it is spending on some of the most absurd things. i mean, charlotte very angry about if they found out. sothings. think very angry about if they found out. sothings. ihink very angry about if they found out. sothings. i mean, charlotte jail here in the uk journalist absurd things. i mean, charlotte jail here in the uk journalist has been doing excellent work has been doing excellent work showing just how much money is showing just how much money is being spent on absurd things being spent on absurd things that taxpayers would be very, that taxpayers would be very, very angry about if they found very angry about if they found

out. so look, i think out. so look, i think given the threats we face geopolitically, we need to be increasing our defence spending. senior figures in the army have been saying for a very long time that this is urgent. it's not, you know, never mind the recruitment crisis and all of these other aspects that affect our security. so yes, i