Calls sir keir starmer captain. Hindsight 17 people, including a child, have been killed and 32 injured by a Russian Missile strike in the city of kostiantynivka in the east of ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have posted footage which shows a loud explosion ripping through a loud explosion ripping through a busy market. The attack came hours after the us secretary of state, antony blinken, paid a surprise visit to kyiv to reaffirm us support for ukraine. The uk is set to rejoin the European Unions flagship horizon Science Research programme. The government negotiated membership of the £85 billion scheme in the brexit withdrawal agreement, but it was never ratified because of disputes that emerged over the Northern Ireland protocol. The report suggests Prime Minister rishi sunak will confirm a final deal this week after a two year absence and today was the hottest day since 2016, with temperatures reaching 32 degrees at kew gardens in london. It could peak on saturday with 33 degrees forecast , which would be degrees forecast, which would be even warmer than obe. If it does, it will be the uks hottest day of the year. An hottest day of the year. An amber warning for heat has been issued until sunday evening. Issued until sunday evening. This is gb news on tv on Digital Radio and on your Smart Speaker to just say play gb news. Now its back to. Nigel its back to. Nigel good evening. Well the work and pensions secretary mel stride has said today weve got to do something about the number of people claiming out of work benefits. The figure has risen and it rose very , very sharply and it rose very, very sharply dunng and it rose very, very sharply during and after the pandemic to 5. 4 million. Just think about that 5. 4 Million People in this country are working age who are not working but are receiving benefits. And of that number, benefits. And of that number, about 40 of them are on disability benefits of one kind or another. Thats about. 2. 5 or another. Thats about. 2. 5 Million People. Now, what the minister is saying is, of course , for those who are severe disabled, for those who genuinely cannot work , we will genuinely cannot work, we will as a civilised country, give a safety net to those people. But what hes saying is there are plenty of those people who could, especially now with work from home and Flexible Working, get back into to the workplace. And these comments are backed up by the Prime Minister, rishi sunak, making the point that actually for many people, going back to work is a good thing. You know, if youre told youre too unwell to work and youre signed off by the gp, well, in many cases that leads to negative thoughts. It leads to you thinking somehow im a victim and i know something about this because after the aeroplane crash that i was involved in in 2010, when the x rays came back and i had major surgery, the neurosurgeon said, well, nigel, with your condition, if you want, i can sign you off as partially disabled and i told him politely, where to go. You see, i think for many people this is about a state of mind and if government could provide a way to get a Million People off disability benefits and back into work , that would be an into work, that would be an enormous benefit to the country. You see, what were actually doing is in the very same towns and cities where weve got large numbers of people on out of work benefits. Weve also got huge Job Vacancies as and guess how were filling those vacancies . Well, were doing it by having immigration numbers of over 1 Million People every single year coming in to do those jobs, which of course, in turn in then puts more massive pressure on pubuc puts more massive pressure on Public Services , housing and Public Services, housing and pretty much Everything Else. But there is one disappointing element in what mel stride has had to say. He doesnt intend for these changes to come in until 2025. Theyve been in office since 2010, but these reforms wont come in until 2025, which is after the next general election, which i think labour will probably win. So labour will probably win. So i put it to you will these important vital reforms ever actually happen . Give me your actually happen . Give me your thoughts. Farage at gb news dot com. Now for al hadi is head of policy at disability rights uk and joins me down the line. Faisal, i want to reemphasize this that for those that genuinely are disabled and have no means or way of working , we no means or way of working, we will be civilised. Of course , as will be civilised. Of course, as a society. But the point i want to make is this if i go back to 1981, there were 790,000 people in the United Kingdom who had disability rights and benefits accordingly , that figure has accordingly, that figure has rocketed. To 2. 5 million and rocketed. To 2. 5 million and many of the new cases and its roughly a thousand people a day are being registered in this way. Much of this is to do with depression and anxiety. Surely we for many of these people getting back to work might actually be a cure. Actually be a cure. Well, while were sort of sharing figures with your viewers, the figure id like to share is that there are 5 million disabled people working , working today in the labour market, contributing. And in market, contributing. And in fact, it was only last year that the government gave itself a pat on the back for getting 1. 3 million more disabled people into work. So i think i think we need some perspective on this. Now, im really pleased that you and mel stride believe that there should be a safety net for disabled people who genuinely cant work. And we can agree on that. But what i cant agree on is using a use measures like tinkering with the Work Capability assessment to support disabled people into work. Going back to your point about giving people hope and changing mindsets , yes, theres lots of mindsets, yes, theres lots of ways to do that. You can provide targeted employment support. You can make the access to work scheme work. At the moment, theres 14 week delay. You can implement the equality act so that employers have to make reasonable adjustments. The government has got an array of levers that it could use, but why is it choosing wrong, if you like, put disabled people under the cosh and answer a load of questions to be honest, which dont really tell anyone whether people can work or not. So id really i really challenge why theyre doing it in this way. Weve always disabled people who can work. Ive always wanted to work and they havent been given the right support. Are they the right support. Are they really . Really . Are there are. I mean, do you really believe that there are four times the number of people who are disabled and cant work today as there were in 1981 . Well i think, you know, the demographic demographics have changed. Were a much older population and a lot of age is linked to disability age and disability are linked. So when we look at people over 60, the population of disabled people is more like 42. Weve increased the retirement age, so its not till 67. Were a Different Society now , but the demographics im now, but the demographics im sure, are playing their part. Yeah okay. No, no. I mean, they are all they are all fair points to mitigation. I absolutely accept that. Mitigation. I absolutely accept that. But the mitigation. I absolutely accept that. But the big picture is this with 5. 4 Million People of working age not working with a culture, it would seem entrenched in some parts of our big cities that says theres no point going to work. You dont need to actually youre just as well off not working. Whether well off not working. Whether thats true or not, that culture, im afraid, has become embedded. We simply cant afford embedded. We simply cant afford to go on with Job Vacancies and this number of people not working. Thats really, i think, working. Thats really, i think, what the governments saying, isnt it . Yeah, but i think, nigel, if we really look at the root causes, who wouldnt want to work at the moment . I mean benefit levels are shockingly low. Most people on shockingly low. Most people on benefits are going to foodbanks, they cant pay their energy bills. It is not like theyre leaving , leading a good quality leaving, leading a good quality life. So i dont except if people are given the right support and the right tools. Um, support and the right tools. Um, you know, whether thats more digital training, whether thats more targeted training, for example , im blind, but someone example, im blind, but someone else might have a learning disability. We need targeted help to get back into the workplace. The point im making is that we why choose to make a test, a Work Capability assessment harder and more onerous and more hostile when actually so many things could be put in place to support us into work. And not only more money would we get if we were in work, wed get social. Contact. Wed wed get social. Contact. Wed get a sense of purpose. Yes. Who wouldnt want to go into work . Oh, no. I mean that we oh, no, no. I mean that we all agree with. Its the culture that i was talking about. Faisal fadi, thank you very much indeed for is forjoining me in what is a very, very important debate for our future. Now, when comes our future. Now, when it comes to this culture that ive talked about being embedded in certain communities cases communities and in some cases going generation after going on for generation after generation, if i look at the league table, the worst at the worst urban area in the entirety of the United Kingdom is blackpool over a quarter of the working age population are on out of work benefits of one kind or another. And scott benson is the member of parliament for blackpool south. Scott, what and earth is going on in blackpool . Earth is going on in blackpool . Good evening nigel. Well funnily enough i visited my local job centre several weeks ago , had a chat with a dwp staff ago, had a chat with a dwp staff there. They told me that over 40 of young people who are on Unemployment Benefits at the moment are frankly not playing ball with a system. They refuse ball with a system. They refuse to turn up to interviews. They to turn up to interviews. They dont answer the phone and they will not engage at all. And the dwp staff there who have been given millions of pounds by the government for work coaches all the support, tailor made support people need to get these young people need to get these young people into work. They are so frustrated and they tell me they havent got the tools to sanction people who can work but who clearly, for whatever reason , dont want. I made the point that actually, whilst benefits are there, if you look at the wages that are being offered, given the Labour Shortages , as you the Labour Shortages, as you know, in the north west, actually only people can go out and get really quite well paid jobs. Youngsters jobs. This 40 of youngsters would be better off in work. So why dont they want to . They absolutely would be better off in work, nigel and im have a rotten im afraid we have a rotten culture the heart of British Culture at the heart of British Society suspect Generation Society and i suspect generation after generation this is getting worse. So that to thousand Job Vacancies in blackpool today and yet for whatever reason some young people and people of all ages dont want to take those jobs. Ive spoken to traders all summer in our tourism related economy. They tell me theyve had job adverts out for month after month. Very few people apply. And ironically, when people do apply for these jobs, some of whom go out of their way not to get them properly, told me people turn up drunk at job interviews to avoid getting job. No, you know, to some extent that category youre talking about are slightly different to those on disability benefits, but its still part eight of this 5. 4 million. So is what youre saying, scott benton, that you feel that the benefits offices need to have the ability to put tougher sanctions in place . Place . Absolutely. And by the way, nigel, thats not me saying that. Thats the dwp staff themselves who are so frustrated at the situation when they see clients day in, day out who can work but who choose not to. So clearly the government has a job here to look at this, 5 Million People who are out of work at the moment. We keep talking about sluggish growth, low productivity. For goodness productivity. Well for goodness sake, it starts here. And if we cant solve this issue , guess cant solve this issue, guess what . Well have to rely on the easy lever of cheap foreign laboun easy lever of cheap foreign labour, which is exactly what were doing to the most extraordinary degree on disability. Disability. I mean, what mel stride says, hes right actually, that we will provide help for people training for people , encourage training for people, encourage the use of work at home and Flexible Working to get people off disability and back into work and to get and i do believe myself if to get people away from feeling like theyre victims, i think it must be a very negative and very, very bad place to be. When it was offered to me, it was the last thing i wanted after an aeroplane crash. I wanted to get well and get back to work. You know. But not everybody feel like that. Everybody does feel like that. And, know, perhaps seeing and, you know, perhaps seeing the signed off is the gp and being signed off is in of downward in itself part of a downward spiral. So think much of what spiral. So i think much of what mel stride is saying backed up spiral. So i think much of what methe ride is saying backed up spiral. So i think much of what methe prime saying backed up spiral. So i think much of what methe Prime Minister, icked up spiral. So i think much of what methe Prime Minister, is ed up spiral. So i think much of what methe Prime Minister, is right. By the Prime Minister, is right. And yet weve to wait till and yet weve got to wait till 2025 when we may well have a Labour Government this is a problem im afraid what the secretary announced secretary of state announced yesterday is a step forward. I personally dont think it goes far enough deal with goes far enough to deal with this issue of sickness this systemic issue of sickness andindeed this systemic issue of sickness and indeed those who can work , and indeed those who can work, but who on unemployment but who are on Unemployment Benefits refuse do so. Benefits and refuse to do so. Its a step forward. Its not far enough. And as you say, nigel, what are the odds of this actually implemented . Actually being implemented . Well, in 2025, pretty unlikely. Well, in 2025, pretty unlikely. I would have been asking that question of you and of the audience and folks, just to sort of conclude piece , and ill of conclude this piece, and ill be interested to your be very interested to get your comments moment. I dont comments in a moment. I dont think chance in think theres a catch chance in hell happening. I think hell of this happening. I think both conservative and Labour Governments, rather than grasp this nettle and face the abuse theyre going to get from the bbc and the guardian and everybody else will just go on relying on cheap imported foreign labour. Thats my guess. Lets for hope everyones sake that im wrong in a moment. Well, an Old Fashioned prison breakout from hm prison, wandsworth. Well talk about that and why. And albanian gangster cant be extradited to the uk because apparently our prisons simply arent good enough. Quality and welcome will join me on that in just a moment youre listening to gb news radio. Radio. So will it ever happen . Well, so will it ever happen . Well, im sceptical. One viewer says to me, no chance. Just like Everything Else they say, its all words and no action. An ian says to me on this topic, i doubt it. Even if flip flop rishi allows it starmers lot will reverse it. Well. Ian yeah, but i mean you see flip flop rishi is lot say theyre not going to do it till 2025. And finally paul says, wont ever happen even if the tories stay in power because as soon as the left starts saying its cruel and the government will and nasty, the government will be too terrified to put it in place. Paul i suspect youre right. Its a very , very right. Its a very, very different conservative party to the one of the 1980s who believed in what they were doing and took the criticism that came with it. So we learn of an extraordinary breakout from hm prison. Wandsworth that took place earlier on this morning. A man who was an army officer who was arrested , put in prison was arrested, put in prison awaiting trial for planting fake bombs around barracks. This happenedin bombs around barracks. This happened in january of this yeah happened in january of this year. It did not, of course, make the news at all. Well, i have to say daniel khalifa is making the news now. And it really was a colditz style escape, dressed in a chefs uniform strapped it to the underneath of a delivery van. And i dont quite know where we are with this manhunt, whether anybody has a clue where he is. But as you would expect, gb news is home and security editor mark white is down opposite a new scotland yard. Mark, please bnng scotland yard. Mark, please bring us up to date with this manhunt. What on earth is going on . Well, it is a nationwide manhunt at the moment. We are told that there is extra security at ports and airports right around the country. And ve