Transcripts For GBN Breakfast 20240703

Sacrifice their forefathers made. Not me. Im no hero, but they, like they were the raf boys who died and people like that. They dont realise that they dont know much about it. They dont even know who hitler was. Half of them. And in this sport this morning, ive got to tell you, arsenal didnt look like chokers or bottlers last night as they go back to the top by spanking chelsea. Five nil Leicester City on the verge of heading back to the premier league by also winning five nil against southampton and Ronnie Osullivan says hes not the greatest snooker player ever , greatest snooker player ever, but he goes for a record breaking eighth world title from today. Hello, its a bit chilly out today but at least for many of us it is going to be largely dry and there will be some decent spnng and there will be some decent spring sunshine too. Ill have the details in the full forecast i the biggest defence boost in ten years. The Prime Minister has vowed to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of the national budget. Thats an extra £75 billion. Well, speaking in poland yesterday, the Prime Minister stressed that the uk is not on the brink of war, but did claim the brink of war, but did claim the extra money would put the countrys Defence Industry on a war footing. Well as churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is not to insert the imminence of war. On the contrary, if war was imminent , on the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. I believe we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values. So today im announcing the biggest strengthening of our national for defence a generation. We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Always, im amazed how they make it look as if they are doing something as opposed to. Theyve let defence spending fall well behind. Lets get the views and Deputy Editor at spiked fraser himars defence budget. Its spiked fraser himars defence budget. Its in a real mess. You talk to anyone in the armed forces. They cant. They cant maintain even accommodation for people in the armed forces. Were in the red. As regards our bills for various munitions and things at the moment. I mean, you know, this this isnt hes not doing anything. Hes doing what he has to do and should have done a long time ago. Yeah. And i think a lot of people will be saying 2. 5 by 2030. Well, youre not going to be Prime Minister mate by 2030, correct . Thats a labour problem. Thats a labour problem. Then i think labour will probably commit to it. They certainly want to go to this 2. 5 figure, is what theyve said previously that they want to scrutinise the numbers if they see if they can get there by. Sorry to interrupt, but ben wallace was hilarious. I thought yesterday in his response to that he said, oh really . We need another defence review. D0 really . We need another defence review. Do we . He said, why dont we create a for Union Defence thatll scare our enemies . Yeah. I mean, and everyone sort of agrees that defence is becoming much more of a national priority. The world is becoming more unstable. I dont want to more unstable. I dont want to exaggerate that. Im not saying were on the brink of world war iii or anything like that, but certainly you can see tensions, you know, war breaking out in the middle east. We still have the middle east. We still have the war in ukraine, waging on tensions increasing in the far east, two between china and various other east asian countries. So, you know, we are living in a more dangerous world and defence is should be at the forefront of peoples mind. But what is suddenly triggered this change, because it was just weeks ago in the budget, when jeremy hunt and the chancellor were insisting that theyd get to 2. 5 of gdp when theyd get to 2. 5 of gdp when the Economic Conditions allowed. Well, nothings changed economically in that time. No. Thats right. I mean, i think its because its something that has, you know, dogged rishi sunak, that hes been seen as weak on defence. His other rivals for the tory leadership all pledged to reach this 2. 5 target around this kind of time , hes saying that kind of time, hes saying that he can reach it without affecting frontline services, without putting up taxes. Is without putting up taxes. Is that remains to be seen. He says he will do it by reducing the Civil Service to pre brexit levels. Now, governments always promised they can make efficiency savings without affecting your Public Services. But often 70,000 Civil Servants. Jobs. Jobs is a huge number and if there were that many to cut, surely they would have done that before they could have done that before they could have done that now youd think. And ben wallace seems to have, hinted in an interview elsewhere that these cuts could actually come from a manifesto pledge where they were going to cut taxes. Sorry. They say the money could come from not making from not making it, from not making the tax cuts going into the next election. I mean, this is this thing i mean, in many ways, as i said earlier, this is not going to be rishi sunaks decision. Realistically you know, how to how to manage this. I think, one of the problems, as you alluded to, eamonn, is that, you know, the military is degraded. We have, i think, 76,000 soldiers. Thats a third less than just two decades ago. The world was a lot safer place. Two decades ago, you could say, you know, the navy is so short staffed, they recently had to mothball, two ships. Theres a broader recruitment crisis in the armed forces. You know, whether a 0. 2 percentage point increase in the budget over the next six years is going to make up for those issues. I think is going to make up for those issues. I think is seems unlikely to me. This this comes at the same time as all this extra money has been released by the usa , for been released by the usa, for ukraine, for taiwan , whatever. Ukraine, for taiwan, whatever. And i know you said were not on the brink of world war three. You could have fooled me. You could have fooled me. Well, i think one of the reasons why it feels theres a sort of sense of urgency in britain and also in europe, actually, you know, hes rishi sunakis actually, you know, hes rishi sunak is doing european tours. Hes talking to polish Prime Minister and to the german chancellor. Is because of the fear of a Trump Presidency , fear of a Trump Presidency, possibly more isolationist us. Now weve had the ukraine package passed in the senate, 60 billion going towards ukraine and to other , and to other and to other, and to other conflicts. But that took so much wrangling. And that was even under a democrat president who is fully supportive of the of ukraines fight. I think trump is actually not as isolationist as many commentators make out, but he is certainly unpredictable. And he has, you know , quite famously said that, know, quite famously said that, you know, nato countries that dont pay their way, vladimir putin, come and have a go. Now, putin, come and have a go. Now, he obviously doesnt really mean that, but i think, you know, the west, the non us, you know, uk, europe, the other nato countries are starting to worry that, you know, the us is not necessarily going to be a reliable partner. And so we have to, you know, get our own house in order. Well thank you very much. Fraser myers Deputy Editor at spiked for us this morning. Appreciate it, you heard what fraser had to say there, and we what do we know . We know absolutely nothing. If youve served or are serving in the armed forces in some form or other, and you say, look, they need to spend money here. And that money may be your accommodation, very, very important. I mean, theres no point to having people serving if theyre not being housed, if theyre not being looked after properly, if theyre not being paid the right rate, as well as munitions and all sorts of technology and a change in the way that we, we police the world as well. Let us know what you as well. Let us know what you think on that. Please do get in touch this morning. This is how you do it. Its gbnews. Com forward slash tuc have your say talk to each other on that forum as well. And we will reflect that throughout the programme. This morning. That throughout the programme. This morning. So if youre this morning. So if youre serving or you have served or you have an idea , someone in you have an idea, someone in your family where the money should be spent, let us know this morning when we will reflect that. Now, researchers are warning that the damaging legacy of the pandemic will mean poorer gcse results well into the 2030s. Academics at the universities of exeter, strathclyde and the London School of economics predict that fewer than 2 in 5 pupils in england will achieve a grade five or above in english and maths gcses , and thats and maths gcses, and thats roughly equivalent to a grade c. Well, were joined by maths teacher bobby seagull. Do you recognise. Good morning to you. This prediction. Is this a fear that you share. Yeah i think its really sort of sad. Anne diamond over the last few years in terms of, covid, obviously the strikes been going on, but i think the numbers are staggering. So currently isabel and eamonn, 45 of students get a grade four, a good pass, as it were, in maths and english, and what this report by the Nuffield Foundation predicts is by 2030. So students that sort of had studied during the pandemic, that will drop by 5. And again, sometimes in the media, you know, we saw a 5 drop. Thats not very large number, but thats like 30 plus thousand students, fewer students that will get good maths and gcse english, and what this means is that one, the Job Opportunities are much more difficult, but additional to their academic, suffering , these students have suffering, these students have sort of been impacted by social and emotional skills that theyre not developed because we know that young people, they develop best with each other. Were humans, were social beings. But because of lockdown , beings. But because of lockdown, there are a couple of years where they were at home on their phones doing some work online. But the reality is classrooms are the best environments for young people socially and academically , and this impact is academically, and this impact is going to be seen for this report , things for decades to come. So actually, its something where they have made some suggestions solutions. But they said that weve got to start trying to solve this immediately rather than waiting for the fallout in a few years. Yeah, but bobby, what i dont get is that was then the pandemic. This is now, why cant a new term, new classes , a new term, new classes, everything back to normal . Not put that right. Where have we got to wait . Six, seven, eight, nine, ten years before figures readjust. Yeah , i think its because if yeah, i think its because if you look at where young people learn, they sort of learn foundation, almost like , almost foundation, almost like, almost like, almost like a pyramid style. So young people, if they missed out var sort of Foundation Learning when theyre five or 6 or 7, you might think, oh, theyll catch up with it. But that impact has a compounding impact. So by the time they get to 16, theyre missed out on so much additional learning. And again that foundations are lost. And again, i think we dont we wont see the impact of 2013. But there has to be solutions now and again this report i had a read of it. They talked about equalising policies, but understandably we are in a tough economic budget condition. So theyve got some low cost solutions. One is they said think about tutoring by undergraduates. Could undergraduates. Could undergraduates again volunteer or for reasonable costs, go and support schools with tutoring. And then secondly, this suggests a bit more radical about rebalancing the School Calendar yeah rebalancing the School Calendar year. So you know, theres lets say 12, 13 weeks of school houday say 12, 13 weeks of School Holiday per year. But a lot of research has shown that the six week Summer Holiday actually impacts the most disadvantaged students, because ive seen in my ten years in secondary. When you compare it with private schools, you know they actually have longer holidays than than the state sector. And yet their results are higher. I dont think its got to do with penods dont think its got to do with periods of time off. And i think actually a lot of teachers are attracted to the profession because they get these these breaks from from work essentially. I think if you were to shorten those holidays, for example, you might have an even bigger recruitment issue. Surely, though, there must be more that schools can do around Early Morning classes for those that are struggling, being able to identify as you say, maybe getting in volunteers to tutor lots of parents must be have skills as well that they could share with the kids. Share with the kids. Yeah, i think isabel, youre right. Its a combination of both. But i will say on the School Holiday, i think its not about cutting the six weeks to two weeks holiday. Its maybe taking a week off there and moving it towards the october half tum, and making that two weeks instead of one week. Because, again, i think with the independent sector generally children that are lucky enough to be in that sector over the holidays, they might go to museums or go on trips abroad, or they might, you know, the parents might sit and read to them. Whereas generally students from the states, especially the ones from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, actually the holidays, a lot of them dont do anything. They sit at home on their phones for six weeks. So again, its about one of those suggestions in this report is reducing it by maybe a week or so. But isabel, you are right in terms of other things Early Morning breakfast clubs, additional support, getting parents in so i think its about schools and the Education Sector being creative because again, with politics its all about priorities and education is important. But money is very tight for this country. So as a nafion tight for this country. So as a nation were going to have to be very creative about the solutions. We come for education because again, even mr sunak, he said that education he thinks, is the Silver Bullet that we have to improving this countrys lot generally. But bobby, not every teacher is like you and i hope there are so many, many teachers like you. You feel your energy, youre getting ready for class today and you have a spring in your step , and i hope that can be step, and i hope that can be replicated. I think i would love to be a teacher. Id love to go and teach history or something, and teach history or something, and id hate to be in your class. Well, i think id be regarded as the fun teacher, believe me, no. I think as the fun teacher, believe me, no. I think the idea of being contagious, almost with your pupils is very difficult with mathematics. You know, i cant relate to you and your. But he might have got us through maths, mightnt he . No, no, no, i cant relate to the subject of the usefulness of the subject of the usefulness of the subject of the usefulness of the subject or anything, but, you know, well agree to disagree on that. But i think the responsibility on the teachers shoulders is, is incredible. And if they do the job right and theyre enthusiastic about it, theres no finer job in the land. I would have thought, oh , land. I would have thought, oh, i agree again. In my 20s, i spent my time working in the city. I was a trader at lehman brothers. Not a good choice of bank and nomura, and i was a chartered accountant at pwc. But my time in teaching, i would say waleses, had much more ups and downs, is the most rewarding thing you can do because you have that impact on a young person that can influence them for life. And occasionally in stratford bus station i get, i get towering six three young man who say, hello, mr seagull. Im like, who is this . Im am i safe . And you say, oh, sir, you told me ten years ago. In fact, at stratford cinema over the weekend at some young mans came to me and said, oh, are you bobby seagull . I thought, oh god, is it one of those fans from tv . Hello, my name is yayan. You taught me ten years ago. Im about to do geology at university. You are a really great teacher. So again, teachers can have that lifelong impact on young people. Yeah, that makes me feel emotional. We can all remember our teachers that changed our lives. And you do every day. Youll be changing childrens lives. It is incredible. Youre talking about the kids that are spending their Summer Holidays scrolling on their phones, not doing anything, wasting all of their potential. Another teacher has been in the headlines this week, i think, a headteacher in north london saying hed like to see the School Day Extended from 7 am. Till 7 pm. Because he fears lots of kids are going home at 3 00 and just doom scrolling on their phone and wasting their lives. And theyd be much better staying at school with their peers, doing organised sport, doing extra classes. Has he got a point . Again, i would say there is a point. But again , i can imagine point. But again, i can imagine it wouldnt be very popular with teachers. But again , the school teachers. But again, the school day is six hours. And again, i think theres a limited amount of Academic Knowledge that students can take on in school, because if youre bombarded for another 2 or 3 hours, youre not going to take it in. But there is a definitely an argument for having additional different types of activities, whether its after School Cricket or whether its after School Debate club. And these can be run by external organisations that come in and run these things. Because, again, school is not just about the academic qualifications, which are i still think are the most important thing, but you need young people to develop their social skills, emotional skills, money, skills, and these are things which within the confines of a school curriculum, isabel and eamonn can be quite tricky because ultimately schools are responsible for getting kids through their gcses and other things that are the sort of social side do get cut. But yeah, i think there is an argument, but i think, yeah, if you tell teachers its going to be 7 am. To 7 pm, i think the recruitment and retention crisis might get a bit worse. Yeah. Well said. Youre absolutely right. And i suppose im lucky. Were lucky in general that we can look back at our school years and say, happiest days of our life. Not everybody can do that, and im not really sure why mine were the happiest days of my life. But, gosh, when i left school, i really missed it, so, you know, well done. You, my friend. You have a good day at class. Always a pleasure to talk to you and hear your various theories on things. And we want theories on things. And we want people. Youve heard what bowlbys had to say. Get in touch with us this morning. What would make School Better . What would make School Better . What would get these exam results up again . Generally, what needs to happen . Let us know this morning. Have your say bobby seagull thank you very much indeed. I always wondered how bobby seagull maths teacher could afford such snappy suits. Now i know he was a trader at lehman brothers. Hes always so sharp, isnt he . No. My whole point to him. I was going to ask him about lehman brothers, is he had a high salary job, which he gave up for an average salary job, and that in itself is a big statement to make. To do that, heres how you get in touch this morning. To have your say on all of this at ng news. Com. Forward of this at ng news. Com. Forward slash. Have your say so you want to hear what you think about defence where this new budget should be spent, in defence spending and how you get standards in classes up exam results up higher over the next 5 or 6 years time. Now with the time at 618, to take a look at the other stories coming into the newsroom this morning, the former leader of the democratic unionist party, sir Jeffrey Donaldson, is due to appearin sir Jeffrey Donaldson, is due to appear in Newry Magistrates Court this morning. Donaldson resigned as dup leader andrew suspended from the party after being charged with several historical Sexual Offences. Emma webber, the mother of nottingham attack victim barnaby webber, has written an emotive open letter to the members of a Police Whatsapp group after her sons body was described as properly butchered , and she has properly butchered, and she has asked officers to have more compassion for victims and their families. Barnaby webber , grace families. Barnaby webber, Grace Omalley Kumar and ian coates were stabbed to death by baldo. Were stabbed to death by baldo. Sorry, i cant pronounce his surname, but anyway, hes scumbag. On june 13th last year, labour are set to announce funding for 13,000 extra Neighbourhood Police officers by setting up a National Police savings body. It will be used to buy vital kit including police cars, it equipment , Forensic Services and equipment, Forensic Services and more. Labour say the move will help tackle huge disparities between Police Forces across the country. Country. Wales could see an overturn of this 20 mile per hour default speed limits on residential roads. We heard all of this yesterday. A record breaking petition opposing the speed restrictions received nearly half a million signatures, calling for the law to be scrapped. Scrapped. Now, the last surviving member of a special forces regiment during world war ii has fulfilled his dream to dine at the ritz hotel in london, celebrating his 102nd birthday. All two, 102 and bright as a button. It has to be, said Cameron Walker went to meet him. War is not glamorous as we thought it was actually when youre young. Youre young. John morris is the last surviving member of his sas regiment from the second world war. Before joining the special forces, his Service Began in kent, shooting down german bombers targeting london. The only thing i shot down, actually was a chimney kitchen chimney, accidentally by mistake. Nobody had any breakfast that morning. I wasnt very popular. John was one of the last people to receive a 100th birthday card from Queen Elizabeth ii. All birthday cards from the children from Christ Church school celebrating his 102nd birthday this week, local School Children made him cards thanking him for his bravery. I think kids should know more about the sacrifice their forefathers made, not me. Im no hero, but they like their war. The raaf boys had died and people like that. They dont realise that they dont know much about it. They dont even know who hitler was. Half of them. John, whos now a chelsea pensioner, kindly agreed to share his wartime memories. In 1943, he was sent to north africa with the Royal Artillery and past special forces selection , taking part in the selection, taking part in the allied invasion of italy. Allied invasion of italy. 75,000 british and colonial troops were killed in italy as the germans fought back very well. Well. Ultimately, the allies were successful, but a much more powerful natural threat was not far away. Mount vesuvius, famous for destroying the roman town of pompeii in ad 79, erupted and i woke up in the morning. I heard this rumble, looked outside this ball of lava coming down. So never go on a volcanic island where i am because its very dangerous. Very dangerous. That year, allied forces landed on the beaches of normandy, known as d day. The operation led to the liberation of western europe and was one of the most famous and widely praised successes of the war. Far away in italy, john and his comrades were branded with a less than flattering nickname , less than flattering nickname, turned into a popular wartime song, glory done 3d days. We did the north african landing , we we did the north african landing, we did the battle of britain, and we did the italian landing. We did the yugoslavia , landing. We did the yugoslavia, albania, and they called us d day dodgers. Moeen ali de d day dodgers. Moeen ali de dodger , us out in italy i john celebrated his 102nd in style. First, a party with the Chelsea Pensioners, followed by a champagne lunch organised by friend and irish guards ambassador frederick crum. The reds always had a wonderful relationship with the Chelsea Pensioners. We celebrate in style and hes never been to the ritz so that will be worthy of the 102nd birthday, right . John thats right. Cameron walker gb news wow wow wow wow 102 yeah, right. Hizb ut tahrir. Hizb ut tahrir. Absolutely as well. Absolutely as well. Amazing story. And therell be so few of those stories left to tell ever. Thats, maybe the last one, the weather situation today. Its cold today. Its very cold out there this morning. Lets see what Alex Birchall has to say. A brighter outlook with boxt solar , the sponsors of weather solar, the sponsors of weather on gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east. As we go through tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning. Then this morning , a chilly start for many morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted here. Also towards the north east, across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures. Double figures. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather on gb news. Great british giveaway. 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Text cost £2 plus one Standard Network rate message , or post your name and message, or post your name and number to gb04, po box 8690. Derby dh1 nine, double two, uk only entrance must be 18 or oven only entrance must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On friday. Full terms and privacy nofice friday. Full terms and Privacy Notice at gbnews. Com win. Please notice at gbnews. Com win. Please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck. Okay, matches tonight. Okay, matches tonight. Manager erik ten hag is saying that , its a manager erik ten hag is saying that, its a disgrace manager erik ten hag is saying that , its a disgrace how people that, its a disgrace how people have criticised his team after their win against lower league side coventry city on sunday in the fa cup. Is it a disgrace he was criticised or is he a disgrace . Let us know what you disgrace . Let us know what you think paul coyte with that. After this. Arsenal. Top of the league. Top of the, the premier league. Paul coyte. To tell me, was that an amazing five nil win for them . Or a disgrace by chelsea at that level . I think it was a bit of both, to be honest with you. Chelsea were not good. Just capitulated after the first goal went in, and thats what its embarrassing actually, at that level i think to lose five nil. It really is. It really is. Its the worst loss. I think theyve ever had against arsenal. Its the worst loss in a london derby that theyve had since i think 1986. I know thats a fact. So its no good. Whereas arsenal you know people are throwing this thing at arsenal. Oh theyre bottlers. Arsenal. Oh theyre bottlers. And when you get to the end of the season theyre going to throw it away and theyre going to blow it. I im looking at them and im thinking they look like the best team. Three points three clear now arent they. Theyre three clear. And theyve got the best goal difference because its so tight anyway that goal difference could make a huge difference when it comes to manchester city. When it to manchester city. When it comes to liverpool, were playing everton tonight, so at the moment it looks difficult. Is it is for me to say eamonn. I think i still look like the best side and i think they would probably be the favourites in my book at the moment. I know manchester city, i know everybody says oh yeah, but city, but i think theres a wobble in them and i think there is in liverpool as well, where at the moment i think arsenal look relentless and its a huge game because its the north london derby on sunday. So theyre going to play spurs at theyre going to play spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. So who knows. Spurs could be the team that actually you know take it away from them. But theyll be motivated by that as well. You know of course having the possibility of both will be five nil to arsenal. Very good win for them. Leicester leicester flying in the championship and a five nil win for them last time scoring five. Whereas leicester theyve had that little bit of a wobble. Southampton are also up there as well. Theyre going for the looking for promotion so it looks like probably southampton will be in the play offs. Leicester so they need to win one of their last two matches. Theyre playing preston and blackburn. If they win one of blackburn. If they win one of those they will be straight back up to the premier league. Up to the premier league. Although if leeds lose at Queens Park Rangers on friday, that also means that leicester will be promoted without having to kick a ball, i honestly think todays headlines, may lead to a demotion sacking for erik ten hag. The very fact that he said hag. The very fact that he said that criticism after his fa cup win on sunday was a disgrace by critics. Hes got it so wrong critics. Hes got it so wrong and he criticises the journalists and he says that the fans are led by opinions. The fans are led by opinions. The fans have opinions of their own 100. And i and i would say to you, i would say to erik ten hag, i dont think anybody if you stay fine , if you leave, you stay fine, if you leave, nobody will be crying. Nobody will be saying, oh, what a shame, what a petty , because shame, what a petty, because there is nothing that he seems to do tactically that united fans can relate to and say, wow , fans can relate to and say, wow, look at the way we play. This is united. This is the way we do things. Things. It is. You cant start pointing the finger. If you start pointing the finger at the press, youve got to keep the press, youve got to keep the press onside. Its always a bad thing to start turning against the press and then to say that the press and then to say that the public are swayed by the press. Then thats insulting to your own fans. We do have what erik ten hag said. So erik ten hag then at the press conference yesterday, and he was asked, were you embarrassed by what happened . The fact that Manchester United were three nil up, then it went to three three and coventry scored three goals. This is what erik ten hag had to say yesterday. No absolutely not. And you made it off and no one was made. The question is it embarrassing now . The reactions from you was embarrassed. From you was embarrassed. Why do you say that . Why do you say that . Why . It is the comments in football top football is about results and we made it to the final and that is huge achievement. And twice in two achievement. And twice in two years is magnificent for me as a manager. Four cup finals in four years. And so the comments are disgrace, i think the comments are a disgrace at all. Listen, i go back to 1983, the manager of aberdeen, then they just won the scottish cup, right . Yeah. And he says he was furious. He came out spitting literally spitting. The manager of aberdeen and he said were the Luckiest Team in the world. That was a disgrace of a performance. We could take no glory from that. They were a disgrace and his team won the cup and that manager was Alex Ferguson , right. And thats the ferguson, right. And thats the reaction ten hag should be having to that win, that win on penalties as well and also not winning. We were three nil up. They were three nil up with 17 minutes left. Lets not forget that. So they and it was a capitulation and it was and they nearly lost it. And if it wasnt var but the other thing you mentioned is that how Alex Ferguson reacted to his players when he was the aberdeen manager, but unfortunately , whether it be unfortunately, whether it be right or wrong and i think probably wrong, you cant dig players out like that these days because unfortunately they then 90, because unfortunately they then go, well, you cant talk to me that way. Im not very happy about it and very rarely do you get a decent reaction or pochettino did it yesterday and he was saying that, you know, we were soft, we capitulated. He was very, very angry. But unfortunately, i think its just the way of the world that youve got to have the kid gloves and youve got to deal with people in a different way. Well, tell you, erik ten hag he he chose the wrong, the wrong enemies there being go to your youtube and look up, Alex Ferguson scottish fa cup, aberdeen 1983. The reaction is absolutely brilliant, Ronnie Osullivan, we talked about him. He says hes, he he doesnt think hes the greatest player of all time. But he does say that hes his name is up there with, steve davis should be there. And, stephen hendry. Hendry. Well, it should be. I mean, hes hes going for his eighth world title, which starts today, which is him going for it. Were at the first round. I mean, in my opinion, he is the greatest of all time. I mean, its always but he sets the standard so high and he believes that he took slightly longer than davis or, stephen hendry, to achieve what he has achieved. But he also does it with such style. I think i think also i mean, steve davis was no, no one was boring steve davis. Yeah. I mean he grind out the results. But i mean this guy has flair. He has flair. And this is what we like and this is what snooker needs. But were talking 20 years a huge career which still goes on. Hes still the number one in the world. Hes going for the triple already. Going for the triple already. Hes already won the masters. Hes already won the masters. Hes won the british championship. So i dont think theres much doubt that he is theres much doubt that he is the greatest. I, you know, pot black. You did pot black, didnt you . I you . I was the last ever presenter of pot black. Yes. I took it off air. Was it down to you . Was i mean, still blames the players. They didnt have the flair they used to, but that was what made snooker popular. Yeah. Was pot black, wasnt it . Because it was one. Right. And ive got one question for you. Because ive always wanted to know this. It was always one frame. Yeah. How did they have a half hour frame. Did they have a half hour frame. Did they have a play a few because some frames would go very quickly. You would never fill the half hour because you used to be a half hour tv show, one frame of snooker, and it always used to fit perfectly. So were they always just a half and they always ran for half an houn they always ran for half an hour, and i never quite understood why. Well, i have absolutely no idea. Ive absolutely no idea. Did they slow it down sometimes or speed it up just one game. But it was always one frame. But it was always one frame. Maybe it was. Maybe it was. Maybe it was. Maybe it was interviews based around it and doing it and whatever. And who did you like . Who, who, which i mean, listen, i had the privilege to watch, you know, the alex higgins. Yeah world, you know, totally. What im trying to say, you know, not the not the not the not the full shilling. It has to be said , but i mean, has to be said, but i mean, flair to watch. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely incredible. See, the thing is, youve got the flair and the full shilling and thats the difference. But i cant remember if it was more than one frame or. Okay it was a long time ago. Okay. It was a long time ago. Okay. My friend, god bless. Thank you. See my friend, god bless. Thank you. See you again. 7 20. Well be talking about who is favourite to be the New Liverpool manager. The papers right were going through the papers this morning in the company of the former liberal democrat minister norman baker and the medical writer. Renee hoenderkamp. Very warm welcome to both of you. Thank you for joining us, norman. Lets start with what is being described as the biggest increase in defence spending for a generation, 2. 5 of gdp, something Boris Johnson had previously promised. Why is rishi sunak suddenly decided to do this, do you think . Well, hes doing it because first of all, the conservative backbenchers are demanding that it should be done, and hes trying to deal with that particular attack on his on his right flank. And secondly, he wants to put labour in a position where theyre having to try to match it. So its a political move. The other thing too worth saying is that no government can tie the hands of a future government. This is spending which is going to take place until 2030. Therefore, theres no guarantee that the next government, whoever they are, labour or conservative or hung parliament, will deliver this particular, allocation to defence. Having said that, i think its right that we should increase defence spending, but weve got to just increase it sensibly. Weve got to look at what needs to be done, for example, the idea of dealing with drones, which are more of a threat these days than it would have been in the past, or cybercrime, which is potentially very serious indeed. And i wonder whether we should be spending more on our troops rather than 110,000,000,110 billion over the next ten years on Nuclear Submarines. On Nuclear Submarines. Okay. So you dont think thats an important part of it . I mean, we know that weve had Russian Nuclear submarines incursion. Yes were part of were part of nato, an attack on one country is an attack on any country in nato. And the americans have got Nuclear Defence. I dont know what we have to have it. Other countries in nato dont have it. Well, i suppose people have been questioning the security of nato with some of the noises coming out of donald trump. It doesnt hurt to be cautious in an uncertain world. Well, it doesnt hurt, but i actually think donald trump will be good for nato, because i think what will happen is he will force all of the other countries to actually step up whats already happening, isnt it . After after what he said. After after what he said. I do think, however, that this, you know, warfare has changed and we should go cyber etc. Has actually led us down a blind alley where we now have no troops, not enough sailors to man the actual warships. Weve got, and we need to actually increase our defence spending quicker than 2030 and start putting men back into boots to arm ourselves. Were pathetic. We do not have an army anymore. And how are we going to fund all of this . Thats the big question. We need to get rid of all of the insane waste that there is in the government. The Civil Service, the ridiculous things that we shouldnt be doing. That we shouldnt be doing. Someone needs to have an honest conversation with the british pubuc conversation with the British Public where we say, okay, this is what we would like to do. What would you like us to do . And we need to get rid of some of the peripheral stuff. That would be nice if we did have that magic money tree, but we dont. But is there fat to be cut in your view . Not really. I mean, i think weve seen in the government that the Civil Servants have been cut quite badly already. Local councils are on, on, on, on the floor. Theyve got no money at all. The Health Service is falling to bits. Look, i mean, we havent got a lot of money in Public Services to cut what we could do. And i come back to the point. I want more troops on the ground. I want the soldiers and sailors and properly, properly equipped. We dont need to spend £10 billion on Nuclear Submarines that if you just cancel that, that would provide you everything you want. Thats the only defence thats worth having, for goodness sake. As long as you have the Nuclear Deterrent and it can be anywhere in the world deterring what youre deterring. Russia, for a start, is your bring china, germany, spain. Theyre china, germany, spain. Theyre not the ones to worry about. I mean, i would have thought i could you could scrap absolutely everything we have in terms of defence. As long as you keep a nuclear submarine. No ones going to mess with you. Well, i mean, look, no one, we dont mess with russia. Russia is not a force. America could walk all over russia, but theyve got nuclear deterrence. No. How about to the point . We are a nato member and there is Nuclear Defence within nato. Not every single nato country has to have it, and very few do. No ones suggesting that russia is going to invade germany. Going to invade germany. I think people are suggesting the submarines. The submarines. I would, but you see you see getting rid of the submarines leaving this very vulnerable. But then thats Everything Else is okay. Then after that, whats vulnerable is the fact that the russians can attack our underwater cables, can can poison our water, can interfere with our infrastructure. Thats whats vulnerable at the moment. Its enough to drive you to dnnk its enough to drive you to drink and on that subject, doctor, the good doctor here, theres a belgian man who we want to talk about here whos body his body actually brews alcohol. It creates alcohol alcohol. It creates alcohol inside him. This is a real condition. Condition. It is, but its very rare. And its not actually a real condition that you cant treat. So this is because his gut microbiome has been upset in such a way that the fungi and bacteria in his gut are making alcohol from carbohydrates. You treat it by laying off antibiotics, changing your diet, and it brings me back every time to how important our gut is in our overall health. If he eats a sandwich, hes like a mini brewery. He is. He is. Hes a cheating drunk, cheap uh. Huh. I mean, hes a cheap date, so he is Walking Around drunk just purely because hes hes processing food into booze because his gut, hes not doing what it should do. Oh my goodness. I thought id heard it all, okay, well, were going to pause and hopefully get some more papers a little bit later on, perhaps after 7 30, maybe in a moment or two. Thank you for now. To both of you. Well, lets Start Talking to the defence secretary, grant shapps, who joins us this morning. Very good morning to you. Straight back i believe from poland yesterday. Thank you for joining believe from poland yesterday. Thank you forjoining us, look, thank you for joining us, look, lots of people very pleased to see this move being made by the Prime Minister and yourself yesterday. This 2. 5 increase in defence spending by 2030. Whats changed since the Spring Budget . Just a few weeks ago, when the Prime Minister said this would only happen when the Economic Conditions allowed. Morning. Well look, first of all, very good news, as you say, spending 2. 5 of our entire gdp on defence. And i think the thing which weve always said is well do this when conditions allow and the conditions being inflation coming down. So the money is not being spent and effectively frittered away in inflation. And weve had significant success now bringing inflation down from over 11 down to just above 3 and predicted to fall to its target a year early or earlier than expected. So i think the expected. So i think the conditions are right now. But not only that, you know, the situation in the world, youve seen whats been happening in ukraine with putin continuing to prosecute his illegal war. Youve seen whats happening in the middle east with iran firing , on on israel with hundreds of projectiles. So, you know, the world as weve been, saying as i was saying back in my speech in january , is looking more january, is looking more dangerous. I think its very important for britain to play its leadership part. The Prime Minister has stood up and has done that in a very significant way, and i think this is very, very good news for, for the united kingdom, our security and also for our leadership in the rest of the world. So where defence secretary, would you see yourself spending that money . Well, theres a whole bunch of Different Things that we are doing or that we need to do. So its a very simple example. Weve expended a lot of, munitions. Weve expended a lot of, munitions. So this could be missiles and other things, with ukraine. And in fact, just yesterday we gave ukraine the biggest single package of new gifted items since the war began. All of that needs replacing. But i think also the replacing. But i think also the war in ukraine show you really need more of this stuff in the first place. In other words, stockpiles need to be higher. And so one of the things weve said with the additional money is that well have an extra £10 billion, a billion per year for ten years, over and above what wed normally do with munitions. So thats a very good example. But there are very many others, including the way that we treat our people, how good the accommodation is, new Technology Like the dragonfire laser weapon, which for £10 a shot could take down incoming , could take down incoming, drones. So, i mean, there are a lot of Different Things that this money will be used on, but most of all, i hope it leverages other countries to come forward and spend their money properly. So britain set a 2 target ten years ago for nato. Were now saying the new target should be that higher. 2. 5, because its really important that we show dictators everywhere, people like putin, but we will not be walked over. And thats what this package does. How are we going to pay for it, though . If there really was all this fat to cut in the Civil Service, surely youd have done it already. The suggestion of 70,000 jobs is a huge number. It sounds huge until you learn that actually, this just takes us back to where we were pre covid in the Civil Service. So its not, i think. Well, id say its announced actually that we were planning to do it. This will take it a little bit faster, but nonetheless, i dont think theres anything unreasonable ill give you an example, because im going to take the cuts in my own department, of the ministry of defence. We currently, in addition to, you know, 188,000 plus people who fight in the armed forces and a huge number of people behind that who support, we have about 60,000 people in mod. Were saying that by 2028, we think we can manage by 2028, we think we can manage by 50,000. And with 50,000 people and given new technologies , i dont think that technologies, i dont think that is really particularly extreme. Is really particularly extreme. So youre spending youre spending more money on defence, but youre actually cutting defence. Well be cutting the bureaucracy behind defence. So we dont want we dont think that we need to have particularly in these world of technology, ai and the rest of it. We dont think we need to have a bloated central, department in order to run defence. We want people on the front line, not, you know, in offices , your predecessor, ben offices, your predecessor, ben wallace, seems to have been implying that a tax cut that was due in the manifesto may now be sacrifice to fund this. Can you confirm that . Confirm that . No, that wont happen, what . Were what were saying is that this is fully funded. We have worked through all of the numbers youve mentioned some of how this will be paid for, and it is £75 billion more on defence by the end of the decade. So it is a lot of money, but it is fully funded. It wont require, new borrowing. Or reversing anything that weve been that weve announced. I think it is important to say we have come to the conclusion that the defence of the realm is solutely essential, and it is a priority for this government. And whether were happy, im happy to confirm that is deliberate. We are trying to be clear to our adversaries that we will always fund defence. And as the second biggest funder in nato , as the largest defence nato, as the largest defence country in europe , we want country in europe, we want others to follow our lead and get more money into defence because without defending your nation, Everything Else is somewhat by the by. And so its incredibly important to do this. Labour may inherit the bill that comes with that. Do you think theyll agree with the spending . Im very concerned about their attitude towards all of this. And for a start , keir this. And for a start, keir starmer, leads a party with various members of his frontbench team who voted against, for example, trident. Thats our Nuclear Deterrent, which is at the cornerstone of our of our of our entire military, our entire stance and, you know, his shadow foreign secretary, his deputy, my shadow deputy Prime Minister all voted against this stuff. Now theyre sort of saying, well, were not sure. We dont think, you know, sure. We dont think, you know, i just dont think you can trust labour when it comes to this nations defence. Lets face it , nations defence. Lets face it, keir starmer twice supported a man, jeremy corbyn, who wanted to take us out of nato, abandon trident, our Nuclear Defence and turn the army into a defence corps. Well the peace corps, i think it was. Yeah. Well, labour have said about this since 2010. The conservatives have wasted more than 15 billion on mismanaging defence procurement, shrunk the army to its smallest size since napoleon missed their recruitment targets every year and allowed morale to fall to record lows. Record lows. Just to be clear on one of those those stats, for example, they keep quoting this, you know, 15 billion or whatever theyre claiming. What happens theyre claiming. What happens when, you get to the end of the life of the weapon and it has to be decommissioned, and then they count that in that figure. And in fact, actually, weve been including yesterday doing much more useful things with those weapons than you would usually just be decommissioned. Any just be decommissioned. Any government would have to do that. Instead, weve been sending them to ukraine, which i think im very proud of, very relieved to see that package get through the us congress. Yeah overnight, 61 billion for ukraine. And it reminds me of that old churchill maxim that america, usually does the right thing once it runs out of all the alternatives. Im very, very pleased about that. And, were delighted that ukraine, through our package yesterday, half £1 billion plus gifting americas package, is going to get the stuff that it needs to really take on putin. Defence secretary, thanks for your time this morning. And its been a busy 24 hours or so for you. Appreciate it. Well speak again soon. Thank you very much indeed. Thanks very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So some reaction from our panel to all of this, norman. Well, i mean, i think the key thing just objectively is whats going to happen after the next election because, all the polls suggest therell be a Labour Government or a hung parliament, and the conservatives will not win. I mean, thatsjust im win. I mean, thats just im just talking neutrally as to whats being proposed. So therefore, anything this government says about what will happen till 2030 is, is theoretical and what really matters is what the labour party and maybe the lib dems and snp all do about this after and theyre Holding Position was the same as what jeremy hunt and the chancellor was saying just a couple of weeks ago at the spnng couple of weeks ago at the Spring Budget, which is we will do 2 to 2. 5 of gdp when the Economic Conditions allow, whatever that means. I mean, look, i think we should do 2. 5. I think defence is our most important thing. I wanted to pick norman up on a point about, you know, germany not having any Nuclear Weapons. Therefore russia are not going to attack them. If that were true, why are we sending money to ukraine . Because the argument always is that we have to defend ukraine, ukraine, to stop, to stop russia marching through europe. But youve just said they wont march. I do think russia, nuclear . No, russia, russia i think, or under putin has got, lithuania, estonia, latvia in its sights. Its about recreating the soviet union. Thats what putin wants to do. But he wont be using Nuclear Weapons to do that. Hell be using conventional forces, drones, the missiles were seeing raining down in khalife. But you have just said that that nuclear wont keep him out. So why do we need it . Because other countries have got it. So im saying that im saying that he wont apply a Nuclear Weapon on on a nato country because the Nato Response will because the Nato Response will be forthcoming. Because under the nato agreement, an attack on one nato country is an attack on all nato countries. But if none of those nato countries have a Nuclear Deterrent , then it doesnt work. Deterrent, then it doesnt work. So hes got a Nuclear Deterrent, but theyre quite a long way away. It doesnt matter. Were out in the forefront of putin, arent we . It doesnt matter. Were part of the same agreement which is held very effectively, which nato agreement is most effective defence agreement ever. The worlds had one of the things, one of the things i didnt like what he was saying. There was the cutting of 10,000 Defence Staff there as well, the infrastructure as well known that the housing situation and conditions is really, really bad. And that is a problem within the forces. And then to say were going to take away 10,000 of the staff and the people that operate this and make all of this happen, is robbing peter to pay paul. Yes. Because i would suggest that maybe those staff were not the ones that they brought on board dunng ones that they brought on board during covid, and maybe they should look at all of those covid appointed staff to find out. Do we still need those now . Okay, guys, got to leave it there. Well see you again in 45 minutes time. Thank you very much indeed, well be back after a quick weather update. Alex burkill, good morning. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment , its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east. As we go through tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning, then this morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted here. Also towards the northeast, across eastern parts of scotland , some fairly parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless many of us will see some sunny spells. Temperatures still a little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. A very good morning to you. It is fast approaching. 7 00. It it is fast approaching. 7 00. It is wednesday, the 24th of april. Its lovely to have your company i yeah. Nice to have you on board. Eamonn holmes and Isabel Webster has just dropped her pen and marked her beautiful yellow , and marked her beautiful yellow, have i . No you havent, right here the headlines on this wednesday morning, the biggest boost for defence spending in a generation. The Prime Minister vows billions more by the end of the decade, announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence for a generation over the next six years, well invest an additional £75 billion in our defence. Serious questions over whether rwanda flights will act as a deterrent after 250 migrants attempted to cross the channel following the deaths of five yesterday, a new campaign to a shocking statistics reveal 19. 5 million food items are wasted. Every single day, and the last surviving veteran of a World War Two special forces regiment has been brought home to join the Chelsea Pensioners and will be sharing his story this morning. Kids should know more about the sacrifice their forefathers made, not me. Im no hero but they, like they were the rafe boys had died and people like that. They dont realise that they dont know much about it. They dont even know who hitler was. Half of them know chelsea is not really the right place to be at the moment. Arsenal back on top of the premier league as they battered, in Mauricio Pochettinos words, a soft chelsea five nil Leicester City on the verge of heading back to the top flight, also winning five nil against southampton and Ronny Osullivan says hes not the greatest snooker player ever, but goes for his greatest well goes for a record breaking eighth world title from today. And whod bet against him . Hello, its a bit chilly out today , but at least for many of today, but at least for many of us it is going to be largely dry and there will be some decent spnng and there will be some decent spring sunshine too. Ill have the details in the full forecast. Now all this defence spending news leading the headlines today. And i was asking you what you think. Maybe youve been in the forces. Maybe you are in the the forces. Maybe you are in the forces. And you have a suggestion how the money should be spent or how the moneys being wasted. Being wasted. And lots of people reacting to some of the comments on the programme so far on the your say section of our website, michael izzard, he says the worlds becoming a much more dangerous place with more potential adversaries with nuclear capability. And norman baker thinks its a clever idea to give up our Nuclear Submarines. He must be out of his mind. And thats had eight likes and lots of replies so far. Cliff ellis not keen on grant shapps this morning. Why have you got that globalist warmonger on all this money from our hard earned country is going to ukraine whilst the uk economy is in a shambles . No, theres a big argument like this in the usa as well where theres a lot of resistance to ukraine being funded, but if you dont fund them, what is what is the alternative . America is in a slightly different position to us. They can afford perhaps to be a bit more isolationist. We are in europe. Russia is right on our border. So there is a strong argument i would suggest, and certainly i think most people would agree, that we do need to keep supporting ukraine at the moment, because whod be next . Do you agree . Dont you agree 7 do you agree . Dont you agree . Who would be next . Let us know at the time. 7 03 and the biggest defence boost in ten years. So the Prime Minister is saying hes going to increase defence spending. Suddenly hes going to do this just out of the blue to 2. 5 of gdp , an extra blue to 2. 5 of gdp, an extra £75 billion. Yes. You made the announcement in poland yesterday. And he stressed whilst the uk is not on the brink of war, he did claim the brink of war, he did claim the extra money would put the countrys Defence Industry on a war footing. As churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is not to insert the imminence of war. On the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. I believe we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values. So today im announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence for a generation. We defence for a generation. We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Right. Lets get the views now. Deputy editor at spiked its fraser marrs this morning. Its fraser marrs this morning. I just dont know about sunak. It just makes me laugh all the time. How he snatches defeat from victory all the time. But you know, he tries to he tries to make out. I have just suddenly woke up this morning and decided not having this anymore. Im going to spend all this money on defence. Well, whos cutting defence . Who is cutting defence in the first place . Well, you saw him there. Quoting churchill. He wants us to think of him as churchill, not chamberlain in the face of the, you know, growing global threats. And yet of course, yeah , he has been the one presiding over the degradation of the of the armed forces, you know, the lowest level of armed forces in two decades. I mean, its interesting you had grant shapps on, earlier, you know, asking him, wear him, wear some of the money is going to come from. And him saying that actually some of the mod has to be cut in order to thousand jobs from the ministry of defence. And, you know, there might be a case to say the mod is very inefficient, their procurement systems are a complete mess. I dont think thats probably thats probably not the fault of the Civil Servants themselves who are going to lose their jobs. Servants themselves who are going to lose their jobs. You going to lose their jobs. You know, it is. Yeah. It has come as a bolt from the blue. It sounds much more like this is an election gambit. Well, there are elections next week. Local elections. Hate to be cynical. The local elections. There are members of the tory right who need to be. Who think sunak is weak on defence. Because clearly this is not a, you know, strategic decision because he is not going to be Prime Minister weve got a massive red invoice coming in and saying all these munitions youve bought, theyve got to be paid for. And then theres this spending which will not go spending in the future. It will be spending for what weve spent in the past, apparently. Well, thats you know, thats thats often how, you know, governments and ministers sort of fiddle the books to make, make pledges sound more exciting than they than they are. I mean, one of the things that, worries me slightly is not just, you know, the state of the armed forces, as weve discussed, but also just the broader state of the wests industrial capacity. The wests industrial capacity. Vie. I mean, you know, if were talking about rearming, what happens only a few weeks ago, the port talbot steelworks is going to close down a huge part of its operations. Its not of its operations. Its not going to be able to make virgin steel. Thats the thing you need to build ships to build weapons, to build ships to build weapons, to make guns. And also our gdp is pretty poor anyway. Weve also seen borrowing went up more than expected yesterday. We know how many yesterday. We know how many people are economically inactive. Last week, 1 in 5 of us not contributing anything to the economy. Its difficult. But the economy. Its difficult. But hes laid down the gauntlet effectively, hasnt he, for laboun effectively, hasnt he, for labour, and he knows perfectly well hes not an idiot. Labour, and he knows perfectly well hes not an idiot. I labour, and he knows perfectly well hes not an idiot. I mean, well hes not an idiot. I mean, rishi sunak is a numbers man. He knows hes not going to be in the job much longer. This wont be his problem. Absolutely. And the pressure is now on obviously for labour to match the pledge. I mean theyve been doing this a lot on the sort of economic front where, essentially the tories promising something to and then saying laboun something to and then saying labour, can you do the same . Will it meet our fiscal rules . I will it meet our fiscal rules . I mean, they might think its clever politics, but i think the pubuc clever politics, but i think the public sees through it, what would you do, fraser, with the armed forces . I mean, when you look at things, i suppose weve got to evolve. Weve got to be smarter. Theres got to be new technology , raised. Theres got technology, raised. Theres got to be different ways of fighting wars. And theres prevention better than cure. Better than cure. I think, you know, we need to start asking questions about what the armed forces are for. I think, there have been not so much at the moment, but in the past ten, 20 years, i think theres been a lot too much sort of military adventurism. Weve been caught up in wars that we shouldnt have been caught up in, and particularly in the middle east. Today, less so. I think there is a moral case for arming ukraine, for defending israel, defending our allies, as the, you know, the world gets more dangerous. But i think thats got to be the more fundamental question. What is the what is the purpose of the british army . Well i was i was interested in norman baker, our newspaper contributor earlier on. And normans a former government minister. He was part of the coalition government. Hes a lib dem and hes saying immediately we should get rid of the Nuclear Deterrent. We should the Nuclear Deterrent. We should get rid of our submarines in the sea. We dont have too many of them. Five or so. But they i would have imagined and i think thats been reflected by people listening and watching today, that they are the biggest deterrent we have, that, you know, you can get rid of tanks, you can get rid of aircraft craig snell personnel, but surely you cant get rid of your your biggest, deterrent. Well, certainly, you know , well, certainly, you know, the way that the falls in personnel are going, you you wouldnt want to rely on, on purely conventional means to defend the uk. Now, obviously, Nuclear Weapons is a very complicated conversation when you dont want to be the one to you dont want to be the one to you dont want to be the one to you dont want to get anywhere close to starting a nuclear war. God help anyone who has to make that decision of, you know, having your finger on the trigger. No one wants to be in that position. But yeah, i think, its it seems odd at a time of increasing global tension to want to scale back defence. Anything. Mark jones has got in touch. It should be near a 5. That was the percentage of gdp it was dunng the percentage of gdp it was during the cold war era. Wasnt it . Right. Yeah, which this sort of talking about the peace dividend has run out, but we havent matched our spending havent matched our spending have we. So lots of people saying the defence should be increased to 3, 3. 5, or more for the global situation. Thats stephen lang, support ukraine now or put boots on the ground later. Thats what dan dare says. So lots of you really engagedin says. So lots of you really engaged in this story. I suppose the question is, with all the problems that we have at home, the amount of if were talking everything as a proportion of our gdp that we spend on the nhs, were talking about our schools. If were talking about all of our Public Services, our potholes yesterday, can we afford given up on those . Can we afford given up on those . Can we afford it or do we just have to accept, you know, poorer standards now and spend more on defence . Is we pleased to many people we spend too much money. Everybody who moans and groans gets money. Right. And you should actually turn out and say what is actually important for the country. And is defence spending the most important thing . I would imagine security of the country is number one, defence of the realm, defence, police, prisons , as you know, police, prisons, as you know, justice system, all that sort of thing , Health Service, the thing thing, Health Service, the thing that always depresses me about health. I think health is very, very important. But goodness sake, you could never stop spending on health. Well, exactly. Its a bottomless pit. Its a bottomless pit. Its a bottomless pit. Look at you this morning. Whats wrong with you . What do you. Everything. Yeah, everything. Everything. Yeah, everything. We could spend the whole budget on you today, i think. Brain transplant. Brain transplant. Forget there is a sense, you know, just broadly, that the pubuc know, just broadly, that the public realm is degrading , that public realm is degrading, that everything is getting a bit shabby and perhaps that becomes even more dangerous when it comes to defence, more dangerous to have a dilapidated armed forces than to have dilapidated roads, even though we deserve neither of those things. I think the key to this is, you know, weve got to get a lot more serious about, Economic Growth that seems to be absolutely the missing thing. Unless this truss economy not not the one that and made it a dirty phrase. Dirty phrase. Liz truss, not the liz truss kamikaze, method , but, you know, kamikaze, method, but, you know, the fact is that if we are wealthier, then we can afford to pay wealthier, then we can afford to pay for the things that we want. Not just defence, but excellent Health Service and excellent how to inspire people to get back to work and is it is possible. We shouldnt you know, we shouldnt accept the sort of lower standards , that seem to be standards, that seem to be coming from the political class. I agree brazier fascinating listening to you. Thank you very much indeed, fraser myers from spiked. Thank you. Right, its , today is a day you. Right, its, today is a day called stop food waste day. Right. And the new figures show that nearly 20 million food items are thrown away every single day in britain. Yeah, and a third of us have admitted to throwing away food solely based on the best before date, with 1 in 4 tossing it away without even checking if it is still edible, co founder of too good to go, jemmy crummy. Thats a good name for a guy in the food business. Crummy, thats very good. Jemmy. Look, tell me this, my friend, is all very well and good. And you having a moan about all this. But why do i care . Why . Why does but why do i care . Why . Why does it make a darn bit of difference in in anything . Whats the reality of all of this . By. By throwing stuff, by sniffing something and looking at a date and thinking, oh, maybe not. And chucking it away . Well, im glad youve asked me that. And its probably would be a terrible thing if we started throwing food away. You know, actually, if we if we zoom out a little bit and look at the, the scale of the problem , the, the scale of the problem, you know, 40 of the food that we produce globally ends up getting wasted. And this is huge ramifications not only from a from a financial point of view. You know, you were just speaking earlier about, you know, the defence costs and things like this. But jemmy, jemmy, jemmy, let me say jemmy, jemmy, jemmy, thats not my problem. Thats not my fault. That is these greedy, greedy Food Producers that feed us poison day after day and all sorts of rubbish and processed. Cant say the word rubbish again, so the point is, we are only the receivers of this. We only go along to the shop and buy a packet of biscuits or whatever. We dont, we dont. Were not in control of this. I would say to you, its the Food Producers. You raise a very valid point there. And of course, food Food Producers , Food Retailers have a producers, Food Retailers have a huge responsibility in all of this to help us reduce food waste. You know, as i was going to say, you know, food waste itself is one of the leading contributors to climate change, resulting in 10 of the worlds Greenhouse Gas emissions. But there are things that we can do as individuals and as you said earlier, you know, nearly 19. 5 million food items are being wasted every single day because we as consumers are confused about. Jemmy, jemmy, it doesnt matter if its in my cupboard or my fridge or on a supermarket shelf, if i dont buy it and dont use it, its still going to waste on supermarket shelves. What youre going to say eat it even if the best before date is gone and its not got green, fluffy, mouldy bits, you should consume it. You took the words right out of my mouth, yes. Of my mouth, yes. In short, what it is were trying to say is , you know, once trying to say is, you know, once food has gone beyond its best before date, that food itself is still safe to consume. But the problem is, there are so many different labels out there. We have used by dates, best before dates, display until sell by, and the list can go on. And because of all of these different, these different labels, theres a huge amount of confusion. And we as consumers, confusion. And we as consumers, you know, dont really know the difference. But well get rid of the labels. Then why arent you going to government or the Food Producers and say, get rid of your labels. So we are we are doing that actually eamonn and part of this campaign is here at too good to go. Weve teamed up with a whole host of retailers and fmcg brands to print a label on pack which tells consumers, you know, use their senses and trust their senses. So smell and taste their food. I keep cringing when you say that. Sorry to interrupt, but i mean, my mum was born in 1950. Perfect example of a post war baby. They didnt waste a thing growing up. Shes so frugal and sensible with everything to this day in her 70s that ill often catch her the fridge door. Having a little sniff, checking whether or not its gone out. No one else will want it, but bless her heart, she will eat it because she cant bear to waste a thing. And that has made me the opposite way. I cant bear to do the sniff test. I cant bear to make my children eat the stuff thats going off in the fridge. The way that my mum made us when we were growing up. Its something were human beings. We look, we, we enjoy our food with our with our eyes, with our nose. If somethings a little bit, you know, not perfect. We dont want to consume it, do we . Well, were talking here about, you know , food itself, about, you know, food itself, right. And i think we should make this clear distinction between use by date and best before products. And i think this is this is part of the problem. Use by dates, you know, they themselves are for a safety guidance metrics. Theyre for foods like fish, like chicken, like meats. But once thats gone beyond a date, youre probably going to get sick if you eat that. So were not trying to encourage people to eat food that isnt safe to eat. What were talking about here is food thats gone beyond its best before date. Were talking about fruit and veg. Were talking about pastas. Were talking about pastas. Were talking about cereals. Were talking about cereals. Were talking about cereals. Were talking about milk. Now, you may be pointing the finger at your, at your mother, but, you know, id actually championed what shes doing, you know, all probably , doing, you know, all probably, you know, sniff the milk before we pour it in our tea and coffee. This morning or on our cereals. Were just trying to put that confidence back into consumers because, as i mentioned earlier, food waste itself is not only a huge, huge financial problem. Yeah, its a huge environmental problem as well. Well, your label tells me your times up, jemmy. Weve got to weve got to say goodbye to you, thank you for that. Jimmys the co founder of too good to go, so have a have a think about what youre going to touch today or use today or not use today. Thank you very much indeed, jamie. Appreciate it. Right. Appreciate it. Right. Jemmy says smell the milk. I could not make me say the thing because every now and then you smell it and it is too far gone. And then youve got your nostrils filled with that cheesy, rancid milk smell i cant have. I cant have milk. I cant have milk. I cant have milk. I know, but then were part of the problem. No, part of the problem was that primary school. Primary school. We used to get the milk before mrs. Thatcher took it away. And the milk was set on top of radiators, and it curdled. And people also did things. They had straw in their milk and theyd blow into it. Bubbles and everything. It was bubbles and everything. It was gross. It was disgusting. Free milk at school and i loved it. Put me off milk for life. And elaine parish. Isabel, life. And elaine parish. Isabel, trust your mum. Shes right. Unless you plan your food, theres no waste. Then sniff it. Look at it. We cannot waste food. Who can afford to waste food . Livvy wilkes , we were less food . Livvy wilkes, we were less wasteful last century than we are now. Everyone use local shops and bought what they needed. You could buy two link sausages, two eggs, two rashers of bacon wrapped in paper. You had milk delivered and bottles returned, making us more green. And you only have to look at all the bins we have to see what we throw away. Yeah, yeah, thats thats a fair point. You couldnt go and say, give me two sausages. Now you have to have six or dozen or whatever it happens to be. And it was wrapped in paper anyway, wrapped in paper instead of cellophane, other news coming in this morning. Lets bring you up to date with whats there. The former leader of the democratic unionist party, thats sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Democratic unionist party, thats sirJeffrey Donaldson. He thats sir Jeffrey Donaldson. He will appear in Newry Magistrates Court this morning in Northern Ireland. He resigned as dup leader and was suspended from the party after he was charged with several historic Sexual Offences. Offences. Emma webber, the mother of the nottingham attack victim barnaby webber, has written an emotive open letter to members of a Police Whatsapp group after her sons body was described as properly butchered. Shes asked officers to have more compassion for victims and their families. Barnaby webber, Grace Omalley Kumar and ian coates were all stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane on june the 13th last year , labour will announce year, labour will announce today. Funding for 13,000 extra Neighbourhood Police officers by setting up a National Police savings body. Now there is a theres a title for you. What will that be about . Apparently will that be about . Apparently itll be used to buy vital kit, including police cars, it equipment, Forensic Services and more. Labour says the move will help tackle huge disparities between Police Forces around the country. Now on that point , let country. Now on that point, let me say this. Just come back to me say this. Just come back to me here. I have this thing about why every force in the land has different cars. Cut the music, forget the music, and why every police force in the land has different cars. Why . So theyll have kias. Theyll have bmw, theyll have fords, theyll have all sorts of things. Now, why cant there be a National Body like this one . Labour talking about and saying, right, we are going to a car manufacturer and were saying supply every force in the land with a certain amount of cars or whatever it happens to be, at a certain price. Right . So you get the best price for the best vehicles available. This higgledy piggledy. Yeah. And also, have you noticed that police cars, the transfers on them, the you know. Yeah. The different stickers colours theyre different. Yeah. Well apparently same for each force. The cost of a High Performance vehicle in merseyside was £55,000, double the £27,000 paid by lancashire. No rhyme or reason behind that. This is all based on a bunch of freedom of information requests that the labour party there will be a very good idea. One will be a bmw and one will be a kia. But thats the thing. Is the kia good enough . But it goes all the way down to motorcycle helmets, ranged from £467 in derbyshire to 628 in staffordshire. Even i want to say their truncheons , but they say their truncheons, but they dont use truncheons, do they, the other bit is that the truncheons . There are lots of different comparisons and its really interesting breakdown. There about equipment and how its spent waste. It is a complete waste. Its all oh its no, it look, im listening to you to throw a curve ball in and just break some news ive just seen on the press association, press association newswire relating to the former labour minister and crossbench peer, a prominent member of parliament in his day, frank field, and that is the news that 81 we are hearing this morning that he has died, yeah, his family have announced this morning and he was former labour minister, crossbench peer frank. Yes knew frank field. Thats very sad. Very sad. Right. Lets get the weather update. Good morning alex burkill. Alex burkill. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise, a decent amount of sunshine , especially amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though , it is going to feel a though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of yeah below average for the time of year. Generally, most places into double figures , but just into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east, as we go through tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere, calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning. Then this morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted wales. There may be a few dotted here also towards the north east across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again, generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side. Most places just about getting into double figures that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Weather on. Gb news. Are the sponsors of weather. We are the sponsors of the Great British giveaway and heres what it is. Its the final week to see how you can win our biggest prize yet. With thanks to variety cruises, a Family Company sailing. Since 1942, you have the chance to win a £10,000 seven night small boat cruise for two with flights, meals, excursions and drinks included. Youll be able to choose from any one of their 2025 greek adventures. Plus, youll also win £10,000 in tax free cash to make your summer sizzle. And well pack you off with these Luxury Travel gifts. Hurry as lines close on friday for another chance to win a prize worth over £20,000. Text win to 63232. Text cost £2 plus one Standard Network rate message , Standard Network rate message, or post your name and number to gb04, p0 or post your name and number to gb04, po box 8690. Derby dh1 nine two. Uk only entrants must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On friday. Full terms and Privacy Notice at gbnews. Com win. Please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck i demand. Good luck ten hag. The Manchester United manager, he says sunday was a disgrace , meaning the was a disgrace, meaning the questions from the press about his teams performance. Well ask paul coyte who deserves to be branded a disgrace right after this sport, were looking at the top of the premier league and the top of the championship. And, goodness me, leeds opening up for, not leeds, but for arsenal or leeds. Arsenal and, and or leeds. Arsenal and, and Leicester City. So tell us more doctor. Doctor. Big win for both of them last night. Yeah. Yeah. And arsenal are looking good. They are. You know as much as it they are. You know as much as it worries me because the north london derby is coming up on sunday. Ask what . Theyve scored more than five goals. Seven times in the premier league this year already. Chelsea were a sorry state and cole palmer was out. We mentioned him yesterday how good hes been for chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino saying were not the cole palmer team, were not the cole palmer team, were chelsea fc. Well, i think were chelsea fc. Well, i think they prefer the cole palmer team was playing yesterday. Yeah, it was playing yesterday. Yeah, it was 41 goals hes been involved in and either scoring or assisting with. Yeah hes hes honestly hes been terrific. Hes definitely go to the euros. If he doesnt therell be a joke. Hes 21 years old. But enough of him. It was it was all about arsenal. So the heaviest loss ever lost that chelsea have had to arsenal. Worst london derby that chelsea have had since 1986. So its always with chelsea. And i think chelsea chelsea. And i think chelsea fans feel the same way, one step forward, a couple of steps back. Then he might have a couple forward and then another one back. Itsjust forward and then another one back. Its just taking time. So whether theyve got the patience in pochettino, i dont know. But its not that thats a bad defeat. Its an embarrassing defeat. Its an embarrassing defeat. Its an embarrassing defeat. You dont want to lose to rivals. Live at five, southampton. Big loss to Leicester City but leicester flying in the championship. They really are now. So they are one win away from going back up to the premier league. 100 points is still possible. So theyve got a couple of games to go. Southampton look like theyre going to be in the play offs and its leeds possibly. So well its leeds possibly. So well just have to see how things go there because its getting very close. Theres only 2 or 3 games for most clubs. Left liverpool i should mention are away to everton. So weve got a Merseyside Derby tonight. Yeah. And lets talk about a new manager. So obviously with jurgen klopp going yes. But this guy thats been associated with liverpool from feyenoord, never heard of him. Have you not. No. Well you might have heard of him because his name has been mentioned with a couple of jobs going leeds. I think it was when jesse marsch went, his name was mentioned when spurs were looking for a manager, his name was mentioned again. The reason is all clubs are looking for the, you know, the best new cab off the rank. Basically and thinking, well, who could we go to . Hes won the eredivisie in holland. So you know, with all respect , so did know, with all respect, so did erik ten hag. Yes. And hes won the hes won the dutch cup as well. So hes won that this yeah well. So hes won that this year. And theyre thinking oh yeah what kind of football does he play. He plays attacking football and entertaining football, which is what everybody wants. But whether its going to work coming over here i dont know. But hes the favourite at the moment for liverpool arnie slot arnie slot arnie slot. Thats arnie. You dont get many arnies around these do you. Oh, so famous arnie schwarzenegger. I cant think of any other arnie. Arnie . Arnie anyway. Erik ten hag. I think hes made a big mistake. Instead of coming out and saying. Yeah, united, was and saying. Yeah, united, was pretty embarrassing on sunday. It should not happen again. Well go to the final. Well beat city. Whatever. He starts criticising the press, he says the only disgrace on sunday was the only disgrace on sunday was the press questioning the united win. Nonsense. Absolute nonsense, isnt it . Youve got to. If isnt it . Youve got to. If youre playing against a championship side, weve been through it. Three nil up, 15 minutes to go. You end it and then it ends up three, three. And it looked like coventry were going to win. With that disallowed goal, youd go out and say, look, it was not good. We were embarrassed. You know, like you say, well go again for the final. Yeah. But instead hes gone. Hes doubled down and gone. Well actually no, its a disgrace. What should we what he said. Is it worth us here. Said. Is it worth us here. Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah. This is when this is at the press conference yesterday. So erik ten hag is being asked about it and whether he would feel embarrassed by what Manchester United , how Manchester United, how Manchester United, how Manchester Uniteds performance was. This is what he had to say. No. Absolutely not. And you made it off. And no one was made. The question is it embarrassing now . The reactions from you was embarrassed. Embarrassed. Why do you say that . Why it is the comments in football, top football is about results and we made it to the final and that is huge achievement. And twice in two years is magnificent for me as a manager for cup finals in four years. And so the comments are disgrace i lets talk about how great i am 40 something, but the thing is, you cant talk about how great he is. No. No. Yeah, i cant bear it. Right. Okay. Isabel, you have this thing. Me rage. I mean, look, my job is always to ask difficult questions, and if we in a world where you cant ask difficult questions, all you get is these reporters lining up, asking sycophantic questions , and then sycophantic questions, and then you dont actually have anyone holding the management to account of the football clubs or the players or any of that representing the fans. Its just representing the fans. Its just its like a putin press conference. But, you know, why . But, you know, why . Do you know why that is . No. And this, this drives me crazy. Sponsorship money. Sponsorship money. Its not even money. Its not even money. Money. Money. Theres a lot. And when you hear sports interviews, which just bugs me and you think, well, why dont you ask this . Why dont you ask . Because they are scared that the club will then say you were out of order. You are not. Now youre banned from the club and the tv company wont back them up. Correct . Because money and sponsorship is everything. So sponsorship is everything. So these guys win and they can say whatever they want and no one can. Yeah. And thank goodness its only football. Dont shoot me. But you know to me its just everything thats wrong. And journalists, all you want to do is be able to ask questions freely. And i feel so sorry. And jurgen klopp did the same and i thought that was outrageous. More power to people that are brave enough to actually have the nerve to do it. Because ive spoken to presenters and commentators who afterwards and ive spoken to me afterwards and said, yeah, maybe i was a bit out of order. And i say, you werent. Yeah, they doubt themselves. Absolutely. Gaslighting of the worst order. It is. It is. And its not what fans want to see. Fans want to see real questions 100. You must be really heartened by that. Win that defeat, or whatever the heckit that defeat, or whatever the heck it happens to be. Anyway, look what i said. Digress. Well thats all very well, but tell me, whats your favourite colour . Yeah, whose birthday is it today . Right. Do you want to go for these . Lets. Lets do the birthdays. Okay. Lets do the birthdays. Okay. Lets see. Here we go. We got the first one. Please, please. I think, we have a picture of someone very well known. Thats not me. So there we are. Is that Stuart Pearce . Is that Stuart Pearce . Stuart pearce scoring for england. Probably euro 96 believe. Yep yep yep. Yep yep yep. So how old Stuart Pearce today please. Today please. Oh ive ive interviewed Stuart Pearce recently. Hes psycho. Hes psycho. Hes psycho. Hes hes not as old as me i reckon 50. Yeah. Oh no no no no no no no 55. No no hes 60. No no hes 60. Hes hes id say hes about 62. 62 is the correct answer. Seriously 62 is correct. Lets go with another one. Thats terrible. Thats terrible. Come on isabel. Now these now 30. Thats me. Theres three. Theres three. Theres three. Theres theres three. Theres the first one. Now that is who . Lee westwood, lee westwood, big Nottingham Forest fan playing liv golf at the moment. Now theres gabby logan. Now these are all born on exactly the same day. Lee westwood, gabby logan. Day. Lee westwood, gabby logan. There she is with kenny, the husband there on the bike ride. And the other one is the greatest indian , probably greatest indian, probably greatest indian, probably greatest indian, probably greatest indian cricketer thats ever been. Sachin tendulkar. So sachin tendulkar, lee westwood and gabby logan all born on exactly the same day. So how old are they today . 52, 52. Fixated on this is a good guess. Okay, 50 but its not right. 5051 oh, down the middle middle. One more, one more. Can we got time for one more . Yeah. Yeah. Who is this and how old is she . There we are. We talked about the other day, dame laura kenny, the cyclist. Yeah. Most. Well shes won more goals than any other. I dont think shes not old. I dont think shes not old. No, i think shes about 33. No, i think shes about 33. Yeah. Yeah. 31. Three maybe. Okay. 32. 31. Three maybe. Okay. 32. Bibi. Bibi bibi. Bibi range, shes. What are you going with . 32. 32. 32. 32. I feel like 31, actually. I feel like 31, actually. What do youve got . 31, 31, 33, 32. Stop it. Stop it. What was the 32 . Yes 32. What was the 32 . Yes 32. Oh, well, we were in the right zone. Were not disgraced. It was very good, very good. I do enjoy these games. I do enjoy these games. Good game. Good highlights. Good game, good game. Highlight of my morning. Ive got to say. And the scores on the doors with norman baker and, rest as a Snooker Table by the way today. Stop it. And actually renee dressed as a snooker ball. Theyre coming up black and white. Sorry. Sorry. Stop talking. The things. One of the things were going to talk about, later on in the programme is the labour party coming up with this new, body, which will regularise pricing and save money throughout british Police Forces. Okay. All throughout the land. Forces. Okay. All throughout the land. And isabels head upon land. And isabels head upon some examples of what will be regularised. Right. So in merseyside , the cost of so in merseyside, the cost of a High Performance Police Vehicle is £55,000, which is twice the price in lancashire. Makes no sense. Its 27 grand there. They like the wheels in merseyside. Maybe, but thats not justification. That could save money, that could put bobbies on the street. A Standard Police baton £20 in leicestershire apparently for the force there, 120, in northamptonshire. And 120, in northamptonshire. And this ones interesting extracting data from a mobile phonein extracting data from a mobile phone in derbyshire costs £5,100, five times more than in Staffordshire Police force. My word, my word. My word, my word. Right. Well, anyway, we have got Renee Hoenderkamp with this and norman baker and theyre talking about this story and various other stories in the news. Norman, im just surprised that there is not more regularisation amongst the Police Forces in the land. Well, i mean, there are a vast number of different Police Forces and they all run their own affairs. And thats probably why we got to the situation, which is here. Actually, this press release from labour is actually quite a good press release identifying some of these inconsistencies. But, you know, one of the problems, i think, is that Public Sector is not very good at commissioning. Its not very good at arranging contracts. And i saw when i saw the department for transport, huge waste of money, because the staff , the Civil Servants there staff, the Civil Servants there werent qualified to handle complicated contracts. And in my time we lost £100 million unnecessarily on the west coast main line simply as a consequence of that. So i think whats happening here is that, were getting were getting bits and pieces of equipment commissioned from, from different Police Forces without them necessarily knowing what them necessarily knowing what the best value is. The best value is. You see, i have this thing renee about cars and i just dont understand why police cars arent standardised throughout the whole country and made in the whole country and made in the uk. Yes, yes, you put an order in, you put a submission and you say, we want 100,000 police cars around the country. What are you going to charge us for . What are you ford going to charge us . Kia . What are you going to charge us . Bmw . What are you going to charge us and get the best price . So this has been one of my bugbears in the nhs since i joined, having been in private and private business beforehand, i worked in a major london Teaching Hospital where the syringes were bought from Different Companies floor to floor, and then didnt fit the machines that they were paying maintenance and contracts to the. The nhs has this exactly the. The nhs has this exactly the same. Its called nhs procurement. It was set up to do exactly the same thing. It has failed because nhs trusts dont all belong to it. So they dont all belong to it. So they dont all use it. And im like you eamonn. I used to say, why dont we say to all of the drug companies, we are going to buy our penicillin from five of you, get your bids ready, and actually you can give us a golden handshake as well because you cant buy it from one. You have to buy it for more than one. Why are we buying it bit by bit across the country from different people . And its the same in the police. But were going to spend money on a body to actually do this, and it wont work because people wont play wont work because people wont play with it. Just as it hasnt worked in the nhs. Well, thats depressing, but it also feeds into the, defence story today about just procurement and Civil Servants and contracts and defence spending and waste, it is a worry. It certainly needs reform and maybe labour is right to highlight it and to sort of expose the waste and the discrepancies. Maybe it will change. If you look at defence procurement over the years, i mean, its been a disgrace. Its because everything that you order is late and its over budget and sometimes doesnt work, and they never seem to learn the lessons. Know the mod and its when you say late out of date by the time it comes into commission, out of date been superseded and whatever. But why is that . Norman, youve been on the inside of government. Why does everything lag . Why does everything lag . Why does everything there obviously are too many people involved in the Decision Making process. One would have thought. I come back to the point about the Civil Service, the Civil Service, which is which ive got a lot of time for the Civil Service, but they are not very good at handling commercial contracts. They dont understand private business properly. They dont take it for a ride. What it is, is its not their money. So when you work for a private company, as i did, you spend every pound like its your own. Civil servants arent spending their money. Theyre spending their money. Theyre spending ours and they just dont. Partly true. They dont feel it. And the problem is, is that just like a wedding, as soon as you say to somebody, id like some photographs, please. And you put the word wedding in front of it, it goes up five times. Same for anything in government. And actually, with the power of the, you know, the nhs is the biggest employer in europe. We should have the cheapest prices, not the most expensive. Absolutely. Yeah. I think we can all agree on that. I want to know whether i can thump you in nottingham with a truncheon and its £100. Will it snap . Will it snap . Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Its, is it made of jelly. Its, is it made of jelly. Its, is it made of jelly. It cost me £20 and it cost me £120 elsewhere. That is that is a big obvious glaring. Well im interested to know whether they are different criteria applied to whether the battle or different types of criminals. Criminals. Who knows. Who knows. Are they particularly worse . Are they particularly worse . Maybe the £21 are just, sticks from the local park. Exactly the Green Initiative there. Were going to take a quick pause from the papers, but we will be back okay. If you say to me in your day, eamonn and your time back in the day. Back in the day. I could sue you. I could sue you. And sue you. I could sue you. And why . Why, norman . Can i sue if someone uses the phrase back in your day , why can you sue . Your day, why can you sue . Well, because theres a nursing assistant who who took action. Shes sued for age harassment on the basis that a younger colleague had said the nhs operation that she was referring to had been free. Quote, back in your day. And she quote, back in your day. And she decided this was so horrendous. She took this to an employment tribunal and the judge declared that, yes, that phrase could be regarded as h harassment. I mean, it seems to me rather ridiculous. Ridiculous. Yes, yes, because i want to hear about what it was like back in the olden days before electricity and cars. Enlighten me. Well, both of you chaps, im paying me. Well, both of you chaps, im paying facetious. But, you know, there is a point about wanting to know about previous times called experience. Yeah. You know, an experience is that youve gone through which all arent necessarily bad. I think its wrong to just assume that because it was history , its wrong or its bad history, its wrong or its bad or its outdated. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the first time i heard the phrase actually was, was back in back in your day, back in my day when john lennon used it, on television with Eric Morecambe , and he said, oh, its morecambe, and he said, oh, its not like in your day, eric, you know, and eric was, faked this outrage of course, he wasnt bothered at all, but you faked this outrage. But i mean, you know, it can be just seen as a way of just saying, youre a bit older than me. Well, so what, you know is that. But also could be perceived as youre not relevant. Thats thats what it could be as well. Ageism, though, is definitely rife. And i do think its it is its really getting worse actually. I feel. Yeah. And i think as we, as we move into a world where people are going to need to work until theyre 70 before they get their pension, we need to overcome this ageism, which certainly does exist. But then i guess theres all sorts of things, like Older Workers with more experience will be more expensive than a younger worker, and often not as up to speed with changes in technology. So the younger people who are paid a pittance compared to the older ones, then feel frustrated because they think its unfair. But i actually think its to do with people all scattering around the world, not living near their grandparents, not really interacting with that older generations. Yeah, because i think i will always have respect for elderly people because i was so close to my grandparents until they died. Yeah. And you understand what they brought to the party . Absolutely. Renee lets talk about family connections on that, on that subject, so like father, like son, dont count on it. Suggest scientists. This is front page of the times today. Im quite astounded that this is front page of the times, because its a non Peer Reviewed papeh because its a non Peer Reviewed paper. It has not been examined for its inconsistencies on how valid it is and that really upsets me because that happened in covid, where we saw this rush of papers that were not Peer Reviewed, so not critiqued, not the inconsistencies werent pointed out. So thats number one to know about this study. Basically, what it says is only about 40 of our personality comes from our parents. The rest is how much of a percent . 40, about 40. So that Study Suggests that people inherit surprisingly little of their parents personality. Personality. Well, 40, i think is quite a lot. I think that is almost half , i think that is almost half, as i might say. But also, we all see it. We all see it, and we all know the phrase that apple never falls far from the tree is true, because i can see it in my children. Im sure you can see it said this last night. We went out for dinner last night because it was my birthday. Oh, happy birthday and we went for a very early dinner and my daughter is a mini me in everything. Her mannerisms, the things that she says, you know, everything. And it has to have an effect because they learn from us, they mimic us. Maybe as they get a bit older, that gets watered down. But im not convinced by this study either. Yeah. Me neither. What do you think, norman . Well, i mean, i think, norman . Well, i mean, i think inherited. Is that mean on day one that your genetically inherit something . Or does it mean that youre in the same environment as you grow up . In which case, of course, you you pick you pick up your parents attributes. No, but i mean, you can have the same environment and two children and you can see one of your children takes after one of the partners and the other child takes after the other. I see that all the time. And thats not environment. Its im no scientist, but i dont buy this one. This paper either. Well, there we go. Well, there we go. It makes two of us. It makes two of us. Well, it just might be that one child feels more comfortable with one parent than the other parent. I mean, who knows . But doctor, a quick word about his epic. This is this diabetic drug which has been used for weight loss. Okay, this is really interesting because there are women in america who have been told by doctors to take it if they want to get pregnant. Thats dangerous because the manufacturer says that you shouldnt take this for at least two months before you get pregnant because of birth defects in animals. Theres a really important point here. Women have safer pregnancies and get pregnant more if they are of a healthy weight. So thats number one. But thats why the doctor will be telling them to take it. If theyre obviously having fertility problems, lose weight. Its nothing. Right. Its nothing. Right. But but this is seen as the shortcut to getting. If you lose 5 to 10 of your body weight, you can trigger ovulation in someone who has polycystic ovarian syndrome. So there are other safer drugs that you can use, like metformin helps you lose weight. Its another diabetic drug, but it is. It doesnt have these worries , so i think the message worries, so i think the message here is firstly, you cant cheat, you need to lose weight healthily. And secondly , dont healthily. And secondly, dont put a drug in your body that might damage your baby. Yeah okay. Okay. Renee thank you very much indeed, norman. Appreciate it. See you both again in 45 minutes. Right now youre going to see the weather with alex burkill. Burkill. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment , its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots , and there are rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east. As we go through tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning, then this morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted here. Also towards the northeast, across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again, generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures. Double figures. Looks like things are heating up. Boxt boilers sponsors of up. Boxt boilers sponsors of weather on and thank you for being with us, my friends , for watching and my friends, for watching and listening. This is breakfast on gb news. Im Eamonn Holmes and thats Isabel Webster. And heres whats leading the news this morning. Its the biggest boost for defence spending in a generation, with the Prime Minister vowing billions more by the end of the decade, announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence for a generation. Over the next six years, well invest an additional £75 billion in our. Defence. Yes, the Prime Minister putting the uk, he says. Uk putting the uk, he says. Uk defence spending on a war footing. Poland and yesterday berlin. Today hell be meeting with the german chancellor, later announcing a cooperation, investment and he says hundreds more jobs for britain. Ill bnng more jobs for britain. Ill bring you the details and we will be live from berlin this morning. Big questions over whether rwanda flights will act as a deterrent. After 250 migrants deterrent. After 250 migrants attempted to cross the channel following the deaths of five. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will appearin sir Jeffrey Donaldson will appear in court today. Hes charged with historic Sexual Offences Dougie Beattie with the latest. Latest. This is the end of speculation around the charges where he levelled against sir Jeffrey Donaldson, as his case now begins in jury. And the last surviving veteran of a World War Ii Special forces regiment has been brought home to join the Chelsea Pensioners and will be sharing his incredible story today. Kids should know more about the sacrifice their forefathers made, not me. Im no hero but they, like they were the raf boys had died and people like that. They dont realise that they dont know much about it. They dont even know who hitler was. Half of them. So many. Chelsea pence is happy with the result. Yesterday, arsenal certainly didnt look like chokers or bottlers as they go back to the top of the premier league. After hammering chelsea five nil, Leicester City are on the verge of heading back to the premier league. Also. They won five nil against southampton and although it happened three years ago, the chinese swimming drug accusations wont go away as wada are accused by usada over a test by shinada. Hello, its a bit chilly out today , but at least for many of today, but at least for many of us it is going to be largely dry and there will be some decent spnng and there will be some decent spring sunshine too. I love the details in the full forecast. Details in the full forecast. Leading today with the biggest defence boost in ten years, the Prime Minister says he will increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp , and spending to 2. 5 of gdp, and that will be to the end of the decade. An extra £75 billion. Well , decade. An extra £75 billion. Well, earlier we spoke to the defence secretary, grant shapps, and he revealed that Civil Service cuts could pay for this new spending and will come from his own department. The world as weve been saying, as i was saying back in my speech in january, is looking more dangerous. I think its very important for britain to play very important for britain to play its leadership part. The Prime Minister has stepped up and has done that in a very significant way. And i think this is very, very good for , this is very, very good for, news for the united kingdom, our security and also for our leadership in the rest of the world. More on this is the Prime Minister continues his european trip. Hes in germany today. Hes in berlin. Lets go to Katherine Forster for us this morning to tell us more. What what will be on the agenda . We had that big announcement yesterday. What are you expecting today, catherine . Yes. Good morning. Eamonn and isabel from berlin, poland, yesterday. Berlin today rishi sunak will be meeting with german business leaders. Also, the german chancellor, olaf scholz. There will be a press conference this lunchtime. And conference this lunchtime. And hes going to talk about germany and the uk as that europes powerhouses say that they are the largest two economies in europe. And we expect him to europe. And we expect him to announce a joint work on artillery systems, which he says are going to bring hundreds of jobs to germany and to the united kingdom. Were also expecting some £8 billion of investment into the uk to be announced by german businesses. So some good news all around. I so some good news all around. I think yesterday the Prime Minister was trying really to lead by example with this big announcement of the increase in defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp by the end of the decade. We know, of course, where the second largest spender in nato , second largest spender in nato, many European Countries have simply not been paying their fair share for a very, very long time. I asked the secretary general of nato about this yesterday in the press conference. He was keen to stress that countries are in fact, improving their record. But germany , here they are, but germany, here they are, a newfound convert to paying their bits really into, defence spending. Theyve upped it massively as you would expect, following the invasion of russia into ukraine. But theres many countries that are not paying that now. One other point, i also asked rishi sunak at the press conference about the military. Its all very well putting all this extra money in, but there is a recruitment crisis, many of our young people simply have no interest in serving their country in this way. I asked him about that, and he was, of course, talking to troops at a military base near warsaw , and he thanked them for warsaw, and he thanked them for their service. And he did also apologise. Guys, he said, im apologise. Guys, he said, im sorry that things like accommodation in havent always been to the standard that you would expect and the kit, he said. We we will do right by you. Of course, thats rather eafieh you. Of course, thats rather easier, said than done. Catherine, thank you very much indeed. Have you ever been to berlin . Have you ever been to berlin . Ive never been to berlin. Its on the list. Yeah, its on the list. Its a very big party city as well. Big party scene. My wife lived there for three years. Three years or four years or so. Her parents were in the armed forces, and they were based in in berlin. And i brought her back for her birthday one year to the house that she lived in. And she was very emotional about it and whatever. And i walked up and this little maisonette, and there was a woman washing the dishes. She was in her kitchen and i thought, im going to ring the bell. Did you asked . Yeah. And so i went and i rang the bell. The woman came to the door and i said, excuse me. My wife used to live here and she lived here for five years. And is there any chance of seeing inside slam the door. And she went, no. Oh, what a shame. Oh, what a shame. You know, funnily enough, we on saturday i messaged you, didnt i . We were at thruxton race course. My husband had got one of those racing driver days out and its near a lot of the army barracks, Middle Wallop and andover and all of that. And thats where my husbands family were deployed for a while. So we did the exact same thing, went to his house where he grew up, showed the children we didnt ring the doorbell, but we sort of took a picture and looked at it, imagined liam as a child, andifs it, imagined liam as a child, and its quite nice doing that. Its very disappointing. They didnt let you in. Oh no. Maybe they didnt speak english and they didnt speak english and they thought you were a lunatic. Well, they probably thought i was a lunatic anyway, but. Yeah yeah. So that was that the time now, 8 07, were going to bring you now two stories, a massive story in Northern Ireland. And the leader or the former leader of the democratic unionist party, sir Jeffrey Donaldson , he party, sir Jeffrey Donaldson, he will appear in Newry Magistrates Court this morning. He resigned as dup leader. He was suspended from the party after he was charged with several historical Sexual Offences. We go to our correspondent from Northern Ireland, Dougie Beattie, on this one to explain more. And dougie, theres a lot we cant talk aboutin theres a lot we cant talk about in relation to this case, so im not sure how tethered you are by what you can say or not. But over to you my friend. Yes. Well good morning eamonn. Isabel and welcome to, newry, yes. This, this there has been a lot of speculation around this case in fact, social media is full of it and it could actually endanger the case itself. This is a political shockwave to Northern Ireland. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is the longest serving politician in Northern Ireland. He was, he was the leader of the democratic unionist party. He came from the ulster unionist party. And he really came under the political spotlight in 1983 when he ran, Enoch Powells , campaign for Enoch Powells, campaign for westminster, in which enoch took the seat for south down. So thats the type of pedigree were talking about here. This man is a political giant in Northern Ireland, and for the last 3 to 4 weeks since his arrest at the end of march, speculation has been rife as to what exactly he was facing. What exactly he was facing. Well, that speculation will end today when we hear the charges that are read out against him. And of course, we cant report on them at this moment in time, but that will about 1030 this morning. That will happen. But really, he will understand, as most politics do, that opt out politicians do the optics in around this. We do believe hes in Northern Ireland this morning. We do believe that he will appear at that court. And for any politician, the optics of actually appearing in a court and saying, i didnt do it. And actually appearing here via rather than by video link is most important to this case, this case, there is no doubt about it, will have damaged him beyond all belief politically , beyond all belief politically, what he will be charged with and how he will explain that away, is yet to be seen. And of is yet to be seen. And of course, he says that he is innocent in this and he will fight it, for his defence, right to the very last. So we will see today. Does he arrive, and will he speak to the media afterwards . And will he explain exactly what has gone on . Well, i know youll be there all day and well be crossing back and forward, speaking to you. Dougie so, good luck, my friend. Thank you very much indeed for your time this morning. Thank you, dougie, mentioning , morning. Thank you, dougie, mentioning, enoch morning. Thank you, dougie, mentioning , enoch powell there. Mentioning, enoch powell there. It just made me. It just made me smile. So i had a girlfriend at the time who lived 100 yards away from me and enoch powell left the conservative party, and he became a member of the official unionists in Northern Ireland. Right so he had a seat in Northern Ireland and he was campaigning and he would call to my girlfriends parents house, where she lived, because her father was a dental technician. So enoch would come and he would take his false teeth out. Stop, stop it. Stop, stop it. These stories, he would take his false teeth out. This is true. And then her dad had to fix his false teeth. No. No. No. And he was a regular. And he was a regular. He would then become a didnt pay he would then become a didnt pay for it, wasnt a patient, just came to the door. No, no he did. Sorry. No, no he did. Sorry. He literally came to the door and he said would you fix my teeth . And her husband, he fixed he fixed the teeth. And so its quite strange. Your your claim to fame. Yeah. What a story. What a story. Well, well add that to the list of incredible stories. Time 8 11 oclock on this time 8 11oclock on this wednesday morning. Wednesday morning. Yeah, and some breaking news to lead our bulletin with this morning that we have received overnight. The former labour minister and the crossbench peeh minister and the crossbench peer, frank field, has died at the age of 81. Thats been announced by his family this morning. Lord field of birkenhead, died in a london care home following a period of illness. He was director of the Child Poverty action group between 1969 and 1979, and the member of for parliament birkenhead between 1979 and 2019. Emma webber, the mother of the nottingham attack victim barnaby webber, has written an emotive open letter to members of a Police Whatsapp group after her sons body was described as, i quote, properly butchered. Shes asked officers to have more compassion for victims and their families. More compassion for victims and theirfamilies. Barnaby more compassion for victims and their families. Barnaby webber, grace omalley , grace omalley grace omalley, Grace Omalley Kumar and ian coates were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane on octoberjune 13th calocane on october june 13th last year. Last year. Labour is announcing funding for 13,000 extra Neighbourhood Police officers today by setting up a National Police savings body. It will be used to buy vital kit, including police cars. It equipment, Forensic Services and more and they say the move will help to tackle huge disparities between Police Forces across the country. Well forces across the country. Well be speaking to the shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, about that in around 45 minutes time. Weve been talking about that labour move throughout the programme this morning and really it reeks of common sense politics. The fact that we have so many Different Police services or forces call them what you will and they all buy. Theyre equipment from different outlets and they pay different pnces outlets and they pay different prices for it. And they they have different. We were talking about the quality of cars. I mean, in some parts of the country, cars are double the price that they are in in others. Why should that be the case . Why should this not all be bafic case . Why should this not all be basic economics . Basic economics . Economies of scale . If youre buying police cars for the entire country and all the forces, you get a better price than if you buy from lots of different places, all different prices, so yeah, i think this is definitely to be tabled under the common sense politics category. And a lot of people category. And a lot of people would say, sounds like a good idea. And what dictates whether you drive a, you know, a fiat uno as a police car or a, you know, bmw six series. I think the ones that can get 0 to 60 more quickly or , you 0 to 60 more quickly or, you know, run more efficiently, those should be the criteria. But yeah, well speak to Emily Thornberry about all of that and the rest of the days politics a little bit later on. But in the meantime, alex burkill has your forecast cold, chilly start this morning. Three degrees where we were. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east. As we go through tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning, then this morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted here. Also towards the north east, across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures. Double figures. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on. Gb news a wonderful thing on. Gb news a wonderful thing that summer is a long way away, doesnt it . With the forecast a little bit all over the place. Not necessarily. Not necessarily. If you enter our competition, the Great British giveaway, where its just full of sunshine and ships and sea and loveliness and ships and sea and loveliness and £10,000 cash and lots of travel gifts , and you put it all travel gifts, and you put it all together. Its worth 20 grand and it could be yours. Its the final week to see how you can win our biggest prize yet. Theres an incredible £10,000 in tax free cash to spend however you like. Plus, courtesy of variety cruises , a courtesy of variety cruises, a bespoke seven night small boat cruise for two worth £10,000 with flights, meals, excursions and drinks included, your next houday and drinks included, your next holiday could be on us. Choose any one of their 2025 greek adventures and find your home at sea. Well also send you packing with these Luxury Travel gifts. 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I dont like it when they tell the reporter what they should and shouldnt ask. And whats a good question or not . Otherwise well just be asking them what their favourite colour is. Yeah, yeah, okay. Well erik ten hag favourite colour doesnt represent the press in any way at the moment. He calls represent the press in any way at the moment. He calls them represent the press in any way at the moment. He calls them a disgrace. Paul coyte with his view after this. 2024 a battleground year. 2024 a battleground year. The year the nation decides. The year the nation decides. As the parties gear up their campaigns for the next general election. Who will be left standing when the british people make one of the biggest decisions of their lives . Who will rise and who will fall . Lets find out together for every moment. The highs, the lows, the twists and turns. Well be with you for every step of this journey in 2024. Gb news is britains election. Channel. A lot of business going on the top of the leagues. The top of the english premier league, the top of the championship. Paul coyte to tell us what happened. And two big scores. Similar scores. Five nil. Ill tell you what the arsenal did well against chelsea. Five nil. Anybody that thought that arsenal possibly were going to bottle it, are we going to get a little bit wobbly and wouldnt have the guts for the end of it . Ill tell you what, theyre proving them wrong because chelsea were destroyed by arsenal yesterday. Were they destroyed or were they just rubbish. Thats thats they just rubbish. Thats thats the thing. I mean i61, half a dozen or the other or 5 or 1. And i think this is a brilliant result for arsenal. Absolutely incredible. Its a three point lead now i think over liverpool. Youve got city trailing there as well. So tight at the top. Not over by any means but you look at the chelsea situation and you say look you can lose one nil two nil to arsenal. Yeah three one whatever. But five nil i predicted three nil to arsenal yesterday and i didnt think it was going to be as many as five. Cole palmer. Yeah this is the kid that was missing 21 year old. Hes been a revelation. Hes been chelseas best player by a long way. And he was ill and missed the game. And pochettino said yesterday you know were not just the cole palmer team. We are chelsea football club. But it pretty much proved that without him. Yeah, they really are in trouble. And yes, what do you think of it so far . Rubbish. It was they werent very good but but arsenal, they, they just are moving on and on and theres a huge game on sunday because its the north london derby. So this is i hate to use any cliches whatsoever, but all bets are off when it comes to it. Is that at the emirates or spurs . At spurs its at spurs. So arsenal are going to go there. Arsenal are going to go there. Very confident and thinking is it going to be this high line where you get, you get spurs pushing forward the whole time that theyre going to be able to hit over the top. Well just have to see how things go. But it will be a ding dong, leicester look as if theyre going to. Well they will be the automatic promotion. Theyre just a point or so away from it. Yeah. They just well they one win away. Yeah. Thats, thats in the championship. Back to where they should be. Yeah. Theyre five. Five nil. They beat southampton. So they need to win just one of their next two matches. So theyve got preston or blackburn which you would imagine they would be able to get through if leeds lose at Queens Park Rangers. Because now were getting to the permutations. So who who wins what and when it comes to points basically if leeds lose at Queens Park Rangers on friday, leicester are automatically promoted and then youve got ipswich who are just behind them. So its between ipswich, leeds and leicester for the automatic promotions, whereas southampton, theyre probably just out of that now. Theyre going to be in the play offs. How things look at the moment still possible. Very emphatic win, a very disappointing thing for them. Whos been connected. Name come out of the hat today about the next liverpool manager. What do you think of, arnie slot arnie slot. Its a lovely name, isnt it, arnie . Slot. Arnie slot. The feyenoord. So arnie slot is. Feyenoord. So arnie slot is. Every now and again you get a european manager that appears that everybody thinks hes the guy. Theres arnie, he looks like ten hag. Yeah, its like like ten hag. Yeah, its like ten hag or bruce willis there. I think he probably prefer bruce willis, but its that danish manager look, that seems to be en vogue at the moment. But there he is. Hes the final manager. He had success last yeah manager. He had success last year, and he took them to win the eredivisie. And hes won the dutch cup this year. So theyre thinking, well, this is the guy. He plays attacking football. He plays entertaining football. So maybe hes the one for liverpool. Theres nothing been done yet. Nothings been sorted out yet. But something needs to be sorted out soon because Jurgen Klopps on his way at the end of the season. Theyre looking for the next manager. They know its not going to be xabi alonso because he is going to stay in germany, so it looks like possibly arnie slot because engush like possibly arnie slot because english clubs have been interested in him. I just have a feeling erik ten hag may be on his way, a close season at and i just dont think he did himself any good in yesterdays , news any good in yesterdays, news conference, he was asked, was he embarrassed by uniteds performance on sunday . This is what he had to say. No absolutely not. And you made it off and no one was made. The question is it embarrassing now . The reactions from you was embarrassed. Embarrassed. Why do you say that . Why do you say that . Well, it is the comments in football top football is about results and we made it to the final and that is huge achievement. And twice in two years is magnificent for me as a manager for cup finals in four years. And so the comments are disgrace. But he misunderstands. Theyre not comments, theyre questions. You know, its yes, its not sitting there going well done. Congratulations. That was lovely. Fantastic. Were there to say, well what could you done better. Are you happy with this. Was that not a bit of embarrassment . Youre right. I mean, lets look at the evidence. Lets look at the evidence. Lets look at the evidence. I like to look at the evidence. Semi final if the fa cup on sunday. Manchester united three nil up against coventry. As you would imagine, a team is a league below them. Yes. And cruising then coventry score. Then they score again. Then they get a penalty score again. The tide turns, goes to extra time and it looks like coventry are going to win it. And then theres the offside goal. Theyre leading on penalties. Remember then and the shoot out as well. And they scored the first penalty. So anyway you look at that and you can see it was a capitulation by Manchester United. There was no question. And that should not have happened. Soit and that should not have happened. So it was embarrassing. It was embarrassing question i dont think theres any Manchester United fans. Manchester united fans. I mean eamonn in point, whos telling you say i was i was embarrassed by one. If he thinks that Manchester United fans are sitting saying, yo, we did that absolutely brilliant class performance. Whatever we think we werent worthy of it. Actually. Were a bit lucky to be there. Were delighted to be there. I mean, hes right from that point of view. Hes got two finals in a row, the ea. View. Hes got two finals in a row, the fa cup final last year and this year we didnt win it last year. We have to remind him were up against the same opposition, this this year as well. At the end of the month. So, its all on his shoulders and really, what do you want to hear a manager say if youre if youre a fan of the club or a fan of any club, just be a little more honest, because you look at that and you think any credibility is out the window, just be honest with me and say, listen, we let you down. It did get a bit wobbly. It wont happen in the next game. Weve learned from it and well move on. But there was none of that. It was like, ive done this, ive done that. They give us a good fight. Coventry were magnificent, but luckily our happily we were we were better and this was Manchester United football club. Tell us about the chinese swimmers. Oh my goodness me right. So i mentioned this the other day. 23 chinese swimmers were tested by shinada. Yes. Who are the chinese antidote agency. Interesting. Interesting. One of those then wada, who were the world anti doping agency, and usada, who is the American Anti doping agency. So shinada did the tests and they found that these chinese swimmers had tested positive for tms, which is the heart medication which was used by many others. So anyway, they tested positive cut. A very, very long story short, wada then took the evidence and went actually, well, thats thats okay. If you said that it was tested and it was contaminated food. We was contaminated food. We believe you from china. No offence, but really anyway, usada have come along and usada have said hold on this is nonsense. They tested positive, they should be banned. But wada are saying, well thats okay because it was just it was just in food, which usually is not good enough. Well, after all, im more exhausted than the actual athletes were by swimming 50m. I just need a pina colada after all that . Yes. Never mind. Hello, father. Never mind. Hello, father. Ive been told about you. Sara. Isabel. Any any reaction to Ronnie Osullivan . He says that he doesnt think hes the greatest snooker player of all time. He may well be up there with stephen hendry. Of course. With stephen hendry. Of course. He goes in now with seven world titles. Yeah, going for the eighth. Todays going for the for the eighth. Ooh, i know isabel is a big ray reardon fan and well not have a word said against ray reardon. But Ronnie Osullivan, hes the greatest of all time. Theres no question. I mean hes i think the style he has. But you know, youre talking about you look at steve davis, you look at stephen hendry. Amazing players. So many so many snooker players. Just just so brilliant. But, ronnie is longer, the shelf life. I mean, the thing is, ronnie has been around for so long, he has. Yeah, 41 titles. Hes going for the big three. Hes already won the masters, the uk championship, and now the world title, which i would not put it past him that hell win again. Even though the crucible smells well. Good luck to. Thats what they say, not me. It smells off, but it smells apparently. Apparently so. Thanks, paul. Thank you very much indeed, were going to take a break there. After that, we are going to go through the papers this morning, join one last time by norman baker and Renee Hoenderkamp. See you in a were having some good conversations today with norman baker and doctor Renee Hoenderkamp, with the stories that are making the news. And just ahead renee of the general election , broadcasters are put election, broadcasters are put on notice to maintain due impartiality in their programmes ahead of the general election, as we always are. And i think this is research that apparently ofcom did about 18 months ago, actually. But its just come to light in this press release today. And it basically is looking at firstly that, the Research Shows that the viewers of and listeners to shows actually want. There to be clear actually want. There to be clear impartiality when people are reporting the news, they didnt find it that easy to differentiate between news and other topics, Current Affairs. But that they did want there to be impartiality and it plays particular attention to politicians presenting shows. And i think the nub of it is, is that theyre happy with politicians presenting shows but not news shows. So they shouldnt be presenting the news. They can present the railway programmes, they can. Yes, yes, the lifestyle, even Current Affairs , as long as its Current Affairs, as long as its separated in some way from breaking news stories. Yes. And it must be impartial so that they dont bring to bear their political allegiance. And isabel ray is something. And isabel ray is something. Earlier we were talking in terms of football and this very much appues of football and this very much applies to, to politics and news, where people so often mistake a question as an opinion. Yeah, absolutely. I think people assume that if youre asking that question youre espousing that view, whereas i see my role as a news and impartial journalist to always just ask the opposing view to whoever im speaking to. Thats the point. The opposing devils advocate is actually you oppose. You ask a question to one party saying, isnt your plans unaffordable and the other party you say, arent your plans unrealistic or whatever you want to say . I mean, its often on judgement today or this press release from ofcom, states about the general election that there should be impartiality. My understanding is gb news intends to have a purdah period where there arent politicians presenting problems dunng politicians presenting problems during during the general election, which is, in my view, absolutely right. It also says viewers and listeners strongly value impartiality as an important requirement, especially for news programmes. And thats also, i think, absolutely true. And i would also say this, that its important that people hear a range of views. You know, no channel should become an echo chamber for its audience. It needs people need to hear views that disagree with, which is why its good that gb news and people like me on frankly. Well, yeah, absolutely. And i always think its astonishing that, you know, eamonn and i on our Breakfast Programme often get accused of a political leaning or a political bias. Neither of us have any affiliation with any party. But then you go to one of the terrestrial channels that gets huge ratings every morning. One of the presenters is a former minister and is married to, who will soon be a home secretary, probably of the next government. And, you know, often is presenting somebody whose husband was was well known and prominent labour adviser quite clearly a skew in the presenting team there. And they never get criticised. Well, it does seem Good Morning Britain youre talking about maybe, but it does seem to be that this impartiality only appues be that this impartiality only applies to people that have right leaning views, doesnt it . They dont really care if theyre coming from the other side of things. And i think that points nicely to viewers and listeners, to radio shows. Theyre not as stupid as our politicians think. On that subject. On that subject. Thats why we give such access to you watching and listening at home and so much of what we do will be on your shoulders, and you can ask lots of the questions. And, you know, just for the record, i love telling this. I dont vote, i dont vote for anybody or anything. So that i cant even fool myself into thinking. Was there a secret meaning behind that question or whatever . I dont vote for any of them, and im equally cynical about all of them. I have to say, though, obviously norman and i think this is often overlooked, that there are mps and elected representatives who really are there to serve the public and have a sense of public duty. And whatever it is, theyre scoundrels and theyre rogues, and the systems often wreak some whatever. But there are a lot of very well intentioned, good meaning people. Most politicians go into the political life for good reasons. Do you still think thats the case . Ido case . I do think thats a thats a case. What happens is they end up compromising not because they are evil , but because someone are evil, but because someone says, well, this doesnt really work in that particular way. Or if you do this for me, then ill, you know, ill do that for you. Just whipping the whole whipping, you know, you must you. Just whipping the whole whipping, you know, you must you whipping, you know, you must you mustnt betray the party. So vote for this thing. You dont believe in. And you know, i ended up voting famously for tuition fees, which i thought was a horrendous policy in the coalition. And i felt dirty actually voting for that. But i was told by my leader and by others, you know, youre going to let the party down very badly if youre the only person who votes against. And so on. So you end up sometimes compromising your own beliefs. Not very often, in my case, hopefully, but you do end up doing that. But politicians, by and large are well meaning what happens . The safety always has to be accountability , freedom of accountability, freedom of information so you can find out what people are doing in public life generally not just politicians, but also in dependent news journalism. So people can ask questions and find out the facts, find out what people do and want to be found out. Thats very important. Thats thats the way you keep things honest is by having accountability and freedom of information. I think if we did a straw poll of people watching right now, do they think that politics is still honest . And is there transparency and freedom of availability of information . They would say no to all of those things. And i think because of that, theyre feeling unheard roughshod over and theyre sick and tired of politicians and dont feel theyre in it for the right reasons. Im very interested to see what the turnout will be at the next general election. I think apathy is probably going to be one of the biggest winners. I think this time around, tory voters will stay at home because they dont want to vote for anybody else. But i think labour and lib dem voters may be encouraged to go out. What might happen at the general election . Norman . Its a marshmallow, a sweet or an ingredient for cooking. Well, from the serious to the frivolous, i suppose. Frivolous, i suppose. Well, this is this is a vat question. Its a vat question. Yes. And its a vat question. Yes. And this this harks back, in fact, to the famous debate about jaffa cakes. You remember back about 30 years ago when people were discussing whether jaffa cakes were a cake or a sweet or a biscuit or something, one of which was vat and the other one wasnt. What was the conclusion . Again it came as a cake, therefore escaped the vat, and therefore escaped the vat, and the thing about marshmallows, which i find slightly odd, is that theres been a debate about marshmallows and a case taken about this to see whether they are sweets or not. And hmrc, our tax people , say and hmrc, our tax people, say they are sweets, but the ruling has been that theyre not sweets because the argument put was that they are ingredients in barbecue, that you have a kind of skewer of stuff with meat on it and youre marshmallow and therefore its an ingredient. Much as i dont give a damn about this story, im astounded that a marshmallow is viewed as an ingredient and not a sweet. I agree with you because we have the my daughter eats the little ones. You know , the little baby ones. You know, the little baby ones. You know, the little baby ones just as they are. They do go into other things. Sometimes you roast them on their own on a on a fire. I think its a ridiculous ruling, but those ridiculous ruling, but those ridiculous rulings apply. Isabel might be able to enlighten me on this, but theres, fast food outlets and theres, fast food outlets and theres certain things that you cant buy hot. You go into greggs. Oh, if you if you eat in or if you eat out, that affects whether or not you can get a sausage roll, but it can only be served you cold. Oh right. Yeah. Thats thats thats true. Yeah, yeah. And its really irritating. And its really irritating. Really . Really. And ill tell you another thing. Its really irritating. And isabel and i were talking about this yesterday. Why do mcdonalds not serve normal food on their menu until 11 00 in the morning . Why have you eat this rubbish they have you eat this rubbish they have for eggs and whatever. Have you eat this rubbish they have for eggs and whatever. What have for eggs and whatever. What are they mcmuffins real proper breakfast. My backside it is. But basically you cant. You can only buy eggs and mcmuffins and things and mcdonalds until 11. Understand . People who get up at three and want lunch at ten. I hate to break it to you. Its all rubbish. Yeah, whether its all processed rubbish and its all processed rubbish and its bad for you. Yeah no, no, eight other things i know, but actually yes , yes. Not know, but actually yes, yes. Not disagreeing with you, but the fact that you get served up even the worst rubbish until 11 and you cant. I just want a burger when you go into a restaurant andifs when you go into a restaurant and its 11 01 when you go into a restaurant and its11 01 and you want the fried breakfast and they say, oh, sorry, its, its 11. Yeah. Yeah. The kitchens closed. The kitchens closed. The kitchens closed. The answer is not to go to mcdonalds, im afraid. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Yeah. I hear more restaurant says. And this happened to us on monday morning. You go into an empty restaurant and they cant accommodate you. And they say, accommodate you. And they say, theres three of us coming. Come with two for three. Who have you booked me, isabel . And have you booked . No. And they go right. You havent got a reservation. And im thinking, reservation. And im thinking, see this whole empty room . Yes. Just anywhere here will do. What is that all about . Will power somewhere else. Will power somewhere else. It doesnt make you feel unwelcome, doesnt it . But i suppose they just want to check whether youre one of the two customers they were expecting or not. Were expecting you right after this break. Please dont go away norman baker and Renee Hoenderkamp are here talking about stories. Making the news today and stats have come out today. Renee showing, the generation of people scarred by the pandemic exam results are going to be behind for a good few years because of covid. Yeah, well, surprise. I mean, this is absolutely shocking that we have to keep listening to this now when we should have examined this before covid and thought, well, hang on a minute. If we take education away from our children, what is it going to do . So these figures are looking like by 2030, when the children that were five during the School Shutdown take their gcses , less than 40 will get gcses, less than 40 will get grade five and above in maths and english. I just dont understand why weve got so much time to catch up and my youngest, my eldest, sorry, was probably 3 or 4 and i dont think hes been he was already in the pre school. Already in the pre school. Well the difference is, is that the kids that are going to be most affected here are the most disadvantaged kids. The ones that had rubbish, schools who didnt supply anything onune who didnt supply anything online that havent used their catch up money or didnt get their catch up money. Those kids are going to be the ones. And unfortunately, those kids were always going to be the ones that were disadvantaged anyway. And what we know is, is that poverty breeds ill health. So this doesnt stop at their education. Its going to stop at what jobs they can get, how much money they can get, how much money they can get, how much money they can earn, how well they can keep themselves, how much they have to use the nhs. Exactly. And i mean, thats very interesting just looking at that whole area and the fact that they have one parent or two parents who will have to work in very low paid jobs, probably 12 hours a day and arent around to supervise them and say you will do your homework, youll do this and do that well. And it was also those parents who were more likely to be key workers, bus drivers, train drivers going to work. So its different for our kids because my alice was 18 months during the pandemic, she just got more of mummy every day and more of granny. But unfortunately, these disadvantaged kids, different didnt. But were seeing more of this. We saw in the week that alcohol deaths are now climbing, and thats a direct response to the pandemic as well, that people sat at home, they drank more because you couldnt go to a pub, but you could still buy it in tescos or on online. So were seeing so many long term effects from covid policy. It wasnt covid, it was covid policy that are going to damage us for decades. Never closed schools ever again. I keep reading. Granted on the internet and whatever, but its now beyond doubt that china was responsible for releasing covid. And, you know, whether it was an accident or a deliberate or whatever it is, it emanated from china. And yet and if that is true, nobody is doing anything about it. Nobody is calling china the book. People dont call china to book because or america or russia very much because they are too powerful in the world to be held to account. But ive always thought that it was a very curious coincidence. Wasnt it, that the covid outbreak was in wuhan , which is exactly the in wuhan, which is exactly the same place as this, laboratory, which was experimenting in these substances . And it seems to me unlikely that it was anything other than a leak or deliberate leak from that particular. So im going to pull back a little bit. I think it definitely came from the lab. Its very evident now. Theres good evidence. I dont think it was deliberate because its too difficult to control, but i think it was a nasty accident. And i do think china have a lot to answer for because they stopped all their internal flights but carried on letting flights but carried on letting flights go to europe from wuhan. Theres a lot here and it has damaged people forever , well, damaged people forever, well, im laughing here because weve got weve got a friend of the program, cooper wallace. Lets see cooper. And were going to talk to cooper now because cooper lets see. Cooper. He doesnt actually. Cooper is not really known by, talking. Lets can we see cooper, please . Cooper and his mum lauren joining us from manchester coopeh the thing is, my friend , i the thing is, my friend, i saw you all over the news programs yesterday. And the thing is, youre not famous for speaking. Youre famous for speaking. Youre famous for making the sign of a seagull. Make a sign of a seagull for us, will you . Oh, youve just transported me to a cornish coastal town. Wow. And youre a winner at this. Youve just won a big competition. Congrats. Well done. Congrats. Well done. Yeah , around his neck. Yeah, around his neck. Yeah, around his neck. Tell us about this competition that youve won, then, cooper. So it was all in belgium, and we had to go and do a noise to see if we could win it. And woii. Won. Wow. Wow. Wow. Why did you. How do you know . Why did you. How do you know . How do you impersonate a seagull, for instance . I mean, mom, does he watch them . Does he study them . Does he practice this . This . He enjoys watching them at the beach, but he was bitten by one while we were at the seaside a few years ago, and he believes hes got the spider man effect. Well, do you know, do you know. Do you know that happened to spider man cooper . He was bitten by a spider, and then he got the powers of a spider. So i think you may have the powers , the hidden secret the powers, the hidden secret powers of a seagull. Powers of a seagull. Do you like to steal ice creams as well . Creams as well . Chips not stealing them. I do like to eat them. Are you working on flying . Are you working on flying . Yeah. Fantastic. So what else do you do besides seagulls . There are other, other signs that you do. I can do a trumpet noise. Oh, yeah . Give it a chance. A trumpet. Give it a chance. A trumpet. Thats good. Its very good. Thats good. Its very good. And what were you up against . It was stiff competition. What other sounds were the other children making . One. Children and adults. One. Children and adults. One. Children and adults. Apologies. Apologies. It was all seagulls. And then some of them sound like. Some of them sound like. And have you ever made your seagull noise in front of an actual seagull . And what was its reaction . If you have . It was just like looking around and like it was just it knew it was me, but it felt like it was a friend. It was a friend. Oh well, well, well, what was your what was your prize . What did you get . You got the medal. Do you get anything else . Do you get anything else . I got a massive basket full of stuff. Wonderful. Chocolate of stuff. Wonderful. Chocolate biscuits, drinks all sorts. Biscuits, drinks all sorts. Really . All sorts. Well, youre a hero, mate. Well done. Well done, do you, lauren . Well done, do you . Thanks for speaking to us today, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Good luck. Good luck. Good luck. Not at all. Well done. Have a great day at school, cooper. Take care, anyone else got any hidden talents they wish to declare when i was young on the panel declare when i was young on the panel, i think the thing that, we were all trying to impersonate when i was young, when i was eight, nine, ten, around his age as well, was the bleep phone. Remember those bleep phones that trim phones . Trim phones . Exactly what it was. I couldnt do it. But you know everybody used to go starlings do it very well. What. Starlings do it very what. Starlings do it very well. They sit in trees ringing like phones do they. Yeah they real mimics. Wow. Wow. Wow. Are they called busby. Are they called busby. Yeah. Yeah. Youre showing your age normally. Am i allowed to say that. Yeah you are. Yeah you are. I know he could sue you. I know he could sue you. Back in the day we had busby. Back in the day we had busby. Yeah, the princess of wales has become the first member of the royal family appointed to the royal family appointed to the order of companion of honour. What . What is that, norman, well, its a its a rarefied group of 65 people who are given that honour because of outstanding achievements in the arts , medicine and science and arts, medicine and science and arts. As you might like , kate, arts. As you might like, kate, you do wonder what on earth shes done to Outstanding Public Service. I mean, shes doing she has done Outstanding Public Service service. I just find it a little bit odd when the royals can give themselves medals. Well, and then the picture of, young louis, which has got isabel al fasi today or whatever, theres is grinning. Im just pleased they kept us on suspense, but im glad the picture was released. Anyway, we say thank you to Renee Hoenderkamp and to norman baker , hoenderkamp and to norman baker, and we say good morning to Alex Birchall, who has our weather forecast. Looks like things are heating up. Boxt boilers sponsors of up. Boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And north seacoastal darts. And some of them north seacoastal parts. And some of them will continue here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east. As we go through tonight most of the showers tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning, then this morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted here. Also towards the northeast, across eastern parts of scotland , some fairly parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless many of us will see some sunny spells. Temperatures still a little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Way. Good morning. Its 9 00. Its wednesday , the 24th of april. Wednesday, the 24th of april. Have vie have breakfast with us until 9 30 this morning. And youre very welcome, eamonn and isabel here. Our top story this morning. The biggest boost for defence spending in a generation. The Prime Minister vows billions more by the end of the decade, announcing the biggest strengthening of our National Defence for a generation. Defence for a generation. Over the next six years, well invest an additional £75 billion in our. Defence. We sunak puts britain on a war footing, but will it be enough to beat our enemies . Enough to beat our enemies . Big questions over whether rwanda flights will act as a deterrent. After 250 migrants deterrent. After 250 migrants attempted to cross the channel yesterday, five deaths amongst those. Those. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will appearin sir Jeffrey Donaldson will appear in court today charged with historic Sexual Offences. With historic Sexual Offences. Well have Dougie Beattie throughout the morning reporting on that. And there you see the last surviving veteran of a World War Two special forces regiment. Now, he has been brought home to join the Chelsea Pensioners and share his story. Kids should know more about the sacrifice that their forefathers made. Not me. Im no forefathers made. Not me. Im no hero, but they like they were the raf boys who died and people like that. They dont realise that they dont know much about it. They dont even know who hitler was. Half of them. Hello. Its a bit chilly out today, but at least for many of us, it is going to be largely dry and there will be some decent spring sunshine too. I love the details in the full forecast. Forecast. So it is the biggest defence boost in a decade. The Prime Minister has vowed to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp. Thats an extra £75 billion by 2030. Okay, we spoke to the defence secretary, grant shapps, and he revealed that Civil Service cuts to pay for this new spending will partly come from his own department to take the cuts. In my own department of the ministry of defence, we have about 60,000 people in mod. What were saying that by 2028, we think we can manage by 50,000. Well be cutting the bureaucracy behind defence. So we dont want we dont think that we need to have, particularly in these world of technology, ai and the rest of it. We dont think we need to have a bloated Central Department in order to run defence. We want people on the front line not, you know, officers. Officers. Well, lets get the thoughts of our political editor, Christopher Hope this morning. Good morning to you, christopher. There was an interesting interview with grant shapps earlier talking about those cuts in his own department, which might surprise some of them, and also denying the claims that are being made by his predecessor on the airwaves yesterday, that actually a manifesto tax cut might have to be sacrificed in order to pay for this boost to defence. Thats right. This this funding is priced up. It was announced first by Boris Johnson in 2022. Mr sunak team say it wasnt actually worked out how to spend it. Then he said it as an aspiration. This is money going up each year from now and its clearly also isabel and eamonn. Another election , eamonn. Another election, dividing line. We hear from labour today that they would hope to match it if they can, and there is plans from labour if they win power, when the election is held , i expect in election is held, i expect in november this year they will have a Spending Review to see if they can afford it. But clearly currently the tories want to go into an election period saying we are promising to take on britains enemies, this so called axis of autocratic states russia, china and iran. As britain goes onto a war footing. I was struck by the pms remarks yesterday, saying were not on the brink of war, nor do we seek it. I mean, these are remarks you couldnt imagine being said a few years ago. But i do think, i mean , to hear ben i do think, i mean, to hear ben wallace today that the former defence secretary saying very clearly that the peace dividend weve enjoyed since 1991 is fast ending. I think thats the kind of new reality were in. We need to find much more money for defence and which party will go there is the question right now, okay. And we also have seen more crossings over the channel yesterday day, even after we saw the horrendous deaths of five, including a seven year old child. Goes to show that, you know, witnessing death doesnt work as a deterrent. Do you work as a deterrent. Do you think that that has undermined the rwanda bill in any way . Well, there and the bill, which i expect to become law tomorrow when the king signs it off, will start to work, is the hope of the government. They will be sending out letters and informing those who arrive to illegally. They could be on the next plane out , but it will be next plane out, but it will be 10 or 12 weeks before the first flights take off. Individual cases can be lodged by each person. Whos told theyre going to rwanda by the government and thats the problem. Thats why Robert Jenrick resigned back in december. He felt that these individual challenges will just delay the whole thing. And mean no flights take off at all, a huge worry and that the deaths yesterday are a further reminder of the challenge of those coming across from france. I mean, if it was going to be an actual deterrent, what the pm should say is the next 150 arrive or on the first plane out of here on friday, thats how a deterrent works. But the numbers whove been here, some going back 13 months, theyre trying to find people who will be to easy deport because of clear cut cases. Thats not going to necessarily do the job of being a deterrent. What the government wants is a drum beat, a regular rhythm of flights taking off. They want us to stop talking about it on the news. They want it to be part of the of the regular of government figures coming out about whats happening in whitehall. Nothing more than that. But the problem more than that. But the problem is many things think this wont work. But the pm has hung his entire Political Authority on it. Happening ive got sorry, not general election. Dont want to scare everybody. Local elections everybody. Local elections coming up next week. Do you think thats why were seeing a bit of a policy blitz from the Prime Minister at the moment . And do you think that certainly this defence spending pledge will have appeased some of those who have been disappointed , who have been disappointed, really, with the cut through that the Prime Minister has been making in recent weeks . Yeah, yeah. There are two political cogs turning right now in, in, in westminster, youve got the local elections next thursday, the mayoral elections, of course, in some of our biggest cities also. And the results there could be difficult for the tory party. Well wait and see. Certainly, if the polling is anything. And beyond that, anything. And beyond that, theres also questions about his own authority in the party. For rishi sunak, the party is still 20 points, 25 points behind in the polls, hasnt budged at all since he became Prime Minister. Some critics see a moment of weakness for the pm in the week after a difficult local election result. Maybe some problematic mayoral results. So the announcement yesterday has done done something, i think, to secure and reassure the his his critics on the backbenches. Although i should note that james heappey, the former armed forces minister, saying today this wont result in a bigger army, the army is already at near record lows and this is already money being spent on hardware and missiles, but not actually people appreciate it. Leave it there , i just want leave it there, i just want to ask. Weve got the shadow attorney general , to ask. Weve got the shadow attorney general, coming up, shes ready to go. I know she is , but i just i know she is, but i just want to say its an interesting thing here that 50 of us, 50 of people polled say they never see a Police Officer on the beat. And when i think about it, i would say , cant remember the i would say, cant remember the last time you did just patrolling. When did i actually ever see a Police Officer in a uniform . I see plenty of parking wardens, but i dont see. When. When did you actually see a Police Officer in a uniform . I moved out of london last yeah i moved out of london last year, but i do quite. I did quite often see them in london, but i dont know if maybe we lived in a dodgy area. They were doing patrols, but its not as common as it used to be. Bobbies on the beat. Well, well, 50 of you say you never see it. And were going to be talking to the shadow attorney general about that very shortly, lets bnngin about that very shortly, lets bring in Emily Thornberry now. She joins us this morning. Good morning. Welcome to the program. I wanted to start with you this morning about the sad breaking news from lord frank fields family that the 81 year old has passed away after what many would describe as a distinguished career of public service. Did you want to extend service. Did you want to extend your tributes as well . Your tributes as well . Yes, i did, thank you. I yes, i did, thank you. I worked for many years with frank field and he campaigned particularly on Child Poverty and on pensioner poverty. Particularly on Child Poverty and on pensioner poverty. And i and on pensioner poverty. And i think there may well be many people today whose incomes are much higher than they would have beenif much higher than they would have been if it hadnt been for frank field. Emily, today were going to talk to you about and labour today are setting setting up theyre announcing funding for 13,000 extra Neighbourhood Police officers. And we were Police Officers. And we were just talking there about people say, well, we dont see any Police Officers in the neighbourhood. And youre neighbourhood. And youre setting up this National Police savings body. And weve been savings body. And weve been highlighting this in the programme all the different forces there are in the country and what they pay for their vehicles, what they pay even for their batons, their helmets , all their batons, their helmets, all sorts of things. And theres a huge discrepancy. And this to huge discrepancy. And this to me, seems like what you guys are proposing , if it works, just proposing, if it works, just common sense politics. Yep. I think youre right, eamonn. I think thats absolutely right. Why is it that theyre all buying their stuff individually . I dont understand why cant we buy it nationally . It will mean that therell be a bigger customer. So theyll be able to get better prices. But also youll get a bit of consistency. Youll get a bit of consistency. See, and the independent Police Federation have looked into this and they say that, you know, a huge amount of money can be saved. Were being kind of careful about that. And were saying, well, lets just assume that youre right. But but lets spend half of it and see how we get on. And were spending that money on increasing the number of Police Officers, community Police Officers and pcsos. Yeah. Police officers and pcsos. Yeah. Well i hope it works. It certainly sounds as though its a sensible plan, but we had a doctor on earlier whos saying that, you know, theyve seen attempts to do this with different hospital trusts, for example, within the nhs. And its incredibly hard to get them to agree. And she even gave the example, didnt she, of a big london Teaching Hospital where they had different manufacturers for syringes on different floors of the hospital, which created huge problems with disposing of them. Theres just no joined up thinking in these huge organisations. So will it be possible . I guess that remains to be seen. I also wanted to ask you about this defence spending pledge that weve seen from the government this morning. 2. 5 of gdp by 2030. Will you will you match it to keep britain safe . Match it to keep britain safe . Kia said several weeks ago that we wanted to move towards spending 2. 5 on defence and indeed when we were in power last, that was about the amount of money that we were spending. But we will do it as as circumstances allow. We will be looking with some interest at whether or not the government produces any details in relation to this, because, you know, the Prime Minister yesterday essentially committed to spending another £75 billion on defence by 2030. So they produced this 22 page document and not a single line of it was on where the money was coming from. Now, hopefully itll come in the near future, just like were hoping that theyre going to give us the details on the £46 billion that its going to cost them to get rid of national insurance. They havent given us any details on that either. Well, i mean, as we get closer to an election, were going to get more and more of this, you know, and i know that your programme will hold the government to account in the way that you hold us to account, and that you hold us to account, and that if people want to say they want to spend money, they need to tell us where the money is going to come from. Well, the defence secretary needs to spend to pay for it. Emily grant shapps was on the programme this morning and we held him to account to it because he said he said part of the funding would come from 10,000 redundancies within his own department, within the defence department. So actually youre youre robbing peter to pay youre youre robbing peter to pay paul basically on this. Well, what they do is they announce these things and then they dont do them. So they have been announcing, cutting back on the number of Civil Servants for the number of Civil Servants for the last two years, i think october 20th or perhaps on october 20th or perhaps on october 22nd was the first time they announced it. Then they said it again last year and they havent actually been doing it. And of course, a lot of these people are not like, you know, treasury bean counters. Theyre people like in in the department that i, i, shadow which are prosecutors, you know , in prosecutors, you know, in Magistrates Court or people who are making supposed to be making decisions about who can come into the country to claim asylum. You know, these are you know, many of these jobs are actually of huge value, but they dont make any decisions at all. All they do is make these announcements and then dont follow through. What you need to do is actually actually measure them by what they do. And not just what they say. So, you know, look at the fact that the, you know, the number of people in the army is smaller than it was at the time of napoleon. You know, look at the fact that theyve wasted £15 billion on procurement in the last few years. I mean, this is the reality of the situation. Well, im not taking any lectures from the conservatives on defence. Well, what they say is that you Just Commission another review. The former defence secretary, ben wallace, said its okay. Keir starmer has announced a union for troops thatll scare the enemy. If labour had been paying attention the last few years, they wouldnt be so clueless. I think that im sure that ben wallace knows that the state of the infrastructure, the homes that we expect are, are army and their families to live in are pretty appalling. The boilers dont work, the places are damp. You know, we need to keep up morale. No wonder theres a recruitment crisis under this government. When people are treated as badly as they are. I think that if you are to prepared give your life for our country, then the least you can do is live in a warm, dry home with your family. So, frankly , with your family. So, frankly, if, if, if, if squaddies need to have proper representation , then have proper representation, then thats what should happen. But you know, it goes further than this , doesnt it . What . You this, doesnt it . What . You know, we need to make sure that we look at what our up to date threats are. Thats why we want to have a strategic review. You know, there is no point spending money along the lines of, i dont know, the second world war. We need to look at what the threats are now. And there are greater threats than there have been over the last few years. And we need to make sure that our response to it is up to date, so that we dont waste peoples money. Yeah, well, we can agree on that. I just want to ask you one final question. Youll be aware it was Saint Georges day yesterday and your boss, sir keir starmer, came out saying that we must not flinch from the Saint Georges flag and we must be patriotic. And i just wanted to find out how you found it, whether that message perhaps was directed at you, given your controversial message back in 2014 with a Saint Georges flag, where you were highly criticised for sneering at it . For sneering at it . Yeah. I took a photograph of a house with some georges Saint Georges flags on it. I didnt say anything there. Obviously people looked at it and made their own conclusions for whatever reasons. And i resigned, yesterday i, i, in fact , it was a resigned, yesterday i, i, in fact, it was a bit of a sad day for me. My, my husbands much loved uncle had died, and we were at a Memorial Service , and were at a Memorial Service, and were at a Memorial Service, and we talked a lot about the fact that he came from a jewish background. They were a family that had had come overjust a couple of generations before, but how proud he was to be british and the contribution that he made, not just from his military service, but also the commissioning of silver work that he that he was involved in through a charity where he was and he worked with the with the v a in to order enhance the culture of our country. Culture of our country. Emily thornberry, thanks for your time this morning and well speak again soon. Thank you very much indeed. Much indeed. Right, right. Right, right. Weve had a busy morning. Bev weve had a busy morning. Bev and andrew, nice to see you back. Ben. We just give an award to the best swerve of the answer of the day. I know, i know, she did sneeh i know, i know, she did sneer, which is why she was sacked from the front. Well, yes, but you know, shes of an england football match. She took the photograph. It was a white van man somewhere in kent. Rochdale, i think it was. And yeah. Do you think sir keir starmer was talking to her or he probably might have been, but were actually going to be talking a bit about that because were talking to maggie oliver, the great police. Police officer whos won an award. Shes won an award for those stuff on the grooming gangs, because the two tier policing all the pubs that were closed in Central London yesterday because of Saint Georges day. Why . And also her opinion on these whatsapp exchanges from Police Officers in relation to the nottingham stabbings. And the mother, obviously , im sure mother, obviously, im sure youve been talking about this morning whos come out and said that they need the Police Needed to show much more respect to the victims. Theyre really awful, awful, awful, awful story. Yeah. Okay. Well we look forward to it. Yeah ive just got to ask you, would you be offended . Well, let me ask eamonn similar age to me if youve offended, if someone said back in your day because apparently thats now offensive. Apparently thats now offensive. Yeah, obviously it was over. Yeah, obviously it was over. My head doesnt mean offensive. Offensive. You can now successfully sue. You can sue, but you know, i look back at my day and i look at the experiences and the enrichment, the empowerment and i dont necessarily see that as back in my day, i think things were often a lot better. Yeah. So i feel quite strong by it and my experiences garnered from it. But, but you know, but i do. Isabel said earlier that ageism is a big thing and a growing problem in the country, and i do believe that. And i do believe as i get older, i dont see anything different with me. Im the same person. But i think peoples attitude towards me, particularly in this business where they look and they say, what would he know . He wouldnt know. Hes old, hes different. Know. Hes old, hes different. Hes this, hes that, you know, everything that you know more because youve been around so long. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Because youve been around so long. I mean, times are moving quickly. Theres no doubt about it. But i think most of us at this table are largely keeping up. Nice tan. Yeah nice tan. Yeah lovely tan. I had a lovely holiday. Nice to be back to hearing about it, but were watching you swimming in the pool. Oh, did you like that . Oh, did you like that . Yeah, i played it over and over and over again. Well, on that note, nothing. Well, on that note, nothing. Heres the competition. Have a go. Its our final week. Its the final week to see how you can win our biggest prize yet. With thanks to variety cruises is a Family Company sailing since 1942. You have the chance to win a £10,000 seven night small boat cruise for two with flights, meals, excursions and drinks included. Youll be able to choose from any one of their 2025 greek adventures. Plus, youll also win £10,000 in tax free cash to make your summer sizzle. And well pack you off with these Luxury Travel gifts. Hurry as lines close on friday for another chance to win a prize worth over £20,000. Text win to 63232. Text cost £2 plus one Standard Network rate message , Standard Network rate message, or post your name and number to gb04, p0 or post your name and number to gb04, po box 8690. Derby dh1 nine, double two uk only entrance must be 18 or over. Lines closed at 5 pm. On friday. Full terms and privacy nofice friday. Full terms and Privacy Notice gbnews. Com forward slash win please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. Good luck. Watching on demand. Good luck. A world war ii veteran, he is 102. Boy does he talk sense talking good. A great story in which to end the program today. The last surviving member of a special forces regiment during the second world war. Fulfilled his dream to dine at the ritz hotel in london to celebrate his 102nd birthday. Cameron walker takes up the story. Story. War is not glamorous. Story. War is not glamorous. We war is not glamorous. We thought it was actually when you were young. Were young. John morris is the last surviving member of his sas regiment from the second world war. Before joining the special forces, his Service Began in kent, shooting down german bombers targeting london. The only thing i shot down, actually, was a chimney kitchen chimney, actually by mistake. Nobody had any breakfast that morning. I wasnt very popular. John was one of the last people to receive a 100th birthday card from Queen Elizabeth ii. All birthday cards from the children from Christ Church school celebrating his 102nd birthday this week. Local School Children made him cards thanking him for his bravery. Thanking him for his bravery. I think kids should know more about the sacrifice their forefathers made. Not me. Im no forefathers made. Not me. Im no hero, but they, like they were the raf boys who died and people like that. They dont realise that they dont know much about it. They dont even know who hitler was. Half of them. John, whos now a chelsea pensioner, kindly agreed to share his wartime memories. In 1943 he was sent to north africa with the Royal Artillery and past special forces selection , past special forces selection, taking part in the allied invasion of italy. Invasion of italy. 75,000 british and colonial troops were killed in italy, either as the germans fought back very well or ultimately the allies were successful, but a much more powerful natural threat was not far away. Mount vesuvius, famous for destroying the roman town of pompeii in ad 79, erupted and i woke up in the morning. I heard this rumble. Looked outside and this wall of lava coming down. So never go on a volcanic island where i am, because its very dangerous. Because its very dangerous. Later that year, allied forces landed on the beaches of normandy, known as d day. Forces landed on the beaches of normandy, known as d day. The normandy, known as d day. The operation led to the liberation of western europe , and was one of western europe, and was one of western europe, and was one of the most famous and widely praised successes of the war. Far away in italy, john and his comrades were branded with a less than flattering nickname turned into a popular wartime song. Already done three d days we did the north african landing , did the north african landing, we did the battle of britain , we did the battle of britain, and we did the italian landing. We did the yugoslav savoia, albania, and they called us d day dodgers away. La dee dee dodgers out at early i john celebrated his 102nd in style. First, a party with the Chelsea Pensioners followed by a champagne lunch organised by friend and irish guards ambassador frederick crum. The ritz always had a wonderful relationship with the Chelsea Pensioners. We celebrate in style and hes never been to the ritz, so that will be worthy of the 102nd birthday, right, john . Thats right. Cameron walker gb news. Cameron walker gb news. What a story. What a man. Happy 102nd birthday, john morris. Very well done. Fabulous brilliant. Thats it for us. Have a lovely day. Up next, its britains newsroom. But first, heres your forecast. Heres your forecast. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Morning. Heres your gb news weather from the met office. Weather from the met office. Its a bit chilly out there at the moment, but for many of us its going to be a dry day with some decent sunny spells. Watch out for a touch of frost in some rural spots, and there are already a few showers in parts of the southwest and towards nonh of the southwest and towards north sea coastal parts. And here some of them will continue as we go through the afternoon as we go through the afternoon as well. Otherwise a decent amount of sunshine, especially across western parts of england and wales and across much of scotland and Northern Ireland. Two despite the sunny skies, though, it is going to feel a little bit chilly. Temperatures below average for the time of year generally most places into double figures, but just about for some, particularly towards the north east. As we go through tonight and most of the showers will die out. And so it is going to be dry for many of us. There will be a bit more cloud, perhaps towards eastern parts and a little bit more blustery here, but elsewhere calmer and clear skies means temperatures will take a bit of a drop, a bit more frost around first thing tomorrow morning. Then this morning, a chilly start for many of us again as we go through tomorrow. A few showers to watch out for across parts of Central England into wales. There may be a few dotted here. Also towards the northeast, across eastern parts of scotland, some fairly frequent showers and perhaps a little bit breezier here, but otherwise again generally fine and dry for many of us, perhaps just a bit more cloud around compared to today. Nonetheless, many of us will see some sunny spells, temperatures still a little bit on the low side , most little bit on the low side, most places just about getting into double figures. Double figures. That warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather on