gb news. >> hello and welcome to gb news monday. thank you very much for your company this lunchtime. i'm darren grimes, and for the next two hours, i'll be keeping you company on tv, online and on digital radio. coming up this houn digital radio. coming up this hour. new labour mp natalie elphicke has been accused of lobbying ministers in an attempt to interfere in her former husband's sexual assault case. will starmer regret opening this can of worms.7 then susan hall has said. wes streeting, of labour put me in danger by claiming that a victory for miss hall in the london mayoral

election would be a win for racist white supremacists, and islamophobes should the shadow health secretary apologise and thousands of people have protested in the swedish city of malmo against israel's participation in the eurovision song contest, participation in the eurovision song contest , with israel's war song contest, with israel's war on gaza casting a shadow over the final of the glitzy contest . the final of the glitzy contest. now, as you know by now, the show is absolutely nothing without you and your views. let me know your thoughts on all of the stories we'll be discussing today by visiting gb news. comics york. join the conversation there or message us on our socials. we're @gbnews. first of all though, folks, here's your news with tatiana . here's your news with tatiana. >> darren. thank you. the top stories this afternoon claims a

british israeli hostage has died in gaza, are being urgently investigated by the foreign office. hamas says nadav popplewell, who was kidnapped dunng popplewell, who was kidnapped during the october attack in israel, was injured during an airstrike a month ago. undated footage of the 51 year old with a black eye was also released. the government says it's seeking more information after the terrorist group made the claim. in a video, deputy foreign secretary andrew mitchell is condemning the actions of hamas . condemning the actions of hamas. >> my heart goes out to the family at this extraordinary time with the barbarism of these appalling terrorist who, have treated, the family in such a cynical, cruel and heartless, way . and, we must wait for way. and, we must wait for further information , to become further information, to become available. but, what an appalling, dreadful experience for this poor family to have to suffer at the hands of this this absolutely dreadful terrorist organisation . organisation. >> tory defector natalie

elphicke denies she lobbied the justice secretary over her then husband's sex offences trial. sir robert buckland claims the mp who crossed the floor to laboun mp who crossed the floor to labour, requested the case to be moved to a lower profile court. speaking to the sunday times, he says she was told the request was completely inappropriate. her spokesperson refuted the accusation, describing it as nonsense. in the mail on sunday, miss elphicke ended the marriage when her husband was convicted of sexually assaulting two women and jailed for two years. at least seven people have been killed and 17 injured after an apartment block collapsed in russia , state media says. russia, state media says. fragments of a ukrainian missile , which were downed by russia's air defence system, landed on the building in the city of belgorod. rescue efforts were hampered when the roof also collapsed, with rubble covering emergency crews . they've now emergency crews. they've now resumed their work in a bid to find more survivors . find more survivors. applications have opened for funded childcare and expansion

on the government's current offer for working families. parents of children who are older than nine months from september are now eligible for support. parents of two year olds have been able to access 15 hours of funded childcare since last month . the fall rollout last month. the fall rollout will see support increase to 30 hours a week by september next year. hours a week by september next year . labour hours a week by september next year. labour has hours a week by september next year . labour has rejected year. labour has rejected a report claiming its fair pay agreements and social care could cost taxpayers £42 billion a yeah cost taxpayers £42 billion a year. the party says it wants to empower adult social care professionals and the trade unions that represent them, so they can negotiate better deals. the policy exchange think tank says the total cost of the proposed wage rise in 20 2324 would have been at least £9.9 billion per year. labour says the claims are based on fiction and do not reflect party policy and do not reflect party policy and weather warnings for thunderstorms are in place across the country, with britain's warm spell ending this

afternoon. temperatures are still expected to reach around 27 degrees in central parts of the country before the wet weather rolls in. the met office has issued new alerts for rain in southwest england. heavy downpours are also expected to hit eastern areas of northern ireland, with a warning in place until 6:00 tuesday morning . for until 6:00 tuesday morning. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news comment alerts. now back to . darren. to. darren. >> thank you very much, tatiana. let's get stuck in to today's topics. now, the new labour party mp, natalie elphicke has been accused of lobbying ministers in an attempt to interfere in her former husband's sexual assault case. then justice secretary sir robert buckland alleges she asked him to move the 2020 trial of charlie elphicke to a lower profile court, apparently to spare him public scrutiny. miss

elphicke ended the marriage when her husband was convicted of sexually assaulting two women and jailed for two years. a labour party spokesman said she totally rejects the characterisation of the meeting . characterisation of the meeting. miss elphicke defected from the conservatives to labour last week. well, joining me now is gb news political correspondent, katherine forster. catherine just how serious could this be for the labour party.7 but also my question is the conservatives knew about this, yet did nothing about it. surely it's just as bad for them too.7 >> well, yes, of course. and thatis >> well, yes, of course. and that is exactly what labour are saying. well, if you are so bothered about this, why didn't you do something about it at the time when, according to the sunday times and sir robert buckland, the former justice secretary, natalie elphicke, tried to get him to intervene , tried to get him to intervene, potentially in her husband's case, potentially moving it to a

lower profile court with a lower profile judge. the paper goes on to say that after sir robert buckland batted her away , said buckland batted her away, said it would be totally inappropriate, and after her husband subsequently was jailed. she then tried to intervene again. now she didn't get to sir robert buckland this time, but she got to the chief whip and basically her complaint was that, the conditions in prison were not good enough, that his bed was not sufficiently comfortable and that his pillows were not sufficiently comfortable. now, a spokesman for her has said that that is absolute nonsense. but it's a really bad look, isn't it.7 first of all, of course , that she of all, of course, that she continued to be a conservative mp up until wednesday , if people mp up until wednesday, if people in the conservative party knew about this, they sat on it. but also i think for keir starmer, who allegedly only found out that she wanted to come over the day before she crossed the

floor, now there's a saying, isn't there? don't look a gift horse in the mouth. but perhaps he's starting to wonder whether she's a bit more of a trojan horse because she's bringing a whole load of trouble. people are saying, well, what's a right wing mp who did nothing but rubbish, sir keir starmer now doing in the party? and it's upset labour mps as well as conservative ones, particularly people like rosie duffield and jess phillips , because of course jess phillips, because of course she supported her husband . she supported her husband. despite these very serious allegations, he went to jail for two years and she basically rubbished the victims even after he was convicted . he was convicted. >> and yeah, i mean, do you see this rumbling on, catherine? do you see this turning into something quite vicious because , something quite vicious because, i mean, one of them has to be telling an untruth as well. >> it shows no sign of dying down. and we're five days into this story now , how labour will this story now, how labour will be hoping they've made a calculation on basically that

most people are getting on with their lives. they're not in interested in the nitty gritty of politics and that for most people, all they will see is a very right wing conservative mp on the front line of the small boats crisis, going over to sir keir starmer and saying, basically, rishi sunak has no hope of stopping the boats and i trust labour more, something quite extraordinary. so that is what they are banking on. but i do think labour are a bit surprised how much pushback there has been, and they show no sign of that stopping . sign of that stopping. >> all right. katherine forster there, gb news political correspondent. thank you very much. as ever. let's see what my panel make of this. political commentator matthew stadlen and former special adviser to michael gove. charlie rowley, matthew , i'll start with you. matthew, i'll start with you. i know you're keen to talk about this. where do you think? as i said, there. one of them is in actually being honest here. clearly that's the certainly the

inference. where do you think actually we can uncover the truth. how can we possibly . truth. how can we possibly. >> well, that's always a difficult question, isn't it? when you get to contradictory accounts. but politically, what i think is interesting is significant about this is i hadnt significant about this is i hadn't realised that starmer was only aware of this possible defection, something like 24 hours beforehand. and this idea that you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, that's one thing. but actually this might come back and perhaps already is coming back to haunt the labour leader, who now finds himself in his party in the slightly absurd position of having to defend a pretty hard right mp, as i understand it, against allegations of improper behaviour. i mean, it's a slightly farcical . slightly farcical. >> so do you think actually labour have made a mistake here? i think there's quite a good argument to suggest that they have. >> i mean, do they, i get the sort of broader political point here, which is that starmer wants to show the electorate

that the labour party is a broad tent. it's completely different. he would like us to believe, and i think he's right on this to the jeremy corbyn labour party into the last election, the labour party went and i just think, yes , you want to make think, yes, you want to make sure that people who haven't necessarily considered voting labour before are prepared to put their x in the box come the general election. but at what price , charlie? price, charlie? >> i mean, you must be happy to see the back of her now, are you? >> well , i you? >> well, i think like most people, i didn't really know who she was, but, >> but i think that doesn't take away the, the this story because she's becoming a household name on the back of this debacle. and i think, look , you know, if i think, look, you know, if you've got natalie elphicke who was, you know, very , very clear was, you know, very, very clear in standing by her husband at the time, she's had to apologise for that, without wanting to point the finger or come down on any particular side, the words of the former shadow, the former

justice secretary and chief justice. you know, i think sir robert buckland has probably got a stronger case than than natalie's defence's given her flip flopping over, i'm not going to come down on a particular side, but i'll come down on a particular side . down on a particular side. >> yes, i agree with robert . >> yes, i agree with robert. >> yes, i agree with robert. >> with that said, though, robert buckland knew about this, he knew he'd been asked to move charlie elphicke to a lower court with a lower profile in order to save his blushes, and did nothing about it. she she was still a conservative mp. no one was told about this. we don't know of any internal investigation or whatever else, so there are questions to be answered by the conservatives as well, surely? >> well, i think it's just a question of character. and look, the labour leader has admitted natalie elphicke into the party on the back of as say, her, quite bizarre, stance opposing the labour leader and opposing everything that he stands for, particularly when it comes to immigration, illegal migration,

particularly when she is the mp for dover. >> so softy softy, do you think, do you think her stance was bizarre because you're in favour of keir starmer's position on all this , no, i'm, i, i struggle all this, no, i'm, i, i struggle to see what position she has because she's now joined the labour leadership when she's been opposed to it like i am , been opposed to it like i am, for such a long, for such a long time. >> do you think actually , >> do you think actually, there's something else going on here, you know, will we be looking at baroness hallett? >> well, could i just make could i just make a wider point here that there are certainly people on the left, perhaps on the sort of harder left of the labour party who are already concerned that a labour government might not be that different to a conservative government. i mean, keir starmer has said he's not going to put up taxes. so when you don't generate more money through taxation , there are through taxation, there are limited ways in which you can do things differently , limited ways things differently, limited ways you can do things differently when it comes to policy, of course, you can borrow more and so forth, and you can try and

grow the economy. do people really believe that in the first couple of years of a labour government, the economy is going to go gangbusters? word used, by the way, about the nought point 6% growth we've just witnessed already on the front page of the mail yesterday. i mean, is 0.6% really gangbusters? so i think it's still higher than america and the eurozone. and that was undoubtedly a bit of good news for sunak. but the idea that sort of 20 years ago, 0.6% would be celebrated as well. >> i agree with that. >> i agree with that. >> but my wider point is, is this for those on the left of the labour party, this this will sort of really be quite triggering, i think, because it will make them think, well, what is the point? what are we really fighting for if there aren't going to be fundamental differences? >> yes . >> yes. >> yes. >> i mean, charlie, do you recognise any differences between the starmer position and the conservatives >> totally, totally. labour will put up your taxes. they'll obviously come out to batus just said they won't. they've come up to ditch the rwanda policy. that's something that you know i think that's a good difference. i think that would be a good

difference. i think that would be a backward step taking this country back to square one, when you now have what would be a deterrent to stopping people making that perilous journey in the first place, and to bust the criminal gangs, all things that the uk government is currently doing to have this deterrent suddenly sort of ditched on day one by a labour government. i think would be the wrong move, but i think, you know , just to but i think, you know, just to try and pull it back to, to natalie, there's a case in point here. dan poulter who doctor dan poulter, who defected, two weeks before or worked in the nhs . before or worked in the nhs. yeah. well, something that could be heralded as a by the labour party . you know, they've got party. you know, they've got someone that's been in professional in the nhs that was a conservative, that was now saying actually he thinks that the nhs is in better hands with laboun the nhs is in better hands with labour, you know, that is a blow to the tories to say the least. what natalie elphicke has done is just pure politics. i think of the quite cheap really . and of the quite cheap really. and it's, you know, it's it goes to what sir keir starmer is really about. because if you can't see that, it's a bit of a gimmick. and if you can't see that, the pubuc and if you can't see that, the public won't believe that this is an authentic sort of change in view that she's had, and she

actually genuinely believes that the labour party is the party that's going to do with immigration, then people can see that, and that's why that's why. that's why the story has rumbled on for as long as it has, and it's backfired. >> on the natalie elphicke point , there are two ways in which this is good for starmer and bad for sunak . one is she's for sunak. one is she's basically saying that the government is incompetent on one of its flagship policies. and by the way, it's totally for the birds. what charlie's just said about the rwanda policy being a deterrent . and i'll explain very deterrent. and i'll explain very quickly why. i mean, well, the irish seem to think so . it's irish seem to think so. it's true. well, it's finally been dragged through the courts. we finally got a bit of legislation thatis finally got a bit of legislation that is making us all pretend , that is making us all pretend, and that rwanda is a safe country for people when we know it isn't. but it's not acting as kyrees. hang on. it is not acting as it's run by a president who's got 99% of the vote. if that's if you if you, if you if you want to say that, say that again with a straight face. >> no. listen, on a serious point, the at the moment we stand to have a record year for crossings , right. crossings, right. >> so if you're if you're going to put your x in a box according

to put your x in a box according to how, how many fewer people are crossing the channel this year , you're not going to be year, you're not going to be voting for the tories because despite what it's going on, going on with the rwanda policy, the crossings are actually going up.the the crossings are actually going up. the other reason why this is good for starmer and bad for the tories, is because it absolutely hammers home the point that the tories are losing well. >> and to answer that point, though , of charlie saying that though, of charlie saying that actually what we're seeing in ireland now , with the tent ireland now, with the tent cities being set up by migrants, that actually they're saying they have left the united kingdom because they are fearful of being sent to rwanda. so therefore you can't argue it's not working as a deterrent, can you? well as i as i've said before, it may well be true that you can find some people who think of it as a deterrent. >> think that it actually might work and might impact them, but then , given that we've been then, given that we've been witnessing the rwanda shambles now for month after month after month, year after year, why do we start on the cusp of this being the heaviest trafficking year of all across the channel? >> it's been going on month

after month after month, year after month after month, year after year after year, because the labour party have kept blocking it in the house of commons and the house of lords. so now that the policy is actually on the statute book, the policy will get off the ground in 10 to 12 weeks time. nobody wants to see. i don't think nobody wakes up in the morning unless you're suella braverman maybe. and dreams to see a policy like this. but because of those vast numbers that you're talking about that come into this country illegally, you know, it was about 50,000in 2022. that came down to about 30,000in 2023. we've got to wait till the end of the year. >> why has it gone up now? >> why has it gone up now? >> i think why are we at the moment at record levels, as we have got to the point where rwanda is now through the courts? why are we now halfway through, nearly halfway through the year, standing at a record level? >> well, it may be your last chance to get into the country without going to rwanda. >> but but you've got to go on to ireland. >> you've got to win and then go and set up camp in ireland. >> you've got to win and then go and set up camp in ireland . come on. >> you've got to wait until the end of the year to take all the figures in turn. otherwise you could always change statistics about waits until the end of the yeah >> somewhat stupid. >> somewhat stupid. >> stupid sunak. >> somewhat stupid. >> stupid sunak . well, well, by >> stupid sunak. well, well, by the end of the year, obviously

the end of the year, obviously the veranda policy will be there . two readings by the way, and those numbers will come down because they will be that deterrent. >> there are two reasons why sunakis >> there are two reasons why sunak is waiting towards the end of the year for the election. i think we all know what they are. one is because a week is a long time in politics and he's desperately hoping that six months is going to be an age in politics is enough to turn his fortunes around, and this little bit of good news about the economy that the mail front page was celebrating yesterday can become even better news. i still don't think people are listening. i think they've tuned out. i don't think people are feeling in their pockets, but the second reason this is the in a way, this is only speculation. but this is what i've always thought. sunak doesn't want to be prime minister for less than two years. i think you see that as a humiliation. and so he won't go before the autumn. and i've said it right the way through, despite the rumours that he was going to go in may orjune that he was going to go in may or june or what have you. >> so you think january ? >> so you think january? >> so you think january? >> no, no, i think no, i think the autumn i think because because remember he replaced liz truss in the autumn, you know, a year and a half. >> yeah. yeah >> yeah. yeah >> all right. well liz truss. oh who she so easily forgettable. >> right . matthew stadler and >> right. matthew stadler and charlie rowley before him. thank

you very much to the two of you now folks, for all the best analysis and opinion on that story and more, you can go to our website, gbnews.com. now there's still plenty of time to win our biggest cash prize so far. a whopping £20,000. imagine having that in your bank account this summer, but you've got to be in the draw for a chance to win it. and here's how. >> don't miss your chance to win our biggest cash prize so far. a totally terrific £20,000 in tax free cash to make your summer spectacular . you could use that spectacular. you could use that cash to splash out on a holiday , cash to splash out on a holiday, make the garden glam, buy a new car, or just save it for a rainy day. whatever you'd spend £20,000 on, make sure you don't miss the chance to make it yours for another chance to win. £20,000 in tax free cash . text £20,000 in tax free cash. text win to 63232. text cost £2 plus one standard network rate message or post your name and

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>> we're gb news, and we come from a proud tradition of british journalism. >> that's why i'm so excited to be here. >> it's something so new. >> it's something so new. >> the first news channel to be launched in britain in over 30 years. >> launched to represent the views of the british people . to views of the british people. to go where other broadcasters refuse to go. >> how do you find out about the story in the first place? >> launched with one aim to be the fearless champion of britain, it was an absolutely fantastic atmosphere here. >> this is gb news holibobs channel gb news britain's news channel. >> welcome back to gb news sunday with me, darren grimes on your tv, online and on digital radio. so susan hall, she said wes streeting of labour. he says shadow health secretary put her in danger by claiming that a victory for miss hall in the london mayoral election would be a win for racists, white supremacists and islamophobes.

the conservative candidate for city hall, who was beaten by sadiq khan, said that the despicable comment by the shadow health secretary had led to her feeling unsafe on public transport, and she actually suggested he order an apology. let's see what my panel make of this. i mean, matthew would you be comfortable telling charlie rowley he's, islam islamophobe a racist, a white supremacist ? he racist, a white supremacist? he voted for susan hall. >> no, i wouldn't no , i mean, so >> no, i wouldn't no, i mean, so surely it follows that wes streeting ought to apologise. i wasn't impressed by that contribution by wes streeting . i contribution by wes streeting. i mean, you know, i'm on a sticky wicket today. i both of these topics are relatively hard to defend coming from a sort of left leaning perspective, because i think as we were discussing, that starmer has got himself into potentially a bit of hot water over the natalie elphicke adoption, as it were . elphicke adoption, as it were. and now this wes streeting story is gaining, gaining a bit of pace because susan hall has

decided to come out now and say her bit about it. >> we've got the tweet on, on screen here where streeting says a win for susan hall and the conservatives is a win for racists. white supremacists and islamophobes the world over. he thinks we've got global reach. susan hall's campaign has been fought from the gutter with dangerous and divisive politics. london. we cannot let her win vote city. >> well, he doubled down on it as well. wes streeting he did, and he used some examples of racist votes backing susan hall. there's no doubt that there are plenty of racists who would have wanted her win because they didn't want sadiq khan to win, but that that that language that he used , i have to say, i didn't support. >> well, i'm sure i could point out a few dodgy people that have voted for sadiq khan, right. >> i'm sure there. >> i'm sure there. >> i'm sure there. >> i'm sure there are the question is whether it sort of reaches a tipping point or not. i think that susan hall was a weak candidate. i mean, i've met her in a, in a in a gb news context. she was very nice to me. i was astonished that the conservatives chose her to be

nice to you anymore. >> i have to say no, i'm not criticising her as a human being. >> but my job is to give you political analysis. i was astonished that the tories chose her as their candidate. had they chosen someone with charisma and oomph? i mean , khan might have oomph? i mean, khan might have been more seriously challenged than he was . than he was. >> i'm afraid. >> i'm afraid. >> i'm afraid i wasn't available. >> do you accept that, though, charlie? do you think actually one. do you think susan hall was a weaker candidate? and secondly, do you think wes streeting ought to apologise for this incendiary tweet, well, i definitely think we ought to apologise, i, as labour politicians go, wes streeting is actually quite good. you know, he does a lot of media. he's got his politic stuff. >> he's nice, isn't it? >> exactly. which is why i think it's below him and it's beneath him. that's not in the news anymore. >> i think he needs to remember that. >> exactly. and therefore doubung >> exactly. and therefore doubling down. you know, the first bit of criticism that he got about, you know, flak of that tweet. then he decided to double down, which is quite student politics. that is very student. exactly. and i think he's, you know, he i think if he was looking at himself in the mirror this morning, he would reflect and recognise that he's

probably better than that. >> it reminds us you've got to be very careful with your rhetoric when you're in a we have to be careful as media commentators, but when you are likely to become the next health secretary, when you are a very senior person in what looks likely to be the next government of this country, you do have a real responsibility to be careful with your language. and if you've made a mistake , maybe if you've made a mistake, maybe he doesn't believe he made a mistake. and as i say, i think a lot of racists will have voted for susan hall. but if you. but it's the point that it's suggesting that she is those things. yes. that i think is problematic and then be big enough to say, okay, i've got it wrong. >> one of our viewers says, you should, i think streeting ought to apologise for his tweet. if he did, i wouldn't accept it, though, because apologies from mps come easy. they're insincere. how dare he call me a racist white supremacist and an islamophobe. he should have lost the party whip. would you go that far, matthew? >> no, i think that's going a little bit fah one thing that i did take issue with on the susan hall campaign, and i put it to her, was that she said she was quoted as having said that jews

and i'm one of them are or should be afraid in khan's london. >> well, many of them are and i think actually the quote was should be afraid of sadiq khan. >> now, she said to me that she didn't actually say that there should be afraid in sadiq khan's london. my worry was that that was somehow coupling together. sadiq khan , who is constantly sadiq khan, who is constantly attacked by racists and islamophobes for the fact that he is muslim, and suggesting that somehow he's anti—jewish because he's muslim. she would say she was intending no such thing and she would also say that some jews, and this is, i'm afraid, true, are scared in london because of these marches. >> well, but this goes to the point about security , because point about security, because where there are many people of whatever religion that feel unsafe in london for whatever reasons, and we can debate those , the point that susan's making is that she feels unsafe now travelling on public transport on the back of where's his tweet? who by the way, had people they didn't turn up to his house. they thought that they'd turned up to his house. this eco mob? yes which is appalling. which is appalling. so he would know better or should know better. having had

this eco loons turn up to what wasn't his property. but they said that it was that they were outside his front door. he knows only too well as someone as an mp, as an mp, a member of parliament, as a shadow cabinet minister the threat that they're all under, the threats that they can face by people of the public. can face by people of the pubuc.so can face by people of the public. so the idea to tweet something as crass as he did and to put susan in this now very unsafe position because she feels scared to take public transport. i think that's just something that politicians have from him. >> were you sir keir starmer ? >> were you sir keir starmer? >> were you sir keir starmer? >> no, but i would if you are wanting to be as he continues to tell us, obviously the next prime minister but former director of public prosecutions, someone that is always fair and someone that is always fair and someone that is always fair and someone that talks about justice because that's what he wants in many things . i would ask him to many things. i would ask him to talk to wes or if i were him, i would talk to wes and ask, where's to apologise? because it's quite clear that that tweet is unacceptable. >> can i just quickly say maybe he was feeling defensive on behalf of sadiq khan, who it is? absolutely. there's no doubt about this has received horrific racism and himself has to go

around with security simply because he happens to be muslim, right? >> so anton says streeting should apologise. there's nothing wrong with what the lady has said and all the rest of it. so, well , we'll leave that to so, well, we'll leave that to the viewers to decide. are you with me, though? darren grimes on gb news sunday. plenty more coming up on today's show. first of all, though, here's the news with tatiana . with tatiana. >> darren. thank you. the top stories from the gb newsroom claims a british israeli hostage has died in gaza. are being urgently investigated by the foreign office. hamas says nadav popplewell, who was kidnapped dunng popplewell, who was kidnapped during the october attack in israel , was during the october attack in israel, was injured during an airstrike a month ago. undated footage of the 51 year old with a black eye was also released . a black eye was also released. the government says it's seeking more information after the terrorist group made the claim. in a video , tory defector in a video, tory defector natalie elphicke denies she lobbied the justice secretary

over her then husband sex offences trial sir robert buckland claims the mp, who crossed the floor to labour, requested the case be moved to a lower profile court. speaking to the sunday times, he says she was told the request was completely inappropriate. her spokesperson refuted the accusation in the mail on sunday, describing it as nonsense . applications have nonsense. applications have opened for funded childcare , opened for funded childcare, part of an expansion of the government's current offer for working families. parents of children who are older than nine months from september are now eligible for support. the full rollout will see support increase to 30 hours a week by september next year. increase to 30 hours a week by september next year . weather september next year. weather warnings for thunderstorms are in place across the country, with britain's warm spell set to end this afternoon . the met end this afternoon. the met office has issued a new alert for rain in southwest england. eastern areas of northern ireland can also expect a heavy downpour, with a warning in place until 6 am. on tuesday

for the latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news .com/ alerts. now back to . darren. alerts. now back to. darren. >> thanks as ever, tatiana . now >> thanks as ever, tatiana. now remember folks, you can let me know your thoughts on all the stories we've been discussing today by visiting gbnews.com. forward slash your c. i've got the conversation open right here. or message us on our socials. we're @gbnews now. there's lots more coming up on this show. thousands of people have been protesting in the swedish city of malmo against israel's participation in the eurovision song contest. now, of course, that comes after the hamas attack on october 7th and the interaction in gaza subsequently. that's casting a shadow over that final of that glitzy contest. what do you all make of it? all of that and more to come. i'm darren grimes and you're with gb news, britain's

news channel

welcome back to gb news sunday with me. darren grimes on your tv , online and on grimes on your tv, online and on digital radio. now, europe . mish digital radio. now, europe. mish and slogan may well be united by music , but this year it was music, but this year it was anything but a scandal and chaos engulfed the competition in the end, it was switzerland act nemo. they finally found nemo, who walked away with the trophy , who walked away with the trophy, the country's first win since they won with celine dion. but all eyes were on israel's with eden golan, who placed fifth. her act was booed by fans in the arena, but she scored 323 points from the public vote, with a full 12 points coming from uk

viewers. i say well done to each and every one of you. now we're joined by gb news reporter charlie peters, who's in malmo. i mean charlie, it looks like a scorcher out there. it's hotter than it is in this studio and that's saying something . that's saying something. >> yeah, it's gorgeous here in sunny sweden and it's been a quiet day in comparison to the utter chaos that came upon malmo yesterday. in the afternoon, as protesters gathered just a couple of hundred metres away from where i am now, and started that long march from the city centre towards the west of the town, before some of the men migrated over towards malema's arena at 9 pm. ahead of the start of the grand final. of course , when that started, course, when that started, i think you and i were live at the time, darren, because there was a significant police presence as a significant police presence as a scuffle kicked off between the pro—palestine protesters and the police on duty there, both danish and swedish police gathered last night for a very serious police and security

operation. they didn't pull any punches. operation. they didn't pull any punches . all the resources that punches. all the resources that you'd anticipate for such a high profile event were in place. but it wasn't just the scuffles outside the arena that's caught much of the world's attention. it's also what happened inside because there were some protests from the crowd. the booing, as you mentioned , of eden golan you mentioned, of eden golan dunng you mentioned, of eden golan during her performance. then finally finishing second from the silent european majority in that voting. but also we heard some political statements from those on the stage. other contestants making statements such as, you know, peace will triumph over hate and other similar statements. we also saw the irish contestant having the words ceasefire written on their costume. now, of course, before the eurovision final went ahead, some of the contestants had signed a letter demanding a ceasefire in the war. and i'm sure that both the political offices of hamas and israel listened to that demand very keenly. but so far it has been

ignored and the war continues. but it was very much the war in gaza, and indeed the treatment of eden golan here in malmo that attracted much of the attention attracted much of the attention at last night's performance. they say it's united by music, but really it was disunited by geopolitics. >> indeed. charlie peters, a very well said, very beautifully put. thank you very much for that update. and so some of our comments coming in about this and arthur is delighted, actually, that ireland was a well put in their box by being beat, beaten by israel in that overall score, especially thanks to the public vote. that's what put israel up there. let's see what my panel make of that. matthew, did you watch eurovision? >> well, first of all, i would never watch eurovision. >> it's completely unwatchable from the clips that i saw of it on, on on whatsapp groups , it on, on on whatsapp groups, it was a sort of enormous amount of nudhy was a sort of enormous amount of nudity and sort of sexual content. when you know that that little girls and boys up and

down the continent are going to be watching. so what is all that about? sorry, i've got suncream in my eyes, but so but the other reason i wouldn't watch eurovision is because who makes the best pop music in the world? we do right britain. we can proudly say that on britain's news channel, but you wouldn't know if you're watching eurovision, because our contestants that never seem to win or hardly ever seem to win, and also our acts that we choose don't seem to be particularly representative of the genius that keeps getting pumped out from these shores. so eurovision, to me is a sort of gimmicky nonsense. the thing that i did take very seriously , that i did take very seriously, actually, was this the hounding of this 20 year old israeli contestant, which i thought was thoroughly disgraceful. now we have to say, every time we talk about what israel is doing in gaza, how horrific october the 7th was, it was absolutely beyond our imagination. however, i am deeply opposed to what israel is doing in gaza, and i predicted it. and i and i've thought this all the way through that doesn't mean that you hound

a 20 year old woman who is not responsible for any of this, and it is particularly jarring and i think grotesque , when you think grotesque, when you consider the acts of extreme sexual violence that were carried out against young israeli women, many of them at this music festival on october the 7th. i mean, do these people have no shame of course. fine. find the right context in which to protest the horrors of what is happening to gaza and women and children, but to almost stalk this 20 year old israeli is disgusting. >> yeah, she ought to have the maximum security she had. >> israelis, m15 or actually there with her, in malmo. charlie though do you think actually one of our viewers has suggested that actually the agitators that take to the streets and are creating the noise, that is actually, i think , intimidation towards a 20 year old, she couldn't leave her hotel room. no, and all of these. but the people taken to these. but the people taken to the streets, both in britain and in malmo, they are in the minority because actually, the pubuc minority because actually, the public voice for israel was

incredibly strong. would that not suggest that actually we don't have as big an issue as we may well think by a very vocal minority? >> i think that's probably true, yes, but i can't echo what what matthew just said enough. it is a music competition. it is something that is supposed to bnng something that is supposed to bring light and hope, across to the world through music, the grandstanding, frankly , of grandstanding, frankly, of whether your other competitors that had to be thrown out, whether you were a reporter, supposed to be bringing the results, you had to be stood down on the day through protest because of what they see as is in terms of israel's actions. it is grandstanding on their part. these people should stick to the music, and everybody should recognise that this girl, this young girl, brilliant singer at the age of 20, was representing her country, which she was absolutely entitled to do. she should be able to do that without any kind of fear or intimidation whatsoever. and the people that were protesting, or the people that made her feel

unsafe, have got an awful lot to answer for. the music , charlie, answer for. the music, charlie, but i don't want that irish non—binary thing ever creating music ever again. >> to be perfectly honest, i don't think we i don't think we want to call human beings things non—binary. >> no, no. but i wouldn't call people things. >> listen, what do you call a non—binary person? >> a person, but not a thing? >> a person, but not a thing? >> listen, i will just make an i hopeis >> listen, i will just make an i hope is an important point. having condemned and the hounding of this particular woman, this young woman , i would woman, this young woman, i would say that there are absolutely legitimate arguments around whether cultural boycotts should be instituted against particular countries. there's a perfect, perfectly reasonable case to be made for a boycott of some sort against israel. people will fall down on different sides of that . down on different sides of that. and i've just been in pretoria in south africa. on receiving , in south africa. on receiving, on behalf of my late father, the most the highest honour that the south african state bestows for his work, telling the story of the struggle against apartheid. it was a great privilege . i was

it was a great privilege. i was there, presented it by the president ramaphosa. but next to me in line was the son receiving an award on behalf of his father, who had been central to the stop the war, stop the stop the stop the war, stop the stop the tour protests in new zealand, where rugby is a religion to try and stop the new zealanders going to apartheid south africa, and there was a real strength to that anti—apartheid stop the tour movement, where there were these sporting boycotts that helped, you might argue, bring an end to that appalling regime in south africa. i'm not comparing israel to south africa. i'm saying that there is sometimes a need for cultural and sporting boycotts, whether whether whether israel is right for that. there will be a big debate about it. >> yes. i don't think that the two things are the same as each other, but yeah, right, gemma says totally agree. eurovision was totally sexualised last night. if i had small children watching i would have turned it oveh watching i would have turned it over. right. oveh right. >> see any reason i tuned in. >> see any reason i tuned in. >> oh goodness. see. right folks you're with me darren grimes on gb news sunday. lots more coming up on today's show.

gb news sunday. lots more coming up on today's show . why is tv up on today's show. why is tv presenter james up on today's show. why is tv presenterjames may up on today's show. why is tv presenter james may telling everyone to stop panicking over pub closures? it keeps me awake at night, james. all of that and more to come. you're with gb news, britain's news channel

welcome back to gb news sunday with me. darren grimes. on your tv, online and on digital radio. stop panicking over pub closures. that's the plea of james may. the tv presenter co—owns a hostelry and claims it's the bad ones that don't survive, and believes britain is oversubscribed, with watering holes and the sector's struggles are simply a cull that will eliminate bad pubs. let's see what my panel makes of that. charlie i'm worried about the

lack of pubs closure of pubs. you know when you see a beautiful old pub that's been around for goodness only knows how long, shutting its doors because it's no longer commercially viable. i find that really, really quite upsetting . really, really quite upsetting. >> yes. me too, i don't think. i think that's a little bit strong from, from from james there. i have to say, i know very well obviously , but i'll tell him obviously, but i'll tell him when the next, when i next see him, i'll, i'll make my views known. but i don't think you can never have too many watering holes because they are cultural institutions. you know, this country is it has a we have a proud tradition, a proud tradition of pubs. they were the heart of communities. they're a centre points where people gather around, have a drink, talk about the week's events, talk about the week's events, talk about the week's events, talk about what's happening in their lives. they're social hubs >> have government done enough, do you think, to actually help them out? >> well, i think that i mean, i, i'm struggling a little bit because i think there will be occasions where people have tried to run a venture, whether it be a pub, a restaurant or

anything sort of like that in the hospitality sector. and it hasn't become commercially viable because of costs, because of bad accounting or because of bad business people. that's that is just a fact of life that happensin is just a fact of life that happens in every sector. so there will be pubs that are closing because they've been poorly run, but i do think there will be occasions where people are forced out of the market. so if local councils aren't being able to pass on business rates, for example, maybe central government can do more. it always tries to do more to cut beer duty and things like that, to keep pubs going. so i don't think it's necessarily just as as plain as what james is saying is that, you know, bad pubs will just inevitably be falling by the wayside. >> the idea that you two gentlemen, you raging capitalists, support the government stepping in to protect pubs seems to me to be particularly peculiar. if a pub isn't commercially viable, it has to be allowed to fail. >> it's one. it's one. >> sadiq khan. you know, he has a night time tsar that he pays well over 100 grand. yes and businesses are going under like you wouldn't believe in london.

>> she's a real nightmare. well, what's your point? >> well, the point is that labour aren't exactly helping out these businesses, are they? >> so i'm saying that pubs and restaurants and pubs should not be protected by the state. >> i'm all for a pub. >> i'm all for a pub. >> i'm all for a pub. >> i'm not. >> i'm not. >> i'm not suggesting that we subsidise pub that has been suggested. >> that's what james may is railing against, although i have to say it's all very well for james may and presumably his very posh gastropub. but if a pub is not fit for purpose and may makes this point, you know you've got to have decent clean loos and a clean pub and also realistically , in this day and realistically, in this day and age, you know, times change. you've got to put on some decent grub as well if you want it to survive. we can't have the government stepping in to save our pubs in any way. my understanding over the last ten, 20 years or whatever it is as a percentage, we haven't lost that many pubs so they're not going under any time soon. >> i hope not. as a man that likes a drink , i can't cope with likes a drink, i can't cope with the prospect. i do actually, yes i but i it's, it's synonymous with britain is it not. and i'm not suggesting for a second that we subsidise them or anything like that, but we help them

through tax relief in things like that, surely. >> yeah. i think , you know, as >> yeah. i think, you know, as i think there will be costs that, you know, pubs have had to encounter through importing sort of barrels and beers and all the rest of it, you know, that has had an impact on the, you know, the global markets inflation obviously hasn't helped. yes. you've got to have people coming through the doors. it is actually i don't want to see where we're could be where we could be heading for is where people and it happens already. but too many people i think dnnk but too many people i think drink at home and they preload because you can get cheap booze in supermarkets. people don't go to their pubs anymore because actually the cost of a pint, particularly in london, is above and beyond because they're social hubs for people. >> but the idea that we've got to have people coming through the door, you some sound like some sort of hard left, raging socialist now. well, i'll, i'll, we'll talk about it over a pint after this . sound like the man after this. sound like the man in the pub? >> thank you very much to my panel there. charlie rowley and matthew stadlen. you're with me. darren grimes on gb news sunday. lots more coming up on the show. first of all though, we're going to get a look at the weather with catherine.

>> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb solar sponsors of weather on. gb news. hello, welcome to your gb news. hello, welcome to your gb news weather update brought to you by the met office. but the outlook drier in the east, but turning unsettled in the west and also feeling cooler as we go into monday. so high pressure is going to be moving its way eastwards. we do have some weather fronts that's bringing a focus for some showers or longer spells of rain through the rest of today, and we do have some warnings in force as well for thunderstorm. thunderstorms are going to be pushing their way northwards , affecting northern northwards, affecting northern england and also into scotland . england and also into scotland. some of these are going to be quite heavy at times, giving hail and thunder elsewhere turning drier. some low cloud across western parts, clearest in the east, but temperatures still ranging around 10 or 11 degrees, so it is going to be a mild start as we start monday. but a bit of an east west split in the weather once that low cloud generally clears across much of england and wales , it

much of england and wales, it will turn drier and brighter. showers coming into scotland, but further west we have an area of low pressure bringing outbreaks of rain across northern ireland, western parts of england and also into south wales too. so it is going to be feeling cooler for all highs of up to maybe 20 or 22 degrees as we go through tuesday. that rain shift its focus further towards the north and east, with showers following, and then that really sets the scene for the outlook as well. so longer spells of rain on tuesday, wednesday and thursday . sunny spells, thursday. sunny spells, scattered showers, not as warm but still highs of 20 or 21 degrees. looks like things are heating up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on . gb news. sponsors of weather on. gb news. >> thank you very much, katherine. lots more coming up on today's show. the welsh government, they're using satellites to spy on homeowners with big gardens as it seeks to overhaul council tax. and

starmer is considering bringing in the measures to england. all of that and more to come. i'm darren grimes and you're with gb news. britain's news channel

hello. and very warm. welcome back to gb news sunday. thank you very much for your company this lunchtime. i'm darren grimes, and for the next hour, i'll be keeping you company on tv, online and on digital radio. coming up in this hour , the coming up in this hour, the welsh government is using satellites to spy on homeowners with big gardens as it seeks to overhaul council tax. and starmer is considering bringing in the measures to england. could secure b spying on a neighbourhood near you. then civil service diversity jobs will be banned in a new crackdown on whitehall woke spending in a radical overhaul aimed at ending the back door

politicisation of the civil service. but should the government be focusing on more important matters than battling the woke nonsense? what say you and churches, universities and hospitals can apply for a free framed official portrait of king charles to display as the government expands its £8 million scheme to cement public support for the monarchy. but is this nothing but an outdated , this nothing but an outdated, expensive practice ? do you want expensive practice? do you want a portrait of charlie boy ? let a portrait of charlie boy? let me know. gbnews.com/yoursay. let me know. gbnews.com/yoursay. let me give me your views on all the stories we've been discussing or message me on our socials. we're @gbnews. first of all though, we're going to get you news with tatiana . tatiana. >> darren. thank you. the top stories at 2:01 claims a british israeli hostage has died in

gaza, are being urgently investigated by the foreign office. hamas says nadav popplewell , who was kidnapped popplewell, who was kidnapped dunng popplewell, who was kidnapped during the october attack in israel, was injured during an airstrike a month ago. undated footage of the 51 year old with a black eye was also released . a black eye was also released. the government says it's seeking more information after the terrorist group made the claim. in a video, deputy foreign secretary andrew mitchell is condemning the actions of hamas . condemning the actions of hamas. >> my heart goes out to the family at this extraordinary time with the barbarism of these appalling terrorist acts who, have treated the family in such a cynical, cruel and heartless way. and, we must wait for further information to become available. but, what an appalling, dreadful experience for this poor family to have to suffer at the hands of this, this absolutely dreadful terrorist organisation . terrorist organisation. >> tory defector natalie elphicke denies she lobbied the

justice secretary over her then husband's sex offences trial. sir robert buckland claims the mp, who crossed the floor to labouh mp, who crossed the floor to labour, requested the case be moved to a lower profile court. speaking to the sunday times, he says she was told the request was completely inappropriate . was completely inappropriate. her spokesperson refuted the accusation, describing it as nonsense. in the mail on sunday, mr elphicke ended the marriage when her husband was convicted of sexually assaulting two women and jailed for two years. at least seven people have been killed and 17 injured after an apartment block in russia collapsed , state media says. collapsed, state media says. fragments of a ukrainian missile , which were downed by russia's air defence system, landed on the building in the city of belgorod. rescue efforts were hampered when the roof also collapsed, with rubble covering emergency crews . they've now emergency crews. they've now resumed their work in a bid to find more survivors . find more survivors. applications have opened for funded childcare and expansion on the government's current offer for working families.

parents of children who are older than nine months from september are now eligible for support. parents of two year olds have been able to access 15 hours of funded childcare since last month. the full rollout will see support increase to 30 hours a week by september next year. hours a week by september next year . labour hours a week by september next year. labour has hours a week by september next year . labour has rejected a year. labour has rejected a report claiming its fair pay agreements in social care could cost taxpayers £42 billion a yeah cost taxpayers £42 billion a year. the party says it wants to empower adult social care professionals and the trade unions that represent them, so they can negotiate better deals . they can negotiate better deals. the policy exchange think tank says the total cost of the proposed wage rise in 2023 to 2024 would have been at least £9.9 billion per year. labour says the claims are based on fiction and do not reflect party policy . weather warnings for policy. weather warnings for thunderstorms are in place across the country, with britain's warm spell ending this afternoon. temperatures are still expected to reach around 27 degrees in central parts of

the country before the wet weather rolls in. the met office has issued new alerts for rain in southwest england. heavy downpours are also expected to hit eastern areas of northern ireland, with a warning in place until 6 am. on tuesday. ireland, with a warning in place until 6 am. on tuesday . and two until 6 am. on tuesday. and two skydivers have become the first to navigate their way through tower bridge, wearing wing suits . the pair, from austria, jumped from a helicopter and flew across the river thames, reaching a top speed of 152mph before successfully winging their way between the bridge towers. the stunt followed extensive training in oxfordshire, which involved the use of cranes to simulate the structure . for the latest structure. for the latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr

code on your screen or go to gb news. com slash alerts. now back to . darren. to. darren. >> thanks as ever, tatiana. we'll get stuck in to today's topics . now the welsh government topics. now the welsh government is using satellites to spy on homeowners with big gardens. this comes as it seeks to overhaul council tax. the the telegraph claimed that by using satellites, welsh labour are targeting families who live in areas with good schools or lower crime rates to hit them with higher council tax bills. these are under plans being drawn up by the senate. sir keir starmer insisted that labour will not raise taxes, but he's also said that the welsh government is a blueprint for what labour can do across the united kingdom . so it across the united kingdom. so it begs the question could sir keir starmer soon be spying on a neighbourhood near you ? now?

neighbourhood near you? now? joining me now is gb news political correspondent , political correspondent, katherine forster. catherine, you've already got the tarpaulin up in your garden covering it in preparation, haven't you, if only i had a house sufficiently grand and big to be really affected by this. darren, but yes, this is what's going on in labour run wales. 1.5 million homes and the valuation office is part of hmrc have been tasked with looking at the houses in wales because they want to review the council tax bands . review the council tax bands. that was last done in wales about 20 years ago, because they say they want to address property wealth and rebalance the current system. so they're looking at things like the rates of crime, they're looking at things like if you live near a good school and they're using satellites to see how big the plot of land is, whether you've put an extension on in the last 20 years, etc. etc. so they're looking at you from above , from

looking at you from above, from the sky. now, of course, the conservatives have jumped on this and said, look , if labour this and said, look, if labour get into power in the united kingdom as a whole , well, this kingdom as a whole, well, this is what is coming your way. so michael gove, the housing secretary, has said these big brother tactics will punish families with higher bills simply for having good schools or lower crimes. now i think it is worth saying that council tax bandsin is worth saying that council tax bands in england were currently set with the value of people's properties. back in 1991, so nearly a third of a century ago, and a lot of people's houses will have changed since then. and also there is a feeling certainly in the treasury that it benefits people unduly with bigger homes and unduly punishes people sort of at the bottom end of the scale. so the treasury have suggested to numerous chancellors that it is worth addressing. but david cameron

didn't want to go there. tony blair didn't go there because it's politically difficult. so it's politically difficult. so it's happening in wales. but would sir keir starmer do it in england? they've said they've got no plans to , but they got no plans to, but they haven't ruled it out either. >> indeed, hmm'hmm katherine forster there. gb news political correspondent thank you. as eveh correspondent thank you. as ever, my panel now are still here. charlie rowley former spouse to michael gove and of course matthew stadlen, broadcaster. now charlie, i'm wondering , do you think because wondering, do you think because catherine made the point there that actually they haven't been updated? these council tax bands since 1991 now is that before you were put on this planet, nearly . nearly. >> i was i was you were here i arrived i arrived a year earlier. >> so but surely that that begs the question. something needs to change, right? it needs reform. but i don't know whether or not

it needs to. peer lending an eye from a satellite saying your garden is looking nice. >> well, just when i thought, you know, the labour, the labour party couldn't look down on you anymore, they've now actually come up with a policy to make sure that they can do that in practice. it's ridiculous, you are going to be spied on. the idea also that labour run wales is going to be a blueprint for the nation. it has the worst ratings in terms of the nhs right across the country. so that really does need to be addressed . and i think people addressed. and i think people should be looking long and hard at the welsh labour government to make sure that these kind of practices don't come into to the uk, but it is a farce that people you can do it in a different way. you can always try and change the council tax bands. you can do whatever, but it is effectively a tax on aspiration and trying to increase taxes on on people who have worked hard and worked hard, save hard all of their lives to have a decent standard of living that have communities that have created good schools , that have created good schools, good communities, and they are now going to face a hike in their taxes by what could be an

incoming labour government. >> how can you possibly say that this is a tax? or would be a tax on aspiration? so much of our wealth in this country is entrenched in our property . if entrenched in our property. if you remember, back in 2015, ed miliband was talking about a mansion tax and vince cable floated before that. the idea of a mansion tax . now there are all a mansion tax. now there are all sorts of problems with that. but as we've just been hearing, the council tax bands haven't been played around with for what, 30, 33 years. but let me answer your point because it's an important one. people go out to work and work incredibly hard and get taxed on their income. surely it is better to tax a little bit more progressively and fairly on property through council tax than it is to tackle tax hard working people like yourself or darren. i'll leave myself out of it for the current. for the current purposes on your income, the income tax obviously is necessary, but high income tax ,

necessary, but high income tax, you can make a much more persuasive case of being a tax on aspiration rather than taxing a little bit more on property so that someone in a massive house doesn't pay roughly the same as someone who's in a, in a, you know, in a much, much smaller property . property. >> but you often find sorry just to pick on you often find people in these big houses, if they are big houses and they are very lucrative because they are assets. these people might be assets. these people might be asset rich, but they are cash p00h >> that's exactly right. >> that's exactly right. >> and that's where the money goes to die, doesn't it? >> because you have people whose properties have boomed, sitting on these mountains of cash that are untapped. >> but then if you're taxing them again, if you're increasing them again, if you're increasing the taxes on their asset, which is their home, which they're going to pass on to their the next generation in terms of inheritance, you are taxed. you're giving people a double whammy. >> so it is it is you'd rather raise if you if you want better pubuc raise if you if you want better public services, you'd rather raise income tax. you prepare to pay raise income tax. you prepare to pay more income tax than you already are. >> no i would like to see increase investment in this country from abroad. that's why we have a brilliant trade secretary. that's why we've got a brilliant trade operation across the uk to make sure that

we're getting that inward investment. i want to see lower taxes, to increase innovation , taxes, to increase innovation, better taxes to turbocharge knowledge, to turbocharge the economy , attacks it. economy, attacks it. >> that's all fine. i'm very pro investment and all the rest of it. we're all pro growth. the question of how we get there. but in terms of the tax system, we know that tax has to happen, has to be levied . surely a more has to be levied. surely a more progressive approach is to tap to in tap in, to hang on. >> this is not an untapped wealth . wealth. >> rather than hammering people who are working. ten 12 hour days to put bread on the table, the few things i would say though, we've already got council tax bands, right? >> so people would already already argue that bigger houses are paying, but there are farce. >> there are farce because the difference is i live in a decent sized house in london, right? and i pay a negligible amount of council tax, particularly when you compare to what i pay to someone who lives in a much smaller property . would this smaller property. would this affect me? it absolutely would affect me? it absolutely would affect me? it absolutely would affect me . and when ed miliband affect me. and when ed miliband was talking about a mansion tax, which would have also affected me, not because i live in a mansion, but i live in central

london. i still voted labour because i want to live in a marginally fairer society. >> you are, but but you are. >> you are, but but you are. >> i will get you out. you are a hard working person. you're working incredibly hard and i see that every day when we sort of do these discussions. but you're not necessarily you will be impacted. but think about the pensioner that has got this as an asset. they will be hit the hardest. >> you can protect them because it's a really important point that he raises be taxing pensions . pensions. >> this would be true of a mansion tax and no one's talking about a mansion tax anymore. there are a lot of people think we should be. you can bring in protections so that you absolutely do not have a situation where a gp, they're saying, no, let me finish where a gb news viewer at home, it might be a pensioner, is not going to be turfed out of their house because their property went up. they're going to be spied onto their own. they're not going to be turfed out of their house if they if they can't afford to pay a higher band of council, they'd have to be safeguards in place. of course they would. and then you've got hmrc apparently snooping through your bank account as well . account as well. >> it just feels like we're on the spy and spy thing . the spy and spy thing. >> this is a sensationalist headune >> this is a sensationalist headline from the telegraph. they're using technology to try and understand how big people's properties are. by the way, i

haven't got my tarpaulin up, but some of your comments today. darren. yes, you. it's as though you're auditioning to to be be a stand up comedian. >> i'm chuckling away in the breaks . breaks. >> well, jonathan says, darren, this garden thing terrifies me. ispent this garden thing terrifies me. i spent my savings buying a piece of land beside my small garden , from the local farmer to garden, from the local farmer to plant as woodland for the benefit of wildlife and the environment. it has no financial value and i can barely afford it, as it is another tax that would break me. >> look, don't bother me about the size of the garden. >> it's really straightforward. if you live in a big expensive house, you should pay progressively more in tax and not a huge amount. but progressively. as someone who lives in a smaller house, it's simple. it's not rocket science, is it? >> well, sir keir starmer is going to be very busy on google maps in number 10. downing street apparently. but anyway, we'll move on, folks, yes. suella braverman has called for the conservatives to abolish the two child benefit cap due to thousands of families losing around £3,200 annually. in a dramatic rebuke of her own

party's record on the welfare state. now the former home secretary is urging prime minister rishi sunak to scrap the cap, which limits the amount of households can claim in benefits from the department for work and pensions. i want to know is she right ? work and pensions. i want to know is she right? i work and pensions. i want to know is she right ? i know know is she right? i know there's diverging opinion, mixed opinion on gbnews.com forward slash your say about this. some people saying if you can't afford to have children then you ought not to have children and others. and i think i'm sort of coming around to this view saying, hang on a minute, we need to have more children in this country . where are you at? this country. where are you at? >> i nearly fell off my chair having my porridge this morning when i when i discovered that suella braverman and is now to the left of the labour party on, on on welfare. i mean, i thought this was absolutely out of the blue, completely extraordinary. rishi sunak must be tearing out his immaculately coiffed hair over his morning coffee, because this person who he sacked as

home secretary just comes back to bite him in the bottom time and time again. but i think the really interesting political thing here is to make a serious point. the labour party, as i understand it, would not scrap this policy, would they? they would keep it in place , this two would keep it in place, this two child limit. and when it came in, people on the left certainly me thought this was a deeply cruel policy. the idea that you would be penalising children, it's not a child's fault that the third child in a family that might not be able to afford them is born. why punish a child and suella braverman for goodness sake? for once, i actually agree with her, is suggesting that this might be one way of pulling more children out of poverty and so on. this okay, congratulations to her. >> pete says the two child cap must stay. there's a lot of people who think , actually, it's people who think, actually, it's deeply unfair that the state should have to fund all of your kids if you're going hell for leather , and having more of leather, and having more of them, then perhaps you can afford. >> well, i think that's right. i think, look, you know, we were

talking about the economy a second ago and just, you know, 0.6% growth. and you want to see the economy to continue to grow . the economy to continue to grow. now it's a very, very turbulent situation as it is. we all know that. so i think the idea that you start removing things that could ultimately increase the benefit bill, the welfare bill, would not be the right thing to do. >> so you want more migration? >> so you want more migration? >> you'd like more migration, would you? >> more immigration? >> more immigration? >> i'm pro this. >> i'm pro this. >> if we don't have children, charlie, how are we going to afford to pay for our older people? >> i'm all in favour of the australian points based system that we have in this country, which allows us to pick and choose who needs to come to this country to fill those jobs, to plug country to fill those jobs, to plug those those holes where there are gaps. but i'm also in favour of making sure that where we do have people, off sick, out of work , for whatever reason, of work, for whatever reason, the most economically inactive people , students or whatever, people, students or whatever, we're getting them trained up in the jobs that need , doing in the the jobs that need, doing in the first place without having to rely necessarily on on immigration. >> i just think it is a really appalling policy, and i'm ashamed that the incoming labour government, if it is incoming, is not going to reverse this

because i repeat the point, if you are a child, a third child, why should you? and actually as a knock on effect, your siblings be plunged into poverty because your parents have decided to have a third child when perhaps they couldn't really afford it? it's not your fault. >> well , it's not your fault. >> well, gary's saying that actually it encourages people to stay on benefits . stay on benefits. >> it creates a dependency on the welfare state. and if you're brought up in that environment, then perhaps you just go on to benefits in in the future, in your own life if you get rid of the cap. >> if. yeah. >> if. yeah. >> well, yes. yeah. >> well, yes. yeah. >> exactly. yeah. yeah. no. and i think that's a fair i mean, look, you know, i'm not a parent. so and i don't envisage having kids any time soon. so i don't really know what it's like to think about that. but what i do think it is about is about fairness. and i think , yes, if fairness. and i think, yes, if you're a family and you've got two kids, the state has supported you as you as it could to help your kids to a certain point. but i think there has to be an element of responsibility on the parents to look after their kids, to be able to fund and support them. there will be other benefits, of course, through , schools, through

through, schools, through breakfast clubs, after school dinner clubs , if they need dinner clubs, if they need support with kids in those kinds of areas. but there comes a point where you just have to say it's over to you as parents to take responsibility for your family and your future. >> and to hell with the children, right? >> or, john has said, well, that's no, that's not quite. >> that's you know, that's not what i, you know, that's that's not the effect of it. well, it's not the effect of it. well, it's not because it's making people. no, because it's making people think responsible . i'm not think responsible. i'm not punishing, not responsible. >> i'm not punishing children. how can you punish a child if your family are able to, support them? and that should be the right. >> they're not able to, because some families have children and perhaps financially, it might not have been the most sensible idea. it's not the child's fault. it's my point. >> but then it's also not my responsibility. or darren's or yours. >> it is our responsibility to have our tax . have our tax. >> no, to have our taxes being funded on people that very quickly. >> i'll tell you why it is our responsibility. because where parents fail and i'm a parent and i hope i don't fail and i'm not i'm not saying that parents might not fail. it is the it is the role of society to step in to protect defenceless child .

to protect defenceless child. >> yes. well, one of the comments says if stadler wants to pay more tax, give him an appropriate tax code, but leave the rest of us alone. that's you told now , for all the best told now, for all the best analysis and opinion on that story and more, you can go to our website gbnews.com. now folks, there's still plenty of time to win our biggest cash prize so far, a whopping £20,000. imagine having that in your bank account this summer, but you've got to be in it to win it. here's how. >> don't miss your chance to win our biggest cash prize so far, a totally terrific £20,000 in tax free cash to make your summer spectacular. you could use that cash to splash out on a holiday, make the garden glam by new car, orjust save it for make the garden glam by new car, or just save it for a make the garden glam by new car, orjust save it for a rainy day. or just save it for a rainy day. whatever you'd spend £20,000 on, make sure you don't miss the chance to make it yours for another chance to win £20,000 in tax free cash . text win to

tax free cash. text win to 63232. text cost £2 plus one standard network rate message or post your name and number two gb05, p0 post your name and number two gb05, po box 8690 derby rd one nine double tee, uk . only nine double tee, uk. only entrants must be 18 or over. lines close at 5 pm. on the sist lines close at 5 pm. on the 31st of may. full terms and privacy notice at gbnews.com/win. please check the closing time if listening or watching on demand. good luck i watching on demand. good luck! >> you're with me. darren grimes on gb news sunday. lots more coming up on today's show. civil service diversity jobs will be bannedin service diversity jobs will be banned in a new crackdown on whitehall. woke spending in a radical overhaul aimed at ending the back door politicisation of the back door politicisation of the civil service. but should the civil service. but should the government be focusing on more important matters than battling woke nonsense? does this matter to you? let me know all of that and more to come. you're with gb news, britain's news channel .

>> we're gb news, and we come from a proud tradition of british journalism . british journalism. >> that's why i'm so excited to be here. it's something so new. the first news channel to be launched in britain in over 30 years. >> launched to represent the views of the british people . views of the british people. >> to go where other broadcasters refuse to go. >> how do you find out about the story in the first place? >> launched with one aim to be the fearless champion of britain, it's an absolutely fantastic atmosphere here. >> this is gb news holibobs channel gb news britain's news channel. >> welcome back to a very warm gb news sunday with me, darren grimes, on your tv, online and on digital radio. i am advised that it on digital radio. i am advised thatitis on digital radio. i am advised that it is the weather making it warm and not just matthew statman's hot air. now the civil service diversity jobs will be bannedin service diversity jobs will be banned in a new crackdown on

whitehall woke spending. this is the telegraph reporting that a radical overhaul aimed at ending the back door politicisation of the back door politicisation of the civil service mandarins will be ordered not to hire any new staff dedicated to boosting diversity, equality and inclusion , but instead on inclusion, but instead on focusing on scrapping diversity drives. so should the government be focusing on this or more important, bigger matters? perhaps let's see what my panel make of this. charlie you were in government. did you notice a lot of this wahaca and wokery over actually delivery and pubuc over actually delivery and public service, you do see it? yes. and i think it's. look, the telegraph is reporting it's a cost where all these roles are being advertised to have diversity and inclusion sort of coordinators in departments right across whitehall and in every other institution going. it costs the taxpayer £27 million. now, i think that money certainly can be better spent . i certainly can be better spent. i think everybody can agree with that because it's fundamentally

a common sense. you don't employ someone necessarily because of somebody's sex or their gender or their race or whatever. you employ them because they're the best person for the job. and it's going to be esther mcvey , i it's going to be esther mcvey, i understand, formerly of this parish, who will be making a speech tomorrow . now, the speech tomorrow. now, the minister for common sense. there you are. and she'll be giving a speech tomorrow setting this out, because it's absolutely right . you know, every penny right. you know, every penny counts. every penny. it's not government's money, it's taxpayers money. and we don't need people to be telling employers, particularly within whitehall, in particular the civil service, where there are some pretty brainy people around who they should be employing and how they should be going about it. >> i want to put a question from one of our viewers to matthew because he's ed davey says stopping woke nonsense is not a waste of money. these diversity offers are having to justify their unnecessary salaries by introducing stupidity into their employers, businesses . they employers, businesses. they throw common sense out of the window to justify their own existence , their office and existence, their office and salary. tell us, how much does the nhs waste on diversity managers, for example? >> well, this is a great hot

topic of gb news, isn't it? i mean, there are no more popular words on this channel than woke and common sense. one man's common sense is another man's something very different. my starting point is i want to live in an inclusive society , and we in an inclusive society, and we live already in a diverse society, and that should be represented in our workforce. >> well, i'd like the nhs to be keeping me alive . >> well, i'd like the nhs to be keeping me alive. i'd like >> well, i'd like the nhs to be keeping me alive . i'd like that. keeping me alive. i'd like that. >> but they should. they shouldn't, but they shouldn't be incompatible, should they ? incompatible, should they? >> well, well, they would be. if you're not hiring the best people for the job and you're instead hiring them on their immutable characteristics . immutable characteristics. >> well, yes. >> well, yes. >> what's certainly true is that for a long time in this country, there was a leaning towards sort of white, white, middle aged blokes, a lot of whom had gone to oxford and cambridge. i went to oxford and cambridge. i went to cambridge. i'm white and i'm increasingly middle aged. do i think i'm always the best person for a job? absolutely not. and i'm sure 99% of your viewers would agree with that statement. my my would agree with that statement. my my concern is whether these people are actually doing what they should be doing and whether they should be doing and whether

they have are having a positive impact or whether they are simply taking up the pay packet. how can i possibly comment? because i don't work with them. i don't know how effective or otherwise they are. do i think that the civil service should be politicised? no and is there a risk that there is a spill—over into politicisation from some of these jobs? possibly what i care aboutis these jobs? possibly what i care about is that we do have a properly functioning, well—run pubuc properly functioning, well—run public service that does represent the country that we live in. are these jobs the best way to reach that? i can't i can't tell you for sure. >> well, let me if i can, because you mentioned the nhs and i remember there was a story not so long ago where because of these diversity and inclusion, coordinators and managers, particularly within nhs, have sent out a diktat to doctors and nurses that have to , you know, nurses that have to, you know, when you greet a patient in the water, you have to ask now what your pronouns are or that i've been to hospital quite a bit with with friends and family over the last few years. >> i can promise you one thing i have never been asked by anyone

in an nhs hospital what's my pronouns are, and if they ask me what my pronouns are, i say, just get on and treat me, or get on and treat someone else. it doesn't happen. >> charles rae exactly. >> charles rae exactly. >> well, well, it was reported, so there must be some element of truth. it was reported whatever the nhs trust is, i'll google it in, perhaps in another outbreak. but the fact is that there are people in these roles thinking up these ideas, which will have an impact on, as you absolutely said, you just want to get treated. you don't need to be asked questions ten a penny if you if you are if you are from an ethnic minority and if you have recently arrived in this country, you don't speak the language properly. >> in order to get the best treatment . the way that you are treatment. the way that you are cared for, the way you are interacted with is, i think, really, really important to get to the best abroad. >> i don't expect them to provide me with a translator and all the rest of it . the all the rest of it. the entitlement of that is staggering. >> i don't think we're talking about tourists here. we're talking about people who live here. >> well, if you come to this country, you should learn the lingo. >> i agree with you, but some people won't have done because they'll have come here too.

recently. all i'm saying problem, of course, is our problem. because once we've accepted someone into the bosom of our great british society, they become not just our problem, but also, let's hope, contribute positively to, to our communities. look, this isn't about being nasty. all you and i. surely if we're all good people , what we want is when people, what we want is when someone goes to the nhs to be treated, they get treated. if one way that you can ensure better treatment is the way that you interact with someone, then then fantastic. >> i'm all for being a nice person and not being a nasty society. and that means eradicate racism. and i think di is a racist policy. i think the diversity, equity and inclusion policies are racist. but anyway, we'll move on from that . enough we'll move on from that. enough of these interactions with me, darren grimes or gb news sunday. plenty more to come on today's show. first of all though, we're going to get a news update from tatiana . tatiana. >> darren, thank you very much and good afternoon. the top stories from the gb newsroom claims a british israeli hostage

has died in gaza, are being urgently investigated by the foreign office. hamas says nadav popplewell , who was kidnapped popplewell, who was kidnapped dunng popplewell, who was kidnapped during the october attack in israel, was injured during an airstrike a month ago. undated footage of the 51 year old with a black eye was also released. the government says it's seeking more information after the terror group made the claim. in a video . tory defector natalie a video. tory defector natalie elphicke denies she lobbied the justice secretary over her then husband sex offences trial. sir robert buckland claims the mp , robert buckland claims the mp, who crossed the floor to labour, requested the case be moved to a lower profile court. speaking to the sunday times, he says she was told the request was completely inappropriate . her completely inappropriate. her spokesperson refuted the accusation in the mail on sunday, describing it as nonsense . applications have nonsense. applications have opened for funded childcare as part of an expansion of the government's current offer for working families. parents of

children who are older than nine months from september are now eligible for support. the full rollout will see support increase to 30 hours a week by september next year , and weather september next year, and weather warnings for thunderstorms are in place across the country, with britain's warm spell set to end this afternoon. the met office has issued a new alert for rain in southwest england, eastern areas of northern ireland can also expect a heavy downpour, with the warning in place until 6 am. on tuesday. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. com slash alerts. >> thanks as ever, tatiana. now there's plenty more coming up on today's show. but before i get on to all of that, let's get a little treat from nana akua who show us on later at 3:00. she joins us now. nana, what have you got coming up? >> well, you just can't get rid of me, can you? i'm back again.

but yeah, coming up, obviously. sir keir starmer, we've got to focus on some of the stuff he's been saying. his elite sort of border command using terror laws to tackle the boat crisis. a lot of the stuff he's saying, just looking at other policies of his as well, like the 20% vat on private schools , is already private schools, is already unravelling before our very eyes. and then this latest one with angela rayner, her plans or the plans that she's supporting, set to add £225 on to council tax and the whole thing with labourin tax and the whole thing with labour in wales spying on people to work out council tax bands , to work out council tax bands, we're going to be discussing all of that. plus obviously looking at israel as well. and the whole issue with the eurovision song contest last night, all these so—called woke, sensible, loving , liberal lefties, supposedly kind and yet you look at what happened outside the venue in sweden and some of the behaviours, and also gary lineker comes in on the action. so we'll be talking about that. i've got a great mystery guest

for my outside . i'll give you for my outside. i'll give you the clues throughout the show. christine and danny will be joining me as my brilliant panel as ever on sunday, and loads more on the show, so stay tuned. >> it's on the well as we all know. nana you and gaz get on really, really well, so i'm sure that'll be a treat. thank you. nana akua looking forward to it. now remember folks, you can let me know all your thoughts on the stories we've been discussing today by visiting gbnews.com forward slash york. join the conversation there or message me on our socials. we're @gbnews now. coming up, on our socials. we're @gbnews now. coming up , churches, now. coming up, churches, universities and hospitals can apply for a free framed official portrait of king charles to display as the government expands an £8 million scheme to cement public support for the monarchy. but is this nothing but an outdated, expensive practice ? all of that and more practice? all of that and more to come. i'm darren grimes and you're with gb news

a very warm welcome back to gb news sunday with me. darren grimes on your tv online and on digital radio. now, an official scheme to deliver portraits of his majesty the king has been extended . it the king has been extended. it now includes hospitals, coast guard centres, job centres, universities, church of england churches and other public institutions. gb news political correspondent olivia utley sat down with the deputy prime minister, oliver dowden, to find out more. >> can you explain to gb news viewers what the scheme is and why you're expanding it? >> yes. well, following the coronation last year, we thought it would be appropriate to make sure that public institutions up and down the country could have and down the country could have a portrait of his majesty the king. he is , after all, the king. he is, after all, the ultimate public servant. and just as portraits of his late mother hung in buildings up and down the country , so too already down the country, so too already are these portraits hanging in many thousands of buildings. and

so today i'm announcing a further extension so new institutions can have a portrait of the king, whether that's hospitals , whether it's the hospitals, whether it's the church of england churches , church of england churches, coast guards and others, more pubuc coast guards and others, more public institutions will be able to hang a portrait of the king. >> will you be expanding the scheme to include other places of worship like synagogues? >> not at this stage. we've taken the decision that because the king is the supreme governor of the church of england , he of the church of england, he leads that institution in the way that he does many other pubuc way that he does many other public institutions. so it's appropriate to have a portrait of him are being provided by the government. of course, we would very much welcome other institutions having a portrait of the king. and indeed, when i attend synagogues, one of the things we do at the end of almost every service is to sing the national anthem. so i know how committed the jewish community is to the king. >> why did it take a labour mps intervention for you to take this step in expanding the scheme? well actually, i

initiated this scheme many months ago and agreed funding with the treasury. >> many thousands of institutions have taken it up, but because we've managed to run this contract so efficiently and get the cost of individual portraits down, it means there's essentially headroom in the contract to be able to open this up to further institutions. it had always been my hope that we could extend it further, but we just had to see what the take up was in the initial phase. >> what do you make of channel 4? refusing to hang a portrait of the king in their studios ? of the king in their studios? >> well, i find it a little disappointing and somewhat, i'm afraid to say, unsurprising. the king is a unifying figure for the entire nation. i hope they reconsider that . reconsider that. >> well, that's the deputy prime minister, oliver dowden , there, minister, oliver dowden, there, tucked away in the corner. let's see what my panel think of this . see what my panel think of this. charlie, i'll start with you. would you feel comfortable hanging a portrait of his majesty the king in your workplace? do you think it's good for social cohesion, for

building support with the in the monarchy? >> yes, i do, of course . i'd be >> yes, i do, of course. i'd be happy with it. he's the monarch. he is someone who we all want to support. we all back the royal family. most. most of us do , you family. most. most of us do, you know, they are integral to our way of life . they are integral way of life. they are integral to our history. and they are the very focus that binds this country together . whatever the country together. whatever the occasion, whatever the weather, whatever disasters and depressions that are going on across the country, the royal family are there. they're above politics. they are the constant in our society. and i think that is something that we as a unique , and it is a unique thing that we have in this country through the monarchy. and that is why the monarchy. and that is why the late queen elizabeth the second was so celebrated and heralded, which is why i think anything that can be done to continue that and to continue that sort of constant, that's something that binds all of us as communities together through the monarch, should be celebrated and supported. >> marks written in and mark says, all public institutions up and down the country should have and down the country should have a portrait of his majesty the king. and why not? and this

should not be optional and voluntary. and opt in. it should be mandatory. so mark would actually force channel 4, those, reds under the bed to accept his majesty the king. >> so that's a bit like an old fashioned dictatorship to me. i mean, there you had oliver dowden in his tiny chair in the corner, telling us that the monarchy is a unifying force. of course , it's not a unifying course, it's not a unifying force. if you look at the poll that the mail on sunday put out last sunday, which it focused on, rather than the extraordinary defeat, unsurprising, but nonetheless astonishing level of defeat that the tories experienced. that claim that more than half of us think that the king is doing a good job. i mean, that's not a ringing endorsement. 60% yes. think the monarchy should continue again. is that a ringing endorsement? do i sing the national anthem with great pride at england football, rugby and cricket matches? absolutely i do, i do , and and cricket matches? absolutely ido,ido,andi and cricket matches? absolutely i do, i do , and i think broadly i do, i do, and i think broadly speaking, the monarchy is a good thing. but is it a unifying thing? i'm not so sure i would have. >> i'd include making sure that actually you can have, our

national flag, the union jack, the union flag , on public the union flag, on public buildings as well. i'd want to see more of that because public buildings should fly the union flag. there is nothing more that i prefer. and i'd love to see. when you go to the united states, for example , america, states, for example, america, and you see flags throughout the nafion and you see flags throughout the nation because it's a proud , nation because it's a proud, patriotic symbol that we all flag, though, isn't it? >> you know, our flags are very i don't like it. i'm not. well, they're the same colours, same colours. they've got stars and stripes as well as i'm a very proud brit, i just actually don't particularly warm to our flag. and that's not just because of the history of it. i just don't think it's a particularly attractive frame. by particularly attractive frame. by the way, when you were introducing nana, she mentioned gary lineker and that's slightly triggered me. can i just quickly make a point on this gary lineker if you if his politics are as we assume they are, i would say i'm sort of broadly augned would say i'm sort of broadly aligned with his politics. but the idea that the horrors and they are horrors of what we're witnessing in gaza, the worst thing that he's seen in his lifetime when he's lived through cambodia, he's lived through rwanda, he's lived through south sudan, he's lived through the

horrors of what happened in aleppo, to just name 4 or 5 appalling episodes in world history. the idea that gaza is somehow even worse than any of those, to me, is just baffling. >> well, he's just a social media idiot. that's been swept up in what he's seen on his twitter feed. i'm afraid , so twitter feed. i'm afraid, so yes, he would obviously he would obviously argue differently. >> of course. >> of course. >> yes, of course . >> yes, of course. >> balance. but it just annoyed me. >> yes. i mean, charlie rowley, you're a big fan of the lineker anyway, aren't you, we'll , move anyway, aren't you, we'll, move swiftly on. >> well, i'll have yes, i will have a packet of walkers crisps and these pubs in these pubs that we're keeping open . that we're keeping open. >> absolutely right folks are the crisps are available other than walkers mind. >> yes, quite other football punst >> yes, quite other football pundits are available other than lineker. >> but we wish they were. we wish they were. >> yes. yeah right. >> yes. yeah right. >> you're with me darren gibson gb news sunday. lots more coming up on this show. british adults are more addicted to using their phones than those in france, germany and america. charlie

rowley is glued to his all of that and more to come. you're with gb news, britain's news channel

welcome back to gb news sunday with me, darren grimes, on your tv, online and on digital radio. now, lots of you have been sending in your thoughts . as paul says, we may thoughts. as paul says, we may as well forget all the music in the eurovision song contest and just call it the european hong contest, he says. it's very sexualised on pubs. archie says i go to my local pub that doesn't do food because it's just a pub. it has bands on every now and then. truth be told,i every now and then. truth be told, i could also do without that. i go for the chatty bar staff and the jibber jabber with similar minded blokes until the women start to arrive. and then it's women start to arrive. and then wsfime women start to arrive. and then it's time to leave. don't join the garrick club, archie. and syl says the government should

not be helping any business. it's taxpayer money. if pubs cannot run a profit, you do not have a product people want. so you actually agree with matthew stadler in sale? i doubt you expected that. are british adults folks. i want to talk about them because they're addicted to using their phones more than those in france, germany and america. a representative poll of 8000 people suggests that 44% of adults in the uk look at their phone every hour, compared to 29% in france. 25% in germany and 41% in america. let's see what my panel make of this . i what my panel make of this. i certainly look at my phone more than once an hour. i'm sorry. >> i mean, i don't know. does this prove that there are addictive? i feel slightly addicted to my phone, but they're quite useful things. yes, and it means in a break when you've said something like diversity , equity, inclusion is diversity, equity, inclusion is racism, i can then look it up and say to you , actually, it's and say to you, actually, it's not about trying to make sure that we represent a society in which we live and to help previously discriminated against

groups . so these previously discriminated against groups. so these are previously discriminated against groups . so these are quite groups. so these are quite useful things. >> and then i can use mine to play >> and then i can use mine to play some soothing music so i can fall asleep to that. now i mean, you are addicted to your phone, charlie. you're always buzzing. >> yes, yes, it saves my phone, but i think it's, i do think it's actually quite serious because the addiction comes in when you're attached to something, whether it's social media, for example , and you're media, for example, and you're constantly looking for either likes or followers , or you want likes or followers, or you want out dopamine, you want the exactly and you , you then become exactly and you, you then become dependent on the device and you start to wait for whether it's , start to wait for whether it's, you know, an email to come through or you're emailing all the time late at night or whether you're sort of whatsapping whatsapping seems to be the way of conversation. texting now again, snapchat, instagram, you know, ex twitter, all of these things that are accessible now to, to young people. but it's a and well this is talking about adults but it is talking about adults but it is a worrying time i think if you are too dependent on your phone, when you start to then

lose the ability to interact on a social human level, lose the ability to interact on a social human level , there's a social human level, there's the phone, which has obviously quite important functions. >> and then the social media. one of the fascinating things i saw that had come out of this research was that the i think only something like 50% of germans are regularly using social media in this country. we seem to use it perhaps a lot more than that. and i think it is quite damaging. i mean, why do we need followers? jesus christ had followers. do we need to have followers? >> do you think it's more damaging for adults who are really addicted to these than children who have already always had them in their lives and aren't as addicted as we are? >> i think it probably strict strips childhood of so much of the imagination and the creativity with which i was certainly brought up. running around outside playing games inside that my. if i can do one thing as a father, it will be to try to make sure that my son doesn't use it very much. by the way, one other reason we're having a heat wave at the moment. one other reason, i suspect, behind the fact that we use them so much , is that we

use them so much, is that we have pretty rubbish weather in this country for the most part. i mean, living in london right now, it's like we've been released from some sort of six month weather coma. everyone's having fun. you don't need to be on your phone when you're outside enjoying the sunshine. >> that's very true. although germany has its fair share of probably better weather. i mean, do you think that's got something to do with it that the british are, you know, just get a bit more bored a bit more often, i do know about getting bored more often, but i just think we've just depended on this sort of instant sort of, you know , 24 hour news cycles. you know, 24 hour news cycles. >> you know, we need to be instant messaging. we need to be replying, we need to see the latest reels. >> everything is around and to the ego. it pays to the narcissist, doesn't it? >> all right. well folks, we'll see what the viewers at home think. thank you very much to my panel. think. thank you very much to my panel . you've been with me, panel. you've been with me, darren grimes, on a gb news sunday, that was my good friend charlie rowley. and matthew stadlen. >> my good friend charlie rosen , >> my good friend charlie rosen, not so good friend. >> and matthew stadlen. thank

you very much. but don't go anywhere, though, because there's plenty more coming up on gb news today. in just a moment, it's fiery debate with nana akua. and at 6 pm. it's neil oliver with free speech nation at seven and mark dolan at nine. cheers. very much forjoining me cheers. very much for joining me this afternoon. as i say, nana up next, see you after the weather with catherine. >> looks like things are heating up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. hello. welcome to your gb news weather update brought to you by the met office for the outlook. drier in the east but turning unsettled in the west and also feeling cooler as we go into monday. so high pressure is going to be moving its way eastwards. we do have some weather fronts that's bringing a focus for some showers or longer spells of rain through the rest of today, and we do have some warnings in force as well for thunderstorm. thunderstorms are going to be pushing their way northwards, affecting northern england and

also into scotland. some of these are going to be quite heavy at times , giving hail and heavy at times, giving hail and thunder elsewhere turning drier. some low cloud across western parts, clearest in the east but temperatures still ranging around 10 or 11 degrees, so it is going to be a mild start as we start monday. but a bit of an east west split in the weather once that low cloud generally clears across much of england and wales, it will turn drier and wales, it will turn drier and brighter for showers coming into scotland. but further west we have an area of low pressure bringing outbreaks of rain across northern ireland, western parts of england and also into south wales too. so it is going to be feeling cooler for all highs of up to maybe 20 or 22 degrees as we go through tuesday , that rain shifts its focus further towards the north and east, with showers following, and then that really sets the scene for the outlook as well. so longer spells of rain on tuesday , wednesday and thursday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday, sunny spells, scattered showers, not as warm but still highs of

20 or 21 degrees. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers. >> sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> hello. good afternoon and welcome. it'sjust >> hello. good afternoon and welcome. it's just coming >> hello. good afternoon and welcome. it'sjust coming up >> hello. good afternoon and welcome. it's just coming up to 3:00. this is gb news on tv, onune 3:00. this is gb news on tv, online and on digital radio. i'm nana akua. and for the next three hours, me and my panel, we'll be taking on some of the big topics hitting the headlines right now. this show is all about opinion. it's mine. it's theirs. and of course it's yours . we'll be debating discussing .we'll be debating discussing it. at times we will disagree, but no one will be cancelled. so joining me in the next hour, broadcaster and journalist danny kelly and also broadcaster and author christine hamilton . in author christine hamilton. in a few moments, we'll be going head to head in a clash of minds in the clash with lord daniel

moylan and conservative member