amid their scotland amid their investigation into snp funding and finances. >> now, a little bit later in the program, we'll be talking to anna firth , the member of anna firth, the member of parliament for southend. now, the reason why we're doing this is not only to talk about some of the big issues of the day, but also a very important to bill her going through parliament today that will ban pet theft as a specific offence for cats and dogs. >> i personally think this is wonderful and she's become one of my favourite mps as a result of my favourite mps as a result of this. what do you think, tom.7 >> yeah, you're a big fan of anna firth. it's going to be very good to talk to her. i, i am willing to hear the arguments because i do know currently it is illegal to steal a cat or a dog. i want to know what sort of making it more illegal will do.

what's the sort of big drive behind this? >> well, as you were showing me just before we came on air, included in this bill is grooming cats, not grooming them, cutting their hair and whatnot. but grooming cats, as in feeding them and trying to lure them into your property, coaxing them to become your cat rather than somebody else's. >> no, it's very interesting. i suppose it does happen all across the country, given the way that cats behave , that would way that cats behave, that would be a very difficult thing to prove, because sometimes they just decide they want a new owner. yes. it's almost it's the cats that chooses the owner, not the owner that chooses the cat. but do you have a cat or a dog orindeed but do you have a cat or a dog or indeed a view on pet theft? please do get in touch. gbnews.com forward slash yourself if you want to write in a view, but also today we're going to try something new. we're going to show some pictures of people's cats and dogs. emma's going to send in a picture of her cat. i have that up, but i will be putting out a tweet , during the bulletins. so tweet, during the bulletins. so do look out on twitter twitter.com and have a look for tom harwood . reply to that tweet tom harwood. reply to that tweet with pictures of your animals ,

with pictures of your animals, and we'll get to that discussion on pet theft a bit later in the show too, but can't wait to see all of them. absolutely. but so much to come all after your news headunes much to come all after your news headlines with sam . headlines with sam. >> tom and emma, thank you very much. good afternoon. from the newsroom, leading the news at 12:00. the government's calling for de—escalation and moderation in the middle east. following reports that israel launched air strikes against iran, state media there says three drones were shot down overnight with explosions heard at an airbase near the city of isfahan. the strike is thought to have been in response to last weekend's attack , when iran fired barrages attack, when iran fired barrages of drones and missiles at israel . while no damage or injuries have been reported in that latest exchange, former defence select committee chairman tobias ellwood told gb news this morning that israel may have targeted a nuclear site. >> there are reports that iran is beginning to enrich uranium again at scale up to 60% with

enough quantity for three sizeable bombs, and it could be that they believe that only going by having a nuclear deterrent , are they going to be deterrent, are they going to be able to fend off any conventional attacks ? so a lot conventional attacks? so a lot of big questions there. and that's perhaps worth pondering on, because whatever happens next, the rules of the game, this shadow war between iran and israel, has completely changed with this direct attack . with this direct attack. >> the prime minister is promising his rwanda safety bill will be passed on monday. rishi sunak couldn't confirm whether asylum flights would get off the ground by his spring deadline , ground by his spring deadline, but he did say his intention was to get the legislation through parliament without further delay. he says mps will be forced to sit in the commons until the job is done . leading until the job is done. leading mental health charities have described the government's welfare reforms as deeply damaging . welfare reforms as deeply damaging. during a major welfare reforms as deeply damaging . during a major speech damaging. during a major speech this morning, the prime minister warned against the

overmedicalization of stresses and worries and he claimed that people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engage in the world of work. rishi sunak recognises he'll be accused of lacking in compassion, but insists the uk can't afford a spiralling increase in the welfare bill. >> we now spend £69 billion on benefits for people of working age with a disability or health condition. that's more than our entire schools budget, more than our transport budget, more than our transport budget, more than our policing budget, and spending on personal independence payments alone. it's forecast to increase by more than 50% over the next four years. >> opposition parties are urging the snp to cooperate fully with the snp to cooperate fully with the police, investigate into the party's finances after nicola sturgeon's husband, peter murrell, was charged with embezzling funds . it's in embezzling funds. it's in connection with the spending of more than £600,000 in donations

for independence. campaigning officers have confirmed. the party's former chair, chief executive is no longer in custody and he has also resigned his snp membership in the us. meanwhile, donald trump has labelled the hush money case against him a mess as a full jury against him a mess as a full jury of 12 have now been sworn in for the trial. jury of 12 have now been sworn in for the trial . the former us in for the trial. the former us president addressed reporters as he left court in new york, saying that he was supposed to be campaigning elsewhere ahead of the 2024 presidential election. those on the jury include an english teacher, multiple lawyers and a software engineer. trump denies the allegations against him. of falsifying business records to pay falsifying business records to pay an adult film star. in other news, parents are being warned that children aged between 5 and 7 years old are spending too much time , often unsupervised, much time, often unsupervised, on social media. ofcom claims 38% of infant school children now use platforms, including tiktok, whatsapp and instagram, despite those sites requiring

that users are at least 13 years old to have an account . the old to have an account. the regulator also suggests a quarter of children in the same age bracket now own a smartphone. the research comes as the government's online safety bill, which aims to make the internet safer for children, is set to come into force in september. the that's the latest from the newsroom for now. more in half an hour until then, do sign up to gb news alerts. just scan the code there on your screen or go to gb news .com/ alerts. now though, it's back to tom and emma . tom and emma. >> good afternoon britain. it's 12:07. now, us officials have said that israeli missiles struck iran, iranian territory this morning, with the attacks reportedly hitting an area home to a large airbase. a major missile production complex and several nuclear facilities. >> although the location of the strikes has not been fully confirmed, local sources are suggesting that the three

explosions were heard near isfahan. air base. >> well, let's get the very latest with our homeland security editor, mark white, because, mark, i think everyone at home will be asking, might this escalate more ? israel this escalate more? israel allegedly struck an embassy . allegedly struck an embassy. iran struck israel. israel now struck iran. where does this go from here? >> well, i think the great fear is that with israel retaliating, as everyone expected , israel as everyone expected, israel would, that then iran would have no option as it would see it, than to respond to israel. and as you say, that for tat would then escalate. however, what appears to have happened overnight is that it was a limited strike. from what we can gather, there is no confirm nafion gather, there is no confirm nation yet from the israeli government, but we understand a number of missiles were fired, we think, from combat jets

long—range missiles that would have been fired outside of iranian airspace. but those long—range missiles would then have reached that site at isfahan , which is in central isfahan, which is in central iran, and the area itself is home to a number of military bases. home to a number of military bases . there are some nuclear bases. there are some nuclear sites there, although the international atomic energy agency says that there are no indications that any nuclear sites have been targeted. but given that this appears to have been a limited strike and that iran, in terms of the mood music, what it's saying through iranian state media and official sources is that it has no plans at this time to strike back. would appear to point to a hope that we could be seeing a de—escalation here, but that all really hinges on whether this was a one off limited strike that was conducted by israel.

and whatever israel does in future may be targeted towards proxies, may be taking place outside iran, then perhaps you could have a de—escalation. but the fear, of course , for those the fear, of course, for those that see escalation as the potential here, is that this is just the first phase and of course, we do not know because we have not heard from israel anything official other than those sources quoted by us media saying that the american government was alerted by israel to the fact that there would be strikes shortly before those strikes shortly before those strikes took place. >> now, mark, anthony blinken, the us secretary of state, is currently speaking, what will the us reaction be here? because they've been encouraging israel to almost not do anything at all. do you think they'll be satisfied with the level of restraint that we saw from israel, or are things still

incredibly dangerous here? >> yeah, not just the us, but all of its allies really urging restraint and the messages coming from them. initially were just take the win and don't retaliate . in recent days, retaliate. in recent days, though, we heard from lord cameron , our foreign secretary, cameron, our foreign secretary, and from defence secretary grant shapps changing that rhetoric to say that it was clear that israel would respond . and israel would respond. and however, the hope was that it would be limited . so i think would be limited. so i think what you will get, of course, from anthony blinken is , as from anthony blinken is, as always, that firm commitment to israel's defence, and a hope expressed by him as well that this can be contained, that there is no escalation, that whatever has happened is limited. so, as you say he's speaking, he's at the g7 summit in italy at the moment. we heard

from the italian foreign minister confirming that the us was informed by israel , minister confirming that the us was informed by israel, but only shortly before israel launched these attacks. >> mark is it is it, likely that iran will respond through their proxies, such as hezbollah or the houthis, potentially attacking allies of israel rather than directly attacking israel? as with rocket fire that we saw over the last couple of days. >> well, certainly that has always been the modus operandi of iran for years, it has attacked israel through its proxies and never directly in the form of an attack from iranian soil. so we're talking about the likes of hezbollah in southern lebanon, hamas and gaza, before israel degraded it to such an extent that it is at the moment ineffective in terms of being able to launch the many

rockets that it normally would at israel. and then, of course, there are the houthis in yemen and other proxies in iraq and syria, so , so the hope, if we syria, so, so the hope, if we can express it that way is if there is a response that it comes through the proxies, because israel is used to deaung because israel is used to dealing with that, and it takes it away from state on state, direct action here. and again, as counterintuitive as it might sound, that might be able to, pave the way forward for a bit of a de—escalation of israel knows that it's dealing with hezbollah, knows that it's deaung hezbollah, knows that it's dealing with the houthis or these groups in iraq and syria, rather than this state on state, for tat that we've been seeing over the last week, mark white, thank you very much for bringing us the very latest there. >> now , i should say that >> now, i should say that anthony blinken, in the last few minutes has said that link, that the iranian attack was

unprecedented and that the united states is committed to israel's security, also committed to de—escalating the situation, adding that a statement will come from the g7 later today. on holding iran to account. that's all from the us secretary of state, antony blinken, who is speaking now. but let's get a bit more on the wider geopolitical context here. indeed, on how britain may or may not be involved in the coming weeks and days. let's speak with the defence editor of the evening standard, robert fox . robert, how precise early might this escalate in a worst case scenario, what happens next? >> i have no idea, because one of the things i'm afraid we've got to factor in is this does look like some kind of ranging shot from israel just exploring the territory . i mean, the war the territory. i mean, the war scape, as it were. what can we do? what should we do? i absolutely agree with mark that

the actually the battleground is unlikely to be iran itself, but it's going to be the proxies. hezbollah in lebanon, syria, iraq and the houthis, where actually we can go into this a bit later. israel's had a bit of a success. us already. israel will be pausing for a bit because the big holiday of passoveris because the big holiday of passover is coming up. i was just checking at 22nd of april next week till the 30th of april. so don't expect much action there. it's a sort of thing where if they were going to be provoked, iran might response, but i doubt it. i think we're going through slow motion as both sides take stock, but how much of missiles of the kind of swarm attack that we saw over the last weekend does israel, does iran want to expand its got huge numbers of missiles and drones in the thousands , but and drones in the thousands, but i don't think they're getting

ready yet to move, and i think that israel as usual playing the information game brilliantly by this time, by keeping quiet and not admitting to anything. >> robert, in terms of a strategic military objective, is there a fear that perhaps this maybe that this strike from israel on iran isn't enough, that it might actually just aggravate and cause, potentially, you know , not not potentially, you know, not not acting as a deterrent would potentially cause iran to as we were discussing there with mark white to use their proxies further, as they did with hamas and hezbollah and the houthis against israel, and potentially actually cause further, further escalation and backfire in that way. >> well, i think that it's too easy the talk of escalation, which is very much in the public media. i'm quite struck by going through it for the last 2 or 3 hours, how much comment there is

and how very little real fact that there is. we know something happened. we know there were explosions over, isfahan, a key centre for military development out there have been there are nuclear plants nearby in natanz which could be developing the nuclear bomb for iran, etc, etc, but one of the things that very interesting, by the way, is how official iran media has been playing it down. i agree that what we have to do is to look at the proxies now, and this is where i think that israel has got a bit of a success because oddly, you keep on putting hezbollah in the list and hezbollah in the list and hezbollah from lebanon has been kind of active but not hyperactive. and in fact is quite a reluctant player because hezbollah, which is almost like a state within a state in lebanon, particularly in south lebanon, particularly in south lebanon and south beirut, is in a very precarious position. and it doesn't want to upset the

apple cart so long. and remember, hezbollah is different from iran, although it's shia, it is arab and they are arab nationalists. it's getting very complicated . i also think, by complicated. i also think, by the way, that where you're absolutely right, we've got to watch what iran wants. the houthis to do next, and the houthis to do next, and the houthis very much amazingly, again, rather like hezbollah in lebanon, have their own agenda. and they will be listening to what big backers like russia and china are saying to them as well. >> and the houthis are, of course, particularly affecting our trade . indeed, british ships our trade. indeed, british ships that have been hit. >> it's a vital british interest. yes. >> yeah. well, robert fox, thank you very much for joining us >> yeah. well, robert fox, thank you very much forjoining us and you very much for joining us and talking us through a developing and complicating system, complicated system in the, in the, in the, in the middle east at the moment. thank you very much. okay. now coming up, the prime minister says he's going to get tough on what he calls sick note culture in britain. that's if he wins the election.

but what exactly does he mean. this is good afternoon britain on gb news britain's election .

channel. channel good channel. good afternoon. britain. it's 12:21. now. the prime minister has unveiled plans to crack down on what he calls sick note culture in britain if he wins the next election. >> in a speech earlier today , >> in a speech earlier today, rishi sunak said it was his moral mission to reform our welfare system, saying that work is good for people and was worried that benefits had become a lifestyle choice as the bill bill for benefits for people of working age with a disability or health condition hits 69 billion. well well. >> he's faced criticism from a disability charity and the

british medical association, but has rejected claims that his reforms were lacking in compassion. let's speak with our political editor , christopher political editor, christopher hope now, who was at the speech. christopher this is a moral mission from the prime minister so he says . so he says. >> that's right. tom. morning from a very wet number 10 downing street. yeah. the pm khalife makes makes clear in his speech he sees that the moral issue he thinks that people should be working if they can. he's very worried about the spiralling benefits bill. he blames the pandemic. he says that the big issues there with numbers with numbers going up £69 billion spent now on benefits more than the schools and transport budgets. he said that back in 2011, 20% of people were judged unfit for work , now were judged unfit for work, now at 65. the government's unveiled plans to try and crack down on this and say that if you if you can't be on unemployment benefits for more than a year or you'll you'll lose those benefits. he says that you know, the easy, easy position to take

for the government would be to ignore it and allow this bill to spiral. but he says that is unaffordable. he says the bill just for the personal independence payments will go up by around 50% in four years if it's not touched, he says it's a requirement and urgency on the government to deal with this problem . much of this will problem. much of this will happen after the next election if the tories are elected again for a fifth time, which looks unlikely according to the polls. but if that were to happen, you would see a big crackdown on benefits and trying to rein that number back in, he says. there's a sick note culture that too many people are allowed not to work because of notes given to them by by doctors. there'll be a new army of other specialists to try and try and bring that figure down. it's a challenge, i think, to the labour party. laboun think, to the labour party. labour, of course, announced last week with rachel reeves crack down on tax avoiders, tax evaders, but didn't say they would do anything about the 5.8 billion lost in fraud on the universal credit system, for example. so i think it's a real challenge that the government would see it certainly as that, the vote tory and will will be a

crackdown on the benefits bill. what would labour do? so i think we are seeing the beginning of offers being made here for the election campaign. >> and chris, while we have you, is there anything new at the moment in westminster on the rwanda bill? >> yeah, there is. i asked him for gb news at the press conference. when will these flights take off? we know don't we, emma, that that they, they've dropped this idea of a spnng they've dropped this idea of a spring deadline. that's by june the 21st because of the delays. they say in the house of lords . they say in the house of lords. well the pm said very clearly we will do what it takes to pass it on monday. we will sit almost through the night. on monday. we will sit almost through the night . we will vote through the night. we will vote and vote and vote, he said. in terms and ensure that the house of lords bends to the commons will. there are two issues at stake here on monday. should people who served with uk forces in afghanistan, should they not be taken to rwanda if they arrive here illegally? and should there be regular checks out of rwanda being a safe country? those are the two issues the lords have. number 10 issues the lords have. number 10 is very clear this lunchtime.

they will not bow to that. so there will be a big battle in there will be a big battle in the house of commons and the house of lords on monday, and it could be a very, very late night. but the pm is clear. this must be passed by parliament on monday. >> wow, that is a significant update there. monday is the big day of battle. i've got that written down. noted down, but it could well be the early hours of tuesday morning. i suppose . an tuesday morning. i suppose. an overnight sitting. chris, we're going to let you get dry. thank you for battling the elements for us. and those april showers live on downing street. christopher hope there. our political editor. >> gosh, that's almost churchillian , isn't it? we will churchillian, isn't it? we will vote and vote and vote all through the night. if that's what what we need to do, we will, we will, we will. >> it's not quite. we'll fight them on the beaches. it's more like we'll we'll sort of transport them from the boat onto and then put them on an aeroplane. it's not quite as, we won't even stop them on the beach. no, no we won't. no, we'll, we'll give them cups of tea and then and then pay , pay tea and then and then pay, pay for some fairly cushy accommodation in an african country, or indeed on other

countries of costa rica now on the list as well, of countries that we're potentially doing deals with, to deport those who have no right to be in the uk. but what do you think about it at all? gbnews.com/yoursay are you going to be staying up for the late night sitting on monday ? it's going to be as exciting as a general election. >> someone needs to keep tom company. >> oh, don't don't tempt them. gb news will start doing an overnight. an overnight show again. i've done a couple of those for the by elections. i i'm not sure. i'm not sure i'm quite ready to do an overnight gb news show for monday night, although you love it now the ideasin although you love it now the ideas in my head, oh, i don't know , shall we get back to the know, shall we get back to the sicknote culture, so—called sicknote culture, so—called sicknote culture, so—called sicknote culture that the prime minister was speaking about in that speech? because we're going to talk to darwin, friend . he's to talk to darwin, friend. he's head of research at the taxpayers alliance, and they've got 1 or 2 things to say about this, because the prime minister was saying over the next four years, it's projected that the amount spent on what are known as personal independence payments could rise by 50.

darwin that's a huge potential liability for the taxpayer . liability for the taxpayer. >> yeah. good afternoon, tom and emma. thank you very much for having me on the show. and it is it's a massive increase. and i think that's what we need to remember throughout all of this is that this is a cost to taxpayers. and we're seeing a forecasted 2 million extra people going to be on disability benefit by the end of this decade, which is set to see the disability benefit bill rise by up to £17 billion. now, that's a more than 50% increase. and so it's right that the that the prime minister wants to end this sick note culture. so then the costs on taxpayers are reduced. >> i have to ask you darwin. so the suggestion from the prime minister is that instead of having the sick note signed off by gps, there would be a certain professional position on that would have the authority to sign off on these sick notes. could this not potentially cost the taxpayer even more money because the gp's obviously, you know , the gp's obviously, you know, people get diagnoses for

particular illnesses. it's very easy for them to sign it off. it's not going to yet another person have it who doesn't have those qualifications. and having to have it signed off through them as well. >> yeah. and i think that's what the government really needs to pay the government really needs to pay attention to with these new people that are going to be reviewing this, is making sure that it's good value for money for taxpayers. i mean, at the minute, gps were seeing there were around 11 million fit notes that were signed by them in england last year. 94% of those were signed off as not fit for work . and so whilst i do accept work. and so whilst i do accept that it might be easier for gps because they're also dealing with their medical conditions at the same time to do it, if the government is going to switch to a new body to review these things, then it needs to have at the core of that decision value for money for taxpayers. so then any saving being made by gps not doing that work isn't pretty much going up by other people doing it instead of them . doing it instead of them. >> did you see 94% of these notes are passed up? that's an

extraordinary. that's a north korean level of sort of election approval. i mean , a am i right approval. i mean, a am i right to be cynical here about the percentage of genuine sickness? >> darwin? is this is this because so many of these i think it was up just upwards of 50% of that increase since covid is because of people who have mental health problems like anxiety or bad nerves. depression is it is the high level of approval of these, of these, of these requests for a sick note, because something like mental health is so much more subjective than a physical ailment . ailment. >> yeah. so definitely post pandemic mental health conditions have been a key part of this. and we're also seeing that i believe anxiety and depression are key factors for disability benefit, recipients, as well. but i also think that we need to pay attention throughout this as well, that the government needs to also get its own house in order regarding this. i mean, we've done work in

the past on sickness absence in the past on sickness absence in the public sector compared to the public sector compared to the private sector . and every the private sector. and every year since 1995, when data was first made available, sickness absence in the public sector has been significantly higher than that in the private sector. and so whilst i commend the prime minister for talking about this sick note culture in general, he also needs to make sure that his government is getting his own house in order so that then so that the money which is taxpayers after all, is being spent effectively and for their benefit. yeah it doesn't quite make it doesn't quite add up, does it, that the public sector, which traditionally you sort of have more holiday, you have perhaps shorter working days than many private sector organisations , and yet there's organisations, and yet there's greater amounts of mental ill health that those two things don't. >> you'd think you'd perhaps expect less mental ill health with more time off and shorter working days and all the rest. but perhaps those that that does show a discrepancy there. darwin. i'm afraid that's all we have time for. but thank you so much for talking us through the implications here for taxpayers. that's darwin friend, head of

research at the taxpayers alliance. now, coming up, the met police is under fire for threatening to arrest a jewish man if he didn't remove himself from a pro—palestine march. the man says he was simply trying to cross the road . we'll be cross the road. we'll be speaking to him after headlines with sam . with sam. >> very good afternoon from the newsroom. >> just coming up to 12:32 and leading the news this hour. the uk government and western allies are calling for restraint in the middle east following reports that israel launched retaliatory air strikes against iran. state media there says three drones were shot down overnight with explosions heard an air base near the city of isfahan. the strikes are thought to be in response to last weekend's attack, when iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at israel. no damage or injuries have been reported in the latest exchange here in the uk, the prime minister is promising that his

rwanda safety bill will be passed on monday. rishi sunak couldn't confirm whether asylum flights would get off the ground by his spring deadline , but he by his spring deadline, but he did say his intention was to get the bill through parliament without further delay. he says mps will be forced to sit in the commons until the job is done . commons until the job is done. leading mental health charities have described rishi sunak's welfare reforms as deeply damaging and an irresponsible war of words. during a major speech on welfare reform earlier, the prime minister warned against the overmedicalization of stresses and worries and claimed that people with less severe mental health conditions should , he health conditions should, he said, be expected to engage in the world of work. however labour has accused the government of failing to deliver a healthy nation and a healthy economy . and in scotland, economy. and in scotland, opposition parties are urging the snp to cooperate fully with a police investigation into its finances. after nicola sturgeon's husband, peter murrell , was charged with murrell, was charged with embezzling funds. it's in

connection with the spending of more than £600,000 in donations for independence, campaigning officers have confirmed . the officers have confirmed. the party's former chief executive is no longer in custody . we is no longer in custody. we understand he has also resigned his snp membership . that's the his snp membership. that's the latest from the newsroom . for latest from the newsroom. for more, do sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the code on your screen, or go to gb news .com/ alerts

i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it's 12:37. now the metropolia police is under fire after an officer was filmed telling a jewish man his presence was antagonising at a probe . palestine march in a probe. palestine march in london. you are quite openly

jewish. >> this is a pro—palestinian march. >> i'm not accusing you of anything, but i'm worried about the reaction to your presence in the reaction to your presence in the video shared by the campaign against anti—semitism from saturday's march, the met officer then appears to threaten to arrest the man if he failed to arrest the man if he failed to remove himself. >> you know, the people here now , you'll be escorted out of this area, go about your business, go where you like freely, or if you choose to remain here because you are causing a breach of some of . of. >> if i remain here, you will arrest your presence is antagonising a large group of people that we can't deal with all of them. if they attack you or they they with your presence and antagonism . and antagonism. >> well, the man says he was simply trying to cross the road after going to a synagogue. only to be told that his presence was antagonising . well, gideon antagonising. well, gideon falter joins us now. he's the chief executive of the campaign against anti—semitism. and

gideon , this is the most gideon, this is the most extraordinary story i had to rewatch the video several times to sort of almost understand what the police officer was saying. there >> i mean, it just beggars belief, doesn't it ? belief, doesn't it? >> and he's he's effectively saying to you there at the end when he he says that he'll arrest you if you refuse to remove yourself. isn't he effectively saying that he's he's going to arrest you simply for being jewish in in the wrong place at the wrong time ? place at the wrong time? >> i mean, this is exactly the thing. basically, i was told not just by the officers in the video, but actually there were other officers as well that i was committing a breach of the peace, a breach of the king's peace, a breach of the king's peace by staying where i was, and that they were worried for my safety, that they were worried for their ability to actually maintain order if i stayed in the area that, i had to leave via a route that they would decide for me under escort

or face arrest. and this is basically the inevitable conclusion of sir mark rowley's decision to curtail the rights of law abiding londoners to appease a lawless mob. and there were people in that protest who didn't have any problem with a jewish person being there. but there were quite a few, clearly, who did. and i was having all sorts of abuse shouted at me . i sorts of abuse shouted at me. i was the one who was surrounded by police officers. i was the one threatened with arrest. the people who were shouting abuse were not arrested as far as i know, very few of them seem to even attract the attention of the police. there was one point where there was a man standing right behind me saying, i'm going to walk wherever you go, i'm going to follow you around . i'm going to follow you around. not because i support you. i don't support you. i'm not afraid of you. people that's what i was being told by him right next to a police officer. and the police officer simply turned to him and said , i don't turned to him and said, i don't think you're having a very productive conversation with the gentleman. and that was it.

>> this is definitely not the first time, is it, that the police have focused on those people that they think might be the victims of harassment, because soon after october the 7th, the campaign for anti—semitism had that billboard bus, going around, westminster and parliament square . and the and parliament square. and the same thing happened then, didn't it? >> yeah. it's the second time i've been stopped by police in that way. when we were driving around parliament square, we had around parliament square, we had a billboard bands which were showing the faces of children who'd been kidnapped by hamas, and police told us to shut down the vans and get out of london, they held me whilst they made sure that the van drivers shut the billboards off. and the reason for that is they were afraid that the pictures of these children would offence. the censor would offend the sensibilities of, of people in the streets of london who they were clearly afraid of, the fact is, that time it was a wet wednesday night, there was no one around. it was quiet as

anything , one around. it was quiet as anything, and one around. it was quiet as anything , and they were just anything, and they were just worried about who might appear this time. obviously, people were around, but we keep being told by sir mark rowley that he is going to ruthlessly enforce to the letter of the law. those are his words. that's what he keeps telling us. and the idea is supposed to be that london is absolutely safe for jews or anybody else. whilst these marches are happening week after week. but the reality is that the met police, if they if they feel that there is a threat which they very clearly do, will essentially enforce a jew free zone around these protests and orderjewish people zone around these protests and order jewish people who zone around these protests and orderjewish people who aren't on the protest to get out of the area for their own safety, face arrest . that's what london has arrest. that's what london has come to. and that's what sir mark rowley has brought us to, and he needs to be held to account. >> it is absolutely shocking . i >> it is absolutely shocking. i mean, even the words that the police officers are using in the clip , they do beg a belief, as clip, they do beg a belief, as you say. but what do you say to those who say that there are people who go on these marches, some of them who are jewish

themselves ? some people on the themselves? some people on the marches do wear kippahs , and you marches do wear kippahs, and you will often see on social media those who are the most , those who are the most, effusively in favour of these marches happening every single saturday through our capital city. they'll say, look , there city. they'll say, look, there are some jewish people on this march . march. >> i mean, look, i all i know is that i was in the area trying to walk, and i was told that it was not safe for me to do so because i was jewish. and it's not just the police who were saying that there were people walking around . they didn't know anything about me. they could just see a person walking around in a kippah, a skull cap, and they were shouting, disgusting! lock him up , scum! were shouting, disgusting! lock him up, scum! zionist, nazi. they were just shouting and ranting and raving and those are the people who definitely would not be happy in the presence of a jew. and i know because i was a jew. and i know because i was a jew. and i know because i was a jew in their presence, and those are the people who who are

on some of these marches. >> gideon, how did the jewish community feel about this, particularly here in london? do they feel that that the police are almost targeting them and that certainly the police wouldn't protect them because it's a case of your responsibility to stay away from those who might attack you, rather than, as we saw with the arrest of a man holding a sign that said hamas are terrorists, then choosing to arrest him rather than to focus on those who might attack him. does the jewish community feel that the police are just simply unwilling to properly protect them and to uphold the law? >> i mean, the deal always with the jewish community essentially has been that we are brought up to have two words to say to police officers. thank you. that's it. we are law abiding. we obey police officers when they give us instructions. the idea of walking along the street and being detained by a police officer in our community would

be really a source of shame. and all of our community, pretty much all of our community, is here as a result of a flight from tyranny. whether it be the nazis or pogroms in russia or pogroms against and persecution of jews in the middle east and nonh of jews in the middle east and north africa. that's where the jewish community of britain has come from, largely and for us to be walking around in a country where we feel that this country stands for tolerance and decency, and where there is sort of policing by consensus and consent , but to be walking consent, but to be walking around and being told by police officers, multiple police officers, multiple police officers, to you're openly jewish, get out of the area. otherwise we're going to arrest you, i think is something that is really galling. and, you know, you ask how the community is feeling. it's been six months now, six months of this happening practically every

single weekend. you never know where these marches are going to be. they constantly change the route. whole swathes of london become shut down by these marches and we are just being asked to basically stay home on saturdays . don't go out into the saturdays. don't go out into the street, don't make a fuss, don't be too openly jewish. and it's a betrayal because the jewish community has always felt that we are law abiding. we thrive in this country as londoners, as jews in cities all over the uk , jews in cities all over the uk, and we just believe that we are protected as everybody else. and the actual truth of it, under sir mark rowley's metropolitan police service, is that there is this betrayal going on. we've been thrown under the bus in order to appease lawless mobs as well. >> it's the case you put across incredibly powerfully. gideon falter, thank you so much for making the time for, for putting your case across and sharing your case across and sharing your story. it is the most remarkable event that has happened. and sadly, sadly, all

too common, it seems. gideon gideon falter there. the chief executive at the campaign against anti—semitism, the metropolitan police spokesman , metropolitan police spokesman, has said we are aware of this video and fully acknowledge the worry it has caused, not to only those featured, but also to anyone who watches it and will review the circumstances. >> we have always said that we recognise the conflict between israel and hamas continues to be an issue of concern to many londoners, and this includes the regular protests and marches in central london. everyone has the right to travel throughout the capital in safety . so that is capital in safety. so that is the comment there from the metropolitan police on that video that we just watched. >> well , video that we just watched. >> well, coming up, nicola sturgeon's husband, peter murrell, has been charged in connection with embezzlement of funds from the snp . we'll have funds from the snp. we'll have the details for you after

good afternoon. britain. it's 10 to 1 now. in the last few minutes, the labour party leader, sir keir starmer, has been speaking on the escalating situation in the middle east. here's what he had to say. >> concerned about the prospect of escalation. escalation of the conflict in the middle east is in nobody's interest . conflict in the middle east is in nobody's interest. right. and so it's very, very important, therefore, that everybody urges restraint on all sides as more than that, we really need that ceasefire in gaza now, straight away so that hostages can come out desperately needed aid , out desperately needed aid, needs to get in, desperately, desperately needed . and we need, desperately needed. and we need, if you like, a foot in the door for the political process to peace. so i've been concerned about escalation for a long time now. restraint has to be the way forward. >> the prime minister is speaking about welfare today in sick notes for work and making changes to that. what do labour say to what he's talking about

today ? today? >> labour has for a long time been urging measures to be taken to deal with the problem of people getting back into work because it's inhibiting their ability to work . it's also ability to work. it's also restraining us in terms of what we can do with the economy, and that's why we've had a laser focus on how we get waiting lists down. because the biggest problem here, frankly , is that problem here, frankly, is that the government's broken the nhs and waiting lists are up at £76 million. so that's where the focus needs to be. this announcement this morning from the government is a reheated version of something they announced seven years ago. it's no good talking about the problem . what we need is action problem. what we need is action to actually make the issue actually be dealt with. >> does the government chief whip have questions to answer about the conservative mp mark menzies? because it appears they knew more details about the story in the times and on the bbc earlier in the year? >> well, in the last 24 hours we've found out that the government was told months ago

about this and they seem to have sat on their hands. if they thought they could sweep this under the carpet somehow, they were obviously very, very mistaken. and that's why i think there are very serious questions now that need to be asked, answered not just by the individual, but also by the government on this. and anneliese dodds has written to the police because it's clearly a matter that they are going to want to look into. >> you're talking about house building today. and as part of labour's wider plans on housebuilder ing, you're talking about building new towns. can you tell us where these new towns will be having a secure roof over your head is, one of the dreams of so many people across the country because it's across the country because it's a base camp, if you like , for a base camp, if you like, for life, for security, for everything. >> they want to achieve. and that's why we've been setting out our plans for house building, 1.5 million houses over the course of a five year labour government. we're here in

derby today. this is a brownfield site, was derelict for a while now being developed. we want to see more of that , we want to see more of that, because that dream of home ownership has, has all but vanished under this government, and we intend to rekindle it and make sure people have that basic security, that base camp from which they can go on and build their lives. >> great. i'm just very briefly well, there we heard keir starmer refusing to answer the question put to him about where labour's new towns are going to go. >> they're promising all these new towns, but interestingly, the party isn't saying where they're going to go until after they're going to go until after the election. >> yes, it's all very much it's broken, but we don't know how to fix it. >> well, i just think the government has had so many problems building houses because local communities very often say we don't want them here, we don't want them there . if the don't want them there. if the labour party is not going to say before an election where they're going to go, they're going to run into exactly the same sort of resistance. well, it's a bit like the nhs saying the nhs is broken but not giving the specifics on exactly how it can

be fixed. >> i think people well, people will need to see that before they vote. unless of course, they're just voting as a protest vote. but of course we know, tom, that you want to build all over the green belt. >> so only on only on the grape. i actually agree with keir starmer on the green belt stuff. have you seen some of this green belt, some of it's dump sites , belt, some of it's dump sites, some of it's car parks, some of it's really low grade quality land. but we'll be debating that. and indeed is britain a lazy nation all to come in the next hour of good afternoon britain. stay with . us. britain. stay with. us. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hi there and welcome to the latest gb news weather forecast from the met office. showers today will ease overnight with skies clearing. it's going to turn chilly with a touch of frost in places as higher pressure moves in from the west, but that will bring a fine start

to the weekend for many of us. finally, a period of settled weather, but for the time being, still some showers out there. they're going to ease as they spread south through the evening and then after midnight, most places will be dry with increasingly lengthy clear spells and lighter winds that will lead to temperatures falling away 3 to 5 celsius for many, but close to zero in some sheltered spots. so a touch of frost first thing tomorrow. however, plenty of sunshine from the word go. 1 or 2 mr fog patches soon clearing from northern ireland and then the best of the sunshine really across northern ireland, western scotland into parts of wales and the southwest. elsewhere it does turn a little cloudier into the afternoon, and we've still got a bit of a breeze down the north sea coast that will make it feel cool 9 or 10 celsius, but in the sunshine and lighter winds elsewhere, 13 or 14 celsius. very pleasant. there will be some outbreaks of light rain in the far north on saturday, spreading into central parts by

sunday. a cloudier day for many, and those dribbles of rain will push into the midlands by the end of the day, making it feel a little disappointing . monday little disappointing. monday sees further light rain across central parts , some sunshine elsewhere. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers, sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 1:00 on friday, the 19th of april. >> israel strikes back. defence chiefs are nervous as israel reportedly retaliates with

revenge strikes on iranian territory. the question now becomes , what will iran do next? becomes, what will iran do next? >> sick note britain the prime minister announces sweeping new reforms to get britain back to work as mental health sign offs soar. work as mental health sign offs soar . does work as mental health sign offs soar. does britain need a war on the work? shy the party of housebuilding? >> keir starmer unveils plans to build up to half a million homes using poor quality parts of the green belt, otherwise known as the grey belt, can we trust labour to build more houses? >> and later in the show , we'll >> and later in the show, we'll be talking to the south end mp anna firth, because her pet abduction bill is being discussed in the commons today. now, we tweeted earlier for you to send in pictures of your pets. we've got a lot to get through . this is from christine, through. this is from christine,

bofis. through. this is from christine, boris . oh, and wilson, this is boris. oh, and wilson, this is bruno. who's dancing around there chasing after a mouse . there chasing after a mouse. >> libby and frankie, a very blue eyed cat and this is reuben. >> could be a new gbn mascot. we don't have a name for this white cat, but this is bertie two, no. >> named black. black labradors. no names for this cat, either. >> but this is boris, spaniel and batman. batman lying down in the sun there. so thank you for sending all of those in. quite quick to get through. perhaps we'll perhaps difficult to pay them out a little bit slower later in the program . later in the program. >> so many in and one that was notable for me was laura, who sent in a picture of her german shepherd to me on twitter and is very worried that they're going to be stolen. yes >> so it is a huge, huge issue. and i think people always feel that sort of their pets are sort of part of their family, and that it should be a graver offence to take to a take a cat

or a dog than it is to steal a car or a television . car or a television. >> my cat, i'd hunt them down, i would find her. >> i was actually amazed by the number of people who sent in pictures of their pets, called boris. it seems a very sound, very popular pet nation called boris. >> do you? yeah, it's a very popular name. >> do they all? do they all have big sort of wild hair? >> yeah. look like boris. >> yeah. look like boris. >> goodness me. it's like. it's like all those children in kosovo called tony blair. >> so many. so many wonderful, wonderful pets. so thank you for sending all of those in. well, my day, we'll get to some more of those a bit later in the program, as well as our top stories too. >> but that's all. after your headunes >> but that's all. after your headlines with sam. >> very good afternoon to you. it's just after 1:00 leading the news this lunchtime, the uk and western allies are calling for de—escalation in the middle east after reports that israel launched air strikes against iran. state media there says three drones were shot down with explosions heard at an airbase

near the city of isfahan. no damage or injuries have been reported in that latest exchange. the strike is thought to be in response to last weekend's attack, when iran fired its own barrage of drones and missiles at israel . well, in and missiles at israel. well, in the last few minutes, sir keir starmer has added to calls for restraint as the best way forward. i'm deeply concerned about the prospect of escalation, escalation of the conflict in the middle east is in nobody's interest and so it's very, very important, therefore, that everybody , he urges that everybody, he urges restraint on all sides . restraint on all sides. >> more than that, we really need that ceasefire in gaza now, straight away. so that hostages can come out desperately needed aid , needs to get in, aid, needs to get in, desperately, desperately needed, and we need, if you like, a foot in the door for the political process to peace. >> in other news, this afternoon , the prime minister is promising his rwanda safety bill will be passed on monday. rishi

sunak couldn't confirm whether asylum flights would get off the ground by his spring deadline , ground by his spring deadline, but he did say his intention was to get the legislation through parliament without any further delays. he says that mps will be forced to sit in the commons until that job is done . leading until that job is done. leading mental health charities have described the government's welfare reforms as deeply damaging . welfare reforms as deeply damaging. during a major welfare reforms as deeply damaging . during a major speech damaging. during a major speech this morning, the prime minister warned against the overmedicalization of stresses and worries and claimed that people with less severe mental health conditions should , he health conditions should, he said, be expected to engage in the world of work. rishi sunak recognised, though he'll be accused of lacking in compassion , but insists the uk can't afford a spiralling increase in the welfare bill. >> we now spend £69 billion on benefits for people of working age with a disability or health condition. that's more than our entire schools budget, more than our transport budget , entire schools budget, more than

our transport budget, more than our transport budget, more than our policing budget and spending on personal independence payments alone. it's forecast to increase by more than 50% over the next four years. >> two police forces are being investigated over the stabbing of a mother in bradford. habiba masum is charged with murdering calosoma atca, who was attacked while pushing her baby in a pram two weeks ago. the independent office for police conduct says the victim contacted west yorkshire police on the 28th of march after receiving death threats. it's understood information was shared with colleagues. greater manchester police force an investigation will now look at what steps officers took to safeguard the victim . opposition parties in victim. opposition parties in scotland are urging the snp to co—operate fully with the police investigation into the party's finances after nicola sturgeon's husband, peter murrell , was husband, peter murrell, was charged with embezzling funds, is in connection with spending of more than £600,000 in

donations. he's also resigned his snp membership . parents are his snp membership. parents are being warned that children aged between 5 and 7 years old are spending too much time , often spending too much time, often unsupervised, on social media. ofcom claims 38% of infant school children now use platforms including tiktok, whatsapp and instagram. despite those sites requiring users to be at least 13 years old to have an account. the regulator has also suggested a quarter of children in the same age bracket, 5 to 7 years old, now own a smartphone. the research comes as the government's online safety bill, which aims to make the internet safer for children, is set to come into force in september . that's the latest september. that's the latest from the newsroom for now. for more, do sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the code on your screen or go to gb news. com slash alerts .

com slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it's 1:07. now united states officials have said that israeli missiles struck iran this morning , with the attacks morning, with the attacks reportedly hitting an area home to a large airbase , a major to a large airbase, a major missile production complex and several nuclear facilities. >> although the location of the strikes have not been fully confirmed, local sources are suggesting that the three explosions were heard near ifshin air base. >> well, let's get the very latest now with our home and security editor, mark white, because mark, all the fears for us in the uk and everyone further afield is that this will turn into a greater for tat retaliation and potentially a wider war. >> yes, absolutely. it's a very real fear that as hard as israel hits iran might hit back harder and it just escalates from there on, what is, interesting , and it just escalates from there on, what is, interesting, i think, is that of course, there

are these reports coming out from us media really quoting us officials saying that israel had informed them that strikes were about to take place on iran and that missiles were indeed fired from israel into iran. but the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is at the g7 foreign ministers summit in italy and repeatedly he refused to comment on these strikes , when asked on these strikes, when asked question after question, he spoke. he question after question, he spoke . he again reiterated his spoke. he again reiterated his condemnation and the condemnation and the condemnation of g7 ministers , of condemnation of g7 ministers, of iran and the attack which he said was unprecedented in its scale and scope. last saturday night, he reiterated again that the us absolutely stood by israel's right to defend itself . israel's right to defend itself. but he then spoke about the need for all sides here to try to

de—escalate, but would not address, the strikes last night, at all. he wouldn't want, as i say, repeatedly asked about them, just wouldn't confirm that any strikes had taken place. and of course, we've got israel not confirming, not commenting so far . so it's confirming, not commenting so far. so it's all very odd, and we're still really waiting for that official word from israel that official word from israel that they were indeed behind struck strikes into the heart of iran in the early hours of this morning . morning. >> of course, as tom mentioned, everybody the sort of question on everyone's lips is, is this going to drag us into world war iii? and we spoke earlier to robert fox, who is the defence editor at the evening standard, and he mentioned and the complexity of this in the global context. so how does this play into other geopolitical concerns relating to russia and china ?

relating to russia and china? >> well, we know, of course, that, russia in particular is a big supporter of iran . iran big supporter of iran. iran likewise been providing russia with a lot of the drones that they are using in ukraine, against the people of ukraine in strike after strike on that country, so there is real concern about the potential for an escalation. i think initially concern about an escalation in the form of a regional war in middle east, thus, you know, thus far, we've always had, the iranian government using its proxies in southern lebanon, in gaza , in, yemen and the form of gaza, in, yemen and the form of the houthi rebels and of course, other groups in iraq and in syria. what we saw last saturday was an unprecedented attack by iran, a state, a state on state

attack, if you like, from iran directly from its soil on israel, and the hope, i guess, is as, as counterintuitive as it sounds that we can return in a way, to what israel knows and can handle, which is iran's proxies in those various areas , proxies in those various areas, and not be dealing with a state launching very significant numbers of drones and missiles into its territory. and then israel, of course, having to respond now, we do not know, because israel has not commented on this. and anthony blinken, of course , is not, as we have course, is not, as we have heard, commenting on it either , heard, commenting on it either, whether this strike was a limited one off, and that's where we are or whether it is the first phase of a more concerted campaign by israel, which would be a very, very worrying , escalation, i think worrying, escalation, i think certainly would be. >> well, mark white, thank you

for bringing us all of that. it's a it's a tense situation, no doubt, in the middle east. but let's get some more now with the defence editor at the telegraph, con coughlin and con britain has been very clear throughout this ever since. those that that first strike, that israel is alleged to have done on an iranian embassy that we don't want to see escalation here, we didn't want to see frankly, this israeli strike like what's in britain's interests here? >> well, i think what's in britain's interests is that the, as you said, the that there isn't the kind of escalation that everybody fears , as you've that everybody fears, as you've probably seen, david cameron met with, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu earlier this week and relayed the message that we did not want to see, further escalation , the israelis further escalation, the israelis said, well, we've got to defend

ourselves . we've been attacked ourselves. we've been attacked and we're going to do something. but i think you're judging by the reports that we're getting from the g7 summit, which is taking place in italy, the foreign ministers, everybody is trying to play this down. >> even the iranians , are not >> even the iranians, are not making much of a fuss about this , there was very much a sense of business as normal after these attacks were reported . and, of attacks were reported. and, of course, israel very rarely confirms its military action. >> it just says it has this, policy of, you know, deniable that it's had for many years. >> so it could just be that the israelis have sent their signal to tehran , and that's the end of it. >> and certainly i think a lot of western policymakers in london and europe are hoping thatis london and europe are hoping that is the case. >> but it's arguably not enough to be a deterrent . so how do you to be a deterrent. so how do you

explain israel's military reasoning in terms of i'm sorry, i can't hear you ? i can't hear you? >> oh, well, let's see if we can get that line re—established. con, can you can you hear us? okay, let's see if we can get that line re—established in a little moment. but, emma, this is the big risk that everyone is seeing. because frankly, it is very easy to spot how one state hitting another state, then hitting another state, then hitting back and hitting back. it all escalates. and a complex web of alliances gets drawn in. you can see how this becomes the start of something very dangerous for the world indeed. >> it's interesting the suggestion there that this might sort of revert back to the status quo of iran using its proxies, because it does seem, doesn't it , that, by by not sort doesn't it, that, by by not sort of making a big song and dance about this, whether it was or was not israel by downplaying it, they're almost, stepping back from it and then, oh, we have claimed back con , you were have claimed back con, you were in the middle of a question. yes. i was just about to ask

you.so yes. i was just about to ask you. so in terms of, as this has been argued, that , that this is been argued, that, that this is this, this action from israel isn't really enough to be a deterrent. so what is the military reasoning, do you think, behind their decision to, to do this limited strike? >> well, that's a good point. >> well, that's a good point. >> i mean , i think first of all, >> i mean, i think first of all, you know, we don't know the extent of the damage that's been caused.i extent of the damage that's been caused. i mean, what i would say is it does seem that the israeli missiles have hit their targets, unlike the iranian missiles. but that's you know, that's sort of a11 upmanship. but i that's you know, that's sort of a11upmanship. but i think in the round , the israelis have the round, the israelis have made it very clear militarily that in order to preserve some form of deterrence to prevent iran from increasing its pressure against israel , they pressure against israel, they needed to act. so it seems they've sent a very clear message to the iranians that if you mess with us, you're going to pay a price, and as mark was saying, i think the israelis would prefer to be dealing with

matters close to their home, fighting hamas in gaza, dealing with hezbollah in southern lebanon and the houthi rebels, etc. rather than having to go on, get involved in a state, on state conflict with iran, which frankly, is in no one's interests . interests. >> well, thank you so much for talking through. i'm really glad we could get that line re—established to you. thank you very much . now, i have to say very much. now, i have to say we've had a couple of comments in about this discussion and, perhaps some gb viewers are less sanguine about the idea of de—escalation. in fact, simon has written in to say it's in britain's interests to avoid an all out war is utter tosh. it's in britain's interests to prevent iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and of and someone who's calling themselves aukus blokey says it's time for an all out war between iran and israel . let's get started. take israel. let's get started. take away the mad mullahs , nuke away the mad mullahs, nuke making factories, let's escalate. so we really do have some some neocon all out war types in the comments there. >> i mean, this it could be a

legitimate argument that we need to avoid doing what we did with russia, with iran, and so we need to be a bit more robust and tough in order to make it very, very clear to them and send the message that there will be a price if they do try to escalate this further. of course, nobody actually wants to see world war iii. >> i don't know, but and it is worth noting that currently iran is not a nuclear armed state, but it could be in the future. and what is the best way to prevent that? that's a that's a big, big question, but in other news, the prime minister has been speaking today. he's unveiled plans to crack down on what he calls sicknote culture in britain . that's if he wins in britain. that's if he wins the next election. >> in a speech earlier today, rishi sunak said it was his moral mission to reform our welfare system, saying that work is good for people . is good for people. >> well, he's faced criticism from a disability charity and the british medical association, but he rejected the idea that his reforms are lacking in

compassion . compassion. >> we're joined now by the human rights campaigner and commentator peter tatchell. thank you for joining commentator peter tatchell. thank you forjoining us, peter. thank you for joining us, peter. so what do you make of rishi's remarks? do you think that he is being unfair, or do you think that we really are a lazy nation ? >> well, 7- >> well, i ? >> well, i think it's absolutely right. we want to get more people back to work that is good for the economy and it's good to overcome people's health issues so they can live healthy lives. >> so that's a good objective . >> so that's a good objective. >> so that's a good objective. >> i think we need to understand why so many people are sick , and why so many people are sick, and there are hundreds of thousands of people still suffering from long covid, we know that poverty exacerbates people's ill health and a lot of poor people don't have the money to heat their homes properly or to buy healthy, good quality food . we healthy, good quality food. we also know there are a lot of people. >> in fact, 7 million plus people are on nhs waiting lists. >> they need treatment, they can't get it and that is why they're still sick. and then of

course there's social media. a high proportion of people who are off sick, due to nervous and anxiety issues. and that is undoubtedly exacerbated by the toxic nature of social media. so these are good reasons why we have so many sick people , or have so many sick people, or rather, bad reasons why we have so many sick people. and we need to address them. so i would say that one thing is, let's cut the nhs waiting list so that people can get the treatment they need so they can get back to work quickly. you know, i've got a long term health issue. i've been waiting two years for treatment. it's not a major issue. so i'm happy to wait. but there are some people with quite serious issues who aren't able to work who need that treatment pronto so they can get back into the workplace. no, i think we can all we can all agree that those those waiting lists are far, far too long. >> but but the number of people claiming what's known as personal independence payment or pip, for mental health issues started rising before covid.

we've seen this big uptick going since around 2018, 2019, and it's been growing and growing and growing, so much so that the prime minister said today the cost of pip will rise by 50% over the next two. over the next four years. it's an enormous cost. and with the 94% approval rate that sick notes are being given right now, people who apply given right now, people who apply for six notes from their gp, 94% are getting them . so is gp, 94% are getting them. so is thatis gp, 94% are getting them. so is that is it unfair to suggest that is it unfair to suggest that that perhaps 94% is an approval rate? that's slightly too high? >> well, i'm sure gps who provide those fitness notes, do so based on evidence. i don't think they're giving them out like , candy in a sweet store. like, candy in a sweet store. i think they're making very clear medical judgements about people's fitness to work . but, people's fitness to work. but, you know, go back to this point. we have to do more to get people's health issues addressed. and if you have to

wait for months or years for treatment, then that's going to put you out of the job market. and that's bad for the economy andifs and that's bad for the economy and it's bad for the individuals concerned because then they have to go on benefits and benefits are appallingly low and they're not any way to live a comfortable, decent life, we also , i think i, we, i would say also, i think i, we, i would say let's raise the minimum wage so people have the money to buy healthier food to heat their homes adequately, let's get a scheme going to provide coaching and mentoring to people who are seriously ill, to help a few people who run small businesses. >> who would think if we raise the minimum wage , they're just the minimum wage, they're just going to put their prices up in their shops to pay for those wages that could really push inflation far higher than it is today. >> well, of course, that is a concern . it is a concern. but we concern. it is a concern. but we need people to have the money to buy healthy food. and we know the healthy food tends to be more expensive. we need people to have enough income to heat the homes adequately because we

know if you don't heat your home adequately, you're much more likely to suffer from a range of ill health, which will put you off work. so it's a win win situation if we can do that. but i want to go back to my point. last point we need to set up a coaching or mentoring system whereby people who are long time sick get have a mentor or a coach who will help them overcome their health issues , overcome their health issues, get them the treatment they need, give them the psychological and emotional support to get them back in the job market, where are similar schemes have been applied? for example, for young unemployed people, they have been very successful . so it's a good successful. so it's a good investment which will help reduce the huge benefits bill for people who are sick and disabled very quickly. >> in one word, peter, would you have that on the nhs , that have that on the nhs, that mentoring scheme, yes or no? >> yes, because it's a health issue and it's good for the economy if we can get people back to work. >> well, there we go . a bit more >> well, there we go. a bit more carrot, a bit less stick. that's

the proposal from peter tatchell. thank you. so much for joining us and talking through that, that issue, i think everyone can agree it is a big issue, but lots of disagreement. there in terms of how to deal with it, but much more to come on the programme coming up, gb news can reveal there's been a tenfold rise in care sector investigations by the labour exploitation watchdog. it's a bit of a mouthful that, but we'll explain what it means very shortly.

good afternoon. britain. it's 1:27. some breaking news now from scotland, where former first minister nicola sturgeon has said the situation has been incredibly difficult after her husband, former snp chief executive peter murrell, was charged in connection with alleged embezzlement of funds.

>> there has been a rise , a >> there has been a rise, a tenfold rise in investigations by the government's modern slavery watchdog into the social care sector. >> yes, in further news now, the new data from gangmasters and labour abuse authority was revealed in a gb news investigates freedom of information request. >> the surge in probes comes after a record rise in health and care visas issued by the government, with researchers linking the investigations to rampant abuse of the immigration route. >> well, delighted to be joined by our reporter charlie peters, now, who revealed these figures this morning. now, who revealed these figures this morning . and charlie, just this morning. and charlie, just to make it very, very simple , to make it very, very simple, for, for, for, what does this actually mean? >> well, tom, everyone knows how much the social care sector is struggling at the moment. there's a desperate need for staff as demands on those services has risen significantly. and as a part of

that, the department of health introduced this health and care visa a few years ago, expecting just 6000 people to take it up. that would be 0.3% of the nhs and social care combined workforce. however, since january 2021, when the brexit transition period ended , some transition period ended, some 570,000 people have used that visa to start working in britain. 99% of them are non—eu nationals . 350,000 arrived last nationals. 350,000 arrived last year alone in those record net migration figures, and as that significant migration pattern has occurred , there have been has occurred, there have been these concerns raised by the gangmasters and labour abuse authority with regards to care sector exploitation, and that's migrant workers arriving in britain, starting to work in this sector and finding themselves in a rather desperate situation. unseen uk , which is situation. unseen uk, which is a charity that maintains a modern

slavery and labour abuse hotline, did say yesterday that it had experienced a 30% rise in potential victims working in this sector last year. that's on the back of a 606% rise. the year before, when we saw the introduction of this visa coming introduction of this visa coming in after a year of full use. now we've revealed today that there were four investigations by the labour abuse authority in 2021, and that's risen to 44 last yean and that's risen to 44 last year, up to the point at which our figures were collected the end of february of this year. there had already been five investigations. so, so clearly this is a serious concern for the labour abuse authority, a part of the home office. it's unked part of the home office. it's linked with the national crime agency , britain's fbi, and is agency, britain's fbi, and is conducting these probes into various care sector areas where there are concerns that workers are being made to work in unsafe conditions, are being held in

modern slavery conditions, expected to pay extremely high recruitment fees even after arriving. and i think it's extremely telling that unseen uk, who maintained that hotline, do offer that service in 250 languages. well, in reaction to the findings that we've revealed this morning, a government spokesperson issued a statement to me saying, we are clear that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy. we have concerns about unethical employment practices, particularly for migrant workers employed within care occupations, to address these concerns about abuse within the health and care worker sector, providers in england are now only able to sponsor migrant workers if they are undertaking activities regulated by the care quality commission , and that quality commission, and that statement came on the back of a reaction that i received from tory mp neil o'brien last night, who said that this visa has been a boon for exploiters and

criminals who have brought in many workers in unsafe conditions. >> charlie, this will be very worrying to people who have loved ones in care homes. is this yet another achilles heel in our immigration system with potential security implications ? potential security implications? >> that is the view of carl williams, the policy and research director at the centre for policy studies, who also issued some strong reaction to this story. and he pointed out that for every 7500 of these health and care visas issued , a health and care visas issued, a new investigation is launched. this is a crisis that many are pointing out is not just about the migrant workers , but also the migrant workers, but also concerns for those elderly people in the care sector . people in the care sector. >> huge concerns over that exploitation and those that are that are suffering, not just those people in the hair care homes, but people working in them, too. charlie, thank you so much for bringing the story. some really concerning stuff there. now, we should say that a government spokesperson has got in touch to say that we're clear that everyone deserves to be

treated fairly at work and reward their contribution to the economy, they added that to address these concerns about health, about abuse within the health, about abuse within the health and work, health and care worker sector, providers in england are now able to sponsor migrant workers if they are undertaking activities regulated by the care quality commission. >> another mouthful . goodness >> another mouthful. goodness me. now coming up. uproar in lancashire over plans to build a cable corridor wider than the m55 right through the county. we'll have the latest after the headunes we'll have the latest after the headlines with sam . headlines with sam. >> 133 very good afternoon to you from the newsroom leading the news this hour. the uk government and western allies are calling for restraint in the middle east following this morning's apparent israeli attack against iran. the strikes are understood to have been fired from israel in revenge for an iranian drone assault last weekend. we're hearing that tehran has no plan to retaliate at this stage and no damage or

injuries have been reported in this latest exchange . meanwhile, this latest exchange. meanwhile, the prime minister is promising his rwanda safety bill will be passed on monday. rishi sunak couldn't confirm whether asylum flights would get off the ground by his spring deadline, but he did say his intention was to get the bill through parliament without any further delay . he's without any further delay. he's also said mps will be forced to sit in the commons until the job is done. the british medical association has accused rishi sunak of hostile rhetoric , as sunak of hostile rhetoric, as he's promised to end what he calls the sick note culture. dufing calls the sick note culture. during a major speech on welfare reform, he claimed that people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engagein conditions should be expected to engage in the world of work. however, labour has also accused the government of failing to deliver a healthy nation , and deliver a healthy nation, and scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has admitted the situation surrounding her husband's arrest and embezzlement charges has been incredibly difficult . peter incredibly difficult. peter murrell was charged in

connection with misusing more than £600,000 of snp funding, donated to independence campaigning, and we understand he has also resigned from his snp membership . for the latest snp membership. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to our website gb news .com/ alerts . website gb news .com/ alerts. >> for a valuable legacy your family can own, gold coins will always shine bright . rosalind always shine bright. rosalind gold proudly sponsors the gb news financial report, and let's take a look at the markets this afternoon. >> the pound will buy you $1.2455 and ,1.1682. the price of gold is £1,911.12 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 7841 points. >> rosalind gold proudly sponsors the gb news financial

i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it is 1:38. and you are watching gb news. a community in lancashire is in uproar over plans to build a cable corridor wider than the m55. right through the county. >> yes. developers say it's necessary as part of their work to meet the government's green energy targets. but some residents say it will destroy greenbelt land, close down businesses and force people out of their homes. >> we sent our north west reporter sophie reaper , to go reporter sophie reaper, to go and find out what's been going on. barbara has been riding horses here for the past 35 years. >> she's deaf, and these lessons are tailored especially to meet her needs. but soon she may need to find a new hobby. under

proposals to connect a wind farm off the morecambe coast to a sub power station in preston. construction to link the two assets would meet the border of the riding school . if it goes the riding school. if it goes ahead, the owner says the 3000 lessons they offer each year for disabled riders like barbara would have to be cancelled , and would have to be cancelled, and they would be forced to close their doors for good. >> horses are very sensitive creatures, so they they're not as logical as us, and they don't understand words like there's going to be a loud noise in a minute. so to have this sudden explosion of vehicles and everything else going on, the horses are not safe to be used. >> two weeks ago, the school received a letter informing them that mobilisation activities would begin this month. that's despite consent for development not yet being approved. how is it allowed to happen? >> how are big companies allowed to do this ? to do this? >> i see no good all around me here there are homes, businesses and just down the road the small

village of freckleton. there locals are extreme concerned about how these plans could affect life as they know it. one local resident, andrew lee, has lived here for 56 years. he runs the local post office but says his true life's work is conservation. >> i did a bird survey over the last 20 years on this ground and it includes 100 species of birds. >> plus we've got a massive brown hare population. >> what they're going to do, they're going to wipe everything out. >> despite concerns, developers say they'll make an important contribution to the uk's offshore wind target . in fact, offshore wind target. in fact, they promise the wind farms would harness enough electricity to power the equivalent of 2 million homes. >> we're not saying no to the wind farm. what we're saying no to is the cable corridor. the cable corridor is going to cut filed in two. it's not a case of can we do it? it's a case. we are doing it. and it's just wrong. >> in a statement to gb news, the developers said all feedback

we have received has been considered to date and helped inform our design process. we understand there are local concerns and these will be addressed in due course . and yet addressed in due course. and yet for the local residents, they feel they're being listened to but not heard. >> the noise and the land and the sight and the ugliness of it. if i'm honest, really do concern me. >> this is going to change the whole landscape around here and become much more of an industrialised area. so absolutely. yeah, we would probably move away. it seems to be being done in the cheapest possible way to suit the companies. >> now , with a parliamentary >> now, with a parliamentary petition in place and supports continuing to grow, the people of fylde will do what they can to save what they believe needs saving. sophie reaper gb news i can't help but comment during that. >> during those interviews where those local concerned residents were saying we don't want any cables here, we don't want any power lines here. tom has got

his knickers in a twist. there was a power. there was. there was a power. there was. there was a power. there was. there was a transmission tower right behind those people speaking. there were cables there already. >> there's a difference between the sorts of cables that you have all across the country, and having an area become industrial because there's so much more. >> but they're not going to become it's their area. >> they should have a right to be able. you were saying while we were watching that package, tom was saying, well, they don't own the land where the cables go across, but it's still a person's local area. you know that your home isn't just limited to the patch of land that you own or rent, but an englishman's home is their castle. >> if i want to a terrible make some money with my land by having a power line across it, where might i add, there are already power lines going just tracking where the current power lines are . i mean, how else do lines are. i mean, how else do you think we're going to get electricity around the country? we need more electricity destroyed. >> it would because everybody

would just be atomised and privatised in their own homes, and nobody would have any buy in to their local landscape or community. we'd be living in a horrible place. >> i don't think that's the case at all. look at where we have current electricity pylons and look at where we currently have areas of outstanding natural beauty. we can do both. we can do both. >> they do ruin the landscape. >> they do ruin the landscape. >> i don't think they always ruin the landscape . i don't ruin the landscape. i don't think they always do. but i think they always do. but i think there are areas we can protect and areas where ideologically committed to nimbyism, wants everything in everybody else's. >> yes, in my backyard or in my backyard ? yeah. and in everyone backyard? yeah. and in everyone else's, apparently. >> well, i just i just think that sometimes, sometimes this country counts. too many newts where we should instead build some roads , more runways, data some roads, more runways, data centres , labs, greenbelt homes. centres, labs, greenbelt homes. were we talking a little bit about the greenbelt in just a moment actually, because sir keir starmer has unveiled plans to build half a million new homes as well. our economics and

business editor here @gbnews will join us very shortly to understand what this new phase that the labour party is trying to coin actually means. what is the green belt

? good 7 good afternoon. britain. it's 1:47. but now to some breaking news from paris that french police have cordoned off the iranian consulate in paris , iranian consulate in paris, where a man was threatening to blow himself up. these are the pictures from around that consulate in paris. the paris police have been on the scene for just some time now, and, of forjust some time now, and, of course, a very serious threat. there in what is perhaps the closest major capital to us. well, these are live pictures now of the scene and the area

still cordoned off, but details at this moment are sketchy, i think. >> of course, everyone's first thought is going to be, that this does appear to be terror related. we don't know. obviously, that's not confirmed, but that will be people's first thought, wanting to know if this is a response to what we saw, over the last couple of days between israel and iran. >> and of course, when we hear about threats involving bombs , about threats involving bombs, it does show the gravity of this situation. we've seen attacks in france , we've seen attacks in france, we've seen attacks in the last 12 months in france involving knives . but it does involving knives. but it does seem that when a bomb is involved , it points to perhaps involved, it points to perhaps greater sophistication . it greater sophistication. it points to larger networks, something that perhaps the security services should be aware of. >> paris, of course , has a long >> paris, of course, has a long history of, of being a target of terrorism. if we remember the bataclan, incidents and all

sorts of issues relating to daesh. but of course, it's unclear exactly what the motive of this person is , because we of this person is, because we know not just in the conflict with israel , but also there are with israel, but also there are some internal domestic issues also with unrest in iran. >> well, our homeland security mark white joins us now. mark, what do we know? >> well, it was just after 11:00 local time in paris when this man was seen seen by eyewitnesses carrying. and this is conflicting , carrying either is conflicting, carrying either a grenade or with some kind of explosive vest. i mean, the two don't look alike, but those are reports , and they can often reports, and they can often differ from eyewitnesses. this man was seen heading towards the iranian consulate , which is in iranian consulate, which is in the 16th arrondissement, not far from the eiffel tower and apparently seen entering the consulate. you've got, as we speak now, french police

officers, trained specialist firearms teams from the bry brigade who are pushing forward to surround that consulate. so an active scene in at the moment, and it will depend on what they see and hear and find as to whether they push forward into that building . because what into that building. because what you will normally get, of course, if it's a terrorist attack, that's a marauding attack, that's a marauding attack where someone is actively trying to kill lots of people, the police move forward , push in the police move forward, push in and deal with the threat. but if it is an incident that appears to potentially be something that could be more protracted in scale because it's someone who is intent on taking hostages or is intent on taking hostages or is making a threat, but who hasn't harmed someone, but who hasn't harmed someone, but who has the potential to detonate explosives. that is much more complicated. and that's when you see the police acting a lot more sort of carefully in the way

that they push forward, negotiators called in and are like to see what this man wants. we don't know, other than the reports that we're getting about this man apparently armed with some kind of an explosive going into the iranian consulate. >> mark. mark, i'm just hearing now that a man. >> exactly what's been happening. yeah, mark. >> i'm hearing now that a man has been arrested and that's that's all the information i have now. but i can only assume that that arrest could well be the individual concerned . the individual concerned. >> well, we would hope so anyway. and if that is the case, then that would be, a good and safe conclusion to the incident. as such, of course , we don't as such, of course, we don't know whether this man at the end of the day is armed with any live explosives devices , what live explosives devices, what his potential motive was. but if those reports are borne out that it is indeed the suspect who

entered the consulate or nearby the consulate, who is in custody, then a safe conclusion to this incident, which is , is to this incident, which is, is clearly welcome. as i was just saying before , of course, saying before, of course, everything that's playing out in the middle east at the moment, around iran has captured world attention. we don't know if this is related to that. there are dissidents, of course, we know that are actively campaigning and fighting against the iranian regime. it could be linked to it. but early stages, all we know is , as you're reporting know is, as you're reporting now, a man in custody, following these reports that an individual armed with some kind of an explosive device, to according eyewitnesses. so this is what they saw. it doesn't mean necessarily that on closer examination, that explosive device turns out to be a viable explosive device. but in custody

now, we can only hope that this was the individual. and there is a safe conclusion to this incident. >> well, mark white, thank you very much for bringing us the very much for bringing us the very latest. there really concerning scenes in paris. and i think it's important to stress this is this is right in the middle of paris. this is just across the river from the eiffel tower on the north, in the 16th arrondissement, your pronunciation there, tom? >> yeah. no, but but this is something that i think all major western capitals will be concerned by and perhaps dealing with. >> it's interesting because, of course , as we were just course, as we were just discussing there, that france does have this long history of islamist terrorism, but given the target, it does seem rather unlikely . and of course, this is unlikely. and of course, this is just speculation. at this point. we don't even know if it is terrorism, though that does seem to me to be likely. obviously we are just speculating, but given the target it does. it does seem that it would be rather unlikely for it to be an islamist attack, but it does just show how, given the iranian consulate here is involved, that what goes on in

the middle east can really spill over into all major capitals . over into all major capitals. and i and also, i mean, i did mention there that, that there are a number of people well, there are a lot of people within iran and unrest domestically . iran and unrest domestically. vie mark mentioned there that there are a number of dissidents in france. so potentially this could be, maybe it's even a dissident who's disgruntled by iran's actions. >> well, let's see if we can get more information on that. we'll be right back after these messages with more information on this potential situation there in paris. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hi there and welcome to the latest gb news, weather forecast from the met office. showers today will ease overnight with skies clearing. it's going to turn chilly with a touch of

frost in places as higher pressure moves in from the west, but that will bring a fine start to the weekend for many of us. finally a period of settled weather, but for the time being, still some showers out there. they're going to ease as they spread south through the evening and then after midnight, most places will be dry with increasingly lengthy, clear spells and lighter winds that will lead to temperatures falling away 3 to 5 celsius for many, but close to zero in some sheltered spots. so a touch of frost first thing tomorrow . frost first thing tomorrow. however, plenty of sunshine from the word go . 1 or 2 mr fog the word go. 1 or 2 mr fog patches soon clearing from northern ireland and then the best of the sunshine really across northern ireland, western scotland into parts of wales and the southwest. elsewhere it does turn a little cloudier into the afternoon and we've still got a bit of a breeze down the north sea coast that will make it feel cool. 9 or 10 celsius. but in the sunshine and lighter winds elsewhere 13 or 14 celsius very

pleasant. there will be some outbreaks of light rain in the far north on saturday, spreading into central parts by sunday. a cloudier day for many, and those dribbles of rain will push into the midlands by the end of the day, making it feel a little disappointing . monday sees disappointing. monday sees further light rain across central parts , some sunshine elsewhere. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers, sponsors of

>> good afternoon. britain. it's 2:00 on friday, the 19th of april. >> israel strikes back. defence chiefs are nervous as israel reportedly retaliates with revenge strikes on iranian territory. the question now becomes, what will iran do next? particularly pertinent with the result of the situation in paris ? >> 7- >> two also ? >> two also sick note 7 >> two also sick note britain, the prime minister announces

sweeping new reforms to get britain back to work as mental health sign offs near saw . well, health sign offs near saw. well, does britain need a war on the work? shy and finally the party of housebuilding. >> sir keir starmer unveils plans to build up to half a million homes using poor quality parts of the greenbelt, otherwise known as the greenbelt . can we trust in the labour party to build more houses? >> now, it does seem that after this arrest in paris, there are still many unanswered questions. what was the motive of this individual who threatened to blow himself up at the iranian consulate there real big questions that will be attempting to answer for you throughout this programme . throughout this programme. >> and of course, particularly sensitive, i think probably for the people of paris who have

been so badly hit by events like this the bataclan, of course, charlie hebdo, charlie hebdo, there was also the case of samuel paty and the list just goes on and on and on. paris seems to really be a target for people committing acts of terrorism. so i think that will obviously be the first place that people's minds go to. yes, absolutely . absolutely. >> although we haven't heard confirmation yet, we will have our teams looking out for what exactly is the motive behind this and if we can get any more information on it. but it does turn your mind to sort of what other consequences could. clearly, it's not a coincidence that this targeting of the iranian embassy happens within 24 hours of the israeli targeting of , of iran's targeting of, of iran's sovereign territory after iran sent 300 missiles over to israel, it shows how what happensin israel, it shows how what happens in the middle east actually reverberates all the way around the world and raises questions i'm sure that our own security services will be on high lookout now as well, of coui'se.

>> course. >> and we were actually saying before, before today's show, we were talking about what the domestic implications might be of this, retaliation from israel to iran, from israel to iran and so on. and as we know , you know, so on. and as we know, you know, in the middle east, when these things, when these things kick off, often it has domestic security implications for us here in britain, but in europe as a whole, yes. and are you concerned will you be changing your behaviour or being just more on the lookout? >> well, gbnews.com/yoursay way is the way to join the conversation. all that to come after your headlines with sam . after your headlines with sam. very good afternoon to you from the newsroom. just after 2:00. and first, the latest developments on that breaking news from paris, where a man reportedly threatening to blow himself up has now been arrested. we understand that was at the iran consulate in the french capital. a cordon was set up after police sources said he was seen entering the building

carrying what had appeared to be a grenade and explosive vest. they have though now, since confirmed the man in that incident was unarmed . and we incident was unarmed. and we will, of course, bring you more on that throughout the rest of the afternoon. and we are expecting to hear from police at the scene in paris shortly . in the scene in paris shortly. in other news, the security scare there in paris comes as the uk and western allies call for de—escalation in the middle east, after reports that israel launched air strikes against iran. state media there say that three drones were shot down overnight with explosions heard at an air base near the city of isfahan. no damage or injuries have been reported in the latest exchange . the strike, though, is exchange. the strike, though, is thought to have been in response to the last weekend attacks when iran fired a barrage of drones and missiles at israel. labour leader sir keir starmer has added to calls for restraint as the best way forward . the best way forward. >> i'm deeply concerned about the prospect of escalation, escalation of the conflict in

the middle east is in nobody's interest best, and so it's very, very important, therefore, that everybody urges restraint on all sides . more everybody urges restraint on all sides. more than that, we everybody urges restraint on all sides . more than that, we really sides. more than that, we really need that ceasefire in gaza now, straight away. so that hostages can come out desperately needed aid , needs to get in, aid, needs to get in, desperately, desperately needed and we need, if you like, a foot in the door for the political process to peace, the prime minister is promising his rwanda safety bill will be passed on monday. >> rishi sunak couldn't confirm couldn't confirm whether asylum flights would get off the ground by his spring deadline. but he did say his intention was to get the legislation through parliament without any further delay. he says mps will be forced to sit in the commons until the job is done . leading until the job is done. leading mental health charities have described the government's welfare reforms as deeply damaging . welfare reforms as deeply damaging. during a major welfare reforms as deeply damaging . during a major speech damaging. during a major speech this morning, the prime minister

warned against the overmedicalization of stresses and worries and claimed that people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engage in the world of work. rishi sunak recognised he'll be accused of lacking in compassion, but insisted the uk can't afford a spiralling increase in the welfare bill. >> we now spend £69 billion on benefits for people of working age with a disability or health condition . that's more than our condition. that's more than our entire schools budget , more than entire schools budget, more than our transport budget, more than our transport budget, more than our policing budget and spending on personal independence payments alone. it's forecast to increase by more than 50% over the next four years. >> well, we've heard today that two police forces are being investigated over the stabbing of a mother in bradford. habiba moazzam is charged with murdering calosoma akhter, who was attacked while pushing her babyin was attacked while pushing her baby in a pram two weeks ago.

the independent office for police conduct says the victim contacted west yorkshire police on the 28th of march after receiving death threats. it's understood that information was then shared with colleagues in greater manchester police. an investigation will now look at what steps officers took to safeguard the victim , as safeguard the victim, as scotland's former first minister nicola sturgeon has admitted the situation surrounding her husband's arrest and embezzlement charges has been, she says, incredibly difficult. peter murrell was charged in connection with misusing more than £600,000 of snp funding, donated to independence campaigning. he's also resigned his snp membership, and campaigning. he's also resigned his snp membership , and parents his snp membership, and parents are being warned that children between the ages of five and seven are spending too much time , often unsupervised, on social media. ofcom claims 38% of infants school children now use platforms including tiktok and instagram. despite those sites requiring users to be at least

13 years old to have an account . 13 years old to have an account. the regulator's also suggesting a quarter of children in the same age bracket, 5 to 7 years old, now own a smartphone. the research comes as the government's online safety bill, which aims to make the internet safer for children, is set to come into force in september. that's the latest from the newsroom. for now , do sign up to newsroom. for now, do sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the code there on your screen. or, if you're listening on radio, go to gbnews.com slash alerts. >> good afternoon britain. it's 2:08. now let's cross to paris where there's been a very unusual event. a man has approached the iranian consulate with some sort of explosive device. we were speaking to our homeland security editor, mark white, in the last hour, who was saying, we're not quite sure what sort of explosive device

device it was. some people are reporting an explosive vest. some people were reporting a grenade, others have said he was wearing a belt of explosives and some have been reporting he wanted to avenge his brother's death. now, that's all the information we really have right now . but the suspect has been now. but the suspect has been arrested by the french police, and we're just getting some more information. as time goes on. but, emma, the french police have clearly acted very swiftly in this case. >> and, of course, the french police have got an awful lot of experience. although you described this as being , an described this as being, an unusual event. of course it is. in the grand scheme of things . in the grand scheme of things. but in terms of the security of paris, paris and their, experience in dealing with, very serious terrorist events, the police will, of course, be, particularly prepared for this. and i imagine , as is probably and i imagine, as is probably the case with the counter—terrorism police here in the uk , that all sorts of the uk, that all sorts of conflicts in the middle east may

have potential ramifications for european domestic security . so, european domestic security. so, it's i suppose it's no surprise, though. of course, they should be, praised for acting so swiftly. of course, at this point, all we can do is infer what the motive might be. and given the target, it could potentially be an iranian dissident , potentially be an iranian dissident, perhaps, but it's very, very difficult to infer from what little information we currently have. and of course, the public in paris are still being to told avoid the area. >> it'sjust being to told avoid the area. >> it's just across from the eiffel tower , really, really eiffel tower, really, really very central. but let's get more on this now with tom wilson, the director of policy at the counter extremism group. tom we don't have much information on this event, but when there are situations that kick off in the middle east, do we generally see an uptick in events like this in the west ? the west? >> yes, i think that's right. we both see, an increase in activity and threat at the time

of these sorts of middle eastern incidents, but also as an ongoing thing that happens between communities . i ongoing thing that happens between communities. i think that it's one of the troubling developments in our politics that more and more we're seeing foreign conflict and, foreign disputes between different ethnic groups actually playing out here in the west and in britain. obviously, the iranian one is particularly pertinent at the moment, and there's a big iranian dissident scene in countries like britain, but also if you think about the, turkish, kurdish conflict and the way in which that's played out in, in europe, another example might be tensions between pakistan and india in the way in which we've seen hindu and muslims tensions play seen hindu and muslims tensions play out in some of britain's cities. and i think it's an unfortunate , development within unfortunate, development within our politics that we're having to see, as we saw particularly around some of the gaza protests and people who appear to be supportive of hamas , trying to

supportive of hamas, trying to bnng supportive of hamas, trying to bring that conflict in that dispute to britain and sort of play dispute to britain and sort of play it out here and adjudicate on the on the conflict here in our national life and our politics. >> tom. we were we were just discussing how, this could potentially have security implications for us here in the uk even before the, we had this breaking news. do you have any insight into what the motivation might be behind this attack, and off the back of that, whether we should be concerned here in the uk , they obviously we've seen uk, they obviously we've seen these huge protests each weekend, people will have some concerns . is weekend, people will have some concerns. is this something that we should be particularly worried about here in the uk ? worried about here in the uk? >> well, i think as i, as i mentioned about this issue around iranian dissidents and those people in the uk who are augned those people in the uk who are aligned with the iranian regime and how that plays out here, it sounds as though potentially the individual in paris may have

beenin individual in paris may have been in some way related to dissidents who are opposed to, the ayatollahs regime in iran. the equally we know that iran has a reach into the west, that it's been able to strike israeli and jewish targets in particular, in bulgaria targeted israeli tourists, of course, famously in argentina and even here in britain. there were reports that leading figures in the jewish community were being monitored by by iranian groups and were possibly under threat. so i think there are key people that iran would seek to target first in britain, such as those who are opposed to it among the iranian diaspora community and the jewish community, and those groups would be more at risk, probably than the general british public. >> tom, what is the extent of iranian extremist influence here in the uk ? in the uk? >> well, i actually not been looked at as closely as other types of islamist extremism, such as that related to islamic

state or al—qaeda. the shia groups, the pro iranian groups that were out in force, things like the al quds day rally aren't usually focused on as much, but they are there in the background. they are part of the wider scene, and i certainly think that they do have an influence in stirring up discord. there also, were present on the recent gaza marches as well. if you went on those marches, you saw people with pictures of ayatollah khomeini. and people distributing iranian, pro—iranian pro—regime literature. so they're certainly contributing to , to extremism in contributing to, to extremism in this country. >> now, i should just say we're getting some new lines in a witness says that the man in question, the suspect, put flags on the floor of the consulate and said he wanted to avenge his brother's death. meanwhile, radio free french radio europe one is reporting that the man was holed up in a room within the consulate with the

ambassador himself. >> that's extraordinary . >> that's extraordinary. >> that's extraordinary. >> it seems like it's a very targeted event . targeted event. >> well, it sounds as though if the individual was able to get into the consulate and was even with the ambassador, that they may in some way be known to members of the regime. obviously it's very, very difficult to speculate, but somebody wouldn't usually be granted that kind of access unless there was already some involvement going on there. and i think this is another example of how an incredibly volatile situation in another country comes to the west and comes to europe, in this case, paris and embassies, of course, have been the iranian embassies , have been the iranian embassies, a focus of this kinds of activity in the past. >> well , tom wilson, activity in the past. >> well, tom wilson, thank you very much for joining >> well, tom wilson, thank you very much forjoining us. we're going to be back in paris throughout the show as we learn more developments. but just to recap, as we know right now, there has been an individual

arrested . and after that said, arrested. and after that said, individual threatened to blow himself up at the iranian embassy in paris. the area has been cordoned off, bits and pieces coming in. >> so we'll keep you updated as they do. >> but in domestic news now, the prime minister has unveiled plans to crack down on what he calls sicknote culture if he wins the next election . wins the next election. >> in a speech earlier today, rishi sunak said it was his moral mission to reform the welfare system, saying that good work. that work is good for people. >> well, he's faced criticism from some charities and the british medical association . british medical association. when do they not criticise the government? but he's rejected claims that his reforms were lacking in compassion. let's speak with gb news political correspondent katherine forster on this now, because catherine, the prime minister sort of trying to make this one of his crusades, there's clearly a big problem of an uptick of mental health claims here. >> yes. this is a very difficult

nettle that the government has decided finally to grasp after for a long time. i think putting it simply in the too hard basket. but the fact of the matter is that the cost of sickness and long term disability benefits has absolutely gone through the roof, and especially since the pandemic, we've got 2.8 million people on long term benefits and the cost to the taxpayer ultimately is currently £69 billion a year. and that's projected to rise to 90 vie by the end of the next parliament. if nothing is done now, there's been a rise of some 700,000 odd people. additionally claiming these benefits since the pandemic and as you say, over half of them, suffer from anxiety or depression. some mental health issues. and often thatis mental health issues. and often that is going along with

something else. but clearly this is hugely , hugely expensive. so is hugely, hugely expensive. so rishi sunak basically has said, it's unaffordable. we can't afford this. it's not sustainable and be it is a waste of human potential and that is morally the wrong thing to do to allow people and increasingly young people as well, allow people and increasingly young people as well , just to young people as well, just to languish on benefits that it's not good, obviously, for the economy, but it's not for good them and they are going to help and assist them back to work where possible. much easier said than done, of course , and than done, of course, and getting a lot of criticism from charities and of course labour and the lib dems already. >> well , katherine forster, >> well, katherine forster, thank you very much for that update. now proposals to ensure criminals face up to five years in jail for abducting cats and dogs have moved closer to becoming law after they cleared the commons . the commons. >> the pet abduction bill would apply >> the pet abduction bill would apply in england and northern

ireland and creates two new offences and will now be sent to the house of lords for further consideration. >> well, animals are regarded as property under existing theft legislation, but campaigners argue that the emotional value of pets needs to be recognised and the distress caused if they're stolen. well, let's speak with the conservative member of parliament sponsoring this legislation. anna firth delighted to speak with you, anna. and i have to say, this is an issue that really gets people going. we've been seeing people sending their pictures of their pets throughout the program, which has been delightful. but but people really, really do care for many people pets. they're just another member of the family . the family. >> that's exactly right, tom. and thank you very much for having me on. it's a it's a very exciting day today because my private member's bill has passed its final hurdle in the commons, andifs its final hurdle in the commons, and it's now off to the house of lords. make taking it that much, that much closer to becoming law . but you're absolutely right. we've got a gap here between the

law and reality. under the current law, pets are treated as no different from your, you know, losing your mobile phone or a bag being stolen or a power tool. whereas actually we know that that's that's not what a pet is at all. you know, pets are irreplaceable people. there's an emotional bond with many people now have pets as therapy. they are companions . therapy. they are companions. they're real members of the family. and the law needs to be brought up to date. it needs to recognise the role that pets play recognise the role that pets play in our lives, because at the moment there's no deterrent . the moment there's no deterrent. you know, this is a low risk, high reward crime. and by bringing the law up to date, i'm hoping we will be able to put the callous criminals that steal people's pets behind bars where they deserve to be. >> and i would be absolutely devastated if my cat were to be stolen. and i think many people would feel absolutely heartbroken. that's clearly the view of many of our viewers who

are concerned about their pets being stolen. is this a big issue in britain? people having their pets stolen? >> it is a big issue in britain. and it's not just a question of numbers. although the numbers are concerning and are rising . are concerning and are rising. we have thousands now of dogs and cats primarily, which are snatched every year. and it's on the it's on the increase last month, my local paper reported two men in a van next next door in benfleet, jumping out of their van in broad daylight and hitting a pensioner over the head with a piece of wood when head with a piece of wood when he wouldn't give up his beloved cocker spaniel, a disgusting behaviour and the consequence of thatis behaviour and the consequence of that is that now the pensioner and his wife are actually too afraid to walk their dog and that sort of behaviour needs to be stamped on and we need the correct laws which are going to accompanied by the correct sentencing guidelines, you know, to get these people , you know,

to get these people, you know, severely reprimanded and where necessary , we, you know, put necessary, we, you know, put them behind bars. >> anna, i know that you're the successor to sir david amess. of course , in your seat, a champion course, in your seat, a champion for animal welfare and animal rights, who was so cruelly taken from us by a heartless act of terrorism. i know you're following in his footsteps. i'm sure your constituents are very are very pleased by that. i don't want to put you on the spot, but of course, we have seen a very concerning situation develop in paris in the last few minutes. of course , your minutes. of course, your predecessor was a big supporter of a free iran , and the iran of a free iran, and the iran iranian consulate has now been targeted in paris, do you think that british security services should be tightening up security and looking at the safety of embassies and consulates in london? >> well, i've literally just seen that footage at tom as i've been waiting to come on your show. and you're. you're

absolutely right, sir. david was absolutely right, sir. david was a champion not only for pets, but for freedom for iran. and i have been a champion doing the, you know, the very brave women, in iran, who have been treated despicably by that despotic medieval regime . i'm not i've medieval regime. i'm not i've literally just been watching the footage as i've been waiting to come on. it's not clear at the moment. it's exactly what has gone on and who the person was, what was their affiliation. clearly, there's speculation that this must be an iranian dissident and i think, you know, this is these sorts of events are always a wake up call. we do have very good security services already in this country. but i'm quite sure that there will be conversations happening at the top of government with security ministers, you know, to make sure our own embassies are as

safe as they need to be. >> well, anna firth, thank you very much for coming on and talking us through, not only your private member's bill, but also this developing situation in paris. really appreciate your time . now, we'll have very we'll time. now, we'll have very we'll have the very latest lines from what is that developing scene in paris as french police cordon off the iranian consulate in paris , a man has been detained paris, a man has been detained after threatening to blow himself up much more after this

i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it's 2:27. now. french police have arrested a man who had threatened to blow himself up at iran's consulate in paris earlier today. just a few minutes ago , a police source has minutes ago, a police source has said that a man was seen at around 11 entering the consulate carrying what appeared to be a grenade and an explosive vest.

>> the man later left the consulate and on being searched, was found to not be carrying any explosives. according to le parisien, the newspaper there in france, which said on its website that several witnesses said that the man had dragged flags on the floor of the consulate and said he wanted to avenge the death of his brother. however, it was wasn't clear whether or not the incident had any link to the current tensions between iran and israel. >> this story is getting more and more interesting. let's cross to our home and security editor mark white as we paint a clearer picture of what has happened here. because, mark, the area is still cordoned off. >> yes, it's still cordoned off. it was clearly a significant alert because the police didn't know what they were dealing with. they could only go off these eyewitness reports that said this man entered the consulate carrying what they believed was a grenade and

wearing some. >> oh, mark, we're just going to bnng >> oh, mark, we're just going to bring back we're going to bring back your audio there, which we lost for a second, mark, i think we've got your audio back there. sorry about that . sorry about that. >> yeah, i was just saying that, obviously the eyewitness reports were talking about a man carrying a grenade and with wearing some kind of explosive vest, there was, as you just reported there, an altercation that took place, inside , the that took place, inside, the main sort of reception area of that consulate where it's reported this individual was tearing down flags there, and so, of course, the police have to respond to that, not knowing exactly what they are dealing with. and you know, clearly taking those initial reports seriously . now, this taking those initial reports seriously. now, this man having been arrested and then searched , been arrested and then searched, the police, we understand, have not found any explosive devices, but we'll get the full

background to that when we're expecting a news conference that will take place, in the next hour or so in paris, with the authorities giving us an update. but it wouldn't be the first time, of course, that iranian embassy buildings, consulates have been targeted by dissidents because clearly , there are those because clearly, there are those that have had to flee iran over the years, and they, you know, there are other activists who are very active in their campaign against iran. we saw just a couple of years back in london, when the embassy building was attacked with riots outside that again , that was outside that again, that was anti—regime protesters , clashing anti—regime protesters, clashing with some pro—regime protestors. windows were put in in the embassy there. so they are used to it, to iranian consulates and embassies, protests and people making threats at us, to be

fair, are, you know, pretty much all embassies around the world. they are often targets , for they are often targets, for individuals with one grievance or the other , what quite or the other, what quite underlies what this man, was protesting about? we will await to get that definitive word from the police. but as you were saying there, the initial reports suggested he was , reports suggested he was, telling people within that, reception area that he was out to avenge the death of his brother. >> there seem to be some suggestion that he managed to get himself into a room with the ambassador. does this raise some serious questions over the security of embassies in western countries ? of course, this is in countries? of course, this is in france. but here also in the uk . france. but here also in the uk. >> those reports might be true , >> those reports might be true, but i've not had that confirmed. and often in these incidents, fast moving events , you hear

fast moving events, you hear reports like this that later turn out not to be quite accurate. so let's just wait and see what the police say about that. but if that was the case, it would clearly be as far as the iranians in their embassy, the iranians in their embassy, the consulate are concerned, a very significant , breach of very significant, breach of their own security and security procedures within that building. but clearly be a very difficult situation for the police initially, not knowing what they were dealing with, they have through tide and trident sort of tested processes in recent years, being able to deal with an evolving terrorist threat in the past, a decade or two ago, the past, a decade or two ago, the sort of standard operating procedure when dealing with an armed individual in a building might be to negotiate, since, al—qaeda and isis and other groups that want to kill as many people as possible came on the scene. the police push forward

and deal with an individual. but if it looks like it might be a protracted, situation with potentially hostages, it's a bit more complicated, complex and not necessarily involving police moving forward. but at this stage, we know that this man has been arrested and no explosives have been found. so a serious situation that was dealt with initially, but it appears, that they have now managed to calm that situation down and will await to see exactly what the police say in the hour ahead. >> well, mark white, we know you'll be across this story and following that press conference, as and when it happens. for now, thank you very much for bringing us the very latest there. well, coming up, we'll be also discussing whether britain is becoming a work shy country as we get greater information on what is going on in paris. two that and a fiery debate all after your news headlines.

>> very good afternoon to you from the newsroom. let's get you a round up. now of that news we were just hearing there from our home and security editor, mark white, scenes in paris white, on the scenes in paris this afternoon, where man this afternoon, where a man has now arrested after now been arrested after a security scare at the iranian consulate. it was reported this afternoon that the man was seen entering iran's consulate in paris, allegedly armed with a grenade and explosive vest. if you're watching on television, you're watching on television, you can see here scenes live from outside the iranian consulate, where police have now put a cordon in place. witnesses earlier suggested that the man was threatening to blow himself up and dragged flags inside the building, calling for revenge for his brother's death. at this stage, there's no clear link to tensions in iran and israel. and as i say, a police cordon is now in place. we're also expecting at some point this afternoon to hear from police at the scene. and we will, of course, bring you that when we get it. and we now know that the police have confirmed the man in that incident was unarmed . the uk

incident was unarmed. the uk government and western allies are calling for restraint in the middle east, following this morning's apparent israeli attack against iran. the strikes are understood to have been fired from israel in revenge for an iranian drone assault last weekend. we're hearing that tehran has no plan to retaliate at this stage and no damage or injuries were reported in the latest exchange here in the uk. the prime minister is promising that his rwanda safety bill will be passed on monday. rishi sunak couldn't confirm whether asylum flights would get off the ground by his spring deadline, but he did say intention was to get did say his intention was to get the bill through parliament without and without any further delay. and he says mps will be forced to sit in the commons the sit in the commons until the job is . the british medical is done. the british medical association has accused rishi sunak of hostile rhetoric, as he promised to end what he calls the sick note culture during a

major speech on welfare reform this morning, he claimed that people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engage in the world of work. however, labour has accused the government of failing deliver a healthy failing to deliver a healthy nafion failing to deliver a healthy nation and scotland's first former first minister nicola sturgeon has admitted the situation surrounding her husband's arrest and embezzlement charges has been incredibly difficult. peter murrell was charged in connection with misusing more than £600,000 of snp funding donated to independence campaigning. he's also resigned his snp membership. those are the headlines . for more, do his snp membership. those are the headlines. for more, do sign up to gb news alerts. you can scan the qr code. there on your screen or go to our website, gbnews.com slash alerts

i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it's just coming up to 20 to 3. and at 3:00, it's martin daubney with his show. and martin joins us now for a bit of a sneak preview. what's coming up ? preview. what's coming up? >> hi, guys. well, as well as all the latest on the breaking story at the iranian consulate in paris, today's big debate will be the european union is dangung will be the european union is dangling the carrot of freedom of movement in a bid to woo sir keir starmer into closer ties with brussels. >> this means young people can go two ways across the channel. great news, you might think for british students, but only 91,000 take that route per year. it mean millions and it could mean millions and millions of europeans coming to britain. 6 million have already boosted our population and our freedom of movement applies now to bulgaria and romania. so we're having a big debate is this brexit by the back door for sir keir starmer , as many people

sir keir starmer, as many people feared all along? of course. sick note britain is a staggering £69 billion now spent on long terms. sick maggie thatcher brought in sick pay in 1982 to clamp down on dole numbers , but in doing so created numbers, but in doing so created a monster. can it ever be grappled, or is it too little, too late? and of course , we're too late? and of course, we're also doing politics in the gutter. 3 am. ransom calls the labour party destroying evidence in the rayner case. an arrest in scotland. has politics always ever been at an all time low? that's on my show. three till six. marvel this martin. >> look forward to it. there. now you'll be debating free movement, but it's time for our debate. so let's get right debate. now so let's get right stuck into this question of sick note britain. are we a lazy nafion? note britain. are we a lazy nation? of course , the prime nation? of course, the prime minister earlier claimed that 850,000 more people are out of work since the pandemic , many of work since the pandemic, many of them claiming mental health issues. >> the british medical association issued a response to

rishi sunak speech, in which they criticise his hostile rhetoric , the major change being rhetoric, the major change being people who are fit to work but do not accept job offers will have their benefits taken away after 12 months. is britain just after 12 months. is britain just a lazy nation, or should they suckit a lazy nation, or should they suck it up and get back to work? >> well, let's get stuck in joining us now is the former editor at the sun, kelvin mackenzie, who thinks the young don't value work in the way that the do and did. and the old do and did. and anarchist and author lisa mckenzie , who believes it's a mckenzie, who believes it's a much more complicated picture. it's mackenzie versus mackenzie today couldn't have cast a better debate , kelvin, let's better debate, kelvin, let's kick off with you , well, i think kick off with you, well, i think the in fact, the stats are quite clear that the amount of, the, the demographic that are, citing mental health difficulties when not going to work are between about 16 and 29. so there's

clearly something has changed quite dramatically because of cicely. i could just about remember when i was 16 to 29, and all i wanted to do was get a work, impress the boss, make a few bob , and, and have a good time. >> well, now . now, i think >> well, now. now, i think impressing the boss. you have to do it. impressing the boss. you have to doit.the impressing the boss. you have to do it. the other way around. the boss has to impress you, right? otherwise you're not going to join the company because there's a there's a shortage of, of ambitious young people also , ambitious young people and also, secondly, i think that the phone and your friends have become more important to you than full time employment. i'm not saying that i'm not hostile to the youngin that i'm not hostile to the young in any way. there's just a change of dynamic has gone on, and one of the effects has been that there is a lot more talk today about mental health issues and in talking about mental health issues, it's amazing how many people seem to have then developed them and what. >> well, let's pause there and

throw that over to lisa mckenzie. >> lisa, have we sort of talked ourselves into having these mental health issues , no. mental health issues, no. >> and i think we should just sort of, again, look at the stars, look at the figures. yes. there is a risk. you know, there is quite a large group that, are getting benefits because of mental health. but let's not set let's not, stop that. hang on. i've got a. can you hear that? >> no, we can't hear that. go ahead, go ahead. >> all right. that's fine. there's also, you know, it's benefits in this country are very low, but 29 year old is only going to get £300 a month. so it's not money. it's you know, it's not because they're getting lots of benefits that's keeping them away from work. i think several think there's several issues here. i think university and training and skills is very expensive. i think jobs change constantly . people need constant constantly. people need constant reskilling and retraining, and i

don't think when people need that reskilling and training, it isn't there, and, you know, if you're sat at home with very little prospects, you're feeling hopeless . you go to the doctor, hopeless. you go to the doctor, the doctor will tell you you are depressed, the doctor will put you on antidepressants . it's you on antidepressants. it's what they do. instead of having proper job what they do. instead of having properjob coaches what they do. instead of having proper job coaches proper, you know, people that can help through this. you know, there are doctors now that will just sign sick notes and put people on antidepressants for years. >> kelvin, do you think that young people today are just a bit fragile and entitled and that they're not really willing to take a hit , that they're not really willing to take a hit, do some things that maybe aren't exactly what they want to do at the moment? and like you said, going in and wanting to please your boss. do you think that young people have just a bit delicate just become a bit delicate because been so because they've been so mollycoddled? i don't mollycoddled? well, i don't think they, i don't, i honestly, i if they are entitled, i don't feel like criticising them all

if they are entitled. >> it's mainly because of the rather dim parents who indulge them. right. and also when their parent, when you're in trouble financially , the parents will financially, the parents will want to give you money in to order make this easier for you. now i know i've gone great with my parents, but my parents didn't have any money. therefore, you're either getting on with it or you were done for. that has changed slightly , that has changed slightly, mainly because of house prices gone through the roof. it means that people can remortgage their houses and give their money to their to their children. so that incentive to either work or die or work or starve has gone away. so i agree with lisa in respect of it's not much of a life if you're young to be on to be on benefits . however, that's benefits. however, that's something there has been a breakdown in the in the in the chain which used to lead to lots of people wanting to get on and getting on involves. i honestly believe in going to work now or not. all jobs need to be done.

at work. but that but that has changed. which means that there isn't that kind of natural, triangle of life with somebody at the top looking over your shoulder or either helping you or admonishing you for your work. and i think a lot of, a lot of young people prefer to be at home. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> of course, lisa. jump in. we've sort of lost this structure. yeah but look, i started work at 16. >> i worked in a factory called pretty polly. we made tights. that wage. even though i was six. i worked there for 11 years. the wage gave me a decent, a decent living . you decent, a decent living. you know, i was a young woman. we were on piecework. i worked hard , we got a decent wage. the problem is now is those sort of unskilled labour that it doesn't give you a wage that offers you any dignity . you can't if you're any dignity. you can't if you're any dignity. you can't if you're a full time worker in a warehouse on minimum wage, you will not even be able to rent a property. never mind buy a property. never mind buy a

property . you won't even be able property. you won't even be able to afford to rent one. so i can kind of understand . and the sort kind of understand. and the sort of misery that sort of dropping on people. i sometimes feel it. i'm a 56 year old woman. i honestly don't think i will ever retire. i don't think i'll ever be able to afford to retire. so i think the people at the other end, the young people who are going, i'm on, i'm working full time . i can't even afford to get time. i can't even afford to get a flat. well i'm afraid, can i just address that? >> kelvin? we started with you. we're we finished with lisa. we're we finished with lisa. we're going to have to get you both back. i love it, it's the mackenzies , so thank you both to lisa. >> i do like kelvin . >> i do like kelvin. >> i do like kelvin. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> lisa. bye bye. >> lisa. bye bye. >> well, coming up much more in that. so surge in social care, abuse. that. so surge in social care, abuse . it's a scandal. you won't

good afternoon. britain. it's

just gone. 10 to 3 now. there's been a ten fold rise in investigations by the government's modern slavery unit. all to do with issues of social care. now, i'm delighted to say that charlie peters is here. our very own investigations reporter, to tell us all about what this is about. charlie, what's the scandal ? charlie, what's the scandal? >> i tell him so in a response to a freedom of information request, the gangmasters and labour abuse authority , which is labour abuse authority, which is the government's modern slavery and labour exploitation watchdog, told us that there were 44 investigations into the care sector last year, up from just 4 in 2021. so over a ten fold rise in that period, there were 23 the year before and stunningly o in 2020. and analysts and researchers i've spoken to since, these figures were returned to us have suggested that the link is due to the relaxed opportunities

afforded by the health and care visa, which, since the brexit transition period ended in january 2021, there have been over 570,000 recipients. now, this is unique because just 6000 were anticipated to pick up this visa and move to britain and start working in the care sector when the department of health introduced it. as you know, tom, the care sector is extremely under pressure. it relies on migrant workers in order to sustain itself . but those sustain itself. but those concerns have been raised after this watchdog has announced so many investigations had been launched in the last year. we don't know how many of those investigations have had further action taken. the home office weren't able to clarify that. when we spoke to them yesterday , when we spoke to them yesterday, but it is quite indicative of a concern that's being raised within the sector about migrants being exploited within the workplace. unseen uk , which runs

workplace. unseen uk, which runs an exploitation hotline, told me that they had seen a significant rise in the number of people calling up as potential victims needing support 30% last year, up from 606% rise the year before . well, in response to before. well, in response to these figures, a government spokesperson told me we are clear that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy. we have concerns about unethical employment practices, particularly for migrant workers employed within care occupations. they went on to say that to address these concerns about abuse within the health and care worker sector, providers in england are now only able to sponsor migrant workers if they are undertaking activities regulated by the care quality commission . now, that quality commission. now, that statement from the government has come after the former chief inspector of the borders and immigration, david neal, found in a report leaked from the home office earlier this year that in

one case, 275 visas have been issued to a care home that didn't even exist. it's clear that there are many scenarios where people are coming over to britain to work in this sector and are being exploited with insufficient wages , bad insufficient wages, bad accommodation and bad practices. this is bad for the workers . but this is bad for the workers. but many, many analysts are also saying it's bad for those in care . care. >> well, charlie, thank you very much for bringing us that . much for bringing us that. that's it for us today on good afternoon britain. >> i'll be back on monday. >> i'll be back on monday. >> back on monday. as emily is luckily sunning herself somewhere much more sunny than the united kingdom is because it's your weather. next . it's your weather. next. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hi there and welcome to the latest gb news weather forecast from the met office. showers today will ease overnight with skies clearing. it's going to turn chilly with a touch of

frost in places as higher pressure moves in from the west, but that will bring a fine start to the weekend for many of us. finally, a period of settled weather, but for the time being, still some showers out there . still some showers out there. they're going to ease as they spread south through the evening, and then after midnight, most places will be dry with increasingly lengthy clear spells and lighter winds that will lead to temperatures falling away 3 to 5 celsius for many. but close to zero in some sheltered spots. so a touch of frost first thing tomorrow. however plenty of sunshine from the word go. 1 or 2 mr fog patches soon clearing from northern ireland and then the best of the sunshine really across northern ireland, western scotland into parts of wales and the southwest. elsewhere it does turn a little cloudier into the afternoon, and we've still got a bit of a breeze down the north sea coast that will make it feel cool 9 or 10 celsius, but in the sunshine and lighter winds elsewhere, 13 or 14 celsius very

pleasant. there will be some outbreaks of light rain in the far north on saturday, spreading into central parts by sunday. a cloudier day for many , and those cloudier day for many, and those dribbles of rain will push into the midlands by the end of the day, making it feel a little disappointing . monday sees disappointing. monday sees further light rain across central parts , some sunshine elsewhere. >> that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers,

gb news. >> it's 3 pm. good afternoon. and a very happy friday to you . and a very happy friday to you. welcome to the martin daubney show news. broadcasting show on gb news. broadcasting live from the heart of westminster the uk on westminster all across the uk on today's show, with a staggering 2.8 million brits on long tum sickness benefits at a cost of an eye—watering £69 billion last yean an eye—watering £69 billion last year, rishi sunak has today promised a clampdown. but is it too little , too late? and we all

too little, too late? and we all woke up to worrying news this morning after israeli missiles apparently struck iran . we'll apparently struck iran. we'll have the full story on all the latest. what was the show? always an absolute pleasure to have your company. now, later in the show, i'll be discussing a story that's made my eyebrows race today. the european union apparently is attempting to woo sir keir starmer by offering a return of freedom of movement. now, initially this is the 18 to 30 year olds, but it says they don't even need to have a purpose. so potentially millions of europeans could come to britain in return for a few thousand young brits to be able to go and study or work on the continent. now, bear in mind that bulgaria and romania have entered the schengen zone on the 31st of march. what could possibly go wrong is this

freedom of movement, basically