More than a week on since the Hamas attack that shocked Israelis and others around the world, thousands of Palestinians caught up in the conflict remain stuck in Gaza at its southern border with Egypt – as the threat of an Israeli ground invasion into northern Gaza looms. On the Sky News Daily podcast, Sally Lockwood speaks to former Gaza correspondent Nicole Johnston about who controls the Rafah crossing and the people inside Gaza she’s in contact with as we hear voicenotes from some of them. P...
Oct 16, 2023•20 min
Israel gave more than a million people living in northern Gaza 24 hours to leave their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in response to Hamas attacks. On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood speaks to our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall about the deadline given to Gazans and Shaina Low, from the Norwegian Refugee Council, who talks about their team in Gaza. Plus, Sally is joined by our communities correspondent Becky Johnson to discuss concerns about antisemitism in th...
Oct 13, 2023•23 min
The United States has re-affirmed its support for Israel in the wake of the brutal attacks by Hamas, sending its most senior diplomat Antony Blinken to Tel Aviv. It’s his first stop on a tour of the Middle East, in an effort by the US to stop the conflict spreading. Mr Blinken indicated the US will back Israel’s bid to destroy the militant group but warned it must “take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.” Today, on Sky News Daily Tom Cheshire speaks with international affairs ...
Oct 12, 2023•21 min
Israel’s response to the brutal attacks by Hamas has been swift and devastating. The two million people who live in Gaza are now under a siege - they are quickly running out of food and water. The one power station has shut down meaning an end to electricity supplies. Hamas has been ruling Gaza as a one-party state since 2007 and Israel has made it clear that it intends to wipe the group out. Today on the podcast, Sky News data and forensic correspondent Tom Cheshire discusses the scale of the h...
Oct 11, 2023•20 min
It started with a security breach covered in glitter, but in a major speech today Sir Keir Starmer unveiled his plan for Britain ahead of the next general election. The Labour leader declared his party would be “the healers, the modernisers, the builders,” promising to “turn our backs on never-ending Tory decline with a decade of national renewal”. But can he pull it off? On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined in Liverpool by our deputy political editor Sam Coates, where they analyse wh...
Oct 10, 2023•23 min
On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by our Middle East Correspondent Alistair Bunkall to take a closer look at the Israel-Hamas war – including the Israeli reaction to the weekend’s attack and what it may do next. Alistair reports on the hundreds who’ve lost their lives so far and the questions being asked about Israeli intelligence. Plus, our deputy political editor Sam Coates on how the conflict is being discussed at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Senior podcast producer...
Oct 09, 2023•26 min
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his newest MP “blew the doors off” as Michael Shanks won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election with a swing of 20%. It was triggered after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was removed from her seat after breaking COVID guidelines. The win could have implications for the next general election. If the swing was repeated across Scotland it would see a rise in the number of Labour MPs from just 2 to over 40 and so a big boost to Sir Keir Starmer’s bid to ente...
Oct 06, 2023•20 min
The prime minister wants to stop younger generations from taking up smoking – by making it illegal for anyone born after 2005 to ever be able to buy them. Rishi Sunak’s plan – announced in his Tory conference speech on Wednesday – is similar to measures already introduced in New Zealand, aimed at tackling health problems related to smoking. But critics argue people should have the freedom to choose – not the state. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson explores the debate – both from a health an...
Oct 05, 2023•20 min
The prime minister closed the Conservative Party conference with a speech setting out his pitch for the next election, promising to reform A-levels, support the health service and crack down on smoking. He also finally confirmed that the HS2 link from Birmingham to Manchester is being scrapped and committed to spend the money instead on transport projects in the North. On the Sky News Daily with Niall Paterson, our deputy political editor Sam Coates discusses what impact the speech will have and...
Oct 04, 2023•25 min
Rishi Sunak has claimed a general election is "not what the country wants" but insists he is unafraid of going to the polls. On the Sky News Daily with Niall Paterson, our political editor Beth Rigby talks about her morning interview with the prime minister. And Niall sits down with Katie Perrior, former director of communications at 10 Downing Street for Theresa May, and William Hague's former special adviser Chris White to discuss the election chances of the Tory Party. *Tell us what you think...
Oct 03, 2023•25 min
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt held firm on tax cuts, despite growing pressure from his colleagues at the Conservative Party conference on Monday. "The plan is working and now we must see it through," he said in his keynote speech. The idea of a tax cut is dividing Tories – with former prime minister Liz Truss calling for the chancellor to "axe the tax". Hunt spoke as news broke that the northern leg of HS2 will be scrapped between Birmingham and Manchester. On the Sky News Daily, host Niall Paterson is...
Oct 02, 2023•28 min
Thousands of prisoners remain incarcerated on open-ended prison sentences under a now defunct scheme, known as IPP sentencing. The no-maximum prison sentences, some of which were given to offenders of low-level crimes, have been compared to ‘psychological torture’. On the Sky News Daily Niall Paterson speaks to Anthony Hipkiss who was in prison for 16 years despite only being sentenced to 15 months. He tells us how the strict licensing rules he has to live under for 10 years means he can’t even ...
Sep 29, 2023•21 min
When it was first given the go-ahead back in 2012, Britain's new high-speed rail line connecting the south, the Midlands and the north of England was predicted to cost £32.7bn. Now, after delays and inflation fuelled by Brexit, Covid and the invasion of Ukraine, this figure is closer to £100bn. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also avoided answering questions on whether the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the route will go ahead, leaving the future of the project shrouded in uncertainty. So why wa...
Sep 28, 2023•22 min
Scotland will be home to the UK’s first so-called ‘consumption rooms’ where drug users will be able to get their fix more safely. Recent stats showed that despite a fall this year, Scotland still has the highest number of drugs-related deaths per million population in Europe. Now, plans have been approved for a £2.3 million facility at Hunter Street Health Centre in Glasgow – despite opposition from Westminster. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by our Scotland correspondent Connor...
Sep 27, 2023•22 min
The Liberal Democrats conference in Bournemouth saw leader Sir Ed Davey hinting that his party would be prepared to do a post-election deal with Labour to prevent the Conservatives from forming a government. Of the 91 seats in which the Lib Dems finished second in 2019, 80 are held by Conservatives. After recent by-election victories, could the Lib Dems be looking like kingmakers once more? To answer this question, Niall Paterson is joined by Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates who has b...
Sep 26, 2023•30 min
Ian Harrison is 33 and has spent his adult life on the streets. He's among more than an estimated 270,000 homeless people in England. Sky News has been following Ian's journey as a government promise - to end rough sleeping by next year - looks in serious doubt. It was a target set by the Conservatives in their 2019 election manifesto - but a report by the Kerslake Commission is warning it will be missed, blaming "chronic and unresolved" issues in the housing system as it reports a 26% rise in r...
Sep 25, 2023•17 min
It seems everything is moving online these days, so it’s perhaps no surprise that kids TV is too. CITV, ITV’s children’s channel, is no longer; it’s moving to the company’s streaming service, ITVx. Its BBC equivalent, CBBC, is expected to also be online-only in the next few years. Many children now, though, just go to YouTube to watch their shows. But with an ongoing decrease in funding for kids’ TV and the move to the less regulated streaming platforms there are concerns about the impact the qu...
Sep 22, 2023•25 min
The King and Queen are on a state visit to France this week, which includes stops in Paris and Bordeaux. The three-day trip would have been Charles’ first royal visit abroad as King back in March – but it was delayed due to the violent protests taking place over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by François-Joseph Schichan, former French diplomat and political adviser to the French ambassador in the UK, to explore how our closest ally vi...
Sep 21, 2023•19 min
The reaction - to a move by Rishi Sunak to delay the government’s green policies – has been mixed to say the least, with opposition parties slamming the prime minister’s leadership as “weak” and the decision “damaging” for the climate. As net zero sceptics cheered there was criticism from some in the car industry and the more environmentally minded Conservative politicians. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by our science correspondent Thomas Moore and Politico’s UK editor Jack Bla...
Sep 20, 2023•22 min
Sky News has uncovered how online streamers may be breaking UK gambling laws by promoting crypto casinos - and there are questions over whether the casinos are doing enough to monitor this. Crypto casinos are similar to 'normal' online casinos, offering virtual versions of popular games like slot machines. The difference is they use digital currencies: players convert pounds, euros and dollars into virtual cash such as Bitcoin to gamble with. This type of casino is illegal in the UK, with the Ga...
Sep 19, 2023•18 min
Actor and comedian Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse in a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches. Brand says he "absolutely" denies the allegations. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to Head of Investigations at The Times, Paul Morgan-Bentley, about the allegations Brand faces and the latest on the investigation. Plus, Alice Enders, head of research at Enders Analysis, discusses if the entertainment industry...
Sep 18, 2023•25 min
Rescuers are calling for more body bags to be sent to a Libyan city hit by catastrophic flooding - as fears of waterborne diseases grow. More than 11,300 people are known to have died - and this could reach up to 20,000, with a further 10,100 missing. Meanwhile, attempts to coordinate humanitarian aid have been hampered by Libya's fractured government - caused by years of political instability and civil unrest. Today on Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks with Sky News Africa correspondent You...
Sep 15, 2023•20 min
Important figures on employment, wages, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have been released this week; all tell a story about how the UK economy is performing. The Sky News Daily's Niall Paterson sits down with our economics and data editor Ed Conway to find out what the numbers mean. Podcast Producer: Soila Apparicio Promotions Producer: David Chipakupaku Editor: Adam Jay
Sep 14, 2023•20 min
Every day more than 3000 pupils miss school because they have been suspended. It’s a record number that has shot up since the pandemic, especially for girls, who are being sent home at twice the national rate. It’s raised concerns these suspended students are slipping through the cracks, but leading teachers say a national shortage of alternative forms of education is putting unprecedented demand on the system. Today’s Sky News Daily episode features Nick Martin on his investigation into this gr...
Sep 13, 2023•21 min
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has crossed the border into Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. This is the first time since 2019 that Kim has left North Korea – and a lot has changed since then. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson sits down with security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke and Sky’s Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay to unpick what each leader is looking to gain from this meeting, plus how their alliance will impact global security. Producer: Alex Edde...
Sep 12, 2023•23 min
The emergence of a new COVID variant, BA.2.8, has pushed forward the winter vaccination programme, with the rollout starting on Monday in England for older adult care home residents and immunosuppressed people. All over-65s will be offered the jab during the next few weeks. The other nations are also beginning their vaccination programmes this month. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), to disc...
Sep 11, 2023•20 min
It's been one year since King Charles took to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. In this episode of the Sky News Daily podcast, royal correspondent Laura Bundock takes to the presenter chair to reflect on the first year of King Charles's reign. She is joined by the broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, a close friend of the King, plus historian Sir Anthony Seldon, the headmaster of Epsom College. Producer: Alex Edden Promotions Producer: David Chipakupaku Editor: Wendy Pa...
Sep 08, 2023•22 min
Terror suspect Daniel Khalife's escape from HMP Wandsworth – believed to be by strapping himself underneath a delivery lorry - led to a police manhunt involving all 43 forces in England and Wales. The 21-year-old ex-soldier was on remand charged with collecting information which might be useful to an enemy, understood to be Iran. The justice secretary, Alex Chalk, has told MPs that an independent investigation will take place, while suggestions have been made that cuts to the Prison Service and ...
Sep 07, 2023•20 min
Birmingham City Council, Europe's largest local authority, has effectively declared bankruptcy, confirming in a statement that all new spending except for protecting vulnerable people and statutory services, must stop immediately. But how does a council go bust? On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by our politics and business correspondent Mhari Aurora, as well as Iain Murray from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, who explains how a council can run out of mon...
Sep 06, 2023•18 min
China's economy has slipped into deflation as consumer prices declined in July for the first time in more than two years. Ballooning local government debt, weak import and exports, challenges in the housing market, and growing youth unemployment are all contributing to the country's downturn. On the Sky News Daily Dominic Waghorn speaks to our Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith about why China's economy is running out of steam. Plus, George Magnus, economist and associate at Oxford University's ...
Sep 05, 2023•19 min
