The COVID inquiry is now into its second round of public hearings – examining how key decisions were made in Westminster as the coronavirus began to take hold around the world in early 2020. The evidence from those at the heart of Downing Street has certainly provided plenty of bombshell headlines but does the inquiry need to move quicker to make recommendations on how the country could be better prepared for the next pandemic? There is no specific timescale for how long the inquiry could last a...
Nov 24, 2023•20 min
Qatar has announced key details of the planned pause in fighting and release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas is due to release 50 hostages from Gaza and Israel will free 150 Palestinian prisoners. On today’s episode of the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson sits down with James Alvarez, a hostage negotiator who’s worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Gaza itself, to talk about what it takes to negotiate with hostage takers. Plus, we hear from our Midd...
Nov 23, 2023•20 min
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has revealed his autumn statement. Among the proposals National Insurance is to be cut by two percentage points, and NI payments for the self-employed have been abolished. There have also been increases to Universal Credit and the state pension. But the chancellor also announced new tougher measures for job seekers, saying those who fail to find work after 18 months of "intensive support" will be given mandatory work placements. Those who do not engage with the process for...
Nov 22, 2023•33 min
Police who investigated the disappearance of Nicola Bulley from beside a riverbank have been heavily criticised in a damning report. Lancashire Police's decision to reveal the mother-of-two's mental health issues was condemned as "avoidable and unnecessary". The College of Policing's chief executive officer Andy Marsh said there was "substantial learning" for the Lancashire force. On the Sky News Daily, host Niall Paterson is joined by former chief constable of Northumbria Police Sue Sim, who wa...
Nov 21, 2023•21 min
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described al Shifa hospital in Gaza City as a "death zone" - it said there was a mass grave at the entrance and a "desperate situation" inside. A joint UN team led by the WHO assessed the hospital for one hour following its occupation by the Israeli military and as some patients and those seeking shelter there began to evacuate it. The team said they saw evidence of shelling and gunfire and observed a mass grave at the hospital's entrance. On the Sky News ...
Nov 20, 2023•18 min
Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, causing pain and affecting fertility. It is estimated to cost the UK economy £8.2bn a year in treatment, loss of work and healthcare costs. Up to 30% of women who have surgery for endometriosis experience a recurrence within five years, according to the National Institutes of Health. There is still no cure for the condition. On the Sky News Daily, host Sally Lockwood is joined by Charline Bou...
Nov 17, 2023•19 min
On 29 December 1969, Alick McKay returned home from work to his house in Wimbledon, southwest London, to discover that his wife, Muriel, was not at home. The lights were on and the contents of her handbag strewn all around the stairs. Then he received a phone call. "We are Mafia M3. We are from America. We tried to get Rupert Murdoch's wife. We couldn't get her so we took yours instead. You have a million by Wednesday night or we will kill her." Muriel was never found, her body never recovered. ...
Nov 16, 2023•20 min
The government's Rwanda plan, devised to tackle illegal migration, has been ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, ending more than 18 months of legal battles in the UK. The prime minister has said he will introduce emergency legislation to make sure his Rwanda plan will work, and said "flights will be heading off in the spring as planned". On this episode of the Sky News Daily, Jayne Secker sits in for Niall. She’s joined by political editor Beth Rigby to unpick the fallout. Plus, Nicolas Rollaso...
Nov 15, 2023•19 min
There have been 16 housing ministers in the last 13 years of Conservative rule – seven of those in the last two years alone. With Lee Rowley taking over the housing brief after the prime minister’s latest reshuffle, on the Sky News Daily we’ll be exploring why there has been so many, and if any of them managed to make a difference to the housing crisis. Presenter Sally Lockwood is joined by Gurpreet Narwan, our political correspondent, on why there has been so much churn. Plus, Sally speaks to L...
Nov 14, 2023•20 min
David Cameron is back in government as the new Foreign Secretary. Whilst many commentators had predicted that Suella Braverman would be sacked as Home Secretary, none predicted that the former Prime Minister would be walking down Downing Street into a new job and a place in the House of Lords. On this episode of the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood looks over Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle with political editor Beth Rigby. She’s also joined by former Tory MP, and cabinet minister during Mr Cameron's gove...
Nov 13, 2023•24 min
Sky News has spoken to more than 50 people who say they have witnessed or been on the receiving end of sexual misconduct and harassment within leading drama schools across the UK. Students have described their training as being "indoctrinated into this cult-like bubble, and the expectation was to say yes to everything". On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by correspondent Ashna Hurynag, who has been investigating these allegations. She shares more about her reporting, plus intimacy c...
Nov 10, 2023•21 min
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has come under fire for making controversial statements about Israel-Hamas war protests in the UK. In the Times she described pro-Palestinian protesters as "hate marchers". She also likened the protests to scenes from the past in Northern Ireland, prompting politicians there to accuse her of “deliberately stoking division”. Ms Braverman has also publicly slated the Metropolitan Police, which is allowing a pro-Palestinian march to go ahead on Armistice Day. She sai...
Nov 09, 2023•21 min
'Free Palestine' has been painted across Rochdale’s Cenotaph ahead of Remembrance Sunday and is now being guarded by police support officers. It comes as a planned pro-Palestinian protest on Armistice Day in London on Saturday is to go ahead. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met on Wednesday to discuss how the protest will be policed. Mr Sunak said afterwards: “It is because that sacrifice is so immense, that Saturday’s planned protest is not just disrespectful but...
Nov 08, 2023•22 min
The King has set out the government’s policies for the coming year in the first King's Speech for 70 years. It was also the first since Rishi Sunak became prime minister and will probably be the last before the next general election. Of the bills set out in the speech, it could be the law and order measures and ones on the environment which the Conservatives might hope provide the clearest dividing lines between themselves and Labour ahead of the election. On the Sky News Daily Niall Paterson sp...
Nov 07, 2023•21 min
Israel's military objective in the war against Hamas, constantly repeated by its politicians and commanders, has become a national mantra: "Hamas must be destroyed." But with Israeli forces targeting Gaza City and the number of people killed in the enclave more than 10,000, according to the Hamas-led health ministry, there's mounting international pressure on Israel to at least pause its military operations. So what will Israel do next? On the Sky News Daily host Sarah-Jane Mee speaks to securit...
Nov 06, 2023•19 min
As the world's attention turns to the Israel-Hamas war, Russia is ramping up its offensive on Ukraine. President Putin is seizing the opportunity of less attention, while Kyiv fears the West will stop providing aid as the war slips down the news agenda. On the Sky News Daily, host Leah Boleto is joined by defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke, with Melinda Haring, non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council's Eurasia Centre to discuss what is happening in Russia and Ukraine, w...
Nov 03, 2023•20 min
Bletchley Park - the once top-secret home of the World War Two codebreakers, including Alan Turing - has this week hosted Rishi Sunak’s UK AI safety summit. It could help position Britain as a world leader on AI regulation, as governments seek to take back control over how the technology is developed and used, to prevent abuse. On the Sky News Daily, presenter Sally Lockwood looks at the risks and concerns AI poses, speaking to Professor Stuart Russell, a member of the World Economic Forum's Glo...
Nov 02, 2023•19 min
The Gaza Strip; just 25 miles long and but only seven and a half wide at its broadest point. It’s a sliver of land sandwiched between the Mediterranean and Israel is home to two million people – or at least it was until war between Hamas and Israel broke out. On the Sky News Daily, host Niall Paterson is joined by our chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and senior foreign producer Dominique van Heerden on the Israel-Gaza border to paint a picture of how Gaza has changed over their years spent repo...
Nov 01, 2023•23 min
Boris Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has appeared at the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, where he criticised the way the government worked in the early months of the pandemic. Mr Cummings said it was "crackers" there was no plan for shielding or protecting care homes if the virus was not brought under control. On the Sky News Daily, presenter Belle Donati is joined by our deputy political editor Sam Coates and Emma Norris, deputy director at the Institute for Government, to pick apart Mr C...
Oct 31, 2023•20 min
The death of the actor who played Chandler Bing in US sitcom Friends has left those who knew and loved him “heartbroken”. Matthew Perry, who had previously spoken about his battle with addiction, was found dead at his LA home at the weekend. On this Sky News Daily, our arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer speaks to Lindsay Posner – who directed Perry's play The End of Longing – and to comedian, podcaster and Friends fan, Vix Leyton about their memories of the 54-year-old and how th...
Oct 30, 2023•16 min
The Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has told Sky News the repeated release of illegal sewage outflows is a "scandal" as she signals that customers may need to be prepared to pay more for an improved system. Our economics and data editor Ed Conway has investigated the scale of the sewage crisis. On the Sky News Daily, Leah Boleto talks to Ed about his findings, which show that - far from being a failure of the system - raw sewage is released into Britain's waterways by design. Senior podcast...
Oct 27, 2023•22 min
As Israeli families await news of loved ones who were taken hostage during the attacks by Hamas on 7 October, two men from different sides of the conflict share their story of grief, an unexpected friendship and forgiveness. On the Sky News Daily, Belle Donati is joined by Rami Elhanan, an Israeli Peace Advocate and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian Peace Advocate – after they were brought together nearly two decades ago following the loss of their daughters. Rami’s teenage daughter was killed by a s...
Oct 26, 2023•25 min
A year after Rishi Sunak became prime minister, has he convinced the public of his competence and of his electability? Sophy Ridge from Sky News’ Politics Hub programme takes over from Niall Paterson for this episode. She discusses Sunak’s record with Katy Balls, political editor at the Spectator, and Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor at the New Statesman. Then, Andrew Lansley, who ran Tory national election campaigns including in 1992, joins Sophy to discuss what the PM might be able ...
Oct 25, 2023•22 min
As the Sentencing Council in England and Wales examines the potential impact of being pregnant and giving birth in prison, the Sky News Daily podcast hears from women who’ve been through the experience. With Niall Paterson on half-term, Sarah-Jane Mee, who presents Sky News’ UK Tonight show, takes over for this episode. She speaks to Dr Laura Abbott - a midwife and researcher at the University of Hertfordshire - about her research into the dangers of giving birth in prison and Sky News home edit...
Oct 24, 2023•20 min
The word "jihad" - chanted during a pro-Palestinian rally in London over the weekend - has led to questions about whether laws governing hate crime need reform. The word can be interpreted in different ways; for some, it means struggle or effort in Arabic, but it has also been taken to refer to holy war. And the police made no arrests in this case. The "jihad" chants were made at a side rally by members of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir which is banned in many countries including some majorit...
Oct 23, 2023•18 min
Labour's hopes ahead of the next general election have been bolstered after historic wins in the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-elections. The double victory saw huge Conservative majorities overturned, with more than a 20 percent swing away from the Tories in both constituencies. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has used a rare Oval Office address to urge Americans to remember the country's role as "a beacon to the world" as he seeks Congress support for a $100bn aid package to Israel and Uk...
Oct 20, 2023•21 min
Britain’s prime minister says the UK stands with Israel in its “darkest hour” as he met his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Rishi Sunak arrived in the country a day after US president Joe Biden apparently gave his backing privately for an Israeli ground invasion into Gaza in response to the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October. On the Sky News Daily, Belle Donati explores what that could be like with former royal marine Rob Taylor, who runs a company training British and American soldiers ...
Oct 19, 2023•18 min
The Anglican-run al Ahli hospital in northern Gaza was bombed on Tuesday evening, claiming 500 lives, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Both sides in the Israel-Hamas war have blamed the other. It comes as US President Joe Biden lands in Israel to discuss the conflict. He appeared to back the Israeli military account that the blast was not caused by them. On the Sky News Daily, host Belle Donati hears from General Sir Simon Mayall, former senior adviser for the Middle East at the Min...
Oct 18, 2023•23 min
There has been a wave of by-elections in recent months across the country - and Sky’s chief political correspondent Jon Craig has been to most of them. In fact this Thursday sees Jon covering his 40th count for Sky News. He’s in Nadine Dorries' old seat of Mid Bedfordshire which could see the vote split 3 ways between the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems. On the same day, another seat held by the Conservatives – Tamworth – is up for grabs following Chris Pincher’s resignation over groping ...
Oct 18, 2023•19 min
Hostage-taking has long been a feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The latest – 199 people, as confirmed by the Israeli military, taken by Hamas include foreign nationals, elderly and children. On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood speaks to one of the world's most experienced kidnap for ransom negotiators and author Scott Walker about what life might be like for hostages inside Gaza and efforts to get them back. Plus, Ali Bunkall explains what impact Joe Biden's visit to Israel will ha...
Oct 17, 2023•20 min
