People who plan to travel over Christmas should think carefully, home secretary says
People should “think carefully” about going on holiday over the Christmas period after Border Force workers became the latest to announce they would go on strike, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said.
It joins a raft of strikes that are set to hit festive travel, with industrial action organised by train, bus and road workers in the run up to Christmas and throughout the holiday season.
“I really want to urge people who have got plans (to) travel abroad, to think carefully about their plans because they may well be impacted,” the home secretary said.
“Ultimately, I’m not willing to compromise on security at the border – that’s the number one priority.
Politics live: Strikes every day before Christmas
“So that may well have an adverse impact on convenience for people, frankly, whether it’s the time that they may have to wait for flights or departures.
“They may well be delayed on arrivals and various travel plans.
“Ultimately, security at the border is my number one non-negotiable priority.”
But, the boss of the rail union has accused the government of “sabotaging” negotiations aimed at stopping a wave of strikes over the Christmas period.
Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, told Sky News that ministers have “torpedoed” talks between train operating companies and workers taking industrial action over pay and conditions.
RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch
Mr Lynch said that after months of negotiations, rail companies had put together a document and a set of pay scales they wanted the RMT to consider “and we would have done that”.
“But at the last moment, including last night around about six o’clock, the government decided that they would not allow the railway companies to make that offer and instead instructed them to prepare for the strike,” he said.
Mr Lynch said while the government is claiming it wants to facilitate negotiations it has become “absolutely clear that they’re not prepared do that”.
“In fact, they sabotaged and sunk the negotiations just as they were reaching the point of conclusion,” he said.
He accused Transport Secretary Mark Harper of “obstructing talks” and also pointed the finger at Business Secretary Grant Shapps, as well as the Treasury.
“I meet with the most senior people on the railway and I’m on the phone to them constantly. They are telling me they’ve got a document ready to go.
“They’ve shown it to me and they’ve shown it to my negotiators and the government has stopped them putting that document forward.”
Mr Lynch said driver only operation trains have been put back on the table even though that is something they know unions “will never accept”.
It means a series of rail strikes are set to go ahead, on 13-14 December, 16-17 December, from 6pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on 27 December, 3-4 January, and 6-7 January.
Government approach ‘sensible and balanced’
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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has told Sky News that ‘it’s really disappointing’ that people are striking at Christmas
The picket lines are not limited to transport, with teachers, nurses and ambulance workers among others from the public sector taking action over pay and conditions.
The government has been criticised for failing to stop the strikes, with Union bosses accusing ministers of stonewalling requests for meaningful pay talks.
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, told Sky News that the strikes were “disappointing” but giving in to the union’s demands would cost the taxpayer £28bn and “you can’t spend your way out of inflation”.
She said “we do expect there will be disruption and delays”, following warnings about flight cancellations.
But she said 2,000 soldiers would be drafted in to help with Border Force roles and “we should be extremely grateful to them”.
With only one day left in December when there are no strikes – the 12th – it was put to the cabinet minister that general strikes bring down governments, as seen in the 1970s.
Ms Keegan said: “Well, I mean, that has happened in history for sure.”
However, she insisted the government was taking a “sensible and balanced” approach by not interfering in the pay negotiations, saying the disputes were between “unions and the paymasters”.
Government ‘failing to get a grip’
Unions are demanding pay rises above or in line with inflation as the UK is gripped by a recession and the cost of living rises.
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Which sectors are striking and why?
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RMT’s Eddie Dempsey says everyone in the country needs and deserves a pay rise
Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden said the government is “failing to get a grip” on the strikes by refusing to join the negotiations
He added: “Even when we don’t have strikes, public services are not working properly, I can scarcely think of a public service in this country that works better after 12 years of Conservative government than what before they came into office.
“That is a damning indictment of their period of stewardship.”
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Labour’s Pat McFaddon said there is ‘no point’ blaming the unions over the strikes
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised “tough” new laws to limit the impact of strike action, and has not ruled out banning strikes in the emergency services.
But Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, told the PM on Wednesday “we are ready industrially and financially” to challenge any new measures.
In a joint letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, union heads accused ministers of “ignoring the main issue on the table” that is causing the strikes – public sector pay.
Highlighting “huge” pay cuts public sector workers have suffered, the union leaders warned: “With CPI inflation over 11% and RPI inflation above 14%, frontline workers are facing another massive real-terms hit to their wages.
“Nurses, ambulance staff, teachers and millions of other key workers have already seen their living standards decimated with over a decade of pay cuts and wage freezes.
“Nurses today are earning £5,000 a year less in real terms than they were in 2010 and hospitals and schools are having to set up food banks for staff. This cannot go on.”
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
Read more:
British doctor in Gaza describes horror
Shouts of ‘genocide’ in Commons
Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
Israeli PM attacks Starmer – latest updates
Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter
Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
Read more:
Why Trump will worry about attacker being glorified
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Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’
During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
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