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Like most first-time dads, this father wants to do the best for his baby son, even if that means stealing baby formula to keep him fed.

“It’s the hungry scream, I know it now,” he said, looking out to sea from the clifftop.

Most days, this man and his partner take him for walks along the beach in his buggy. The sea air is fresh. It sounds idyllic, but the truth is they can barely afford to feed him.

Both parents asked that their names not be published.

“I was trying to make the milk last, so I wasn’t putting as much powder in as it said to,” the man said. The responsibility of feeding a baby weighs heavily.

“In my head, I was thinking ‘F*** that – I am just going to go and steal him some’.”

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‘There’s no way you’d let them starve’

Over the next few weeks, he worked out how to avoid the security measures in their local shops to minimise the chance of being caught – but the adrenaline is always there when he goes in to steal.

His favoured technique is the top-up: buying £20 worth of groceries and stealing a few things that he simply doesn’t put through the till.

Sometimes it works, but not always. He was once challenged by two store employees who had spotted him stealing. They asked: “What’s in the bag?”

His response was simple and to the point: “Just some stuff I have stolen, if I had the money I’d pay for it.”

Only once have the police been called and he was taken off to the police station for questioning before being released.

But he keeps doing it to feed his son.

The most expensive – and essential – item on the list

“It’s just when we’re really desperate, we manage our money normally,” says the boy’s mum who is in her early 30s.

She’s embarrassed by what they’ve been doing – it leaves her stressed and tired.

She is on statutory maternity leave from her job as a retail assistant, but inflation means they run out of money almost every month. She said she hasn’t been able to access Health Start vouchers from the government that are supposed to provide some help.

Baby formula is one of the most expensive, and essential, items on their shopping list.

She tried hard to breastfeed, but her son wouldn’t latch on, so formula milk is their only way of feeding him.

“I just tell my partner what I need, when we need it and he’ll go and do it. There’s always a risk of him being arrested and not coming back,” she said, struggling to finish the sentence.

“And then… we’re stuck.”

Her partner is unapologetic. He’ll do what it takes to feed his son: “The price of the milk is criminal. Where’s the line? If you’re talking about getting food for your baby, surely that’s not on the wrong side of the line?”

They are just one of countless families across the country who are suffering due to above-inflation rises in the cost of baby formula milk. New data from First Steps Nutrition shows that the cost of the cheapest brand of formula milk has risen by 45% in the past two years.

Other brands have risen between 17% and 31% in that time period.

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Watering down formula

Health professionals consistently point out that all first formula milks must meet the same industry standards, so the cheapest and the most expensive brands all provide a baby with the nutrition they need.

Sky News has also spoken to other desperate parents risking their babies’ health by feeding them formula that is either watered down or mixed with cow’s milk or sugar-laden condensed milk.

“People shouldn’t be facing these choices when they are simply trying to feed their baby safely … This shouldn’t be happening in 21st-century Britain,” says Clare Murphy, the chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advice Service.

“This is a scandal.”

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‘On the brink of a public health crisis’

She added: “It is appalling that we’re having this conversation that you are going out and finding these kind of stories.

“All these things that are happening are putting us on the brink of a public health crisis.”

Inside Hartlepool’s Baby Bank, they feel that crisis biting every day. It is another frantic day of parents coming in looking for essentials for their babies, and their team of volunteers buzz about fetching items. A sparrow has just flown in from outside and there’s a commotion while they try to guide it out. It’s a rare moment of distraction.

The number of families coming in keeps rising – so too does the variety of nationalities amongst them. They have one volunteer from El Salvador who helps translate for Spanish speakers. The next mum through the door only speaks Arabic. Her 10-year-old son is helping convey what his mother needs to the volunteers.

Just two tins left

The baby bank founder Emilie De Bruijn has just two final tins of first formula available to give out. They are like “gold dust” she said, sounding drained. “This is the busiest week we’ve ever had.”

Her team of volunteers now support around 170 families a week, with baby formula their second most-requested item behind nappies.

Charities across the UK have told Sky News they are dealing with a similar surge in demand – from Aberdeen to Cornwall.

The Splice Baby Bank in Bridgend told Sky News that they often have families needing two tubs of formula a week and regularly make deliveries to families. At the Tippytoes Baby Bank in Leyland, Lancashire, they are exasperated because it all feels so precarious – they are in no doubt that the health and development of babies are being put at risk.

Back in Hartlepool, Emilie explained that when they can’t provide the formula a family needs, parents often become frustrated and resort to desperate measures to feed their little ones.

“People are doing unsafe things,” Emilie says. “They are swapping to [different types] of formula and that’s not good for digestion. They have said: ‘I’d rather baby had a rash than be starving’. It’s that stigma, that shame. Will you be trolled? Will people try and take your child away?”

A black market

The problem with having an in-demand, unaffordable product is that people will look for alternative ways of finding it. A black market in baby formula has sprung up.

The father who was stealing milk also admits to buying discount tubs via a contact, he called a “fence” – a woman selling stolen baby formula for knockdown prices.

“She sells it for a third of the price … She’ll be on the bus with the bags and I’ll meet her later,” he explains. “It’s branded stuff. I won’t go to a back alley and buy baby formula from someone who has made it themselves.”

Over the past few months, Sky News has seen multiple messages posted online from parents desperately seeking baby formula.

One mum told Sky News she was even considering selling sexual images of herself to meet the cost of it.

Others look for cheap or free formula milk which is regularly advertised online by people selling or giving it away. Health professionals call it “formula foraging”. Often it’s just parents with good intentions who don’t want to throw unopened containers that are still within their use-by date in the bin.

It is the tubs that are already open and being traded online that really concern Emilie.

“It could be out of date, it could be laden with bacteria.

“This could be a baby ends up in A&E, on a drip, because they could get such a bad stomach bug. They could get so dehydrated. It’s horrendous.

“Families shouldn’t be having to put themselves into dangerous situations like buying a half tub. How do you know that hasn’t been laced with something?”

She would like to see a clampdown: “It’s dangerous, but people are desperate. That child could be eating something that’s riddled with bacteria. I don’t want to see babies ended up in hospital with stomach bugs, but it seems inevitable.”

More needing hospital treatment

Infant feeding specialist Dr Vicky Thomas told Sky News that anecdotal evidence suggests there are more infants being brought for treatment at A&E but that the reasons are often complex, and families are unlikely to say that they are struggling to feed their children.

“In the worst-case scenarios, families sometimes worry that something like that will result in their children being removed from them which is absolutely not what we would expect to happen.

“I think we are going to see babies who are being underfed or possibly overfed because they are having milk crammed into them when they are not actually wanting or needing it just because of the expense of making a bottle.”

She pointed out just how crucial the first year is for a baby’s development. “They will double their birth weight by the time they are six months, they treble it by the time they are about a year old… you double the size of your brain,” she explained.

“So it’s not just about building a healthy body, it’s about building a healthy brain.”

Dr Thomas agrees that what’s happening does amount to a public health crisis. “I think that is completely accurate,” she said.

“The nutrition that babies are receiving right now determines their health going forward for the next 80 years.”

Doctor Vicky

A daily battle for survival

The need for better solutions for families is clear. Clare Murphy from BPAS explained that there are short-term measures that could help, but also wants a proper government-led review to establish what is going on.

“This is an issue in need of national attention,” she said.

“It really needs an urgent review to see how we can absolutely secure access to affordable infant formula for every family that needs it.

“We need to look at why we are facing such high prices and really investigate how we ensure access to an affordable, safe product that families across the UK can use.”

The formula milk manufacturers told Sky News that they realise how difficult times are for families but that they are facing a significant rise in production costs.

A spokesperson for Danone, which makes Cow & Gate and Aptamil, told Sky News: “We’ve tried to make savings and absorb costs wherever we can so we can continue to offer the best value to parents right across the UK.

“We are working with key retailers to offer more bigger format value packs, which we have also committed to keep at the same price to retailers throughout 2023.

“Ultimately, individual retailers set the selling price in their stores for all products.”

Open tubs of baby formula bought online come with huge risk
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Open tubs of formula are regularly being traded online

A spokesperson for Nestle, which makes SMA formula milk, told Sky News they are working to increase prices in a responsible way, adding: “Our goal is to keep products affordable and accessible for consumers while still paying fair prices to our suppliers, including farmers.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “We recognise the impact rising prices are having on families which is why we are providing significant support worth on average £3,300 per household, including holding down energy bills, uplifting benefits and delivering direct cash payments.

“In April 2021, the value of Healthy Start rose from £3.10 to £4.25 per week, providing additional support to eligible pregnant women and families with children aged under four and over one to make healthy food choices.

“Those eligible families with children aged under one can receive £8.50 in total, a rise from £6.20 a week.”

There is no plan to increase the value of the Healthy Start vouchers.

None of that helps the hungry boy whose parents are stealing to keep him fed. It’s a daily battle that they are in – it’s a survival thing for them. Their options are limited.

His mum said we were the first people she has told about stealing the milk. She hates herself for doing it but won’t wait for that hungry scream again.

“He’s precious. I’d do anything for him. Even though it’s breaking the law.”

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Police investigating fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s house – and possible links with two other blazes

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Police investigating fire at Sir Keir Starmer's house - and possible links with two other blazes

Police investigating a fire at a north London house owned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are also looking into whether it is linked to two other recent blazes.

The Metropolitan Police said on Monday evening that detectives are checking a vehicle fire in NW5 last week and a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on Sunday to see whether they are connected to the fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s house in the early hours of Monday morning.

The prime minister is understood to still own the home and used to live there before he and his family moved into 10 Downing Street after Labour won last year’s general election. It is believed the property is being rented out.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation as a precaution, the Met said.

The blaze damaged the entrance to the house, but there were no injuries, the force said.

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Sir Keir Starmer house
Metropolitan Police
Fire 
Pic: LNP
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The entrance to the house was damaged by the fire. Pic: LNP

Sir Keir Starmer house
Metropolitan Police
Fire Pic: LNP
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Counter-terror police are leading the investigation. Pic: LNP

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: “On Monday 12 May at 1.35am, police were alerted by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire at a residential address.

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“Officers attended the scene. Damage was caused to the property’s entrance, nobody was hurt.

“As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the potential cause of the fire.”

A police cordon and officers, as well as investigators from London Fire Brigade, could be seen outside and at one point, part of the street was cordoned off to all vehicles.

London Fire Brigade said firefighters were called just after 1am, and the blaze was out within half an hour. It described the incident as “a small fire outside a property”.

A forensics officer is seen in Kentish Town, north London. Police are investigating a fire at Sir Keir Starmer's house in north London. Picture date: Monday May 12, 2025.
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Pic: PA

A police officer is seen in Kentish Town, north London. Police are investigating a fire at Sir Keir Starmer's house in north London. Picture date: Monday May 12, 2025.
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Emergency services were deployed to the scene in north London. Pic: PA

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Sir Keir expressed his gratitude to the police and fire services via his official spokesman, who said: “I can only say that the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work, and it is subject to a live investigation. So I can’t comment any further.”

On Monday, Sir Keir made a major policy speech on immigration, promising to bring down net migration by the end of this parliament with a system that is “controlled, selective and fair”.

He did not clarify how far he wants figures to fall, only saying numbers will come down “substantially” as he set out plans in the government’s Immigration White Paper, including banning care homes from hiring overseas.

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London Underground stations shut and lines suspended as power cut hits Tube

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London Underground stations shut and lines suspended as power cut hits Tube

A power outage caused major travel disruption on London’s Tube network on Monday, stretching into rush hour.

The Elizabeth, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines were among the routes either suspended or delayed, with several stations closed and passengers forced to evacuate.

A spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) said there was an outage in southwest London for “a matter of minutes” and “everything shut down”.

National Grid confirmed a fault on its transmission network, which was resolved in “seconds”, but led to a “voltage dip” that affected some supplies.

The London Fire Brigade said the fault caused a fire at an electrical substation in Maida Vale, and it’s understood firefighters destroyed three metres of high-voltage cabling.

Piccadilly Circus
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The scene in Piccadilly Circus as passengers were evacuated

That came just weeks after a fire at the same substation, which saw elderly and vulnerable residents among those moved from their homes.

But today’s fire – between Cunningham Place and Aberdeen Place – is understood to have involved different equipment to the parts in the 29 April incident.

TfL’s chief operating officer Claire Mann apologised for the disruption, adding: “Due to a brief interruption of the power supply to our network, several lines lost power for a short period earlier this afternoon.”

Passengers told Sky News of the disruption’s impact on their plans, with one claiming he would have had to spend £140 for a replacement ticket after missing his train.

He said he will miss a business meeting on Tuesday morning in Plymouth as a result.

Another said she walked to five different stations on Monday, only to find each was closed when she arrived.

Lines suspended and stations shut – as it happened

“Only on the last station did I find out it was a power outage affecting the entire Underground, after I approached ticketing staff,” she said.

“Again, no announcement made. So I looked for bus alternatives. In total, I spent two hours stranded in central London. Horrible experience.

“I feel bad for people who possibly missed their flights.”

TfL staff have said they are working to restore the entire network, with some disruption extending into Monday night.

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Minister does not rule out ‘supermax’ jails for most dangerous offenders following alleged Rudakubana attack on prison officer

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Minister does not rule out 'supermax' jails for most dangerous offenders following alleged Rudakubana attack on prison officer

“Supermax” jails could be built to house the most dangerous offenders following a spate of alleged attacks on staff, the prisons minister has said.

James Timpson told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that “we shouldn’t rule anything out” when asked if the most dangerous criminals should be placed in top security prisons.

It comes after Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water from a kettle at an officer at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday. Police are now investigating.

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Before that, three prison officers were also allegedly attacked by 28-year-old Hashem Abedi – the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi – with hot cooking oil and “improvised knives”, potentially made from a baking tray.

Speaking from HMP Preston for a special programme of the Politics Hub, Mr Timpson told Sophy Ridge: “We inherited a complete mess in the prison system.

“Violence is up, assaults on staff is up. But for me, we shouldn’t rule anything out.”

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He added: “What we need to do is to speak to our staff. They’re the experts at dealing with these offenders day in, day out. “

Mr Timpson – who was the chief executive of Timpson Group before he was appointed prisons minister last year – said the violence in prisons was “too high”.

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Are we sending too many people to prison?

He continued: “The number of people when you have prisons are so full, and the people in there are not going to education or into purposeful activity.

“You get more violence and that is totally unacceptable. Our staff turn up to work to help turn people.

“They want to turn people’s lives around. They didn’t turn up to work to get assaulted. It’s totally unacceptable.”

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Reflecting on the crisis facing the UK prison system ahead of the government’s sentencing review, Mr Timpson said a major problem was the high rate of reoffending, saying “80% of offending is reoffending”.

He said people were leaving places like HMP Preston “addicted to drugs, nowhere to live, mental health problems – and that’s why they keep coming back”.

Asked whether every prison had a drugs issue, he replied: “100%.”

“If we want to keep the public safe, we need to do a lot more of the work in here and in the community. But also we need to build more prisons.”

Put to him that making more use of community sentences – thought to be one of the recommendations in the government’s sentencing review – might be considered a “cushy option” compared to a custodial sentence, Mr Timpson said: “There are some people in this prison tonight who would prefer to be in prison than do a community sentence – but that’s not everybody.

“Community sentences need to be tough punishments outside of prison, not just to help them address their offending behaviour, but also the victims need to see punishments being done too and for me, technology has a big part to play in the future.”

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