UK weather: Storm Babet batters large parts of country – as second person confirmed dead in Scotland
A second person has died as Storm Babet batters large parts of the UK.
Police Scotland said a 56-year-old driver was killed after a tree struck a van on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar at around 5.05pm on Thursday.
It comes as a rare red weather alert issued by the Met Office, warning of a “danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater” in parts of Scotland, was extended until midnight on Saturday.
It now covers the Grampian and Central, Tayside and Fife regions. It had already been expanded to include Dundee, Perth and Kinross, as well as Angus and Aberdeenshire, where 20ft waves have been spotted on the coastline.
Storm Babet latest: ‘Serious emergency’ declared by Scottish council
Meanwhile, a major search was under way following reports of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
Police Scotland said the alarm was raised at 3am on Friday near the village of Marykirk in Aberdeenshire.
“Multi-agency searches are ongoing and the public are asked to avoid the area for their safety,” a force spokesperson said.
As England, Wales and Northern Ireland faced warnings about heavy rain, Scotland continued to bear the brunt, where emergency crews have also been trying to rescue people in Brechin.
The town has been the hardest hit by the unprecedented flooding – and there are fears people who have had to flee their homes may not be able to re-enter until after Christmas.
Waves at Stonehaven Harbour
The Met Office said some communities could be cut off for several days at least by severe flooding, while the British Geological Survey has warned the storm could also cause landslides in Scotland.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has five severe flood warnings, 11 flood alerts and 16 flood warnings in place, with the threat of “unprecedented” levels of rainfall in the northeast of Scotland.
It has warned rivers could rise by as much as five metres, in what has been described as an “extraordinary” weather event.
SEPA flood duty manager Pascal Lardet said: “There is exceptional rainfall forecast for parts of Scotland over the next 24 hours, and this will lead to significant flooding from both surface water and rivers.”
Check what the weather forecast is in your area
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Bridge submerged in Scotland
‘People may not be back in their homes by Christmas’
It comes after a woman died in Scotland when she was swept into a river amid gale-force winds and severe flooding.
The body of the 57-year-old has been recovered after she was swept into the Water of Lee, a river in the eastern area of Angus on Thursday.
Officials have ordered the evacuation of 400 homes in and around the town of Brechin where flood defences breached.
Angus Council, which serves the town near the eastern Scottish coast, said parts of Brechin are only accessible by boat and added: “Angus is in the middle of a very serious emergency. Flooding is unprecedented. Levels are over half a metre over the last highest ever.”
This image shows a road before the River Esk burst its banks in Brechin – with the photo below showing the impact of the flooding
It said schools would be shut on Friday to “ensure the safety of children, young people, parents, and school staff”.
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I cannot stress how dangerous conditions are in Brechin in particular.”
Brechin councillor Jill Scott said: “It’s horrific. It’s just absolutely horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She added people had been trapped for hours, warning: “There will be hundreds of houses flooded.”
Another Brechin councillor, Gavin Nicol, warned some people may not be able to get back in their homes by Christmas, adding: “It’s just a disaster. The water is not going down, it is still rising.”
Officials have also appealed for donations of warm clothes after 40 people turned up to rest centres while “soaked”.
Warnings have ‘come to fruition’
Around 20,000 properties were hit by power cuts, although Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said electricity had been restored to almost 18,500 homes.
Angus experienced the highest rainfall in the UK on Thursday, according to data from SEPA. The Met Office revealed that Waterside Perth in East Grampian recorded 164mm over the previous 24 hours, followed by Invermark – which had 153mm.
Rescue operations are under way in Brechin
“Torrential and ferocious” conditions have led to “12 hours of destruction”, said Sky’s Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies.
Flood defences of the River Esk in Brechin have been “completely and utterly submerged”, he said.
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Storm Babet causes sea of foam
The warnings have “come to fruition” and “lives are at risk still” for several more hours, said Gillies.
“Many people will now be picking up the pieces after a really dangerous set of circumstances,” he said.
Traffic Scotland said several sections of major Scottish roads are closed too, including the A85 at Huntingtower near Perth and A90 between Myrekirk and Swallow Roundabouts due to flooding.
Aberdeenshire Council said supplies of sandbags had been “depleted” and would not be replenished. It urged residents not to travel unless it was “absolutely essential”.
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Babet: Waves batter lighthouse
‘Extraordinary’ weather event
More disruption is expected elsewhere across the UK, with amber warnings for wind and rain issued for parts of northern England, the Midlands and northern Wales from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday.
The Environment Agency has issued 42 flood warnings – in areas where flooding is expected – and 142 flood alerts, where flooding is possible.
Heron Rise in Dundee
Yellow and amber wind warnings have been issued for eastern parts of Scotland and along the east coast of England until the weekend, the Met Office said.
Gusts in excess of 60mph are likely on Friday, with particularly poor conditions on immediate coastlines with large waves adding to the list of hazards.
In the north east of England, South Shields Lighthouse lost its dome in the storm, as huge waves battered the structure.
This image shows South Shields lighthouse before it lost its dome in the storm – and the photo below shows the impact of the waves
The Port of Tyne authority said with the ongoing dangerous sea conditions, it was not safe to assess the damage to the lighthouse.
People have been urged to steer clear of the area, particularly the piers.
No traffic is going in and out of the river with six metres of sea swell, officials added.
Flooding has also blocked several rail lines across northern England, the Midlands and north Wales.
Red, amber and yellow weather warnings are in place for rain and wind. Pic: Met Office
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A yellow warning for Northern Ireland is also in place from 3am on Friday to 9am on Saturday.
Members of the Irish Defence Forces were deployed in the town of Midleton, Co Cork, in the south of Ireland, where more than 100 properties were flooded.
Cork County Council said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the space of 24 hours, leading to unprecedented flooding, saturated land and high river levels across the county.
The storm is an “extraordinary” weather event created by a number of interacting conditions, said Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology at the University of Reading.
The jet stream has been squeezed into a “weird position”, partly due to a typhoon that hit Japan last week, she said.
About 100 firefighters are battling a blaze in a nine-storey building in London’s White City.
Fifteen fire engines are also in attendance at the building on Wood Lane, with the fire affecting floors towards the top of the building, the London Fire Brigade said.
The building is the old BBC Television Centre, which was the broadcaster’s headquarters until 2013.
Wood Lane is closed to traffic and people are advised to avoid the area.
First reports of the blaze were received just after 3am and crews from Hammersmith, North Kensington, Kensington, Chiswick and surrounding fire stations were mobilised to the scene.
Two 32-metre turntable ladders are being deployed as water towers to help extinguish the fire from height, the brigade said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
In an update at around 6.40am, the fire brigade said the blaze is currently affecting floors towards the top of the building.
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David Lammy has been stripped of his role as foreign secretary, and given the job of justice secretary, along with the role of deputy PM.
Mr Lammy‘s move was one of the most momentous of Sir Keir Starmer‘s ministerial reshuffle on Friday afternoon, which saw a whole host of roles change hands, and two departments partially combined.
Politics latest: Follow for live updates
The PM moved him away from one of the great offices of state, despite his apparently burgeoning ‘bromance’ with US vice president JD Vance. But Mr Lammy benefited from Angela Rayner‘s departure.
David Lammy arrives in Downing Street following his appointment as deputy PM. Pic: PA
The deputy prime minister and housing secretary resigned from government on Friday morning, after it was found she had breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs. Sir Keir regretfully accepted her resignation, leaving her roles vacant.
Thus began the ministerial reshuffle, brought forward by several weeks as a result of Ms Rayner’s departure.
Mr Lammy has been given the role of deputy prime minister, and appeared cheery on Friday afternoon – strolling up Downing Street in the sunshine with a big smile on his face.
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David Lammy appointed deputy PM
His move from the Foreign Office to the Ministry of Justice then allowed Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to take on Mr Lammy’s previous job. She has never served in any role involving foreign affairs before, bar a three-month stint as shadow foreign secretary in 2010.
Her pivot to foreign affairs then allowed the biggest promotion of them all, with then justice secretary and key Starmer ally, Shabana Mahmood, being appointed as home secretary.
This means that for the first time in British history, all three great offices of state, after the prime minister, are held by women.
Shabana Mahmood arrives at Downing Street after being appointed home secretary. Pic: PA
With those roles rejigged, and Number 10 insisting from the start that Rachel Reeves was safe as chancellor, it was time to tinker with the rest of the cabinet.
It appears that while the reshuffle was carried out unexpectedly early, a lot of thought had gone into it.
Sir Keir began by creating a new ‘super ministry’, combining the skills remit of the Department for Education with the Department for Work and Pensions.
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Cooper appointed foreign secretary
Pat McFadden, on Friday morning the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (the highest ranking Cabinet Office minister), has been given responsibility for this new ministerial empire. It also means that Bridget Phillipson, who was and remains the education secretary, has had her responsibilities slimmed down.
Officially, Mr McFadden has become the work and pensions secretary. This meant the current occupant of that role, Liz Kendall, also needed to be reshuffled.
She has now been appointed as the science, innovation and technology secretary. Her predecessor in that role, Peter Kyle, in turn received a promotion to lead the Department of Business and Trade.
Peter Kyle has been promoted to business secretary
Pic: PA
Mr Kyle made incorporating and using AI a key part of his first year in office, and had been seen to be doing well in the job. His promotion, though, has led to the current business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, being left without a department.
While he remains in the cabinet, his appointment to the job of chief whip is unlikely to be viewed as a promotion.
The reshuffle brought better news for Darren Jones, who was only promoted on Monday to the newly created role of chief secretary to the prime minister.
He got to keep his role, but was gifted Mr McFadden’s old job – chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – to add to his growing political portfolio.
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Starmer’s effort to reset govt
Read more:
Cabinet reshuffle: Who’s in and who’s out
What a moment for Shabana Mahmood
Cooper picking up the reins at a challenging time
Steve Reed, another long-time Starmer ally, benefitted alongside Mr Lammy from Ms Rayner’s departure. He has been given her former role of housing secretary, leaving behind the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Also ending in a better position than they started off on Friday morning are Emma Reynolds, a Treasury minister who has now received Mr Reed’s old job, and trade minister Douglas Alexander, who has now become the Scotland secretary. Sir Alan Campbell, previously chief whip, has now become leader of the House of Commons.
On the other side of the spectrum, former leader of the Commons Lucy Powell, and ex-Scotland secretary Ian Murray, joined Ms Rayner in leaving the government. Both were sacked, and both made clear their desire not to lose their roles.
Sacked ministers Lucy Powell and Ian Murray.
Pic: PA
Ms Powell said it had been “an honour” to serve but warned that “the future of our democracy looks uncertain”, citing rising levels of “abuse, misrepresentation…. and the call for easy answers”.
Mr Murray also echoed this sentiment, stating that politics in the UK “is at a dangerous crossroads”. He called on MPs to bring “prosperity, hope and our communities together, rather than furthering division and despair”, and said he would support Sir Keir’s government from the backbenches.
Sir Keir Starmer has reshuffled his cabinet following Angela Rayner’s resignation after admitting she had not paid enough stamp duty on the purchase of a new home.
The prime minister’s former right-hand woman stepped down as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party after standards adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found she had breached the ministerial code.
Politics latest: Reshuffle after Rayner quits
She paid standard stamp duty on a flat she bought in Hove, East Sussex, in May after taking advice that it counted as her only home due to her disabled son’s trust owning the family home in Ashton-under-Lyne – but it was established she should have paid more.
Her resignation has left a hole around the cabinet table, which Sir Keir is now filling.
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The rise and fall of Angela Rayner
It was stressed early on Chancellor Rachel Reeves would remain as chancellor, in an attempt to stop the markets moving.
Read more: The working class mum who left school at 16 and became deputy PM
This is who is moving and where to:
David Lammy – foreign secretary to justice secretary and deputy PM
After flexing his diplomatic muscles with Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance over the past year, Mr Lammy will now move to the justice brief.
The move is likely to be a blow as the PM had promised, most recently in November, he would be foreign secretary for the whole parliament until 2029.
Although he is no longer holding one of the four great offices of state, he has also been made deputy prime minister, presumably to soften the blow.
Mr Lammy is close to Sir Keir, both as a friend and in his next door constituency, and was seen grinning as he went into Number 10 after being appointed.
Yvette Cooper – home secretary to foreign secretary
The Labour stalwart had made tackling illegal migration a priority, so the move could be seen as a disappointment for her.
However, she remains in one of the four great offices of state – PM, chancellor, foreign and home.
Shabana Mahmood – justice secretary to home secretary
A big promotion, the straight-talking Labour MP will be tasked with tackling the small boats crisis and asylum seeker hotel protests.
She is no stranger to making difficult decisions, deciding to free criminals early to reduce prison overcrowding as justice secretary.
Her move makes it the first time all three great offices of state, after the prime minister, are held by women.
Pat McFadden – chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and intergovernmental minister to work and pensions secretary and head of “super ministry”
Often seen as Sir Keir’s “number two”, Mr McFadden will take over a newly formed “super ministry”.
It will include the department for work and pensions and the skills remit of the department for education – taking a large part of Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s brief and taking over from Liz Kendall as work and pensions secretary.
While it is not a promotion at first glance, it is a much wider role than he has had as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – the highest-ranking Cabinet Office minister after the PM.
Darren Jones – chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
It is the second new job in the space of one week for the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The close ally of the prime minister was promoted from chief secretary to the Treasury on Monday to chief secretary to the prime minister. And now he gets another new job.
Steve Reed – environment secretary to housing secretary
A promotion for the man who has consistently defended the government lifting inheritance tax relief on farmers.
He takes over one of the two major vacancies left by Ms Rayner and will have the massive task of building 1.5 million new homes during this parliament, as promised by the government.
Jonathan Reynolds – business and trade secretary to chief whip
A slightly odd move for the MP seen as a steady pair of hands in his business secretary role.
He takes over from Sir Alan Campbell and will now have to hustle Labour MPs to vote with the government – something that has sometimes proved difficult with the current cohort.
Mr Reynolds will also attend cabinet, as is necessary so he can liaise between the party and No 10.
Peter Kyle – science secretary to business and trade secretary
A promotion for Mr Kyle, who is taking over from Jonathan Reynolds.
He is seen as a rising star and impressed Labour MPs when he refused to stand down after suggesting Nigel Farage was on the side of people like Jimmy Savile by opposing the government’s online safety law.
Mr Kyle will be in charge of getting trade deals with other countries over the line.
Emma Reynolds – economic secretary to the Treasury to environment secretary
Probably the biggest promotion of the reshuffle, Ms Reynolds is taking on Mr Reed’s role after serving as a junior minister in the Treasury.
She will have to take on farmers and deal with the water companies – a big undertaking.
Liz Kendall – work and pensions secretary to science, innovation and technology secretary
Pat McFadden has taken her role as work and pensions secretary, while Ms Kendall takes over Peter Kyle’s brief.
He has made AI a major facet of his role so we will wait to see which direction Ms Kendall takes the job in.
Douglas Alexander – trade policy minister to Scotland secretary
A promotion for the Blair/Brown minister who returned to politics last year after being ousted in 2015 by then 20-year-old SNP MP Mhairi Black.
He takes over from Ian Murray, who has been removed from the cabinet.
Sir Alan Campbell – Chief whip to Lord President of the Council and leader of the House of Commons
An MP since 1997 and part of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s frontbench, Sir Alan is taking over Lucy Powell’s role.
He will be in charge of organising government business in the Commons – a sizeable job.
Who is out?
Lucy Powell has been sacked as leader of the House of Commons.
Ian Murray has been sacked as Scotland secretary.
Not out – but
Bridget Phillipson remains as education secretary but her brief has narrowed as Mr McFadden has taken over the skills part of her job.
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