Baby formula crisis: Mum says she feels ‘attacked’ over ‘jaw-dropping’ prices

Published

2 years ago

November 13, 2023

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The magic formula – a disappearing act.

Simon thought he was watching a report about a foreign country, where baby formula was being rationed by charities.

They didn’t have enough to give out to every family who needed it.

When he realised that the Sky News report he was watching last month was actually from Swindon, it stunned him and he decided to do something.

He immediately set up a crowdfund to “provide baby formula to desperate UK parents“.

“The money started coming in very, very, very quickly because people, like me, they were seeing the video report,” Simon told us.

“People thinking the same as me. How on earth can this be happening in this country?”

Within a few hours his online fundraising appeal was up and running, donations flooding in.

It quickly surpassed his initial target of £10,000 and within just a week or so it hit £50,000.

The fact that so many parents in the UK are struggling to feed their babies resonates. People wanted to help.

Simon is a dad-of-four from Essex who has a track record of online fundraising – he does it to help but to also rile the online trolls who happily take keyboard pot-shots at people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Now just a few weeks later, he’s buying up as much formula as he can get his hands on and distributing tubs locally with the help of Zoey Smith, who can draw on years of experience in the charity sector to get the formula to the right places.

As the forklift loaded the last pallet of boxes onto the van, Zoey mapped out the morning ahead.

“People have been crying out for it and just been asking ‘where can I get some milk from because I am really struggling’.”

“I think the government needs to do whatever they can do to stop the cost of living crisis, prices going up and particularly look at things like this, the baby milk.”

Simon has also partnered with infant nutrition charity FEED which are administering the bulk of the fund and inviting UK organisations that help families to apply for £250 microgrants for formula milk.

“It feels good, but you’ve got to look at the long-term picture,” Simon explained.

“You know, I can’t just sit here and raise 50 grand every time another foodbank pops up on Sky News saying, ‘Oh, we can’t give our families formula’.

“It needs proper long-term thinking in terms of the price of formula.”

That’s the problem at the heart of this crisis, some families just can’t afford it.

Mums like 22-year-old Martina, who we met as the delivery van stopped at a foodbank in Southend where she lives.

‘My jaw literally drops’ over formula milk prices

Like so many other parents she now dreads the weekly trip to the supermarket because the prices keep rising.

“My jaw drops, my jaw literally drops,” she tells us – her son is just two months old and fast asleep in the pram.

“It is expensive…very, very expensive. And I do think they’re taking the mick out of it to be honest because it’s ridiculous, especially for people that are struggling.

“It is exploiting us young parents. It does feel like you get attacked, if that makes sense?”

She looks down at her son who is having his nap, oblivious to it all.

“They can’t say anything and someone’s got to speak for them ain’t they? I do wish it wasn’t like that,” Martina says as she loses herself in thought for a moment.

“Something needs to change because every child needs to be fed,” she added.

Each drop off through the morning follows a theme. Organisations that help young families have hardly any first infant formula left and are so grateful that their stocks have been boosted.

The shelves at the Storehouse foodbank in Southend are pretty bare inside – donations have slowed down and the number of families seeking help keeps growing.

‘We’ve completely run out’

Veronica runs the baby essentials section and told us this week was the “first time in many, many months that we’ve completely run out”.

She added: “But this will make just such a huge difference because people come in, they need to feed their babies, of course they do, and we haven’t been able to give it to them. So this will make a huge difference.

“The trouble with the prices of the nappies, the wipes, the milk. It’s just colossal.”

She then puts the tubs of formula away into the lockable store cupboard.

It’s a precious commodity.

We also stopped at the Megacentre in Rayleigh, where Scott Williamson helps run their operation including the foodbank.

He told us of the calls he’d had from families seeking help that morning.

“A lady just called half an hour ago, she has a newborn baby and she doesn’t have nappies and she doesn’t have milk. We will deliver it to her in her home later on.

“We are able to respond because of the generosity of the community, people like these great guys.”

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At every stop, there’s warm and heartfelt gratitude towards Zoey and Simon as they drop off the baby formula.

That kindness of strangers is now making a positive difference for some families but Simon, and everyone supporting his initiative, realise it’s nowhere near enough.

UK

BBC board member resigns – and criticises ‘governance issues’ at top of corporation

Published

31 mins ago

November 21, 2025

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BBC board member resigns - and criticises 'governance issues' at top of corporation

A BBC board member has resigned after criticising “governance issues” at the top of the corporation.

Shumeet Banerji confirmed the news in a letter on Friday, according to BBC News.

It comes after the corporation’s director-general Tim Davie and chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness resigned earlier this month after a row over the editing of a Panorama documentary on Donald Trump.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

UK

Reform UK’s former Wales leader Nathan Gill jailed for accepting pro-Russian bribes

Published

3 hours ago

November 21, 2025

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Reform UK's former Wales leader Nathan Gill jailed for accepting pro-Russian bribes

The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10 and a half years after he admitted accepting tens of thousands of pounds in cash to make pro-Russian statements to the media and European Parliament.

Nathan Gill had “abused a position of significant authority and trust” and was “motivated by financial and political gain”, said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb during remarks at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, had previously pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019, corresponding to his time as an MEP.

The Old Bailey heard his activities were linked to pro-Russian statements about Ukraine while he was a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and subsequently the Brexit Party.

Following an investigation by counter-terrorism police, officers said they believe Gill likely took a minimum of £40,000 in cash and was offering to introduce other British MEPs so they could be bribed. Officers also said they believed some individuals in this case had a direct link to Vladimir Putin.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC previously told the court the bribery offences related to Gill’s association with pro-Russian Oleg Voloshyn, who had been a Ukrainian government official before 2014 and was sanctioned by the UK in 2022.

Gill’s activities emerged in WhatsApp messages after he was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021.

He was about to board a flight to Russia to be an observer in elections there.

Bundles of cash recovered

Police said the messages revealed Voloshyn had tasked Gill to make pro-Russian statements on a reward basis. Counter-terrorism officers said the text of some speeches was provided to Gill, which he delivered almost word-for-word.

In other cases, he was paid to offer commentary to news outlets, such as the pro-Russian media organisation 112 Ukraine.

A search of his home in Wales also uncovered thousands in euros and dollars.

Greed ‘primary motivation’

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, described Gill as being motivated by money.

“It appears… greed was his primary motivation. But I think there’s an element of him that had a pro-Russian stance as well, but only he can answer that question, to be honest with you, he never told us that.”

Gill was interviewed in March 2022 and made no comment. He was charged and appeared in court in February 2025.

‘A grave betrayal of trust’

During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described Gill’s offending as “sophisticated” and “a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate”.

She told him: “You accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MPs.

“Your misconduct has ramifications far beyond personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged. It erodes public confidence in democracy when politicians succumb to financial inducement.”

Other UK politicians at risk

Commander Murphy said that police were continuing to investigate other MEPs, including some from the UK.

“What we do know from the conversations with [Oleg] Voloshyn is that Nathan Gill actually offered his services to contact other MEPs, mostly UK MEPs, to also make statements that might be supportive of a Russian position in Ukraine,” he said.

He added: “I do believe that some of the individuals in this case do have direct connections to Vladimir Putin. And I have no doubt that if we were able to, we could follow this trail and it would lead straight to Moscow.”

Gill led the Welsh wing of UKIP between 2014 and 2016 and was a member of the Senedd between 2016 and 2017.

He was an MEP between 2014 and 2020, but left UKIP in 2019 to join Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party – later Reform UK.

Political fallout after prison term

Police have confirmed Nigel Farage has not been part of this investigation, but political rivals have called on the Reform UK leader to launch a thorough investigation.

Defence minister Al Carns, a former colonel in the Royal Marines, said Gill’s actions were “a disgrace”. He added: “I just think wherever we see Russian influence in UK politics, it’s got to be weeded out.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “a traitor was at the very top of Reform UK”, referring to Gill, but also launched a direct attack on Mr Farage by calling him, and his party, “a danger to national security”.

“Nigel Farage himself was previously paid to be on Putin’s TV channel, Russia Today, and said he was the world leader he admires the most.

“We must all ask – where do his loyalties really lie? We need a full investigation into Russian interference in our politics,” he said.

Reform UK, which previously kicked Gill out of the party, said in a statement: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served and fully welcome the sentence Nathan Gill has received.”

Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, welcomed Gill’s jail sentence “for his acts of betrayal in taking bribes from Russia”.

In a statement, she said: “If the former Reform UK leader in Wales was part of a broader, co-ordinated effort to advance Moscow’s agenda within our democratic institutions, then the public deserves to know the full truth, and how far Russian money and influence reached into Nigel Farage’s inner circle.”

UK

Scale of billion-dollar money laundering network revealed – as British drug takers warned

Published

12 hours ago

November 21, 2025

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Scale of billion-dollar money laundering network revealed - as British drug takers warned

Britons buying cocaine on a Friday night could be inadvertently funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The National Crime Agency has revealed a billion-dollar money laundering network is operating in 28 towns and cities across the UK.

Couriers collect “dirty” cash generated from drugs, firearms and immigration gangs, which is then converted into cryptocurrency.

Officials say these illicit transactions have a direct link to “geopolitical events causing suffering around the world”.

This network was first exposed because of Operation Destabilise – and to date, 128 arrests have been made, with more than £25m in cash and digital assets seized.

According to the NCA, the enterprise is so prolific that it purchased a bank to facilitate payments that supported Russia’s military efforts and helped sidestep sanctions.

Posters have been put up in motorway service stations to target couriers, which warn it is “just a matter of time” before they will be arrested.

The NCA’s deputy director for economic crime, Sal Melki, has warned the threat posed by this money laundering network is significant.

He added: “Cash couriers play an intrinsic role in this global scheme. They are in our communities and making the criminal ecosystem function – because if you cannot profit from your crimes, why bother.

“They are paid very little for the risks they take and face years in prison, while those they work for enjoy huge profits.”

Mr Melki went on to warn that “easy money leads to hard time” – and earning just a few hundred pounds through laundering could lead to years behind bars.

The NCA says Operation Destabilise has already had an impact in criminal circles, with some members of the network now reluctant to operate in London.

Those involved in the money laundering effort have also started to charge higher fees – reflecting the difficulty of cleaning ill-gotten gains.

Cryptocurrencies are often regarded as a haven for criminals because they are perceived to be anonymous, but it is possible to trace these transactions.

Chainalysis is a company that monitors suspicious activity on blockchains, a type of database that keeps records of who sends and receives digital assets – as well as how much.

Its vice president of communications Madeleine Kennedy told Sky News: “Public blockchains are transparent by design, which makes cryptocurrencies a poor vehicle for money laundering.

“With the right tools, law enforcement can trace illicit funds – whether they’re connected to drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, or cybercrime – and use those insights to disrupt networks and recover assets.”

Last December, a global investigation led by the NCA smashed two networks whose money laundering activities were prevalent in 30 countries.

Bundles of cash were seized during raids, with detectives describing Smart and TGR as the invisible link between “Russian elites, crypto-rich cybercriminals and drug gangs in the UK”.

One of the network’s ringleaders, a Russian national called Ekatarina Zhdanova, is currently in custody in France and awaiting trial for separate financial offences.

Security minister Dan Jarvis added: “This complex operation has exposed the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine.

“We are working tirelessly to detect, disrupt and prosecute anyone engaging in activity for a hostile foreign state. It will never be tolerated on our streets.”