Climate clash – the gap between net zero ambition and reality
If I was nervous, how must our two guests have been feeling?
The last time they’d met, one was blocking a road and the other looked like she was trying to run her over in a Range Rover.
“I have to hold my hands up. I did do wrong,” says Sherrilyn Speid, the driver, to Lou Lancaster the protester from Insulate Britain who we’d both persuaded to come together and talk about the day in question.
“I have no right to block you, personally… I absolutely agree with that,” says Lou.
It was, thankfully, a conciliatory start to our journey exploring why the UK appears to be becoming so divided over environmental issues.
Divided at the very moment that our changing climate and fossil fuel dependency is hitting crisis point.
This year is on track to be the warmest year ever recorded, off the back of one in which consumers saw the highest increases in energy bills in a generation or more.
But this is the same moment in which the government decided to slow down, rather than accelerate, its net zero agenda just a few weeks ahead of global climate negotiations.
What the people we spoke to for this report have shown (and polling supports this) is that most agree we need to tackle environmental issues without delay.
But the enormous gap between the UK’s environmental obligations and workable policies to make them happen puts us in a precarious situation.
Take London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) designed to improve air quality in the capital by charging older, more polluting cars to use the capital’s roads.
Its expansion to London’s outer boroughs led to a vocal and costly opposition campaign. Whether or not the policy is flawed, or even that unpopular, it prompted a loud, political backlash.
ULEZ opposition is credited with helping the conservatives win a by-election in Uxbridge in July.
And few policies led to the formation of vigilante groups calling themselves Blade Runners.
‘Blade Runner’ tells Tom Clarke: ‘We will not stop until they stop’
We spoke to one of these anti-ULEZ protesters – hooded and masked to conceal his identity – who is out at night cutting down enforcement cameras.
“We will not stop until they stop,” he told me.
According to police, almost 1,000 ULEZ cameras have been vandalised or destroyed – some 200 disappearing completely. Estimates vary, but the bill for the Blade Runners’ actions could run into the millions.
“We are removing what the taxpayer didn’t want bought in the first place,” the Blade Runner tells me.
There’s plenty of Londoners who’d disagree with that – especially those that have long campaigned for cleaner air.
The Blade Runners are no less popular, however, than road-blocking climate protesters like Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain – the other extreme in the clash over climate.
Members like Lou Lancaster say every other means of persuading the government to do more has failed, so maximum disruption is all that’s left.
“You need to get the message out there – and unfortunately, the media is a way we get the message out and they only like drama,” said Lou.
Insulate Britain protester Lou Lancaster (left) and Range Rover driver Sherrilyn Speid come together
But Sherrilyn, whose assault on the protesters with her car went viral, wonders, like many people, whether the tactic is backfiring.
“I feel like I had more coverage than anyone. Like I was in every single newspaper, every single TV show.”
And then there are policies like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).
Until I visited one, I was all for the idea. What’s not to like about a scheme that encourages more “active travel” like cycling and walking and reduces air pollution and congestion at the same time.
However, I now have some sympathy for their detractors. In parts of Oxford, say campaigners, cars have been restricted by LTNs, but public transport options have not been improved in return.
Cars have been taken off backstreets – to the understandable relief of residents – but then concentrated, along with their pollution – on main roads.
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The result, according to Clinton Pugh, a vocal anti-LTN campaigner in the Cowley area of Oxford, is conflict.
“Society has been split,” he told me. “And this is the problem if you don’t get people on board and embracing what you want to do, how do you expect it to end up getting the result you want?”
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Oxfordshire County Council disputes that claim. It told us it consulted on the Cowley LTN three times. It also says it is modifying parts of the scheme to improve it – blaming the lack of public transport improvement on repair works in another part of the city.
But frustrations among voters with green policies that are unfair – or even just appear to be unfair – lead to political fall-out.
“It cannot be right for Westminster to impose such significant costs on working people, especially those who are already struggling to make ends meet,” said Rishi Sunak in his September net zero speech.
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Sunak: ‘I won’t take lectures’ on net zero
And this – if you care about progress on climate change, lowering bills and improving economic prospects for the UK in general – is the rub.
Ambitious green targets can only be met if policies to deliver them accommodate the needs of those impacted the most. On top of that they have to be well funded and well communicated enough to demonstrate benefits.
If they’re not, the frustration and resistance that’s currently filling the gap between net zero ambition and reality will only get wider, and more urgent.
UK
Family of man who committed murder after escaping from mental health unit say they were ‘failed’ by NHS trust
The family of a man who committed murder during an escape from a secure mental health unit have told Sky News they were “failed” by the trust that was meant to be caring for him.
Joshua Carroll is currently waiting to be sentenced for the murder of Headley Thomas, known as Barry, after beating him to death in a park in Trafford, Manchester, in September 2022.
At the time of the attack, Joshua was in the care of Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMH). He was being treated as an inpatient at Park House, a unit which has now closed down.
Joshua’s mum and sister say he escaped from the unit 21 times – and they repeatedly complained to the trust and asked for help.
Headley Thomas, who was known as Barry
Leanne Carroll, Joshua’s sister, told Sky News: “The night it happened, Joshua had come to my house. And it was just a normal ‘oh Joshua has escaped from hospital again’. Nothing appeared any different.”
She says they didn’t find out about what had happened until Joshua was arrested weeks later – and “everything fell apart from there”.
Julie and Leanne Carroll
“My heart broke,” said Joshua’s mum, Julie Carroll. “It’s just a horrible, horrible situation.”
Joshua had been diagnosed with conditions including schizoaffective disorder, and had been in and out of inpatient care for around 15 years, his family said.
They showed me more than 20 pages of complaints and responses from GMMH about his repeated escapes, dating back eight years before the murder.
After Joshua’s fourth escape from Park House, his family asked for him to be moved to another unit, saying they were concerned about security.
This didn’t happen, with the trust citing capacity issues. His family complained once again about his escapes just five weeks before the murder, in August 2022.
“We are very, very angry and disappointed,” said Julie. “You think if your child is in hospital, and they are very poorly, that they are going to be looked after – they will be safe and they will be secure. But that wasn’t the case for Josh.”
Julie Carroll says her “heart broke” after her son’s crime came to light
Although Joshua was convicted of murder, Leanne says his family hold GMMH partly responsible.
“If you had done your job properly – none of this would have happened,” she said. “Two families wouldn’t have been destroyed and so many hearts wouldn’t have been broken.”
Since 2022, GMMH has been served with several Section 29A warning notices by the Care Quality Commission. These are issued when the commission decides a service needs to make significant improvements, and there is a risk of harm.
In the case of GMMH, their concerns included “ward security systems not consistently keeping people safe”.
Dr John Mulligan is a clinical psychologist for GMMH, working in the community for the early intervention in psychosis service, and a representative for the union Unite.
Dr John Mulligan
He and his colleagues have been going on strike repeatedly across the past seven months, saying they just don’t have the staffing levels they need to keep people safe.
“Thankfully, violent incidents among our service users are quite rare, they are much more likely to be the victims of violence and aggression,” he said. “But serious incidents are happening regularly. Far too regularly.
“It’s very upsetting for staff and for patients and families.”
Joshua Carroll . Pic: Greater Manchester Police
Salli Midgley, chief nurse at the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said: “On behalf of GMMH, we express our heartfelt condolences to Headley Thomas’s loved ones at this very sad time.
“Our thoughts and sympathies remain with everyone who has been affected by this most devastating incident. We are deeply sorry that it happened while Joshua Carroll was under our care.
“Under the trust’s new leadership, we have been working closely with NHS England, our commissioners and the CQC to create better, safer and well-led services for all.”
The Carroll family asked for Joshua to be moved to a different unit after his escapes
She continued: “A huge amount of progress has already been made but we know we still have a lot to do to improve our services.
“As part of this work, we are currently carrying out an in-depth investigation into the care and treatment provided to Mr Carroll, and the circumstances leading to Mr Thomas’ death, the findings of which will be shared with NHS England.
“We are unable to comment further on this case whilst the investigation is ongoing.”
Barry Thomas’s family told Sky News mental health is a very serious issue – but they believe Joshua Carroll tried to “play down his actions”.
They said: “Let’s all remember that a life was taken. Our brother, father, and uncle. The evidence the police gathered was in plain sight for all to see.
“We, the family, would like to thank all the police involved for the work they have done, in bringing justice for Barry.”
UK
Hashem Abedi: Manchester bomb plotter moved back to Belmarsh prison after guards attacked in jail in Durham
The Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi has been moved back to Belmarsh prison after an alleged attack at HMP Frankland on Saturday.
Three prison officers at the high-security jail in County Durham were attacked with cooking oil before being stabbed with an improvised weapon.
Abedi has been transferred to Belmarsh prison in southeast London where he’d previously been found guilty of attacking a prison officer in 2020, along with two other convicted terrorists.
Belmarsh is considered the most high-security prison in the UK.
Abedi has been moved to the only available highly-controlled ‘suite’ cell in the country – a standalone self-contained unit monitored by a minimum of five people at any one time, and a prison dog.
There are only four such cells across England and Wales.
Abedi was convicted of assisting the Manchester terror plot, in which his brother Salman Abedi killed himself and 22 other people by detonating a bomb in a rucksack at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
Hashem Abedi was sentenced in 2020 to at least 55 years in prison after being found guilty of 22 counts of murder over the atrocity.
Salman Abedi before the concert attack. File pic: PA
Meanwhile, the government has said it will commission a review into the incident at HMP Frankland, after suspending access to cooking facilities in separation units, which is where the alleged attack took place.
Sky News understands the Prison Officers Association, after visiting staff who were on duty at the category A jail this week, have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for urgent action in order to protect prison staff in the high-security estate.
The union wants to see prison officers working there given stab-proof vests, access to tasers in certain situations, and not just a suspension of self cooking facilities in separation units but a full ban.
Separation units house the country’s most dangerous and violent criminals.
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Belmarsh prison in southeast London. File pic: PA
There have been a series of violent attacks across prisons in England and Wales, only days apart.
On Sunday, convicted killer John Mansfield was found dead at a category A prison, HMP Whitemoor, in Cambridgeshire. Police said they arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of murder.
Sky News also understands there was an incident on Tuesday lunchtime at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire.
A specialist ‘response group’ consisting of officers from outside the prison were deployed to bring the situation under control, along with a ‘hostage’ situation, while prisoners climbed on the roof and netting. The situation was brought under control within an hour.
Prisons minister Lord Timpson said it was “another sign of the problems we are facing in our prison with prisons that are overcrowded and violent”.
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