In 2019, Liz Truss was once again elected MP for South West Norfolk – her fourth election win.
The then international trade secretary and later prime minister romped home to victory with nearly 70% of the vote.
Her constituency was one of the safest in the country.
Now, if the polls are to be believed, it is hanging in the balance.
A dramatic reversal of fortune akin to her time in Downing Street.
And it is that brief time as prime minister – the shortest ever premiership– which seems to have played an important part in why even in this most conservative of constituencies Conservatives are considering not voting for her.
Being a senior cabinet minister for such a long period of course means your local constituency can’t always be your top priority. Lots of travel, speeches and parliamentary business is part of the job.
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But since Liz Truss returned to the backbenches, voters I spoke to feel like nothing has changed.
In this election, she is keeping a low profile – with lots of voters suggesting that when they do see her, it’s only briefly.
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So, I travelled the length and breadth of South West Norfolk to gauge views on the former prime minister.
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4:00
Where is Liz Truss?
“My husband lost 40% of his pension when she did what she did. So he’s 67 and still working,” one voter said to me.
Another talked about how she couldn’t vote for Truss because her daughter’s mortgage had risen three times in the past 18 months.
It went on and on. In fact, I was taken aback by the reaction.
There are some who will continue to back her and many who are yet to fully decide who they might back.
But I’ve spent a lot of my time talking to voters in different parts of the country over the past decade and I can’t remember a more visceral reaction to one candidate – and not in a good way.
Image: One voter said they remained undecided ahead of next month’s election as others were unimpressed by the former PM
Time again, there was criticism about how little Truss spends in the constituency and how visible she is during the campaign.
Lots of voters complained of the few chances they had had to interact with her, via brief visits and Facebook posts.
A spokesman for Truss claimed the former prime minister has never attended hustings at any election but she does hold constituency surgeries. However, she doesn’t publicly advertise them for security reasons, they added.
Her political opponents are trying to make this election effectively a referendum on Liz Truss.
Labour, who drew little support here five years ago, reckon they are now in with a chance.
Terry Jermy, the party’s candidate, said:“At the start of this election campaign I didn’t intend to write a victory speech. I’m writing one now.”
The Lib Dems also argue Truss’ record is coming up on the doorstep. “People are very disappointed with her performance as our constituency MP,” says Josie Ratcliffe.
Another candidate, James Bagge, is pitching himself as a true-blue independent Conservative – even if he frankly has a small chance of success.
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Truss’ campaign didn’t take up the offer of an interview, insisting she is not engaging with national media, in a statement to Sky News.
They said she’s focusing her time on the campaign trail talking directly to residents and as an experienced, high-profile campaigner who will continue to fight for traditional conservative values and stand up for South West Norfolk.
When you stand in a safe Conservative seat, as a former prime minister, you don’t ordinarily need to worry.
But this is no ordinary election and Truss is a very divisive politician.
It means for the first time in generations this part of Norfolk is up for grabs.
The full list of candidates in the South West Norfolk constituency is:
• Earl Elvis of East Anglia – The Official Monster Raving Loony Party • James Bagge – Independent • Gary Conway – Heritage Party • Pallavi Devulapalli – Green Party • Lorraine Douglas – Communist Party of Great Britain • Terry Jermy – Labour Party • Toby McKenzie – Reform UK • Josie Ratcliffe – Liberal Democrats • Liz Truss – Conservative and Unionist Party
It’s 8.34am on a Tuesday and Vanessa Paton is taking me on a tour of Glasgow’s east end, where she has lived for almost 50 years.
Half a mile away sits the newly opened taxpayer-funded facility, named The Thistle, where drug addicts can bring their heroin and cocaine, are handed clean needles and invited to inject under NHS medical supervision.
The concept, a UK first, is controversial and costs £2.3m a year.
Authorities believe it provides a safer, cleaner area for users to do their business, away from the dirty, HIV-ridden back alleys of Glasgow city centre.
It opened in January, and around 250 people have used it so far.
But there is a growing feeling among some that a by-product of this bold project is the alleged “war zone” being created in the community around the new building.
Image: Vanessa Paton
Former council worker Ms Paton is one of an ad-hoc group of furious locals who pick up needles as part of desperate efforts to clear their streets.
She says: “It is getting worse. The new room has appeared, and the problems have escalated with it. It’s a no-go war zone every day and night.
“The area’s becoming a toilet. That is the harsh reality of it.”
Image: A drug den
‘It is disgusting’
Sky News spends the morning being shown areas where it is claimed the issues are getting out of control.
Ms Paton pulls a bloodied, faeces-covered hospital gown out of a bush as we walk along a path behind a row of houses.
We turn the corner to a street where children play and are greeted with syringes filled with blood at our feet, discarded needle packaging and dirty underwear.
Image: Angela Scott
Local resident Angela Scott says: “It’s become a lot worse. It’s heightened. I’m scared that if I am picking up my dog dirt am I going to prick a needle.
“Am I going to end up with an infection that a lot of drug addicts tend to have because they are sharing needles? I don’t want to pick up something infectious.”
Adverts installed in known drug dens
Officials have installed a new needle bin in one hotspot in recent days, with posters erected advertising the nearby consumption room.
Image: A new needle bin and poster for the nearby consumption room
Ms Paton alleges safety steps are being taken at a nearby nursery.
“There is a nursery that actually uses a metal detector in the morning to scan the sandpits before the children go out because of the concern of the needles being in it,” she claims.
This area is known as Calton and has had its troubles with drug taking and crime for many years.
Ms Paton takes us to a tucked-away, overgrown area opposite social housing and a few metres from where a new school is being built. It is a makeshift drug den.
There are hundreds of freshly used needles. It is like a minefield.
One needle is stabbed into a large tree, there is even a wooden seat which is covered in drug-taking equipment.
Once again, there is a laminated A4 piece of paper pointing users in the direction of The Thistle.
Ms Paton says: “We picked up 50 needles in one minute last week. If we were to pick up every needle that is here today, we’d be talking hundreds.
“We are struggling to find somewhere safe to stand. There are needles between my legs, you’ve got needles behind your head.
“It’s totally soul-destroying. Nobody living here expected it to be this bad.”
Officials deny it is a new problem
Glasgow City Council told Sky News there had not been an increase in reports despite the community alleging the opposite.
Councillor Allan Casey, who is responsible for drug policy in the city, said: “This has been a long-standing issue and that is one of the main reasons why The Thistle has been placed where it is because there has been decades-long discarded needles in public places.
Responding to claims of increasing problems around the new facility, Mr Casey said: “Those reports don’t back that up.
“The council has not seen a rise in reports of injecting equipment and there has not been an increase in crime reports.”
Scotland is ravaged by drugs. The country has the worst drug death rate in Europe.
Scotland’s first minister John Swinney told Sky News the new drug room required time to “see the impact”.
He said: “The Thistle is a safe consumption facility which is designed to encourage people to come off the use of drugs – that’s its purpose. We’ve got to give that venture time to see the impact.
“We need to engage with the local community… and address any concerns.”
It is understood police have logged no calls about the facility since it opened in January, despite some residents suggesting they have contacted officers with concerns.
Inspector Max Shaw from Police Scotland said: “We are aware of long-standing issues in the area and continue to work closely in partnership to address these concerns.”
Casinos sponsoring two Premier League clubs are accepting UK customers without a licence, putting club officers at risk of prosecution, Sky News has learned.
The gambling websites, BC.Game and DEBET, are the matchday shirt sponsors of Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, respectively.
But an investigation by anti-gambling advert campaigners, shared with Sky News, suggests the casinos have continued to accept UK customers – despite this becoming unlawful after they lost their licences to operate in the UK.
DEBET lost its licence on 15 May, while BC.Game lost its licence in December 2024.
Neither club has indicated that they intend to end the sponsorships, despite criticism from campaigners and warnings from the Gambling Commission.
With the end of the 2024/25 season this weekend, both clubs are now half-way through two-year sponsorship deals with the casinos – putting them in a difficult position for next season.
The campaign group Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) told Sky News it was able to make deposits on both gambling websites, despite the sites having no licence to accept UK customers.
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CEGA also successfully deposited cash on Burnley FC sponsor 96.com. Burnley are due to be promoted to the Premier League next season.
The findings come one week after the Gambling Commission warned five football clubs, including Wolverhampton and Burnley, that their officers “may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”.
The Commission had issued a similar warning to Leicester City in February.
It made clear then that the clubs must either cut ties with the casinos or ensure they are not accessible to UK customers “by any means” – including virtual private networks (VPNs) – software used to hide a user’s real location.
Other than the need to use a VPN, CEGA director Will Prochaska says it “really wasn’t very difficult” to access the sites.
The Gambling Commission declined to be interviewed by Sky News, but said that “where we have evidence that meets the standard for criminal prosecution we will take appropriate action”.
Head of enforcement at the Commission John Pierce previously said the body would “conduct ongoing spot checks as necessary to ensure they are not accessible to consumers in Great Britain by any means”.
Mr Prochaska, however, said the Commission was taking “far too long” to take action.
“Far too many children, far too many football fans, are seeing these adverts every day,” he said. “It’s got to stop.”
Leicester City’s sponsor has had no UK licence for almost six months
The three sites that appear on the matchday shirts of Leicester, Wolves and Burnley were previously licensed by TGP Europe, a company based on the Isle of Man.
On 15 May, TGP Europe surrendered its UK gambling licence to avoid a £3.3m fine, leaving DEBET and 96.com unable to legally accept UK customers.
Leicester City sponsor BC.Game has been unlicensed in the UK since it parted ways with TGP Europe in December 2024 – almost six months ago.
Image: Jamie Vardy celebrating scoring for Leicester City last December.
Pic: PA
Mr Prochaska said he contacted Leicester City on 13 March to alert them that BC.Game was still accepting UK customers.
“In fact, it was one of the easiest for me to gamble on – there were very few checks whatsoever,” he says. “But Leicester don’t seem to have done anything about it, and it’s still on the front of their shirts.”
Leicester City FC did not respond to a request for comment.
Sky News was able to sign up to every single site
Bournemouth, Fulham and Newcastle United are also sponsored by casinos that were formerly licensed by TGP Europe, but have been unlicensed since 15 May.
These casinos (bj88, SBOTOP and FUN88) are no longer able to legally accept UK customers.
However, Sky News was able to use a VPN to sign up to all three casinos, as well as those sponsoring Leicester City, Wolverhampton and Burnley.
On all six websites, Sky was able to access QR codes for making cryptocurrency deposits. Sky News did not attempt to make any deposits.
All six casinos are forbidden by law from accepting UK customers.
Yet Burnley sponsor 96.com allowed Sky News to sign up using a Telegram account registered to a UK phone number.
The other websites all required phone numbers to be entered upon registration, which could be used as an additional layer of security to filter out UK customers.
However, most of the websites did not check whether the phone number provided was genuine.
Only one website, Leicester City sponsor BC.Game, did check.
However, after confirming the phone number’s authenticity, BC.Game allowed registration to proceed – even though Sky News had provided a UK phone number.
Sky News presented these findings to the football clubs concerned, to TGP Europe and to the Gambling Commission, but did not receive any comment.
Anyone concerned about their gambling, or that of a loved one, can visit BeGambleAware.org for free, confidential advice and support, or The National Gambling Helpline is available on 0808 8020 133 and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Alan Yentob, the former BBC presenter and executive, has died aged 78.
A statement from his family, shared by the BBC, said Yentob died on Saturday.
His wife Philippa Walker said: “For Jacob, Bella and I, every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting, he was exciting.
“He was curious, funny, annoying, late, and creative in every cell of his body. But more than that, he was the kindest of men and a profoundly moral man. He leaves in his wake a trail of love a mile wide.”
Yentob joined the BBC as a trainee in 1968 and held a number of positions – including controller of BBC One and BBC Two, director of television, and head of music and art.
He was also the director of BBC drama, entertainment, and children’s TV.
Yentob launched CBBC and CBeebies, and his drama commissions included Pride And Prejudice and Middlemarch.
Image: Alan Yentob (left) with former BBC director general Tony Hall in 2012. Pic: Reuters.
The TV executive was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King in 2024 for services to the arts and media.
In a tribute, the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie said: “Alan Yentob was a towering figure in British broadcasting and the arts. A creative force and a cultural visionary, he shaped decades of programming at the BBC and beyond, with a passion for storytelling and public service that leave a lasting legacy.
“Above all, Alan was a true original. His passion wasn’t performative – it was personal. He believed in the power of culture to enrich, challenge and connect us.”
BBC Radio 4 presenter Amol Rajan described him on Instagram as “such a unique and kind man: an improbable impresario from unlikely origins who became a towering figure in the culture of post-war Britain.