Faultlines: Eight-hour school runs and kids too hungry to sleep – the families caught up in housing ‘social cleansing’
It’s an icy cold December morning outside a Travelodge in Enfield, north London, when we first meet Nedret Batir.
She’s wearing a T-shirt, but seems oblivious to the temperature – only consumed with her obvious and immediate distress.
Everything she owns, along with her two daughters’ possessions, are packed up into suitcases in the corridor of the hotel.
She has just been evicted from her room and is now officially homeless.
There are dark circles under her eyes, and she looks pale, as she calls the council’s housing department.
She tells them she doesn’t know where she’ll sleep tonight, along with her girls, aged 11 and seven.
Nedret Batir was in tears as she spoke to Sky News
The man on the phone reassures her that they are looking for alternative accommodation and that she will have to wait.
But the panic is written all over her face. The clock is ticking.
“But I don’t have no place to leave my luggage,” she says, “because I have to go and pick up my children from school”.
The caseworker simply replies: “Yeah, that’s not my concern.”
Nedret Batir and her daughters with everything they own
‘Social cleansing’
Hers is a tale of desperation that has become normalised in England – but with a difference.
She has fallen victim to an out-of-area policy in place in this borough, and apparently across others in the capital, that moves families hours away from everything they know.
If two offers of accommodation are rejected, families are being told they are making themselves “intentionally homeless”.
And that is exactly what has happened to Nedret.
She has rejected a rental property in Hartlepool, five hours away from London. As a result, they have told her that they will be ending their duty to house her.
“I can’t take it anymore,” she tells me sobbing, “I don’t know what to do.”
She says she cannot tear her children away from where their father lives, where they go to school, and where she has support.
Nedret Batir and her daughters, Eda and Ebru, on the bus
But the Enfield policy is written clearly, in an email, stating: “We will be finding homes for homeless families in parts of the country that are affordable to people on low incomes.
“The homes we offer will usually be a long way from Enfield, and outside southeast England.”
Housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa calls it “social cleansing”.
I show him the emails, the policy, the wording that is causing sleepless nights across the area, and probably the capital.
“It’s only affecting a certain group, those from low incomes,” he adds.
“Basically if you’re poor, get out. I’ve never seen it so, like in black and white. That is not what housing should be in the sixth richest economy in the world.”
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Why isn’t housing a bigger election issue?
Sky News has investigated and discovered that this is not just happening in London, it’s across the whole of England.
In every region, there has been a rise in the number of families with children being moved “out of area” into temporary accommodation.
Overall that figure has gone up in recent years by almost a quarter, according to our freedom of information requests.
‘I don’t have anybody here’
Abdullah Ahadi is already experiencing it first-hand, along with the isolation that being sent hours away can bring.
It’s 4.30am on a pitch-black March morning when we knock on his door in Corby, Northamptonshire.
He opens it, balancing on a walking stick, having been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.
It’s silent on the estate, a warren of brick homes, and his is the only one with a light on inside.
Abdullah Ahadi, who has muscular dystrophy, walks his children to his car before the long drive to school
He is being temporarily housed here with his wife and four children – who were born in London and grew up in Harrow, in the northwest of the capital.
Abdullah said: “They told me if you don’t accept this house, we will take your name from the list which says you need a house [so] I have no choice.”
But it means he must get up before dawn, to drive his children to school in Harrow, for what often becomes an eight-hour round trip.
As everyone piles into his car, he describes the loneliness.
Mr Ahadi spends up to eight hours a day on the school run
“I don’t have anybody here. I worry about my kids. At the weekend they just stay inside the home.
As his six-year-old triplets, two boys and one girl, fall asleep – Abdullah’s 10-year-old daughter, Laaibah, describes the exhaustion of waking up so early.
“You can tell from my voice,” she says.
Articulate and softly spoken, she says she misses her friends, but admits she hasn’t told them about her living situation.
“They just know that I live far away.”
She also describes how she feels “different from people” in Corby.
“There’s not much Muslims there so every time I walk past, most people stare at me because of my hijab.”
Mr Ahadi’s daughter Laaibah
It also weighs heavy on Abdullah’s mind that his condition is deteriorating – his muscles are “wasting day by day”.
He says: “If something happens to me, who is coming here to take care of the children? We have a lot of support from family and friends in London.”
I ask why he doesn’t move his children to a new school in Corby.
He replies that he doesn’t know how long the family will be there, as it’s supposed to be temporary.
And that hits at the heart of this. School is the only constant in these families’ lives, and they cling to it.
‘I just want to give up’
Nedret and her daughters are the same.
They have now been moved to Ilford, another hotel room; still in London – but a two to three-hour bus journey to their school.
Ebru, 10, says she is struggling to do her homework in a cramped room, and getting up early to do the commute is taking it out of her.
I tell her that her mother has described her as “brave”, and ask her if she feels it.
She replies: “Yes and no. At one point I do, and at one point I don’t, I just want to give up.”
Her sister Eda is also extremely tired.
By the time we reach their school, because of terrible traffic, and missing another bus, it is nearing 11am, or, as Eda says, “nearly playtime”.
None of these families, on low incomes, can find affordable private rentals, even when they do – it’s hard to act fast enough to secure them, such is the market.
A leaflet from Enfield Council explains the “severe shortage of accommodation for private rent” in London and the region.
It describes how it “is especially hard to find affordable homes for people on benefits or a low income”.
The Ahadi family travel long distances every day to get to school
Local Housing Allowance rates and rents elsewhere are apparently “more closely aligned and so are affordable for residents”.
Eventually, six months after they first moved to Corby, Abdullah’s family is brought back to London, to Hounslow in the west of the capital.
With his condition, driving more than an hour to school one way is still taking its toll, but life is much better being closer to support.
But it’s temporary. And that’s the thing. At any point, they could be moved on.
Laaibah looks less tired when I meet her at the new “emergency accommodation”, a light and airy house under Heathrow Airport‘s flight path.
She is worried about where they will be moved to next.
“If I make friends here it will be temporary and if I move you never know if people are going to be rude to me, and it is just going to feel bad if you are lonely. If I move school it is going to be really hard to make friends,” she says.
Mr Ahadi says he is worried who will look after his children if something happens to him
Hunger and exhaustion
Seven months after Nedret was moved from Enfield to Ilford, we meet her in the same hotel room. Nothing, for her, has changed since the start of the year.
She says she has been spending money on taxis to school, and two buses back, and has run out.
“I can’t take my kids to school, I can’t buy them any food, my credit cards are full.”
Despite the school suggesting they move closer, Nedret says there are no spaces.
Nedret Batir and her daughters Ebru (left) and Eda (middle)
At one point she suggests to me she even regrets not accepting the original Hartlepool offer.
Ebru, meanwhile, looks exhausted too – describing the family’s hunger.
“When I’m in bed sometimes me and [my sister] can’t sleep because we’re starving and my mum can’t do anything.”
Her school attendance has also dropped to 51%.
“I can’t do anything about it”, Ebru tells me, looking upset.
She now sees a therapist but says they “just give me kind words, she’s telling me: ‘You’ll get through this’. But I don’t think so. I don’t think so at all”.
Unfortunately, no matter where they are sent the rental market will continue to be volatile – and increasingly inaccessible to the poorest.
Temporary accommodation alone is not the answer to Britain’s housing crisis.
Harrow Council said: “While we can’t comment on individual cases, we understand the stress and uncertainty that comes with the threat of homelessness or the increasing number of families that have become homeless.
“That’s why we ensure the support is there including financial assistance to secure their own accommodation in the private rented sector. We are facing unprecedented demand and currently supporting over 4,000 families a year who are under the threat of becoming homeless, and over 1,200 households in temporary accommodation.
“Like many local authorities we have a high demand for social housing and a shortage of temporary accommodation. Harrow has one the lowest stocks of social housing in London.
“When we can we look to offer accommodation within, or as close as possible to Harrow. However average rents in Harrow have increased by over 10.5% in just the last 12 months so this has made it even harder for families and the council to find affordable accommodation which is suitable for households who approach seeking our help.
“It is also hard to find emergency accommodation in neighbouring boroughs for the same reasons.
“We do everything we can to find the most suitable homes for those in need of temporary accommodation, prioritising those with the most urgent need. Where we can’t offer something within the borough, we ensure that accommodation outside of the borough is suitable and meets their needs.”
An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “Despite extremely challenging financial conditions, we continue to do all we can to invest in Enfield to deliver positive outcomes for our residents. However, like many London boroughs, we are seeing a number of acute challenges including a shortage of social and affordable homes to rent.
“In line with other councils, we have moved to a national placement policy as a result of the extreme shortage of accommodation in London and the South East. Our priority is to find a suitable, permanent home for families as long-term hotel accommodation is neither appropriate, nor affordable.
“Hotel accommodation is incredibly costly and is damaging to the health and wellbeing of families which is why we must find alternative, suitable options. Given the dwindling supply of housing which is not set to improve in the near future, residents have been advised to be ready at short notice when a placement becomes available.
“Increasing numbers of families are turning to councils for temporary accommodation and financial support as homelessness reaches record highs. The scale of homelessness and impact on councils’ budgets mean we must manage these pressures whilst ensuring that homeless families are provided with appropriate housing, rather than unsuitable hotel accommodation.”
This is a special report in Faultlines, a Sky News series that aims to explore some of the biggest issues facing Britain ahead of the general election.
You can watch Adele Robinson’s full report today at 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Sky News or on YouTube.
Britain has sent a senior commander and a small number of troops to Israel to help international efforts to monitor a fragile Gaza ceasefire following an American request.
John Healey, the defence secretary, revealed the deployment barely a week after Yvette Cooper, the new foreign secretary, said the UK had “no plans” to send soldiers.
The British Major General will work as the deputy to a US commander, who is tasked with running a civil-military coordination centre that is also expected to include troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
The ceasefire deal, brokered by Donald Trump, between Hamas and Israel has created the “opportunity for a long-term peace”, Mr Healey said.
Defence Secretary John Healey said Donald Trump had created the conditions for an end to the fighting. Pic: PA
“We have specialist experience and skills that we have offered to contribute,” he said, answering questions after delivering a lecture on wider defence issues to business leaders at an event in London on Monday evening.
The defence secretary said: “We can contribute to the monitoring of the ceasefire. That is likely to be led by others.
“We have also, in response to the American request, put a first rate two-star officer into a civilian-military command, as the deputy commander.
“So Britain will play an anchor role, contribute the specialist experience and skills where we can. We don’t expect to be leading… but we will play our part.”
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Ceasefire in fragile state.
The British officer is being accompanied by a small team of UK military personnel, with expertise in planning.
The United States, for its part, is sending up to 200 troops to Israel. They will not enter Gaza.
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The British contingent will also not be operating inside the strip.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “A small number of UK planning officers have embedded in the US led CMCC, Civil Military Coordination Centre, including a 2* deputy commander to ensure that the UK remains integrated into the US led planning efforts for Gaza post-conflict stability.
“The UK continues to work with international partners to support the Gaza ceasefire to see where the UK can best contribute to the peace process.”
Details about the US plans – headed by Central Command – to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory emerged after Mr Trump brokered a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel on 10 October.
Gazan mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire. Pic: AP
One official said the new team will help monitor implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza.
It is separate to a planned international stabilisation force that would deploy into the territory to help secure the peace.
That force is a key part of Mr Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
In a sign of potential problems, though, The New York Times reported on Tuesday that countries that might contribute soldiers to the international force are nervous about putting boots on the ground while Hamas remains an armed group.
The arrival of British troops in Israel comes as the ceasefire deal remains under pressure, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of breaching its terms.
Israel briefly resumed airstrikes over the weekend after its troops were reported to have come under attack.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza yesterday reported more than 50 deaths in the last 24 hours.
UK
Senior King aide was head of royal protection when Prince Andrew ‘asked officer to dig up dirt on accuser’
A current senior member of the King’s household was the head of royal protection at the time Prince Andrew allegedly asked one of his police officers to dig up dirt on Virginia Guiffre, Sky News has discovered.
Lord Peter Rosslyn, who is now Lord Steward and Personal Secretary to the King and Queen, was head of Royalty and Diplomatic Protection between 2003-2014.
It is not clear if Lord Rosslyn – known at the time as Commander Peter Loughborough – was made aware of Prince Andrew’s request. However, it reportedly happened in 2011 when it’s claimed Andrew wrote in an email that he passed the date of birth and confidential social security number of his accuser, Virginia Guiffre, to one of his close protection team to find out information about her.
Lord Peter Rosslyn arriving at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral. Pic: PA
At the weekend, the Metropolitan Police said it was “actively looking into the claims made”.
Sky News approached Lord Rosslyn for comment, which was passed to Buckingham Palace.
A palace spokesperson said: “As you may or may not be aware, Lord Rosslyn works for The Royal Household and thus this issue has been referred to me. However, since this matter relates to his time in service with the Metropolitan Police, they would be the appropriate body to approach with media enquiries of this nature.”
The Met Police had nothing further to add.
Police sources have told Sky News the officer (CPO) involved would have been expected to escalate this request from Andrew to his superiors.
While there may have been other members of senior staff between the CPO and Lord Rosslyn, the request should have been considered serious enough to be referred to the top of the Royalty and Diplomatic Service.
Those with knowledge of the royal household tell us Lord Rosslyn is one of the King’s closest and most trusted members of staff.
His role as Lord Steward involves managing all aspects of the King’s personal affairs, and the non-state business of the monarch.
Who is Lord Peter Rosslyn?
As well as being much respected by Queen Elizabeth II, and affectionately known as her “favourite policeman”, in 2014 Lord Rosslyn was appointed as Master of the Household of the then Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House.
In February 2003, he was made Lord Steward by the King, thereby becoming the “first dignitary of the King’s court” – a sign that the monarch wanted to keep him around.
While Andrew’s alleged attempts to smear Virginia Guiffre would have been morally wrong, he also would have been asking his police officer to put his career on the line.
Any attempt to use police databases to find information on an innocent individual not connected to a crime would have been a sackable offence, and unlawful.
In his statement on Friday, Prince Andrew again stressed that he vehemently denies the allegations against him.
A Buckingham Palace source told Sky News that the recent claims that have emerged are being viewed by the Royal Family with “very serious and grave concern” and “should be examined in the proper and fullest ways”.
Prince Andrew’s signature
Andrew should give evidence to US authorities – minister
The revelation comes as a government minister said Andrew should give evidence to US authorities – and anger grows after it emerged he had been paying “peppercorn rent” for two decades.
On Friday, Andrew announced he was giving up his royal titles, including the Duke of York, after new, damaging reports about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Passages from the memoir released on Tuesday of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her, provide further details of their alleged encounters.
Prince Andrew has always strenuously denied the allegations.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday he would “support” Prince Andrew giving evidence to US prosecutors.
He added he would also support any decision by the Met Police to investigate allegations that Prince Andrew used a Met bodyguard to gain information on Giuffre.
It comes as anger continues to grow over Prince Andrew’s housing arrangements.
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‘Victims should be in driver’s seat’
‘Peppercorn rent’
The royal has only paid “peppercorn rent” for more than two decades at his Windsor mansion, according to a National Audit Office report published in 2005.
“Peppercorn rent” is a legal term used in leases to show that rent technically exists, so the lease is valid, but it’s nominal, often literally £1 a year or just a symbolic amount.
In practice, it means the tenant pays no rent.
It also shows he was required to pay a further £7.5m for refurbishments.
A document from the Crown Estate also shows he signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003.
It reveals he paid £1m for the lease and that since then he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year.
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The agreement also contains a clause which states the Crown Estate would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he gave up the lease.
Pressure is mounting on him to give up the 30-bedroom mansion.
Senior Tory Robert Jenrick called for Prince Andrew to live privately.
‘He has disgraced himself’
He said: “It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life.
“He has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal family time and again. I don’t see why the taxpayer, frankly, should continue to foot the bill at all. The public are sick of him.”
Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir was released today. Pic: Reuters
Mr Kyle, however, said that would be a question for King Charles.
But he did say MPs could bring forward a motion to strip Prince Andrew of his remaining titles, adding it would be up to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to choose one of these motions for debate.
The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has warned that a tax raid on the banks could harm lending to households and businesses.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News at the government’s regional investment summit, Charlie Nunn urged the chancellor to ignore calls for a windfall tax on commercial banks even though the sector is enjoying record profits.
“If we are going to have the ability and the confidence to continue to lend into the real economy, to help households and businesses invest, we need to make sure that the financial services system and Lloyds Banking Group really remains healthy in that context,” he said.
Money latest: Which country pays the most for a pint?
Charlie Nunn was appointed Lloyds boss in November 2020. Pic: PA
Britain’s four largest banks – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest – posted record profits of £45.9bn last year and are on course for another bumper performance this year, thanks to higher interest rates.
Their financial success has raised speculation that the sector could be in the chancellor’s firing line at next month’s budget.
Rachel Reeves could raise the bank surcharge – a levy on bank profits in addition to corporation tax.
The Conservative government cut the levy from 8% to 3% in 2023. Returning it to 8% could raise £2bn for a chancellor who needs to find anywhere up to £50bn to meet her fiscal rules.
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Chancellor faces tough budget choices
Some have suggested a separate windfall tax, which could raise closer to £8bn.
Mr Nunn said such a move risked undermining the health of a sector which underpins the country’s economic prosperity.
“Obviously, taxes are a matter for the government to look at. But it’s definitely one of the factors that impact our ability to support the real economy in the UK,” he said.
A raid on the banks would cause pain to a sector that is already facing substantial costs because of the car finance scandal.
Lloyds, one of the most exposed lenders, has set aside nearly £2bn to cover potential compensation arising from the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) redress scheme.
The FCA established the scheme to draw a line under the long-running mis-selling scandal, in which lenders failed to disclose commission paid to brokers, meaning many customers ended up paying more than they should have for their car finance.
Under the FCA’s scheme, eligible customers – as many as 14.2 million – could receive an average of £700 each.
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Payouts due after motor finance scandal
There is mounting anger within the industry at the way the scheme, which is going out to consultation, has been set up. Mr Nunn said the proposal was too generous to customers and not proportionate to the harms actually caused to customers.
He did not rule out the possibility of a judicial review but, in the first instance, called for a rethink, warning that the current scheme risks scaring away investors, causing an exodus from the market and driving up the cost and availability of credit.
“When you look at the implication of what’s being proposed by the FCA, it’s going to potentially take 20 years of profitability of the car finance industry. And, what does that mean for invest ability in that industry and for other investors and businesses looking to invest in the UK? There’s real concern that this is going to create an invest ability issue,” he said.
“Our concern is will the industry continue to function? Will it support all customers across the whole of the UK that need finance? Will other investors be looking at this and wondering whether the UK is a place they should invest, if retrospectively we can take away 20 years of profits?”
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