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.
Image: 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”.
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The caseworker simply replies: “Yeah, that’s not my concern.”
Image: 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.
Image: 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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1:32
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.
Image: 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.
Image: 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.”
Image: 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”.
Image: 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.
Image: 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.
Image: 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.
A suspect detained after a car struck pedestrians at a Liverpool FC trophy parade was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs, Merseyside Police have said.
The 53-year-old is described as white British and from the West Derby area of Liverpool.
Police say 11 people are still being treated in hospital and are recovering well. A total of 65 people were injured, they said.
At a press briefing this afternoon, assistant chief constable Jenny Sims said the car followed an ambulance after a road block on Water Street was lifted so paramedics could help a man who had a suspected heart attack.
The car entered the road from Rumford Street, Merseyside Police said.
Detectives have said the incident is not being treated as terror-related, and no further suspects are being sought.
“There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place,” Ms Sims said.
She also defended the policing operation during the parade, saying the force planned for “all contingencies”.
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0:57
‘From jubilation to sirens’
Her comment came after the city’s metro mayor Steve Rotheram said questions about how the car was able to enter the road were “legitimate”.
The arrested man remains in custody and is being interviewed by officers, police said.
Image: Pic: PA
Image: Forensic officers at the scene today. Pic: PA
Merseyside Police is receiving help from neighbouring forces “due to the number of victims”, detective chief superintendent Karen Jaundrill added.
She continued: “Extensive CCTV inquiries are being carried out across the city to establish the movements of the car, a Ford Galaxy, before the incident took place.
“We have already had an incredible response from many of those who were there last night.”
Jack Trotter and his girlfriend Abbie Gallagher had just met some other Liverpool fans and were taking videos, when the Ford Galaxy quickly approached.
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“I look around and there’s people in the air,” she said. “I just freaked out. I was just trying to find Jack.
“Luckily enough, he heard me screaming. He came up and said, ‘I’m here’. We didn’t know what to say, we were just crying.”
Royals ‘saddened’ by events
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Princess Anne visits Liverpool after parade crash
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool since the incident, with the Prince and Princess of Wales saying they were “deeply saddened” by the events.
“What should have been a joyful celebration ended with tragedy,” they added.
Meanwhile, the King, who is currently taking part in a tour of Canada, said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”
The King and other members of the Royal Family have said they are “deeply saddened” after a number of people were struck by a car during Liverpool FC’s title parade.
The head of state, who is currently on a two-day visit in Canada with his wife, said: “It is truly devastating to see that what should have been a joyous celebration for so many could end in such distressing circumstances.
“At this heartbreaking time for the people of Liverpool, I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”
Image: Police and other emergency personnel at the scene of the incident in Liverpool. Pic: AP
The Prince and Princess of Wales have also issued a statement, saying they were “deeply saddened” by what happened in Liverpool.
William, who is patron of the Football Association, and his wife Kate said in a message shared by Kensington Palace on social media: “What should have been a joyful celebration ended with tragedy.
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“Our thoughts are with those who were injured and to the first responders and emergency services on the ground.”
Image: The Princess Royal thanked hospital staff. Pic: PA
Divisional medical director for surgery at Aintree University Hospital, Marc Lucky, told Princess Anne that medics were “very, very fortunate” that there were not more major injuries.
Consultant Jay Rathore added: “Most of the injuries were limb injuries. No life-threatening, we were able to manage them.”
The princess was already due to be in Liverpool on Tuesday to visit the MS Queen Anne after it arrived on Monday for Cunard’s 185th anniversary celebrations.
Image: The King and Queen are currently on a trip to Canada. Pic: PA
She expanded her itinerary to also meet nurses, consultants, and paramedics, as well as representatives from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the football club, in light of Monday night’s incident.
“We really appreciate you still coming, because it will mean a lot to the people of the city,” Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson said as he thanked the princess for her visit.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The princess would like to share her heartfelt condolences and support for the families and communities affected.
“Her Royal Highness also wishes to acknowledge the courage of the emergency services, some of whom she met today, and all those providing care and comfort during this difficult time.”
King Charles says Canada will remain “strong and free” – in a speech viewed by many Canadians as a show of support for the country’s sovereignty following annexation threats by Donald Trump.
It comes after Mr Trump repeatedly suggested that Canada should become America’s 51st state.
Prime Minister Mark Carney later invited Charles, who is the head of state in Canada, to the state opening of parliament.
On Tuesday, Charles said in a speech, written by Mr Carney’s government to open Canada’s parliament, that the country would remain “strong and free”, quoting the national anthem, but did not directly refer to Mr Trump’s annexation threats.
“We must face reality: since the Second World War, our world has never been more dangerous and unstable. Canada is facing challenges that, in our lifetimes, are unprecedented,” the King told politicians in the Senate Building in Ottawa in French.
“Many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them,” he added.
Image: Mark Carney applauded the King. Pic: PA
Image: King Charles spoke with former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. Pic: PA
In the speech, he highlighted his admiration for “Canada’s unique identity, which is recognised across the world for bravery and sacrifice in defence of national values”.
He set out the government’s legislative agenda on the second day of his Canada visit, an honour usually reserved for the governor general.
King Charles is only the second monarch, after his mother Queen Elizabeth II, to do so. The late queen delivered the speech at the state opening of the Canadian parliament in 1957, her first visit to the country as head of state, and again in 1977.
Image: King Charles and Queen Camilla were riding in a horse-drawn landau. Pic: Reuters
Image: King Charles III and Queen Camilla are pictured ahead of the opening of parliament. Pic: PA
Image: Charles and Camilla laid a wreath at the national war memorial in Ottawa. Pic: PA
He said that it has been nearly 70 years since his mother first opened the Canadian parliament, and at the time, World War II remained a painful memory while the Cold War was intensifying simultaneously.
“Freedom and democracy were under threat,” the King said.
“Today, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the government is determined to protect.”
‘So much more than a royal visit’
This trip was so much more than a royal visit, it was all about cementing Canada’s sovereignty.
And what we’ve seen is two short days, poignantly packed with spectacle and symbolism.
From an open-top carriage procession to a theatrical political ceremony – Canada wanted to put on a visual show of sovereignty, and this was a masterclass.
All the stops were pulled out.
The King must sit above politics, but this was a very political visit. He is King of Canada and head of state here.
But he arrives at a time of fractious relations between Canada and the US.
Putting him at the centre of Canada’s parliament sends a strong signal to President Trump.
During the speech, the King added his own warm words, speaking with deep affection about the country. He also spoke of how the crown brings Canada “unity” and represents “stability and continuity”.
And then, reading the words of his government, a punchy message to President Trump. Delivered by the King, the words hit home harder.
When he quoted the national anthem with the words Canada must stay “strong and free”, the applause rose up.
At a time when Canada feels threatened by the US, having the King on side matters.
The King has been walking a delicate diplomatic tightrope in Ottawa. Here to celebrate Canada, without causing offence to politicians south of the border.
President Trump can be unpredictable, but he affectionately holds the King and Royal Family in high regard, and that goes a long way.
The King heads home after just twenty-three hours.
Canada has been visibly boosted – the bond with its King has been renewed and strategically strengthened.
He added that since Queen Elizabeth II’s first Canadian parliament opening, the country “has dramatically changed: repatriating its constitution, achieving full independence, and witnessing immense growth”.
Addressing the protection of Canada’s sovereignty, Charles read out a promise by the Canadian government that it would rebuild, rearm and reinvest in its armed forces.
“It will invest to strengthen its presence in the north, as this region, which is an integral part of the Canadian nation, faces new threats,” he read.
Image: King Charles and Queen Camilla were led by procession to open the first session of parliament in Canada
Image: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers on horseback rode towards the senate building. Pic: Reuters
Image: King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the Senate. Pic: Reuters
The speech, which was awarded a standing ovation by attendees, was largely written by officials working for Mr Carney’s government, with Charles adding his own comments about his love for Canada.
The King opening Canada’s parliament is a “clear message of sovereignty” and “not coincidental”, Mr Carney previously said.
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1:51
King’s Canada visit: Why is it important?
Image: King Charles and Mark Carney during the event
He also revealed that Canadians “weren’t impressed” by the decision of the UK government to offer Mr Trump an unprecedented second state visit to the UK.