Connect with us

Published

on

Boris Johnson claims he considered authorising a raid on a warehouse in the Netherlands during the pandemic to retrieve COVID-19 vaccines.

In his upcoming memoir, he described meeting senior military officials in March 2021 to discuss the plans, which he admitted were “nuts”.

Another extract from his upcoming book, released by the Daily Mail, describes Mr Johnson trying to convince the Duke of Sussex not to move to the United States.

He said Downing Street and Buckingham Palace asked him to speak to Prince Harry in January 2020, hours after announcing he and his wife Meghan planned to step away from royal life.

According to Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, there was “a ridiculous business… when they made me try to persuade Harry to stay. Kind of manly pep talk. Totally hopeless”, the Daily Mail reported.

The men met for 20 minutes on the sidelines of a UK-Africa investment summit in London’s Docklands.

The Duke of Sussex (left) with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel London in 2020
Image:
Boris Johnson said he held a ‘manly pep talk’ with Prince Harry at a summit in 2020. Pic: PA

The Duke of Sussex (left) with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel London in 2020
Image:
Boris Johnson claims he was asked to try to convince Prince Harry not to move to the US. Pic: PA

Meanwhile, the latest extract describes Mr Johnson writing about a point during the pandemic when AstraZeneca was “trying, in vain” to export the vaccine to the UK from Holland.

More on Boris Johnson

At the time, the AstraZeneca jabs were at the heart of a cross-Channel row over exports.

He wrote he “had commissioned some work on whether it might be technically feasible to launch an aquatic raid on a warehouse in Leiden, in the Netherlands, and to take that which was legally ours and which the UK desperately needed”.

Read more from Sky News:
The King leads tributes to Dame Maggie Smith
Mohamed al Fayed’s son reacts to abuse allegations
Soup thrown at Vincent van Gogh paintings

He believed the EU was treating the UK “with malice and with spite” due to the European rollout being slower than in the UK.

The extract says military chiefs told Mr Johnson the plan was “certainly feasible”, using rigid inflatable boats to navigate Dutch canals.

But the senior officer said the UK would “have to explain why we are effectively invading a long-standing Nato ally”.

“They wanted to stop us getting the five million doses, and yet they showed no real sign of wanting to use the AstraZeneca doses themselves,” Mr Johnson wrote.

Continue Reading

UK

Manhunt after five people stabbed at event in southeast London

Published

on

By

Manhunt after five people stabbed at event in southeast London

A manhunt has been launched after five people were stabbed at an event in southeast London, police have said.

Officers were called to Nathan Way, Thamesmead, at 4.19am on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said.

Five people were found with stab wounds and were taken to hospital where their injuries are still being assessed.

No arrests have been made.

Read more from Sky News:
Rapper charged with GBH in Chris Brown case
Firefighters and business owner killed in blaze named

“Enquiries are ongoing and a cordon will remain in place throughout the day,” a Met Police statement said.

Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Continue Reading

UK

Three Iranians charged under National Security Act after investigation by UK counter-terror police

Published

on

By

Three Iranians charged under National Security Act after investigation by UK counter-terror police

Three Iranian men have been charged with offences under the National Security Act in the UK, police have said.

The trio have been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025, following an investigation by counter-terror police.

The Metropolitan Police said the three men are Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55.

The foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran, police said.

All three men will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday, the force added.

Sepahvand, of St John’s Wood, London, has also been charged with “surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research” with the intention of “committing serious violence against a person in the UK”, according to a police statement.

Meanwhile, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, London, and Noori, of Ealing, London, have also been charged with “engaging in conduct, namely surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others”.

Read more from Sky News
Teenagers arrested over torture of kittens
Rapper Chris Brown denied bail after UK charge
Salman Rushdie’s attacker jailed

Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, described the charges as “extremely serious”.

“Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock and we have worked closely with colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service to reach this point,” he said.

“Now that these men have been charged, I would urge people not to speculate about this case, so that the criminal justice process can run its course.”

A fourth Iranian national aged 31 who was arrested was released with no further action on Thursday.

In a separate unrelated probe, counter-terror officers arrested five Iranian men, aged between 29 and 46, during raids across various locations in Greater Manchester, London, and Swindon earlier this month.

Last October, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said the UK intelligence agency had responded to 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots since 2022, warning of the risk of an “increase or broadening of Iranian state aggression in the UK”.

Continue Reading

UK

Two firefighters and one other person die after fire at former RAF base in Oxfordshire

Published

on

By

Two firefighters and one other person die after fire at former RAF base in Oxfordshire

Two firefighters and a member of the public have died in a large fire in Bicester, the fire service announced.

The firefighters died in the inferno at a former RAF base in Oxfordshire, which now hosts historic motoring and aviation centre Bicester Motion.

The local fire service was called to the scene at 6.39pm last night.

Chief Fire Officer Rob MacDougall said: “It is with a very heavy heart that we today report the loss of two of our firefighters. Families have been informed and are being supported.

“Our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times and we ask for privacy to be respected.

“We cannot release any details at present but will provide further information as soon as we can.”

Two other firefighters sustained serious injuries and are currently being treated in hospital, Oxfordshire County Council said in a statement.

Footage shared on social media shows plumes of smoke billowing into the sky and flames swallowing the large building.

Clouds of smoke from the fire were billowing into the sky last night. Pic:@kajer87X
Image:
Clouds of smoke from the fire were billowing into the sky last night. Pic:@kajer87X

Damaged buildings following a fire at Bicester Motion, the site of a former RAF base which is home to more than 50 specialist businesses focused on classic car restoration and engineering in Oxfordshire, where a large fire broke out on Thursday, with witnesses reporting loud explosions and thick black smoke billowing from the site. Picture date: Friday May 16, 2025.
Image:
Two firefighters and one other person died in the fire, while two more firefighters were seriously injured. Pic: PA

Ten fire crews attended the incident, with four remaining at the scene. The fire is still ongoing, but it is considered under control.

Local residents were advised to remain indoors and keep their windows shut, but this advice has now been lifted.

Bicester Motion said in a statement it would be closed today and over the weekend.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

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

Please refresh the page for the fullest 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.

Continue Reading

Trending