Connect with us

Published

on

No phones or other devices, strict reporting rules, bombed-out buildings, and a drone threat – Beth Rigby shares what it’s like to join the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer in Ukraine.

Sky News’s political editor said “the whole experience was absolutely fascinating” on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, but added the nature of Sir Keir‘s visit to the war-ravaged country meant the government “had to keep it very tight”.

“If it became known more widely than a very, very tight group of people that he was going to make the trip, the trip gets pulled for security reasons.”

Reporting from Ukraine, Sky News joined the prime minister as he signed a 100-year “friendship” deal to guarantee Britain’s support for Kyiv.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Sky cameras filmed Sir Keir laying a wreath with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after a Russian drone was shot down over the presidential palace while they held meetings.

In an interview, the prime minister told Ms Rigby that the UK would play its “full part” in peacekeeping in Ukraine and that the drone threat was “a reminder of what Ukraine is facing every day”.

More on Ukraine

The prime minister’s first stop while in Ukraine was at a hospital, where he and reporters saw a major burns unit up close.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Watch Beth Rigby’s full interview with the PM here

Ms Rigby said: “There was an ICU you could go in… There were two gentlemen, two guys, and they were having physio treatment, and they were very happy to be filmed, and they… talked to the prime minister about their experiences and… their skin was just covered in burns, scars.

“After, I did the pool clip with him [Sir Keir], and I was like, ‘how was it?’ He just said, ‘it’s really hard to see this.’

“It really hammers home what it is, and I think he kept referring to the hospital throughout every visit of the day.”

Sir Keir Starmer meets with a Ukrainian man who suffered burns

Speaking to Labour peer Harriet Harman and former Scottish Conservatives leader Baroness Davidson on the podcast, Ms Rigby said that in order to make the trip, “we had to give in all our devices” as “for security reasons, you can’t take your devices into Ukraine”.

While riding trains across the country, she said “you get some basic food, and you get a little bunk”. Strict reporting rules also apply, so Sky could not report on Sir Keir’s whereabouts “until after he’s left”.

“We went to a hospital, and I can’t tell you what hospital it was, but we weren’t allowed to report that until the prime minister left the location,” she said.

“So, it just gives you a sense of the amount of security around these visits.”

Beth Rigby interviewing Sir Keir Starmer in Kyiv

During a visit to a drone manufacturer, Ms Rigby added that Ukrainians “brought the drones from where they’re actually manufactured” but did not allow cameras into the site.

“They placed them in a hall, which they made to look like an underground car park, right? You weren’t allowed to film outside. You couldn’t film the steps,” she said.

“You couldn’t film anything that might allow anyone to understand where the location might have been… This is the extent to which they try and disguise the movement and what they’re doing.”

Read more:
Flights divert to avoid SpaceX rocket explosion debris
Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in jail

Ms Rigby then said she and others were taken on “a little tour where 100 yards or so down from where Zelenskyy’s offices in the centre of Ukraine is a bombed-out car and a building that has been bombed, and the top floor is destroyed”.

“That happened on 1 January,” she said. “And the reason that they are showing him that is to reiterate to all of us that… Russia is not completely destroying the centre of Kyiv, but the threat is ever-present.”

The prime minister is now in Poland, where he will kickstart talks on a new security pact to protect the UK’s national security.

During his visit, Sir Keir will also meet Polish businesses, including the firm InPost which has announced it will invest a further £600m into the UK in the next five years to grow its operations.

Continue Reading

Politics

Sir Ed Davey brands Elon Musk a criminal and calls for his arrest for ‘allowing online harm to children’

Published

on

By

Sir Ed Davey brands Elon Musk a criminal and calls for his arrest for 'allowing online harm to children'

Sir Ed Davey has branded Elon Musk a criminal and called for him to be prosecuted for “allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X.

The Lib Dem leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is “inciting violence” and his social media platform is actively failing to protect children.

Sir Ed, speaking from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, said Mr Musk could be prosecuted under the Online Safety Act, under which social media companies have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content and their directors are liable for criminal prosecution for breaching it.

Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters

Asked if he is calling Mr Musk a criminal, Sir Ed did not miss a beat as he said: “Yes.

“Not just because of the awful things he’s done in inciting violence, and, for example, he says a civil war in our country is inevitable, that our democratically elected government should be overthrown.

“They were bad enough. But on his platform, they’re examples of adverse, pushing people on self-harm, on grooming, even selling videos showing paedophile acts, of child sex abuse acts and I think he should be held to account for them, him personally and his business.

“Ofcom now has the powers under the Online Safety Act.”

More on Elon Musk

He said if Mr Musk comes to the UK, he should be arrested.

Read more:
Lib Dems toughen up immigration rhetoric

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sir Ed Davey enters conference with marching band

Mr Musk was accused of inciting violence during a march organised by Tommy Robinson in London last week.

He told the protest via video link: “This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business.

“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here.

“Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”

Sir Ed Davey said Elon Musk should be arrested
Image:
Sir Ed Davey said Elon Musk should be arrested

Sir Ed said it is “shocking” that Mr Musk removed some of X’s child safety teams when he took over Twitter in 2022 and accused him of just being “interested in his bank account”.

“I’m interested in the safety of our children, and it is quite wrong that his business puts on these adverts,” said the Lib Dem leader.

“It’s disgusting and I hope everybody will agree with me and the Liberal Democrats that we should take really strong action against him.”

After Mr Musk acquired Twitter, many of its child safety staff were laid off or resigned, and the platform’s trust and safety council was disbanded.

Child protection experts have accused Mr Musk of leading a “race to the bottom on safety”.

Elon Musk with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
Image:
Elon Musk with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Pic: AP

Ofcom, the UK’s independent media regulator, which has the power to prosecute directors of social media platforms under the Online Safety Act, has launched an investigation into X’s handling of child sexual abuse content.

This is not the first time Sir Ed has hit out at the world’s richest man, as he called for the US ambassador to be summoned in February “to ask why an incoming US official is suggesting the UK government should be overthrown”.

Mr Musk reacted by calling Sir Ed a “snivelling cretin”.

Sir Ed is expected to reiterate his call for Mr Musk’s arrest at his conference speech on Tuesday.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

He will accuse Mr Musk of being motivated by “his own ego, power and wealth, rather than the rights and freedoms of the British people”.

The Lib Dems will also table a parliamentary motion summoning Mr Musk to the House of Commons “to be reprimanded for his actions”.

Sky News has approached X and Elon Musk for comment, but as of publication has received no response.

X maintains it has “zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material” and claims tackling those who exploit children is a “top priority”.

Continue Reading

Politics

Sir Keir Starmer set to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

Published

on

By

Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

The UK will formally recognise Palestine as a state, it is understood.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement today after he said in July that the government would make the move unless Israel met certain conditions.

The prime minister had called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“, agree to a ceasefire, commit to a long-term sustainable peace, allow the UN to restart the supply of aid, and not annex the West Bank.

The Israeli foreign ministry furiously rejected his statement, with Mr Netanyahu claiming that “Starmer rewards Hamas‘s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Could recognition of Palestine change the West Bank?

Ilay David, brother of Hamas hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a video last month, said giving recognition was “like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’

“This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”

There has been no ceasefire, and the situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with a declaration of a famine in Gaza City and the expansion of Israeli military operations.

Israel has launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas in an operation which has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.

More on Gaza

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What changed in UK’s Gaza policy?

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel said the claim was “distorted and false”.

The UK will join 147 of the 193 members of the UN who recognise Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

Other nations, including France, Australia and Canada, have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering as part of a broad international effort to put pressure on Israel.

And the Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the prime minister’s move, but urged that recognition must also come with “tangible action”.

During a joint news conference with the prime minister at Chequers on Thursday, Donald Trump said he disagreed with recognition, and US politicians have urged the UK and other allies to reverse their stance.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to formally announce the move on Sunday. Pic: PA
Image:
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to formally announce the move on Sunday. Pic: PA

Sky News understands that Israel is considering options in response to the UK’s decision, but the strength of that reaction is still under consideration.

Read more:
Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Gaza could be ‘real estate bonanza’, Israeli minister says

Family members of some of the 48 hostages still in captivity, after Hamas and other militant groups stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, have written an open letter to Sir Keir, condemning the move.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Israel ramps up attacks on Gaza City

“Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal,” they said.

“We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.”

Meanwhile shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused the prime minister of “capitulating” to his backbenchers to shore up his leadership.

“With the terrorist organisation Hamas still holding hostages in barbaric conditions and glorifying acts of terror, Starmer is sending a dangerous message, where violence and extremism are tolerated and rewarded,” she said.

The UK government is understood to be looking at further sanctions on Hamas, and has demanded the group release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.

Continue Reading

Politics

Peers back assisted dying bill – but battles lie ahead

Published

on

By

Peers back assisted dying bill - but battles lie ahead

The controversial assisted dying bill is still very much alive, having received a second reading in the House of Lords without a vote.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Day two of debate on the bill in the Lords was just as passionate and emotional as the first, a week earlier.

And now comes the hard part for supporters of Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, as opponents attempt to make major changes in the months ahead.

The Lords’ chamber was again packed for the debate, which this time began at 10am and lasted nearly six hours. In all, during 13 hours of debate over two days, nearly 200 peers spoke.

According to one estimate, over both days of the debate only around 50 peers spoke in favour of the bill and considerably more than 100 against, with only a handful neutral.

The bill proposes allowing terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. Scotland’s parliament has already passed a similar law.

Pro-assisted dying campaigners outside parliament earlier this month. Pic: PA
Image:
Pro-assisted dying campaigners outside parliament earlier this month. Pic: PA

In a safeguard introduced in the Commons, an application would have to be approved by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior lawyer and psychiatrist.

The bill’s sponsor in the Lords, Charlie Falconer, said while peers have “a job of work to do”, elected MPs in the Commons should have the final decision on the bill, not unelected peers.

One of the most contentious moments in the first day of debate last Friday was a powerful speech by former Tory prime minister Theresa May, who said the legislation was a “licence to kill” bill.

That claim prompted angry attacks on the former PM when the debate resumed from Labour peers, who said it had left them dismayed and caused distress to many terminally ill people.

The former PM, daughter of a church of England vicar, had claimed in her speech that the proposed law was an “assisted suicide bill” and “effectively says suicide is OK”.

But opening the second day’s debate, Baroness Thornton, a lay preacher and health minister in Tony Blair’s government, said: “People have written to me in the last week, very distressed.

“They say things such as: ‘We are not suicidal – we want to live – but we are dying, and we do not have the choice or ability to change that. Assisted dying is not suicide’.”

Throughout the criticism of her strong opposition to the bill, the former PM sat rooted to her seat, not reacting visibly but looking furious as her critics attacked her.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Assisted Dying: Reflections at the end of life

There was opposition to the bill, too, from grandees of the Thatcher and Major cabinets. Lord Deben, formerly John Gummer and an ex-member of the Church of England synod, said the bill “empowers the state to kill”.

And Lord Chris Patten, former Tory chairman, Hong Kong governor and Oxford University chancellor, said it was an “unholy legislative mess” and could lead to death becoming the “default solution to perceived suffering”.

Read more:
Paralympian targeted with abuse for opposing assisted dying bill
The assisted dying debate has been politics – but not as we know it

Day two of the debate also saw an unholy clash between Church of England bishops past and present, with former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey claiming opponents led by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell were out of touch with public opinion.

While a large group of bishops sat in their full robes on their benches, Lord Carey suggested both the Church and the Lords would “risk our legitimacy by claiming that we know better than both the public” and the Commons.

“Do we really want to stand in the way of this bill?” he challenged peers. “It will pass, whether in this session or the next. It has commanding support from the British public and passed the elected House after an unprecedented period of scrutiny.”

But Archbishop Cottrell hit back, declaring he was confident he represented “views held by many, not just Christian leaders, but faith leaders across our nation in whom I’ve been in discussion and written to me”.

And he said the bill was wrong “because it ruptures relationships” and would “turbocharge” the agonising choices facing poor and vulnerable people.

A campaigner in opposition of the bill. Pic: PA
Image:
A campaigner in opposition of the bill. Pic: PA

One of the most powerful speeches came from former Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, awarded a peerage by Rishi Sunak after a dramatic Commons comeback after losing his arms and legs after a bout of sepsis.

He shocked peers by revealing that in Belgium, terminally ill children as young as nine had been euthanised. “I’m concerned we want to embed an option for death in the NHS when its modus operandi should be for life,” he said.

And appearing via video link, a self-confessed “severely disabled” Tory peer, Kevin Shinkwin, was listened to in a stunned silence as he said the legislation amounted to the “stuff of nightmares”.

He said it would give the state “a licence to kill the wrong type of people”, adding: “I’m the wrong type. This bill effectively puts a price on my head.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Assisted Dying vote: Both sides react

After the debate, Labour peer and former MP Baroness Luciana Berger, an opponent of the bill, claimed a victory after peers accepted her proposal to introduce a special committee to examine the bill and report by 7 November.

“The introduction of a select committee is a victory for those of us that want proper scrutiny of how these new laws would work, the massive changes they could make to the NHS and how we treat people at the end of their lives,” she told Sky News.

“It’s essential that as we look at these new laws we get a chance to hear from those government ministers and professionals that would be in charge of creating and running any new assisted dying system.”

After the select committee reports, at least four sitting Fridays in the Lords have been set aside for all peers – a Committee of the whole house – to debate the bill and propose amendments.

Report stage and third reading will follow early next year, then the bill goes back to the Commons for debate on any Lords amendments. There’s then every chance of parliamentary ping pong between the two Houses.

Kim Leadbeater’s bill may have cleared an important hurdle in the Lords. But there’s still a long way to go – and no doubt a fierce battle ahead – before it becomes law.

Continue Reading

Trending