No phones, a drone threat and strict rules: Beth Rigby on what it’s like to join the prime minister in Ukraine
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.
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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”.
The prime minister’s first stop while in Ukraine was at a hospital, where he and reporters saw a major burns unit up close.
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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.”
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.”
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.”
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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.
At least 36 people have been killed after a fire engulfed several buildings at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said another 279 people were reported missing. He said 29 people remained in hospital.
About 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters after the blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in years – broke out at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city’s Tai Po district.
Three men have since been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, broadcaster RTHK reported.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile, fire chiefs said the high temperatures were making it challenging for crews to mount rescue operations.
Mr Lee said the fire was “coming under control” shortly after midnight.
The blaze was upgraded to a level 5 alarm, the highest level of severity, as night fell.
Pics: AP
The dead included one firefighter, officials said earlier.
A number of other firefighters were said to have been hurt while trying to tackle the flames as they ripped through the 31-storey towers.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: AP
Records show the Wang Fuk Court site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 apartments housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
The fire, which broke out at 2.51pm local time, had spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting set up around the exterior of the complex.
It was not known how the fire started, but officials said it began on the external scaffolding of one of the buildings before spreading inside and to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Flames and smoke were still pouring out of many windows as night fell.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died, and extended his sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged an “all-out” effort to minimise casualties and losses.
The UK’s foreign secretary described the fire as “truly devastating and deeply depressing”. Yvette Cooper said: “The UK sends heartfelt condolences to all the families affected and to the people of Hong Kong.”
Tai Po is in the northern part of Hong Kong, and close to the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
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Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects.
However, the government said earlier this year it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.
The blaze is the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since the deaths of 41 people in a commercial building in Kowloon in November 1996.
That fire was later found to have been caused by welding during internal renovations, with a public inquiry yielding sweeping updates to building standards and fire safety regulations in the city’s high-rise offices, shops and homes.
Two military personnel who were shot near the White House in Washington DC have died.
A suspect has been taken into custody and the area secured, police said.
The White House was placed into lockdown, while US President Donald Trump is away in Florida.
Washington DC shooting latest updates
Pics: AP
Mr Trump initially posted on his Truth Social platform to say the two National Guardsmen had been “critically wounded”, adding that the “animal” that shot them “is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price”.
But West Virginia’s governor said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries.
Patrick Morrisey added: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country. … Our entire state grieves with their families, their loved ones, and the Guard community. West Virginia will never forget their service or their sacrifice, and we will demand full accountability for this horrific act.”
Pic: AP
Police tape cordoned off the scene, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby.
Emergency personnel cordon off an area near where National Guard soldiers were shot. Pics: AP
The Joint DC Task Force confirmed it was responding to an incident in the vicinity of the White House.
The DC Police Department posted on X: “Critical Incident: MPD is on the scene of a shooting at 17th and I Street, NW. Please avoid the area.”
In an update, the force said: “The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation.
“The president has been briefed.”
Mr Trump was at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, while US vice president JD Vance was in Kentucky.
Flights arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were temporarily halted due to its proximity to the scene of the shooting, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.
Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the nation’s capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.
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