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“Truth and reconciliation” – it felt like an interesting phrase after everything that’s been said in the past two weeks, but it came from a source close to the current Sentebale team, when I asked if they could really see any chance of rebuilding what has gone wrong.

It’s been explosive. First, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, the founders, said they’d taken the “heartbreaking” decision to step away in solidarity with the trustees, who had found working with the chair Dr Sophie Chandauka “untenable”. Then Dr Chandauka, speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News last Sunday, accused Prince Harry of “harassment and bullying at scale“.

A source close to the charity’s former trustees described her allegations as “categorically false” and “completely baseless”.

What caused catastrophic breakdown?

This week I’ve been in communication with those on both sides. The acrimony and anger have been palpable, but equally clear from my conversations has been the desire on all sides to try to explain what they feel caused this catastrophic breakdown.

All parties are keen “that polo match” doesn’t become the distraction – the match where it looked like Dr Chandauka and the Sussexes had fallen out. All of those involved want that to be put to one side, as they tell me there are much more fundamental questions that need to be answered.

Taking on board everything I’ve been told, you can largely boil it down to three main areas.

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How was the charity being run? I’ve been told work had been going on for some time internally to look at the governance of Sentebale. Was the current setup – how it was being run and the composition of the chair, trustees and the people in those roles – appropriate for a charity heading towards its 20th anniversary?

A genuine desire to help young people

What was the future for Sentebale? Set up because of a genuine heartfelt desire to help young people in Lesotho with HIV and AIDS, was it time for them to broaden that remit? Were there obstacles to those changes happening? But also did it really need to fundamentally change?

And financially what was going on? Again a lot has been said by both sides about money spent on consultants’ fees, and who may have been responsible for sponsors stepping away, and fundraising levels falling.

On Friday, the Charity Commission confirmed it has now opened a compliance case to assess concerns raised about the charity.

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Prince Harry v Sentebale Charity explained

In a statement, Dr Chandauka said: “We hope that, together, these actions will give the general public, our colleagues, partners, supporters, donors and the communities we serve comfort that Sentebale and its new board of trustees are acting appropriately to demonstrate and ensure good governance and a healthy culture for Sentebale to thrive.”

Prince Harry’s statement, also representing Prince Seeiso and the former trustees, said: “We share in the relief that the Charity Commission confirmed they will be conducting a robust inquiry. We fully expect it will unveil the truth that collectively forced us to resign. We remain hopeful this will allow for the charity to be put in the right hands immediately, for the sake of the communities we serve.”

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Prince Harry’s charity row explained
Analysis: Row risks Harry’s personal tribute to Diana
Claims at charity set up by Prince Harry ‘a surprise’

One insider, still working for the charity, did tell me they still had some hope that there may come a time when there would be some form of “truth and reconciliation process”. They added that they have always felt “if you keep your eye on the charitable objective, then I’ve often found everything falls into place”.

The young people could seriously lose out

Ultimately, at times this week, it has felt like that has been lost from this story. With all the blame and accusations flying around, there’s been little attention on the young people they support, and those they want to help in the future, that could seriously lose out.

Sentebale means so much to Harry, I had in some ways expected more of a robust response to the allegations being laid firmly at his door.

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Prince Harry claims – full interview

In recent years, unleashed from the constraints of royal life, he hasn’t been one to hold back. But you wonder how much everything else that’s been going on at home this week prevented him from more publicly responding.

My inbox has had constant updates from Meghan’s brand “As Ever”, you have to remember this was meant to be Meghan’s big week, where her new products, including flower sprinkles and raspberry spread, finally went on sale and sold out within hours.

Commercial interests at play

In some ways that context underlines one of the difficulties some have spoken to me about, with Harry living this new life.

Speak to those on both sides of this row, and one thing they will actually agree on is that Harry remains a man committed to those principles of service, duty and helping others – it’s in his DNA.

But unlike when he was a working royal, commercial interests are now at play, and that may impact other aspects of his philanthropic endeavours.

Now it’s all in the hands of the Charity Commission, and for now, both sides have fallen silent.

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Emergency bill to protect British Steel becomes law

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Emergency bill to protect British Steel becomes law

An emergency bill to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces has become law.

The urgent legislation gives ministers the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open.

The bill was rushed through the House of Commons and House of Lords in one day, with MPs and peers being recalled from recess to take part in a Saturday sitting for the first time in over 40 years.

Emergency bill becomes law – follow the latest reaction here

British Steel's Scunthorpe plant
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An emergency bill to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces has passed. Pic: Reuters

After passing through both houses of parliament, the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill was granted royal assent by the King.

The bill gives the government the power to take control of British Steel – or any other steel asset – “using force if necessary”, order materials for steelmaking and instruct that workers be paid. It also authorises a jail sentence of up to two years for anyone breaching this law.

Sir Keir Starmer hailed the legislation for “turning the page on a decade of decline”, adding “all options are on the table to secure the future of the industry”.

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What is the future of British Steel?

It will mean the steel plant in Scunthorpe will continue to operate as the government decides on a long-term strategy, and steelmaking in the UK more broadly.

Officials from the Department for Business and Trade arrived at the site before the bill had even passed, Sky News understands.

Earlier, staff from the plant’s ousted Chinese owners Jingye were denied access, with police called over a “suspected breach of peace” – though officers found “no concerns”.

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The role of steel in the UK economy

Ministers took the unusual step of recalling parliament from its recess to sit on Saturday after negotiations with Jingye appeared to break down.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the measures within the bill were “proportionate and necessary” to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces open and protect both the UK’s primary steelmaking capacity and the 3,500 jobs involved.

The emergency legislation stops short of full nationalisation of British Steel, but Mr Reynolds told MPs that public ownership remained the “likely option” for the future.

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During the debate, several Conservative MPs, Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice and the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper all spoke in favour of nationalisation.

MPs had broken up for the Easter holidays on Tuesday and had not been due to return until Tuesday 22 April.

The business secretary accused Jingye of failing to negotiate “in good faith” after it decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe going.

But the Conservatives said the government should have acted sooner, with shadow leader of the house Alex Burghart accusing ministers of making “a total pig’s breakfast” of the situation regarding British Steel.

The government was also criticised for acting to save the Scunthorpe plant but not taking the same action when the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot were threatened with closure.

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Major incident declared after gas explosion causes house collapse in Nottinghamshire

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Major incident declared after gas explosion causes house collapse in Nottinghamshire

A major incident has been declared in Nottinghamshire after a gas explosion caused a house to collapse.

There is still a “substantial emergency service presence” in place after the explosion in John Street, Worksop just after 7.30pm on Saturday.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) declared it a “major incident” and said “multiple houses in and around John Street have been evacuated”. Nearby Crown Place Community Centre has been opened as a “place of safety”, the service said. Around 20 people have sought refuge there, Sky News camera operator James Evans-Jones said from the scene.

Videos posted on social media showed the front of a terraced house blown out with the roof collapsed, while neighbouring houses had their windows damaged.

NFRS said in a statement late on Saturday: “This has now been declared a major incident, and we are likely to be on scene throughout the night and even into Sunday morning.”

The fire service said it was called to the scene at 7.39pm.

The back of the property where the explosion happened in Worksop. Pic: YappApp
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The back of the property where the explosion happened in Worksop. Pic: YappApp

Pic: YappApp
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Pic: YappApp

“This is a gas explosion involving a house that has been significantly damaged,” the service said in a previous statement.

More on Nottinghamshire

One person posted on Facebook that they heard “a terrific bang, like a very loud firework” as they turned into Gladstone Street from Gateford Road.

“I thought the back end had blown off my car,” they said. “A house in John Street has had, presumably, a gas explosion!”

Emergency services at the scene on Saturday. Pic: YappApp
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Emergency services at the scene on Saturday. Pic: YappApp

NFRS said it was also called to a separate incident shortly afterwards but does not believe the two are connected.

Ten fire engines were sent to the scene of the industrial fire in nearby Holgate Road in The Meadows, Nottingham.

“The building has been severely damaged but there are no reports of any injuries,” NFRS said.

Having been called to the incident at 8.11pm, NFRS said at around 10.30pm that it was scaling its response down with the flames “now under control”.

NFRS’s group manager Leigh Holmes said from the scene just after 11pm: “We will begin to relax the cordon in the next hour as we continue to scale down this incident.”

A damaged building at The Meadows in Nottingham. Pic: NFRS
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A damaged building at The Meadows in Nottingham. Pic: NFRS

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A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?

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A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?

Sir Keir Starmer was flying the flag for domestic steel production on Saturday as his government passed emergency legislation to give itself extraordinary powers to intervene in the running of the steel works in Scunthorpe and elsewhere.

He wants voters to notice that his intervention-friendly government has stepped in to save virgin steel production which was days away from dying out for good because of what ministers call the bad faith behaviour of Chinese owners.

The politics and optics of Saturday’s intervention seem relatively simple. What happens next, however, is not.

Follow live updates: Emergency law to keep British steel plant open

Even before the emergency bill had made its way through parliament, officials had turned up at British Steel in Scunthorpe.

There’s a nervousness about what happens next. As one person close to the talks told me, keeping the blast furnaces alive is far from a foregone conclusion and there are difficult times to come.

More on Sir Keir Starmer

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Emergency steel bill receives King’s approval

“We’re in for a very hard few days and week while government and UK management secure and ensure the vital loads of raw materials needed,” said a source.

“You can’t just do next day delivery on Amazon. Until this is in the blast furnaces keeping them going this won’t be a job done.”

It stands to reason the government will pull out all the stops and the furnace for now will be kept alive, whatever the cost, because the political cost of failure at this point is too high.

Future not secure

But the medium term prospects for virgin British steel are far from secure.

The blast furnaces being saved only have a few years life at best – but it remains unclear who will fund a transition to the new-style electric blast furnaces.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said: “The action I seek to take today is not a magic wand or a panacea.

“The state cannot fund the long term transformation of British Steel itself, nor would it want to do so.”

Nor would he say that steel production is an overriding national security issue, effectively guaranteeing future production. The wiggle room will be noted in Scunthorpe and beyond.

The government has provided a sticking plaster not a solution.

But this is about so much more than what’s going on in Lincolnshire, this is about Britain’s place in the world – and its resilience.

SIR KEIR STARMER SCINTSHORPE

Is dependence on China inevitable?

Can our domestic steel industry survive if Trump continues to impose 25% tariffs on steel going from the UK to the US?

Can we make our own weapons for years to come – as part of Mr Starmer‘s newfound commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence – without British steel?

Is the eventual dependence on Chinese steel an inevitability?

Yet one of the fascinating features of Saturday’s debate was the most strident attack on a Chinese entity by a minister – the toughest assault since Mr Starmer’s government entered office.

Mr Reynolds said: “Over the last few days, it became clear that the intention of Jingye was to refuse to purchase sufficient raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running.

“In fact, their intention was to cancel and refuse to pay for existing orders. The company would therefore have irrevocably and unilaterally closed down primary steelmaking at British Steel.

“Their intention has been to keep the downstream mills, which colleagues will know are fundamental to our construction steel industry, and supply them from China rather than from Scunthorpe.”

This attack – at a time when ministers (most recently Ed Miliband) have been heading to Beijing to repair relations.

However, the accusation that a Chinese entity has been acting in bad faith in order to effectively scupper domestic steel production is a serious charge.

It also comes before we find out whether Donald Trump is going to make it harder for allies to trade with China.

The government has succeeded in protecting the domestic manufacturer of virgin steel for the short term.

But what happens in the long term, and where we might get it from, remains as murky today as it did before.

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