Sky News political editor Beth Rigby running London marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Sky News political editor and host of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast Beth Rigby shares her London Marathon journey…
I used to say I was never going to attempt to run a marathon: too hard, too long, too much training. But later this week, I am going to join 56,000 others and run the London Marathon.
It is honestly something I never thought I would do. I took up running in my 30s, somewhere between quitting smoking and having my children. I am not a natural long-distance runner. I am neither long nor lean. At school, I was better in a sprint than cross country. But struggling to breathe as you try to run a couple of kilometres is a great motivator not to pick up a Marlboro light again. So, I persevered and in 2017 ran my first half marathon.
Since then, I have run another five half marathons. Every time I crossed the finish line, I did so in wonderment that I’d run that far and completed the race, followed by utter bafflement as to why anyone would want to put themselves through running that distance all over again. I was never going to run a marathon.
But then last summer, my dearest friend Laura died from ovarian cancer after a two-year illness. She was just 48 years old, our birthdays just six days apart. Her death was absolutely devastating for her husband and her two sons, her family and friends.
Laura (left) with Beth
She died on June 17 in the middle of the general election campaign. I was in between presenting the Sky News Battle for No 10 election show – it was the last thing Laura watched on television – and preparing for the overnight election results show.
Laura had been seriously ill for a number of weeks, but her death was quite sudden. I found myself reeling with grief, but I had to keep going, so that’s what I did.
When I came out of the other side of that election and contemplated life without Laura, well, it was like staring into a massive black hole.
We called Laura our North Star because she was the doer and the leader. There was no one in my life as full of life and energy as Laura. She was irrepressible, infectious and very funny. She filled every room she entered, every conversation she joined, every endeavour she began.
I’m sure there will be many of you out there who have lost someone you deeply love who can relate to this – the desolation and loneliness you feel in those days and months afterwards as you try to come to terms with their absence from your daily life.
I know what Laura would have said, she’d have told me to get on with it and soon after her funeral, I quietly decided to run the London Marathon. It was my attempt to “get on with it” and in the process do something positive in Laura’s memory by raising money for the North London Hospice, who cared for her with such attention and empathy during the final stages of her life.
So this is how I went from never ever running a marathon to attempting the world’s biggest race this week and I am not doing it alone: when I told my friend Esme Wren about it – we did our first half marathon together back in 2017 – she signed up too, so we’ve been on the journey together, which has make it all a little less daunting and a little more doable.
Because marathon training – and the prospect of running for 26.2 miles – is full on, physically and mentally. For me it has involved running three times a week for 16 weeks, I have managed most of them running over 220 miles (that’s over 350km) in that time.
One is an interval run, in which you run very fast in short bursts, an easy run and then a long run. Between trying to fit in the runs, the family and being Sky News’ political editor with a very unpredictable schedule and frequent trips abroad, I have been – forgive the pun – run ragged.
Marathon training is just really time-intensive and, as BBC news presenter and runner extraordinaire Sophie Raworth told me – one massive upside of marathon training is the gang you become part of – there are no short-cuts when it comes to marathon training. You have to put in the miles, when it’s cold and dark and raining and you’d rather be doing anything else.
There was one occasion in early February when the only time I could do my long run – at this point an 8-miler – was on a Friday afternoon at 4pm. I ran down the canal path, first towards the Olympic Park in Stratford, before turning off to pick up Regents Canal towards Islington, went the wrong way and found myself lost on a deserted canal path, in the dark, being lashed by the driving rain.
Rishi Sunak during a Sky News election event with Beth Rigby, in Grimsby. Pic: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
I decided that this was a very bad idea and came off the canal to find I’d somehow got myself to Stepney Green Tube station. Like a modern-day Dick Whittington, I followed the City of London’s skyline to make my way home, picking up the train home from Liverpool Street (and a bottle of wine to celebrate my survival).
There is also the camaraderie. Tom Larkin, one of our brilliant producers at Sky News and a super runner, has offered all sorts of advice, from which gels to use – you take a gel every few miles into the race to refuel – to carb loading before the race.
He also pointed out to me when I was pondering why I got stomach cramping on my first 16 miler, that trying to run that far on an empty stomach lined by just an espresso was, well, suboptimal to say the least.
Sophie Raworth has been absolutely lovely and given me tonnes of advice too, from showing me great canal loops (and helping me not get lost) to giving me advice on which trainers to try.
One famous actor explained to me why I should absolutely keep to my pace and resist the adrenaline urge to go too fast at the start (his horror story about crippling lactic acid build-up in his legs at mile 20 was truly terrifying).
There is also the sheer admiration you develop for those people you know who run marathons. One former senior Labour adviser revealed to me he had run a dozen marathons when I told him of my own attempt.
I was so impressed by this that I told everyone I could about it whenever he was in my vicinity. Eventually, realising he was probably finding it a bit embarrassing, I stopped going on about it. But 12 marathons!
There are also politicians who have shared funny stories. Lord Vaizey, who raised £18,000 for charity when he ran the London Marathon in 2021, recounted how, somewhere in the depths of the race as he struggled on with an injury and a big dose of fatigue, he saw a small child pointing at him and shouting Mr Potato Head.
Ed Vaizey was rather put out by it: “I thought, who’s he calling Mr Potato Head? I don’t look like Mr Potato Head.”
Shortly afterwards, Ed was overtaken by a runner dressed up as Mr Potato Head.
Read more:
Four mistakes to avoid if you’re running the London Marathon
How the London Marathon is seeking to ‘change the face of running’
Then there’s the incredible generosity. I have been blown away by family, friends, colleagues, and complete strangers who have donated to the North London Hospice in Laura’s memory.
Hospice care is only partially funded by the government and the sector relies on charitable donations to keep it going, with a third of its funding coming from the NHS, while the rest is made up of donations and the hospice’s 17 charity shops.
Over 200 people have donated more than £11,500 to our marathon efforts. It has literally been rocket fuel in my trainers.
Too long, too hard, too much training: preparing for the marathon has felt like all of these things at different points in the past four months. But it has also been rewarding and enriching, as I achieved things I didn’t think I could and found a lovely camaraderie with fellow runners along the way.
And as for the grief, this marathon has become more than just a just a way of getting on with it, by literally putting one foot in front of the other: It has also become, through pounding the canal paths where Laura and I once walked, to the fundraising and conversations I’ve had with her family and friends about it, a way of celebrating and remembering Laura.
So, wish me luck on Sunday and if you see me running/shuffling past, give me a wave.
To follow Beth’s journey to the finish line, visit her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/bethrigbysky/
UK
Police admit failures in Harry Dunn case after report finds officers prioritised suspect’s welfare
Northamptonshire Police has admitted it failed Harry Dunn and his family after a report found officers prioritised the welfare of the suspect in the case over the investigation.
The 19-year-old died in 2019 after US state department employee Anne Sacoolas – who was driving a car on the wrong side of the road – hit his motorbike near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
However, Sacoolas was not immediately arrested following the crash and was able to flee the country, claiming diplomatic immunity, because police did not believe a “necessity test” had been met.
An independent report, published on Wednesday, has now criticised the force’s senior leadership for their handling of the case – including describing its former chief constable as having a “detrimental” impact.
Harry Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles said she welcomed the findings.
She told Sky News: “Unfortunately, we were treated extremely poorly. All the authorities wanted to shut us down…
“This report does validate everything, of the way we felt and everything that we’ve been put through. To be treated as we were, as the victims of a serious crime, we were let down really, really badly.”
Following a long fight for justice by Mr Dunn’s family, Sacoolas eventually pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving via video link at the Old Bailey in December 2022.
She later received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
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From 2022: Anne Sacoolas pleads guilty
Following the report, Assistant Chief Constable Emma James said in a statement: “On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I want to apologise to Harry’s family for what is now clear was a failure on our part to do the very best for the victim in this case, Harry, and his family who fought tirelessly in the years that followed to achieve justice for him.
“The picture which emerges is one of a force which has failed the family on a number of fronts”.
She also added: “It was vitally important that Northamptonshire Police conducted this review into the most high-profile case in the force’s history, a case where clear and significant shortcomings have now been properly and independently unearthed.”
Assistant Chief Constable Emma James
The report, which has 38 recommendations, found that Nick Adderley, who was sacked as head of the force last year after lying about his military record, had caused a breakdown in relations with Mr Dunn’s family.
It also revealed that his “erroneous statements” about Sacoolas’s immunity status led the Foreign Office to contact the force asking him not to repeat them.
Read more:
Harry Dunn’s family’s fight for justice never wavered
‘I couldn’t have asked for a better brother’, Harry’s twin tells inquest
Danielle Stone, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, said Mr Adderley’s behaviour was “unfathomable”.
She added that the report “makes really clear his culpability.”
Danielle Stone said Mr Adderley’s behaviour was “unfathomable”
The report also said Northamptonshire Police potentially had a culture of not arresting suspects “in circumstances such as these, which could lead to evidence not being obtained”. It recommended that the force adopt an “investigative mindset” over serious road crashes.
Regarding the decision not to arrest Sacoolas, the report said the decision had not been “explained in enough detail”. It added: “The overriding factor in the decision appears to be the welfare of the suspect and her suffering from shock, with little to no consideration around the full necessity test under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
“A prompt and effective investigation was not considered or articulated. The view is that in these circumstances the suspect could and should have been arrested to assist the evidence-gathering process.”
The report continued: “The duty (police sergeant) made the decision not to arrest.
“The rationale was largely based on a belief that the necessity test was not met, and information received that Anne Sacoolas was in shock.
“Whilst the welfare of any person is a concern for officers, this should not have prevented the arrest of Anne Sacoolas.”
Ms Charles, who was recently honoured with an MBE after her campaigning efforts led to road safety improvements near US airbases, said: “I don’t think you’re ever done grieving. There’s never any closure to losing a child. You live with it, it’s so profound.
“So the only thing I would ever say to anybody else who feels that they’ve got a fight ahead of them, dig deep, do your best, because you just never know the resilience that you’ve got until you absolutely have to find it.”
Plans for cuts to benefits which will impact more than three million households will be published today – as the government faces a battle to convince dozens of Labour MPs to back them.
Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, has set out proposals to cut £5bn from the welfare budget – which she has said is “unsustainable” and “trapping people in welfare dependency”.
Disabled people claiming PIP, the personal independence payment which helps people – some of them working – with the increased costs of daily living, face having their awards reviewed from the end of next year.
An estimated 800,000 current and future PIP recipients will lose an average of £4,500 a year, according to a government assessment.
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Government’s battle over welfare reforms
The government also intends to freeze the health element of Universal Credit, claimed by more than two million people, at £97 a week during this parliament, and cut the rate to £50 for new claimants.
Under pressure from Labour MPs concerned particularly that changes to PIP will drive families into poverty, Ms Kendall will announce new protections in the bill today.
Sky News understands they include a 13-week transition period for those losing PIP; a higher rate of Universal Credit for people with the most serious conditions; and a commitment that disabled people who take a job will not immediately lose their benefits.
Some 40 Labour MPs have signed a letter refusing to support the cuts; and dozens of others have concerns, including ministers.
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Benefits cuts explained
Ms Kendall is determined to press ahead, and has said the number of new PIP claimants has doubled since 2019 – at 34,000, up from 15,000.
Ministers say 90% of current claimants will not lose their benefits; and that many people will be better off – with the total welfare bill set to continue to rise over this parliament.
To keep the benefit, claimants must score a minimum of four points out of eight on one of the daily living criteria.
Ministers say claimants with the most serious conditions, who cannot work, will not face constant reassessments.
A £1bn programme is proposed, intended to give disabled people who can work tailored support to find jobs.
Some Labour MPs have angrily opposed the reforms – which will be voted on later this month.
Last night in a parliamentary debate, Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan-Jordan disputed the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures.
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He said: “We already know that PIP is an underclaimed benefit. The increase in claims is a symptom of declining public health and increased financial hardship disabled people are facing.
“We have the same proportion of people on working-age benefits as in 2015. This is not an economic necessity, it’s a political choice.”
Liz Kendall
Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York, called the proposals “devastating “. She said: “We must change direction and not proceed with these cuts.”
Disability groups say they fear an increase in suicides and mental health conditions.
The government’s own assessment forecast an extra 250,000 people could be pushed into poverty – including 50,000 children. It did not include the impact of people moving into work.
Ms Kendall was urged by MPs on the Commons Work and Pensions committee to delay the reforms, to carry out an impact assessment, but wrote back to the committee saying the reforms were too urgent to delay – and that MPs would be able to amend the legislation.
The grieving mother of a Scottish teen who vanished for a month has told Sky News she believes a “third party” was involved in her son’s death.
Cole Cooper, 19, was discovered dead in woods near Falkirk earlier this month following a missing persons inquiry his relatives don’t believe was taken seriously enough by police.
He was last seen on CCTV in May after leaving a house party, but police later revealed a former school friend had spoken to Cole a few days later nearby.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News, his mum Wendy Stewart, 42, has revealed her son had “various arguments” in the days and hours before he disappeared.
Cole’s mum Wendy (L) and his aunt Aimee
In an emotional interview, she said: “He was only 19, he should never have been taken. I am never going to see him again. I never got a chance to give him a last cuddle and hold his hand.
“Someone has taken that away from me far too soon. Whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, I do believe there has been some involvement by a third party and the result is the death of Cole.”
The family, who organised a local vigil in Cole’s memory last weekend, have vowed to get “justice”.
Asked what that means, Ms Stewart told Sky News: “Finding the culprit and getting justice that way. Finding the person that is responsible for the death of my child.”
Police previously said 400 residents were spoken to during door-to-door enquires and more than 2,000 hours of CCTV footage was collected.
The 19-year-old’s death is being treated as “unexplained”.
Read more from Sky News:
Council apologises amid school Union Flag row
Winter fuel payment in Scotland ‘will not be less than UK benefit’
Cole Cooper’s mother Wendy at a vigil in Banknock. Pic: PA
Cole’s aunt Aimee Tennie, 32, revealed the family’s anger over the police handling of the case as they attempt to find out what happened.
She said: “We are aware of small details surrounding the weekend leading up to it with arguments. He had a few arguments over that weekend. We want the details re-examined thoroughly.”
Sky News put all of the family’s concerns and allegations to Police Scotland.
The force swerved our questions and responded saying: “Enquiries remain ongoing.”
Wendy Stewart claimed the probe has been handled “shockingly” with a failure to take her son’s disappearance seriously.
The 42-year-old said: “I have had to scream and shout from rooftops to be heard by the police. I don’t think they have handled it well.
“The police really need to take accountability and listen to families, they are reporting a missing child and understand the family knows their child best.”
Cole Cooper’s loved ones still have not been told when his body will be released to allow them to lay him to rest.
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