Connect with us

Published

on

England risks being banned from the Euros if Sir Keir Starmer goes ahead with plans for a men’s football watchdog, UEFA has warned.

In a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, European football’s governing body said there should be “no government interference in the running of football”.

It follows plans by the government to set up an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) for the professional men’s game

In the letter, seen by The Times and the BBC, UEFA’s general secretary Theodore Theodoridis warned against plans outlined in the King’s Speech that would give the new regulator the power to oversee clubs in England’s top five leagues.

He said the game’s independence was a “fundamental requirement”.

An exclusion would prevent English clubs from being able to compete in the Champions League and other UEFA competitions, as well as the national team being able to take part in the European Championship.

But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport believes the independent football regulator would not jeopardise England’s participation at Euro 2028, which is being hosted by the UK and Ireland.

More on Football

Read more: Why it is highly unlikely English teams will be banned from European football – analysis

A DCMS spokesperson told the PA news agency: “The Football Governance Bill will establish a new Independent Football Regulator that will put fans back at the heart of the game, and tackle fundamental governance problems to ensure that English football is sustainable for the benefit of the clubs’ communities going forward.”

PA said it understands the DCMS would respond to the letter shortly and there have been no previous concerns raised by UEFA which, along with the Football Association, has been engaging with the government over the development of the bill.

Former FA chairman David Bernstein said this is “quite expected” from UEFA and a “desperate” move “by people who would like to stop what is a very progressive idea”.

“Government interference of various forms is nothing new, but this is now being raised as some sort of bogeyman to try and scare us away from this very important reform,” he said.

“I spoke, to parliamentarians last week about this and emphasised that if anything, I think this potential bill that coming forward needs to be strengthened. I thought the previous bill on the Conservative Party was not strong enough in this area of finance, because finance is absolutely key.”

The previous Conservative government failed to get its Football Governance Bill through Parliament because Rishi Sunak called a general election in May, but the plan was also in Labour’s manifesto.

Read more from Sky News:
Council tax hike on second homes triggers surge in sell-offs
Starmer faces investigation over ‘free clothes’ for wife
Parents worried they could be unfairly fined under school absence rules

Campaign group Fair Game, which has called for an overhaul in football governance, dismissed UEFA’s letter.

Fair Game chief executive Niall Couper said: “The DCMS have been over this ground a hundred times. This is nothing short of a scare story.

“With 58% of the top 92 [clubs in England] technically insolvent, annual losses of £10m a year in the Championship viewed as ‘a success’, football is an industry in desperate need of financial reform.

“The government should not be derailed by such nonsense.”

Continue Reading

UK

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Published

on

By

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

Read more:
Latest updates from Gatwick Airport
What are your rights if your flight is affected?

Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA
Image:
Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Continue Reading

UK

Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%

Published

on

By

Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5%

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and  Keir Starmer, during a trilateral meeting in 10 Downing Street.
Pic: PA
Image:
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

Read more from Sky News:
Strike using UK-made Storm Shadow missiles ‘very successful’
Putin warns US and UK over ‘escalation of aggressive actions’

While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.

Continue Reading

UK

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Published

on

By

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

Read more:
Latest updates from Gatwick Airport
What are your rights if your flight is affected?

Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA
Image:
Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Continue Reading

Trending