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The founder of an organisation which helps people affected by homelessness has told Sky News that Britain’s rough sleeping crisis is continuing to grow.

Zakia Moulaoui, who started Invisible Cities eight years ago, says many of the resources set up to help the homeless are also seeing their ability to help squeezed when they are needed most.

Invisible Cities is a community interest company that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.

It encourages guides to offer personal tours, highlighting stories of real people and raising awareness of social justice.

Speaking at one of its training sessions in Manchester, Zakia said the Christmas period was often the hardest for those experiencing homelessness.

“Having started Invisible Cities in 2016 and compared to now, there’s definitely a rise in the number of people on that journey of homelessness, not only rough sleeping or street homeless, but at any one point in hostels, sofa surfing, in shelters and things like that,” she said.

“At the same time, organisations that exist to support people are more and more strained, funding is smaller and people are at capacity.”

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What does the data say?

Figures released in November showed that, for the second year in a row, England reported an increase in rough sleeping.

The number was up 27% on the previous year.

The number of people sleeping rough is now 61% higher than it was 10 years ago, and 120% higher than when data collection began in 2010.

Stephen Agnew, who became homeless as a ten-year-old and spent three decades sleeping rough, now works as one of the Invisible Cities tour guides.
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Stephen Agnew was made homeless as a 10-year-old

‘It’s been a rollercoaster ride’

Stephen Agnew, who became homeless as a 10-year-old and spent three decades sleeping rough, now works as one of the Invisible Cities tour guides.

He said: “It has been a rollercoaster ride, it has been ups and downs, but it has been amazing to come out the other end from where I was as a kid to become a tour guide and to get my own place.

“It is just such a different aspect to my childhood.”

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Homeless mum of three: ‘I have nowhere to go’

Invisible Cities currently works with guides in Manchester, York, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff and has plans to expand to more cities.

Its aim is to help build confidence and public speaking skills in guides and also offer tourists the chance to see a side of a city they otherwise might not have.

Sky News joined tour guide Andy Mercer for a walk around Manchester. After a period sleeping rough, he lived in a friend's garage before finding a way out of homelessness.
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Andy Mercer

‘It helps if you have a goal’

Sky News joined tour guide Andy Mercer for a walk around Manchester.

After a period sleeping rough, he lived in a friend’s garage before finding a way out of homelessness.

He said: “It helps if you have a goal. If you really have nothing and somebody offers you an opportunity, then have a go.

“If you think you might be good at it, if you like talking to the public, then it might be worth having a go.”

As for the tourists he guides around Manchester, he said they “appreciate the fact that I seem to enjoy it because it brings back good memories”.

In his tours, he recounts his stories of the city’s nightlife scene from the 1980s onwards. He says he aims to draw attention to the link that often exists between alcoholism and homelessness.

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Church ‘needs to be changed’, Archbishop of York to say in Christmas Day sermon after sex scandals

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Church 'needs to be changed', Archbishop of York to say in Christmas Day sermon after sex scandals

The Church of England needs to “kneel in penitence” and “be changed”, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is expected to say in his Christmas Day sermon.

It comes at a challenging time for the Church which has faced criticism over how it handled a number of abuse scandals.

Mr Cottrell will next month effectively become the Church’s temporary leader in place of the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

Mr Welby announced his resignation in November and will step down on 6 January after a report found prolific serial abuser John Smyth may have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported him to police in 2013.

But Mr Cottrell has himself also faced calls to quit after revelations David Tudor, a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case, was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of Chelmsford.

With Mr Welby not giving the 25 December sermon, the focus has moved to what Mr Cottrell will say at York Minster.

He is expected to say the Church must “kneel in penitence and adoration” this Christmas and “be changed”.

He will say about Jesus: “At the centre of the Christmas story is a vulnerable child; a vulnerable child that Herod’s furious wrath will try and destroy, for like every tyrant he cannot abide a rival.

“The Church of England – the Church of England I love and serve – needs to look at this vulnerable child, at this emptying out of power to demonstrate the power of love, for in this vulnerable child we see God.

“If you’re in love, show me. If you have love in your hearts, embody and demonstrate that love by what you do.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Pic: PA
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The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Pic: PA

‘Put the needs of others first’

The archbishop will add: “This is what we learn at the manger. Put the needs of others first – those who are cold and hungry and homeless this Christmas.

“Those who are victims of abuse and exploitation. Those who, like the little holy family, have to flee oppression and seek refuge in a foreign land.”

Read more:
Church of England rules ‘not fit for purpose’
Archbishop ‘sorry’ for hurt caused by final speech

With regards to the Tudor case, Mr Cottrell has acknowledged things “could have been handled differently, and regrets that it wasn’t”.

But Tudor’s victims have branded Mr Cottrell’s response to the case “insulting and upsetting”. They have suggested it’s “inevitable” that he resigns or is forced out of his role.

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley questioned how Mr Cottrell could have any credibility, and Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek declined to publicly back him.

Meanwhile, the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, is giving the sermon at Canterbury Cathedral in place of Mr Welby and will speak of the birth of Jesus as a triumph of “light and hope” over “fear and darkness”.

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A&E departments ‘absolutely full to bursting’ with flu blamed for making ‘bad situation even worse’, top medic says

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A&E departments 'absolutely full to bursting' with flu blamed for making 'bad situation even worse', top medic says

Around half of accident and emergency departments, polled by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), have said they are “full to bursting” this Christmas.

The vice-president of the RCEM, Dr Ian Higginson, told Sky News’ Gareth Barlow on Christmas Eve that the situation for the NHS in the UK is “pretty grim” at the moment.

The group, representing emergency doctors, put a call out to senior managers on Friday night. Dr Higginson said half responded and “all but two of them said that the emergency departments were absolutely full to bursting”.

“Normally just before Christmas, we’d expect a bit of a lull. So I’m afraid things are looking pretty difficult out there for our patients and for our staff,” he added.

Screengrab of the vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine RCEM, Dr Ian Higginson during a zoom iv with SN on 24/12/2024
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Dr Ian Higginson told Sky News A&E departments are ‘absolutely full to bursting’

The NHS has warned that hospitals are under severe pressure because of winter flu cases and a so-called “quad-demic”, combining respiratory infections with norovirus.

Commenting on the challenges facing the NHS, Dr Higginson said: “We simply don’t have enough beds in our hospitals for patients who are admitted as emergencies.

“We don’t have enough staff for those beds and we don’t have any headroom at all. So if something like flu hits as it has done, it makes a bad situation even worse.”

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Hospitals are being flooded by winter flu cases

England ‘about 10,000 beds short’

Dr Higginson added he believes the answer is “strategic solutions and strategic investment”.

He said: “In England alone, we reckon we’re about 10,000 beds short in our hospitals to deal with the predictable, urgent and emergency care… the equivalent of approximately two wards in every hospital.”

Recently the RCEM also attacked the “nonsensical” guidance on how to treat patients in corridors – describing it as “out of touch” and “normalising the dangerous”.

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Dr Higginson said recent pressures mean “we’ve got patients all the way through our corridors because we can’t admit them to hospital when they need to”.

He added: “It may be that their ambulance is outside in car parks because those patients can’t get into our emergency departments.”

And he argued that social care is “in a really difficult place at the moment” – needing investment to prevent older patients from remaining in hospital longer than they need to.

“When they’re ready to leave hospital, they get stuck in hospital, and that contributes to that shortage of beds even more,” he said.

Since its election victory in July, the Labour government has acknowledged the NHS needs investment with the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying it is “broken”.

In October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £22.6bn increase in day-to-day spending on the NHS in her budget.

Commenting on rising pressures within the NHS, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We inherited an NHS that is broken but not beaten, and staff are already working hard to tackle an increase in admissions this winter.”

“For too long, an annual winter crisis has become the norm. We will deliver long-term reforms through our 10-year health plan that will create a health service that will be there for all of us all year round,” he added.

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‘110 years young’ – UK’s oldest man celebrates birthday with celebrity party

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'110 years young' - UK's oldest man celebrates birthday with celebrity party

The UK’s oldest man has celebrated his 110th birthday with a special performance from opera singer Alfie Boe at his care home in Derbyshire.

A party was laid on for Donald Rose – who’s now ranked as a ‘supercentenarian’.

Mr Boe joined the bash in Ilkeston by video call and sang happy birthday, adding it was “a pleasure” to perform for him.

Mr Rose, who served in the Second World War with the Queen’s Royal Regiment, said: “Today is the best day I’ve ever had.”

Donald Rose who is 110 on 24/12/2024 celebrating his birthday at Canal Vue care home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Alfie Boe (pictured on video call) rang him and sung happy birthday.
Sourced via Johanna Howitt. No credit
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Alfie Boe sang happy birthday via video call

Canal Vue Care Home announced his birthday with a post on Facebook: “Today we’re celebrating a remarkable milestone. Our beloved Donald is turning 110 years young!”

Activity coordinator Naomi Allsop also shared a touching tribute on Facebook: “Happy 110th birthday to my amazing best friend, the UK’s oldest man and a remarkable WWII and D-Day veteran!

“We’ve shared so many incredible experiences together, and there’s still so much more to come!”

“Donald is a lovely character – and a true national treasure,” said the Mayor of Erewash, Councillor Kate Fennelly, who also paid him a visit.

Mr Rose, who was born in 1914 in Westcott, Surrey, also received a card from The King and Queen, which he proudly showed off.

Other performances at the care home included Kate from D-Day Darlings, an all-female singing group who reached the finals of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

She sang Dame Vera Lynn’s The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.

Donald Rose who is 110 on 24/12/2024 celebrating his birthday at Canal Vue care home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.
Sourced via Johanna Howitt. No credit
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Mr Rose, a Second World War veteran, also received a military visit


On 5 December, the war hero was among 200 veterans and their guests to attend a Christmas reception at St James’s Palace, hosted by the Duke of Gloucester.

The event was organised by The Not Forgotten veterans’ charity, which aims to combat isolation and loneliness in the armed forces and those who have served through social activities and holidays.

Mr Rose served as a sniper and Desert Rat in North Africa in the Second World War, according to The Gerontology Research Group, and was part of the liberation of Italy and France.

He earned a number of medals during his service including the Legion D’Honneur – France’s highest honour.

After working various jobs as a labourer, lorry driver and bin man he moved to Derbyshire in 2000 following the death of his wife, and at the age of 106 moved into his care home in Ilkeston.

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Mild weather ahead of Christmas Day

On 25 November, following the death of 112-year-old John Tinniswood, he became the oldest known living man in the UK.

The world’s oldest living person is Japan’s 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka.

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