Sky News political editor Beth Rigby running London marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’

Published

3 months ago

April 24, 2025

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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.

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.

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.

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

A year after I was surrounded in Birmingham, have community rifts healed?

Published

2 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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A year after I was surrounded in Birmingham, have community rifts healed?

As riots broke out across the country last summer following the Southport attack, fear spread in a majority Muslim part of Birmingham that far-right protesters were on their way.

Locals came out on to the streets, and as I was reporting live on air, I was surrounded by a small group of masked men, swearing and gesturing to the camera.

Afterwards, as we were trying to drive away from the area, a man with a knife followed us and attempted to slash a tyre on our broadcast van.

A year on, I have returned to the area to discuss what happened with some of those who saw their city descend into chaos.

“The local community had lost faith in the local elected members as well as the local policing units,” says Naeem Yousef, 48, who lives nearby. 

“They thought…the only way to protect themselves and the community was by coming out in force.”

‘You can’t control their behaviour’

Tanveer Choudhry, 56, agrees. “In every community we have our sort of, shall we call them… idiots, and you can’t control their behaviour,” he says. 

“I think there was a concern that the far-right group that was coming may well be armed… so I think it was just trying to counteract what they thought was coming.”

We are sitting in a cafe, not far from where the unrest broke out last summer.

‘They were looking for who they thought were the enemy’

The group I’m with were invited by community activist Naveed Sadiq, who was there that day.

As well as Naveed, there are three other local Muslim men, and two white residents, including Gerry Moynihan.

He recalls deciding to stay at home that day.

“They were looking for what they thought were the enemy – white people – and trying to find white people,” he says.

“Which is why I stayed in my house, because the intelligence I had was, don’t get involved, don’t walk around, and you know, it will pass.”

I ask the group if my team and I were targeted because we were white.

“It’s not because you’re white, it’s because they’re actually bored,” Naveed says. “They were wanting a bit of excitement.”

I ask if they think it would have happened if we were all British Asian.

“Of course,” Tanveer replies. “It wasn’t the fact that you were white… it was just the heat of the moment”.

Naeem believes it happened simply because the men involved “do not want anyone filming what they’re doing”.  

“You could have been Asian… they would still try to get you out of the area,” he insists.

‘Are we going to be accepted?’

I’m keen to understand how these men feel now and whether the sentiment that brought people out on to the streets to “protect” them has been reignited by the recent protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers.

The answer, from Joe Khann, a local Muslim man, would surprise many.

“I would like to go and join them,” he says, referring to the anti-immigration protesters who have gathered several times in Epping. 

“We have this problem within our own communities, and people don’t talk about it. We feel exactly the same and we understand how the English feel with the immigration,” he explains.

“We’re having people who are getting married back home, they get married for six months, get divorced…and the government gives them all their help to get accommodation, their national insurance numbers and all that,” he says.

“We’re getting fed up within our own community because we hear this constantly.”

However, he thinks if he did try to join in protests, people would “think I’m an immigrant”.

He says he is “born here, 58, and they look at me as a foreigner or a migrant”.

Naeem agrees. “The question is for us now, as people who are born and bred in this country, what is our identity? Who are we?” he asks. 

“As a white person born in this country, you are automatically accepted. Are we going to be accepted? How many generations will it take for us to be accepted?”

‘You have to blame someone’

Naeem is also concerned about immigration.

“We have an influx of people that we do not know about, and they have no loyalty to the area,” he says.

“I believe that the average white guy… isn’t racist, they’re just fed up,” adds Naveed. 

However, these men do have grievances, particularly with the media.

“We feel that we have a two-tier journalists system where when the colour is like mine we get different justice and when the colour is a bit paler it’s different,” Naveed says.

‘We have become the bogeyman’

“When there’s criminality, and it’s on the news, a Muslim has to be identified by his religion,” Naeem says. 

He believes Muslims have become the “bogeyman” in many people’s minds.

“Where you don’t have housing for example, where the crime has increased, you have to blame someone,” he says.

“Prior it was the Irish community, now it’s the Muslim community.

“It’s a distraction from the actual real issues and how you can resolve them but let’s just put it on to the Muslim community for now, let’s just distract the whole nation and say look it’s the problem with asylum, it’s a problem with Muslims,” he says.

After leaving, I head over to the spot on the roundabout where my team were targeted last year.

As I stand there, my colleague sees a man imitating pulling the trigger of a gun at me from his car.

This is Britain, in broad daylight. 

UK

UK-France migrant returns deal comes into force

Published

2 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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UK-France migrant returns deal comes into force

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s migrant deal comes into force today, with detentions set to begin by the end of the week.

The “one in, one out” pilot scheme – which allows the UK to send some people who have crossed the Channel back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with ties to Britain – was signed last week, and has now been approved by the European Commission.

Politics Hub: Follow live updates

It comes as 2025 is on course to be a record year for crossings.

Approximately 25,436 people have already made the journey this year, according to PA news agency analysis of Home Office figures – 49% higher than at the same point in 2024.

The prime minister and the French president hailed the deal as a “good agreement” when it was first announced during the latter’s visit to the UK last month.

The scheme also means that anyone arriving in a small boat can be detained immediately, with space set aside at immigration removal centres in anticipation of their arrival.

Sir Keir said the ratification of the treaty will “send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France”.

Ministers have so far declined to say how many people could be returned under the deal, however, there have been reports that under the scheme only 50 people a week will be returned to France.

Analysis: Deal will need to go much further to work

Sky News political correspondent Rob Powell said while it was a “policy win” for the government, the numbers must eventually “go a lot higher” than 50 per week if it is to work as a deterrent.

“The average crossing rate is about 800 a week, so this will need to go up by a sizeable factor for that message to start seeping through to people trying to make that crossing,” Powell added.

The aim will be to make asylum seekers believe the “risk of going back to France is so big that they shouldn’t bother parting with their cash and paying smugglers” to make the crossing.

The Conservatives have branded the agreement a “surrender deal” and said it will make “no difference whatsoever”.

Under the terms of the agreement, adults arriving on small boats will face being returned to France if their asylum claim is inadmissible.

In exchange, the same number of people will be able to come to the UK on a new legal route, provided they have not attempted a crossing before and subject to stringent documentation and security checks.

The pilot scheme is set to run until June 2026, pending a longer-term agreement.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will face questions on the agreement on Sky News Breakfast this morning.

UK

Police warn of mass arrests if Palestine Action protest goes ahead

Published

2 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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Police warn of mass arrests if Palestine Action protest goes ahead

Police are warning of mass arrests if a protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action goes ahead on Saturday.

Hundreds of people are expected to turn out for the demonstration, which is understood to be planned for London.

However, the Metropolitan Police said “anyone showing support for the group can expect to be arrested.”

“We are aware that the organisers of Saturday’s planned protest are encouraging hundreds of people to turn out with the intention of placing a strain on the police and the wider criminal justice system,” said a spokesperson.

The organisers, a pressure group called Defend Our Juries, denied their protest will try to overwhelm the police and justice system.

“If we are allowed to protest peacefully and freely, then that is no bother to anyone,” said the group in a statement.

Palestine Action was banned under terrorism laws after two aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the vandalism of the planes was “disgraceful” and accused the group of a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.

The ban means membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

More than 200 people supporting the group were arrested at Defend Our Juries protests across the UK last month, many of whom held placards with the message: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Downing Street has urged people not to attend this weekend’s protest.

It comes after around 40 people gathered outside Labour HQ on Monday to protest the party’s stance on Gaza.

They were watched by a small group of police officers as they chanted phrases including: “Shame on Keir Starmer, shame on the Labour Party, shame on David Lammy.”

Separately, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has also confirmed it will protest this weekend, with community organisations marching through central London to Downing Street on Sunday.

They are calling for the government not to recognise the state of Palestine without all hostages taken by Hamas being released.

Last week, Sir Keir Starmer said he planned to recognise Palestine by the UN General Assembly meeting in September, unless Israel met certain conditions including agreeing a ceasefire and improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza.