Sudan: How elite team of British troops evacuated UK diplomats from warzone capital

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2023

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The covert mission to evacuate British diplomats and their families from Sudan’s warzone capital began under the cover of darkness.

A team of elite British troops flew into Khartoum late on Saturday night on board an American military aircraft that was part of a separate but coordinated US evacuation mission.

Upon landing, the British soldiers left their American counterparts, acquired a number of local vehicles and drove across the city towards where the UK embassy is located.

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The British mission and its diplomats are in an area of Khartoum that sits between Sudan‘s two warring factions, making their extraction particularly perilous.

During the day on Saturday, those who were due to be rescued had gathered themselves together.

It was thought to be around two dozen British diplomats plus family members as well as a handful of officials from other nations that Britain had offered to help.

The troops met with the evacuation party of around 30 people, including children, and prepared for the extraction.

They had to assess the situation on the ground – the scene of deadly fighting for the past week and a half – and work out if it was safe enough to bring them out without more back-up.

In tandem with this first leg of the mission, two Royal Air Force transport planes – a C-130 Hercules and an A400M Airbus – had taken off from RAF Akrotiri, a sprawling British military base in Cyprus.

The aircraft, operating in coordination with the French and US armed forces and with permission from the Sudanese military, landed on a Sudanese airfield called Wadi Seidna which is about 30km north of Khartoum, at around 1am on Sunday morning, UK time.

This was about an hour and a half after the US aircraft – carrying the initial team of elite British soldiers – had landed in Khartoum.

The potentially most hazardous stage in the UK rescue mission came next.

The elite team of British soldiers with the diplomats had to travel from their assembly point in Khartoum to the airfield – a journey of about 30km (18 miles), through multiple checkpoints.

If heavy fighting was taking place, UK defence planners had been ready to send in more aircraft and troops, with the ability to “punch through” the checkpoints and reach the diplomats.

In that event, the soldiers with them would have been tasked with protecting the diplomats from the fighting until help came, rather than driving them out.

In the event, however, a window opened of relative calm to allow the soldiers on the ground to drive their passengers to the airfield.

A unit of troops from the two aircraft, which brought in military vehicles as well for the operation, also mobilised and moved towards the initial rescue team to assist.

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It was not immediately clear if the British troops encountered any gunfire or shelling.

Once at the airfield, the diplomats and families boarded the aircraft and the two British planes took off at around 9am, UK time, and headed back to Cyprus.

It is thought the aircraft had been on the ground for about seven to eight hours.

British nationals, or those with UK passports, can tell the government if they are trapped in Sudan by using this form.

UK

Home secretary to announce extra £500m for neighbourhood policing

Published

24 mins ago

November 19, 2024

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Home secretary to announce extra £500m for neighbourhood policing

An extra £500m of additional funding will be given to neighbourhood policing, the home secretary is set to announce.

Yvette Cooper will also lay out plans for a new unit to improve the performances of police forces across the country to end the “postcode lottery” of how effectively crimes are dealt with.

The Home Office says the unit will directly monitor police performance in areas prioritised by the government, including tackling violence against women and girls and knife crime.

The home secretary will make the announcements in her first major speech at the annual conference of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on Tuesday.

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Ms Cooper is expected to say: “Public confidence is the bedrock of our British policing model but in recent years it has been badly eroded, as neighbourhood policing has been cut back and as outdated systems and structures have left the police struggling to keep up with a fast-changing criminal landscape.

“That’s why we’re determined to rebuild neighbourhood policing, to improve performance across police forces and to ensure the highest standards are being upheld across the service.

“The challenge of rebuilding public confidence is a shared one for government and policing.

“This is an opportunity for a fundamental reset in that relationship, and together we will embark on this roadmap for reform to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of policing.”

As well as the new government performance unit, ministers also hope to improve the relationship between the public and the police by standardising and measuring police response times – something that is not currently monitored.

In the aftermath of the summer riots, sparked by the Southport stabbings on 29 July, Ms Cooper said respect for the police needed to be restored after the “brazen abuse and contempt” shown by the perpetrators.

She said too often people feel “crime has no consequences” and that “has to change” as she promised to restore confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

Dr Rick Muir, director of policing thinktank the Police Foundation, said: “A serious reform programme like this in policing is long overdue.

“Too often in the past, officers at the frontline have been let down by outdated technology, inadequate training and inefficient support services.

“Until these issues are addressed, the public won’t get the quality of policing they deserve.”

UK

Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Four suspects have so far been identified by police investigating possible criminal charges in the Post Office scandal, Sky News has learned.

Sources have said that among the offences being considered are perverting the course of justice and perjury.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software caused accounting errors.

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The Metropolitan Police is a so-called core participant in the Post Office public inquiry and has been monitoring and assessing material submitted.

It is expected that the number of suspects being investigated by police could rise in the next six to 12 months.

More than a million documents are believed to be being sifted through and the number of police officers investigating the scandal has also risen from 80 to 100, with work across every single police force.

It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.

A Sky News source said the number of suspects was seemingly “just a starting point”.

A meeting took place this weekend between more than 150 sub-postmasters, including Sir Alan Bates, and the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Alan said he had been told by officers that “it was going to take a few years” and that there are “no restrictions on how high investigations will take them”.

He also said the priority for sub-postmasters was financial redress and then, after that, victims will be “looking for people to be held to account”.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “Yesterday [17 November] we met with Alan Bates and some of the affected sub-postmasters to provide a brief on our progress and next steps.

“Our investigation team, comprising around 100 officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course.

“Initially four suspects have been identified and we anticipate this number to grow as the investigation progresses.”

UK

British Airways flights delayed after ‘technical issue’

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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British Airways flights delayed after 'technical issue'

A “technical issue” at British Airways has delayed flights, reportedly for thousands of passengers.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said on X: “British Airways IT system failure is causing delays of 1-2 hours on many BA flights this evening… As delays build up I fear there will be cancellations tonight/tomorrow.”

In a statement on Monday evening, British Airways said flights were “currently operating, but are experiencing delays” and that its teams were working to “resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems”.

Later they said it had been resolved: “Our teams worked hard to resolve an issue we experienced for a short time earlier this evening.

“We’ve apologised to customers for delays to their flights and ensured they were able to reach their destinations as planned.”

Earlier media reports suggested dozens of flights were grounded and that communications systems were affected.

One X user pictured people queueing on the tarmac in Verona, Italy. “What has happened to the nations airline? Not fit for purpose,” they said.

Replying to another X user BA said: “Our website is down. We are doing all we can to return online as soon as possible.

“Hopefully not too long before the Captain has his load sheet. Thanks for your understanding. Have a good journey when it is safe for you to be airborne.”

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said: “We are aware of a technical issue that British Airways are investigating, and we will be working with them to provide updates to passengers as soon as they are available. Heathrow systems are operating as normal.”

In June many British Airways (BA) flights in Heathrow were delayed by several hours by a “technical fault” with baggage handling.

BA said there had been a “temporary technical fault” which had disrupted its baggage system at the airport and had apologised for the problems it caused.