A fourth person has been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after five migrants including a child died while trying to cross the Channel.
The 18-year-old from Sudan was arrested yesterday evening at Manston in Kent and is now in custody being questioned, a National Crime Agency statement said.
It added that a 19-year-old from Sudan initially detained on Tuesday evening had been released without charge and was now being dealt with by immigration authorities.
“Two other men, a 22-year-old Sudanese national and a 22-year-old from South Sudan arrested yesterday (24 April) continue to be held,” the statement added.
Image: wimereux map
It comes after a seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men died during the attempt to cross the English Channel on Tuesday.
A further 55 people believed to have been on board the boat have also been identified and will continue to be questioned by police in the next few days.
Craig Turner, deputy director of investigations for the National Crime Agency, said: “This tragic incident demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and brings into focus why it is so important to target these criminal gangs involved in organising them.”
Sky News was told on Tuesday that around 50 people who had paid for a place on board the boat helped carry it down the beach in Wimereux, northern France, before getting to the waterfront.
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It was at this point that another group of people emerged and pushed their way on to the boat, threatening those on board.
It meant that a total of 112 people were on the boat that was only meant to safely accommodate 20 people.
According to the latest data from the UK government, a total of 402 migrants were detected crossing the Channel in seven small boats on Tuesday alone – an average of 57 people per boat.
From 17-22 April there were no detected crossings.
Officers who failed to spot a murder victim had been shot could face a misconduct inquiry, a former senior detective has told Sky News.
Recently retired Brian Low, 65, was discovered dead on a secluded path near Aberfeldy, Perthshire in February.
Police Scotland initially classed his death as a “medical event” before launching a murder hunt a week later when they found gunshot wounds on his body.
Image: Brian Low. Pic: Jacqui Low
The force, which has faced claims of a botched investigation, has admitted it still has no suspect and no motive two months on from the cold-blooded execution despite 30 officers working to crack the case.
The initial seven-day delay in declaring a murder inquiry is being examined by Scotland’s police watchdog, The Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (Pirc).
Former superintendent Martin Gallagher, who retired from the force in 2022, says there are concerns over the officers who discovered Mr Low’s body and wrote the case off as non-suspicious.
Mr Gallagher told Sky News vital clues could have been lost and the killer may even have returned to the scene given the area was not cordoned off for days.
Image: Martin Gallagher
He said: “You’ve had officers attend a crime scene who have misidentified what has happened. There are questions to be asked about their ability and about their conduct.
“Police Scotland made a mistake at the start which is very unfortunate, but that happens.
“Police Scotland will learn from this and hopefully a training programme will be looked at in terms of how we deal with crime scenes initially in terms of homicide.”
Police Scotland refused to take questions from Sky News in an interview.
A spokeswoman said: “The circumstances have been referred by Police Scotland to the Police Investigation and Review Commissioner.
“It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.”
Image: Pic: PA
Officers have visited 478 properties and interviewed more than 800 people in the Perthshire area as part of the probe which is now entering its third month.
Local resident Chris Clear told Sky News he believes officers are examining a theory the suspect may have fled the scene on a bike.
He said: “Yesterday they were asking me if we had bicycles. They are really just looking for people who used the track where Brian was killed.
“Someone has done it. They probably live here. It puts a bad feeling across the whole of the village.”
Labour will promise to deliver the biggest shake-up to rail “in a generation” by establishing the long-delayed Great British Railways (GBR) organisation and bringing routes back into public ownership.
Making the announcement in a speech on Thursday, shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh will also pledge to establish a “best-price ticket guarantee” for travellers, offer automatic “delay repay” schemes and make digital season tickets available across the network.
But the proposals have been attacked by the Conservatives, who claim Labour has no plan to pay for them.
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GBR was first proposed in 2021 after a review of the railways, with the aim of simplifying the franchise system and rebuilding passenger numbers after they fell dramatically during the pandemic.
The proposed public body promised to subsume Network Rail’s responsibility for track and stations, as well as taking charge of ticketing, timetables and network planning.
But despite getting backing from Boris Johnson and his ministers, its establishment has faced continuous delays and the organisation yet to see the light of day.
Image: Boris Johnson backed the creation of Great British Railways in 2021. Pic: PA
Labour is now pledging to get GBR up and running if they win the next election, with some additional pledges of their own.
The party said the body, which would be run by industry experts rather than government officials, would end the “fragmentation, waste [and] bureaucracy” of the current network.
And it would “stop profits leaking out to private operators” by taking charge of passenger lines when franchises run out – leading eventually to the whole passenger network being publicly owned.
Labour said this method would prevent taxpayers from having to cover any compensation to the operators that would be due if they renationalised the railways immediately.
Image: Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh will outline Labour’s plans on Thursday. Pic: PA
The party also pledged to create a new independent watchdog called the Passenger Standards Authority to ensure GBR keeps up its standards.
And it committed to introducing a statutory duty on GBR to promote the use of rail freight – still owned by private firms – to cut carbon emissions and reduce lorry traffic.
Ms Haigh said: “With Labour’s bold reforms, a publicly owned railway will be single-mindedly focused on delivering for passengers and will be held to account on delivering reliable, safe, efficient, accessible, affordable and quality services.
“Labour’s detailed plans will get our railways back on track; driving up standards for passengers, bringing down costs for taxpayers, driving growth and getting Britain moving.”
The proposals have won the backing of Keith Williams – one of the experts behind the rail review – who recommended the creation of GBR three years ago.
He said its creation would “deliver a better railway for passengers and freight”, adding: “Running a better railway and driving revenue and reducing costs will deliver economic growth, jobs and housing by delivering better connectivity.”
But the Conservative rail minister Huw Merriman attacked Labour’s plans as “pointless, unfunded rail nationalisation that will do nothing to improve train reliability or affordability for passengers”, adding: “Without a plan to pay for this, it means one thing – taxes will rise on hard-working people.”
His criticism was backed up by Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall – representing private operators – who said while train companies “agree that change is needed… nationalisation is a political rather than a practical solution which will increase costs over time”.
MPs have voted in favour of the government’s Renters’ Reform Bill – despite it including an indefinite delay to the end of no-fault evictions.
A debate on the legislation ran throughout Wednesday afternoon, including around a new clause from the government which would hold off outlawing Section 21s until a review of the courts system had taken place.
But despite outrage from charities, campaigners and opposition parties around the measure, it got the backing of the majority of MPs – and the bill passed its final stage in the Commons shortly after 6.30pm.
A Section 21 notice is the legal mechanism allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, which creates uncertainty for those who rent their homes.
The government first promised to ban the notices five years ago, back when Theresa May was still in Number 10.
But it has faced numerous delays amid threats of rebellion from Tory backbenchers – some of them landlords – who said they feared ending Section 21s would see the courts overwhelmed with more complex eviction cases.
Ministers agreed to amend the bill to ensure no ban was enacted until a probe into the courts had been held.
But the clause offers no timeline – leaving no clear date for when Section 21s will actually be scrapped.
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Speaking during the debate, Levelling Up minister Jacob Young defended the government’s stance, saying to end no-fault evictions straight away would “cause chaos in the sector”, adding: “It is far better for tenants and landlords alike if we make sure this change happens in an orderly way.”
But Labour’s shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook accused the government of lacking the “courage” to protect renters as they had promised.
“Instead of ministers having the courage to face down their unruly backbenchers, this weak and divided Conservative government is appeasing them at the expense of private renters who will see the rights and protections they were promised watered down,” he added.
Charities also condemned the continued delay to ending Section 21s, with Shelter’s chief executive Polly Neate saying the government had “led private renters down the garden path and dashed their best chance of a secure home”.
She added: “For every day the government has spent weakening [the bill], at least 500 renters were slapped with a no-fault eviction notice.
“With the spectre of homelessness never far away, renters will remain powerless to challenge dangerous conditions and unfair rent hikes.”
VAR is set to be introduced in the top tier of Welsh football, it has been announced.
The move is part of the Cymru Premier’s aim to improve the league both on and off the pitch.
VAR Lite is described as a cost-effective solution to video assistant refereeing, designed for matches with fewer than eight cameras.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said its introduction was part of an investment package worth more than £739,500 in the on-field product.
The FAW says that money will also cover professional contracts for players, a review of the loan system, greater contact time with players and enhanced support programmes for clubs in European competitions.
In January, Gary Lineker faced criticism for describing the top flight of Welsh football as a “farmer’s league”.
Video assistant referees (VARs) have proved controversial among fans of teams in leagues where they are already used.
This week, Nottingham Forest accused a VAR of being a Luton Town fan after the club lost to Everton 2-0.
The Premier League admitted in February that VAR delays were spoiling football fans’ enjoyment of the game.
As part of the changes to the Cymru Premier, a format change from the 2026/27 season will see the competition become a Friday night league in what the FAW has dubbed an “exciting” move.
Currently, games are played on Tuesday and Friday evenings, as well as Saturdays and Sundays.
Read more: Starmer vows to protect Premier League as leading competition All-girls team goes whole season unbeaten in boys’ league
Targets to grow the league include increasing the average league attendance to over 1,000 by April 2030.
There was heartbreak for the Wales national team last month when Rob Page’s men failed to qualify for Euro 2024 after losing in a playoff to Poland on penalties.
A police officer described the students stabbed to death in Nottingham last summer as “proper butchered” and said officers “tried to hold their inners in”.
Sky News can reveal the “disgusting” police WhatsApp message sent in the aftermath of the killings of Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar on 13 June 2023.
Their families are horrified by the language used by an officer when discussing the stabbings with colleagues.
Valdo Calocane, 32, a paranoid schizophrenic, stabbed the two 19-year-olds to death as they walked home from a night out before flagging down and killing 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates.
At the time, one officer messaged colleagues on a WhatsApp group.
The message said: “So 2 students on Ilkeston road have been proper butchered, 4 section [officers] turned up and tried to hold their inners in. Suspects then made off and attacked a man in a car on magdala [road] and stabbed him to death.”
Another officer, PC Matt Gell, then shared the message outside of the police WhatsApp group with his wife and two friends.
More on Nottingham Attacks
The families of Barnaby and Grace learned of the contents of the message in February but were so disturbed by its contents that they have only felt comfortable publicising it now, despite the pain it causes them.
Grace’s father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said the message is “so disgusting”.
Image: Valdo Calocane was given a hospital order for the killings. Pic: PA
“Would anyone with a child, a mother, a relative use words like that?” he asked.
“Why have police in Nottinghamshire forgotten that these are our dear and beloved children they are referring to? I have tears in my eyes every time the message echoes in my head,” said Dr Kumar.
“The message is as barbaric as the crime for me.”
Nottinghamshire’s chief constable Kate Meynell acknowledged to Dr Kumar that some of the WhatsApp message was “crude and distasteful”.
‘Callous and degrading’
Emma Webber, Barnaby’s mother, has now written an open letter to the members of the WhatsApp group after requests to meet the officers involved were rejected by the force.
“The callous, degrading and desensitised manner of your comments have caused more trauma than you can imagine,” she wrote.
“When you say ‘a couple of students have been properly butchered’ did you stop to think about the absolute terror that they felt in the moment when they were ambushed and repeatedly stabbed by a man who had planned his attack and lay waiting in the shadows for them?
“When you say ‘innards out and everything’ did you think about the agony they felt and the final thoughts that went through their minds as this vicious individual inflicted wounds so serious that they had no chance of surviving?”
Image: Caretaker Ian Coates was also murdered in the rampage. Pic: Huntingdon Academy
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‘Murderers can get away with murder’ – victims’ families
Mrs Webber’s letter also calls for tougher action for the officer involved.
“Anyone who can witness the details of such a horror as happened… and refer to lost children as butchered animals; should seriously consider their position,” she says.
“So, to the author of that message, who we understand has received a management warning. I pray you will read this and pause for a while.
“Dig a little deeper for compassion and care. Show the respect in the future that you did not afford Barney.”
PC admits ‘lapse of judgement’
The officer who wrote the message did not face a misconduct hearing but received ‘management intervention’.
In January, PC Gell, who forwarded the message to people outside the force, was found guilty of gross misconduct and given a final written warning after he looked up records relating to Calocane when he had no part in the investigation.
Read more: Prosecutors ‘correct’ to accept killer’s manslaughter plea Victim’s mum ‘burst into tears’ when told of sentence review
Image: Forensics officers at the scene after the June attacks. Pic: PA
The panel at the hearing agreed with his acknowledgement that he had “a lapse of judgement”.
A special constable was also sacked for viewing body-worn footage of the two students in their final moments.
Almost 180 police staff were found to have viewed material relating to the case, with 11 of them having no “legitimate reason” to do so.
Nottinghamshire Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after the families raised a number of concerns over the investigation and police conduct, including the force’s failure to inform relatives their Professional Standards Directorate was investigating officers.
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The College of Policing is also conducting a review of how the force handled the case.
Deputy Chief Constable Steve Cooper previously told Sky News that action over the WhatsApp message was taken “immediately”.
“Some of the words were crude and distasteful. It was a single message and no images were taken or shared,” he said.
On the plane from Warsaw to Berlin, Rishi Sunak was buoyant as he briefly chatted to the travelling pack.
Having delivered his hat-trick of welfare reforms, the Rwanda bill and now the big lift in defence spending, he was a prime minister who clearly feels on the front foot after a torrid few months.
He looked like a man enjoying the job.
Politics live: Sunak warns Europe is at a ‘turning point’
Allies said Mr Sunak has spoken a lot about the spending decision with his current Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, who has “form” in prioritising these decisions, having committed to defence funding back in 2010 when he was prime minister in the face of competing spending demands.
“The PM’s thought about this a lot, which is why it’s so detailed today,” said one government source.
The big decision he announced in this election year to increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2030 was a choice.
He could have committed funding to schools, the NHS or local government. But, for this prime minister, it was the right choice.
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It might not be the most salient issue for voters at home, but in his speech today, he left his audience in little doubt about the risks we are facing with the rise of authoritarian regimes, such as China, Russia and Iran, working together to undermine our democracies and way of life.
But equally, Mr Sunak made this commitment knowing all too well that it may not be him that has to deliver it.
And while the sum is really big – £75bn of spending over the next six years – for this year the only commitment will be £500m for Ukraine, with the remainder of the funding coming in the next parliament.
Read more: Sunak: World more volatile and dangerous than at any time since Cold War
On the assumed baseline, the government had already allocated the additional funding for 2.3% defence spending annually in the next parliament.
Increasing that to 2.5% by 2028-29 will, in cash terms, require £4.5bn of funding, which the government says will be paid for through £1.6bn from the annual research and development budget and £2.9bn from 70,000 cuts to civil servant jobs, taking the workforce back to pre-pandemic levels.
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1:16
PM: ‘We cannot be complacent’
It is a clear political trap for Sir Keir Starmer, who spent much of his early years as Labour leader trying to undo the damage done by his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn – who did not support NATO.
Starmer trap
Sir Keir has sought to re-establish Labour’s security credentials in recent years, most notably in his stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, in which he has made sure he sticks to the US position and stands with the government on matters of national security.
So this is a big test.
Sir Keir said recently that he wanted to commit to the 2.5% of “when resources allow”, giving a future Labour government some wriggle room as it contemplates how to allocate scarce public resource.
Because, as the polls stand, Mr Sunak won’t be the prime minister having to deliver on defence-spending pledges, and already Conservative politicians are challenging Labour to commit to their plans, knowing all too well that it reduces the party’s manoeuvrability in government should it win the general election.
Hard call
And this is a hard call for the Labour leader, who has been desperate to present himself as a politician who also puts the security of the nation above all else.
In Poland, Mr Sunak evoked Winston Churchill, saying: “We did not choose this moment, but it is for us to meet it.”
He also said that to lead was to make choices, and his choice was to protect his citizens above all else.
Nottingham Forest will be given the opportunity to privately hear the VAR audio connected to three penalty claims in their match against Everton last Sunday.
It comes as Forest have risked Football Association and Premier League sanctions over their extraordinary response to the three rejected penalty appeals.
The club said in a statement on Sunday they had “warned” Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the referees body, that VAR Stuart Attwell “was a Luton fan” but that they did not change the appointment.
The Premier League said it was “extremely disappointed” by the statement, adding it was “never appropriate to improperly question the integrity of match officials”.
The league said it was investigating the matter in relation to its rules, with regulations B.15 and B.16 governing the requirement on clubs and their officials to behave with utmost good faith.
Forest, who are in a relegation battle with Luton at the bottom of the Premier League table, went on to release a further statement on Monday evening calling for the rules around referees’ allegiances to be updated to account for “contextual rivalries in the league table”.
Meanwhile, three Forest staff – manager Nuno Espirito Santo, full-back Neco Williams and referee analyst Mark Clattenburg – have been asked by the FA for observations on the comments they made about the officiating at Goodison Park.
Nothing to hide for PGMOL
A day after posting its controversial statement, Forest called for the audio between Stuart Attwell and on-field official Anthony Taylor to be released publicly.
The club are unhappy that it appears that will not happen, the Press Association news agency understands.
Sources close to PGMOL insist it has nothing to hide and will give the club the opportunity to hear the audio in private, as it would any other club making a similar request.
It is also understood, however, that no decision has yet been taken on whether this audio would also feature in the next edition of “Match Officials Mic’d Up”, a series that aims to explain refereeing decisions using match footage and previously unreleased audio. which will air next Tuesday evening.
Earlier this season, audio related to a wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz goal for Liverpool at Tottenham was released publicly, but in that instance there had been a serious communication error so the matter was treated differently.
Image: Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo reacts during this side’s defeat at Goodison Park. Pic: PA
Are referees allowed to officiate games linked to clubs they support?
Referees declare allegiances and will not be assigned that team’s matches, or certain other fixtures such as those involving direct local rivals of that club. For instance, Michael Oliver has spoken in the past about how he cannot referee Newcastle games because he is a fan.
Other factors that determine appointments include which teams an official’s immediate family members support, as well as performance and the number of times they have officiated a particular team’s matches.
PGMOL takes all of that into account and endeavours to make the best appointments possible when allocating six officials to each Premier League fixture from a pool of 70 to 75, while also fulfilling Championship refereeing appointments.
Ultimately, it has confidence in the impartiality and professionalism of its officials.
No club is believed to have ever questioned the process in the manner Forest have since the birth of the Premier League 32 years ago, and neither have the club raised any concerns in relation to the previous occasions when Attwell has been the VAR at their matches this season.
Rishi Sunak warned the world is now “more volatile and dangerous” than at any time since the Cold War, as the prime minister embarked on a trip to Poland and Germany to discuss the threat of expansionist Russia and refocus the world’s eyes back on to Ukraine.
Speaking to journalists on the flight over to Poland, the prime minister said we were “unfortunately living in a world that is more dangerous than we’ve known it in decade, probably more dangerous than the end of the Cold War”, adding that this was why it was “important in that we do invest more in our defence and that’s what we’ve been doing”.
“My first priority is to keep people safe, and you’re right, I have been honest with people that the world is less safe than it has been in decades and my job, indeed my obligation, is to invest to keep the country safe, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Announcing a further £500m of military support being sent to Ukraine – taking the UK’s total support this year to £3bn – the prime minister told journalists he was “proud” the UK had led on supporting Ukraine and also told European allies it was “important” for Europeans to invest in security in these volatile times.
“We’re stepping up because that is what the situation demands and requires,” he said.
Politics latest: Rwanda bill finally clears parliament
“And if we are joined by other European partners in that it is important that Europeans invest in their own security,” he told Sky News.
“[It was] very welcome news over the weekend from the US, but that doesn’t take away from the need for Europeans to invest in their security.
“I am very proud that the UK has always led in that regard. We are Europe’s largest defence spender and one of the few countries that’s consistently met the 2% NATO pledge and today’s action is another example of us leading by example.”
The prime minister is joined on this trip by his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, raising expectations that the prime minister might be making a bigger funding commitment on defence as he comes back on to the world stage. He will meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over the next 24 hours.
The UK on Monday committed its largest ever donation of kit, including more than 400 vehicles, more than 1,600 missiles and 4m rounds of ammunition to the Ukraine war effort as Russia makes inroads.
“They have asked and we have answered,” said the prime minister as he warned that Mr Putin “will not stop at the Polish border” if Russia defeats Ukraine.
But having raided the UK’s arsenal to send to equipment to Ukraine, the next obvious question is whether the prime minister will finally lift the UK’s defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in the face of the growing threat of Russia and China.
The drumbeat is getting louder with two ministers last month – Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat – publicly urging the government to invest at a “much greater pace”.
The chancellor has said spending above the 2% NATO target would rise to this figure “as soon as economic conditions allow”.
Read more: UN urges UK to reconsider Rwanda plan Govt borrowing higher than forecast
The House of Commons spending watchdog – the Public Accounts Committee – has warned the gap between the Ministry of Defence budget and cost of the UK’s desired military capabilities has risen by £16.9bn – the largest deficit ever – despite a promised injection of over £46bn over the next decade.
Fresh from victory on the passing of his landmark Rwanda legislation and emphatic that a regular rhythm hour of flights will be taking off from July, the trip to Europe is part of a publicity blitz as the embattled prime minister looks to get on the front foot ahead of next week’s local elections, aware that a disastrous night could put him not just back on to his heels but into free fall.
Kyiv’s weapons pile has been depleted, with a $60bn military aid package held up in the US Congress for months. The House of Representatives finally approved the funding at the weekend, with the deal now awaiting approval in the Senate, which should mean American weapons should start flowing into Ukraine in the coming days.
Iceland’s executive chairman has thanked paramedics who saved his life after he collapsed near the finish line of the London Marathon.
Richard Walker had been running alongside Iceland colleague Simon Felstead to raise money for the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK.
In a post on Instagram, the 43-year-old said he had collapsed and fallen unconscious less than two miles from the finish line with hyperthermic shock, adding that his body temperature was “42C and rising”.
“Truth be told, I didn’t train enough and pushed way too hard on the day – probably a little bit of Everest arrogance,” he said, referring to his successful climb of the world’s highest mountain last year.
“I came to about half an hour later surrounded by an amazing team of medics, covered in ice with all sorts of things stuck in me.
“I can’t thank them enough – they were the true heroes of the day and I owe them my life,” he said of the St John Ambulance workers.
Image: Simon Felstead and Richard Walker from Iceland running in the London Marathon. Pic: Simon Felstead/Instagram
Image: Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker
Walker had been running his first marathon but climbed Mount Everest in May last year to raise more than £1m for The National Brain Appeal to build the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre.
Read more: London Marathon runners break 44 records – as host of famous faces complete course Iceland boss and former Tory donor Richard Walker switches support to Labour Iceland boss urges cross-party support to make baby formula more affordable
He said: “I’m so totally in awe of everyone who ran the marathon, and all the inspiring stories behind people’s motivation for doing so.
“Seeing all the charity efforts was just so emotional.”
More than 50,000 people ran the 26.2-mile London Marathon on Saturday, including politicians, actors in character and amateurs in costume.
