Defence Secretary John Healey is speaking to Sky News this morning. Earlier this week he revealed one of the UK’s nuclear submarines warned off a Russian spy ship that was in British waters.
Friday 24 January 2025 06:52, UK
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By Darren McCaffrey, Sky business presenter
Britain faces four years of economic pain because the government has made life difficult for businesses following the budget, the co-founder of BrewDog has told Sky News.
James Watt has also suggested the UK is work-shy and only hard graft will lead to prosperity, which is lacking in the country.
It comes on the day Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announces a new review named “Keep Britain Working” in an effort to support people with long-term illnesses or disabilities back into work, while trying to lower the ballooning welfare bill.
The review will be led by former John Lewis chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield at a time when around 3.7 million people of working age receive health-related benefits, which is 1.2 million more than in February 2020.
Britain is now spending more on incapacity and disability benefits (almost £65bn) than defence – and that figure is set to rise.
Mr Watt, who stepped down as BrewDog chief executive last May, made headlines earlier this month after posting a video with fiancee Georgia Toffolo in which they said they do not believe in a “work-life balance”.
By Joely Santa Cruz, data journalist, and Faye Brown, political reporter
A record number of children are living in B&Bs beyond the legal limit as England’s homelessness crisis pushes councils to breaking point.
MPs said there is a “dire need” for housing reform, with the lack of affordable homes forcing cash-strapped local authorities to haemorrhage their funds on temporary accommodation.
The “crisis situation” means there is less money in the pot to focus on homelessness prevention, the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.
Councils are instead having to prioritise short-term solutions which can include putting families in bed and breakfasts – the fastest rising temporary accommodation type over the past decade, a Sky News analysis of government data found.
Temporary accommodation is meant to be a short-term solution for people who are homeless while they wait for more suitable and long-term housing options.
But the rising number of homeless households in England, driven by a shortage of social or otherwise affordable housing to move on to, means that increasingly this fix is anything but temporary.
The government should set time limits for public inquiries and “not let them go on for years and years”, Harriet Harman has said.
The Labour peer told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast it is “perfectly possible for them to get on and do their job quickly”.
Speaking after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced an inquiry into the Southport attack, Ms Harman said it should take “18 months, 18 months max”.
There are several public inquiries currently ongoing, including the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, the infected blood inquiry and the COVID inquiry.
The Post Office inquiry, looking at the wrongful conviction of hundreds of postmasters and mistresses due to faulty IT software, started in 2020 and was extended in 2021 and given powers to compel witnesses and demand evidence. It is still going on.
The infected blood inquiry, looking into blood infected with hepatitis C and HIV given to tens of thousands of people, began in 2019 and a report was published in 2024.
And the COVID inquiry, looking at the government’s actions during the pandemic, started in June 2022 and is ongoing.
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Welcome back to the Politics Hub.
It’s the end of another week in politics – although today’s news is likely to be dominated by the high winds from Storm Eowyn. You can follow updates on that here.
Elsewhere, the government has announced a deal worth £9bn with manufacturer Rolls-Royce that will support Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet.
It is hoped the eight-year deal will create 1,000 jobs, and save £400m over that period.
It comes after one of the UK’s nuclear-powered submarines warned off a Russian spy ship from British waters.
We’ll be speaking to Defence Secretary John Healey just after 7am.
The Politics Hub is signing off for the evening.
It was a busy day in Washington, but Westminster certainly wasn’t without news – with an inquiry announced into the Southport attack, hospital projects delayed, and a damning report into the chancellor’s money-saving efforts.
You can catch up via the bullet points above, and we’ll be back with more updates and analysis tomorrow morning.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp is the latest politician to give his reaction to the Southport killer’s sentence.
In a post on X, he said Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana “should never be released from prison” and called for whole life orders to apply to cases such as his.
Rudakubana was 17 when he carried out the atrocity and anyone under the age of 18 cannot be sentenced to a whole life order.
The shadow home secretary continued: “The inquiry must find out if chances were missed to stop this happening. It must also cover what happened afterwards.”
Law officers have announced they have received a request to consider whether the 52-year minimum term prison sentence given to Axel Rudakubana was too short.
The Attorney General’s office say the case was referred under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
Just one request is needed for a sentence to be considered.
The law officers – Attorney General Lord Hermer and Solicitor General Lucy Rigby – have 28 days to decide whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.
There is a high threshold for a successful reference under the scheme – the sentence must be deemed to be not just lenient but unduly so.
Even if the threshold is met, the Court of Appeal may decide to refuse to review the case or uphold the existing sentence.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley has confirmed he submitted the request.
On X, he posted: “I’ve just heard the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana at Liverpool Crown Court.
“In my view, the sentence passed is unduly lenient.
“The crimes he committed were horrific and natural justice demands he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
“I have therefore made a request to the Attorney General to have the sentence reviewed urgently, with a view to making sure he is never released.
“My community deserves nothing less.”
You can watch Sky’s interview with Patrick Hurley on tonight’s Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge from 7pm.
Sir Keir Starmer has described last summer’s Southport attack as among “the most harrowing moments in our country’s history”.
Harrowing details about the triple murder have emerged today, as the killer was sentenced for three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
The prime minister said Axel Rudakubana was a “vile offender” who the judge had made clear “will likely never be released”.
The 18-year-old’s been sentenced to at least 52 years in prison.
Having announced a public inquiry into the state’s failure to prevent the attack, Sir Keir said “we owe it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to deliver the change that they deserve”.
Sky’s Sophy Ridge has been speaking to the MP for Southport on the day the teenager responsible for last summer’s attack is sentenced.
Patrick Hurley told Sophy the details that emerged in court today about the triple murder carried out by Axel Rudakubana were “harrowing and intensely distressing for the whole town”.
The 18-year-old stabbed to death Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
He also tried to murder eight other children, along with dance instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, on 29 July last year.
He’s been jailed for at least 52 years.
‘I don’t know how families have coped’
Mr Hurley, a newly elected Labour MP just weeks before the attack, said the local community had offered “immense” support to the families, whose harrowing victim impact statements were read out in court.
“My heart goes out to them,” he said.
“The bravery, the strength they’ve shown is just off the scale. And I really don’t know how they’ve coped.”
Killer is ‘a coward’
Rudakubana was not in the courtroom to hear his sentence, having repeatedly been removed for disrupting proceedings.
One of the parents shouted “coward” as he was taken out.
Mr Hurley described his behaviour as “an absolute disgrace”, with a “shameful lack of remorse”.
“This just exacerbates the pain and the suffering and the distress that the families have gone through,” he added.
“He’s not just a violent, murderous thug. He’s a coward.”
Call for changes to law
Mr Hurley is hoping the case might lead to two changes in the law.
One to allow judges to give under-18s a whole-life order, and another to compel defendants to appear in court.
Given he was just days away from his 18th birthday at the time, the Southport MP said he was “an adult in all but name”.
He also hopes the public inquiry announced by the government this week will provide answers as to why he wasn’t apprehended beforehand.
Mr Hurley continued: “There’s been multiple elements of state failure over the past five years.
“Let’s find out exactly what went wrong in the five years prior to July, and make sure that never happens again.”
Watch the full interview on tonight’s Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge from 7pm.
Millions of people will receive an emergency alert on their phone at 6pm this evening ahead of the arrival of Storm Eowyn.
The Met Office has issued a rare red warning across Northern Ireland tomorrow, and it also covers parts of Scotland.
A government spokesperson said those in the affected areas would get a loud siren-like noise played on their phone – even if it’s on silent.
It will be accompanied by a message with information about the warning and guidance for staying safe.
“Approximately 4.5 million people will receive the emergency alert in the largest real life use of the tool to date,” the spokesperson added.
The alerts were introduced in 2023, starting with a nationwide trial.
Alongside the alert, the spokesperson said there are “well rehearsed” plans for dealing with severe winter weather, and the government is working with the devolved administrations, local authorities, the emergency services, and other public bodies.
What areas are impacted?
Northern Ireland:
Scotland:
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