This Is Why

All 72 deaths were "avoidable", according to the final Grenfell Tower inquiry report, which found "decades of failure" led to the tragedy.      The inquiry lasted six years and concluded there was "systematic dishonesty" from cladding firms, "complacency" from governments and an "inappropriate" relationship between inspectors and those they were inspecting.    Niall Paterson is joined by our scien...

Sky News has found out that legislation introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire to force building owners to fix serious fire safety issues is not being enforced, leaving thousands of people trapped in unsafe flats.      Children who survived the Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people, have told Sky News 'justice' for them would be for the dangerous cladding to be removed from all UK buildings.    ...

After a long Saturday for millions of Oasis fans in online queues, the culture secretary says surge pricing will be part of the government’s review of the ticket market.         Niall speaks to secondary ticketing site Viagogo on this episode. While it wasn’t part of dynamic pricing, it has offered resale tickets for thousands of pounds since Saturday.     Matt Drew from the company accepts the in...

Politics returns to Westminster next week, with a Conservative leadership race, Labour's first budget, and party conference season around the corner.     Host Liz Bates sits down with our deputy political editor Sam Coates to look ahead to what's in store for Prime Minister Keir Starmer when it comes to the trade unions and his first big budget.    And Liz and Sam discuss the Tory frontrunners vyi...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed the government is looking at tougher rules on outdoor smoking to reduce the number of preventable deaths linked to the habit and relieve pressure on the NHS.    The government has yet to confirm exactly what the changes could look like, but smoking could soon be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, and outside hospitals and sports grounds.       Hos...

Around 10 million people in England and Wales will not receive winter fuel payments this winter.      Under Chancellor Rachel Reeves' plan, only those who receive pension credit or other means-tested benefits will still get the £200-£300 towards the cost of their energy bills.       Critics, including Labour MPs, have said the payments will put even more pressure on elderly people as the cap on en...

After 15 years, brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher have announced they’ll reunite for a tour next year.       On this Sky News Daily episode, Terry Christian, the man who gave the band their national debut on The Word, says he "didn't think there was anything special" when first seeing Oasis live, but the band's "vibe" and Liam's "confidence" made them "amazing".      Host Liz Bates also hears from...

Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president and laid out her election pitch to millions of voters at the party's national convention.      As well as offering more of her backstory, she promised unity and to move from the "divisive battles" of American politics.      On this episode, Niall Paterson asks our US correspondent Mark Stone what we learnt about Kamala Harris and how a...

Are GCSEs the best thing for 16-year-olds to show as they leave secondary education? Is there a better method to assess what they've achieved in school and to set them up for their next step?      Niall Paterson explores the future for GCSEs on this episode – and asks why where you live can affect the grades you get.     He speaks to two headteachers - Becky Arnold at Framingham Earl high school n...

Official data shows government borrowing in July was above expectations and at its highest since the pandemic.      The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expected borrowing to be £46.6bn - instead it reached £51.3bn.      Our economics and data editor Ed Conway joins Niall Paterson to talk about the unexpected rise in government borrowing and Chancellor Rachel Reeves' options at the October b...

A British-flagged superyacht has sunk off the coast of Sicily, leaving at least one person dead and six others missing.   Among those still lost are British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, the chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer, and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance.  It's believed the yacht was struck by a sudden and pow...

An emergency plan to try to ease prison overcrowding has been started by the government – as courts continue to hear cases involving those accused of rioting earlier in the month.     Across northern England and parts of the Midlands, those waiting for a court appearance will now be held in police cells until there’s a prison place for them.    “Operation Early Dawn” was started on Monday morning....

Musician and billionaire Taylor Swift is so influential that a new economic term has been coined to refer to her impact: 'Swiftonomics'.     From concerts and tours to merchandise and deals, the power of Swift's brand not only earns her money but boosts economies by millions. One estimate suggests that on the latest leg of her Eras Tour, Swift's fans are expected to bring in £300m to London alone,...

Can universities make their sums work?   As students nervously receive their A-level results, many of the universities they'll enrol in are facing their own concerns over what's next...       Academics have warned that years of underfunding and a lack of lucrative international students at British universities after visa changes risks the sector's ability to provide top-class education and, for so...

The inflation rate is up for the first time this year.       Prices went up by 2.2% in the year until July – moving the rate above the Bank of England target of 2%.      Experts had expected an uptick as energy prices are falling by less than they did a year ago.      The increase doesn't seem to change hope for further interest rate cuts in the months to come – but what else can we expect from th...

A week after Ukraine invaded the Kursk region of western Russia - when around 1,000 troops surprised analysts by storming across the border - Russia’s President Vladimir Putin vowed to “kick the enemy out of our territory”.       But has the success of Ukraine’s incursion threatened his grip on power?       On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by our security and defence analyst Michael...

Middle Eastern nations are scrambling to protect a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and prevent a regional conflict.    There are reports of imminent Iranian and Hezbollah retaliation on Israel, as the United States moves military assets to the region.   Joining Niall Paterson on the Sky News Daily is our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall, and military expert Michael Clarke, to hea...

The Olympics in Paris ends this weekend – as it gears up for the Paralympics. But what legacy does such a huge event leave for athletes and a host city?    Team GB's Jess Roberts won a bronze in the cycling women's team pursuit, but she almost quit the sport because of injury. She joins Matt Barbet alongside Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of Britain's greatest Paralympic athletes, to discuss ho...

Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered across England and formed human barriers to protect asylum centres after police warned of more than 100 far-right-led rallies on Wednesday night.     On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to Tawhid Islam, Trustee at Liverpool Region Mosque Network, who we spoke to on the last episode, after the protests his community feared were overshadowed by t...

The UK is bracing itself for more than 100 protests across the country – with thousands of specialist officers on standby.      On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to Tawhid Islam, Trustee at Liverpool Region Mosque Network, about the dread and fear hanging over the Muslim community. He also discusses what the community is doing to protect those most vulnerable to the violence.       Plus...

After a week of unrest across dozens of towns and cities, police have arrested hundreds of those involved.       The former head of counter-terrorism policing, Neil Basu, says some violence has "crossed the line into terrorism" - as courts sit for extended hours to speed up convictions.     On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to our crime correspondent Martin Brunt about how officers are...

After a weekend of violence and disorder, Sir Keir Starmer has said police will have access to a "standing army of specialist officers" to deal with the riots.     Hundreds of people tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham on Sunday, while a children’s library in Liverpool and a Citizens Advice centre in Sunderland were burnt over the weekend.      Mosques have also been a...

As one sporting great retires and another adds to her gold medal tally at the Paris Olympics, the Sky News Daily profiles Andy Murray and Simone Biles.      Liz Bates speaks to sports journalist Sue Mott who helped Murray write his autobiography.      She's also joined by Kathy Williams, who became the first black female gymnast to represent Great Britain at an Olympics, in Los Angeles in 1984.   ...

A judge has made the "exceptional" decision to name the 17-year-old suspect charged with the murder of three girls in the Southport stabbing attack, in an attempt to prevent further misinformation about him being spreading online.       Reporting restrictions around the identification of a minor left an information vacuum into which disinformation spread, fuelling violence in towns across the coun...

Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to charges of making indecent images of children.       The court heard Edwards had been involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and April 2022, while he was still presenting on the BBC.       On the Sky News Daily, host Liz Bates is joined by Sky correspondent Henry Vaughn who was at the court in Westminst...