This Is Why

Sky News Daily host Niall Paterson looks back at the stories that defined the Royal Family in 2023 with our royal correspondent Laura Bundock and royal commentator Major-General Alastair Bruce. They discuss the coronation and reflect on the King's first year on the throne. Plus, Harry and Meghan, republican protests, and predictions for 2024. Also in this series, Niall has looked at the year in Br...

Sky News Daily host Niall Paterson looks back at the stories that defined science and technology in 2023 with science and technology editor Tom Clarke. They discuss the biggest tech story of the year – the spectacular rise of artificial intelligence. Plus, climate change, the space race, and an important scientific breakthrough. Also in this series, Niall will look at British politics, the economy...

Sky News Daily host Niall Paterson looks back at the major economic, business and political stories of 2023 with our economics and data editor Ed Conway. They discuss whether Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have managed to steady the ship after Liz Truss's disastrous Mini Budget of 2022. Plus the cost of living, the impact of migration, and the global economy. Also in this se...

During the first week of January 2023, as a fairly new prime minister, Rishi Sunak made a speech to outline his top five priorities. As 2023 draws to a close, one of those priorities has started to dominate the Commons – and could become a significant threat to his leadership in 2024. The "stop the boats" policy is one of the big politics stories of the year, which host Niall Paterson picks over w...

Sky News Daily host Niall Paterson looks back at the stories that defined international affairs in 2023 with our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, and defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke. They dive into the Israel-Hamas war and the defining moment that was October 7th on politics in the region, the movements made by Putin in Russia's war in Ukraine, how US President B...

An Irish billionaire is calling on the government to make payments to countries of the Caribbean to compensate for the suffering of slavery. Denis O'Brien is the founder of the Repair Campaign, which is working with Caribbean countries to develop reparations plans from Europe. "It is the single biggest issue in the Caribbean for the entire population," he told the Sky News Daily. On this episode,...

Prince Harry has claimed victory in a landmark court case against one of Britain’s biggest news publishers – the Mirror Group – with a High Court judge finding the company’s practice of phone hacking was “extensive” as well as its use of private investigators to illegally gather information to write stories for its newspapers. Justice Fancourt ruled that 15 out of a selection of 33 stories written...

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made his third trip to Washington DC in less than a year on a whistle-stop tour of the US and Europe, pleading his case for more aid, in particular American military aid. But the prospect of success seems increasingly in doubt as the package remains stalled in Congress and is facing pushback from Republicans who are arguing that more money needs to be sp...

There was a standing ovation as delegates at the COP28 international climate conference agreed an historic deal that included a commitment to transition "away" from fossil fuels. But the language in the deal was not as tough as climate campaigners would have liked, as it stopped short of a promise to phase it out completely. But the mention of fossil fuels itself - and in a host country rich in oi...

Rishi Sunak’s plan to “stop the boats” by sending some migrants to Rwanda has scraped through the House of Commons. The bill aims to address the issues raised by the Supreme Court, which ruled against the original plans last month. The vote on the bill, which will designate Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers, came after intense debate in the Commons which highlighted the deep fractures wi...

The prime minister has given his evidence to the COVID inquiry today, defending his Eat Out to Help Out scheme and telling of fears within the Treasury that the UK would not be able to fund the pandemic response. While at the inquiry, some of Rishi Sunak’s Tory colleagues have called on the PM to scrap his Rwanda bill, as it goes to the Commons tomorrow. On the Sky News Daily, Jonathan Samuels hos...

The government has announced that in 2024 the BBC licence fee will rise by £10.50. The fee, which had been frozen at £159 two years ago, was expected to rise in line with inflation but Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has said the predicted increase of £15 would "absolutely" be too much. The government is also launching a review of the BBC's funding model. The governing body of the BBC has said the b...

Rishi Sunak has told Conservatives to "unite or die" over his Rwanda migration bill. The prime minister's plan to send migrants to the African country, where their asylum claims would be processed, is in turmoil following the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick. He stood down after it was revealed the bill did not allow the government to override the international laws that have sto...

The former prime minister, Boris Johnson, has given almost five hours of evidence to the COVID inquiry today. He began by apologising for the pain and suffering of victims and their families during the pandemic and admitted that "unquestionably" mistakes were made by his government. But the King’s Counsel’s attempt to get square answers from him about vanished WhatsApp messages, the ‘toxic’ cultur...

Home Secretary James Cleverly is having a busy third week in his new job, just as his approval ratings among Tory supporters collapse, according to polling by ConservativeHome. He's announced new rules intended to bring down legal migration to the UK, including raising the salary needed to qualify for a skilled worker visa to £38,700, and overseas care workers will no longer be allowed to bring th...

Police forces make more than 850 arrests a month for online child sex offences in England and Wales. The majority of suspects are men who can have families living with them at the time of the offence. Thousands of children every year now have to deal with the vicarious shame and stigma that's associated with such a crime. Families have to move, and leave schools and jobs - the trauma of which can...

The King has urged world leaders assembled in Dubai to make the COP28 climate summit a "critical turning point" in the fight to tackle global warming. And there has already been a breakthrough with wealthy nations contributing nearly $300m to a 'loss and damage' fund compensating poorer countries for the effects of climate change. It has taken 32 years to agree so while it is an achievement, the r...

It took just minutes for Israeli airstrikes to resume on Gaza after a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas ended. Israel's military resumed combat operations after accusing Hamas of violating the temporary ceasefire. Despite an overnight effort from Egypt and Qatar to mediate a third extension of the truce, the deal fell apart with both warring sides blaming each other. Hamas accused Israel of...

Matt Hancock took the stand at the COVID inquiry for the first of two days of giving evidence on Thursday. In 2021, the then health secretary was forced to resign after he admitted he broke the government's own coronavirus guidance to pursue an affair with an aide. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson analyses what Mr Hancock said and the key questions he answered, with our political editor Beth...

The sale of a new book about the Royal Family has been halted in the Netherlands after publishers of the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie's Endgame appeared to name a member of the Royal Family who allegedly questioned what colour skin the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son would be born with. In the aftermath of Harry and Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021, where Meghan claimed a member...

The world's attention has been turned to the Israel-Hamas conflict, resulting in the war in Ukraine falling further down the news agenda. Not only does this impact keeping pressure on Putin but in Ukraine, momentum for the war is also running low. Independent reporting suggests the country is facing a recruitment crisis, with just 1 in 4 men joining the army voluntarily. On the Sky News Daily, Nia...

The Revenge Porn Helpline has seen the number of phone calls it receives rise by nearly a third. It was set up when revenge porn was made a crime in 2015 – and this year alone, has handled more than 10,000 calls or reports online. The team in Devon has allowed our news cameras inside for the first time to see the work they do. On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood speaks to our home news correspon...

The COVID inquiry is now into its second round of public hearings – examining how key decisions were made in Westminster as the coronavirus began to take hold around the world in early 2020. The evidence from those at the heart of Downing Street has certainly provided plenty of bombshell headlines but does the inquiry need to move quicker to make recommendations on how the country could be better...

Qatar has announced key details of the planned pause in fighting and release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas is due to release 50 hostages from Gaza and Israel will free 150 Palestinian prisoners. On today’s episode of the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson sits down with James Alvarez, a hostage negotiator who’s worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ga...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has revealed his autumn statement. Among the proposals National Insurance is to be cut by two percentage points, and NI payments for the self-employed have been abolished. There have also been increases to Universal Credit and the state pension. But the chancellor also announced new tougher measures for job seekers, saying those who fail to find work after 18 months of "inte...