Transcript of Sky News at Ten: Sky News visits a place in Syria where hundreds died from Assad's nerve gas

It's 10 o'clock. This is Sky News at 10. Demanding justice, we go back to the place where 100 died, attacked with a nerve gas by their own country and the prison used to detain those protesting the Assad regime kept alive just for interrogation, the city first liberated by the rebels.

So as soon as they got whatever they needed to know and maybe they got nothing, they would then be murdered. Yes.

Also tonight, the prime minister says questions need to be answered after the murder of Sarah Shariff as new details emerge. We speak to a social worker about the strain on the system.

I think we're in a a system that's broken. It's underfunded.

A tidal wave of flu infections leads to a 70% jump in hospital cases. We'll report from inside accident and emergency. Trump named Times Magazine man of the year on the same day as a stark warning from NATO.

We are not ready for what is coming our way in 4 to 5 years.

And we'll take a first look at tomorrow's front pages in our our press preview from 10:30 right through to midnight. Good evening. In 2013, Bashar al Assad's regime attacked its own people with a deadly gas, killing 100. It was 1 of the worst atrocities during the Assad reign in Syria, and now the residents are demanding justice. Sky's international affairs editor, Dominic Waghorn, reports from Ghouta.

Less than 10 miles from Bashar al Assad's presidential palace, we're heading for the site of 1 of the worst war crimes this century, where Syria's dictator drops sarin nerve gas on his own people, hoping to stop rebels' advance on Damascus. Wafika lost 2 of her sons and 2 of her grandsons that night in August 2013, dying the most painful of deaths.

They brought them to me telling me they were dead. They said come take them. Young men killed in a chemical attack. They were naked, and what was coming out of their mouth was unbelievable. It was like soap frothing out of their throats.

We went to the site of the clinic nearby where most of the victims died. Kamal lost 2 of his brothers and his parents and was put into a coma after being engulfed in the poison.

I started seeing white around me, a thick powdery cloud of smooth, almost silky white smoke in the sky.

Fadi arrived to find both parents, a brother, and his cousins dead.

We were in shock. We started crying. All around were dead bodies on the ground. People were in cars. The engines were still on, but the people were dead.

We were taken down to the basement where the clinic had been, shown where the victims were treated and where the bodies piled up. Footage taken that night shows scenes of utter terror. At least 1400 people are thought to have died, many after being exposed to the nerve agent when they rushed to help others. These pictures would shock the world and provoke fierce debate in London and Washington.

1, 2, 3.

The dead were taken here, placed in 5 trenches, shoulder to shoulder, 3 bodies deep. Qasem helped bury them.

It was like the apocalypse. We could not believe the way they were attacking us. We started putting entire families together. We tried to put the kids, the parents, and even the grandparents together.

Britain refused to punish Assad for what he did here with military action, and that allowed America to do the same. The rebels were stopped in their tracks on the outskirts of Damascus, and it would be at least another decade before Assad could be toppled. More than 10 years of repression, 100 of 1000 of Syrians being killed, but the repercussions went beyond Syria. The west's weakness encouraged other leaders to break the rules as well, not least Vladimir Putin. The West can make up for that failure now and bring Bashar al Assad to justice.

He should be sent back to Syria, his victims told us, and punished.

He should suffer and then be sent to the body crusher. And in the same way that our people were crushed and rivers of blood came from them, the same should happen to him.

It'll take years for Syria to recover from the Assad regime, and crucial to that will be finding justice for his victims.

And Dominic joins us now from Damascus. Dominic, so much has been uncovered in the last few days. Tell us what what you've seen and what people have been saying to you.

Well, it's a it's been a bewildering, week that's moved very fast. It's been a week of, revolution and, revelations, and I think those revelations can be boiled down to 2 things really. A, the revelation that the Assad regime and his family lived in this extraordinary sort of luxury, opulent bubble, monstrous, monumental palaces built really just to satisfy the president's ego. His wife pampered and and and kept in luxury. And then on the other side, revelations about what he and his regime did to stay in power, to be to enable themselves to to continue living in power and in such luxury.

And I think what we're learning about those atrocities is just the beginning. And for me, it really sort of strikes me that, we are learning that what we were doing for 13 years reporting the atrocities in Syria has only told told half the story. The the full enormity has not really fully emerged yet. You've gotta go out

to these places. You've gotta talk to

people to for it really to sink in what it means to have your own government drop Sarin gas on you and to hear this incredibly moving testimony from people, whose lives were ruined, who who lost so many relatives. A man standing by this grave where he saw entire families being buried, bodies lined up shoulder to shoulder, 3, bodies deep. And so I think it's hugely important that testimonies continue to be gathered, not just to tell people what happened, in Syria, but also for the beginning of a case to be brought against Bashar al Assad so that eventually he and his kind can be, brought to justice.

Incredibly disturbing. Dominic, thank you. Now to Homs, north of Damascus. Sky News has seen inside the political security branch prison used to hold protesters and those facing terrorism charges. Once a symbol of oppression, its underground cells have now been opened.

Our chief correspondent, Stuart Ramsey, reports.

Torture and repression were the tools the Syrian regime used to keep power. It happened below ground where the horrors couldn't be seen or they hoped heard. These are offices. These are the gates through to the cells. A rebel soldier let us down.

The cells are tiny. People could stay here for years. They were fed, but for only 1 reason.

They're not doing what food, as if they are they care for them. They but they they have information, and they're trying to take the information from them.

Okay. So so they keep them alive so that they can be interrogated.

Once they they finish the investigation, they move them somewhere else. Or they killed them over here.

So as soon as they got whatever they needed to know and maybe they got nothing, they would then be murdered? Yes.

In Homs, random detention was continuous. Nobody was safe. It's a female. So so women and children would be held themselves by this. Yes.

And their their crime being what?

Maybe they were passing randomly in the street, and there was a protest.

And just pop.

They they

Without our lights, we couldn't see. That too was part of the torture.

The regime used the this method, so the the people don't know if it's day or night.

Right. So it was always dark. Yeah. Always dark. Right.

It's clear the mistreatment of prisoners was calculated. What we now know is that there are cell detention centers like this and cells like this all over, homes, but also all over the country. What we know here is that, bodies people who died in their cells were left outside for days, to make life unpleasant for those inside, to act as a warning and basically to intimidate. The whole of this process was to, protect Assad's family by instilling fear in all of these communities. Abu Faras deserted the army because of the torture he witnessed, and he too was arrested.

And we and were you

tortured? So much.

Tools.

You

I fold like they Blindfold. Blindfold you. The ways they used to to, torture us, me and my brother. They used to torture my brother in front of me and, me in front of my brother. So it will be like mental, psychological pressure on us.

The cells are beneath this internal security complex in the heart of a housing estate, another message to the population. The officers left in a hurry. A stockpile of weapons and ammunition, much supplied by Russia, was abandoned. Abandoned too. Files, thousands upon thousands of them, detailing the lives of civilians and their assumed political beliefs.

Everyone in Syria was spied upon. We're told these people were on a watch list, but files on the prisoners were burned in this room as the regime collapsed. Who the prisoners were, what happened to them may never be known. Stuart Ramsay Sky News, Holmes.

Well, earlier tonight, defense secretary John Healy led a COBRA meeting about the government's response to the downfall of the Assad regime. He was asked if the rebels who led the uprising, HTS, would be taken off the UK's list of prescribed terror organizations.

Prescription is not a matter for now. It doesn't stop us talking to all the parties. And our interest in HDS is that they live up to their promises to protect the rights of all individuals and all groups, to respect international law, and to prevent Syria becoming a base for fresh terrorist threats.

The prime minister says he wants questions answered as to why a 10 year old girl, Sara Shariff, suffered years of abuse and was murdered by her father and stepmother despite being well known to children's services. The case has shone a light on the demands of the system, and a social worker has told Sky News it's a situation every social worker is afraid of. A report into child safeguarding released today found 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect between April last year March this year. Children under the age of 1 suffer the most harm representing over a third of all incidents. In almost 9 out of 10 serious incident notifications, the family of the child in focus was known to children's social care.

Sky social affairs correspondent, Becky Johnson, reports.

The danger to Sara Sharif of abuse from her parents was so serious that as a toddler, she spent time in police protection. Social workers repeatedly raised concerns, noting she was small, didn't eat a lot, and would often stand facing a wall. 3 times, the family courts were involved, yet she was returned to her father despite a string of allegations of violence against him. The detail emerging from Sara's past reveals a dysfunctional system that failed to protect her. Her name now added to a growing list of children who died despite the authorities being warned they were in danger, prompting calls for urgent action.

This is about violence. It's about abuse. It's about making sure there's protection and safeguards for children, particularly those being homeschooled.

Sara had been removed from school 4 months before her death. A change to ban homeschooling for children at risk of abuse is being suggested. And fundamental flaws in safeguarding are being blamed as a report reveals 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect in the year to March.

Decision making, information sharing, information seeking is not happening in that really coherent, connecting way so that people really know what's going on in in in a child's life or in their family's life or things that have happened in the past.

With children's social care back in the spotlight, this frontline social worker has decided to speak out.

I think we're in a system that's broken. It's underfunded.

She says even when there are concerns about a child's safety, removing them from their family is far from straightforward.

The threshold for doing that is is really high, and we have to ensure we've explored all other eventualities

and

and plans before we can proceed to court.

Sarah Sharif's school had wanted social workers to investigate, referring concerns about bruises on her face. But social workers in Surrey closed the case within days. This woman works for a different local authority. I mean, how do you think they would be feeling now?

I can't imagine. That's 1 of my biggest fears in this job is is is that being me.

Have you ever experienced a situation where a child has come to harm?

Not I want to say not yet. Then that's a horrible thing to say, but it is a worry. I think that's something every social worker is worried about.

The story of failure has become horrifyingly familiar. Promises that lessons will be learned are no longer enough. Instead, demands are growing for fundamental change so children don't die because no 1 stepped in to save them.

NATO secretary general delivered a warning today. We are not ready for what is coming our way in 4 to 5 years, adding we need to shift to a wartime mindset. The message, perhaps timely, as president-elect Trump became Time Magazine's person of the year ahead of his inauguration in January. And today, Donald Trump revealed he has invited China's leader, Xi Jinping. Sky's US correspondent Mark Stone reports.

It is the latest moment in this remarkable comeback. USA. A double dose of glee for Donald Trump surely, opening the New York Stock Exchange on the day he's named Time Magazine's person of the year. And on the traders' floor where markets have hit record highs since his election, superstar status.

It's 948. Should you be making money? Yeah.

Yeah. But more than that, institutional status. He is back, and he's backed here too. Self satisfaction for sure given how many times he was written off. It is remarkable that just a few months ago, a few blocks from here, is the courtroom where he was made a convict.

Now forgotten here, instead, we're beginning to see the contours of his 2nd term. No clear picture, but hints of what it will be like from day 1.

Who else have you had the opportunity to invite to your inauguration? President Xi as well? I'm very excited. Very good relations.

It is the second time he's been the person of the year. And with the shot, an interview with hints of what his foreign policy will look like. On the Middle East and a 2 state solution. He said, I support whatever solution we can do to get peace. There are other ideas other than 2 state, but I support whatever, whatever is necessary to get not just peace, a lasting peace.

On the chances of war with Iran, anything can happen, he said. And on Ukraine, a commitment not to abandon. But he said, I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles 100 of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We're just escalating this war and making it worse.

Across the Atlantic, the NATO chief called for a wartime mindset.

We are not ready for what is coming our way in 4 to 5 years. Danger is moving towards us at full speed. We must not look the other way.

Mark Rutte's comments are a reflection of 2 linked concerns. First, that offering Putin a deal on Ukraine with some Ukrainian land would only embolden him in the future, and second, that Europe can no longer rely on American military leadership. Person of the year then for 2024, but it is in the coming years that the impact of his leadership will be felt. Change ahead for sure. Mark Stone, Sky News in Washington.

NHS England has warned of a tidal wave of flu infections that could lead to what it's calling a quandemic this winter and leave the service desperately short of beds. 1800 beds were occupied by flu patients on average each day last week. That's 70% more than the week before, and it comes after A and D's had their busiest November on record. Sky's health correspondent, Laura Bundock, reports from Whipps Cross Hospital in East London.

Hi.

The pressure inside wards this winter is unrelenting. At Whipps Cross Hospital, flu cases are soaring.

Things are busier than normal. We had a very busy winter last year, but this year, the numbers already suggest that we are overcapacity.

This is where the most severe respiratory cases are treated.

Several of these patients have got multiple problems. The flu that we're seeing is making these patients more sick and taking them longer time to recover.

They've 16 beds but could fill them 3 times over. Penny is being discharged after 10 days.

Oh, you can just see they're overrun. Yeah. Constantly. On the go all night, all day. Hi, Susan.

Hi.

Susan's desperate to leave. Her infections left her struggling to breathe.

There are so many people getting older and needing far more help, such as me. I didn't realize I was 75. I fell down, and then I realized I was 75. Out there, there's a swarm of people longing for a bed. At the moment, I see myself as a bed blocker because I'm ready to go home today.

In a and d, trolleys tailgate along corridors. This is so common, they've added curtains to the ceiling for patient privacy.

It is difficult. We don't want patients to be waiting hours and hours on trolleys, especially our frail and vulnerable patients. We want to be able to see them in a timely way. We want to be able to, you know, if they need admission, admit them to a hospital bed in a timely way without them having those long wait.

The tidal wave of flu and seasonal viruses is hitting hard. They're not overwhelmed here, but warned there's worse to come this winter. Laura Bundock, Sky News, Whipps Cross Hospital in East London.

A rioter who helped fuel a fire outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham has been jailed for 9 years, the joint highest sentence passed down to summer rioters. Levi Fishlock had already pleaded guilty to violent disorder and arson with intent to endanger life. The judge said he was involved in almost every part of the violent disorder. The European Central Bank has cut interest rates by a quarter of 1% as concerns grow about weak growth in the EU. The political instability in France is also said to have unsettled ECB officials who lowered rates to 3%.

A body has been found in the search for ex England rugby player, Tom Boyce. The 43 year old didn't arrive home following a night out with friends on Saturday and was feared to have been swept away whilst attempting to cross a flooded river in Northumbria. Relaxing planning laws and, block nimbyes, the Starmer government announced its aim to pave the way for 1,500,000 new homes to be built over the next 5 years. The prime minister also promised to push past environmental regulations if that's what it takes. The Tories said that means bulldozing green belt sites.

Sky's deputy political editor, Sam Coats, reports.

Civil engineering. The prime minister and his deputy with a blueprint to fix Britain's broken housing market. 1,500,000 new homes in this parliament.

Hello?

Deadline's already on the prime minister's mind.

How long does it take to finish your apprenticeship for carpentry?

This one's 18 months.

A visit to a housing development in Cambridgeshire. It's areas like this between 2 towns soon to be top of the queue for planning permission.

Well, I've got 1,500,000 homes because it's Oh, my god.

The prime minister says he'll stop the blockers, all to help people like Cassie to settle down.

How does it feel to have your own post? Amazing.

Labour's plan to reclassify bits of the green belt into a new developer friendly gray belt will speed up house building. But when I caught up later with Cassie, who understands the benefits, even she had questions.

When you hear about sort of new building estates being built, 1 of the biggest things is always, you know, everyone signing petitions of don't build here, things like that. It just needs to be looked into exactly why that is. Why is it that people don't want houses?

It's 50 years since the last house building revolution in the sixties seventies, back then driven by new tower blocks and council housing. Fast forward to now, private developers fund the work, and house building is on a downward trend and so far from the target set today. Welcome to Keir Starmer's vision of the future, show homes like this 1. I was talking to the boss of this construction site who said today was a great start, but there was so much more the government needed to do. Will they now take on some of those environment and nature and habitat rules that developers complain about?

And if they do, could they end up in breach of their manifesto?

Of course, we want to get the balance right, with nature and the environment. But, you know, if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority.

Conservationists are concerned at the prime minister's tone. Could he abandon other promises to get Britain building?

Labor was really clear in its manifesto that it's going to meet the targets in the Environment Act. They will not meet the target if they approach growth by ripping up really important protections for wildlife and for our natural environment.

The clearest of targets, but hard to see how they get there without picking big fights. Fixing the foundations, but will Keir Starmer be the 1 to actually finish the job? Sam Cote Sky News, Cambridgeshire.

Queen Camilla has turned her Clarence House home into a Christmas grotto for children with severe illnesses. A warning, these pictures have flashing images.

Hello, Sam.

To celebrate Christmas to you?

I have

a very happy Christmas. I don't

know what's going on. You're on the good list again.

Oh, I'm on. I'm on the good list.

She extended the invite to father Christmas who handed the gifts to the children and assured the queen she made it to the good list again. Camilla hosted her annual event for 2 charities she supports as patron for Helen and Douglas House and Roald Dahl's marvelous children's charities. Well, that was Sky News at 10. Coming up, we'll take a first look at tomorrow's newspapers in the press preview. Tonight, we're joined by the political commentator, Tim Montgomery, and the Belfast Telegraph columnist, Alison Morris.

Amongst the stories we'll be discussing, this awful story on the front of The Express relating to the murder of 10 year old Sara Eshara. Their headline, questions must be answered with the awful case. We'll be right back. Do stay with us.

Play Sky News.

From the Sky News Center at 7.

Now that you're up

to date, we can go into a bit more detail.

Things can change incredibly quickly. Taken by surprise.

Have you ever known

a moment like this in British politics before? Yes.

Cheers, we'll start with breaking news.

Let's get the latest on the ground.

So by the end, we'll hopefully all understand what's going on in the world. Just that little bit better.

You are watching Sky News. In just a moment, the press preview, a first look at what's on the front pages as they arrive. But first, our top stories. Horrifying discoveries continue to be made in Syria since the overthrow of president Assad at the weekend. They include the place where hundreds of people are said to have been buried following a chemical attack in 2013.

Serious questions being asked tonight about the child protection system in the UK following the Sara Shariff case. The social worker has told Sky News that the system of care for children is broken. The head of NATO, Mark Breitur, has claimed Russia is preparing for a long term confrontation with Ukraine and the West. Meanwhile, Donald Trump said he disagrees with Joe Biden's policy of allowing Ukraine to use long range missiles against Russia. You are watching the press preview.

A first look at what's on the front pages as they arrive. It's time to see what's making the headlines with the political commentator, Tim Montgomery, and the Belfast Telegraph columnist, Alison Morris. They'll be with us from now until just before midnight. So let's see what's on some of those front pages for you now. The express leads with Sakir Starmer calling for questions to be answered over why more wasn't done to protect 10 year old Sara Shariff, whose father and stepmother were found guilty of her murder yesterday.

The eye carries warnings from NATO's new secretary general that Europe must put itself in a wartime mindset. The paper also says that Sakir Starmer and Donald Trump may be headed for a showdown over Britain's defense spending. The Financial Times reports that European NATO members are discussing the possibility of raising their defense spending targets to 3% of their GDP. The Sun claims that a party for Buckingham Palace staff at a bar nearby spiraled out of control after glasses were hurled and punches thrown. The palace says it is aware of the incident and is investigating.

The Guardian reports that jury trials could be abandoned for some criminal cases in England and Wales as part of a radical overhaul after Crown Court's backlog hit a record high. The Metro questions why the conservative leader, Kemi Baytanyc, felt the need to share her opinion that lunch is for wimps and sandwiches aren't real food. The paper also questions why the prime minister felt the need to respond. While the star asks whether they're both Assani short of a picnic. And a reminder that by scanning the QR code you'll see on screen during the program, you can check out the front pages of tomorrow's newspapers while you watch us.

And we're joined tonight by Tim Montgomery and Alison Morris. And I'm going to ask you to do the majority of the talking because my voice is failing me as you can hear.

That's quite

a dangerous invitation you've given us.

Okay. Maybe you, Alison. Right. Well, let's let's start with the, Times front page and, this awful story now reflecting on, child services in in the UK and the job that they do and the and the failings that they, come up against, time and time again, Tim.

Look. I hesitate to judge, social workers because you look at the burnout rate, you know, in this profession, they're some of the worst, you know I can't look at these pictures without

look

wanting to look away. I'm afraid I'm sometimes the stories I want to avoid and I don't feel proud of myself for it, but this is a story I want to avoid. This is a profession I would want to avoid, you know, to have to confront what the worst of humanity often is very difficult. Having said all that, and I don't mean to diminish what I've just said, I mean it absolutely, there are times when you just think how many more times do we have to go through the same sort of story where we hear yet again that, you know, the professional services that are meant to protect some of the most vulnerable children in our country, they've been let down again. And this wasn't a case of a few isolated warnings.

This were 15 warnings that, you know, through the teachers, through school, through neighbors, the authorities had. And, I'm afraid, you know, we're gonna are we gonna have another inquiry which takes years and nothing changes. I don't know what we what we do about it, but this particular family, you know, the the Sarah Sharif was under watch even before she was born because the family had a a history of, you know, coming into contact with social services. So honestly, I would tear my hair out if I had very much of it left. The the the whole idea of this I don't know what we do anymore.

Is it about resourcing of this profession? Is it about the kind of level of qualification that's training? But the Victoria Columbia inquiry, we we've been down this road so many times. I don't know what the answer is anymore.

Alison, it is fair to say though that we do only hear about the failings of social services when it occurs. We we don't hear all of the the success stories when when it actually works. So we kind of may perhaps blow it out of proportion.

I think in this case, the system should have worked and didn't because the warnings were there. We do know that there are children who fall through the net, who maybe don't even come to the attention of social services until something awful happens to them, but that's not what happened here. And also there are the warning signs with our, family court judge continually handed this child back to these people despite the fact that there was warnings about their car. This is something else. As as journalists, we can report on the courts.

Courts have to be open. Justice has to be open. The family courts are closed, and we know that that's for the protection of children. But it also means that questions and judgments that are being made in those courts aren't open to scrutiny. And I think that that's something that this case, if the prime minister does say questions need to be asked and lessons need to be learned.

And that phrase, actually, lessons need to be learned and infuriates me because how many children have to die before lessons actually are learned and something is put in place.

But you you mentioned the courts and the family courts would have made decisions, but they presumably would have had the background of the the parents. So it it just doesn't

add up that they would

have made the those decisions knowing the the backstory.

And a lot of cases, those decisions were made because there is, the family court seems to, in many cases, think that a child should always be with the parents unless it's a very last resort. The the presumption is a child is better with its own parents, and sometimes the child is just not better with their own parents. They would be better in the care system as complicated as that is.

So social workers are often

attacked for

when they, you know, break up a family, aren't

they?

Yeah. So sometimes it just depends you when the head you lose tells you.

Yeah. This child was apparently homeschooled. She wasn't homeschooled. She was being abused in a home and wasn't going to school. School teachers are often the first line of defense for abused children.

They'll notice a withdrawn child. They'll notice a dirty child. They'll notice a hungry child. They'll notice a child with bruises on them. But then they'll be able to resolve that.

The at risk register should not be allowed to be homeschooled. I don't even understand. I mean, homeschooling is something that should be very strictly monitored. But if a child is at all on the at risk register, if they're under the attention of social services, well, then homeschooling should be completely taken off the table because a lot of times and we've seen that during lockdown. There were children who were murdered during lockdown, and we know those awful cases because those children weren't going to school.

No 1 was saying them. Teachers have a duty to red flag any child they're concerned about. And there were so many missed opportunities to save this little girl, prevent her having the atrocious death that she had. And I understand when you're saying you have to look away because the details of it are so horrific. It's probably 1 of the the worst cases of abuse that I have have read.

And when I see pictures of her her prorby face, I'm thinking that somebody should have saved her. Somebody should have stepped in, and they didn't. And it's

the detail of the horrible abuse, but it's just like little character, reports as well that teachers noticed that when she was with or close to her dad she flinched. You know the very fact that being close to her dad she was frightened, you know, you would have expected an expert eye to have

Or stood facing the wall, you know, there were so many signs.

She was clearly

absolutely frightened.

Yeah terrified.

And the fact that we as a society weren't

And that nobody went, I will just yeah that nobody's worrying

is that the the failings all the way down the line, I mean it's not just the school. It's not just the the social workers. I mean, the whole gamut of of of those involved in her life. You know? We don't know about GPs.

You know?

But not only are they they failings, every 1 of those films is an opportunity. Every 1 of those reports is an opportunity for someone to step in and say, I'm removing this child from your car to keep her safe. And had that been done, she would be alive today. And instead, you know, this awful case. And and I will look forward to see what sentence that is handed down from the the judges in terms of of this, because that should be a sentence that is so deterrent.

You know, that sends out a really tough signal. But also, I think that it's there's an onus on the the prime minister and the government to start looking at legislation such as bans on homeschooling for children who are on the at risk register, such as, you know, other, aspects that could potentially save these children. And is it a resource niche? I have a friend who's a social worker, and I know that, you know, their job is really, really tough, And they don't leave it at home, you know, at work. They do take it home with them at night I can't.

Yeah. And worry constantly about some children who are who are in their care. But in this case, it just seems that every single adult that this child came in contact with failed or

lost their

child. In all of this sort of stuff is that no one's in charge. What's in charge instead is a process. Now I understand that, you know, we used to have matrons in charge of hospital wards. We have police inspectors in charge, and we have bank managers.

And what happened was we had corruption, for example, in the police service in the past. And so rather than allowing police service to be in charge, they put a bureaucratic process in to govern the procedure. Yeah. But, unfortunately, I think what has happened in all sorts of walks of life is that the process has taken has got much more power now than individual officers, whether in banks or in social services or police. And somehow, the balance that we used to have where we trusted professionals needs to be restored to some extent.

And when they fail, we throw the book at them. But at the moment, not having anyone in charge of a decision like this girl is clearly at risk, this child, this boy is clearly at risk, we're gonna do something. That seems to me the big change we

need to make.

There's no single person with

that stuff.

Does that make sense? Yeah.

Yeah. I do also think that there's the scope for judgments that are made in the family court. Controversial judgments should be published, albeit you can, anonymize the people who are involved. But making that family court process a little more open and transparent because right now there's decisions made behind closed doors and there's no real scrutiny of that. And I think if there was more scrutiny of it, the family courts might be slightly more accountable than

they are present.

Yeah. Yeah. That that is an interesting, theory. Well, the The Express also looking at the story and Sarkis Dahmer, raising the the the point that the questions must be answered. As you say, Tim, this is what we hear time and time again.

But do we think that something has changed this time, something has shifted?

Not really, to run us. You know, because we've been here before, haven't we? And my worry is, we'll have another inquiry. We all know whether it's the post office or COVID or or what have you, these these inquiries take forever. And justice delayed is justice denied.

And so I I honestly think it is more a problem in how we how we manage our whole society at the moment. There was that little boy who died in, I think was it Rochdale a year or so ago. He was in a, in a, a really damp

Yeah. With the mold.

Yeah. The mold. And, again, it was another example really where the housing authority, the teachers, the police, everyone was involved, but no 1 took responsibility. I honestly think it is something of the kind that I just described that in every key circumstance, someone has to be in charge. And until you are actually, you are personally responsible, someone at the top of whether it's social services or their local authority or the police is responsible, I think we'll continue to have stories like this where it sort of endlessly where there's a warning sign there, and we'll pass it on, and we'll keep an eye on it.

But no 1 is actually taking responsibility for these these issues.

Alison, do you think that the prime minister's intervention will make a difference?

I think that it was that the prime minister had no other choice but to come out and say, because the public outrage of this case, you know, at this point in time, I think the government realized that they're gonna have to come out and say something and look to be proactive. But, I mean, The Express is also saying that in the past year, there have been 485 children in England who have either died or were seriously harmed by abuse. I mean, that is an astronomical figure. And we say that, you know, we don't see the good work social workers do. You know, we don't get to highlight.

And as I said, family courts are closed. We don't get to see all the success successes, but that is an awful lot of failures. Mhmm. And, you know, as I get on the the plane to come here today, they're currently digging a garden up in Ireland trying to find a little boy who was missing for 2 years. No 1 even reported him missing a child who was on the at risk register.

You know, children who are deemed to be really vulnerable, who are just falling through the net, and it's completely unacceptable. Someone should be responsible for tracking those children and making sure that they are visited at least once a month to ensure that they're safe.

The problem, you know, the COVID, the scale of family breakdown we have in this country. You know, services are being overwhelmed. You could say that they're not being resourced properly, but the demand on them

as well. Are very, very cunning. Abusers will cover their tracks in any way that they can, and, you know, social workers should be aware of that and know not to to accept those excuses.

I'm sure they are. Yeah.

But, I mean, there's cases that we did here in lockdown where people were saying, you know, that a child had chocolate put on his face to cover bruises. I mean, things like that. I don't think, you know, someone should have stepped in.

We just got time to to do a little politics starting with the eye, and, this is Mark Rutte saying that, NATO needs to be on a war footing, and the suggestion that the contribution of, NATO members to the defense budget should increase to potentially 3%, I think was the figure banded around. But, Mark Rutte wouldn't confirm or deny that was the figure that they were looking at. Tim?

Well, this is 1 of the benefits. I'm gonna be controversial now. My first controversial comment of the evening or maybe not

Nothing less for me.

This this is, I think, 1 of the benefits of Donald Trump's election because I think Western Europe, in particular, has not properly funded its defense since the post war period. We have relied on American security. And you can blame Trump in the light. You can say, well, we can't rely on him anymore, whether it's the war in Ukraine or whatever. And we can moan about Trump or we can say, actually, we are rich enough continent to defend ourselves.

And so the sooner we get up to this level of 3%, then the sooner we can stop worrying so much about who's elected in the US and actually protect our own backyard. And so I think, unfortunately, while we had a more perhaps reasonable person in the White House, someone like Biden or whatever, perceived as reasonable, we could say, well, America will always be the cavalry that'll come over the hill and rescue us. Well, I'm not sure we can say that anymore. So we get to 3% as quickly as possible because we live in a dangerous world, and it's not fair. Why should American taxpayers protect Europe?

We should do it ourselves.

Alison, do you see it as a positive in so much as it has focused NATO's mind, the fact that, president-elect Trump will be in the White House come the New Year?

No. I mean, what what has happened here is the more you spend on defense, the more bombs people make and drop. I mean, the the fact is that you're, you know, you're creating a problem to fix it through money. The amount of money that those arms companies make on the back of this,

it is no.

It's no. It's not. I mean, the fact is that you have people creating who could who could stop those wars, who could use diplomacy to stop them, and instead, they're going in, and dragging them out for as long as they can because half the time, so the people awarding the defense contracts to those defense companies, and no 1 will do. Instead of trying to stop the war, let's just spend more money on more arms, more weapons, more bombs, until that will fix the problem. You can't bomb your way.

You sound like a complete surrender monkey.

You can't bomb your way. Surrender monkey.

You can't you can't deal with them, please. But you can't just

give me any real

respect. Strength.

Ukraine has shown us you can't bomb your way out of this situation. We were told that Ukraine war would last 2 weeks, and here we are. We're still looking at still looking at the time they're going. This will be over in a flash. This war will be over.

You know, the whole of the west is back in Ukraine, and it's still ongoing, and there's no sign

of an

end to it. And what are we gonna do? Just throw more money at it and hope that that helps? Well, you live in more bombs. That was

You live in Northern Ireland, which is far away

from Russia.

Was If

I was in Poland or in 1 of the Baltic states, the idea that I would be next to Russia without an army would frighten the life out of me. The only language Putin respects

is an army, and they have No. No. No. No. Percent or 2 a half percent.

To keep on, you could increase it to 15%, and it still wouldn't be enough to end at war because the fact is you can't just But

but what do you suggest, Asin, though, that they opt opt out? You know, if the the debate is whether you increase spending, your argument can't be, well, we don't No.

Well, I just spend it. Wear flowers. No. Well, you use All wars out negotiation. None of them ever really end in surrender.

You don't see anyone bombing their way to surrender.

Start with negotiation. They start when 1 side has superiority over the others militarily. Honestly, I can't believe you were recommended.

But neither neither side does. And the fact is that we have through 1,000,000 and millions of Ukraine war, and it isn't showing any sign of end. And and for NATO, just to say evacuate. Let's increase let's increase spending on defense, and so that will fix all our problems. You just come back to, you know, the the nuclear war the cold war.

Basically, let's see who has the biggest boss, and that will solve

much more existential argument than we have time for right now. I can tell. Probably. Thank you very much. For the moment, Alison and Tim, we'll be right back.

We can take a break. Coming up, how have the 2 main party leaders managed to make sandwiches into a bread and butter issue? We'll discuss that next. Not sure for how long, though. Do stay with us.

I'm James Matthews, and I'm Sky's US correspondent based here in Washington DC. Do you fear a 4th indictment? No. No. Does your government owe an apology to the British home children?

Hate to see us.

Does your government owe them owe them an apology? The fact that they were intercepted, does that indicate a a military weakness on the part of Iran? No. No. No.

Free wherever you get your news. There's no doubting the strength of this hurricane as it roars through. You can feel a devastating power. It had been a difficult night in a deadly storm. Bang.

Bang. You could hear it hitting the windows.

Our houses are okay.

It's depressing. As bad as all of this is, it could have been much worse. Today, this land that they call sacred is at the heart of America's electric car revolution. To me, it's a sacred ground. The white gold rush is a race that Biden doesn't want to rule.

I've covered some of the biggest stories in the world. Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, it would appear is about to learn his fate. Escort coming up. San Quentin houses America's largest death row. They really allow cameras onto the condemned block.

I want to be treated equally like everybody else.

It's 1 step closer to getting out to getting off dead, bro. Sky News. Getting the full story first. Mister Trump, James Matthews from Sky News. Hey.

Hey, James. Finished by claims that you're a racist. I have a question. Mister Musk, has your ignorance and ego cost Ukrainian lives? Vladimir Putin calls you outstanding.

What do you call him, sir?

He's from Sky News. He's from Sky News. He's entitled to to ask me questions.

The Manchester Derby on USA.

The most significant day of this conflict.

They keep telling us that they won. This is what's left

of it. They look so beautiful.

Why only in America?

People want their country

to work.

They want a job in a normal life.

Why are these homes empty?

I want you to

be honest with people.

That has happened within minutes. Sky News,

the full story first. Free wherever you get your news. Play Sky News.

From the Sky News Center at 7.

Now that you're up to

date, we can go into a bit more detail.

Things can change incredibly quickly. Taken by surprise

Have you ever known

a moment like this in British politics before? Yes. Cheers.

We'll start with breaking news.

Let's get the latest on the ground.

So by the end, we'll hopefully all understand what's going on in the world just that little

much better.

Welcome back. You are still watching the press preview. Still with me, Tim Montgomery and Morrison Morris. Let's take a look at this story on the front page of The Guardian, and that is that some jury trials may be axed. This is in order to ease the the court backlog.

The the courts, have a tremendous backlog, which means the machines are grinding extremely slowly, Tim.

Well, Alison is the expert on this, so I'm probably gonna repeat Alison's words.

Possibly, do we?

Basically, I

should I say what you told me and you can turn that around right?

No. You don't say I do come from I mean, I come from Northern Ireland where we have non jury trials, but they're specifically for terrorist related offenses because that dates back to the troubles when juries might have been intimidated or threatened. That doesn't necessarily mean they've run quicker. But what this is is the plan to take cases that are maybe too serious for the magistrates, but not serious enough necessarily for the crown, things that fall in between. And rather than let them clog up the system, have them in front of a jury with a magistrate sitting alongside.

The idea being that that will speed things up and speed up justice to get rid of the backlog in the courts. Now as we know, you know, the cornerstone of the justice system is that you are tried by a jury of your peers, and some people might, be against having a judge only. But in some cases, it can actually be beneficial. Juries are run on a motion, whereas judges run on facts, and it can actually speed the case up very quickly. We've seen that.

I will say, though, 1 of the most recent trials that I covered in Northern Ireland with a nonjury, the old diploc style courts lasted 10 years. So I wouldn't necessarily say I have a no judge who speeds things up the whole situation. It was a terror trial that lasted 10 years, and you will you will be surprised

that at

the end of that 10 years, all the defendants were found not guilty.

Oh. That was what I was gonna say.

Let's quickly move on to the the story, of the day, much, much lighter, but, Oh, yeah.

I could do with sandwiches.

That's That's curiously divisive. Lunches, sandwiches, Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer. You've You've got about 20 seconds.

I'm gonna hold my tummy in at this point, but I do like lunch. And I'm 1 of these old fashioned journalists who still drink at lunchtime Oh. As well. So I

think we've got to stop there. Tim and Alison, thank you so much for taking us through the papers. We'll see you in the 11 o'clock hour. Let's take a look at the weather for you now. Well, tomorrow looks fairly settled again.

It's chilly and cloudy for many, but the weekend will bring some changes. Cloud will be quite extensive to start to the day, bringing fog to the hills and drizzle of outbreaks to parts of Britain. Most places will be frost free, but clearer spells in the north and west will bring freezing conditions to a few. Coming up next on Sky News at 11, serious questions are being asked tonight about the child protection and safe guarding systems within the UK following the details of the Sara Sharif case.

Jubilation in the streets, while some, emotional. This is a political victory for prime minister Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. I'm Neville Lazarus, and I'm Sky's reporter based in Delhi. Companies like these are helping India in its trajectory to be a serious player in space exploration. Sky News get the full story first.

Play Sky News.

From the Sky News Center at 7.

Now that you're up to date, we can go into a bit more detail.

Things can change incredibly quickly. Taken by surprise.

Have you ever known

a moment like this in British politics before?

Yes. Cheers. We'll start with breaking news.

Let's get the latest on the ground.

So by the end, we'll hopefully all understand what's going on in the world just that little better.