"I smell a virgin…" Katie Hopkins said, looking straight at me. "I smell lefty, pressy scum!" The far-right commentator was addressing an audience of 500 people in a soggy tent in a rural corner of northwest England. I was standing at the back but that didn't stop her singling me out. The crowd theatrically booed me, as if I was a pantomime villain. I blushed. Image: Katie Hopkins in 2020 Image: Katie Hopkins in 2020 This was one of many strange moments I witnessed at the three-day event, officially called the Weekend Truth Festival (WTF), that some may call a conspiracy theory gathering. As well as being called out by Hopkins, I saw children chanting anti-vax slogans and had a magnet applied to my arm to prove my COVID vaccinations … 阅读全文

Rishi Sunak has been challenged over COVID parties in Downing Street while out on the campaign trail for the general election. During a Q&A session in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, a member of the audience described how his mother died at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and neither he, nor his brothers, were able to be with her in hospital due to the rules in place. "You'll probably remember that was the month where all the parties were going on in Downing Street - I think the month after you attended a gathering where you got a fixed penalty notice," he added. "So my question was... how can anyone trust you or the [Conservative] party after things like this?" Image: The prime minister on a visit to Milton Keynes. … 阅读全文

A COVID vaccination centre in Ceredigion has been forced to temporarily shut its doors after two snakes were found on site. The snakes have been named Cwm and Cou after the Welsh village where the centre is located. Cou is the larger of the snakes and is believed to be an adder, while Cwm is believed to be a grass snake. The adder is said to have left the building, while Hywel Dda Health Board is seeking advice from wildlife experts to remove the remaining reptile. Staff joked that neither of the animals were "eligible for our spring booster". Read more from Sky News:Bodies of two women found at propertyMP reveals feet and hands were amputated Be the first to get Breaking News Install the Sky News app for free … 阅读全文

A dad who suffered a brain injury just days after receiving a British-developed COVID vaccine has told Sky News he would never have had the jab if he had known of the risk of rare but serious side effects. Jamie Scott, who has two young boys and is now unable to work, is suing AstraZeneca for what he says is damage caused by the jab in April 2021. He alleges the pharmaceutical giant exaggerated the vaccine's effectiveness and downplayed its risks. AstraZeneca denies the claims made against them. In his first TV interview, Mr Scott told Sky News: "I took it to protect the elderly people around me. "AstraZeneca and the government need to explain the risk whenever you take medicine. If there's a risk - I've got a young … 阅读全文

A ten-month-old murdered by his parents just weeks after being returned to their care died "as the result of abuse when he should have been one of the most protected children in the local authority area", a safeguarding review has found. The report found safeguarding practices in the lead-up to Finley Boden's death in December 2020 had been "inadequate" and there were "significant shortcomings" in the assessment and planning of his return to the family home. However, it said the impact of the COVID pandemic had "severely disrupted" the "protective systems and services designed to detect, prevent and respond to maltreatment" at the time. One of the social workers involved in the case was off work for six weeks due to illness while the assessment was being carried out, during … 阅读全文

The government will end routine COVID testing for hospital patients discharged into care homes from April 1. Health minister Maria Caulfield confirmed the decision in a written statement on Monday and said the move could be taken due to continued high levels of vaccination among at-risk groups, combined with wider access to treatments and the reduced impact of outbreaks. Ms Caulfield added the shift was "to align with the approach for other respiratory illnesses". This includes the scrapping of lateral flow testing to manage outbreaks in higher-risk settings. However, free testing to determine the cause of specific outbreaks, when green lit by local health authorities, will remain in place. But one care home group warned the move could have potentially "serious consequences". Image: A volunteer from the COVID-19 Bereaved Families … 阅读全文

Exactly four years ago today, Boris Johnson announced the UK's first COVID lockdown, ordering people to "stay at home". Working from home became our reality and people were separated from their loved ones, while frontline workers tackled a new and unknown virus. With a public inquiry under way into how the UK approached COVID-19, many have criticised when and how we went in and out of lockdowns. So if another pandemic struck, would we have to lock down again - and how would it be different? Sky News asks scientists and disaster experts whether we would ever be told to stay at home again, what lockdown measures would involve - and whether the public would comply. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 6:14 6:14 Boris Johnson's … 阅读全文

The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Welsh care homes was 'inconsistent', the UK COVID Inquiry has been told. Wales's commissioner for older people, Helena Herklots, said some of the people she represented felt their lives "weren't valued" and "weren't important". "Some homes had the PPE that they needed, but others were really struggling to get it, trying to purchase it directly themselves, or struggling to secure it from the distribution mechanisms that were then in place," she said. "So it was causing quite a lot of homes a lot of anxiety and stress about not having the PPE that they needed." This is the first of three weeks in which the UK COVID Inquiry is sitting in Cardiff. On Tuesday, the inquiry heard first minister Mark Drakeford "regularly" … 阅读全文

Mark Drakeford used WhatsApp to "seek clarification of the rules" during the pandemic, the COVID inquiry has been told. A legal representative told the inquiry that WhatsApp disclosures showed Wales's outgoing first minister was "regularly using [the messaging platform] to discuss policy announcements and even to seek clarification on the rules". Nia Gowman, who represents Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, said WhatsApp messages disclosed to the inquiry showed then health minister, Vaughan Gething, and first minister's most senior special adviser "turning on disappearing messages". Read more:The families in Wales who want answers on COVID decisions "The limited messages that have been disclosed clearly show WhatsApp and text messages used to discuss government business where they shouldn't have been," Ms Gowman said. "They show Welsh government senior special advisers suspiciously … 阅读全文

As the COVID inquiry comes to Cardiff, Sky News has spoken with some families in Wales who are still searching for answers over the loss of their loved ones. Margaret Williams, 76, lost her mum to COVID during the first wave of the pandemic. This year, Peggy Patrick, who was 95 when she died, would have celebrated her 100th birthday. Mrs Williams told Sky News it was a "truly traumatic and horrifying time". "I want to know how my mum died, I want to know how it happened. I may never know," she said. Image: Peggy Patrick. Pic: Margaret Williams Image: Peggy Patrick. Pic: Margaret Williams Peggy died on 11 April 2020, exactly a month after visits to her care home were prohibited. "I do have sympathy with the care … 阅读全文