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No Writer
Mar 24
Airlines threaten Heathrow with legal action

The chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee Nigel Wicking told Sky News he hoped the matter could be "amicably settled at some point in time" but said, "if we don't get good enough recourse and repayment in terms of the costs, then yes, there might be a case for legal action". "I would hope not. But in some of these situations that's the only course once you've gone through everything else", he added. Money blog: Price of a pint is about to hit big milestone Heathrow, Europe's largest airport, was closed from the early hours of Friday morning after a fire at a major electricity substation hit electricity supplies. No planes were allowed to take off or land, causing flight diversions. About 1,300 flights were impacted with roughly 250,000 passengers affected. Some flights resumed on Friday evening but airlines faced difficulties and passengers were disrupted due to airline crew being in different parts of the world. Mr Wicking also called for an independent investigation of what happened and why recovery took so long. "Airlines have a regulatory duty to take care of their passengers," he said. "But in this particular case, we do feel that it was another party that caused the situation." Energy secretary Ed Miliband said he was working with energy regulator Ofgem and commissioned the National Energy System Operator to investigate the fire at the substation incident. 'Appalling' communication The head of the airline group representing companies such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic was also critical of Heathrow's communication. He said it was "appalling" airlines had to wait until midnight on Friday to confirm that terminal two would open on Saturday. The situation was "not justifiable given the amount of money that has been spent on Heathrow over the years and the fact that it is the most expensive airport in the world". The hit to airlines Airlines and suppliers alone could face costs of "at least" £20m for the day of halted operations, said travel expert Paul Charles, a former Virgin Atlantic communications director and chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency. The figure includes an estimate of expenses for passengers, crew accommodation, additional transport, fuel and other costs for the aircraft themselves. Analysts at investment bank Jefferies said compensation for delays could knock 1% to 3% off profits at BA and Aer Lingus parent company IAG. But the outage could be considered a force majeure event, meaning passengers would not be entitled to compensation, according to the head of the Spanish airlines association Javier Gandara. Heathrow response Heathrow has been contacted for comment. Its CEO Thomas Woldbye said he was "proud" of how the airport responded to the outage. In a post on LinkedIn on Monday Mr Woldbye added, "So, was I proud of the situation we found ourselves in? Of course not." "But I am incredibly grateful for, and proud of, what was achieved to get us out of the situation in such a short amount of time by teams of people we all rely on across the entire airport eco-system, but who rarely get the credit they deserve. Mr Woldbye previously said a backup transformer failed during the power outage, meaning systems had to be closed in line with safety procedures so power supplies could be restructured from two remaining substations. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the airport took the decision to suspend flights because it needed to reboot systems after switching to a different power supply.

Bethany Minelle, arts and entertainment reporter
Mar 24
Snow White: Blighted by controversy, but Disney live-action remake still tops box office

Based on the 1937 classic that established Disney's name as an industry leader, Snow White took an estimated $43m (£33.1m) domestically, and $87.3m (£67.3m) worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. In the UK and Ireland, the film took £3.85m, accounting for 43% of all tickets sold across its three-day opening weekend. For comparison, Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King, which came to cinemas in December, took $35m domestically (£27m). It's now gone on to take over $700m (£540m) globally. Meanwhile, Disney's 2019 live-action Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, took $45m (£35m) domestically in its opening weekend. It has since taken over $350m (£270m) worldwide. Snow White has not performed well in China, only making it to seventh place in the Chinese box office charts and grossing less than $1m (£770,000) over its opening, according to EntGroup's China Box Office website. Reviews for the movie have been mixed, with The Guardian calling it an "exhaustingly awful reboot" and The Observer similarly judging it to be "toe-curlingly terrible". The Independent wasn't a fan of the "uncanny CGI caricatures" which it said were reminiscent of 2004 movie The Polar Express, a sentiment echoed by Empire which called the reimagined dwarves an "unholy VFX disaster". The Daily Mail called it "painfully muddle-headed", but gave Zegler the thumbs up, highlighting her "oodles of talent", while The New York Post said it was "mediocre" and unmemorable. Some US outlets have given a more favourable critique, with Variety calling it "one of the better live-action adaptations of a Disney animated feature," and The Hollywood Reporter judging it "mostly captivating". Reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 44% critic score - which translates to "rotten" - however the audience score on the site's "Popcornometer" is currently at 74%, rating it "fresh". Dubbed 'woke' and plagued with speculation The movie had a muted marketing campaign, with no UK premiere and reduced US press opportunities. Costing around $250m to make, the film had been flagged as a potential tent-pole movie (a film that is expected to be very successful and support a range of merchandise or spin-off opportunities) for Disney early on. But aspirations faded as it approached release as it was hit by controversy after controversy. Early on, Snow White was labelled "woke" due to its casting of Latina actress Rachel Zegler, who is of Colombian-Polish descent, in the lead role. Zegler also faced a backlash after suggesting the early version of the film had content that was unsuitable for the 21st century - namely the fact the prince "literally stalks" Snow White. There was then speculation as to whether Zegler got on with Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen, as they have previously expressed very different views over the Israel-Hamas war. The use of CGI to create the seven dwarf characters, thus replacing the potential for little people to take up the roles, has left disability activists to accuse the movie of "erasing" them from the narrative. Ahead of the film's release, comedian, model and content creator Fats Timbo told Sky News she believed Disney missed a golden opportunity to educate children during what was likely to be their first encounter with someone with dwarfism. Snow White is in cinemas now.

Faith Ridler, politics reporter
Mar 24
When is the spring statement - and what do you need to know about it?

The spring statement is not a formal budget - as Labour pledged to only deliver one per year - but rather an update on the economy and any progress since her fiscal statement last October. Politics Hub: Follow live updates While it's not billed as a major economic event, Rachel Reeves has a big gap to plug in the public finances and speculation has grown she may have to break her self-imposed borrowing rules. Here, Sky News explains everything you need to know. What is the spring statement? The spring statement is an annual speech made by the chancellor in the House of Commons, in which they provide MPs with an update on the overall health of the economy and Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts. It is one of two major financial statements in the financial year - which runs from 1 April to 31 March. The other is the autumn budget, a more substantial financial event in which the chancellor sets out a raft of economic policy for the year ahead. Typically, the spring statement - which was first delivered by ex-chancellor Phillip Hammond in 2018 - gives an update on the state of the economy, and details any progress that has been made since the autumn budget. What could be announced? The government has already announced some big cuts - and there may be more to come. Ms Reeves could decide to extend the freeze on thresholds at which people start to pay different rates of income tax, beyond the current freeze, which is due to end in April 2028. The government could also raise the relief rate for struggling retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses after cutting it to 40% in the October budget. The chancellor is expected to announce £400m in spending on the government's new UK Defence Investment body to "harness UK ingenuity and boost military technology", according to The Mirror. 👉Listen to Politics At Sam And Anne's on your podcast app👈 She has been called on to reduce the £20,000 tax-free annual limit on cash ISAs to £4,000 to encourage more people to invest their savings in stocks and shares - a move that could hurt cash ISA savers. To read more on what is expected to be announced in the Spring Statement, and what has already been announced, check out Sky News political reporter Alix Culbertson's piece here. When will Rachel Reeves deliver it? The OBR, which monitors the government's spending plans, will publish its forecast on the UK economy on 26 March. It is required to produce two economic forecasts a year, but the chancellor said she would only give one budget a year to provide stability and certainty on upcoming tax changes. The OBR will also provide an estimate on the cost of living for British households, and detail whether it believes the Labour government will adhere to its own rules on borrowing and spending. The chancellor will then present the OBR's findings to the House of Commons, and make her first spring statement. This will be responded to by either Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch or shadow chancellor Mel Stride. Why does it matter? The UK economy is thought to be underperforming - potentially due to global factors, like Donald Trump's trade tariffs - and there are rumours that the chancellor could consider breaking her own rules on borrowing in response. The economy contracted slightly in January, while inflation has climbed to a 10-month high of 3%. Meanwhile, the government has committed to boosting defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 - an expensive task. Ms Reeves's fiscal rules mean she cannot borrow for day-to-day spending - leaving cuts as one of her only options. Her other "non-negotiable" is to get debt falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament. It is expected that welfare cuts will be part of the spring statement package to help the chancellor come within her borrowing limit. Our deputy political editor Sam Coates said earlier in March there would be a "four-point plan" involving planning reform, Whitehall cuts, regulation cuts and welfare cuts. The government has already announced NHS England will be scrapped. In short, the Treasury believes Ms Reeves must maintain £10bn in headroom after months of economic downturn and geopolitical events since last October's budget. It is widely expected the OBR will confirm that this financial buffer has been wiped clean. Read more:Welfare cuts will save £5bnThe town where a third are out of work Where can I watch the spring statement? The spring statement will be delivered in the House of Commons on Wednesday 26 March, directly after Prime Minister's Questions, which is usually finished by around 12.30pm. You'll be able to keep up to date on Sky News - and follow live updates in the Politics Hub.

No Writer
Mar 24
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc's disqualifications: What went wrong at Chinese GP and the consequences

Leclerc's car was 1kg under the 800kg car weight limit and Hamilton's plank underneath the car had excessive wear by half a millimetre. The pair finished fifth and sixth respectively in the race but Ferrari came out of Sunday's grand prix without any points. Oscar Piastri beats Lando Norris before Ferraris disqualifiedF1 2025 schedule | F1 championship standingsGot Sky? Watch F1 races LIVE on your phone! 📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺Choose the sports notifications you want! 🔔Did Ferrari set-up changes contribute to Hamilton disqualification? Hamilton won Saturday's Sprint in brilliant fashion but Ferrari, like everyone else, still made set-up changes to adapt or improve for Sunday's race. Bernie says: "I don't think it's unusual to change set-up after the Sprint because you know in the Sprint that you're never going to run 100kg of fuel. "One of those changes could be raising your right height because you know you will have to start on higher fuel. "What's different between this and Austin two years ago [when Hamilton's Mercedes was excluded for the same reason], you were not allowed to change the set-up between the Sprint and main race, so when you got the plank-wear read in the Sprint, you couldn't react to it. "In the Sprint, there was a lot more management than the main race because they did more laps pushing on a hard tyre, whereas on the medium they did a lot of management in the Sprint, so it wouldn't surprise me if the wear and fuel usage went up in the main race." Did Hamilton's two-stop strategy have an impact on plank wear? Hamilton was the only driver in the original top 10 to execute a two-stop race, after starting on medium tyres and pitting for hards on lap 13 and hards again on lap 37 in the 56-lap race. BC says: "The two-stopper will lead to pushing more on each lap. The only slight counter to that for Lewis is because he did two stints on the hard, he goes through that graining phase, which does control the pace a little bit. "The only other thing for Lewis is, I don't know if he had any damage from the Leclerc incident? The FIA say there were 'no mitigating circumstances' and if Ferrari could prove damage or lack of downforce, they would have been able to do that but they didn't. "As for Leclerc, who did a one-stop, people were saying maybe a one-stop was possible. They didn't know how much the hard tyre would wear, so they didn't have an estimated mass loss for the hard tyre but they are allowed to take pick-up and they changed Leclerc's front wing. "I don't know where the loss in mass has come from." Do Ferrari have a fundamental car design issue? Interestingly, there were whispers in the paddock after Australia that Ferrari had to raise their car for the season-opener to avoid too much plank wear. While the team have not commented on the alleged issue, Hamilton being disqualified for excessive plank wear a week later has raised eyebrows. Bernie says: "It would be standard for everyone to raise the car in Australia because of the bumps and they are detrimental to downforce and plank wear. "In Australia, Ferrari were not that strong. Some of it was down to strategy but the performance in qualifying was not that strong, so maybe they have a car that's very sensitive to ride height in terms of aero performance. All of these cars are because they're all ground-effect cars, but maybe it is more sensitive than others. "I would be surprised that the Sprint in China was not a good enough indication that you would be illegal on plank wear. "If they have got what we would call a 'peaky' ride height, which means there's a very small optimum ride height that you can have a good aerodynamic platform in, that is an issue for a car. "You want to be fit to run a range of ride heights because of all these range of tracks. For example, in Austria there are intense kerbs so you want to add a bit of ride height there. "Maybe the aero platform is too peaky." What will Ferrari do now to ensure they are legal for Suzuka? Bernie says: "Fundamentally, it's the race engineer's job that the car is legal. Each race engineer for each car, it lies with them that the car is legal. "They will try and understand why it's illegal in both instances, in the weight and plank wear. It would be lovely to know if Leclerc was legal on plank wear. We know Lewis' car was legal on weight because all cars are checked on weight. We don't know if Leclerc was legal on plank wear because his car was not checked for it. "The teams will know how much the cars are bottoming out. They will go through all their procedures to see what was it that took them over the limit and which margin needs to be changed. "I don't believe anyone out there sets up the car thinking it's going to be illegal on plank wear and hope they don't get checked." What does all this mean for Hamilton relationship with Ferrari engineers? Bernie says: "It's a bump because Ferrari had the wrong strategy in Australia, in China they have been disqualified so should have done better, and they arguably had the wrong strategy because Lewis should not have pitted for a second time. "Lewis was really struggling in the car on Sunday and the car was illegal. The changes in set-up didn't react in the way he wanted to, or he wouldn't have been so slow in the race, and they've been illegal. "So it is a bump. If they go through it and they find whatever's wrong, then Lewis can get over that pretty quickly. But it's one of these little things that adds to the lack of trust. "When Sebastian Vettel came to us at Aston Martin, I really wanted him to think we were good at our jobs. "I really wanted him to go 'if she calls me to pit, I'm going to do it' because I trust the team. Now we have had a strategy thing, a radio thing and now disqualification, so it makes the driver unsure." Formula 1 heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on April 4-6, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime

Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent
Mar 24
Gisele Pelicot's son relives moment he discovered his father was a monster

As the friendly, smartly dressed man sits in front of me, waiting for our interview to begin, it is impossible to understand the pain and anguish which has haunted David Pelicot and his family over the last four years. "He was my father, but he's not anymore," David says. "Today he's a monster." David is the eldest son of Gisele Pelicot, the woman at the centre of a mass rape trial who became a household name after waiving her right to anonymity and bravely declaring that "shame must change sides". His father, Dominique, admitted repeatedly drugging and raping Gisele between 2011 and 2020, and inviting dozens of other men to their home in southern France to do the same. As strangers attacked his sedated wife, Dominique filmed them, building up a vile library of abuse. His crimes were exposed by chance in 2020 after he was caught filming up women's skirts in a local supermarket. When police seized his devices, they uncovered 20,000 meticulously organised videos and images of abuse. Gisele was the unconscious victim in many of them. On 2 November 2020, police showed her what they had found. After seeing herself violated in the most hideous ways, she had to call her children to tell them what their father had done. "It's a moment that will remain etched in my memory forever," David says, as he recounts the evening which would destroy his family. He remembers his wife answering the phone, speaking to his mother and turning pale before handing him the call. His mother gently asked him to go somewhere quiet, where he could be alone. She then explained she had been repeatedly raped by his father and dozens of other men. "What she told me was like a tsunami," David says. "I felt so many emotions rising within me… and then the nausea which had been mounting during the entire conversation reached a peak. "I hung up the phone and it felt like the floor gave way under my feet, and I felt sick. I went to the bathroom and threw up." Read more:How Gisele Pelicot went from victim to feminist heroInside the depraved mind of 'career criminal' Dominique Just like his mother, the 50-year-old is dignified and clear as he relives the moment he discovered the father he loved and trusted was a manipulative monster. Dominique Pelicot, the affable guy who people liked, was a predator who carefully planned his crimes, crushing sleep-inducing drugs into his unsuspecting wife's food before allowing strangers to abuse and degrade her. No day was off limits; Gisele was assaulted on her birthday, Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve. "The moment we were told that she had been abused by more than 50 men was very difficult to hear, because this man, Dominique Pelicot, was the backbone of the family," David continues. "He'd taught me to respect women, so when I heard what he'd done to our own mother, as the eldest son, I was filled with anger and total incomprehension." Throughout our conversation, David always uses Dominique's full name. He explains it's his way of moving forward and grieving. In December, Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in jail after admitting his crimes. During the trial, his lawyer argued he had a split personality which enabled him to be a seemingly perfect husband and loving father while secretly committing hideous assaults. The question of how he had managed to trick them all clearly plays on David's mind. He says he believes Dominique is a Jekyll and Hyde type character who can be kind one minute, then depraved and cruel another. The trial heard as well as the attacks on Gisele, Dominique put up cameras to secretly film and photograph his son's wives, including one who was pregnant. The cameras were hidden in their bathrooms or rooms in his home. He then shared naked photos of them online. He also took photos of his adult daughter, Caroline, semi-naked while she was asleep. Dominique has always denied assaulting her, but she is terrified she was another of his victims. David tells me he also believes his sister was abused and pledges to help her in her fight for justice. After police exposed Dominique's crimes, David cut him off. But just before the trial started his father sent him a letter. "The first thing I asked myself was why is he writing to me? Is he writing to apologise? To ask for forgiveness? Or to try to manipulate me?" he says. "So, I read his letter carefully, but quite honestly, I tore it up and threw it in the bin. "Personally, I will never forgive him." There's only one question he wants to ask his father - why? Why did he do this to his wife, to his children and his grandchildren? Gisele isn't believed to be Dominique's only victim but David doesn't believe his father will ever tell the truth about his crimes. "I have no doubt he'll die in prison, but I'm convinced that he'll take many of his secrets to the grave," he says. While there's no doubt Dominique was the conductor in this depraved orchestra of abuse, 50 other men were also found guilty of raping or sexually assaulting Gisele. Around nine men are appealing but the case has forced France to look at its rape culture. Inspired by Gisele's bravery in waiving her anonymity and allowing images of herself being raped to be shown in open court, tens of thousands of people joined demonstrations against sexual violence around the country. Many held photos or drawings of Gisele. Her courage has seen her named as one of Time Magazine's women of the year, while a bold sketch of her with the words "No more shame" was emblazoned on the cover of German Vogue. I ask David how he sees the woman who has become an icon for many? "First and foremost, she's our mum. She's also our children's grandmother, but today, and for the rest of her life, she'll be a heroine," he says. For all the strength and dignity Gisele and her children have shown, it's unclear if they will ever be able to heal from the damage inflicted upon them. David explains his mother is trying to slowly rebuild herself but acknowledges that the family endured "unspeakable pain" throughout the trial. "We must continue to live, give meaning to our lives and not forget that in the world, there are other women who cannot speak and who absolutely must be helped," he says. At the end of the interview, he asks our all-female team how we think toxic masculinity and rape culture can be tackled. He listens intently to our responses and is clearly passionate about trying to find ways to educate young men and help build a safer society for women. He is impatiently waiting for the government to change the law around sexual consent. He has seen the darkest side of humanity and is desperately seeking the light. He says he found it in the crowds of cheering women who came to support his mother at court, crying with joy when the verdicts were read out. The case exposed unrepentant evil but also "gave immense hope to all women who suffer sexual violence," David concludes. "Not only bad came from this case. There was also a lot of positivity; today people are free to speak out."

No Writer
Mar 24
Sir Keir Starmer reveals he's been in touch with ex-England boss about issues raised in Netflix drama

Sir Keir said he was "worried" about the "crisis in masculinity" raised in the programme, which centres on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl and the rise of incel culture. Politics latest: Starmer 'looking' at cuts after chancellor confirms 10,000 civil service jobs to be axed The themes touched upon in the show have led to suggestions that the government introduce a minister for men to mirror the women and equalities minister that currently exists in the cabinet. But speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the prime minister said he did not think appointing a new minister was "the answer" to the problems affecting young boys today, including negative and harmful social media content and a lack of visible role models. "I am worried about this; I've got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl," he said. "There's a reason why the debate has suddenly sparked into life on this and that's because I think a lot of parents, a lot of people who work with young people at school or elsewhere, recognise that we may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address." Sir Keir said he was more persuaded by arguments put forward by former England manger Gareth Southgate, who argued in a recent lecture that young men lacked positive role models, making them vulnerable to online influencers who promoted negative ideologies about the world and women. "I've been in touch with Gareth," the prime minister said. "I know Gareth. I thought his lecture, what he was saying, was really powerful, will have resonated with a lot of parents. Read more:Stephen Graham on how incel culture influenced new Netflix showIncels pose 'emerging threat to children', study findsWhy violent motivations are becoming harder to define "And I do think this is something that we have to take seriously, we have to address. We can't shrug our shoulders at it." Asked whether a minister for men would help, Sir Keir said: "No, I don't think that's the answer. "I think it is time for listening carefully to what Gareth Southgate was saying and responding to it. "I want to have that further discussion with him. We've already had a bit of a discussion about this, but I do think it's important we pick this challenge up and see it for what it is." Delivering the BBC's annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture, Mr Southgate revealed how his experience of missing a penalty at Euro 96 "still haunts me today". And he warned that "callous" influencers online were tricking young men into thinking women and the world were against them, causing them to "withdraw" into the online world and express their emotions there rather than in "real-world communities. 👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 He said a "void" in their search for direction is often now being filled by some influencers who "willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance". In his interview with the BBC, Sir Keir suggested footballers and athletes could be role models for boys and young men but said there was also a need for inspirational people in communities. Asked who the British male role models were, Sir Keir told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I always go to sport for this. Footballers, athletes, I think they are role models. "But I also think if you actually ask a young person, they're more likely to identify somebody who's in their school, a teacher, or somebody who maybe is a sports coach, something like that. Read more politics news:The horrific content teenagers are exposed to online'I banned my kids from using phones - schools should too' "So we need to make sure that - this is something that dads do, dad would reach for a sort of sporting hero - I think children, young people, are more likely to reach someone closer to them, within their school, within their community. "And that's, I think, where we need to do some of the work." The UK has never had a minister for men but previous Conservative MPs, including former Doncaster MP Nick Fletcher, have called for one in the past to tackle high rates of suicide among men. The position of minister for women was created by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair as a means of prioritising women's issues across government.

No Writer
Mar 24
Prove how many potholes you've fixed or lose cash, councils told

From the middle of next month, local authorities across England will start to receive their allocation of the £1.6bn for fixing roads across the country. But in order to get the full amount, all councils must publish annual reports on how many potholes they've filled - or see a quarter of the additional £500m in funding the government has allocated this year withheld. By 30 June, all councils must publish reports detailing how much they are spending, how many potholes they have filled, what percentage of their roads are in what condition, and how they are minimising disruption. Meanwhile, the transport secretary is unveiling a funding package of £4.8bn for 2025-6 for National Highways to deliver critical road schemes and maintain motorways and major A-roads. This new money will mean "pivotal" road construction schemes can be pushed forward, the government said. This is a key part of Downing Street's drive to ensure the voting public sees and feels the difference the government is making in their local communities as they fight off a challenge from Reform UK. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "The broken roads we inherited are not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds - if not thousands of pounds - in avoidable vehicle repairs. "British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us. "We've done our part by handing councils the cash and certainty they need - now it's up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they're delivering for their communities." Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "After years of neglect we're tackling the pothole plague, building vital roads and ensuring every penny is delivering results for the taxpayer." Responding to the announcement, the transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association said the cash will "help start to address the previously ever-growing backlog of local road repairs" which, he added, "could take more than a decade to fix". Councillor Adam Hug also called for the government to "play its full part" by using its Spending Review "to ensure that councils receive sufficient, long-term funding certainty, so they can focus their efforts on much more cost-effective, preventative measures". The Conservatives have responded by claiming Labour "want credit for handing councils a pothole sticking plaster". Gareth Bacon, shadow transport secretary, continued: "Labour are running on empty. They've got no plan for motorists, no grip on the problem, and no credibility. "Voters shouldn't be fooled - Labour aren't fixing the roads, they're steering Britain into a ditch." Spending on roads and cuts in Whitehall The spending on roads across England comes as the chancellor is preparing to make billions of pounds of spending cuts at the spring statement on Wednesday. A turbulent economic climate since October means the £9.9bn gap in her fiscal headroom (the amount she could increase spending or cut taxes without breaking her fiscal rules) has been wiped out. The government has confirmed it will force the civil service to slash £2bn a year from its budget by cutting administration costs by the end of the decade. Rachel Reeves told Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips she is "confident" they can cut 10,000 jobs from "back office" roles to ensure resources can be spent on front-line services. A total of £5bn is expected to be saved by making it more difficult to qualify for Pip, and also abolishing the work capability assessment in 2028, which determines whether someone on universal credit is fit to work. Quangos are also on the chopping block, with the prime minister having already announced NHS England is being abolished to both bring the health service back under more direct ministerial control, and also save money. 👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Money is being redirected towards defence, with the chancellor expected to announce £400m in spending on the government's new UK Defence Investment body to "harness UK ingenuity and boost military technology", The Mirror reports. And the full details of how international aid funding will be reallocated to defence are expected, after the prime minister said UK defence spending will rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027. Speaking to Trevor Phillips, the chancellor said "the world has changed" as she laid the groundwork for the spring statement. "We'll respond to the change and continue to meet our fiscal rule," she said. "But we're also shaping the new world, whether that's in the defence and security realm, or indeed on the economy. More from Sky News:Reeves 'rejects' analysis on living standardsWhat could be in the spring statement? The chancellor highlighted that "interest rates have been cut three times since the general election", adding: "That's a far cry from the 11% inflation and the interest rate hikes that we saw under the previous government." But shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the government has not "gripped the economy", accusing ministers of having talked it down and having a negative impact on growth.

No Writer
Mar 24
Chinese GP: Martin Brundle assesses Oscar Piastri's win, Ferrari 'pain' after disqualifications for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

By a small margin McLaren were once again the team to beat, but on a very smooth and grippy new surface which would yield a pole position time three seconds faster than last year, delivering the optimum lap didn't prove easy for any of the drivers. Mandatory minimum tyre pressures were high due to the high aerodynamic loads in the 270-degree first turn which also incorporates Turns two and three. And also Turns 12 and 13 onto the long back straight. Red Bull seriously considering Lawson-Tsunoda swap for Japanese GPF1 2025 schedule | F1 championship standingsGot Sky? Watch F1 races LIVE on your phone! 📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺Choose the sports notifications you want! 🔔 For a qualifying lap the drivers needed to hang around a little in the pitlane and the pit-out lap to let temperatures and therefore pressures drop down, not least because the minimum pressures were raised again by one psi front and rear overnight on Friday. This voodoo and imprecise process lead to a lot of variability. Hence we had the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen on the front row for the 19-lap Sprint, and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and Mercedes of George Russell on the front row of the 56-lap race. Variability was the name of the game in Shanghai. Vintage Hamilton in the Sprint The Sprint was vintage Hamilton controlling the race from pole position, managing his tyre graining out front better than others, and tucking away very early doors his first victory for Ferrari. After the previous weekend in Melbourne which he called "disastrous", this was the perfect antidote, and remarkably the first time either he or Ferrari had won a Sprint. Piastri would wrestle his way through to a fine second place by overtaking a very fair and compliant Verstappen, as everybody was struggling with badly-marked-up tyres which were graining heavily. It's a process where the lateral grip is so high that it tears the surface compound and makes the tyre slide, which further exacerbates the problem. Championship leader Lando Norris had one of his occasional unforced errors and ran wide on the opening lap, and would only salvage a point in eighth place. The McLaren is clearly fast but a little on the knife edge to drive. These days the teams are allowed to make changes before Saturday afternoon qualifying in order to attempt to improve their cars for both speed and tyre management. And many seemed pretty successful at that. The great unknown for race day would be the performance of the hard compound tyre. On Sprint weekends, despite there being an extra qualifying session and a further mini race, each driver is allocated 12 rather than 13 sets of dry tyres for the weekend. And only two of those are the hard compound which nobody wants to try beforehand and waste a set, along with giving everybody else useful information free of charge. This was especially pertinent given how awful the medium tyres looked in the Sprint in terms of graining. Teams changed race strategy on the go Qualifying for the main race looked like a straight duel between Piastri and Norris at McLaren, which the young Aussie looked like he might always ace. And indeed he did, but a different out-lap strategy and a fine lap slotted Russell's Merc between them and onto the front row. The weather in Shanghai had unusually been delightful all through the event and Sunday was no different, if a little more cloudy come the race. Off the start Piastri pinned the slightly faster-starting Russell towards the pit wall such that George's entry into the high speed Turn One was compromised. This allowed Norris to sweep around the outside and seize second place in great team play. Verstappen's Red Bull snapped sideways and this allowed the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc to seize the opportunity. Leclerc took a speedy tight line but would bounce off the serrated inside kerb and slide into his team-mate, breaking off the side fence of his front wing, which then proceeded to drag along the ground at speed, but luckily not puncturing Hamilton's tyre. Surprisingly, Leclerc would settle down despite this impediment, which was not changed at his pit stop, to be the fastest of the two Ferraris and Lewis would eventually let him through. It was a very feisty effort from Leclerc who must have hurt watching Hamilton take the Sprint victory 24 hours earlier. As it turned out, it would all be in vein. It was expected to be a two-stop race, medium/hard/hard, for an optimum glorious victory. Three drivers in the second half of the field tried a contrary strategy, and why not, by starting on the hard tyres. The early signs were that this mystery tyre was working well but it was confusing as Liam Lawson pitted his Red Bull to park the hard tyres on Lap 18, Ollie Bearman in the Haas on Lap 26, and Lance Stroll in his Aston Martin got to Lap 36 of the scheduled 56 laps. With pace management on their medium tyres, the leaders started pitting for the first time on Lap 14. Because McLaren were running a reasonably close one and two, Norris had to wait until Lap 15 and this put him behind Russell again. Another overtake was required and which was duly delivered in style with some hard racing heading into Lap 18, re-establishing the McLaren one-two. These tyres looked good and it began to dawn on teams that, against all expectations, they could make it to the end of the race without another pit stop which takes 23 seconds, if all goes well. McLaren are on a roll It was about now that we remembered Verstappen was in the race as he started to find some grip. Somehow on lower fuel, or simply track conditions, and probably even the realisation that he didn't need to babysit the tyres so much, this allowed him to catch the Ferraris. In fact Max would deliver his fastest and front-running lap time on the final tour, which is a bit confusing. Hamilton was pitted as there was nothing much to lose except putting him behind Verstappen but on much better tyres. Lewis would then push hard to the end of the race, a factor which may well have contributed to his eventual disqualification. The big question now was whether the hard tyre really could do 42 laps or more, and the answer was a resounding yes. Piastri in his usual understated way described them as "better than expected". Anybody who two-stopped such as Hamilton and the two Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda were not rewarded. Another question was whether Norris could mount a challenge on his team-mate and championship rival Piastri, but a disappearing brake pedal which became virtually non-existent on the final lap put paid to that, and Norris did well to just hold off Russell having another good day for Mercedes. It was the 50th one-two in McLaren's history and they really are on a roll these days. There was some fairly desperate racing, blocking, and overtaking going on down the field, not least by Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan who are in many ways unfairly feeling exposed in their drives so early in the season. There could well be changes. For the second successive race Fernando Alonso wouldn't finish, this time due to a rear brake issue. Pain for Ferrari after miscalculation The sting in the tail was the post-race disqualification of both Ferraris and Pierre Gasly's Alpine. Leclerc and Gasly were thrown out due to being marginally underweight. Rather like we saw last year in Spa with George Russell, a long run on one set of tyres uses up a few kilos of tyre tread. Also the race pace was strong and there were no Safety Cars, and so fuel usage was high, consuming more mass. Leclerc's broken front wing was allowed to be replaced but he was still underweight. Which ever way you cut it, that's a miscalculation by the team to not leave enough margin for all circumstances. Hamilton's car was thrown out for running too close to the ground and overly wearing away the legality skid block underneath by half a millimetre. This rule is in place to stop teams running these ground-effect aero cars too low to gain performance but then trashing super expensive floors every day. Especially in the Italian media, it will be painful reading for Ferrari this week despite the Sprint victory. Kimi Antonelli picked up some floor damage with debris on the first lap and had a relatively quiet but solid race to what would eventually be sixth place after the disqualifications. The fans knew something we didn't as he was voted driver of the day. Others to gain places post-race were Verstappen, Esteban Ocon and Bearman for Haas, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz for Williams, and Lance Stroll for Aston Martin who all inherited more points. Norris leaves China with one more point advantage over Verstappen in the championship than before he arrived, but more ominously for him, Piastri is now only 10 points behind. Next up is Suzuka. It's going to get intense between the McLaren pairing. Formula 1 heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on April 4-6, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime

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