This Is Why

The Ministry of Defence has committed billions of pounds to building a new generation of warships. But there's a problem.
Older vessels are being retired, their replacements are taking years to arrive, and concerns are growing about the Navy's ability to meet its commitments. So why aren't we building more ships, more quickly?
It's about money, a lack of skilled workers, and decades of decisions that have left Britain's shipbuilding industry struggling to keep up.
Sky's military analyst Robert Clark joins Niall Paterson to help us understand why.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk. You can also watch This Is Why on the Sky News app, and on YouTube.
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In October 1998, Karl Bushby left his mum’s house in Humberside to fly to the southern tip of South America. The journey home would take him the best part of three decades to complete.
Karl travelled up through the Americas, across the Bering Strait into Russia, crossed the Caspian Sea and trekked the length of Europe before finally swimming the Channel and completing a 31,000-mile ‘modern odyssey’.
But there were two rules: no motorised transport – meaning he had to walk or swim the entire distance – and no changing the route. Living by those rules would end up costing Karl more than he could ever have imagined.
Niall Paterson speaks to the Daily Telegraph journalist Ed Cumming, who joined Karl on the final leg of his epic adventure.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

The King is in the Caribbean, and, so far, he's faced hardly any protests from people campaigning for reparations for transatlantic slavery.
But the leaders of the countries he's visiting have been speaking out. The prime minister of the Bahamas told Sky News that reparation is not just about money, but acknowledging what slavery did.
There will be more calls for reparations at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua, which the King is attending as head of the organisation.
But as Prince William currently shows little inclination to follow his father in becoming head of the Commonwealth, will it be harder in future to put pressure on Britain?
Niall is joined by Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy, and Sir Patrick Vernon, UK representative of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham joked on TikTok that demand from people trying to find out their council tax band crashed the government website. They wanted to know because Chancellor John Healey announced in his budget that households in England in bands A to D will receive a £100 cash payment to help with energy bills. Wales and Scotland said they planned to replicate the measure.
Those bands were based on a property's value in 1991 as the council tax replaced the controversial poll tax. More than 30 years on, despite calls to update property values in the bands, no government has chosen to do it.
Niall talks to Sky's business correspondent Paul Kelso about why it's never been tackled and whether this is the best way to help people with their bills.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

The World and This Is Why join forces for a special episode on Israel's election - a contest that could have significant consequences for the Middle East and the wider world.
Niall Paterson is joined live from Israel by Yalda Hakim and Richard Engel, asking why pollsters seem to have got it so wrong, why this might be the world's first AI election, and why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after 19 years, looks like he might continue to be the most powerful man in the country.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email why@sky.uk
You can email questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk
You can watch our podcasts on the Sky News app and on our YouTube channel here.