Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow

The government approved a new gas drilling operation in the North Sea, ending almost two years of uncertainty over the Jackdaw gas field after legal challenges by environmental activists. The Prime Minister said the project would protect jobs and keep millions of homes warm, while critics said those claims were exaggerated and that the move breached the UK's climate change commitments. Energy Security Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh defended the decision, citing an energy crisis triggered by conflict in the Middle East, the importance of home-grown energy and the need for gas during the transition to net zero. Friends of the Earth said the project would not reduce energy bills and would exacerbate the climate crisis, and Greenpeace criticised the approval as showing the influence of the fossil fuel lobby and said it would not lower bills or boost energy security. A business correspondent reported from Aberdeen that the oil and gas industry was delighted and that the field's developers, co-owned by Shell and Equinor, described it as a great prize and more than £2bn of investment; he said Jackdaw was expected to pipe gas into the network by the end of the month, with gas prices up 3% that morning and 25% over a month. A science and technology editor said Jackdaw's global emissions would be small, amounting to tens of millions of tonnes of CO2 over about a decade, but that the climate movement was not wrong about the risks of warming and the costs of transition.

An Australian MP, Helen Haines, had both legs amputated after being hit by a car, her husband said, adding that her injuries were worse than first reported but that she remained stable. A correspondent in Melbourne reported that police and politicians believed it appeared very likely to have been a deliberate attack, that the suspect allegedly struck her with a four-wheel drive, turned around and struck her again, leaving her pinned between two vehicles, and that a man at the scene detained the suspect and threw away a knife. The suspect, Brenton Nugent, appeared in the Wangaratta local court, where his lawyer said he had a neurological disorder and was not on medication at the time; the family had known Helen Haines as a family friend for about 20 years. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, after joining Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, where the Ukrainian leader called for trilateral discussions between Ukraine, the US and Russia and a permanent ceasefire. The energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, declined to publicly back Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's proposed immigration reforms when repeatedly asked whether she supported extending the qualifying period for settlement in the UK to 15 years; she said she supported reforming the immigration system and that the home secretary was consulting on the package and would set out the final position. A political correspondent said other cabinet and Labour figures had concerns, including Angela Rayner, and that the policy was controversial partly because it was applied retrospectively to people who came on health and social care visas in 2022-24; government sources said ministers would not comment on specific parts before the consultation reported in autumn. Russell Brand was back at Southwark Crown Court for the eighth day of his trial over rape and sexual assault charges; the court had heard from three women and was due to hear from more, including a woman who alleges he raped her at his home, and he denies all charges.

A government-commissioned review, seen exclusively by Sky News, concluded that anti-semitism in schools is vast and that teachers urgently need more training and resources; it was led by former schools inspector Sir David Bell and found that one in five students had seen or experienced anti-semitism and three in five Jewish students had, with under-reporting because fewer than 50% thought reporting would resolve anything. The review was expected to recommend strengthened Holocaust and modern anti-semitism education, a greater Ofsted role in inspecting schools' anti-semitism policies and a campaign near Jewish schools to deter abuse, and the government was expected to accept the recommendations when published. Events were being held across Wales to mark 60 years since the Aberfan disaster, when a mountain of coal waste collapsed onto Pantglas Junior School and the village, killing 116 children and 28 adults; a survivor described being buried and later placed with deceased bodies before someone saw his foot move. Reports noted that 368 disused coal mines, mainly in the Welsh valleys, still had the potential to affect public safety, that more than 2,500 coal tips were being actively monitored, and that the Welsh Government had set up a new public body from April next year to protect communities from unstable tips.