This Is Why

Less up, up and away... more stuck on the tarmac. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded after yet another critical collapse of the country’s air traffic control system.

While a cyber-attack has been ruled out, it’s still the third time in four years severe disruption has affected airlines and travellers because of problems at NATS – a public-private partnership and the UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services.

Why do these issues keep happening? Should the government intervene? And is it only a matter of time before passenger safety is compromised?

Niall Paterson speaks to aviation expert and former air traffic controller, Doug Maclean.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

Imagine your child has been the victim of a terror attack. Then imagine the most intimate details of their injuries being viewed and shared without your permission or knowledge.

A Sky News and Health Service Journal investigation has uncovered the extent to which NHS staff are accessing patients’ medical records.

High profile cases include the victims of the Nottingham and Southport attacks. But information was also accessed to carry out coercive control and domestic abuse.

Niall Paterson speaks to Sky’s health correspondent, Ashish Joshi, and Zoe Tidman – senior correspondent for the Health Service Journal.

NHS England has issued a response to the investigation, saying: “All NHS trusts are required to maintain audit logs of access to patient information as well as having controls in place to prevent and identify unauthorised access – and must take action in cases where staff have abused the trust of patients by accessing personal records without good reason.”

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

We have become used to seeing protests against small boat arrivals in the UK, but the speed and size of those in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend felt like something new.

The demonstrations were led by a group founded by Daniel Thomas - a friend of far-right activist Tommy Robinson - who described the protests as "only the beginning".

Local authorities were seemingly caught out by events. So, will we now see more similar demonstrations? And what can the police do?

Gareth Barlow is joined by Sky's Data and Forensics correspondent Tom Cheshire.

Have you got a question for This is Why? Email us: why@sky.uk

Lots of 30-year-olds are career-driven, ambitious types - but perhaps none more so than French far-right politician Jordan Bardella.

The sharp-suited, clean-cut leader of France’s National Rally party is tipped as a future prime minister – or even president – of one of the UK’s closest allies.

He’s also been the star of the show at the Reform party conference in Birmingham – signing a deal on small boats with his admiring counterpart, Nigel Farage.

So, who is Bardella? And why would a party like Reform – that denies being far right – consummate such a close relationship?

Niall Paterson is joined by Dr Philippe Marliere, a professor in French and European politics at University College London.

Most taxi drivers tell tales about who they’ve had in the back of their cab. But how would you feel about catching a cab that doesn’t have a driver in the front?

Autonomous taxis can now be ordered on London’s streets – in a move many would liken to something out of a sci-fi movie. In reality, the cars currently arrive with a human “safety” driver - but the plan is that fairly soon they won’t.

So, how safe are these vehicles? And what does the move mean for real-life cabbies who might be fearing for their jobs?

Niall Paterson is joined by Sky’s technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe, who had an eventful journey in an autonomous taxi in central London.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk