Broadcast timeline
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Sunday 11 October 2026 · 09:00 BST · 1h · 7 stories · 15 annotated moments · 57 of 60 min on news stories (95%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
The programme began with the attack on the international airport in Riyadh, which killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300; a Saudi-led military coalition vowed to respond, called it a war crime and blamed Yemen's Houthis, while the Foreign Office advised British nationals to avoid the area until the airport was secure. It then examined Donald Trump's intervention saying Ukraine needed a new president and accusing President Zelensky of warmongering after Zelensky criticised a US diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, with Andy Burnham expressing complete solidarity with Zelensky. A panel discussed Trump's intervention, the diesel deal and the Saudi airport attack, and the programme noted at least 75 people had been killed in Ukraine that week, including 20 in Zaporizhia after the US-Russia deal.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK already supported Saudi Arabia with air-to-air refuelling and ground-based air defences and was looking at what more it could do, but said there was no military solution and a diplomatic solution was needed. On Ukraine, he said the choice of leader was for Ukrainians, the UK stood with Ukraine and Zelensky, Putin was the aggressor who could end the war, and Britain's role was to try to bring Washington and Kyiv back together. He also said the UK opposed the death penalty and did not support livestreaming the execution of the Fort Hood shooter, and that while he wanted 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, the government would not make that spending commitment outside a spending review and was planning on the basis of a possible Russian attack on NATO by 2030.
Conservative Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said Trump was wrong to call for a new Ukrainian president and that the diesel deal with Putin sent the wrong message. He defended Conservative conference announcements on inheritance tax, housing and youth employment, rejected the suggestion the party was for the wealthy, and cited planned savings and deficit reduction. SNP leader John Swinney then discussed the SNP's Holyrood election win, his call for an independence referendum, cooperation with nationalist first ministers, changes to the pensions triple lock, questions over Stephen Flynn's briefing on a ferry gas leak, and Peter Murrell's embezzlement case. A closing panel discussed the Greens' handling of a controversial Zionism motion, the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch, and the coming Budget.
- 0:11
- 0:33 Story begins Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12
- 2:01
Claim Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12
Saudi Arabia reported that a Houthi attack on Riyadh International Airport killed 12 people and injured more than 300, called it a war crime, and said the dead included four Saudi citizens and nationals of several other countries.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 2:01-2:07
- 2:09
Claim Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12
Saudi authorities called the attack a war crime and promised a forceful response.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 2:09-2:16
- 2:16
Claim Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12
The UK Foreign Office advised British nationals to stay away until the airport is secure.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 2:16-2:21
- 4:57
Contested quote Trump calls for new Ukraine president as UK backs Zelensky in diesel row
What would make a difference, of course, is sorting out what's happening with Iran. But let's be clear, President Trump has created this problem himself. This is a problem created not because of Ukraine and Russia in terms of diesel prices at the moment. This is created by the war in the Middle East.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 4:57-5:00
- 7:58
Claim Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12
The UK was providing support to Saudi Arabia through air defences and air-to-air refuelling.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 7:58-8:06
- 15:15
- 17:57
Claim Defence Secretary refuses to commit to 3% GDP defence target
Wes Streeting declined to commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, saying the chancellor would set out the path next year and that an unfunded commitment would raise borrowing costs.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 17:57-17:59
- 19:36
Claim Defence Secretary refuses to commit to 3% GDP defence target
Wes Streeting declined to commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, saying the chancellor would set out the path next year and that an unfunded commitment would raise borrowing costs.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 19:36-19:43
- 20:18
Claim Defence Secretary refuses to commit to 3% GDP defence target
Wes Streeting said defence spending had risen from 2.3% of GDP when Labour took office to 2.7% next year.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 20:18-20:24
- 25:26
- 27:05
Claim Panel debates UK net zero transition costs and energy security
Coco Khan said green energy would protect the UK and improve living standards.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 27:05-27:08
- 27:28
Claim Panel debates UK net zero transition costs and energy security
Paul Johnson said the pace of the shift to renewable energy has made UK energy more expensive than it would otherwise have been.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 27:28-27:37
- 27:50
Claim Panel debates UK net zero transition costs and energy security
Paul Johnson said meeting the government's 2030 zero-emission electricity target would cost significantly more than delaying it by four or five years.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 27:50-27:54
- 29:00
- 33:58
Claim Griffith rejects claim Conservative tax cuts are a pitch to wealthy voters
Andrew Griffith said Labour's expansion of inheritance tax means it will affect one in six families going forward.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 33:58-34:03
- 35:07
Claim Griffith rejects claim Conservative tax cuts are a pitch to wealthy voters
Savills analysis cited by the programme said inheritance tax cuts would benefit one person in 344 in Wales and one person in 472 in North East England.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 35:07-35:18
- 36:51
- 39:10
Claim SNP conference and Swinney independence referendum path after Burnham rejection
John Swinney called on the Prime Minister to agree to an independence referendum.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 39:10-39:13
- 41:28
Claim SNP conference and Swinney independence referendum path after Burnham rejection
John Swinney said changes to the triple lock would leave Scottish pensioners £2,000 a year worse off.
BBC One, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 11 October 2026, 41:28-41:35
- 48:17
Source: BBC ONE West, "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg", Sunday 11 October 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.