Broadcast timeline
Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow
Thursday 2 July 2026 · 10:00 BST · 30m · 4 stories · 15 annotated moments · 26 of 30 min on news stories (88%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
The broadcast began with an interview with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who in his first UK interview told Sky News that his country does not want war but is not afraid of it, amid repeated threats from US President Donald Trump. Diaz-Canel described US claims as lies and said Cuba is a peaceful country that will not give up its sovereignty. The programme then reported that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to issue a formal apology on behalf of the state to survivors of historical forced adoptions, following decades of campaigning. An estimated 185,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976, and a parliamentary inquiry found government decisions shaped an environment of coercion. The apology comes after the Church of England and devolved governments in Scotland and Wales issued their own apologies.
The broadcast also covered a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv that killed at least 13 people and injured many more, with residential buildings targeted. Sky News reported that Ukrainian President Zelensky had warned of the attack in advance, and that the assault is seen as a response to Ukrainian successes striking deep into Russia. Other news included a 16-year-old boy suffering life-threatening injuries in a Birmingham shooting, a report that a US trade deal could force the NHS to divert £45 billion to higher-priced medicines, and an independent report finding the Criminal Cases Review Commission needs to urgently improve its work. Finally, a special report examined tensions between travellers and local residents in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, featuring a family whose caravan was destroyed in a suspected arson attack and residents who feel frustrated by illegal encampments, with both sides claiming discrimination and intimidation.
- 1:07
- 1:09
Claim Cuban president gives first UK interview, warns country does not want war but is not afraid
Cuban president gave his first UK interview to Sky News.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 1:09-1:15
- 3:11
Claim Cuban president gives first UK interview, warns country does not want war but is not afraid
Cuban president accused the US government of lying and manipulating international public opinion.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 3:11-3:18
- 4:39
- 4:52
Claim PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
An estimated 185,000 to 250,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers in England and Wales between the 1940s and 1970s.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 4:52-5:01
- 5:13
Claim PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
The previous Conservative government had said a formal apology was not appropriate, believing the state did not actively support these practices.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 5:13-5:21
- 5:21
Claim PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
The Church of England apologised for its involvement in the forced adoptions.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 5:21-5:27
- 5:55
Charged quote PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
to the 185,000 babies and their families who were forcibly separated between 1949 and 1976 in what the Education Secretary, Bridget Philipson, has described as a really shameful period in our history. Now, this is coming off the back of a report by the Education Committee, which recommended that the government issue an apology.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 5:55-5:59
- 6:34
Charged quote PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
from morning to evening every day. And when she went into childbirth, she was told she wouldn't be given any pain relief because you will remember the pain because you've been a bad girl. So describing some of the stigma there that was attached to some of these unmarried women. Also from an adult adoptee
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 6:34-6:37
- 7:31
Charged quote PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
Now in terms of the apologies that we have had so far that you alluded to, the Scottish and Welsh governments in 2023 and last month at the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury saying the shame is ours. But who was responsible for this? Well, the Education Committee said there was no single perpetrator of this.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 7:31-7:34
- 7:56
Contested quote PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
there is going to be an acknowledgement that the state allowed this to happen, effectively turned a blind eye. Campaigners are welcoming this. It is obviously long overdue. And they said that they want to see this happen to help them deal with some of the shame and the stigma they have carried into their adult lives.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 7:56-8:00
- 8:23
- 8:23
Claim Russia launches massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv
At least 13–25 people were killed and dozens injured in the Russian attack on Kyiv.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 8:23-8:30
- 8:37
Charged quote Russia launches massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv
The city's mayor says the strike targeted residential buildings where families were living. It says some were set on fire with people trapped inside. What emotions I can have, it is horrible. I simply want to die and not see anyone. Windows of that room, this room, are broken. Curtains are ripped off in the kitchen too.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 8:37-8:45
- 9:02
Charged quote Russia launches massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv
Let's take a few moments to show you these live images of the scene in Kyiv. It's just gone midday there, local time, and you can see the rampant destruction on this building, the masonry, the exterior walls, interior walls completely torn down. You can see their fabric draped across the front, the trees just swaying in the breeze in the background.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 9:02-9:06
- 10:18
Claim Russia launches massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv
At least 13–25 people were killed and dozens injured in the Russian attack on Kyiv.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 10:18-10:32
- 12:03
Charged quote Russia launches massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv
and that is why there's this huge attack on Kiev. And in one sense it shows and it demonstrates the success that the Ukrainians are having, but of course this is the price that the Russian president wants them to pay for it. Alison Bunkle there with those details. Let's bring you up to speed with some of the day's other stories.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 12:03-12:08
- 17:18
Charged quote PM apologizes for historical forced adoptions in England and Wales
they were treated so badly during labour. This was a common practice. Everybody had a hand in it, knew exactly what they were doing and it was designed to break us down, to make us less than human, to make us be accountable for our sins, because there was a healthy trade in newborn babies ready for adoption.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 2 July 2026, 17:18-17:22
- 23:21
Source: Sky News, "Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow", Thursday 2 July 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.