Broadcast timeline
Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow
Monday 21 September 2026 · 10:00 BST · 30m · 7 stories · 15 annotated moments · 25 of 30 min on news stories (82%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
The broadcast began with breaking news that flights were disrupted in Scotland and northern England by a technical issue at National Air Traffic Services' Prestwick control centre. NATS said engineers were on site, air traffic regulations had been applied to manage demand, the issue was unrelated to earlier technical problems this month, and passengers should check with their airline. Manchester Airport later said a NATS-operated air traffic control system was affected, causing delays to flights from some UK airports. The Prime Minister said new specialist courts for rape and sexual offences in England and Wales would improve prosecution rates and put victims first; every Crown Court would have at least one dedicated courtroom, private entrances and waiting rooms, trauma-informed training for staff, a single point of contact for victims, and fixed trial dates. The report said around 15,000 cases were waiting to be heard, a 75% increase over three years, and Rape Crisis England and Wales figures showed more than 71,000 rapes were recorded by police in 2024 with charges brought in 2.7%; the plans would cost £23 million and take up to two years, with fixed dates from as early as next month.
Andy Burnham was due to fly to New York for the UN General Assembly and meet President Trump for the first time, with Ukraine, the Middle East, North Sea drilling, the Falkland Islands, Irish reunification, the Chagos deal, and the cost of living among the issues discussed. Sir Ed Davey called on the Prime Minister to stand up to Trump. The Iranian president was also travelling to New York despite the ongoing war with the United States, while the Palestinian delegation, including Mahmoud Abbas, was refused visas for the second year in a row; a vote allowed Abbas to address the General Assembly, and Donald Trump said he might meet President Pezeshkian. Early results in Russia's parliamentary elections showed Kremlin-backed United Russia dominating, with more than 57% of the vote with over 90% counted and turnout of 56.6%; the only registered party to publicly criticise the war was blocked from standing, and the EU called the election a sham. Voting on the final day was overshadowed by a record Ukrainian drone attack, with nearly 2,000 drones launched into Russian territory in 24 hours and an oil refinery in Moscow hit. In Germany, state elections were described by Friedrich Merz as a disaster for the ruling Christian Democratic Union; the far-right Alternative for Germany was set to win Mecklenburg Western Pomerania though other parties refused to work with it, while in Berlin the CDU was expected to be beaten by Die Linke, and Merz vowed to stay on as chancellor.
The Liberal Democrats were discussing maternity care, big tech and water reform at their conference in Brighton, amid restlessness that the party was failing to cut through nationally and struggling in the polls. Ed Davey defended his leadership and popularity, the party set out policies including a temporary 10p cut to fuel duty and warnings about a maternity care safety scandal, and a council leader accused him of sleepwalking the party into irrelevance; Davey remained defiant and was said to be safe as leader for now.
- 1:30
- 2:19
- 2:19
Charged quote Every Crown Court in England and Wales to get dedicated rape courtroom by 2028
Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information on their flight. The Prime Minister says new specialist courts to deal with rape and sexual offences in England and Wales will help improve prosecution rates, which he says are shamefully low. Every Crown Court will have at least one courtroom
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 2:19-2:30
- 3:09
Charged quote Every Crown Court in England and Wales to get dedicated rape courtroom by 2028
Well, Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones told Sky News a whole system approach is needed. There is a national epidemic, a national emergency of violence against women and girls in this country that needs to be addressed and that has to be a whole system approach. It's what we've been pushing forward in our strategy
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 3:09-3:15
- 3:24
Charged quote Every Crown Court in England and Wales to get dedicated rape courtroom by 2028
that we published last year. Prevention has to be at the heart of this but it also has to be a whole system approach and I'm glad you said, actually, that you were still horrified by this because I think, as a society, we can be desensitized by this. They can just sound like numbers and these are real people.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 3:24-3:31
- 3:31
Charged quote Every Crown Court in England and Wales to get dedicated rape courtroom by 2028
but it also has to be a whole system approach and I'm glad you said, actually, that you were still horrified by this because I think, as a society, we can be desensitized by this. They can just sound like numbers and these are real people. These are women and girls and men and boys who are being impacted by these crimes
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 3:31-3:34
- 3:34
Charged quote Every Crown Court in England and Wales to get dedicated rape courtroom by 2028
because I think, as a society, we can be desensitized by this. They can just sound like numbers and these are real people. These are women and girls and men and boys who are being impacted by these crimes and they are having devastating and tragic consequences and we need to get to grips with this. Well, Sky's Graham Stothard joins us now.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 3:34-3:42
- 4:42
Charged quote Every Crown Court in England and Wales to get dedicated rape courtroom by 2028
More than 71,000 rapes were recorded by police in 2024 but charges were only brought in 2.7% of those cases. Those are shocking statistics for a government that has promised to tackle violence against women and girls. As a result, Andy Burnham has announced these specialist courts. They'll have features, as you said,
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 4:42-4:50
- 6:07
- 9:26 Story begins Iranian president attacks US and Israel in UN speech
- 12:36
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Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
He does not have either the authority or the power of, let's say, President Trump. Adam Parsons in Jerusalem for us. Thanks so much. Vladimir Putin's grip on power in Russia appears to have further strengthened with early results showing that Kremlin-backed parties dominated parliamentary elections.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 12:36-12:41
- 13:01
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
was blocked from standing. Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett joins us now. Ivor, what can we glean from what we're hearing so far? Well, look, Mari, Russian elections aren't known for being nail biters, are they? There's no need to get the tea leaves out to predict what will happen. We knew this one would end with a big win
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 13:01-13:05
- 13:32
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
This morning, Russian state media is reporting that with more than 90% of the votes counted, it has won more than 57% of the vote, which is conveniently more than it won last time around in 2021, which supposedly means Russians are even happier with how their country is being run, despite the fact that it's four and a half years into a war that is showing no sign of ending.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 13:32-13:37
- 13:37
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
it has won more than 57% of the vote, which is conveniently more than it won last time around in 2021, which supposedly means Russians are even happier with how their country is being run, despite the fact that it's four and a half years into a war that is showing no sign of ending. Now, critics have denounced this election as neither free nor fair.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 13:37-13:43
- 13:48
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
which supposedly means Russians are even happier with how their country is being run, despite the fact that it's four and a half years into a war that is showing no sign of ending. Now, critics have denounced this election as neither free nor fair. The EU has come out and called it a sham, and that's because out of the 10 parties on the ballot,
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 13:48-13:53
- 13:53
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
despite the fact that it's four and a half years into a war that is showing no sign of ending. Now, critics have denounced this election as neither free nor fair. The EU has come out and called it a sham, and that's because out of the 10 parties on the ballot, not one opposed Vladimir Putin, not one opposed the war.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 13:53-13:55
- 14:53
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
which again conveniently surpasses that of the last election. Now, some will say, look, these figures on turnout and winning margin could just have been plucked out of thin air and made up by the Kremlin, given the level of control they have over the whole political system in Russia. But that kind of criticism I don't think will bother Vladimir Putin one bit,
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 14:53-14:57
- 15:51
Charged quote United Russia dominates Duma vote as Ukraine hits Russia with record drones
These are the images after an oil refinery in the city was hit, causing these huge plumes of smoke across the sky. But despite these very obvious increasing consequences of the war, Vladimir Putin, I think, has made clear that he is determined to carry on with it regardless. Ivor Bennett, thanks so much.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 15:51-16:02
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- 17:32
Contested quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
is set to win Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, though it is unlikely to govern as other parties are refusing to work with it. In Berlin, the CDU is expected to be beaten by the far-left Die Linke, and despite the results, Chancellor Merz vowed to stay on. Today, we saw two elections with very different results.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 21 September 2026, 17:32-17:38
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Source: Sky News, "Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow", Monday 21 September 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.