This Is Why

Sir Keir Starmer's relationship with the civil service has broken down following the sacking of Sir Olly Robbins.
The former top civil servant at the Foreign Office told parliament there was a "dismissive approach" to security vetting from No 10, but the prime minister maintains it was Robbins who made "an error of judgement".
So, what's at stake when the inner workings of government grind to a halt?
Lord Peter Ricketts, who is also a former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, joins Niall to discuss what happens when things go wrong and whether Starmer can repair relations with the civil servants who deliver his mandate, before it's too late.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show: [email protected]

First it was Venezuela, then Iran. Is Cuba next on Donald Trump's hit list?
The US navy has been anchored off the Caribbean coast since the start of the year, preventing supplies of oil and food from the outside world.
As a consequence, the island has been brought to its knees - with electrical blackouts, food rationing and fears for the future.
Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay joins Niall to discuss life under the blockade in Havana and what fate awaits the nation, as President Trump threatens military intervention.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show: [email protected]

Top civil servant Olly Robbins has been sacked after his department did not inform the prime minister that Lord Mandelson had failed security vetting for the role of US ambassador.
Opposition parties are calling on the prime minister to resign but Sir Keir Starmer is insisting he wasn’t told, in an "unforgivable" omission.
He's due to speak to MPs in parliament on Monday, and address the accusations he misled them over the process of Mandelson’s appointment.
But who is Olly Robbins, the man who has lost his job over the latest Mandelson revelation and is he being used as a fall guy? And how toxic will the row be for Sir Keir?
Niall talks to hosts of fellow Sky podcast Politics at Sam and Anne’s, Anne McElvoy, executive editor at Politico and Sky’s deputy political editor, Sam Coates.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show: [email protected]

A multi-billion-dollar Saudi-backed golf tour is reportedly close to collapse – so could this spell an end to the Gulf state’s interest in sport?
The controversial LIV Golf Tour is just one strand of the Saudis’ sporting portfolio.
Footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo plays there, while the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) also owns English Premier League team, Newcastle United.
But the PIF - which has plunged $5b into the LIV project - has a new five-year economic strategy that includes no mention of sport. Having been accused of using sport as a political tool to legitimise the Saudi regime, what led to this apparent change of strategy?
Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris joins Niall to discuss what it means for the future of Saudi sport.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show: [email protected]

Another night, another post on Truth Social from Donald Trump criticising NATO. As other leaders try to persuade him to stay in the alliance, plans are being prepared in case the US goes through with its threat to walk away.
At the same time, the UK government is in a muddle on defence spending – with criticism from current and former military chiefs - but no decisions yet on how and when to boost budgets.
Niall and Sky's military analyst Professor Michael Clarke debrief on what a post-Trump NATO might look like.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show: [email protected]