At Prime Minister's Questions, after Donald Trump's "no Churchill" jibe, Sir Keir Starmer insisted the relationship was still alive and well.

He was challenged by a Conservative MP, Gareth Bacon, on whether his "dithering" had made the special relationship stronger or weaker.

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The prime minister was probably expecting Kemi Badenoch to punch the bruise of the president's brutal tirade against him in the Oval Office.

But, inexplicably, she didn't, instead making a rather silly joke about "a sea of orcs and goons" - a reference to Lord Of The Rings - on the Labour back benches.

So the PM was probably more than happy to get the chance to sound all statesmanlike and answer Mr Bacon with a powerful defence of the special relationship.

And, for good measure, he took the opportunity to deliver a subtle but effective riposte to the mercurial and erratic president's "Churchill" onslaught.

"American planes are operating out of British bases," said the PM. "That's the special relationship in action.

"British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases. That's the special relationship in action.

"Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That's the special relationship in action."

And then came a withering put-down. "Hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not the special relationship in action," he concluded.

Note that the PM said the president's "latest words". After all, President Trump has changed his mind on the controversial Chagos deal several times.

It's fair to say that never has a British prime minister faced such a tough challenge in maintaining the "special relationship" with a US president as Sir Keir has over the past year.

In his Oval Office salvo against the prime minister, the president said Sir Keir had been "very, very unco-operative" by initially refusing to allow the US to use the Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands.

He didn't mention it, but no doubt the president was also irked this week by Sir Keir's dismissal in the Commons on Monday of "regime change from the skies".

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In times of war, disputes between US presidents and British prime ministers don't just happen between Republican presidents and Labour PMs or Democrats and Conservatives.

And it's not always rosy between prime ministers and presidents of the two sister parties. There have been big fallings out: over Suez, Vietnam and the Caribbean island of Grenada.

It was Winston Churchill himself who first used the phrase "special relationship", defining the alliance between the UK and the US in a speech in Missouri in 1946, in which he also coined the phrase "the Iron Curtain".

That speech was introduced by president Harry Truman, a Democrat, with whom Churchill had attended the Potsdam Conference in 1945 to negotiate the terms of the end of the Second World War.

Churchill also had a close relationship with another Democrat president, Franklin D Roosevelt, and their close bond during the Second World War was described as a friendship that saved the world.

But Churchill's Conservative successor Anthony Eden fell out badly with the Republican president Dwight Eisenhower over the Suez Crisis in the mid-1950s.

Eisenhower bitterly opposed Eden's botched attempts with France to regain control of the Suez Canal after its nationalisation and blockade by Egypt's president Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was the beginning of the end for Eden.

And it took until the early 1960s and the unlikely friendship between stuffy Harold Macmillan and charismatic John F Kennedy for the damage done to the special relationship by Suez to be repaired.

"Between them they had rescued the special relationship after the rupture of the Suez Crisis and done so at a time of uniquely high tensions around the world," wrote British author Christopher Sandford in Harold And Jack, The Remarkable Friendship Of Prime Minister Macmillan And President Kennedy.

It was the early 1960s and they were dangerous times, rather like now, of course. Back then it was the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of nuclear weapons.

But it was a relationship abruptly cut short in 1963, by the demise of "Supermac", caused by the John Profumo sex scandal and then JFK's assassination in Dallas just a month later.

After Kennedy, the so-called "special relationship" was in trouble once again, when Labour's Harold Wilson rejected pressure from US president Lyndon Johnson to send British troops to Vietnam.

And even though Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were ideological soulmates, Thatcher was furious when she wasn't consulted before the Americans invaded Grenada, a commonwealth nation, in 1983 to topple a Marxist regime.

Even worse, according to Thatcher allies, a year earlier Reagan had stayed neutral during the Falklands war. He wanted a negotiated settlement and didn't want to humiliate Argentina. She was determined to recapture the islands.

Reagan said he couldn't understand why two US allies were arguing over "that little ice-cold bunch of land down there".

Sound familiar? On Tuesday in his broadside against Sir Keir in the Oval Office, President Trump called Chagos "that stupid island that they have".

Bill Clinton's political soulmate was Sir Tony Blair. They were as close as Reagan and Thatcher.

But it was with the Republican George W Bush that Labour's Sir Tony embarked on the defining mission of his premiership, the Iraq War. It was to be the turning point of Sir Tony's decade in Number 10.

He was branded a liar over claims about Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction", he was vilified by the Labour left, and Iraq haunts Labour to this day.

This week, as Sir Keir spent nearly two hours answering questions from MPs on Iran in the Commons on Monday, the spectre of Iraq again hung heavily over the Labour prime minister and his backbenchers.

In his statement, Sir Keir told MPs: "We all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable thought-through plan."

A lawful basis and a thought-through plan. That sums up the current rift between the prime minister and the president over Iran.

And it's the latest example that proves that for the much vaunted "special relationship" between the UK and the United States, wars spell trouble and in many cases threaten to put the relationship at risk.

Yalda Hakim, who hosts international news show The World With Yalda Hakim, won presenter of the year, home news correspondent Mollie Malone was named emerging talent of the year, and 24 Hours In The Kill Zone by international news correspondent John Sparks won in the digital journalism category.

It is the ninth year in a row Sky News has won the channel of the year award.

Executive chairman David Rhodes said it "reflects the commitment, talent, and teamwork across Sky News".

"We're proud to continue the rich legacy of Sky News in live and breaking news, serving audiences across the UK and, especially in weeks like this one, around the world," he added.

Yousra Elbagir: TV journalist of the year

Elbagir has reported extensively on the war in Sudan over the last year, including an investigation into the "killing fields" where thousands have been targeted.

"It is a crisis that has slipped from global attention even as the suffering worsens," she said.

"The siege of my hometown, Khartoum, and the destruction of my family home brought the realities of this war painfully close - a reminder of what's at stake in the stories I share."

'A privilege to be on the ground'

Hakim was unable to receive her award in person because she's reporting on the ground in the Middle East.

She has also reported from Israel and Ukraine and has interviewed numerous world leaders in the past year.

"During one of the most intense and consequential periods for global affairs it's a privilege to be on the ground, face to face with the people most impacted by conflict," she said.

Among her interviews was one with Pakistan's defence minister who, when asked about funding and training terrorists, said his country had been "doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades".

Malone has covered growing issues with safety in UK prisons including how drones are being used to transport contraband inside.

She has also reported on criticism of the government's violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy.

Sparks' digital journalism award follows his coverage after he joined Ukrainian troops in an area targeted by explosive-carrying drones.

Like Hakim, his coverage of the war in the Middle East means he was not able to accept his award in person.

Sky News also had nominations for deputy political editor Sam Coates in the political journalist of the year category; data and forensic correspondent Tom Cheshire was nominated for specialist journalist of the year, special correspondent Alex Crawford was also nominated in the television journalist of the year category.

And Sky News' coverage of Syria: After Assad was also nominated in the news coverage - international category.

No political issue is more potent or more divisive than the question of immigration.

In a nation not often roused to public anger, the streets of small towns have been convulsed with local fury over the presence of asylum seekers, particularly where they have been housed in much-loved local hotels.

And the seemingly endless stream of small boats crossing the English Channel, despite promises by all parties, has served as a conspicuous demonstration of political impotence.

Britain's conventional parties are facing an existential crisis. For the first time in our modern political history, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have all fallen behind Reform and the Greens in popularity.

Sir Keir Starmer and his government have to make a decision. Do they lean left, under pressure from Zack Polanski's Greens? Or should they acknowledge the extraordinary advance of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, which has now topped the polls consistently for almost a year?

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No figure will be more important in signalling which way Labour turns than Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary. Herself the child of immigrants and a practising Muslim, she is, this week, signalling a tough line on migration that would smash many of the taboos that constrained her predecessors.

In a special hour-long programme, the home secretary makes her case for radical changes by Sir Keir's government - and the defence of her controversial plans is aimed as much at her own party as it is at the wider electorate.

Some might ask, can Shabana save Labour?

Watch Trevor Phillips' exclusive interview with Shabana Mahmood in a Politics Hub special from 7pm on Thursday 5 March across all Sky News platforms.

During a hearing at Exeter Magistrates' Court, South West Water Ltd pleaded guilty to an offence under s70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 to supplying water unfit for human consumption.

Some people were treated in hospital and hundreds of others were also ill during the outbreak in Brixham in May 2024, after the water supply was contaminated by cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes sickness and diarrhoea.

A "boil water" notice was issued to around 17,000 households and businesses in the area, warning people not to use tap water for drinking without boiling it and cooling it first.

For some households, the notice remained in place for eight weeks.

The water firm was prosecuted by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and faces a fine when it is sentenced at the same court on 2 June.

Howard Leithead, representing the DWI, had asked for the case to be sent to the crown court for sentencing, arguing it is "high-profile or exceptionally sensitive", adding some complaints say the effects were "long felt after the lifting of the boil water notices".

But Dominic Kay KC, representing South West Water, said the firm had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had submitted a basis of plea, saying the case could be sentenced by a district judge in the magistrates' court.

District Judge Stuart Smith rejected the prosecution's submission and said he would keep jurisdiction.

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South West Water owner Pennon previously said the final bill for the outbreak reached nearly £40m, adding it was facing costs of around £36m for the supply contamination incident and its "reshaping and transformation programmes".

After the hearing, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, Caroline Voaden, said: "This admission of guilt has been a long time coming. I am glad that SWW have owned up to their serious failures. This awful event should never have happened.

"But the mismatch between rhetoric and action plagues our broken water industry. Whether it is protecting customers or the environment, too many water firms say one thing, then do another."

Marcus Rink, chief inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, said: "The company's decision to plead guilty to the offences relating to the Brixham incident reflects the seriousness of the failings identified during our investigation.

"While such incidents are very rare, this incident had a significant impact on the public and the wider community."

Water minister Emma Hardy added: "Contamination of drinking water is rare but it is utterly unacceptable.

"The communities affected by this abhorrent incident in Brixham deserve answers and today's guilty plea is a crucial step toward accountability."

As officers cut their way through a heavy metal gate, sleepy faces peered from behind curtains in neighbouring houses.

When the gate finally gave way, dozens of officers swarmed through and began to batter their way into a row of heavily-secured flats.

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The properties were suspected of being connected to the supply of drugs. A cannabis farm was found in one.

Passengers on a bus hemmed in by police vehicles watched on patiently, a bemused greyhound roamed the backyard, one resident remonstrated with police for breaking down his door. "I'm calling my solicitor," he yelled.

The early morning drama was the opening act of a large-scale police operation in the Anfield area of Liverpool, locking down whole streets to target dozens of locations in a "sustained and relentless offensive against criminals".

Throughout the day, 300 police officers conducted warrants, roadside checks and land searches.

Dozens of people were arrested on suspicion of offences including possession with intent to supply drugs, sexual offences and possession of indecent images.

Officers seized a suspected firearm, machetes, drugs, thousands of pounds in cash and luxury goods during searches at the addresses.

From before dawn, a convoy of police vans, mounted officers and even quad bikes had flooded a neighbourhood famous the world over for its football heritage.

But it has also become home to a sprawling criminal industry; serious organised crime, drug crime, serious violence, domestic abuse, slavery, burglary, robbery, drug and drink driving, and a whole host of other offences.

Shortly after the raid in Stanley Road, police smashed their way through the front door of a neat semi-detached house, again looking for those connected to the supply of drugs. Their target was not there.

By mid-morning, at a checkpoint close to Liverpool's Anfield stadium, a young man was stopped for illegally riding an e-scooter. He subsequently failed a roadside drug test and was arrested for driving under the influence. Several cars were also seized by officers.

The operation, codenamed Vanguard, is the second of its kind and is designed to be highly visible.

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Rob Carden, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, told Sky News: "On the last one we had a member of the public that came out from next door to a target premises absolutely in tears, sobbing, really emotional and said 'I thought you'd forgotten us'."

Mr Carden, who took over last summer, has spoken of showing "contempt" for criminality and "compassion for victims and the decent law-abiding people who suffer as a result of the criminality taking place on their streets".

"The message is that this is a police force that's going to police on the front foot and that's what communities in Merseyside want, they want a proactive, restless police force that are looking to make them as safe as possible," he said.