Author: BBC

Almost seven in 10 Post Office sub-postmasters have experienced an “unexplained discrepancy” on the Horizon IT system since January 2020, a survey has revealed.It suggests faults remain in newer versions of the accountancy system still used by the Post Office, which has been at the heart of one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British legal history.A poll of sub-postmasters by YouGov found that almost all of those who had difficulties with Horizon reported shortfalls in their accounts and most resolved them by using their branch’s money.An inquiry into the Post Office scandal resumes on Monday and will focus…

Steven KahnHalf a billion fans, a multi-million dollar personal fortune and a global business empire.It would take a lot to dethrone YouTube’s biggest influencer Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast.But a 54-page court document could be his toughest test yet.Five female contestants on upcoming Prime Video show Beast Games are launching legal action against his production company MrB2024 and Amazon in Los Angeles.Billed as the largest ever reality competition series, 1,000 contestants are set to compete for a $5m (£3.7m) prize when the show airs – or if it airs. The lawsuit has plunged the show into crisis. Among many redacted pages,…

Getty Images/BBCThe government in England is planning the biggest reimagining of the NHS in its history.It follows a damning report by surgeon and independent peer Lord Darzi, which warned the health service was in a “critical condition”.The prime minister has said the new 10-year plan will be based on three concepts: greater use of digital technology, more emphasis on community care, and preventing ill health in the first place.Across the NHS there are already pockets of innovation – and these localised schemes could help the wider NHS in years to come.Tests and scans in shopping centresLocals can now have X-rays…

EPAAnura Kumara Dissanayake offered voters a break with the established political orderLeft-leaning politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election after a historic second round of counting.No candidate won more than 50% of the total votes in the first round, where Dissanayake got 42.31% while his closest rival, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, got 32.76%.But Dissanayake, who promised voters good governance and tough anti-corruption measures, emerged as winner after the second count, which tallied voters’ second and third choice candidates.The election on Saturday was the first to be held since mass protests unseated the country’s leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in…

BBCAmy Dowden was told she was “home” after returning following cancer treatmentAmy Dowden said she was “so happy I could burst” after her first live Strictly Come Dancing performance since being treated for breast cancer.The 24-year-old professional and her celebrity partner, singer JB Gill, topped the judges’ leaderboard after being awarded 31 points for their waltz to When I Need You by singer Leo Sayer.Dowden, who also danced in last week’s pre-recorded launch show during which she was paired with Gill, missed the show last year after disclosing her diagnosis before undergoing chemotherapy and a mastectomy.During Saturday’s show, head judge…

BBCThey are two competing views on where desk-based employees work best.Amazon is ordering its staff back to the office five days a week, just as the government is pushing for rights to flexible working – including working from home – to be strengthened.The tech giant says employees will be able to better “invent, collaborate, and be connected”.But just as the firm’s announcement became news, the UK government was linking flexibility to better performance and a more productive, loyal workforce.Few are short of an opinion on how effective working from home is and for a government there are broader considerations such…

Ross JarmanIhab Amed working on the test jet engineIn a building on the edge of a business park outside Sheffield, researcher Ihab Ahmed is preparing to fire up a small jet engine.Originally used as an auxiliary power unit for a commercial airliner, it has been turned into a testbed for new fuels developed in a laboratory next door.The arrangement is a centrepiece of Sheffield University’s Sustainable Fuels Innovation Centre (SAF-IC), a research facility set up to allow synthetic fuels to be prepared and evaluated on a small scale, before being put into large scale production.On a bank of computer screens…

Getty ImagesParents are not to blame for “fussy eating”, researchers say, as a large study suggests fussy eating tendencies are mostly down to genetics rather than parenting styles.And the tendency to be fussy over food can persist into early teenage life, the team says, building on their previous work looking at toddlers. The UK study compared the eating habits of identical and non-identical twins from 16 months to 13 years old to tease out how much is due to genetics and how much to the environment. Identical twins were much more similar in terms of how fussy or adventurous they…

Getty ImagesDavid Graham appeared at a Thunderbirds event at WonderCon in 2016 in Los AngelesDavid Graham, the actor who provided the voice for characters in TV series including Peppa Pig, Thunderbirds and Doctor Who, has died aged 99.As the voice behind the evil Daleks in Doctor Who, Graham terrified successive generations of children between the 1960s and late 70s.He was also well known as the voice of Aloysius Parker, the butler and chauffeur in 1960s TV series Thunderbirds and its film sequels. But to today’s generation of children, he will be most familiar as the voice of Grandpa Pig in…

Getty ImagesThousands of people have lost their jobs after the UK operations of the international construction giant ISG collapsed into administration.Some 2,200 workers have been made redundant with immediate effect, joint administrators EY said in a statement on Friday.The business, owned by the US firm Cathexis, had been struggling financially for some time.Attempts to secure a rescue deal failed, while 200 employees will be kept on to assist the administrators in winding down the business, which holds more than £1bn worth of government contracts.Apple, Barclays and Google are also among ISG’s private sector clients in the UK.In a widely-reported email…