Author: BBC

More than £3 million has been spent so far by the BBC on a report about the alleged misconduct of one of its former DJs.The external review is to examine the BBC’s knowledge of, and response to, complaints, allegations and concerns about the misconduct of the former Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJ Tim Westwood.A freedom of information request by BBC News revealed that the BBC has spent more than £3.1m on the review.Mr Westwood has denied claims of misconduct, commenting: “It’s all false allegations.”Several women have accused the presenter of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, in incidents between…

Moscow says it has detained a French citizen accused of gathering information about Russia’s military activities and failing to register as a “foreign agent”.”Such information, if obtained by foreign sources, may be used against the security of the state,” said Russia’s Investigative Committee (SK).It also posted footage purportedly showing the arrest of the unnamed male suspect in a Moscow cafe. A Switzerland-based NGO later said its adviser Laurent Vinatier was held in the Russian capital.”We are aware that Laurent Vinatier, an adviser at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), has been detained in Russia,” a spokesman for the non-government organisation…

The UK’s statistics watchdog has criticised the prime minister over claims around the tax burden families could face if Labour wins the general election.The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) said anyone who heard Rishi Sunak say that Labour tax rises would amount to just over £2,000 per working household would have no way of knowing that was a sum totalled over four years.It was referred to several times by the prime minister during the first live TV debate between himself and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday.The BBC has approached the Conservative party for comment.In Tuesday’s debate Mr Sunak…

40 minutes agoShehnaz Khan,BBC News, West MidlandsStratford Literary FesivalDavid Nicholls, Mary Beard and Patrick Grant were all on the line-up for Stratford Literary Festival, which took place last monthInvestment firm Baillie Gifford has ended its sponsorship of Stratford Literary Festival after 10 years.Festival organisers said they were “saddened” the company had decided not to continue sponsoring the event, which took place last month.It comes after similar announcements from a range of other festivals, including Edinburgh Book Festival and the Hay Festival, both of which recently ended their deals with the firm.Stratford’s festival director Annie Ashworth, said they were “enormously grateful”…

SpaceX’s Starship rocket has returned to Earth on its fourth test flight, landing in the Indian Ocean. The rocket made it much further in its planned mission profile than on previous tests, with both the ship and booster making controlled landings over water.Read more: Musk’s Starship rocket makes breakthrough ocean landing Source link

gettySt Thomas’, including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, is among the affected trustsMajor hospitals in London have declared a critical incident after a cyber-attack led to operations being cancelled and emergency patients being diverted elsewhere.It applies to hospitals partnered with Synnovis – a provider of pathology services. King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ – including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital – and primary care services are among those affected.The incident has had a “major impact” on the delivery of services, especially blood transfusions and test results.It is thought to have happened…

TV doctor Michael Mosley, known for popularising the 5:2 diet, has gone missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi.A search and rescue operation is under way, including a police dog and a drone searching hard to reach areas. A helicopter is flying from Athens to assist, Symi’s deputy mayor told BBC News.Greek Police said Dr Mosley left his wife on the beach and set off on a walk to the centre of the island on Wednesday. His phone was found at the place he was staying at with his wife, who reported him missing, a police spokesperson…

US President Joe Biden has drawn parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and World War Two, in a speech commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.Speaking just steps away from where 9,388 members of the US military who participated in the landings are buried, Mr Biden warned democracies across the globe were once again under threat, adding autocrats were closely watching the Western response to Ukraine.The president, born in 1942, will likely be the last US leader to have been alive at the time of the operation to liberate Nazi-occupied France. A host of world leaders…

Plans to use peoples’ public posts and images on Facebook and Instagram to train artificial intelligence (AI) tools belonging to parent company Meta have been attacked by digital rights groups.The social media giant recently has been informing UK and European users of the platforms that, under privacy policy changes taking effect 26 June, their information can be used to “develop and improve” its AI products.This includes posts, images, image captions, comments and Stories that users over the age of 18 have shared with a public audience on Facebook and Instagram, but not private messages.Noyb, a European campaign group that advocates…

Some 113 people have become ill with E. coli in recent weeks and experts believe it is most likely linked to a nationally distributed food item. The UK Health Security Agency says testing of samples suggests all of the cases since 25 May are “part of a single outbreak”. Based on the wide geographic spread, it is likely a contaminated batch of product that people can buy around the UK.In December, a person in Scotland died from E. coli linked to cheese. The source of this outbreak is not yet confirmed or known. Consumers will be told if there is…