Author: SKYNEWS

Ground rents for leaseholders will be capped at £250 a year before dropping to a peppercorn rent after 40 years, Steve Reed has announced.The housing secretary confirmed the move on Tuesday morning, hitting out at ground rents as a “a bit of a scam”, “a racket” and “paying money for nothing”. Ground rents are a charge that leaseholders pay to live on land they do not own. It does not require a service in return and is regarded by critics as emblematic of the feudal nature of England’s centuries-old leasehold system.Politics latest – follow liveUnder the new changes, ground rents…

The UK has lost its measles elimination status from the World Health Organisation (WHO) after vaccination coverage plateaued and cases surged.From 2021 to 2023, the country was considered to have “eliminated” the disease, but global health officials say measles transmission was re-established in the UK in 2024. Vaccination coverage has flatlined in recent years, with recorded measles infections in the UK soaring to 3,681 in 2024.Spain, Austria, Armenia, ⁠Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan also lost their status, and the WHO urged countries to boost vaccination rates to prevent the ​disease infecting more children.”It is unsurprising the UK has lost its WHO measles…

He is the Lewisham-born actor who, at the age of 73, finds himself in the running for an Oscar.While Delroy Lindo can now reflect that being an Oscar nominee “has a certain ring to it”, the Sinners star says he was taken by surprise at the news when it first broke. “My son called me,” he explains. “I will not say I was asleep, but I was not fully awake, and I’m listening to my son very excitedly say how proud of me he was.”And I then noticed on my phone I had 179 Text messages, so I knew that…

A community action group in Tunbridge Wells is demanding the “immediate” sacking of South East Water’s chief executive after weeks of outages which have left tens of thousands of customers without water.Sky News has seen a letter from Dry Wells Action, which was formed by residents and businesses in the Kent town, to Chris Train, South East Water’s chairman, demanding answers about the company’s solvency, infrastructure spending and refusal to engage with stakeholders during the biggest crisis in its history. “You have comprehensively lost the trust of Tunbridge Wells customers,” the letter, sent on Monday morning, said.”Only by providing us…

The “shambles” of the government’s plan on social media will not be fixed by banning children from accessing the platforms, Harriet Harman has said.Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer cast doubt upon whether a ban on under-16s using social media – as supported by the House of Lords – is workable. The proposals passed by the Lords still need to be agreed by MPs before they become law. The government wants to hold a consultation before committing to a ban.Harman pointed to existing legislation like the Online Harms Bill, Crime…

Paris Hilton says the “pain and abuse” she faced as a teenager at so-called behaviour camps paved the way for her to find the “most meaningful work” of her life.In 2020, the hotel heiress released a documentary, This Is Paris, which detailed the treatment she and other victims endured at tough love camps in the US. The socialite said she was subjected to “a parent-approved kidnapping” at four different youth facilities, was “force-fed medications and sexually abused by staff”. Image: Paris Hilton is examining her life and career in her new music documentary film Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir. Pic:…

The sports vehicle backed by CVC Capital Partners, the former owner of Formula One motor racing, is close to striking a $300m deal to buy a majority stake in Equine Network, a US-based equestrian sports league.Sky News has learnt that Global Sport Group (GSG), which owns stakes in assets such as women’s professional tennis and Six Nations Rugby, is lining up its first new league investment since the new entity was created. Sports industry sources said the deal could be struck and announced in the coming days.Equine Network operates equestrian-based sports competitions ranging from team roping rodeo events to showjumping…

When Jane Wallbank found out she’d been awarded free upgrades to make her home warmer and cheaper to run, it sounded like “a fairytale”.”Bills have become astronomically expensive in the last few years,” said Jane, a support worker for people with learning needs. Then she qualified for internal wall insulation, smart radiator sensors and an extractor fan under the ECO (Energy Company Obligation) scheme, designed to upgrade homes for those in fuel poverty and make them greener.It is paid for by energy bill payers and overseen by a patchwork of energy companies, the government and other agencies.”I almost felt special,…

Steve Coogan says he doesn’t want to fully be part of the British establishment because you cannot “get rid of the history which weighs heavily on all of us”.The 60-year-old actor is of Irish heritage – his mother was born in Ireland and so were his paternal grandparents. He tells Sky News during an interview for his new film Saipan that his ancestry has shaped his view of the world for the better. Image: Coogan plays Mick McCarthy in Saipan Pic: Aidan Monaghan “I don’t feel fully like I want to be part of the British establishment because I feel…

Britain’s largest operator of private hospitals is in talks with a pack of buyout firms about a takeover that would result in it becoming the latest FTSE-250 company to disappear from the London stock market.Sky News has learnt that private equity firms including Bridgepoint and Triton Partners are exploring bids for Spire Healthcare Group, which runs nearly 40 of the UK’s biggest private hospitals. City sources said the pair were among a broader group of parties which had expressed interest in making offers for the company ahead of a deadline set by its advisers this week.Advent International and Bain Capital…