Author: SKYNEWS

Campaigners say a new 100% council tax premium on second homes in England will do little to ease the housing crisis, with one group describing it as a “naked cash grab”.Exclusive Sky News data shows around 75% of councils in England will introduce the discretionary charge from April – essentially doubling the council tax on properties classed as second homes. England follows in the footsteps of Wales, which already charges a premium.Government data shows there are around 557,000 second homes in England. Hotspots such as Cornwall, Torbay, Norfolk and Somerset are introducing the tax – but there are many towns…

Former Love Island winner Jack Fincham has won an appeal against his prison sentence for two dangerous dog offences.Fincham, 32, was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment at Southend Magistrates’ Court on 29 January after pleading guilty to two counts of having a dangerously out-of-control black cane corso. But within hours of the sentencing, he was released on conditional bail and vowed to appeal it.On Friday, Fincham, who won the ITV dating show with Dani Dyer in 2018, was told by a judge at Basildon Crown Court that the original sentence had not been “just in the circumstances”. Image: Fincham and…

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈 Department of Government Efficiency head and business owner Elon Musk visited the Pentagon on Friday, which according to defence secretary Pete Hegseth was to talk about “efficiencies” and “innovations”. It was not, as President Trump insisted, to brief Musk on the US military’s plan for any theoretical war that might break out with China.On day 62 of the Trump presidency, US correspondents James Matthews and Martha Kelner discuss why Musk was at the Pentagon, and if his work presents a conflict of interest for the administration.Plus, James has been to the…

Government spending and borrowing have defied expectations, resulting in “perilous” public finances and placing pressure on the chancellor to raise taxes or cut spending. Government borrowing last month was £15bn more than last year, with the deficit higher than economists predicted, according to official figures. The gap between what the government takes in and what it spends was £10.7bn in February, the Office for National Statistics said, as spending was higher and tax takes were lower than forecast.The sum is the fourth-highest since records began in 1993 and £4.1bn higher than anticipated by economists polled by the Reuters news agency.Money…

The US attorney general has said three people alleged to have damaged Tesla cars and charging stations could be jailed for up to 20 years.Pamela Bondi announced unspecified charges against three people who used Molotov cocktails in what she called a “wave of domestic terrorism”. It comes as US safety regulators recalled almost all Cybertrucks from Elon Musk’s company due to a “dangerous road hazard” that increases the risk of a crash. Image: A Tesla Cybertruck. File pic: AP It is the eighth recall of the Tesla vehicle for safety problems in 15 months.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall,…

An actress who worked in a film directed by Noel Clarke said she felt “shell-shocked” when he asked her to “bend over further” during a scene where she was naked from the waist down, the High Court has heard.The woman, known only as Mila, gave evidence on Thursday in Clarke’s legal case against Guardian News and Media (GNM).Mila told the court that although she felt uncomfortable about filming the nude scene, she needed the work.In her witness statement, she said: “Noel was telling me to bend over, repeating things like ‘bend over further, come on’, and ‘do it properly’.”I was…

Wage growth has remained strong, the latest official figures show, as the Bank of England mulls its interest rate decision.Wages – excluding bonuses – grew 5.9% in the three months to January, the same amount as a month earlier, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. Meanwhile, growth in average weekly earnings, including bonuses, fell to a surprise 5.8%. Economists polled by the Reuters news agency anticipated a 5.9% rise.Money blog: top chef reveals pet hate in restaurantsIt means wage growth is still high and well above the rate of overall price rises. Inflation stood at 3% in…

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 Netflix’s hit drama series Adolescence has shone a light on the pressures faced by boys growing up today, and the rise in misogynistic violence that frequently hits the headlines. It tells the story of what happens to the Miller family after 13-year-old Jamie is arrested in a dawn raid for killing a female classmate.Sky News’ political correspondent Tamara Cohen and Labour MP for Darlington Lola McEvoy join Niall Paterson to discuss Sky News’ exclusive survey of a thousand kids aged 16 to 17 about what they see online.Is social…

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he is watching Netflix’s Adolescence with his family and supports a campaign for it to be shown in parliament and schools.The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl – as a 13-year-old boy from her school is arrested for her murder. Politics live: PM challenged over tax rises Graham and co-writer Jack Thorne have said they want it to be a show that “causes discussion and makes change”, after it was hailed by critics and topped Netflix’s charts around the world.Asked by Labour MP Anneliese Midgley if he…

Up to 750 jobs are at risk at Santander bank under plans to close nearly a quarter of its high street branches.The high street lender has announced plans to close 95 of the bank’s existing 444 UK branches. Of the remaining branches, 36 will operate on reduced hours branches and 18 will be “counter-free”.Money blog: ‘I created something the biggest drinks companies are fighting over’Only 290 full-service Santander branches will remain. The continued move to online banking has been given as a reason for the closures. The bank said financial transactions completed in branches fell 61% since 2019, while the…