Author: SKYNEWS

Reports of the BBC’s handling of complaints about MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace are “deeply troubling”, the head of a TV workers’ union has said.Wallace has stepped back from presenting the BBC cooking show after accusations he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years. At the weekend, the presenter issued a defiant response to mounting allegations against him, dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age” in a series of videos posted on Instagram. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:09 Gregg Wallace responds to complaints…

The chief executive of Vauxhall’s parent company has abruptly resigned, just days after the car brand’s factory in Luton was slated for closure.Previously regarded as one of the most respected figures in the auto industry, Carlos Tavares came under scrutiny after Stellantis issued a profit warning in September. The firm – which also makes Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot – has lost around 40% of its share value this year, with most of the damage coming from the North American market.Money blog: 54 UK areas where Lifetime ISAs could lose you moneyAnd the company had warned of a need to spur…

A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape at The Groucho Club, the celebrity haunt in London that was closed this week.The man, aged 34, was arrested on Saturday night at an address in Hertfordshire, the Metropolitan Police said. “At this stage, there is no suggestion that employees of the venue were involved in the commission of the offence,” a statement said.The Groucho Club, a private members’ club in Dean Street, Soho, had its licence suspended by Westminster City Council on Tuesday after a request by the police force.A full hearing must take place within 28 days from when…

It was hailed as an AI assistant that can go to meetings for you – and soon it could be used to help MPs carry out their mounting workload. Parliament’s digital services department (PDS) is undertaking a cost-benefit analysis of Microsoft’s CoPilot Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, which can draft your emails and take notes during calls – even if you’re not there. That’s just a few of its ChatGPT-like features, including creating PowerPoint presentations and writing Word documents almost from scratch.Labour MP Nick Smith, a member of the House of Commons Commission, has revealed that PDS is “actively exploring” its…

People from all parts of the UK, representing all age groups including a significant majority of Labour voters, believe the rate of inflation will increase in the next year across a range of categories, from bills and shopping to going out.Almost three quarters (71%) of those surveyed between 22 and 25 November expect the rate of inflation to increase. They also appear to have become markedly more worried about this than at the start of the year, when the figure was at 40%, or two in five people. “The cost of living was a real problem for the last Conservative…

It was once the venue of choice for the London glitterati but it appears the party is over for famed celebrity haunt The Groucho Club.The club’s licence has now been suspended by Westminster City Council after a request by the Metropolitan Police. Neither the police, nor the club itself, have shed any light on the “serious criminal offence” that forced it to close its doors, but it is not the first time the venue has been dogged with claims of illegality.In its heyday, an upstairs room was apparently nicknamed the Peruvian Procurement Department, such was its reputation for the alleged…

Dogs have been used to successfully identify tree diseases in the UK for the first time – proving pooches aren’t just a man’s best friend.Ivor, a six-year-old cocker spaniel-labrador cross, has been trained to identify a highly destructive and deadly pathogen which is dangerous to more than 150 plant species. The phytophthora ramorum organism can cause extensive damage and even death to plants, including larch trees, which are important for timber.Ivor’s detective training from Canine Assisted Pest Eradication included techniques such as initial scent recognition.He aced the first test by successfully identifying the pathogen in soil, plant material and sterile…

HSBC Holdings, one of Britain’s biggest high street banks and Europe’s largest lender by market value, is preparing to kick off a hunt for its next chairman.Sky News has learnt that HSBC’s board has appointed headhunters to orchestrate the recruitment of a successor to Mark Tucker, who has held the post since 2017. City sources said this weekend that the search firm MWM Consulting was among the frontrunners to run the process.Mr Tucker, a former boss of Prudential and Hong Kong-based insurer AIA, is expected to step down at around the time of HSBC’s annual meeting in the spring of…

Irish language rap group Kneecap have won their discrimination case against the UK government after former business secretary Kemi Badenoch refused them funding.The trio – who have been criticised by former Tory government members for some of their lyrics – launched legal action, claiming the decision to withhold the grant discriminated against them on grounds of nationalist and political opinion. After a brief hearing at Belfast High Court on Friday, it was agreed the government would pay the band £14,250 – the same amount the grant was for.The group’s application to the Music Export Growth Scheme, which supports UK-registered artists…

Australian senators have passed a world-first law that bans under 16s from having social media accounts.The legislation is set to come into force in November 2025. It includes some of the toughest social media controls in the world and will force platforms to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification protections are in place.The law will make platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and X liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (£25m) if they don’t systemically stop children younger than 16 from holding accounts.The platforms will have one year to work out how to implement the ban…