Author: SKYNEWS

Bob Newhart, the US comedian and actor, has died.Known for his roles in the Christmas film Elf and US sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Newhart also had his own programme, The Bob Newhart Show. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, said Newhart had died at the age of 94 after “a series of short illnesses”.Newhart launched his career as a stand-up comic in the late 1950s.He gained nationwide fame in the US when his routine was captured on vinyl in 1960 as The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which went on to win a Grammy Award as album of the year. Image:…

While longer-established names like Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next are often taken as good barometers of UK retailing, there is a case for saying that no one company better provides a snapshot of how the sector is faring than Frasers Group.Mike Ashley’s combine owns more than 40 consumer-facing brands, including Sports Direct – still the biggest part of the business – House of Fraser, Flannels, Game, Evans Cycles, Jack Wills, Gieves & Hawkes, Agent Provocateur, Cruise, Van Mildert and Sofa.com, not to mention a clutch of sports equipment and sports and leisurewear brands including Slazenger, Sondico, No Fear,…

A former model has been refused a licence for exotic animals after taking a meerkat and an owl to a pub.Jodie Marsh, who owns Fripps Farm in Lindsell, Essex, applied for a dangerous wild animals licence to keep eight ring-tailed lemurs in January. But Uttlesford District Council rejected the application this week, citing Ms Marsh twice bringing a young meerkat to a pub, and instances where rehomed creatures escaped from the five-acre animal sanctuary.The council’s licencing and environmental health committee also heard the 45-year-old once brought an owl to a pub, and raised concerns over the noise of the lemurs…

A senior minister has told the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry that accountability for the scandal lies with the government, while the leader of the Liberal Democrats said he was lied to by senior executives at the company.Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden was postal affairs minister from 2007 to 2009, years in which the biggest miscarriage of justice was taking place. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, who was postal affairs minister from 2010 to 2012, was also giving evidence to the inquiry established to investigate the Post Office’s wrongful prosecution of more than 700 sub-postmasters.Money latest: Santander swearing ban…

Game Of Thrones author George RR Martin has been ‘iced’ out of officially appearing at a sci-fi convention in Scotland after failing to fill in the application form.The renowned American writer – who is behind fantasy series A Song Of Ice And Fire – will be attending Worldcon in Glasgow next month. He had hoped to join in the festivities, which includes talks, workshops, readings, panel discussions and entertainment, but has not made the official line-up of events.In a blog post last week, Mr Martin said: “I will be in Glasgow, attending the con, but whether you’ll see me, I…

The Bank of England has revealed disruption to some major financial transactions due to a “global payments issue”, later confirmed to have been fixed..In a statement this afternoon, the Bank revealed that its high value CHAPS service – which handles payments worth hundreds of billions of pounds each day – was affected by an outage from late morning. This resulted in delays to transactions between major commercial banks and some house purchases over a period of around four hours.Money latest:One of UK’s top plastic surgery firms collapsesIt said in the latest statement: “We are pleased to confirm that the third…

The iconic hat Harrison Ford wore in Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom is one of nearly 2,000 rare Hollywood props up for sale at auction.The famous fedora is expected to fetch up to $550,000 (£423,000) during a four-day sale in Los Angeles next month. It’s one of 1,900 rare and valuable items from Hollywood blockbusters up for grabs, along with a batwing model miniature used by Michael Keaton in the 1989 Batman film, which is expected to sell for between $250,000 (£192,000) and $500,000 (£385,000). Image: Pic: Propstore/PA In the same high-value price range is a biker scout…

The former minister who resigned over the handling of COVID loan fraud has stepped down from the media group bankrolled by Sir Paul Marshall, casting fresh doubt on its interest in The Daily Telegraph.Sky News has learnt that Lord Agnew, who quit at the despatch box in 2022, has ceased to be the chair of Old Queen Street Ventures – formerly UnHerd Ventures. His resignation, recorded in a filing at Companies House, came less than nine months after he was appointed as UnHerd Ventures’ chairman.At the time of his appointment, people close to the situation said Lord Agnew would play…

Former London’s Burning actor John Alford faces trial over charges of sex offences involving a girl aged under 16.The 52-year-old, who rose to fame in Grange Hill, is charged under his real name John Shannon. Alford, of Holloway, north London, is accused of four counts of sexual activity with a child and two relating to a second female of sexual assault and assault by penetration.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he denied all charges at a plea hearing in September last year.There will be a pre-trial review hearing on 18 November at St Albans Crown Court, before the trial begins…

Accelerated action and intensive work is needed to avoid a “disorderly and unjust transition” when Scotland’s only oil refinery “likely” closes, a report has warned.With the Grangemouth refinery expected to shut in 2025, potentially impacting hundreds of jobs, the Just Transition Commission (JTC) warned of a “lack of effective just transition planning to date”. Bosses at Petroineos previously announced plans to close the oil refinery and switch the complex to become an import station for finished fuels.The Scottish and UK governments are already funding work, dubbed Project Willow, exploring how the site can continue to play a role amid the…