Author: SKYNEWS

A security guard accused of a plot to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby went to “great lengths” to suggest to others his plans were not mere fantasy, a court has heard.Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court heard on Monday that Gavin Plumb’s sexual motive was clear in his “appalling messages” to people online.Prosecuting, Alison Morgan KC said Plumb, 37, who went by the username Big Bear online, swore “it’s really happening” when an undercover police officer sent an image of a flight booking.”These, members of the jury, were the defendant’s words when he realised that another person, who he believed…

Inside Out has become the first film of the year to take over $1bn worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film of the year.It is the first to reach the milestone since Warner Brothers’ movie Barbie last year, gaining the accolade faster than any animated film in history. Image: Pic: Disney/Pixar It has held the top spot at the box office for the last three weekends, following its release on 14 June.The Pixar and Walt Disney collaboration is about a young girl called Riley, and the emotions she experiences as she learns and grows (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust).Following the…

A British data and analytics business founded 21 years ago was today snapped up for £2.55bn – four-fifths of which will go to its founder.Preqin, which specialises in providing data and information on the private equity sector and other alternative assets, is being bought by BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager. The sale will net approximately £2.04bn to Valhalla Ventures, the family holding company of Mark O’Hare, Preqin’s founder.The remaining £510m will be shared between management and employees at Preqin, which is based near London’s Victoria station and which employs more than 500 people in all of the world’s major…

Steve Varley, the former head of EY in the UK and Ireland, will this week be named as the chairman of the first law firm to list on London’s stock market.Sky News has learnt that Mr Varley, who stepped down as the audit firm’s chairman and managing partner in 2020, is to chair DWF, which is now majority-owned by the private equity firm Inflexion. His appointment will be announced on Tuesday, according to insiders.One said the recruitment of Mr Varley would underline the scale of DWF’s ambition, nine months after it was taken private by Inflexion.Money latest:’Bleak’ new security measure…

Sir Ian McKellen has pulled out of a national tour after falling from a stage in the West End while performing in a play.The 85-year-old actor was performing in Player Kings earlier this month at the Noel Coward theatre when he fell into the audience. Image: Pic: PA The production had been due to go on tour until 27 July but Sir Ian has announced his withdrawal with the “greatest reluctance” to “protect my recovery”.Shortly after the fall, Sir Ian had confirmed that he would not be returning for the remaining London dates of the show, to give him time…

Spirit AeroSystems was a company little-known outside the aviation industry until January this year.Then, however, the fuselage maker was flung into the spotlight when a Boeing 737 MAX jet operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a mid-air blow-out of a door plug. Spirit, whose operation in Wichita, Kansas, had made the fuselage for the jet, saw its shares plunge by as much as 20% and found the quality of its work coming under heavy scrutiny as Boeing scrambled to convince regulators and customers that its aircraft were safe.It subsequently emerged that the fuselage contained defective rivets but a preliminary report by…

The “deafening silence” on climate change during the election campaign has been criticised by major business group the CBI.But the next government cannot claim to be pro-growth without also being pro-green, Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, will tell a conference in London today. With just three days to go until the general election, she will highlight the “deafening silence from all the parties about the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, net zero and our planet”.But there is a risk in trying to “separate the economy from net zero”, she will say, adding: “Whoever forms the next government…

Will Smith has made his first major award ceremony appearance since facing widespread criticism for slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.The 55-year-old Hollywood star performed his new song – You Can Make It – at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. It was a rare live appearance from the Men In Black actor, who was banned from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years following the televised slap, which occurred moments before he won his first Oscar.For his performance, Smith stood in a circle of fire on an apocalyptic landscape, with a large sun rising…

A planned strike at the Port Talbot steelworks has been suspended after the Unite union said new investment was proposed.Unite is suspending its industrial action, it said, after the news on Thursday that the Indian conglomerate owner, Tata, would, in response, close the site earlier than first announced. Talks throughout the weekend yielded an agreement from Tata to discuss future investment and not just redundancies, the union said.The closure date is now 7 July, the day before the previously planned strike and roughly two months before the September timeline originally announced to close the final blast furnace in which steel…

Scientists have found a way to attach engineered living skin tissue to robots so they can smile and have an “increasingly lifelike appearance”.A team at Tokyo University, in Japan, said their work would also bring other potential benefits for robotic platforms, such as increased mobility – and could help train plastic surgeons and be useful in the cosmetics industry. Although its prototype may look like something from science fiction, living cells were used to engineer the skin before scientists made special “V-shaped perforations in solid materials” to bind the skin to structures.Team leader Professor Shoji Takeuchi has overseen previous biohybrid…