Author: SKYNEWS

Her time at the top of the Conservative Party memorably ended just 42 days after becoming prime minister, yet Liz Truss has been a name frequently heard throughout general election debates. The Labour Party hoped to remind voters of the unfunded tax cuts and spending plans announced in the September 2022 mini-budget which caused government borrowing to soar and necessitated an intervention by monetary regulator the Bank of England to prevent a collapse of pension funds. The party has bet that associating current-day Tories with Ms Truss and her economic plans will be a vote winner. The party wants voters…

A former chair of the Post Office has told the Horizon IT scandal inquiry that in-house lawyers advised him against sharing a report he commissioned on the accounting system. Tim Parker, who held the role for almost seven years from October 2015, said he regretted taking the advice the findings of the review by Jonathan Swift in 2016 were legally privileged. He said he could not recall whether it was received orally or in writing from Jane MacLeod – general counsel at the Post Office.Money latest:Marks & Spencer knocked off top spot as new grocer of the year namedCounsel to…

The world’s biggest gaming championship kicks off today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Around 1,500 global esports champions are heading to Boulevard City, competing for eight weeks for a record prize pool of $60m (£47m). “The Esports World Cup is a major moment in esports history,” said Ralf Reichert, chief executive of the Esports World Cup Foundation.”It’s a historic culmination of two universal languages, gaming and sports, to unite the global community across games, leapfrog the esports industry and drive growth across the entire ecosystem.” Image: Players compete at one of the World Cup qualifier events. Pic: Enos Ku / EWC24…

Banksy has said the home secretary calling his migrant boat artwork at Glastonbury Festival “vile and unacceptable” was “a bit over the top”.A small boat filled with migrant dummies in orange life jackets was hoisted above the crowd and passed around by festival-goers during several performances at the Worthy Farm festival last week. Speaking to Sky News earlier this week, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “There are a bunch of people that are joking and celebrating about criminal actions which cost lives.”People die in the Mediterranean, they die on the Channel. This is not funny. It is vile. This is…

A British company aiming to pioneer hypersonic flight and which counts Boeing and Rolls Royce Holdings among its backers is scrambling to raise new funding amid a squeeze on cashflow.Sky News has learnt that Reaction Engines, which is based in Oxfordshire, has appointed advisers to raise fresh capital. Shareholders in the company, which also include the FTSE-100 arms manufacturer BAE Systems, have been informed about the efforts to secure new money in recent weeks.Silverpeak, an advisory firm, has been appointed to orchestrate the fundraising, with the company believed to be in need of tens of millions of pounds more capital.Reaction,…

Google has admitted its greenhouse gas emissions have risen 48% over the past five years – largely because of artificial intelligence – scuppering its climate aims.AI systems require intense levels of computational power, and this has piled pressure on the tech giant’s data centres around the world. In its latest environmental report, Google went on to warn that reducing these emissions “may be challenging” – especially as it builds new infrastructure. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 10:22 Bill Gates on AI and climate At the start of this year, the company announced it was investing…

Travis Kelce has revealed his surprise cameo at Taylor Swift’s London show was his idea. The 34-year-old American football star joined his girlfriend on stage for the first time at the Eras Tour concert at Wembley Stadium. Talking about the origin of the skit on his podcast New Heights, Kelce told his brother and co-host Jason: “I initially mentioned it to Tay”.”I was like, ‘How funny would it be if I just rolled out on one of the bikes during the 1989 era’.”Swift initially laughed, he said – before asking, “Would you seriously be up for doing something like that?”. Kelce…

Whoever wins the next general election will face extremely tough choices on taxation and spending.As the independent Institute of Fiscal Studies has pointed out, both Labour and the Conservatives have ruled out changes to the big four revenue-raisers, income tax, national insurance, VAT and corporation tax. And, while both parties have made relatively modest spending commitments, there seems little doubt that revenue from other sources will be required given the current spending plans already pencilled in from 2025 – which have been described by the Institute for Government as “implausibly tight”.How could a new government raise funds?Assuming both parties stick…

More than £232m has been paid out in compensation to people affected by the now-scrapped northern leg of HS2, Sky News can reveal. Responses to our Freedom of Information requests show just shy of £550m has been spent so far on a range of government compensation schemes for both residents and businesses impacted by the planned route between London and Manchester. But more than 40% of the pot went to land and property owners in phase two of the project – starting at Birmingham and heading north – which was cancelled by the Conservatives at their 2023 party conference and…

Lily Allen has joined OnlyFans to sell photos of her feet – charging subscribers $10 (£8) a month. The singer shared a video showing a glimpse of her toes as she perched by the Trevi fountain in Rome on her Instagram story on Tuesday night. A link labelled “la dolce feeta” took followers to her OnlyFans account – where the puns continue.Her username is Lily Allen FTSE500 and her bio reads “just dipping my toes in”, while a recent post is captioned “sole trader”.OnlyFans is an online platform known for adult content where fans pay creators for their photos and videos.…