Author: SKYNEWS

A community action group in Tunbridge Wells is demanding the “immediate” sacking of South East Water’s chief executive after weeks of outages which have left tens of thousands of customers without water.Sky News has seen a letter from Dry Wells Action, which was formed by residents and businesses in the Kent town, to Chris Train, South East Water’s chairman, demanding answers about the company’s solvency, infrastructure spending and refusal to engage with stakeholders during the biggest crisis in its history. “You have comprehensively lost the trust of Tunbridge Wells customers,” the letter, sent on Monday morning, said.”Only by providing us…

The “shambles” of the government’s plan on social media will not be fixed by banning children from accessing the platforms, Harriet Harman has said.Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer cast doubt upon whether a ban on under-16s using social media – as supported by the House of Lords – is workable. The proposals passed by the Lords still need to be agreed by MPs before they become law. The government wants to hold a consultation before committing to a ban.Harman pointed to existing legislation like the Online Harms Bill, Crime…

Paris Hilton says the “pain and abuse” she faced as a teenager at so-called behaviour camps paved the way for her to find the “most meaningful work” of her life.In 2020, the hotel heiress released a documentary, This Is Paris, which detailed the treatment she and other victims endured at tough love camps in the US. The socialite said she was subjected to “a parent-approved kidnapping” at four different youth facilities, was “force-fed medications and sexually abused by staff”. Image: Paris Hilton is examining her life and career in her new music documentary film Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir. Pic:…

The sports vehicle backed by CVC Capital Partners, the former owner of Formula One motor racing, is close to striking a $300m deal to buy a majority stake in Equine Network, a US-based equestrian sports league.Sky News has learnt that Global Sport Group (GSG), which owns stakes in assets such as women’s professional tennis and Six Nations Rugby, is lining up its first new league investment since the new entity was created. Sports industry sources said the deal could be struck and announced in the coming days.Equine Network operates equestrian-based sports competitions ranging from team roping rodeo events to showjumping…

When Jane Wallbank found out she’d been awarded free upgrades to make her home warmer and cheaper to run, it sounded like “a fairytale”.”Bills have become astronomically expensive in the last few years,” said Jane, a support worker for people with learning needs. Then she qualified for internal wall insulation, smart radiator sensors and an extractor fan under the ECO (Energy Company Obligation) scheme, designed to upgrade homes for those in fuel poverty and make them greener.It is paid for by energy bill payers and overseen by a patchwork of energy companies, the government and other agencies.”I almost felt special,…

Steve Coogan says he doesn’t want to fully be part of the British establishment because you cannot “get rid of the history which weighs heavily on all of us”.The 60-year-old actor is of Irish heritage – his mother was born in Ireland and so were his paternal grandparents. He tells Sky News during an interview for his new film Saipan that his ancestry has shaped his view of the world for the better. Image: Coogan plays Mick McCarthy in Saipan Pic: Aidan Monaghan “I don’t feel fully like I want to be part of the British establishment because I feel…

Britain’s largest operator of private hospitals is in talks with a pack of buyout firms about a takeover that would result in it becoming the latest FTSE-250 company to disappear from the London stock market.Sky News has learnt that private equity firms including Bridgepoint and Triton Partners are exploring bids for Spire Healthcare Group, which runs nearly 40 of the UK’s biggest private hospitals. City sources said the pair were among a broader group of parties which had expressed interest in making offers for the company ahead of a deadline set by its advisers this week.Advent International and Bain Capital…

A major winter storm is set to sweep the United States this weekend, bringing with it snow, sleet, ice and sub-zero temperatures from the Arizona-New Mexico border to upstate New York.What is it? A winter storm is defined as a combination of heavy snow, blowing snow and/or dangerous wind chills, according to the NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, which also describes it as “life-threatening”.The approaching storm is due to an area of low pressure moving up from the Gulf of Mexico (bringing lots of moisture) and meeting extremely cold Arctic air plunging south from Canada.The winter storm set to hit…

Stars of the runway and the screen have said farewell to fashion designer Valentino at a church service in Rome.The biggest names ​in fashion – including Donatella Versace, Tom Ford and Maria Grazia Chiuri – gathered in the Basilica di Santa ⁠Maria degli Angeli on Friday for the funeral. The couturier, who built one of ⁠Italy’s most celebrated fashion houses, died on Monday aged 93, with the news being met by an outpouring of tributes from global celebrities.The crowd of mourners – which included actresses Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Hurley and models Natalia Vodianova and Bianca Brandolini d’Adda – was…

Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase (JPMC), accusing it of debanking him and his business empire after his first term in the White House ended.The US president claims America’s largest bank by assets and its chief executive Jamie Dimon closed a number of personal and business accounts in February 2021, with 60 days’ notice, for political reasons. The bank has denied this was the case.Money latest: Is era of high savings rates over? Mr Trump argues that he and his business interests were cut off from millions of dollars and suffered disruption as they scrambled…