Author: SKYNEWS

Daniel Radcliffe has responded to the fallout with Harry Potter author JK Rowling over her views on the transgender community for the first time since 2020, saying: “It makes me really sad”.Rowling, who has always denied being transphobic, has been widely condemned in recent years for her views on transgender rights, having claimed that she would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns. Radcliffe, who became a worldwide star after playing schoolboy wizard Harry in the blockbuster adaptations of the novels, said in an interview with US magazine The Atlantic he has had…

Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to axe around 1,500 UK jobs as part of plans to build more hotel rooms and slash its chain of branded restaurants by more than 200. The company said, while announcing a 36% hike in annual profits to £561m, that it was to begin a consultation on cutting roles under an “accelerating growth plan”. That was to focus on hotel investment, Whitbread explained, that could see some of the jobs saved through redeployment.Money latest: State pensions ‘could be in doubt for future generations’The group’s restaurant arm includes the Brewers Fayre and Beefeater brands. The…

A Scottish college is offering a course on Taylor Swift to educate parents and carers accompanying children to the US singer’s sold-out The Eras Tour.More than 2.9 million fans attempted to secure tickets for the tour, and her sold-out concerts at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh are set to be watched live by 215,000 people. Swift, 34, will perform in Edinburgh on 7, 8 and 9 June, with the crowd numbers expected to beat Harry Styles’ record in 2023 for the biggest show in Scotland.Glasgow Clyde College (GCC) has launched a masterclass aimed at teaching parents and plus-ones about the set…

Untreated sewage was released into designated shellfish waters for 192,000 hours last year, new research has found.The dirty water pouring into English seas was a 20% jump from 159,000 hours in 2022, according to the analysis of Environment Agency data by the Liberal Democrats, shared with Sky News. The hours of sewage dumping were spread across 23,000 separate incidents – a slight fall from the previous year, but still an average of 64 times a day.Some fishing waters in Cornwall were forced to close last year after high levels of e.coli were found in oysters and mussels, and norovirus can…

Shifting expectations for UK interest rate cuts have contributed to a dip in house price growth, according to a closely watched measure.Nationwide reported a 0.4% fall in average property costs last month compared with March, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.6% from 1.6%. The lender’s report said the easing reflected “ongoing affordability pressures, with longer term interest rates rising in recent months, reversing the steep fall seen around the turn of the year”.The cost of fixed rate mortgage deals has risen due to market expectations that a Bank of England interest rate cut is looking further away than…

Tory MPs are threatening to rebel over the government’s new housing proposals.In a letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, more than 30 Tory MPs have stated their dissatisfaction with the current leasehold system and implores the government to scrap ground rent on leasehold properties. Currently, there is no cap on the amount freeholders can charge existing leaseholders for “ground rent”. That’s the money to literally have property on the ground that their freeholders own.Politics latest: Potential SNP contender hints she will standHousing Secretary Michael Gove previously called that “a charge for nothing” and has stated a personal preference to move towards…

Border checks on food and plant imports will add billions of pounds to the cost of doing business with the European Union, industry figures have warned.From today European imports considered a “medium risk” to UK biosecurity will face physical inspection as part of a new border regime introduced almost eight years after the Brexit vote, and delayed five times in two years. Plant and animal inspectors will examine a proportion of imported goods including fresh meat, fish, and dairy produce, a process that importers fear will disrupt supply chains, particularly for time-critical fresh goods.The physical checks come three months after…

An Abu Dhabi-backed fund has conceded defeat in its bid to buy The Daily Telegraph after its ownership was effectively blocked by the government.RedBird IMI announced it had placed The Telegraph and The Spectator titles up for sale, declaring that its ownership was “no longer feasible”. The move was confirmed after ministers revealed plans last month to outlaw foreign state ownership of UK newspapers.Money latest: State pensions ‘could be in doubt for future generations’The gulf state-backed fund, backed by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, had reached…

British actor Arthur Hughes says it’s a great step forward to have a disabled character leading the cast in a show that isn’t about disability.The 32-year-old plays the titular detective in new drama, Shardlake, about a lawyer who solves crimes while navigating the religious reforms and political intrigue of Tudor England. Hughes told Sky News: “The show isn’t about disability, it’s a Tudor piece… And it’s not about Shardlake being disabled… It’s an important asset…”It can be a burden. It can be his superpower. It’s the thing he can hide behind, so you might think he’s weak. He’s actually strong.…

Hotel chain Premier Inn has been banned from advertising rooms “from only £35 a night” by the advertising regulator. The Advertising Standards Authority found that an online ad from November, saying “Premier Inn Edinburgh – rooms from only £35 per night.” was “likely to mislead” viewers. Premier Inn’s owner Whitbread showed the watchdog there were 377 rooms on offer in the Scottish city for £35 a night within a year of the ad running.But the ASA said customers would believe the ad meant a significant number of rooms were available at that price in the coming year. In reality, only…