Author: SKYNEWS

The brewery group behind brands such as Black Sheep and Fourpure is to be rescued from the brink of collapse by Saltaire Brewery, a Yorkshire-based rival.Sky News has learnt that the future of Keystone Brewing Group, which has filed a series of notices of its intention to appoint administrators in recent weeks, is close to being salvaged in a deal which could take place as early as Thursday. Saltaire is understood to have proposed a deal which would maintain Keystone’s workforce, which is thought to number between 150 and 200 people.The transaction is expected to take place through a pre-pack…

The House of Lords has backed a ban on under-16s using social media.Peers passed an amendment to the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament. Lords debate as it happened – politics latestThe amendment says within 12 months of the act passing, social media sites must be required to use “highly effective” age checks to make sure no under-16s can become users.With peers having backed the ban, the government will have the chance to overturn it in the Commons – but that’s looking increasingly tricky. The prime minister was initially opposed to such…

Prince Harry became emotional as he finished an intense day of evidence against the publisher of the Daily Mail – telling the High Court his wife Meghan’s life had been made an “absolute misery”.The Duke of Sussex spent about two hours being cross-examined by Associated Newspapers Limited’s lawyer, at times appearing visibly frustrated with the line of questioning. He told the court the idea that he has no right to privacy is “disgusting” and it was “fundamentally wrong to put us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and accountability”.Harry, 41, has brought legal action against Associated…

The rate of price increases rose again in December, official figures have confirmed, with inflation rising to 3.4%.It’s higher than anticipated – an increase to 3.3% was forecast by economists polled by the Reuters news agency. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation ticked up from 3.2% a month earlier. It’s the first time since July there’s been an increase.Higher tobacco prices, due to raised taxes, and more expensive airfares are behind the increase, the ONS said. Elevated food costs, especially bread and cereal, were also said to have brought…

Microsoft, the $3.4trn computing behemoth, will this week unveil a partnership with the Mercedes Formula One team that will underline the sport’s resurgent appeal among the world’s biggest technology companies.Sky News understands that Microsoft will be announced as a major sponsor of the Brackley-based outfit when it unveils its 2026 car livery and design at an event on Thursday. One sponsorship expert estimated that the deal could be worth in the region of $60m-a-year, adding that if that figure was accurate, it would rank among F1’s biggest individual team sponsorship agreements.Money blog: Inflation rises again – here’s what it could…

It had been a while since we’d seen the whole Beckham family out together.And while the tabloids had picked up last year on the fact that their eldest child had been noticeably missing from family photo-ops, few could have foreseen how Brooklyn would briefly break the internet. Will their eldest child come to regret the fallout? Had he really thought it through? Image: Brooklyn, David and Victoria Beckham attend the Fashion Awards at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2018. Pic: PA The carefully worded references to his parents “performative social media posts”, the “inauthentic relationships…a fixture of the life I was born into”…

Another of Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) most senior technology executives is leaving the company less than a year after its operations were devastated by a cyber attack.Sky News has learnt that Josie Smith, the retailer’s chief technology officer, is stepping down just 18 months after joining the company. Her departure was disclosed internally this week in a memo which said she had “decided to leave M&S”.Ms Smith, who previously worked at BT Group and Vodafone, will be replaced by Darren Gibson, the fashion, home and beauty technology transformation director.Her exit comes four months after Rachel Higham, M&S’s chief digital and…

Ministers are consulting on banning social media for under-16s in the UK – just weeks after a ban in Australia came into force.The government’s consultation will look at various options, including increasing the digital age of consent and restricting potentially addictive app design features such as “streaks” and “infinite scrolling”. There have been growing calls for Sir Keir Starmer to take action, and the announcement comes ahead of the Lords voting on a Conservative amendment to Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would force social media platforms to stop under-16s from using their platforms within a year of it…

Zootropolis 2 is now Hollywood’s highest-grossing animated film of all time, earning $1.7bn (£1.3bn) at the box office globally. The Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film has surpassed the former record holder Inside Out 2, which earned $1.69bn (£1.26b) following its 2024 release. The film, also known as Zootopia 2 in some countries, is now among the top-10 highest-grossing films of all time worldwide, along with Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Titanic.”This milestone belongs first and foremost to the fans around the world whose enthusiasm made it possible,” said Alan Bergman, co-chairman, Disney Entertainment.”Zootopia 2 is an extraordinary achievement,…

The private equity firm which owns a controlling stake in Asda is closing in on a £275m deal to buy a division of the listed cybersecurity company NCC Group.Sky News has learnt that TDR Capital is in late-stage talks to buy Escode, which has been the subject of acquisition talks since last summer. Banking sources said a deal between TDR and NCC for Escode, which specialises in software escrow and verification services, could be struck in the early part of this week.TDR is said to have seen off competition from a string of rival suitors, with other buyout firms which…