Author: SKYNEWS

Serco has been ordered to stop using facial recognition technology to monitor its staff for “prioritising business interests over its employees’ privacy”.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that a division of the outsourcing company, Serco Leisure, and community leisure trusts were unlawfully processing the biometric data of more than 2,000 employees at 38 leisure facilities across the UK. The watchdog said facial recognition and fingerprint scanning were routinely used to monitor workers’ attendance and then the subsequent payment for their time.The ICO found the leisure centre operator failed to show why these methods were needed over “less intrusive” means, such…

Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with dementia.A statement released on behalf of her caretakers says the 59-year-old has primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, the same form of the illness as actor Bruce Willis. The condition has “already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life” and caused behavioural and cognitive impacts, it said”Wendy is still able to do many things for herself.”Most importantly, she maintains her trademark sense of humour and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. “She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts…

The reduction in the Ofgem price cap that will apply from April may be the final step on the long, ruinously expensive road to a new normal for consumer energy prices. The guide price for typical annual dual-tariff use of £1,690 – a fall of 12.3% from the previous cap – is a dramatic reduction from the peak of more than £4,000 that applied just a year ago and prompted multi-billion pound state support for every household in the country. After bouncing between £1,800 and just shy of £2,000 in the three quarters since last June, this reduction, taken with projections…

The Victoria and Albert museum is looking to recruit a Taylor Swift super-fan adviser.The museum is looking for insights into the culture and craftsmanship behind handmade signs, friendship bracelets and memorabilia associated with the singer ahead of the European leg of her Eras tour. Swifties regularly swap friendship bracelets with each other at the shows.The American musician was the biggest-selling global recording artist in 2023, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.The London-based museum has already filled four super-fan roles, for Toby jugs, Pokemon cards, Gorpcore clothing and Lego. The Toby jug is an 18th-century English pottery jug…

Don’t underestimate the significance of this latest moon landing.The first by the US in more than 50 years, the first by a private company and the first so close to the intriguing south pole. Many other nations have landed during America’s absence: Russia, China, India and most recently Japan. The US is a late runner in the new dash to the moon.When America was last there it was with the Apollo programme, which employed 500,000 people and consumed 2.5% of GDP annually for a decade.NASA is sending humans back, perhaps in as little as two years. But this time it…

Delivery riders are to strike again on Friday as takeaway order numbers fell during the Valentine’s Day walkout.There were roughly 30% fewer orders in London during the strike period last Wednesday than the same 5pm to 10pm hours on Valentine’s Day in 2022 and 2023, according to delivery rider app, Rodeo. Across the UK the fall was 10% to 20% of normal volumes.Money latest: New energy price cap announced tomorrow with big drop predictedRodeo expected 750,000 to 1 million orders would have taken place across the UK throughout the five Valentine’s Day hours. The sum is based on the 10…

The boss of the Post Office wrote a letter to ministers saying he would stand by the prosecution of more than 350 of the sub-postmasters convicted in the Horizon scandal.Chief executive Nick Read sent the letter to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk last month, informing him that the Post Office would be “bound to oppose” appeals against at least 369 prosecutions. The document was dated 9 January – the day before the government announced plans for a new law to exonerate and compensate sub-postmasters who had been wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal.Mr Read’s letter was published by the Post Office…

The Odysseus moon lander has successfully touched down.The privately-owned Intuitive Machines’ lander is the first US lander to successfully touch down on the moon’s surface in more than 50 years – since the last of NASA’s Apollo programme in 1972. It is also the first ever private craft to land on the moon.There were claps in the Houston control room as landing success was confirmed after a few tense minutes.”Welcome to the moon,” mission director Tim Crain said. The team had to wait for confirmation that there was a signal before celebrating.The lander was successfully launched aboard a SpaceX rocket…

Details of legislation to exonerate sub-postmasters who were wronged in the Horizon scandal have been set out by the government.Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 Post Office managers were prosecuted after faulty accounting software provided by Fujitsu made it seem like money was missing from their branches in the UK. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced earlier this year there would be blanket legislation to clear their names.Although some details have now been announced by business minister Kevin Hollinrake in the Commons, there’s still a lot to find out, and key questions remain. Image: Business minister Kevin Hollinrake When? We…

A best-selling author who detailed her experience with dementia has announced her own death in a posthumous blog post.Wendy Mitchell, 68, authored acclaimed books on her condition after she was diagnosed with early-onset vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s in July 2014, at the age of 58.”If you’re reading this, it means this has probably been posted by my daughters as I’ve sadly died,” she wrote in her final blog post.”Sorry to break the news to you this way, but if I hadn’t, my inbox would eventually have been full of emails asking if I’m OK, which would have been hard for…