Author: SKYNEWS

Fujitsu is set to have received more than £3.4bn through contracts from Treasury-linked organisations since 2019, despite its role in the Post Office scandal, MPs have found.The international tech firm, which is under intense scrutiny, was awarded around £1.4bn worth of deals since a 2019 High Court ruling concluding there had been numerous bugs and errors in its Horizon IT system. More than £2bn worth of contracts were agreed before 2019 and remained active in the following period, the Commons Treasury Committee said.The committee – which examines Treasury expenditure and policy – wrote to organisations last month including HM Revenue…

Reality star Louise Thompson has revealed she became seriously ill on a recent holiday and was losing “cupfuls” of blood every 20 minutes before being rushed to hospital in the UK.The former Made In Chelsea star, 33, said she booked an early flight home from Antigua to seek treatment in January after feeling weak and disorientated while away with her family. She has suffered a string of physical and PTSD after almost dying during the birth of her two-year-old son, Leo.The star also suffers from ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition leading to parts of the gut becoming swollen, inflamed,…

A former chief economist at the Bank of England has expressed disappointment at Labour’s decision to axe its £28bn green investment pledge.Andy Haldane, who is now the managing director of the Royal Society of Arts, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge that the original promise “led the world” in its ambition, and would have benefitted the country – both in achieving its net zero goals and stimulating growth. But the decision by Sir Keir Starmer last week to bin the target showed how politicians are “scaling back our plans in the UK at the same time as other countries have stepped up…

Macquarie, the Australian banking giant, is closing in on a deal to buy a big stake in the wholesale arm of TalkTalk Telecom, one of Britain’s biggest consumer broadband providers.Sky News has learnt that Macquarie could sign an exclusivity agreement as soon as this week that would pave the way for a transaction with the company founded by Sir Charles Dunstone. City sources said that Macquarie was proposing to invest £450m into PlatformX, the name given to TalkTalk’s wholesale platform, in exchange for a stake of 40% or slightly more.The proceeds would be partly used to pay down the company’s…

The most important thing about American football’s biggest night of the year? It’s the celebrity appearances, of course.Forget the score, the winners, the trophy – even without the Taylor Swift factor of this year’s event, the Super Bowl always makes headlines for the halftime show (Usher and friends), the A-lister adverts (Posh and Becks, Ben Affleck), and the stars in the crowd (see below). Here are the celebs who showed up to the NFL game in Las Vegas this year – including those hanging out in Suite Swift.First up… Image: Pic: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters Starting with the star of…

Usher put on a halftime show at the Super Bowl marked by impressive choreography and several guest appearances.He performed a 13-minute show at the Super Bowl halfway point at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, starting with Caught Up and moving on to U Don’t Have To Call, Superstar and Love In The Club. Alicia Keys joined him in front of a red piano resembling an abstract sculpture for her song If I Ain’t Got You, which morphed into My Boo.The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime. Image: Usher and Alicia Keys. Pic: Mark J Rebilas-USA TODAY…

A 57-year-old Dutch man has broken the world record for the longest-surviving heart transplant patient.Bert Janssen has lived for 39 years with the donor heart, which he received at Harefield Hospital in northwest London in 1984. The achievement has now been recognised by Guinness World Records.Mr Janssen developed flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed aged 17 with cardiomyopathy, a condition that impacts the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body.A heart transplant had never been carried out in the Netherlands, but Mr Janssen’s cardiologist had ties with Harefield and transplant pioneer Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, who eventually carried out the…

Elon Musk has been ordered to testify for a third time in the probe into his takeover of Twitter, now known as X.US magistrate judge Laurel Beeler issued an order on Saturday night after Musk failed to appear before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the arranged date. The judge said Musk “did not appear” and “resists the subpoena on the grounds the SEC’s investigation is baseless and harassing and seeks irrelevant information”.The SEC sued the Tesla owner in October to compel him to cooperate in its probe of the $44bn (£35bn) Twitter takeover. Officials want to hear his…

Bosses of water companies responsible for illegal sewage spills are to face a ban on their bonuses after years of campaigns and public outrage.  Environment Secretary Steve Barclay announced payouts would be blocked to chiefs who oversee the polluting of rivers, lakes, and seas – starting with bonuses in the financial year starting this April. It was revealed bosses received more than £26m in bonuses, benefits, and incentives over the last four years.Analysis by the Labour Party found nine water chief executives were paid £10m in bonuses, £14m in incentives and £603,580 in benefits since 2019.Senior executives from five of…

NatWest Group is preparing to pay out about £350m in staff bonuses as the government draws up plans for a retail share offer that could drastically reduce the state’s remaining stake in the bailed-out lender.Sky News has learnt NatWest is finalising proposals for the bonus pot ahead of annual results this week that are expected to reveal its most profitable year since its rescue by British taxpayers. The payouts will be slightly below last year’s figure of £367m despite City forecasts of higher profits buoyed by rising interest rates.The announcement of NatWest’s results, which will be overseen by interim chief…