Author: SKYNEWS

TV presenter Dan Wootton will face no further police action after a five-month investigation into allegations made against him, the Metropolitan Police has said.The broadcaster, 40, said in a statement that he had been “completely cleared” after the investigations by the Metropolitan Police, and Police Scotland. At the time the allegations surfaced, in articles in The Byline Times, the presenter admitted making some “errors of judgement” but always denied any criminality.In a statement issued by his lawyer, he said: “I have now been completely cleared in two investigations by the Metropolitan and Scottish police, who have confirmed they will be…

Channel 4’s outgoing marketing chief is the leading candidate to become the next boss of M&C Saatchi Group, the London-listed advertising agency.Sky News has learnt that Zaid Al-Qassab, whose exit from the state-owned broadcaster was announced last month, is close to agreeing to become M&C Saatchi’s new chief executive. An advertising industry source said on Wednesday that Mr Al-Qassab had seen off competition from rival candidates in recent weeks, with an announcement possible within days.Mr Al-Qassab has worked for Channel 4, which recently confirmed plans to cut hundreds of jobs as it grapples with a sharp downturn in ad spending,…

A criminal trial involving allegedly ill-gotten handwritten lyrics to the classic rock song Hotel California, as well as other favourites by the Eagles, has begun in New York.The unusual case concerns about 100 pages of drafts featuring the words to songs from the Hotel California album, which was released in 1976 and is the third-biggest selling album ever in the US. Rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock and Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi, and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski are accused of scheming to thwart Eagles co-founder Don Henley’s efforts to reclaim the documents, and face charges including…

The former chair of the Post Office, Henry Staunton, who was dismissed last month, claims he was told by a top civil servant to “hobble into the election” and delay payouts to sub-postmasters, in a newly-released memo.But Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch told MPs there’s “no evidence whatsoever that this is true”, and called his allegations “a disgrace”. The row comes as only 5% of sub-postmaster claimants have received compensation for the Horizon IT scandal so far.Late on Wednesday evening, the government published a letter from Sarah Munby, the former permanent secretary to Kemi Badenoch, responding to claims in The Times…

The trial of a former gang leader accused of killing rapper Tupac Shakur has been pushed back by several months.Duane “Keffe D” Davis had been due to stand trial in June after being arrested last year – some 27 years after the hip-hop star’s death. He is said to be the only person still alive who was in the vehicle from which shots were fired in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 7 September 1996. Tupac died from his injuries six days later. Image: Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis pictured at his latest court hearing. Pic: Bizuayehu Tesfaye/ Las Vegas Review-Journal/ AP After…

The owner of Brentford, the Premier League football club, has engaged advisers to canvas offers of investment that could value one of the sport’s biggest recent success stories at more than £400m.Sky News has learnt that Matthew Benham, who initially invested in the Bees in 2007, has hired Rothschild to oversee a process that could involve the sale of a controlling stake. Rothschild is expected to kick off a formal process in the near future, with football industry experts anticipating that Brentford will become the latest in a string of top-flight clubs to draw interest from US-based investors.Under Mr Benham’s…

It’s something that every iPhone user dreads: drenching their device in tea after an unfortunate spill… or dropping it in the bath.For years, the common advice given after clumsy mishaps has been to leave the iPhone in a bag of rice to soak up any excess moisture. But, according to recent advice from Apple, this technique is nothing more than an old wives’ tale – and can actually do more harm than good. Image: Apple has advised against putting wet phones in a bowl of rice. Pic: iStock The tech giant says small particles of rice can end up damaging…

The armourer responsible for weapons on the set of western film Rust is set to go on trial over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.Jury selection in Hannah Gutierrez’s case starts in Santa Fe, New Mexio, on Wednesday, with the trial expected to get under way once this has taken place. Ms Hutchins was killed during filming of Rust after a gun held by actor and producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal in October 2021. Director Joel Souza was also wounded. Image: Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured) died, while director Joel Souza was also injured. Pic: SWEN STUDIOS/ Reuters…

The iconic BT Tower in London is set to become a hotel, if its new owner gets its way.BT Group revealed on Wednesday that it had agreed to sell the 177 metre-tall (581-ft) tower in the West End to MCR Hotels for £275m. The grade II listed communications tower, the telecoms firm explained, had become increasingly obsolete given the shift to digital services.BT Group’s fixed and mobile networks have gradually replaced the tower’s essential role in UK communications.Money latest: Britons are not using all their holiday days – and these industries are the worst Its microwave aerials were removed more…

US authorities have charged five Russian nationals after a global operation to take down an infamous cyber crime gang that holds victims’ data to ransom.Lockbit has been disrupted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and a coalition of international police agencies, including the FBI, who have taken control of the group’s extortion website.The gang and its affiliates have hacked some of the world’s largest organisations, including Royal Mail, which faced severe disruption after an attack in early 2023.The director general of the NCA, Graeme Biggar, announced an international law enforcement coalition of 10 countries has “hacked the hackers” and taken…