Author: SKYNEWS

The reason grey squirrels outcompete the red version of the rodents may lie in their gut bacteria, scientists believe.Grey squirrels are an invasive species that was introduced to the UK and Ireland in the late 19th century from North America. They out-compete the native reds for food and space and carry a disease, called squirrel pox, which kills reds but has no known lasting effect on greys.Grey squirrels also pose a threat to the sustainable management of woodlands because of the damage they cause to trees by bark stripping, a behaviour that was not fully understood by experts.Now an analysis…

Takeaway delivery strikes will be held every Friday and on holidays if demands are not met, an organiser has said ahead of the Valentine’s Day stoppage. A group calling itself Delivery Jobs UK says up to 4,000 delivery riders could strike between 5pm and 10pm on Wednesday night as there are four full WhatsApp groups, each with more than 1,000 users, discussing dissatisfaction with pay for food delivery jobs. Apps riders use are Just Eat, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Stuart. They are mainly for delivering takeaways but can be used to buy groceries.Deliveroo has contacted restaurants in areas it expects…

A UK recession is “in the balance” but there are signs growth is starting to pick up, the governor of the Bank of England has said.Andrew Bailey made the comments as he hailed Wednesday’s inflation data – which revealed it remained at 4% in January – as “quite encouraging” amid the Bank’s ongoing attempts to bring the rate down to its target of 2%. “That’s good news, as far as I can tell,” he told the House of Lords economic affairs committee on Wednesday afternoon.However, the governor added the figure did not fundamentally alter the Bank’s outlook on potentially cutting…

The board of NatWest Group is preparing to name Paul Thwaite as its next permanent chief executive as the government readies a mass-market share offering that will slash the taxpayer’s stake in the bank.Sky News has learnt that the lender’s directors will discuss on Thursday proposals to announce Mr Thwaite, its interim boss, as the successor to Dame Alison Rose alongside its annual results on Friday morning. Sources cautioned on Wednesday that a final decision had yet to be taken and that other candidates had also been discussed by NatWest’s board as part of the appointment process.Mr Thwaite, however, is…

A mechanic who helped run one of the dark web’s biggest child sex abuse websites has been jailed for 16 years after he was convicted under organised crime laws in the first case of its kind.Nathan Bake, a 28-year-old tyre fitter from Runcorn, Cheshire, was the head moderator and second in command of The Annex – which had 90,000 users worldwide. The site, where paedophiles shared millions of images – including material of the most extreme kind of abuse involving toddlers and babies – has been shut down after a global operation involving the National Crime Agency (NCA) and American…

Fertility patients at two clinics in England have been exposed to a faulty egg and embryo-freezing solution that might have impaired their chances of having children, the industry regulator has said.The defective liquid was used at the Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, in London and Jessop Fertility, in Sheffield. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) director of compliance and information Rachel Cutting, said on Wednesday it is only investigating what happened at Guy’s and St Thomas’, which has contacted 136 patients.Ms Cutting said: “The company supplying the product directly to clinics will know exactly where…

Bloomsbury Publishing has said its profits for the last 12 months are set to be “significantly” ahead of previous expectations thanks to fantasy author Sarah J Maas and the so-called BookTok social media trend.The company said Maas’s novel House Of Flame And Shadow, which topped book charts in the UK and around the world following its release last month, had been a major factor in its “exceptional growth”. The American author signed with the publisher 13 years ago and her popularity has soared in recent years with reported sales of more than 38 million books worldwide.Bloomsbury said Maas’s latest release…

A travel agent that organises the tour itineraries of musicians including Lady Gaga and Rihanna is closing in on a sale to new private equity backers.Sky News understands that ECI Partners is the frontrunner to buy TAG, which marked its 35th anniversary last year. It was unclear on Wednesday whether ECI, which has owned companies such as Auction Technology Group, was formally in exclusive talks to buy TAG, but travel industry sources described it as the most likely buyer.Among the other suitors earlier in the process were Livingbridge and Equistone, two other private equity firms.Formerly known as The Appointment Group,…

Jeff Bezos has sold more than $4bn (£3.2bn) worth of his shares in Amazon over the past few days.The Amazon founder and executive chairman sold nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2bn (£1.58bn) on 7 and 8 February, according to a statement he filed with federal regulators. The collective value of the shares in the tech giant was just over $2.04bn (£1.62bn), according to the listed price totals. The stocks were grouped in five blocks of between one million and more than 3.2 million.He had sold another 12 million shares for roughly the same price days…

Actress Ruth Jones has said the widely reported Gavin & Stacey Christmas special is “sadly a rumour”.US entertainment news website, Deadline, claimed the show would be back for a Christmas special this year after a five-year break. But speaking to Oliver Callan on RTE Radio 1 on Wednesday, the co-writer of the show, largely filmed in South Wales, said: “If there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it”.The show, starring Matthew Horne and Joanna Page as Gavin & Stacey, ran for three series from 2007, before returning for a Christmas special in…