Author: SKYNEWS

Saturday Night Live UK has announced its top creative team ahead of the series launching next year.An American pop culture institution, SNL launched the careers of stars including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell – and now a “new generation” of British comedians is set to be cast in the first UK spin-off on Sky. While the show’s stars are yet to be revealed, details of the creative team behind it have now been announced. Image: Kim Kardashian hosted the show in 2021. Pic: Sky UK/NBC Two-time Emmy winner James Longman will serve as lead…

The UK’s economic slowdown gathered further momentum during the third quarter of the year with growth of just 0.1%, according to an early official estimate that makes horrific reading for the chancellor.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a surprise contraction for economic output during September of -0.1% – with some of the downwards pressure being applied by the cyber attack disruption to production at Jaguar Land Rover. The figures for July-September followed on the back of a 0.3% growth performance over the previous three months and the 0.7% expansion achieved between January and March.Money latest: The £110 benefit 1.1…

Online grooming crimes have doubled in the UK since 2017 to a record high, with one victim just four years old, according to the NSPCC.Warning: Readers may find details in this story distressing.The children’s charity said 7,263 offences were recorded by police in the year to March – almost double the 3,728 in the 12 months to March 2018.Its new report, which described the eight-year rise as “deeply alarming”, was based on data from police across the country via freedom of information requests, with Lincolnshire Police the only force failing to provide information.A tech platform was identified in a little…

Police will take no further action over alleged chants at a Bob Vylan concert in London.Met Police had launched an investigation after allegations the singer, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, was heard in footage saying “death to the IDF (Israel Defence League)”.The footage was filmed at a performance supporting Iggy Pop, 78, at Alexandra Palace in May.In a video, Mr Robinson-Foster is also alleged to have said: “Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel.”But the Met Police confirmed they are closing the investigation following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Image: The…

A Japanese manufacturing firm is facing a union battle over plans to shut factories in County Durham with the loss of hundreds of jobs.NSK said it was proposing to close its two sites in Peterlee as part of a strategy to exit unprofitable businesses. The factories, which produce bearings for the automotive industry, employ up to 400 people.Money latest: The autumn driving hazards that could cost you thousands NSK said it had begun consultations with union representatives on its plans. Unite the Union said it would fight the planned closures. It described the announcement as a “betrayal” of the workforce.The…

Groups tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material could be given more powers to protect children online under a proposed new law.Organisations like the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), as well as AI developers themselves, will be able to test the ability of AI models to create such content without breaking the law. That would mean they could tackle the problem at the source, rather than having to wait for illegal content to appear before they deal with it, according to Kerry Smith, chief executive of the IWF.The IWF deals with child abuse images online, removing hundreds of thousands every year.Ms Smith…

As he addressed his staff, the BBC’s outgoing director-general Tim Davie sounded remarkably upbeat given the events of the last few days.Within a matter of minutes, he had said the word “proud” almost a dozen times. Proud of his staff, proud of what the corporation represents. Having announced his resignation on Sunday, he was keen to stress that he was still in charge at the BBC and that he would ensure a smooth transition for whoever takes over.Although he admitted it’s “been a rough few days”, quite frankly, it was a little bizarre how chipper he seemed. “This narrative will…

The UK’s jobless rate has risen to a level not seen since late 2020, according to official figures released ahead of the budget.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a figure of 5% covering the three months to September – up from 4.8% reported last month. It was a larger leap than economists had predicted, and the ONS said men were worst affected by the shift. It leaves the jobless rate at its highest level since December 2020-February 2021.It had stood at 4.1% when Labour took office last year.Money latest: How private pensions are treated in divorce There was no…

Scientists have discovered a new medicine that they say offers hope of substantially slowing the progress of motor neurone disease (MND).The drug, named M102, works by protecting nerve cells damaged by MND. Preclinical studies of the drug conducted with mice show improvement in movement and nerve function.Researchers are now hopeful the drug can be tested on humans with the neurological condition, for which there is currently no cure.MND causes the messages from motor neurones – the nerve cells that transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscle – to gradually stop. This leads to muscles becoming weak and…

BBC chair Samir Shah has written a detailed letter to MPs following controversy over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump.Following a backlash, both BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness have both stepped down from their roles. Mr Trump is also understood to have threatened the corporation with legal action over the editing together of two pieces of video from his speech on 6 January 2021 in the BBC’s flagship late-night news programme Panorama.While the original programme received no complaints, Mr Shah confirmed in his letter that over 500 complaints had been received since…