Author: SKYNEWS

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s lawyers have called for the music mogul to be given no more than 14 months in prison when he is sentenced next month – meaning he would walk free almost immediately.In a new written legal submission, the defence team also detailed “inhumane” conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York – saying food sometimes contains maggots, that the rapper is routinely subjected to violence, and that he has “not breathed fresh air in nearly 13 months”. Combs, 55, was found guilty of two prostitution-related charges following his high-profile trial in the summer, but cleared of…

Britain’s largest car manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), faces a prolonged shutdown of its global operations after the company announced an extension of the current closure, which began on 31 August, to at least 1 October.The extension will cost JLR tens of millions of pounds a day in lost revenue, raise major concerns about companies and jobs in the supply chain, and raise further questions about the vulnerability of UK industry to cyber assaults. A spokesperson said of the move: “We have made this decision to give clarity for the coming week as we build the timeline for the phased…

Energy regulator Ofgem has selected a shortlist of long-duration electricity storage projects it says are vital to maximise renewable energy and reduce the cost of paying wind farms to switch off because the excess power cannot be managed.A total of 77 projects designed to capture excess renewable power for later use, including lithium-ion, flow and sugar-based “super batteries”, as well as pumped-hydro electricity storage, will be considered for inclusion in a bill-payer-backed funding scheme intended to promote innovation and spread risk. There were 171 applications in total.The long-duration energy storage (LDES) program is intended to address the problem of intermittent…

Graham Linehan has told Sky News he believes satire is “dying” and that it would be “impossible” to make his hit shows Father Ted or The IT Crowd today.The comedy writer, who has faced accusations of transphobic hate speech and the harassment of transgender people, was arrested at Heathrow Airport earlier this month over social media posts sharing his views on trans rights. Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, he said he is planning to sue the Metropolitan Police over his arrest, on grounds of “false imprisonment”, and also addressed US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel being…

A small number of suitors have served up initial bids for Costa Coffee as the chain’s owner, The Coca-Cola Company, prepares to retain ownership of the brand’s ready-to-drink portfolio.Sky News understands that Coca-Cola and its advisers set a deadline last week for indicative offers for Costa. City sources said on Monday that Apollo Global Management, the investment giant which had expressed an interest in the business, decided not to submit an offer.Other reported bidders include TDR Capital, the owner of Asda, although banking insiders said there had been a small number of proposals than expected. Money latest: Lifetime ISA savers…

Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs. “I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going…

Broadcaster John Stapleton – a familiar face on news and current affairs shows for decades – has died.The 79-year-old, who had Parkinson’s disease, died peacefully in hospital this morning.Stapleton appeared on well-known programmes such as Watchdog, Nationwide, Newsnight, Good Morning Britain, Panorama, and GMTV’s News Hour.He was also among the first Sky News presenters.Stapleton’s agent, Jackie Gill, said his Parkinson’s had been “complicated by pneumonia”.”His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning,” she said in a statement.Former colleagues paid tribute to Stapleton’s warmth and professionalism.Sky News’ Mark Austin…

TalkTalk Group has picked advisers to spearhead a break-up that will lead to the sale of one of Britain’s biggest broadband providers.Sky News has learnt that PJT Partners, the investment bank, is being lined up to handle a strategic review aimed at assessing the optimal timing for a disposal of TalkTalk’s remaining businesses. PJT’s appointment is expected to be finalised shortly, City sources said this weekend.Founded by Sir Charles Dunstone, the entrepreneur who also helped establish The Carphone Warehouse, TalkTalk has 3.2 million residential broadband customers across the UK.That scale makes it one of the largest broadband suppliers in the…

Sir Ed Davey has branded Elon Musk a criminal and called for him to be prosecuted for “allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X.The Lib Dem leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is “inciting violence” and his social media platform is actively failing to protect children. Sir Ed, speaking from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, said Mr Musk could be prosecuted under the Online Safety Act, under which social media companies have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content and their directors are…

American Senator Ted Cruz has broken ranks with fellow US conservatives and hit out at talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, saying it was “mafioso” behaviour.Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised after it pulled the long-standing host of Jimmy Kimmel Live following comments in his show about the alleged gunman charged with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder. Kimmel implied the suspect was a Maga Republican, despite the man’s mother telling police he had “started to lean more to the left”.As a result, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened Disney and local broadcasters with investigations and regulatory action if they…