Author: SKYNEWS

The rate of inflation hit a much lower than expected 3.2% last month, according to official figures which should lock in an interest rate cut by the Bank of England on Thursday.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported an easing in the pace of the main consumer prices index measure from the 3.6% annual rate seen in October. The main downwards pressure came from food costs amid a supermarket price war to secure custom ahead of the core Christmas season.Money latest: What the fall in inflation means for youONS chief economist Grant Fitzner noted decreases in the prices paid for…

You’ve doubtless heard of the National Grid, the network of pylons and electricity infrastructure ensuring the country is supplied with power. You’re probably aware that there is a similar national network of gas pipelines sending methane into millions of our boilers.But far fewer people, even among the infrastructure cognoscenti, are even faintly familiar with the UK Ethylene Pipeline System. Yet this pipeline network, obscure as it might be, is one of the critical parts of Britain’s industrial infrastructure. And it’s also a useful clue to help explain why the government has just announced it’s spending more than £120m to bail…

Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC, alleging the corporation’s Panorama documentary portrayed him in a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious” manner.The complaint relates to the broadcaster’s editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters stormed the Capitol building. Clips were spliced together from sections of the US president’s speech on January 6 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.It aired in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC…

The UK’s unemployment rate has risen further, with official figures showing young people being particularly hard hit by the jump in job cuts under Labour.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the jobless rate hit 5.1% in the three months to October – a period dominated again by talk of a tough budget ahead. That was up from the 5% level reported a month ago.It had stood at 4.1% when Labour took office in 2024, promising a focus on growing the economy and protecting “working people” from tough fiscal choices.Money latest: What are my rights over neighbour’s doorbell…

NHS England has warned the health service is facing a “worst case scenario” December with a surge of “super flu”.The warning comes as new figures revealed the number of people in hospital with flu have increased by more than half in just one week. Catch up as it happened: NHS warns of ‘worst-case scenario’ as ‘super flu’ surgesLatest figures show:• An average of 2,660 patients were in hospital per day with flu last week • This is the highest ever for this time of year and up 55% on last week• At this point last year the number stood at…

Hollywood director Rob Reiner was discussing his future in one of his final conversations before he and his wife were stabbed to death, Monty Python star Eric Idle has revealed.The bodies of Reiner and his wife, the photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were found at their Los Angeles home with stab wounds on Sunday. One of his last conversations was with Idle, it has now emerged.Writing on X on Monday, the Monty Python star wrote: “Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour. I always enjoyed his company. I met him at his…

A division of Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is in talks to provide hundreds of millions of pounds of funding to a company which owns stakes in Six Nations Rugby and the women’s professional tennis tour.Sky News has learnt that HPS, the global private credit giant, is among the parties negotiating with CVC Capital Partners over the financing of its Global Sports Group (GSG) holding company. The talks, which are not exclusive, would see HPS help provide firepower for the CVC-backed vehicle to make further acquisitions to expand its portfolio.Chaired by Marc Allera, the former BT Group consumer boss,…

British astronaut Tim Peake has urged the US and China to de-escalate talk of a space race and instead return to the moon with a “spirit of collaboration”.In an interview with Sky News to mark the 10th anniversary of his launch to the International Space Station (ISS), Mr Peake said it would be “foolish” to start a new era of hazardous lunar exploration without contingency plans for rescuing astronauts from other countries in an emergency. “Space is incredibly hard, a very hostile environment,” he said.”It would be foolish to not have things like common docking systems so that we can…

Writing 26 books and a memoir in his lifetime, John le Carré is widely considered to be one of the best spy novelists of all time.His son, Simon Cornwell, told Sky News: “I think there was only one thing that was more important to him than his family and that was his writing.” Image: Rory Keenan and Mat Betteridge in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Pic: Johan Persson Image: Tom Hiddleston returns in season two of The Night Manager. Pic: BBC/Ink Factory/Des Willie First gaining attention in 1963 with his breakout novel, The Spy Who Came In…

Next, the high street fashion giant, is plotting a swoop on Russell & Bromley, the 145 year-old shoe retailer.Sky News has learnt that Next, which has a market capitalisation of £16.6bn, is among the parties in talks with Russell & Bromley’s advisers about a deal. City sources said this weekend that a number of other suitors were also in the frame to make an investment in the chain, although their identities were unclear.The talks come amid the peak Christmas trading period, with retail bosses hopeful that consumer confidence holds up over the coming weeks despite the stuttering economy.Russell & Bromley…