Author: SKYNEWS

A renowned pharmacologist and expert witness in the Primodos drug scandal has been unmasked as a fraud – by his daughter.Professor Michael Briggs, who was also a NASA scientist and adviser to the World Health Organisation, built his glittering career on lies by faking his qualifications.The revelations come in a new book called The Scientist Who Wasn’t There, written by his daughter Joanne Briggs – and Sky News can now reveal how his story sheds new light on a medical scandal that has rumbled on for five decades.From 1966 to 1970, Professor Briggs was UK research director for Schering pharmaceuticals,…

Andres Serrano says he doesn’t set out to be a controversial artist – but he’s certainly proved to be one during his career.The 75-year-old New Yorker first found fame (or infamy in the eyes of his critics) with one of the most notorious works of art in history – his 1987 photograph titled Piss Christ. The depiction of a crucifix submerged in urine led to protests denouncing the image as blasphemous – and it was vandalised while on display in a French art museum in 2011.”I don’t do work to be controversial,” he tells Sky News. “I do work that…

The owner of Uswitch, one of Britain’s biggest price comparison platforms, and Zoopla, the online property portal, is plotting a break-up that could lead to the sale of some of Britain’s best-known consumer websites in the next 12 months.Sky News has learnt that Silver Lake Partners, the American private equity firm, has hired two investment banks to launch a review of strategic options for the assets which sit within holding company ZPG. This weekend, City sources said that JP Morgan and Arma Partners had been engaged by Silver Lake in recent weeks to advise on the project.Although no firm decisions…

Jaguar Land Rover is getting “daily” support from the government after last week’s cyber attack, which has ground its operations to a halt.The British car maker shut down operations when it spotted the attack last Tuesday, and its staff have been told to stay at home since. Sky News understands JLR workers are not due back at work on Wednesday, with production suspended for another day. When asked for a timeline on when operations would resume for all of the company’s 34,000 UK workers, business minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “I wish that I could provide one, but I cannot.”This…

Former Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has won the best TV presenter prize at the National Television Awards – months after he left the BBC following an antisemitism row.Lineker, 64, apologised “unreservedly” in May after he shared a post on Instagram about Zionism which featured an image of a rat – a symbol used to represent Jewish people in antisemitic propaganda, including in Nazi Germany. The former England footballer said in a statement that he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic” and that he removed the post when he “became aware of the issue”.He announced he was leaving…

The UK economy “continued to slow” and recorded zero growth in July, according to official figures showing a big drag from manufacturers.The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) followed a figure of 0.4% growth the previous month and negative growth of 0.1% in May. Output of 0.3% was achieved over the April-June quarter as a whole, slowing from the 0.7% recorded over the first three months of 2025.Money latest: Reaction as economy slows The latest figures signal concern for the months ahead as the labour market slows and the effects of elevated inflation and the US trade war…

A lizard at a UK zoo has given birth without mating in what has been described as “one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom”.A female casque-headed iguana produced eight healthy hatchlings at Exotic Zoo in Telford, Shropshire, without ever being housed with a male. The babies are receiving “round-the-clock care” and are expected to go on public display in the coming weeks.The “virgin births” were due to parthenogenesis, when an embryo develops from an unfertilised egg – a process which the zoo said had been documented in “only a handful of reptile species worldwide”.The offspring are identical genetic…

Ireland will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest next year if Israel is allowed to take part, RTE has announced.The Irish broadcaster said in a statement that a number of European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members raised concerns over the participation of Israel in the competition at the union’s general assembly in July. RTE added that its “position” is that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead.The broadcaster will make its “final decision regarding Ireland’s participation” once the EBU decides whether Israel will take part, the statement continues.It adds:…

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has blamed budget tax hikes for a deeper half-year loss.The UK’s largest employee-owned business, which owns John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, reported a headline loss before tax and exceptional items of £34m for the six months to 26 July. That compared to a £5m loss in the same period last year. The higher figure was reached despite a 4% rise in group sales to £6.2bn.Money latest: How to give your child a financial head start”This result was significantly impacted by costs not present in the equivalent prior period”, the partnership explained, “including £29m…

“Leopard spots” found on a rock on Mars contain the clearest signs yet that life once existed on the red planet, NASA has announced.The space agency said analysis of the unusual markings by the Perseverance rover has revealed they contain minerals that on Earth can be a byproduct of microbes. Scientists can’t rule out that the spots were caused by natural geological processes. Image: The leopard spot-like marking on the rock. Pic: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS But Nicky Fox, associate director of NASA’s science mission directorate, said after a year of “pressure testing” the evidence, it still points to a biological origin.”This finding…