World News Guru

Elon Musk has called reports that he will leave his government role in the coming months "fake news". A senior White House official previously told NBC News, Sky's US partner network, that Donald Trump had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month. Image: The Tesla boss has headed DOGE since 20 January. File pic: Reuters After reports emerged of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was "garbage" and added: "Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete." Mr Musk added in response on X: "Yeah, fake news." NBC News reported that the official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee. ...

The owners of New Look, the high street fashion chain, are ploughing £30m of fresh equity into the business as they seek to accelerate its digital transformation. Sky News has learnt that the clothing retailer will announce this week that its shareholders - Alcentra and Brait - have provided the funding as they seek to capture a bigger slice of Britain's £4.3bn womenswear market. Insiders said the funding would be announced in a statement on Thursday. New Look operates approximately 340 stores and employs about 10,000 people across the UK. Money latest: Almost all foreign visitors must now pay to enter UK It is the country's second-largest womenswear retailer in the crucial 18-to-44 year-old age group, and has been owned by its current shareholders since October 2020. The new capital from Alcentra and Brait will be earmarked to optimise customers' online experience by investing heavily in New Look's technology and systems. Last year, the chain...

Heathrow bosses were warned its power supply was vulnerable less than a week before a major outage, and a terminal could have got some flights moving by mid-morning rather than being shut for a day, a committee of MPs has heard. The chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee Nigel Wicking told MPs of the Transport Committee he raised issues about resilience on 15 March after cable and wiring theft took out lights on a runway. Mr Wicking said he believed Heathrow's Terminal 5 could have been ready to receive repatriation flights by "late morning" on the day of the closure, as "there was opportunity also to get flights out". Politics latest: 'Disastrous' not to shut Heathrow during outage, airport boss says A fire at an electricity substation in west London meant the power supply was disrupted to Europe's largest airport for a day - causing travel chaos for nearly 300,000 passengers, the committee heard. "I...

A pack of private equity firms are battling to win control of MyDentist, the UK's biggest provider of NHS dental services. Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint, Cinven and Triton Partners are among the parties which have submitted indicative offers for the business. TDR Capital, the owner of supermarket chain Asda, has also been participating in the sale process, banking sources said on Wednesday. Money latest : The scams most likely to catch each age group MyDentist's owners hope to attract a price tag of approximately £900m for the company, although any deal may value it at closer to £800m, according to insiders. A subsidiary of Integrated Dental Holdings, MyDentist operates from about 600 practices across the UK, and has been owned by Palamon Capital Partners since 2021. The company was previously owned by Carlyle, another major global private equity investor. The auction of MyDentist is being handled by bankers at Morgan Stanley. Read more f...

Heathrow bosses were warned its power supply was vulnerable less than a week before a major outage, and a terminal could have got some flights moving by mid-morning rather than being shut for a day, a committee of MPs has heard. The chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee Nigel Wicking told MPs of the Transport Committee he raised issues about resilience on 15 March after cable and wiring theft took out lights on a runway. Mr Wicking said he believed Heathrow's Terminal 5 could have been ready to receive repatriation flights by "late morning" on the day of the closure, as "there was opportunity also to get flights out". Politics latest: 'Disastrous' not to shut Heathrow during outage, airport boss says A fire at an electricity substation in west London meant the power supply was disrupted to Europe's largest airport for a day - causing travel chaos for nearly 300,000 passengers, the committee heard. "I...

An online travel content platform backed by a fund which counts the England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes among its investors will this week unveil a $7m (£5.4m) funding injection. Sky News understands that Unravel, which combines TikTok-style video content with an artificial intelligence-powered booking assistant to enhance users' experience, will announce the Series A round on Thursday. Led by Nauta, a European business-to-business software investor, it includes participation from Slingshot Ventures, which is partly financed by Kees Koolen, the former chairman and CEO of Booking.com. Unravel partners with travel influencers to identify distinctive overseas experiences, and says it facilitates transactions within banking apps, airline loyalty programmes and digital marketplaces. "The way people discover travel has changed," Vijay Anand, CEO and co-founder of Unravel, said. "They don't sift through endless search results--they get inspired ...

Major developers will only deal with one regulator under planning reforms which ministers say will "rewire the system" to get Britain building - all while protecting the environment.  A review by former Labour adviser Dan Corry into Britain's sluggish system of green regulation has concluded that existing environmental regulators should remain in place, while rejecting a "bonfire of regulations". But Mr Corry suggested there might be circumstances in which the government look at changing the wildlife and habitat rules inherited from the EU, which protect individual species. Politics latest: Follow live updates These lie at the centre of the controversy of a £120m bat tunnel - the shed in Aylesbury which protects a rare breed from future high speed trains. Keir Starmer has declared war on £100m HS2 bat shed - but has he got a solution? New planning bill could be the government's most important - but will it work in practice? The gover...

If China is known as the world’s factory, then the province of Guangdong is the engine room. It is here, in the thousands of factories that dominate city suburbs where many of your consumer goods likely started their life, and it is here where Donald Trump's tariffs are hitting first. China has arguably been the top target in the US president's trade war. Not only was it subject to a suite of measures during his first term, but this time round it is the only country that has had no carve-outs, no delays and tariffs are levied on 100% of Chinese goods. Image: A factory worker on the assembly line in an electrical appliances factory in Guangdong As of 4 March anything from China sold to the US faces a tax of at least 20%, and for many goods it's more than that. Trump latest: White House says 'days of US being ripped off are over' Image: Johnny Pan ...

Major car manufacturers and two trade bodies are to pay a total of £461m for "colluding to restrict competition" over vehicle recycling, UK and European regulators have announced. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said they illegally agreed not to compete against one another when advertising what percentage of their cars can be recycled. They also colluded to avoid paying third parties to recycle their customers' scrap cars, the watchdog said. Money latest: The many household bills rising today It explained that those involved were BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot Citroen, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen. Mercedes-Benz, was also party to the agreements, the CMA said, but it escaped a financial penalty because the German company alerted it to its participation. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (Acea) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) were also involve...

A household energy supplier has failed, weeks after it attracted attention from regulators. Rebel Energy, which has around 80,000 domestic customers and 10,000 others, had been the subject of a provisional order last month related to compliance with rules around renewable energy obligations. The company's website said it was "ceasing to trade" but gave no reason. Money latest: The many household bills rising today Industry watchdog Ofgem said on Tuesday that those affected by Rebel's demise did not need to take any action and would be "protected". Customers, Ofgem said, would soon be appointed a new provider under its supplier of last resort (SoLR) mechanism. This was deployed widely in 2021 when dozens of energy suppliers collapsed while failing to get to grips with a spike in wholesale energy costs. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ...

Harrods is urging lawyers acting for the largest group of survivors of abuse perpetrated by its former owner to reconsider plans to swallow a significant chunk of claimants' compensation payouts in fees. Sky News has learnt that KP Law, which is acting for hundreds of potential clients under the banner Justice for Harrods, is proposing to take up to 25% of compensation awards in exchange for handling their cases. In many cases, that is likely to mean survivors foregoing sums worth of tens of thousands of pounds to KP Law, which says it is working for hundreds of people who suffered abuse committed by Mohamed al Fayed . Image: Mohamed al Fayed. File pic: PA Money latest: Boost for holidaymakers amid 'awful April' bill hikes Under a redress scheme outlined by the London-based department store on Monday, which confirmed earlier reports by Sky News, claimants will be eligible for general damages awar...

The first of April marks the turn of the financial year as well as Fool's Day, but the cost of living increases arriving this month are no joke.  Combined water, energy, council tax and communications bills are rising almost £450 for average households, more of a gut punch than a punchline for already stretched households. The increase is largely driven by a long-delayed correction in water bills and energy price fluctuations, but there is some consolation on the other side of the ledger, with household incomes also rising across the board, a trend ministers are predictably seeking to highlight. Money latest: Most household bills rising today Pensioners have become used to the triple-lock delivering income growth and this year's 4.1% settlement amounts to an additional £471 a year for those on the new state pension. Wages more generally, meanwhile, have been rising faster than inflation for almost two years, and were running at 5.6% in January (though indi...

The first chair of the parliamentary watchdog established after the MPs expenses scandal is in the frame to become the inaugural head of English football's new regulator. Sky News has learnt that Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, who chaired the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) between 2009 and 2016, is among a small number of candidates being considered in Whitehall to chair the Independent Football Regulator (IFR). Professor Sir Ian, who is in his 80s and has led a string of public inquiries and government-commissioned reviews, is emeritus professor of health law, ethics and policy at University College London. Money blog: Most household bills rising today Government insiders said he had been shortlisted because of his lengthy credentials as a regulator. Last month, Sky News revealed that Christian Purslow, the former chief executive of Aston Villa and Liverpool football clubs, and Sanjay Bhandari, who chairs the football anti-racism charity Kic...

Sir Keir Starmer has said US-UK trade talks are "well advanced" ahead of tariffs expected to be imposed by Donald Trump on the UK this week - but rejected a "knee-jerk" response. Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby , the prime minister said the UK is "working hard on an economic deal" with the US and said "rapid progress" has been made on it ahead of tariffs expected to be imposed on Wednesday. But, he admitted: "Look, the likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that, nobody wants a trade war. "But I have to act in the national interest and that means all options have to remain on the table." Politics latest: Ministers hail 'huge' minimum wage boost as bills rise Sir Keir added: "We are discussing economic deals. We're well advanced. "These would normally take months or years, and in a matter of weeks, we've got well advanced in those discussions, so I think ...

Many household bills are rising from today - ranging from energy prices and council tax to mobile phone contracts and broadband. Coinciding with the new financial year, from today there will be higher bills for: • Energy • Broadband, mobile phone and TV licence • Car tax • Water • Stealth taxes • Stamp duty • Council tax The Sky News Money blog outlined the hikes - and how you could potentially beat them - in one of its long read features below. You can read more from the Money blog as well as reactions to today's increased bills here . Cost of living calculator: See how much your bills are going up ENERGY BILLS The average annual energy bill will rise to £1,849 as industry regulator Ofgem increases the price cap for the third time in a row. The new figure represents a 6.4% a year - or £9.25 per month - increase in the typical sum the vast majority of households face paying for gas and electricity when using direct debit. You can read more abou...

Many household bills are rising from today - ranging from energy prices and council tax to mobile phone contracts and broadband. Coinciding with the new financial year, from today there will be higher bills for: • Energy • Broadband, mobile phone and TV licence • Car tax • Water • Stealth taxes • Stamp duty • Council tax The Sky News Money blog outlined the hikes - and how you could potentially beat them - in one of its long read features below. You can read more from the Money blog as well as reactions to today's increased bills here . Cost of living calculator: See how much your bills are going up ENERGY BILLS The average annual energy bill will rise to £1,849 as industry regulator Ofgem increases the price cap for the third time in a row. The new figure represents a 6.4% a year - or £9.25 per month - increase in the typical sum the vast majority of households face paying for gas and electricity when using direct debit. You can read more abou...