Author: Loveworld UK

The industrialists who bought GKN, the British engineering group, in a controversial £8bn takeover this year are plotting the £1.5bn sale of one of its most valuable divisions. Sky News has learnt that executives at Melrose are drawing up plans to kick off an auction of GKN’s Powder Metallurgy arm as soon as this autumn.Rothschild, the investment bank, is understood to be in line to advise Melrose on the sale, although it has not yet been formally hired.Sources close to the industrial turnaround group confirmed that Powder Met – as the business is known – would be sold in the…

A controversial clampdown on immigration has caused nearly 2,000 children to be separated from their families at the US border over a six-week period. Stories of weeping children torn from the arms of their frightened parents have emerged since a “zero tolerance” policy on illegal entries was enforced, with all cases now being referred for criminal prosecution.Because the children are not charged with a crime, US rules state that they cannot be detained with their parents.Politicians and religious groups have been among those criticising the policy, describing it as inhumane. Image: A battle in Congress is now brewing over the…

Outrage and anger was sparked when a law to ban upskirting was stopped in its tracks when Sir Christopher Chope objected to it. The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill has been prevented from being given a second reading in parliament as a result.The Christchurch MP has a record of blocking private members’ bills and is on a crusade to challenge many of them.Who is the man with a vendetta against these bills?Mr Chope has been branded a “maverick” by Culture Minister Margot James, who accused the 71-year-old Tory of bringing the Conservatives into disrepute. 0:09 Video: ‘Shame’: Moment upskirting bill blocked He…

Somewhere behind the sorry-looking compound walls of Remand Prison no. 6, an hour’s drive south of St Petersburg, sits a 23-year-old fresh-faced computer programmer called Viktor Filinkov. On a recent visit by officers from Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, Mr Filinkov said he was asked in words far cruder than this whether he’d been raped yet.According to his lawyer, Vitaly Cherkasov, the FSB officer in question “was trying to convince my client that if he hadn’t been raped it would definitely happen soon” and was delighted at the prospect. Image: Russia’s FSB agency has been accused of torture Mr…

US cable giant Comcast’s £22.1bn takeover bid for Sky plc, the owner of Sky News, has been cleared unconditionally by the European Commission. The decision removes the last regulatory hurdle that stood before Comcast as the bidding war for Europe’s largest pay-TV operator hots up.Sky’s largest single shareholders, the US media giant 21st Century Fox, was last week given the go-ahead by the UK government to bid for Sky on the condition that it sells Sky News to another approved owner ahead of any takeover.Fox is currently negotiating with officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) about…

The prime minister says she is “disappointed” after a proposed law to make upskirting a specific criminal offence was blocked by a Tory MP. The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill was stopped in its tracks when Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope objected to it being given a second reading in parliament.The bill, which was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse and supported by ministers, was expected to get the nod through the Commons on Friday.After it was blocked, Theresa May said: “Upskirting is an invasion of privacy which leaves victims feeling degraded and distressed.”I am disappointed the bill didn’t make progress…

The high street billionaire Sir Philip Green has sparked a legal battle with regulators over a probe into the audit of BHS’s accounts during the year before the now-collapsed chain was sold for £1. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Sir Philip’s company Taveta Investments has made an urgent application for a judicial review aimed at forcing the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to amend its report on the issue.A hearing is understood to have been scheduled to take place at the High Court on Friday, but has been postponed after lawyers for the FRC requested more time to prepare their…

EDF Energy will pay £350,000 after missing its target to install smart meters for customers last year, regulator Ofgem said. Ofgem found that EDF failed to meet its annual installations target for 2017, although it was achieved almost a month after the deadline in January this year.Suppliers are required by law to take “all reasonable steps” to deliver smart meters to all homes and small businesses by the end of 2020.They set annual targets and Ofgem monitors their achievement, although the target remains commercially confidential.The energy regulator said it is “closely monitoring suppliers’ approach to the roll-out of smart meters…

Nearly 60 bank and building society branches are closing every month, according to research. Between the start of 2015 and the end of 2018, 2,868 branches have closed or are scheduled to do so and the numbers are getting worse.Consumer group Which? said that so far this year 670 branches have closed or been scheduled for closure, already close to the total for 2017, when 879 branches closed.Mobile banking trucks, online banking and phone apps may be promoted as suitable substitutes but they are not convenient or accessible to everyone.They can also be unreliable, as TSB’s recent IT meltdown has…

Children as young as 12 have been physically abused, detained and forcibly returned to Italy by French border guards in a breach of international standards, Oxfam has claimed. A report from the charity says children complained about being “physically and verbally abused, and detained overnight in cells without food, water or blankets and with no access to an official guardian” – all contrary to French and EU law.It says French police routinely stop unaccompanied children and put them on trains back to Italy after altering their paperwork to make them appear older, or to make it appear that they want…