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Banksy has accused US fashion retailer Guess of stealing his work, encouraging shoplifters to head to their flagship Regent Street store in central London and “help themselves” to the clothes.

The anonymous graffiti artist shared an image of the shop’s front window with his 11.6 million Instagram followers, showing items of the capsule collection inspired by his work.

He wrote above the image: “Attention all shoplifters. Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”

Behind the mannequins wearing T-shirts, coats and accessories featuring his graffiti, there was a large background image of his Flower Thrower stencil, showing a masked Palestinian throwing a bouquet of flowers.

The Guess website promoting the collection says the clothes were “created in partnership with Brandalised”, a company which secures the rights to graffiti all over the world, which their website says offers fans the chance to buy “affordable graffiti collectibles”.

They have shops in both the UK and US, and feature lots of Banksy’s work predominantly on their site and Instagram page.

In a press statement ahead of the clothing launch, the chief creative officer of Guess, Paul Marciano said: “The graffiti of Bansky has had a phenomenal influence that resonates throughout popular culture. This new capsule collection with Brandalised is a way for fashion to show its gratitude.”

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The collection has items for men, women and children, and uses Banksy images including the Queen with a blue and red David Bowie-style lightning flash painted across her face, his Livin’ The Dream Disney take down and Thug For Life Bunny. Prices range from around £35 up to around £225.

The capsule collection includes T-shirts, coats and accessories. Pic: Guess
Image:
The capsule collection includes T-shirts, coats and accessories. Pic: Guess

Following Banksy’s post, shop staff covered the inside of the window with large sheets of plain paper, obscuring the display.

Sky News has contacted Banksy, Brandalised and Guess for comment.

Earlier this week, Banksy won an appeal to allow him to keep the trademark of one of his most famous images, a sandwich board-wearing monkey, at the EU Intellectual Property Office.

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The artist also appeared to confirm he was in Ukraine, having last week unveiled works in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, which has been heavily damaged by fighting following Russia’s invasion.

He shared an image of a female gymnast balancing on the corner of a destroyed block of flats on his Instagram account, and two other murals were reportedly seen nearby – one depicting a man resembling Russian President Vladimir Putin being flipped during a judo match with a little boy, and another showing two children using a metal tank trap as a seesaw.

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Police search for missing sisters last seen three days ago near Aberdeen river

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Police search for missing sisters last seen three days ago near Aberdeen river

Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.

The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.

Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland

Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland

Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.

Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”

Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.

The Huszti sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland

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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.

Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.

The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.

Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.

CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”

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Britain’s gas storage levels ‘concerningly low’ after cold snap, says owner of British Gas

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Britain's gas storage levels 'concerningly low' after cold snap, says owner of British Gas

Britain’s gas storage levels are “concerningly low” with less than a week of demand in store, the operator of the country’s largest gas storage site said on Friday.

Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas-fired power stations are the main factors behind the low levels, Centrica said.

The UK is heavily reliant on gas for its home heating and also uses a significant amount for electricity generation.

As of the 9th of January 2025, UK storage sites are 26% lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full,” Centrica said.

“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”

The firm’s Rough gas storage site, a depleted field off England’s east coast, makes up around half of the country’s gas storage capacity.

Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter.

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Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant it has been more difficult to top up storage over Christmas.

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UK’s first taxpayer-funded injection room to open in radical move to tackle drugs epidemic

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UK's first taxpayer-funded injection room to open in radical move to tackle drugs epidemic

Glasgow has been a city crying out for solutions to a devastating drugs epidemic that is ravaging people hooked on deadly narcotics. 

We have spent time with vulnerable addicts in recent months and witnessed first-hand the dirty, dangerous street corners and back alleys where they would inject their £10 heroin hit, not knowing – or, in many cases, not caring – whether that would be the moment they die.

“Dying would be better than this life,” one man told me.

It was a grim insight into the daily reality of life in the capital of Europe’s drug death crisis.

Scotland has a stubborn addiction to substances spanning generations. Politicians of all persuasions have failed to properly get a grip of the emergency.

But there is a new concept in town.

From Monday, a taxpayer-funded unit is allowing addicts to bring their own heroin and cocaine and inject it while NHS medical teams supervise.

A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre
Image:
A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre

It may be a UK-first but it is a regular feature in some other major European cities that have claimed high success rates in saving lives.

Glasgow has looked on with envy at these other models.

One supermarket car park less than a hundred metres from this new facility is a perfect illustration of the problem. An area littered with dirty needles and paraphernalia. A minefield where one wrong step risks contracting a nasty disease.

Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility
Image:
Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility

It is estimated hundreds of users inject heroin in public places in Glasgow every week. HIV has been rife.

The new building, which will be open from 9am until 9pm 365 days a year, includes bays where clean needles are provided as part of a persuasive tactic to lure addicts indoors in a controlled environment.

There is a welcome area where people will check in before being invited into one of eight bays. The room is clinical, covered in mirrors, with a row of small medical bins.

Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment
Image:
Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment

One of the eight bays users can inject in
Image:
There are eight bays users can inject in

We were shown the aftercare area where users will relax after their hit in the company of housing and social workers.

The idea is controversial and not cheap – £2.3m has been ring-fenced every year.

The aftercare area
Image:
The aftercare area

Read more: ‘Dying would be better than my £1,000 a month heroin addiction’

Authorities in the city first floated a ‘safer drug consumption room’ in 2016. It failed to get off the ground as the UK Home Office under the Conservatives said they would not allow people to break the law to feed habits.

The usual wrangle between Edinburgh and London continued for years with Downing Street suggesting Scotland could, if it wanted, use its discretion to allow these injecting rooms to go ahead.

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The stalemate ended when Scotland’s most senior prosecutor issued a landmark decision that it would not be in the public interest to arrest those using such a facility.

One expert has told me this new concept is unlikely to lead to an overall reduction in deaths across Scotland. Another described it as an expensive vanity project. Supporters clearly disagree.

The question is what does success look like?

The big test will be if there is a spike in crime around the building and how it will work alongside law enforcement given drug dealers know exactly where to find their clients now.

It is not disputed this is a radical approach – and other cities across Britain will be watching closely.

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