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Harry Styles, Arctic Monkeys, Wet Leg, Stormzy and Little Simz are among the artists nominated for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting.

Other artists on the shortlist include Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine, and Cleo Sol and Inflo – as well as Kate Bush, whose 1980s hit Running Up That Hill is shortlisted as one of the top five most performed songs of 2022 thanks to its revival in sci-fi series Stranger Things.

Raye is also nominated for best contemporary song for Escapism – the hit that stormed the charts after she cut ties with her record label and went independent. The track is up against songs including Hide And Seek by Stormzy, and Payback by Kojey Radical featuring Knucks.

Little Simz. Pic: Ivor Novello Awards
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Little Simz. Pic: Ivor Novello Awards

Styles and his songwriting partner Kid Harpoon have three nominations, including for songwriter of the year – up against Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine), Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers (Wet Leg), George Daniel and Matty Healy (The 1975), and Central Cee and Young Chencs.

Cleopatra Nikolic (Cleo Sol) and Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover are also up for three awards together.

Arctic Monkeys, Little Simz, Fontaines DC, SAULT and Obongjayar are the five artists shortlisted for best album, while Cat Burns, Ines Dunn, tendai, venbee and Victoria Canal are up for the rising star prize.

The Ivor Novello Awards recognise creative musical achievement in songwriting and composition, and also celebrate a number of singer-songwriters and groups for their wider contribution to UK music.

Read more:
Raye on the fight to release her album
Kate Bush makes rare statement

In total, some 72 individual songwriters and composers have been recognised, with more than half (54%) receiving a nomination for the very first time.

Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, said: “The music nominated for an Ivor Novello this year is testament to the power and range of British and Irish songwriting and screen composing. It’s a superlative list and on behalf of The Ivors Academy I’m delighted to congratulate every writer nominated for their craft and achievements.”

Rhian Teasdale, left, and Hester Chambers of Wet Leg pose in the press room with the awards for best alternative music performance for "Chaise Lounge" and best alternative music album for "Wet Leg" at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Rhian Teasdale, left, and Hester Chambers of Wet Leg at the 2022 Grammy Awards. Pic: AP

This year, as previously announced, Sting is expected to become a fellow of the Ivors Academy, its highest honour – following in the footsteps of artists including Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox and Joan Armatrading.

Other special awards to be announced include prizes for outstanding song collection and an icon award.

The winners will be revealed at a ceremony in London on Thursday 18 May.

The full list of nominees

FILE PHOTO: British artist Stormzy performs on the main stage at Reading Festival, in Reading, Britain, August 27, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
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Stormzy on stage at Reading Festival in 2021

BEST ALBUM
11 – written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover, Jamar McNaughton, Cleopatra Nikolic and Jack Peñate, performed by SAULT

No Thank You – written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover, Little Simz and Cleopatra Nikolic, performed by Little Simz

Skinty Fia – written by Grian Chatten, Thomas Coll, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan and Carlos O’Connell, performed by Fontaines DC

Some Nights I Dream Of Doors – written by Barney Lister and Obongjayar, performed by Obongjayar

The Car – written by Alex Turner, performed by Arctic Monkeys

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Cold Summer – written by Wesley Joseph and Leon Vynehall, performed by Wesley Joseph

Escapism – written by 070 Shake, Raye and Mike Sabath, performed by Raye & 070 Shake

Hide & Seek – written by Owen Cutts, P2J, PRGRSHN and Stormzy, performed by Stormzy

Leon The Professional – written by Knucks, Venna and Toshifumi Hinata, performed by Knucks

Payback – written by Knucks, Kojey Radical and Swindle, performed by Kojey Radical featuring Knucks

Sigourney Weaver in Avatar: The Way Of Water. Pic: 20th Century Studios
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Sigourney Weaver in Avatar: The Way Of Water. Pic: 20th Century Studios

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Avatar: The Way Of Water – composed by Simon Franglen

Death On The Nile – composed by Patrick Doyle

Don’t Worry Darling – composed by John Powell

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris – composed by Rael Jones

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain – composed by Arthur Sharpe

BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE
Gotham Knights – composed by The Flight

Horizon Forbidden West – composed by Joris de Man, Oleksa Lozowchuk and The Flight

Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope – composed by Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope and Yoko Shimomura

10 June 2022, Berlin: Singer Florence Leontine Mary Welch of the English band "Florence + the Machine" performs on stage at the Tempelhof Sounds Festival on the grounds of the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport. Photo by: Britta Pedersen/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Florence Welch. Pic: Britta Pedersen/picture-alliance/AP

BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
As It Waswritten by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles, performed by Harry Styles

Best Day Of My Life – written by Laurie Blundell and Tom Odell, performed by Tom Odell

Complex – written and performed by Katie Gregson-Macleod

King – written by Jack Antonoff and Florence Welch, performed by Florence + The Machine

Stronger – written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover and Cleopatra Nikolic, performed by SAULT

PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
As It Was – written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles, performed by Harry Styles

Bad Habits – written by FRED, Johnny McDaid and Ed Sheeran, performed by Ed Sheeran

Heat Waves – written by Dave Bayley, performed by Glass Animals

Running Up That Hill – written and performed by Kate Bush

Shivers – written by Johnny McDaid, Kal Lavelle, Steve Mac and Ed Sheeran, performed by Ed Sheeran

Sarah Greene, Eve Hewson, Sharon Horgan and Eva Birthistle in Bad Sisters. Pic: Apple TV+
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Sarah Greene, Eve Hewson, Sharon Horgan and Eva Birthistle in Bad Sisters. Pic: Apple TV+

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
Bad Sisters – composed by PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen – composed by David Schweitzer

The Midwich Cuckoos – composed by Hannah Peel

The Responder – composed by Matthew Herbert

The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe – composed by Harry Escott and Ben Pearson

RISING STAR AWARD
Cat Burns

Ines Dunn

tendai

venbee

Victoria Canal

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Central Cee and Young Chencs

Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine)

George Daniel and Matty Healy (The 1975)

Harry Styles and Kid Harpoon

Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers (Wet Leg)

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Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims there was ‘mutual violence’ between him and ex-girlfriend

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Lawyer for Sean 'Diddy' Combs claims there was 'mutual violence' between him and ex-girlfriend

A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has told a court there was “mutual” domestic violence between him and his ex-girlfriend Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura.

Marc Agnifilo made the claim as he outlined some of the music star’s defence case ahead of the full opening of his trial next week.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of
transportation for prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Ms Ventura is expected to testify as a star witness for the prosecution during the trial in New York. The final stage of jury selection is due to be held on Monday morning.

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Why is Sean Combs on trial?

Mr Agnifilo told the court on Friday that the defence would “take the position that there was mutual violence” during the pair’s relationship and called on the judge to allow evidence related to this.

The lawyer said Combs‘s legal team intended to argue that “there was hitting on both sides, behaviour on both sides” that constituted violence.

He added: “It is relevant in terms of the coercive aspects, we are admitting domestic violence.”

U.S. Marshalls sit behind Sean "Diddy" Combs as he sits at the defense table alongside lawyer Marc Agnifilo in the courtroom during his sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 9, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
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A court sketch showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (right) as he listens to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo addressing the court. Pic: Reuters

Ms Ventura’s lawyers declined to comment on the allegations.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on whether to allow the evidence on Monday.

Combs, 55, was present in the court on Friday.

He has been held in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.

Prosecutors allege that Combs used his business empire for two decades to lure women with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs”.

Read more:
Diddy on trial: Everything you need to know
Sean Combs: A timeline of allegations

Combs’s lawyers say prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalise his “swinger lifestyle”. They have suggested they will attack the credibility of alleged victims in the case by claiming their allegations are financially motivated.

The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.

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Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault

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Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul 'took her soul' during alleged sexual assault

An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.

Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault

Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.

She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.

Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.

“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”

Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.

More on Harvey Weinstein

Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court during his rape and sexual assault re-trial in New York.
Pic Reuters
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Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters

The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.

However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.

Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.

“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.

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Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.

Miriam Haley, an accuser testifying at Harvey Weinstein's rape trial, arrives to the courtroom after a break in New York, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP

Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.

Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.

Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing

An antiques expert from the TV show Bargain Hunt has been charged by police following an investigation into terrorist financing.

Oghenochuko ‘Ochuko’ Ojiri, 53, is accused of eight counts of “failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector”, the Met Police said.

The force said he was the first person to be charged with that specific offence under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Mr Ojiri, from west London, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

It comes “following an investigation into terrorist financing” and relates to the period from October 2020 to December 2021, a police spokesperson said.

They added that the probe had been carried out in partnership with Treasury officials, HMRC and the Met’s Arts & Antiques Unit.

Mr Ojiri, who police described as an “art dealer”, has been on Bargain Hunt since 2019.

He has also appeared on the BBC‘s Antiques Road Trip programme.

In a statement, the BBC said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

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