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A “large number” of ITV’s This Morning employees have told Parliament they faced “further bullying and discrimination” after raising concerns of toxicity and harassment with the broadcaster. 

In June, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall faced questions from MPs about former host Phillip Schofield‘s exit from the daytime show amid allegations it was fostering a ‘toxic’ bullying culture.

In correspondence published on Wednesday, Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, told Dame Carolyn that a group of This Morning employees past and present had since raised similar claims to Parliament.

In the letter dated 24 July, Dame Caroline wrote: “In the month that has passed since your appearance before the committee, we have been contacted by a large number of individuals who have identified themselves as currently working or previously having worked on This Morning or as part of the wider ITV Daytime team.

Phillip Schofield on This Morning. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
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Phillip Schofield on This Morning. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

“These individuals speak with great pride about working at ITV and are hugely positive about many of their colleagues.

“However, they also raise claims of toxic working cultures, bullying, discrimination and harassment.

“Some of those individuals who have contacted us have described how their decision to raise concerns within ITV has led to further bullying and discrimination, and in some cases having to leave the organisation with a settlement agreement.”

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Dame Caroline said it is “easy to understand” why the individuals left ITV and “do not wish to relive their traumatic experiences”, as well as believing ITV will not take them seriously.

In a response, Dame Carolyn asked the parliamentary committee to “encourage individuals to contact ITV via our reporting line SafeCall” through which reports can be made confidentially or anonymously.

Alternatively individuals can contact Jane Mulcahy KC who is leading an external review of the facts after Schofield’s exit, which is expected to be completed in September, Dame Carolyn said.

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Dame Carolyn says she does not believe ITV could have dealt with the rumours differently, but awaits the results of an independent investigation.

She continued: “As we made clear to you and the committee, we are absolutely committed to enabling people to raise any issues or complaints they may have about working at ITV.

“We always take these seriously and will investigate and take whatever action is appropriate. However, we are unable to do so if we cannot engage with those people.”

In the correspondence, MPs accused ITV managing director Kevin Lygo of being “inconsistent” in his explanation about who decided 61-year-old Schofield should leave This Morning, after he admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague on the show.

In evidence to MPs in June, Mr Lygo suggested Schofield wanted to step down, but a statement on 20 May from the presenter said: “I understand ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on.”

In her response, Dame Carolyn insisted there was “no inconsistency”, writing: “As made clear, Mr Schofield expressed a desire to leave This Morning but Kevin Lygo was the ultimate arbiter of such issues – following discussions with everyone involved.”

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Manchester Pride put into voluntary liquidation – as money owed to artists

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Manchester Pride put into voluntary liquidation and being assessed by regulator

Manchester Pride has been put into voluntary liquidation – and the future of the event is now in doubt.

Artists and suppliers are owed money following this year’s event, according to an Instagram statement issued by Pride’s board of trustees.

Pride’s organisers cited rising costs, declining ticket sales and an unsuccessful bid to host Euro Pride as factors behind the decision.

The organisation is a charity and limited company that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality and offers training, research, policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities, as well as putting on the annual parade and live event.

The statement said: “It is with enormous sadness that we announce that Manchester Pride has started the legal process of voluntary liquidation.

“A combination of rising costs, which are affecting the entire events and hospitality industries, declining ticket sales and an ambitious refresh of the format aimed to challenge these issues, along with an unsuccessful bid to host Euro Pride, has led to the organisation no longer being financially viable.

“We regret the delays in communicating the current situation; however, we were keen not to jeopardise financial opportunities while our discussions were ongoing.

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“We were proactive and determined to identify solutions to the financial issues. We’ve been actively working with several partners, including legal and financial advisors, to do everything we could to find a positive solution.

“We had hoped to be able to find a way to continue, and, most importantly, to support our artists, contractors and partners.

A scene from Manchester Pride 2024. The future of the event is in doubt. Pic: AP
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A scene from Manchester Pride 2024. The future of the event is in doubt. Pic: AP

“Despite our best efforts, sadly, this has not proved to be possible. We are sincerely sorry for those who will now lose out financially from the current situation.

“The volunteer board of trustees are devastated at this situation and sad to share that our staff team will be made redundant.

“We, along with the team, have put our hearts and souls into the celebration and community activities over two decades and are very distressed at the position in which we find ourselves.”

“The Manchester Pride team have now handed over the details of suppliers and artists who are owed money to the liquidators who will be handling the affairs of the charity and contacting everyone.”

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Manchester Pride’s financial difficulties were first reported by The Mill last week.

Last year, industry experts warned that without urgent intervention the UK looks set to see “the end of a clubbing era that has defined generations”.

Research found that in the last four years the UK had lost 37% of its clubs, which works out at about 10 clubs closing each month.

Sky News has previously reported how small, independent music venues have been closing at the rate of one per week and pubs have been shutting at a rate of one per day.

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White House responds to report Trump is considering commuting Diddy’s prison sentence

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White House responds to report Trump is considering commuting Diddy's prison sentence

A White House official has said there is “zero truth” to a report that Donald Trump is considering commuting Sean “Diddy” Combs’s prison sentence as early as this week.

On Monday, US entertainment site TMZ reported the US president was “vacillating” on whether or not to reduce the music mogul’s sentence, citing a “high-ranking White House official”.

Combs was sentenced to 50 months in prison and given a $500,000 fine at a hearing on 3 October, after being found guilty of prostitution charges relating to his former girlfriends and male sex workers at the end of his high-profile trial in the summer.

Earlier this week, the 55-year-old’s legal team filed a legal document officially signalling their intention to appeal.

Combs was in tears during his sentencing hearing. Pic: AP/ Elizabeth Williams
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Combs was in tears during his sentencing hearing. Pic: AP/ Elizabeth Williams

Now, a White House official has pushed back on TMZ’s report about a possible commutation.

There is “zero truth to the TMZ report, which we would’ve gladly explained had they reached out before running their fake news”, the official told NBC, Sky News’ US partner.

Mr Trump, “not anonymous sources, is the final decider on pardons and commutations”, the official added.

Casey Carver, a spokesperson for TMZ, said in a brief statement: “We stand by our story.”

In an update to the story on the outlet’s website, the news site said: “The White House Communications Office is saying our story is not true. We stand by our story. Our story is accurate.”

Lawyers for Combs did not immediately return a request for comment about the disparity between the White House statement and TMZ’s reporting. However, they previously told NBC News they had been pursuing a pardon.

Pardons and commuting – what is the difference?

In the US federal system, commutation of sentence and pardons are different forms of executive clemency, “which is a broad term that applies to the president’s constitutional power to give leniency to persons who have committed federal crimes”, according to the justice department.

Neither signifies innocence, but a pardon is an expression of a president’s forgiveness and can be granted in recognition of acceptance of responsibility and good conduct, reinstating rights such as the right to vote.

A commutation reduces a sentence either totally or partially but does not remove civil disabilities that apply as a result of criminal conviction.

What has Donald Trump said?

In August, before Combs’s sentencing, Mr Trump said in an interview that he had been approached about a possible pardon but implied he would not be granting one.

“You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well,” the president said. “But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”

When asked if he was suggesting he would not pardon Combs, he replied: “I would say so.”

“When you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements. So, I don’t know, it’s more difficult,” Mr Trump said. “Makes it more – I’m being honest, it makes it more difficult to do.”

The president has issued several pardons and commutations in his second term – including to around 1,500 criminal defendants in connection with the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021.

Last week, he commuted the sentence of disgraced former Republican congressman George Santos.

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Diddy sentencing: As it happened

Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution in July, but was cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.

Ahead of his sentencing, he told the court he admitted his past behaviour was “disgusting, shameful and sick”, and apologised personally to Cassie Ventura and “Jane”, another former girlfriend who testified anonymously during the trial.

He told the court he got “lost in my excess and lost in my ego”, but since his time in prison he has been “humbled and broken to my core”, adding: “I hate myself right now… I am truly sorry for it all.”

The rapper is serving his sentence at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where his team has said conditions are “inhumane”.

He has asked to be moved to a low-security federal prison in New Jersey, but the Bureau of Prisons has yet to approve the request.

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Police should focus on ‘tackling real crime’, No 10 says, after Met Police halts non-crime hate probes

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Police should focus on 'tackling real crime', No 10 says, after Met Police halts non-crime hate probes

Officers should focus on “tackling real crime and policing the streets”, Downing Street has said – after the Metropolitan Police announced it is no longer investigating non-crime hate incidents.

The announcement by Britain’s biggest force on Monday came after it emerged Father Ted creator Graham Linehan will face no further action after he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence over three posts he made on X about transgender issues.

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Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said police forces will “get the clarity they need to keep our streets safe” when a review of non-crime hate incidents by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing is published in December.

“The police should focus on tackling real crime and policing the streets,” he said.

“The home secretary has asked that this review be completed at pace, working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing.

“We look forward to receiving its findings as soon as possible, so that the other forces get the clarity they need to keep our streets safe.”

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He said the government will “always work with police chiefs to make sure criminal law and guidance reflects the common-sense approach we all want to see in policing”.

After Linehan’s September arrest, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers were in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online.

File pic: iStock
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File pic: iStock

On Monday, a Met spokesperson said the commissioner had been “clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position”.

The force said the decision to no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents would now “provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations”.

Justice minister Sarah Sackman said it is “welcome news” the Met will now be focusing on crimes such as phone snatching, mugging, antisocial behaviour and violent crime.

Asked if other forces should follow the Met’s decision, she said: “I think that other forces need to make the decisions that are right for their communities.

“But I’m sure that communities up and down the country would want that renewed focus on violent crime, on antisocial behaviour, and on actual hate crime.”

The Met said it will still record non-crime hate incidents to use as “valuable pieces of intelligence to establish potential patterns of behaviour or criminality”.

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