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White people are 36% more likely to receive a positive response when applying to rent a home than black people, Sky News has learned.

Exclusive figures provided by Generation Rent show apparent racism currently in the rental market.

The campaign organisation used artificial intelligence to set up two fake profiles, a black and a white one, on the rental website SpareRoom. The only differences in their details were their names and skin colour.

Enquiries were sent out by both profiles to property adverts randomly selected across the UK, within minutes of each other, with different responses.

Analysis of more than 210 adverts found that the white facing profile was 36% more likely to receive a positive response than the black facing profile.

The white profile was also 17% more likely than the black profile to receive any response at all.

Graphics of Generation Rent's two AI profiles, one white and one black
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Generation Rent made applications to the same properties with two AI-generated accounts: One with a white woman and one with a black woman.

In one example the same message was sent by both profiles enquiring about a room in a townhouse.

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“Hi there, I’m interested in the property, could I arrange a viewing please?” it read.

The white profile, named Lizzie, received this response: “Hi Lizzie, can you tell me a little about how long you would be looking for the room, do you work local etc. Many Thanks.”

The black profile, called Zuri, received a different message stating simply: “Hello, sorry it’s just been let.”

Paris Williams, 25, has been living in a HMO (house of multiple occupancy) in London for the past two years and describes racism as a barrier to finding somewhere better to rent.

“I’ve had my passport inspected,” she says, “(they asked) ‘is it really a British passport? You can’t be British’, but why can’t I be British?

“And then when you’re going house searching [they] ask ‘do you smoke weed? Because I have black tenants who smoke weed’.

“So you’re stuck. You know that you’ve got bad conditions here but you can’t move.”

Paris says the situation she is living in is “hell”.

Paris Williams, who describes racism as a barrier to finding somewhere to rent
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Paris believes racism has been a barrier to her finding somewhere better to rent

The policy adviser sleeps with an alarm under her room door because she feels unsafe as the front door to the HMO is often left open by other tenants.

She has previously found a stranger in her hallway and once discovered an unknown man taking a shower in her shared bathroom.

“He was clearly visibly homeless,” she says. “He was wet, he didn’t use a towel, he had no socks on. [He said] ‘well your door was open so i just thought I could’.”

In the last two years she has applied for multiple rentals, even changing her clothes, “stripping back” her makeup, and tying her hair back for viewings.

She says she can afford to rent somewhere better because the feeling of being unsafe in her own home is “gut wrenching”.

“I describe it as fight or flight, you’re never really calm, you’re tense, you’re always waiting for something to happen.

“Every little noise – is that something? is it not?”

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‘Wild west hostile marketplace’

Tilly Smith, campaigns and partnerships officer from Generation Rent, helped carry out the AI profile research after suspecting discrimination in the rental market.

She describes the knock-on effect it is having, in a broader sense, on ethnic minority groups looking for somewhere to live.

“They’ve been forced into this sort of wild west hostile marketplace where they may or may not be able to find a property,” she said.

“So people become very placid and they feel they have to put up with poor quality housing with poor standards, with mould-ridden properties, with disrepair.

“There is the devastating issue of stress and worry of finding somewhere to live.

“There is also the more long-term enduring issue of people who are black, Asian, or minority ethnic who feel they have to put up with terrible conditions.”

In a statement SpareRoom said their “discrimination policy states nobody can discriminate against or reject someone due to their race.

“We look into every single report of discrimination we receive and investigate thoroughly – if we find that racial discrimination has occurred we’ll remove the user permanently.”

While racism in renting is not a new issue it is believed that it may be getting worse due to the low supply of private rentals available verses demand.

Read more: London ‘the only region with unaffordable rent’, says ONS

‘The current crisis will carry on’

Jabeer Butt OBE, chief executive of the Race Equality Foundation, says competition for “a smaller and smaller resource” may be making things worse.

“You can imagine racism is going to be at the forefront of that sort of thing,” he said.

“But then the reality also is that we know what the solutions are, we know what we can do to make it better.

“We know a significant programme of building social housing will change the whole dynamic of the housing crisis that we face…we’re not even managing to build affordable housing to the scale that we’re meant to be doing.

“And until we do that, the current crisis will carry on or potentially get worse.”

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Post Office scandal: Daughter has had ‘panic attacks’ since mum was accused of stealing

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Post Office scandal: Daughter has had 'panic attacks' since mum was accused of stealing

The daughter of a Post Office victim has told Sky News she suffered “dark thoughts of suicide” in the years after her mother was accused of stealing.

Kate Burrows was 14 years old when her mother, Elaine Hood, was prosecuted and subsequently convicted in 2003.

The first public inquiry report on the Post Office – examining redress and the “human impact” of the scandal – is due to be published today.

“I’ve suffered with panic attacks from about 14, 15 years old, and I still have them to this day,” Kate said.

“I’ve been in and out of therapy for what feels like most of my adult life and it absolutely categorically goes back to [what happened].”

Kate and Rebecca with their mother, Elaine
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Kate and Rebecca with their mother, Elaine

Kate, along with others, helped set up the charity Lost Chances, supporting the children of Post Office victims. She hopes the inquiry will recognise their suffering.

“It’s important that our voices are heard,” she said. “Not only within the report, but in law actually.

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“And then maybe that would be a deterrent for any future cover-ups, that it’s not just the one person it’s the whole family [affected].”

Her sister, Rebecca Richards, who was 18 when their mother was accused, described how an eating disorder “escalated” after what happened.

“When my mum was going through everything, my only control of that situation was what food I put in my body,” she said.

Elaine Hood with her husband
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Elaine with her husband

She also said that seeing her mother at court when she was convicted, would “stay with me forever”.

“The two investigators were sat in front of my dad and I, sniggering and saying ‘we’ve got this one’.

“To watch my mum in the docks handcuffed to a guard… not knowing if she was going to be coming home… that is the most standout memory for me.”

The sisters are hoping the inquiry findings will push Fujitsu into fulfilling a promise they made nearly a year ago – to try and help the children of victims.

Rebecca Richards and Kate Burrows
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The siblings were teenagers when their mum was unfairly prosecuted

Last summer, Kate met with the European boss of the company, Paul Patterson, who said he would look at ways they could support Lost Chances.

Despite appearing at the inquiry in November last year and saying he would not “stay silent” on the issue, Kate said there has been little movement in terms of support.

“It’s very much a line of ‘we’re going to wait until the end of the inquiry report to decide’,” she said.

“But Mr Patterson met us in person, looked us in the eye, and we shared the most deeply personal stories and he said we will do something… they need to make a difference.”

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2024: Paula Vennells breaks down in tears

Fujitsu, who developed the faulty Horizon software, has said it is in discussions with the government regarding a contribution to compensation.

The inquiry will delve in detail into redress schemes, of which four exist, three controlled by the government and one by the Post Office.

Victims of the scandal say they are hoping Sir Wyn Williams, chair of the inquiry, will recommend that the government and the Post Office are removed from the redress schemes as thousands still wait for full and fair redress.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said they were “grateful” for the inquiry’s work, describing “the immeasurable suffering” victims endured and saying the government has “quadrupled the total amount paid to affected postmasters”, with more than £1bn having now been paid to thousands of claimants.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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Trade war: Trump reveals first two nations to pay delayed ‘liberation day’ tariffs

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Trade war: Trump reveals first nations to pay delayed 'liberation day' tariffs

Donald Trump has warned that all goods from Japan and South Korea will face tariffs of 25% from 1 August.

The announcement, via his Truth Social platform, marks the restart of the threatened “liberation day” escalation that was paused in April, for 90 days, to allow for negotiations to take place with all US trading partners.

The president showed off copies of letters to the leaders of both Japan and South Korea informing them of the tariff rates. Those duties will come on top of sector-specific tariffs – such as 50% rates covering steel – already in force.

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He warned the rates could be adjusted “upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country”.

Country-specific tariffs had been due to take effect from Wednesday this week but Mr Trump had earlier revealed that nations would start to get letters instead, setting out the US position.

Duties would take effect from 1 August, without any subsequent deal being agreed, it was announced.

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The letters sent to Japan and South Korea cited persistent trade imbalances for the rates and included the sentence: “We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far.”

He ended both letters by saying, “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The European Union – the biggest single US trading partner – is among those set to get a letter in the coming days.

Mr Trump has also threatened an additional 10% tariff on any country aligning itself with the “anti-American policies” of BRICS nations – those are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and whose members also include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

The UK, bar a massive shock U-turn, should be exempt.

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What does the UK-US trade deal involve?

The country was the first to be granted a trade deal, of sorts, in May and the Trump administration has claimed many others had been offering concessions since the clock ticked down to 9 July.

The UK is not expected to face any changes to its current 10% rate due to the trade truce, which came into effect last week.

While UK-made cars aerospace products face no duties under a new quota arrangement, it still remains to be seen whether 25% tariffs on UK-produced steel and aluminium will be cancelled.

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Can the UK avoid steel tariffs?

They could, conceivably, even be raised to 50%, as is currently the case for America’s other trading partners, because no agreement on eliminating the rate was reached when the government struck its deal in May.

It all amounts to more uncertainty for the UK steel sector.

A No 10 spokesman said on Monday: “Our work with the US continues to get this deal implemented as soon as possible.

“That will remove the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, making us the only country in the world to have tariffs removed on these products.

“The US agreed to remove tariffs on these products as part of our agreement on 8 May. It reiterated that again at the G7 last month. The discussions continue, and will continue to do so.”

China and Vietnam have also secured some US concessions.

The dollar strengthened but US stock markets lost ground in the wake of the letters to Japan and South Korea being made public, with the broad-based S&P 500 down by 1%.

Stock markets in both Japan and South Korea were closed for the day but US-traded shares of SK Telecom and LG Display were down 7.5% and 5.8% respectively.

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Tesla shares sink as Musk launches political party

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Tesla shares sink as Musk launches political party

Shares in Elon Musk’s Tesla have reversed sharply over renewed concerns about his focus on the company’s recovery as he plots against Donald Trump.

Shares in the electric car firm plunged by more than 7% at the start of trading on Wall Street – taking about $71bn (£52bn) off its market value.

The stock has often come under pressure since Musk started his association with the president, latterly helping bring down federal government costs through a new department known as DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency).

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But it is now suffering as their political relationship has soured.

Musk has publicly opposed the so-called “big, beautiful bill” – Mr Trump’s flagship tax cut and spending plans that received Congressional approval last week – since he left his DOGE role.

Musk wrote in a post on his X platform on 30 June: “It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”

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Once the bill was passed, he created a poll on X, asking people if they would want him to launch the America Party.

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Musk v Trump: ‘The Big, Beautiful Breakup’

He wrote on 4 July: “Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system!”

The vote ended with 65.4% in favour of creating the party.

The formation of the America Party was announced the following day.

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with
waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.”

“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk posted.

Trump responded on his Truth Social account: “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.

“He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States –
The System seems not designed for them.”

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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk

Trump has previously threatened to go after Tesla‘s government subsidies and contracts through the DOGE department to save “big” as their relationship deteriorated.

Such threats have also pressured the share price at Tesla.

It has suffered throughout Trump 2.0 and, in fact, has trended lower since last December – shortly after Mr Trump’s election win was confirmed.

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Musk hits out at Tesla succession claim

The possibility of tariff hits to the business, followed by actual tariff disruption, along with a consumer and investor backlash against Musk’s previous DOGE role have contributed to a 35% decline on the December peak.

The very absence of Tesla’s CEO dragged on the shares.

Tesla sales suffered globally as the trade war ramped up due to the imposition of tariffs by a government he supported, until the public row between him and the president began in early June.

Musk had only just renewed his 100% focus on Tesla and his other business interests by that time.

Tesla sales were down during the presidential election campaign last year and continued to decline, on a quarterly basis, during the first half of 2025.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said of the company’s share price woes: “Investors are worried about two things – one is more Trump ire affecting subsidies and the other more importantly is a distracted Musk.

“Investors had cheered Musk stepping back from frontline politics but are now worried he’s going to sucked back in and take his eye off Tesla.”

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