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The Premier League has failed to secure agreement for a new financial settlement for English football amid a continued stalemate between its clubs.

Sky News has learnt that a planned vote at a shareholder meeting on Monday afternoon was scrapped after it became clear it would not win support from the required majority of 14 clubs.

The meeting is likely to have been the last opportunity to agree the proposed £836m deal before the government introduces legislation to establish a new football regulator.

Football insiders said on Monday that the decision was “a blow” to the Premier League’s authority and would raise fresh questions about the future governance and financial management of the sport.

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A separate resolution on elements of the Premier League’s future financial system was overwhelmingly backed, with 19 clubs voting in favour, and only Manchester City – which is taking legal action against the League over associated party transaction rules – understood to have abstained.

One source said the outcome of the meeting highlighted the seemingly intractable impasse gripping the world’s richest domestic football league.

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At the weekend, Sky News revealed that Premier League bosses were scrambling to finalise a landmark financial settlement with the English Football League (EFL).

The 20 top-flight clubs, which include Aston Villa, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, were due to be asked to approve a revised version of a ‘New Deal’ that included proposals for an increased levy on player transfers.

The revamped blueprint, which comes after several previous versions were blocked by Premier League clubs, included provision for an immediate £44m payment to the lower leagues, followed by a further £44m within months.

This £88m, however, would effectively be pitched as a loan that would be repayable by the EFL over a period of more than six years.

The Premier League had decided to make the vote independent of any conditions attached to wider financial reform of English football, alarming a number of top-flight owners.

Legislation to establish the new watchdog is likely to be introduced this month, according to Whitehall sources.

Rishi Sunak has warned English football’s power-brokers that a deal will be introduced regardless of their willingness to agree it – a threat which has sparked fury among club-owners who believe the Conservatives are themselves risking the financial sustainability of the professional game.

“My hope is that the Premier League and the EFL can come to some appropriate arrangement themselves – that would be preferable,” the prime minister said in January.

“But, ultimately, if that’s not possible, the regulator will be able to step in and do that to ensure we have a fair distribution of resources across the football pyramid, of course promoting the Premier League but supporting football in communities… up and down the country.”

Talks over the New Deal have been dragging on for well over a year.

At one point last autumn, a £925m agreement looked to be inching closer, but in December, Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, notified clubs that it was calling a halt to further talks with the EFL because of internal divisions about the scale and structure of the proposed deal.

At a meeting with shareholders last month, however, he suggested that negotiations had again become more constructive.

Some clubs appear to be resigned to the lack of a voluntary agreement, and believe the new regulator will be charged with imposing a deal as one of its first priorities.

With the time required to establish the watchdog and get it fully operational, though, government officials believe it could be 2026 before it is in a position to do so.

There has been significant unrest among Premier League clubs over the cost of the subsidy to the EFL, as well as the lack of certainty about the regulator’s powers and other financial reforms.

At least one club in the bottom half of the Premier League is understood to have raised the prospect of having to borrow money this year to fund its prospective share of the handout to the EFL.

It is among a number of governance and legal headaches facing the Premier League, with a fresh fight looming with Manchester City over the associated party transaction rules which most affect clubs with state, private equity or multi-club ownership structures.

The Premier League declined to comment.

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Alexander Zurawski: Mum sentenced for killing six-year-old son after hearing ‘demonic voices’

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Alexander Zurawski: Mum sentenced for killing six-year-old son after hearing 'demonic voices'

A mum has been sentenced for killing her six-year-old son after hearing “demonic voices”.

Karolina Zurawska, 42, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Alexander Zurawski.

Alexander was found dead at a property in the Gendros area of Swansea on 29 August last year.

His mother was found next to him with a handsaw at her side.

At Swansea Crown Court on Friday, the judge also sentenced Zurawska for the attempted murder of her 67-year-old father, Krzysztof Siwi, earlier the same day.

She was handed an indefinite hospital order.

The court heard Zurawska had previously been the “best mother” to her son, who was recovering from a brain tumour which left him partially sighted and requiring a cane to walk.

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In a tribute released after his death, Alexander’s family said he was a “very kind child” who was “very clever and very mature for his age”.

“Alexander was always well behaved and never naughty,” the statement added.

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Cardinal Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is ‘intimidating’

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Cardinal Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is 'intimidating'

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has told Sky News it’s “intimidating” to be one of those responsible for choosing the next pope.

Vincent Nichols is among four UK cardinals in Rome for the Pope’s funeral on Saturday.

Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.

Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”

Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.

The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.

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Pope’s cause of death confirmed .

Heads of state – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron – have all confirmed their attendance at his funeral, which takes place on Saturday at St Peter’s Square.

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Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.

Cardinal Nichols explained that the funeral would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.

In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.

He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.

Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.

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Where will Pope Francis be buried?

As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.

He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.

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3D map shows pope’s funeral route

Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.

He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.

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Man shot dead by police had called 999 himself, preliminary report indicates

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Man shot dead by police had called 999 himself, preliminary report indicates

A man who was shot dead by police had called 999 himself, an initial investigation into the death has suggested.

David Joyce was killed by “a single gunshot wound to the abdomen” after officers shot him at close range outside Milton Keynes railway station on 1 April, according to preliminary findings.

The 38-year-old, who lived in the town, was given first aid by officers but died at the scene.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the circumstances leading up to the death and revealed its initial findings.

It said it had established that Mr Joyce was armed with a 12cm steak knife when he “ran at two officers” before being shot by an officer from a Thames Valley Police armed response unit.

The IOPC said police had been alerted to the incident following a 999 call “from a man reporting that ‘there is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes'”.

“The call handler rang back after the caller hung up during the call and spoke to the man again who said the man with the gun was acting suspiciously, looked like he was about to do something bad and ‘definitely’ had a gun,” it said in a statement.

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“Records show that the mobile phone number used to make the 999 call had been used to call police before and was linked to Mr Joyce.

“CCTV footage shows Mr Joyce making a phone call at a time which matches with when the 999 call to police was made.”

Police at the scene of the incident. Pic: PA
Image:
Police at the scene of the incident. Pic: PA

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Milton Keynes Coroners’ Court earlier in April and a full hearing will follow after the IOPC investigation concludes.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “We again extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of David Joyce and all those affected by this incident. We continue to keep his family informed of our progress.

“Our investigators are working hard to piece together the circumstances leading up to Mr Joyce being shot by a police officer and have already carried out a significant amount of enquiries.”

He said the enquiries included accounts from the police officers involved, CCTV from inside and outside the station, footage from officers’ bodyworn cameras and police vehicle dashcam footage, and statements from members of the public who witnessed the shooting.

The IOPC added that, as is standard in investigations following a fatal police shooting, it would “look at the decisions and actions of officers prior to and during their interaction with Mr Joyce – including the medical care they provided at the scene; if the lethal force was necessary, justified and proportionate; and whether the officers followed policy”.

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