Mr Hutchins said: "It is with profound sadness that I announce that my beloved wife, Bonnie Greer, has died aged 77 after a brief illness. "Bonnie was an acclaimed playwright, author, critic, cultural and political commentator whose intelligence, courage and distinctive voice made an enduring contribution to British cultural and public life. "To me, she was my partner, confidante and inspiration, and I feel profoundly privileged to have shared my life with her. "Those closest to Bonnie will remember her warmth, humour, generosity and extraordinary ability to bring people together. "At this immensely difficult time, we ask that our family's privacy be respected. She will be deeply missed." Greer was born in Chicago and lived in New York City, before moving to Britain in 1986. She was awarded the Verity Bargate Award for Best Play for Munda Negra and she was also the author of the novels Hanging By Her Teeth (1994) and Entropy (2009). Her memoir and music history, Obama Music, was published in October 2009. Some of her other works include the biography Langston Hughes: The Value Of Contradiction (2011) and the play Marilyn And Ella (2008) about actress Marilyn Monroe and singer Ella Fitzgerald. Greer was appointed to the British Museum's board of trustees in 2005 and later served as deputy chairwoman. She also served on the boards of the London Film School and Royal Opera House and was appointed a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022. The playwright appeared as a panellist on Newsnight Review and Question Time and served as Chancellor of Kingston University in Kingston upon Thames, London. In 2010, Greer was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to the arts. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Irish musician Aaron Rowe, Danish band Lukas Graham and Billie Eilish's brother and musical collaborator, Finneas, announced late on Tuesday that they were pulling out of Sheeran's The Loop tour. The collective withdrawal came after Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, claimed he had been taken off the British star's tour after he made pro-Palestinian comments during a show in New Jersey. Sheeran's backing band, Irish folk group Beoga, also announced they were pulling out. Lukas Graham and Rowe had been due to open for Sheeran at his next concert in Philadelphia on Saturday. Rowe said: "I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal." A statement on the Lukas Graham Instagram said: "Money doesn't give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody's bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we're allowed to acknowledge." Citing the "silencing of Macklemore", Beoga said: "We are a traditional Irish band who never saw ourselves playing in stadiums of that size and that opportunity is not lost on us." Finneas said: "Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed". 'I am not complicit' Earlier on Tuesday, Sheeran said he was "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine" and described the "suffering and pain caused on both sides" as a human tragedy in a lengthy Instagram statement. "I am not complicit," he said. "I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn't mean I don't have them, and it doesn't mean I don't care." Sheeran said his audiences often include children and young people "from all backgrounds", which is why he does not use the stage for politics. The statement also said the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour came from the promoter and was not his own. Sheeran said "venues for upcoming concert dates got in touch to say they would pull the gigs if Macklemore was still involved", adding he was told this stance was based "on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message... rather than on everything that was said". Macklemore told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten, which led to a petition demanding he be removed from the remaining dates. Pink criticised the Thrift Shop artist for standing in "front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn't about them". She added: "You don't get to decide that for us." After posting a video of himself on stage during the concert, Macklemore said on social media that "wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial". His announcement that he had been taken off Sheeran's tour received public support from artists including Kneecap, CMAT and Paloma Faith. 'I would never let down fans' Sheeran said he had spoken with the venues "all week to try and build a bridge" but the "venue's and promoter's decision was final". One of these people was Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, where Sheeran is due to play later in September, the statement said. "I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue's and promoter's decision was final," Sheeran said. "Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision, it was not mine. Macklemore's contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me." The singer said he would "never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living". He said he had always sought to "bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together and this won't ever change". Sheeran said: "There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics - my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum." He said he respected Macklemore's "strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes" but that "there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace". In a statement provided to NBC News, Sky News' US partner network, Mr Kraft said the decision on his venues was reached following Macklemore's comments and "a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community". He said: "This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real." Macklemore's advocacy "should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas", Mr Kraft added.

Wandsworth Council is set to increase council tax for a Band D property by £958 - a 94% rise - from April 2027, in response to what it describes as the "financial pressure" of government reforms. The south London borough previously had one of the lowest council tax rates in Britain. However, following the publication of what it calls a "comprehensive" spending review, the Conservative administration says the government's Fair Funding reforms will reduce Wandsworth's funding by £84m a year. Check how much your council tax is set to rise The authority claims the reduction is equivalent to its combined total annual spend on parks, libraries, leisure centres, bin collection and street cleaning. It says that new spending reforms will place "significant additional pressure on essential local services and means the council must make tough choices". 'Savage cuts' Council leader Robert Morritt, who took over the role in July, admitted that increasing council tax was not a decision he "ever wanted us to have to make", but said the announcement was being made now to ensure "local people have the maximum amount of time to adjust". He blamed the increase on "savage cuts from central government" and "a dramatic reduction" in the council's level of reserves. Commenting on the outcomes of the spending review, Mr Morritt said the council was "setting out a clear plan to protect the services residents rely on while tackling the financial challenges facing the council". He said that "difficult decisions" had been taken in a bid to help ensure that services "remain sustainable into the future". Mr Morritt added: "There are difficult choices in this report, but there are also clear priorities: cleaner streets, safer communities, stronger housing services, support for vulnerable residents and action to put the council back on a sustainable financial footing." Read more from Sky News:Baby wards to get 'cot cams' after Letby inquirySupport artists pull out of Ed Sheeran tour Peter Graham, deputy leader of Wandsworth Council and cabinet member for finance, said: "We promised that we'd be honest with residents. "Council tax will need to rise unless government thinks again. And it must think again. "We do not want to do this, and we do not take this decision lightly, but the scale of the financial pressure facing Wandsworth means additional income is now needed to protect the services people rely on." Mr Graham insisted that the council was "fighting" for a "fairer deal", and that Wandsworth should not be "punished" for "running efficient services and keeping council tax low". He added: "Our message to residents is clear: we are on your side, we are making your case, and we will keep fighting for the funding Wandsworth deserves."

That's just one of the statements from the England boss which has drawn attention across social media, following the FA releasing a new documentary called 'Reflections: England's World Cup Journey'. In the documentary, Tuchel sits alongside former England international and Sky Sports pundit Daniel Sturridge to look back on England's campaign, which ultimately saw the team finish third, having lost in the semi-finals to Argentina. England's standout performance of the tournament came in the last-16 win over Mexico in Mexico City, where they played for over 35 minutes with 10 men but prevailed 3-2. "I texted a friend after the match and I just wrote, 'I regret that I didn't eat some grass after the match to keep something from this in my body forever'," said Tuchel. On the unity his players showed in that match, Tuchel pointed to their reaction to Jordan Henderson falling and breaking his arm in the post-match celebrations. "If you needed any proof, any proof for what it meant to these players and how they were with each other, it was the moment when Jordan fell over and broke his arm," said Tuchel. "Within a second, the players were there, every single player was there, stopping the celebrations, building a shield, protecting Jordan and not going nowhere in full empathy. It was just so special." The film will be released on Wednesday September 16 exclusively on the England app. England news and analysis | Follow our England blogSome England players bemused by semi-final substitutionsNeville: I have a big problem with Tuchel's DNA commentsEngland tournament player ratings: Who impressed and who struggled? The build-up to the Mexico game had been dominated by talk of the altitude of the Azteca stadium but also the potential for weather delays, which proved founded with kick-off pushed back. But Tuchel says a calm came over the group when they trained together in Mexico before the match and meditation and manifestation helped them to achieve the victory. "In the middle of Mexico City and we arrived and it's an oasis, it's so peaceful, it's an unbelievable pitch and it is so calm, it is so peaceful that it did something to the players," said Tuchel. "They came out from the gym straight out on the pitch, they were having phone calls, walking around, it was such a peaceful energy. "So we came up with this line of 'silence is powerful', that we enjoy the silence, we're in a home country, we will play against the whole nation, the whole nation will be against us, the stadium, it's almost impossible to win in the stadium, no one has ever done it before in a World Cup match. "So let's enjoy the silence, the power of the silence. We even had five minutes on the match day of meditation and manifestation of the last whistle." The FA are currently undergoing a review of England's World Cup campaign but Tuchel says the experience has bonded him and the group together and he is "excited" about what comes next. England face world champions Spain in the Nations League in the upcoming international break with the 2028 Euros the next major tournament. Tuchel reckons preparing for that tournament will be easier than the planning which was required for the 2026 World Cup. "It created a huge bond to these players, it feels like they are my players now. This is the beauty of it," said Tuchel. "When you have a manager and then you have success and you have painful moments together, but you have so much time together and then you create a natural bond. "I'm happy to see them, I'm happy to challenge them, happy to push them and very proud to be a part of them. "I'm very excited. I'm excited to work with these players. I'm excited to have new, young players that we can bring into camp and that they can learn. "We've got another step closer and I think we're there. "It's very difficult to prepare a World Cup in the US, but it's possible to prepare for a Euros and be prepared in Nations League tier one. "The target is to have another 10 matches. We had 10 matches in the US, eight wins, one draw, one painful loss, but that is something to build on. "We have all the right to hold our heads high and go with courage and positivity into the next challenges. "We have four matches in the Nations League coming up and that's where the focus is." Tuchel on Harry Kane going to another level "Just so easy. He's always there, he's always in training, he always wants to train. The level to which he got himself now, since he's at Bayern Munich. "The level of commitment and training, how he arrived in prep camp, how he arrived in the qualification matches, the speech after the October camp, and he straight away stood up in the dressing room and said, 'guys, we will keep on going in November, this is what we do'. "He found another level in his game, but also as a personality, and how he shows up for training, how he drives training standards is one of a kind. The finishing is out of control good." On Jude Bellingham living up to his full potential "He was one of the players of the tournament, not only for us, but of the whole tournament. "He lived up to his full potential, you could just see what a competitor, what a machine he is, and he just thrives on the pressure. He just loves these moments, he loves these stages, it brings out the very best. "He came with an amazing mindset into camp, with the best physical preparation. He came fresh, he came hungry, hungry for football, hungry for minutes into camp. He took his place and decided every single match for us." On the England fans and their 'special' connection with the team "They lived up to the high expectations. "Everyone told me, 'wait until the tournament starts, we will have the best fans, we will be right on top, it will be amazing, the amount of people…' and it was just like that from the first moment. "They just felt this team. I believe that fans have a sense, maybe they cannot name it, someone will say, 'yeah, they give everything, they're sweating, after the whistle goes, they have to sit down because they're so tired'. For everyone it's maybe different, they feel it, they could sense it, that this team is together and this team means it. "That's what made the connection so strong. That was not artificial. That was very special."

Paul Street, 41, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday after being found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office (MIPO) following a trial in June. The former Cambridgeshire Constabulary officer, who fostered a "toxic" WhatsApp culture among his team, appeared in television crime shows on the BBC and Channel 4, and was known for getting "impressive results" through his "robust" style. Street, from Huntingdon, headed the southern Neighbourhood Impact Team from Cambourne police station in Cambridgeshire, mainly dealing with county lines drug supply and organised crime. Street, who quit the force in 2024, encouraged colleagues to "bully" a teenage detainee and asked a workmate to send him a sex video of a female suspect. Anti-corruption officers uncovered Street's two WhatsApp groups in 2021 after a new officer reported him. In messages investigators found on his phone, he encouraged using violence against the boy, 17, including "smash his little head in". He also filmed and shared a video of himself using offensive language and making threats that were intended to be shown to the child. He was convicted of MIPO for those actions and an incident where Street's colleague, PC Josh Williams, was accessing the contents of a suspected drug dealer's phone and told Street she was "quite fit". The woman had warned the arresting officers that there were private, intimate photos on her phone because she wanted to ensure they were not shared. In October 2020, Williams, 38, also from Huntingdon, messaged Street to tell him about the phone's content. Street asked Williams if there were "any nudes?". The WhatsApp exchange indicated that Williams took a photo of the woman's camera roll showing numerous images of her in underwear and forwarded this to Street. Williams also told him about an intimate video on the phone and, six months later, Street messaged Williams asking if he still had the video so he could "show the lads from footy", although there was no evidence the video was shared. In court on Wednesday, the woman told of her "overwhelming sense of shock, violation, anger and humiliation". Reading her victim personal statement, the woman said the defendants' conduct left her feeling "exposed, degraded and powerless". Street and Williams "abused their position in order to invade my privacy in an extremely personal and humiliating way. "I feel violated by these individuals who were in a position of power over me at the time." Mitigating, Jennifer Dempster KC said Street "enormously regrets his behaviour" and made a significant contribution to disrupting the drug trade before his 17-year career came to a "crashing end". Ms Dempster said: "He recognises he has not only let the public down, he has let the police down and he has let his family down." Read more:Missing boy latest - lake cordoned offReward for abducted BritonEU role offered to Canada For Williams, Robert Morris said: "He recognises what he did was deeply inappropriate, driven by misguided and stupid desire to engage in salacious gossip." Williams, who was dismissed after pleading guilty to MIPO last year, was jailed for 16 months. Street previously admitted two offences of unlawful disclosure of personal data. Judge Mark Lucraft KC said many thousands of officers would be "utterly horrified" by the defendants' actions and attitude which were "both appalling and inexplicable". Emily Barry, from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) called Street's behaviour "appalling and a complete abuse of his position. "The public would also be shocked at knowing officers shared intimate photos from a woman's phone without any policing purpose and that Street made a video threatening a child who was detained in custody. Eleven other officers were investigated over their conduct arising from the team's "toxic" culture. Of those, two resigned, one was dismissed for gross misconduct, one received a final warning, two received written warnings, and five others were dealt with for low-level performance issues. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

​Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said on Tuesday his office has chosen not to seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner. Nick Reiner, 33, pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of his father and mother in the family's home in the affluent suburb of Brentwood. The bodies of Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found at their home on 14 December. Nick Reiner was arrested the following day. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside a central Los Angeles courthouse that ​prosecutors took into account the wishes of the surviving Reiner family members in reaching their decision not to seek the death penalty. The maximum penalty prosecutors said they would ‌now seek is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors informed the judge they would not be seeking the death penalty during a pre-trial hearing which took place shortly after their intentions were announced. Nick Reiner appeared in court for the hearing. Read more from Sky News:Lawyer for Rob Reiner's son withdraws from caseObamas 'planned to see Reiners the night they were killed' Rob Reiner was a celebrated director, whose work included This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men. He also acted in TV shows such as The Bear and Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. He met Michele Singer in 1989, while directing When Harry Met Sally, and they had three children together. Michele used to work as a photographer and took the photo of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book Trump: The Art Of The Deal. In April, Nick's brother Jake discussed how hard it was to cope with the death of his parents.

Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy look at how political communication has changed - from Keir Starmer's government paying influencers to promote its message, to Andy Burnham putting himself front and centre of the social media operation. Sam has a scoop on how much it all costs. Elsewhere, former No10 chief of staff - Morgan McSweeney - has been speaking about his time in No10 and how he tried to launch a thinktank in Downing Street to develop policy. Plus, with energy bills forecast to rocket to near £450 in January, how worried is the government, and what can it do to help families?

Webb says he is "really disappointed" by the decision to award the goal, which was initially ruled out on the field due to Haaland being flagged offside. VAR then checked the incident and determined the striker was onside but failed to account for Enzo Fernandez impacting play from an offside position. Haaland's goal was a mistake - but why did it happen?Premier League fixtures & scores | FREE PL highlights▶️Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺 Fernandez dived for the ball before it was steered home by Haaland, and despite severely hindering Lisandro Martinez and Senne Lammens, Fernandez's offside position was overlooked once the VAR officials had confirmed he had not touched the ball - even though a player can be offside without touching the ball. Webb told Mic'd Up: "The on-field decision was not against Fernandez; it was against Haaland. When the VAR starts their check, they see that Haaland is actually onside by three centimetres. "The VAR gets super focused on Haaland. He establishes he is onside but when he runs it through the full APP (attacking possession phase), he doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez. "In that moment, he gets tunnel vision but it is down to the rest of his team to pull him out of that tunnel but unfortunately, that did not happen on this occasion. "This goal should have been disallowed." What the officials said... Assistant VAR: Enzo, Enzo. VAR: Possible offside. Assistant VAR: I'm going to go offside, Haaland. Referee: On-field decision is offside. VAR: Checking the on-field decision of offside against Haaland. He's tight. He's onside, so now we need to check the full attacking possession phase (APP). Haaland's in an onside position, but I need to check the full APP. Go back to see if [Iliman] Ndiaye is onside when it is flicked. Yes. Go, go, go, so it should be a goal. No touch there [from Enzo Fernandez], confirm no touch. Clear gap. It's not a touch there is it? Goal. Michael, confirming that you need to change your decision to goal. Haaland is in an onside position. Final decision is goal; check complete. Webb: VAR had 'tunnel vision' on Haaland and missed Enzo offside Pro Ref chief operating officer Howard Webb: "We felt it was important that we acknowledged an error in the situation. We know that Erling Haaland was penalised for offside and wasn't in an offside position. "We also know that Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position, almost certainly interfered with the Manchester United defence and probably the goalkeeper. "I was really disappointed with this outcome; we all were. None more than the officials. They take personal pride in what they do and they are hurting now after falling short in this situation. They will not be officiating until after the international break. "We have reached out to Manchester United and acknowledged the error, as we do when these things happen and they do not happen often. We want to ensure we are transparent and open. "We have played the audio and footage to the club to let them know what happened. We will review the situation to understand what elements of the process fell down in this situation which meant we didn't get to the right outcome. "Fernandez doesn't actually touch the ball, so he has not committed what we would call a factual offside offence of interfering with play. "But you can still be penalised even if you do not touch the ball. In this situation, as the ball comes across, we see Fernandez dive towards the ball and he gets close to it. "That impacts [Lisandro] Martinez; he cannot come and clear the ball. It probably impacts [Senne] Lammens as well, he cannot dive in the way he would or sets himself for potential contact from Fernandez. "It is impacting the defence in a couple of ways as a result of the actions he makes in the offside position." Analysis: If VAR can't get the easy ones right, why are we using it at all? Sky Sports' Laura Hunter: Pro Ref should not get a pardon for simply admitting their mistake on this one. A full-scale review into how is what they owe the players and clubs involved given it determined the outcome of the game. "VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Enzo Fernandez didn't play the ball," is what the Premier League's match centre posted on X in real time. The offside rule appears to have been forgotten here, or at least the full extent of it. VAR do confirm "no touch" by Fernandez, but fail to recognise he is live in the move. That element is not subjective. The Man City midfielder clearly impacts both Lisandro Martinez and Senne Lammens and yet neither are mentioned. Nor does Michael Oliver question it. Does he communicate with the linesman to determine who was actually flagged offside? Was it Fernandez, Haaland or both? A chronological check of the incident with the correct laws applied would have simply finished with Fernandez. Instead, the video officials spent nearly three minutes presiding over a goal that most casual observers could determine should not have stood with just one replay. There are no excuses for such a catastrophic failing, but it's probably worth labouring the point that, if forensic technology cannot stamp out even the most basic of officiating mistakes, should we be using it at all? 'No one is hurting more than VAR officials - they're human' Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol: "I do have an element of sympathy for the VAR and his assistant - they made a mistake. A lot of football fans, particularly Man Utd supporters, will feel it is an unforgivable mistake. "If you are a VAR and officiating a game as big as the Manchester derby, you really should not be making mistakes of this magnitude. "But having said that, human beings are human beings. No one is hurting more than the VAR and his assistant. I imagine they've had sleepless nights over this and are replaying what happened over and over again for weeks and months to come. "Human beings make mistakes and on this occasion, two human beings made a really big mistake which I'm sure they're going to regret for a long time."