The Environment Agency has said it is "carefully considering" Sky News' testing, which has found chemicals posing a "serious health risk" to humans. Over the last six months, Sky News has worked with scientists from Oxford Indices to conduct testing of air, water and soil at the sites. But what chemicals have been detected, and where? Three huge dumps, in Gloucester, Wigan and Ranskill, near Doncaster, were investigated. At Over in Gloucester, where 100,000 tonnes of waste have been festering for more than seven years, analysis of fumes found almost four times as many chemicals as emissions from an average car exhaust. The chemicals in Gloucester were consistent with burning or heated fuels and oils, plastics, tyres, resins, paints or solvents, food waste, fragranced products and chlorinated materials. The dump regularly combusts, and fire crews were called to the site in the last few weeks. Meanwhile, at the 55,000-tonne dump in Ranskill, there was a strong match for the pesticide thanite, and at Wigan, the pesticide demeton-O may be present. Neither of those chemicals has been approved for use in the UK for decades, as they pose a danger to human and animal life. At Ranskill, a strong match for the chemical carbon tetrachloride was detected in the air – a volatile compound banned in consumer products that can cause liver and kidney damage, as well as being linked to cancer. While a footprint was also found at Wigan for P-tert amylphenol, which disrupts the endocrine system and has a "chronic aquatic toxicity" classification. Across all three sites, the majority of chemicals found in the water samples were above the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) levels – the scientific measure above which there may be harmful effects on the environment. Ranskill had the most polluted water, with 49 chemicals, followed closely by Gloucester, which was sampled from a floodplain that runs into the River Leadon and River Severn. Triisopropyl phosphate, a chemical used in plastics which is "very toxic" to aquatic life, was found in the water at all three sites. How did we test the chemicals? Sky's testing was a semi-quantitative rapid screening of air, water and soil samples that provided a chemical fingerprint for further testing. The chemicals found were compared to international databases to find the strongest match. The samples were collected at source, meaning our results do not account for dilution, as the chemicals travel by air or water away from the site. What has the response been? One of the country's leading public health toxicologists has called for more intensive monitoring and academic study. Dr Ian Mudway, the associate professor of environmental toxicology at Imperial College London, told Sky News: "Some of the strongest science which has come out is about how very low-level chemical exposures in populations over the long term have health effects which nobody predicted they would have. "There is no argument that you should ignore this and hope the problem goes away." Dr Patrick Byrne, an academic specialising in environmental pollution at Liverpool John Moores University, said the huge number of chemicals found was "more concerning to me than, let's say, one specific chemical at a very high concentration that we know to be harmful". "That is because environmental science and toxicological studies tell us that it's mixtures of contaminants that are the most difficult to investigate but probably have the largest impacts in terms of human health and ecosystems," he said. Read more from Sky News:Woman injured in suspected stabbingAnti-police protests erupt in Bologna The Environment Agency said its scientists will "carefully consider these findings", adding that "waste crime is an absolute disgrace that harms our communities and blights our environment". "That's why we're taking tougher action than ever before to crack down on the criminal gangs behind it," a spokesperson added. "Through our Waste Crime Action Plan, we're giving the Environment Agency police-style powers, investing £45m to boost enforcement, and making criminals pay for the damage they cause."

Charlotte MacInnes, the lead in Wilson's directorial debut, The Deb, brought the claim over four Instagram posts by Wilson in 2024 and 2025. They centred on an incident in September 2023 when MacInnes and one of the film's producers, Amanda Ghost, went swimming at Sydney's Bondi Beach. Ms Ghost had an adverse reaction to the cold water and they later shared a bath in swimsuits at the producer's apartment. Ms Wilson alleged on Instagram that Ms MacInnes had complained about feeling uncomfortable during the incident but later changed her story. The 28-year-old said Wilson's posts were defamatory as they suggested she was "paid off" to row back on her claim. But judge Elizabeth Raper rejected that assertion: "I do not accept that the meaning conveyed ‌was inherently serious or of a defamatory nature," she wrote in Wednesday's decision. "There is no evidence of the actual impact of the publication on Ms MacInnes' reputation." Amanda Ghost also previously told the court in written evidence that she has never been sexually interested in women. Ms Wilson, who's best known for Bridesmaids and the Pitch Perfect series, said on Instagram she was relieved the case was over. Read more from Sky News:Godzilla star, 18, dies in car crashTate brothers 'will fight extradition' "I'm grateful this chapter has reached its conclusion and I'm looking forward to getting back to what I love most, my family and my work," she said. "Thank you to the judge and the Australian legal system who I have the utmost respect for." The 46-year-old won her own defamation case in 2017 over magazine articles she said had damaged her career.

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The EFL expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs in May and handed the club a four-point deduction for the 2026/27 season after they admitted "multiple breaches" relating to the unauthorised filming of their opponents' training, including before their semi-final against Middlesbrough. Southampton beat Middlesbrough and were due to play Hull City in the play-off final before Boro were reinstated. Southampton appealed the decision, but the punishments were upheld by a League Arbitration Panel. During the Spygate hearing, the EFL only had the power to charge clubs, not individuals. The FA waited for the EFL process to run its course before launching its own investigation. Southampton fixturesGot Sky? Watch the Championship on the Sky Sports appNot got Sky? Stream the Championship with no contract The FA has now charged Eckert with three breaches of rule E3.1, during the period between December 2025 and May 2026, by "directing and/or observing" training sessions of Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough ahead of fixtures against those clubs. Rule E3.1 states: "A participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour". In response, Southampton say they remain "fully supportive" of Eckert and will "continue to cooperate fully and openly with The FA". Eckert has until Tuesday July 28 to provide his responses. Eckert 'loved' spying information In June, Eckert said he took full responsibility "for everything that happened", apologising to players, staff and supporters. At that time, Southampton chairman Dragan Solak admitted Eckert had made a "mistake" but said the club was "fully behind him", reaffirming their target of winning promotion to the Premier League. In the written reasons released following the League Arbitration Panel's decision to dismiss Southampton's appeal against their punishment, Saints' conduct was described as a "contrived and determined plan from the top down". Eckert "loved" the information a junior analyst intern gathered when spying on one of his team's opponents, according to messages used as evidence in the hearing. The written reasons detail how analysts felt pressure to carry out jobs asked of them as a colleague had lost their job earlier in the season. The panel added: "A reprimand is considered appropriate because of the way in which junior members of staff were put under pressure to carry out activities which they felt were, at the least, morally wrong." Eckert reveals police protection amid threats during spygate Eckert told Sky Sports News last week that he had received police protection amid threats during the Spygate scandal. "It's been an emotional summer. I can't lie, obviously, when the news broke towards the back end of last season, it's tough. It's not easy in that very moment. It's not easy to look into the eyes of the players. They're just so disappointed, and so many emotions coming out. "You get so many threats at one point. You have police protection at one point; you can't drive a car. It's tough to deal with that for the very moment. "When things calmed down with time, and I went back home, different challenges at home, you have a moment to reflect. I think that over the months there's also been a lot of positives that we can take into next season. "After a couple of weeks, that excitement comes back in to go again and show what we are about. That's been the feeling since coming back into the training ground. We are in the second week of pre-season now. Players have come back in very good shape, with a smile on their face and ready to go again." Spygate timeline: How did we get here? May 7: Middlesbrough make formal complaint to the EFL alleging a Southampton member of staff spied on their training session three days before their Championship play-off semi-final first leg. May 9: Boro boss Kim Hellberg accuses Southampton of cheating after the first leg ends in a 0-0 draw at the Riverside Stadium. May 12: Southampton charged with a breach of EFL regulations in relation to the spying accusations. Southampton request additional time to conduct an internal review. The play-off semi-final second leg is played at St Mary's. Shea Charles' extra-time winner earns Southampton a 2-1 victory and a place in the Championship play-off final. Emotional Hellberg hits out at "disgraceful spying", before Saints boss Tonda Eckert storms out of his press conference after being asked: "Are you a cheat?" May 13: Photos allegedly showing the Southampton analyst near Middlesbrough's training ground released publicly. May 14: It is announced the independent hearing to determine Southampton's fate will take place on or before Tuesday May 19. In a statement, the EFL say "the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings may yet result in changes to the fixture." May 15: Middlesbrough publicly call for Southampton's expulsion from the play-offs. In a statement, they said: "In these circumstances, the only appropriate response is a sporting sanction which would prevent Southampton FC from participating in the EFL Championship play-off final." May 18: Middlesbrough players return to training as the outcome of the independent disciplinary hearing nears. May 19: EFL announces Southampton expelled from play-off final after hearing. May 20: Southampton appeal rejected. May 21: FA confirm they will begin their own investigation into Spygate. May 23: Middlesbrough lose 1-0 to Hull City in the Championship play-off final. June 1: WhatsApp messages reveal Eckert "loved" spying information despite the concerns of junior members of Southampton staff. June 2: Eckert takes full responsibility for Spygate as Southampton owner Dragan Solak backs head coach. June 17: Eckert tells Sky Sports News he received police protection amid threats during Spygate. July 22: FA charges Southampton head coach Eckert with three breaches of rule E3.1.

The body of Daniel Siad, whose name appeared thousands of times in the Epstein files, was discovered on Monday in the suburb of Colombes. "An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery," the Nanterre prosecutor's office said. Officials said a post-mortem would be carried out. Le Parisien reported he died of cardiac arrest. The 69-year-old denied knowledge of Epstein's true nature but admitted introducing models to him and claimed they never complained afterwards. He was one of several men under investigation in France in relation to Epstein - and also faced accusations of rape himself. Siad's body was found unresponsive in his kitchen by a 28-year-old woman who was staying with him, according to Le Parisien. The newspaper reported that a neighbour attempted CPR but he couldn't be resuscitated. Another figure in the French modelling world, the agent Jean-Luc Brunel, took his own life in prison in 2022. He founded a modelling management company with Epstein and was under investigation, but denied any wrongdoing. Epstein is believed to have sexually abused hundreds of girls and young women, with people linked to the modelling world among those accused of facilitating his crimes. Many powerful figures, such as the former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Peter Mandelson, have had their reputations ruined due to links with the billionaire paedophile. They have always denied any wrongdoing and insist they were unaware of his crimes. Epstein killed himself in a New York prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Ghislaine Maxwell - the main recruiter and 'groomer' of girls for Epstein - was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 on sex trafficking charges. Simply being mentioned in the Epstein files is not a sign of wrongdoing.

The 21-year-old musician, whose real name is David Burke, is accused of fatally stabbing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez after she threatened to make their relationship public. Burke is alleged to have dismembered her body in his garage and hid her remains in a car, which was then abandoned. Ms Hernandez's severely decomposed body was found in a vehicle registered to Burke on 8 September 2025, a court in Los Angeles heard. He was then arrested in April. Burke has denied murdering the teenager and pleaded not guilty to several other counts, including mutilation of human remains and child sexual abuse. During a preliminary court hearing on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office laid out evidence to the judge, who will then decide whether to proceed to trial. The court was shown bodycam footage in which Burke told sheriff's deputies, who were investigating a missing person's report in February 2024, that he had only met then-13-year-old Ms Hernandez once in person, and he did not know she was a minor. "She told me she was 18," the singer said in the video. "Everybody's telling me she was 13." During the 2024 search, the court heard that Burke said he had met Ms Hernandez online on Instagram and Discord in 2020 or 2021, had seen her once in person a few months earlier and had last communicated with her a few days before the search. He shared Rivas Hernandez's phone number with the officers and showed them photos from his phone of a yearbook picture of her and a missing persons flyer from Instagram. It comes after prosecutors filed a court brief in April, where they said Ms Hernandez was most likely killed by Burke on 23 April last year, when her cellular activity ceased. That filing alleges that Burke met Ms Hernandez, from Lake Elsinore in California, when she was 11 and began a sexual relationship with her when she was 13, and he was 18. It also alleged that Burke ordered an Uber to pick Ms Hernandez up on the night of 23 April, from her hometown to his home in Hollywood. The two were said to have exchanged messages until she arrived, after which her phone went dead. The document alleges: "Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, [the] defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out." Prosecutors also said a "significant amount" of child sex abuse images had been recovered during an investigation into Burke following his arrest on 16 April. See more from Sky News:Zelenskyy sacks Ukraine's head of armed forcesEight areas of England at risk of drought The preliminary hearing could go for several days. Burke's defence has not publicly shared its version of events, but he has denied the allegations. If found guilty, the singer is eligible for the death penalty under California law. Prosecutors have not confirmed whether they will seek it. The singer, known for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop, gained success with his 2022 hit Romantic Homicide and last year performed at Coachella music festival.

Henry Long, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were jailed in 2020 for manslaughter. PC Harper, who was 28, was dragged for a mile behind their car after he tried to stop the group towing away a stolen quad bike in Berkshire in August 2019. Cole and Bowers, who were 17 at the time of the incident, were passengers in the vehicle. They were given a 13-year prison sentence but might be eligible for release halfway through, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said. The Police Federation for England and Wales has condemned the prospect as "disgusting". Its deputy national chair, Brian Booth, said: "Police officers from across the country stood side by side to honour Andrew Harper at his funeral. They and every serving officer will be utterly sickened at the prospect of Bowers and Cole being back on the streets so soon." 'It feels like an insult' It comes after PC Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, told The Telegraph she had received a letter from the department informing her the sentences may be reduced. Long, the driver, received a 16-year term and won't be eligible. Ms Adlam told The Telegraph it "makes me feel sick" that Cole and Bowers may be released. "It feels like a slap in the face and an insult," she added. The potential release of Cole and Bowers would come under the Sentencing Act. Set to come into force in September, the legislation stands to see 6,000 prisoners released early. The policy has proved controversial, but the government has repeatedly said it must act to free up jail cells. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would "review the whole of this policy", and clarified that the "main perpetrator will not be subject to any early release", referring to Long. He added that inaction in addressing the pressure on prisons a "decade ago" had "created an unacceptable situation now". "But I want to assure myself that everything has been looked at before this policy proceeds, and I can give that assurance that every single part of this I will look into with the Justice Secretary," he said. "I can't say that I can't change the policy completely, but I will look at it in detail before we go further forward." An MoJ spokesperson said: "This was a horrific crime, and our deepest sympathies are with PC Andrew Harper's family and friends. "In 2024, the country was facing a prison crisis and a total breakdown of law and order, with judges ordered to stop jailing dangerous criminals. "This government is committed to public safety: we are building prison places at the fastest rate since the Victorian era and taking the difficult decisions needed to lock up the most dangerous offenders." Following his death, PC Harper's widow Lissie Harper successfully campaigned for legal changes to see harsher sentences for the manslaughter of emergency workers on duty. Harper's Law introduced mandatory life sentences for anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty, including police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics. But the legislation was not retrospective, meaning PC Harper's killers cannot have their sentences extended. The backlash to the early release of PC Harper's killers comes as the new defence secretary, Wes Streeting, had to apologise for making a joke about the controversial scheme. He was caught on mic before Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first cabinet meeting on Tuesday joking the new justice secretary, Alex Norris, "wants to let them all out". Mr Streeting said he was "ribbing" his colleague but added: "I appreciate these are very serious issues and am sorry for any offence inadvertently caused by this moment of levity."

A trend started by Jack Grealish's £100m move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021 has, in effect, snowballed, establishing a new benchmark for elite Premier League talent that continues to send records tumbling. Fees since have begun to accelerate far beyond general market inflation, with the average price for dipping into the premium player pool doubling over the past decade. This clear acceleration has been particularly apparent over the past three years. Between 2016-2023, average top-end costs held relatively steady. They fluctuated to a degree but not with the disparity we see now. Following on from Grealish, the idea of a £100m-plus investment became more normalised. Transfer Centre LIVE! | Man City news & transfersGot Sky? Watch Man City games LIVE on your phone📱No Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 His sale, and to an extent that of Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m) around the same time, marked a clear milestone in the sharp rise of the top-end market. Those transfers helped pave the way for subsequent nine-figure deals involving Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo to Chelsea, as well as Declan Rice to Arsenal - all in 2023. Such deals effectively reinforce one another, made more possible because Premier League clubs are richer and more greatly resourced than ever before. Broadcast income, sponsorships and commercial revenues continue to dwarf most other European leagues. Even mid-table Premier League clubs often generate more revenue than Champions League clubs elsewhere in Europe, thus increasing spending power but also strengthening negotiating positions. Most Premier League clubs are no longer under pressure to sell their best players to balance the books. The idea that the so-called 'top six' can force sales out of smaller clubs is less applicable in an era of high-wealth owners and greater financial gains. The strength of that bargaining power has also been leveraged to drive prices higher between competing clubs. Last summer saw moves for Florian Wirtz (£116.5m) and Alexander Isak (£125m) to Liverpool, while this window has witnessed major sums spent on Elliot Anderson (£116m), Sandro Tonali (£100m) and Morgan Rogers (£117m). Those moves have sent top-end averages soaring, up from £36.6m in 2024-25 to £70.5m in 2026. Contextually, Barcelona's £70m purchase of Anthony Gordon from Newcastle is bang on trend for a top-end player in this current market. Is the £100m benchmark here to stay? In short, yes, albeit there is a criteria to be met. The most obvious metric being a Premier League proven player. Wirtz and Fernandez are the only two exceptions to that rule. Peak age (24-26) is also a major consideration. Paul Pogba was signed by Man United for £93.25m in 2016 but that transfer, for the time, was a complete anomaly. The Premier League now has a growing list of nine-figure deals, despite there being revenue-linked spending rules. Those clubs with huge incomes are still free to invest heavily. Often, the terms of such deals allow clubs to spread payments over multiple financial years, making the accounting more manageable. And therefore more likely to reoccur. £100m-plus fees might be the reserve of the Premier League's top clubs for now, but they have become far closer to the norm than the exception.