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Nottingham and Southport data NHS breaches 'the tip of the iceberg', Sky finds
The NHS has a huge problem. And one of its biggest challenges is that it doesn't even know the scale of it.

The high-profile data breaches involving the victims and survivors of the Nottingham and Southport attacks made stark headlines.

People who have been through the most harrowing nightmare have been forced to relive their ordeal again and again by NHS staff satisfying their own "morbid curiosity".

We only know about these cases because of the courage of the families involved in holding the trusts involved to account.

But it's not just high-profile cases.

Sky's investigation into NHS data breaches has found thousands of cases, many involving ordinary patients. But that does not make it any less distressing. Every data violation is a gross intrusion of privacy.

We found there were 2,914 data breach cases investigated by trusts since 2021. Of these, only 409 such cases were referred to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Some 67% of data breach cases in NHS trusts result in a minor punishment, such as an informal, verbal, or written warning or no further action.

The trusts are the gatekeepers of the patient data they hold. It is their responsibility to protect it.

But we found that of the 134 who responded to our Freedom of Information requests, only 54 said they routinely looked for potential breaches.

The identified cases, including the high-profile ones, are only the tip of the iceberg.


Gianni Infantino says he's 'open' to talks about FIFA reform in letter to football chiefs
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has written to world football chiefs saying he is open to talks about reforming the organisation, without offering to quit his role.

Mr Infantino was widely criticised over his proposal to sell a 20% stake in FIFA's commercial rights, including the World Cup, ​to private investors.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was abandoned in July after opposition and boycott threats, with UEFA, ⁠the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF subsequently calling for changes ⁠to FIFA's leadership.

In a letter seen by Sky News, Mr Infantino wrote to the heads of all its 211 member nations and his FIFA Council, saying he ​will ask the council if it wants to launch an "independent external review of FIFA's current governance framework for major strategic initiatives and recommend potential improvements".

In the note, sent on Monday, he also said ‌he would offer to hold talks with confederations, member associations and other stakeholders on strengthening FIFA's decision-making.

The proposals would examine who has a say in major initiatives, ​including the respective roles of the president, bureau, council and congress, and how to improve transparency and accountability.

Promising not to pre-judge discussions, he said proposals could be discussed when the council meets next month.

His responsibility, he said, is to serve "all 211 member associations fairly, regardless of their position on any individual matter," adding that "strong institutions do not wait for their systems to fail before considering how they can be improved".

But there was no mention of reviewing his position, as the letter argued he should be allowed to continue leading world football's governing body because his responsibilities are "larger than any individual proposal or disagreement".

Referring to the sell-off idea, the president said it became public before it had been approved internally, admitting that "without the full context, this caused concern and created the impression that decisions had already been taken. They had not".

Read more on Sky News:
FA wants sell-off plan files released
Kushner's brother on World Cup sell-off
Call for summit to shape post-Infantino FIFA

Mr Infantino, 56, will stand for election for a fourth time in March, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.

His support has drained across Europe, but he can still count on other parts of the world to back him, notably Africa, Asia and South America.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, accused the FIFA president of trying to "fraudulently" sell off the tournaments in legal documents filed in the US last month.

FIFA accused UEFA of a "smear campaign against it and its leadership" in a challenge to the litigation.

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UK brings first charges over 1994 Rwandan genocide
A Rwandan man accused of taking part in the African nation's genocide has become the first person in the UK to face charges linked to the 1994 killings.

Dr Vincent Brown, formerly Dr Vincent Bajinya, allegedly directed and encouraged acts of murder and genocide carried out by others, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday.

Dr Brown, 65, who used to live in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, but now lives in Islington, north London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

He will be charged with conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity, prosecutors said.

The CPS alleges that Dr Brown "took part in the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994," Frank Ferguson, head of the service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said.

"He is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others."

After reviewing evidence compiled by the Met Police's War Crimes Team, the CPS "concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met," Mr Ferguson added.

With criminal proceedings against Dr Brown now active, Mr Ferguson reminded the public that he has the right to a fair trial, and said it was "extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that could prejudice those proceedings".

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The UK investigation began ⁠in 2019 following a request from ⁠the Rwandan government and involved years of international cooperation, he said.

Investigations ​into six other individuals remain ongoing, including two ​men arrested in 2024 and 2026 on suspicion ⁠of genocide and crimes against humanity who remain on bail.

More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were ⁠killed in 100 days in the ​1994 genocide, orchestrated by the Hutu ruling majority ​and meticulously executed by local officials and ordinary citizens.


TalkTalk dials up effort to salvage future as Octopus deal stalls
TalkTalk Telecom Group, one of Britain's biggest consumer broadband suppliers, was on Monday evening scrambling to find a new buyer for its wholesale network amid growing doubts over the company's future.

Sky News has learnt that TalkTalk, which has about 1.7 million retail customers, is no longer in exclusive talks with Octopus Investments about a deal for its PXC division.

TalkTalk's advisers from PJT Partners, the investment bank, are said to have spent the last 72 hours trying to elicit fresh interest for the business from Epiris, the private equity firm which was in the running to buy PXC earlier in the summer.

The discussions with Octopus - which has been at the centre of a growing row after banning withdrawals from an inheritance tax scheme it operates because of the prospective TalkTalk deal - have not entirely been abandoned, according to insiders.

However, there is now only a remote chance of a deal with Octopus - which manages the altnet Fern Trading - being successfully concluded, they said.

Just four days ago, Octopus and TalkTalk issued a joint statement that "they are optimistic of delivering the proposed transaction and will update stakeholders with further news in due course".

They added at the time: "There can be no certainty of any transaction completing.

The end of exclusive talks involving the Octopus Inheritance Tax Service (OITS) is likely to spark fresh questions from the thousands of investors who have money locked up in it.

Epiris is in the middle of a takeover bid for London-listed Gamma Communications, with which analysts say the PXC business would share substantial financial synergies.

It was unclear on Monday evening, however, whether the buyout firm intended to pursue a fresh offer for PXC, with Epiris understood to have been invited to hold further talks.

The withdrawal of the two leading bidders for TalkTalk's wholesale business would leave the group facing a precarious future.

Bondholders, or the company's largest creditor, Ares Management, could yet be pressed to inject further capital into it.

However, as Sky News reported late last week, Ares is already planning to take control of TalkTalk's consumer arm with the company's founder, Sir Charles Dunstone, expected to become the division's chairman.

A number of restructuring options are being examined with a view to implementing any transactions, with the professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) on standby to assist with deals involving the group and its subsidiaries.

TalkTalk is said to have until the end of the month to resolve its future, with another significant payment to BT Group's Openreach division due at that point.

Ofcom, the industry regulator, was reported by the Telegraph over the weekend to be closely monitoring the unfolding situation at TalkTalk.

The newspaper said that BT could be asked to step in to take on TalkTalk's retail customers if the company were collapse.

VodafoneThree has also been named as a potential buyer of the consumer business, with both main operating divisions now likely to be worth no more than £600m collectively.

Sir Charles launched TalkTalk in 2004 with an audacious attempt to capture a big share of Britain's retail telecoms market.

One of the country's most successful entrepreneurs, the Carphone Warehouse co-founder remains a significant shareholder in TalkTalk alongside Toscafund Asset Management, with which he took it private in 2021.

The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010, when it demerged from Carphone Warehouse.

Its 2021 delisting took place at a valuation of about £2bn including debt.

The company has struggled for long periods since then, with cashflow difficulties - exacerbated by a haemorrhaging of its retail customer base - meaning the group's valuation has shrunk significantly over the last five years.

Over the last 18 months, its stakeholders, led by Ares, have stepped in repeatedly with new financial support to help stabilise the company.

Ares spearheaded a deal to inject a further £115m into the business, which is heavily debt-laden, as recently as February.

TalkTalk, Octopus Investments, Epiris, Ares and A&M all declined to comment.


Paramount one step closer to $110bn Warner Bros merger after settlement with 12 states
Paramount has reached a settlement with California and other states that sued over the media giant's $110bn (£82.2bn) with Warner Bros Discovery.

The agreement clears a major hurdle to the proposed deal - announced earlier this year after Paramount beat out a bid from Netflix.

It includes independent editorial boards for the CNN ‌and CBS networks - as the merger would bring the rival news outlet under the same ownership - and a $30m (£22.4m) penalty ⁠per film ​falling short of the ​30-movies-a-year release ​target that Paramount has promised.

The settlement also states that Paramount must spend at least $300m on US film production compared to 2025. It's unclear whether that means cuts to foreign film production.

While Trump administration regulators cleared the deal for Paramount to absorb Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), a coalition of 12 state ⁠attorneys general sued in July to block the merger.

'A stronger Hollywood' says Paramount head

Led by California's attorney general, the lawyers argued that the merger - mainly aimed at creating a bigger rival to the likes of Netflix - would substantially weaken competition in the US market, driving up prices for consumers and costing jobs.

A settlement with the states will help Paramount avoid a $7m-a-day (£4.4m) "ticking fee" it owes WBD shareholders for each day the deal does not close past 30 September.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the settlement "a strong antitrust ⁠outcome", adding: "More production, more choice, and guardrails that keep this industry competitive.

"I ⁠don't think these two companies should merge, but that's not something that we are focused on with our resolution here."

Concerns were raised that the deal would give US president Donald Trump more influence over CNN due to the possibility of Paramount head David Ellison and his father Larry, a longtime Trump associate, reorienting the network.

After the deal, Mr Ellison thanked the ​states and California Governor Gavin Newsom for his support and said: "Our goal has always been ​to build a stronger Hollywood."

It comes after CNN, MS NOW and Politico said they have notified Donald Trump's administration that they are filing a lawsuit over being denied White House access over the weekend.

Paramount snatched deal from Netflix

WBD's board first announced it was open to selling or partly selling the company in October 2025 after a summer of hushed speculation.

Back in June that year, WBD announced its plan to split into two companies: one for its TV, film studios, and HBO Max streaming services, and one for the Discovery element of the business, primarily comprising legacy TV channels that air cartoons, news, and sports.

More: Why was Warner Bros for sale?

After Netflix announced it had agreed a $72bn (£54bn) deal for WBD's film and TV studios on 5 December, Paramount launched a hostile bid - meaning straight to shareholders - with a $108.4bn (£81bn) bid several days later.

Paramount claimed to have tried several times to bid for WBD through its board, but said it launched the hostile bid after hearing of Netflix's offer because the board had "never engaged meaningfully".

Eventually, WBD accepted Paramount's offer of $110.9bn in February after Netflix withdrew.

US union concerned despite settlement

Another lawsuit against the merger - filed by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), also in California - was settled on Monday.

The union's east and west sectors filed a joint antitrust suit in July, arguing the joint entity "would have both the incentive and the ability to lower costs by suppressing writers' wages and reducing output".

"Writers will be paid less and have fewer employment opportunities", the WGA added.

While the union agreed to settle its claim, it said the deal will damage the industry, and that the earlier deal with the states forced it to "contend with the reality of forging ahead alone, with no backing from government.

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UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also said in June she was "minded" to intervene in the merger over public interest concerns, but later said she would not so, due to the legally binding commitments provided to her by Paramount.

Sky News has contacted the UK's film and media union - BECTU - for comment on the settlement.


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