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Apr 8 2024

Families of teenagers killed in car collisions hope for tougher rules for young drivers | UK News

The sun rising every day is a moment that will always stick in the back of the throat of Harvey’s mum.

Her 17-year-old son was killed in a crash in Gwynedd last November, and now a daily occurrence has become a constant reminder of her loss.

“Harvey in his diary wrote that he was looking forward to the summer, spending more time with his family and friends,” Crystal Owen told Sky News.

“As soon as the sun comes out, you’re just in tears because you think he’s never going to see the sun again. It’s just all the little things that you don’t even think about.”

Harvey was one of four teenagers from the Shrewsbury area who died in a crash in the rural village of Garreg.

The inquest into their deaths has been opened and adjourned pending further inquiries.

Crystal Owen, 39, has launched a petition calling on the UK government to introduce a graduate licensing scheme.

It would mean drivers under the age of 25 would not be able to travel with passengers in the first 12 months after passing their test.

“I know he would still be here if this law was in place, that’s what angers me so much,” Ms Owen told Sky News.

“Before any of this happened with Harvey, I hadn’t really looked into road safety as such because Harvey was not even interested in taking his lessons. It wasn’t on our list of things to worry about at that time.”

‘Majorly overlooked’

Ms Owen said that people should listen to the evidence when it comes to road safety.

“I remember at work, us all talking about this 20mph [default speed limit in Wales] thinking it was over the top. One of my staff actually lives in Wales and she was joking about how long it was going to take to get to work,” she said.

“The evidence speaks for itself, so I think we all just need to learn to trust it and not think we know best.”

But rural roads are “majorly overlooked” in current legislation, according to Ms Owen.

That’s why she’s calling for young drivers to have to take a minimum of 40 hours of lessons before taking their test.

‘Loveliest young man’

Ms Owen said Harvey was the “loveliest young man”.

“He’d never even had a detention, he was just a lovely, lovely lad,” she added.

“He loved his little sisters, absolutely adored them. He was just a real thoughtful, very calm, laid back sort of boy.”

Ms Owen said her family’s lives, and that of thousands of others, had been “devastated” by road traffic collisions.

“In any other way these deaths were occurring in such high numbers, there’d be an absolute outcry, but they just seem to be accepted because it’s a car crash.”

‘They see it as fun’

Ben Rogers was 19 when he was killed in a crash in Swansea in May 2022.

Owain Hammett-George, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was jailed for six years last month for causing death by dangerous driving.

The court heard he had been driving at speeds of up to 78mph on a 30mph stretch of the B4436 in Bishopston.

Both Ben and Kaitlyn Davies, also 19, died instantly and another passenger sustained life-changing injuries.

Ben’s mum Carla King told Sky News she hoped tougher rules for young drivers, including a mandatory black box, would mean they’re more aware of their responsibility.

“They just go out and see it as fun, don’t they? They show off and they speed, inexperienced, they think they’re invincible,” she said.

“I don’t recall anybody ever saying to me you’re responsible for this. You’re driving, you’re responsible for all your passengers, you’re responsible for anybody in the car you hit. It’s a weapon, I don’t think that’s drilled in enough.”

‘Keep Ben’s name alive’

Ben’s sister, Ashleigh Rogers, 27, said he was “just a happy, bubbly person”.

“He was with me throughout everything. All my dark days and all through my happy times, he would be one of the first people I would tell. He was the first person who found out I was having a little boy,” she added.

“He was there a lot and it’s taunting that he won’t be there for the rest of my life, like my wedding and other things like that. But you’ve just got to remember the person that he was when he was here.”

Ben’s loss has been “heartbreaking”, Ms King added.

“I’m actually still in my bed because some days I just can’t get out of bed. It is difficult,” she said.

“Even Easter, not being able to buy his favourite chocolate and have him up for Easter lunch and Christmas lunch and buy him gifts and everything.”

Ben’s mum hopes their calls for change will help to “honour” his name.

“All we can do now is… try to keep Ben’s name alive,” she added.

‘Help them help themselves’

Jo Alkir, 54, has been campaigning on road safety for the last five years.

Her daughter Olivia was 17 when she died in a crash less than a mile from her home in Denbighshire in June 2019.

She was killed after the driver – who had only passed his test the day before – hit an oncoming vehicle while racing with another boy.

A three-part lesson based on Olivia’s story has been taught in schools across North Wales, to make pupils aware of the potential consequences of dangerous driving.

In the years since her daughter’s death, Ms Alkir has taken the campaign both to the Senedd and to Westminster.

She told Sky News a graduated driver’s licence “would have saved Olivia’s life”.

“It’s not controls as in you want to be in control of them, it’s controls to help them help themselves.”

The newly-appointed deputy head girl of her school was described by her mum as “really hard-working”.

“She and I were incredibly close. She was my only child,” Ms Alkir added.

“She was lovely company for me to be with. I loved every single second, every minute I spent with her. She was a joy to be around.”

‘Constant grief’

Ms Alkir said the loss of Olivia had left her feeling “constant grief”.

“It’s the most tiring thing a human could have because you’re just constantly battling to get out of bed and go to work. It’s a battle because all the different emotions that you’re feeling,” she said.

“She was such a bright, beautiful girl… and what her future could have been. She could have been anything.”

While it’s “frustrating” that five years on from Olivia’s death, the government is yet to act, focusing on the campaign has “really helped” Ms Alkir.

“It’s just really important for me to help her be remembered as well, because she was meant to achieve, but she is through her legacy,” she added.

“And I’m sure all the other parents who are in my shoes as well. It’s a very similar feeling I’m sure of not letting it just be in vain, not wasting what happened. Using the opportunity to make some changes.”

‘No plans’

In response to the petition, the Department for Transport said there are “no plans to introduce tougher restrictions on new drivers” but added that it is keeping licensing requirements “under review”.

“Every death on our roads is a tragedy and we continue to work tirelessly to improve road safety,” a DfT spokesperson said.

“We’ve commissioned research designed to help learner and newly qualified drivers improve their skills and safety, while our THINK! campaign is specifically targeted at young drivers.”

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Apr 7 2024

Angela Rayner ‘played by the rules’ over tax affairs, claims Labour’s David Lammy | Politics News

Angela Rayner has “played by the rules” when it comes to her tax affairs, her shadow cabinet colleague has said, amid further claims around her former living arrangements.

Labour’s deputy leader has come under the spotlight in recent weeks over the sale of an ex-council house she previously owned in Stockport, having been accused of avoiding capital gains tax on it – something she has denied.

The allegations centre around whether the property was her primary residence, as she claims, or whether she was actually living at her then husband’s address nearby, making her liable for capital gains after the sale of the property.

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The Mail on Sunday has now claimed to have seen dozens of social media posts from the Labour MP between 2010 and 2015, which it said showed her now ex’s address was her main property.

But shadow foreign secretary David Lammy told Sky News that all the report showed was “like so many families across the country [Ms Rayner] had and has a blended family,” adding: “Like everybody else, she had a complicated life and spent time in her husband’s place but also her place. Lots of families do that.”

Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the fellow Labour MP said Ms Rayner had “done nothing wrong” and had the “full support” of the party.

But challenged over why she would not publish her tax returns, having called on Rishi Sunak to do so, Mr Lammy said: “I think there’s a different arrangement and expectation for the prime minister than there is in this context and we are not yet in government.”

He added: “We are in a political season, we all know there is an election in May, we know why these smears are being run.

“It is to detract from the £870 that average families are less well off in this country as a result of the tax burden from the Tories. That’s what this is really about.

“It is not about Angela Rayner and her blended family. It is about Tory chaos, ‘let’s distract and focus on this non-story’.”

Mr Lammy concluded: “She has played by the rules. There is an investigation going on, let’s see where we get on that, but I am confident that Angela has done nothing wrong here at all.”

However, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, James Daly, called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to “show some leadership and open a full, transparent and independent investigation into the Rayner scandal”.

He said: “As more evidence that Rayner appears to have lied comes to light, it is increasingly clear that the British people cannot trust Labour’s deputy leader. She should stop dismissing and distracting and come clean now.

“If Rayner has lied but Sir Keir Starmer refuses to sack her, it will show yet again that Keir Starmer is just a weak leader whose claim that Labour have changed is rubbish.”

In response to the Mail’s claims, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Angela and her husband mutually decided to maintain their existing residences to reflect their family’s circumstances and they shared childcare responsibilities.

“Angela has always made clear she also spent time at her husband’s property when they had children and got married. She was perfectly entitled to do so.”

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Mar 27 2024

Ed Gamble: Comedian swaps hot dog for cucumber on tour posters after falling foul of TfL’s ad rules on junk food | Ents & Arts News

A comedian has been forced to remove a picture of a hot dog from posters promoting his stand-up tour after falling foul of Transport for London’s (TfL) advertising policies.

Ed Gamble used an image of the popular barbecue staple in advertising posters for his upcoming Hot Diggity Dog tour.

But when the billboards were sent to TfL for display on the London Underground, the stand-up comic was told to alter the poster because it failed to comply with the organisation’s advertising policy on junk foods.

So the 38-year-old, who recently starred as the host of the Traitors: Uncloaked, improvised by offering to replace the hot dog with a cucumber.

“I actually don’t have a problem with the TfL regulations, they make sense to me,” he said.

“But the new posters promote something way more harmful – the idea that cucumbers pair well with ketchup and mustard.

“I’m not sad to have to remove the hot dog, it was only featured on the poster because I wanted to eat during the photoshoot.

“Hopefully it’s not too late to change the title of the show to Cu Diggity Cucumber?”

In a post on Instagram, he described the incident as a “career highlight” and added: “TfL told me I couldn’t have a hot dog on my poster to promote my @hackneyempire shows in June.

“I guess I’m dangerous? So I’ve replaced it with a cucumber. Eat your greens, Kids!”

A spokesperson for TfL said: “We welcome all advertising on our network that complies with our published guidance.

“Following a review of the advert, we advised that elements would need to be removed or obscured to ensure it complied with our policy.

“A revised advert is now running on the network and we are always happy to work with people to ensure adverts follow our policy.”

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The ban on junk food advertising across London’s public transport network came into force in 2019.

Regulations forbid posters for food and drink high in fat, salt and sugar on the Underground and Overground, as well as buses and bus shelters.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the rules would help tackle child obesity rates in the capital.

The organisation uses a model developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to define foods high in fat, sugar and salt.

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Jan 26 2024

Why cheese, fish and flowers could all soon cost more because of new Brexit rules | UK News

New Brexit border controls will leave British consumers and businesses facing more than £500m in increased costs and possible delays – as well as shortages of food and fresh flowers imported from the European Union.

The new rules are intended to protect biosecurity by imposing controls on plant and animal products considered a “medium” risk. These include five categories of cut flowers, cheese and other dairy produce, chilled and frozen meat, and fish.

From 31 January, each shipment will have to be accompanied by a health certificate, provided by a local vet in the case of animal produce, and, from 30 April, shipments will be subject to physical checks at the British border.

The government’s modelling says the new controls will cost industry £330m, while the grocery industry has warned that £200m could be added to fresh fruit and vegetable prices should checks be introduced in the future.

There is also the prospect of delays caused by inspections of faulty paperwork, which could derail supply chains that rely entirely on fast turnaround of goods.

British importers have told Sky News that the new rules, which have already been delayed five times in three years, will add up to 17% to shipping costs, leading to higher prices for consumers.

European companies and industry groups say the controls are unnecessary as they replicate checks already made in the EU, and that Brexit is adding bureaucracy and cost to dealing with the UK.

The new import controls are a consequence of Britain having left both the single market and the customs union when the trade and co-operation deal with the EU came into force in January 2021.

While UK exporters to Europe were immediately subject to customs rules, the British government waived import controls to avoid damaging the economy and food supply.

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On five occasions since 2021 ministers planned and then cancelled their introduction, in part because of fears that interrupting food supplies from the EU would exacerbate the cost of living crisis.

Almost 80% of UK vegetable imports and 40% of fruit comes from Europe.

In the Netherlands, the horticulture industry has called for a further delay to controls that will impact its £1bn-a-year trade with the UK, the second largest in Europe behind Germany, which accounts for around 90% of our cut flower and plant imports.

‘We’re going back in time’

Dutch flower wholesaler Heemskerk has been exporting to the UK since before it joined the common market.

The UK now requires that five types of flowers, including orchids and carnations, be checked in factories by a local inspector for two species of leaf mites that destroy foliage.

Managing director Nick van Bommel points out that the checks replicate the same processes made at the Dutch border if the plants are imported to Europe, and by his staff for trade within the EU.

“We’re going back in time. They want to have health inspections that we haven’t carried out for more than thirty years, and now from next week on we start again,” he said.

“It won’t help anybody, but it will make an awful lot of costs and somebody has to pay the bill at the end. I’m 100% sure that the last customer, the British consumer, has to pay for this.”

The Dutch association of floriculture wholesalers has asked the British government to delay the changes by another year.

Its spokesperson Tim Rozendaal told Sky News: “If Brexit was about cutting down Brussels’s red tape and bringing down costs, I don’t see the point.

“Anything that our industry has been facing since Brexit is longer red tape, additional costs and bureaucracy.”

At New Covent Garden Market in London, which receives shipments from the Netherlands within hours of flowers being cut, wholesalers are equally sceptical.

Freddie Heathcote, owner of Green & Bloom, calculates his shipping costs will rise by up to 17% – and the knock-on to consumers could be increases of 20% to 50% once the physical inspection regime is in place.

“We have been told the charge for consignments crossing at Dover or Folkestone will be £20 to £43 per category item listed on the consignment.

“We imported 28 different consignment lines tonight from one supplier, which would be £560 to £1,204 to clear the border control point on a total invoice of £7,000. That’s between 8% and 17% additional cost on an average import for us.”

The food industry is concerned too.

Patricia Michelson, founder of London cheese chain La Fromagerie, has been importing artisan cheese from across Europe for more than 40 years. She is concerned that the cost and hassle of sourcing veterinary checks in Europe will dissuade some suppliers.

“We deal with suppliers who are one or two guys in a dairy with 50 or 100 sheep or 20 cows. Do they want to be paying for this new certificate to send to us?

“I assure you that most of them will say no. So the onus is on us… that means another extra cost, on top of all the costs so far to bring the produce in.”

‘Disturbing confusion’

After months of preparation this week the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added a host of common fruit and vegetables to the list of medium risk produce.

It initially said the produce would only face physical checks from October, but 48 hours later changed the rules again, saying they would give three months notice when health declarations and physical checks are required.

The late change attracted criticism from leading trade body the Institute of Export and International Trade.

“The confusion caused by the announcement… is disturbing, particularly at a point when significant changes are being planned for the general operation of the UK border,” said its general secretary Marco Forgione.

A government spokesman said: “We are committed to delivering the most advanced border in the world. The Border Target Operating Model is key to delivering this, protecting the UK’s biosecurity from potentially harmful pests and diseases and maintaining trust in our exports.

“We are taking a phased approach – including initially not requiring pre-notification and inspections for EU medium risk fruit and vegetables and other medium risk goods – to support businesses and ensure the efficient trade is maintained between the EU and Great Britain.”

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Dec 31 2023

XL bully dogs must be muzzled and on a lead in public as new rules come in | UK News

XL bully dogs must be kept on a lead and muzzled when out in public – as new rules take effect from today.

Selling, breeding, abandoning or giving them away is also now illegal.

People have until 31 January to apply for an exemption certificate to keep their dog – and must have it neutered, microchipped and insured.

Owners in England and Wales who don’t get an exemption by then will have to euthanise their dog or face a possible criminal record and fine.

Thousands of people already been granted an exemption, the government told Sky News earlier this month.

The new rules come after a series of attacks in which people have died or been injured by the dogs.

In September, the prime minister declared XL bullies a “danger to communities” after a man died in a suspected attack in Staffordshire.

However, rescue centres recently warned at least 246 dogs faced being put down if they couldn’t be rehomed by the end of 2023.

Despite being able to apply for an exemption, the dog would have to live its life in a kennel, which charities say they would never choose for welfare reasons.

Samantha Gaines, from the RSPCA, said some owners might not be ready for the new rules as they had been brought in quickly.

“There is some fear that people for whatever reason may have left it a bit late and about what that means,” she said.

Ms Gaines also said it was important to use existing laws to tackle “root causes” of aggressive dogs, such as those who exploit and irresponsibly breed them.

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XL bullies were added to the Dangerous Dogs Act on 31 October, giving owners two months to prepare for the restrictions.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said the government had taken “quick and decisive action to protect the public”.

He said his department would “continue to work closely with the police, canine and veterinary experts, and animal welfare groups” as the restrictions come in.

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Sep 24 2023

Home Secretary Suella Braverman questions whether international migration rules are ‘fit for purpose’ | Politics News

The home secretary has questioned whether international migration rules and conventions designed more than a century ago are “fit for purpose” ahead of a major speech in the United States.

Suella Braverman suggested a shake-up of international rules could be needed to tackle the migrant crisis.

She warned a failure to address the problem will undermine the “democratic legitimacy” of political institutions.

Ms Braverman has previously stated her personal view that the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights signed in 1950, which she has blamed for hampering efforts to introduce tough policies, such the Home Office bid to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Critics of her approach also questioned its compliance with the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention.

Ahead of her trip, the home secretary said: “Illegal migration and the unprecedented mass movement of people across the globe is placing unsustainable pressures on America, the UK, and Europe.

“We must come together and ask whether the international conventions and legal frameworks designed 50-plus years ago are fit for purpose in an age of jet travel and smartphones.

“I’m going to Washington to discuss this crisis with our American counterparts.

“If we fail to meet these challenges, then our political institutions risk losing their democratic legitimacy.”

Ms Braverman will travel to Washington on Monday and deliver a keynote speech on Tuesday setting out her assessment of the global migration challenges.

She will present a blueprint for how other countries can combat the crisis and claim the UK has led the way in bringing forward innovative approaches to tackle the problem.

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Almost 24,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel so far this year, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats” – though the figure is down from 2022.

The Rwanda scheme has been bogged down in legal battles, while an attempt to house people waiting for claims to be assessed on a barge in Dorset is paused after Legionella was discovered on board.

Ms Braverman is expected to also use her trip to seek closer co-operation with US authorities on tackling illegal migration and people traffickers.

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Sep 13 2023

TikTok vaping adverts that flouted platform’s own rules banned by UK regulator | Science & Tech News

Vaping adverts that appeared on TikTok despite breaking the platform’s own rules have been banned by the UK regulator.

The app‘s community guidelines prohibit the promotion of tobacco products, including vapes and e-cigarettes.

But videos marketing Zovoo, Innofly HK, Vapes Bars, and The Disposable Vape Store all appeared in recent months.

In one for the latter, posted by the account @tdvsbackup, a man stood in front of shelves of e-cigarettes and said “these are new SKE Amare Crystal” and they were “looking really good”.

“Some of the flavours are selling out, so I thought I’d let you guys know,” he added.

The video was one of around 300 posts reported to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), which has forbidden adverts for e-cigarettes containing nicotine that are not licensed as medicines.

The Disposable Vape Store told the ASA it had seen rival shops running TikTok ads and thought it was allowed, but vowed not to do so again.

In Innofly HK’s case, the account @vanillaspit posted a video of an influencer rapping about its Waka vapes.

The user claimed they were contacted by a company offering to send her vapes.

Innofly HK told the ASA it was taking “all necessary steps” to ensure its marketing practices stuck to the rules, including not posting ads on TikTok.

Vapes Bars also vowed to ensure it would monitor social media for rule-breaking content relating to its brand and ensure such posts were removed.

The ASA said it had found numerous TikTok videos of influencers giving the company’s devices away.

Zovoo was the only firm not to respond to the ASA’s inquiries.

One post promoting its products, from the account @izzialicexo, praised its “long last flavour” and “smooth puff”.

Sky News has contacted Zovoo for comment.

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‘We are taking action’

The ASA said cracking down on vaping ads on social media was a “high priority” and brands would face “targeted enforcement action” if they did not address ongoing problems.

“We know people are concerned about young people vaping and ads for vaping products appearing on social media where they shouldn’t and being likely to appeal or be targeted at under-18s,” it added.

“That’s why we’re taking action, banning ads that break the rules and ensuring they’re removed quickly.”

TikTok pointed Sky News towards its community guidelines, which ban the showing or promoting of the trade of tobacco products, as well as alcohol and drugs.

A spokesperson added: “Our community guidelines make clear that TikTok strictly prohibits content promoting the trade of vaping products, e-cigarettes, or tobacco products. We continue to work with the ASA to ensure advertisers and creators comply with the CAP Code as well as our rules.”

It comes amid calls to ban disposable vapes altogether in the UK on health and environmental grounds.

Local councils have said they are a “hazard” to waste collectors and almost impossible to recycle, while the British Medical Association has described vaping as a “growing epidemic”.

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Aug 15 2023

Former British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman banned for four years for breaking anti-doping rules | UK News

Former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman has been banned from all sport for four years for violating anti-doping rules.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) said he had 30 sachets of a testosterone gel delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester in May 2011 and lied about it.

The watchdog said the National Anti-Doping Panel decision to ban him was made in July.

Freeman was in his role at British Cycling and what was Team Sky when Bradley Wiggins became Britain’s first Tour de France champion in 2012, a time when British cycling soared to the top of the cycling world.

The Testogel Freeman ordered is prescription-only medication and banned under anti-doping rules as it contains testosterone.

Freeman told UKAD he ordered the gel for a “non-rider” member of British Cycling staff, but refused to name them due to patient confidentiality.

He said he had asked them several times to waive their confidentiality but they refused. However, UKAD said this was false, as was his claim the gel had been returned to the supplier.

In 2021, Freeman was also struck off the medical register after a tribunal ruled he knew or believed the gel was intended for a rider to improve their performance.

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Aug 7 2023

Takeaway pints from pubs banned from next month as COVID rules expire | UK News

Pubs will not be allowed to sell takeaway pints from the end of next month as rules which were introduced during the pandemic will be allowed to expire by the government.

Takeaway alcohol was first introduced in 2020 to help pubs during lockdowns and other safety restrictions amid the spread of COVID-19.

Pubs with an on-site alcohol licence developed the option as another revenue stream, serving many pints through hatches when they were forced to close their premises.

But the government has refused to extend the rules allowing for takeaway pints after a consultation attracted just 174 responses – a decision which has been branded “disappointing” by the British Beer and Pub Association.

Pubs will need to apply for permission from their local council if they want to continue selling takeaway alcohol when the current rules end on 30 September.

The Home Office said councils, drinks retailers and residents’ groups had preferred a return to pre-COVID rules.

But industry groups representing pubs and landlords said the decision would create more “unnecessary regulation” with no guarantee councils will approve applications for licence changes for individual premises.

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is teetotal, was heckled at the Great British Beer Festival in London when he claimed alcohol duty reforms are “backing British pubs”.

His visit came on the day of an alcohol duty increase.

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A new system taxing all alcohol based on its strength has seen taxes rise for some types of drink.

A publican who heckled Mr Sunak criticised the Tory leader for having the “audacity” to visit the festival.

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Rudi Keyser, who runs a pub in Wimbledon, said: “The amount of breweries that have shut down in the last year has been phenomenal.

“They are raising alcohol duty across the board significantly.

“And he has the audacity to come and pull a pint for PR.”

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Jun 30 2023

Jeremy Clarkson’s Sun column about Meghan was sexist, press watchdog rules | UK News

A Jeremy Clarkson column about Prince Harry and Meghan in The Sun newspaper was sexist, a press watchdog has ruled.

The column – headlined “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*******” – contained a “pejorative and prejudicial reference” to the sex of the Duchess of Sussex, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) said.

Clarkson, 63, wrote in December last year: “I hate her. Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.”

He told how he lies awake at night “dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her” – claiming “everyone who’s my age thinks the same way”.

“But what makes me despair,” he added, “is that younger people, especially girls, think she’s pretty cool.”

The article, published on 16 December 2022, saw IPSO deluged by more than 25,000 complaints from the public – the highest number it has ever received.

It was a “serious breach” of Clause 12 (Discrimination) of the Editors’ Code of Practice – a set of rules newspaper and magazines who are members of IPSO have agreed to follow – the watchdog said on Friday.

However, separate complaints that the article was inaccurate, harassed the Duchess and discriminated against her on the grounds of her race were not upheld.

IPSO chairman, Lord Faulks, said of the ruling: “We found that the imagery employed by the columnist in this article was humiliating and degrading toward the Duchess.”

The Sun “failed to meet the high editorial standards” expected by IPSO, he added.

Further explaining why the column was sexist, the IPSO complaints committee ruled: “Specifically: the writer’s claim that the Duchess exercised power via her sexual hold over her husband which, in the view of the Committee, was a reference to stereotypes about women using their sexuality to gain power.

“[It] also implied that it was the Duchess’ sexuality – rather than any other attribute or accomplishment – which was the source of her power.

“To argue that a woman is in a position of influence due to ‘vivid bedroom promises’, to compare the hatred of an individual to other women only, and to reference a fictional scene of public humiliation given to a sexually manipulative woman, read as a whole, amounted to a breach of Clause 12 (i).”

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The ruling added: “The Editors’ Code of Practice protects the right of commentators to challenge, to shock, be satirical and entertain, but it states that the press must avoid discriminatory references towards an individual.

“By holding publications to account, we promote the standards of journalism set out in the Editors’ Code of Practice.

“We will take action where these standards are not met, such as in this article which contained pejorative and prejudicial language in an article discussing a woman.”

‘I’ve rather put my foot in it’

Clarkson issued a grovelling response at the time after his own daughter, Emily, was among thousands who condemned his comments.

He tweeted: “Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people.

“I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.”

The Sun also apologised after a huge backlash, saying it “regretted” publishing the column last December. It also removed it from its website and archives.

However, the Sussexes snubbed the apologies and suggested Clarkson has a track record of spreading “hate rhetoric”.

Now the tabloid has been ordered to inform its readers of the findings by publishing a summary written by IPSO on the same page where the column usually appears.

It must also be flagged on the front page of The Sun and on the homepage of its website.

IPSO investigated two specific complaints made by the charity The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights, and the WILDE Foundation, a platform created to help women, girls, and victims and survivors of abuse.

Both organisations said they were affected by breaches of the code.

In a statement, The Sun said: “After Jeremy Clarkson’s column was published in December, both The Sun and Jeremy Clarkson apologised. We said we regretted publishing the article and removed it from our website.

“The Sun accepts that with free expression comes responsibility.

“Half of The Sun’s readers are women and we have a very long and proud history of campaigning for women, which has changed the lives of many.

“The Sun is committed to its work campaigning to strengthen legislation on domestic abuse, helping to provide beds in refuges and empowering survivors of abuse to seek help. Our most recent campaign, Baby Bank on Us, is raising money to help women struggling with the alarming costs of living and a newborn baby.

“Ipso has ruled that The Sun published a column about the Duchess of Sussex which contained a pejorative and prejudicial reference to the duchess’s sex. The committee did not uphold separate elements of the complaint that the article was inaccurate, harassed the Duchess of Sussex, and included discriminatory references to her on the ground of race.

“The Sun is today publishing the summary of Ipso’s findings.”

The ruling comes as Prince Harry takes on the British press in a series of court battles.

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The Duke appeared in court weeks after he and the Duchess said they were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase in New York involving paparazzi.

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Hoang Viet

Hoang Viet

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