Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell tried to rosy up the company's beleaguered financial report by claiming it has contributed £1.8 billion in taxation to the UK economy - even though £1.3 billion was paid in VAT by customers. Mike Ashley's high street brand blamed "currency headwinds" for a big drop in underlying pre-tax profits in its last financial year. It reported trading earnings of £113.7 million over the 12 months to 30 April - down 59 per cent on the previous year...

By Michael McNulty Thomas Kruithof debut feature film, Scribe, has all the trappings of a taut, American, political thriller. It’s a tense, dark, paranoia flick and although it may, at times, find itself a little lacking it still a good run for your money. Scribe opens as Duval (François Cluzet), an accountant pushing retirement age, frantically struggles to put together, having been dumped with the task last minute, an important file for an even more important meeting. As the night...

Man has produced more than 9.1 BILLION tonnes of plastic since the 1950s - but just nine per cent has been recycled, according to a new study. And, If current trends continue, the researchers warned more than 13 billion tons of plastic waste will be discarded in landfills or dumped in the environment by 2050 - around 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building in New York. The mind boggling total amount of plastic manufactured since the material...

20 years ago, the infamous Sensation exhibition opened at the Royal Academy of Art in London. Most notorious for showcasing Marcus Harvey’s “Myra” painting—a portrait of Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, rendered in a mosaic of child’s handprints—it collected advertising guru Charles Saatchi’s numerous works by the Young British Artists. The YBAs, as they were known, were a motley collective of artists under 30, whose anarchic approach to conceptual art resonated strongly in the era of Cool Britannia. Originally spearheaded by...

By Chris Moss  With two major city-centre retail developments completed over the past few years to compliment its historic arcades and renowned Briggate shopping street Leeds is quickly becoming the shopping capital of the north. Following the opening of the "outside-in" Trinity shopping centre which boasts 120 shops, restaurants, bars and a cinema the newly-erected Victoria Gate was opened late last year which is Dubai-esque in stature. The glittering arcade draws on digital wizardry and the city’s rich textile past and brings...

All brides love the stage of wedding preparations. Choosing every detail is a feeling of happiness without explanation. It's like making a dream come true little by little, while becoming more and more anxious as the big day approaches, right? Preparing a marriage is indeed one of the best phases of your life, but it is also one of the most stressful ones, filled with decisions, indecisions and immense options. It can totally drive you nuts and end up making...

A former squaddie has cemented himself as the world's number two Game of Thrones fan - by transforming his TOILET into an Iron Throne. Chris Fleet, a former sniper, remodelled his bog to look like the iconic Iron Throne from the series, which relaunched for its seventh series on Monday. The toilet is decorated with massive black swords - just like the real thing from the smash hit HBO show. And it's also fully functional, as demonstrated when Chris took a...

The Pound Sterling crashed to a 31-year low last year after the historic Brexit referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union. Some people believe that Brexit will ultimately benefit the economy of the UK even though there mere might be some initial turbulence; many others believe that Brexit can only trigger chaos in the UK and EU as the populist voice becomes louder. Economists have been pitching their tents on both sides of the divide but it...

Millions of workers set to work longer as Government bring forward state pension age increase. The GMB Union has attacked a Government announcement that a rise in the pension age to 68 has been brought forward. Ministers confirmed it will be phased in between 2037 and 2039, rather than by 2046 as was originally proposed. Six million men and women aged between 39 and 47 will have to wait a year longer to get their state pension as a result of...