News Talk

SOCIAL media giants such as Meta must stop dragging their feet and tackle online fraud, the UK’s financial watchdog says. 

Financial Conduct Authority boss Nikhil Rathi criticised tech firms for being too slow to remove harmful content. 

Houses of Parliament

FCA boss Nikhil Rathi has hit out at tech giants for being too slow when removing harmful online content[/caption]

Shutterstock Editorial

Social media giants such as META have been told to stop dragging their feet and tackle online fraud[/caption]

Speaking to MPs, he urged companies to “get on and do it” without waiting for further guidance. 

There is concern people are being fleeced by dodgy investments promoted by so-called “finfluencers”. 

Last May, the watchdog charged nine suspects, including ex-Love Island and former The Only Way Is Essex stars, over a dubious online trading scheme promoted on social media. If convicted, they could face up to two years’ jail. The trial is set for 2027. 

Consumer group Which? has also exposed a surge of misleading health adverts on Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram.

These include false medical claims, fake endorsements and products that never arrive. 

One targeted diabetics with a fraudulent glucose monitor. Another promoted bee venom cream with bogus claims of medical approval. 

Mr Rathi said the FCA needs social media firms to cooperate to remove harmful content. Some are, but others are slow to act. 

The Online Safety Act should force platforms to remove illegal content. 

But Which? warned it could take until 2027 to fully implement. 

NATWEST SHUTS 55 MORE 

PA

NatWest will shut 55 more branches in the coming months, on top of 53 closures already announced for this year[/caption]

NATWEST is closing 55 more branches in the coming months, adding to 53 ­closures already planned this year. 

The move follows a shift towards online banking by customers. 

Since 2015, NatWest Group has shut more than 1,400 branches across the UK.

NatWest said more than 80 per cent of current account holders now use digital banking.

It plans to invest £20million to upgrade surviving branches and improve customer service. 

Pop-up services will support communities during “branch transitions”. 

RENTALS COOL 

PA

Average rents for new leases in April increased by 2.8 per cent year-on-year, from the 6.4 per cent recorded in 2024. 

Average monthly rent is £1,287. Richard Donnell at property site ZOOPLA said: “The average annual cost of renting is still over £2,500 higher than three years ago.” 

WATER BLOCK 

MILLIONS of households are being blocked from bill support due to a loophole in the WaterSure scheme. 

It helps the disabled and benefits claimants using lots of water, but requires a meter which many homes cannot install. 

Scope’s Abdi Mohamed urged change, saying: “Consumers cannot choose their supplier, and more needs to be done to ensure consistency and fairness.” 

SHAMED BBC anchorman Huw Edwards’ divorce has been delayed as the asking price for his family home was slashed by £750,000. 

His TV producer wife Vicky Flind filed for divorce days after he admitted possessing indecent images of children. 

Their six-bedroom detached mansion in Dulwich, south London was then put up for sale for £4.75 million last October following the couple’s split. 

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Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind filed for divorce days after his child sex image confession[/caption]

Alamy

Shamed BBC presenter Huw Edwards’ divorce has stalled after £750k was knocked off the asking price of his family home[/caption]

Pedder/TNG

But no buyers have come forward to take on the plush property amid fears it has been blighted by its links to the telly paedo. 

The property has attracted so little interest that online site Zoopla is still urging “be one of the first to view” – nine months after it went on sale. 

Agents reduced its asking price by £250,000 in February – but a further £500,000 has now been hacked off as the couple attempt to accelerate their split. 

The couple bought the six-bedroom home for £1.85 million in 2006 and it is mortgage-free – and 63-year-old Edwards expected to rake in more than £2 million from his share of the sale. 

But the plummeting price means the presenter – who earned £475,000 at the peak of his career – has already lost more than £300,000 he hoped to rake in last year. 

He did not pay back £200,000 in wages funded by licence payers which he earned between his arrest over child sex charges and his resignation. 

Court records obtained by The Sun confirm that no decree absolute had been granted to end his 32-year marriage up to June 5. 

It was unclear whether property sale problems were affecting the divorce – which had been expected to have been finalised by February this year 

Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty in September to three charges of making indecent images of children and was given a six-month suspended jail term. 

The material included abuse videos of children as young as seven, which he received via WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021. 

Ms Flind initially stood by her husband but asked him to leave the family home after his arrest. 

He has since been living between a flat in Wandsworth, south-west London, and a property in Carmarthen, Wales. 

His Dulwich home is described by the estate agent as “a substantial detached mid-century family house” with “exceptionally spacious living accommodation”. 

It features three bathrooms, three reception rooms, a library, an office, a double-length garage, and mature gardens with decking. 

The agency said it sits “on one of Dulwich’s most desirable residential roads”. 

The couple, who married in 1993, have three sons and two daughters. 

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