Ramon Logan, a father-of-four known as ‘Ray’, died on June 30 aged 42, two years after he was left in a critical condition following an attack during Euros final celebrations in Oldham

A murder probe has been relaunched two years following a brutal attack on a ‘devoted husband and father’ in Oldham. Ramon Logan, a dad of four, was left fighting for his life after the incident which unfolded following his night out celebrating the Euros final in 2024.

His assailant, Sebastian Jones, was subsequently imprisoned for the vicious assault in Oldham town centre. Jones, 38, carried out the attack at approximately 4am on July 15 2024.

Video footage showed the moment Jones emerged from a nightclub before approaching Ramon and striking him. The impact from the blow sent the victim crashing to the pavement, where Jones persisted with the assault.

Bystanders alerted police to the scene on Yorkshire Street, where officers found Ramon lying on the ground with severe head injuries. He was transported to hospital in a critical state, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Jones remained at large for a week while a manhunt was underway, before being apprehended in Bury and charged with S18 assault. After a three-day trial, Jones, of Dickens Street in Oldham, was convicted and sentenced to seven years behind bars.

Nevertheless, it has now been confirmed that Ramon, affectionately known as ‘Ray’ by family and friends, passed away on June 30 this year aged 42. A murder investigation has been reopened by Greater Manchester Police, though no arrests have been made as yet.

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that a Home Office post-mortem examination has been carried out, with additional investigations under way to establish the cause of death.

In a heartfelt tribute, Ramon’s wife Charlotte said: “It is with a broken heart I announce the passing of my beautiful husband, Ray Logan, on 30th June. Ray was a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend to many, and will be missed immensely by everyone who knew him.

“Ray was a part of so many people’s lives, and as much as we all have our existing memories to remember him by, it is heart-breaking that we won’t get to make any new ones. Ray never stopped fighting to get better for the last two years, all we can wish for now is that he gets the justice he deserves.”

Detective Inspector Andy Day, from GMP’s Oldham district, said: “We know how difficult and painful the last two years have been for Ramon’s family, and we are continuing to support them following his death last week.

“We have now launched a murder investigation, and are keeping his family updated as we progress our enquiries. We are assessing all available material and will be making further reviews in due course.”

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Geta Schian, 33, Geneza Dumitru, 35, and Sefora Mazarache, 27, were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, July 6, after admitting their roles in a series of thefts and robberies committed between October 2025 and January 2026.

The court heard the trio worked together to distract, charm and steal from lone women, with one of the victims being a 97-year-old woman.

The elderly woman was waiting for her husband to pick her up on Dale Street in Manchester city centre at around 3.30pm on Saturday, January 10, 2026, when Mazarache and Schian approached her.

As she rested on her walking aid, the pair held her hand before hugging and kissing her.

During the distraction, they stole her jade antique bracelet before leaving the scene.

Anyone who may have seen this bracelet is urged to contact the police (Image: GMP)

Earlier that same day, the three women also approached another woman waiting for her daughter on Oxford Street.

While two of the offenders spoke to her, a third acted as a lookout.

One of the women hugged the victim and attempted to remove a ring from her finger before the group fled after she shouted for help.

The court also heard that on November 27, 2025, Mazarache and Schian approached a woman walking home along Oxford Road.

After asking her to buy them food or give them money, they led her beneath an archway where one of them reached up her sleeve and stole a gold bracelet before running off.

Geta Schian (Image: GMP)

In a separate incident on October 9, 2025, Mazarache approached a mother walking her son to nursery on Meldon Road in Rusholme.

She complimented the woman and her child before grabbing the victim’s hand and attempting to pull a ring from her finger, causing pain.

She also tried to snatch the woman’s mobile phone before walking away as the victim screamed for help.

Geneza Dumitru (Image: GMP)

The three women were arrested on January 14, 2026, on suspicion of theft and robbery-related offences.

Schian, of Calbourne Avenue, east London, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for attempted theft from the person.

Mazarache, of Jessop Street, Manchester, was jailed for 38 months for attempted robbery.

Dumitru, of Dukinfield Road, Manchester, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for robbery.

Sefora Mazarache (Image: GMP)

PC Dombai, from the Neighbourhood Crime Team at Longsight, said: “We take reports like these very seriously. Our local police teams are committed to tackling crime and keeping the people of our communities safe.

“We hope this sentence sends a message that robbery will not be tolerated. We will pursue offenders and bring them to justice.

“If you see anything like this, please do report it to the police and we will pursue it with the greatest importance.”

Anyone wishing to report crime can contact Greater Manchester Police via 101 or the Live Chat service at gmp.police.uk. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Reform UK leader said he would stand again in the resulting by-election, describing it as a contest between “the people versus the establishment”.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Farage insisted he had “done nothing wrong” and denied breaking parliamentary rules or the law.

“I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law,” he said.

His decision comes after reports that long-time associate George Cottrell helped fund security and staffing in the year before Mr Farage entered Parliament.

Labour has asked the Electoral Commission to investigate whether that support should have been declared under electoral rules, arguing Mr Farage remained a leading political figure before he returned to Westminster in the 2024 general election.

Nigel Farage (Image: Jordan Pettitt)

The party has also questioned whether Mr Cottrell, who is based in Montenegro, was eligible to make political donations at the time because it is unclear whether he was registered to vote in the UK.

Mr Farage is separately under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5 million gift from Reform donor Christopher Harborne before becoming an MP.

Under Commons rules in force at the time of his election, new MPs were required to register gifts worth more than £300 received during the previous 12 months unless they could not reasonably be linked to their political activities.

File photo dated 04/06/24 of Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage with George Cottrell (left) , as Mr Farage has a milkshake thrown over him leaving the Moon and Starfish pub after launching his General Election campaign in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Farage (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

‘People versus the establishment’

Announcing his resignation, Mr Farage said he wanted his constituents to decide whether he should remain in Parliament.

“I’ve decided today I will resign as a Member of Parliament for Clacton… thereby forcing a by-election,” he said.

“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions.”

He added: “This will be a people versus the establishment by-election.”

Nigel Farage (Image: Chris RADBURN)

The Reform leader confirmed he would stand again, saying: “I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started.”

Farage says media scrutiny was ‘the final straw’

Mr Farage said recent reporting about his finances and support arrangements formed part of what he called an “establishment hit job”.

He accused political opponents, sections of the media and state institutions of attempting to damage Reform UK as it continues to lead opinion polls.

He also defended the £5 million gift from Mr Harborne, saying it had been made on an unconditional personal basis and would help fund security after years of threats and attacks.

Nigel Farage speaking during a rally at the Holiday Inn Norwich North in Norwich. (Image: Chris Radburn)

Labour calls for investigation

Labour Party chair Anna Turley has written to the Electoral Commission urging it to examine whether the reported support from Mr Cottrell should have been declared.

She said: “It is now abundantly clear that Mr Farage may have not only broken Parliamentary rules, he may have broken the law.”

“Farage can’t brazenly brush this off as being ‘none of your business’ any longer.”

“He needs to own his self-inflicted scandal and prove he’s not been secretly breaking the rules and taking the British public for fools.”

The Liberal Democrats have also called for Parliament’s standards commissioner to widen his existing investigation into Mr Farage’s financial declarations.

Trump backs Farage

As pressure mounted, US President Donald Trump appeared to publicly back Mr Farage.

On Monday, Mr Trump shared an article on his Truth Social platform arguing that Mr Farage was facing the same tactics used against him during the 2024 US presidential campaign.

According to The Times, Mr Trump also telephoned the Reform leader to congratulate him on what he described as his political success in helping bring about Sir Keir Starmer’s departure from Downing Street.

Who is George Cottrell?

Mr Cottrell has been a close associate of Mr Farage for years and reportedly remains one of his advisers.

According to reports, he recruited and paid three members of staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election and has continued to provide the use of a property near Buckingham Palace.

Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick has described Mr Cottrell as “an old friend” of Mr Farage who has “no formal role within Reform”.

Mr Cottrell was jailed for eight months in the United States in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud, having admitted attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web while posing as a money launderer.

What happens next?

Mr Farage’s resignation will trigger a by-election in Clacton, where he will seek re-election.

If he wins, he will return to Parliament with what he says will be a renewed mandate from voters.

If he loses, Reform UK would lose one of its highest-profile parliamentary figures at a time when the party continues to argue it represents the main electoral challenge to both Labour and the Conservatives.

Mr Farage continues to deny any wrongdoing in relation to both the parliamentary standards investigation and the latest allegations over undeclared support.

Wales U20s were unable to live with South Africa’s power in their must-win Junior World Championship pool match in Tbilisi, losing 52-31.

Wales showed plenty in defeat, going toe-to-toe with the Junior Springboks over the 80 minutes. However, it was the South African’s driving maul – with five tries coming from their lineout.

With South Africa’s age-grade side having won their last eight matches in this competition, coming out of this winner-takes-all clash with a place in the semi-final was going to take an upset.

However, this Wales U20s team is packed with talent. And they showed that with an astonishing start.

After 10 minutes, Richard Whiffin’s side found themselves 14-0 up.

First Caio James, having won a jackal penalty in midfield, found himself at the back of a driving maul to reach over after five minutes.

Then, minutes later, another attacking lineout saw captain Deian Gwynne put centre Steffan Emanuel through a gap to score.

South Africa’s power then took hold, scoring 26 unanswered points in the first-half as Wales’ discipline faltered, even going down to 14 at one point as prop Jac Pritchard was sent to the bin.

Hendre Schoeman, Ethan Adams, Siphosethu Mnebelele and Heinrich Theron all crossed for tries as the reigning champions moved ahead.

Risima Khosa added a fifth after half-time, before wing Cheswill Jooste was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.

Will Evans thought he had scored Wales’ third, only to have it chalked off for a knock-on. But it mattered little as Osian Darwin-Lewis dived over moments later.

South Africa’s maul brought them another score shortly after, with replacement Liam van Wyk scoring.

However, some lovely Welsh interplay saw Tom Bowen race over for Wales’ fourth.

Their opponents would again turn to their lineout, with van Wyk over for his second and South Africa’s fourth maul try just after the hour-mark.

Mnebelele would return to the pitch to grab his second, unsurprisingly from a maul.

The hooker was then sent to the bin in the dying minutes for a dangerous clearout, with Wales pushing for a consolation try at the death.

They would finally get that as full-back Lewis Edwards crossed, but it was too little, too late.

Wales U20s will now take on Australia as they move into the 5th-to-8th play-offs.

Wales U20s: Lewis Edwards (Ospreys); Rhys Cummings (Cardiff), Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff), Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff), Tom Bowen (Cardiff); Carwyn Leggatt-Jones (Scarlets), Sion Davies (Cardiff); George Tuckley (Dragons), Tom Howe (Cardiff), Jac Pritchard (Scarlets), Will Evans (Scarlets), Tom Cottle (Cardiff), Deian Gwynne (Gloucester, capt), Caio James (Gloucester), Evan Minto (Dragons).

Replacements: Oscar Thomas (Bath), Dylan James (Ospreys), Yestyn Cook (Scarlets), Luke Evans (Exeter), Osian Williams (Bristol), Alex Ridgway (Bath), Cai Gealy (Bristol), Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff).

BRUSSELS (AP) — Dozens of European lawmakers are gathering support to launch an investigation in the European Parliament of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino over his involvement in the decision to permit U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play despite an earlier red card.

Balogun was shown a red card during the U.S. victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1, which normally would make him ineligible to play in team’s next game, but FIFA lifted his suspension for a match on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened with Infantino on behalf of the 25-year-old striker.

European Parliament lawmakers Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang said in a joint statement that FIFAs decision to “change the rule on red card suspensions mid-tournament is a disgrace and a perversion of justice.”

“Once again, we’ve seen Infantino and FIFA surrender to the demands of the Trump administration,” the statement said.

The lawmakers are asking the national football associations of the EU countries to spur the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino and whether pressure from the Trump administration was a factor in the lifting of the suspension, as well as “other potential breaches of political neutrality” like awarding Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.

FIFA has said the lifting of the suspension was a decision of a disciplinary committee

The lawmakers said that 35 colleagues have so far signed the letter.

“The beauty of sport is that it is based on impartial and transparent rules. When Infantino allows political pressure to determine who gets to play, this sense of fairness goes out the window,” they said.

As part of its defence, ANL said that Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday journalists provide a “compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles”, including friends and “leaky” social circles, press officers and spokespersons, as well as previous reporting, freelance journalists and stories from other newspapers and news agencies.

I’ve listened to all the talk of England‘s bravery after beating Mexico, and I understand why.

They played the majority of the second half with 10 men in what was the lion’s den. They stuck together. They found a way. That takes character and it will only strengthen the belief within the squad. Fans are right to be proud of what they saw.

But I will also say this – I think we mistake what bravery in football actually is. We are celebrating players throwing themselves in front of shots as if they’ve gone to war. Come on, a football is a bag of air. If I walked into my local pub and asked 11 blokes if they’d throw their body in front of a ball for England, they’d all do it.

It felt like all we needed at the Azteca was for one of our players to have a ball smashed in their face and a bit of claret on the white jersey and they’d be worshipped forever. That’s a typical English attitude and it goes back generations. It’s nonsense and we’re fooling ourselves. We’re better than that. We need to be better than that. I’m not taking anything away from what those players did, it was brilliant within the context of that situation. But putting your body on the line is part of the job.

Real bravery is wanting the ball when 80,000 people are willing you to make a mistake. It’s showing for possession when everyone else is hiding. It’s taking the ball off your mate when he’s in trouble, knowing that if you lose it you’ll be the one criticised. That’s football bravery and that’s what England need more of, if they’re going to win this World Cup.

England’s defensive effort took character and will only strengthen the belief within the squad

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When I watched the first half, I didn’t see that. I thought we struggled badly with the ball. We gave away possession far too easily, we couldn’t string passes together consistently and we invited far too much pressure. Jordan Pickford was one of our best players and that normally tells you something.

I was actually relieved to hear Thomas Tuchel say afterwards that there was plenty to improve on, because that’s exactly how I saw it. I thought I was going mad listening to the reaction after the game. I was seeing journalists and former players describe it as England’s greatest performance. It wasn’t. I’d happily call it one of England’s greatest nights, but there’s a huge difference. For me, that’s confusing drama with quality.

The performance wasn’t without quality, of course. Jude Bellingham scored two very good goals and his team-mates played a part in those. There were some strong individual displays and moments. But as a team, they made it harder for themselves than it needed to be. They didn’t have control.

Mexico are decent, but someone like Raul Jimenez wouldn’t get close to our squad. Yet he and others – most of them play in the Mexican league – caused us real problems every time they went forward in the first half. We didn’t stop crosses well enough and didn’t defend them well enough when they did arrive. Jimenez was getting on the end of everything. The defending did get a lot better in the second half.

But then there was Jarell Quansah’s red card. That wasn’t bad luck, it was our own mistake. Then there was the penalty against Harry Kane. A little bit soft, maybe, but he would have wanted the same decision if it happened at the other end. That is why, come the end, we had to rely on what everyone is lauding as bravery.

I’d be concerned if people suddenly see this as the blueprint. What I find encouraging is that I don’t think Tuchel does. Everything I’ve heard from him suggests he wants a team that presses together, controls possession and has the courage to keep playing football under pressure. We haven’t seen enough of that yet.

There have been too many moments when England have fallen into old habits. We score, we drop deeper. We come under pressure, we surrender possession. We stop trusting ourselves. We get a red card. We give away a penalty. That’s naive, it’s silly, but we’ve seen it before. Think back to the Euro 2020 final against Italy. England scored early and gradually retreated. They certainly weren’t brave that night.

Michael Owen warns: Against France, Spain or Argentina, England risk a backside kicking

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The best international teams have always understood what bravery is. Take Spain of the past 20 years or so. If you’ve got the ball in their team, you’ve got three or four options every time. When we played Brazil in 2002 World Cup quarter-final, they went down to 10 men when they were 2-1 up and we couldn’t get near them. We didn’t even create a chance. Brazil didn’t play safe, they played brave and kept the ball. I loved Tuchel’s quote this week when he said: ‘We have to worship the ball more’. He knows.

Because if against France, Spain or Argentina, England play like they did versus Mexico, we’ll get our backsides kicked. You cannot spend long spells without the ball or keep on being sloppy with it against teams of that quality. They’ll punish you more than Mexico, DR Congo or Panama ever will.

The positive is that this group has something previous England squads sometimes lacked – genuine belief born from adversity. Winning ugly has its place in tournament football. Every champion usually survives at least one night where everything seems to go against them. England have had theirs. Now the challenge changes.

Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway isn’t about proving they can suffer, it’s about proving they can play. If England can combine the resilience they showed against Mexico with the composure and courage Tuchel is trying to build, then they have every chance of going all the way.

The ultimate greatest night, in New Jersey a week on Sunday, will only happen if England are football brave. They have the players, so let’s see it.

Nigel Farage is under pressure to come clean about his finances tonight after quitting as an MP, triggering a by-election and vowing to let voters ‘be the judges of my actions’.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was among those who questioned the decision by the Reform leader to resign his Clacton seat amid official probes into cash and financial assistance from two wealthy allies.

Mr Farage said he would seek a fresh mandate from voters as he let rip – but did not take questions – about claims about his private finances that have triggered official Parliamentary investigations. 

He has been reported to authorities over reports that long-term ally George Cottrell – a convicted fraudster known as ‘Posh George’ – provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected, as well as the use of a Westminster house.

Parliament’s standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is already investigating a £5million gift the MP received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.

In a more than 20 minute address on social media this afternoon Mr Farage said he had ‘never been angrier’ and claimed to be the most vilified UK politician of recent times.

He has denied any wrongdoing and claimed he is the target of a ‘stitch-up’ – a claim endorsed last night by US president Donald Trump. 

But this afternoon Mrs Badenoch accused him of ‘cracking under pressure’ and told him to ‘man up’ and answer the questions he is facing instead of triggering an ‘ego by-election’.

She also refused to confirm her party would stand in the by-election, telling Politico: ‘There should not be a by-election on his terms. What there should be is a by-election if an investigation finds him guilty…’

The Reform leader lashed out at the ‘establishment’ as he announced he would step down from his Clacton seat and seek a fresh mandate from voters in Essex

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Mr Farage won Clacton with a majority of 8,405 in 2024, with the Conservatives a distant second. 

Parliamentary rules mean his decision to resign his seat and trigger the by-election suspends the investigations, though it would restart if he is re-elected, potentially setting up a second by-election in the autumn or winter if it finds against him.

Restore leader Rupert Lowe also said his party would not put up a candidate, while PM Sir Keir Starmer said it was ‘a desperate stunt’ from a man ‘up to his neck in sleaze’.

In his lengthy and wide-ranging televised address Mr Farage  protested his innocence, saying he had ‘done nothing wrong… I have not broken the law in any way at all’.

‘Now I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by-election,’ he said.

‘It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire Establishment to frankly tell them where to go, and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election… I will fight to win.’     

The Sunday Times reported this weekend that Mr Cottrell, who has a fraud conviction in the United States, provided funding for staffing and security, and the use of a London townhouse.

Critics have said that this should have been declared under Parliamentary rules in place at the time of Mr Farage’s election in 2024, under which new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift ‘could not be reasonably thought by others’ to relate to their political activities.

Mr Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the General Election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace. 

Nigel Farage is under the heaviest pressure he has faced in his time as Reform leader following reports that long-term ally George Cottrell had provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected

If the probe finds against the Reform leader and suspends him from the Commons for more than 30 days he would be subject to a recall petition by voters, which could trigger the  second by-election. 

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have already demanded a parliamentary sleaze inquiry into the latest claims. 

Mr Farage insisted his £5million gift from Christopher Harborne was given to him on an ‘unconditional basis’.

He criticised the Sunday Times investigation into his finances, saying: ‘Standards are now being used as a political tool.

‘On the gift, it was given to me on an unconditional basis. I can do with that money exactly as I wish, but there is a much bigger reason why I’m going to need that money, and it’s simply this,’ he said.

‘For over 20 years now, I have been subject to constant demonisation by the Press for daring to be outside the consensual view on many issues.

‘I’ve been attacked again and again. I am the most physically and verbally attacked public figure or politician of modern times.

‘Yes, you will know of some of the incidents, milkshakes thrown in my face, placards bashed over my head, but let me promise you, you only know about a fraction of the number of times that I’ve been assaulted.’  

It came after he Mr Farage clashed with a Sky TV crew as he returned to Britain from the United States last night. 

Mr Farage reacted angrily when asked whether it had been a mistake not to declare the gifts, saying: ‘You tell your bosses, you harass my family any more… serious consequences. That’s what your organisation has done this morning. Go away.’

Sky said it had not contacted anyone from Mr Farage’s family about the story.    

He did manage to win the backing of Donald Trump last night after his transatlantic trip. The US President, a long-term ally, appeared to echo his claim that he is the victim of an ‘establishment hit job’.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump shared a link to an article on The National Pulse website titled ‘They’re Running the 2024 Anti-Trump Playbook on Nigel Farage’.

The article accuses the UK media of giving far more coverage to ‘every gaffe, controversy, or disagreement’ by Farage and Reform, while ‘policy successes or growing voter support are frequently downplayed’.

Mr Trump personally called Mr Farage to congratulate him on his political success in achieving the removal of Sir Keir Starmer from No10, The Times reported. 

The Great British Bake Off could move from Channel 4 to ITV after Sky owner Comcast bought the business for a deal worth around £1.6 billion.

Following the deal, broadcast rights for the beloved cooking show are now up in the air, according to reports.

Great British Bake Off could move from Channel 4 to ITV

It’s official: Sky has sealed its £1.6B deal to acquire ITV’s television network operations.

It’s believed, under NBC Universal, that Sky wants to create a commercial streamer that will be a true rival to Netflix and Disney, but for now ITV channels and ITVX will remain free. pic.twitter.com/B5FGtebONF

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— sᴜᴘᴇʀ ᴛᴠ (@superTV247) July 6, 2026

It comes due to ITV Studios being set to receive Sky’s Love Productions, the creator of Bake Off, as part of the deal.

Channel 4 secured the deal with Love Productions in 2025.

However, it is not clear when that runs until.

The first episode of Bake Off aired in 2010, with its first four series broadcast on BBC Two.

Its growing popularity saw it move to BBC One for the following three series.

After its seventh series, Love Productions signed a three-year deal with Channel 4 to produce the series for the broadcaster.

It has been on Channel 4 since 2017, and a 17th series will air on the channel later this year, but its future beyond that is unknown.

“The whole industry is talking about Bake Off moving yet again, which would be a tremendous coup for ITV but bad news for C4 as it is their most-watched show”, an insider told The Sun.

Despite this, Channel 4 said that Bake Off is staying on the channel.

A joint statement from Channel 4 and Love Productions said: “Channel 4’s GBBO deal is with Love and as such is unaffected by the Sky ITV deal.

“The show’s existing multi-year agreement with Love remains in place meaning Bake Off fans will be able to continue to enjoy the show on Channel 4 as usual.”

Sky and ITV deal explained

It was announced on Monday (June 7) that ITV had agreed the sale of its media and entertainment arm to Sky for up to £1.6 billion after months of talks over a possible deal.

The companies said the deal will combine the division with Sky to create a major competitor to the global streaming giants.

Sky is taking over ITV’s media and entertainment arm, which covers its terrestrial TV channels ITV1, ITV2, ITV4, ITV Quiz and streaming service ITVX.

Sky will also become an indirect 20% shareholder in the ITN business, which makes news programmes such as Good Morning Britain and News at Ten and regional news for London.

The sale does not include ITV’s production arm, ITV Studios, which will become a standalone business following the sale.

Programmes produced by ITV Studios, like Love Island, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Coronation Street and Emmerdale will be covered in the supply agreement, meaning they will remain on ITV.

Sky will also maintain its current pay-to-view model with an array of shows, including sport and entertainment.

Nevertheless, Sky has committed to spending at least £2.1 billion over 2028-2032 on content from ITV Studios as part of a long-term agreement to air its shows.

The sale also does not include Scottish media group STV, which is a separate company.

ITV’s channels and ITVX will remain as they are and free-to-air, including sport content and in places like Freeview, Freely, and Sky’s platforms.

ITV News and Sky News will also remain distinct editorial voices.

London-based Sky is owned by US media giant Comcast, which also owns NBC and Universal Pictures.

Comcast recently announced plans to split into two companies – one independent Comcast business focusing on telecoms, and a spin-off media operation named NBCUniversal.

Dana Strong, Sky’s group chief executive, said: “Bringing Sky and ITV Media & Entertainment together combines the very best of free-to-air television, pay TV and streaming, ensuring viewers across the UK continue to enjoy outstanding British programming in a rapidly changing world.

“ITV will remain a public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, and we’re excited about the future we can build together.”

She said the takeover was a “defining moment for British media”.

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Andrew Cosslett, the chairman of ITV, said that “at a time of rapid change in the industry, it is right that we now secure ITV’s crucial role as a public service broadcaster” and that the combined business will “create a UK champion with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms”.

British broadcasters, including ITV, BBC and Channel 4, have developed their streaming platforms in a bid to compete with US giants like Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

Are you a fan of the Great British Bake Off? Let us know in the comments.