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Sonic Frontiers Final Horizon patch notes, story content and gameplay trailer

The final content update for Sonic Frontiers is out now on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. Available as a free download on all platforms, the latest Sonic Frontiers update adds brand new story content, as well as additional playable characters such as Amy, Tails, and Knuckles. You can check out the new gameplay in the latest Sonic Frontiers trailer further down the page.

The news was announced by SEGA, alongside a preview about what to expect.

“Rewrite your destiny in The Final Horizon Update! Experience a new story, new playable characters, new challenges, and more in Sonic Frontier’s third climactic final Content Update… for Free!”

As you can see from the trailer below, the story sees Sonic attempt to convert the Cyber Corruption into a previously untapped power source.

Meanwhile, Amy, Tails and Knuckles are tasked with the mission of collecting the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic’s place.

The new playable characters all appear to have their very own unique skills and abilities, including the ability to glide, ground pound and more.

Sonic Frontiers Final Horizon update patch notes…

• New story – Head back to Ouranos Island and play through additional stories!

• New Playable Characters – Play as Tails, Amys, or Knuckles, each with their own unique powers and abilities!

• New challenges, collectibles, and more!

• Additional bug fixes and quality of life adjustments.

Post Office knew legal case was likely to bankrupt Horizon IT victim, lawyer says

The Post Office knew a post office operator would probably be bankrupted by a legal case he brought but wanted to send a warning message to others, a solicitor who worked for the company has admitted.

Lee Castleton was made bankrupt by the Post Office after a two-year legal battle. His case is one of the most high-profile in the Horizon IT scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Castleton bought a post office in Bridlington, east Yorkshire, in 2003. However, within a year his computer system showed a £25,000 shortfall, despite him calling the Post Office’s helpline 91 times as he suspected the Horizon IT system was at fault.

He was taken to court by the Post Office, where he had to represent himself as he could not afford a lawyer, and was ordered to repay the money and pay costs of £321,000, which bankrupted him.

On Thursday, Stephen Dilley, who represented the Post Office in the civil claim against Castleton, told the inquiry into the IT scandal that it knew he would not be able to pay if he lost but that the state-owned company wanted to “show the world” it would defend the Horizon system.

“I entirely accept that in so far as we could understand Mr Castleton’s asset position there was a significant risk he would be unable to pay,” said Dilley, who denied the suggestion that Castleton had been seen as a “sacrifice”. Dilley added: “The Post Office were aware of the risk they would not be able to enforce their judgment.”

After the legal action, Castleton was forced to close his shop, sell his house and move into rented accommodation, while his wife suffered stress-induced seizures and his children had to move schools because of bullying.

Dilley was asked whether he bore any responsibility for what happened to Castleton. “I am satisfied I acted, and my firm acted, professionally, politely and appropriately at all times,” he said.

Castleton’s claim against the Post Office that it was the Horizon IT system, which he was unable to provide expert technical evidence on during his court case, meant the company viewed securing a victory as key to dissuading other post office operators from pursuing claims.

Dilley said: “As the case continued the motivation of the Post Office changed and what they wanted out of the case changed. It was less about making an example of Mr Castleton and more about sending a message that they were willing to defend the Fujitsu Horizon system.”

He added that for the Post Office the main goal in pursuing Castleton was “achieved in that we showed the world, if you like, [they/we] were willing to defend allegations about the Horizon system”.

However, Dilley said the Post Office tried to reach a settlement with Castleton multiple times but ultimately was forced to go to court because he made a £250,000 counterclaim.

“I think they were cognisant of personal impact on Castleton, they tried really, really hard to settle the case,” he said. “Once [Castleton] had issued the [counter] claim it had to either settle or go to trial. I do have one regret in the case, and that is that we were unable to settle it.”

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Castleton has claimed that during the run-up to the hearing Dilley contacted him and told him to drop his defence, allegedly telling him: “We will ruin you. Think of your family.”

Dilley said: “I refute using that language. First of all it just doesn’t sound like language I would use, I know myself, it doesn’t sound at all like something I would say. It makes me sound like a Vinnie Jones character from an East End gangster film.”

On Wednesday, Castleton said of the bankruptcy: “It changed our lives completely. It was absolutely terrible and devastating.”

The Horizon scandal resulted in more than 700 post office operators being prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 for theft, fraud and false accounting because of faulty accounting software installed in the late 1990s.

To date, 86 operators have had their wrongful convictions overturned and £21m has been paid in compensation.

Man City suffer Silva injury blow as Arsenal showdown looms on horizon

The Portuguese playmaker, who signed a bumper new contract until 2026 over the summer, was forced off before half-time during Tuesday’s 3-1 Champions League comeback win over Red Star Belgrade in Group G.

It was not immediately clear at the time if Silva had suffered an injury, but the 29-year-old looked visibly disappointed as he trudged off to be replaced by summer signing Jeremy Doku, with holders City responding to Osman Bukari’s shock opening goal for the Serbian giants with a second-half Julian Alvarez brace and Rodri’s stylish strike to begin their title defence with a dominant home victory.

City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed after Tuesday’s European opener at the Etihad Stadium that he believed Silva would miss the “next games” with his unspecified knock, with last season’s Treble winners due to host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

They then travel to Newcastle in the third round of the Carabao Cup before trips to Wolves and RB Leipzig are followed by a key top-flight clash with title rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on October 8, which comes before the second international break of the campaign.

“He [Silva] didn’t say anything at the end,” Guardiola told reporters. “I didn’t speak with the doctors but apparently for the next games he won’t be able to play.”

City’s ominous 100 per cent start to the new season that has seen them win all six games across all competitions has not been without key setbacks on the injury front, with Kevin De Bruyne likely to miss the rest of the calendar year with a serious hamstring issue that required surgery.

Guardiola has also been without England defender John Stones since the Community Shield loss to Arsenal at Wembley in August, while midfield pair Jack Grealish and Mateo Kovacic have also been sidelined of late.

Commenting on that lengthening injury list of important players, the manager added: “When we have five important players – really, really important players – injured, to sustain that for a long time will be difficult. But it is what it is.

“We cannot have the salaries and budgets for transfers to have 55 players. It would be chaos for the clubs and they would be bankrupt. Sometimes it happens.”

Post Office: Horizon scandal victims offered £600,000 compensation

The sum is for postmasters whose wrongful convictions for theft and false accounting have now been overturned.

Post Office Horizon victims offered £600,000 of compensation

The government has announced a new fixed sum payment for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation.

An award of £600,000 is on offer to postmasters who were falsely imprisoned after faulty Horizon software made it appear they were stealing.

Anyone who had their conviction overturned can take the payment instead of going through the full assessment of their loss.

That process “can take time because these things are complicated”, business minister Kevin Hollinrake announced.

Mr Hollinrake said this is “a much quicker way to compensation”.

“If you think your claim is worth more than £600,000 then you can still go through the normal route.

“The good thing about this because some people will inevitably take this route, it will take more people out of the queue so the full assessment will take less time as well. It’s a really win-win on every level for people who have suffered.”

Horizon deal shows UK and EU can resolve issues, says Rishi Sunak

The deal to readmit the UK into the £85bn Horizon science programme shows the country has good enough relations with the EU to resolve a range of other issues, Rishi Sunak has said, including one on electric vehicle tariffs.

The prime minister announced on Thursday that Britain would re-enter the scientific research scheme after three years of exclusion and months of negotiation.

He hailed the deal as a sign of restored trust between the two sides after years of rancour following Brexit, and suggested it would mark a new era of cooperation on a range of issues.

Speaking on the way to the G20 summit in India, Sunak said: “I can get things done for the interests of the UK and that’s what we’ll continue to do, whether it’s on Horizon, whether it’s on cooperation on illegal migration … or whether it’s on having a dialogue on [car tariffs].”

Since becoming prime minister, Sunak has prioritised restoring relations with Brussels, which reached a nadir when Boris Johnson threatened to unilaterally override the Northern Ireland protocol that he had agreed with the EU.

Sunak’s efforts have come to fruition in recent months, first with a new deal over Northern Ireland, known as the Windsor framework, and now with the Horizon agreement.

The deal was sealed with a call between Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, on Wednesday night. Von der Leyen said afterwards that the agreement proved the EU and the UK were “key strategic partners”, while Natalie Loiseau, the French MEP, said it showed a “climate of restored trust” between the two.

Two major areas of disagreement remain, however. Sunak wants to sign an agreement to return migrants who cross the Channel to mainland Europe but has so far met resistance from European leaders. The EU denied reports this week that an aide to Von der Leyen was not open to an agreement at all.

An agreement on electric vehicle tariffs looks far closer after Germany dropped its opposition to Sunak’s proposal to postpone incoming duties for three years.

Under the current deal between the UK and EU, cars shipped across the Channel are subject to 10% levies if they contain batteries made outside Europe.

However, China still controls the world’s supply of the type of lithium needed to make electric vehicle batteries, which account for up to 45% of the cost of an electric vehicle. As a result, Sunak has pushed the EU to agree to a three-year moratorium on the tariffs to allow European countries to wean themselves off Chinese supplies.

His plans received a boost this week after the Financial Times revealed that Germany had dropped its opposition to a tariff delay after the electric vehicle industry said the levies would cause economic damage.

Earlier this year, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) wrote to the commission to formally request a suspension of the tariff, which they said could cost the industry €4.3bn and “potentially reduce electric vehicle production by some 480,000 units”.

Sunak said he would continue to talk to his European counterparts about the issue, though he would not say whether the subject was likely to arise during the weekend’s G20 summit.

He said: “It’s something we’ve talked about already … It has been a conversation we’ve been having for a while and will continue to have.”

Nigel Farage fumes at Sunak’s capitulation on EU Horizon scheme as he outlines huge cost to Britain

Nigel Farage has claimed the UK’s decision to rejoin the EU’s flagship scientific research scheme comes with a hefty price.

Britain had been excluded from the scheme for the past three years as a result of a disagreement over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

This was despite associate membership being agreed upon as part of the Brexit trade deal when the UK formally left the EU in 2020.

The former Brexit Party leader believes the UK being able to rejoin the scheme has come at the cost of its ties to Northern Ireland.

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“You’ve got to remember why now. When Lord Frost negotiated the Brexit deal, which I wasn’t fully in favour with, but he had a tough job”, he said on GB News.

“He wanted us to stay a part of this programme. Why? Because the scientific community wanted to be a part of it.

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“They love the idea of free money, of course it isn’t free money.

“The EU reneged on this, until we signed up to the Windsor Framework.

“Don’t think we’ve just re-joined Horizon, we’ve done it because we’ve signed up to a deal which has permanently cut off Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.”

GB News host Patrick Christys asked: “So the price that we’ve paid for a bit of space exploration with our European friends is Northern Ireland?”

Rishi Sunak has spoken out about the UK’s decision to rejoin the scheme

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“Absolutely”, Farage said in response.

“I might have been slightly neutral about this, it’s not the biggest deal, but looking at the context in how this has been achieved, I cannot say this is a good day.”

As part of the deal, UK-based scientists and institutions will be able to apply money money from the £81bn fund.

The announcement also states that the UK will associate to Copernicus, the EU’s £8bn Earth observation programme.

Britain will not be rejoining a nuclear research alliance known as Euratom R&D, however an agreement is in place for cooperation on nuclear fusion.

The European Commission said the decision is “beneficial to both”, adding that “overall, it is estimated that the UK will contribute almost €2.6bn (£2.2bn) per year on average for its participation to both Horizon and Copernicus”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world’s largest research collaboration programme.

“We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is the right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.”

Scientists are relieved by the UK-EU agreement to return to Horizon but the deal has one notable exception

This is a genuine day of celebration among scientists – not just in the UK but also in the EU.

Because although Horizon is the largest single pot of cash in the world available to scientists to fund their work, it was never just about the money.

The seven-year cycles of the EU-funded programme was largely about the partnerships that make science work.

Horizon allowed UK researchers to collaborate with the very best of their colleagues across Europe.

The money was nice too – especially for the UK.

Historically, the UK gained more inward research funding from Horizon than it put into the programme.

And given what was lost when Brexit forced a departure from the programme, today’s deal is a lot better than many scientists had hoped.

Not only do we rejoin Horizon on pretty good terms, UK scientists can also work in, and bid for contracts under the EU’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme.

If that sounds boring, these are the satellites, and associated data, that allows us to monitor forest fires, floods and droughts, and temperature trends on which society is becoming increasingly reliant.

Crucially, under the deal UK researchers will be able to lead Horizon funded collaborations, something that brought huge benefits to UK science and was feared was lost forever once we left the EU.

The government also managed to negotiate a deal where the taxpayer won’t have to cover the costs of two years we were absent from Horizon.

A sense of relief

But the overriding the joy among scientists is really a sense of relief.

The vast majority say the sudden departure from Europe, then Horizon, the protracted confusion over what was happening next, did significant harm to their work. Funded collaborations ended, EU scientists working in the UK left, taking their expertise, and often, up and coming talent with them.

Prof Sir John Hardy, a pioneer in dementia research at UCL in London said this: “It is unfortunate that government believes decisions are completely reversible.

“Going back in is good. But irreversible damage has been done.”

A nuclear exception

There is one notable exception in this deal however.

The UK will remain outside the Euratom programme on nuclear research.

This is significant as it was EU-funded, UK-based research on nuclear fusion that helped create the first power plant scale fusion reactor under construction in France.

The first international attempt to prove limitless low-carbon power can be created using nuclear fusion.

If the UK is outside Euratom, it loses the leading role it had in the ITER project.

The concession is the UK will now attempt to build its own fusion research reactor.

But many in the field feel losing the UK as an collaborator will set back the international effort and believe the problem is just too tricky to solve by one country alone.

But the vast majority of researchers in the UK will be delighted.

Years of uncertainty are over and they’ll be able to rebuild the relationships that have allowed the UK to be one of the world’s leaders in science, engineering and technology.

Sunak hails ‘right deal for country’ as UK rejoins EU Horizon project

The UK is to return to the flagship Horizon Europe science research programme, Rishi Sunak has confirmed.

The prime minister said that from Thursday, British scientists can apply once again for grants from the £85bn programme, a move that will be welcomed with jubilation from the science community in the UK which was once one of the leading beneficiaries of the fund.

“We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is the right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers,” said Sunak.

The deal was sealed after a call between Sunak and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday night.

According to a Downing Street statement, the UK will also rejoin the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation satellite programme, which has been crucial in monitoring this summer’s weather events, including wildfires across Europe.

But the EU has agreed to the UK’s demand not to rejoin the Euratom programme. The UK will instead pursue a domestic fusion energy strategy.

The European Commission said the UK would contribute about £2.6bn on average a year to Horizon and Copernicus, with the UK’s contributions due to start from January 2024. Downing Street said this would also “provide breathing space to boost the participation of UK researchers in open calls for grants before we start paying into the programme”.

The deal is being seen as another reset moment for relations between the UK and the EU.

“The EU and UK are key strategic partners and allies, and today’s agreement proves that point. We will continue to be at the forefront of global science and research,” said Von der Leyen.

The science community expressed immense relief the deal was finally over the line.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, described the announcement as “fantastic news not just for the UK but for scientists across the EU and for all the people of Europe”.

Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, said he was “thrilled to finally see that partnerships with EU scientists can continue”.

He added: “This is an essential step in re-building and strengthening our global scientific standing.

“Thank you to the huge number of researchers in the UK and across Europe who, over many years, didn’t give up on stressing the importance of international collaboration for science.”

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “There will be relief throughout the research community that the uncertainty of the last two-and-a-half years has come to an end.

“Nearly three-quarters of respondents to our survey of cancer researchers cited funding from the EU as important for their work, showing how crucial Horizon Europe association is for the future of cancer research.”

In a statement, the European Commission said: “Today’s agreement remains fully in line with the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement (TCA). The UK will be required to contribute financially to the EU budget and is subject to all the safeguards of the TCA.”

The agreement will need to be ratified by member states. One diplomat warned that they would scrutinise the detail to ensure there had been no deviation from the original deal.

The UK was locked out of the Horizon programme for three years after a tit-for-tat row over the Northern Ireland Brexit trading arrangements.

Lord Frost negotiated an associate membership – available for non-EU countries – in December 2020, but the deal was never ratified due to the dispute over Northern Ireland.

The way was then clear for a return to the programme in February 2023 when the Windsor framework was agreed, but negotiations dragged on over the exact financial terms.

It had been agreed from the beginning that the UK would not have to pay for the years of absence.

The deal also includes the underperformance clause of the original 2020 agreement, enabling the UK to be “compensated should UK scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme”.

It indicates a different scheme to the correction mechanism in the original deal, which involved rebates kicking in above a certain level of thresholds.

UK expected to rejoin EU’s Horizon science programme

he UK is expected to rejoin the European Union’s £85 billion Horizon science research programme which it was locked out of in a Brexit row.

Science Secretary Michelle Donelan appears set to confirm Britain’s associate membership as she tours broadcast studios on Thursday morning, the PA news agency understands, drawing a line under months of tense talks.

Sources familiar with the negotiations between the two sides said a day earlier that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had given the go-ahead for a deal to be finalised.

Britain continued to participate under the post-Brexit trade deal brokered with Brussels but was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over Northern Ireland arrangements.

Scientists welcomed news of the agreement, first reported by Bloomberg, having warned that the sector was disadvantaged by two missed years of collaboration.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak told MPs his “priority and preference” was to associate with Horizon but “on terms that are right for both the British taxpayer and for British science and research”.

In a hint at a possible breakthrough, he said the Government had been “extensively involved in discussions” with the EU and “I hope to be able to conclude those successfully”.

The level of compensation the EU will pay the UK for being excluded from the scheme during the bitter row over trading rules for Northern Ireland in 2020 was still thought to be an issue.

One source told PA that Mr Sunak had signalled his approval of the deal but that the rebate for the absent years could still be an issue.

A conversation with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was expected before the announcement.

Whitehall sources said in July that a draft deal was with the Prime Minister, prompting scientists to cautiously celebrate the development.

But Downing Street said a UK-based alternative known as Pioneer remained on the table as Mr Sunak continued to be concerned about “value for money”.

A senior scientist at London’s Francis Crick Institute welcomed the latest developments as “fantastic news”.

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “We’ve really been missing being able to work properly with other European scientists.”

Dame Kate Bingham, managing partner of the healthcare fund manager SV Health Investors, said: “Collaboration with the top European researchers is critical if the UK is to become a real science superpower.”

But Labour criticised the delay, with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson saying: “I seriously hope that comes to pass but I do have to say what on earth have they been doing and why has it taken so long?

“This is damaging our competitiveness, it’s damaging our country and I really hope that we see progress as soon as possible.”

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europe’s leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.

UK to rejoin EU Horizon research programme

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The UK has struck a deal to rejoin the EU’s Horizon research programme, according to officials in London and Brussels, in a move welcomed by scientists and business.

Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, is expected to confirm on Thursday that Britain will take up its much-delayed associate membership of the €95.5bn Horizon programme, drawing a line under months of tense negotiations.

Horizon is the world’s largest multilateral research programme, bringing together companies and scientists from more than 40 countries exploring areas from climate change to cancer and artificial intelligence.

Sunak has personally overseen the details of the deal, having told aides he was sceptical about whether Horizon offered the UK value for money. The agreement will mark a further deepening of post-Brexit ties between Britain and the EU.

“Our priority and preference is to associate to Horizon,” Sunak told MPs on Wednesday. “But we want to make sure that this is on terms that are both right for the British taxpayer and for British science and research.”

The Horizon deal also involves the UK rejoining Copernicus, the EU’s Earth observation space programme, according to one person briefed on the agreement.

Sunak’s allies said the deal built on improved relations between London and Brussels following an accord in February that ended a bitter stand-off over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

“This is part of that reset,” said one. “It also shows what you can achieve with hard work.” Downing Street declined to comment.

The UK negotiated associate membership of the Horizon programme as part of the 2020 Trade and Cooperation Agreement between Britain and the EU, but was blocked from taking it up because of the protracted dispute over Northern Ireland’s trading rules.

Sarah Main, executive director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, a representative body for scientists, welcomed the prospect of a deal.

“If confirmed, this will bring a burst of joy to UK science, as well as lasting value to the economy and to people’s wellbeing and prosperity,” she said.

William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the business lobby group had told ministers that rejoining Horizon would attract investment and deepen international collaboration in science, research and higher education.

“If an associate membership deal for the UK is confirmed, this will provide much-needed certainty and kick-start new research opportunities for key strength areas of the UK economy, such as life sciences,” he added.

Optimism earlier this year that Britain and the EU could swiftly reach a deal on Horizon foundered on disputes over the UK’s financial contributions to the programme.

Negotiations have focused partly on the financial “correction mechanism” that determines what happens if the UK extracts less in value from the programme than it contributes in payments.

As a member of the EU, the UK frequently received more than it contributed to Horizon as a result of the grant-winning prowess of its universities, but as an associate member this is ruled out.

“It is important that science collaborates in an efficient manner,” said Martin Smith, head of policy at the Wellcome Trust, the charitable foundation.

“A Horizon Europe deal will mean the UK can regain its rightful claim to being part of the global endeavour to solve the big scientific challenges of our time.”

EU academics also welcomed the move. “It is excellent news for researchers on both sides of the Channel who will be able to combine their efforts at a time when research is key to the competitiveness of Europe,” said Arancha González, dean of the Paris School of International Affairs.

UK’s return to EU Horizon scheme expected to be confirmed within days

The UK’s long-anticipated return to the EU’s £80bn science research programme Horizon Europe is on the brink of being confirmed, possibly as early as Thursday.

Membership of Horizon Europe was agreed as part of the wider post-Brexit trade deal in December 2020 but was never ratified because of a tit-for-tat row between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland Brexit arrangements.

A senior EU source said the return to the programme, three years into a seven-year funding cycle, was discussed by the college of commissioners this week, with a deal expected to be unveiled in the coming days.

The way for the UK’s return to Horizon Europe was cleared as far back as March after London and Brussels resolved their dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol, with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, promising a “swift” decision.

But stop-start talks over the following months were marred by demands by the UK for extra discounts to take account of the absent years, much to the fury of the science community, who did not fully support Sunak’s plan B to go it alone.

On Wednesday Sunak gave his strongest hint yet that a deal had been sealed, saying he had given the go-ahead for his officials to finalise a deal.

Before Brexit the UK was one of the top beneficiaries of the Horizon programme and scientists are still eligible to apply for funding, which is underwritten by the UK government.

However, the uncertainty over the UK’s membership and its inability to lead pan-EU research while outside the programme has dealt a blow.

Data from the European Commission shows a huge drop in awards to British science programmes since 2019. In that year, €959.3m (£828.8m) went to the UK in 1,364 grants, compared with €22.18m in 192 grants in 2023 to date.

According to sources in the science community, the UK wanted the discount and to exit the parallel Euratom programme, which the EU rejected.