‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
AI minister promises UK visa fast-track for global talent February 11, 2026 Britain will reimburse visa fees and speed up processing for international AI talent, as the government pushes to turn the country into a global hub for the technology. Speaking at the London AI Hub last night, AI minister Kanishka Narayan said a new dedicated AI “talent stream” would sit by a broader effort to train [...]
UK AI plans fall short without backing home firms, warns UKAI February 11, 2026 The UK’s ‘sovereign AI’ push risks becoming a missed opportunity unless government policy does more to back UK businesses at home, according to the head of Britain’s AI trade body. Speaking after a parliamentary roundtable in the House of Lords, Tim Flagg, UKAI boss, said the debate around sovereign AI should focus on growth and [...]
Defence and AI drive Europe’s venture capital rebound February 10, 2026 European venture capital (VC) investment rose to €66bn (£57bn) in 2025, up five per cent year on year, as funding flowed into AI and defence tech, according to PitchBook data. The increase marks a post-pandemic high for the region, but reflects a narrowing of investor focus rather than a broad-based recovery. Large late-stage rounds in [...]
Fractile pledges £100m UK expansion amid AI chip push February 10, 2026 UK chip start-up Fractile has announced a £100m expansion of its British operations, scaling up in London and Bristol as ministers step up calls for greater domestic ownership of critical AI. The investment, which will be rolled out over the next three years, will fund a new industrial hardware engineering facility in Bristol. The move [...]
Meta and Google face first trial over child safety claims February 9, 2026 The world’s largest social media giants are heading into a series of lawsuits in the US, accusing them of harming children with their addictive algorithms. The opening arguments begin this week in LA County Superior Court in the first case to be heard in front of a jury, alleging that Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube [...]
Landowners hit as government pushes through 5G rent cuts February 9, 2026 Mobile network operators are set to cut rents on around 15,000 existing phone masts from April, City AM understands, dragging decades-old agreements into a new regime that has already allowed payments to landowners to be cut by up to 90 per cent. The move will bring legacy mast contracts, many signed with farmers, schools, hospitals [...]
Luke Littler attracts Meta to darts with Oakley glasses partnership February 9, 2026 Tech giant Meta has entered the darts market by joining world champion Luke Littler’s ever-growing stable of partners. The deal saw Littler don a pair of Oakley Meta glasses to record his throws in a practice session filmed for social media. It sees Oakley and Meta join Xbox, fast fashion brand Boohoo, Target Darts, KP [...]
Households to pay more for BBC TV licence, government confirms February 6, 2026 Households across the country will see their bills rise after the Labour government increased the TV licence fee that funds the BBC. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said on Friday that the annual levy will be increased to £180 from 1 April. This marks a £5.50 yearly increase. The move follows rules brought [...]
Bitcoin falls to lowest level as big tech sell-off intensifies February 6, 2026 The price of Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years amid the sweeping tech sell-off and nomination of a ‘hawkish’ Fed chair. A single bitcoin is now roughly worth $64,657 (£47,657), the lowest level since October 2024, with the price plummeting 24 per cent since the start of the year. The price [...]
China ties force co-founder exit at UK AI startup Fractile February 5, 2026 Co-founder of British AI chip startup Fractile left the company after concerns were raised internally about his links to China amid growing scrutiny of national security risks across the UK’s strategic tech sector. Yuhang Song, Fractile’s former chief technology officer, departed the business in May 2024 following questions over his academic background and earlier ties [...]