Ministers urge cyber crackdown as Anthropic AI fears grow April 20, 2026 Ministers have ramped up pressure on UK businesses to strengthen their cyber defences amid concerns that the next generation of AI could supercharge hacking threats. In a new push led by cyber minister Baroness Lloyd of Effra, nearly 200 business leaders were told to sign a new “cyber resilience pledge”, as fears mount that powerful [...]
EV sales surge as oil shock drives shift from petrol April 20, 2026 Electric car sales are accelerating across Europe, as rising fuel prices and tensions linked to the Iran conflict push drivers away from petrol and diesel. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations jumped 51 per cent year on year in March across 15 European markets, with over 224,000 new electric cars sold in one month, according to [...]
Bolt expands London e-bikes ahead of Tube strike disruption April 20, 2026 Bolt is expanding its e-bike network across central and west London ahead of a fresh wave of Tube and bus strikes, City AM understands, to try ease pressure on the capital’s strained transport system. The ride-hailing firm said its bikes are now available in Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham, adding to its existing presence in [...]
London house prices jump by £3k as market slows April 20, 2026 The average asking price of a home in Britain rose by nearly £3,000 in April, but London’s property market is showing clear signs of strain as higher mortgage rates and a surge in supply curb momentum. New figures from Rightmove show asking prices increased by 0.8 per cent month on month to £373,971, a £2,929 [...]
UK bets on East London hub to anchor next phase of innovation April 19, 2026 The UK’s push to build a more joined-up innovation economy is increasingly being anchored in east London, where Here East has turned into one of the country’s largest multi-sector tech campuses. Set within the former Olympic press and broadcast centre in Stratford, the 1.2m sq ft site aims to bring various universities, startups, corporates and [...]
Starmer would have blocked Mandelson ambassador role, says Lammy April 19, 2026 Keir Starmer would have stopped Lord Mandelson becoming UK ambassador to the US if he had known about security concerns, deputy prime minister David Lammy has said, as the political fallout intensifies. Speaking to the Guardian, Lammy said the prime minister would “never, ever” have approved the appointment had he been aware Mandelson failed the [...]
Iran warns Strait of Hormuz will stay restricted as ceasefire deadline looms April 19, 2026 Iran has warned it will keep restricting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk of renewed disruption to global oil supplies just days before its ceasefire with the US is due to expire. The warning came after Donald Trump said the blockade on Iranian ports would “remain in full force”, until a wider [...]
Can Volkswagen really pivot to defence? April 17, 2026 Can Volkswagen really pivot into defence? Saskia Koopman examines whether one of Europe’s great industrial names can reinvent itself for an era of rearmament. For most of its eight-decade history, Volkswagen has stood as a symbol of Europe’s industrial might – churning cars out at scale and underpinning entire regional economies. But at the company’s [...]
UK chief executives scramble as Anthropic expands London AI hub April 16, 2026 Anthropic is expanding its London footprint with a new office for up to 800 staff, as UK bank bosses ramp up engagement with the firm over concerns about its latest AI models. The US-based company said it will scale up from its current base of more than 200 employees in the capital, with the new [...]
AI job cuts top 50,000 in 2026 as Snap, Oracle, Meta slash roles April 16, 2026 More than 50,000 tech jobs have been cut in 2026 as tech behemoths such as Snap, Oracle and Meta link layoffs to AI and a shift in spending towards AI infrastructure. Recent figures from Challenger, Gray & Christmas show over 52,000 roles were eliminated in the sector in the first quarter alone, with AI cited [...]
