GOV.UK founder warns Britain is ‘dangerously dependent’ on foreign AI September 21, 2026 Britain risks becoming “dangerously dependent” on a handful of foreign tech companies as AI spreads through businesses and public services, the founder of GOV.UK has warned. Mike Bracken, who founded the Government Digital Service and led the creation of GOV.UK, said organisations were steadily giving up control of critical systems as they turned to external [...]
Labour warned UK at risk of foreign tech giants ‘pulling the plug’ September 18, 2026 Labour has “no plan” if foreign technology companies or governments cut Britain off from systems underpinning critical services, the Liberal Democrats have warned, after ministers acknowledged the risks posed by the UK’s reliance on overseas tech. Victoria Collins, the Lib Dems’ tech spokesperson, accused the government of handing “contract after contract to foreign tech oligarchs” [...]
Former Labour deputy joins Palantir as tech giant targets UK growth September 18, 2026 Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has joined Palantir as a senior vice president as the US tech firm looks to expand its work with the British government while facing mounting scrutiny over its public sector contracts. Watson, who served as an MP for 18 years and held ministerial roles under Gordon Brown, will work [...]
Nestlé vows to protect Russian operations despite Putin takeover September 18, 2026 Nestlé has vowed to protect its Russian business after Vladimir Putin placed the food giant’s operations in the country under external administration. The Swiss maker of Nescafé and Purina said on Friday it was assessing its options after a presidential decree handed control of Nestlé Russia and Nestlé Kuban to Russian firm L.E.V. Management. “Nestlé [...]
British retail sales defy forecasts with surprise August rise September 18, 2026 UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in August, defying forecasts of a decline. Despite renewed pressure from higher fuel prices, hot weather drove a strong rebound in both online shopping and department store sales. Economists had expected sales to fall 0.2 per cent but sales volumes rose 0.5 per cent during the month, reversing a 0.5 [...]
Month-old Deepmind spinout nears $4bn on ‘future capability’ bet September 17, 2026 A British AI startup founded just last month by three former Google Deepmind researchers is nearing a $4bn (£2.9bn) valuation – despite having no product or website. Emulate is in advanced talks to raise as much as $700m in a seed funding round led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners in a deal that [...]
Beauty Tech shares glow as boss brushes off ‘cheap’ rivals September 17, 2026 Beauty Tech Group boss Laurence Newman has brushed off competition from ‘cheap beauty devices’ after the London-listed firm more than tripled its first-half profit. Shares in the owner of Currentbody Skin rose more than 13 per cent to 395p on Thursday after revenue climbed 44.3 per cent to £79.7m in the six months to June. [...]
Musk skips King’s AI safety summit with world’s biggest tech chiefs September 17, 2026 King Charles will warn some of the world’s most powerful AI companies against letting humanity “lose control of our destiny” on Thursday, as he brings tech bosses together in Scotland amid escalating warnings about the new technology. The King will host executives from Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Deepmind at Dumfries House in Ayrshire to [...]
Beauty Tech Group profit triples as LED masks boom September 17, 2026 The Beauty Tech Group has more than tripled its first-half profit as booming demand for at-home beauty devices helped sales jump more than 40 per cent. The London-listed owner of Currentbody Skin, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser reported pre-tax profit of £17.5m for the six months to the end of June, up from £5m a [...]
Andrew Griffith tells Burnham to rule out Budget tax rises September 16, 2026 Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith will urge Labour to rule out further tax rises on businesses at next month’s Budget, as the Conservatives set out plans to cut the compliance burden facing small firms and the self-employed. In his first major speech since taking the role, Griffith will call on Andy Burnham and chancellor John Healey [...]
