Sunak pushes deregulation as North Sea pressure grows March 1, 2026 Rishi Sunak has urged Rachel Reeves to go further and faster on deregulation to revive growth, as eight former UK energy ministers call on the government to rethink its stance on North Sea oil and gas. The former prime minister wrote in a Sunday Times column that Reeves deserved credit for delivering a Spring Statement [...]
Defence secretary defends UK stance on Iran as Starmer faces backlash March 1, 2026 Keir Starmer is facing mounting criticism from senior Conservatives over Britain’s response to the escalating conflict with Iran, as defence secretary John Healey confirmed UK forces are actively intercepting Iranian drones and reinforcing regional defences. Speaking on Sky News, Healey said “few people will mourn the Ayatollah’s death”. He described the Iranian regime as a [...]
Block slashes 4,000 jobs in latest AI warning February 27, 2026 Payments giant Block will slash nearly half its workforce, cutting more than 4,000 roles as it pivots towards a business model built around AI and leaner teams. In a message to staff, the company confirmed it will reduce headcount from more than 10,000 employees to just under 6,000, with affected workers either leaving immediately or [...]
AI safety row deepens as Anthropic risks losing Pentagon deal February 27, 2026 Anthropic has refused to relax its safety limits on its AI tools, despite threats from the US Department of Defence to scrap a $200m contract and remove the company entirely from its supply chain. Chief executive Dario Amodei said the booming AI firm would rather stop working with the Pentagon than allow its AI model, [...]
Flutter shares tumble as Paddy Power owner misses forecasts February 27, 2026 Shares in Flutter Entertainment fell sharply after the Paddy Power parent missed expectations across key measures and issued softer-than-expected guidance, adding to concerns about the outlook for the US sports betting market. The New York-listed group saw its stock drop almost seven per cent in extended trading after reporting fourth-quarter revenue of $4.74bn (£3.52bn), below [...]
Paramount outguns Netflix for Warner Bros February 27, 2026 Paramount Skydance has emerged victorious in the months-long battle for Warner Bros Discovery, after Netflix refused to raise its offer for the Hollywood giant. The streaming group confirmed it would not match Paramount’s latest $31 (£23)-per-share bid, ending an $83bn pursuit that had threatened to reshape the entertainment sector. “We’ve always been disciplined, and at [...]
UK media giants join forces to curb AI’s use of their journalism February 27, 2026 Sky News has teamed up with the BBC, the Financial Times, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph to form a new coalition aimed at setting industry standards for how AI uses news content. The group, under the name the Standards for Publisher Usage Rights coalition (SPUR), has been launched in response to growing concern that [...]
OpenAI backs London with hub expansion and new roles February 26, 2026 OpenAI is to make London its largest research hub outside the United States, in what ministers have hailed as a “huge vote of confidence” in the UK’s AI sector. The ChatGPT developer confirmed it will significantly expand its London operation, which currently employs around 30 researchers, though it declined to put a figure on how [...]
Financial Times lays off staff as chief executive warns of ‘need for change’ February 26, 2026 The Financial Times has completed a round of layoffs, City AM understands, as the London newspaper’s new chief executive told staff of “the need for change” as part of an internal restructuring. Around a dozen roles across the paper’s Product and Tech department have been axed following a consultation process, according to internal communications seen [...]
Instagram to alert parents over teens’ harmful searches February 26, 2026 Instagram will start notifying parents if their teenager repeatedly searches for terms linked to suicide or self-harm, amid mounting political and legal pressure over child safety online. From next week, parents and teens enrolled in Instagram’s parental supervision tools in the UK, US, Australia and Canada will be told that new alerts are being introduced. [...]
