A clash of visions at Sports Direct July 28, 2019 Mike Ashley once admitted that there was in fact another person who has really been running Sports Direct. She is a media-shy 51-year-old woman called Karen Byers. For almost three decades, Byers has been quietly working under Ashley as one of his core lieutenants, pulling 18 hour days and keeping a ruthless focus on the [...]
Former banker Sajid Javid’s first job as chancellor? To stand up to Boris Johnson July 25, 2019 Analysts at Deutsche Bank triggered sighs across the City yesterday with an attempt to coin the term “Borisnomics”. The portmanteau, as clunky as the new Prime Minister’s debut speech on the steps of Downing Street, is unlikely to catch on – but whatever we call it (Bojonomics, Johnsonomics…) how should we judge Boris Johnson’s likely approach [...]
Could magic mushrooms fix your brain? We try Europe’s first legal psychedelic therapy retreat July 24, 2019 Ten of us sit in a semicircle around a makeshift altar. In front of us lies a small statue of Buddha, various rocks and crystals, some pine cones, a carved mushroom, a small chemists’ weighing scale, and a wooden bowl filled with psychedelic ‘truffles’. We’re in a lodge on the outskirts of Amsterdam overlooking woodland [...]
Data is our NHS’ most precious asset – the next Prime Minister must protect it July 23, 2019 Britain is about to have a new government. And in a few months’ time, there could be a General Election resulting in the third government of 2019. On top of this, Brexit has still not been resolved. But in the fog of these political crises, we must not lose sight of innovations which, if adopted [...]
DEBATE: Was Sadiq Khan right to reject plans for the Tulip tower? July 17, 2019 Was Sadiq Khan right to reject plans for the Tulip tower? Caroline Pidgeon, a Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly, says YES. I seriously disagree with Sadiq Khan on many subjects, but on this issue I think he is right. Innovative and challenging designs of buildings are of course important, but we should never [...]
Data breach reports soar since GDPR, as firms fear mammoth watchdog fines July 15, 2019 The number of whistleblower reports to the information commissioner over data breaches have jumped 175 per cent since GDPR came in, according to research. People have become more vigilant about the handling of personal data, and more likely to report potential breaches, since the regulations were introduced in May 2018 according to law firm RPC. [...]
Hunt is right to take a firm line on China July 5, 2019 Jeremy Hunt has been talking tough on China. Is this because he’s the foreign secretary or because he’s in the fight of his life to become Prime Minister? In a way, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the UK stands up to China on a matter of law. The two countries signed the Joint [...]
Scrap the porn laws, and keep the government out of our sex lives June 21, 2019 They say once is a coincidence, twice is an accident, three times is a pattern. Now that the introduction of the new porn laws has been delayed for a third time, I think it’s safe to say that we have a clear pattern here from the government – of turning a blind eye to a [...]
How worried should you be about deepfakes? June 21, 2019 Mark Zuckerberg recently became the latest high-profile subject of a “deepfake” hoax. A manipulated video circulating on Instagram appears to show him boasting about having “billions of people’s stolen data” and thanking a Sheffield art installation for his success. Squint, and you could mistake the fake video produced using artificial intelligence software for the real [...]
Editor’s Notes: Canary Wharf is still the place to meat June 13, 2019 We live in interesting times. A few years ago, who would have expected vegan sausage rolls to fly off Greggs’ heated shelves, or for KFC to announce a new vegan “chicken” burger called The Imposter? Veganism is alive and well… but not so much at the Canary Wharf branch of Boisdale this week, where the [...]