A university education is no longer good value for money February 18, 2026 Students have been turned into customers but the product they’re buying is worthless and it’s underwritten by the taxpayer, says Paul Ormerod The plight of graduates burdened with debt has been a prominent feature in the media over the past week or so. Hundreds of thousands will never earn enough to repay their student borrowings, [...]
Londoners want the police to treat crime as if it’s actually illegal February 17, 2026 Having denied that London is experiencing a crime wave for years, Sadiq Khan’s announcement of crackdown on phone theft is an admission that the capital is less safe than it should be, says Lawrence Newport For years, Sadiq Khan has told Londoners not to believe their own eyes. Londoners have borne witness to the worst [...]
Warner Bros reopens Paramount talks as bidding war escalates February 17, 2026 Warner Bros Discovery has resumed talks with Paramount Skydance, reigniting the takeover battle with Netflix for one of Hollywood’s most sought-after studios. WBD confirmed it is entering seven days of deal discussions with the David Ellison-backed group, even as it continues to stand by its agreed $82.7bn (£60.94bn) deal with Netflix. The move follows months [...]
Cloudflare and Mastercard Partner to Extend Comprehensive Cyber Defense Across Critical Infrastructure and Small Businesses February 17, 2026 Combined security offerings will uncover hidden risks, assess security posture, and automate defenses for all web-facing assets
TNS Launches Market Data Usage Optimization Portal February 17, 2026 Transaction Network Services (TNS) today announced an upgrade to its TNS Data Usage Optimizer (DUO) with the launch of an interactive customer portal. Building on the launch of DUO in late 2024, this new interface offers buy-side and sell-side firms direct, on-demand access to the DUO portal to analyze market data subscriptions, identify unused services, [...]
CLIQ: The app combating loneliness is growing its network February 17, 2026 After living in Australia for a period of time, Nicola Gunby and Jason Iliffe wanted to find a community of friends upon moving to London post pandemic, but like many others moving to the capital, they found themselves isolated in one of the world’s busiest cities. Frustrated by a lack of meaningful ways to meet [...]
Jobs figures show Labour has abandoned growth February 16, 2026 A staggering 37 per cent of businesses surveyed by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said they planned to reduce hiring permanent staff as a result of the Employment Rights Act, says Callum Price If we believe that a government is what it does, not what it says, it would be difficult to argue that this government has even a passing interest [...]
Keir Starmer U-turns on plans to cancel 30 local elections February 16, 2026 The government has shelved plans to postpone local elections in May for 30 councils in England. Communities secretary Steve Reed says the decision comes “in the light of recent legal advice”, and ahead of a planned High Court hearing that was set for Thursday. According to a letter from the Government Legal Department, shared by [...]
UK under-16s social media ban could land before year end February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is considering banning under-16s from social media within months, as ministers crack down on children’s online activity following a deepfake scandal on Elon Musk’s Grok. The prime minister has insisted that “no platform gets a free pass” on child safety, with a formal consultation on tougher social media protections launching in March. [...]
Starmer closes chatbot loophole in Online Safety Act February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to target AI chatbots with the UK’s Online Safety Act, warning tech titans that “no platform gets a free pass” following a deepfake scandal involving Elon Musk’s Grok. In a speech on Monday, the Prime Minister is expected to confirm plans to amend the Crime and Policing Bill, so that [...]