More than half a million faces were scanned in some of the capital's busiest transport hubs during the trial. More than half a million faces were scanned in some of the capital's busiest transport hubs during the trial. Tue 29 Sep 2026 05.48 EDTLast modified on Tue 29 Sep 2026 07.53 EDT A six-month trial of live facial recognition (LFR) technology in London's railway stations that cost more than £320,000 and almost 100 hours of police officers' time led to one false match against a watchlist of suspects and no arrests. More than half a million faces were scanned between February and July this year in some of the capital's busiest transport hubs during the British Transport Police (BTP) trial of the surveillance technology, which aimed to help catch offenders and people breaching court orders. A freedom of information document obtained by Liberty Investigates and shared with the Guardian shows that equipment hire and police staffing for the 18 deployments across the trial cost £320,786 and led to only one alert on a watchlist, which turned out to be an incorrect identification, also known as a false positive.

Nick Clegg, who stepped down from Meta in 2025, said one person who runs an AI lab told him the current discourse was'totally silly'. Nick Clegg, who stepped down from Meta in 2025, said one person who runs an AI lab told him the current discourse was'totally silly'. Nick Clegg plays down fears'godlike' AI could exterminate humanity Former deputy PM now involved in tech industry says many within sector are'winding themselves up into a lather' Nick Clegg has dismissed fears over AI's "godlike power to exterminate humanity", calling it a sign that tech bosses are "breathing their own fumes". The former UK deputy prime minister said that tech bosses should focus on addressing known specific threats such as cybersecurity and bioweapons rather than the "slightly hand-wavy view that this technology is unavoidably going to develop some godlike power which is going to turn on us and exterminate humanity". Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I think it is perhaps accidentally self-serving, because it sort of implies that we can only be made safe by having everything controlled, in effect, by an oligopoly of a small number of companies, and I think it slightly paralyses the political debate."

The fitness company behind high-end exercise classes Barrecore, Boom Cycle, and Kobox has suddenly shut all its studios. Common Bond emailed customers announcing its locations, all of which are currently in London, were closed until further notice. The firm describes itself as a wellness collective and charges £2,400 for 12 months of unlimited classes. It also runs Reformcore and Triyoga brands and said in August last year it had ten sites. Its website is no longer publicly accessible.

Is Burnham right to blame Russia for spreading online disinformation? After Prime Minister Andy Burnham put Russia-linked disinformation campaigns under the spotlight, BBC Verify has been examining how these attempts to influence people's opinions work. We have tracked - and debunked - numerous online disinformation campaigns produced by Russia-linked groups that have attempted to shift public opinion on issues like the war with Ukraine, influence elections in the US and Germany, damage social cohesion and undermine trust in authorities or institutions. What kind of disinformation is being spread? In his UN speech, Burnham said there was an insidious campaign being carried out by the Russian government to target people in the UK .

People off sick from work should keep in phone contact with their boss, government-appointed back-to-work expert Sir Charlie Mayfield has said. Getting bosses and workers to have a conversation, rather than simply exchanging emails and sicknotes, could help get people back into work, Sir Charlie, who is leading the Keep Britain Working taskforce, said. His latest report said health-related economic inactivity was costing Britain around £210bn a year in benefit payments and lost output. Talking on the phone was just one piece of the jigsaw he said on Wednesday. The report calls for more workplace support, external for people with health conditions and disabilities and the establishment of a Workplace Health System alongside the NHS.

New UK agency will tackle'information warfare' from likes of Russia, Burnham says PM aims to'stem poisonous tide' of disinformation and deepfakes with National Centre for Information Defence Security chiefs will set up a new national centre to tackle disinformation and deepfakes from hostile states such as Russia, Andy Burnham has announced, saying the government had a duty to "stem the poisonous tide" from damaging British interests. The National Centre for Information Defence will "detect, attribute and disrupt" information attacks by foreign powers, many of which are enabled by AI, bringing together the intelligence agencies, law enforcement and social media companies. It will be tasked with making sure the UK has the defensive capability necessary to combat information warfare and build national resilience by helping communities to identify and combat disinformation, preventing a "distorted and untrue" narrative about the UK. Burnham said the country would have to go into the next decade "eyes wide open" about "insidious" campaigns, many of which had been orchestrated by Russia, which "twisted" what people at home felt about their own country and community. In eye-catching remarks, the prime minister suggested that Britons who were struggling with the cost of living and young people not in education, training or employment may be particularly susceptible to foreign influence online, underlining how inequality further undermined society.

The UK will set up a new centre to stem the poisonous tide of hostile state attacks, including Russian disinformation, and lead efforts to establish global safety standards for artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said. In his first major international speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Burnham warned Russian agencies are using every means at their disposal, including bots and fake websites, to spread lies and disinformation. The prime minister noted AI will multiply existing threats, and pitched the UK as an honest broker on the technology. Fears about AI have grown after industry insiders recently warned it could threaten humanity. In Burnham's speech, he accused Russia of running a disinformation campaign.

Andy Burnham and Donald Trump held their first face-to-face meeting in New York. Andy Burnham and Donald Trump held their first face-to-face meeting in New York. US president calls UK prime minister'a natural businessperson' as leaders meet at UN assembly in New York Donald Trump has asserted his relationship with the UK is "more up" with Andy Burnham than under Keir Starmer despite tensions between the two countries on a range of thorny issues including regulation of artificial intelligence, the Chagos islands and the war in Iran. At their first face-to-face meeting, the US president praised Burnham, who sat nervously alongside him, as a "natural businessperson", saying he thought he had "lots of assets on his side" and would be a "great" prime minister. Burnham, who was joined in the talks by Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, and Jonathan Powell, his national security adviser, said he and Trump had built on the "good connection" they established early on, in an effort to shore up relations which had splintered over Iran .

The Liberal Democrats will fight the next general election on a promise to cut taxes for millions of workers, Sir Ed Davey has said in a speech to his party conference. The Lib Dem leader said that if he gained power, he would raise the annual tax-free personal allowance to £15,000. He would also raise the 40p income tax threshold from £50,270 to £56,000, in a £17bn package funded by the economic boost he says would come from the UK rejoining the EU single market and customs union. He claimed the plan would mean a £680 cut for most taxpayers but it would not come into full effect until the fifth year of a Lib Dem government - potentially up to eight years away. The announcement was greeted with sustained applause by Lib Dem MPs and activists in the Brighton conference centre.

Image caption, Sir Jim said Ineos was being'forced' to pause production at the three plants Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe's industrial giant Ineos is pausing production at its three plants in Hull, blaming high UK gas prices. The firm said gas prices in the UK are twelve times higher than in the US, and eight times more expensive than the coal-based processes used by Chinese competitors. Sir Jim said: We are being forced to mothball some of the most efficient plants in Europe, but with gas prices now 12 times the level in the US and 8 times that of China, we just cannot compete. The facilities produce raw materials used to make pharmaceuticals, clothing, cosmetics, detergents, construction materials and military explosives in the UK and Europe. Gas is a key ingredient in production.