Members of the Save Brick Lane campaign protested against the construction of an AI datacentre in the east London neighbourhood in June. Members of the Save Brick Lane campaign protested against the construction of an AI datacentre in the east London neighbourhood in June. The UK's policy on datacentres and AI was developed without any meetings with environmental groups, an investigation has found. The nonprofit organisation Spotlight on Corruption said a "considerable revolving door" shaped the government's development of "AI growth zones", a central plank of the former prime minister Keir Starmer's AI and economic policy, with 38 ministers, senior civil servants and special advisers hired to positions in AI companies between July 2024 and September 2026. Meanwhile, even as top officials left government for jobs at OpenAI and Anthropic, government departments largely failed to engage meaningfully with stakeholders outside the technology industry.

Don't leave AI to tech bros and oligarchs, UK's AI minister says To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Britain cannot let aritificial intelligence be ruled by tech bros and oligarchs, the AI minister has said. Kanishka Narayan told the BBC's Political Thinking podcast that dealing with the technology requires not only regulation, but building capability and capacity in the state too. He compared AI to the Victorian-era Industrial Revolution, but said the country needed to transition better than it did back then. His comments were recorded the day before Barclays banking group announced it was cutting 5,000 jobs in an AI-led efficiency drive.

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AI companies have told ministers they have 12 months to head off public opposition to datacentres in the UK or risk US-style protests that could threaten their construction. Successive dry summers and rising energy bills are increasing public scrutiny of plans for the huge computer warehouses that are used to train and run AI models, says a submission to the Labour government from a group including the AI infrastructure companies Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco. Amid increasing anti-datacentre activism in the US and Europe, they are calling on ministers to create a "compact" that would show how communities can benefit from hosting datacentres, including allowing councils that host them to retain more tax revenues. The move by the Sovereign AI Leadership (SAIL) taskforce reflects rising concern among tech companies that arguments that have blocked datacentre developments in parts of the US are taking hold in Britain. Microsoft has promised to invest $30bn (£22bn) in UK AI infrastructure.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. First Minister John Swinney says he does not have confidence the UK is safe from potential Russian threats. The SNP leader said the UK government, which is in charge of Britain's defences, did not have a sufficient presence in vulnerable areas off Scotland's coast. He said he was very worried by security fears highlighted this week by the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, who named Russia as aggressor number one. Speaking to BBC Scotland News ahead of the SNP's annual conference, Swinney also denied that independence would weaken Scotland's security.

Russia's offensive ability is broken, Kyiv's former top general tells BBC Ukraine has stabilised the front line and broken Russia's ability to advance by killing so many of its men, Ukraine's former commander-in-chief has claimed in an interview with the BBC. Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi made the comments in an exclusive interview, his first since he was dramatically forced from his post in the summer. He addressed his sacking, disagreeing with his critics who declared him too old school to command Ukraine's new, technologically advanced forces. He also pushed back against allegations made by soldiers who previously served under him, who told the BBC they were ordered to remain at their positions even when they were almost surrounded by Russians, leading to high losses. Syrskyi said that Moscow's overall losses in the war were six times higher than Ukraine's.

Kanishka Narayan said the UK would'play its part' in coordinating an international response to AI safety. Kanishka Narayan said the UK would'play its part' in coordinating an international response to AI safety. Cyber-attack like OpenAI Medicare breach'seems likely' in UK, says minister Mon 12 Oct 2026 09.52 EDTLast modified on Mon 12 Oct 2026 11.36 EDT An AI-driven cyber-attack like the OpenAI breach of Australia's healthcare system is likely, "if not inevitable", in the UK, according to a senior minister. Kanishka Narayan, the UK AI minister, indicated that the British government's own cyber defences would be bypassed by a technology that has developed highly sophisticated skills in cybersecurity. In a speech on Monday, Narayan said an incident in June when an OpenAI agent - a computer program acting autonomously - infiltrated Medicare, Australia's universal healthcare system, could be repeated in the UK.

PM says it is'clear' Russia interfered with Brexit vote Andy Burnham has said Russia did interfere with the Brexit referendum and warned that similar activities were taking place in France and Germany. The prime minister told The Rest is Politics podcast, external that upon arriving in No 10, he had asked about possible Russian interference in the 2016 vote, adding: I've had the clear answer that, yes, there was. I think we've been too much on the back foot on that actually and we haven't informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas, he added. Burnham did not provide further details about the type or extent of Moscow's activity during the Brexit referendum. Britain Unbound, a pro-Brexit campaign group, said Burnham's comments were another crude attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the decision that the British people made in 2016.

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer for OpenAI, appeared at the joint select committee on AI on Tuesday. Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer for OpenAI, appeared at the joint select committee on AI on Tuesday. Revelation comes after company's executive told parliamentary inquiry he did not believe AI had been used to write message OpenAI used AI to help write the email to the Australian government advising that its AI agent had hacked into key departmental websites, Guardian Australia can reveal. On Tuesday, one of the company's executives told a parliamentary inquiry that he didn't believe that its own technology had been used to create the email, but said the company needed to confirm this. Guardian Australia understands AI was used by OpenAI's legal and security teams to generate parts of the wording of the email, including word selection and formatting of the message.

Anthony Albanese says he had spoken to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after an AI agent breached Medicare in June. Anthony Albanese says he had spoken to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after an AI agent breached Medicare in June. Anthony Albanese says OpenAI agent hacked Medicare and he expressed'extreme concern' to Sam Altman Prime minister says he told chief executive he was disappointed it had taken company'way too long' to inform government of breach Anthony Albanese says an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI hacked Medicare in June. Australia's prime minister made the comments at the UN summit in New York, saying it appeared no personal information had been accessed. Investigations were ongoing, however, into how the agent had infiltrated Australia's government-run universal health care system.