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Nato boss heaps pressure on Burnham to up defence spending as unions join clamour to invest 3% of GDP in military
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte is set to press new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to increase UK defence spending during talks in Downing Street, with a speech at the Ditchley Foundation praising Britain’s approach to security while pointedly noting it must go further. The intervention adds to pressure already building from within Labour’s own ranks, as…
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Mayors and other local leaders could be given powers to oversee water firms
The UK government is considering giving mayors and other local political leaders new powers to oversee water companies, as part of a wider push to bring the utilities sector under greater public control. Under the plans, regional authorities—potentially including local government figures, mayors, independent chairs and other experts—would have some say over water firms’ spending…
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McLaren to build SUVs geared towards Formula One fans with children
McLaren is preparing to build its first SUV in the company’s 63-year history, aiming to attract wealthy Formula One fans and families who have never bought one of its two-seater supercars. The vehicle, which is yet to be named, forms part of a £500m UK investment programme funded by McLaren’s new owner, Abu Dhabi’s CYVN…
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It should be great news that the state pension is set for a bumper 3.9% boost. But this is why pensioners will feel POORER: RACHEL RICKARD STRAUS
The UK state pension is set to rise by 3.9% next April under the triple lock, based on wage growth figures confirmed this week, adding £488 a year to bring the full new state pension to £13,036. However, commentator Rachel Rickard Straus argues pensioners could still end up worse off, as tax rises, frozen thresholds…
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Middle East crisis drives UK inflation to 3.1% amid rate rise expectations
UK inflation accelerated to 3.1% in the year to August, up from 2.9% in July, as the deepening Middle East crisis pushed up energy and transport costs. The rise matched economists’ expectations but reinforced concerns that further increases lie ahead, with some analysts now forecasting CPI could approach 4% next year. Markets responded by pricing…
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Barclaycard sent me a bill for someone else’s account
A Guardian reader reported that Barclaycard kept sending them emails and payment reminders for a credit card account they never applied for, after the bank confused them with another customer of a similar name. Despite alerting Barclaycard immediately and repeatedly contacting customer service, the reader continued receiving mounting overdue payment notifications, causing significant distress, while…
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Mythos has made 2026 patching hell. It might make 2027 a breeze
Gartner analyst Craig Lawson believes 2026’s surge in security patches, driven partly by AI bug-hunting tools such as Anthropic’s Mythos, could lead to a marked easing of workloads for security teams in 2027. Speaking at Gartner’s IT Symposium in Australia, he argued that this year’s unusually high volume of vulnerabilities being uncovered, including in traditionally…
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Wednesday briefing: Why tech companies might be only too happy for us to believe AI will ‘kill us all’
The Guardian’s Wednesday briefing examines a wave of warnings from AI industry figures about the technology’s dangers, questioning whether these alarms are genuine concern or self-serving hype. Anthropic founder Dario Amodei published an essay urging companies to slow the development of advanced AI models, with Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman voicing support, while Donald…
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UK inflation expected to have risen in August as cost of living squeeze tightens – business live
The Bank of England is expected to hold UK interest rates steady on Thursday, despite inflation rising to 3.1% in August, as policymakers weigh a cost-of-living squeeze against a weakening labour market. Money markets currently put an 80% probability on rates staying at 3.75%, with only a 20% chance of a rise to 4%, even…
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Anthropic lands deal in $31bn datacentre in western Queensland
Anthropic has agreed to lease space in what is set to become Australia’s largest datacentre, a A$31.9bn project in western Queensland, marking the AI company’s first major Australian investment. Queensland premier David Crisafulli announced the deal in parliament, calling it a “major win” secured after pitching the state’s energy security and streamlined approvals during a…