The Government has unveiled new guidance to help employers prepare for major changes to employment law, as ministers seek to fix what they describe as a “broken labour market” while supporting business growth. The guidance follows the passing of the Employment Rights Act 2025, which will introduce a series of reforms from April aimed at establishing a fairer baseline of workplace protections. Ministers argue the changes reflect practices already adopted by many employers and will...
Barnsley has been rebranded as Britain’s first “tech town”, with ministers unveiling plans to use artificial intelligence to improve local schools, healthcare and businesses as part of the government’s push to embed AI across the economy. The designation was announced by the technology secretary Liz Kendall, who said the South Yorkshire town would act as a national testbed for “how AI can improve everyday life”. Under the initiative, US technology groups including Microsoft, Google, Cisco...
Lucie Macleod, founder and chief executive of Hair Syrup, has unveiled The Hair Syrup Honey Pot, a competition offering one UK entrepreneur £5,000 in cash alongside four hours of personalised, one-to-one mentoring. The award comes with no equity attached and no commercial strings, with the aim of providing practical support at the earliest stages of building a business. The initiative invites UK-based founders aged 18 and over to submit a short pitch video on TikTok...
Around one million people missed the deadline to file their self-assessment tax return, leaving them facing automatic penalties, according to HM Revenue and Customs. HMRC said 27,456 taxpayers filed in the final hour before the midnight cut-off at the end of Saturday, after the tax authority kept helplines open and extended webchat services over the weekend in a bid to help late filers. The busiest period for online submissions was between 5pm and 6pm on...
The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched formal investigations into X Internet Unlimited Company and X.AI over their handling of personal data in connection with the Grok artificial intelligence system. The regulator said the probes follow reports that Grok has been used to generate non-consensual sexualised images and videos of individuals, including children. The alleged creation and circulation of such content raises “serious concerns” under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant harm...
SpaceX has acquired xAI, Elon Musk’s fast-growing artificial intelligence venture, in a move designed to bring the billionaire entrepreneur’s AI, space and communications ambitions under a single corporate structure. The deal unites the world’s most valuable private aerospace company with the developer of the Grok chatbot, marking one of the most striking corporate combinations to emerge from Silicon Valley in recent years. It also comes ahead of a widely reported blockbuster stock market listing later...
The FTSE 100 closed at a fresh record high on a day of whipsawing global markets, as a strengthening US dollar offset sharp falls in commodities including gold, silver and oil. London’s blue-chip index finished up 118.02 points, or 1.15 per cent, at 10,341.56, reversing an early European sell-off and setting a new closing peak. Traders bet that the dollar’s recent rally would boost earnings prospects for UK-listed multinationals, around three-quarters of which generate revenues...
The way we engage with sports has changed completely. We used to watch matches on TV and talk about them in tea stalls. Now, the action happens in our pockets. Smartphones have become our primary tool for entertainment. Because of this shift, finding a reliable platform is essential. To ensure you get the best performance, choosing a dedicated sports betting app is the smartest move you can make. It offers freedom. It gives you control....
Timber has always occupied an awkward position in modern construction. It is familiar, widely used, and generally well understood, yet it has also carried long-standing concerns around movement, durability, and maintenance. Over the past decade, those concerns have not disappeared, but the way the industry responds to them has changed. One of the clearest examples of that shift is the growing use of thermally modified timber. Thermal modification is not a new invention, but its...
The billionaire brothers behind Betfred have topped the Sunday Times 2026 Tax List, after paying an estimated £400.1 million to the UK Treasury, making them the country’s biggest individual taxpayers. Fred and Peter Done, founders of the betting empire, took the top spot in the annual rankings, with around half of their contribution linked to gambling duties generated by Betfred’s nationwide chain of betting shops. The list, now in its eighth year, highlights the scale...
