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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has defended the selection of Joshua Bonehill-Paine as a candidate for Somerset Council despite his previous convictions for hate offences. Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2015 of racially aggravated harassment of the then Labour MP Luciana Berger and was also imprisoned for stirring up hatred against a Jewish community in north London.

Badenoch said his past conduct had been appalling but argued that he had rejected his former views and demonstrated rehabilitation through work connected with the Prevent anti-radicalisation programme. She said the election was for a local authority role involving matters such as parking and bins, rather than a national political platform.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council declined an invitation to meet Bonehill-Paine and called on the Conservatives to withdraw his candidacy. Berger said there was a major distinction between explaining why earlier conduct was wrong and seeking public office, describing what happened to her as a sustained campaign rather than isolated remarks.

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The Government’s Sovereign AI fund has invested in OLIX, a British company developing computer chips for artificial intelligence systems. The equity investment forms part of a nine figure fundraising round and makes OLIX the fifth business backed by the state venture fund since the programme was launched.

OLIX is based in London and has offices in Bristol. The company is developing chips intended to make AI processing faster, cheaper and more energy efficient. The Government said the company had achieved a valuation exceeding $1 billion, placing it among the United Kingdom’s newly established technology unicorns.

Ministers said the investment was intended to strengthen domestic capability in advanced semiconductors and retain more of the employment and economic activity associated with AI infrastructure. Sovereign AI was established to take stakes in selected British companies considered capable of scaling internationally. The value and detailed commercial terms of the Government’s investment in OLIX were not disclosed in the announcement.

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Severn Trent Water has agreed payments totalling £2,277,424 to environmental charities following Environment Agency investigations into pollution incidents in the West Midlands. The money is being provided through two enforcement undertakings, which allow the regulator to accept restoration, prevention and financial commitments for certain environmental offences.

More than £1.8 million will go to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, including £1.5 million relating to unauthorised sewage discharges from Blackminster Wastewater Treatment Works into Broadway Brook in June and August 2022. A further £327,424 relates to a breach of an ammonia permit condition at Cheltenham Hayden Wastewater Treatment Works in 2021.

Severn Rivers Trust will receive £450,000 for projects intended to improve river environments. Severn Trent must also meet the Environment Agency’s costs and carry out measures to prevent recurrence or repair harm. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust plans to use part of its funding for work including the Severn Treescapes project, which supports tree planting and restoration at sites across the region.

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European Union member states have approved the United Kingdom’s participation in the EU’s €90 billion support loan for Ukraine. The framework is intended to meet urgent defence and budgetary needs during 2026 and 2027, with British participation allowing Ukraine to use loan financing to buy eligible defence products from manufacturers based in the United Kingdom.

The loan allocates an indicative €60 billion for defence industrial capacity and procurement, with €30 billion available for economic and budgetary support. The Council said €8.1 billion had already been disbursed, including €3.2 billion in budget assistance and nearly €4.9 billion for defence. The Commission expects to release €28.3 billion from the defence package during 2026.

The United Kingdom agreed to make a fair and proportionate contribution to borrowing costs and qualifies through its security and defence partnership with the European Union and its existing support for Ukraine. The approval followed a contribution agreement signed on 13 July. Formal adoption was to take place through a written procedure, with the decision entering into force upon publication in the EU’s Official Journal.

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Knife related homicides have fallen to their lowest recorded level in 35 years, according to figures highlighted by the Home Office. The Government said knife enabled homicides had decreased by 26 per cent during its period in office, while overall knife crime had fallen by 11 per cent since the general election.

More than 14,500 knives and offensive weapons have been surrendered through Home Office funded bins since July 2025. Items collected include machetes, swords, zombie style knives, ninja swords and kitchen knives. A further 783 weapons were handed in through a mobile surrender van operated during a dedicated scheme last summer.

New surrender bins are being introduced in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, adding to locations in London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. The mobile van is also due to visit sites in the West Midlands and 24 London boroughs. The Government has set a target of halving knife crime over ten years and said further policing, prevention and surrender measures would continue.

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Agricultural technology businesses, researchers and farmers will be able to bid for a share of £20 million to develop robots and automated systems for crop production. The funding is intended to support technology capable of planting seeds, tending crops and harvesting produce, including tasks currently dependent on seasonal labour.

The competition forms part of the Farming Innovation Programme and will finance collaborative projects intended to move equipment towards commercial use. The Government cited work by Fieldwork Robotics on an automated raspberry picker as an example of technology being developed with public support to improve reliability and allow wider deployment.

The £20 million allocation is included within a wider £53 million increase in agricultural innovation funding and takes the amount available during the year to £123 million. Ministers said applications would be assessed on their potential to improve productivity, resilience and farm profitability while addressing labour shortages at busy periods of the agricultural calendar.

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The Council of the European Union has approved the restoration of temporary rules allowing online service providers voluntarily to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material. The earlier exemption from electronic communications privacy rules expired on 3 April, creating a gap while negotiations continued on a permanent legal framework.

The interim regulation permits providers to resume voluntary activity intended to identify offenders, support investigations and prevent the further distribution of abusive material. Amendments adopted by the European Parliament exclude number independent interpersonal communications that use, have used or will use end to end encryption from the scope of the temporary measure.

The restored arrangements will apply until 3 April 2028 and are expected to enter into force three days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Council and Parliament are continuing negotiations on longer term legislation, which is intended to establish a permanent framework for preventing and combating child sexual abuse online.