Tag: Downing Street

The UK will roll out a major expansion to its cyber defence programme in Ukraine, protecting the country’s critical national infrastructure from crippling Russian attacks.

The programme, which supports Ukraine’s Government to rapidly respond to and defend vital government services against debilitating cyber-attacks, will be boosted by an injection of up to £25 million and a two-year expansion.

The package will include £16 million in UK funding and potential for a further £9 million contribution from international allies.

It is the latest tranche of UK support to Ukraine as the country mounts its counteroffensive against Russian forces that have brutally invaded the country, using all domains to sow instability and attempt to destroy Ukraine’s rightful sovereignty.

The Prime Minister, who will this week make the case for the private sector to join the counteroffensive against Russia by supporting Ukraine through investment, will say that it is vital the international community hardens Ukraine’s defences to enable it to protect and grow investment into the country.

Ukraine has successfully fought back a number of cyber-attacks by Russian forces, including destructive wiper-ware attacks and covert espionage-ware attacks.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Russia’s appalling attacks on Ukraine are not limited to their barbaric land invasion, but also involve sickening attempts to attack their cyber infrastructure that provides vital services, from banking to energy supplies, to innocent Ukrainian people.

This funding is critical to stopping those onslaughts, hardening Ukraine’s cyber defences and increasing the country’s ability to detect and disable the malware targeted at them.

The UK-funded Ukraine Cyber Programme (UCP) uses world-leading expertise, from both the private and public sector, to protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure and vital public services.

The support, which builds on the Foreign Secretary’s announcement of £6.35 million for the programme last year, will also fund and provide forensic capabilities to enable Ukrainian cyber experts to analyse system compromises, attribute attackers and build better evidence to prosecute these indiscriminate attacks.

In addition to boosting cyber defences, the UK has also stepped up its military support to Ukraine.

This week, the UK contributed a further £250 million to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), which announced it would provide a major package of air defence, including radars, guns and ammunition to Kyiv to protect Ukrainian cities from indiscriminate Russian attacks.

That announcement followed the delivery of the UK’s long-range missile strike capability Storm Shadow last month, which has provided Ukraine with game-changing capability to defend itself from Russian attacks and degrade the capability of invading Russian forces.

Rules banning multibuy deals on foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar – including buy one get one free deals – will be delayed for another two years until October 2025, the government has confirmed.

The policy had already been subject to a delay until October 2023. This will now be extended to allow the government to continue to review the impact of the restrictions on the consumers and businesses in light of the unprecedented global economic situation.

Economies across the world have been affected by higher-than-expected global energy and goods prices, leading to increased costs across supply chains.

The delay means shoppers will be able to continue taking advantage of multibuy offers on all foods.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

I firmly believe in people’s right to choose – and at a time when household budgets are under continuing pressure from the global rise in food prices, it is not fair for government to restrict the options available to consumers on their weekly shop.

It is right that we consider carefully the impact on consumers and businesses, while ensuring we’re striking the balance with our important mission to reduce obesity and help people live healthier lives.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

With families facing rising food prices and cost of living pressures, it is right that we delay the implementation of these restrictions so as to support businesses and allow them to focus on making food more affordable for families.

We remain committed to cutting waiting lists by tackling obesity which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second biggest cause of cancer. We’re already taking action to do so, including by launching pilots for the latest anti-obesity drugs.

Addressing obesity remains a priority for government, as it will help to reduce the strain put on the NHS as it works to tackle the COVID-19 backlogs.

This month the government announced the rollout of a new generation of obesity drugs to support people to lose weight and reduce pressure on hospitals.

This comes on top of further action including:

• Introducing calorie labelling on menus, which are expected to bring health benefits of £4.6 billion and provide NHS savings of £430 million
• Restrictions on the location of unhealthy foods in shops, which are expected to bring health benefits of over £57 billion and provide NHS savings of over £4 billion over the next 25 years
• Introducing the Soft Drinks Industry Levy which has seen the average sugar content of drinks decrease by 46 per cent between 2015 and 2020
• Investment to boost school sport to help children and young people have an active start to life.

The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Ian Bishop, Archdeacon of Macclesfield, for appointment to the Suffragan See of Thetford, in the Diocese of Norwich, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Alan Winton, following his retirement.

Background

Ian was educated at Portsmouth Polytechnic and trained for ministry at Oak Hill Theological College. He served his title at Christ Church, Purley, in the Diocese of Southwark, and was ordained Priest in 1992. In 1995, Ian was appointed Rector of the Tas Valley Team Ministry, in the Diocese of Norwich.

In 2001, Ian was appointed Rector of St Michael and All Angels, Middlewich, and St John the Evangelist, Byley, in the Diocese of Chester, and additionally served as Rural Dean for Middlewich from 2004. Since 2011, Ian has served as Archdeacon of Macclesfield.

The UK must act quickly if we want to retain our position as one of the world’s tech capitals, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will tell tech leaders today [Monday 12 June].

Speaking at the launch of the tenth London Tech Week, the Prime Minister will argue that as the “tectonic plates of technology are shifting”, the UK must harness innovation to become the best place for tech businesses to invest and grow, in turn growing the economy and creating jobs.

With world-leading universities, more tech unicorns than France and Germany combined, and one of the most digitally literate societies in the world, the Prime Minister will make clear that the UK is starting from a position of strength, outlining how Government will work with businesses to capitalise on the opportunities presented by transformative technologies, such as AI.

From building one of the most pro-investment tax regimes, to committing almost a fifth of our entire capital budget to R&D – the highest level this country has ever seen – and investing record sums in building our quantum capability, the Prime Minister will underline his commitment to creating the right conditions for innovators to thrive.

The Prime Minister is expected to tell tech leaders:

We must act – and act quickly – if we want not only to retain our position as one of the world’s tech capitals …

… but to go even further, and make this the best country in the world to start, grow and invest in tech businesses.

That is my goal. And I feel a sense of urgency and responsibility to make sure we seize it.

Already home to the largest tech economy in Europe, he will reinforce that the tech sector is at the heart of his priority to grow the economy.

Together with Ministers from across Government, responsible for nurturing and attracting talent, driving world-class research and unlocking investment, he will set out their shared mission to help the UK’s tech eco-system flourish at the launch of London Tech Week.

Part of this effort is represented by Government’s decision to introduce High Potential Individual, Global Talent and Scale-up Worker visas. These routes are designed to attract the best and brightest global talent and will encourage academics and professionals to share their knowledge, skills and ideas in the UK, and make a positive contribution to the economy.

Following his announcement that the UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety later this year, the Prime Minister will also stress the UK’s leadership as a democratic AI power – already home to top AI labs, including DeepMind.

This has been recognised globally by like-minded countries and partners, who have agreed to work together to mitigate the risks through internationally coordinated action. The UK’s expert taskforce on AI foundation models, backed by £100 million in Government funding, will lead on cutting-edge AI safety in the UK.

During his speech, the Prime Minister will outline the opportunities AI presents as well as the need to ensure its development remains safe and responsible. That includes bringing together academia, leading tech companies and Government to deliver the benefits that will improve people’s lives.

The Prime Minister will say:

Already we’ve seen AI help the paralysed to walk; and discover superbug-killing antibiotics – and that’s just the beginning.

“…The possibilities are extraordinary. But we must – and we will – do it safely.

“…I want to make the UK not just the intellectual home, but the geographical home of global AI safety regulation.”

The Prime Minister will continue to host key tech businesses and entrepreneurs at Downing Street throughout London Tech Week, while Government Ministers will promote and discuss how we are supporting the UK’s tech sector with stakeholders at events including panel sessions and speeches.

Poppy Gustafsson, CEO of Darktrace, said:

The tenth year of London Tech Week is going to be the most exciting so far. AI will be at the centre of the agenda and that should give UK tech plenty to be happy about. We’re home to unrivalled AI talent, incredible academic institutions like the Turing Institute, and businesses, like Darktrace, that have track records of developing and delivering world-leading AI. The UK is in a great position to be at the forefront of the AI revolution. I see that every day in our teams in Cambridge who are working at the very forefront of these technological innovations. I’m excited to see this country leaning in on this agenda and actively looking to capitalise on the tremendous opportunities that this creates.

Divesh Makan, Founding Partner, ICONIQ Capital:

At ICONIQ, we believe that technology isn’t a vertical but rather a horizontal that cuts across all businesses and aspects of our daily lives. We have seen remarkable advances in artificial intelligence, cloud storage and analytics, healthcare, and the software underlying everything drive massive transformations across sectors and society. And now, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of London Tech Week and consider the opportunities and challenges ahead, one thing is clear: the future is arriving faster than anyone expected. Under Prime Minister Sunak’s leadership, the UK’s tech community will continue to play a vital role in creating a better tomorrow for everyone.

Vishal Marria, CEO of Quantexa, said:

The UK is home to some of the world’s top tech talent and has created several of the world’s most innovative technology companies. Quantexa, an AI-driven decision intelligence company based in London, is a great example of the power of British innovation in action. In just seven years, the company has achieved a valuation of £1.5bn, employs over 650 people globally, and supports tens of thousands of users in some of the world’s largest organizations on its platform for risk management, customer insights, and data unification.

As a British entrepreneur, I am encouraged by this government’s commitment to investing in emerging disciplines such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence and its determination to ensure that the UK tech market continues to thrive by taking a “pro-innovation” approach to much-needed regulation.

Our growing London tech ecosystem and our government share a vision for building on our heritage of innovation in a fiercely competitive global economy. To achieve its goal of becoming a science and technology superpower, the UK must actively nurture this growing sector and make decisive, strategic investments that stimulate innovation.

Charlie Bryant, CEO at Zoopla, said:

As one of the first British tech unicorns, Zoopla is delighted to be part of the remarkable growth of London and the UK as the tech capital of Europe. The foundations that have built this leading role include the UK’s position as a global hub for tech talent, the depth of capital and London’s global city status which creates an attractive environment for inward investment. I believe the UK will continue to pave the way when it comes to tech innovation in Europe.

Demis Hassabis, CEO & CO-Founder, Google DeepMind, said:

AI will play a critical role in shaping the future of our economy and society. I’m looking forward to talking about this with the Prime Minister at London Tech Week.

Janet Coyle CBE, Managing Director of Grow London at London & Partners, said:

Over the past decade, the UK has established itself as a leading destination to setup and scale a technology business. The tenth anniversary of London Tech Week offers a great opportunity to showcase our success and discuss how we can continue to be a top tech hub on the global stage. This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever and it’s exciting to see how many international delegations will be coming into London to explore investment and expansion opportunities in our capital.

Carolyn Dawson OBE, CEO, Founders Forum Group:

The UK tech ecosystem is uniting to celebrate the 10th London Tech Week, the largest in its history. Global delegates will be part of the 17,000 people taking part in this iconic event. The UK can excel in the industries of the future, from deeptech to fintech, sustainability and life sciences, there are so many competitive advantages at our disposal. We are evermore excited that London Tech Week serves as a platform to amplify this position for the UK on a global stage and is proud to connect the ecosystem of innovators, entrepreneurs and investors together to drive positive change through technology.

Erin Platts, CEO, Silicon Valley Bank UK.

Embracing the UK’s innovators and investors, and enabling their bold ideas is more important than ever to our long-term economic prosperity. The Prime Minister’s support for the UK’s innovation reflects the government’s commitment to making the UK a global innovation leader. We’re excited for the optimism and ambition demonstrated everyday by our tech ecosystem and we welcome pledges for the UK to become an innovation superpower by 2030. This is a clear vote of confidence for the UK’s tech and life sciences industries and I’m confident we can achieve this through ongoing collaboration between industry and government.

Taavet Hinrikus, Co-founder, Wise and Co-founder, Plural, said:

London is one of the best places in the world to build a tech company. This extraordinary ecosystem is what helped me grow my company Wise and it’s why we chose to found Plural here last year to support the next generation of entrepreneurs who are building global companies to solve difficult problems.

Joanna Shields, CEO of Benevolent AI, said:

At BenevolentAI, we have first-hand experience applying AI’s transformative potential. We harness the power of LLMs and other AI models to empower scientists and expedite innovation in biopharma. In domains as complex as life sciences, it is imperative to deploy AI safely and responsibly. We have a limited opportunity to take action, and I am delighted that the UK Government is treating this matter seriously by announcing the formation of a task force and an AI Summit scheduled for this fall. These crucial initiatives serve as a solid foundation, and now it is essential for both the public and private sectors to collaborate closely to tackle this monumental challenge and position the UK at the forefront of AI regulation.

T S Anil, CEO of Monzo, said:

As the UK’s biggest digital bank with more than 7.5m customers, we are an example of how technology can improve people’s lives, and drive economic growth. The UK is a top destination for fintech companies and home to some of the most interesting and innovative scaling businesses. That leading position will be maintained by retaining and evolving the UK’s world class regulatory system, as well as helping to attract and develop the best talent, and we welcome policy measures and initiatives that support that.

Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce UK&I, said:

At Salesforce, we recognise the transformative power of generative AI, including its influence in securing and maintaining the UK’s status as a global technology leader. We strongly welcome the PM’s announcement to host a global AI summit this autumn and commitment to make the UK the centre of gravity on AI safety. This is a watershed moment for our industry and it is imperative that AI is developed safely and responsibly, with ethics and inclusivity at the heart. A trust-first evolution is crucial for future success.

Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder, Wise:

The UK is where we started our journey 12 years ago to achieve money without borders and make the world’s money faster, cheaper, easier, and more transparent for people and businesses. Connecting directly to the Bank of England and into the UK’s Faster Payments Scheme was one of our first big steps forward in achieving this mission. That enabled us to deliver faster, and cheaper payments for our customers in the UK. That the UK was the first country in which we were able to get there is testament to the forward looking approach of its institutions. Today we serve 16 million people and businesses around the world by building the best infrastructure for the world’s money and the tech that’s enabled us to do that was built here.

The leaders welcomed the agreement of the Atlantic Declaration, a new approach to the economic relationship between our countries. This plan will see us embark on the deepest level of economic cooperation either of our two countries have ever had with another country.

The Prime Minister and President Biden both agreed that, as likeminded countries with deeply interconnected advanced economies, the UK and US are perfectly placed to take on the challenges of the future.

The first agreements under the Atlantic Declaration include new commitments on supporting one another’s critical supply chains, developing new, clean technologies and removing barriers to the uninterrupted exchange of goods and services between our economies.

The leaders agreed that accelerating international cooperation on safe and responsible AI development is one of the pressing issues of our age. As frontier nations, the UK and US will be a crucial part of these efforts alongside international partners.

The Prime Minister and President Biden agreed that our economic cooperation forms a fundamental part of the UK-US relationship, complementing our incredibly strong defence and security alliance.

The leaders welcomed ongoing progress on AUKUS, as well as UK and US leadership in NATO.

They agreed that the UK and US continue to have an important role to play in bringing stability in regions throughout the world, and countering state and non-state hostile activity. This includes supporting Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s illegal invasion.

The leaders looked forward to seeing one another again at next month’s NATO Summit in Vilnius.

The Prime Minister and President Biden have agreed an innovative economic partnership today (Thursday), which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before across the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations.

The ‘Atlantic Declaration’ heralds a new era for the thriving economic relationship between the UK and US, and builds on decades of very close cooperation on defence and security. It applies the same principle – that the UK and US will work together in the face of new challenges – to our economic partnership as we long have to our defence alliance.

This unprecedented bilateral partnership takes a different approach to our economic relationship than we have taken before, recognising that our economies must move with speed and agility to address the challenges we face.

Following their meeting at the White House today, the Prime Minister and President Biden have announced new measures under the Atlantic Declaration – an action plan for the future of our partnership. This includes:

• Working together to reduce our vulnerabilities across critical technology supply chains, including by sharing analysis, developing and deepening our channels for coordination and timely consultation during crises. To support the critical clean energy industry, our net zero ambitions and to keep Russia out of the global civil nuclear power market, the UK and US will launch a new civil nuclear partnership.
• An innovative approach targeting specific areas for economic advancement. This includes a commitment in principle to a new UK-US Data Bridge which would make it easier for around 55,000 UK businesses to transfer data freely to certified US organisations without cumbersome red tape – translating into an estimated £92.4m in direct savings per year. It also includes the immediate launch of negotiations on a Critical Minerals Agreement.
• Stepping up international efforts to ensure the safe and responsible development of AI, starting with an international summit on AI safety which will be hosted in the UK later this year, welcomed by the US.
• Enhancing cooperation on measures to stop our adversaries from developing and acquiring sensitive technologies that can be used to do us harm.
• Research collaboration to entrench UK and US leadership in the most important future technologies – AI, future telecoms (5G & 6G), quantum, semiconductors and engineering biology.
• New opportunities for increased investment in one another’s economies. President Biden plans to ask the US Congress to designate the UK as a ‘domestic source’ within the meaning of Title III of the the Defense Production Act – meaning British companies can benefit from US Government investment on the same basis as American firms. The act has previously been used to speed up the development of hypersonic weapons.

Our economies are going through the greatest change since the industrial revolution, with emerging technologies like biotechnology and AI transforming the way we live and work. But while those new technologies offer huge potential to save lives, grow our economies and tackle climate change, in the hands of our adversaries they could be used as tools to undermine our national security.

With our highly interconnected economies, our leadership in areas like emerging technology and our deeply entrenched shared values, the UK and US are natural partners to approach these issues together.

This new approach to our economic partnership, which puts the strength of our relationship front and centre in addressing the biggest challenges we face, will both deliver for our people and support an open international order.

The Prime Minister said:

The UK and US have always pushed the boundaries of what two countries can achieve together. Over generations we have fought alongside one another, shared intelligence we don’t share with anyone else, and built the strongest investment relationship in world history.

So it’s natural that, when faced with the greatest transformation in our economies since the industrial revolution, we would look to each other to build a stronger economic future together.

The Atlantic Declaration sets a new standard for economic cooperation, propelling our economies into the future so we can protect our people, create jobs and grow our economies together.

Negotiations will begin immediately on many aspects of the partnership, including on a Critical Minerals Agreement. An agreement would give buyers of vehicles made using critical minerals processed or mined by UK companies access to tax credits in line with the US Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act provides a $3,750 incentive for each vehicle, on conditions including that the critical minerals used in its production – principally used in the battery – are sourced from the US or a country with whom the US has a critical minerals agreement.

The UK is already a net exporter of raw materials for EV batteries to the US and this agreement will help UK-based firms involved in the mining, recycling and refining of critical minerals who are suppling US electric vehicle and battery manufacturers – benefitting this growing industry. This is a a sector with companies all over the UK, including nickel production in Wales and lithium processing in Teesside.

With a trading relationship worth £279 billion a year, and shared investment totalling over £1 trillion, the US is already our most important trading partner. Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced £14 billion of new US investment into the UK, demonstrating the importance of this relationship to UK growth and jobs.

Teams from the White House and Downing Street will meet regularly to drive action under the Atlantic Declaration, ensuring it continues to meet the high objectives the Prime Minister and President Biden have set today.