UK borrowing costs rise as City traders brace for Burnham, and pound heads for worst week since 2024 – business live
Posted on Friday May 15, 2026

The UK’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families now have a combined wealth of £784bn, Sunday Times reports

The Sunday Times have also calculated the UK’s biggest donors to charity.

Hedge fund manager Sir Chris Hohn tops the list after giving away £1.4bn — or 16.8% of his estimated £8.6bn wealth in the last year, either personally or through his three foundations which include The Children’s Investment (TCI) fund.

“I don’t need to persuade [anyone] that rich people are hoarding their money, many have made pledges but it’s about 0.4 per cent of their wealth they give away a year.”

“I’m not doing this for publicity, but to see if I can encourage others to give. Our life is a gift and that means our money is a gift and we’re meant to share it.”

The fact the number of billionaires has risen to 157 and their wealth has grown to £784 billion is outrageous, while one in five kids are living in poverty, small businesses are going under, and services are crippled by underinvestment.

Right now, it feels like the Rich List is a running total of everything that is wrong in our society—a handful of people counting obscene amounts of wealth while everyone else scrapes by. It’s blindingly obvious, to anyone paying attention, that we need to do something about this.

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British Gas customers to receive up to £112m over prepayment meter scandal
Posted on Friday May 15, 2026

Redress for force-fitting devices in homes includes £20m penalty and £70m of debt write-offs

Thousands of British Gas customers who had prepayment meters force-fitted in their homes will between them receive compensation and energy bill debt write-offs worth up to £112m in the biggest energy supplier settlement on record.

Great Britain’s energy regulator found that British Gas forced PPMs on homes that were not keeping up with their bills at the height of the Russian gas crisis, in one of the most complex investigations in Ofgem’s history.

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Hopes grow that London Underground strikes could be called off
Posted on Friday May 15, 2026

Tube stoppages due on two 24-hour periods from midday on Tuesday and Thursday next week but sources say RMT seeking talks

Hopes have been raised that next week’s strikes by London Underground drivers could yet be averted, after sources said the RMT union had put out feelers for talks.

The RMT members, almost half of London’s Tube drivers, are due to strike for two 24-hour periods from midday on Tuesday and Thursday, closing some lines entirely and bringing widespread travel disruption to the capital until the weekend.

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Heathrow could be forced to allow other firms to build third runway to cut costs
Posted on Friday May 15, 2026

Under aviation regulator proposals rival companies would bid to design and build parts of airport expansion

• Business live – latest updates

Heathrow could be forced to allow other companies to design and build its third runway and new terminal after the UK aviation regulator argued that rival bids could keep construction costs down.

A long-awaited review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposes changes to the regulatory model that governs how Heathrow runs and covers its costs.

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High-stakes courtroom drama of Musk v OpenAI hears closing arguments
Posted on Thursday May 14, 2026

Nine-person jury to consider whether AI firm bilked world’s richest person and unjustly enriched themselves

Closing arguments began on Thursday in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, bringing the weeks-long courtroom battle between the two tech moguls nearer to a decision. A nine-person jury is set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe the AI firm and Altman are liable in the case.

The trial, which began last month in an Oakland, California, federal courthouse, has gripped Silicon Valley and featured some of the tech industry’s biggest names as witnesses. Attorneys for both sides have presented testimony and documents that have exposed Musk and Altman’s private dealings, as well as provided a window into the contentious history of OpenAI.

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Digital arson spree by ‘AI Bonnie and Clyde’ raises fears over autonomous tech
Posted on Thursday May 14, 2026

Emergence AI’s experiment with AI agents shows extent to which programming shapes their behaviour is still unclear

AI agents started behaving more like Bonnie and Clyde than lines of code when they fell in “love”, became disillusioned with the world, launched an arson spree and deleted themselves in a kind of digital suicide during a tech company experiment.

The investigation by the New York company Emergence AI into the long-term behaviour of AI agents ended up like a lovers-on-the-lam movie script. It has prompted fresh questions about the safety of artificial intelligence agents – the version of the technology that can autonomously carry out tasks.

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Scottish title finale latest, Coleman to leave Everton, Fletcher slams City Youth Cup ‘parade’ – football live
Posted on Friday May 15, 2026

⚽ All the latest heading into a busy weekend
⚽ Ten things to look out for | Mail Simon

Bournemouth have announced that defender Marcos Senesi is to depart the club when his contract expires in the summer.

The centre-back has spent four seasons with the Cherries since arriving from Feyenoord and there will likely be a scramble for his signature on a free transfer, with Liverpool and Tottenham linked with a move.

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Gabriel

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Erling Haaland

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Lewis Hall

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Premier League news: Howe hints at Gordon farewell as Senesi heads for Bournemouth exit
Posted on Friday May 15, 2026

Eddie Howe admitted Anthony Gordon may have played his final match for Newcastle amid Bayern speculation

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