HS2 bill could rise to £102bn with first trains delayed until 2039, government admits
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander blames Conservative government for ‘obscene increase in times and costs’

The HS2 high-speed railway will now cost up to £102.7bn and trains will not start running between London and Birmingham until as late as 2039, the government has admitted – £70bn more and 13 years later than originally promised.

The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said the truncated railway would not be entirely completed until as late as 2043.

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UK supermarkets urged to consider voluntary price caps on essential foods
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

Retail sources rebuff government proposal as ‘unjustified’ and likely to push costs up across board

UK supermarkets have been asked by the government to consider freezing the prices of some essential foodstuffs to protect the public from inflation fuelled by the Middle East conflict.

Retailers rejected the plan, criticising its potential cost amid rising taxes, fuel and energy costs and arguing it could push up prices for shoppers overall.

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Spending watchdog warns £38bn cost of Sizewell C nuclear plant is ‘risky’
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

National Audit Office says potential benefits are ‘considerable but uncertain’ while risks are ‘immediate and substantial’

The cost of the government’s £38bn nuclear plant in Suffolk is subject to “significant uncertainty” and may outweigh the benefits for UK households until at least 2064, according to the government’s spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that although the potential benefits of the Sizewell C nuclear plant are considerable, they remain uncertain. The risks, however, are “immediate, substantial and borne by the public”.

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Old Spanish Hen? Estrella owner buys Greene King ale brand
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

Pub owner’s sale to Barcelona-based brewer Damm is latest takeover of a British beer by an overseas buyer

Pub chain Greene King has agreed to sell its Old Speckled Hen ale brands to the Spanish owner of Estrella lager, making it the latest in a series of British beers to be snapped up by overseas buyers.

Barcelona-based brewer Damm has agreed to buy all the Old Speckled Hen lines, including its non-alcoholic and golden ale versions.

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How Sam Altman’s victory over Elon Musk clears way for OpenAI’s trillion-dollar ambitions
Posted on Monday May 18, 2026

OpenAI’s plans now seem all but guaranteed, given that the world’s richest man couldn’t put a stop to them

On Monday morning, a jury in Oakland, California, handed a resounding victory to Sam Altman and OpenAI in their long, bitter courtroom battle with Elon Musk.

The federal jury found Altman, OpenAI and its president, Greg Brockman, not liable for Elon Musk’s claims that they unjustly enriched themselves and broke a founding contract made with Musk when founding the startup. The unanimous verdict, delivered after less than two hours of deliberation, is a stark rebuke of Musk and his lawyer’s claims that Altman “stole a charity” through his leadership of OpenAI.

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Who’s behind the Facebook page posting hateful AI slop about the UK? The answer might lie in south Asia | Niamh McIntyre
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

Our research has uncovered young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and Pakistan using AI tools to make deeply objectionable content – and money

• Niamh McIntyre is a senior reporter at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Scroll through any Facebook feed in Britain and, between the baby announcements and petty neighbourhood beefs, you’re likely to come across an account with a union jack profile picture and a vague, generic name like Britain Today.

These accounts – and there are hundreds, possibly thousands of them – present themselves as the work of British patriots. In one typical, AI-generated video, a middle-aged man claims his local cafe “has stopped serving pork, bacon and sausages just to avoid offending people”. Another post from the same account includes a sepia-tinted set of images of Victorian London, mourning a time when the city “was English, first-world and beautiful”. Alongside this type of reactionary nostalgia, it’s not unusual to see memes that call Islam a “cancer”, decry Muslims praying in public as an “invasion of the west” or promote the “great replacement theory” (which claims that white populations are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants).

Niamh McIntyre is a senior reporter at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism

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Arsenal crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City draw
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

• Arsenal win title for the first time since 2004

• Players celebrate together at training ground

• Reaction after Gunners crowned champions

Arsenal are Premier League champions for the first time since Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles in 2004 after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth.

Arsenal’s squad and staff, including Mikel Arteta, gathered at the training ground in Hertfordshire to watch the game, with Declan Rice posting a picture on Instagram within minutes of the full-time whistle of him with Kai Havertz, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Myles Lewis-Skelly and William Saliba. “I told you all .. it’s done,” wrote the England midfielder in reference to his “It’s not done” battlecry after Arsenal lost to City last month.

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Pep Guardiola refuses to confirm expected departure from Manchester City
Posted on Tuesday May 19, 2026

• Manager to speak to club hierarchy before announcing decision

• Guardiola: ‘The first person I have to talk to is my chairman’

Pep Guardiola refused to publicly comment on the expectation that his 10-year reign at Manchester City will come to an end despite reports in the Guardian that he has already informed his players.

“I could say I have one year of contract – the conversation we have had for many years,” he said. A 1-1 draw at Bournemouth meant City could not prevent Arsenal becoming Premier League champions. Guardiola repeated the deflection he has used throughout this season. “Always from my experience, when you [media] announce whatever you announce during a competition, it is a bad, bad result.”

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