The Financial Times says the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic declined to submit its latest test models, external to Britain’s AI Security Institute. Its report notes that vetted US bodies were given access, prompting alarm in Whitehall. The Daily Star focuses on the comments from Jacob Coxon, external, a former employee of the company, who warned the technology could kill all humans by the end of the decade. In a nod to the sci-fi movie, The Terminator, its headline reads “Hasta la vista”.
The Daily Telegraph focuses on what it calls Labour’s “new tax assault on hospitality”, external – with mayors in England being given the power to impose unlimited levies on tourists. The paper says senior figures in the sector were surprised by the announcement, having initially believed the tax would be capped. One unnamed source is quoted as saying the plans will create a “jobs bloodbath”.
The police inquiry into Reform UK leads the Guardian and the Daily Mirror. The Guardian says the financial scandal has deepened, external – noting that the investigation will form part of an existing inquiry into Reform’s political funding. “Farage faces cop quiz on donors,”, external reads the Mirror’s headline. The party calls that “pure speculation” in the i Paper.
The Daily Mail says Labour has been branded the “welfare party”, external by the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch after the prime minister said he would never prioritise defence spending over benefits. The report calls it a “staggering admission”. Writing in the paper, Badenoch says Andy Burnham said “the quiet part out loud”. In a similar vein, the Telegraph says Burnham “let the cat out of the bag”, external.
The Metro leads on the problems at air traffic control, external and calls for the head of National Air Traffic Services (Nats) to step down with its headline: “Ready for departure?” Its front page features a picture of Martin Rolfe, as well as stranded passengers sleeping at Heathrow airport.
The Duke of Sussex and King Charles III have spoken since Prince Harry returned to the UK with his family, according to the Daily Express, external. It quotes royal sources who say that, despite conflicting reports, father and son spoke to each other in the first week of the latter’s arrival in the Cotswolds.