UK Politics

The number of “nationally significant” cyber attacks in the last eight months has doubled on the same period a year ago, a security chief has warned.Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, said that the agency had dealt with 200 incidents since September 2024, including twice as many causing widespread disruption as the same period last year.Speaking at the CyberUK conference in Manchester on Wednesday, Mr Horne warned that adversaries were “probing for weaknesses” and operating daily in a grey area “between peace and war” to pursue geopolitical goals.Russia will continue to target Ukraine and supporting countries with digital espionage in order to gain strategic ground in ceasefire negotiations, he said, while the UK faces further threats from Iran, China and North Korea.The intervention comes after a wave of cyber attacks on high-profile British retailers including Harrods, Marks and Spencer and the Co-op Group in recent weeks.In a speech to business chiefs and tech experts, Mr Horne said: “In just the last few weeks, we have seen the very real impacts that cyber attacks can have and the kind of disruption they can cause for both businesses and individuals alike.“The threat picture is diverse and dramatic – at the NCSC we’ve managed more than 200 incidents since September last year.“This includes twice as many nationally significant incidents as the same period a year ago.”Mr Horne said that behind the attacks were “our adversaries”, warning that “hostile nation states have weaponised their cyber capabilities.”“While they might not be using them in pursuit or support of direct conflict, some are operating daily in the grey zone, that murky space between peace and war where states and non-state actors engage in competitive activity.”While Beijing remains the “pacing threat” in the cyber realm with the Chinese Communist Party’s “vast ecosystem” of legislation and data, Moscow has been using criminal proxies to focus on acts of sabotage, he said.“With our partners in MI5, including the National Protective Security Authority, we see a direct connection between Russian cyber attacks and physical threats to our security,” Mr Horne warned.“These threats are manifesting on the streets of the UK against our industries and our businesses, putting lives, critical services and national security at risk.“And so the role of our community is therefore not just about protecting systems, it’s about protecting our people, our economy, our society from harm.”He added: “Today, I can say for the first time, based on our assessments, that as we move closer to the possibility of a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict it is almost certain that Russia will continue its wider cyber espionage activity against Ukraine and supporting countries to gain strategic advantage in its negotiation strategy.”Meanwhile, UK firms are being targeted by IT workers in the North Korean system to raise revenue for the country’s regime and Britain also faces a heightened threat of espionage from Iran, he said.Mr Horne said the NCSC, which is a part of the UK’s GCHQ spy agency, is able to gather intelligence about what adversaries are doing and an act on it at pace to disrupt hostile activity.But he said cybersecurity must be something that “we all need to do together” to “ensure our collective success”.“We cannot control everything, but we must control the things that we can and be prepared for the things we can’t,” Mr Horne said.Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden warned that Government systems are not “bombproof” and remain in need of modernisation.Speaking at the conference, the senior Cabinet minister said: “I can’t stand here this morning and tell you that the Government systems are bombproof. This is not the case.“We have new systems built on top of legacy systems and we are doing everything in our power to modernise the state and to upgrade these core systems but the Government and the country as a whole has to take this seriously if we are going to do it securely in the future.”Mr McFadden said the cyber attacks in recent weeks should be a “wake-up call” for British businesses as he announces a £16 million package to boost defence at home and abroad.The Government has unveiled measures aimed at reinforcing systems against attack, including driving investment into CHERI, a “magic chip” that builds advanced memory protections in microprocessors.Some £4.5 million will be spent helping firms bring the technology, which can block up to 70% of common cyber attacks, to market, the Cabinet Office said.A new software security code of practice will also be published on Wednesday, outlining essential steps the Government believes every organisation developing or selling software should be taking to secure their products.An extra £7 million for Britain’s Laboratory for AI Security Research will be confirmed, along with investment of £8 million in Ukrainian cyber defences and more than £1 million to “protect Moldovan elections”.Mr McFadden said cyber would also be a prime target for economic growth in the Government’s upcoming industrial strategy.“There is enormous potential for cyber security to be a driving force in our economy – creating jobs, growth and opportunities for people. It’s already a sector on the up – with over 2,000 businesses across the UK,” he said.“It is going to be a significant commitment, a vote of confidence in your sector, and one that will tell the world: the UK plans to be a global player in cybersecurity for decades to come.” More

Britain is said to be days away from to securing a trade deal with the US which would lessen the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.The UK has been in talks with the Trump administration as part of an attempt to agree a carve out from tariffs, which are wreaking havoc on the global economy. Trade negotiators have returned to Washington this week and officials told the Financial Times that the trade deal could be agreed in the next few days. It could include quotas that would exempt a certain number of UK exports from the full impact of 25 per cent tariffs on the British car and steel industry.The UK is seeking a carve out from Donald Trump’s tariffs More

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by his own MPs to “act now” to reverse the cut to winter fuel payments as backlash over the move grows.There has been growing public anger over the policy after Labour suffered a disastrous result at last week’s local elections, which saw Reform pick up 10 councils and more than 600 seats. The Red Wall group of Labour MPs, made up of around 45 MPs from Red Wall constituencies, warned that Sir Keir’s response that he would “go further and faster” in delivering his plans had “fallen on deaf ears”. They warned that voters across the UK had told the Labour Party “loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations”.Sir Keir Starmer is coming under increasing pressure from his own party (Henry Nicholls/PA) More

Cyber attacks on major UK retailers in recent weeks should be a “wake-up call” for firms across the country, a Cabinet minister will warn, as the Government unveils measures aimed at ramping up protections for British organisations.Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden will tell tech experts and business chiefs that cybersecurity is “not a luxury but an absolute necessity” as he announces a £16 million package to boost defence at home and abroad.Harrods became the latest high-profile UK retailer to fall victim to hacking last week, after a serious ransomware attack on Marks & Spencer forced the company to suspend online orders and halt recruitment.The Co-op Group was also targeted, prompting it to shut down parts of its IT infrastructure.In a speech at the CyberUK conference in Manchester, Mr McFadden will say: “Cyber attacks are not a game. Not a clever exercise. They are serious organised crime. The purpose is to damage and extort.“The digital version of an old-fashioned shakedown, either straight theft or a protection racket where your business will be safe as long as you pay the gangsters.“What we have seen over the past couple of weeks should serve as a wake-up call for businesses and organisations up and down the UK, as if we needed one, that cybersecurity is not a luxury but an absolute necessity.”The Government is expected to unveil measures aimed at reinforcing systems against attack, including driving investment into CHERI, a “magic chip” that builds advanced memory protections in microprocessors.Some £4.5 million will be spent helping firms bring the technology, which can block up to 70% of common cyber attacks, to market, the Cabinet Office said.A new software security code of practice will also be published on Wednesday, outlining essential steps the Government believes every organisation developing or selling software should be taking to secure their products.An extra £7 million for Britain’s Laboratory for AI Security Research will be confirmed, along with investment of £8 million in Ukrainian cyber defences and more than £1 million to “protect Moldovan elections”.Mr McFadden will say: “Ukraine has put up an incredibly brave fight against (Vladimir) Putin’s cyber warfare, and we have vowed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for as long as it takes to defend their sovereignty.“And so we are going to invest £8 million in the Ukraine Cyber Programme over the next year to continue to counter the Kremlin’s cyber aggression.”The senior Cabinet minister will say cyber will be a prime target for economic growth in the Government’s upcoming industrial strategy.“There is enormous potential for cyber security to be a driving force in our economy – creating jobs, growth and opportunities for people. It’s already a sector on the up – with over 2,000 businesses across the UK,” he will say.“It is going to be a significant commitment, a vote of confidence in your sector, and one that will tell the world: the UK plans to be a global player in cybersecurity for decades to come.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has struck Britain’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal, hailing a “landmark” agreement with India that will boost trade with the country by £25.5bn. In what the prime minister is billing as a major coup, he said the agreement, which focuses on whisky, gin, cars and cosmetics, will boost the economy and cut prices for consumers.The opening up of international trade with one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies comes as the prime minister attempts to deal with Donald Trump’s latest moves in the battle over tariffs on imports to the US.The most recent row came after the US president announced his intention to impose 100 per cent tariffs on films from outside the US – a policy that, if implemented, threatens to destroy the British film industry.Prime minister Keir Starmer hosts a meeting of Indian investors last year More

Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out a U-turn on his government’s decision to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners.Labour faced a backlash to the move at last week’s disastrous local elections, with backbenchers complaining it played a decisive role in the party losing one of its safest parliamentary seats as well as 187 councillors.But the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “There will not be a change to the government’s policy.”He added that the decision “was one that we had to take to ensure economic stability and repair the public finances following the £22 billion black hole left by the previous government”.Health Secretary Wes Streeting defended the government’s cuts More

Keir Starmer has been warned that he must prioritise saving the UK’s billion pound film industry from Donald Trump’s tariffs or risk it being “wiped out”.Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Commons select committee for culture, has said MPs will be putting pressure on ministers over UK-US trade talks to rescue an industry that is worth billions to the British economy.The prime minister is already under pressure from the US to accept lowering food standards to allow chlorinated chicken as well as repeal hate laws in the name of free speech over getting a deal.But with blockbusters including the recent Disney Snow White live action movie, the Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and James Bond franchises, as well as streaming success stories such as Game of Thrones filmed in the UK, the 100 per cent tariffs threatened by Trump could serious harm the industry.Dame Caroline Dinenage (Dominic Lipinski) More