UK Politics

Facebook owner Meta has opened a new audio research lab in Cambridge as part of the tech giant’s push into AI glasses.Bosses at Meta met Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday morning as they launched the £12 million facility.It came amid reports the Facebook and Instagram owner has purchased a minority stake in Oakley and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica SA, the world’s largest eyewear business.It is reported the company’s stake will be worth around three billion euros (£2.6 billion) and be worth just under 3% of the Paris-based business.Meta has outlined plans to rapidly grow its AI glasses business, with Ray-Ban Meta and recently announced Oakley Meta products.The Silicon Valley business said its expansion plans in this area have seen it invest in the new audio research lab in Cambridge, designed to “advance spatial audio and machine learning for Meta’s future AI glasses”.The facility includes “reverb rooms and ultra-quiet acoustic chambers” in order to hone the audio quality of its products under development.Meta employs more than 5,500 people across its UK operations.Joel Kaplan, chief global affairs officer for Meta, met Ms Reeves at the site and underlined the group’s commitment to investing in the UK.Mr Kaplan said: “Creating this world-class audio lab in Cambridge is a sign of our long-term commitment to the UK and our belief in the top engineering talent it produces.“We want the brightest minds to make sure our smart glasses have the smartest AI-powered audio so you can focus on what you’re listening to no matter what’s going on around you.“I can’t wait to experience the results of the work the lab produces.”Ms Reeves said: “Meta’s investment is a huge vote of confidence in the UK as a hub for world-leading research and innovation while helping to supercharge the potential in the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor.“We want our high-tech industries to continue to lead the world in years to come which is why we’re backing our innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs with a record £22 billion in R&D (research and development) funding, creating the opportunity for good jobs and investment in Britain, and delivering on our plan for change.” More

The construction of HS2’s physical structures should have been “largely completed” by now under the project’s initial timeline – but it is actually just over halfway there, the project’s chief executive has admitted.HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Wild blamed major delays in the execution of the project on “inefficiency of work” as a result of the decision to start construction work before the finalised design or consents were in place. Giving evidence in front of the Commons Transport Select Committee, HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Wild admitted: “The construction of the civil engineering should have been largely completed by now.“The reality is we’re about 60 per cent complete.”The Department for Transport regards estimates that HS2 could cost up to £80 billion in current prices as ‘unreliable’ (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

The loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum is meant to symbolise the “close and deepening” relationship between the UK and France.But it is also an uncomfortable reminder that small boats crossing the Channel is not a new problem, and it can end up leaving one in the eye for the leader in England.Leaders coming from France have their own agenda, even if the entente is a great deal more cordial now than in the days of William the Conqueror.The impressive speech by President Emmanuel Macron in his second language for more than half an hour to a joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday was full of warm words and a desire, in particular, to unpick Brexit.The Princess of Wales looks on as King Charles and Emmanuel Macron toast at the state banquet More

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron will hold Downing Street talks on Wednesday amid growing pressure on the prime minister to strike a deal to bring down the number of small boat crossings. The French president arrived on Tuesday for the first state visit by an EU head of state since Brexit.It comes as the UK has been pressing for tougher action from the French authorities on the beaches along the Channel coast.The prime ministeris facing a fight to salvage his much-vaunted “one in, one out” deal with France to return illegal migrants and halt the increasing crossings of small boats across the English Channel.Downing Street has credited Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘reset’ with Europe for bringing about a change in French tactics on small boats More

Emmanuel Macron urged Britain and France “to shoulder the burden of European security” together as he appealed for the two nations to work more closely on issues including defence and the migrant crisis.The French president delivered his remarks as the first European leader to receive a state visit to Britain and address both Houses of Parliament since Brexit was finalised in 2020.In a passionate address, Mr Macron made clear the events that saw the UK leave the EU are in the past, and he hailed Sir Keir Starmer – whom he referred to as “dear Keir” – for his reset of the relations.While he listed the economy, climate change and the immigration crisis as areas for cooperation, he put the need to defend Europe at the top of the agenda.Emmanuel Macron says immigration is a ‘burden’ France and the UK ‘must fix’ in his address to parliament More

Britain is preparing for blackouts similar to those in Spain and Portugal which left tens of millions in the dark and brought much of the Iberian peninsula to a standstill. The government’s newly published resilience action plan revealed ministers are preparing for a “major power outage” and learning lessons from similar crises abroad. The Iberian blackouts “show how everybody across society can contribute to protecting a nation against disruptive events”, the resilience plan said. Blackouts left tens of millions without power on the Iberian peninsula More

Hungary has made virtually no progress in addressing European Union concerns about democratic backsliding over the last year, the EU’s justice commissioner said Tuesday, as he unveiled the bloc’s annual rule of law report.The section on Hungary highlighted concern about party financing, secret surveillance, media pluralism, the excessive use of government emergency powers, as well as pressure put on judges and members of civil society, among other shortcomings.The only positive noted was “significant progress” in increasing the salaries of judges, prosecutors and other legal staff. But even that was done without proper consideration for “European standards on remuneration for the justice system.”“It is deeply disappointing that we’re not in a position to report further progress on the recommendations that have been made last year,” Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.“We stand ready to take further steps, in relation to Hungary, as necessary,” he said, but did not elaborate on what those measures might involve. The European Commission proposes EU laws and supervises whether they are respected.Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s stridently nationalist government has become a pariah among the 26 other EU member countries. It has consistently sought to veto support to Ukraine, although the rest of the EU has begun to bypass Hungary.For the last decade, tensions have simmered between Orbán and the EU’s powerful executive branch, from his handling of migrants in 2015 to last month’s Budapest Pride event which saw marchers risk possible arrest and heavy fines to take part.In 2022, the European Commission blocked substantial amounts of money out of concern that Orban’s government might put the EU budget at risk.“Approximately 18 billion euros ($21 billion) of loans and grants are not available to Hungary because of rule of law issues. I wish it were otherwise,” McGrath told reporters. More