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Elon Musk expressed concern over humanoid robots that “can chase you anywhere” during a conversation with Rishi Sunak at the end of the government’s artificial intelligence (AI) safety summit on Thursday, 2 November.The billionaire emphasised the need to have an off-switch for humanoid versions that can chase you up the stairs.”You can run up a flight of stairs and get away from a Tesla,” the billionaire said as the UK prime minister laughed.”If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they’re not so friendly any more?” Mr Musk added. More

A former civil servant has said that Matt Hancock displayed “nuclear levels” of overconfidence and pretended to be a cricketer batting off challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.Helen MacNamara, who served as deputy cabinet secretary, told the Covid inquiry on Wednesday, 1 November, that she witnessed a “jarring” episode in Downing Street in April 2020.Ms MacNamara wrote in her statement that she tried to reassure Mr Hancock it must be “very hard” to be health secretary, to which he responded: “They bowl them at me, I knock them away” according to her testimony. More

Helen MacNamara has suggested the government’s focus on Brexit ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the matters that put the UK on the “back foot”.The former top civil servant also claimed that Boris Johnson’s “monomaniacal focus” was on Britain’s exit from the European Union.“Everything else could wait until after this question was settled,” Ms MacNamara told the Covid inquiry on Wednesday 1 November.She was then asked if a focus on Brexit was one of the matters that “contributed to a sense of being on the back foot” at the beginning of the pandemic.“Yes,” Ms MacNamara replied. More

Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak welcomed the new Labour MP for Tamworth to the House of Commons on Wednesday, 25 October, after the Tory candidate for the seat told food bank users to ‘f*** off’.Andrew Cooper reportedly shared a Facebook post saying that people should only seek help if they give up basics like TV and mobile phone contracts.“Is the prime minister as relieved as I am that [Tamworth] constituents are not burdened with his defeated candidate who told them… to f-off if they’re struggling with the cost of living?” the Labour leader said. More

Sir Keir Starmer urged Rishi Sunak to call a general election as he criticised a Conservative by-election candidate who shared a Facebook post suggesting some parents using food banks to feed their children should “f*** off”.“Will he just call the general election and give the public a chance to respond?” the Labour leader asked during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 25 October.“They’ve heard the government telling them to ‘f-off’ and they want the chance to return the compliment,” Sir Keir added, referencing Andrew Cooper’s social media post from 2020.Mr Cooper, the Tory candidate in Tamworth, lost out to Labour’s Sarah Edwards in last week’s by-election. More

Rishi Sunak was scolded by the House of Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, for asking questions of Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs on Wednesday 25 October.After Mr Sunak asked Sir Keir to explain why he “stood in the way” of Tory plans to “unlock 100,000 new homes”, the speaker halted proceedings.“Just to say, it’s Prime Minister’s Questions, not opposition questions,” Mr Hoyle said.After Mr Sunak appeared to sarcastically nod after the reminder, the speaker then added: “I’m sorry, prime minister. It is Prime Minister’s Questions, I don’t need you nodding against my decision.” More

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed parliament’s newest MPs to a Labour Party crowd at Westminster Hall on Tuesday 23 October, after the party inflicted a double by-election defeat on Rishi Sunak last week.The prime minister saw two healthy Conservative majorities disappear in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire in results that Labour leader Sir Keir said “made history”.Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) and Alistair Strathern (Mid Bedfordshire) were cheered by their new colleagues during the celebratory gathering.Both contests were triggered by the high-profile departures of their previous MPs. More

Kate Garraway clashed with Mark Harper over the reallocation of HS2 funding after the northern leg of the scheme from Birmingham to Manchester was scrapped.The government has said that £150m of redirected HS2 funding will be used to improve bus services across the North and Midlands next year.“25 million more bus miles this will lead to apparently, 175 million lost in the last five years… so actually you’re 150 million miles down… what are the correct numbers?” the host said.Rishi Sunak, who announced the northern leg had been scrapped weeks after The Independent revealed he held secret talks, has said the reallocation will “[keep] fares down.” More