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Times
22 minutes ago
- Times
Great British Railways ‘risks repeating the mistakes of the past'
The government's state-owned framework for the railways risks 'morphing into the ghost of British Rail' unless ministers find ways to boost competition and develop fresh income streams, a new report warns. Concerned that Great British Railways is about to 'repeat the mistakes of the past', the study urges ministers to drop their 'profound and misguided hostility to open access rail competition' and seek ways to cut annual subsidies. It finds that, with railway revenue at only at 89.1 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, thanks to working from home and a drop in season ticket sales, the taxpayer is spending £12.5 billion a year in subsidy. That is despite the sector accounting for only 2 per cent of all journeys taken by the public. Tony Lodge: How to make Great British Railways a success The report, Rail's Last Chance, is from the Centre for Policy Studies think tank. Its author, Tony Lodge, outlines a four-point plan to get the industry back on track. 'It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Great British Railways is a solution looking for a problem — prioritising the nationalisation of the railways over their effective and efficient operation,' he says. His study follows a damning report last month from the management consultancy Arthur D Little, which found that Britain is embarking on a new era of nationalised railways, including taking back control of private franchised train operators, with no coherent strategy. It quoted one senior rail executive saying the railway was stuck with the Albert Einstein maxim that 'the definition of madness is to do the same things and expect a different outcome'. Lodge is particularly critical of the government's antipathy to open access rail operators, which run without government contracts or public subsidy. After heavy pressure from the transport department, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) blocked applications earlier this month for new services from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, FirstGroup's Lumo and the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company citing 'insufficient capacity on the west coast main line southern section'. Calling for a minimum of 10 per cent open access on intercity routes by 2030, Lodge argues that they deliver 'better services, more routes, faster trains and cheaper tickets', while lifting the performance of the incumbent operator. He cites the east coast main line, where Hull Trains, Lumo and Grand Central compete with the state-backed LNER. He says quarterly data shows that LNER has grown passenger numbers by 28 per cent since 2019, while on the west coast the monopoly operator Avanti is 'still struggling to get passengers back' to pre-Covid levels. • Alistair Osborne: Great Bolshevik Railways going the wrong way Pointing to the 'enormous missed opportunities for the rail estate to generate wider ancillary income', Lodge's second recommendation is for ministers to examine the potential for property, retail and green energy income across 'the rail sector's 52,000 hectares'. He says there is scope to develop 34 sites for solar energy — enough to power at least 140,000 homes — and room for health hubs at stations. Thirdly, he calls for the ORR to 'retain its independent regulatory powers' to scrutinise Great British Railways, saying it 'should not be able to mark its own homework'. His final plea is not just for an 'easy, cheap and user friendly' ticketing app but one that also offers such things as a 'rail miles loyalty scheme'. British Rail was the name for the monolithic state-owned railway business until 1997 by which time the industry had been broken up and part privatised.
Times
22 minutes ago
- Times
UK economy enjoyed short-term boost from Trump's tariff confusion
President Trump's initial move to impose tariffs on almost every country meant Britain's economy got off to a better-than-expected start in 2025, although forecasters still expect America's trade war to be a longer-term drag on growth. The UK economy is expected to grow 1 per cent this year, according to the EY Item Club, which had previously anticipated a rise in gross domestic product of only 0.8 per cent. The forecaster attributed its upgrade to a 'flurry of business spending' at the start of the year as companies tried to complete purchases and ship orders before the implementation of US tariffs in April. 'There was some activity and some additional exports brought forward and that lifted [the economy] in the first quarter, but you can see from the size of the upgrade that the outperformance wasn't massive,' Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Schoolboy, 17, investigated on suspicion of using AI to make deepfake nudes of his female classmates
A 17-year-old schoolboy in Spain is under investigation after allegedly using artificial intelligence to create deepfake nude images of his female classmates, which he is suspected of selling online. The investigation began after 16 young women, all students at an educational institute in Valencia, southeastern Spain, reported disturbing incidents of AI-generated sexual images of themselves circulating on social media. The images showed the minors naked and were allegedly being sold to others. The first complaint was lodged in December, when a teenage girl informed police that an account had been created under her name, with AI-generated videos and images depicting her in a compromising position. 'Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account. All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked,' the Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement. The suspect, a 17-year-old boy, is now facing investigation for the alleged corruption of minors. Authorities are continuing to gather evidence to determine whether he is responsible for creating and distributing the explicit images. This alarming case comes at a time when AI-driven sexual exploitation is on the rise, particularly among minors. Spain is no stranger to this phenomenon. In 2023, a similar case in Extremadura saw 15 minors investigated for using AI to create explicit images of their female schoolmates. The offenders were later sentenced to probation. The deepfake issue is not confined to Spain. Celebrities around the world, including pop stars like Taylor Swift and politicians like US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have fallen victim to AI-generated pornography. In the UK, more than 250 British celebrities were targeted by a Channel 4 investigation that exposed how their faces were superimposed onto explicit videos using AI. Although the Spanish government pledged in March 2023 to introduce laws to criminalise the creation of AI-generated sexual content without consent, the bill has yet to be passed by parliament. Currently, cases like these often fall into legal limbo, with existing laws not explicitly addressing the issue of AI-manipulated imagery. In the UK, however, the Online Safety Act 2023 has criminalised the sharing of explicit deepfake content without consent. Offenders who create or share such material maliciously now face criminal charges, with the possibility of imprisonment and unlimited fines. 'It is unacceptable that one in three women have been victims of online abuse. This demeaning and disgusting form of chauvinism must not become normalised,' said Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones. 'We are bearing down on violence against women – whatever form it takes.' Baroness Jones, the UK's Technology Minister, also condemned the rise in intimate image abuse, saying: 'The rise of intimate image abuse is a horrifying trend that exploits victims and perpetuates a toxic online culture. 'These acts are not just cowardly, they are deeply damaging, particularly for women and girls who are disproportionately targeted.' The rapid development of AI technology has made it easier than ever for perpetrators to create and distribute explicit images without the knowledge or consent of the victims. With new cases emerging, there are growing calls for stricter legislation worldwide to keep pace with this emerging threat. Tech companies are also under increasing pressure to remove deepfake content from their platforms and take stronger measures to prevent its creation and distribution.
