London desk

Filed from the London desk — including multi-city pieces that also ran elsewhere.

Business · 26 October 2026

Paycheck in Pixels: Indian Workers Paid to Film Themselves for AI Training

Iris Quay, London desk

Indian factory employees are receiving modest stipends to record their own work, and the resulting video clips are being sold to AI developers. The footage is intended to teach machines how to perform the very tasks the…

Business · 26 October 2026

Robots Shy Away From Cigar Cases: Walsall’s Leather Guild Sticks to Hand‑Made

Iris Quay, London desk

Ettinger in Walsall turned down a robot, preferring hand‑crafted wallets and cigar cases. Meanwhile, a Welsh town is reviving denim production, and Rolls‑Royce is offering custom pet portraits on its cars – all sig…

Business · 26 October 2026

Future Says No to The Week, Keeps Its Own ‘Future’ Tasting of Loss

Iris Quay, London desk

London‑listed Future, the owner of price‑comparison site Go Compare, has turned down an indicative bid for the current‑affairs magazine The Week. The rebuff underscores that even a struggling media group isn’t wi…

Business · 26 October 2026

Rosebank’s Floating Oil Field Becomes a Political Soap Opera

Iris Quay, London desk

Scotland’s Rosebank floating oil field, still untapped, has turned into a stage for political debate as editor James Cook documents life aboard the rig while its future hangs in the balance.

Finance · 26 October 2026

City Economists Say BoE Won’t Hit 4.75% by Summer – Full‑Point Hike Unlikely

Iris Quay, London desk

City economists warn that the Bank of England is unlikely to raise interest rates by a full percentage point by next summer and could even cut them by the end of 2027, contradicting market forecasts of a 4.75% rate.

Business · 25 October 2026

Phoenix deals: CEOs keep buying back dead firms, only to watch them burn again

Iris Quay, London desk

A Guardian‑commissioned study finds that companies rescued in pre‑pack administrations by their former directors are far less generous to creditors and far more likely to fail again.

Business · 25 October 2026

Labour’s Tax‑Free Treasure Hunt: Four Ways to Fund the Budget Without Raising Income Tax

Iris Quay, London desk

BBC Verify outlines four options Chancellor John Healey could use to raise money for the Budget – tighter spending, selling a public asset, tweaking another tax band and borrowing – all without raising income tax.

Politics · 25 October 2026

Burnham Calls for ‘Honest’ Debate on UK‑EU Free Movement

Pieter Lang, Brussels desk

Mayor Andy Burnham says the UK needs an evidence‑driven, honest discussion on whether to restore free movement with the EU, as the prime minister weighs options ahead of a November summit.

Business · 25 October 2026

TG Jones to shut over a third of its post offices by early 2027, creating ‘postal deserts’ on high streets

Iris Quay, London desk

TG Jones, the former WH Smith‑branded chain, will close more than a third of the post offices inside its stores by early 2027, sparking concerns that many high‑streets could become postal deserts.