A ‘sure’ thing: more proof US nukes are coming to Britain – CND

31st August 2023CND, 

“The deployment of the new B61-12 to Europe undermines any prospects for global peace and ensures Britain will be a target in a nuclear conflict.”Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary

By the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)

CND is renewing calls for the UK to refuse to allow the US to site its nuclear weapons in Britain. Fresh budget documents reveal that plans to store the new B61-12 at Lakenheath airbase are gathering pace.

The Federation of American Scientists said that US Air Force budget documents dated March 2023 “strongly imply” that Washington is in the process of re-establishing its nuclear weapons presence in Britain for the first time in fifteen years. It follows reports last year that Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk was added to a list of US-operated airbases in Europe to undergo multi-million dollar upgrades allowing for the storage of the new B61-12 guided nuclear bomb.

The latest documents, published as part of the USAF 2024 budgetary justification package, express the need for a “surety dormitory”. As FAS notes, “surety” is a term used by US government departments to “refer to the capability to keep nuclear weapons safe, secure, and under positive control.”

The 144-bunk dormitory, the documents say, is needed, as with “the influx of airmen due to the arrival of the potential Surety mission and the bed down of the two F-35 squadrons there is a significant deficiency in the amount of unaccompanied housing available for E4s and below at Royal Air Force Lakenheath”. Construction is expected to last from June 2024 to February 2026.

Since learning of Lakenheath’s addition to the list of sites to be upgraded last year, CND has held three national demonstrations at the base to highlight local and national opposition to the move. On Saturday 23 September, local groups will hold events across the country to highlight the danger US nuclear weapons will bring to Britain as a whole, if they are allowed back by the UK government.

CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said:

“It’s increasingly clear that Lakenheath is once again a vital cog in Washington’s overseas nuclear machine – despite refusals from the British government to acknowledge this reality. The deployment of the new B61-12 to Europe undermines any prospects for global peace and ensures Britain will be a target in a nuclear conflict between the US/NATO and Russia. It’s beyond irresponsible that the UK government is allowing this deployment. CND calls on Rishi Sunak to refuse to host the B61-12.”

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• This article was originally published by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) on August 29th.
• You can follow CND on Facebook, Instagram and twitter.

Could Artificial Intelligence deliver a green transition?

Marion Dumas

LSE
August 31st, 2023

Can AI boost current efforts and innovation to move towards a clean energy model? This is the question addressed by recent research aiming to further our understanding of AI’s role in the transition to low-carbon technologies. Marion Dumas, one of the authors of this research, discusses some of the key – and sometimes surprising – findings.

“AI for the planet” is an oft-heard phrase in clean tech and AI circles alike. The idea that AI can catalyse breakthroughs to tackle climate change is an alluring prospect, especially as the world is now waking up, with some anxiety, to how deeply and broadly AI may transform economic sectors and social life. Is it just hype and greenwashing, or a fundamental development?

Our research, carried out with Eugenie Dugoua (LSE Department of Geography) and Pia Andres of the Oxford Martin School, seeks to address this question. The study focuses on the impact of AI and ICT on low-carbon innovation because innovation is so central to the transition to a net-zero economy. Much like updating an old house with modern fixtures, every core segment of our economy – electricity, transport, heating, and manufacturing – needs a renovation. They all require new technologies that can radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, turning an old, polluting system into an eco-friendly one.

Help or hindrance?

AI is a bit like a Swiss Army Knife. Economists call it a “General Purpose Technology” (GPT), a tool so versatile it can transform virtually any sector of the economy. Historical examples of GPTs include electricity and the internet.

Since a GPT can be applied to anything, it can be applied as well to increase the productivity of… fossil-fuel based technologies! Indeed, several research programmes are currently developing AI-enabled robots to increase exploration of fossil fuel reserves, or to enable easier monitoring and maintenance of offshore installations. Hence, a priori, there is no reason why AI should particularly help the planet – it can harm it as well by boosting dirty technologies.

However, there is good news. Using economic theory and an extensive database of patents, our findings show that AI, so far, seems to help more than hurt the transition to a low-carbon economy.

AI, so far, seems to help more than hurt the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The ideas behind the theory are simple but go a long way in illuminating what is going on. The first idea is that clean technologies such as renewable energy of electric vehicles need to catch up (in terms of productivity and affordability) with dirty technologies. In the early phases, when they are still immature, the private sector’s incentives to improve these technologies tend to be weak, as the rewards are too far into the future. This is a barrier to the transition.

Thankfully, this dynamic can change if clean technology can take advantage of advances in other fast-improving technologies such as AI. Indeed, the second idea in the theory is that new technology’s success depends a lot on it taking advantage of advances in other technologies. This is what economists call technological spillovers. By creating new opportunities for clean technologies, spillovers from AI boost the incentives for companies to work on clean technologies. This effect is especially strong if inventors working on cleaner technologies are better able to use AI than those working on their dirtier counterparts.

Mapping flows of innovation

We then turned to a global database of patents (PATSTAT) and extract all patents relating to both clean and dirty transport and electricity technologies, as well as all patents relating to AI and ICT. Think of patents like a family tree, with citations tracing the lineage of ideas. If Patent A cites Patent B, it’s as if Patent B is the parent, having contributed to or directly influenced the creation of Patent A. This is one way in which researchers map the flow of knowledge.

Using this data, we estimated the likelihood that a clean energy patent cites – that is, builds on – an AI or ICT patent. We found a very consistent pattern: clean energy patents draw on AI and ICT patents 2 to 3 times more on average than do dirty patents. Moreover, when clean energy patents incorporate AI, they themselves subsequently generate more citations, that is more new ideas, and to a much greater extent than dirty patents.


The application of AI to clean energy is driven in large part by companies with extensive experience in AI and who seem to find applications in clean energy more appealing than applications in dirty energy.

We considered several reasons why clean technologies have such an advantage. One reason could be intrinsic to the technologies. For example, a lot of data and information processing is needed to smooth intermittent energy from renewables. Another reason could be that companies working on clean tech have more access to knowledge about AI, perhaps because of co-location. A third reason could be that older technologies, particularly those based on fossil fuels, may not be as adept at incorporating fresh ideas and technologies. Their maturity can often equate to a loss of adaptability. In the last part of the study, we linked the patents to the companies that filed them and find evidence that all three reasons are at play. The application of AI to clean energy is driven in large part by companies with extensive experience in AI and who seem to find applications in clean energy more appealing than applications in dirty energy.
An opportunity to grasp

What does this all mean for the transition? It is important to remind ourselves that innovation is central to the net-zero transition. Many commentators claim that the technical solutions exist, and that we are only missing political will. It is true that renewables have become cost-competitive in some markets and that affordable electric vehicles are within reach. However, we are still missing many key elements of a zero-carbon economy: ultra-high-density batteries, affordable hydrogen, smart grid solutions that can smooth intermittent renewables, advanced clean fuels for aviation etc… Overall, the International Energy Agency estimates that 50 per cent of the technologies we need to achieve net-zero by 2050 are still in prototype phase. This is why accelerating the pace of innovation in low-carbon technologies is very important.

This study shows that AI and ICT have been enabling low-carbon innovation. Thus, the idea that AI can enable a faster transition is not wishful thinking – evidence from the recent past supports this vision. As we move forward, there’s a significant opportunity to boost clean innovation if we can deliberately steer AI and ICT towards the greener technologies of the future.

This post draws on research by Pia Andres, Eugenie Dugoua and Marion Dumas contained in the working paper “Directed technological change and general purpose technologies: can AI accelerate clean energy innovation?” (September 2022) published by the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of LSE British Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

About the author

Marion Dumas is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute. Her research focuses on green innovation, the institutional processes underpinning decarbonisation and the interaction between reducing inequality and fighting climate change.

UK

HMV owner Putman edges closer to rescue deal for bulk of Wilko

The retailer's administrators have begun consulting creditors on the terms of a deal that would see the businessman Doug Putman retaining around 8,500 jobs, Sky News understands.

Mark Kleinman
City editor @MarkKleinmanSky
Thursday 31 August 2023

Wilko discount homeware and household goods store in the Nottinghamshire town of Newark


The owner of HMV is finalising a deal to rescue the majority of Wilko's operations, salvaging more than 8,000 jobs at the stricken high street retailer.

Sky News has learnt that Wilko's administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), began consulting the chain's major creditors on Thursday on the terms of an agreement with Doug Putman.

One source with financial exposure to Wilko said Mr Putman intended to acquire more than 300 of its 400 stores, meaning that between 8,000 and 9,000 jobs of a total workforce of 12,500 could be saved.

Depending upon further deals with other retailers to buy some of Wilko's stores, however, that could mean several thousand high street workers face losing their jobs.

A deal with Mr Putman could be announced in the next few days, although people close to the situation cautioned that some uncertainty remained until it was agreed.


The final store and job perimeters involved in the deal are also yet to be formalised, according to one creditor.

"It's still in the balance but it is beginning to look more positive that a deal can get done," the creditor said.

On Thursday, PwC confirmed the first redundancies since its appointment when it announced that 283 jobs would be lost, mainly at its support centre operations.

"We will continue to do all that we can to support staff through this period of difficult upheaval, and to maximise their opportunities for a rapid return to work," Jane Steer, joint administrator, said.

"Our priority is to ensure that all team members affected by redundancy are assisted in processing their claims with immediate effect."


Details of Mr Putman's deal structure were unclear on Thursday, although he has approached financiers including Gordon Brothers, the specialist retail investor, about backing a deal, Sky News revealed last weekend.

PwC has been seeking external investment for Wilko for months - a search which acquired greater urgency three weeks ago when the accountancy firm was formally appointed as administrator.

Poundland's parent and B&M European Value Retail have been eyeing the purchase of 150 shops between them, although those deals would not take place if Mr Putman succeeds in buying the bulk of its outlets.

The Range, another value retailer, has made an offer to buy Wilko's brand and online operations.

A further bidder for Wilko, M2 Capital, reportedly tabled an offer for the whole group but on Thursday the GMB union said it had been informed by PwC "the one bid for the entire business has fallen through as the bidders have failed to provide the necessary evidence to show that they had the finances necessary to purchase the company despite being given numerous opportunities to do so".

PwC said: "Since their appointment, the administrators have been working closely with Wilko, its employees and suppliers and have considered multiple varied bids and expressions of interest related to the group.

"While discussions continue with those interested in buying parts of the business, it is now clear that no viable offer structure put forward includes the group in its entirety."

The union added in a message to members: "For staff in stores and online, PWC are continuing to assess bids and we remain hopeful that there is one from a viable buyer on the table.

"However, at this stage we cannot in any way guarantee this and must therefore continue to prepare for the worst."

Read more from business:
Hundreds of job losses at Wilko confirmed

Wilko was established by the Wilkinson family in 1930, and sells homewares and garden furniture at discounted prices.

Shortly before it crashed into administration, Sky News revealed that Gordon Brothers, Alteri Investors and Opcapita were examining last-ditch proposals to invest in the business.

Like many high street retailers, it has been hit by inflationary pressures and supply chain challenges.

In recent months, it had been seeking to finalise a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) - a mechanism that would have triggered steep rent cuts at hundreds of stores but avoided any closures.

Mr Putman could not be reached for comment, while PwC has been contacted for comment.

Hundreds of job losses confirmed at Wilko as bidder misses deadline

Hundreds of jobs will be lost at retailer Wilko after a bid for the entirety of the collapsed retailer fell through (PA)

By August Graham, PA Business Reporter

Thu 31 Aug 2023 at 06:10

Hundreds of jobs will be lost at Wilko in the first tranche of redundancies after a bid for the entirety of the collapsed retailer fell through.

A potential bidder, the only one which planned to protect all 12,500 employees and 400 Wilko sites, missed a deadline set by administrator PwC.

PwC said “it is now clear that no viable offer structure put forward includes the group in its entirety”, adding that 269 support centre workers in Worksop and Newport will have their last day with the business on Monday.

These jobs include the IT, financial, legal and HR teams.

There will be further redundancies across the company’s two warehouses from early next week, it said. Exact numbers have yet to be confirmed but it is thought that around 1,600 people work across the warehouses and support centres.

The administrator said discussions are continuing with bidders interested in buying parts of the business (PA)

The GMB union said a bidder, reported to be M2 Capital, had not submitted the evidence needed to show it could buy the business.

PwC also said there had been no viable offers for Kin Limited, a subsidiary of the company. Kin has been forced to close, with 14 jobs gone.

The administrator said discussions are continuing with bidders interested in buying parts of the business.

The GMB said: “As a result of this unwelcome development, the redundancy processes which were paused two days ago are set to restart almost instantly.”

It said that it was still trying to save the distribution centres, but “we do not have high hopes of doing so”.

On Wednesday, the union had told its 3,000 members who work for Wilko that M2 Capital, which was believed to have offered around £90 million for the business, had until 5pm to submit the correct paperwork.

M2 was understood to have said that it would retain all the jobs for two years.

We will continue to do all that we can to support staff through this period of difficult upheaval, and to maximise their opportunities for a rapid return to work

Jane Steer, PwC

GMB said that it is “hopeful” of a viable bid for Wilko’s stores and online business.

It added: “Despite leaving no stone unturned, we simply could not reverse the years of mismanagement under the recent regime and cannot ignore the incompetence which has cost you your jobs.”

A bid may come from Canadian businessman Doug Putman, who bought music retailer HMV in 2019.

Earlier this week it was understood that he was still in discussions with PwC over a bid intended to preserve most of Wilko’s stores.

There has also reportedly been interest from Poundland, B&M, The Range and Home Bargains.

We will be circulating correspondence to all staff as soon as possible which will outline the support available to complete redundancy payment forms

Jane Steer, PwC

Joint administrator Jane Steer of PwC said: “It’s with great sadness that we announce these redundancies.

“We’re incredibly grateful to these team members for the support and dedication they’ve shown to the company, particularly over the last few very difficult weeks.

“We will continue to do all that we can to support staff through this period of difficult upheaval, and to maximise their opportunities for a rapid return to work.

“Our priority is to ensure that all team members affected by redundancy are assisted in processing their claims with immediate effect.

“We will be circulating correspondence to all staff as soon as possible which will outline the support available to complete redundancy payment forms.”

Last-ditch bid to save Wilko collapses with thousands of jobs at risk

Brooke DaviesThursday 31 Aug 2023 

Around 12,000 jobs are at risk (Picture: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock)

The only bid which would save collapsed retailer Wilko has fallen through.

Staff redundancies are expected to start next week, the GMB Union has confirmed.

The discount retailer fell into administration this month, putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

The founding family have been criticised for continuing to take out dividends even while the firm began to struggle.

This has reportedly left a £50 million hole in one of its pension funds.

Wilko lost £38.7 million last years as sales fell by 3.3%.

Lisa Wilkinson, the founder’s granddaughter, stood down as chairwoman in Janauary after fearing the company could run out of cash.

Wilko borrowed £40 million from Hilco, which owned HMV before it went bust and has overseen the closure of other high-street firms such as Debenhams.

The discount retailer fell into administration this month (Picture: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock)

Doug Putman, who saved high street chain HMV from administration, is understood to have held talks with Wilko’s executives.

His offer involved keeping around half of the 400 shops and 3,000 to 4,000 of Wilko’s 12,000 workers, the Times reports.

A source at Wilko said: ‘It’s frustrating because there’s 12,000 of us who are now going to lose our jobs.’

Putman is understood to have flown from Canada to the UK two weeks ago to meet with company management.

UK
Ex-Tory MP ‘tries to hide family slavery links’

Antoinette Sandbach slammed as "white privilege personified" while the university rejects her complaints.

A FORMER Tory MP was slammed after trying to get a university to delete her family’s links to slavery.

Antoinette Sandbach allegedly threatened to sue Cambridge University after they rejected her bid to remove reference to her in a video by a Black PhD student who was researching his own history.

Sandbach, who was MP for Eddisbury in Cheshire, claimed the Ted Talk video by Malik Al Nasir infringed her right to privacy.

But Al Nasir, a third-year PhD student at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge, hit back saying: “As a Black person who has, as a result of the legacy of enslavement and colonialism, been detached from his ancestral African roots, it’s important to have the freedom to research my own history.

“That history will by default intersect with the history of other people. WHat my research uncovered is a matter of historical record and genealogical fact. I should have the academic freedom to report what I find.”

Al Nasir said that Sandbach’s ancestors had worked to death on their plantations in British Guiana, now Guyana, and listed slaves when they died in financial accounts alongside livestock.

The organisation African, Caribbean and Asian Lawyers for Justice wrote on Twitter/X: “As a direct descendant of her slave owning family, she claims a right to be forgotten. It’s white privilege personified. Black people bear her family name. She enjoys the money but not the scandal of the great crime in human history.”

Sandbach emailed Al Nasir’s academic supervisor asking for reference to her to be removed from a Ted Talk embedded on the university’s website. She then complained to the university claiming it breached her privacy.

The university’s information compliance office investigated and rejected her complaint on grounds of academic freedom. Sandbach then told Al Nasir she was in the process of instructing solicitors, and she was considering making a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Sandbach’s ancestor, Samuel Sandbach, was compensated for 600 stolen Africans when parliament abolished enslavement in 1833. He was Lord Mayor of Liverpool, and some of his family were slave-holders as well.

Sandbach initially refused to comment, but later tweeted that she was “at the start of my learning journey” about slavery. However, a profile of her in Cheshire Life stated that “the family can trace their history back through several ‘greats’ to a Lord Mayor of Liverpool, who invested money made in sugar trading into land in North Wales.”

Sandbach she was “appalled by the actions of my distant ancestors” but then pivoted to make the issue about discrimination she had faced because she was “half Dutch”, before appearing to suggest women’s oppression was worse than that faced by Black people.

She tweeted: “Alexander Crummell was the first graduate of African descent from Cambridge University in the 1840s – women were not officially allowed to graduate until 1948.”

Samuel Sandbach built Hafodunos estate in North Wales, and Antoinette lived in the foreman’s cottage while farming the land. She was deselected by the Tories over her pro-Europe stance before running as a Liberal Democrat and losing at the last election. As a company director of Hafodunos Farms Ltd she received tens of thousands in EU subsidies for her farm.

UPDATE: This evening Sandbach tweeted in response to a post about the rape and murder of enslaved Africans: “Yes as it was to rape a wife until 1991.”

UK
Legal action considered after university sack popular history professor

PROFESSOR HAKIM Adi, the first person of African descent to become a professor of history in the UK, described Chichester University’s decision to make him redundant as horrifying and has vowed to keep fighting

Students are now involved in an ongoing dispute with the University and are crowdfunding ahead of a potential legal challenge, represented by leading Windrush lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie. Black Equity Organisation are also said to have a legal interest in the dispute.

In recent weeks a campaign to save the Mres History of Africa and the African Diaspora course, taught by Adi attracted tens of thousands of supporters from all over the world as well as the UK, indicative of both the need and demand for the course.

The Mres course had engaged students from all over the world and produced several PHD candidates.

Those fighting Adi’s corner suggest the University’s justification for terminating student recruitment on financial grounds, and with it Adi’s post, doesn’t add up.

They claim the course was not sufficiently advertised, and that the university failed in its duty and responsibility to shore up interest.

Adi described the University’s suggestion that he ‘crowdfund’ his own post as insulting. Speaking to The Voice he said:  “Trying to present everything in terms of money shows no regard for the history I teach and the students I’m trying to reach.

“It shows no regard for what’s going on nationally, in terms of students of African and Caribbean heritage being excluded and alienated from the study of history.  The way they’ve treated Mres and the history of Africa and the African diaspora generally, shows contempt for this history.  It’s absolutely horrifying and makes me angry”

According to Adi, the University’s conduct, treatment of his students, and course, paints a contradictory picture of an institution claiming to value diversity.

“What they are doing is breaching every principle of equality and inclusivity” he said.  

“It reflects a University which in some ways is representative of higher education in general, paying lip service to the idea of equality, widening participation, and encouraging a diverse workforce.  It’s just meaningless empty words.”

Despite the University’s decision to axe the course, Adi has vowed to keep fighting for his post, and   students, many of whom signed up precisely because they specifically wanted to benefit, from the teaching and direct supervision of Adi himself. 

The avalanche of support the campaign is receiving continues to be a motivating force in keeping up momentum and efforts to safeguard the future of Adi, the Mres course and ultimately, precious African histories neglected by mainstream academia.

“When you’re fighting, you see the best of people as well as the worst. You really see who is prepared to stand up and be counted and who is not” said Adi.

“The tremendous support that my students have given, the loyalty and they’ve organised and worked hard to organise the campaign is a wonderful thing to see”.

He went on to add: “All the people who have donated, or sent messages, who’ve offered their services legal or otherwise shows how people value the course. 

“One realises that whatever the problems are of Chichester University, and the way it views the world, that everybody outside views things in a different way and value the history.  We’ve had a lot of support from students that are not my students and post graduate students, and it’s very inspiring.  I can’t say thank you enough for the support from all over the world.”

A spokesperson for the University of Chichester said: “The University of Chichester routinely reviews its portfolio of degree programmes. Recently the University suspended eight postgraduate programmes, including the online MRes programme which the University has supported since its launch six years ago. During this six-year period, despite extensive marketing of the programme, the MRes course consistently recruited very small student numbers. Only one student has graduated from the programme in the past three years.  

Since the programme launched in 2017, the University has invested over £700k into the costs of the delivery of this programme, including staff salary cost. During the same period the University has only received c. £150k of tuition fees. This gap between income and expenditure means other areas would have to subsidise this programme’s costs, to the detriment of those other programmes and their students. This would not be sustainable, and the University has had to come to the difficult decision to suspend a number of programmes in this category, of which the MRes is one.

We will continue to support all students affected to complete and achieve their qualifications, including a small number of related doctoral students. Consultation with students is being offered on both a 1-2-1 and a group basis, ensuring that they can be updated on their studies in the forthcoming academic year now that the confidential discussions with the member(s) of staff affected have concluded.

Through our normal consultation process we always offer the opportunity for staff to propose alternative solutions to ensure the viability of a course that has been suspended. Throughout the consultation, there was regular engagement with staff affected, but no viable counterproposals or solutions were found.”