News

IT for government and public sector

• July 15, 2026 15 Jul'26

  ICO ‘less effective as a regulator’ due to toxic culture

  Staff of the UK’s data protection watchdog say it was ‘less effective’ due to a toxic workplace culture upheld by senior leadership team

• July 15, 2026 15 Jul'26

  Made in Spain: Surveillance tech banned in EU booms in India

  India is rolling out facial-recognition technology to monitor millions of its citizens, with much of the software coming from a Spanish company – but critics argue the government promise of public safety is not the main aim

• July 14, 2026 14 Jul'26

  PAC worried shared services strategy set to fail

  The committee says Cabinet Office has no clear plan or timeline for achieving its predicted £4.3bn in savings from the strategy, as it continues to be delayed and suffers from lack of departmental buy-in

• July 14, 2026 14 Jul'26

  PAC raises more questions over Capita’s role in government

  Report demands answers on Capita’s suitability to run HR and payroll services to 250,000 civil servants

• July 14, 2026 14 Jul'26

  AI skills fund launches in Barnsley

  The government is looking for ideas on how to deliver AI training to Barnsley residents as part of the government’s AI Upskilling Challenge Fund

• July 13, 2026 13 Jul'26

  Cyber body Crest launches AI security charter

  Crest’s industry-backed AI charter commits signatories to supporting responsible AI adoption and aims to foster trust in AI-enabled security services.

• July 13, 2026 13 Jul'26

  UK and EU impose sanctions on hacking groups linked to Kremlin

  Hackers linked to Russian intelligence behind attack on Poland’s energy infrastructure, theft of credentials and using vulnerable routers to attack critical national infrastructure  

• July 13, 2026 13 Jul'26

  The quiet rise of digital identity: Convenience, control and the new social contract

  Governments are rapidly expanding digital identity systems, promising greater convenience and faster access to services, but concerns around privacy, trust, surveillance and inclusion continue to grow

• July 09, 2026 09 Jul'26

  MPs call on NHS to scrap Palantir and its Federated Data Platform

  Health and Social Care Committee urges health minister to get rid of US firm Palantir and its Federated Data Platform amid ‘mistrust’ and ‘contested benefits’

• July 09, 2026 09 Jul'26

  Capita to lose money on pension debacle but ‘has government’s private parts in its grip’

  Joint select committee grilling reveals that the tech Capita planned to use to increase process automation did not work

• July 09, 2026 09 Jul'26

  The FDP debate is looking in the rear-view mirror – what’s around the next bend?

  The question is no longer whether the Federated Data Platform has delivered enough, but whether the NHS will have the data infrastructure to deploy AI before the workforce crisis forces the issue

• July 09, 2026 09 Jul'26

  NCS: Chinese open AI models gaining ground in Singapore

  As American and Chinese AI worlds pull apart, the Singtel unit is courting both by putting OpenAI and Alibaba engineers on the same stage and folding Chinese models into its own products

• July 09, 2026 09 Jul'26

  UK’s largest businesses dangerously exposed to cloud outages

  British businesses, particularly those in the FTSE 100, are dangerously dependent on large cloud providers, with hypothetical large-scale outages at AWS or Azure regions likely to cause major economic damage, according to the Cyber Monitoring Centre

• July 08, 2026 08 Jul'26

  European Central Bank demands AI security ‘action plan’

  European Central Bank gives banks deadline to outline their plans to defend against artificial intelligence-based security threats

• July 07, 2026 07 Jul'26

  SNP council backs datacentre halt and creates Burnham dilemma

  As Scottish National Party council passes a motion for Scotland datacentre moratorium, Andy Burnham’s avowed ‘power to the regions’ views face strain in light of critical national infrastructure designation

• July 07, 2026 07 Jul'26

  Capita civil service pension contract ‘prime candidate’ for insourcing, says government minister

  Minister said the government will make Capita pay for the government resources used to support it on pension administration scheme

• July 07, 2026 07 Jul'26

  M&S among first businesses to sign UK government’s resilience pledge

  Marks & Spencer joins the likes of Accenture, Microsoft and Vodafone by committing to take practical steps to improve cyber standards through the government’s voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge

• July 07, 2026 07 Jul'26

  Complaint urges ban on ‘unlawful’ Europol processing of personal data

  Migration campaign group Front-Lex has filed a complaint to Europe’s data protection watchdog, calling for a ban on Europol’s data processing operations that do not comply with EU law, following an investigation by Computer Weekly, Solomon and ...

• July 06, 2026 06 Jul'26

  US Anthropic restrictions dent UK tech sovereignty ambition

  The UK government cannot rely on allies. Instead, it must sort out startup funding and do more to build out a full tech stack

• July 06, 2026 06 Jul'26

  Capita’s rush to hit civil service pension deadline risking errors, say staff

  Staff working on Civil Service pension administration transition concerned over pressure forcing unnecessary risks

• July 03, 2026 03 Jul'26

  Platforms must shoulder burden of proof for social media design

  Under-16s social media ban should be tied to design features, with the burden of proof towards safety placed on companies, says technology psychologist

• July 02, 2026 02 Jul'26

  UKtech50 2026: The most influential people in UK technology

  Computer Weekly has announced the 16th annual UKtech50 – our definitive list of the movers and shakers in the UK tech sector

• July 02, 2026 02 Jul'26

  UKtech50 2026 winner: Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO, DeepMind

  Third-time UKtech50 winner Demis Hassabis has shown what homegrown UK tech talent can do, and the importance of tech for good

• July 02, 2026 02 Jul'26

  Data dive: Kill switch and catch-up – can Europe close the sovereignty gap?

  As the US demonstrates it can wield an AI ‘kill switch’, the EU and UK unleash a wave of sovereign tech measures. Can state-led industrial policy bridge a $2tn revenue chasm?

• July 01, 2026 01 Jul'26

  Union calls for insourcing of pension contract as Capita ‘shit show’ goes on

  Outsourcer had until 30 June to fix issues with Civil Service Pension Scheme administration deal it took over in December 2025, but problems persist

• July 01, 2026 01 Jul'26

  Self-harm and cyberflashing added to online safety offences list

  The Online Safety Act has been updated to include ‘self-harm’ and ‘cyberflashing’ as ‘priority offences’, meaning online service providers will need to update their risk assessments of both categories

• June 30, 2026 30 Jun'26

  Post Office delays signing Horizon replacement for third time

  The Post Office has extended standstill period before formally signing contract for new EPOS system

• June 30, 2026 30 Jun'26

  Singpass to roll out passkeys in fight against phishing scams

  The passwordless feature will launch for iPhone users on 1 July 2026 with a device-bound model to avoid the security risks of cloud-synced passkeys

• June 29, 2026 29 Jun'26

  British public won’t tolerate cyber disruption any more

  The British public’s tolerance for cyber disruption, particularly at high-profile organisations such as retailers, is wearing thin, according to a TalkTalk Business study

• June 29, 2026 29 Jun'26

  Martha Lane Fox and other experts see AI arms race as damaging

  A compilation of essays penned by digital experts illustrates the risks of AI dominance and what lessons can be learned from history

• June 26, 2026 26 Jun'26

  Met Palantir pilot: The DPIA that raises more questions than answers

  We examine the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Metropolitan Police’s Palantir Foundry pilot, and the governance gaps it exposes around surveillance, transparency and staff consultation

• June 26, 2026 26 Jun'26

  Former ICO boss found using ‘vulgar’ language with female staff

  An independent investigation into UK’s former information commissioner John Edwards uncovers his use of ‘highly sexualised’ language with staff, days after his resignation

• June 26, 2026 26 Jun'26

  Metropolitan Police chief warns against law updates amid substantial tech expansion

  The Metropolitan Police is to significantly expand use of AI, drones and facial recognition to ‘regain the advantage’ over criminals, but warns progress could be held back by legislation and data integration issues

• June 25, 2026 25 Jun'26

  Canvas breach hit 160 UK unis but caused limited damage

  The April 2026 ShinyHunters breach of the Canvas learning management system caused downstream impacts at more than 150 higher education institutions in the UK, but the damage appears to have been limited

• June 25, 2026 25 Jun'26

  EU proposes tech-backed expansion of Europol policing agency

  Enhanced powers to collect and share data are at the heart of EU plans to expand Europol, putting it at loggerheads with human rights groups

• June 24, 2026 24 Jun'26

  UK’s cultural institutions failing on cyber security, warns PAC

  The UK’s national museums and galleries have failed to heed the lessons of high-profile cyber attacks and remain highly vulnerable. The Public Accounts Committee is calling on DCMS to do more to help

• June 24, 2026 24 Jun'26

  Digital surveillance tech facilitates ‘arbitrary’ border abuses

  Outsourcing migration processes to third countries via the transfer of powerful digital surveillance technologies is entrenching an ‘arbitrary and deterrent’ approach to border management that is hard to scrutinise and ultimately undermines the ...

• June 24, 2026 24 Jun'26

  Met pushes ahead with major facial-recognition expansion

  Metropolitan Police set to roll out live facial recognition (LFR) in the West End and Soho, but critics say police are ‘rushing ahead’ without regulation

• June 24, 2026 24 Jun'26

  CFIT is ‘shaking up business models’ with UK government backing

  The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology received further government backing in April

• June 24, 2026 24 Jun'26

  Overwhelming support for Microsoft SMS designation in CMA responses

  Some 25 organisations back Strategic Market Status for Microsoft’s business software ecosystem, while the Open Cloud Coalition estimates £60m in annual public sector costs

• June 24, 2026 24 Jun'26

  The £1,100 lock-in: CMA Microsoft probe exposes software ecosystem at a crossroads

  A parish council, a £60m public sector bill, and the AI question that could define UK digital competition for a generation in responses to the CMA’s Strategic Market Status investigation

• June 23, 2026 23 Jun'26

  Google’s Andi Gutmans on the shift to agent-scale data management

  We talk to PHP pioneer and Google agentic data cloud vice-president about ensuring agentic quality, including having agents voting against each other, and the risk of LLM lock-in

• June 23, 2026 23 Jun'26

  Australian government cloud mandate sparks migration warnings

  As Australia prepares to enforce its whole-of-government cloud policy, industry experts warn agencies against rushed migrations, supplier lock-in and treating AI readiness as an afterthought

• June 22, 2026 22 Jun'26

  AI-powered cyber attacks may be just months away, warn Five Eyes

  Frontier AI models will pose a greater cyber security risk to governments and businesses than previously thought, putting them at risk within months

• June 19, 2026 19 Jun'26

  Civil society: Police facial recognition must be strictly limited

  Digital rights groups map out ‘minimum, necessary’ human rights protections to be included in UK government’s upcoming legal framework for police facial recognition

• June 19, 2026 19 Jun'26

  UK government publishes guidelines to ‘end era of outsourcing’ – will IT be in scope?

  New strategy will see UK government apply Public Interest Test to outsourcing contracts worth £1m or more

• June 19, 2026 19 Jun'26

  Chilling effects of surveillance threaten democracy, UN finds

  United Nations study finds the chilling effects of pervasive digital surveillance in modern life undermines an entire web of interconnected and interdependent human rights, representing a systemic threat to democratic norms and political ...

• June 19, 2026 19 Jun'26

  UK information commissioner John Edwards resigns after HR investigation

  The UK’s information commissioner has resigned following an HR investigation, saying there were occasions when he exercised ‘poor judgement’ and made ‘inappropriate attempts at humour’

• June 19, 2026 19 Jun'26

  Scotland officially launches own NHS app

  People in Scotland are able to download the first version of the MyCare.scot app on their smartphones, following the roll-out of the web-based version

• June 18, 2026 18 Jun'26

  US suspension of Anthropic models prompts AI sovereignty calls

  The US government’s control order to suspend access to Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models raises concerns about the UK’s over-reliance on American tech