18 Mar 2026
Christopher Williams
Business Editor
Good morning,
Sky is preparing to pull the plug on its controversial news joint venture with the United Arab Emirates after the channel was accused of propaganda and genocide denial.
Also in today’s edition
Satellite space race threatens fresh Trump-EU row
Britain facing years-long energy shock even if war ends soon
From the Business editor
Reeves’s AI gamble
Rachel Reeve’s grandiose remarks about AI feel unproven Credit: Yui Mok/PA
“I am setting out an ambitious plan for the UK to achieve the fastest AI adoption in the G7,” Reeves said yesterday in her Mais lecture.
But why? By which I mean: what is the actual evidence for upside from early adoption of this unproven and unpopular technology? Almost all growth it has driven so far is in a speculative building boom.
There are certainly lots of grandiose claims that AI will transform everything; we’ll all be living forever on universal basic income and free energy by Christmas. Not many are buying it though. Not enough, anyway.
Even OpenAI’s hypemaster Sam Altman has conceded that uptake of AI “does feel sort of surprisingly slow”.
Perhaps it is so revolutionary that businesses simply cannot yet grasp the opportunity. Alternatively, perhaps the technology is just not quite there yet, and the reason it hasn’t changed everything is because it can’t.
True, there are big layoffs taking place as bosses claim efficiency gains from AI. Most of them are lying, though. A US survey last week found that 59pc of personnel managers say they blame AI because it “is viewed more favourably by stakeholders than saying layoffs or hiring freezes are driven by financial constraints”.
Regardless of the fundamental potential of AI, there are particular reasons why Reeves and the UK might take a more cautious approach.
Firstly, we are a services economy. AI is coming for the lawyers, accountants and consultants first, and the call centres. Why dive headfirst into a bloodbath?
Secondly, consider the recent history of how Britain has adopted information technologies. We outpaced everyone on e-commerce. We were in the vanguard of digital advertising and smartphone take-up. Growing US tech companies typically come here first, partly because they get the red carpet rolled out by whoever is in power.
Has this always been best for the economy? No. Swathes of retail and media have been colonised, with much of the value created siphoned offshore.
What could Reeves do instead? Consider Apple. While its Silicon Valley contemporaries compete to torch hundreds of billions of dollars on AI capex, it has spent little. Larry Fink of BlackRock is predicting big tech bankruptcies, but Apple won’t be one of them.
Instead it sits back as kingmaker. The demand Apple controls via the iPhone gives it sway without the risks. There’s plenty to be said for late adoption.
The UK doesn’t have much sway but is exposed to the economic risks of AI. Reeves should let the market set the pace.
Sky News to cut ties with UAE channel
Sky is expected to withdraw Sky News Arabia’s licence to use its brand next year Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Memphis Barker
Senior Foreign Correspondent
It was meant to be a sister channel exhibiting the same high standards as Sky News.
But in November last year, Sky News Arabia was accused of running propaganda to suit the agenda of the United Arab Emirates, which owns 50 per cent of the channel through its state media business, IMI.
Reporters downplayed or obfuscated widespread evidence that a Sudanese paramilitary group waging war on the government had carried out a genocidal massacre in El Fasher, the capital of Darfur state.
According to western intelligence, the UAE has backed the Rapid Support Forces with arms and funding as it seeks to gain a valuable foothold in Sudan.
Approached for comment by The Daily Telegraph, Sky remained silent on the reporting of its Dubai-based sibling.
But this newspaper can now reveal that Sky is preparing to cut ties with the broadcaster it launched, to much fanfare, more than a decade ago.
The UK-based broadcaster said nothing again. But actions, as ever, speak louder than words.
Today’s Headlines
Reeves prepared to bow to Brussels to undo Brexit ‘damage’
Voters to lose control of BBC charter
First European airline cancels flights as jet fuel prices soar
Spandex-maker stretched past breaking point as Lycra goes bankrupt
Satellite space race threatens fresh Trump-EU row
A geopolitical rift could emerge as Europe pushes to develop its own technology amid US dominance
James Warrington
Media and Telecoms editor
As telecoms executives mingled with Brussels bureaucrats at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this month, one topic was on everyone’s lips: satellites.
Over just a few days, industry giants Vodafone, Orange and Telefónica were among those to unveil major satellite tie-ups, touting the technology’s benefits.
In a rare display of innovation, Britain has been at the forefront of this celestial revolution, with O2 launching Europe’s first satellite mobile service earlier this month.
Yet beneath the excitement over shiny new technology, concerns are mounting about how much of it is developed by American companies.
chart of the day
Britain facing years-long energy shock even if war ends soon
It’s less than three weeks since the US attacked Iran, but the resulting price shocks and shortages will be hitting our bills from now till late 2024, say experts.
And raised gas and power bills, forecourt prices and air travel are just the start – interest rates, mortgages and inflation are all set to follow as the Iran crisis reminds us once again of our reliance on oil.
Opinion
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Britain should max out on both renewables and North Sea oil and gas
We are well on our way to an autonomous electricity system that is insulated from any Gulf crisis
Markets
MY MUST-READS
Semafor: A military-industrial-financial complex is rising in America
The Wall Street Journal: China Has Five-Minute EV Charging. America Is Trying to Catch Up
The Only Story in Town: The doom loop of Tottenham Hotspur
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