Expert Comment

Professor Thijs Van Rens, an economist at the University of Warwick commented: “The sleight of hand by Rishi Sunak here is truly scandalous. To announce that the government is stopping ‘heavy handed measures’ that were never government policy in the first place, such as meat taxes, sorting rubbish into seven bins or compulsory car shares, takes the public for fools. Some of these suggestions, such as compulsory car sharing, aren’t in place anywhere, let alone here in the UK...

Professor Noortje Marres, professor of Science, Technology and Society comments on the calls for regulation in AI at the AI Safety Forum this week.

Dr Harjinder Singh Lallie, discipline group leader in cyber security at the University of Warwick, said: “Cyber security is sometimes considered a ‘nice to have’ within many public sector organisations. This can lead to this provision being placed at the forefront of spending cuts. However, reducing funding to cyber security, particularly shedding staff, can have catastrophic short-term impacts..."

“The tragic events following the collapse of a dam near Derna in the wake of Storm Daniel, are a reminder of how climate change is driving ever more extreme weather. Where once we would talk about extreme weather within the context of previous or anticipated events, recent years have seen storms, floods and heat waves of a magnitude that would have been unimaginable, just a few years ago. If we are to live with these growing risks, we must increase the resilience of our cities and settlements, improve and reinforce our critical infrastructure, and build community preparedness and capacity to cope."

As a medic, I recommend vapes to people who are trying to stop smoking. The thought being vaping is the lesser of the two evils, and will hopefully result in a patient being able to stop any inhaled products in the longer term

But disposable vapes have another, insidious harm. Their fruity flavours and bright colours are obviously targeted towards children, regardless of what manufacturers say.