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Lucy Fisher

@lucyfisher.ft.com
27K followers 431 following 444 posts

Whitehall editor at the Financial Times 🗞️ Host of the FT’s award-winning ‘Political Fix’ podcast🎙️Author 📚

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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 01/10/2026
A defence minister has also told parliament that the govt is sounding out alternative suppliers for its MoD contract
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 01/10/2026
Ministers have identified a handful of UK technology companies they hope might be candidates to take over the health service’s Federated Data Platform, as they consider applying a break clause in Palantir’s contract in March next year, people familiar with the matter told the FT
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 01/10/2026
EXC: British govt is searching for a UK alternative to Palantir, as the PM’s “buy British” push triggers hunt for homegrown replacement for the controversial US software group in NHS and MoD w/ @chris-smyth.bsky.social & @laurahughesft.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/9a6e...
ft.com
Andy Burnham searches for UK alternative to Palantir
Prime minister’s ‘buy British’ push triggers hunt to find replacement for controversial US tech group awarded health service and defence contracts
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 30/09/2026
NEW: There are “strong indications that Iran played a part” in the RAF Fairford incident, Andy Burnham says UK is working w/ US on the matter, which “remains an ongoing, complex & serious police investigation” PM confirms Rubio claim’s claim about role of a state actor www.ft.com/content/bb55...
ft.com
‘Strong indications’ Iran was involved in RAF Fairford incident, says Andy Burnham
Prime minister says UK is working closely with US administration following release of five suspects on bail
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 29/09/2026
"...on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market... "Brexit has done more harm than good... "We need to restore a higher level of growth and prosperity for Britain," the PM says.
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 29/09/2026
Breaking: Burnham announces he will set out what the "different options are for Britain’s long-term relationship with our European partners" later this year. "We will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of this century until we decide...
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 29/09/2026
We’re recording Political Fix *live* at Labour conference later after Burnham’s speech! Biz sec Johnny Reynolds is our special guest on the pod If you’re in Liverpool & fancy listening in, come along to the inHouse lounge for 5.30pm Stephen Bush, Jen Williams & George Parker are on the panel 🎙️📻🎧
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 28/09/2026
Just in: The five men arrested near RAF Fairford over a suspected terrorist plot were all UK nationals in their twenties living in London, Counter Terrorism Policing said on Monday. ft.trib.al/ysSl5Ys
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 28/09/2026
Miliband has pledged that “no tech titan will stand in our way” as the govt prepares to lead global efforts “to manage AI” during Britain’s G20 presidency next year www.ft.com/content/7761...
ft.com
Labour conference live: John Healey gives first party speech as UK chancellor
Speech to party members comes a month before high-stakes Budget
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 28/09/2026
John Healey to promise ‘new age of industrialisation’ with £6bn Royal Navy plan Chxwill pledge that work on building three new floating docks on the Clyde in Scotland will be carried out by British firms www.ft.com/content/46c3...
ft.com
Healey to promise ‘new age of industrialisation’ with £6bn Royal Navy plan
Chancellor will pledge that work on building three new floating docks on the Clyde in Scotland will be carried out by British firms
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 25/09/2026
People briefed on discussions say Burnham’s team is taking soundings on whether he should signal — either at conference or in “10-year plan” later this year — that the party’s next manifesto cd remove block to UK rejoining a customs union, single market or EU itself W/ @georgewparker.bsky.social
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 25/09/2026
👀 Andy Burnham is under mounting pressure to signal he could drop Labour’s “red lines” preventing Britain from moving closer to the EU, as party figures debate whether he should address the issue in his party conference speech next week. www.ft.com/content/a161...
ft.com
Andy Burnham under pressure to signal shift on Labour’s EU ‘red lines’
Prime minister’s team taking soundings on whether party should move UK closer to Europe
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 23/09/2026
How could Chx John Healey raise tax in the Budget? Examining the for/against cases for increasing capital gains, pensions, companies & property taxation www.ft.com/content/dffc...
ft.com
How could John Healey raise tax in the Budget?
Given the restrictions imposed on him by Labour’s manifesto, the chancellor has limited options available to bring in money
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 22/09/2026
He stressed no decisions had been made
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 22/09/2026
Asked by travelling press pack whether Britain (which spearheaded the MDM) can be a member of both entities, PM said: “That’s what we are in discussions about at the moment” Added: “The two sides are exploring the extent to which we can bring the two initiatives together, one can support the other”
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 22/09/2026
Last week we revealed the UK is in talks to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) - with one of the options being a merger of it with the Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM). Andy Burnham confirmed today that such discussions are underway, while speaking in NY
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Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026
A big new story from us: a big new leak means that we can put numbers on the scale of A7 -- the Kremlin's huge money-laundering machine. $6.9bn laundered through the international banking system via SWIFT, with $1.1bn sent to StanChart alone. www.ft.com/content/3848...
ft.com
Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks
FT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 22/09/2026
It’s part of a wider phenomenon across leading AI companies: staff at Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind have also publicly complained of similar issues, with many top researchers quitting due to the mental toll or coming to a belief that their work was unsafe for public release
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 22/09/2026
Tight schedules for testing unreleased AI models, plus alarm over rapid rollout and growing capabilities of AI, have fuelled low morale and burnout at AISI, acc to four people with knowledge of the matter
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 22/09/2026
EXC: AI staff complain of mental toll over fears of threat of society Multiple staff at Britain’s AI Security Institute (AISI) have been signed off work with stress and are undergoing counselling, acc to people familiar with the matter www.ft.com/content/6087...
ft.com
AI staff complain of mental toll over fears of threat to society
Top researchers at Aisi, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind report burnout and stress over developing powerful AI
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 21/09/2026
Later this autumn Political Fix will be recorded on the bridge of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales Delighted the FT is the inaugural media partner for Atlantic Future Forum, the UK govt-led international summit for defence, security & tech leaders www.atlanticfutureforum.com
atlanticfutureforum.com
Atlantic Future Forum
Atlantic Future Forum
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 17/09/2026
Ben Delo is many things: a crypto billionaire, a Reform mega-donor and a free speech advocate. @oilsheppard.bsky.social and I discovered he's also the landlord of a bankrupt academic after funding her failed libel claim against a Jewish artist who complained of antisemism www.ft.com/content/21aa...
ft.com
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home
Crypto billionaire Ben Delo loaned more than £300,000 to former academic Nina Power
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 16/09/2026
Delighted to be shortlisted for Political Journalist of the Year, in a list of such amazing reporters & great to see fantastic FT colleagues shortlisted across other categories too www.societyofeditors.org/events/media...
societyofeditors.org
Shortlist 2026 – Society of Editors
Society of Editors. Protecting the freedom of the news media
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 16/09/2026
UK arms of General Dynamics and ARX Robotics will today unveil a plan to integrate robotic vehicles to operate around the Ajax platforms as “wingmen” in war zones
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 16/09/2026
EXCL: US defence giant and German military start-up are joining forces to deploy autonomous “land drones” aimed at transforming the British Army’s beleaguered Ajax armoured fighting vehicles www.ft.com/content/3c38...
ft.com
UK looks to ‘land drones’ to transform beleaguered Ajax fighting vehicles
Collaboration between General Dynamics and ARX Robotics aimed at making armoured vehicles more lethal in war zones
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Gina Neff @ginasue.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
There is something off about this NYT photo on AI development that I can't quite put my finger on.
A screenshot, all dudes.
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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
the Revolut hack story is quite something www.ft.com/content/97f3...
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 15/09/2026
Topic set to be on agenda when Burnham and Carney meet tomorrow, and Healey and his Canadian counterpart Champagne meet on Thurs
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 15/09/2026
EXCL: UK ‘actively’ exploring joining Canada-led global defence bank British officials examining proposals for UK to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) under Burnham, after proposal was rejected by Starmer W/ @pickardje.bsky.social & Ilya Gridneff www.ft.com/content/4e14...
ft.com
UK ‘actively’ exploring joining Canada-led global defence bank
The DSRB aims to provide low-cost financing for military initiatives
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 15/09/2026
Officials say they are confident that HMRC, which has undergone a digital transformation, will be able to devise a solution, though the details are yet to be worked out.
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 15/09/2026
Tories v sceptical about the mechanism govt will use to avoid pensioners having to fill in tax returns “Reeves promised ‘a simple workaround’ last November. Ten months on there is still no mechanism in place,” said one Tory figure, warning it “doesn't really give pensioners much peace of mind”
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 15/09/2026
... have the administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax in this Parliament. “Chx will set out further details on how that commitment will be delivered at the Budget.”
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 15/09/2026
NEW - Pensions minister Torsten Bell confirms that pensioners who ‘just exceed’ personal allowance when state pension rises WON'T have to pay small amounts of tax this parliament “In line with the commitment made at Budget 2025, pensioners who only just exceed the personal allowance will not...
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 11/09/2026
Quick links here to Political Fix, the FT’s multi-award-winning weekly podcast on all things Westminster... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0LWx... FT: www.ft.com/content/4fcc... Pocket Casts: pocketcasts.com/podcast/poli...
podcasts.apple.com
AI: Is Britain prepared?
Podcast Episode · Political Fix · 11 September · 41min
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 11/09/2026
AI: Is Britain prepared? On Political Fix this week the FT’s AI editor Madhu Murgia, @robertshrimsley.bsky.social, @greenmirandahere.bsky.social & I discuss tech doomerism, the UK-Israel reset, and the Met police probe into Reform… Out now! 🎙️📻🎧
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Miranda Green @greenmirandahere.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
To explain P-doom and the AI extinction scares Madhumita Murgia joined @lucyfisher.ft.com on Pol Fix this week with @robertshrimsley.bsky.social and I sitting quaking beside her - a great expert witness www.ft.com/content/4fcc...
ft.com
AI: Is Britain prepared?
Plus, Burnham breaks with Starmer over Israel
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 10/09/2026
EXCL: Lindy Cameron, UK high commissioner to India, is set to become first female perm sec at the Foreign Office, @FT told Cameron, an ex-chief exec of the National Cyber Security Centre, beat Karen Pierce and Barbara Woodward in the final round www.ft.com/content/360d...
ft.com
Foreign Office to appoint first female head after Mandelson turmoil
Lindy Cameron becomes top civil servant at the department that was rocked by the sacking of predecessor Olly Robbins
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 10/09/2026
EXC: Dorchester hotel to sell Qatari sheikh’s car over unpaid £460,000 bill www.ft.com/content/031b...
ft.com
The Dorchester hotel to sell Qatari sheikh’s car over unpaid £460,000 bill
Member of ruling family ran up debt at Mayfair institution equivalent to stay of up to several months
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
He swerved commenting on Anthropic withholding access to its latest model from the UK’s AI Security Institute before release, but insisted AISI is ‘a world leader and is in daily conversation with industry partners including Anthropic’
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
Andy Burnham was challenged on our FT scoop about Anthropic by Lib Dem leader Ed Davey at PMQs today The PM warned AI ‘poses risks to our national security’, but insisted it ‘could also be the source of solutions’
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
Offences related to alleged contact with a representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps - a group controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
BREAKING: British man charged under the National Security Act on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence The 31-year-old male was arrested in Swindon last week and has been charged by CPS with assisting a foreign intelligence service and 'preparatory conduct' against the law
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
Comes after Jaguar Land Rover this week confirmed plans to cut 4K jobs (nearly 10% of global workforce) over next two years due to falling sales
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
EXC: McLaren will create 1k jobs in the UK as part of a £450mn investment in its technology centre in Woking, in a boost to the country’s struggling automotive industry www.ft.com/content/6f71...
ft.com
McLaren to create 1,000 UK jobs in product overhaul
Carmaker will give boost to automotive sector as part of £450mn investment in its Woking technology centre
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
EXC: Anthropic declined to submit its latest model to Britain’s AI Security Institute for testing before release, the first time a major model withheld from AISI Move has prompted fears in UK govt that tech firms are falling into line with Trump admin’s AI protectionism www.ft.com/content/560e...
ft.com
Anthropic withheld latest AI model from UK testing agency
Decision to exclude Aisi has prompted fears inside British government of protectionist shift among tech groups
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 08/09/2026
NEW: Britain announces trade ban on goods and some services linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank Plus accuses settlers of “ethnically cleansing” Palestinians in parts of the territory, in a major reset of UK-Israeli relations www.ft.com/content/990e...
ft.com
UK announces import ban on goods linked to Israeli settlements in West Bank
Action planned against companies and individuals involved in settlement expansion, Miliband tells MPs
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 05/09/2026
We’re keen to go vodcast… watch this space!
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 05/09/2026
Plus, @georgewparker.bsky.social and Sam Fleming joined the pod fresh from their interview with Chx John Healey
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 05/09/2026
This ‘back to school week’ in Westminster has been so busy we’ve had to record *two* episodes of Political Fix! In the latest, we discuss Reform battling scandal - again - with @oilsheppard.bsky.social, who brought us the latest from their conference in B’ham open.spotify.com/episode/7M0Z...
open.spotify.com
Reform in hot water … again
Political Fix · Episode
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 02/09/2026
Kemi Badenoch sharpens her attack on Andy Burnham as a “people pleaser” with weak leadership skills and a 1970s-obsessed politician “living in the past”. Tory leader has sought to regain front foot at the start of the parliamentary term, incl via her frontbench shake up www.ft.com/content/c939...
ft.com
Badenoch sharpens her attack on Burnham by calling him the ‘people pleaser’
Tory leader persists with her pugilistic strategy in the House of Commons after shaking up her top team
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