‘Finally got him to go’: how Epstein was given inside track on events that rippled through global markets
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

Apparent leak by Peter Mandelson gave advance notice of Gordon Brown’s resignation and €500bn eurozone dealOn a brisk Monday evening in May 2010, Gordon Brown stood on the steps of Downing Street and delivered one of the most dramatic announcements of the New Labour era: his resignation as UK prime minister.The decision came days after a nail-biting general election that left no single party with a clear run at No 10. Brown kept his decision, which followed days of political wrangling, to a tight inner circle. Nick Clegg, who would go on to serve as deputy prime minister of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, was formally told of Brown’s resignation only 10 minutes before the announcement. Continue reading...

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Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

Pearson, Experian and others fall sharply after startup unveils software to automate a range of professional servicesEuropean publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence startup Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies’ legal departments.Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, said its tool could automate legal work such as contract reviewing, non-disclosure agreement triage, compliance workflows, legal briefings and templated responses. Continue reading...

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Epstein called Mandelson ‘devious’ after he lobbied bank to back mining project
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

In 2010 then business secretary contacted Jes Staley, then at JP Morgan, about funding for £700m listing on London Stock ExchangeJeffrey Epstein described Peter Mandelson as “devious” after lobbying a bank to underwrite a mining project launched by their mutual friend Nat Rothschild, emails included in the latest tranche of Epstein files suggest.In April 2010, the then business secretary appears to have contacted banker Jes Staley, then at JP Morgan, from his personal email account in what appears to be an attempt to secure funding for Rothschild, Mandelson’s longtime friend. Continue reading...

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UK privacy watchdog opens inquiry into X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate whether Elon Musk’s firms have complied with data protection lawElon Musk’s X and xAI companies are under formal investigation by the UK’s data protection watchdog after the Grok AI tool produced indecent deepfakes without people’s consent.The Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating whether the social media platform and its parent broke GDPR, the data protection law. Continue reading...

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French headquarters of Elon Musk’s X raided by Paris cybercrime unit
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

Prosecutors’ announcement comes amid a hardening of European attitudes to social media firmsProsecutors have raided the French headquarters of Elon Musk’s social media platform X and summoned the tech billionaire and the company’s former chief executive for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged cybercrime.“A search is under way by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office, the national police cyber unit and Europol,” the Paris prosecutors’ office said in a post on X on Tuesday, adding that it would no longer be publishing on the network. Continue reading...

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Kai Havertz adds killer touch as Arsenal hold off Chelsea to book final place
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

When the final whistle blew, a huge wave of relief swept over this stadium. Arsenal may not have been at all convincing against a Chelsea side who caused them the occasional problem but Mikel Arteta will not care one bit. After four successive semi-final defeats, Arsenal are on their way to Wembley. At last.After the drama of the first leg at Stamford Bridge that saw Liam Rosenior’s side travel to north London needing to overturn a 3-2 deficit, this was a much more cagey affair that was eventually settled in stoppage time by Kai Havertz’s breakaway goal against his former club. Arsenal had seemed content to keep Chelsea at arm’s length for most of the evening and rarely looked like extending their advantage until then. Continue reading...

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IOC president gives clearest signal so far that Russia could be at 2028 Olympics
Posted on Tuesday February 03, 2026

Kirsty Coventry: ‘Keep sport a neutral ground’Ukraine sports minister hits out at Fifa presidentThe International Olympic Committee president, Kirsty Coventry, has given her clearest signal yet that Russia could be back for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.A day after the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said he wanted Russia reinstated to international football, Coventry used her opening address to the 145th IOC congress in Milan to argue that all athletes should be allowed to compete in sport – regardless of their government’s behaviour. Continue reading...

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