Hacker News with Generative AI: United Kingdom

Octopus overtakes British Gas as Britain's largest household energy supplier (theguardian.com)
Octopus Energy has become Britain’s largest household energy supplier for the first time, toppling British Gas almost four decades after it was privatised under Margaret Thatcher.
Energy, United Kingdom, Business, Competition
8 points by doener 11 hours ago | 3 comments
U.K. restaurant selling $177 pineapple pizza: the price for 'terrible judgment' (cbc.ca)
People who prefer their pizza peppered with pineapples will have to pay a pretty penny for the pleasure at a pizzeria in Norwich, England.
Food, United Kingdom, Controversy, Pricing
5 points by petethomas 21 hours ago | 2 comments
MI5 files suggest queen not briefed on spy Blunt in royal household for 9 years (theguardian.com)
The late Queen Elizabeth II was not told for almost 10 years that Anthony Blunt, a surveyor of the queen’s pictures and a member of the royal household, had confessed to being a Soviet double agent, previously secret security files suggest.
History, Royal Family, Espionage, Intelligence, United Kingdom
6 points by bookofjoe 3 days ago | 0 comments
( UK ) Prime Minister sets out blueprint to turbocharge AI (gov.uk)
Artificial intelligence will be unleashed across the UK to deliver a decade of national renewal, under a new plan announced today (13 January 2025).
Artificial Intelligence, Government, Policy, United Kingdom
35 points by Woods369 4 days ago | 59 comments
The damning statistics that reveal the true cost of Brexit, five years on (independent.co.uk)
It has been five years since Brexit “got done” – and voters and politicians alike are still counting the cost.
Brexit, Economics, Politics, United Kingdom
15 points by SirLJ 5 days ago | 18 comments
Software Bugs Led to 'One of the Greatest Miscarriages of Justice' (cacm.acm.org)
In a Kafkaesque nightmare come true, nearly 1,000 individuals who ran local post offices in the U.K. were wrongly convicted of stealing money from those operations between 1999 and 2015 as a Fujitsu software system known as Horizon erroneously showed imbalances in their accounts.
Software Bugs, Legal Issues, Technology, Justice System, United Kingdom
32 points by adunk 9 days ago | 9 comments
DVD shop owner vows to be ‘last man standing’ (bbc.com)
Perched on the end of a row of terraces in a small town is one of the last DVD rental shops in the UK.
Retail, Business, Entertainment, United Kingdom
57 points by yladiz 12 days ago | 55 comments
UK electricity cleanest ever in 2024, with record 58% from low-carbon sources (theguardian.com)
The UK’s electricity was the cleanest it has ever been in 2024, with wind and solar generation hitting all-time highs, according to a report.
Renewable Energy, Environment, United Kingdom, Climate Change, Energy
10 points by ksec 13 days ago | 4 comments
UK's biggest dinosaur footprint site unearthed (bbc.com)
The UK's biggest ever dinosaur trackway site has been discovered in a quarry in Oxfordshire.
Paleontology, Archaeology, United Kingdom, Dinosaurs
87 points by peutetre 16 days ago | 14 comments
Return to NSA's Menwith Hill with 60 Minutes (2000) (cryptome.org)
The trip to Menwith Hill was on the spur of the moment. I mentioned to 60 Minutes producer Peter Klein: have passport will travel, I just do not have the funds. Next thing I knew Trisha Sorrels from 60 Minutes was e-mailing me asking if I would go and that they would pay for the trip, wow.
Government Surveillance, Journalism, United Kingdom, Military
6 points by robtherobber 24 days ago | 0 comments
Khalid Sheldrake: The East Dulwich man who would be King (nationalarchives.gov.uk)
Bertie Sheldrake was a South London pickle manufacturer who converted to Islam and became king of a far-flung Islamic republic before returning to London and settling back into obscurity.
Biography, History, United Kingdom, Religion, Islam
59 points by Geekette 31 days ago | 31 comments
Electric cars make up one in four sold in November (UK) (bbc.co.uk)
One in four cars sold in the UK last month was electric, according to industry figures, but new registrations were driven by steep discounting.
Electric Vehicles, Automotive Industry, United Kingdom, Sales Data
4 points by ljf 43 days ago | 3 comments
Pisces: UK regulated market for private shares [pdf] (service.gov.uk)
Finance, Regulations, United Kingdom, Private Equity
24 points by thom 44 days ago | 14 comments
UK counter-terrorism unit demands Steam withdraw controversial shooter from sale (eurogamer.net)
Valve has removed a game from its British Steam storefront following a request from the UK's counter-terrorism unit.
Counter-Terrorism, Video Games, Censorship, United Kingdom, Steam
61 points by healsdata 47 days ago | 101 comments
Drone Incursions over USAF Bases in UK Enter Second Week (twz.com)
A week into the drone incursion flap in the United Kingdom and there remain many more questions than answers.
Military, Drones, United Kingdom, Security
12 points by peutetre 49 days ago | 14 comments
UK Network of free hiking 'hotels' (bothies) (bbc.com)
You can’t book them and you don't know who else will be there, but they're an excellent way to explore Britain's most remote corners – for free.
Hiking, Travel, United Kingdom, Outdoor Recreation, Free Activities
3 points by bookofjoe 49 days ago | 1 comments
Brits are scrolling away from X and aren't that interested in AI (theregister.com)
Usage of Elon Musk's X social media platform is declining in the UK, and adult Brits aren't particularly interested in generative AI tools.
Social Media, AI, United Kingdom
133 points by LinuxBender 49 days ago | 128 comments
How the ZX Spectrum became a 1980s icon (bbc.com)
The ZX Spectrum was a 1980s icon which played a starring role in the revolution that brought computers into the UK’s homes for the first time.
History, Technology, Gaming, United Kingdom, Computing
41 points by dabinat 56 days ago | 40 comments
Elon Musk to 'summon MPs to US to explain threats to American citizens' (theguardian.com)
Elon Musk has said UK MPs “will be summoned to the United States of America to explain their censorship and threats to American citizens” in a fresh escalation of tensions between the world’s richest man and Labour.
Politics, United Kingdom, Elon Musk, Twitter, Censorship
5 points by ____H____ 57 days ago | 1 comments
The rectangular cows of Art UK (2018) (artuk.org)
Spending time among the thousands of paintings on Art UK often throws up questions. What is a sun fish? Why is there a painting of the Queen with Robert Burns? What makes this tie hot?
Art, History, United Kingdom, Online Resources, Museums
153 points by onychomys 58 days ago | 60 comments
Now Online Safety Act is law, UK has 'priorities' but won't explain 'spy clause' (theregister.com)
The UK government has set out plans detailing how it will use the new law it has created to control online platforms and social media – with one telling exception.
Online Safety, Legislation, United Kingdom, Social Media, Privacy
7 points by beardyw 58 days ago | 0 comments
'King Arthur's Hall' is five times older than thought, researchers discover (phys.org)
A historic site in Cornwall linked to King Arthur has been found to be 4,000 years older than previously thought after a new survey was carried out by a team of researchers, including experts from the University of St Andrews.
History, Archaeology, United Kingdom, King Arthur
11 points by wglb 60 days ago | 6 comments
The decline and fall of the British economy (2022) (worksinprogress.co)
When America’s economy overtook Britain’s a century ago, it remade the world order. How it happened is still debated.
Economics, History, United Kingdom, United States
86 points by MrBuddyCasino 62 days ago | 126 comments
King Arthur's ancient trail across Britain (cnn.com)
History, Archaeology, England, United Kingdom, Mythology
45 points by peutetre 62 days ago | 41 comments
UK shrinkflation hits an absurd milestone (ycombinator.com)
Shrinkflation e.g. your favourite chocolate bar price is unchanged but weight sneakily reduced by 10%.<p>Now... underpants. H&M Cotton-rich short trunks Large were 33in at waist and are now (on the sample I bought today) 30in.<p>And unlike the chocolate bar which is marked e.g. "25g", the shorts' packaging lacks any figure to reveal the reduction in the number of inches you are getting.<p>What next? 11-inch rulers? :)
Consumerism, Marketing, United Kingdom, Economics
7 points by chrisjj 64 days ago | 7 comments
Samantha Harvey's 'beautiful and ambitious' Orbital wins Booker prize (theguardian.com)
Orbital by Samantha Harvey, the only British writer shortlisted this year, has won the 2024 Booker prize, the UK’s most prestigious prize for fiction.
Literature, Awards, United Kingdom
39 points by mitchbob 66 days ago | 10 comments
Magic Circle tries to track down first female member – who posed as a man (theguardian.com)
The council meeting of the Magic Circle on 9 October 1991 was a historic occasion, marking the moment when the first cohort of women, including Debbie McGee and Fay Presto, were admitted to its previously male-only ranks of magicians.
Magic, Gender, History, United Kingdom, Entertainment
33 points by Emigre_ 67 days ago | 47 comments
Somebody moved the UK's oldest satellite in the mid 1970s, but no one knows who (bbc.co.uk)
Someone moved the UK's oldest satellite and there appears to be no record of exactly who, when or why.
Space Exploration, History, Mystery, United Kingdom
181 points by mindracer 70 days ago | 98 comments
Tommy Robinson arrested under Terrorism Act for not unlocking phone (independent.co.uk)
Political activist Tommy Robinson will miss his own planned protest in central London on Saturday after he was remanded into custody by police.
Terrorism, Law Enforcement, Politics, United Kingdom
32 points by quazar 82 days ago | 36 comments
UK sleep experts say it's time to kill daylight saving for good (theregister.com)
The streets of Soho aren't alive with disco or bellbottoms anymore, so maybe it's time to ditch another '70s icon we should have outgrown by now, says the British Sleep Society (BSS).
Time, Health, United Kingdom, Daylight Saving
28 points by DamonHD 83 days ago | 28 comments