Global Scans · UK · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Achieving Brexit will dominate the UK's agenda up to and beyond 2020 with uncertainty rife until clear decisions are made on the form of Great Britain's future relationship with the EU and the rest of the world.

• [New] Nation-state threat actors exploit end-of-support (EOS) edge devices - including, but not limited to, load balancers, firewalls, routers, and virtual private network (VPN) gateways - to gain network access, maintain presence, and compromise sensitive data. / UK Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA
• [New] The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued a formal call for evidence regarding AI oversight, signalling that broad adoption and increased regulatory scrutiny are expected. / UK Healthcare Today
• [New] Last year, the UK government conducted the world's largest AI trial in healthcare, demonstrating how AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot could free up hundreds of thousands of NHS staff hours every month, cut operational costs and help raise the standard of patient care. Healthcare Today
• [New] A narrow vote leaves UK interest rates steady at 3.75%, but policymakers and economists signal that inflation relief and economic pressures could bring multiple rate cuts later this year. Grand Pinnacle Tribune
• [New] The National Cyber Security Centre has issued a fresh alert warning that Russian-aligned hacktivist groups continue to target UK organizations, particularly in local government, with disruptive cyber attacks. UKAuthority
• [New] The UK government has unveiled a landmark National Cancer Plan, setting an ambitious target for 75% of cancer patients diagnosed from 2035 to be cancer-free or living well after five years. UKAuthority
• [New] The defence deal, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, will see Britain and Australia building a new class of AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine. Deutsche Welle
• [New] The UK would deploy its carrier strike group to the Arctic and High North as part of efforts to bolster security against Russian threats. BBC News
• [New] By the end of 2026, the annual number of non-EU migrants entering the UK on visas could drop below 550,000 after reaching more than 1.1m in 2023. The Guardian
• [New] Approximately 40% of new cars produced in the UK are expected to have self-driving capabilities by 2035. The National Law Review
• [New] The relatively small nuclear arsenals of France and the United Kingdom might not be enough to face down Russia without US support. News24
• [New] Through SONUS - a new system to detect enemy weapons - UK forces will now have access to a capability that weighs 70% less than its predecessor, making it easier to transport and able to deploy in under three minutes. GOV.UK
• [New] The Carrier Strike Group will sail across the Atlantic to visit a US port, with US jets also expected to operate from the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales. GOV.UK
• [New] Over the past two years, there has been a 30% increase in Russian navy vessels threatening UK waters. GOV.UK
• [New] Creating a central function for risk monitoring and regulatory coordination - The UK has set up a central function within DSIT to monitor and evaluate AI risks and address any gaps in the regulatory environment. Metricstream
• [New] The JLR cyberattack shaved an estimated 0.2% off UK GDP in September and states that 2026 could be the year a major business suffers significant long-term damage or even failure from an outage caused by a cyberattack or error. Insurance Business
• [New] The United Kingdom will double its troops deploying to Norway's Arctic region to 2,000 over the next three years. GV Wire
• [New] There's the potential for the UK to become a manufacturer and exporter of SMR technology. AtkinsRealis
• [New] A successful fleet deployment of an SMR programme in the UK could bring other benefits for the wider economy too. AtkinsRealis
• [New] Initiatives like 3 Ci in the UK and the Green Bank Network in the US, which enable better project origination with well packaged bundles of investable, de-risked sustainable projects, should become more prominent, especially for cash constrained local authorities and cities. AtkinsRealis

Last updated: 17 February 2026