Lee Willows

Ex-Reuters Bill's column>Policing in Data-Driven Digital Society "POLICING IN A DATA-DRIVEN DIGITAL SOCIETY" By Bill Magee National Police Chiefs' Council and Scottish tech experts Exception's 4th in a series of six groundbreaking podcasts is now live. Coming at a time when the NPCC warns virtually every crime now involves "advanced criminal tactics" that utilise what amounts to vasts amounts of complex data. Catch the podcast episode below or at: https://lnkd.in/enuEN7Py Stressed is how the way forward must be all about how policing looks at the handling of information to better prevent crime by ensuring data-driven decision making ultimately better protects the public. The Council's Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee highlights digital crime presents policing with a "serious challenge" with recognition of the need to modernise. Exception's Alan Anderson the Director responsible for Criminal Justice, says: "The rapid pace of technological changes require a corresponding shift in how we envision and implement public safety strategies." DDaTCC concludes best use of tech and data can ensure public safety and security is maximised, along with value for money...

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Most likely the UK is going to regulate GameFi as gambling and financial services. It is going to be a complicated few years of regulation until one regulator takes full ownership of this Web3 segment. And full decentralisation is unlikely going to arbitrage those concerns away. https://lnkd.in/ePfaXsA7

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34% of UK Voters have no clue on… Why they are voting for a certain political party. Labour Party want to work with the gambling industry to ensure safer or responsible gambling?! Yet, the same industry has demonstrated that it is disinclined and incapable of protecting customers from harm. The gambling industry have even been fined MILLIONS for breaching the Gambling Commission policies. I am not here to tell you here to vote for however please do your due diligence 🙏🏽 Do you trust the UK Government? #labour #labourparty #manifesto #gambling #gamblingaddiction #addictionawareness #addictionrecovery #voters #rishisunak #ukgovernment

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How do we unlock the private capital in UK pension funds in the City to fund scale-up of world class UK R+D & Technology companies? One of the biggest barriers to the UK successfully scaling-up our top ventures here in the UK has been the disconnection of the City of London from UK venture company building, exacerbated by the extraordinary returns from globalisation 1.0 & cheap credit fuelled private equity and derivatives trading, the Crash of 2007 and then QE & massive Govt borrowing via gilts. Over the past 25 years, UK pension funds have reduced their allocations 🌆to equities from 73% to 27% 🌆to UK equities from 53% to just 6% (Over the same period, they have quadrupled their allocation to bonds to 56%. UK pensions now have the highest allocation to bonds and lowest allocation to equities of any comparable pension system in the world.) Since 2000, the share of the UK stock market owned by UK pensions and insurance companies has fallen from 39% to just 4%. So now: 🌆only 1% of the £4.6 trillion in pensions and insurance assets is invested in unlisted UK companies 🌆UK pension schemes have among the lowest proportion of funds held in domestic stocks and private assets of any significant global pension market, according to a new report. This is bad for us all: - UK savers losing out on opportunities from high return sectors - UK venture companies going global being sold out to USA & RoW investor acquirers - UK Treasury & taxpayers losing out on tax revenues - UK workers missing out on high growth sector jobs Thats why the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP the Lord Mayor of London Sir Nicholas Lyons and the CEO's of some of the largest DC pensions schemes in the UK: Aegon Aon Aviva NatWest Cushon Legal & General M&G plc Mercer Nest Insight Phoenix Group Scottish Widows Workplace Pensions Smart Pension agreed to allocate at least 5% of their default funds to unlisted equities by 2030. Supported by the #Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) British Business Bank British Patient Capital Association of British Insurers 📣Original HMG announcement: https://lnkd.in/et4kN3GZ 📰ABI update: https://lnkd.in/eFzvc6yU — ⚡️In one of the most exciting developments for the UK venture capital & innovation economy sector, the first allocations of this £50billion funding pot are starting to be made… Quietly behind the scenes the big UK pension funds are starting to create the #LongTermAssetFunds #LTAF structures to deploy pension funds into world class UK high growth scale-up companies and the UK VC investors building them: Cambridge Innovation Capital Oxford Science Enterprises Northern Gritstone Schroders #SVLS Lansdowne Partners Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) Novo Holdings Abingworth 🚨Watch this space: https://lnkd.in/ePVu2-Ky #MansionHouse #ScaleUpFinance #VentureCapital #Pensions #IndustrialStrategy

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So that’s a wrap for CyberUK. Great to spend the last two days with the Golden Valley team speaking to so many businesses and partners across government and academia that are interested in being part of our unique development. A few takeaways for me from the conference: 1. We have a fantastic tech ecosystem in the U.K. that has the capability and solutions to keep us all safe, but we must keep developing people with the right skills and talent to meet the ecosystem’s needs in the future. If we don’t, the job of protecting us will just be harder. 2. It was great to hear a balanced debate on the opportunities and risks of AI that avoided the extremes I’ve tended to hear up to now - that this technology is either going to save the world…. or end it. 3. That as new technology develops at a faster pace than ever before, thinking about how we make everything secure by design is even more important. 4. That despite our amazing ecosystem that is working tirelessly to protect us, we can reduce our risks of cyber attacks by simply not doing really daft stuff. So we all need to play part to keep us safe. For me, this is why Golden Valley is going to be a truly transformational project. Yes it will deliver fantastic places for people to work and live but what will make this development different and unique is that it will have a convening power that will bring together government, academia and private sector to innovate, harness opportunities and make sure that whatever the world invents next, that our future is a secure one. Cheltenham has been home to GCHQ for 70 years, I leave CyberUK confident and optimistic that Golden Valley will play its full part in the next 70 years which will continue to build our proud heritage in communications and security. National Cyber Security Centre Plexal HBD Golden Valley Paul Jones FCPFA

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Im speechless, and I know alot of you would doubt that could ever happen https://lnkd.in/edFkdgRS Read my Dragon blog aimed at S151 officers https://lnkd.in/e8Q_HxTS

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‘Delivery’ is clearly the buzz word from the early interviews and sound bites coming from the new Government & officials. Growth being a ‘national mission’ will be liked by the business community & they’ll remain supportive and engaged especially if progress can regularly be demonstrated. To build and maintain confidence, this will require: 1. Widely articulated plans 2. A strategy to achieve these plans 3. A timescale to measure what has being agreed

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Addiction Economy Thought for Today - Our research on gambling shows that they are probably the most predatory and corrupt of all the Addiction Economy sectors, since the Labour government decided they were a leisure industry and made a free for all market in 2005. We are warming to our terminology that it is not a Nanny State which curtails the power and harm of these harmful industries, but a Negligent State which lets companies harm citizens - such as letting the industry decide how much to pay to tackle harms, and who the money goes to - ie industry funded bodies who find gambling isn't as bad as everyone says. It's laughable! "Labour is understood to be poised to rubber-stamp the previous government’s proposal to do away with a voluntary system that allows industry operators to choose how much to donate to tackle damage caused by gambling and which organisations should receive the money." Having lobbied hard and said it would be 'a “backward step” that would have no impact on gambling-related harm', the sector has conceded. Lots more to do on this sector, particularly the digital gambling areas and specific addictive design techniques of products.

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Crypto is now “a thing” in the UK 🇬🇧 🔦 Clarity in regulation is a huge step forward for any industry, and the UK’s latest move to provide legal recognition for digital assets is a great example of this. ✅ By officially introducing a new category of personal property for crypto (called “a thing”), the legal framework will give much-needed clarity and protection to individuals and businesses alike. This will also make it easier for legal professionals to navigate disputes and safeguard clients against fraud. 🌍 Once again, the UK is positioning itself as a more attractive hub for crypto-related business—which will also pave the way for innovation and growth in the space. Read more about the bill here: https://lnkd.in/d-4tJjFs

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🔥🚀 The Digital Pound Dilemma—Time for Britain to Print Progress, Not Excuses! 💷📈 If the Bank of England’s scepticism about the digital pound—let’s call it 'Britcoin'—were a currency, it’d be Bitcoin circa 2008: misunderstood, underestimated, and poised for disruption. While the ECB 🇪🇺 and Uncle Sam 🇺🇸 are flirting with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), Britain’s dithering risks turning the City into a quaint museum exhibit, featuring ledger books 📚 and quill pens ✒️. The kicker? 🔥 📊 93% of central banks are exploring CBDCs (Bank for International Settlements – BIS). 💸 China’s e-CNY: nearly 7 trillion yuan in transactions (Thomson Reuters). 🇸🇪 Sweden’s e-krona pilots are rewriting money flows (Sveriges riksbank). 🌴 Bahamas’ Sand Dollar—fintech isn’t just for big players (International Monetary Fund). Privacy concerns? 🛡️ Sure, they deserve a seat at the table, but not the whole boardroom. Legislation can safeguard freedom without chaining progress. The EU 🇪🇺 is drafting rules (European Central Bank), and the UK should do the same—faster than a Prime Ministerial reshuffle 🔄. Early Mover Advantage: 🎯 £200B GDP boost by 2030 through CBDC (McKinsey & Company). That’s not pocket change—it’s economic rocket fuel 🚀. “Let’s not be the country that invented steam power but decided paddling was good enough.” 💬 Excellent insght from Mehreen Khan 🙏 #Britcoin #CBDC #DigitalCurrency #Fintech #Innovation

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UNMASKING THE TRUTH. Missconduct involving significant international money laundering schemes potentially linked to high-profile donors to the Conservative Party, including Lord Ranger and Lord Ashcroft. These claims suggest that these individuals are involved in shielding and facilitating the money laundering activities of Sharma on a global scale. investigation in Missconduct should be conducted these findings could have serious implications, calling into question the integrity of political donations and raising concerns about the potential misuse of financial systems to further illicit activities.

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*Scoop of Business News 5th August* 1. **Bitcoin Crashes Over 13% as Recession Fears Mount** Bitcoin plummets to $52,586, a multi-month low, as US recession fears and weak economic data shake the crypto market. 2. **Intel Suffers Historic 26% Stock Plunge** Intel loses $30 billion in value, its worst drop in 50 years, following drastic cost-cutting measures and competitive concerns. 3. **Nikkei 225 Suffers Worst Drop Since 1987** Japan's Nikkei 225 crashes 10% amid US economic worries and a Bank of Japan rate hike, marking its biggest drop since 1987. 4. **South Korean Market Hit by Tech Sell-Off, Trading Curbs Activated** KOSPI dives 5.9% as tech stocks tumble and trading curbs are activated amid global recession fears. 5. **BOJ Criticized After Stock Market Meltdown** The Bank of Japan faces backlash after its rate hike triggers a major stock sell-off and rapid yen appreciation.

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WTF 😳 you can now use your MetaMask wallet to pay for your everyday purchases. The ethereum based custodial wallet has teamed up with Mastercard and Baanx Group Ltd to create a digital card which converts crypto from the Metamask wallet directly into fiat currency. 💷 The current role out is for UK and EU customers only however the pilot expects to extend into other global markets along with the launch of a physical card. To get the full details, be sure to read and follow the #WTFCrypto blog on medium and let me know in the comments if you will be using your ethereum to buy your toilet roll! #cryptonews #metamask #cryptocurrencynews #ethereum #bitcoin

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