Morning Briefing: Thursday 22 October 2026
- If you are on a means-tested benefit: letters confirming £150 off your energy bill this winter start arriving today, going to around six million households. Every billpayer on a means-tested benefit now qualifies, and the government says the scheme is funded to 2030-31.
- If you heat your home with gas: the prime minister has asked the chancellor and the energy secretary to examine removing standing charges from gas bills and report back. Nothing is decided, the average gas charge is about 30p a day, and prices are forecast to rise 16% in January.
- If you bank or shop online: fraud rose 11% to 4.5 million incidents in the year to June and computer misuse 23%. Separately, some council and NHS websites went offline this week over a software flaw, and six Scottish councils still report problems with payments.
Russia Fires 21 Missiles at Kyiv Hours After Agreeing Talks
Three waves of ballistic missiles struck Kyiv from Wednesday evening, 21 in all, hours after the Kremlin said President Putin had agreed in principle to resume three-way talks. President Zelensky said at least two people were killed and 34…
AI-Found PHP Flaw Forces Governments to Pull Websites Offline
Two critical flaws in the PHP programming language, uncovered with the help of artificial intelligence, allow an attacker to run commands on a web server without any password. America’s National Security Agency told organisations to patch…
Two Killed at Dammam Airport as US Orders Diplomats Out
Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator says two people were killed and eight injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport on Wednesday evening. Washington has ordered non-emergency staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia. Bren…
France Now Borrows More Dearly Than America as Protests Loom
French ten-year borrowing costs rose about nine basis points to just over 5.08%, moving above the equivalent American yield for the first time since 2013. The premium over German debt is the widest in almost fifteen years. Protests are ban…
Judge Fines Meta $25bn Over Eleven Years of Privacy Lies
A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $25bn, the largest fine in the company’s history, finding it wilfully misled users about who controlled their data between 2010 and 2021. The state’s attorney general called it a warning to Sil…
Barclays to Cut 5,000 Jobs as Profits Rise Before the Budget
Barclays will shed about 5,000 roles, some 5% of its global workforce, after pre-tax profits rose 12% to £2.3bn in the third quarter. Its chief executive said an expected Budget tax rise on banks would be “bearable” but questioned the sign…
Fraud and Computer Misuse Rise as Knife and Gun Crime Fall
Fraud rose 11% to 4.5 million incidents in the year to June and computer misuse 23% to 817,000, according to official figures published this morning. Over the same period knife offences fell 6% to 48,615, firearms offences 8% and homicides…
Judges Get Power to Confine Killers Who Skip Sentencing
Under rules laid before Parliament today, Crown Court judges in England and Wales will be able to order offenders who refuse to attend their sentencing to be confined to a cell for 21 days, stripped of privileges for 84 and barred from soc…
Rosebank Decision Pending as Department Dismisses Reports as Speculation
Reports that the energy secretary is minded to refuse the Rosebank oil field have been met with an on-the-record denial: her department says “this is speculation” and that each project will be assessed on its merits. A decision is expected…
Six Million Households to Get £150 Energy Rebate Letters
Letters confirming £150 off energy bills this winter begin arriving from today, going to around six million households across Britain. Every billpayer on a means-tested benefit now qualifies, after an expansion that added nearly 2.3 millio…