Luxury brands in UK warn copyright plan puts £125billion growth in danger – as they urge Keir Starmer to ‘rethink’ overhaul_Nhy
Britain’s £81billion luxury goods industry has attacked Labour’s plan to overhaul copyright law to let AI developers use material without paying as a ‘damaging proposal’.
Walpole, which represents 250 of the sector’s names including Chanel, Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Dunhill, Mulberry, Wedgwood, Harrods, Rolls-Royce and Cunard, urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to ‘rethink’ the move.
The Government has already outraged the creative sector with its proposals to give tech firms an exemption from copyright law. It would allow them to use artists’ work for free to train their AI models unless creators take onerous steps to ‘opt out’ of their use.
Leading names in music, arts, film and literature have already joined a Mail campaign which warns the plan would devastate Britain’s £126billion creative sector.
Now Walpole CEO Helen Brocklebank has labelled the move the ‘wrong approach’.
She told the Times: ‘Intellectual property rights are a fundamental part of the UK’s £81billion high-growth luxury industry. Our sector is projected to grow to £125billion – the Government’s plans threaten this trajectory.
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to ‘rethink’ a government plan to overhaul copyright law to let AI developers use material without paying as a ‘damaging proposal’
Walpole, which represents 250 of the sector’s names including Chanel , Burberry , Alexander McQueen, Dunhill, Mulberry, Wedgwood, Harrods, Rolls-Royce and Cunard, has spoken out against the plan
‘Global luxury brands invest in the UK for a wide range of reasons including its strong creative industries, stable business environment and supportive legal framework.
‘The proposed government approach risks undermining this framework and the creative industries that rely on it. Instead of pressing ahead with this damaging proposal, we are calling for the Government to rethink its plan, stand up for copyright law and allow tech and creative businesses to continue to build a workable, equitable licensing system that will see both sides benefit.’
Walpole’s intervention ramps up pressure on Technology Secretary Peter Kyle who is in California meeting AI firms, including OpenAI.
A spokesman for the Government said: ‘The status quo is holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realising their full potential and that cannot continue.’
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So much for Labour’s war on quangos! Boss of Ed Miliband’s Great British Energy to scoop £525,000 pay packet (and WFH two days a week) – as public sector employment hits 13-year high
The boss of Labour‘s Great British Energy will earn up to £525,000 a year and will even be allowed to work from home for two days a week.
A job advert for the chief executive role at the publicly-owned company has revealed the eye-watering pay packet on offer for the successful candidate.
They will earn a base salary of £350,000 but also be entitled to performance-related pay of up to half that amount.
This means their total package could be more than three times the £166,786 salary earned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
It would also make them one of the UK’s highest-earning quango bosses, despite Labour’s recent promise to trim down ‘flabby’ Whitehall bureaucracy.
New figures published today showed how public sector employment in Britain has risen to a 13-year high.
A total of 6.14million people worked for the state in December last year, according to the Office for National Statistics, which was the highest number since December 2011.
Great British Energy has been set up by Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as part of Labour’s bid to make the UK a ‘clean energy superpower’.
Great British Energy has been set up by Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as part of Labour’s bid to make the UK a ‘clean energy superpower’.
Great British Energy is being backed by £8.3billion of taxpayers’ money – to be invested in clean energy projects across the UK – over the course of the current parliament
A job advert for the chief executive role at the publicly-owned company has revealed the eye-watering pay packet on offer for the successful candidate
It is being backed by £8.3billion of taxpayers’ money – to be invested in clean energy projects across the UK – over the course of the current parliament.
Dan McGrail was last month appointed as interim chief executive of Great British Energy but an advert has now been posted online for a permanent hire.
The recruitment process is being overseen by global talent agency Odgers Berndtson, with the pay packet benchmarked against similar roles.
In line with civil service rules, the successful candidate will only be expected to attend the office or work away from home for 60 per cent of their working hours.
It means they could log on from home for two days a week under the hybrid working policy.
Tory MP Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, said: ‘British taxpayers are now expected to pick up the bill for a chief executive to be paid 10 times the average British worker, while their energy bills go up yet again under Labour.
‘Labour is recklessly wasting £8.3billion of taxpayers’ money on an energy company that won’t even generate any energy, but will make Britain dependent on solar panels and wind turbines shipped in from coal-powered China – all in the name of Ed Miliband’s Net Zero targets.’
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice, his party’s energy spokesman, said: ‘Another fat cat job of £350,000 running an unnecessary quango wasting taxpayers’ cash.
‘This bureaucracy is where our taxes are going, making us all poorer.’
A DESNZ spokesperson said: ‘Great British Energy is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower and will ensure our homes are cheaper and cleaner to run.
‘In recruiting a CEO, who will be based in Aberdeen, we are ensuring value for money within the public sector, whilst also attracting a high-calibre candidate fit to lead Great British Energy as it delivers clean energy for the British people.’
