Industry Editor @Telegraph. Formerly @DailyMailUK and @theoxfordmail. Tips and stories to [email protected]
London, England
Joined February 2015
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Matt Oliver retweeted
Great write up by @mattotele covering how we're building the end-to-end supply chain for low-cost synthetic fuel production at @Rivanindustries:
telegraph.co.uk/business/202…
Essential reading for anyone with an interest in defence/rearmament
Delighted that my Freedom's Forge (originally published 2012) is now the #1 bestselling book in economic history on Amazon:
amazon.com/Freedoms-Forge-Am…
Matt Oliver retweeted
Exclusive: General Lord Sanders has intervened on John Healey’s maiden budget, telling @telegraph it’s “incredible” that the Chancellor - who resigned as Defence Secretary over a lack of money for defence - would not use next week’s Budget to explain how the UK will get to 3% by 2030.
Lord Sanders told me that you can’t expect industry to prepare the nation for war when it has no idea how the gov intends to get to its NATO target of 3.5% by 2035 when it can’t even set out the initial steps of getting there.
Lord Sanders was speaking at the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on rearmament, which is running an inquiry into the state of the military and whether it needs to rearm (short answer: Yes.)
He stressed the Army has some of the best people in the world serving, but they don’t have the money or capabilities to back this moral component up. So while the UK could fight day 1 of a war, without adequate stockpiles etc being able to hold the fight on day 30/day 90 is not a sure thing.
Mike Martin, @ThreshedThought
who chairs the APPG told telegraph: “We heard today in our inquiry that the UK is effectively unable to deter our enemies on land and we are taking grave risks as a nation.
“For the Government not to set out a credible path to 3 per cent of GDP next week in the budget beggars belief.”
V interesting conversation where Lord Sanders also told those gathered in Houses of Parliament that he was deeply concerned about lawfare, the Troubles Bill in its current shape and how soldiers HAVE to feel that the country “has their back”. How can they be expected to fight for king and country if they fear they will be hung out to dry by the very institution they dedicate their lives to?
telegraph.co.uk/politics/202…
Matt Oliver retweeted
Featuring yours truly after spending months gazing at the north-east Atlantic and the Russian trawlers sailing along the edges of NATO nations' EEZs.
Many thanks to all who helped - especially those I can't name.
telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10…
Exc: A US defence giant has emerged as the frontrunner for a £2bn contract to build military satellites for Britain - hours after Ukraine's access to American systems was throttled.
The Ministry of Defence is understood to be pushing for Lockheed Martin to be awarded the SkyNet 6 deal, in a break with current UK-based supplier Airbus.
This is despite the current row over restrictions on Kyiv's use of Starlink.
It's triggered fears that Washington could gain leverage over how Britain uses the vital satellite system, particularly in potential future crises.
Downing Street thought to have intervened to review the decision...
Full story in link below:
Matt Oliver retweeted
This was the scene in the third part of the hearing. Around half of MPs present
Today I went to a select committee hearing on AI. A few interesting things came out of it, but what really stuck with me was the behaviour of the MPs
They weren’t paying attention
At one point I counted 6 of the 13 MPs on the committee looking at their phones. And not in that way you do when you’re quickly checking something - two stared at their phones for over half an hour. Several others left before the end
Many people think AI is the most important thing in the world. The MPs were warned there was a 50/50 chance it might destroy humanity! You’d think that’d be enough to make you take your chance to listen to experts and key players on the topic - apparently not
Exc: Senior industry sources warn GCAP could be delayed by at least 1-2 years if Germany seeks to join the UK-Italy-Japan next generation stealth jet programme as a full industrial partner.
Concern is that reopening talks on requirements, workshare and everything else will consume time the partners don’t have — with the scheme already facing a highly ambitious target of a 2035 deployment.
However, sources stressed it would depend on what Berlin asks for. (And whether they are interested at all.)
Full story:
Germany risks delaying Britain’s fighter jets by two years
telegraph.co.uk/business/202…
Matt Oliver retweeted
No no David you don't understand, if we don't bribe them with no strings attached they might get closer to China even though they are also the staunchest ally the West can have and it's safe to give them Diego Garcia and the Chagos and lease the base back from them.
Matt Oliver retweeted
It does seem like the only way to save the SAS is for everybody to start swearing in Marks & Spencer. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules.
How many times will government ministers go on Nick Ferrari's programme and embarrass themselves by not knowing the basic numbers of their own policies?
It's genuinely baffling that this still happens!
"I'm kicking myself..."
Wes Streeting comes onto @NickFerrariLBC's show... without all the figures for his new 'space squadron' announcement.
Agreed. It's the age-old cop out of bemoaning the 'language' used in a debate rather than engaging with the actual substance.
Pretty depressing that in modern Britain it takes three years and £237m to build something like... this.
As @BritainRemade have pointed out, the Faroe Islands opened the Sandoy Tunnel in 2023 after spending £99m (£107m in today's money) over about four years. It is 10 kilometres long.
Matt Oliver retweeted
What is left to say about the Pensions Triple Lock? Well this it seems. @szupingc brings out the best/worst in me when she calls for a policy chat.
This is a really remarkable sentence when you think about it.
According to the NAO, the Government has done no formal assessment of the economic and environmental benefits of its flagship Clean Power 2030 policy.
CP30 is estimated to require £40 billion per year of (public and private) investment.
Whatever your position, it seems pretty crazy that no one in Whitehall has even attempted to quantify whether that is good value?
Source: nao.org.uk/reports/upgrading…
I'm sorry what
What We Do in the Shadows' Matt Berry voices an IKEA Kallax bookcase in a free official Creation for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. bit.ly/4xMFXIY
“This is going to make HS2 look like a slick, well-executed operation.”
Everyone in energy is talking about it: network costs are surging and driving bills up.
But if that’s not worrying enough, cost overruns are increasingly rife… read in today’s Tele telegraph.co.uk/business/202…
