Here’s your UK news roundup for Wednesday (11 March 2026):
Iran war cost will be passed to consumers
Increased shipping costs driven by the conflict in Iran will be passed on to consumers, the boss of the world’s second biggest shipping company has said. “We have traditional contracting mechanisms that pass on this fuel fluctuation, whether they go up or they go down, onto the customers,” Vincent Clerc, the boss of Danish shipping giant Maersk told the BBC. “So what it means is that ultimately, in this case, these increases will pass to our customers and will pass on to the consumers.” [BBC]
Hereditary peers to lose their seats in the House of Lords
Hereditary peerages will be abolished before the next king’s speech after a deal was struck, granting life peerages to some Conservatives and cross-benchers losing their seats. On Tuesday evening the upper chamber accepted a final draft of the House of Lords (hereditary peers) bill, marking the end of its passage through parliament and clearing the way for it to be added to the statute book. The Lords leader, Angela Smith, confirmed the government would offer life peerages to some of those who would otherwise lose their seats. As a result, the Tories withdrew their opposition to the bill. [Guardian]
AI minister defends billions amid ‘phantom funding’ scrutiny
Britain’s multi-billion-pound push to build sovereign AI capacity will inevitably include projects that are still taking shape rather than fully deployed capital as scrutiny intensifies over the government’s headline investment figures. Kanishka Narayan, who was appointed as AI and online safety minister last September, said the scale of infrastructure promised across Britain’s AI sector should be understood as a pipeline of projects moving through development, not money already flowing through operational data centres. The comments come as questions mount over a series of multibillion-pound AI infrastructure announcements made by government and industry over the past year. [CityAM]
Wildlife to replace humans on new UK banknotes
British wildlife will replace historical characters on the next series of Bank of England banknotes – and the public will get their say on which animals and birds will appear. Images of wildlife would be difficult to counterfeit, while also allowing for a celebration of nature across the country, the Bank said. It spells the end for the, sometimes controversial, choice of historical characters which have appeared on £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes for more than 50 years. [Reuters]
Financial news
On Wednesday, Oil was trading flat at $88.23. The pound is trading at $1.35, €1.16, and ¥9.25.
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