Here are the business stories making the headlines across Aberdeen, Scotland and the UK this morning.
Majority of firms say Scottish Government doesn’t understand business
More than two-thirds of firms believe the Scottish Government does not understand business, a report has suggested.
According to the Scottish Business Monitor, 69 per cent of companies do not think the Government understands the business environment, while 71 per cent do not think ministers engage effectively with businesses on policy.
The University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute said the figures show an increasingly “negative picture” in the relationship between business and government.
Click here to read more in The Scotsman
Andy Burnham considers delaying decision on defence spending
Andy Burnham is considering delaying a decision about when the government will increase defence spending until the autumn of next year in the hope that Britain’s economy improves.
The government had been expected to hold the spending review, which would set out a timetable for increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, in the spring. The review will set out plans for all government spending up until 2030.
However, ministers are now considering delaying the review so it can take place alongside the next budget, enabling the government to raise taxes or cut spending to fund the increase. Hitting the Nato defence spending target would cost an extra £10bn a year.
Click here to read more in The Times
OpenAI bots threat triggers UK security review
Britain has launched a security review after the developer of ChatGPT warned that one of its AI bots had gone rogue and made an “unsanctioned” attempt to access official UK data.
OpenAI confirmed to Whitehall officials that one of its out-of-control bots swooped on publicly available government data in an incident this year.
A government spokesman insisted that the UK’s cyber defences were not breached and that no personal data was accessed.
Click here to read more in The Telegraph
US removed B-1 bombers from RAF base ‘over Iranian drone threat’
The US urgently withdrew its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire over the weekend because of fears that Iran was planning a complex drone attack intended to kill American pilots and damage aircraft, according to reports.
A branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recruited British citizens to carry out the plot, which would have involved a diversion nearby and drones swarming the airfield, The Wall Street Journal reported.
President Trump said on Monday afternoon that the withdrawal of a dozen bombers from the base was a direct response to a specific threat, saying: “They didn’t fly out by accident.” He did not mention Iran.
Click here to read more in The Times
Wind farms paid £1.5bn to switch off
The cost to consumers of paying wind farms to switch off because Britain’s electricity grid cannot cope has already exceeded last year’s total of nearly £1.5bn, after September was the costliest month on record.
A total of £1.28bn — the majority of the overall amount — has been spent paying gas-fired power plants near urban areas to fire up to replace wind turbines in remote locations that must be turned off because of a lack of cabling capacity.
High gas prices resulting from the US war on Iran have pushed up the running costs of gas plants, and so increased the sums the National Energy System Operator (Neso) has to pay them to help keep the lights on.
Click here to read more in The Times