Shetland spaceport project secures £30m of UK government investment

Shetland spaceport project secures £30m of UK government investment. Image source, SaxaVord SpaceportImage caption, The funding will be used to build two more launchpads ByCameron Angus-MackayBBC Scotland News, Reporting fromLerwick, ShetlandPublished2 hours agoThe UK government has announced investment of £30m in SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland as part of a new national space strategy.

What happened

The money for the Shetland project is part of a £148m investment across Europe which ministers said would help UK space technology firms secure more work. Lise Kaae, chief executive of Heartland, which has a majority stake in SaxaVord Spaceport through its investment arm Wild Ventures, said: "We are very pleased to welcome the UK government as an investor and partner. Related topicsShetlandAerospaceBritish space programmeScotland businessSpaceUK governmentRelated internet linksSaxaVord SpaceportTest rocket launch from Shetland spaceport put on holdPublished6 August

A spaceport spokesperson said the funding was a "hugely significant" vote of confidence and would unlock a further £30m of private investment. "More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and ShetlandListen to news from North East Scotland on BBC SoundsTwo German companies have signed launch agreements with the spaceport. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "Scotland already builds more satellites than anywhere else in Europe, and with a £30m UK government investment boost, SaxaVord is now poised to deliver up to three-quarters of the continent's orbital launch slots.

Explore more on these topicsAI (artificial intelligence)AnthropicComputingnewsShareReuse this contentMore on this storyMore on this storyHundreds gather to urge Scottish government to pause datacentre boomArchitect of UK’s AI strategy joins Anthropic amid conflict of interest warningNicola Coughlan and Matt Lucas among stars backing campaign against AI voice cloningHarry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlementJeff Bezos and UK government invest in £2bn British startup CuspAIUK tech advocates alarmed by Burnham plan to scrap technology departmentScotland could freeze datacentre projects in challenge to UK’s AI strategyAI summaries of Tripadvisor hotel reviews downplay serious complaints, investigation findsDoctors and NHS could be sued for mistakes made by AI tools, report warnsScotland’s ‘green datacentres’ policy ignores emissions impact of AI, analysis showsMost viewedMost viewed

The wider picture

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianHundreds gather to urge Scottish government to pause datacentre boomOpposition mounts as at least 20 projects proposed, including one in Fife billed as second largest in worldKat Jones may be the closest thing Scotland has to Erin Brockovich in 2026. A government spokesperson said space was "an increasingly important domain" for keeping the country safe. Image caption, The spaceport sits on a former RAF base in UnstSaxaVord is the UK's first fully-licensed spaceport and has regulatory approval for up to 30 rocket launches a year.

The company said the £60m public-private investment package would be used to design and build a second hangar and two more launchpads. "We are building the spaceport for the thousandth as much as the first launch," he said. A second company, HyImpulse Technologies GmbH (HyImpulse), plans the second flight of its SR75 suborbital launch vehicle from Shetland this year. The German firm recently secured investment of more than €50m (£43m). Image source, HyImpulseImage caption, HyImpulse is one of two German companies with launch agreementsSaxaVord Spaceport has confirmed that it is in discussions with other companies.

What has been reported

The UK government said the new space strategy would "drive growth, strengthen security and back the technologies that underpin modern life". "The investment is subject to due diligence and final sign-off. Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Matt Clifford said he was stepping down to ensure his Anthropic role ‘doesn’t become a distraction’ for the government’s AI research unit. Photograph: Zuma Press/AlamyArchitect of UK’s AI policy quits after Anthropic conflict of interest concernsMatt Clifford forced to stand down amid disquiet from senior MPs over his new full-time job at AI company The chair of the UK government’s “moonshot” science and technology research unit has been forced to stand down after taking a job with the San Francisco AI firm Anthropic, in a move senior MPs called a “clear conflict of interest”.

Matt Clifford announced last week that he was taking a full-time job working for the company behind the Claude chatbot, “leading its engagement” with governments outside the US – including the UK. But he retained his leadership at the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which funds frontier science and tech projects. At the time Clifford’s new employer said he would recuse himself from any Anthropic-related business at Aria in an arrangement that had been agreed with the government.

Onwurah welcomed the move but said questions remained, including “how this situation arose, what conflict of interest assessments were undertaken and what safeguards are in place to protect confidence in Aria’s governance. ”Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer and prominent critic of government AI policy, welcomed Clifford’s resignation.

What happens next

“If we are to rebuild trust in the government, we need to see a clear line between tech interests and those of citizens and the nation,” she said. Clifford’s full-time Anthropic role highlighted a revolving door between the government and AI companies. Tom Brake, the chief executive of Unlock Democracy, a not-for-profit campaign group, had said taking extensive knowledge about a policy as sensitive as AI to a private sector company shortly after leaving government could weaken the government’s hand when pushing for a precautionary approach towards AI development.

Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Campaigners say moratorium needed while the Scottish government analyses the environmental impact of datacentres. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianView image in fullscreenCampaigners say moratorium needed while the Scottish government analyses the environmental impact of datacentres. On Thursday, hundreds travelled to Edinburgh to call for an immediate moratorium on Scotland’s datacentre boom, which includes one project in Auchtertool, Fife, that has been billed as the second largest in the world.

In John Swinney’s programme for government on Tuesday, Scotland’s equivalent to the king’s speech, the first minister said he would take a strategic approach to datacentres with “expectations around environmental sustainability, resource use, community benefit”, but stopped short of agreeing to a moratorium.

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.