Sunday newspaper round-up: Talk-Talk, Superstruct, Jaguar, Deliveroo, OpenAI, Manchester City
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Sunday 04 Oct 2026
(Sharecast News) - A rival bidder has urged ministers to block BT's move to acquire TalkTalk's wholesale arm, PXC, warning the deal would hand the former state telecoms giant "near‑total dominance" of the UK broadband market. Tom O'Hagan - a former TalkTalk executive leading a competing bid with private‑equity firm Epiris - argued the takeover would reverse years of regulatory efforts to boost competition. O'Hagan made the comments in The Telegraph, which reported BT had entered the auction at the last minute as TalkTalk battles a £1.4bn debt load and potential insolvency.
Superstruct, one of Europe's largest festival groups, has seen losses and debts climb following pro‑Palestine artist boycotts linked to the alleged Israel ties of its private‑equity owner KKR. The company added €109m in extra debt last year, taking total borrowings to €392.5m, while losses widened to €111.3m, according to accounts reported by The Telegraph. Campaigners have targeted Superstruct events since 2025 over KKR's investments in businesses with operations in Israel.
Jaguar will this week reveal its new electric Type 01 - a £130,000‑plus, 1,000‑horsepower model designed to make a dramatic return for the brand. Managing director Rawdon Glover told The Sunday Times the launch would be one of the most significant moments in Jaguar's 90‑year history. The car, featuring 23‑inch wheels and more than 360 new patents, will be unveiled in New York on Tuesday.
Deliveroo will begin using autonomous courier robots for deliveries in London and several regional cities as part of a wider automation push, though the company insists the move will not replace human riders. Chief executive Miki Kuusi told The Sunday Times the robots would complement couriers, with certain neighbourhoods and merchants better suited to autonomous delivery. The robots will initially operate in Canary Wharf, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Stockton‑on‑Tees and Nottingham, with Deliveroo also in talks with more councils and the Department for Transport to expand the rollout.
A senior safety figure at OpenAI has resigned, warning that the company and the wider AI sector are not being "nearly careful enough" in how they develop advanced systems. David Robinson explained his departure in an essay for The Atlantic, cited by The Guardian, arguing that incidents such as autonomous OpenAI agents attacking the startup Hugging Face reflected deeper cultural failings. He said the company's rapid pace of launches meant it was not applying the level of care required.
The United Arab Emirates has warned the UK government that major investments could be withdrawn following Manchester City's guilty verdict on Premier League financial‑rule breaches, according to the Guardian. The UAE was said to be considering pulling funding from a planned multibillion‑pound Oxbridge tech hub. An independent commission upheld 114 of 115 charges against City, describing the club's conduct as a "sham". The paper added that City chair Khaldoon Al Mubarak met business secretary Jonathan Reynolds in Downing Street shortly before the ruling.
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