Advances in artificial intelligence pose a growing threat to the integrity of the next general election in the UK, Britain’s cyber security agency has warned.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said countries such as Russia would likely seek to meddle with the outcome of the poll – which must take place by January 2025 – as well as other major elections in western democracies in the coming year, including in the United States.
In an annual review of a broad range of cyber security issues, the agency, which is part of GCHQ, warned about the prospect of increasingly realistic, deepfake videos and other forms of disinformation designed to influence voter preferences.
“While the UK’s use of paper voting in general elections makes it significantly harder to interfere with our elections, the next election will be the first to take place against the backdrop of significant advances in AI,” it said.
“But rather than presenting entirely new risks, it is AI’s ability to enable existing techniques which poses the biggest threat.”
This included fabricated online posts at speed and deepfake campaigns spread across social media at great speed.
“Any interference or attempts to undermine our political discourse are completely unacceptable and the UK government is committed to enhancing our capabilities and countering the threat from online harms, such as disinformation,” the NCSC said.
More on Artificial Intelligence
Related Topics:
It described how the “threat landscape” had evolved “significantly” since the last UK general election in 2019, in particular in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
That conflict “has made the prospect of influencing the political discourse in democracies ever more attractive to state actors”, the agency said.
It also warned about the emergence of cyber actors that are aligned with malign states such as Russia and share the same ideological goals but can act with less restraint, calling this category “a new class of adversary for the UK to counter”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:30
Is AI an existential threat?
“The NCSC assesses that democratic events, such as elections, almost certainly represent attractive targets for malicious actors and so organisations and individuals need to be prepared for threats, old and new,” the NCSC said.
In response, the UK has set up a Defending Democracy Taskforce and a Joint Election Security Preparedness unit.
As well as a focus on Russia, the NCSC report agency also flagged the ongoing cyber threat posed by China, Iran and North Korea.
The trip came just a week-and-a-half after Buckingham Palace confirmed the King had been taken to hospital following side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:54
Pope’s coffin passes Colosseum after Vatican service
Number 10 confirmed the prime minister received an invite and so he attended the ceremony.
Speaking on Tuesday, Sir Keir said there had been “an outpouring of grief and love” for the Pope.
He added: “I think it reflects the high esteem in which he was held, not just by millions and millions of Catholics, but by many others, across the world, myself included.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:38
Trump pays respects to Pope
The US president was one of the first to confirm he would be flying to Rome, adding he would be joined by first lady Melania Trump.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, he said: “Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!”
The Pope had been critical of Mr Trump at times during his tenure.
In January, he said it would be a “disgrace” if the president went ahead with his crackdown on immigration, telling an Italian television station: “It would make the migrants, who have nothing, pay the unpaid bill.
“It doesn’t work. You don’t resolve problems this way.”
Image: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (right) arrives for the funeral. Pic: AP
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:16
Scale of funeral service from above
The Italian premier, along Argentine leader Javier Milei (below) had place of pride in the seating order for the service.
The Vatican is, of course, surrounded by the Italian capital Rome, while the Pope was born and grew up in Argentina and was once Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
The president of Pope Francis’s native Argentina was also at the ceremony, despite having launched insults at Francis in recent years.
Before taking office in December 2023, the far-right politician called him “an imbecile, the representative of evil on Earth”.
Mr Milei alluded to their “differences” in his tribute to the late Pope, writing: “It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace.
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honour for me.”
Former US president Joe Biden, 82, was at the funeral with his wife Jill. The couple were seen taking their places in the bright sunshine prior to the service.
Mr Biden appeared to be getting some help to his seat, taking the arm of a member of the church.
• Ireland’s taoiseach Micheal Martin • Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia • Albanian president Bajram Begaj • Angola’s president Joao Lourenco • Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen • Bangladesh’s chief adviser and interim leader Muhammad Yunus • Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with prime minister Bart De Wever • Canada’s governor general Mary Simon • Cape Verde president Jose Maria Neves • Croatia’s president Zoran Milanovic • Cyprian president Nikos Christodoulides • Czech Republic’s prime minister Petr Fiala • Democratic Republic of Congo president Felix Tshisekedi • Dominican Republic’s president Luis Abinader • East Timor’s president Jose Ramos-Horta • Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa • Estonia’s president Alar Karis • Finland’s president Alexander Stubb • Gabon’s president Brice Oligui Nguema • German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz • Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis • Honduras president Xiomara Castro • Hungary’s president Tamas Sulyok • Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni • Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics • Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda • Moldova’s president Maia Sandu • Netherlands’ prime minister Dick Schoof • New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon • Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit • The Philippines’ president Ferdinand Marcos Jr • Poland’s president Andrzej Duda • Portugal’s president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and prime minister Luis Montenegro • Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan • Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and prime minister Ulf Kristersson • Switzerland’s president Karin Keller-Sutter
Image: Pope Francis walks next to Putin at the Vatican in 2015. Pic: AP
The Russian president did not attend the funeral.
But the controversial leader paid tribute to the Pope, writing a message to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is interim chief of the Catholic Church.
“Please accept my most sincere condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Mr Putin said.
“Throughout the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted the development of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, as well as constructive cooperation between Russia and the Holy See.”
Image: Pope Francis and Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the Vatican in 2013. Pic: AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also did not attend the ceremony, with the country’s ambassador Yaron Sideman going instead.
The Jewish state and the Vatican have had strong relations in the past, with Israel sending a presidential delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, and Pope Francis visiting Israel in 2014.
But their relationship has deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza.
A month after the conflict started in 2023, a dispute broke out over whether Pope Francis had used the word “genocide” to describe events in Gaza. Palestinians who met with him said he did, but the Vatican said he did not.
The Pope met relatives of Israeli hostages on the same day.
Israeli officials have since lobbied the Vatican to be more forceful in its condemnation of Hamas.
In January, the Pope called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “shameful”, prompting criticism from Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, who accused Francis of “selective indignation”.
Rabbi Di Segni said he would be attending the funeral, despite it taking place on the Jewish sabbath.
Was there a seating plan?
The seats were assigned in advance, with the heads of state sitting in French alphabetical order based on their country’s name, rather than on the individual’s.
This applied to everyone apart from the presidents of Italy and Argentina, who got the best seats because the Pope lived in Italy and was an Argentinian native.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Image: Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Image: Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
She stuck by her version of events until the end
Of the many dozens of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, it was Virginia Giuffre who became the most high-profile.
She was among the loudest and most compelling voices, urging criminal charges to be brought against Epstein, waving her right to anonymity in 2015.
She told how he and Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and “passed around like a platter of fruit” to be used by rich and powerful men.
But her name and face became known around the world after she accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old.
The picture of her together with the prince and Maxwell at the top of a staircase, his hand around her waist, is the defining image of the whole scandal.
Prince Andrew said he had no memory of the occasion. But Giuffre stuck by her version of events until the end.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Image: Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Image: Pope Francis meets King Charles and Queen Camilla during a private audience at the Vatican on 9 April. Pic: Vatican Media/Reuters
The trip came just a week-and-a-half after Buckingham Palace confirmed the King had been taken to hospital following side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.
Number 10 has confirmed the prime minister received an invite and will attend the ceremony.
Speaking on Tuesday, Sir Keir said there had been “an outpouring of grief and love” for the Pope.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:10
Sky News inside Vatican
He added: “I think it reflects the high esteem in which he was held, not just by millions and millions of Catholics, but by many others, across the world, myself included.”
Image: Donald Trump and Pope Francis meet at the Vatican in 2017. Pic: Reuters
The US president was one of the first to confirm he would be flying to Rome, adding he would be joined by first lady Melania Trump.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, he said: “Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:45
Trump: ‘Pope Francis loved the world’
The Pope had been critical of Mr Trump at times during his tenure.
In January, he said it would be a “disgrace” if the president went ahead with his crackdown on immigration, telling an Italian television station: “It would make the migrants, who have nothing, pay the unpaid bill.
“It doesn’t work. You don’t resolve problems this way.”
Mr Milei alluded to their “differences” in his tribute to the late Pope, writing: “It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace.
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honour for me.”
Image: Pope Francis meets Ursula von der Leyen at the Vatican in 2022. Pic: Vatican Media/Reuters
The EU Commission President confirmed she would be attending after calling Francis a worldwide inspiration.
“He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” she said in her tribute.
Council President Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola are also expected to attend.
Here are some of the other notable attendees:
• Ireland’s taoiseach Micheal Martin • Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia • Albanian president Bajram Begaj • Angola’s president Joao Lourenco • Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen • Bangladesh’s chief adviser and interim leader Muhammad Yunus • Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with prime minister Bart De Wever • Canada’s governor general Mary Simon • Cape Verde president Jose Maria Neves • Croatia’s president Zoran Milanovic • Cyprian president Nikos Christodoulides • Czech Republic’s prime minister Petr Fiala • Democratic Republic of Congo president Felix Tshisekedi • Dominican Republic’s president Luis Abinader • East Timor’s president Jose Ramos-Horta • Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa • Estonia’s president Alar Karis • Finland’s president Alexander Stubb • Gabon’s president Brice Oligui Nguema • German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz • Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis • Honduras president Xiomara Castro • Hungary’s president Tamas Sulyok • Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni • Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics • Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda • Moldova’s president Maia Sandu • Netherlands’ prime minister Dick Schoof • New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon • Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit • The Philippines’ president Ferdinand Marcos Jr • Poland’s president Andrzej Duda • Portugal’s president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and prime minister Luis Montenegro • Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan • Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and prime minister Ulf Kristersson • Switzerland’s president Karin Keller-Sutter
Image: Pope Francis walks next to Putin at the Vatican in 2015. Pic: AP
The Russian president will not be attending the funeral, the Kremlin has confirmed.
But the controversial leader paid tribute to the Pope, writing a message to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is interim chief of the Catholic Church.
“Please accept my most sincere condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Mr Putin said.
“Throughout the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted the development of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, as well as constructive cooperation between Russia and the Holy See.”
Image: Pope Francis and Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the Vatican in 2013. Pic: AP
The Israeli prime minister is not expected to attend, with the country’s ambassador Yaron Sideman going instead.
The Jewish state and the Vatican have had strong relations in the past, with Israel sending a presidential delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, and Pope Francis visiting Israel in 2014.
But their relationship has deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza.
A month after the conflict started in 2023, a dispute broke out over whether Pope Francis had used the word “genocide” to describe events in Gaza. Palestinians who met with him said he did, but the Vatican said he did not.
The Pope met relatives of Israeli hostages on the same day.
Israeli officials have since lobbied the Vatican to be more forceful in its condemnation of Hamas.
In January, the Pope called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “shameful”, prompting criticism from Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, who accused Francis of “selective indignation”.
Rabbi Di Segni says he will be attending the funeral, despite it taking place on the Jewish sabbath.
Is there a seating plan?
The seats are assigned in advance, with the heads of state sitting in French alphabetical order based on their country’s name, rather than on the individual’s.
This applies to everyone apart from the presidents of Italy and Argentina, who get the best seats because the Pope lived in Italy and was an Argentinian native.