For more than a year, we have been tracking the flow of sanctioned items out of the UK and towards Russia.

Electronic equipment, radar parts, components used to make aircraft and drones. These are all items that have been banned from going to Russia. For good reason: while Britain is far from a global manufacturing powerhouse, it nonetheless still makes certain prized components used to make machinery.

In some hands, these components could be used for peaceful purposes, but they could also be used to wage war. All of which is why they are among the items sanctioned by G7 nations and banned from entry to Russia.

A glance at the trade figures might lull you into thinking those sanctions have been extraordinarily successful. Look at the flows of these so-called “dual use” goods from the UK to Russia and they drop to zero shortly after the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of those export bans. But that’s not the whole story – because over precisely the same period, exports of those same items to countries neighbouring Russia have risen sharply.

At this point, the data trail goes cold. As far as the statistics tell us, those components stay in the Caucasus and Central Asia. But there are two powerful pieces of evidence that suggest otherwise. The first is that we have travelled out to the border of Russia and filmed European-sanctioned goods (in this case cars, the hardest of all goods to disguise) passing across the border.

The second is that Ukrainian forces have repeatedly found weaponry and equipment containing European and British components inside them on the battlefield in their country. British technology has been used to kill Ukrainians – in spite of sanctions. That was one of the messages President Volodymyr Zelenskyy relayed in his interview with my colleague Mark Austin.

So, in the wake of that interview, we revisited the databases to see if those flows of goods to Russian neighbours had slowed in recent months.

But, far from slowing, they’ve accelerated. In the past nine months, the flow of dual-use goods to Russian neighbours has risen by an average of 9%, compared with the monthly average between the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and last June. Those flows are 111% higher than they were before the invasion.

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Nor are the flows of British goods to Russian neighbours the only trend suggesting these components are being trans-shipped via third countries. Look at exports of sanctioned items to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey and they are up by a similar proportion.

In short: the evasion of sanctions continues much as it has done since the beginning of the war. For all the talk about the toughest sanctions regime in history, the reality on the ground is somewhat different.

Amazon has said it will invest £40bn in the UK over the next three years as it creates thousands of jobs and opens four new warehouses.

The online shopping giant will build two huge fulfilment centres in the East Midlands, which it expects to open in 2027. The exact locations are still to be revealed.

Two others – in Hull and Northampton – were previously announced and are set to be finished this year and in 2026 respectively, with 2,000 jobs expected at each site.

Amazon is already one of the country’s biggest private employers – with around 75,000 staff.

Two new buildings will also go up at its corporate headquarters in east London, while other investment includes new delivery stations, upgrading its transport network and redeveloping Bray Film Studios in Berkshire – which it bought last year.

The £40bn figure also includes most of the £8bn announced in 2024 for building and maintaining UK data centres, as well as staff wages and benefits.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the investment into Amazon’s third-biggest market after the US and Germany was a “massive vote of confidence in the UK as the best place to do business”.

“It means thousands of new jobs – real opportunities for people in every corner of the country to build careers, learn new skills, and support their families,” said Sir Keir.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said it was a “powerful endorsement of Britain’s economic strengths”.

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Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy stressed the investment would benefit communities across the UK.

“When Amazon invests, it’s not only in London and the South East,” he said.

“We’re bringing innovation and job creation to communities throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, strengthening the UK’s economy and delivering better experiences for customers wherever they live.”

However, Amazon’s immense power and size continues to raise concerns among some regulators, unions and campaigners.

There have long been claims over potentially dangerous conditions at its warehouses – denied by the company, while last week Britain’s grocery regulator launched an investigation into whether it breached rules on supplier payments.

Plans to cut energy costs for thousands of businesses have been announced as part of the government’s long-awaited industrial strategy.

The announcement confirms Sky News reporting that the plan proposes making energy prices more competitive.

Firms have said high prices have hindered growth and made them less competitive.

Commercial energy prices are the highest in the G7 group of industrialised nations.

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Under the industrial strategy for 2025 to 2035, the government has said it plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive manufacturers by up to £40 per megawatt hour – up to 25% – from 2027, which could benefit more than 7,000 businesses.

These savings will come by exempting them from certain levies on bills.

Roughly 500 of the most energy-intensive companies, such as the steel industry, chemicals and glassmaking industries, will also see their network charges cut.

The current 60% discount they get, via the British Industry Supercharger scheme, will increase to 90% from next year.

The government also said the energy measures would be funded through reforms to the energy system, without raising household bills or taxes.

The scope and eligibility for the scheme will be finalised after a consultation.

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The policy is the first industrial strategy of its kind in eight years and comes as part of the government’s key priority of growing the economy.

Pressure was on to develop such a policy after the US’s Inflation Reduction Act boosted investment in renewable energy, and the European Union’s Net-Zero Industry Act was designed to boost domestic production.

A “bespoke” 10-year plan has been created for eight sectors where the UK is said to be strong already and there is potential for growth.

The sectors named by the government are advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, life sciences, professional and business services, and financial services.

The state-owned British Business Bank will expand to spur investment into smaller companies, and provide an extra £1.2bn a year by 2028-29.

The government also repeated its ambition to cut regulatory burdens, spend more on research and development and speed up the planning process.