Multimillionaire leader of Reform in Scotland refuses to reveal net worth
The multimillionaire financier who has been made leader of Reform UK in Scotland has refused to say how wealthy he is, claiming that is a private matter.Malcolm Offord, formerly a Conservative party life peer, was announced by Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, as the party’s first Scottish leader, 10 weeks before a Scottish parliament election in which Reform is expected to win up to 18 seats.Offord is a yachting enthusiast who wins races at Cowes, collects classic cars and recently bought a mansion on the banks of Loch Lomond for £1.6m without a mortgage.He previously endorsed suggestions the public could be charged to use the NHS.
Speaking at a press conference in Kirkcaldy, Farage and Offord, who was appointed to the House of Lords by the former Tory prime minister David Cameron in 2021, ceremoniously signed a letter stating Offord had “retired” as a peer in order to stand for Holyrood.They acknowledged that Offord would remain a life peer since only an act of parliament can cancel a life peerage; Farage indicated they did not intend to apply to the king for such an act, but said Offord would no longer attend the Lords or use the title.Pressed by reporters on whether he would declare his wealth before the May elections, Offord suggested he would not and declined to publish his tax returns.The convention at the Scottish parliament is for party leaders to do so.“I’m not talking about my net worth,” he said.
“That’s not of any relevance to anybody.For a start, it’s not something you pluck out of the air because your assets are not easily valued.”Farage said Reform would put up 100 candidates in May’s Scottish election, to contest most of the 129 seats.“We feel very confident that the list of men and women we put before the Scottish electorate will represent a very, very broad cross-section of working life in Scotland, people of real experience, not many professional politicians amongst them,” he said.Offord said those candidates were “real, authentic people” who included midwives, teachers, doctors and a procurator fiscal – a state prosecutor.
“They represent Scotland at its grassroots in every part of this country,” he said.It was “very patronising”, he continued, to be asked whether he could properly understand the cost of living crisis experienced by ordinary voters if he was so rich.“In terms of who I operate with and mingle with, I mix with a whole range of people across the whole of Scotland, from those in the most disadvantaged backgrounds to the top,” he said.“I’ll talk on equal terms to all of them.”The rules for declaring interests at the Scottish parliament are regarded as far tougher than the rules at the House of Lords.
If he wins a Holyrood seat in May, Offord will be expected to list his properties, shareholdings, directorships, consultancies and other assets.Asked whether he expected to be the wealthiest person among Reform’s Scottish candidates, he said “no”, then added: “Well, I haven’t asked.”“I don’t think that’s of any interest to the public whatsoever.I think the fact is a guy who’s a local guy went off and made a bit of dosh is neither here nor there, other than the fact he’s come to stand; he’s putting himself in front of the people pretty transparently because he happens to believe this country can be run a lot better and have a lot more successful people.”Speaking to reporters in Edinburgh, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said she was unconcerned about Offord’s appointment: “Russell Findlay [the Scottish Conservative leader] is a man of integrity, who fights for other people.
Malcolm Offord is all about himself.And given the fact that he’s never delivered a single leaflet, I’m not worried about what he’s going to be doing in the Scottish elections.”The latest Scottish opinion poll, published by the political consultancy True North on Thursday and conducted by Survation, suggests Reform is neck and neck with Labour for second place, behind the Scottish National party, which the poll suggests has 34% of the constituency vote.Survation estimated Reform was on 19% of the constituency vote, compared with Labour on 16%.On the list vote, Reform and Labour were tied at 18%.
True North said the data implied the SNP would win 61 seats, less than an overall majority, with Labour and Reform tied on 18 seats,
Grok scandal highlights how AI industry is ‘too unconstrained’, tech pioneer says
The scandal over the flood of intimate images on Elon Musk’s X created non-consensually by its Grok AI tool has underlined how the artificial intelligence industry is “too unconstrained”, according to a pioneer of the technology.Yoshua Bengio, a computer scientist described as one of the modern “godfathers of AI”, said tech companies were building systems without appropriate technical and societal guardrails.Bengio spoke to the Guardian as he appointed the historian Yuval Noah Harari and the former Rolls-Royce chief executive Sir John Rose to the board of his AI safety lab.X has announced it is stopping Grok from manipulating pictures of real people to show them in revealing clothes such as bikinis, including for premium subscribers, after a public and political backlash.Asked what the furore showed about the state of the AI industry, Bengio said the situation across the sector was “not completely a free for all” but needed to be addressed
Musk’s X to block Grok AI tool from creating sexualised images of real people
The UK government has claimed “vindication” after Elon Musk’s X announced it had stopped its AI-powered Grok feature from editing pictures of real people to show them in revealing clothes such as bikinis, including for premium subscribers.After a fortnight of public outcry at the tool embedded into X being used to create sexualised images of women and children, the company said it would “geoblock” the ability of users “to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X”, in countries where it was illegal.It said it would do this in the UK in line with law changes ministers have pledged to introduce. X also said it had “zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, nonconsensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content”. It did not specify whether people would still be able to create such images on the standalone Grok app
California attorney general investigates Musk’s Grok AI over lewd fake images
California authorities have announced an investigation into the output of Elon Musk’s Grok.The state’s top attorney said Grok, an AI tool and image generator made by Musk’s company xAI, appears to be making it easy to harass women and girls with deepfake images on X and elsewhere online.“The avalanche of reports detailing the non-consensual, sexually explicit material that xAI has produced and posted online in recent weeks is shocking,” California attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement. “I urge xAI to take immediate action to ensure this goes no further.”Bonta’s office is investigating whether and how xAI violated state law
Elon Musk’s stubborn spin on Grok’s sexualized images controversy
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor for the Guardian. Today, we discuss Elon Musk’s rosy depiction of Grok’s image generation controversy; the seven-figure panic among Silicon Valley billionaires over a proposed wealth tax in California, though with one notable exception; and how AI and robotics have revitalized the Consumer Electronics Showcase.The firestorm over the Grok AI tool has been raging for more than a week now, and it shows no signs of dying down.Last week, I wrote about the rising backlash against Elon Musk’s Grok AI tool, which in recent weeks has allowed users to generate thousands of sexualized images of women
X ‘acting to comply with UK law’ after outcry over sexualised images
Elon Musk’s X is understood to have told the government it is acting to comply with UK law, after nearly a fortnight of public outcry at the use of its AI tool Grok to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes.Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday that photographs generated by Grok were “disgusting” and “shameful”, but said he had been informed that X was “acting to ensure full compliance with UK law”.“If so, that is welcome,” the prime minister said. “But we are not going to back down. They must act
Young people, parents and teachers: share your views about Grok AI
Degrading images of real women and children with their clothes digitally removed by Elon Musk’s Grok tool continue to be shared online, despite widespread alarm and a pledge by the platform to suspend users who generate them.While some safeguards have been introduced, the ease with which the AI tool can be abused has raised urgent questions about consent, online safety and the ability of governments worldwide to regulate fast-moving AI technologies. Meanwhile, the misuse of AI to harass, humiliate and sexually exploit people – particularly women and girls – is rapidly escalating.We’d like to hear from young people, parents and teachers about how tools like Grok are affecting you. Are young people aware of how easily these images can be created? If you’re a parent, has this changed how you talk to your children about social media, consent or online safety? If you’re a teacher or work with young people, have you noticed an impact in classrooms or among students? Do you have concerns?You can share your views on Grok and other AI tools using this form
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