United Kingdom: Government, Public Sector

Recent statistics reveal a 13% rise in deaths in state detention across England and Wales in 2025, reaching 622 deaths—the highest level since 2017. This increase was primarily driven by deaths in prison custody and among those detained under the Mental Health Act, raising critical questions about state care systems and the role of coroner inquests in preventing future deaths.

The UK Government has introduced a new procurement policy note requiring public authorities to prioritize national security considerations when procuring in four critical sectors: energy infrastructure, steel, AI, and shipbuilding. This market-shaping approach mandates collaboration with designated Sector Leads and fundamentally changes how contracting authorities must assess value for money, moving beyond immediate commercial outcomes to consider long-term strategic resilience and supply chain security.

MI5 has issued an urgent alert identifying over 100 UK academics who unknowingly contributed to Chinese state security research through the China General Technology Research Institute. Universities now face potential criminal liability under the National Security Act 2023 and export control regulations if they fail to conduct proper due diligence on research collaborations. In-house legal teams must immediately review existing partnerships and implement robust screening systems to identify high-risk foreign