SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

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OneAdvanced has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cosine to join the Lumen Sovereign Coalition, which is working on what the companies describe as Britain’s first fully sovereign frontier AI model.

The agreement brings OneAdvanced into a group of companies and institutions helping to shape the model for regulated and essential service sectors. Its role will include contributing use cases, operational requirements, testing scenarios and deployment feedback from industries where its software is already in use.

Those sectors include healthcare, government, justice, education, care and business services. OneAdvanced will use that experience to help define how the model should operate in settings where security, governance and operational rules can limit the use of foreign-hosted AI systems.

Cosine, a London-based AI laboratory, is developing the Lumen Sovereign model with support from a wider industry coalition. Other members include BAE Systems, Babcock International Group, BT, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, LSEG, NatWest Group, PwC, The Alan Turing Institute and Vodafone.

The project is backed by the UK Government’s Sovereign AI Programme, which has committed GBP £500 million. The model is due to be trained using the Isambard supercomputer in Bristol.

OneAdvanced’s involvement follows its work on a healthcare large language model developed with NVIDIA and trained on NHS primary care data. That system was designed to improve primary care triage, and the company is positioning it as evidence of its experience in applying AI to sector-specific operational needs.

In healthcare, OneAdvanced says its software supports more than 40 million NHS patients across NHS 111, GP practices and trusts. It also works across local government, education, legal services, transport and supply chains.

Sector input

The tie-up reflects a broader push in the UK technology sector to develop AI systems that can be hosted, trained and audited within the country. For organisations operating in heavily regulated environments, questions about where a model runs, what data it is trained on and who can review its operation have become increasingly important in procurement and deployment decisions.

Cosine says the coalition is intended to ensure the model is shaped by organisations that will use it in real operating environments, rather than by technical teams alone. That means feeding in practical constraints from sectors such as healthcare, local government and legal services.

Cosine framed that goal around control and auditability.

“We’re building Lumen Sovereign because we think the UK needs frontier AI it can actually control: where the model runs, what data trained it, who can audit it. That only works if we build it alongside the organisations running the country’s real, regulated infrastructure. OneAdvanced helps us achieve that goal. Their experience with the NHS, local government, education, and thousands of legal practices means they bring insights into the operational constraints a sovereign model needs to actually be useful,” said Alistair Pullen, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of Cosine.

Practical focus

For OneAdvanced, the move also underlines its argument that the next stage of AI adoption in critical services will depend less on general model performance claims and more on whether systems can fit existing workflows, governance standards and data-handling requirements.

The company has been advocating for AI systems designed around UK data residency and domestic control over infrastructure. Its software footprint in public and regulated services gives it a route into organisations that may be cautious about deploying overseas-hosted models in sensitive settings.

Simon Walsh set out that position in his remarks on the coalition agreement.

“We have long advocated sovereign AI as the safest and most secure way for UK organisations to leverage the transformative power of AI in their flow of work. Through our work with NVIDIA to develop the UK’s first sovereign healthcare large language model, trained on NHS primary care data to improve patient triage outcomes, we have seen first-hand the importance of combining advanced technology with deep sector knowledge, robust governance and a clear understanding of the workflows organisations rely on every day. That is why we are delighted to join the Lumen Sovereign coalition.

“Organisations in the UK’s highly regulated and essential service sectors need AI that is not only powerful, but secure, trusted and designed around the realities of the environments in which it will operate. We look forward to working with Cosine and the wider coalition to help turn that ambition into practical capability,” said Walsh.

The club will continue working with AWBS, which will remain as the club’s Official Substitution Sponsor until the end of the 2027/28 season.

Lee Barton, head of revenue at Oxford United, said: “We’re thrilled to announce this enhanced multi-year agreement that will see AWBS continue as our Official Substitution Sponsor.

“We look forward to developing the relationship further during the 2026/27 season.”

AWBS is one of the largest suppliers of building and landscaping materials in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, with three branches.

The company also has extensive showrooms, a fleet of delivery vehicles, and a dedicated landscape installation service.

Supermarkets including Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Co-op have suspended sales in response to warnings from fire chiefs during a period of hot, dry weather that has increased the risk of wildfires across the country.

The likes of Wilko and The Range have also started removing them from stores and online.

Recent blazes have already broken out in Dunwich, Suffolk and the Rhondda Valley in Wales.

Major retailers have taken action in line with voluntary guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) lasting until Wednesday, August 12.

A Co-op spokesperson said: “Co-op takes its environmental and community responsibilities extremely seriously and has a long-standing policy for the safe sale disposable BBQs, supported by the NFCC.

“Due to the very hot weather and drought conditions the UK is currently experiencing, and in line with the NFCC guidance, we have voluntarily removed all disposable BBQs from sale for a temporary period.”

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “As a responsible retailer Tesco follows the voluntary code on the sale of disposable barbecues created by the British Retail Consortium and the NFCC.

“In line with the code, we have temporarily removed disposable barbecues from sale across our stores and online.”

Retailers Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose and M&S stopped selling disposable barbecues in 2022.

“We have to accept the fact that the climate has changed”

Jon Pearce, the Labour MP for High Peak in Derbyshire, who has called on retailers to remove the products from sale for the rest of the summer, welcomed the move and urged smaller shops to follow suit.

He also called for longer-term action to address changing climate conditions.

Mr Pearce told the Press Association: “The big retailers are taking the lead, which is great, but now we need the others to come in behind them.

“Asking them to suspend sales this summer is to deal with the immediate problem but we have to accept the fact that the climate has changed.”

He said that “last summer was the worst on record for wildfires,” and warned: “This year will almost certainly surpass it.

“We need to adapt quickly to our changing climate and start planning for next summer now.”

Mr Pearce continues to campaign for a full ban on disposable barbecues in public spaces.

He said: “The Government needs to genuinely look at what’s happening.

“It’s great retailers are supporting us this summer but I would expect the Government to look at the risks and act ahead of next summer.”

Fire chiefs say wildfires are putting growing and sustained pressure on services, with more than 700 incidents already recorded in England and Wales this year.

What are wildfires caused by?

Prolonged hot weather combined with human activity is one of the main causes of wildfires, according to the National Emergencies Trust.

It explains: “Hotter weather alone cannot cause wildfires.

“It depends on fuel, weather conditions and an ignition source, like lightning or human action.

“Many wildfires are sparked by human activities, including discarded cigarettes, campfires, and even arson.

“Unintentional acts of negligence can have devastating consequences.”

Do you agree with the decision for supermarkets to remove disposable barbecues from sale? Let us know in the comments.