Business & Technology
Oxford alarmed by rising fuel prices amid Iran War crisis
Fuel prices across the UK have seen a sharp increase since the US and Israel launched their initial strikes at Iran on February 28.
This is largely due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an important shipping route to the south of Iran.
Data from the RAC suggests the average price of diesel in the UK has gone up by 25.5 per cent from 141.60p per litre on February 26 to 177.68p per litre on March 27.
Meanwhile unleaded petrol has risen by 13.7 per cent from 132.05p per litre on February 26 to 150.11p per litre on March 27.
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All prices include VAT.
Charities, emergency services and businesses across Oxfordshire have been impacted.
Loose Canon Brewery in Abingdon delivers beer five days a week, consistently to 90 pubs in the local area although often that number is higher.
“There’s been quite a dramatic impact in that way,” said Anneli Baxter, general manager, commenting on direct fuel costs.
She added: “Also, customers who visit our brewery shop. They are starting to consider the cost of driving to the brewery to collect beer.”
Ms Baxter further stated that the public – squeezed by the rising cost of living including fuel costs – are weighing up whether they are able to afford luxuries such as beer at the pubs they deliver to.
Dave Richardson, a spokesman for the Oxford branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), echoed Ms Baxter’s comments.
He said: “The breweries deliver the beer to the pubs on the lorries – there’s no other way of doing it, so they are having to face that additional cost.”
The Oxford Food Hub, which has vans out six days a week delivering to around 250 organisations, said that the increase in fuel costs is making it its work harder.
Steve Hamon, CEO of the charity, said: “We still have two diesel vans, and since the end of February, we’ve noticed an increase of 31.63 per cent in fuel costs.
“As a smaller charity, every penny counts. Any rise in fuel spending makes it harder for us to continue our regular operations of saving and redistributing surplus food across the county.”
Small businesses are increasingly concerned by fuel costs, with several saying it is adding to an already pressured landscape.
Robin Holmes-Smith, owner of The Granary delicatessen in Watlington, which has offered a delivery service said the true impact is yet to be felt.
He said: “The difficulty will be in a few weeks’ time when prices go up. If the distribution charges go up, then prices will go up.”
Mr Holmes-Smith claimed he was “cautious” when looking ahead but that his main concern was the rise in minimum wage.
Meanwhile, Ryan Dawson, owner of Oxford Pantry Hampers called it an “extra financial strain along with the other costs of being a small business”.
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If the order is close to his south Oxfordshire base, he will try and deliver the gourmet food or artisan gift hamper himself.
As such the rise in petrol costs is “eating away” at his profits.
The ambulance service for Oxfordshire said it expected to see its costs rise, despite operating a “mixed fuel strategy”.
A spokesperson for the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “Ultimately those rises will increase the trust’s costs given the large number of vehicles we use to provide our services.”
From a private driver perspective, a leading member of the Motoring Action for Oxford group said the situation was causing “much frustration and worry”.
Robbo Leigh explained that private motorists have no way of absorbing or passing on increases in costs, while businesses relying on petrol will be looking to absorb as much as possible.
This includes independent petrol stations with Martin Prew, owner of Milton Service Station, saying his margins on fuel had effectively halved.
The company, which was founded in 1965, also sells cars and is a workshop, and Mr Prew has said these areas are currently “subsidising the fuel business”.
Saj Malik, a city councillor and taxi driver, said that he was noticing a downturn in trade as the rise in fuel costs made everybody “extra cautious”.
He said: “Oxford is a student city; we have many quarters that are very deprived. Our prices remain the same; we cannot pass on anything to customers as we have all struggled.”
Mr Malik has called on the government to take action including by reducing fuel duty, a tax levied on petrol, diesel and other road fuels.
He is not the only one keen on support amid the rise in costs.
Ms Baxter of Loose Cannon Brewery said: “A reduction in VAT at pump prices would go a long way.”
Mr Leigh said: “The one thing that always arises in conversation is how slow our government in the UK is acting on this issue whereas a handful of countries have already reduced their fuel duties and VAT.”
Mr Prew also called for temporary reductions highlighting that the increase in prices would see a rise in government revenue from VAT which is set at 20 per cent.
However, the government has rejected this view, suggesting that as energy prices rise, people cut back on other spending that would usually be subject to VAT.
A government spokesperson said: “Millions of motorists filled up their cars and travelled over the Easter weekend.
“Our fuel system is robust and continues to work well.”
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While committing to keep the taxes under close review, the government has pointed to its extension of the 5p fuel duty cut from this month to September.
On Wednesday April 8, US President Donald Trump and the Iranian leadership announced a two-week ceasefire, with the theocracy agreeing to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite this, uncertainty remains about the safety of ships travelling through the Strait.
SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO
News Editor
O2 has signed an agreement with Cellnex to join the Brighton Main Line connectivity project. The route serves more than 300,000 passengers on weekdays.
The deal gives O2 access to Cellnex infrastructure along the rail corridor between London, Gatwick Airport and the South Coast. It will support a phased rollout of mobile coverage, including 5G, across the full route in the coming months.
The Brighton Main Line is one of the UK’s busiest commuter railways, serving London Victoria, London Bridge and Clapham Junction. It carries 1,700 train movements a day and links services operated by Thameslink, Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway and London Overground.
Cellnex has been building the network under a 25-year contract awarded by Network Rail in 2021. The project uses a neutral host model, allowing mobile operators to use shared infrastructure rather than build separate systems along the line.
The shared network is intended to address long-standing gaps in mobile coverage on a route shaped by tunnels, deep cuttings and older station infrastructure. Once fully activated, the system is expected to provide high-speed connectivity across 99% of the 108km corridor.
O2 is the latest operator to join the programme after Three UK signed up in 2023. The addition of a second operator suggests Cellnex is gaining support for its model as rail passengers and regulators place greater scrutiny on mobile coverage and network resilience.
Station upgrades
Part of the work has focused on the main London stations served by the route. Indoor mobile systems are being installed at London Victoria, London Bridge and Clapham Junction, which together account for about 19% of rail passenger traffic to and from the capital from outside London.
The build includes 130km of fibre, four base station hotels to house operator equipment, 39 distributed antenna systems in tunnels and trackside areas, a dedicated station distributed antenna system at the three main stations, and 16 macro sites along the route. The three-year programme has so far required more than 129,000 working hours and more than 11,000 worker entries on the lineside and at stations.
For O2 passengers, the agreement means coverage improvements will be introduced in stages as parts of the system go live. The aim is to improve reliability for customers travelling between the coast and the capital.
Steve Cray outlined the case for the project.
Steve Cray, Managing Director, Cellnex UK, said: “Regular railway passengers will understand the frustration of losing signal mid-conversation or spending whole journeys with buffering videos. With O2 now on board, many more passengers are going to notice the difference on one of the UK’s most important commuter routes. This collaboration stands as one of the most significant end-to-end telecommunications infrastructure deployments on the British railway so far, and we are proud to be setting a new standard for the UK’s entire rail network.”
Operator demand
As a neutral host provider, Cellnex designs, plans and builds infrastructure that multiple mobile network operators can connect to. The approach can cut duplicate investment and reduce the amount of equipment needed across the railway estate.
For O2, the Brighton Main Line forms part of a broader effort to improve coverage where people travel and work. Rail corridors remain difficult mobile environments because of moving trains, variable terrain, and the engineering limits of older tunnels and stations.
Professor Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering, O2, said: “Our £700m Mobile Transformation Plan is focused on delivering reliable connectivity in the moments that matter most, and railway lines are a key part of that. By working with Cellnex to improve connectivity along the Brighton Main Line, we’ll be bringing improved coverage and capacity to customers travelling from the coast to the capital over the coming months.”
Network Rail, which is partnering with Cellnex on the scheme, said the line has been one of the most technically difficult parts of the railway for mobile coverage. The infrastructure has had to be installed while the route remained operational.
Paul Richmond, Head of Business Development, Network Rail, said: “Passengers on the Brighton Main Line deserve connectivity that matches the importance of this route, and our long-term partnership with Cellnex is transforming what has historically been one of the most technically demanding corridors for mobile coverage into a showcase for modern railway connectivity. A huge amount of collaboration has gone into this project over the last few years to support the infrastructure on a railway that is constantly operational. With O2 now on board, even more passengers will soon experience the benefits of this investment every time they travel.”
The free summer extravaganza, held on Saturday, June 13, was jointly organised by Grove Rugby Football Club, the Ray Collins Trust and Grove Scouts, with more than 40 stalls raising money for charities and community causes in Wantage and Grove.
From midday, bands, choirs and soloists performed as children tucked into a free picnic and parents enjoyed hot barbecue food served by Scouts.
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A giant funfair offered classic attractions such as hook-a-duck, alongside bird of prey displays.
American Dance School led line dancing and showcases, with further demonstrations in rugby and martial arts.
Dog owners could also enter their pets into a show run by National Animal Welfare Trust Berkshire and sponsored by Larkmead Vets.
Akamai has introduced a security framework to manage AI agent traffic, aimed at businesses that need to verify whether automated requests should be allowed to act.
Built into its Bot & Agent Control products, the framework combines identity checks, traffic monitoring and enforcement at the network edge. It targets merchants, publishers and other organisations facing a rise in automated requests from AI agents acting on users’ behalf.
The launch reflects a broader industry focus on whether an AI agent can be tied to an authorised human user and whether its behaviour can be trusted. That question has become more urgent as agents begin to shop, retrieve content and carry out tasks previously completed directly by people in browsers or apps.
Akamai’s model is built around six areas: verified identity, user-linked authentication, trust analysis, edge enforcement, content monetisation and traffic visibility. It is working with several partners to connect those elements.
One part of the framework focuses on agent identity in commercial transactions. Akamai is working with Visa on the Trusted Agent Protocol and with Skyfire and Experian on the Know Your Agent framework, intended to let agents declare identity, origin and intent while linking them to the platforms they use and the users they represent.
The approach is designed to help businesses distinguish between a legitimate AI shopping assistant and a malicious bot that may appear similar when it first connects to a website. It also aims to provide an audit trail for transactions carried out by software acting for a person.
Visa said agent identity will be a basic requirement if automated commerce is to expand.
“Without trusted identity and explicit permissioning, AI agents cannot participate in commerce at scale,” said Rubail Birwadker, Senior Vice President, Head of Growth Products and Partnerships, Visa. “Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol provides the identity layer that defines how agents are authenticated, authorized, and trusted at the transaction level so businesses and consumers can transact with confidence.”
Experian described the issue as one of transparency and accountability in AI-led interactions.
“AI agents are quickly becoming part of digital commerce, but trust will determine how far and how fast adoption grows,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian. “With the Experian Agent Trust framework, we are helping businesses bring more transparency and accountability to AI-driven interactions by verifying identities, assessing risk, and strengthening confidence in every transaction. Our collaboration with Akamai and other ecosystem leaders reflects the industry’s shared commitment to building a secure foundation for agentic commerce that consumers and businesses can trust in real time.”
Skyfire, which is also involved in the identity effort, said commercial use of agents depends on a recognised trust layer.
“AI agents can’t participate in the economy without trusted identity and the ability to transact,” said Amir Sarhangi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Skyfire. “Skyfire provides that foundation – enabling agents to authenticate, operate within policy, and access global payment rails. With Akamai, we’re bringing that trust layer to the edge, so enterprises can securely enable trusted agents without re-architecting their existing systems.”
Identity checks
Another element covers the hand-off between a human user and an AI agent. Integrations with identity providers including Auth0 and Ping Identity allow organisations to apply existing checks such as behavioural analysis and multi-factor authentication to the agents their customers use.
The idea is that a company should not rely only on a session or browser signal when an agent is involved. Instead, it should be able to assess who the agent represents, what it is permitted to do and whether its actions match the user’s established profile.
“AI agents introduce a new trust challenge because session-based trust alone is no longer sufficient. Organisations need to understand who they represent, what agents are allowed to do, and how their actions are governed in real time,” said Loren Russon, Vice President, Product Management, Ping Identity. “By combining Ping’s Runtime Identity capabilities with Akamai’s edge enforcement and visibility, enterprises can extend identity and access controls to AI-driven interactions with stronger accountability and oversight.”
Akamai said the framework also moves beyond a simple allow-or-block approach. Its trust analysis layer is intended to assess interactions across browsers, bots and agents on a spectrum, helping organisations decide which requests support commercial goals and which may signal fraud, abuse or operational risk.
Publisher model
For publishers and content owners, the system also addresses how AI agents access and pay for web content. Partnerships with TollBit and Skyfire support models in which access can be negotiated and charged on a pay-per-request basis.
That could give media groups and other content businesses a way to distinguish between ordinary visitors, beneficial agents and scraping activity, while also setting commercial terms for machine-driven access to material on their sites.
The framework is tied to Akamai’s traffic analysis tools, including TrafficPeak, which can provide a view of how human users, useful AI agents and malicious bots interact with websites over time. Security teams and business managers can then use that data to adjust access rules and revenue strategies.
At the infrastructure level, enforcement happens at the edge of Akamai’s distributed network, allowing decisions on incoming requests to be made quickly without shifting checks to a central system.
Patrick Sullivan, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Security Strategy, Akamai, said the goal is to give businesses a way to tie identity to decision-making as automated interactions increase.
“AI agents are replacing clicks, acting and handling commerce for us. For that to work, businesses need to recognize not just the agent, but who is behind it and what it’s trying to do,” said Sullivan. “We’ve built this so that identity informs visibility, visibility drives trust, and trust powers the decisions that let companies safely grow and monetize these new AI interactions. We’re giving businesses the confidence to open their doors to AI without compromising security.”
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