Barley Communications has won Marketing/Advertising Campaign of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards 2026 for our Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight campaign with Keep Britain Tidy.

We also received a highly commended award in the same category for our work launching Oceana UK’s Deep Declinereport and were shortlisted for Communications Agency of the Year, recognising the breadth of our work across the environment, sustainability and climate sectors.

The judges described the Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight campaign as “hugely impactful”, praising its ability to raise the profile of fly-tipping through an integrated communications campaign that combined national media engagement, digital communications and stakeholder partnerships. They also recognised its success in engaging businesses on their legal responsibilities and helping to move the issue higher up the political agenda.

The recognition comes just weeks after we were named Consultancy of the Year at the Better Society Awards, making 2026 a landmark year as we celebrate our tenth anniversary.

Over the past decade, we have had the privilege of supporting organisations across the environmental, sustainability and climate sectors to communicate complex issues clearly, engage audiences effectively and drive meaningful change. These awards are a reflection of the brilliant clients, partners and collaborators we have worked alongside during that time, and we are grateful for their continued trust and ambition.

Our award-winning Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight campaign helped tackle one of the root causes of fly-tipping by encouraging householders to check that anyone removing their waste was a licensed waste carrier. Through an integrated programme of behaviour change communications, media relations, stakeholder engagement and digital activity, we helped raise awareness of individual responsibility while supporting wider efforts to reduce environmental crime.

Our work with Oceana UK on the launch of the Deep Decline report was also recognised by the judges. The campaign raised awareness of the scale and impact of overfishing in UK waters, engaging government, retailers and the public while strengthening calls for better protection of UK seas.

As we look ahead to the next chapter, we remain focused on helping organisations navigate change, build trust and tell compelling stories that inspire action. Whether supporting behaviour change campaigns, launching major research or helping organisations influence policy and public debate, we are committed to delivering communications that create lasting impact.

If you would like to find out more about our work with Keep Britain Tidy, Oceana UK and other organisations driving positive environmental change, or discuss an upcoming communications, PR, brand or marketing project, we would be delighted to hear from you.

East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is developing plans for a new railway between Oxford and Cambridge, linking people with jobs, schools, services and each other, opening up new journeys, cutting travel times, easing road congestion and supporting sustainable economic growth across the region.

EWR Co needed specialist support to strengthen stakeholder engagement across its land and property communications.

Working within a sensitive and complex infrastructure programme, EWR Co want to make sure that communications with landowners are clear, empathetic and consistent. The goal is to reduce avoidable queries and escalation, build trust and support the timely agreement of survey access and voluntary arrangements. The project is fast paced and effective interaction with people is vital given the need to submit an application for a Development Consent Order.

Insights and approach

Effective stakeholder engagement in infrastructure communications depends on clarity, consistency and timing, particularly when issues are sensitive, such as compulsory acquisition or accessing private land for surveys.

Using our extensive knowledge of East West Rail following six years of working on the project, we acted as a strategic link between EWR Co’s Land and Property and External Engagement teams, ensuring alignment between technical information and wider planning communications.

Our approach combined additional capacity with specialist expertise. We started by developing a communications strategy for land and survey work which set out a strategic approach to ensuring co-ordinated, clear and empathetic landowner communications. We then established a planning process that ensured careful cross-team co-ordination and collaboration, and avoided communications fatigue amongst landowners.

We drafted and quality-assured landowner engagement materials – including survey licence cover letters, letters to directly affected landowners, consultation materials and FAQs about land impacts, surveys and property acquisition issues – ensuring a consistently clear, warm and open tone of voice and improving accessibility without losing technical accuracy.

We supported engagement planning around evolving programme requirements, helping teams anticipate landowner concerns and respond proactively. For more complex or higher-risk issues, we advised on strategic and de-risked engagement planning, and developed clear lines-to-take, enabling confident and consistent responses.

We also ensured land and property considerations were fully reflected in wider external affairs activity, including briefings for MPs, media and other key stakeholder along the route.

Results

Our work strengthened the quality and consistency of landowner engagement across the programme, helping EWR Co build trust and maintain positive relationships.

By improving alignment between teams and proactively addressing potential engagement risks and concerns, we supported more efficient and responsive communication with landowners.

This contributed to a more streamlined approach to securing survey access and voluntary agreements, while reducing risk across sensitive land and property issues.

Our input also ensured that land and property considerations were more effectively integrated into broader stakeholder engagement activity, supporting a more joined-up and strategic approach.

Criminals are ‘poisoning’ AI (artificial intelligence) models such as Chat GPT and other large language models (LLMs) so that they pick up scam websites and recommend them to consumers searching online, according to National Trading Standards (NTS) and Ask Silver, a free consumer scam checking platform.

Data shared by Ask Silver show ‘copycat’ websites cloned from legitimate businesses are being recommended in AI-search results. The websites use fake web addresses that look similar to the real site and take payment for products that never arrive. These websites are getting hundreds of visitors per day through AI recommendations, putting consumers at risk of landing on scam websites.

Known as ‘poisoning attacks’, criminals can compromise the safety of LLMs by injecting malicious documents into their training data, recent research indicates.* These documents can plant a hidden weakness in an AI system. When triggered by certain words or phrases, the AI may produce inaccurate information, malfunction or carry out actions that its developers never intended.

Because of the relatively small number of malicious documents that can poison even the biggest of the LLMs, the findings suggest that influencing AI systems may be easier and cheaper for criminals than previously thought, representing a huge emerging threat to consumers and businesses.

National Trading Standards is today urging consumers who use AI search to check that they are on a genuine website before buying anything. One way to do this is via approved tools such as those by Ask Silver or Get Safe Online, which can check if a website is legitimate and provide advice in just a few seconds.

Louise Baxter MBE, Head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team said:

“Consumers are increasingly turning to AI tools for advice and recommendations, but criminals are adapting just as quickly. The fact that scam websites can appear in AI-generated results is worrying, and is a stark reminder that fraudsters will exploit any new technology that helps them reach potential victims.

“People should not assume that a website is genuine simply because it has been recommended by an AI tool. The best defence is to stop and think. A quick check before buying anything or giving any personal information could prevent you from becoming the victim of a scam.”

Alex Somervell, co-founder of Ask Silver, said:

“We came across this deeply concerning trend thanks to the thousands of UK consumers using our free Scam Checker. Criminals are becoming increasingly skilled at creating websites that closely mimic trusted brands, making them difficult to spot with the naked eye. We were shocked to find that these clone sites are now being recommended by AI. This is likely the beginning of a new pattern of behaviour in fraud, and may be just the tip of the iceberg.

“A recommendation from an online search or from AI can be the start of your research, but not the end of it. It’s always worth taking a few seconds to verify the website before entering any personal information or payment details. Scam checkers such as Ask Silver can help people identify warning signs before they become victims, and help alert others.”

Fraud and scams can be reported to Report Fraud (www.reportfraud.police.uk), or you can call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service for advice on 0808 223 1133.

The NTS Scams Team has launched a free app to help people to protect themselves using their phone. The app includes scam alerts, prevention tips, clear advice on what to do if targeted and signposts to trusted sources of help. To download the app, visit the Friends Against Scams website (www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk).

by Laura Harrison, head of sustainability, Barley Communications

It’s World Environment Day and it’s almost exactly ten years since we launched Barley’s first environmental campaign, a couple of months after Barley was conceived. Happy Birthday to us! We were teeny tiny when we started (a handful of us sitting round the table wanting to change the world) but our drive for doing good was gargantuan. It’s been an exhilarating ride….

Our first campaign was for Hubbub, a fabulous charity also in its infancy at the time. Our task was to get Londoners to think twice about buying bagged salad. Polling data concluded that a million bags of salad were thrown away each week in London in the summer. The topic was a hard sell to media but nevertheless we landed some great coverage including the Evening Standard. Environmental stories were fairly tricky to land in 2016. But something seemed to shift in 2017-2019. Coffee cup recycling, river pollution, plastic litter, air pollution, fast fashion – these topics started gaining traction and mainstream media suddenly couldn’t get enough environmental stories. “Finally people are waking up to the crisis, they want to take action,” I thought. It was quite a relief.

Then Brexit happened. Then COVID hit. Aside from some remarkable stories on the reduction in carbon emissions from the quiet streets and blank skies, the world and its media had (understandably) more immediate issues to cover. The environment got sidelined and I’m not sure it ever really got back on the playing field in the same way. The bottom fell out of the reuse movement – who wanted to risk getting covid from a fork or coffee cup? New policies and legislation got delayed and delayed. Environmental issues became increasingly politicised and sucked into the culture wars. It divided people and this was reflected in how the media covered (or actively avoided) environmental stories. Some talented environmental editors and writers lost their jobs and the demand for content on how consumers can take environmental action tailed off.

Despite the challenging landscape we continue to land stories and engage audiences with our campaigns; shining a light on micro-fibres, river pollution, peat-free compost, recycling contamination, e-waste, fly-tipping and over-fishing to name but a few. We’ve often chosen to pivot, using cost-savings and local pride to draw in our audiences rather than the environment which is sometimes a topic they’re less likely to engage with.

The media and digital landscape has shifted so much over these ten years. We now make use of many more channels to reach and influence people. Inspiring individuals and organisations are using social media platforms to challenge, call out, shine a light on the ludicrous, igniting important discussions and prompting e-petitions and community action.

Something else is shifting too. More and more people are beginning to experience the impacts of climate change. The floods, the heatwaves, the failed crops. This should be a catalyst for action. And maybe that action is now more focused on resilience and adaptation rather than prevention. Because climate change is already here. The media could play a key role in informing and educating people and I do hope we see the same kind of enthusiasm that we did back in the 2017-2019 “sweet spot” I mentioned previously.

Barley will continue to advocate passionately for the natural world and the fight against climate change. We are privileged to work with some brilliant environmental charities, public bodies and councils and have some really exciting and impactful work lined up over the coming months.

As we plan our birthday celebrations ten years on, we’re putting the finishing touches to a creative campaign for ReLondon to get more Londoners recycling the food they can’t eat. I do wonder how much salad Londoners are still throwing away?

Free live music and performances every Friday throughout June

City workers, visitors and residents are invited to kick off summer Fridays in the heart of the City as Leadenhall Market, supported by the Destination City Partnership Fund, launches Summer Sessions – a month-long line-up of free live music, roaming performers and creative workshops throughout June.

Across four Friday afternoons and evenings, the market’s cobbled passages will fill with live entertainment, hands-on experiences and after-work energy, as visitors settle in for cocktails, casual dining and long summer evenings beneath the Victorian glass roof, cementing Leadenhall’s position as one of the Square Mile’s most vibrant summer social spots.

Early afternoon workers and visitors can take part in hands-on workshops hosted by SoLo Craft Fair, with activities ranging from charm jewellery making and candle decorating to spring wreath and trinket dish workshops.

As the afternoons unfold, roaming performers including hula hoop artists, conjurers, escapologists and giant slinky entertainers will weave through the market crowds, bringing unexpected moments of theatre and spectacle beneath the Victorian roof. As the evening begins, live music will take over the market, creating a lively after-work atmosphere of drinks, dining and summer socialising in the heart of the City.

Evening performances will feature a rotating line-up of pop, country and Irish acoustic two-piece, Indie Rollers; ukulele singing duo, Wonderful Uke Strollers; percussion-playing DJ, Chris DJ Vibes; and versatile jazz, funk, soul and pop duo, The Delights. Performances start from 5:30pm each Friday.

All performances are free to attend and no booking is required, SoLo Craft Fair workshops are bookable online.

Local workers and visitors can make an evening of it by exploring Leadenhall Market’s mix of bars, restaurants and cafés, from cocktails and post-work drinks at The Lamb Tavern to fresh focaccia and pasta at Oriani, charcoal-cooked Himalayan salt-aged steak at MRBL and sweet treats from Aux Merveilleux de Fred.

Full line-up:

Friday 5 June

1–2pm – spring wreath making with SoLo Craft Fair

2:30–5:00pm – hula hoop performers

5:30–7pm – live music – Indie Rollers

Friday 12 June

2–3.30pm – candle decorating with SoLo Craft Fair

2:30–5:00pm – Walter the waiter conjuring performances

5:30–7pm – live music – Wonderful Uke Strollers

Friday 19 June

1–2pm – charm jewellery making with SoLo Craft Fair

2:30–5:00pm – escapology performances

5:30–7pm – live music – Chris DJ Vibes

Friday 26 June

1–2pm – trinket dish making with SoLo Craft Fair

2:30–5:00pm – Big Mob Slinkies performances

5:30–7pm – live music – The Delights

Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, Chris Hayward, said:

“We want Fridays in the City to feel exciting, social and spontaneous, and that’s exactly what Leadenhall Market’s Summer Sessions is designed to do, giving people a reason to stay after work, meet friends, enjoy live entertainment and make the most of everything the Square Mile has to offer. From creative workshops and free performances to great food, drinks and music, the programme will help bring extra energy and footfall into the area while supporting the businesses that make Leadenhall Market and the City of London such a special destination.

“As part of our wider Destination City ambitions, events like this help us ‘earn the commute’ by creating a City that people want to experience socially and culturally, as well as professionally.”

For the full schedule, visit: https://leadenhallmarket.co.uk/

Leadenhall Market is owned and managed by The City of London Corporation.

Destination City is the Square Mile’s growth strategy, focused on strengthening the City as a magnetic and inclusive destination.

We are delighted to have been named Consultancy of the Year at the Better Society Awards 2026, making this the second consecutive year we have received the award.

The judges recognised our evidence-led approach to communications and our ability to help charities, public bodies and purpose-driven organisations translate complex social and environmental issues into clear, accessible and impactful public engagement.

As a certified B Corp consultancy, we specialise in sustainability, social impact and environmental communications, working exclusively on projects where communications can contribute meaningfully to positive change. Over the past year, we have continued to expand our strategic consultancy offer, helping organisations strengthen messaging, demonstrate impact and build public trust.

The judges were particularly impressed by our ability to combine measurable communications performance with genuine societal impact, highlighting our work translating complex evidence into communications that improve understanding, influence behaviour and support informed public debate.

Among the projects recognised was our work with Oceana UK on the launch of Deep Decline, a major scientific report examining the environmental impact of overfishing in UK waters. By helping translate complex scientific evidence into clear, accurate and compelling communications, the campaign generated extensive national and international media coverage while maintaining the integrity of the research.

The award also recognised our wider work supporting organisations including Hubbub, Nordoff and Robbins, Keep Britain Tidy and National Trading Standards.

The Better Society Awards celebrate organisations and partnerships making a positive contribution to society through responsible business and impactful communications. We are incredibly proud to see our team, clients and partners recognised once again for the role strategic communications can play in creating meaningful social and environmental change.

Barley Communications has been shortlisted for five CIPR Excellence Awards, recognising the impact of its work across environmental, public sector and behaviour change campaigns.

The shortlist includes:
Public Sector Campaign – Fighting AI cloning scams with National Trading Standards
Environmental Campaign – Deep Decline: communicating the impact of overfishing with Oceana UK
Environmental Campaign – Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight – #RubbishDeal with Keep Britain Tidy

Alongside campaign recognition, Barley has also been shortlisted for long term client care, as well as specialist consultancy of the year, bringing the total to five nominations.

The CIPR Excellence Awards are widely regarded as the benchmark for the profession, celebrating campaigns that deliver measurable impact and build trust with audiences. For us, this year’s shortlist is particularly significant as we mark our tenth anniversary.

While the campaign nominations reflect creativity and results, we’re particularly proud of the recognition for long term client care, which speaks to something deeper. Barley was founded on the principle that effective communications is built over time and we love that our clients view us as an extension of their teams. Long-standing partnerships allow strategies to evolve, messages to sharpen, and stakeholder trust to grow.

Our 2025 client survey shows 100 per cent of clients would recommend Barley, with an average satisfaction score of 4.6 out of 5. Two-thirds of clients rate their experience as excellent, and half have worked with us for more than five years .

This is underpinned by four defining elements.

A clear planning framework ensures communications are always aligned to organisational priorities. Barley’s IMPACT model connects activity to outcomes, keeping delivery focused and measurable.

Team stability provides continuity. Clients work with consistent senior teams who understand their organisations in depth, strengthening both strategic advice and day-to-day delivery.

A flexible model allows support to scale. A core team is complemented by specialist expertise, ensuring the right resource is in place as needs evolve.

Values alignment shapes every partnership. Barley works with organisations where there is shared purpose, building relationships based on trust and mutual understanding.

More on Barley’s approach can be found here.

As Barley enters its second decade, the shortlist recognises both the impact of its campaigns and the strength of the relationships behind them.

Winners will be announced later this year.

Pop-up weekend markets will return to Leadenhall Market in 2026 with an extended programme led by returning favourites SoLo Craft Fair and The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market. Together, the two operators will once again fill the Market’s cobbled walkways with vintage designs, antiques and handcrafted gifts.

The market series begins on Saturday 11 April with SoLo Craft Fair, followed by The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market from Sunday 19 April, and runs from spring to Christmas. This year will see both operators host more stalls than ever before beneath Leadenhall’s iconic glass roof.

All markets are free to enter and run from 12-5pm. With Leadenhall’s restaurants, cafés and pubs open throughout the weekend for breakfast until dinner, the markets provide the perfect starting point for a day spent exploring the City of London beyond the working week.

SoLo Craft Fair

SoLo Craft Fair returns on the second Saturday of each month with carefully selected independent artists and makers. From jewellery and art to home accessories, textiles and children’s toys, the focus is on high-quality, handcrafted pieces. Run by makers for makers, SoLo also has a permanent shop within Leadenhall Market, making it a familiar part of the Market’s community throughout the year.

The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market

A firm favourite, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market returns to close out each month at Leadenhall in style. Traders will bring mid-century furniture, antiques, retro homeware, lighting, rugs and one-off pieces that add character and unique flair to homes. After its first 2026 date on 19 April, the Flea Market will be found in Leadenhall on the last Sunday of each month.

Ollie Goode, Asset Manager at Leadenhall Market, said:

“The response to our award-winning Weekend Market series over the past two years has been exceptional, drawing Londoners and visitors into the heart of the City. For 2026, we’re delighted to bring it back bigger and better, with an expanded line-up. We’ve worked hard to make Leadenhall Market a true seven-days-a-week destination, and it’s fantastic to welcome new traders alongside established favourites—creating even more reasons to spend time in the City at weekends. We can’t wait to deliver our most ambitious season yet.”

Visitors can refuel between stalls with a growing mix of restaurants, cafés, pubs and wine bars open across market weekends. For casual bites, options include Sicilian arancina from Sfrigola, falafel and Mediterranean dishes at Baba Ganoush, Korean favourites from Bibimbap ToGo, and pastries from Aux Merveilleux de Fred and Buns from Home. Boom Bap Burger, Chango Empanadas and Hagen will also be serving throughout the weekend.

For those staying longer, La Viña offers Spanish tapas and Rioja, while The Golden Goose and The Lamb Tavern pour pints and offer hearty meals and tempting snacks. New for 2026, MRBL, a modern British steakhouse with terrace seating, brings on-the-bone cuts and a standout steak sandwich to the Market.

Set in the heart of the City, Leadenhall Market’s Grade II-listed iron-and-glass structure has been a place of trade for centuries and continues to provide a striking backdrop for traders in 2026. Leadenhall Market is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation

Full market series

Saturday 11 April, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 19 April, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 9 May, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 31 May, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 13 June, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 28 June, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 11 July, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 26 July, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 8 August, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 30 August, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 12 September, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 27 September, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 10 October, SoLo Craft Fair
Sunday 25 October, The Vintage Furniture & Flea Market
Saturday 14 November, SoLo Craft Fair
Saturday 12 December, SoLo Craft Fair

Leadenhall Market will celebrate Shrove Tuesday with the return of its annual Pancake Day Race, taking place in the Market’s iconic atrium on Tuesday 17 February 2026, with races starting at 12.30pm. Teams are now invited to secure their place in this much-loved City tradition.

Hosted by Leadenhall Market’s 18^th century pub, The Lamb Tavern, the high-octane lunchtime event sees teams of four don bowler hats and race through the Market’s Victorian cobbled walkways in a series of 20-metre relay races, all while flipping pancakes.

Now a firm fixture in the City calendar, the race is open to all flippers, from City workers to Londoners and those visiting for the day. Spectators are invited to line the Market’s walkways to watch the action unfold beneath Leadenhall’s glass roof.

The winning team will have their name engraved on the famous Golden Frying Pan and take home a Lamb Tavern Hamper and £50 bar tab. Second place will receive a hamper, while third place will win a bottle of prosecco. All competitors will also receive a free pancake on the day.

The race will be compered live, with plenty of pancakes cooked fresh by The Lamb Tavern’s kitchen team to keep both runners and spectators well fed. With a large audience expected, visitors are encouraged to arrive at the Market from 11am to secure a prime viewing spot for the races.

Free to enter, the Pancake Day Race is open to teams of four and places must be booked in advance via www.lambtavernleadenhall.com.

After the final flip, those feeling pancake-weary can refuel elsewhere in the Market. Leadenhall is home to an eclectic line-up of food and drink spots, with lunch on the go options including Sfrigola, serving Sicilian arancini, Buns From Home, offering freshly baked croissant buns and Chango Empanadas, specialising in traditional Argentine empanadas. Those looking for a more leisurely sit down can choose from fine dining at Osteria del Mercato, French dishes at Luc’s Brasserie, and Spanish flavours at La Viña.

Situated in the heart of the City of London, Leadenhall Market is a Grade II-listed landmark dating back to 1881, designed by Sir Horace Jones. Today, its iron-and-glass architecture provides a striking backdrop for events that bring together City workers, residents and visitors to the Square Mile.

Leadenhall Market will be celebrating Valentine’s with a series of specially curated romantic walking tours, poetry soundscapes and creative workshop dates. The Market’s wide selection of restaurants, bars and cafés will also beavailable to experience over the Valentine’s weekend.

On Saturday 14 February, Valentine’s walking tours will be led by City of London Guides through Leadenhall Market. Running at 11am and 2pm, the limited-edition walks will explore stories of love and romance from across the centuries, including tales of historic love potions and the story of one memorable former resident, a lovestruck goose said to have once ruled the Market’s passageways. Tickets can be booked online now.

For couples preferring to explore at their own pace, Leadenhall Love is a romantic self-guided walk through Leadenhall available via the ECHOES Soundwalks app. As visitors move through the Market, poems on the theme of love are automatically triggered, featuring works by writers including Robert Burns, Christina Rossetti and Shakespeare. The poems were selected to highlight Leadenhall’s 700 year history and are read by members of the Market community.

Lovers wanting a grab and go snack for their walk can visit Leadenhall Market’s Bibimbap, Baba Ganoush, or Chango Empanadas for delicious Mediterranean falafel, Korean dishes, and Mexican empanadas. Leadenhall Market also offer a selection of free self-guided walks of the City via its website.

For those planning a romantic evening meal after their walk, Leadenhall Market’s Luc’s Brasserie will be opening especially on Valentine’s Day, serving classic French dishes and char-grilled steaks with views across the Market’s grand atrium. Argentinian Grill offers prime Argentine beef cooked over an authentic charcoal grill, while La Viña provides a lively setting for tapas and Spanish dishes, alongside wines, sangrias and cocktails.

Alongside its restaurants, Leadenhall Market is home to several spots well suited to casual dates. These include Buns From Home for freshly baked pastries, Boom Bap Burger for an impressive draft beer list and delicious food, andChango Empanadas, Baba Ganoush and Sfrigola for quick and comforting bites. Traditional pubs and bars such as The Lamb Tavern, The Golden Goose and Oriani offer relaxed settings for drinks, while the independent, family-owned drinks specialist Amathus is a convenient stop for picking up a bottle for a special someone.

Within the week ahead of Valentine’s Day visitors to the Market can take part in a programme of Valentine’s and Galentine’s creative workshops hosted by SoLo Craft Fair Shop, designed for couples, friends and small groups. Sessions include watercolour card designing (10 Feb), tea blending (11 Feb) and embroidered Valentine’s decorations (12 Feb), with many workshops free or under £8 and available to book online now.

With its grand Victorian architecture, Leadenhall Market provides a memorable backdrop for Valentine’s Day, from daytime exploring to an evening meal in the heart of the City.

Leadenhall Market is owned and managed by The City of London Corporation.

For more information about the Market, visit: leadenhallmarket.co.uk

Fraud is now the most frequently reported crime in the UK, and all of us are exposed to harm. Online scams and impersonations affect people of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. Criminals use automated tools, AI and spoofed identities to reach people at scale – and the international and organised nature of the criminality means prosecutions aren’t easy.

This isn’t a fringe problem. It’s a national public protection issue hiding in plain sight.

The recent and, frankly, scandalous Grok episode, which saw people’s images manipulated in disturbing ways, underlines a familiar challenge that is a focus for today’s Safer Internet day: emerging technology evolves faster than public understanding and legislation. What looks like innovation one week can quickly become a flashpoint for trust the next. For us, that reinforces a clear belief: online safety cannot be an afterthought. Prevention has to be built in from the start – and communicated clearly, early and often.

At Barley, we see behaviour change communications as a form of infrastructure. If people don’t understand the risk, or don’t see themselves in it, they won’t act, which in turn keeps demand high and allows criminality to persist.

If the harm is too distant, behaviour won’t change

Barley works with partners tackling this reality head-on. Alongside organisations like National Trading Standards, we support work that monitors and investigates a broad range of online crimes – from misleading ‘copycat’ websites and subscription traps to shopping fraud and the sale of illegal products – while helping consumers make safer choices.

We’ve also worked with the Intellectual Property Office, where online harm is often less visible but no less serious. Counterfeit and illicit goods traded online don’t just undermine businesses and innovation; they expose consumers to dangerous products and fund organised crime. When intellectual property crime feels abstract, demand persists. When its real-world consequences are made clear, behaviour starts to shift.

This link between online activity and offline harm runs through much of our work. Illicit tobacco and underage knife sales promoted through digital channels don’t stay online – they show up on high streets, in school playgrounds and in local communities. Our role as communicators is to tackle demand, while enforcement partners disrupt supply. To do that effectively, the harm has to feel close, credible and real. If it’s too distant, behaviour won’t change.

That urgency is reflected in the growing public conversation around AI-enabled fraud. Just last week, we were at MediaCity in Salford with National Trading Standards for an interview on BBC Breakfast, discussing new AI tactics being used by criminals to set up direct debits in their name. Before the interview one of the presenters – Charlie Stayt – mentioned to our spokesperson how more and more consumer protection issues are being covered by national media. The fact these issues are now being explored on national breakfast television is telling: online fraud is no longer a niche or technical concern – it’s a mainstream risk affecting everyday lives.

The rise of sophisticated, AI-enabled fraud is also driving innovation in prevention. One emerging example is Falkin, a UK-based digital safety start-up we supported last year, whose tools embed scam detection directly into banking and fintech apps – flagging risky links, requests and messages before payments are made.

This kind of proactive intervention reflects a shift we strongly support: moving away from passive warnings and towards intercepting harm at the moment of persuasion. It’s about designing safety into systems, not relying on people to spot increasingly convincing deception on their own.

Through our communications work, we’ve consistently challenged the idea that fraud is an inevitable cost of digital life. It isn’t. With the right combination of technology, enforcement and communication, it’s a solvable public protection challenge.

Beyond age limits: a national conversation on regulation

Politically, the UK is grappling with how to translate growing concern into effective policy. Proposals to restrict social media access for younger people have gained traction, bringing questions of responsibility, enforcement and unintended consequences into the mainstream.

Later this month, The Stationers’ and Newspapers’ Company and The London Press Club will host an event asking a deceptively simple question: should youngsters be banned from social media? As ever, the answer is likely to be complex. Online harms affect people of all ages, and regulation will need to balance protection, freedom and practicality.

Whatever the policy direction, communication will be critical – helping people understand not just what decisions are being made, but why, and how they reduce real-world harm.

Communications to tackle demand

Safer Internet Day should be a launchpad, not a once-a-year reminder. In our view, the strongest defence against online harm sits at the intersection of supply (tackled by enforcement) and demand (tackled by behaviour change and public awareness campaigns).

At Barley, we’re committed to helping partners translate complex risks into clear, actionable messages that resonate with people’s real lives.

Chilling new wave of AI-assisted fraud targets older people and clones their voices

Criminals are using AI technology to clone people’s voices and set up unauthorised direct debits over the phone, according to new evidence from National Trading Standards. The advanced voice cloning is part of an organised criminal operation that harvests people’s personal data to target victims with a wave of scam and nuisance calls.

The process begins with a so-called ‘lifestyle survey’ phone call – seemingly harmless, but in fact designed to gather detailed personal, health and financial information. The criminals use this data to develop AI-generated voice clones used to simulate consent for direct debits, deceiving even legitimate businesses and financial providers. These details appear then to be passed or sold to other criminal operations who, with the details, can easily circumvent the banks and set up payments without the victim’s knowledge. Victims often do not realise payments are being taken.

The details are revealed as new data, released today by National Trading Standards, show that*:

On average, UK adults receive 7 scam calls or texts per month
1 in 5 (21%) receive scam calls or texts most days – and almost 1 in 10 (9%) receive them every day
NTS blocked nearly 21 million scam phone calls and shut down 2,000 numbers in a six-month period.

Louise Baxter, Head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team, said:

“What we’re seeing is a deeply disturbing combination of old and new: traditional phone scams supported by disturbing new techniques. Criminals are using AI not just to deceive victims, but to trick legitimate systems into processing fraudulent payments. This is no longer just a nuisance – it’s a coordinated, sophisticated operation targeting some of the most situationally vulnerable consumers in society. We urge everyone to speak to friends and relatives about scam calls, check bank statements regularly and report anything suspicious.”

Through Operation Derdap, NTS has blocked nearly 21 million scam phone calls and shut down 2,000 numbers in the last 6 months. The operation began in 2022 when it was identified that UK consumers were being cold called and coerced into providing financial and personal details to the criminals who then took continuous payments from consumers’ accounts.

John Herriman, Chief Executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said:

“This alarming new twist in phone-based fraud shows just how quickly criminals are exploiting emerging technologies to prey on the public. Voice cloning takes scam calls to a sinister new level, making it even harder for legitimate businesses and consumers to distinguish real interactions from fraudulent ones.

“Trading Standards teams across the UK are working tirelessly to disrupt these operations, but we need the public to stay alert, talk to loved ones about the risks, and report anything suspicious. Protecting consumers, especially those most vulnerable, requires all of us to stay informed and work together to tackle these modern day and emerging examples of fraud.”

Case study – Operation Derdap: disrupting a loft insulation scam:

NTS prevented an estimated 43m scam calls from one voice call provider in a three-month period in 2025, having identified the US-based company as the source of 300m loft insulation scam phone calls since February 2025.

In July 2025, NTS analysed the monthly top 500 nuisance call numbers provided by trueCall (which monitors approximately 10,000 UK call blocking units). A significant pattern emerged: 78 new numbers had surfaced within a single month, all linked to one VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) provider.

NTS investigators analysed these calls and found a cynical scam that targeted elderly or vulnerable homeowners and followed four key stages:

Cold calling – Victims were told they qualified for government-backed or free insulation checks. 90% of those called were registered with the Telephone Preference Service (marketing calls cannot be made to them without express consent)
Deception – Callers used avatar software (pre-recorded scripts) with British accents to mimic a live call, disguising the Indian call centre origins.
Inspections – Agents visited victims’ homes and charged inflated prices for insulation.
Re-contact – Victims were called again and falsely told that the insulation was unsafe and needed urgent removal, for which further fees were demanded.

The criminal organisation’s telecoms contract was terminated, and an alert has been issued to all communications service providers to be vigilant, as the firm is expected to seek further numbers from different providers. NTS is grateful for the swift, collaborative action taken by the telecoms company to disrupt this criminal operation.

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