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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Nicola Davis Science correspondent

UK has ‘huge opportunity’ to be space watchdog, says former science minister

George Freeman United Kingdom Insurance
An illustration of space junk
An illustration of space junk. Freeman said there were a million pieces of debris in space, and that regulation is needed to manage it. Photograph: University of Southampton/PA

The UK’s role in the next generation of interplanetary exploration should be that of a space “watchdog” leading on regulation, insurance and finance, a former science minister has said, in an effort to rein in a situation he compared to the wild west.

George Freeman, the MP for Mid Norfolk who was minister for science, research, technology and innovation under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, said the need for standards was pressing.

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