‘Active disinformation campaign’ poses ‘risk to the industry’ – Dame Susan Langley

“An active disinformation campaign” is currently hitting “many geographies”, posing “a risk to the industry” and to London as a financial services centre, according to Dame Susan Langley, Lady Mayor of London.

Speaking at The Risk Forum, a one-day conference organised by trade body Airmic, Langley – who has worked in the insurance sector for around 25 years – signposted disinformation as an emerging risk that should be high on the agenda of risk professionals.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, disinformation refers to false information being spread deliberately to deceive people. Misinformation, in contrast, is when incorrect information is distributed unintentionally.

In the opening keynote at The Risk Forum, Langley shared anecdotal stories of conversations with other country leaders – for example, Singapore – noting with frustration the disinformation that has impacted global perceptions of London.

She said: “I heard someone say ‘my colleagues are frightened coming over [to London] because they [think they are going to] step outside their office and be wrestled to the ground and stabbed’. I thought that’s a weird thing to say about the City.

“Then I heard it the next week [too] when somebody said ‘my colleague [is] coming out, but she’s not going to wear any of her jewellery or watch’. [This] is really quite ridiculous.

“There is actually an active disinformation campaign out there and I have heard it from many geographies. That is a risk, disinformation [or] misinformation, [especially] on top of us talking the [UK] economy and our sector down. [This] is a risk to the industry.

“We have to be far less British. Far more Tigger than Eeyore and start being positive about our business.”

One way Langley hopes to dispel disinformation about the UK and London is by hosting the capital’s first Global Risk Summit on 12 May 2026. The invite only one-day conference will include keynote presentations and networking opportunities.

Langley said: “[It is] one thing telling the world that we’re good – even though we’re not that good at that – but there’s another thing about showing it and we want people to have an excuse to continue to come to London.

“One of the strengths of the London market [is] that we adapt to risk, we step up and change.

“I’ve been in insurance now for 25 years. [Across] my career, this is the most pivotal [moment] where we have to be [our] most flexible, most agile, because things are almost changing on a daily basis.”

Changing trade tides

Langley further noted that there has been a “fundamental mind shift” in global trading relationships, with historic cost-based supply chains now pivoting to being primarily rooted in “trust, friendship [and] common values”.

This means that geopolitical risk is “top of agenda”, Langley added, as trading partnerships morph from “the old world order” into today’s preference.

She told event attendees: “One of the things that is really stark when you when you consider the number of people I see and the companies I visit is that the old world order – rules, stability, cooperation – is changing.

“In many areas, it’s just gone. It’s absolutely gone. This really tests the durability of our alliances, when you have fragmentation.

“One of the things a lot of people feed back to me now is they are not seeking relationships or supply chains based on cost alone anymore. It’s on trust, friendship, common values. Are they still going to be there in three years? And that’s a fundamental mind shift.

“Change in trade is top of [the] agenda. Geopolitical risk is absolutely up there. [In EY’s CEO Outlook 2026 report, published in January 2026,] 80% of businesses are investing now because of geopolitical risk rather than anything else. So, it’s the absolute top of the agenda.”