Architect of UK’s AI policy quits after Anthropic conflict of interest concerns

Matt Clifford forced to stand down amid disquiet from senior MPs over his new full-time job at AI company


The chair of the UK government’s “moonshot” science and technology research unit has been forced to stand down after taking a job with the San Francisco AI firm Anthropic, in a move senior MPs called a “clear conflict of interest”.


Matt Clifford announced last week that he was taking a full-time job working for the company behind the Claude chatbot, “leading its engagement” with governments outside the US - including the UK. But he retained his leadership at the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which funds frontier science and tech projects.

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/07/architect-uk-ai-policy-quits-anthropic-conflict-of-interest-concerns