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Simon Case, the former UK civil service chief, has taken a part-time advisory role with American AI company Invisible Technologies, reflecting a wider trend of senior Westminster figures moving into the tech sector amidst ongoing regulatory scrutiny of the influence of ex-government officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Former UK civil service head Simon Case has joined American AI company Invisible Technologies as a paid, part-time adviser, marking another instance of senior Westminster figures moving into roles with prominent technology firms. Case, who stepped down as the UK\u2019s most senior civil servant in December last year and now sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, sought guidance from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before taking on the role. The committee advised him not to leverage any privileged information gained during his civil service tenure nor use his government contacts to influence policy or secure advantages for Invisible Technologies. The role reportedly does not involve any direct interaction with government entities, and Case clarified he had no prior connections with the company during his Whitehall service.<\/p>\n
Invisible Technologies, a US-based firm specialising in developing and training artificial intelligence for third-party use, joins a list of tech companies recently engaging with former UK government officials. Notably, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has assumed paid advisory positions with both Microsoft and Anthropic, a San Francisco-based AI startup behind the Claude AI models. Sunak\u2019s appointments similarly required vetting by Acoba, which underscored restrictions preventing him from using insider knowledge or lobbying government officials on behalf of these companies for two years following his departure from office.<\/p>\n
Sunak\u2019s advisory role at Anthropic involves providing strategic insights on global macroeconomic and geopolitical trends without engaging in UK policy matters or government contacts. At Microsoft, his role includes offering high-level strategic perspectives and speaking at events like the Microsoft Summit. These firms are significant players in the AI field\u2014Microsoft recently announced its integration of Anthropic\u2019s AI models into its Copilot assistant, a move aimed at diversifying its AI technology beyond its longstanding partnership with OpenAI. Microsoft’s involvement in the UK tech and economic landscape is notable, leading Acoba to scrutinise potential risks of undue influence from Sunak\u2019s positions.<\/p>\n
The former prime minister has pledged to donate all earnings from these advisory roles to The Richmond Project, a numeracy skills charity he co-founded with his wife, Akshata Murty. While former government figures taking lucrative roles in tech firms has raised public and regulatory attention, the advisory roles are reportedly structured to comply fully with transparency and ethics guidelines. Acoba, which is set to be dissolved with its functions transferred to the Civil Service Commission, has recently reviewed several such appointments, including other public figures such as former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf.<\/p>\n
Beyond AI, other former officials are engaging with sectors pertinent to national development; for example, former Conservative rail minister Huw Merriman has become non-executive chairman of the High Speed Rail Group, highlighting the ongoing involvement of ex-ministers in influencing infrastructure and economic growth policy from outside Parliament.<\/p>\n
These developments underline a growing trend: the UK\u2019s foremost technology firms are increasingly linked to senior ex-government figures, raising questions about influence, the use of privileged information, and how best to regulate the revolving door between government and industry in rapidly evolving sectors like AI.<\/p>\n