Ex-PM Rishi Sunak Joins Microsoft and Anthropic as Advisor
▼ Summary
– Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken senior advisory roles at Microsoft and Anthropic, raising concerns from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).
– Acoba expressed worries that Sunak’s privileged information could grant Microsoft an unfair advantage due to its government contracts and his involvement in a £2.5 billion UK investment deal.
– The committee noted his appointment might offer unfair access to the UK government during ongoing AI regulation debates, despite Sunak pledging to avoid UK policy advice and lobbying.
– Sunak will divert his salary to a charity he founded and also holds advisory roles with Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, and Makena Capital.
– This follows a trend of UK politicians joining tech firms, similar to his adviser joining Anthropic and former Deputy PM Nick Clegg’s role at Meta, paralleling US government-to-tech moves.
Following his tenure as the United Kingdom’s prime minister from 2022 to 2024, Rishi Sunak has accepted senior advisory positions with both Microsoft and Anthropic. Official correspondence from Parliament’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) confirmed these new roles while also expressing significant concerns. The committee specifically highlighted the risk that Sunak’s privileged knowledge could potentially grant Microsoft an unfair advantage, especially given the company’s existing active contracts with various British government departments.
This relationship is not new. In 2023, during his time as Prime Minister, Sunak personally announced a substantial £2.5 billion agreement with Microsoft. This deal was focused on investing in new data centers and providing advanced training within the UK. Acoba’s letters pointed to a broader issue, noting that his appointment could be perceived as offering these tech firms unfair access and influence within the U.K. government. This is particularly sensitive given the current global debates surrounding the best methods for regulating artificial intelligence, a field where intense lobbying is already underway.
In response to these concerns, Sunak has made several commitments. He has pledged to recuse himself from advising on any UK policy matters directly. His role, he states, will be confined to providing high-level perspectives on macroeconomic and geopolitical trends, and he will strictly avoid any form of lobbying. Furthermore, he has announced that he will divert his entire salary from these roles to the Richmond Project, a charitable organization he established with his wife earlier this year.
These positions add to Sunak’s growing portfolio outside of government. He also holds a senior advisor role at the investment bank Goldman Sachs and works as a speechwriter for financial firms such as Bain Capital and Makena Capital.
Sunak’s move is part of a well-established pattern of British politicians transitioning into influential roles within the technology sector. His own senior political adviser, Liam Booth-Smith, is also employed by Anthropic. A prominent predecessor is former Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who served as Meta’s president of global affairs until January 2025.
This phenomenon of a “revolving door” between public service and corporate tech is equally active in the United States. At Meta, Clegg was succeeded by Joel Kaplan, who previously acted as deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush. The company also brought on Dustin Carmack, a former adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to its policy team in 2024. Similarly, Microsoft’s current president of global affairs is Lisa Monaco, who held the position of deputy attorney general under President Joe Biden.
(Source: TechCrunch)
