Kanishka Narayan takes on AI sovereignty in Burnham cabinet

Kanishka Narayan, who was previously minister for artificial intelligence (AI) under the UK’s Keir Starmer government, has joined the Andy Burnham cabinet, jointly working in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BSIT).

In his speech yesterday outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham spoke about “re-industrialising Britain, using public procurement to back British industry”.

“I will bring forward a new plan for Britain, a 10-year plan, laying out a path from where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be, wherever we’re coming from, whatever party we support, and we will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land,” he said.

As minister for AI in the Starmer government, Narayan was parliamentary under secretary at the now-defunct Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Earlier in July, for an interview with The Mirror, he spoke about why Britain’s economic and security future is about AI future and digital sovereignty.

However, DSIT has been criticised for not looking at the implications of the US Cloud Act. In a House of Lords report, UK cloud services provider Civio told MPs that the US Cloud Act grants US authorities the power to request access to data held anywhere in the world from providers subject to US jurisdiction, with no legal requirement for providers to inform customers. “This is a structural condition of the infrastructure,” it said.

In response to a written parliamentary question in March 2026, DSIT minister Ian Murray said the department had not made any central assessments of the US Cloud Act and the implications for UK government data.

The Digital and technology policy and national sovereignty paper, published on 16 July in the House of Lords Library, quotes Matthias Bauer, director at the European Centre for International Political Economy, who is “highly sceptical” that the Donald Trump administration would choose to use a digital “kill-switch” to suspend digital services in Europe or the UK. 

Digital rights advocate Open Rights Group has warned that if the UK got into an argument today with the US administration – over Greenland, Israel or trade – Trump could swiftly close down the UK’s government by shuttering US-owned IT and cloud systems. For instance, in 2025, the White House announced that Karim Khan, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), had been sanctioned by the US due to what it described as having “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally, Israel”. The sanctions meant that Khan’s access to Microsoft Outlook was blocked.

Writing on social media platform X, Narayan tweeted: “AI is likely the most significant technology in human history. Its impact will dwarf other things. The best case for it is compelling beyond our dreams: a reindustrialised Britain, stronger national security, public services transformed for the better. The risks, too, are real: it is right that the British public shares those worries, for jobs, for the pace of change.”

Narayan said he would work relentlessly to secure British influence in shaping AI.

Mirroring Burnham’s goals to move governmental power and the economic focus of the country away from the capital, he said: “I will also bring to this job the place I represent – a constituency in Wales, a nation with industry and ambition at its heart, a proud history of punching above its weight on the global stage.”

Commenting on the importance of AI to the UK economy, John Lazar, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “There are real challenges for the new government when our competitors in other countries are forging ahead with implementing advanced technologies, particularly AI, to improve productivity. Our latest research shows that over half of UK engineering and technology firms have not yet adopted any of these potentially beneficial technologies. This needs to be tackled to really unleash potential growth, which is something our network of engineers and innovators are ready to help with.”