Artificial Intelligence: National Security Implications

Baroness Kidron Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Kidron]

To ask His Majesty’s Government, in light of the decision of the government of the United States to restrict foreign national access to Anthropic’s Claude AI models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5, what assessment they have made of the implications for the United Kingdom’s security; and what alternative sovereign UK systems or partnerships they are pursuing, if any.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Baroness Lloyd of Effra) (Lab)]

My Lords, no Government take AI sovereignty and security more seriously than this one. The UK is not a bystander when it comes to the security of AI. Our world-leading AI Security Institute was one of only a handful of organisations with access to both Mythos and Fable before they were released; they were used to identify risks in advance. We are investing £1.6 billion in the UK’s sovereign AI capabilities, made up of £500 million directly in UK AI firms via our sovereign AI fund and £1.1 billion via our AI hardware plan.

[Baroness Kidron (CB)]

I thank the Minister for that response. President Trump gave less than 90 minutes for Anthropic to make Mythos and Fable unavailable to any non-US citizens. In doing so, the White House went from a position of no AI regulation at all to 100% control. These systems are extremely powerful and anticipated to be able to break any other AI system, putting all critical industries and systems into meltdown, and we know other systems of the same ilk will shortly follow. In light of these developments, will the Government ask the AI Security Institute to develop red lines for AI systems deployed in the UK, including those used by government, and bring them forward in the promised AI Bill? Does the Minister not agree that the Government’s increasing dependency on US companies in health, education and security is creating a critical vulnerability for national security?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

We continue to support the AI Security Institute. It is very well respected by developers. That is why it has early access and is able to test the risks. Those risks are obviously going to develop as the models themselves evolve. It is also looking closely at the question of alignment, and that is something we are supporting in particular. In respect of sovereign AI, our approach is about building strength over key parts of the value chain to bring to the table technologies that no one else can do without.

For the UK, one of the most promising sectors is in AI hardware. We have brilliant start-ups in that area. That is why we announced the £1.1 billion AI hardware plan, which includes up to £400 million to purchase these new types of chips. In respect of regulation, as the noble Baroness knows, we are working with our regulators to support them to take account of the risks posed by AI and the opportunities brought by AI for increased productivity and effective regulation.