UK reviews risks of losing access to frontier AI models

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UK reviews frontier AI risks

Highlights

UK Cabinet Office ordered a review on economic and security risks if access to models like Anthropic's Fable 5 or OpenAI's systems is blocked, with recommendations due within weeks.
A June directive from U.S. President Trump temporarily restricted foreign access to Anthropic’s Fable 5, raising concerns in the UK about future AI model availability and national security vulnerabilities.
The UK government is responding with a £1.1 billion AI hardware plan and £500 million sovereign AI fund to reduce dependency on foreign AI providers and boost domestic capabilities.

Government review focuses on AI access risks

As first reported by the Financial Times, the Cabinet Office has asked the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade to assess the impact on the UK economy if Britons are blocked from new AI models released by companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI. People familiar with the matter say the work is expected to be completed within weeks.

The move follows a June directive from U.S. President Donald Trump that demanded foreign national access to Anthropic’s Fable 5 model be rescinded, fuelling concern inside Britain’s National Security Secretariat about future access. Although Anthropic later relaunches the model globally after temporarily withdrawing it, the episode heightens concern in Whitehall that UK users could in future lose access to cutting-edge systems available elsewhere.

Officials are examining not only the economic cost if UK businesses cannot use the latest AI advances, but also the security implications if foreign users of advanced models can identify cyber vulnerabilities in British companies before those weaknesses are patched. The Home Office is also reviewing the growing use of AI in criminal methods, according to government figures.

One government figure says businesses move quickly whenever a new model is launched and that losing access, even for a few weeks, would hit the economy. Large U.S. technology groups are investing hundreds of billions of dollars on expectations that AI will deliver major productivity gains, with newer systems already automating parts of software development and routine legal and accounting work.

Dependency concerns shape UK response

Dame Chi Onwurah, Labour chair of the House of Commons science, technology and innovation committee, says it is positive that the government is assessing the impact of being cut off, but adds that ministers also need a plan to address what she calls unacceptable dependency. She says her committee has repeatedly warned that the government needs a realistic strategy to build sovereign capabilities in critical areas or risk losing access at the discretion of partners.

Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre and now a professor at Oxford university, says the Fable 5 export control episode is reassuring in some respects because Anthropic removed the model from the market rather than meaningfully separating nationals from foreigners. Even so, he warns that the U.S. ability to control and use the broader AI stack to pressure other countries could be significant.

Officials say the UK government is investing in domestic AI capabilities through its 1.1 billion pound AI hardware plan and 500 million pound sovereign AI fund. The government says it takes national and economic security seriously, is planning for a range of scenarios, and has put AI at the centre of its agenda through a cabinet-level minister, a new task force and investment in computing power for advanced AI development in Britain.

Our earlier coverage of Anthropic’s IPO filing focused on the company’s move toward a public debut and the surge in investor attention visible in secondary-market trading. We noted that Anthropic’s pricing momentum and record bid/ask volumes pointed to strong demand for major private AI names, helping shape expectations for valuation and sentiment as the sector approaches key listings.

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