Burnham gives AI minister cabinet role as tech department is scrapped

Kanishka Narayan will attend cabinet as the UK’s minister for AI, even as Prime Minister Andy Burnham scraps the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. DSIT was created by the Conservative Sunak government in 2023, and its responsibilities will now be divided between other departments, leaving the government without a dedicated technology secretary after Liz Kendall was sacked.

Narayan, appointed by Sir Keir Starmer, entered Parliament in 2024 as MP for the Vale of Glamorgan after working in government and business. His previous brief covered AI opportunities, the AI Security Institute, semiconductors and online safety. He said Burnham’s decision reflected a deep commitment to AI’s importance, while warning that the technology also poses risks around jobs and the pace of change.

Tech and academic figures said the reshuffle creates both opportunity and uncertainty. Startup Coalition chief Dom Hallas said the government must not slow progress on technology adoption. Professor Gina Neff of the University of Cambridge said ministers face a major challenge in making economic gains visible before job losses emerge. Professor Adam Beaumont of AQL said resilience, domestic compute capacity, data centres and reliable grid power should be urgent priorities.