Darren Jones says Westminster must get better at governing for a world with AI
Westminster and Whitehall need to get better at using the tools they have to manage artificial intelligence (AI), Sir Keir Starmer’s Secretary General has said.
Speaking on BBC’s Question Time, Darren Jones said: “We have the tools but we need to modernize and adapt the way Government and Parliament work to keep up with the pace of technology.”
He described a “speed issue” that lawmakers were grappling with.
But Mr Jones also said: “I feel I can use the law and regulation in a way that is pro-innovation, great for the economy and public services, but also protects the interests of the British people.”
Parliament passed the Crime and Policing Bill earlier this year.
In it, the Government was given new, flexible power to amend the Online Safety Act 2023 to help it deal with AI bots producing potentially illegal content.
Conservative shadow Home Secretary Lord Davies of Gower described it as “the mother of all Henry VIII’s powers”, referring to a mechanism that allows ministers to change parts of the law without the need for a new bill.
He said this had “far-reaching constitutional implications” and added: “Ministers will now be able to amend the entire Online Safety Act 2023 as they wish.”
The law also prohibited the manufacture, modification or provision of nudification tools that could create deepfake intimate images of natural persons without their consent.
Mr Jones said: “Technology is developing too quickly and the way our democracy creates legislation is too slow.”
The Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to the House of Commons in late February 2025, but did not become law until the end of April this year, a 14-month process.
Mr Jones continued: “The last government introduced the first real legislation on the Online Safety Act, but it took eight years to complete.”
He later said: “One of the things we had to do now was we had to give statutory powers to the Technology Secretary (Liz Kendall) before we consulted her about things we might want to change in the future, so that she could legislate more quickly without having to wait eight years to be able to do it again with new legislation.”
Mr Jones has previously said Britain needs to “invest heavily” in new and emerging technologies to improve “jobs, wages and public services in the coming years”.
He also said: “In the United States, you basically allow harm to occur, then you sue someone and the law resolves it.
“In the European Union they try to predict the outcome, they actually regulate this area quite poorly, and then they completely prevent innovation from happening.
“What we are really good at in the UK is legislating for consequences and making good regulations – ‘they shouldn’t harm children’.
“If you provide healthcare, it must be based on clear evidence that you are not harming the patient.”
Conservative shadow tech secretary Julia Lopez, who appeared on the programme, warned: “Labor is driving up the cost of employing people, it’s driving up the cost of energy, so these tech companies can’t stand here.”
He continued: “This situation creates uncertainty in the legislation.
“It is doing a very poor job of implementing AI within the Government, so the cost to the Government is rising – Labor had 8,000 more civil servants under it than before”.
Ms. Lopez also said: “You can’t throw away this technology, but you can try and build a really strong ecosystem in this country.
“And I think on those basic grounds Labor gets a lot of things wrong.”
On Thursday Prime Minister Sir Keir defended his approach to artificial intelligence.
In a Substack post he wrote: “Far from being left behind when it comes to AI, Britain is at the front of the pack.
“This is not rhetoric. Britain is widely recognized by leaders in this sector as a growing and dominant AI player.”
He pointed to investments in data centers in Loughton, Essex and Blyth, Northumberland, as evidence of investment in technology across the country.
“It improves our public services, particularly the NHS,” he said.
“And as we build this future, we are taking measures that strengthen our sovereignty and ensure that we are AI rule makers, not rule makers.
“Once again, our principles come into play. Not just passively accepting our economic destiny, but actively shaping the future. Taking control. Unlocking the potential of the entire country.”
