Tony Blair and Nick Clegg hosted dinner giving tech bosses access to UK minister | Tony Blair

Official documents have revealed that Tony Blair and Nick Clegg hosted a private dinner earlier this year that gave a select group of tech entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet a key minister.

The former prime minister, a champion of the technology sector, hosted the dinner at a luxury hotel in London. Tony Blair Institute (TBI) political advisor.

He and Clegg, the former deputy prime minister who was then a senior executive at Meta, invited leaders of six technology companies to dine with Poppy Gustafsson, the government’s investment minister responsible for persuading firms to invest in Britain.

Blair is an evangelical advocate for technology’s revolutionary potential to transform faltering public services and has long forged alliances with leaders in the industry. His consultancy reflects much of this effort through a series of policy papers arguing that AI should be placed at the center of government.

But critics worry that Blair, who is known to be close to Keir Starmer’s government, could set the agenda without sufficient public scrutiny. There were also questions about whether Blair’s consultancy relied on donations from Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison, a friend of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Ellison, who briefly became the world’s richest person this year, has donated or pledged more than $300 million to Blair’s consultancy.

Documents provided to the Guardian under freedom of information legislation show how 12 people discussed the government’s evolving policies on artificial intelligence at what was described as a “lounge dinner”.

At the dinner hosted at the five-star Corinthia hotel at the end of January, Lonne Jaffe, general manager of Insight Partners, a US venture capital company that invests in technology companies, was also present.

Additionally, Alex Kendall, general manager of Wayve, which aims to develop autonomous cars; Nigel Toon, chairman of Graphcore, which makes computer chips; and Marc Warner, head of the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence, who last year published a joint document with TBI on how AI can be used improving public services.

A spokesman for Clegg, who co-hosted the dinner as Meta’s head of global affairs, said: “During his time at Meta, Nick Clegg met regularly with government ministers and leaders of other technology companies. As head of policy and global affairs, this was literally his job.”

A TBI spokesman said: “This event was a discussion between technology leaders on a range of topics, with the participation of a minister. No companies were paid to attend.”

The companies represented at the dinner said they do not donate money to TBI and do not rent money.

The dinner shows how Blair’s consultancy is working to advance his pro-technology agenda. Rapidly expanding TBI in operation With more than 900 staff in 45 countries. Latest accounts show revenue from a mix of fees from referrals and donations totaling $145 million in 2022. The identities of most of its donors and customers are kept secret.

The consultancy has faced criticism that its policy positions are shaped by the business interests of its donors, a charge it has denied. He was also criticized for continuing to receive money from Saudi Arabia following the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Blair is a candidate to play a leading role in the reconstruction of post-war Gaza.

Weeks before the dinner, the government had given it to TBI a secret summary his action plan for artificial intelligence days before its release. On January 9, Feryal Clark, then a minister at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), spoke to TBI’s director of science policy, Jakob Mokander, at his urging.

The next day, an aide to Clark emailed Mokander: “It was great talking to you yesterday. As a follow-up, please see this confidential summary of the action plan. Thank you for agreeing to have the plan released on Monday through your network and supporting quotes.” Mokander replied: “Thank you for sharing the action plan (confidentiality observed).” Blair Supported the action planWhen it was released on January 13, it aimed to expand the country’s role in developing and using artificial intelligence.

When asked why it had forwarded this document to TBI so early, a DSIT spokesperson said: “We make no apologies for regularly communicating with stakeholders. It is standard practice to share embargoed information with them before announcements.”

A TBI spokesperson said: “It is standard practice for governments to consult experts and involve a wide range of stakeholders when shaping policy. The AI ​​opportunities action plan has rightly drawn on our published work, as the footnotes make clear.”