Matt Clifford, cofounder of Entrepreneurs First and former AI adviser to the UK prime minister, announced Wednesday he will join US AI company Anthropic. The move has sparked backlash over potential conflicts of interest. Steve Gough, CEO of AI governance firm Holistic AI, said: "My concern is that he has had access to sensitive government thinking on AI policy...

It would be inappropriate for someone with that insight to move directly to a frontier lab." Critics including Zoe Kleinman, Rory Cellan-Jones, and Alex Hern echoed concerns about revolving-door dynamics. Clifford defended the decision, stating he will not work on policy or government relations. Nitarshan Rajkumar, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, called it "not cool" and questioned whether Clifford's prior role gave Anthropic an unfair advantage.

The UK government said Clifford followed proper procedures, including a six-month cooling-off period. The debate highlights tensions around regulatory capture as the UK shapes its AI strategy under the AI Safety Institute (AISI).