UK ex-PM Rishi Sunak cleared for paid advisory roles with American tech giants
London (PTI): Britain's former prime minister Rishi Sunak has been cleared by a UK government watchdog to take on part-time paid advisory roles with tech giant Microsoft and AI firm Anthropic, both based in the US.
Sunak, who is now a backbench Conservative Party MP for Richmond and Northallerton, had approached the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments under the government's "Business Appointment Rules for Former Ministers".
The committee, which published its decision on Thursday, said Sunak should not draw on any “privileged information” available to him from his time in the prime ministerial office. He is also constrained from lobbying the government on behalf of either of the firms for at least two years.
"As the former prime minister, you will have been privy to a range of high-level sensitive information on more or less all government-related matters. Further, during your time in office, you had extensive industry engagement with companies and organisations within the AI and tech sector,” reads the committee's advice.
"The committee recognised the risks associated with your access to information are somewhat limited due to the passage of time and political and economic changes. It also considered it likely you will be seen to have privileged insight from your dealings with the tech and AI sector as prime minister, albeit some months ago. Consequently, a condition has been imposed to limit your role and reduce the scope for risks under government rules,” it stated.
Sunak told the watchdog that all proceeds from his new roles will be donated to The Richmond Project, an education charity he founded with his wife, Akshata Murty, to tackle numeracy issues among children in the UK.
“I have long believed that technology will transform our world and play a key part in determining our future,” said Sunak.
“We stand on the edge of a technological revolution whose impacts will be as profound as those of the industrial revolution: and felt more quickly. In my role as a senior adviser, I want to help these companies ensure that this shift delivers the improvements in all of our lives that it can,” he said.
The British Indian politician's latest roles follow a re-entry into the banking world as Senior Adviser at the Goldman Sachs Group, announced in July. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs as a summer intern in Investment Banking in 2000 and later as an analyst between 2001 and 2004.
His career in politics started when he was elected Tory MP in 2015 and went on to be appointed a junior minister, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, before taking charge as Britain's first prime minister of Indian heritage in October 2022. The 45-year-old MP moved to the backbenches of Parliament after the Tories lost the general election in July 2024.
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Karnataka: Six men break into jewellery shop; loot gold, silver worth over Rs 40 lakh
Haveri (Karnataka) (PTI): Six unidentified men allegedly broke into a jewellery shop and decamped with gold and silver articles worth over Rs 40 lakh in this district in the wee hours of Saturday, police said.
The theft occurred at a jewellery shop in Chikkanshihosur village in Hanagal taluk of Haveri district between 1.45 am and 2.30 am, they said.
According to police, the six men, with their faces covered and wearing gloves, allegedly broke into the shop after midnight by cutting open both shutters.
After gaining entry, they covered three of the four CCTV cameras installed inside the shop and decamped with a safe locker. However, their act was recorded on one CCTV camera that was not covered.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said 19 kg of silver items worth Rs 21 lakh and 219 grams of gold ornaments worth Rs 22 lakh were stolen from the shop.
A case of theft has been registered, he said.
“We have some clues about the vehicle used to transport the stolen jewellery, and efforts are underway to trace the vehicle and nab the suspects involved in the theft,” he added.
Further investigation is underway.
