In an exclusive interview with WIRED to coincide with the UK government’s pre-budget announcement of a series of measures to support innovation and technology, prime minister Theresa May offered further thoughts on how Twitter accounts associated with the Russian Federation have been used to spread disinformation to disrupt politics in the UK and Europe.
"What is crucial at the moment is the challenge that Russia is posing in terms of the norms-based international order, and we will work to protect that and we will work with our allies on that particular issue,” said May. “It doesn’t have to be like this – Russia could be a different sort of country in a different sort of place and could choose a different path, but while they’re acting in the way they are, then we will do what we need to do in order to protect ourselves."
Speaking at Downing Street following a round table meeting with entrepreneurs and innovators such as Brent Hoberman, Eileen Burbidge and Ali Parsa, May emphasised that Britain would continue to compete for the best talent with an announcement that it would double the number of Tier 1 visas – for those with exceptional abilities – from 1,000 to 2,000. That number includes the creative industries and art, as well as science and technology. Individuals will need to be endorsed by a body such as the Arts Council England, The British Academy, The Royal Society, The Royal Academy of Engineering or Tech City UK.
“Obviously, the point about talent is an important one and we recognise that,” the prime minister said. “We’ve announced today that we’ll be increasing the number of visas available to the brightest and best tech talent in to the UK. We also discussed how we can help to develop tech talent here in the UK, and ensure that that’s being seen across the range, not just in schools.”
The round table was followed by a reception that brought to mind the era of the coalition, when the tech community was energetically courted by government. During a brief speech, May acknowledged the work of British pioneers such as Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing as well as UK-based companies innovating in autonomous vehicles, digital healthcare and computing. Privately, some entrepreneurs have voiced concerns that the current administration, burdened by Brexit, had lost momentum when it came to policy that supports the technology industry. The new set of initiatives appear designed both to re-engage the tech community, promote innovation hubs outside London and address some of the concerns of entrepreneurs and investors regarding Brexit.
Read more: Here's the first evidence Russia used Twitter to influence Brexit
“Our industrial strategy is based on the belief that our economy does best when government and industry work together as partners,” May told those gathered at the reception, including chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond; minister of state for digital, Matt Hancock – who spoke recently at WIRED's two-day conference; Liz Truss, chief secretary to the Treasury; Greg Clark, the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy and Karen Bradley, secretary of state for culture, media and sport. “And that’s why we committed in our election manifesto to developing a digital charter – with a vision to make Britain the very best place in the world to start and run a digital business.”
One of the concerns expressed by investors has been the impact of potentially diminished access to the European Investment Fund (EIF) when Britain withdraws from the EU. The fund has provided billions to UK-based venture-capital firms, and is often seen to add a halo effect, encouraging other institutional investors to commit.
“It’s not a given that we’re going to lose that access after Brexit. That is one of the issues that we’ll be negotiating as part of looking to what the future partnership between us and the European Union should be,” the prime minister said. “We’re very clear here in the UK of the importance of investment and attracting that investment and ensuring that the resource is there for companies to start or to be developed, but don’t believe that just because we’ve announced that we’re leaving the EU, that we automatically won’t have access to the EIF funding. That’s something that we’ll be negotiating.”
The government is keen to emphasise that financing for technology hasn’t slowed since the referendum, citing £5.6 billion investment in tech in the UK in the first half of 2017. A further initiative announced yesterday seeks to build a network of government-backed tech clusters throughout the country, by committing £21 million to expand Tech City UK, the Old Street-based organisation that supports startups through development programmes and mentoring. As part of this, Tech City UK and Tech North will become a single organisation, Tech Nation, with 12 regional hubs, initially in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff that will aim to support 4,000 startups.
“One of things that I’m very keen to do is to make sure that we don’t just see the tech sector here in the UK as being very much concentrated in London,” May said. “Its presence in London is hugely important, but we had people around the table today from the northwest, from Bristol, from Belfast and we’ve announced that we’re providing the funding for Tech City to expand into Tech Nation – actually taking these issues nationwide and encouraging entrepreneurship in the tech sector nationwide.”
Britain’s expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics was acknowledged, with £20 million committed to encouraging partnerships between the private and public sectors in order to tackle challenges faced by the latter through the application of deep tech. The government also committed £20 million to develop skills around cybersecurity: as part of this, the National Cyber Security Centre will offer apprenticeships and bursaries to young people. During her speech, May emphasised the confidence that large tech companies have placed in the UK through investment. But, as the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, led by Damian Collins, continues to investigate the activities of Russian-linked trolls during the referendum, there is an ongoing conversation regarding the role of large technology companies in disseminating propaganda aimed at damaging UK national interests.
“Talking to the tech companies is a wider issue. We are working with tech companies on whole variety of issues around digital security,” May said. “That’s important in terms of the internet for young people, for example. This is a whole conversation we’re having with tech companies, which is very important.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
