Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced the creation of a new National Centre for Information Defence, designed to counter hostile state propaganda and disinformation campaigns, while simultaneously positioning the UK as a leader in establishing global artificial intelligence safety standards. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Burnham described the move as a necessary response to what he termed a “poisonous tide” of interference from nations such as Russia.
In his first major international address since taking office, the Prime Minister accused the Kremlin of investing approximately £1.3 billion annually into information manipulation. He detailed how Russian agencies utilize bots, fake websites, and forged branding targeting 28 British organizations, including universities and the BBC, to sow division and create narratives of national decline. Burnham warned that AI capabilities would further amplify these threats by enabling more sophisticated and scalable disinformation efforts.
To combat these challenges, the new centre will collaborate with intelligence agencies, law enforcement, government departments, and social media platforms to detect and disrupt AI-enabled information warfare. The announcement followed a separate address by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, who dismissed Western concerns as “Russophobia” and accused Western media of promoting anti-Russian fantasies.
Beyond domestic security, Burnham sought to leverage the UK’s relationships with the US and EU to forge international consensus on AI governance. Describing the country as an “honest broker,” he highlighted the UK AI Security Institute, established under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which tests frontier models for safety prior to public release. Burnham pledged to place AI regulation at the center of the UK’s G20 presidency next year, aiming for agreed global principles on transparency, access, and safety.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that while AI is a key driver of economic growth, it also acts as a “multiplier of risk.” He insisted that while developers have made transparency commitments, the government expects “full and total visibility” of model developments and remains open to legislative action if necessary. This stance comes amid reports that AI company Anthropic has refused to submit its latest model for voluntary testing.
Opposition pressure is mounting from both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, as well as former cabinet minister Darren Jones, who urged Burnham to sign the Oslo AI declaration. Supported by over 20 nations, the declaration calls for mandatory pre-release testing and human control over AI, though it has not been signed by major developers the US or China.
Obtaining global cooperation faces significant hurdles. Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump rejected efforts to create a “globalist scheme” for AI control, dismissing existential risk warnings as a “hoax” and stating the US intends to encourage development rather than rein it in. Although Burnham and Trump held a meeting earlier in the day, Downing Street did not confirm whether AI regulation was discussed. A new UK-US partnership focused on protecting critical infrastructure using AI technology was, however, announced alongside the speech.
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