After rejecting calls to pause frontier AI development, U.K. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall is facing backlash from PauseAI UK, which accuses the government of downplaying serious risks tied to advanced AI systems. 

The criticism follows Kendall’s remarks at an event hosted by the Royal United Services Institute on April 28, where she dismissed proposals to halt AI progress, describing them as a “betrayal of British talent.” In response, PauseAI UK urged the government to support an international agreement to temporarily halt the development of frontier AI systems until their safety and governance can be reliably ensured.

“No serious advocate is calling for Britain to shut down its AI industry unilaterally. We are calling for an international agreement and we expect the country that hosted the Bletchley Park Summit to lead it, not duck it. , said Joseph Miller, Director, PauseAI UK, in a statement.

Pause AI and several other AI safety groups have been staging protests in London, San Francisco, U.S. and other cities of Europe against frontier AI research, especially towards superintelligence, deeming it as having a severely adverse impact on humanity.

Also Read: “Just Say You’ll Pause If Everyone Pauses”: Activist Who Led America’s Largest Anti-AI Protest

The scientific problem of making advanced AI reliably do what its operators intend remains unsolved. Hundreds of researchers, including Turing Award winners Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, have publicly warned that mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside pandemics and nuclear war,” said Miller.

Our response here: https://t.co/uGxiJBlLNg

— PauseAI UK (@PauseAI_UK) April 30, 2026

Concerns over frontier AI research have intensified following Anthropic’s preview of its Claude Mythos model, which the company itself warns could pose serious cybersecurity risks to global digital infrastructure. Countries like U.S., U.K. Singapore and India have warned banks and businesses to brace for sophisticated AI led cyberattacks in future.

Also Read: Claude Mythos: Imminent Threat or Marketing Hype by Anthropic?

In their statement, PauseAI has referred to the Mythos model and a latest test report from U.K based AI Security Institute (AISI) which has claimed that Anthropic’s latest model has outperformed its competitors.

“The next meeting of the international network of AI Security Institutes, chaired by the UK, will be held in July. We hope to see AI safety prominent on the agenda. We speak for a growing number of concerned citizens who wish to see the UK government take a leading role in bringing us closer to an AI treaty that protects us all,” Miller said.