The UK government will invest £40 million to establish a National Agentic Security Unit to investigate and respond to security incidents involving rogue AI agents, as part of a more than £700 million AI investment package announced in its budget on October 28.
Theo Bearman, Frontier Security Researcher at the Institute for AI Policy and and Strategy and also an AI Regulation and Readiness Policy Lead in the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said in a post on X that the funding will help in developing new capabilities to detect, investigate and respond to cases of rogue agentic systems. This will integrate monitoring and incident response functions with new operational capabilities.
A further announcement today as part of the budget: the UK government has allocated £40m of funding to a new “National Agentic Security Unit” which will “develop new capabilities to detect, investigate and respond to cases of rogue agentic systems. This will integrate monitoring and incident response functions with new operational capabilities.”
https://t.co/5gY7NQ5GVO
— Theo Bearman (@theobearman) October 28, 2026
The government will introduce a new data centre covenant setting out requirements for strategic data centres seeking enhanced government support. These include contributing to local communities, creating jobs, supporting British industry and strengthening national security.
The government’s £165 million National AI Biosecurity Initiative includes £100 million to establish an AI Biosecurity Lab to detect and monitor biological threats, alongside £65 million for bio-surveillance and medical countermeasures against priority pathogens.
OpenAI and Anthropic will provide up to £200 million in AI model credits to support the biosecurity initiative. The lab will also partner with Google DeepMind and London-based AI life sciences company Basecamp Research.
The government has also allocated an additional £120 million to the AI Security Institute to test emerging AI systems, assess their capabilities and risks, and develop technical standards to mitigate potential threats.
The wider package includes £60 million for a National Cyber Shield using agentic AI and £70 million to establish a National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre to identify cyber vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure and the wider economy.
A further £60 million will go to the Sovereign AI Fund to invest in UK AI companies, while another £60 million will support its R&D Procurement Scheme. The package also includes £18 million for an Advanced Chip Design Academy, £15 million for an AI Challenge Prize, £23 million over three years for the AI Economics Institute and £30 million for local AI partnerships.
“AI brings risks that must be addressed, including to online safety, cyber security and jobs. The UK must build on its strengths as Europe’s leading AI economy – raising capability and leverage in areas of strategic importance, whilst reducing dependence on other countries,” the government said.
Also Read: UK Vows £600M in AI Security Funding; Sets Up Biosecurity Lab with OpenAI, Anthropic
