UK government’s deal with Google ‘dangerously naive’, say campaigners

Company to provide free technology and upskill' civil servants but concerns raised over UK data being held on US servers

Google has agreed a sweeping deal with the UK government to provide free technology to the public sector from the NHS to local councils- a move campaigners have called dangerously naive".

The US company will be asked to upskill" tens of thousands of civil servants in technology, including in using artificial intelligence, as part of an agreement that will not require the government to pay. It is considered in Whitehall to be giving Google a foot in the door" as the digitisation of public services accelerates.