Revealed: UK’s multibillion AI drive is built on ‘phantom investments’

Exclusive: Rented datacentres and supercomputer' site that's still a scaffolding yard raise questions for Starmer's push to mainline AI into veins of economy'

• From press release ... to scrap metal site: the Essex supercomputer that's still a scaffolding yard

A multibillion-pound drive to mainline AI into the veins" of the British economy is riddled with phantom investments" and shaky accounting, a Guardian investigation has found.

Since 2024, successive Conservative and Labour governments have proclaimed massive deals to build new datacentres, create thousands of jobs and construct a supercomputer.