Rishi Sunak was appointed as a paid, part-time senior adviser to both Microsoft and Anthropic in October 2025, after leaving office as UK prime minister in July 2024. The roles were not announced merely as proposals: they were covered by advice from the UK Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).
ACOBA permitted the appointments subject to restrictions on lobbying, confidential information, government contacts, public contracts and advice on UK policy. It also made clear that its advice was not an endorsement of the jobs.
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What happened?
Sunak left Downing Street in July 2024. In October 2025, official ACOBA records documented two separate appointments: Senior Advisor to Microsoft Corporation and Senior Advisor to Anthropic PBC.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallBoth were described as paid, part-time roles. The documents do not describe Sunak as a director, executive or board member. They describe advisory work focused on broad strategic issues rather than operational management or direct representation of either company to the UK government.
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The official chronology and advice letters are available from ACOBA, along with the separate Microsoft letter and Anthropic letter.
What Sunak was expected to do for Microsoft
The Microsoft advice letter says Sunak’s work would involve high-level perspectives on:
- macroeconomic and geopolitical trends;
- technology and society;
- innovation and regulation; and
- digital transformation.
He was also expected to speak at Microsoft’s annual summit and other company events. The role was described as internally focused. In particular, Sunak was not to advise Microsoft on specific UK policy matters or contact the UK government on the company’s behalf.
That distinction matters because Microsoft has extensive dealings with the UK public sector. The ACOBA letter refers to an October 2024 memorandum of understanding associated with approximately £9 billion of public-sector spending over five years through commercial arrangements and procurement frameworks. The figure is cited in the committee’s assessment; it is not evidence that Sunak helped Microsoft obtain contracts.
What Sunak was expected to do for Anthropic
The Anthropic role was also a paid, part-time senior-adviser position. Its stated focus was broader strategy, macroeconomic and geopolitical issues, and the relationship between technology, economies, security and society.
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The advice letter characterises the work as internal advice rather than external lobbying. It excludes advice on specific UK policy matters and limits the role to subjects that do not conflict with Sunak’s former government responsibilities.
Anthropic’s UK links made the appointment especially sensitive. In February 2025, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding with Anthropic covering possible uses of AI in public services, responsible deployment, security research, economic and workforce analysis, and support for the UK AI ecosystem. That relationship makes the boundary between internal strategy and government lobbying particularly important.
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Why the appointments raised conflict-of-interest concerns
Sunak was not an ordinary former officeholder entering an unrelated industry. As prime minister from October 2022 to July 2024, he was closely involved in the UK’s technology and AI agenda.
His government hosted the UK AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023 and announced the UK’s AI Safety Institute. He also engaged with major technology companies and oversaw policy areas involving digital markets, competition, regulation, public services and government procurement.
The concern is therefore not limited to whether Sunak personally lobbied ministers. A former prime minister may offer value through knowledge of government priorities, relationships with senior officials and political insight. Even internal strategic advice could affect a company’s approach to regulation, public-sector opportunities or government relations.
ACOBA said there was no evidence that Sunak made decisions in office in anticipation of the Anthropic appointment. The Cabinet Office was also not aware of decisions specifically benefiting Anthropic rather than the technology sector generally. That finding does not mean there was no potential conflict; it explains why the committee assessed the risk as manageable with conditions.
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The Microsoft and Anthropic advice letters contain broadly similar safeguards:
- Confidential information: Sunak must not disclose or use privileged information obtained during ministerial office.
- Personal lobbying: For two years from his last day in ministerial office, he must not personally lobby the UK government or its arm’s-length bodies for either company.
- Government contacts: He must not use government or ministerial contacts to influence policy, secure funding or obtain an unfair commercial advantage.
- Government contracts: He must not advise either company on the terms or subject matter of UK government bids or contracts.
- Scope of advice: His work must remain limited to permitted strategic, macroeconomic and geopolitical matters.
- Policy matters: He must not advise on non-public matters or public matters where his former role as prime minister could create a perceived conflict.
- Initiating engagement: He must not initiate contact with the UK government for either company.
The two-year restriction was calculated from Sunak’s precise final day in ministerial office in July 2024. The official summary identifies the month but not the exact day, so it would be inaccurate to state a precise expiry date without confirming that date.
The restrictions are also not a blanket statement that Sunak can never interact with government. They are conditions attached to the appointments and operate alongside other rules, including those administered by the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Registrar of Lords’ Interests.
Did ACOBA approve or clear the appointments?
Not in the ordinary sense of endorsing them. ACOBA assessed the appointments under the Business Appointment Rules and issued conditional advice intended to reduce the risks. Its letters expressly state that the advice is not an endorsement of the appointments.
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That is an important distinction. “ACOBA allowed the roles subject to conditions” is accurate. “ACOBA cleared Sunak” can suggest that the committee found no conflict, which it did not.
Was Sunak personally paid?
Yes. Both positions were described as paid appointments, although the official material reviewed does not provide a compensation figure.
Sunak told ACOBA that he would donate the Microsoft salary to The Richmond Project, a charity he launched in 2025, and would not personally financially benefit from that appointment. Contemporary reporting also said compensation from both roles would be directed to the charity.
That arrangement addresses one question—whether Sunak would retain the salary personally—but not all the public-interest concerns. A paid appointment can still provide professional status, institutional influence, access to corporate decision-makers and a platform for a former prime minister. Donating compensation does not remove the potential value of his advice to the companies or the perception that political access may be involved.
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What is known about the current status?
The appointments were publicly documented in October 2025. The official material identified here confirms the roles and their conditions, but does not establish whether either appointment was later expanded, changed or terminated.
Accordingly, the safest description is that Sunak was appointed as a senior adviser to Microsoft and Anthropic. It should not be presented as a newly announced 2026 appointment, and the available material does not justify claiming that both roles definitely continue unchanged.
The advice letters also state that a change in the nature of either role may require a fresh application. The sources reviewed do not establish a later change or a breach of the conditions.
How should the appointments be judged?
There are reasonable arguments on both sides.
Why the roles can be defended
- Sunak had left government before taking the appointments.
- The roles were part-time and described as internal and strategic.
- ACOBA imposed detailed restrictions on lobbying, information and government business.
- The Cabinet Office found no evidence of decisions made specifically in anticipation of the Anthropic role.
- Sunak said the compensation would be donated rather than retained personally.
- Former senior politicians can offer legitimate expertise on geopolitics, regulation and public-sector strategy.
Why scrutiny remains justified
- Microsoft has significant commercial interests involving UK government procurement and public-sector technology.
- Anthropic operates in a sector directly affected by UK AI policy and had an active relationship with the UK government.
- Sunak helped shape the policy environment in which both companies operate.
- “Internal” advice can still influence regulatory expectations, market strategy and public-sector planning.
- His personal relationships and reputation may create perceived access even without direct lobbying.
- The safeguards depend substantially on the companies and Sunak complying with them.
The wider revolving-door question
The central issue extends beyond Sunak. Governments need access to technical expertise, while companies often value people who understand how public decisions are made. The risk arises when a former decision-maker moves quickly into a role involving companies affected by policies, contracts or relationships from that person’s time in office.
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- Access: Can the former officeholder provide insight into government priorities or personnel?
- Influence: Could their relationships create actual or perceived access to ministers and officials?
- Information: Could confidential knowledge from public office still have commercial value?
- Safeguards: Are the restrictions specific, transparent and capable of being monitored?
In Sunak’s case, the official documents provide meaningful boundaries, but they do not eliminate the underlying tension. “Not personally lobbying” does not mean “having no influence”, and a donation of the salary does not mean the appointment has no institutional or reputational value.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Rishi Sunak’s appointments to Microsoft and Anthropic were real, paid, part-time senior-adviser roles announced in October 2025. ACOBA imposed restrictions intended to prevent lobbying, misuse of confidential information and conflicts involving UK policy or government contracts, but it did not endorse the appointments or declare the wider revolving-door concerns irrelevant.
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