Anthropic has hired Matt Clifford, a central figure in recent UK artificial intelligence policy, to lead its government-facing work outside North America, according to The Register. Clifford said he is joining the company as managing director of international affairs and will be based in London while working with governments across Europe, Asia-Pacific and elsewhere. The appointment immediately drew scrutiny in Westminster because Clifford also chairs the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, or ARIA, the UK’s high-risk research funding body modeled on the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Register reports that Clifford plans to keep the ARIA chair role while joining Anthropic, and also to retain his role at Entrepreneurs First, the UK venture capital and seed funding company. The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has asked the government to explain how it will prevent conflicts of interest. Dame Chi Onwurah MP, the committee’s chair, said Clifford had made a significant contribution to UK AI policy and that movement between public and private sectors should not be discouraged. But she said his plan to remain ARIA chair while joining a leading AI company created a clear conflict of interest, given ARIA’s use of taxpayer funds for cutting-edge research, some of it AI-related or AI-enabled. Clifford’s policy role is unusually direct. The Register reports that he was commissioned in July 2024 to write the AI Opportunities Action Plan. The government published the plan in January 2025, adopted all 50 recommendations, and appointed Clifford as its AI Opportunities Adviser. That background makes the Anthropic role sensitive even if, as Onwurah noted, the move is within the rules. The concern is not only that Clifford understands the government’s AI policy agenda, but that he will now be responsible for Anthropic’s dealings with governments outside North America while still chairing a public research agency. The Register reports that Clifford plans to recuse himself from ARIA matters involving Anthropic. The committee is looking to the AI Minister to set out safeguards and clear boundaries intended to preserve confidence in ARIA’s independence. In a post on X cited by The Register, Clifford framed the move around the need for industry, governments and civil society to work together on AI’s impact. The policy question now is whether that overlap can be managed cleanly when one person sits at the junction of a frontier AI company, a taxpayer-backed research agency and recent UK AI strategy. Who benefits: Anthropic gains a London-based executive with recent, direct experience shaping UK AI policy and advising government. Clifford’s remit puts him in charge of the company’s work with governments outside North America. Who's exposed: ARIA and the UK government face scrutiny over how public research funding decisions are insulated from Anthropic-related interests. Clifford is also exposed to ongoing questions about recusal, boundaries and public confidence.