Head of UK's Alan Turing Institute resigns after government funding threat and staff unrest
Chief executive Jean Innes steps down as the national AI charity faces a whistleblowing complaint and calls to shift research toward defence
The chief executive of the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence, has resigned amid staff unrest and a government warning that the charity was at risk of collapse.
Dr Jean Innes said she was stepping down as the institute "completes the current transformation programme" and that the time was right for "new leadership." Her position had come under pressure after Technology Secretary Peter Kyle demanded the centre change its focus to defence and warned that funding could be withdrawn if it did not.
The move follows internal discontent at the charity and a whistleblowing complaint submitted to the Charity Commission. Staff concerns and the ministerial demand prompted scrutiny of the institute’s direction and finances, with government officials saying they expected the body to deliver clear value for taxpayers.
Innes was appointed chief executive in July 2023. In a brief statement, she described it as "a great honour to lead the UK's national institute for data science and artificial intelligence" and framed her departure as part of completing the institute’s current transformation programme.
A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the technology secretary "has been clear on the need for the institute to deliver value for money and maximum impact for taxpayers, and we will continue our work to support that ambition." The department had pressed the institute to redirect effort toward defence-related research, signaling a shift in priorities that officials said reflected broader national security and economic objectives.
The charity model of the Alan Turing Institute has meant it receives public funding while operating with an academic mandate, and recent exchanges with ministers highlighted tensions over how government expectations should shape its research agenda. Staff unrest and the whistleblowing complaint to the Charity Commission raised questions about governance and whether the institute’s internal processes adequately protected research independence and staff concerns.
Institute trustees will now face the task of appointing an interim or permanent replacement and outlining how they will address the issues that prompted the resignation. The trustees have responsibility for the organisation’s governance and for responding to any regulatory oversight resulting from the whistleblowing complaint.
Academics, industry partners and government stakeholders have in recent years looked to the Alan Turing Institute as a central node for AI and data science research in the UK. The institute’s next steps on governance, research priorities and engagement with government funding bodies will be closely watched as ministers press for demonstrable public benefit from taxpayer-supported research.
The institute did not immediately publish a timetable for appointing new leadership. The Charity Commission has not publicly commented on the complaint. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said it would continue to work with the institute to ensure taxpayer investment delivered measurable impact.