Labour pressed over concessions after £30bn tech deal with US firms during Trump state visit

Labour is facing questions about what concessions it may have offered to secure a multi‑billion‑pound agreement with US technology companies announced during US President Donald Trump's state visit.

The deal, described by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as a "general step change" in Britain’s relationship with the United States, is intended to bolster cooperation on artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nuclear power and is expected to bring tens of billions of pounds of investment into the UK.

Downing Street said the package, billed as a "tech prosperity deal," could speed development of medicines and other life‑saving treatments by funding an expansion of AI infrastructure. The announcement included a wider £31 billion of investment commitments from US technology companies, of which about £22 billion was attributed to Microsoft. Google committed £5 billion over the next two years, including spending on a data centre in Hertfordshire.

Conservative politicians and some industry observers have asked what the government has offered in return. Shadow Technology Secretary Julia Lopez urged transparency over any concessions and who might make up for lost revenue, saying Labour "must be open about what concessions they have made to get this deal over the line, and who instead they'll be trying to tax to make up for lost revenue." Tory critics highlighted reports that US firms pressed for the removal of the UK's digital services tax and for copyright exceptions that would allow companies to use UK creative material to train AI models.

The digital services tax, a 2% levy on online search engines and social media companies, raises about £800 million a year. The US administration has repeatedly criticised the levy as unfairly targeting American firms, and UK ministers now face scrutiny over whether the tax was discussed as part of negotiations.

There are also concerns within parts of the creative industries and among rights holders about proposals that could permit AI companies broader access to copyrighted material without payment. Government statements on the deal did not set out detailed tradeoffs on tax or copyright, and officials said further details would be published in due course.

Energy and environmental implications of the investment were also raised. Data centres and AI infrastructure can require substantial power, and critics warned that rapid expansion could complicate the government's Net Zero targets. Tory energy spokesman Claire Coutinho said, "Britain will not grow or make the most of AI or advanced manufacturing without access to cheap, reliable and abundant energy. Labour's obsession with Net Zero is delivering the opposite."

Downing Street and the companies involved framed the investment as creating jobs, skills and regional growth. Officials said cooperation would target strategic technologies, including quantum computing and advanced manufacturing, and noted potential public‑health benefits from faster development of diagnostics and treatments.

The announcement came amid the high‑profile state visit by President Trump this week. Government sources said the agreement is intended to deepen transatlantic collaboration in critical technologies and to attract private capital to UK research and infrastructure.

Questions over the precise terms of the deal have prompted calls for further disclosure from opposition parties and campaign groups representing artists, publishers and digital rights organisations. Ministers have said further details of investment timelines, project locations and any regulatory changes will be set out as plans are finalised.

Analysts said that the scale of the commitments, if realised, would be significant for the sector but cautioned that the headline figures do not automatically translate into immediate spending or domestic job creation, and that regulatory and planning hurdles could affect delivery.

Parliamentary scrutiny and industry consultation are likely to continue as the government works to translate the announced commitments into concrete projects. For now, the agreement marks a high‑profile attempt to secure private investment in AI and related technologies while prompting debate about the balance between securing capital and protecting tax receipts, creative rights and environmental commitments.