LONDON — A Conservative member of the House of Lords is working as a paid adviser to an artificial intelligence firm while serving as the official opposition party’s spokesperson on the emerging tech.
Jonathan Berry, who is known as Viscount Camrose in the Lords, took up the role with Conquer Technology Ltd — which offers AI consulting and software engineering services — in February, months after Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch appointed him as AI lead for the Tories in opposition.
There is no suggestion that Berry — who was Britain’s first AI minister in Rishi Sunak’s government — or Conquer Technology have broken any parliamentary rules with the appointment, which was cleared by the Westminster revolving door watchdog.
However, the role comes amid growing scrutiny of peers’ outside interests and mounting questions about where parliament should draw the line on second jobs.
James Bolton-Jones of campaign group Spotlight on Corruption, which presses for more transparent and accountable institutions in the U.K., warned that Berry’s paid gig with the firm could undermine his ability to weigh in on government AI policy.
“For a shadow minister covering a crucial sector like AI to be dispensing paid-for advice to a firm operating in that sector is an obvious and unacceptable conflict of interest that risks undermining robust and clear-eyed opposition scrutiny of government AI policy at a critical time,” he argued.
Berry was handed the opposition role by Badenoch in September last year. He had previously served as an AI minister in the last Conservative government, meaning his job with Conquer Technology required clearance from Westminster’s revolving door watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).
ACOBA gave the job the green light while imposing additional conditions on Berry’s role to mitigate the risk his “network and influence within government may offer, or be seen to, unfairly advantage” the firm, or that contacts made whilst in office could be used to “gain business.”
Alongside a blanket two-year ban on directly lobbying the U.K. government on behalf of the firm, the watchdog barred Berry for two years from advising the firm or its clients on any policy or regulatory decision he had a material role in developing while in office.
Berry told POLITICO he takes “very great care to avoid any kind of conflict of interest with my parliamentary role, both by precisely following the conditions set by ACOBA, and by being clear with colleagues on the limits of where I can advise.”
The Conservative peer said that while he did not have any outside interests during his time serving as a government minister, “now outside of government, like other members of the House of Lords, including from the front benches of all opposition parties, I can take outside jobs — in the case of former ministers, this is subject to lengthy scrutiny and approval by ACOBA”.
He added: “I don’t recognise any conflict of interest between my work in parliament and my work with Conquer.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson defended Berry taking up the advisory job while serving as an opposition frontbencher, saying: “Unlike the House of Commons, peers are not full-time legislators, and opposition peers do not receive a salary.”
“Peers will have a wide range of outside and paid interests. Firm rules are in place to ensure the declaration of financial interests, and which ban Parliamentary lobbying by peers.”
They added: “Viscount Camrose’s appointment has been approved by ACOBA, and he will update his register of interests and declare his interests in the usual manner in the House.”
‘Unique perspective’
In a LinkedIn post celebrating Berry’s appointment, Conquer’s CEO Jonny Ward said Berry’s “experience as shadow AI minister gives him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities AI presents across business and society. His insight will be invaluable as we continue to grow and support organisations navigating this space.”
Another post from the firm’s LinkedIn page said of the hire: “In his role as shadow AI minister, [Berry] is helping shape the conversation around AI’s impact on society, business, and government.”
A further three Conservative peers have also taken advisory roles with the company, including former Health Minister James Bethell, ex-1922 committee chairman Graham Brady and journalist Daniel Finkelstein.
According to data from the Electoral Commission — the U.K.’s election finance watchdog — the firm has donated over £30,000 to the Conservative Party since 2024.
Green Party peer Jenny Jones warned about the potential for crossover between Berry’s parliamentary role and his outside job with Conquer, which did not respond to a request for comment.
“Where there is money to be made, we see a revolving door between the houses of parliament and the private sector,” she said. “It is particularly egregious for a front-bench politician to take on a second job for a firm directly related to their portfolio.”
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