An investigation into the UK's policy on AI datacentres has found that the government developed it without holding a single meeting with environmental groups. Spotlight on Corruption, using freedom of information requests, found that senior officials had extensive contact with businesses while community and environmental voices were largely absent from the process.

What the freedom of information requests found

Over 12 months, Spotlight on Corruption filed 40 freedom of information requests to 18 government agencies, covering meetings held between July 2024 and June 2026. The records showed a stark imbalance:

• •Ministers, permanent secretaries and directors general developing the policy met 137 businesses, some of them several times, to discuss Britain's datacentre policy.
• •Senior officials met only two community groups, and no environmental organisations at all.
• •The meetings with civil society groups that did take place were held a few days before the policy launched, meaning those groups had no meaningful input into it.

Kamila Kingstone, campaign lead at Spotlight on Corruption, said the failure went to the top of government:

A revolving door into AI companies

The investigation also described what it called a "considerable revolving door" shaping the government's development of AI growth zones. Between July 2024 and September 2026, 38 ministers, senior civil servants and special advisers were hired into positions at AI companies. Top officials among them left government for jobs at OpenAI and Anthropic.

Nine of those 38 departures came from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Among them were a former minister for AI and intellectual property, a former AI adviser to the prime minister and a former director of AI opportunities, as well as a deputy director of AI international policy and a head of AI engineering.

The true scale of business contact may be larger than the records show. The investigation noted that many further meetings would not have been disclosed because the policy was led by special adviser Jade Leung, whose role is subject to far less stringent transparency requirements than ministers'.

The AI growth zones plan and its critics

The policy at the centre of the investigation is the plan for AI growth zones, which promise massive datacentres across five regions. Keir Starmer described the ambition as, in his words, "mainlining AI into the veins" of the country. The planned datacentres, often in partnership with US tech companies, would in some cases be larger than any datacentre built in Britain so far, and were said to bring thousands of jobs.

The figures behind those promises have been questioned. Guardian investigations cited financial figures that were not audited and projections for job creation described as exaggerated. Government departments themselves appear to diverge on how much electricity the datacentre plans will actually require, and on the environmental cost that implies.

Spotlight on Corruption found that Canada, Germany and Australia consulted far more widely before introducing datacentres, and applied more stringent environmental criteria. The group said the UK had "fallen behind equivalent jurisdictions" in developing an equitable strategy.

Communities push back and government responds

Opposition to planned developments has grown, with campaign groups protesting in places ranging from Auchtertool, a rural village north of Edinburgh, to Brick Lane in east London.

Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, said the government needed to seek greater community input, pointing to the backlash in the United States. "It is critically important that AI benefits communities and is also shaped by them," she said. She added that the US backlash over datacentres imposed without adequate consultation was influencing the midterms: "We can see the backlash influencing the midterms."

The government defended its approach through a spokesperson, who said: "We are clear that datacentres should create British jobs, strengthen supply chains and deliver benefits for the communities that host them". The spokesperson added that datacentres should prioritise clean power and use water responsibly. The government has also announced measures allowing English local authorities hosting datacentres in AI growth zones to keep all the additional business rates they generate.