About 30 House of Lords members have financial ties to AI and data-centre firms

Around 30 members of the House of Lords have financial interests in tech firms involved in the AI boom, including companies that develop and supply data centres, an analysis by the Sunday National of the latest Register of Lords' Interests found. Their connections range from shareholdings to senior advisory roles, and six peers have current or recent direct interests in the data-centre industry.

Two of them took part in parliamentary scrutiny of legislation relevant to the industry. Lord Banner, a strategic adviser to data-centre and energy fund DC Infra Partners, took part in scrutiny of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Lord Holmes advised data-centre cooling firm Submer Technologies until April 2026 and has spoken in debates on data-centre energy use. Former prime minister Lord Cameron declares a role as senior adviser to Scale AI.

All the interests were disclosed in parliamentary records, and there is no suggestion that any peer broke the rules. Steve Goodrich of Transparency International UK said many peers hold outside engagements that "skirt very close" to the ban on lobbying for paying clients. The findings come as Scotland alone has at least 24 data centres at various stages of planning.