An excerpt from Security Minister Dan Jarvis’ speech for the annual International Security Expo on 30 September 2026.
…In April, we launched a £500 million Sovereign AI Fund with a clear message that the UK must be “an AI maker, not just an AI taker”.
The objective is to ensure strategically important AI companies start, scale and remain in the UK, rather than being acquired or moving overseas.
And as the world’s attention shifts dramatically to the risks of AI, I am proud that the UK is home to one of the world’s leading AI Security Institutes.
Earlier this year, the government announced new measures, including the introduction of dedicated National Security Procurement Leads, to leverage some of the annual £400 billion spent on public procurement to strengthen resilience, support British industry and protect critical supply chains.
Because where it is right to do so, government spending should not simply buy capability.
It should also help sustain the skills, technologies, supply chains and industrial capacity that our country relies upon.
The government has already confirmed that British-founded firms have secured billions of pounds of additional public contracts under this approach, helping support jobs, innovation and growth across key sectors of the UK economy.
And there is more we can do.
Because we recognise that technological advantage and industrial resilience are central to our security and economic success.
Artificial intelligence. Cyber security. Secure communications. Counter-drone capability. Next-generation screening and detection. Advanced data analytics. These are strategic capabilities for the United Kingdom. And many are being developed by businesses right here in this room.
The numbers, as always, tell a powerful story. The UK’s security and resilience sector now generates £27.6 billion in annual turnover, supports almost 150,000 jobs, and has grown dramatically over the last decade. The latest figures for exports reached £12.9 billion in 2024 – accounting for roughly half of all sector revenue – and positioning the UK third globally for market share, after the US and China.
Just as importantly, this is a sector which creates opportunities across the whole country.
More than half of security sector jobs are located outside London, helping drive growth, productivity and prosperity in every region of the UK.
And as Security Minister, I want to do everything to support the continued growth of the sector.
That means creating opportunities both at home and abroad.
The government recognises security as a sector where the UK possesses genuine competitive advantage.
The export statistics demonstrate the trust that partners around the world place in British innovation, British expertise and British standards.
That is why the Home Office is working closely with our diplomatic network to help UK companies compete internationally, as well as with colleagues across BIST – the newly expanded Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
That support means connecting companies with overseas decision-makers. Encouraging trade missions. And using ministerial and diplomatic engagement to open doors in high-growth markets…
Source: gov.uk
