NEWS / SEP.2026
Andy Burnham prepares a UK centre to counter information attacks
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced at the UN on 22 September 2026 that preparations were underway for a centre to counter information attacks by hostile states. The National Centre for Information Defence will be tasked in particular with identifying deepfakes harmful to British interests.
At the UN, Andy Burnham announces preparations for a UK information defence centre
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham tasked security officials with preparatory work for the National Centre for Information Defence on 22 September 2026 at the UN General Assembly. Its announced remit covers detecting, attributing and disrupting information attacks by hostile states.
The future centre will be tasked in particular with identifying deepfakes harmful to British interests, Reuters reports. A deepfake can imitate a person or a scene using audio or images produced or manipulated by AI.
Burnham presents the project as a response to disinformation campaigns by hostile actors and warns that AI will amplify the threat. Such a mission aims to better identify manipulations that can deceive voters or impersonate a person or an organisation.
Burnham also wants to advance global principles on transparency and access to frontier AI during the UK's G20 presidency in 2027. That presidency was announced in November 2025. The proposed AI principles remain negotiating objectives.
Detecting manipulation and tracing its origin
Detecting manipulated content provides information about how it was created. Attributing a campaign to a hostile state requires establishing who organised it. Identifying a deepfake alone leaves this second question open. The centre's remit therefore combines two different tasks before considering action against the attack.
The UK already has the AI Security Institute, a research body responsible for assessing the risks of advanced AI, within the science and technology ministry. The AISI works on model security. The National Centre for Information Defence is a separate undertaking devoted to information attacks.
Intervention methods yet to be specified
Burnham sets the future centre the objective of disrupting information attacks without detailing the means of intervention in his speech. The uncertainty therefore concerns the actions the National Centre for Information Defence could take to limit the effects of a hostile campaign beyond identifying it.