Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to woo technology bosses in a bid to draw companies to London, bringing with them a post-Brexit boost to the economy.
As part of his vision for the country outside the EU, Mr Johnson wants to lure in big technology companies to list on the London Stock Exchange to beef up Britain in the post-Brexit era.
On Monday, he was expected to meet the founders and bosses of some of the top technology companies to lay out his vision as the government assesses how it can make London a more attractive destination for businesses.
Mr Johnson is eager to divert attention away from the 'partygate' scandal and towards growth. On Monday morning the Cabinet Office announced it had passed Sue Gray's inquiry to Downing Street. The senior civil servant had been probing a string of allegations of parties in Number 10 during lockdown.
Representatives of Quantexa, Bought by Many, Oxford Nanopore and OakNorth were among those expected to speak with the prime minister at Downing Street.
Attracting technology companies is a key component of the Conservative government’s vision for post-Brexit Britain.
Digital Minister Chris Philp said the message being put forward by the government at the meetings in No 10 would be that “business is booming in the UK; the tech sector, in particular, is powering ahead”.
He said last year was a “phenomenal year” for the UK, with a 15-year record amount raised on the stock exchange, a third of which went to technology.
“Our message is going to be: the UK is very much open for business, we are supporting our tech firms to locate here, to grow here,“ he told Sky News. “Whatever policy levers we need to pull to make it possible for them to succeed even more, we will be pulling.
“And, specifically, the companies we are meeting today are potentially going to be considering listing in the coming months or years and our message is we would love them to list here in London as part of our booming tech ecosystem which the government is determined to do even more to support.”
Ms Gray had initially been expected to release her report last week but the date was pushed back. The delay in the release of the findings has allowed Mr Johnson to buy extra time to try to boost his public image.
Last week, police in London announced they were conducting a criminal investigation into party allegations in Downing Street during lockdown.
