Labour have come under fire this week after Keir Starmer set out an AI action plan on Monday which featured a pledge to increase the UK’s computer capacity 20-fold by 2030, including building a new supercomputer.
Just months before, Labour had shelved a plan to build a high-tech exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh. SNP MSP David Torrance said it would be a “betrayal” if the UK Government now opted to build the machine elsewhere.
But speaking to journalists at the Scottish Parliament, Ian Murray said the Edinburgh project was never axed and was in fact “paused”.
He went on to say that Edinburgh University was still “well placed” to deliver the project.
He said: “Edinburgh was specifically mentioned a number of times in the AI strategy that was announced by the Secretary of State this week.
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“It was really positive. Edinburgh University themselves are really positive about it.
“The £800m was not axed, the project was paused because the £800m didn’t exist.
“Edinburgh University understand that and we’re working with them and have been doing so since the announcement was made in terms of what happens next. It will be resolved in the spending review.”
(Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Asked if Edinburgh was still under consideration for building the supercomputer then, Murray added: “Edinburgh is the AI capital of the world and has been since 1964, so I think Edinburgh is well placed.”
While Murray hinted Edinburgh was still on the table, he did not confirm the location and this was not confirmed in the announcement on Monday either.
It comes after SNP MP Chris Law challenged Technology Minister Peter Kyle on Tuesday asking him if the new supercomputer will now be located in Edinburgh – which he refused to answer.
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Kyle said: “You can’t cut something that doesn’t exist. I did not cut something because it did not exist.
“What I have done is extended the existing supercomputer for another year so that people have the reassurance that the capabilities that are needed via Edinburgh University are there.
“In that time, I am making sure that I’m working on a strategy that will have resilience.”
Earlier this week, Professor Peter Mathieson, the vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Edinburgh, said he welcomed the announcement and the UK Government’s “pledge to invest” in AI computing.
The £800m plan to build a supercomputer at Edinburgh University was part of £1.3 billion of funding promised by the previous government for tech and AI projects, which were announced in the Autumn Statement last year.
Starmer pulled the plug on the plans to build an exascale supercomputer at the university shortly after he came into power.
Edinburgh University spent £31m building housing for the exascale supercomputer when funding was announced in October 2023 by the Tory government.
The proposed plans for the supercomputer would have made it one of the most powerful machines in the world and would have been 50 times faster than any current computers in the UK.
According to the university’s website at the time of the funding being pulled, the first phase of installing the supercomputer was expected to begin in 2025.