Jonathan Reynolds
UK Secretary of State leading the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
Last refreshed: 9 September 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Timeline for Jonathan Reynolds
Framed the commitments as AI makers, not takers
UK Startups and Innovation: British Business Bank writes £180m into six AI fundsMentioned in: UK AISI vets frontier models pre-release
European Tech SovereigntyNamed minister at successor department
European Tech Sovereignty: Mentioned in: HC 62 answered before the deadlineBackground
As of 8 September 2026, the GOV.UK content API lists Jonathan Reynolds leading a full ministerial team at the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, while its equivalent page for the abolished Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) returns no ministers at all.
Reynolds was appointed Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade on 20 July 2026, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham abolished DSIT and merged its Science and innovation brief into the business department, returning Reynolds to the department he had led until September 2025 (he had served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, or Chief Whip, in between).
His department's status as the successor to DSIT's sovereign-AI responsibilities remains untested: HC 62, a select committee report requiring a government response, fell due on 7 September 2026 with none published, because no department had formally been established as owing the reply.
Who is the UK's Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Secretary?
What happened to DSIT?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 9 September 2026. Editorial standards.