Daniel Zeichner MP has accused the government of being asleep at the wheel over the sale of tech giant Arm from Japanese owners Softbank to the US company Nvidia after it was revealed that the Chancellor has had no direct discussions with Nvidia.

In answer to a question posed by Mr Zeichner, a Treasury minister confirmed “Neither the Chancellor nor HM Treasury have held discussions with Nvidia or Arm on the sale of Arm from Softbank to Nvidia.”

Mr Zeichner says he is troubled by the news especially given the prominence previous deals relating to Arm have been given by Government in the past, with the former Chancellor Philip Hammond involved at the heart of Downing Street.

He said: “Why are the government so quiet about this? You would have thought the acquisition of a strategic national asset by a foreign company might be of interest to them and they would want to talk to the key players.

This is a serious matter and decisons taken will have a big impact on the role of the UK in the production of global technology.

I keep being assured with promises around neutrality, jobs and access to technology but unless the government is fully involved how will we get legally binding guarantees?

This one step removed approach is risking jobs, prosperity and our security.”