British MPs urge Jones to recuse herself from regulating ADHD clinics — The Guardian

In the United Kingdom, four members of parliament have called on Samantha Jones, the permanent secretary of the Department of Health and Social Care, to recuse herself from work on tightening regulation of private clinics that conduct assessments, diagnoses and treatment for ADHD and autism. As The Guardian reports, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs believe that her previous links to the company ADHD360 could create a conflict of interest.

Links to ADHD360

Jones was appointed permanent secretary on 22 April 2025. When the private care provider Keys Group acquired ADHD360 for £22.5 million on 16 May of that year, Jones was chair of the board, a director and a shareholder of Keys Group. She also worked as an operating partner at G Square Capital, the private equity firm that owns Keys Group.

In early June 2025, Jones sold her shares in Keys Group and left her positions at that company and G Square Capital, and began working at the department on 16 June. ADHD360 describes itself as the UK’s leading ADHD clinic. According to the public spending database Tussell, NHS England has paid the company more than £26 million for services since 2020.

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MPs’ calls

Labour MP and member of the parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee Ben Coleman said that future regulation of private ADHD and autism assessments must be beyond doubt. He called on Jones not to take part in this work in order to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Jones had previously already recused herself from the department’s decision on a possible extension of NHS’s seven-year £330 million contract with Palantir. In July, MPs expressed concerns about her potential conflict of interest due to her work at the lobbying firm Carnall Farrar, which advised Palantir.

The Department of Health and Social Care said there was no conflict of interest: Jones declared all her interests and left all private-sector positions before taking up the post of permanent secretary. An ally of Jones called her link to ADHD360 “very tenuous” and noted that the period during which Keys Group owned ADHD360 and the official was moving to the department was brief.