An open letter
asking NHS England
to keep its code open
Code paid for with public money should be open to the public. This principle is enshrined in the UK Government Design Principles and the NHS Service Standard. It is now being walked back. We are signing this to restate the case.
236 signatures since 01 May 2026
Statement
We disagree with the NHS technical leadership’s decision to hide the source code of all of their repositories.
Making code open source requires more work than keeping it closed. That hard work is the point.
It requires a higher bar of quality. It requires processes to proactively find, fix, and monitor for vulnerabilities. It requires identifying risk, and putting barriers in place to contain any damage when things go wrong.
But it works like the human immune system: being exposed to threats hardens the attack surface.
Closed source allows that work to be skipped. It substitutes obscurity for depth, and obscurity buys you precious little when a sufficiently motivated attacker is involved.
Warning We call on NHS England to withdraw the SDLC-8 red line and reaffirm its commitment to the NHS Service Standard Principle 12: “Make new source code open.”
If you agree, sign your name using the form below. Submissions are reviewed by hand and you’ll appear on the page once approved.
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Signatures
236 signatures so far
Abigail Pain
Adam Ashton
Adam Worley
Adrian Duke
Has contributed to UK public-sector software
Alex ManningHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Alex Palcuie
Alex Tingle
Alexander Sadler
Ali Asad LotiaHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Amir Akrari
András Bárány
Andrei Jiroh Halili
Andrew Morgan
Andrew Nesbitt
Anton Macmillan-ParksHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Antony Mackenzie-Jones
Ashley Heron
Ashley RolfmoreHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Awais Amjad
Barnaby Mannerings
Barry Fisher
Bela Juhasz
Ben Brown
Ben Graves
Ben Lefroy
Benjamin Warrington
bob walkerHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Brussel Been
Cael O'Sullivan
Calum RobinsonHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Cameron Brown
Chad Whitacre
Charles Brent
Chris Berry
chris clemson
Chris Fishlock
Chris Nesbitt-SmithHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Chris Poole
Chris WaitHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Colin Byrne
Cory Hall
Craig Sturdy
Dan Abramov
Dani Brown
Daniel Brownlow
Daniel Roe
Daniel Schuller
Danny O’BrienHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Darren Hoyland
Dave LongHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Dave Mee
David Boutcher
David Daniel Lowe
David LantosHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Donald Harvey
Dr Cory Doctorow (h.c.)
Dr Luca Cerina
Duncan Gough
Duncan MortimerHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Elly Loel
Faiz Saleem
Fergus Leahy
Frazer SmithHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Gareth Williams
Gavin Laking
George David Tyson
Graham PengellyHas contributed to UK public-sector software
H pragt
Hakan Ensari
Harriet Boeing
Hasan Mohsin
Heidar BernhardssonHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Iestyn Gage
Isaac Esden
Isabel Roses
Jakob Felix Eugen Rössner
James AbleyHas contributed to UK public-sector software
James Addison
James Doc
James GunnHas contributed to UK public-sector software
James Uther
Jamie Downsworth
Jamie ScaifeHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Jamie TannaHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Jan Hancic
Jeffery Cobblesmith
Jeremy Taylor
Joachim Liptrot Sand
John Knott
John Reilly
Jon Atkinson
Jonny RylandsHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Jordan Dalton
José Miguel MartinezHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Joseph Holland
Julian Ng
Justine PocockHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Kai James Patient
Kanthan Theivendran
Kaspar Bumke
Keith Lewis
Keri Szafir
Kevin MarksHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Konstantinos Kapenekakis
Kunwar Grover
Lee Stewart
Lenard Szolnoki
Lindsay Wardell
Liza McCarron
Louis Escher
Louis Goddard
Lucas Hill
Luke Kirkpatrick
Luke LaValva
Luke Roslanowski
Luke Warlow
Malcolm Powell
Marcus BawHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Martin van IJckenHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Mathieu Pasquet
Matias Leandro Capeletto
Matthew Bristow
Matthew Fennell
Michael BartonHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Michael Jesse Maximillian Davis
Mike Wagstaff
Miranda Heath
Misha GorodnitzkyHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Nancy PickeringHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Nathan Gill
Neil Charlton
Nick Sargeant
Nick Savage
Nicola Rennie
Niels Mokkenstorm
Nigel KendrickHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Nikita Karamov
Oliver Lane
Oliver Turner
Owen JonesHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Paul JohnstonHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Paul Robert LloydHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Peter Miller
Peter MurrayHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Peter YatesHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Phil Milburn
Philip NortonHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Raza Toosy
Reupen ShahHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Richard Bensley
Richard Dyce
Richard Harris
Richard James Baxter
Richard Robinson
Richard TowersHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Ritesh Sinha
Rob AleyHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Rob Tagg
Robert Lee-CannHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Robin WhittletonHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Roman Kornikov
Rosia Evans
Rowan SilHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Rui Duarte
Sam Cook
Sam Martin
Simon GreenHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Simon Holloway
Ștefan Ilie
Stephen Tordoff
Steve MesserHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Steven Ross
Sven Döring
Tao Bojlén
Theodor Everley Rohrkasten
Theodor VararuHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Thomas LeeseHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Tim Clark
Tim Loukes
Tim WisniewskiHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Toby Dimmick
Tom Bannister
Tom BoothHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Tom Forbes
Vad Khory
Vlad-Stefan Harbuz
William Burton
Xiyue Zhang
Yannick Retel Helmrich
Yevhenii Kurtov
Zach LeathermanHas contributed to UK public-sector software
Anonymous
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Has contributed to UK public-sector software
References
- NHS Goes To War Against Open Source
- NHS England rushes to hide software over AI hacking fears
- NHS Service Standard — Principle 12: Make new source code open
- NHS England quietly removes open source policy web pages (Digital Health)
- Don’t be afraid to code in the open: how to do it securely (GOV.UK)
- Does Mythos mean shutting down your open source repos? (shkspr.mobi)
- Discourse is not going closed source (Discourse)