Health officials have privately expressed fears that Palantir's reputation could hinder the rollout of a £330 million NHS contract, according to documents seen by the Guardian. The US surveillance technology company, which also works for the Israeli military and Donald Trump's ICE operation, was selected in 2023 to build an AI-enabled data platform for the NHS.
In a June 2025 briefing for Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Department of Health officials wrote that public perception of Palantir had affected the Federated Data Platform (FDP) procurement and delivery. They noted this could make it harder to expand the system and include GP data locally. The briefing was released under the Freedom of Information Act to Foxglove, a tech fairness campaign group.
By last summer, fewer than half of health authorities in England had adopted the technology, amid opposition from the public and doctors. The British Medical Association (BMA) has said its members could refuse to use parts of the system, citing Palantir's role in targeting ICE raids in the US. MPs in the House of Commons have described the company as 'ghastly' and 'a highly questionable organisation'.
The controversy has been compounded by the fallout over Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Palantir employed Mandelson's lobbying company, Global Counsel, and before his sacking, Mandelson took Prime Minister Keir Starmer to meet Palantir's CEO, Alex Karp. MPs have demanded greater transparency around Palantir's public sector deals, which also include a £240 million contract with the Ministry of Defence and several police forces.
New figures show that 151 NHS organisations are now using the Palantir technology, up from 118 in June, but still well short of the target of 240 by the end of the year. Palantir was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, a Trump supporter who has previously said 'the NHS makes people sick' and described British affection for the NHS as 'Stockholm syndrome'.
