Palantir has accused Sadiq Khan of “putting politics above public safety” after the London mayor blocked its £50 million contract with the Metropolitan Police, a move that has also exposed divisions within the Labour Party over its relationship with the US technology company.
Background of the Blocked Deal
Louis Mosley, who leads Palantir in the UK and Europe, criticised the mayor for politicising procurement after he rejected a two-year agreement for Scotland Yard to use artificial intelligence in processing intelligence for criminal investigations. The story was first revealed by The Guardian.
Mosley stated: “What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer.” The Met had planned to hire Palantir—co-founded by Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel—to automate aspects of investigations. However, the mayor’s office, which oversees large Scotland Yard contracts, cited a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.
Controversy Over Palantir’s Clients
Palantir also works with the Israeli military and the Trump administration on immigration enforcement. Khan has previously stated that Londoners only want public money going to companies that “share the values of our city”. Last year, when Palantir CEO Alex Karp was challenged that “Palantir kills Palestinians” in Gaza, he replied: “Mostly terrorists, that’s true.”
Khan’s stance puts him at odds with the UK government, which has a £330 million NHS England deal with Palantir and a £240 million contract with the Ministry of Defence.
Reactions from the Met and Labour
Scotland Yard described Khan’s decision as “disappointing”, warning that without new technology it would have to cut officer numbers, affecting public safety. On Friday, Mosley told Times Radio: “If we are going to politicise procurement in that way then we are going to compromise public safety.”
His comments drew an angry response from Labour MP Stella Creasy, who said Mosley “should be ashamed of himself”. She added: “To hear the CEO of Palantir using the serious matter of sexual abuse by Met officers to attack the mayor of London for rejecting his company and so cutting his profits shows exactly why Palantir are not fit to lecture anyone on values.”
Mosley questioned why Khan singled out Palantir, noting that Amazon and Microsoft also work with Israel and the Trump administration. “Why do we get singled out?” he asked.
Labour Divided
Khan’s decision appears to split the Labour Party. MPs Rosena Allin-Khan and Clive Lewis called it the “right call”. Allin-Khan said: “Palantir does not reflect the values of our city. We must maintain public trust and ensure that any tech partnerships truly serve the safety and rights of Londoners.” Lewis added: “Other mayors and police and crime commissioners should take note and keep Palantir out of policing.”
However, Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who has been lobbied by Palantir according to records of ministerial meetings, said the company can do things “no one else does around the world at the moment”. He called on Khan to “come out and explain” his “big decision”.
Details of the Deal and Future Implications
Scotland Yard initially appointed Palantir on a separate deal worth less than £500,000, which avoided mayoral scrutiny. That contract was to use AI to detect rogue officers by scanning for abuse of rosters and systems. The Metropolitan Police Federation described it as a “big brother” system.
Met chiefs wanted to extend Palantir’s role to scan criminal intelligence data for patterns, as it already does for smaller forces like Bedfordshire and Leicestershire. But City Hall found the procurement process did not allow bids from other suppliers.
Ministers acknowledge the need to reduce reliance on foreign AI companies as the technology becomes more embedded in public services. Kyle said: “We need to have more British AI companies that can do those kinds of things, which is why I’ve taken equity stakes in British AI firms and British tech firms, so that we can scale them up much, much faster.”
