Palantir to sue Sadiq Khan as ministers review £330m NHS deal

TL;DR:

  • Palantir intends to sue London mayor Sadiq Khan after he blocked a £50m contract between the US firm and the Metropolitan Police.
  • Separately, the government has begun a full review of Palantir’s £330m NHS data contract, weighing a 2027 break clause.
  • A parliamentary committee last week called the company’s public-sector role an “unacceptable point of weakness”.

Palantir intends to sue Sadiq Khan after the London mayor blocked a £50m Metropolitan Police contract for software to automate intelligence analysis, according to the Times. Khan’s office, which confirmed receiving the legal letter, said the Met had not presented its procurement strategy properly and had engaged only one supplier, and that the decision turned on value for money rather than “values or political considerations”.

Mounting pressure on UK deals

The lawsuit lands as the company’s wider UK footprint comes under scrutiny. On Tuesday, technology secretary Liz Kendall confirmed the government is conducting a full review of Palantir’s £330m ($441m) NHS data-platform contract, assessing whether to extend it or trigger a break clause that would end the arrangement in early 2027. Reuters reported the health secretary is “reviewing every single aspect” amid concerns over patient confidentiality, public trust and reliance on a US supplier.

A parliamentary committee last week urged ministers to trigger the break, warning Palantir’s role represents an “unacceptable point of weakness” and highlighting the risk of depending on a handful of US tech firms. The backlash has been sharpened by the firm’s public ideological statements; Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy backed the review, saying “diversification is the key”.

Looking forward

The twin disputes turn Palantir into a test case for how Britain handles AI and data contracts with powerful overseas suppliers. With campaigners citing France and Germany’s distance from the company, the procurement question — value, ethics and resilience versus capability — is now firmly political, and the courts may soon weigh in.

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