London Mayor Blocks Palantir
3 hours ago
- #Palantir Contract Blocked
- #Public Procurement Ethics
- #AI in Policing
- London mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a £50m Met Police contract with Palantir due to procurement rule breaches.
- The deal involved using Palantir's AI to automate intelligence analysis; concerns included lack of supplier competition and value for money.
- Palantir has over £600m in UK public sector contracts, including with NHS, MoD, and other police forces, raising ethical and political concerns.
- Khan's office cited legal and reputational risks, noting the contract price was at the high end of initial estimates (£15m-£25m annually).
- Public opposition includes petitions against Palantir contracts, with MPs criticizing deals as 'dreadful' and 'shameful'.
- Palantir defends its NHS work, claiming it increased operations and reduced delays, while police praise its AI for transformative investigative aid.
- This blockage conflicts with the Labour government's push for AI adoption in policing, including a £115m investment in AI technology scaling.