U.S. company Palantir says the London police wrongly blocked a 50 million pound ($67 million) contract over “values and ethics,” as the tech giant pressed forward with a lawsuit against London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office.
The dispute centers on a proposed two-year agreement under which Palantir would provide software for the Metropolitan Police, the force responsible for policing Greater London.
The company’s AI software would help automate administrative work, improve criminal investigations, and analyze evidence more efficiently.
But the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime office (MOPAC) refused to approve the deal, telling the Met Police in May that the force had failed to have an open competition for the contract.
David Pannick, representing Palantir, told the court that the Metropolitan Police “desperately needed technology in order to save money” and that the force believed the contract would enable them to protect frontline services.
At a preliminary hearing on July 9, Judge Adam Constable set the case for trial in January 2027 after declining Palantir’s request for an earlier hearing later this year.
Khan’s office has consistently maintained that the proposed contract was blocked because of procurement concerns rather than political considerations.
In an official response published on June 1, Khan said the Metropolitan Police had failed to present its procurement strategy to the deputy mayor as required under MOPAC’s governance rules before requesting approval to award the contract.
He said the decision followed “a number of serious concerns” identified during the review process.
Khan also said technology remains important to modern policing but stressed that procurement decisions must comply with legislation and demonstrate value for money.
Contracts in Europe
Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Palantir specializes in data integration and analytics with a primary focus on AI. It also builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States and overseas.
While roughly half its revenue is made through government contracts, it also serves commercial businesses in more than 40 industries. Palantir has drawn concern both domestically and abroad regarding its surveillance capabilities and resulting privacy issues.
The company’s expansion in Europe has faced resistance as several European governments questioned whether the firm should play a long-term role in sensitive public-sector technology projects.
Germany’s military cyber command said in April that it had no plans to award contracts to Palantir because of concerns over access to sensitive national data.
However, his office later clarified that Palantir’s software would continue to be used temporarily by the country’s domestic intelligence agency until a replacement developed by ChapsVision is ready.
UK lawmaker Anneliese Dodds cited Paris’s decision to discontinue the company’s use in its intelligence services as an example of prioritizing strategic resilience over short-term cost savings.
“Look at France, which recently dropped Palantir from its intelligence services,” said Dodds during a July 8 debate on AI in UK Parliament, adding, “We cannot work purely on the basis of cost or short-term capability any more. We have to make assessments on the basis of control and resilience, given their significance for our national interest.”
The remarks come after the announcement of a government review of Palantir’s 330 million pound ($442 million) Federated Data Platform contract with the UK National Health Service.
The contract was awarded in 2023 and supports data sharing and operational planning across NHS England.
The Epoch Times reached out to Palantir, the Metropolitan Police, and MOPAC for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
