Palantir’s UK contracts put procurement and dependence in focus

A growing UK business under pressure

Palantir was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, a supporter of Donald Trump. The company has supplied AI software to the Israeli military and to the White House for tighter immigration enforcement through ICE. Its expanding role in British public services has drawn criticism from politicians and the public.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing pressure from Labour MPs and unions to exclude Palantir from government contracts. The demands include ending the company’s £330 million deal with the UK National Health Service.

Palantir is also suing London mayor Sadiq Khan after he blocked a £50 million contract that would have let London police use its AI in investigations. The company says it wants more UK public-sector work; its annual revenue in the country is already £427 million.

On BBC’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, Watson urged former colleagues to follow the rule of law in procurement rather than give in to what he called “mob rule.” Otherwise, he warned, governments could get into serious trouble.

He also said Palantir is often targeted by people opposed to Israeli companies. Palantir is not Israeli, he said, but its work in Israel has made it part of disputes surrounding protests against the war in Gaza.

The political line Palantir is drawing

Watson said Palantir would be willing to work with a Reform UK government on tightening immigration policy if that situation arose. He added that the company does not currently work in that sector.

Last month, when he announced his move to Palantir, Watson called it “the most interesting company on the planet.” The company said his role would include increasing the social and economic value of its work by improving UK public services, creating jobs and developing skills.

Watson’s political history is part of the story. He served as defence minister and minister for digital engagement under Gordon Brown. After leaving Parliament in 2019, he advised the gambling and music industries; from 2024, he worked part-time as an adviser to Palantir.

Palantir said Watson has taken leave from the House of Lords while working at its London office and has handed in his parliamentary pass.

Labour MP Chi Onwurah, who chairs the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, has raised concerns about Palantir. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Watson was not the first politician to be dazzled by technology hype. The UK, she said, should not become so dependent on one company: Palantir is American and subject to US data-access laws.

The question behind the procurement fight

I think Watson’s appeal to the rule of law is also a bid to make political opposition look like an improper substitute for procurement criteria. But the competing concern is not only who wins a contract; it is how much leverage the UK gives a single US company over public services and data.

The announcement is quiet about how that dependence would be limited, or what safeguards would apply if Palantir’s role expands. That gap matters more than the company’s stated ambition to create jobs and improve services: those benefits do not, on their own, answer the question of who controls the systems government comes to rely on.