London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocks a proposed £50 million contract between the Metropolitan Police (Met) and Palantir, a US AI company. The Met had been seeking to use Palantir’s software to automate aspects of intelligence analysis for criminal investigations, including work that would process information drawn from sources such as intelligence reports and digital records (including emails and phone data), according to reporting on the planned use. City Hall says the decision is based on a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules. The blocked contract is described as Palantir’s largest policing deal in the UK.
Palantir and some political commentators criticize the intervention. Palantir’s UK and Europe head accuses Khan of putting politics above public safety and argues that the public benefits from improved crime-fighting capabilities. Some figures also suggest Palantir could consider legal action, while others argue that public-service data should not be handed to the company.
The dispute is framed as part of a wider debate about how public bodies use AI, weighing potential operational benefits against concerns over procurement, control, and the handling of sensitive data.
