Palantir deal 'would have saved 700 jobs', says Met Police chief
The system to be delivered by Palantir would have allowed the Met to cut 500 jobs
700 frontline policing jobs could be axed in a bid to find savings after the Mayor of London blocked a deal between tech firm Palantir and the Metropolitan Police.
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Sir Sadiq Khan stepped in after he argued that the force had only engaged with one supplier when the contract was awarded, and the move is now subject to a legal challenge by the technology giant.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the process followed was “legally and commercially compliant”.
In his report for the London Policing Board, that is due to meet on Thursday, Sir Mark said the force could face cutting services or staff as a result of the decision.
Read more: MPs warn reliance on Palantir creates 'unacceptable point of weakness' in UK
The system to be delivered by Palantir would have allowed the Met to cut 500 jobs in response to a budget shortfall of £100 million this year and £125 million next year, but the savings will now have to be found elsewhere, he said.
The budget for 2026/27 included plans to cut a total of 1,150 jobs in the force, with the work of 500 of those to be covered by AI tools used to reduce the time taken to draw up intelligence reports and analyse mobile phones.
Sir Mark told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that up to 700 frontline jobs could now be axed as a result of the deal falling through and officers won't have access to "sophisticated technologies to help them fight crime".
He told LBC: "I'm disappointed with what it means for policing in London. It was going to help us - as we're a shrinking organisation..
"I've had to reduce by 3,300 people in the last three years. We've got to reduce by another 1,150 this year ahead.
"The number of our officer and staff reduction that's going to affect frontline service delivery over this year that was going to be cut is 700, from the frontline ranging from potentially from areas like call handling, through to investigation, through to patrol.
"We're still working out exactly where that's going to fall, but that's really challenging and we wanted to avoid that with this technology."
Sir Mark said that in March 2026, the number of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers per 100,000 population was lower than at any point since 1981.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The mayor fully supports the Met using modern technology to drive efficiencies and improve the performance of the police. However, as with all procurement, we must always ensure the correct processes are followed and that Londoners get value for money.
“In this case, the Met did not present its procurement strategy for approval, as required, and the process followed by the Met did not adequately demonstrate value for money for Londoners for a proposed contract at this value. Given the tight budgetary constraints the police are operating under, it’s even more important that robust processes are followed when awarding large contracts.
“The Met does face a difficult financial situation, which stems from the huge cuts implemented by the previous government and the significant underfunding of the Met’s capital city responsibilities.
“The mayor has already doubled the policing budget from City Hall and he will continue to do everything he can to support the Met and secure the national funding needed for policing in our city.”
The report also sets out how the force is pushing for additional funding to tackle a recent wave of antisemitism that has resulted in a series of alleged arson attacks in the English capital.
The Home Office granted funding for an additional 100 officers, but Sir Mark is pushing for an extra 300, including a dedicated team of neighbourhood and armed officers to be based permanently in north-west London.
“This is essential if we are to provide lasting, bespoke protection in the face of a level of state threats and hate crime far greater than that faced by other communities.
“It is not sustainable – or operationally effective – to rely indefinitely on overtime or the redeployment of officers from across London.
“The threat is increasing and we need a policing model capable of meeting it over the long term,” the Commissioner said.
“If this funding is not secured, the MPS will need to reassess what is affordable in the context of a police service already required to shrink further this year to balance its budget.”
The force is currently using more than 1,000 officer shifts to protect north-west London and other “vulnerable locations”, he said.