It’s time to block all Palantir contracts, not only the Met Police's

As Palantir’s NHS contract is up for cancellation in less than a year, the new Health Secretary must show the same leadership and remove the spy-tech company from our health system.

Palantir’s software services are commonly used by states in surveillance, border enforcement, policing and warfare. Its controversial clients include the Israeli military, US ICE, and the US Military, all of which have used Palantir software in human rights abuses that directly violate the right to health.

In 2023, amidst uproar from health workers and patients, the UK government awarded a Palantir contract to create a Federated Data Platform (FDP).

This is a data analytical platform which aims to sit across NHS Trusts, ICBs and NHS England, absorbing large amounts of sensitive health data on a national and local scale.

As a doctor, I believe this contract will damage the trusted relationship between health workers and patients, and also make us complicit in Palantir’s other operations.

City Hall is right to question if Palantir software offers value for money. Despite the lofty promises, NHS data experts I’ve spoken to are unhappy with the quality of the software, and feel they are being trapped into relying on Palantir.

In fact, Greater Manchester ICB rejected Palantir software, stating that the system they built themselves is better and, crucially, trusted by the public.

We have to ask why this contract was given to an American spy-tech company, rather than choosing to invest in NHS-owned innovation.

Palantir has an almighty lobbying operation – it has hired former NHS executives and worked with Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm Global Counsel. Internally, we know that NHS workers are being threatened for speaking up against Palantir.

Khan is also right to highlight that we should consider the values of the companies receiving millions of public money.

Palantir’s involvement with alleged human rights abuses across the globe has led Amnesty International to specifically urge NHS leadership to cancel the contract.

Palantir recently published a manifesto, based on CEO Alex Karp’s book, proclaiming the benefits of US global dominance and implying some cultures were inferior to others. Co-founder and chairman Peter Thiel is a notable figure in the US far-right, and famously said the NHS “makes people sick”.

Patients and staff are understandably concerned about the government allowing a company which specialises in surveillance, deportations and warfare to handle their most personal data. Since the NHS contract was awarded, it has been mired in scandals.

Most recently, a leak revealed that Palantir staff were being given unrestricted access to patient identifiable information within the FDP, after years of NHS England insisting this wouldn’t happen. With politicians across parties promising AI-based surveillance and mass data sharing across government departments, we have to build health data systems which are secure and protected against abuse by both private companies and the government.

The NHS has a chance to break its contract with Palantir in less than a year. If even the Mayor of London thinks Palantir is too controversial for the police, how can they be embedded in our health system? The new Health Secretary must commit to getting our NHS out of the Palantir trap.

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Dr Rhiannon Mihranian Osborne is an NHS doctor, health inequalities researcher and activist with the No Palantir in the NHS campaign.

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