London Mayor Sadiq Khan is considering intervening to prevent Scotland Yard from signing a potentially multimillion-pound contract with US data analytics firm Palantir, citing concerns that the company's conduct conflicts with the values of the capital, his office confirmed on Monday.
The Mayor of London's office issued a statement expressing Sadiq Khan's reservations about the Metropolitan Police entering into a wide-ranging technology deal with Palantir, the controversial Silicon Valley data firm, following a Guardian investigation published last week.
The proposed contract, which could run into tens of millions of pounds, would see Palantir's artificial intelligence systems used to process criminal intelligence for Scotland Yard. Khan's office said the Mayor holds "concerns about using public money to support firms who act contrary to London's values" — though it stopped short of confirming he would formally block the agreement.
What Is Palantir?
Palantir Technologies, founded in 2003 and partly backed in its early years by the CIA's venture arm In-Q-Tel, specialises in large-scale data integration and analysis platforms. The company's software is widely used by intelligence agencies, law enforcement bodies, and defence organisations across the United States, Europe, and beyond.
The firm has attracted significant controversy in recent years. Its tools have been deployed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement operations. Palantir has also been reported to provide analytical software to the Israeli military, whose conduct in Gaza has drawn widespread international condemnation.
The Metropolitan Police's Position
Scotland Yard has not publicly confirmed the nature or scope of its discussions with Palantir. The Guardian's earlier reporting indicated that the talks were at an exploratory stage and that any contract would focus on automating the processing of criminal intelligence — an area where the Met has faced persistent challenges managing large volumes of data.
Proponents of such technology argue that AI-driven analytics can help police forces identify patterns, allocate resources more effectively, and ultimately prevent crime. The Met, like many large police services, has been under sustained pressure to modernise its data infrastructure.
Civil Liberties Concerns
Civil liberties organisations have long raised concerns about Palantir's involvement in law enforcement. Critics argue that predictive and intelligence-processing systems risk entrenching existing biases in policing, disproportionately affecting minority communities. The company's opaque data-sharing arrangements and its work with controversial governments have also drawn scrutiny from privacy advocates.
The involvement of a firm so closely associated with controversial US and Israeli government operations adds a political dimension to what might otherwise be a routine technology procurement decision.
A Mayoral Veto?
The extent of the Mayor's formal power over Metropolitan Police contracts is not straightforward. While the Mayor of London chairs the Metropolitan Police Authority and has broad oversight responsibilities for the force, operational and procurement decisions are generally made by the Commissioner and the force's leadership. Any intervention by Khan would likely involve political pressure rather than a straightforward administrative veto.
The Mayor's office has not outlined specific next steps, but the public statement signals that Khan intends to make his objections known clearly before any deal is finalised.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Public accountability over AI in policing: This case highlights the growing tension between law enforcement agencies seeking advanced AI tools and elected officials — and the public — demanding scrutiny of who supplies those tools and under what ethical conditions.
- A precedent-setting moment: If Khan successfully intervenes, it could establish a model for how city governments exercise oversight over technology procurement by police forces, particularly regarding firms with controversial international track records.
- Chilling effect or healthy caution? The outcome will influence how UK police forces approach AI contracts going forward, potentially shaping the market for surveillance and intelligence-processing technology in British policing.
Background
Palantir was founded in 2003 with early backing from the CIA's venture capital arm and has grown into one of the world's most powerful — and most contested — data analytics companies. It went public in 2020 and has since expanded aggressively into government and defence markets across the West.
In the UK, Palantir already has a significant footprint. The NHS signed a controversial data platform deal with the company in 2023, which drew protests from health workers and privacy advocates concerned about the commercialisation of patient data. That contract demonstrated both the appetite for Palantir's technology within UK public services and the public resistance it tends to generate.
The Metropolitan Police has been under pressure for years to overhaul its data and intelligence systems, which have been criticised as fragmented and inefficient. The force has faced multiple scandals in recent years — including the murders committed by serving officer Wayne Couzens and David Carrick — that raised serious questions about its vetting and internal intelligence processes, adding urgency to modernisation efforts.
Key Perspectives
Metropolitan Police: The force has not publicly confirmed the talks, but the implicit rationale for exploring such a contract is operational — improving the speed and accuracy of criminal intelligence processing in a large, complex city.
Mayor Sadiq Khan: Khan's office has framed this as a question of values and the appropriate use of public money, signalling concern that London's association with Palantir — given its work with ICE and the Israeli military — could be seen as an endorsement of those operations.
Civil Liberties and Privacy Advocates: Groups such as Liberty and Big Brother Watch have consistently warned that Palantir-style systems risk automating and scaling discriminatory policing practices, and that the lack of transparency in how such platforms use data poses fundamental risks to civil liberties.
Palantir: The company argues its tools help governments and law enforcement agencies work more efficiently and ethically, and that it operates within the legal frameworks of its client jurisdictions. It has disputed characterisations of its immigration enforcement work as harmful.
What to Watch
- Whether Khan's office formally requests a pause or review of the procurement process — this would clarify how much real authority the Mayor intends to exercise.
- The Metropolitan Police Commissioner's response, which will signal whether Scotland Yard views the Mayor's concerns as a serious constraint or a political complication to manage.
- Parliamentary and council scrutiny: The London Assembly may seek to hold hearings on the contract, which could surface more details about its scope, cost, and data governance arrangements.