Overview
- The mayor’s office withheld approval for the two‑year deal on Thursday, May 21, after finding the Met did not present a required procurement strategy and had effectively only engaged Palantir.
- MOPAC described the process as a "clear and serious breach" that did not show value for money and warned the proposed £25m‑a‑year price risked harming other budgets.
- Scotland Yard says losing access to the Palantir system will block planned AI tools for automated intelligence analysis and warned the decision could force further officer cuts as the force faces a funding gap.
- Smaller Met pilots and contracts with Palantir, together just under the £500,000 MOPAC sign‑off threshold, remain in place while campaigners and some politicians press for a wider review of the company’s UK work.
- Coverage split reflects political fault lines: right‑leaning outlets emphasise operational and public‑safety risks, while left‑leaning and activist outlets stress Palantir’s ties to the IDF and ICE and call for wider cancellations of public contracts.