Overview
- The Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee published a 70-page report Wednesday that called Palantir’s growing role in the public sector an “unacceptable point of weakness” and recommended using a break clause in the NHS contract when it becomes available in 2027.
- Palantir holds a seven-year, £330 million NHS contract awarded in 2023 to build a Federated Data Platform that the NHS says has helped deliver measurable service gains such as faster cancer diagnoses and about 110,000 extra operations.
- The report flagged serious data-governance and privacy concerns after media reporting suggested Palantir contractors could have broad access to identifiable patient records and demanded clarity on who authorised such access and under what legal basis.
- Palantir’s UK chief Louis Mosley defended the contract on radio, said the deal was competitively procured and argued cancelling it now would risk disrupting patient care.
- Beyond Palantir the committee urged a wider overhaul of digital procurement and governance, recommending a senior minister to lead digital transformation and a push for UK-based alternatives to reduce vendor lock-in and strategic exposure.