London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a proposed £50 million ($67 million) contract for AI software between the Metropolitan Police and US tech firm Palantir on May 21, citing serious breaches of procurement rules [1, 2]. City Hall said the Met Police engaged only Palantir without a proper competitive process and failed to show value for money [1, 2]. Khan's office added that public funds should not go to companies that do not "share the values of our city" [1, 3, 2].
Palantir is co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel and holds over £600 million in UK public sector contracts, including £330 million with NHS England and £240 million with the Ministry of Defence [1, 3]. The company has faced controversy over ties to the Israeli military and the Trump administration [1, 3, 2].
Palantir’s UK and Europe head Louis Mosley accused Khan of politicizing the procurement process, saying, "If we are going to politicise procurement in that way then we are going to compromise public safety" [3, 2]. Mosley added, "What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer" in response to the Met’s officer conduct debates [3]. Labour MP Stella Creasy criticized Mosley’s comments, saying, "To hear the CEO of Palantir using the serious matter of sexual abuse by Met officers to attack the mayor of London... shows exactly why Palantir are not fit to lecture anyone on values" [3, 2].
The Metropolitan Police described Khan’s decision as disappointing and warned it could lead to cuts in officer numbers and affect public safety [3, 2]. However, City Hall maintained the main reason for blocking the contract was the breach of procurement rules and lack of evidence for value for money, without directly linking the decision to safety impacts [1].
While Khan’s office expressed ethical concerns, Palantir rejected the idea that it does not share London’s values, pointing out that companies like Amazon and Microsoft also work in Israel [3, 2].
There is no ban on Palantir bidding for future Metropolitan Police contracts, with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) looking to collaborate on a new, compliant procurement process [1].
