Sadiq Khan blocks Met's £50m AI deal with Palantir

Met warns of policing impact

London mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked a proposed £50 million AI contract between the Metropolitan Police and the US technology firm Palantir, triggering a public dispute between City Hall and Scotland Yard over policing, procurement and public trust.

The agreement would have allowed Britain's largest police force to use Palantir's software to automate elements of criminal intelligence analysis, with officers hoping the technology could speed up investigations and help manage growing financial pressures.

But the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) blocked the deal, saying there were "serious concerns" about the way the contract had been arranged.

In a letter sent to Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, deputy mayor for policing Kaya Comer-Schwartz said officials had failed to follow the required approval process before advancing negotiations with the company.

"I have not been provided with any acceptable explanation for this failure," she wrote, calling it a "clear and serious breach" of procurement rules.

City Hall officials also questioned whether the process had unfairly favoured Palantir by failing to consider rival suppliers in any meaningful way.

According to The Guardian, the proposed agreement was reportedly valued at between £15 million and £25 million annually over multiple years.

The decision has drawn a sharp response from Scotland Yard, which warned the delay could hamper efforts to modernise policing at a time of severe budget pressures.

'Disappointing' intervention

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson described the intervention as "disappointing", saying the force needed "the very best technology available" to keep pace with organised crime and hostile states.

Officials warned that without rapid investment in digital tools, further cuts to officer numbers could become unavoidable.

The Met is already facing a £125 million funding gap and plans to cut more than 1,100 jobs next year.

The dispute has reignited wider debate about Palantir's growing presence in British public services.

The US firm, co-founded by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, has already secured major contracts with NHS England and the Ministry of Defence.

Critics have raised concerns over the company's close links to US security agencies, immigration enforcement operations and the Israeli military.

Campaign groups and some politicians have also questioned whether public bodies are becoming overly dependent on a small group of American technology firms.

Chi Onwurah, chair of the Commons Science and Technology Committee, welcomed City Hall's intervention, saying authorities needed to guard against "vendor lock-in" and excessive reliance on overseas suppliers.

Advocacy group Foxglove accused Palantir of pursuing a "land and expand" strategy, offering low-cost or limited pilot projects before securing far larger government contracts later.

Despite the disagreement, neither side has ruled out future cooperation.

Mopac said it remained open to working with the Met on a revised procurement process that would allow broader competition, while Scotland Yard said it would continue exploring "every avenue" to resolve the issue quickly.

Palantir said it stood ready to continue supporting law enforcement agencies across the UK.

Last month Coventry City Council renewed a contract with Palantir for a second year, despite opposition from councillors, trade unions and campaigners.

In March, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) awarded Palantir a contract to analyse the regulator's extensive data lake — a repository that includes case files, reports of suspected wrongdoing and consumer complaints.

The FCA said the project forms part of a broader push to make better use of digital tools across the 42,000 firms it supervises, ranging from major banks to cryptocurrency platforms.