London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked a £50 million deal between the Metropolitan Police and the US tech company Palantir. The Mayor's Office cited a serious breach of procurement rules and concerns about value for money. This decision comes amid rising public scrutiny of Palantir's involvement in UK public services.
- ▪Sadiq Khan's office stated that the Met Police risked becoming locked into Palantir's technology.
- ▪The proposed contract was intended to use Palantir's AI technology for automating intelligence analysis.
- ▪Concerns have been raised about Palantir's expanding role in UK public services, including contracts with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence.
8 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 30 hours. Coverage spans 2 points on the political spectrum — 2 lean left, 5 centre.
- ▪ Palantir boss hits out at Khan in Met contract row — BBC News — Politics
- ▪ Palantir hits back at Sadiq Khan after £50m contract with Met police blocked — The Guardian — World
- ▪ Sadiq Khan blocks Met Police’s controversial £50 million deal with Palantir — The Independent
- ▪ London Met Police Palantir Contract Blocked by City Hall — BBC News
- ▪ London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocks the Met police's £50M Palantir deal to automate intelligence analysis, citing a "clear and serious breach" of procurement rules (Robert Booth/The Guardian) — Techmeme
- ▪ London mayor blocks the Met’s £50mn Palantir deal — Financial Times — Companies
- ▪ London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir | Metropolitan police — r/UpliftingNews
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| Original publisher | World news | The Guardian |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/21/london-mayor-sadiq-khan-blocks-met-police-deal-with-palantir |
| Publication time | Thu, 21 May 2026 11:00:09 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-21T11:03:15.081Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-21T11:30:40.511Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Sadiq Khan’s office said the Met risked becoming locking into Palantir’s technology. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PAView image in fullscreenSadiq Khan’s office said the Met risked becoming locking into Palantir’s technology. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PAMetropolitan policeLondon mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with PalantirExclusive: Scotland Yard had been in talks to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysisRobert Booth UK technology editorThu 21 May 2026 07.00 EDTLast modified on Thu 21 May 2026 07.01 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleA £50m Met police deal with the controversial US tech company Palantir has been blocked by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, with City Hall citing a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.Scotland Yard had been in…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at World news | The Guardian.
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