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LABOUR have been condemned over a £750 million investment into the IDF-linked tech giant Palantir.
It comes as American deals worth £150 billion were unveiled today as part of US President Donald Trump’s historic second state visit.
Among the firms pledging investment in the UK are controversial asset management company Blackstone, which will invest £90bn cash on top of £10bn previously announced to develop data centres.
Others include investment firm Prologis, pledging £3.9bn, and Palantir, pledging £1.5bn.
As part of Palantir’s plans, the firm intends to establish the UK as its European headquarters for defence, creating 350 “high-skilled” new jobs.
It’s a move that was hailed by Defence Secretary John Healey as a “major vote of confidence”.
“By harnessing the power of AI, we will boost the effectiveness of our armed forces, ensuring they have the tools they need to keep the British people safe,” he said.
“The work will unlock billions of pounds of investment into UK innovation, creating hundreds of skilled UK jobs and making defence the leading edge of innovation in Nato.”
But the Scottish Greens condemned the investment, saying that there are “few companies as immoral and questionable” as Palantir.
The US software company provides militaries with AI models, including signing a strategic partnership to supply technology to the Israeli Defense Ministry in January 2024.
“Palantir has profited from Donald Trump’s brutal crackdown on migrant communities and Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” MSP Maggie Chapman said.
“The idea of Palantir getting even richer off war, conflict and human misery is sickening. This shows just how close the ties are between the Trump administration, the right-wing tech billionaires and the UK establishment.
“If this deal has been done to keep Trump happy then it ties us even closer to a thin-skinned fascist and a foreign policy based on arming and supporting genocide.
“This state visit has been utterly nauseating and has shown a British political class that is happy to bend over backwards for fascism. We must reject Palantir and reject Donald Trump.”
