Palantir is preparing to sue London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan after he blocked a £50 million deal with the Metropolitan Police.
The data analytics company was set to help the Met use AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations.
However, Sir Sadiq blocked the deal citing concerns about using public money to support firms who “act contrary to London’s values” and about the procurement process used to award the contract.
The US tech giant has claimed this was a “politicised decision”, and their lawyers have written to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) to inform them that they intend to challenge the decision in the courts.
The Met could support Palantir’s claim, with the force criticising the mayor’s move and saying that officer numbers may need to be cut without the new technology.
Palantir were initially appointed by Scotland Yard to use AI to detect rogue officers, in a deal worth less than £500,000, meaning it did not have to be scrutinised by the mayor.
The Met had wanted to extend the company’s involvement, using it to scan criminal intelligence data for patterns and clues, but City Hall found that the process for extending Palantir’s role had not allowed bids from other suppliers and vetoed it.
Palantir is being used for defence work by both the Israeli military and the Trump administration, resulting in a number of Labour politicians calling for the company to be stripped of its public sector contracts.
Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan told the Guardian: “Palantir does not reflect the values of our city. We must maintain public trust and ensure that any tech partnerships truly serve the safety and rights of Londoners.”
Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said: “Other mayors and police and crime commissioners should take note and keep Palantir out of policing.”
Palantir has a £330 million contract with the NHS to reduce hospital waiting lists and speed up patient discharge times, which has so far led to more than 100,000 additional operations.
Louis Mosley, CEO of Palantir UK, has accused Sir Sadiq of politicising procurement by cancelling the Met contract.
Mr Mosley told Time Radio: “What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer and that’s really what the focus here should be … If we are going to politicise procurement in that way then we are going to compromise public safety.
“We may work with Israel, but so does Amazon, and so does Microsoft. We may work with the Trump administration supporting the immigration enforcement arm of his government, so does Amazon, so does Microsoft… why do we get singled out?”
