Palantir accuses London mayor of “putting politics above public safety”, after £50m contract with Met Police blocked for breach of procurement rules
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/22/palantir-hits-back-sadiq-khan-contract-met-police-blocked
42 Comments
palantir ceo in prison would make the world a safer place
Excerpts from [article](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/22/palantir-hits-back-sadiq-khan-contract-met-police-blocked) by the Guardian’s Robert Booth:
*[…] Louis Mosley, who heads Palantir in the UK and Europe, accused Khan of politicising procurement after he rejected a two-year deal for Scotland Yard to use AI to process intelligence in criminal investigations, as first revealed by the Guardian.*
*Mosley said: “What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer.”*
*The Met had planned to hire Palantir, which was co-founded by the Trump-supporting tech billionaire Peter Thiel, to automate aspects of investigations. But the mayor’s office, which oversees large Scotland Yard contracts, said there had been a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.*
*[…] Scotland Yard appointed Palantir initially on a separate deal worth less than £500,000, which meant it did not have to be scrutinised by the mayor. That deal was to use AI to detect rogue officers by scanning to see how they might be abusing rosters and other systems.*
*The body that represents rank and file officers, the Metropolitan Police Federation, described it as a “big brother” system and criticised the “unchecked use of a controversial AI provider to spy on every single one of our colleagues”.*
*Met chiefs wanted to extend Palantir’s involvement, using it to scan criminal intelligence data for patterns and clues, as it already does for smaller police forces including Bedfordshire and Leicestershire. But City Hall found that the process for extending Palantir’s role did not allow bids from other suppliers.*
They do realise that most (not all, but most) of these rules were put in place in the name of public safety, right? Oversight does not equate safety.
Palantir puts profit above all. They can go fuck themselves.
Nah mate, he just doesn’t want London to become a fascist dystopia
I’d make Palantir the offer they can’t refuse: “We pay 10 times what you ask for it, but it has to work with a local hosted database then be 100% Open Source and documented software, hardware, firmware and data, down to the last screw”.
Their refusal will show that it has never been about selling a product/service.
How dare he, doesn’t he know that this year alone Palantir correctly predicted 17 out of 2 terrorist attacks?
“*If you don’t buy our product you’re putting the public in danger!*”
In psychology and marketing, this technique is known as the **Fear Appeal**.
Well the public will be just fine without your product Palantir.
Promise.
If you have to do the Official Secrets Act stuff there’s a bit about not wanting to overthrow parliamentary democracy. Palantir’s manifesto makes clear they *do* want to overthrow parliamentary democracy so why are we even discussing this?
You won’t be any safer with their intrusive BS.
Says the company that literally published a techno-fascist manifesto.
Well, as a Londoner I’d just like to say Palantir can go fuck itself. Preferably to death.
How dare you not let us harvest data and biometrics on every human on the planet!
Destroy palentir for the sake of the people
is that the company that just published an evil world domination manifesto?
Interesting conflict of interest there…
Literally mafia tactics
“You need to pay for security”
Why?
“Be a shame if somebody happened to bust out the windows tonight”
Maybe don’t listen to Saruman when he’s accusing Frodo or whoever of doing a bad thing.
Why does anyone care what Palantir thinks when discussing privacy?
Palantir IS A danger to public safety. God damn evil spy company. Techno-fascists can go to hell.
I don’t like Nazi CEOs
Sadiq one of the few people in the UK not bending over for the US – thank goodness. No wonder they hate him
YUSSSSSS. This company needs to be burried with lime spread over top.
Fuck palantir and the decrepid pony he rode in on.
Arasaka accuses Johnny Silverhand of putting politics over public safety
The same palantir that actively wants more warfare for its business? Go fuck yourself.
I’d argue not using Palantir is putting national security AND public safety above corruption and politics
Banish Palantir from our lives
Has Alex Karp and Palantir ever tried to just go and fuck themselves? Just a thought.
Okay then if its for the safety of the people, give it for free.
Motherfuckers are called PALANTIR, bound to have parent company called fucking Sauron
Palantir doesn’t give a fuck about public safety.
Tell palantir i said to shut the fuck up
Palantir doesn’t give a shit about public safety
Palantir needs to be reminded that they have no fucking say in the way Britain conducts their business
CEO of Palantir belongs in prison. enough with these ghouls stealing our privacy
Public safety is the purview of politicians not Palantir. Those who give up liberty for safety deserve neither.
London Mayor is a brave hero
I would feel safer if Palantir didn’t exist.
The Chairman of Palantir Peter Theil has said that “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”
The amount of vilification Sadiq Khan has received is unconscionable given what Palantir is and what the aims of his company are.
Especially surprising is The Times stance supporting Palantir in this. Even being a centre-right paper, they’ve gone full tilt with a company soaked in extreme right-wing values.
Palantir is a threat to public safety.
I’m waiting for these wanna-be tech lords(thiel & co) stand trial for their crimes against humanity