Palestine campaigners welcome Khan’s decision to block Met police Palantir contract

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) welcomes the news that London mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked a £50m Metropolitan police deal with notorious US tech company Palantir.

Prior to today’s announcement, over 1,000 PSC supporters in London emailed the mayor asking him to block the contract. It would have been Palantir’s largest ever contract in British policing.

In January 2024, Palantir entered into a “strategic partnership” with Israel’s Ministry of Defence to develop technology and tools to be used in “war-related missions.” Israel has used this technology to accelerate its genocide in Gaza. Palantir’s AI technology and surveillance can rapidly generate targets for Israel’s bombing campaigns. These have destroyed entire neighbourhoods, including schools and hospitals.

Khan’s spokesperson said London residents only wanted public money to go to those that “share the values of our city”.

Alongside blocking this contract, PSC is calling on Khan to intervene now to cancel the existing £500,000 Met contract to use Palantir technology in the force’s “professional service function” signed in February.

Further, PSC is calling on the UK government to to cancel all contracts with Palantir. This includes NHS England’s £330m contract to develop and maintain the Federated Data Platform to store patients’ medical data. Health workers, patients and human rights groups have all opposed this deal.

Lewis Backon, PSC campaigns officer, said:

It is welcome that following our campaigning the mayor of London has intervened to stop a £50m Met police contract with Palantir.

Palantir supplies Israel with AI and surveillance technology used as part of its genocide in Gaza, and wider regime of military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. Companies enabling human rights abuses across the globe should not receive a single penny of public money.

We call on the mayor to intervene to cancel the existing Met police contract with Palantir, and for the UK government to take note and cancel Palantir’s contracts, including in our NHS.

Featured image via Chris Jackson / Getty Images / the Canary