NHS Data Contract Faces Scrutiny Amid Concerns Over Palantir’s Reputation
A £330 million contract awarded to US data analytics firm Palantir to build a new AI-enabled data platform for the National Health Service is facing increasing scrutiny, with health officials reportedly fearing the company’s reputation will hinder the project’s rollout and value for money. Concerns center on Palantir’s past work with controversial entities, including US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Israeli military.
The concerns emerged in a briefing document released under the Freedom of Information Act to the tech fairness campaign group Foxglove. The document, prepared for Wes Streeting before a meeting with Palantir’s European boss Louis Mosley in June 2025, stated that “the public perception of [the Federated Data Platform (FDP)]… has been affected by the profile of Palantir.” Officials wrote that they “do not know the extent to which this is impacting on delivery,” but acknowledged it was “likely to make it harder to go further with the FDP and to encourage the inclusion of GP data locally.”
The contract, awarded in 2023, aims to connect disparate health information across the NHS, streamlining patient care and improving efficiency. However, opposition from doctors and the public has slowed its implementation. By last summer, fewer than half of health authorities in England had begun using the technology.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has voiced strong opposition, with members reportedly considering refusing to use parts of the system due to Palantir’s involvement in targeting ICE raids in the United States. The BMA stated it has “long opposed the involvement of Palantir in the delivery of care and the use of patient data in our NHS, and This proves concerning to see from this briefing that the government felt public concern about Palantir should be dismissed as ‘misconceptions’.”
Palantir has also drawn criticism from Members of Parliament, who this week described the company as “ghastly” and “a highly questionable organisation.” The company’s ties to Peter Mandelson, through the lobbying firm Global Counsel, and Mandelson’s past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, have further fueled the controversy.
The briefing document suggested Streeting could ask Palantir how to accelerate the rollout and explore revisiting “regulations relating to confidential patient information.” Streeting recently published WhatsApp messages from August 2024 to October 2025 in an attempt to demonstrate transparency, but none of the messages mentioned Palantir. However, one message from Mandelson encouraged Streeting to visit the US to meet with “lots of tech companies and people to talk to.”
As of Thursday, February 12, 2026, 151 NHS organizations are utilizing the Palantir technology, an increase from 118 in June, but still short of the target of 240 by the end of the year.
Palantir was co-founded by Peter Thiel, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, who has publicly criticized the NHS, describing it as a case of “Stockholm syndrome.” David Davis, a former Conservative government minister, suggested the government now faces a “huge value-for-money issue” with the contract, citing “naivety” in awarding it to a company with “spectacular baggage in terms of its genesis in the American security state.” He predicted difficulties in gaining the cooperation of many hospital trusts and general practitioners.
John Puntis, co-chair of the Keep Our NHS Public campaign, called the contract “another example of a hugely wasteful IT contract” and argued that a lack of public trust would render it unworkable. He suggested the contract should be terminated or not renewed.
A spokesperson for Palantir defended the company’s work, stating that its software is “helping to deliver better public services in the UK,” citing examples such as facilitating 99,000 more NHS operations and reducing hospital discharge delays by 15%. The company also highlighted its contributions to the Royal Navy and police efforts to address domestic violence.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated that the Federated Data Platform is “already delivering for the NHS,” improving patient care, increasing hospital productivity, and speeding up cancer diagnosis. They emphasized that all providers undergo a “rigorous, competitive procurement process” and that all data access is controlled by the NHS with strict confidentiality stipulations.
