Palantir to sue Khan over blocked Met police contract
Palantir is set to sue Sadiq Khan after the London Mayor blocked a £50m contract with the Metropolitan Police, claiming the tech giant does not reflect the City’s values.
In May, Khan vetoed the deal in which Palantir would have supported Scotland Yard with AI technology, over concerns about the Met’s procurement process, claiming they had failed to approach any other firms, including Palantir.
Khan’s office also nodded to the “ethics” of companies it procures from, and a spokesperson said they had “concerns about using public money to support firms that act contrary to London’s values”, and that Londoners want to spend money on businesses that reflect these.
However, Palantir’s UK chief executive, Louis Mosley, called out Khan on Times Radio on 22 May, accusing the mayor of “putting politics over public safety”.
“Not allowing the Metropolitan Police to have this software will give hostile states and criminals an advantage. It’ll mean they cannot put more officers on the front line,” Mosley added.
The US tech giant’s lawyers have now written to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) in a pre-action letter, notifying the mayor that they will press ahead with challenging Khan’s decision in court to overturn it, according to The Times.
A company source for Palantir said Khan’s decision on its “values” was a “subjective assessment”.
“We don’t take this decision lightly but we cannot stand by if procurement of our software is being politicised in this way,” the source said.
Speaking to City PM yesterday, Khan said “people want certainty” when it comes to AI use in government and by public bodies, and how it is regulated.
“They want to know: what are the guardrails? What are the rules when it comes to us using the technology? How can we use it?,” Khan said.
“We can’t be blind to it. That’s why I’m not evangelical about AI to the extent where I don’t understand the importance of the guardrails and having rules in play,” he added.
Palantir, founded by American tech billionaire Peter Thiel, already holds contracts with other UK public sector bodies, including the NHS, the Ministry of Defence, and many regional police forces, such as in Bedfordshire and Leicestershire.
The Met police had been eyeing an upgrade with the deal that would have used AI to change how crimes are investigated across London.
The company has been used by organisations including the Israel Defence Forces and in immigration raids in the US.
This follows Sir Michael Ellis KC, a former Tory attorney general under Liz Truss, raising concern that Khan’s decision to block the deal is “an extraordinary intervention, which may be susceptible to judicial review.”
Ellis told the Times that the Mayor’s decision “appears to be based, at least in part, on Khan’s political sensibilities, namely how he views the values and ethics of this American company.”
“If I were Palantir, I would be seeking legal advice as to whether Khan’s actions could be overturned by the courts,” Ellis added.
Speaking to City PM on Monday, Khan claimed that shifting political dynamics in the US are actively driving tech talent and venture capital to the UK, arguing that London possesses structural and cultural advantages that “America doesn’t” as he seeks to position the capital against Silicon Valley.