When I arrived at the BBC Live Policy studio on Monday morning, I didn’t expect to come face-to-face with Louis Mosley, executive vice president and head of Palantir Technologies UK. I knew I had to join to make sure I properly represented those concerned about a defense technology company being involved in public institutions. Palantir has ties to Israel and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. However, this is the company entrusted to work with our NHS health data. Mosley’s appearance on the BBC suggested to me that Palantir is feeling the pressure. From the widespread response I have received from our exchange – from senior leaders working in the City to teachers – I have no doubt that we are getting closer to their departure from our NHS.
My first instinct was to speak in support of the people of Palestine and Lebanon. I hate it when people act like making this the focus of your activism or the reasoning behind who you’re going to vote for is somehow fringe or not enough. How can the genocide in Gaza not be a good enough reason to speak up and take action? The contracts are clear, with Israel and Palantir signing one strategic partnership in 2024 which states their intent to “leverage Palantir’s advanced technology in support of war-related missions.”
The company’s role in helping Ice track down and deport undocumented migrants has also been exposed by investigative journalists. In addition, Palantir has been accused of creating predictive police tools that reinforce racial bias in law enforcement. Its founder, Peter Thiel, has said that he “no longer believes that freedom and democracy are compatible” and that our love of the NHS is a case of Stockholm syndrome.
The question is simple: how can you trust such a company with our most sensitive data? Mosley read off a long list of ways he thought Palantir was helping the NHS, including earlier cancer diagnosis times and reducing discharge delays. The Labor MP on the show also made it a matter of NHS efficiency and modernisation. Nobody is arguing that we don’t need to increase efficiency in the NHS, but surely there are other, more credible companies – not owned by a right-wing US billionaire – that could help better manage our NHS data?
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Mosley also noted that Palantir had started the Ice contract under Barack Obama, using that to argue that the company was not political. First, it is political to engage in systematic surveillance of communities, regardless of which administration is in place. Second, his logic begs the question: how will this company behave in a reforming government?
As chief executive of Tax Justice UK, I think about both the regressive way taxes are collected and the way they are spent. The NHS is being wiped out by private companies – new research shows that private firms made £1.6 billion in profits in two years, with contracts worth £12 billion. But Palantir isn’t just a profit problem for our national health care system — it’s a fundamental threat to democratic control of our public infrastructure and the privacy of every citizen. And by giving our hard-earned taxes to this company, we’re helping their operations everywhere. What’s more, Palantir isn’t just making money from NHS contracts; the company also has contracts with the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and various local authorities.
Like many large companies, Palantir is adept at setting up loopholes to minimize paying taxes. In the US, Palantir did not pay federal income tax in 2025despite being awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in public contracts and without much growth. It is only fair that taxpayers in this country expect companies that benefit from public contracts to pay their fair share of tax. Otherwise, this looks like taking the corporation out of the public purse.
How did they get this contract? Mosley argued that it was won through a competitive process, and it may well be. But it is also the case that Palantir started offering services to the NHS during Covidat a time when many deals were given with little consideration. Fast forward to February 2025, and we have disgraced US Ambassador Peter Mandelson said to be involved in organizing the Keir Starmer to visit Palantir’s showroom in Washington DC. The whole thing smacks of good connections affecting our state infrastructure.
The NHS is arguably our most moral institution, a source of real pride that resonates with people across the population, regardless of demographics. But by using our taxpayers’ money to help fund Palantir’s work, we are promoting the very values that lie at the heart of the creation of the NHS. Companies like Palantir may not care too much about who they do business with, but we – as taxpayers – should. Our taxes give us the power to exercise our right to protest how our money is spent.
(Further reading: You will probably end up in an HMO)
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