London mayor blocks proposed MPS contract with Palantir

According to an exclusive report by The Guardian, the contract, said to be worth up to £50 million, would have involved the use of Palantir’s AI technology to support intelligence analysis in criminal investigations.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), which must approve contracts of that scale, is understood to have raised concerns that the MPS had not adequately tested the market before progressing discussions with the company.

A letter seen by The Guardian reportedly described the issue as a “clear and serious breach” of procurement requirements.

The report said MOPAC was also concerned about the potential risk of the force becoming overly dependent on a single supplier’s technology platform.

Palantir already supplies technology to a number of UK public sector organisations, including the NHS and Ministry of Defence, and has previously worked with police forces on data analysis and intelligence projects. The MPS has also been using Palantir software internally to identify potential misconduct and corruption risks among officers and staff.

A statement released by the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “The Federation welcomes this decisive intervention of the Mayor’s office. The use of AI to spy on our members is unacceptable – police officers do not deserve to be treated and indeed tarnished with this level of suspicion. We have made very clear our concerns around this unchecked use of a controversial AI provider to spy on every single one of our colleagues. This was not proportionate, just or proper.”

Despite the decision, the proposed procurement is not understood to have been abandoned entirely. MOPAC reportedly wants the MPS to undertake a fresh procurement exercise compliant with the required processes.

The development comes as policing bodies continue exploring wider use of AI and advanced analytics tools to support investigations, intelligence management and professional standards work.