London Mayor Blocks £50 Million Met Police AI Contract with Palantir

On 21 May 2026, Mayor Sadiq Khan ordered the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) to refuse a two-year, £50 million contract that would let the Metropolitan Police use Palantir’s AI for intelligence analysis. Mopac said the Met engaged only Palantir, skipped market testing and failed to prove value for money, a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.

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Palantir holds over £600 million in UK contracts, including the NHS, Ministry of Defence, Financial Conduct Authority and several police forces. A recent Met trial of its AI, awarded without open competition, examined staff behaviour and led to investigations of hundreds of officers. The government has allocated £115 million for a national AI-policing centre, “Police AI”.

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• Sadiq Khan – Mayor of London, final authority on contracts above £15 million.

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• Kaya Comer-Schwartz – Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, author of the refusal letter to Met Commissioner Mark Rowley.

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• Mark Rowley – Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

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• Louis Mosley – Palantir UK chief executive, defending the firm’s public-sector role.

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• Shabana Mahmood – Home Secretary, urging rapid AI adoption in policing.

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Mopac warned the procurement created “legal and reputation risks”. The mayor’s office argued that public money should be spent on companies aligned with London’s values. Home Secretary Mahmood urged police to “ramp up use of AI” “at pace and scale”. Palantir’s Mosley cited the NHS AI system’s claim of 110,000 extra operations and called the technology “transformative”.

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MPs called the deal “dreadful” and “shameful”. Critics highlighted Palantir’s work for the Israeli military and U.S. immigration enforcement, questioning its fit with London’s values. A government source said the administration is “no fan” of Palantir’s politics. Petitions signed by hundreds of thousands demand termination of existing contracts, including the £330 million NHS data platform.

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The Met quoted an annual cost of £15-£25 million, yet the contract presented to Mopac totaled £50 million, creating a cost gap. Mopac said no market test was done; the Met argues the trial complied with procurement rules, a point the mayor’s office disputes.

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• “I have not been provided with any acceptable explanation for this failure, which I regard as a clear and serious breach of the applicable procedural requirements.” — Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime

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• “His spokesperson said Londoners only wanted to see public money being paid to companies that “share the values of our city”.” — Mayor’s spokesperson, Sadiq Khan’s office

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• “dreadful” and “shameful”. — MP (unnamed)

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Mopac will work with the Met to redesign the procurement and reopen competition “at pace”. The Home Office will continue its AI-policing programme, with the £115 million national centre slated for launch later in 2026. Palantir says it will submit a fresh bid under the new rules.

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