Exclusive: Scotland Yard had been in talks to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis
A £50m Met police deal with the controversial US tech company Palantir has been blocked by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan , with City Hall citing a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac), which must approve contracts of this size, withheld approval, saying Scotland Yard had seriously engaged with only one potential supplier, Palantir . Khan’s office also said the Met risked becoming locked into Palantir’s technology and that the proposed deal had not “ensured or demonstrated value for money”.
His spokesperson said Londoners only wanted to see public money being paid to companies that “share the values of our city”.
There does not appear to be any block on Palantir bidding for a similar future contract and Mopac said it wanted to work with the Met on a “new procurement at pace”.