Palantir (PLTR) Stock: UK MPs Flag NHS Deal as National Security Risk

TLDR

• A UK parliamentary committee has labelled Britain’s reliance on Palantir an “unacceptable point of weakness” in a new report
• The committee flagged Palantir’s £330 million ($444 million) NHS data contract as a vendor lock-in risk
• MPs cited co-founder Peter Thiel’s political views and Palantir’s US military work as a “clear mismatch with UK values”
• The committee urged the government to use a 2027 break clause in the NHS contract and seek UK-based alternatives
• Palantir’s UK CEO defended the deal, calling any push to cancel it “frankly irresponsible”

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A UK parliamentary committee has taken direct aim at Palantir’s growing footprint in British public services, warning that the country’s dependence on the US data analytics firm is leaving sensitive citizen data exposed.

Palantir Technologies Inc., PLTR

The Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee published a 70-page report on Wednesday, singling out Palantir as a prime example of over-reliance on a small number of US tech providers. The report called the situation an “unacceptable point of weakness.”

Palantir stock (PLTR) was in focus following the report’s release, with investors watching for any reaction to the political pressure building in one of the company’s key international markets.

The most high-profile contract in the report is Palantir’s deal with the National Health Service, worth £330 million over seven years. It was awarded in 2023 and is designed to pull together health data from across the NHS into a single platform to help healthcare professionals make faster decisions.

The NHS says the deal has delivered “huge benefits for patients,” including faster cancer diagnosis and treating thousands of additional patients each month.

Committee Wants Break Clause Triggered

Despite those stated benefits, the committee has urged the government to exercise a break clause in the contract in 2027. It wants the government to either find a UK-based alternative or build one in-house.

MPs raised several concerns about Palantir beyond the technical scope of the contract. The report pointed to co-founder Peter Thiel’s political ties to Donald Trump and his past criticism of national health services. It also cited Palantir’s work supplying software to the US military and immigration services.

The committee said this represented a “clear mismatch with UK values” and warned that the government’s digital transformation goals could be “derailed at any time by a decision taken outside our shores.”

Committee chair Dame Chi Onwurah said the UK was “seriously exposed” and called for technology sovereignty in critical public sector areas.

Palantir Pushes Back

Palantir’s British CEO Louis Mosley was quick to respond. Speaking on BBC radio, he said the committee had already acknowledged the NHS contract was delivering results, making any call to cancel it “frankly irresponsible.”

Mosley also stressed that Palantir won the contract through a fully open and competitive tender process, and that all NHS data remains under the health service’s control.

British non-profit Foxglove, which has been running a campaign against Palantir’s NHS involvement, welcomed the report. It called on the government to end the contract entirely.

The committee’s report also took a broader swipe at the government’s digital strategy, describing its target to save £45 billion annually through digital transformation as “worryingly optimistic.”

It recommended appointing a senior minister specifically to lead the digital transformation agenda.

The UK government’s health ministry had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

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