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Doctors, lawmakers and campaigners warn of ethical dangers and urge the U.K. government to scrap a £330 million agreement between the National Health Service (NHS) and AI giant Palantir.
Co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, the American firm has gained influence across Britain’s public sector.
Under the deal, awarded in 2023, it supplies the NHS with a data management platform.
The Federated Data Platform (FDP), valued at roughly $440 million, aims to tighten coordination among hospitals, simplify appointment scheduling and stretch resources further.
The NHS insists sensitive patient data stays in Britain, does not belong to Palantir, and never serves commercial goals or AI training.
Critics counter by highlighting the company’s wider work, including for the Israeli military and U.S. immigration authorities, and say those ties erode technological gains and public confidence in the health service.
"The NHS has to function on trust; the trust is that I can tell my doctor anything. Those ethical concerns are basically poisoning everything," Duncan McCann, head of technology and data at the campaign group Good Law Project, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Protesters from medical organizations and rights groups gathered Thursday at roughly 30 hospitals and outside Palantir’s London headquarters. Demonstrators urged the government to exercise a break clause that would stop the deal from renewing past March 2027.
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham took office in July and has stayed quiet on the contract so far. Ministers are reviewing it and are expected to decide by December.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has advised doctors against using the platform, pointing to threats to patient trust, data security and NHS independence.
"Given Palantir's track record, including controversies in the U.S. involving immigration enforcement... we believe there must be a complete break from Palantir technologies in the NHS," BMA chair Tom Dolphin told the British Medical Journal in February.
YouGov polling released in July showed 65% of Britons backed scrapping the deal. Backers counter that the platform produces results, with about 2/3 of NHS hospitals now using it. Palantir says it has helped deliver 110,000 extra operations and shorter waiting lists but did not respond to AFP requests for comment.
"The benefits of the FDP service are clear, with thousands more patients benefitting every month, including through the reduction in the number of unnecessary days spent in hospital after treatment," a Department of Health spokesperson told AFP.
Palantir has won several public sector contracts across Britain, including a £240-million defense agreement signed in 2025. The UK now ranks as the firm’s second-largest global market and generated 10% of its revenue in 2025.
France, however, chose this year to drop Palantir’s software across its intelligence agencies in favor of a product from French firm ChapsVision. Berlin has bought the technology and is testing it, German media reported.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan halted a £50-million agreement between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir in May, citing procurement concerns and prompting the company to launch legal action. Several other British organizations have cut ties with the firm.
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