Sadiq Khan may try to stop Scotland Yard signing Palantir contract

Sadiq Khan may oppose Scotland Yard using Palantir’s AI systems to process criminal intelligence because of his “concerns about using public money to support firms who act contrary to London’s values”. The mayor of London’s office made the statement after the Guardian revealed last week that Palantir, whose software has been used in Donald Trump’s ICE immigration crackdown and by Israel’s military, has held talks with the Metropolitan police over a wide-ranging contract that could run into tens of millions of pounds. The US tech company, which was founded by the Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel, demonstrated its systems to senior officers in the intelligence division at the UK’s largest police force last month. Intelligence staff have also been tasked with finding systems that AI could automate to increase productivity. Khan has some power over any potential contract with the Met because any procurement above £500,000 must come to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime for scrutiny and approval. Khan’s public expression of concern comes after more than 330,000 people signed petitions in the UK calling for Palantir to be blocked or dropped from UK contracts. The government has a £330m deal for Palantir to process medical data in the NHS and a £240m deal with the Ministry of Defence. …