City Hall scrap Met Police deal with Palantir

City Hall has blocked a £50mn contract between the Met Police and US tech company Palantir over a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.

The Mayor of London told the London Assembly on Thursday 21 May that the force failed to provide their procurement strategy to the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime (Mopac) for a contract aimed at supporting criminal investigations and reforms within the Met itself.

Palantir has faced criticism over its work with both the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompting politicians and campaigners to call on the government and local authorities to rethink handing over contracts to the firm.

Questioned by Green Party assembly member Benali Hamdache at Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday Sir Sadiq Khan told Assembly Members: “The Procurement Act 2023 and the framework of public procurement legislation prevents us from picking and choosing suppliers we want to award to, and also limits the grounds on which suppliers can be excluded. Procuring activity has to happen within the bounds of that legislation.

“The Met has been in talks with Palantir UK in relation to a contract to improve criminal investigations and support, and reforms to improve culture and standards. They’ve recently asked Mopac to formally approve a deal. In the course of considering this request, a number of serious concerns have been identified.

“The Met did not present their procurement strategy to Mopac for approval as required under Mopac’s scheme of delegation. Instead, the Met Police Service procurement process proceeded to the point of requesting Mopac approval for contract award.

“The Executive has therefore made the decision not to approve with proceeding with the contract award to Palantir UK.

“This is in line with our policies and processes. The safety of Londoners will always be my first priority as Mayor. I’ve backed our police and treated them with record funding from City Hall to protect the frontline, reform the police and improve services for the public.

“Technology offers opportunity to supercharge these improvements and release advice on savings to protect our frontline. I welcome the Met’s ambition in this regard.”

Deputy Mayor for Policing, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, wrote to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to say that “the process followed by the MPS for the award of the proposed contract has not ensured, or demonstrated, value for money”.

She added: “To date, 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.

“The procurement process that the MPS has followed to date in respect of the award of the proposed contract has not, in my view, provided a reasonable process of competition or market testing in respect of the services being procured by the MPS.”

She also claimed the value of the proposed contract — around £25mn per year — is unlikely to be able to be financed “without the risk of unacceptable adverse impact on other budgetary areas”.

The Mayor would only comment on the technical aspects of the decision, suggesting he was being “deliberately careful in what I say today”.

City Hall sources suggested there was a wider question about whether ethics and values should be taken into account during procurement processes, and whether there is a duty to ensure public funding only goes to firms which “share the values” of the city. Sir Sadiq is expected to raise this with ministers in future.

Previously, a spokesperson for the Mayor said: “As a general point, the Mayor would have concerns about using public money to support firms who act contrary to London’s values.”

Hamdache told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The public backlash has been impossible to ignore and the Mayor now appears to be distancing himself from Labour’s cosy relationship with Palantir and finally listening to the anger and concern felt across London.

“Palantir has repeatedly shown contempt for international law through the development of surveillance and AI technology used as part of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Trump’s ICE immigration inhumane crackdown operations and the recent disturbing manifesto published by the company.

“Londoners do not want our public services associated with corporations that profit from war and human suffering.

“It’s good that this £50mn contract was blocked, but the Met still has contracts with Palantir worth nearly £500,000 that haven’t been challenged.

“Blocking this larger contract is an important step, but Londoners deserve answers about how it was ever seriously considered in the first place and what guarantees are now in place to ensure nothing like this happens again with any contract regardless of size.”

Labour MP Clive Lewis said: “The right call from Sadiq. Other Mayors and PCCs should take note and keep Palantir out of policing.

“Beyond that, the public sector needs to stop procurement deals that ignore due process. I’ve long been fighting against gift wrapping public services and handing them to over to shady tech giants.”

The Met said the decision was “disappointing” as it “needed to use the best technology available”.

A Palantir spokesperson told the LDRS: “Palantir’s proven software is already helping a number of police forces up and down the country to tackle crime.

“This includes helping to improve the enforcement of Clare’s Law by identifying 1,000 women in Bedfordshire whose partners have a history of domestic violence in a single year, while bringing a criminal gang in Luton that had stolen £700,000 from cash machines to justice. In London, it has helped the Metropolitan Police to tackle serious corruption and criminality within its force.

“We are proud of that work and stand ready to further support law enforcement across the UK.”

London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time) – Thursday 21 May 2026. Agenda. Webcast.

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