London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS Sued Over £23.5 Mln Contract With US Data Firm Linked to CIA

Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS Sued Over £23.5 Mln Contract With US Data Firm Linked to CIA

Palantir was set up in 2003 by German-born tech billionaire Peter Thiel and four business associates. It specialises in storing big data and allowing corporations and governments to visualise it to solve problems.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock is being sued over a £23.5 million contract with Silicon Valley data firm Palantir.

In March 2020 the NHS hired Palantir to store massive amounts of health data which were accruing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.


The temporary deal was extended in December for two years.

Open Democracy is suing NHS England for failing to carry out a fresh Data Protection Impact Assessment when the deal was extended in December.

Open Democracy, which is crowdfunding the £30,000 cost of the litigation, said on its website: "Palantir is best known for powering US intelligence operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its founder Peter Thiel, a Trump-backing Silicon Valley billionaire, famously once wrote 'I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible'."


​Under the deal, NHS data is anonymised before it is handed over to Palantir, which contributes its software and staff, but the NHS insists the data remains under its control.

But last month Phil Booth, a coordinator of medConfidential, a group which campaigns for patient confidentiality and consent in Britain, said the extended deal was a “significant expansion” well beyond the health emergency posed by the pandemic.

Mr Booth said: “It is one thing to use Palantir's data integration capabilities during a declared public health emergency, it is quite another to begin to embed them in the day-to-day running of aspects of the NHS and wider care system.”


​On Tuesday, 24 February, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported Palantir had been conducting a charm offensive against the NHS since the summer of 2019.

It said on 2 July 2019, on the eve of the NHS launching a new technology arm, that Palantir’s UK chief, Louis Mosley hosted a meal attended by NHS England chair David Prior at which watermelon cocktails were served.

Palantir - named after a seeing stone in the book Lord Of The Rings - is known for its work with the CIA and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States.

The firm’s software provided the intelligence which enabled a massive ICE raid on poultry processing plants in Mississippi in August 2019 which led to 680 suspected illegal immigrants being arrested and held for deportation. Dozens of children came home to find their parents had been deported.

In February Palantir forecast revenue growth of 30 percent this year, down from 47 percent last year, when it won a number of government contracts, including from the US Army and Air Force.

An NHS spokesman told the BBC an impact assessment had been done in April, "and an update will be published in due course".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
×