Mayor Khan accuses Met of trying to fix contract with Palantir

By the Editorial Team · Saturday, August 1, 2026

London Mayor Sadiq Khan accused the Metropolitan Police of rigging a £50 million contract award to technology firm Palantir, leading to a legal dispute after the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime blocked the deal over procurement irregularities. The conflict highlights tensions over contract transparency, value for money, and ethical considerations, with police officials warning that canceling the contract could reduce frontline officer numbers.

London’s Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has publicly accused the Metropolitan Police of manipulating a procurement process to ensure the technology firm Palantir was awarded a contract valued at up to £50 million. The dispute centers on an agreement for software intended to enhance criminal investigations, which was blocked in May by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

The contract in question was set for £25.3 million during the 2026-27 fiscal year, with an optional one-year extension adding a further £24.8 million for 2027-28. Following MOPAC’s refusal to approve the deal, Palantir initiated legal action, claiming that the office unlawfully considered the company’s “values and ethics” as part of its evaluation.

In defense, MOPAC’s barrister Joseph Barrett KC argued that the Metropolitan Police service had from the outset intended the contract to be awarded to Palantir. Barrett asserted that the award process was deliberately designed and implemented to deliver this outcome, describing it as “unlawful” due to the lack of proper market testing and competition.

Court filings revealed that in April, the Met’s director of commercial services acknowledged being instructed to ensure Palantir won the contract for unified operational analytics (UOA), and that the process itself was structured to fulfill this objective. Barrett further alleged that the police had consistently provided MOPAC with inaccurate, misleading, or inconsistent information.

The controversy comes amid longstanding questions about Palantir’s role and reputation, especially given its extensive work in the U.S. defense sector and its chief executive Alex Karp’s public support for former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which has drawn criticism within the UK.

Khan’s office cited “clear and serious” breaches of procurement regulations as a reason for blocking the contract, noting that the process failed to adequately demonstrate value for money. The office also raised broader concerns about the appropriateness of considering a company’s values and ethics when making public procurement decisions.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned that preventing the deal would hinder planned efficiency improvements, potentially forcing the withdrawal of 700 officers from frontline duties.

Palantir’s legal representative, Lord David Pannick KC, countered that MOPAC had not been transparent about the actual reasons for rejecting the contract, which he described as “irrational, disproportionate,” and influenced by irrelevant factors. Barrett responded by rejecting the claim that moral considerations influenced the decision, maintaining that MOPAC’s choice was the only lawful and practical course of action.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.