Palantir Technologies has attributed opposition to its involvement with the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom to a “noisy minority” of Members of Parliament, according to the company’s UK managing director Louis Mosley. Speaking in late July, Mosley suggested that critics largely come from a specific political segment that objects to Palantir’s activities outside the UK, particularly in the United States and Israel.
Palantir, a US-based software firm with public-sector contracts worth approximately £600 million, including agreements with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, has faced increasing scrutiny. Some MPs and campaigners have raised concerns over the company’s previous work with US immigration authorities and the Israeli military, arguing that such associations raise ethical questions about its role in publicly funded projects like the NHS.
Within the health sector, debate has also emerged regarding whether Palantir’s software has delivered on its promise to improve patient flow and reduce waiting lists. The Health Foundation, a UK health policy think tank, has challenged claims that Palantir’s tools have decreased delayed discharges by 15 percent, suggesting that the effectiveness of the technology remains unclear.
Mosley dismissed these criticisms during an interview on Times Radio, emphasizing that decisions about deploying Palantir’s technology lie with the British Government and NHS leadership. He stressed that the software enables the NHS to maintain control over its data and that patient information remains secure under existing data protection laws.
He described Palantir’s role as a “data processor,” contrasting it with the NHS’s status as the “data controller,” and denied that Palantir profits from access to patient data. “We don’t have an economic interest in the data. We’re not deriving any value. It’s not a business model,” Mosley said, adding that its staff have no reason to access patient information beyond the scope of agreed contracts.
The UK government’s Health and Social Care Committee has expressed reservations about Palantir’s ongoing participation in the NHS. The committee recommended that the NHS consider terminating its contract ahead of schedule. Currently, the contract is valued at approximately £330 million over seven years, with a break clause scheduled for March 2027. To invoke this clause, a decision would need to be made by the end of 2026.
As the deadline approaches, the future of Palantir’s role within the NHS remains uncertain, with policymakers weighing concerns over ethics, data security, and the software’s impact on healthcare delivery.