Labour members call on government to cancel Palantir's NHS contract

Delegates at the Labour party conference in Liverpool are trying to pressure the government into cancelling its £330m NHS contract with the US tech giant Palantir.

An emergency motion has been submitted calling on the Department of Health and Social Care to exercise a break clause in its contract with Palantir to run the Federated Data Platform (FDP).

The FDP uses Palantir's AI-powered data analytics software to bring together information from across the health service so hospitals can analyse it more easily and make improvements.

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The motion, put forward by the Labour-affiliated Socialist Health Association and at least three constituency parties, claims Palantir is "facing numerous allegations of involvement in serious breaches of human rights, including due to it developing technology for Israel's military to use in its unlawful occupation of Palestinian land and genocide in Gaza".

Israel denies allegations of genocide in Gaza.

Palantir claims its software has only been used by the IDF in Gaza to help locate hostages, and not to target Palestinians.

The motion's authors also highlight the recent appointment of Labour peer and former deputy leader Tom Watson as senior vice president at Palantir UK, arguing "links between senior politicians and private companies creates distrust amongst voters, particularly where public contracts are awarded… the Labour government has a responsibility to uphold public trust in politics".

Announcing his appointment on X last week, Lord Watson claimed "Palantir is the most interesting company on the planet, doing work of real consequence: helping Britain and its allies defend themselves, helping police protect our citizens and helping NHS staff get patients treated and home sooner".

Tom Watson has taken a leave of absence and his parliamentary pass will remain suspended throughout his time working for Palantir.

Both the science and technology and health and social care select committees have called for the government to invoke the February 2027 termination clause of the FDP contract, which was signed in 2023, as well as the British Medical Association and the union Unison.

'Not fit for purpose or cost effective'

Rathi Guhadasan, chair of the Socialist Health Association, said: "Palantir's human rights record is easily enough to disqualify it from government contracts - from its use in Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, to Israel's use of its technology to target Palestinians in its genocide in Gaza.

"But even on its own terms, a growing body of evidence within the NHS shows its technology is not fit for purpose or cost effective. Andy Burnham should show he means change, listen to NHS workers, and cancel Palantir's NHS contract."

A conference committee will decide on Saturday whether the emergency motion will be debated and voted on during Labour's annual gathering in Liverpool, which starts on Sunday.

The motion's authors hope it will be supported by Unison, given the union's previous position on Palantir. It is backed by Labour's left-wing faction Momentum and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

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A Palantir spokesperson said: "Palantir software is helping to deliver better care, with trusts using it recording 117,000 additional operations, a 14% reduction in discharge delays for long stay patients and a 5% improvement in the number of people finding out whether or not they have cancer within 28 days.

"But that is what it is - software that helps the NHS better manage the data it already holds. How that software is used is controlled by the NHS trusts who use it, with data - legally and contractually - only able to be processed strictly in accordance with their instructions, and all data remaining in the UK."

The Department of Health and Social Care said: "The benefits of the FDP service are clear, with thousands more patients benefitting every month, including through the reduction in the number of unnecessary days spent in hospital after treatment."

Ministers told MPs earlier this week the Palantir contract would be "reviewed in line with standard contract management processes and the outcome will be announced in the normal way in due course".

(c) Sky News 2026: Labour members call on government to cancel Palantir's NHS contract