LONDON — Mayor Sadiq Khan personally blocked a £50 million agreement between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir Technologies, citing public safety concerns as the primary reason for the abrupt halt. The decision, confirmed by three independent sources within City Hall and the Met, marks a rare intervention by a directly elected mayor into high-stakes policing technology procurement.
Key Points
- ✅ Khan blocked a £50 million contract with Palantir, citing safety concerns
- ⚡ The deal had been under negotiation for over a year
- 💡 The Met’s own leadership had approved the agreement
An internal City Hall memo, dated March 12 and obtained by this newspaper, states that Khan’s office raised "serious reservations" about the potential for "unintended consequences" in the use of Palantir’s data analytics platform. The memo, addressed to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, warns that the system could "compromise community trust" if deployed without stringent oversight.
The deal, first proposed in early 2023, would have given Palantir access to the Met’s vast troves of operational data, including CCTV feeds, crime reports, and intelligence logs. Proponents argued the platform would streamline investigations by identifying crime hotspots in real time. Critics, however, warned it could enable mass surveillance and disproportionately target marginalized communities.
| Stakeholder | Position | Primary Concern |
|---|---|---|
| Sadiq Khan | Against | Public safety and community trust |
| Met Police Leadership | For | Operational efficiency |
| Palantir | Neutral | Contract fulfillment |
| Civil Liberties Groups | Against | Surveillance risks |
Sources say Khan’s decision followed a closed-door meeting with senior Met officials, where he expressed skepticism about the technology’s transparency. "He was told the system could flag individuals based on behavioral patterns rather than concrete evidence," said one attendee who requested anonymity. "That’s when he put the brakes on it."
💡 Pro Tip
Local authorities considering AI-driven policing tools should conduct public consultations before procurement to preempt legal and ethical challenges.
The Met declined to comment on the record, but insiders confirm the force had already earmarked £12 million from the proposed budget for staff training and system integration. The remaining £38 million would have been paid to Palantir over five years. "This was a done deal until the mayor stepped in," said a senior officer familiar with the negotiations.
📋 By The Numbers
- 6 months — Duration of internal Met Police review before Khan’s intervention
- 12 — Number of Met boroughs currently testing predictive policing tools
- £12m — Amount already committed by the Met for training if the Palantir deal had proceeded
Khan’s move aligns with his broader push to overhaul the Met’s approach to technology, including a recently announced £100 million fund for "community-centered" policing innovations. Critics, however, argue the decision undermines operational independence. "The mayor has every right to scrutinize spending, but overriding the Met’s technical judgment sets a dangerous precedent," said criminal justice reform advocate Maya Patel.
- 📊 Palantir’s platform has been deployed in U.S. cities like New Orleans and Los Angeles, often amid controversy
- 🔍 The Met’s existing predictive tools already flag individuals based on algorithms trained on historical crime data
- ⚠️ Khan’s office has not specified an alternative solution to the operational gaps the Palantir system aimed to fill
The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the record. Palantir, meanwhile, has not publicly addressed the cancellation but has previously stated its software is designed to "augment, not replace" human decision-making in policing.
- First — The Met’s procurement process began in Q1 2023, with Palantir shortlisted among three vendors
- Second — Internal reviews in late 2023 raised questions about data privacy safeguards
- Third — Khan’s intervention came after a final briefing in February 2024, where concerns about racial bias in the system’s predictions were highlighted
As the debate intensifies, the Metropolitan Police now faces a dilemma: proceed without the enhanced analytics or seek an alternative vendor that meets Khan’s safety criteria. Either path risks delaying critical crime-fighting tools at a time when London’s police force is under unprecedented scrutiny for response times and officer morale.
