London Mayor's Office Blocks Metropolitan Police Contract With Palantir

The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime refused to approve a contract worth up to £50 million between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir UK. 8 million. City Hall determined that the force had not demonstrated adequate value for money and had not followed required approval procedures.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Kaya Comer-Schwartz stated that the Met had failed to obtain prior approval for its procurement strategy. She described the omission as a clear and serious breach of the rules and noted that the force had engaged seriously with only one supplier.

The contract value had increased from an initial estimate of £15 million to £25 million per year after direct negotiations with Palantir. Comer-Schwartz said she was not satisfied the Met could fund the contract without unacceptable impact on other budgets.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the decision was disappointing because the force needed to modernize and use the best technology available. The statement noted that the technology is already used by the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, and other police forces.

A Palantir spokesperson said the company's software is already helping police forces across the UK, including identifying 1,000 women in Bedfordshire whose partners have a history of domestic violence in a single year and assisting in the prosecution of a criminal gang in Luton that stole £700,000 from cash machines.

The spokesperson added that the software had helped the Metropolitan Police tackle serious corruption and criminality within the force. City Hall said the mayor plans to raise the broader issue of whether a company's values and ethics should be considered in public procurement with the government.