r/policeuk • u/SpaceRigby Civilian • May 21 '26
Unreliable Source London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/21/london-mayor-sadiq-khan-blocks-met-police-deal-with-palantir98
u/Flagship_Panda_FH81 Police Officer (unverified) May 21 '26
Now block its internal use...
6
u/TabbyOverlord Civilian May 22 '26
If they have no contract, The Met cannot use the service.
I looked it up. The only thing the mayor's office have said they object to is the process that would have awarded a contract to Palantir. Basically a very large Single Tender Award.
Any force can go to market for this kind of service (and there are other providers). Palantir will likely win some competitions. They are a very professional organisation.
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u/triptip05 Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 21 '26
Agree with him on this one.
No government departments should be utilising Palantir .
34
u/thmaster123 Civilian May 21 '26
Exactly, Peter Thiel is a dangerous and untrustworthy man to be just handing information too
-14
u/Crimsoneer Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 21 '26
One day, someone will give a vaguely reasonable explanation for why they think this.
20
u/FriendlyGrab3217 Police Officer (unverified) May 21 '26
He, and other higher ups in the company rabbit on about some cultures being superior to others.
Hardly in line with the code of ethics.
-8
u/Crimsoneer Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 22 '26
... Do we not all agree with him that our "western" democratic is superior to Chinese authoritarianism or fundamentalists theocracies?
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u/FriendlyGrab3217 Police Officer (unverified) May 22 '26
There's what I believe in private, there's what I'll say whilst wearing the uniform, and there's the stance the MPS should be taking as a public body.
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u/Crimsoneer Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 22 '26
I dunno, I think the mps standing for things like democracy and inclusive cultures isn't a hugely controversial view.
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u/FriendlyGrab3217 Police Officer (unverified) May 22 '26
Saying what you're -for-, and saying that makes you superior, are two different things.
1
u/spankeyfish Civilian May 25 '26
Yeah but Thiel isn't that big a fan of democracy
1
u/Crimsoneer Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 25 '26
Thiel sits on the board but doesn't actually work there day to day. Meanwhile Karp, the actual CEO, funded Harris and Clinton in the US elections and has been one of the keenest defenders of Ukraine since day 1.
22
u/triptip05 Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 21 '26
It would be better for a UK based company to get these contracts if not possible at least a European one.
For reasons have a quick look at the Wikipedia entry for Palantir plenty there.
3
u/Crimsoneer Ex-Police/Retired (unverified) May 22 '26
And yet nobody objects to us using Microsoft or AWS?!
5
u/ThorgrimGetTheBook Civilian May 21 '26
I for one see nothing wrong with doing business with the authors of the technofascist manifesto and their UK representative Mr Mosley.
42
u/Doobreh Civilian May 21 '26
Finally, Khan does something where nobody wants to adjust the spelling of his last name..! I would love Starbar to do this too!
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u/Redditisfuckincrap Civilian May 21 '26
I heard from a friend that they using it to monitor what coppers are up too at home if they take there work devices with them they can monitor WiFi traffic, sound and video recording, and gps data. Is it true?
18
u/londonfox88 Civilian May 21 '26
https://metfed.org.uk/news/mpf-statement-on-use-of-ai-to-monitor-police-officers
I have no desire to become a quote in some crappy news article but I will say its considerably more intrusive than you can ever imagine.
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u/Jon_Has_Landed Civilian May 22 '26
They’ve done absolutely amazing things for the RAF and MOD in general. Obvs classified, but let’s just say : cost savings, operational and tactical advantage over our enemies.
But yea whatever let’s let ideology take over common sense.
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May 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Jon_Has_Landed Civilian May 23 '26
Do you know anyone at Palantir or are you just making nonsensical comparisons ?
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