Palantir's NHS data deal called in for a second opinion

**TL;DR:** Palantir's NHS data deal called in for a second opinion

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Experts have welcomed the UK government's decision to review its contract with Palantir to provide software central to tackling the elective care backlog. The US spy-tech biz has, for some, been a controversial presence at the heart of the National Health Service in England since it was awarded a contract for just £1 to help provide data tools during the pandemic. It later won £60 million in uncontested deals.

After the pandemic, it won a £330 million award – with other companies as partners – to provide the Federated Data Platform (FDP) under a SaaS model for the former Conservative government. NHS England defended the decision to award the FDP contract to Palantir after a competitive tender, saying it would help provide increased productivity necessary to help the NHS recover from its mammoth post-pandemic elective care backlog. Since Labour took office, however, the Palantir deal has looked less comfortable.

The company was founded with backing from CIA-linked venture capital firm In-Q-Tel and provides technology to ICE and other controversial US security agencies. Attention has begun to focus on a contractual break clause next February, with the UK government saying it is plann

Source: The Register

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Last updated: June 16, 2026.

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Additional context: early-cycle stories often look bigger in headlines than in day-to-day impact. The useful move is to identify the smallest set of facts that would change your decision, then wait for those facts to land.