London Mayor Blocks £50 Million Met Police Contract with Palantir Over Procurement Breach

TL;DR: London Mayor Sadiq Khan stopped a £50 million contract between the Metropolitan Police and US tech firm Palantir after the police failed to follow required procurement procedures.

Context The Metropolitan Police had been negotiating a two‑year agreement to use Palantir’s artificial‑intelligence platform for automated intelligence analysis. The deal would have been Palantir’s largest contract with a British police force. City Hall’s approval is mandatory for contracts over £15 million, but the Met proceeded without securing that sign‑off.

Key Facts - The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) rejected the contract, stating the Met engaged only with Palantir and did not test the market for better value. - Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Kaya Comer‑Schwartz said she received “no acceptable explanation” for the procedural failure, labeling it a “clear and serious breach.” - The proposed spend of £15‑25 million per year sits at the top of the Met’s original cost estimate, raising concerns about cost‑effectiveness. - Palantir already holds more than £600 million in UK public‑sector contracts, including with the NHS, Ministry of Defence, Financial Conduct Authority and several police forces. - The mayor’s office emphasized that public money should go to companies that share London’s values and hinted at a review of whether ethics can be factored into future procurement rules. - Mopac did not ban Palantir from future bids but called for a “new procurement at pace” to address the breach.

What It Means The block halts the Met’s fastest‑track AI rollout and signals tighter scrutiny of high‑value tech contracts in London. It also adds pressure on the national government, which has urged police forces to adopt AI quickly, to clarify procurement standards and possibly incorporate ethical considerations. Watch for a revised procurement process from the Met and any policy response from the Home Office on AI use in policing.