More than 200,000 people have signed petitions urging the UK government to terminate its contracts with US data firm Palantir Technologies, amid mounting concerns over its role in handling sensitive public data.

The petitions, which have gathered a combined 229,000 signatures, call for a full withdrawal from agreements with the firm, including a £330 million contract with the National Health Service (NHS). Critics argue that the company’s involvement in sectors such as healthcare, policing, and defense raises serious privacy and ethical concerns.

Campaigners have pointed to Palantir’s reported work with US immigration enforcement and the Israeli military as a key source of alarm, warning against granting the company access to sensitive UK data systems.

The backlash intensified following reports that the Metropolitan Police is in discussions to expand its use of Palantir’s artificial intelligence tools for intelligence analysis, a move that would significantly deepen the company’s footprint in UK law enforcement.

At the same time, a recently published manifesto by the company’s US arm, emphasizing the need for “hard power” in democratic societies, has drawn criticism, with one lawmaker describing it as deeply concerning.

Because we get asked a lot.

The Technological Republic, in brief.

1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation.

2. We must rebel…

— Palantir (@PalantirTech) April 18, 2026

Political and public pressure mounts

The campaign has gained traction across the political spectrum, with figures from multiple parties calling for a reassessment of the government’s relationship with the company. Advocacy group 38 Degrees, which supported the petitions, said the scale of public response reflects widespread unease.

Its chief executive, Matthew McGregor, said that hundreds of thousands of people do not want a company linked to controversial surveillance operations handling their personal data, urging the government to act swiftly.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have called for the NHS deal to be scrapped and for any future agreements with the firm to be halted.

In 2019, I warned that the NHS was being sold off to private U.S companies.

The media's response? I was peddling Russian propaganda.

One of those companies is Palantir, a company that has enabled genocide in Gaza. We were right then — and we are right now: Kick Palantir out.

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 22, 2026

Palantir, which holds contracts worth an estimated £600 million with UK public institutions, including the Ministry of Defence and several police forces, has rejected criticism of its operations.

This wider presence has intensified debate over whether a single US data analytics company is becoming deeply embedded across critical public infrastructure.

The company argues that its technology improves public services by increasing NHS efficiency, speeding up cancer diagnoses, and supporting law enforcement efforts.

Its UK chief executive, Louis Mosley, has publicly challenged critics, dismissing some allegations as inaccurate while engaging in a highly visible online exchange with political figures and activists.

NHS-Palantir contract breakdown 

The UK government’s £330 million agreement with Palantir to build the NHS Federated Data Platform has become the focus of growing political and public scrutiny, despite being defined by strict technical limits on data access and use.

Signed in November 2023, the seven-year contract is led by Palantir alongside partners including Accenture and PwC, with NHS England acting as the formal data controller. According to the agreement, the system is designed to improve operational efficiency across the NHS by linking fragmented data such as hospital capacity, waiting lists, staffing levels, and supply chains. GP data is excluded, and patient-level data is not currently included in its scope.

Under the contract’s stated terms, Palantir does not own or control NHS data and is not permitted to commercialize it or use it to train artificial intelligence models. Instead, it provides the infrastructure for analyzing operational data while the NHS retains legal control.

Supporters argue the platform is intended to reduce waiting times, improve hospital coordination, and manage resources more effectively without transferring ownership of sensitive medical information.

Despite these safeguards, critics highlight three main structural concerns.

The first is vendor lock-in. Once NHS systems are built around Palantir’s infrastructure, switching providers could become costly and disruptive. Although a break clause becomes active in 2027, replacing the system mid-deployment would require major operational changes. Adoption has also fallen short of targets, with many NHS trusts resisting implementation.

The second concern relates to what critics describe as “access layer control”. Even if data remains physically within NHS systems, the argument is that control over analytics tools and query systems could still give Palantir significant influence over how information is processed and used.

The third issue is so-called mission creep. While the contract currently limits use to operational data, critics argue that future expansion into clinical data or AI training could become difficult to resist once the system is fully embedded.

The British Medical Association has called for the termination of NHS contracts with Palantir, reflecting these concerns.

Ongoing scrutiny over expanding role

Despite the company’s defense, scrutiny continues to grow as negotiations with law enforcement bodies and local authorities remain ongoing. Critics warn that expanding Palantir’s role in public services could have long-term implications for data privacy and accountability in the UK.

The government has yet to formally respond to the petitions, but the issue is expected to remain a focal point of political debate in the coming weeks.

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