The British government is reviewing a £330 million contract between the National Health Service and US data firm Palantir, with officials weighing whether to end the deal before its scheduled conclusion. The contract, worth approximately $441 million, includes a break clause that could allow termination as early as 2027.
According to a report by Engadget, the review follows the release of a parliamentary committee report that described Palantir's increasing role in UK public institutions as an "unacceptable point of weakness." The report has added pressure on the government to reconsider a deal that has already drawn significant scrutiny from members of Parliament.
Technology minister Liz Kendall confirmed the review in an interview with Times Radio. "The current health secretary is reviewing every single aspect of that (contract) to make sure we get the right deal for Britain," Kendall said. She said the evaluation would determine whether to use the break clause at the end of the contract's initial term.
Palantir originally won the NHS contract in November 2023. The company was brought on to help build the NHS Federated Data Platform, which connects what the NHS describes as vital health information across the health service. The contract was awarded following what NHS officials called a rigorous procurement process, one that required all parties to demonstrate financial, commercial, security, and technical capability.
Since then, however, concerns have mounted on multiple fronts. UK MPs pushing for early termination have pointed to data security worries and Palantir's ties to US defense contracts and immigration enforcement operations. A separate report from The Financial Post revealed that a senior civil servant at a UK health advisory body had advised one of Palantir's partners while that partner was actively bidding for the contract.
Further concern arose after a report last month suggested that the NHS might grant Palantir personnel and others broad access to identifiable patient data on part of its data platform. That report intensified existing fears about how sensitive health records are stored, shared, and potentially used.
Palantir has pushed back against those characterizations. "Palantir software can only be used to process data precisely in line with the instruction of the customer. Using the data for anything else would not only be illegal but technically impossible due to granular access controls overseen by the NHS," the company said in response to the concerns about patient data access.
The review does not yet have a publicly announced timeline, but the 2027 break clause gives the government a defined decision point. Officials have not stated publicly whether the health secretary's review has reached any preliminary conclusions. The outcome will have implications not only for the NHS but potentially for Palantir's broader position in UK public sector contracts, which the parliamentary committee flagged as a growing area of concern.
