Palantir and the Mayor's policing office settle their legal battle over the blocked Met contract
Both sides have withdrawn their allegations over the decision to block a £50 million, two-year deal with the Metropolitan Police. The joint statement says the decision was not based on the company's values or ethics, and Palantir remains in the bidding for a Met contract to be decided in the spring.
Palantir and the Mayor of London's policing office have settled the company's lawsuit over the decision to block a £50 million contract with the Metropolitan Police, both sides said on Wednesday.
The United States technology firm had agreed a two-year contract with the Met to use its systems to automate certain tasks and analyse evidence, described in other reporting as automating intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, known as MOPAC, refused to approve the deal, telling the Met that it had failed to hold an open competition for the contract. Reports at the time also quoted a spokesperson for Sadiq Khan raising concerns that the company did not align with London's values.
Palantir challenged that decision. It filed a legal claim at the High Court in June, arguing in court documents that MOPAC had introduced an unlawful veto by wrongly considering the firm's values and ethics. A trial had been expected in January.
The settlement clears the courtroom, not the argument about the contract.British Journal analysis
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the two sides said they had resolved the case and withdrawn their allegations against each other. The statement said MOPAC's decision not to enter into the contract was not based on Palantir's values or ethics or on any wider reporting about the company, and that MOPAC does not have, and has never had, any policy of not contracting with Palantir. It added that the company is welcome to take part in procurement processes.
The settlement does not end Palantir's involvement with the Met. The company remains in the bidding process for a contract with the force, which is expected to be decided in the spring. When the original contract was blocked, MOPAC said Palantir had been the only supplier the Met had seriously considered for the proposed deal.
The case has sat inside a wider argument about the company's place in British public services. Britain is reviewing a £330 million contract between Palantir and the National Health Service, and a parliamentary committee has described a mismatch between the company and British values and recommended using a break clause, a suggestion the company's British chief executive, Louis Mosley, has called irresponsible. The settlement clears the courtroom. It does not settle that wider argument.
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