https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-palantir-led-secret-review
The Ministry of Defence asked the controversial US tech firm how to fix its procurement rules. Its answer? Fewer obstacles for companies like Palanti
Palantir led a closed-door review of how the Ministry of Defence buys software at the same time as the ministry handed the controversial US tech firm a £240m contract without competition, Democracy for Sale can reveal.
The review, presented personally to defence minister Luke Pollard by Palantir’s UK boss Louis Mosley in February, urged the MoD to cut “paperwork”, relax scrutiny of new deals and expand existing contracts without fresh competition.
Of the review’s 35 recommendations, only one was rejected outright. Internal documents obtained by Democracy for Sale – and published below this newsletter – show that the MoD subsequently reported significant progress in implementing the proposals.
Palantir’s role in shaping MoD procurement policy was not disclosed to the public and was only revealed following Freedom of Information requests by this newsletter.
Responding to our findings, Spotlight on Corruption’s Dr Sue Hawley called for “a full review by the National Audit Office as to whether the MoD is following conflict of interest rules”.
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This a small excerpt from the article by Lucas Amin and Peter Geoghegan at https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-palantir-led-secret-review
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