Defence Secretary John Healey (left) and the CEO of software company Palantir Technologies Alex Karp sign a £1.5 billion investment, at Wellington Conference Room, Horse Guards, Whitehall, London, September 18, 2025THE “revolving door” between US tech firm Palantir and the British government raises serious questions about public contracts, campaigners warned today.
Dozens of experienced British public officials including the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and NHS’s AI chiefs have joined the controversial US tech firm Palantir since they left their government positions, a new investigation by the Nerve revealed.
At least 32 officials, former ministers, intelligence service chiefs and peers have taken up roles in the company which has been awarded £670 million in government contracts.
This included the former MoD senior official on AI, Laurence Lee, who also co-authored the military’s strategy document on the new technology.
Mr Lee has since become a senior adviser to Palantir CEO Alex Karp on “geostrategy.”
NHS England’s former director of AI, Indra Joshi, became Palantir’s director of health, research and AI in 2022 before leaving in 2024.
Four members of the House of Lords have also been on Palantir’s payroll, including the former chair of the select committee on science and technology.
On top of the previously reported relationship between the disgraced former US ambassador Peter Mandelson and Palantir, other peers who offered their expertise to the US tech firm include former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and former special adviser to Gordon Brown, John Woodcock.
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