Palantir settles High Court dispute with London Mayor's office

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 16:44 · Archive

Palantir and Sadiq Khan's policing office have settled a High Court dispute over a blocked £50 million Metropolitan Police contract.

Palantir and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime have settled their High Court dispute over a £50 million contract to provide artificial intelligence and data analysis services to the Metropolitan Police. MOPAC blocked the contract in June. Palantir had challenged the decision, claiming Khan's office had unlawfully blocked it based on the company's 'values and ethics' as reported in media coverage. MOPAC in turn accused the Met Police and Palantir of coordinating to fix the procurement process.

Both sides agreed on Wednesday to drop the case and their allegations without admitting liability, with each covering their own legal costs. In a joint statement, MOPAC said its decision was based on its statutory role to examine spend proposals against legal tests and guidance on procurement, governance, affordability and value for money. It acknowledged that media reporting of a statement from the Mayor's spokesperson before the decision could have 'incorrectly created the impression' that the company's values had been a factor.

Palantir senior vice president Tom Watson said the company welcomed the settlement. City AM reports that Palantir pursued legal action to ensure it would not face discrimination in future contracts and to repair reputational damage. MOPAC confirmed it had never operated a policy against contracting with Palantir and that the company would be welcome to compete in a renewed procurement process.

How it is being reported

• London Mayor’s office resolves legal dispute with AI giant Palantir over £50m contractSadiq Khan in May blocked a deal commissioning US tech giant Palantir to supply the Metropolitan Police with AI technology to automate analysis in criminal investigationsThe Independent · 14 Oct, 17:11
• Palantir and Sadiq Khan drop legal battle over Met contractDispute related to claims London mayor blocked US tech firm from £50m police deal because of concerns over its values Palantir and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, have called off their legal fight over claims the Labour mayor was blocking the US tech company from signing a contract with the Metropolitan police because of its values and ethics. Palantir and the mayor’s office of policing and crime (Mopac) announced on Wednesday they had withdrawn allegations against each other, heading off a high court trial scheduled for January. Continue reading...The Guardian · 14 Oct, 17:05
• Khan climbdown: Palantir settles £50m Met row after fears of ‘unlawful’ biasPalantir has settled its High Court battle with Sadiq Khan’s policing office over a blocked £50m Metropolitan Police contract, following concerns that the decision had been unlawfully influenced by the US tech giant’s values and ethics. City AM understands the company pursued legal action not only to challenge the decision, but also to make sure [...]City AM · 14 Oct, 16:34
• Palantir settles dispute with Sadiq KhanThe Mayor's office blocked a £50 million Met Police contract with Palantir in June.Politico Europe · 14 Oct, 15:23

In this story: Sadiq Khan · Palantir · Metropolitan Police · London · Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime

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