Former Labour deputy Tom Watson joins Palantir as £330M NHS deal nears break point

Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has taken a senior UK role at Palantir as the government considers whether to invoke a break clause in the US spy-tech company's controversial 330 million National Health Service (NHS) contract. The appointment is the latest high-profile example of Palantir recruiting from British politics and public service as it seeks to expand its government business. Palantir chief executive Alex Karp said in a statement: "This is just the latest chapter of Tom's 40-year fight for better public services. We are fortunate to have him guide us as we help the British government to deliver for the British public." Watson, who has advised Palantir since 2024, will become its UK senior vice president and work alongside Louis Mosley, executive vice president for the UK and Europe. In a statement shared on social media, Mosley said: "Tom will lead our work on what Palantir owes this country. That means answering the Prime Minister's challenge to companies holding public contracts: support British jobs, invest in skills, deliver in every postcode. It also means helping people prepare for what AI does to work and to the services they rely on." Mosley said Watson had been on leave from the House of Lords since March and would remain so while working for Palantir. He has also surrendered his parliamentary pass and the access that accompanies it. "Tom has joined Palantir to build things, not to open doors," he added. The assurances anticipate concerns about the revolving door between government and technology companies, particularly as Palantir's major public sector contracts face political scrutiny. In April, Zubir Ahmed MP, a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, said the government could end Palantir's seven-year Federated Data Platform (FDP) contract when the break clause becomes available next spring. "My north star is always patient safety and quality, and of course value for money. If, at the point of the break clause, we evaluate and find that there are other providers that can do the job better, then of course that needs to be looked at and reflected upon," he said. However, replacing the platform provider at relatively short notice could prove difficult. The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee said in July that the Department of Health and Social Care should begin preparing to replace the FDP before the contract reaches its break clause in February. Palantir began working with the NHS during the pandemic and received 60 million in contracts without competition, including work that later fed into the FDP. The NHS and Palantir maintain that the subsequent competition was open and fair, and say the resulting platform has delivered substantial value by linking data sources as the health service works through its elective care backlog. (R)