UK Lawmakers Demand Government End Palantir NHS Contract Over National Security Risks

British lawmakers are intensifying pressure on the government over Palantir’s role in the NHS and wider public sector, with MPs calling for the company’s health contract to be ended and for more transparency about its military work. The dispute has widened into a broader warning about the UK’s dependence on the US data analytics firm, which critics say has become a serious vulnerability for national security and public trust.

According to Bloomberg, members of Parliament are urging ministers to break off a major NHS deal with Palantir and to disclose more details about a separate defence contract. The NHS arrangement has become one of the most politically sensitive government technology contracts in recent years because it gives Palantir a central role in handling health data and digital infrastructure.

Wired reported that a government committee has described the UK’s growing reliance on Palantir as “an unacceptable point of weakness.” That language reflects a shift in the debate: the issue is no longer only whether Palantir can deliver software services, but whether handing so much sensitive government data and operational control to one outside supplier creates an unacceptable strategic risk.

The criticism comes amid longstanding concern over the company’s business model and its expanding footprint across British institutions. Palantir has contracts not only in health, but also in defence and other parts of government, and opponents argue that this concentration makes it harder for the UK to maintain control over its own information systems. Some lawmakers and campaigners have also questioned whether the government has been sufficiently open about how the contracts were awarded and what data and insights the company can access.

The NHS contract is especially controversial because it involves patient data and the use of digital tools in a public health system already under pressure. Critics say the stakes are high because decisions made now could shape how much of the NHS’s future data infrastructure is built around Palantir’s technology. Supporters of tighter oversight argue that if ministers are unwilling to end the deal, they should at least publish more details about what the company is doing and what safeguards are in place.

The broader political backdrop is a growing push in Britain for what officials and critics alike call sovereign capability — the idea that critical public systems should be controlled by domestic institutions rather than heavily dependent on a single private vendor, especially one based overseas. The latest criticism suggests Palantir has become a symbol of that debate, with lawmakers increasingly treating its contracts not just as procurement decisions, but as questions of public accountability, security and long-term state resilience.

What happens next is likely to depend on whether the government responds with more transparency or faces mounting parliamentary pressure to reconsider the agreements. For now, the controversy shows no sign of fading, and the company’s place inside the UK state apparatus is likely to remain under close scrutiny.