Palantir and Sadiq Khan drop legal battle over Met contract

London tech firm Palantir and the city's mayor Sadiq Khan have mutually agreed to end their legal dispute over a £50 million police technology contract. The disagreement stemmed from Khan's intervention in a decision to award Palantir a two-year deal to use AI for intelligence processing in criminal investigations at London's Scotland Yard.

Palantir alleged that Khan blocked the contract due to concerns over its values and ethics, while Khan claimed the company was politicizing procurement. The two parties withdrew the allegations earlier this week, averting a scheduled January court trial. The resolution comes a month after Palantir hired a former Labour deputy leader as a full-time lobbyist, in response to concerns about public authorities blocking it from winning contracts due to objections over the values of its leadership.

Palantir and Mopac, the mayor's office for policing and crime, stated that Khan's decision in May was not based on Palantir's values or ethics. Both sides agreed that the decision was made based on legal tests and guidance. Khan praised Palantir's contribution to jobs and investment in London, while Palantir's head of operations in the UK and Europe expressed satisfaction with the clarification of their mutual positions.