The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has blocked a £50m Metropolitan Police deal with US tech company Palantir, after the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime was not satisfied the process followed by the Met “adequately ensured or demonstrated value for money”.
According to a Mayor of London spokesperson, the Met set out its rationale for awarding the contract to Palantir. The contract was for £25.3m in 2026-27 and a 1-year optional extension of £24.8m in 2027-28.
However, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime identified and raised “serious concerns” about the procurement process undertaken by the Met.
According to the Mayor of London, the Met could not evidence that they had undertaken a “reasonable or adequate” process of market testing to determine if Palantir was the best, most economical provider of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) services being procured.
This is because they had only engaged with one potential supplier - Palantir - in relation to the proposed contract.
In addition, the Met did not present their procurement strategy to the Deputy Mayor for approval.
Scotland Yard has since described the decision by MOPAC as “disappointing”, warning that the decision prevents it using technology already available to the Ministry of Defence, the NHS and other police forces.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "Given the tight budgetary constraints the police and all public services are operating under, it is even more important that robust processes are followed when awarding contracts as large as £25M a year. The public would expect full and proper scrutiny of whether contracts like this provide value for money.
"In this case, the Met only engaged with one potential supplier, Palantir. It also did not present their procurement strategy to the Deputy Mayor for approval as required. The process followed by the MPS for the award of the contract has not adequately ensured, or demonstrated, value for money.
"MOPAC fully support the Met using the very latest technology to drive efficiencies, but the correct processes must be followed, demonstrating value for money for the London taxpayer. Otherwise, the Met risks having to make further changes to compensate for their investment not working."
A Met Police spokesperson said: “The decision by MOPAC is disappointing. We need to modernise and use the very best technology available. We must be able to innovate at a faster rate than hostile states and organised criminals. For now, this decision prevents us using technology already available to the MOD, the NHS and other police forces.
“Like several government departments and police forces who already use Palantir, procurement was conducted using the government’s Crown Commercial Services Framework. We have applied this process diligently at every stage.
“The Met’s financial position is well known – in the year ahead we face a £125m funding shortfall. To help meet that deficit we face reducing our workforce by 1,150 posts. The technology we want to introduce is crucial to maintaining our service to London while shrinking for the third consecutive year.”
The spokesperson continued: “Failing to introduce new technology to address back-office processes and build our effectiveness is the opposite of value for money. The technology has shown it can save much more than it costs and that it can improve performance.
“We have already made tough and contentious choices on front counters, Royal Parks, schools officers and our mounted branch. Without new technology, delivered at pace, we will be forced to make further tough choices that cannot avoid reducing officer numbers, impacting our service to London and our ability to keep the capital safe.
“We are in active discussion with MOPAC and will continue to pursue every avenue to resolve this issue swiftly.”
