UK lawmakers say letters from Palantir were intended to intimidate critics

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - British lawmakers who criticized US tech firm Palantir in parliament have received letters from company executives, which they described as attempts to intimidate critics, Novara Media reported Thursday.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Labour and Cooperative Party MP Rachael Maskell received letters from Palantir’s UK CEO Louis Mosley on June 3, detailing their parliamentary remarks about the company and offering meetings.

“I am in no doubt as to why Palantir is writing these letters to MPs to intimidate its critics into silence,” Corbyn told Novara Media, adding that the tactics would not deter him from opposing involvement in public services by the company, which faces controversy over both its co-founder’s views and its work for Israel.

Maskell, who represents York Central, said the correspondence would not change her approach toward the firm, which holds contracts with Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), the Defense Ministry, and police forces.

“Clearly there is a reason as to why Palantir has paid close attention to the scrutiny that MPs have brought to this company,” she said.

Independent MP Shockat Adam also received an email from Palantir’s UK public affairs lead following critical social media posts about the company’s involvement in the NHS and its now-ended contract with the Leicestershire Police.

Adam called on Palantir executives Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, and Louis Mosley to explain their roles before Parliament, saying the public has a right to know how the company’s software was used across public services and the armed forces.

A Palantir spokesperson said the letters aimed to correct inaccurate claims about the company, adding that it would continue responding if politicians repeated what it described as falsehoods.

Labour MP Clive Lewis separately criticized a letter from Palantir’s UK senior vice president, former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, warning that the company was monitoring his activities related to Palantir.

US-based Palantir has long been controversial in many countries, partly because co-founder Peter Thiel, a supporter of the Trump administration, has repeatedly voiced skepticism about traditional democratic systems.

The company has also faced criticism from rights groups over reports that it provided AI-enabled systems, including targeting and data-analysis support as well as critical data infrastructure, to the Israeli military for operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

Recently, the company and London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office have withdrawn allegations against each other in a legal dispute over a £50 million ($65 million) police technology contract, heading off a High Court trial scheduled for January.

Palantir sued the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) in June after Khan intervened to block a proposed two-year contract for the Metropolitan Police to use artificial intelligence to process intelligence in criminal investigations.

Khan’s intervention followed concerns about the company’s work with the Israeli military and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The mayor previously said Londoners wanted public money to go to companies that “share the values of our city.”

The agreement comes one month after former Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson was hired as a full-time lobbyist by Palantir. The company had raised concerns that excluding it from public contracts over objections to its leadership’s values could undermine its ability to operate in the UK.

Aysu Biçer