For 100 years, the UK government has led us through existential threats, including two world wars. But instead of resisting the latest threat to democratic accountability, it has welcomed it with open arms: Palantir Technologies (NHS deal with AI firm Palantir called into question after officials’ concerns revealed, 12 February).
This polarising US surveillance giant provides data-fusion and AI platforms used by by the US for immigration enforcement and by Israel in the Gaza conflict. Its software amplifies state power through militarised analytics and opaque algorithms.
The current government hasn’t just surrendered citizens’ data rights to Palantir – it has paid for the privilege. Palantir is a power project rooted in data dominance, treating sensitive public information not as sacrosanct, but as fuel for systems designed to concentrate control.
How did this happen? Disclosures from the Jeffrey Epstein files cast light on Palantir’s expansion within an increasingly Americanised and rotten British establishment. Epstein associate Peter Thiel co-founded Palantir, while Epstein’s friend, Peter Mandelson, introduced the company to Keir Starmer in Washington. This opened the door for a £330m NHS contract, and also a £240m Ministry of Defence deal that was awarded without competitive tender.
Let the UK stand as a warning of what happens when a “special relationship” curdles into dependency – trading sovereignty for code designed to control.
Stephen Saunders
Rodmell, East Sussex
• The government is sufficiently anxious about Trump’s ability to turn off US-owned payment systems, and the disruption this would cause, to begin planning an alternative (UK bank bosses plan to set up Visa and Mastercard alternative amid Trump fears, 16 February). Why then is the government not equally concerned about the UK’s heavy dependence on tech giants that have close ties to the US administration?
Jan Savage
London
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