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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Robert Booth UK technology editor

UK signed deals with US firms that were clients of Mandelson lobbying company

Peter Mandelson Palantir OpenAI Global Counsel United Kingdom Sir Keir Starmer United States Jeffrey Epstein Luke Pollard the Ministry of Justice
Keir Starmer and Alex Karp, the Palantir chief executive at the US firm’s offices in Washington DC in February 2025.
Keir Starmer and Alex Karp, the Palantir chief executive, at the firm’s offices in Washington DC in February 2025. The MoD awarded Palantir a £241m military contract without an open tender. Photograph: @10DowningStreet @PalantirTech

A lobbying firm co-owned by Peter Mandelson worked for OpenAI before the US tech company signed a wide-ranging agreement with the UK government to explore deploying AI in Britain’s justice, security and education systems.

In 2024, the $500bn-valued maker of ChatGPT was a client of Global Counsel, which Mandelson co-founded and part-owned. Keir Starmer subsequently appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.

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