Met Police Win 12-Month Palantir AI Extension After Khan Blocked £50 Million Deal
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 24
Met Police Win 12-Month Palantir AI Extension After Khan Blocked £50 Million Deal
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 24
Summary
A 12-month extension lets the Metropolitan Police keep using Palantir’s AI pilot while it runs a fresh competition for a long-term supplier.
The stopgap follows Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision weeks ago to block a £50 million contract after officials found a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules and said the Met had effectively considered only one supplier.
Met leaders say the system has already pulled together data on about 45,000 staff and helped professional standards teams progress a significant number of potential misconduct cases.
Mopac said the new procurement must be open to a wide range of suppliers, while allowing the current pilot to continue so the force does not lose the capability during the process.
The extension keeps alive a politically sensitive use of AI in policing as the Met argues the technology can both detect rogue officers earlier and help close budget gaps.