Britain's Ministry of Defence agrees deal with Palantir

"The MoD signed the three-year deal, starting on 1 April, with the company's UK unit on 30 December. A contract notice published on 23 January describes the work as "a follow on enterprise agreement... for continued licensing and support to data analytics capabilities supporting critical strategic, tactical and live operational decision making across classifications across defense and interoperable with Nato and other allied nations Palantir systems". The ministry says in the contract notice that a redacted version of the contract itself will be available on request 90 days after its award date."

"The department used a defense and security exemption to justify awarding the contract directly rather than running a procurement competition. In an article about the deal on Saturday, OpenDemocracy, an investigative website, said that Palantir hired four MoD officials in 2025, including in September Barnaby Kistruck, a former director of policy, a few days after he left the ministry. The Register confirmed this with MoD transparency data."

""We conduct comprehensive due diligence on any business appointments that may lead to concern," an MoD spokesperson said. "We work diligently to enforce any conditions placed on individuals, fully investigating instances raised of breached policy and, if found valid, take appropriate action.""

The Ministry of Defence awarded Palantir a direct three-year contract worth £240.6 million to continue licensing and support for its data analytics capabilities. The deal was signed on 30 December and starts on 1 April, with a redacted copy of the contract available on request 90 days after award. The contract notice frames the work as enterprise licensing and support for strategic, tactical and live operational decision making interoperable with Nato and allied systems. The MoD used a defense and security exemption instead of a procurement competition. Palantir hired four former MoD officials in 2025, including Barnaby Kistruck. The MoD states it conducts due diligence and enforces business appointment restrictions, including limits on using government information, contacts, and advising on MoD-related bids for 12 months.

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