Palantir and Sadiq Khan End Legal Fight Over Met Police Contract
The US data firm and London's mayor have withdrawn mutual allegations, scrapping a High Court trial set for January.
Palantir and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have jointly abandoned their legal dispute over a contested Metropolitan Police technology contract, the two parties announced Wednesday, averting a High Court showdown scheduled for January.
The US data analytics firm and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) said they have withdrawn all allegations against each other. The case centered on Palantir's claims that Khan, a Labour politician, had moved to block the company from securing a roughly £50 million policing contract on the basis of concerns about its values and ethics rather than its technical capabilities.
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The settlement removes what had been shaping up as a high-profile confrontation between a prominent American technology company and a major European municipal government over the role of corporate ethics in public procurement decisions. Palantir, whose data platforms are widely used by U.S. defense and intelligence agencies, has faced recurring scrutiny in Europe over privacy and civil liberties concerns.
Neither side disclosed the terms under which the mutual withdrawal was agreed, and it remains unclear whether Palantir will ultimately be considered for the Metropolitan Police contract. The Met is one of the largest urban police forces in the world, making such contracts commercially significant for technology vendors competing in the public-safety sector.
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