‘Hands Off Our NHS’: Anti-Palantir Protests Begin In UK Against National Health Service

“It’s the way it’s used that you don’t export, and you don’t get out of the country,” Laura Gilbert, director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute, a think tank founded by the former prime minister, tells WIRED. “We need to learn from this experience and create better health services, not let an offshore company learn and create better products that they can sell to someone else.”

Ayub Bhayat, director of data and analytics at the NHS, tells WIRED that the shared data platform is helping patients “saving money for NHS groups and taxpayers.”

“There is no need for it to be used,” he says.

At the beginning of June, members of the Parliament published a report warning that the UK’s heavy reliance on Palantir represents an “unacceptable weak point.” The company is on the brink of government meddling, a parliamentary committee has argued, making it Britain’s biggest ever takeover. The report also described “clear inconsistencies with UK policies.”

After the report was published, the UK’s technology secretary, Liz Kendall, he said that the government is reviewing “every aspect” of the NHS’s partnership with Palantir before deciding whether to go ahead with the deal.

In response to the report in an op-ed published by The Telegraph, Mosley accused MPs of “putting politics above patients” and feared the company could misuse their access to health information. “Each NHS trust owns its own data; Palantir cannot use it, sell it, or move it,” he wrote.

Whether or not the government decides to advance the NHS contract, Palantir has shown a willingness to resist attempts to take it out of the UK government. According to The TimesThe company plans to sue the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who blocked the $65 million contract with the Metropolitan Police, citing concerns about the procurement process and “ethics.”

A few hours after the demonstration began, the protesters left and went to a restaurant near the public library.

The group was optimistic because of the swelling that appears to be growing behind calls to withdraw Palantir from the NHS, especially after the parliamentary report. “We have a huge opportunity right now, because of the rest phase,” says Lurken, co-founder of Pull the Plug.

But there’s also a world where renewed public interest in the Palantir question could backfire, some say, if the government decides to move the deal forward. Another critic, who gave his name as JJ and identified himself as an NHS doctor, said he was worried that Palantir’s popularity could make existing patients think twice before giving information to their healthcare provider, which would affect their care. JJ said: “We know people don’t want to tell us anything. We’ll get a little information, a little history so we can help people.”

Additional reporting by Isabella Ward.