Palantir Hires Former Labour Deputy as NHS Contract Faces Break Clause
AI-generated image · US National Wire
The appointment of Tom Watson as UK senior vice president comes as the government weighs whether to terminate a £330 million data platform deal.
Palantir has appointed former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson as its UK senior vice president, according to reporting from The Register. Watson, who has served as an advisor to the company since 2024, joins executive vice president Louis Mosley in leading the firm's UK operations.
The hire occurs as the British government evaluates a potential break clause in Palantir's £330 million National Health Service (NHS) contract for the Federated Data Platform (FDP). In April, Zubir Ahmed MP, a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, stated that the government could end the seven-year contract next spring if other providers are found to offer better value or quality.
Further pressure comes from the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, which suggested in July that the Department of Health and Social Care should start preparing for the FDP's replacement before the February break clause deadline. Palantir's history with the NHS includes £60 million in non-competitive contracts awarded during the pandemic, though both the NHS and Palantir maintain that the subsequent competition for the FDP was fair.
Addressing concerns regarding the "revolving door" between government and tech, Louis Mosley stated that Watson was hired to "build things, not to open doors." Mosley added that Watson has been on leave from the House of Lords since March and has given up his parliamentary pass. Palantir CEO Alex Karp described the appointment as a way for Watson to continue a 40-year effort to improve public services.