UK Prime Minister Burnham Faces Pressure to End Palantir NHS Contract

September 22, 2026 at 03:30 PM1 min

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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is under pressure from Labour colleagues to break Palantir's £330m NHS data contract. Whitehall sources say a decision must be made within weeks to avoid a botched changeover. The dispute could become the first major crisis of Burnham's premiership.

Key Facts

Palantir holds public sector contracts worth around £670m, including a £330m NHS Federated Data Platform deal.
A petition calling for Palantir's removal from the NHS has reached 177,000 signatures.
Whitehall sources say any decision to break the contract must be made by autumn to avoid a botched changeover.
The government responded to an official opt-out petition with 10,000 signatures by saying it would consider the matter in future policy making.

Contract Dispute

Palantir's largest public sector contract is a £330m deal to manage healthcare data on the NHS Federated Data Platform. Campaigners are urging Burnham to use a break clause that would end the NHS contract in 2027. The government has so far obfuscated in response to an official petition asking for people to be able to opt out of Palantir's FDP, after it got 10,000 signatures. A similar, non-official petition calls for Palantir to be removed from the NHS entirely and has already reached 177,000 signatures.

Political Pressure

Burnham's government and the Labour Party are fractiously split on the issue, with leading officials arguing cautiously in favour of the provider. Labour's left-leaning grassroots and influential backbench MPs are pressuring the government to end the relationship with Palantir. Many of the supporters who secured Burnham's position in Downing Street are natural Palantir skeptics who come from the soft left. Three Whitehall sources believe that, if the deal is to be broken, a decision to do so would need to be made in the next few weeks.