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Palantir won borders contract after introduction from ex-MI6 boss [1]

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Date: 2023-09

The former head of MI6 introduced Palantir to a top government official in the Cabinet Office a year before the US spy tech firm won a £27m contract with the department.

openDemocracy can reveal that Sir John Sawers set up a meeting between Palantir’s CEO and the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, John Manzoni, in 2019, when the company was pitching for new business.

Palantir went on to win a data deal – without competitive tender – from the Cabinet Office, having touted the benefits of its “unique software” in subsequent correspondence to the department.

Concerns about Palantir’s deep ties to British and American security agencies are underscored by the involvement of Sawers, a one-time spymaster who led the Secret Intelligence Service from 2009 to 2014.

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Labour MP Clive Lewis told openDemocracy the news suggests the “military-industrial-espionage complex is wheedling its way into our public services and our economy”.

Lewis also called for more scrutiny over the government’s recent Palantir deals: “We know that sunlight is the best disinfectant. The apparent lack of competition and due diligence in procurement must be immediately reviewed.”

Palantir – which is owned by billionaire Trump donor Peter Thiel – is highly tipped to win a new £480m contract to manage NHS data this autumn. Earlier this month, openDemocracy revealed that the firm was a shoo-in for a previous contract with the health service.

Palantir’s plan for UK public sector

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that Palantir boss Alex Karp met with Manzoni on 16 July 2019. Government Records describe the meeting as an “introductory discussion recommended by Sir John Sawers”.

A “readout” of the meeting states that Sawers – who founded a geopolitical advisory firm after resigning as the chief of MI6 – was acting in a “security sector consultancy” role.

Asked about the meeting by openDemocracy, Sawers did not deny acting for Palantir but insisted that his company, Newbridge Advisory, “does not undertake lobbying on behalf of its clients”.

The former spymaster said he knew both Karp and Manzoni personally and had set up the meeting to help the Cabinet Office “digitise government”.

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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/palantir-mi6-spymaster-cabinet-office-contract-brexit-john-sawers/

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