Palantir’s Tom Watson says ‘mob rule’ must not dictate awarding of government contracts

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Tom Watson, the former Labour deputy leader who recently joined Palantir, has warned against “mob rule” when it comes to awarding public contracts.

Palantir was co-founded by the Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel and has provided AI-powered software to the Israeli military and the White House’s ICE immigration crackdown, leading to a public and political backlash against its deepening involvement in British public services.

The company is also fighting Sadiq Khan in court over the London mayor’s block on a £50m contract to use its AI in Metropolitan police investigations. It is seeking to win more public sector work in the UK, where it already has an annual turnover of £427m.

He added: “I think we are very targeted by the people that are targeting Israeli companies. We’re not an Israeli company, but because of our work in Israel, we found ourselves in the middle of the row of the Gaza protests.”

He called Palantir “the most interesting company on the planet” as he announced his new role last month. The company said his job would be, in part, to “deepen the social and economic value its work creates through better British public services, jobs and skills”.

Palantir said Watson had taken a leave of absence from the House of Lords and had relinquished his parliamentary pass while he worked for the company in London.

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