Campaigners have said Peter Mandelson’s involvement with US tech company Palantir should be exposed in full public transparency, amid fears he allegedly leaked more sensitive information in his emails to Jeffrey Epstein.
Palantir, a $300bn startup that provides military technology to the Israel Defense Forces and AI-powered deportation targets for Donald Trump’s ICE units, has UK government contracts worth more than £500m. The Global Council, a lobbying company Mandelson co-founded and part-owns, also works for Palantir.
The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, is being urged to release information about Mandelson’s role when the British Embassy arranged for Keir Starmer to visit Palantir’s showroom in Washington DC in February 2025, shortly after Mandelson became Ambassador to the US.
Mandelson and Starmer met with Alex Karp, the company’s chief executive, and were shown the company’s military technology. Carp signed a strategic partnership with the UK Defense Secretary, John Healey, seven months later, and in January the Ministry of Defense (MOD) signed a three-year contract worth £241m with Palantir to “boost military AI and innovation”.
Foxglove, a nonpartisan tech campaign group, led calls for the Cabinet Office to release information relating to any involvement of Mandelson in the negotiation of Palantir’s contracts.
Alex Burghardt, Conservative MP and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, also urged Wormald to review Palantir’s latest MoD contract, “given the allegations now emerging about Mandelson’s conduct”.
Starmer’s meeting with Palantir not revealed to Prime Minister register of visits And this was only acknowledged in later disclosures, Burghardt said. He said Palantir’s MoD contract was “awarded by direct award” – without competition – and he asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate to ensure “there were no other such contracts, no other such undisclosed meetings”.
Calls for transparency arose after Mandelson was apparently shown forwarding to Epstein highly sensitive information he had received as Business Secretary under Gordon Brown in 2009, including the government’s response to the global financial crisis. Epstein received a prison sentence for child sex crimes in 2008, but he was able to continue working and Mendelson remained in contact with him.
“With Lord Mandelson now facing investigation for allegedly leaking ‘sensitive information’ to Jeffrey Epstein, we believe it is important to investigate whether similar behavior occurred elsewhere,” Donald Campbell, director of advocacy at Foxglove, told Wormald in a letter sent on Wednesday.
Speaking in Parliament, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn called for an independent investigation into the wider Mandelson affair and described “a gilded friendly trap” around Mandelson, whereby favors were given, contracts were apparently given, this terrible company Palantir was apparently trying to take over our National Health Service at the behest of Mandelson and others.
Palantir’s contracts with the UK government have caused controversy. The British Medical Association said last week that doctors could refuse to use Palantir’s £340m NHS federated data platform in some cases in protest over the tech company’s role in facilitating ICE activity in the US.
Palantir was co-founded by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel who has supported Trump. Emails released by the Justice Ministry show that Epstein also had a relationship with Thiel.
Green Party leader Zac Polanski said in a letter to the health secretary, Wes Streeting: “There are worrying questions to answer about his role in the government’s deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped into pieces’.
“Was the Government’s decision to trust this controversial company with the British people’s most sensitive and personal health data based on what is best for our country – or was it another shady backroom deal made by Mandelson for the benefit of his wealthy friends?”
Chi Onwurah, chair of the science and technology committee, said: “We have raised questions about Palantir’s public sector contracts, how and why they came to be, and whether the UK should continue to rely on large, US-based providers. We will publish our findings soon, but it is clear that the government must prioritize greater sovereign capacity in emerging technologies, and review its reliance on these firms.”
While Mandelson resigned as director of the Global Council in May 2024, he retains shares in the consultancy, according to Companies House records.
“We need the full picture on Mandelson’s involvement,” Campbell said. “Anything else risks causing irreparable damage to public trust.”
Palantir declined to comment. Mandelson, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defense have been contacted for comment.
