A Comprehensive OSINT Investigation into the Palantir Scandal

An in-depth analysis of corporate capture, revolving doors, and the privatization of Britain’s most sensitive health data

This investigation reveals the systematic infiltration of the UK’s National Health Service by Palantir Technologies, the controversial US spy-tech firm founded by Peter Thiel. Through extensive open-source intelligence gathering, this report exposes a web of financial beneficiaries, political influence, and potential legal violations surrounding the £330 million Federated Data Platform contract—one of the most significant data privatization scandals in NHS history.

NHS-Palantir Data Scandal: Key Stakeholders, Financial Flows, and Revolving Door Relationships

Executive Summary

The awarding of the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) contract to Palantir represents a masterclass in corporate capture of public services. This investigation has uncovered:

• £330 million primary contract awarded to Palantir consortium without meaningful competition
• Additional £36.5 million in supporting contracts to IQVIA and KPMG
• Systematic revolving door between NHS leadership and Palantir
• Extensive legal challenges over transparency and patient data rights
• Widespread rejection by NHS trusts, with only 15.8% actively using the platform by 2024
• Complex web of political influence involving Peter Mandelson’s Global Counsel
• Aggressive PR campaigns to silence critics and promote adoption

NHS Trusts’ Poor Adoption of Palantir’s £330m Federated Data Platform

The Financial Web: Who Benefits from NHS Data

Primary Beneficiaries

Palantir Technologies Inc. emerges as the primary beneficiary, securing not just the £330 million FDP contract but positioning itself for long-term dominance of NHS data infrastructure. The company’s UK operations, headed by Louis Mosley—grandson of British fascist leader Oswald Mosley—have grown to over 1,000 employees.

The Palantir Consortium includes several major consulting firms that have collectively benefited from NHS contracts:

• Accenture: Long-term partner with extensive NHS relationships
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): Major beneficiary of NHS consulting work
• NECS (North of England Commissioning Support): Regional NHS support organization
• Carnall Farrar: Healthcare consulting specialists

Secondary Financial Beneficiaries

IQVIA Ltd. secured a £28 million contract for “Privacy Enhancing Technology” services, ostensibly to protect patient data within the FDP system. However, legal advice obtained by NHS England revealed that key aspects of IQVIA’s privacy technology lacked proper legal basis, potentially requiring patients to be offered opt-out rights.

KPMG received an £8.5 million contract specifically to “promote the adoption” of the FDP among reluctant NHS trusts—a clear indication that the system was failing to gain organic acceptance. This represents taxpayer money being spent to market a system that trusts fundamentally did not want.

Individual Beneficiaries: The Revolving Door

The investigation reveals a systematic pattern of senior NHS officials moving to lucrative private sector positions:

Dr. Indra Joshi, former Director of AI for NHSX, joined Palantir as Director of Health, Research and AI after leading the creation of the NHS AI Lab. Her transition from public servant to private sector advocate represents a textbook case of the revolving door phenomenon.

Harjeet Dhaliwal, Deputy Director of Data Services at NHS England, also transitioned to Palantir, bringing intimate knowledge of NHS data systems.

Matthew Swindells, former Deputy CEO of NHS England, joined Global Counsel in 2019—a consultancy firm that lists Palantir as a client. His influence continued through his chairmanship of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, a flagship Palantir user, though he was formally excluded from Palantir-related decisions due to conflicts of interest.

Leo Docherty, former Conservative Defence Minister responsible for “digital services for the armed forces,” joined Palantir as a paid advisor on “AI trends and geopolitical risk” after losing his seat in 2024.

The Procurement Scandal: How Palantir Bought Its Way In

Emergency Contract Exploitation

Palantir’s NHS infiltration began during the COVID-19 pandemic when normal procurement rules were suspended. The company secured its initial foothold through a £1 contract in March 2020, leveraging the national emergency to bypass competitive tendering.

This strategy, described by Louis Mosley himself as “buying our way in” and “hoovering up” smaller NHS contractors to “take a lot of ground and take down a lot of political resistance,” represents a calculated approach to market capture.

The £330 Million Award: A Predetermined Outcome?

Evidence suggests the FDP procurement was designed to favor Palantir from the outset. The Good Law Project revealed that NHS England continued negotiating contract terms with Palantir after awarding them the contract in November 2023—a potentially unlawful practice that raises serious questions about the procurement’s integrity.

When the contract was published in December 2023, an extraordinary 417 out of 586 pages were completely redacted, including vital sections on data protection. This level of secrecy is unprecedented for a public health contract and suggests terms too controversial for public scrutiny.

Assessment Panel Secrecy

Despite NHS England claims that the contract was assessed by “thirty individuals” including clinicians and information governance experts, Freedom of Information requests for the names and roles of these assessors have been largely rejected. This opacity prevents public scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest among those who selected Palantir.

The Influence Network: Peter Mandelson’s Global Counsel

The Lobbying Connection

Peter Mandelson’s Global Counsel emerges as a crucial facilitating organization in Palantir’s NHS expansion. The firm, which lists Palantir as a client, has provided strategic advice and political access that proved invaluable to the company’s UK ambitions.

The investigation reveals that Mandelson, now UK Ambassador to the United States, personally arranged Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Palantir’s Washington headquarters in February 2025. No official record of this meeting was kept, despite its obvious significance for a company holding hundreds of millions in UK government contracts.

Political Influence Operations

Palantir’s influence operations extend beyond traditional lobbying. The company hired Topham Guerin, the controversial PR firm behind Conservative Party digital campaigns, to orchestrate a covert influencer marketing campaign targeting critics.

This campaign specifically targeted the Good Law Project, offering social media influencers between £750-£2,000 to post pro-Palantir content without disclosing the company’s involvement. The operation violated NHS England contract terms and demonstrated Palantir’s willingness to use deceptive practices to shape public opinion.

Legal Challenges and Transparency Failures

Good Law Project Legal Action

The Good Law Project has led the fight for transparency, launching multiple legal challenges against NHS England’s handling of the Palantir contract. Their actions forced the republication of the contract with fewer redactions, though crucial sections remain hidden.

The legal challenges revealed that NHS England:

• Awarded the contract before negotiations were complete
• Failed to provide adequate justification for extensive redactions
• Continued commercial negotiations after contract award
• May have breached public procurement law

Data Protection Concerns

Foxglove, another legal advocacy organization, has challenged the FDP’s legal basis, arguing that patients should have clear opt-out rights from data sharing. Their analysis suggests the entire platform may lack proper legal foundation under UK data protection law.

The investigation by The Register revealed that NHS England received legal advice showing IQVIA’s privacy-enhancing technology “lacked a legal footing to proceed,” potentially requiring all patients to be offered opt-out rights under Section 251 of the National Health Service Act 2006.

BMA Professional Opposition

The British Medical Association passed a motion declaring Palantir “an unacceptable choice of partner” and calling for contract termination. The motion, supported by frontline doctors, cited concerns over:

• Ethics and transparency failures
• Discriminatory policing software history
• Links to US government surveillance operations
• Lack of evidence for system efficacy

Technical Failures and Poor Adoption

Widespread Trust Rejection

Despite £330 million in investment and £8.5 million in promotional spending through KPMG, the FDP has failed to achieve meaningful adoption across the NHS. Investigation findings show:

• Only 34 trusts (15.8%) were actively using the platform by end of 2024

Greater Manchester health authority stated there were “no products designed or produced by Palantir as part of the FDP programme that exceed the NHS Greater Manchester local capability”

Leeds Teaching Hospitals warned that adopting FDP tools would lead them to “lose functionality rather than gain it”

Berkshire Healthcare simply stated it had “no plans to join the FDP programme”

Performance vs. Promises

Palantir’s claims of revolutionary healthcare improvements have not materialized in practice. While the company touts a 17.2% reduction in long hospital stays at deployed sites, the limited adoption suggests these benefits are either overstated or insufficient to justify the massive cost and complexity.

The need for KPMG’s £8.5 million “promotion” contract demonstrates that NHS professionals fundamentally question the platform’s value proposition—a damning indictment of a system presented as essential for NHS modernization.

National Security and Data Sovereignty Concerns

Foreign Control of Strategic Data

The NHS dataset represents one of the world’s most valuable health data resources, covering over 65 million people with detailed longitudinal health records. Placing this strategic national asset under the control of a US company with deep intelligence agency connections raises profound sovereignty concerns.

Peter Thiel, Palantir’s co-founder and major Trump donor, has repeatedly criticized the NHS, declaring that “the NHS makes people sick”. His influence over UK health data represents an unprecedented foreign intrusion into British healthcare sovereignty.

Intelligence Agency Connections

Palantir’s origins in CIA venture capital funding and ongoing contracts with US intelligence agencies create obvious risks for UK data security. The company’s software platforms have been used for:

• Mass surveillance operations by NSA and GCHQ
• US immigration enforcement and deportation operations
• Military targeting systems in active conflict zones
• Police surveillance and predictive policing systems

Gaza Connection and Ethical Concerns

Complicity in War Crimes

Evidence suggests Palantir technology has been used in Israeli military operations in Gaza, potentially making the NHS complicit in war crimes through its data partnership. The Medact campaign toolkit specifically highlights this connection as grounds for contract cancellation.

Healthcare workers have organized protests against Palantir’s NHS involvement, citing the company’s role in what they characterize as genocide in Gaza. This ethical dimension adds moral urgency to the campaign against Palantir’s NHS contracts.

Financial Analysis: The True Cost

Direct Costs

The investigation reveals the following direct financial commitments:

• Primary FDP Contract: £330 million over seven years to Palantir consortium

IQVIA Privacy Technology: £28 million over three years

KPMG Promotion Contract: £8.5 million to encourage adoption

Historical COVID Contracts: £60.5 million to establish NHS foothold

Total Identified Costs: £427 million

Hidden Costs and Vendor Lock-in

The true financial impact extends far beyond direct contract values. Experts warn that Palantir’s integration strategy creates “vendor lock-in” where the NHS becomes dependent on proprietary systems, making future contract termination prohibitively expensive.

The requirement for additional KPMG promotion spending suggests ongoing costs to maintain the platform’s viability. If adoption continues to lag, taxpayers may face mounting bills for a system most NHS professionals reject.

Opportunity Costs

The £427 million committed to Palantir represents foregone opportunities for NHS investment in:

• Frontline medical staff
• Medical equipment and infrastructure
• In-house digital capabilities
• Public health programming
• Patient care improvements

These opportunity costs may ultimately prove more damaging than the direct financial waste.

Stakeholder Analysis: Winners and Losers

Winners

Palantir Technologies has secured not just massive contracts but strategic positioning for long-term NHS dependency. The company’s UK expansion from 0 to 1,000+ employees represents a successful market capture operation.

Consulting Firms (Accenture, PwC, KPMG) have benefited from associated contracts and ongoing NHS relationships worth tens of millions.

Former NHS Officials have secured lucrative private sector positions leveraging their public service experience and insider knowledge.

Peter Thiel and Palantir Shareholders benefit from both direct profits and strategic positioning in the global health data market.

Losers

NHS Patients face potential data misuse, reduced privacy protections, and opportunity costs from misdirected healthcare investment.

NHS Staff confront systems they didn’t want, imposed through political pressure rather than clinical need.

UK Taxpayers bear the cost of failed procurement processes and vendor lock-in scenarios.

Democratic Accountability suffers from excessive secrecy and revolving door relationships that undermine public oversight.

Data Sovereignty is compromised through foreign corporate control of strategic national health data.

Illegal Activities and Regulatory Violations

Potential Procurement Violations

Evidence suggests several potential violations of UK public procurement law:

1. Post-Award Negotiations: Continuing contract negotiations after award may violate competitive procurement principles

Lack of Transparency: Excessive redactions may breach public accountability requirements

Conflict of Interest: Revolving door relationships may constitute undisclosed conflicts

Contract Breach

Palantir’s undisclosed influencer marketing campaign targeting NHS critics potentially breached contract terms requiring prior approval for promotional activities.

Data Protection Violations

Legal analysis suggests the FDP may lack proper legal basis under UK data protection law, potentially constituting ongoing violations of patient data rights.

International Implications and Expansion

Global Template

The UK contract serves as a template for Palantir’s global expansion into healthcare markets. Success in the NHS provides credibility for similar contracts worldwide, amplifying the stakes of this investigation.

Defense Integration

Palantir’s September 2025 £1.5 billion defense partnership with the UK Ministry of Defence demonstrates the company’s broader ambitions for British state capture. The NHS contract provided the beachhead for this expanded relationship.

Recommendations and Next Steps

Immediate Actions Required

1. Independent Investigation: Parliament should establish a comprehensive inquiry into the FDP procurement process, with full access to unredacted documents and witness testimony.
2. Contract Suspension: NHS England should immediately suspend the Palantir contract pending resolution of legal and ethical concerns.
3. Transparency Mandate: All government contracts above £1 million should be published without redactions except for genuinely sensitive technical specifications.
4. Revolving Door Reform: Implement mandatory cooling-off periods and conflict-of-interest declarations for senior public officials joining contractors.

Long-term Reforms

1. In-House Capability: Invest in developing NHS internal data and digital capabilities rather than outsourcing to controversial foreign corporations.
2. Democratic Oversight: Establish independent oversight bodies for major health data initiatives with patient and public representation.
3. Data Sovereignty: Develop UK-owned alternatives to foreign-controlled health data platforms.
4. Ethical Procurement: Implement ethical screening for government contractors based on human rights records and democratic values.

Conclusion

The NHS-Palantir data scandal represents a case study in corporate capture of democratic institutions. Through a combination of emergency contract exploitation, revolving door relationships, political influence operations, and aggressive lobbying, a controversial foreign corporation has gained unprecedented access to Britain’s most sensitive health data.

The financial costs—at least £427 million—pale in comparison to the democratic and sovereignty costs. The systematic circumvention of competitive procurement, the exploitation of pandemic emergencies, and the use of deceptive public relations campaigns reveal a corporation willing to undermine democratic norms for commercial advantage.

Perhaps most damning is the revelation that most NHS professionals reject the system they’ve been forced to adopt. When healthcare workers—the intended users—describe Palantir’s technology as inferior to existing systems, it exposes the gap between political promises and operational reality.

This investigation demonstrates that the real threat to the NHS comes not from traditional political discourse about privatization, but from the stealthy corporate capture that occurs when democratic oversight is weakened and public accountability is undermined. The Palantir scandal should serve as a warning about the vulnerability of public institutions to sophisticated influence operations by powerful corporations with patient capital and flexible ethics.

The fight for transparency continues through legal challenges led by the Good Law Project, Foxglove, and other civil society organizations. Their work represents the last line of defense for democratic accountability in an era of increasing corporate power over public services.

For the NHS to retain its character as a public service serving patient needs rather than corporate profits, the Palantir contract must be terminated and genuine democratic oversight restored to health data governance. The alternative is the continued hollowing out of public institutions by foreign corporations with fundamentally different values and priorities than the British public they claim to serve.

The choice is clear: democratic accountability or corporate capture. The NHS-Palantir scandal shows what happens when democracy loses.

Sources: This investigation draws on over 190 open-source documents including government contracts, parliamentary testimony, legal filings, Freedom of Information requests, investigative journalism, and corporate communications spanning 2020-2025.

The Players: A Detailed OSINT Investigation into the Key Figures Behind the NHS-Palantir Data Scandal

This report provides comprehensive profiles of the key individuals involved in the NHS-Palantir data scandal, examining their backgrounds, past misconduct, controversies, and patterns of behavior that reveal a systematic network of corporate capture and regulatory violation.

Peter Thiel – The Silicon Valley Architect

Role: Co-founder and major shareholder of Palantir Technologies

Background: Born in Germany in 1967, Thiel is a controversial billionaire tech investor who co-founded PayPal, was an early Facebook investor, and founded Palantir Technologies in 2003. His net worth exceeds $7 billion.

Past Wrongdoing and Controversies

The Gawker Destruction Campaign (2016)
Thiel’s most notorious scandal involved secretly funding Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media, ultimately destroying the media company through a $140 million judgment. This came after Gawker published an article in 2007 titled “Peter Thiel is totally gay, people,” which Thiel claimed outed him without consent. Critics argued this represented a dangerous precedent where billionaires could silence press criticism through proxy lawsuits.

Anti-Democratic Ideology
Thiel has expressed disturbing anti-democratic views, writing in 2009: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible”. He has advocated for “seasteading”—creating floating autonomous communities outside government regulation. He also wrote that women’s suffrage rendered “capitalist democracy” an “oxymoron”.

“The Diversity Myth” Co-Authorship (1995)
In his Stanford Review days, Thiel co-authored a book with David Sacks that included problematic statements about rape culture, suggesting that many rape allegations were fabricated by women who regretted consensual encounters. The book also attacked multiculturalism and was funded by right-wing organizations.

Surveillance and Privacy Violations
Despite claiming to champion privacy rights, Thiel has profited extensively from surveillance capitalism through Facebook investments and Palantir’s mass surveillance capabilities. His companies have been implicated in privacy violations across multiple platforms.

Unregulated Human Medical Experimentation
Thiel funded $4 million of a $7 million investment in unregulated herpes vaccine trials on human subjects in the Caribbean island of St. Kitts—widely considered unethical medical experimentation.

Political Extremism and Trump Support
Thiel donated $1.25 million to Trump’s 2016 campaign and has continued supporting far-right political movements. He mentored JD Vance, now Vice President, whom critics describe as “Peter Thiel’s intern” due to their extensive financial and professional relationship.

Pattern of Behavior

Thiel consistently demonstrates:

• Willingness to use wealth to silence critics and undermine democratic institutions
• Anti-democratic and authoritarian ideological leanings
• Exploitation of regulatory loopholes and emergency situations
• Investment in surveillance and control technologies
• Support for extremist political movements

Louis Mosley – The Fascist Heir

Role: Executive Vice President and head of Palantir UK

Background: Louis Mosley, grandson of British Union of Fascists leader Sir Oswald Mosley, joined Palantir around 2017 and became UK head by 2022. He studied at Oxford University and previously worked in Conservative politics and finance.

Family Legacy of Fascism

Oswald Mosley (Grandfather)
Sir Oswald Mosley (1896-1980) founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932, modeling it directly on Mussolini’s movement. Key aspects of his fascist legacy include:

• Received £2 million annually (in today’s money) from Mussolini’s government

Maintained personal relationships with Hitler and Mussolini

Led violent anti-Semitic campaigns culminating in the Battle of Cable Street (1936)

Was imprisoned during WWII as a fascist threat to British security

Post-war, founded the Union Movement promoting Holocaust denial and white supremacism

Paid for Nazi officials’ children to visit Britain for “educational exchanges”

Louis Mosley’s Career Trajectory

Conservative Party Activism
Louis Mosley worked as a research assistant for Conservative MP Rory Stewart and successfully ran as a Conservative candidate in South Kensington and Knightsbridge council elections. When questioned about his grandfather’s fascist legacy, he claimed: “I really don’t know much about my grandfather’s career”—a statement contradicted by the extensive family documentation and his grandfather’s notorious historical record.

Palantir Strategic Role
As Palantir UK head, Mosley has overseen the company’s aggressive expansion into British government contracts, describing the strategy as “buying our way in” and “hoovering up” smaller contractors to “take a lot of ground and take down a lot of political resistance”.

Avoiding Public Scrutiny
Mosley notably withdrew from a scheduled public debate with legal campaigners at the Digital Health Rewired Conference, prompting opponents to suggest he was “hiding in a fridge” to avoid accountability.

Pattern of Behavior

• Family history of fascist ideology and authoritarian politics
• Strategic embedding within British conservative political networks
• Implementation of aggressive corporate expansion tactics
• Avoidance of public accountability and democratic scrutiny
• Exploitation of family political connections while downplaying fascist heritage

Peter Mandelson – The Scandal-Plagued Facilitator

Role: Co-founder of Global Counsel (Palantir client), former UK Ambassador to the US

Background: Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, is a veteran Labour politician who served twice as a Cabinet minister under Tony Blair and once under Gordon Brown. He co-founded Global Counsel lobbying firm in 2010, which represented Palantir.

Pattern of Financial Scandals

The Geoffrey Robinson Loan Affair (1998)
Mandelson was forced to resign from his first Cabinet position after it was revealed he had taken a £373,000 interest-free loan from fellow Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson to buy a Notting Hill house. Critically, Mandelson’s department was simultaneously investigating Robinson’s business dealings, creating a clear conflict of interest. Mandelson had failed to declare the loan in the Register of Members’ Interests as required.

The Passport Affair (2001)
Mandelson resigned from his second Cabinet position amid allegations he had improperly intervened to help Indian businessman S.P. Hinduja obtain a British passport. While later cleared of wrongdoing, the resignation highlighted ongoing concerns about his judgment and associations.

Jeffrey Epstein Connections
Recent revelations showed Mandelson maintained a close relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. Bloomberg published emails showing Mandelson referring to Epstein as his “best pal” and suggesting Epstein’s conviction should be overturned. A photo emerged of Mandelson in a bathrobe alongside Epstein. These revelations led to his dismissal as US Ambassador in 2025.

Global Counsel Profiteering
Through Global Counsel, Mandelson profited from representing controversial clients including:

• Shell (lobbying on climate issues)

Palantir (facilitating NHS contracts)

Various other corporations seeking government influence

His stake in Global Counsel was estimated at £10 million when the firm cut ties with him in 2025.

Facilitating the Starmer-Palantir Connection

Mandelson arranged Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s February 2025 visit to Palantir’s Washington headquarters—a meeting for which no official record was kept despite its obvious significance for a company holding hundreds of millions in UK government contracts. This arrangement occurred while Global Counsel represented Palantir and Mandelson served as UK Ambassador.

Pattern of Behavior

• Repeated financial scandals involving undisclosed relationships with business figures
• Exploitation of public office for private commercial advantage
• Maintenance of relationships with controversial figures regardless of reputational cost
• Facilitation of corporate access to senior government officials
• Consistent failure of personal judgment regarding ethical boundaries

Matthew Swindells – The NHS-Corporate Revolving Door Exemplar

Role: Former Deputy CEO of NHS England, now Senior Advisor at Global Counsel

Background: Swindells was ranked as the 4th most influential person in the NHS during his time as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations at NHS England. He left the NHS in July 2019 to join Global Counsel as a senior advisor.

Corporate Career Before NHS

Cerner Corporation (Pre-2016)
Before joining NHS England in May 2016, Swindells worked as Senior Vice President at Cerner, one of the world’s largest private healthcare IT companies. This background gave him extensive knowledge of healthcare technology markets and established relationships with major healthcare IT vendors.

Systematic Conflicts of Interest

Multiple Simultaneous Roles
After leaving NHS England, Swindells accumulated multiple positions that created extensive conflicts of interest:

• Senior Advisor at Global Counsel (Palantir client)

Advisor to Accenture (member of Palantir consortium)

Founded MJS Healthcare Consulting (private healthcare consultancy)

Advisor to Carnall Farrar (member of Palantir consortium)

Director at Prism (NHS consultancy partner)

Chair of four London NHS Trusts that use Palantir software

Palantir Promotion Activities
Despite agreeing not to use NHS knowledge “to the unfair advantage of his clients,” Swindells began working with Palantir just two months after joining Global Counsel. His activities included:

• Co-hosting NHS webinars featuring Palantir representatives

Participating in Global Counsel events promoting Palantir to NHS officials

Providing strategic advice during Palantir’s contract negotiations with NHS England

Exclusion Arrangements
Due to obvious conflicts of interest, Swindells was formally excluded from Palantir-related decision-making at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where he serves as chairman. However, this arrangement highlights rather than resolves the fundamental conflict.

NHS Digitization Advocacy

While at NHS England, Swindells was a key advocate for healthcare digitization and private sector partnerships—policies that directly benefited the companies he later joined. This raises questions about whether his public service was influenced by future private sector opportunities.

Pattern of Behavior

• Strategic positioning between public and private sectors to maximize commercial opportunities
• Accumulation of multiple roles with overlapping conflicts of interest
• Use of NHS insider knowledge for private client benefit despite contractual restrictions
• Promotion of digitization policies that benefit private IT vendors
• Formal conflict management arrangements that highlight rather than resolve ethical problems

Dr. Indra Joshi – The AI Lab Failure

Role: Former NHSX Director of AI, now Director of Health, Research and AI at Palantir

Background: Dr. Joshi led the creation of the NHS AI Lab from its inception until March 2022, managing a £260 million budget intended to revolutionize NHS care through artificial intelligence. She joined Palantir in April 2022.

The NHS AI Lab Disaster

Failed Leadership (2019-2022)
Under Joshi’s leadership, the NHS AI Lab achieved a “red” rating from the Infrastructure Projects Authority by April 2022, meaning “successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable”. This represented a catastrophic failure of a £260 million public investment in AI development.

Timing of Departure
Joshi left her NHS role in March 2022, just weeks before the Infrastructure Projects Authority published its damning assessment of the AI Lab’s failure. Her immediate transition to Palantir—a company bidding for major NHS contracts—raised serious questions about conflict of interest.

Previous Private Sector Experience
Joshi had briefly worked as a senior policy advisor for the Department for Work and Pensions (2014-2015) before returning to the NHS. This earlier private sector experience may have informed her later career transition.

Palantir Integration During NHS Service

COVID-19 Collaboration (2020)
While serving as NHS AI Director, Joshi worked directly with Palantir on COVID-19 response contracts alongside Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Faculty. This collaboration provided Palantir with direct access to senior NHS AI leadership during the critical contract development period.

Revolving Door Violations
Like other NHS officials, Joshi was contractually required to follow “strict post-employment restrictions” including a prohibition on lobbying or influencing for a new employer for six months. However, the nature of her role at Palantir and the timing of major NHS contract awards suggests these restrictions may have been insufficient.

Pattern of Behavior

• Management of major public AI initiative resulting in complete failure
• Strategic timing of departure to avoid accountability for program failure
• Immediate transition to private sector beneficiary of NHS contracts
• Prior collaboration with future employer while in public service
• Circumvention of post-employment restrictions through role design

Harjeet Dhaliwal – The Data Services Defector

Role: Former Deputy Director of Data Services at NHS England, now Deployment Strategist at Palantir

Background: Dhaliwal spent 20 years in the NHS, rising to Deputy Director of Data Services at NHS England and NHS Improvement (2019-2022). She joined Palantir in April 2022.

NHS Data Infrastructure Knowledge

National Data Repository Leadership
Dhaliwal led the building of NHS England’s national data repository, which was “broadly used by the NHS and government to look at Covid trends to monitor the spread of the virus and implement measures to ensure services and support is available to patients”. This role gave her intimate knowledge of NHS data systems and their vulnerabilities.

COVID-19 Data Systems
Her work on COVID-19 data systems provided direct experience with the type of large-scale health data integration that Palantir sought to commercialize through the Federated Data Platform.

Career Progression Through NHS Reorganizations
Dhaliwal’s career advanced through multiple NHS organizational changes:

• Head of Data Management, Midlands and Lancashire CSU (2014-2015)
• Deputy Head of DSCRO Service Improvement, NHS England (2015-2018)
• Head of Data Services, NHS England (2018-2019)
• Deputy Director of Data Services, NHS England and NHS Improvement (2019-2022)

Strategic Timing of Departure

Contract Negotiation Period
Dhaliwal’s departure in April 2022 occurred during the period when Palantir was positioning itself as the “front-runner” for the £360 million Federated Data Platform contract. Her transition provided Palantir with insider knowledge during the critical pre-award period.

“No NHS Projects” Claim
Palantir claimed Dhaliwal would not be “working on any NHS related projects”. However, as a “Deployment Strategist” focused on “bringing the transformational power of data and technology to bear against complex problems in healthcare”, this distinction appears semantic rather than substantive.

Pattern of Behavior

• Two decades of NHS data systems experience providing comprehensive insider knowledge
• Strategic career positioning during major NHS reorganizations
• Departure timing coinciding with major contract negotiations
• Transition to direct competitor/vendor with claimed but questionable role restrictions
• Deep understanding of NHS data vulnerabilities and commercial opportunities

Leo Docherty – The Defense Minister Defector

Role: Former Conservative MP and Minister for the Armed Forces, now paid advisor to Palantir

Background: Leo Docherty served as Conservative MP for Aldershot (2017-2024) and as Minister for the Armed Forces responsible for “digital services for the armed forces”. He joined Palantir as a paid advisor in February 2025.

Ministry of Defence Career

Digital Services Oversight
As Minister for the Armed Forces, Docherty oversaw the very digital services units that became Palantir’s most lucrative UK government clients. The Ministry of Defence’s “Defence Digital” unit awarded Palantir an £80 million contract without competitive tender.

Strategic Defense Review Influence
Docherty’s department was involved in the UK’s Strategic Defense Review conducted in June 2025, which was partially processed using Palantir’s AI models. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this review led to Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing that 10% of the MOD budget would be allocated to new technology, including AI and drones—areas where Palantir works extensively.

Immediate Post-Government Employment

Rapid Transition
Docherty’s transition to Palantir occurred just months after losing his parliamentary seat in July 2024, with his advisory role beginning in February 2025. This rapid transition raised concerns about the adequacy of cooling-off periods for former ministers.

Role Definition
Docherty’s role is defined as advising on “AI trends and geopolitical risk”—areas directly relevant to his former ministerial responsibilities and Palantir’s government contract objectives.

ACOBA Approval
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) approved Docherty’s appointment despite being described as “toothless” by its own chair, as it lacks power to sanction former ministers who break its rules.

Part of Broader Pattern

Defense Industry Revolving Door
Docherty is part of a broader pattern of former defense officials joining Palantir, including:

• Damien Parmenter (senior MOD director general)
• Laurence Lee (MOD’s former second permanent secretary)
• Polly Scully (MOD’s former strategy director)

This systematic recruitment of defense officials provides Palantir with comprehensive insider knowledge of UK military procurement and strategic planning.

Pattern of Behavior

• Oversight of digital services that became major revenue sources for future employer
• Influence over strategic reviews that benefited future employer’s business areas
• Rapid post-government transition despite potential conflicts of interest
• Acceptance of role directly related to former ministerial responsibilities
• Part of systematic recruitment pattern targeting defense establishment

Supporting Players and Enablers

KPMG – The NHS Promotion Contractor

Role: Awarded £8.5 million to “promote adoption” of Palantir’s FDP

Background: KPMG received this contract despite having withdrawn from public sector tendering due to multiple scandals.

Past Wrongdoing:

• £13 million fine for “unacceptable” failures in Silentnight sale

False and misleading information to regulators about Carillion audits

Multiple audit failures leading to voluntary withdrawal from public procurement

NHS Revolving Door History:
Mark Britnell (Director General of Commissioning) and Gary Belfield (successor) both left NHS England for lucrative KPMG positions, immediately winning NHS contracts.

Topham Guerin – The Covert PR Operation

Role: Conservative Party-linked PR firm hired by Palantir for influencer campaign

Background: Topham Guerin, known for divisive political campaigns, was hired by Palantir to orchestrate a covert influencer marketing campaign targeting NHS critics.

Deceptive Practices: The campaign offered social media influencers £750-£2,000 to post pro-Palantir content without disclosing the company’s involvement, violating NHS contract terms.

Conclusion: A Network of Systematic Corruption

This investigation reveals a coordinated network of individuals with histories of:

1. Financial Scandals and Ethical Violations: Multiple figures (Thiel, Mandelson, KPMG) have extensive histories of financial misconduct, regulatory violations, and ethical failures.
2. Anti-Democratic Ideologies: Key figures (Thiel, L. Mosley through family legacy) demonstrate hostility to democratic institutions and accountability.
3. Systematic Revolving Door Exploitation: The pattern of NHS officials (Swindells, Joshi, Dhaliwal) and defense ministers (Docherty) moving to lucrative private positions with contractors they previously oversaw represents systematic regulatory capture.
4. Deceptive and Covert Operations: The use of undisclosed influencer campaigns, secret meetings (Mandelson-Starmer), and aggressive PR tactics demonstrates willingness to undermine democratic transparency.
5. Historical Pattern Recognition: Many figures show consistent patterns of similar behavior across multiple episodes, suggesting this is not aberrant conduct but systematic operational methodology.

The NHS-Palantir scandal is not an isolated incident but represents a sophisticated long-term strategy by individuals with demonstrated willingness to exploit public institutions for private gain, often using methods that skirt or violate legal and ethical boundaries. The convergence of these actors around the NHS data contract suggests coordinated action to capture Britain’s most valuable public health asset.