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Former Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson Joins Palantir to Advise on UK Public Services
Key points
- Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader, joined Palantir as an adviser.
- His role involves deepening Palantir's social and economic value in UK public services.
- Palantir is currently defending its £330m NHS contract and a £50m Metropolitan Police contract.
- The company aims to secure more public sector work in the UK.
Former Labour Deputy Leader Joins Palantir
Tom Watson, a Labour peer and former deputy leader, has been appointed as an adviser to Palantir. He will work alongside Louis Mosley, Palantir’s UK and Europe chief executive. Watson's role is partly to "deepen the social and economic value its work creates through better British public services, jobs and skills."
Context of Palantir's UK Operations
Palantir is currently facing pressure regarding its £330m NHS contract and is in a legal dispute with Sadiq Khan over a blocked £50m contract for AI use in Metropolitan Police investigations. The company, co-founded by Peter Thiel, provides AI-powered software to various government entities, including the Israeli military and the White House’s ICE immigration crackdown. Palantir has an annual turnover of £427m in the UK and aims to secure more public sector contracts.
Watson's Background and Previous Roles
Since leaving Parliament in 2019, Watson has advised the gambling and music industries. He has been a part-time adviser to Palantir since 2024 and previously served as a defence minister and minister for digital engagement in Gordon Brown’s government. Palantir also holds a £240m contract with the Ministry of Defence.
The 'Revolving Door' Phenomenon
This appointment is part of a trend of former British politicians moving into roles within major tech companies. Examples include Nick Clegg joining Meta, Rishi Sunak taking jobs with Anthropic and Microsoft after his premiership, and George Osborne working for OpenAI. Keir Starmer’s AI adviser, Matt Clifford, also recently joined Anthropic, resigning from a government science and tech research body due to conflict of interest concerns.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader and peer, has joined Palantir as an adviser to help deepen its engagement with UK public services. This appointment comes as Palantir faces scrutiny over its existing NHS and Metropolitan Police contracts and seeks to expand its public sector work in the UK.