Lewisham Save Our NHS/Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign is joining health groups and campaigners all over the UK to protest and attempt to stop the continuation of the continued acquisition of patients’ NHS data by the US tech giant Palantir.
We will be leafleting about it on our stalls and campaigning in our social media to ask people to write to their MPs, local councillor and Health Boards about this.
Sample letter to MPs
Click here to view a sample letter to MPs and click here to download as a Word doc to adapt to write to your MP or Councillors.
If you want to work with us on this issue please contact savelewishamhospital@yahoo.com
About Palantir
A contract awarded was awarded to Palantir Technologies for the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) in 2023 and valued at hundreds of millions of pounds. The contract has generated widespread public concern. In particular, there are serious questions about the security and governance of sensitive patient data. Large-scale health databases are inherently vulnerable to breaches, misuse, and cyber-attack, and many people are uneasy about entrusting NHS data management to a private overseas company whose commercial priorities may not align with the public interest or the founding values of the NHS.
Surveillance
We know that Palantir are engaged in surveillance, border enforcement (including the illegal targeting of migrants), policing, human rights abuses and warfare and use the data they have collected to facilitate this involvement. In the US, ICE (US Immigration Customs and Enforcement), uses Palantir software for cross-governmental data analysis, including health data, to track people down. In 2025 the UN Special Rapporteur described Palantir as an enabler of “the unlawful use of force“ in the Palestinian Territories.
If this were not enough, recent concerns have emerged about the links between Peter Mandelson, his company Global Council and Palantir. Mandelson arranged for Keir Starmer to meet with Alex Karp, Palantir CEO in February 2025; 7 months later the UK Defence Secretary awarded Palantir a multimillion pound contract.
Practical objections
There are also practical questions about the suitability of the Palantir’s FDP platform itself. A number of clinicians, data experts and NHS bodies have warned that the platform risks displacing locally developed systems that are already effective, potentially slowing progress on other national digital initiatives and creating additional governance and operational challenges. Despite pressure for nationwide adoption, many NHS trusts have not yet implemented the platform, reflecting ongoing uncertainty and lack of confidence.
Given the scale of the contract and the sensitivity of NHS patient data, we believe it is essential that these issues are subject to full and transparent investigation.
Public trust is fundamental to the effective functioning of the NHS. Decisions about national data infrastructure must command the highest levels of confidence in terms of ethics, security, value for money and clinical effectiveness.
Call for a pause
We therefore call for a pause in the national rollout of the Federated Data Platform, and to press the government to make use of the contractual break clause available in February 2027 if concerns remain unresolved.
What you can do:
Write to your MP – See our sample letter
Write to your Councillors
Tell your friends and family
Contact our campaign to help savelewishamhospital@yahoo.com
Read the resources listed below
Resources
Organisations such as Medact and Keep Our NHS Public are campaigning on Palantir.
Medact briefing on Palantir
Mandelson Palantir and the NHS (Keep Our NHS Public)
Hackney Coalition against Palantir – contains useful information about campaigning locally
Palentir out of the NHS (Keep Our NHS Public)
