One street wins £1m as latest postcode lottery winners in Wales revealed

Palantir accuses UK doctors of choosing ‘ideology over patient interest' in NHS data row

The Guardian

3 hours ago

The Guardian

Palantir accuses UK doctors of choosing ‘ideology over patient interest' in NHS data row

Palantir, the US data company which works with Israel's defence ministry, has accused British doctors of choosing 'ideology over patient interest' after they attacked the firm's contract to process NHS data. Louis Mosley, Palantir's executive vice-president, hit back at the British Medical Association which recently said the £330m deal to create a single platform for NHS data - ranging from patient data to bed availability - 'threatens to undermine public trust in NHS data systems'. In a formal resolution the doctors said last month this was because it was unclear how the sensitive data would be processed by Palantir, which was founded by Trump donor Peter Thiel, the firm's 'track record of creating discriminatory policing software in the US' and its 'close links to a US government which shows little regard for international law.' But Mosley dismissed the attack when he gave evidence to MPs from the Commons science and technology committee on Tuesday. Palantir has also won contracts to handle mass data controlled by the Ministry of Defence, police, local authorities and Thiel, a libertarian,named the company after the 'seeing stones' in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Thiel has previously said the British public's affection for the NHS was a case of 'Stockholm syndrome' but was not speaking for Palantir, said Mosley. Palantir also provides artificial intelligence-enabled military targeting systems as well as software to integrate and analyse data scattered across different systems such as in the health service. 'I think the accusation that we lack transparency or this is secretive is wrong,' Mosley said. 'I think that BMA has, if I may be frank, chosen ideology over patient interest. I think our software is going to make patient lives better by making their treatment quicker, more effective, and ultimately the healthcare system more efficient.' In 2023 the government awarded Palantir the contract to build a new NHS 'federated data platform' but concerns have been raised by some local NHS trusts that the system was no better than the existing technology and could even reduce functionality, the website Democracy for Sale reported. Palantir was also one of the many technology companies which the Guardian revealed last week recently met with the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to discuss ideas to help solve the crisis in prisons and probation from inserting tracking devices under offenders' skin to assigning robots to contain prisoners. During the hearing Mosley was challenged by the chair, Chi Onwurah MP, over whether it was the right company to be involved in the NHS when it was also working for the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, through its military applications. Mosley declined to give operational details about what Palantir does for the Israeli authorities. Its products include a system called Gotham that 'supports soldiers with an AI-powered kill chain, seamlessly and responsibly integrating target identification'. Onwurah said cultural change was needed in the NHS in order to drive uptake of the new data systems. She asked Mosley: 'Do you really think that Palantir is the organisation to bring together 42 integrated care boards, over 200 NHS Trusts to champion NHS values, to bring them together around one federated data [platform] and, in the future, a single patient record?' 'I think the question of trust should really be about our competence above all,' Mosley said. 'Are we delivering [what] we have promised to deliver? Are we making the patient experience quicker, more effective, more efficient? And if we are, then we should be trusted with that.' The Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley said the interoperability between the data systems Palantir provides for health and defence was 'profoundly worrying'. The Conservative MP Kit Malthouse wanted to know if a military could target particular individuals with particular characteristics by using Palantir's ability to process a large pool of data. Mosley said: 'We provide an enormous amount of control and governance to the organisations that use our software for that purpose to manage precisely the kind of risks that you're talking about.' Malthouse said: 'That sounds like a yes'. It also emerged during the hearing that Palantir continues to employ Global Counsel, a lobbying firm co-founded by Britain's current ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson. Mosley denied that a visit to Palantir's Washington DC office by the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, was arranged by Mandelson, saying 'it was done through the proper channels'. Mandelson stepped down from Global Counsel in 'early 2025', the consultancy's website says.

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

Glasgow Times

4 hours ago

Glasgow Times

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

Louis Mosley appeared in front of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Tuesday as part of its innovation showcase. While there, he also challenged claims that Palantir has a 'reputational difficulty' and said it is 'very proud' of the work it does in Israel. Palantir was co-founded by billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who was an early backer of US President Donald Trump, and has worked with the US government. It was announced in November 2023 that a group led by Palantir had secured a £330 million contract to provide the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP). The shared software system will aim to make it easier for health and care organisations to work together and provide better services to patients, but Palantir's involvement sparked concerns about how patient data will be used. When asked by MPs about how the company protects patient privacy, and if data would be processed outside of the UK, or be accessible by any foreign government, Mr Mosley said: 'The critical thing to bear in mind about the way our software works and the way it's deployed in the NHS, is that the data controllers – so those organisations that have that legal responsibility, in the NHS those are trusts, typically – they maintain control over their data. 'So each of them gets their own instance of our software, and they control who has access to it, they control what data is integrated into it, and they, in effect, implement and enforce the data protection policies that they deem appropriate.' He also emphasised Palantir does not 'derive any economic benefit from the data, the data belongs to the customer'. Mr Mosley claimed that medics who oppose Palantir's involvement in the FDP as choosing 'ideology over patient interest'. NHS staff blockade the entrance to NHS England's headquarters in central London in April 2024, demanding the cancellation of its contract with Palantir (Victoria Jones/PA) It comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) passed a motion stating the company is an 'unacceptable choice' for the FDP at its annual representative meeting in Liverpool last month. The union's members voted in favour of the BMA lobbying against the introduction of Palantir software in the health service, and called for the Department of Health and Social Care to create an audit of the progress of the uptake of the systems throughout the NHS. When asked about this, Mr Mosley said: 'I was very disappointed to see that. I think the accusation that we lack transparency or this is secretive is wrong. 'I think the BMA has, if I may be frank, chosen ideology over patient interest. 'I think our software is going to make patient lives better; so making their treatment quicker, more effective, and ultimately the healthcare system more efficient. 'And I, as a patient, and a user of the NHS, I want it to be as quick and efficient as possible. 'I'm very sad, frankly, that the ideology seems to have taken precedence over those interests.' The BMA vote comes a little over a year since health workers blockaded the entrance to NHS England's headquarters to call for an end to Palantir's contract. In April 2024, hundreds of NHS workers protested in central London, holding placards which read 'No Palantir in the NHS' and 'Palantir aids apartheid'. Mr Mosley also pushed back against claims about Palantir's reputation. It was put to Mr Mosley that Palantir has a 'reputational difficulty' by Conservative MP Kit Malthouse. 'Everybody's slightly suspicious of what you do,' he said. 'And part of that reputational difficulty has been caused by your software being used in war on Gaza and the targeting of Palestinians with particular characteristics. 'What protections would you put in place for UK programmes to make sure they're not complicit in the commission of war crimes?' Mr Mosley said he would 'push back' on the question around reputation, adding: 'I think much of that concern and suspicion that you mentioned is the result of misunderstandings about the nature of our software, the nature of our business model and the kind of work we support. 'I would emphasise the fact that we have never worked and will never work in countries that are adversarial to the west, like China or Russia or Iran. 'We do work in Israel. We're proud of the work that we do there. We have provided the Israelis with support since October 7, but also our work there predates those events. 'I can't go into operational details of the way in which our software is used, but I can assure you that I think the systems to which you would think, like Lavender, for example, are not ones that we are involved in.'

South Wales Argus

4 hours ago

South Wales Argus

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

Louis Mosley appeared in front of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Tuesday as part of its innovation showcase. While there, he also challenged claims that Palantir has a 'reputational difficulty' and said it is 'very proud' of the work it does in Israel. Palantir was co-founded by billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who was an early backer of US President Donald Trump, and has worked with the US government. It was announced in November 2023 that a group led by Palantir had secured a £330 million contract to provide the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP). The shared software system will aim to make it easier for health and care organisations to work together and provide better services to patients, but Palantir's involvement sparked concerns about how patient data will be used. When asked by MPs about how the company protects patient privacy, and if data would be processed outside of the UK, or be accessible by any foreign government, Mr Mosley said: 'The critical thing to bear in mind about the way our software works and the way it's deployed in the NHS, is that the data controllers – so those organisations that have that legal responsibility, in the NHS those are trusts, typically – they maintain control over their data. 'So each of them gets their own instance of our software, and they control who has access to it, they control what data is integrated into it, and they, in effect, implement and enforce the data protection policies that they deem appropriate.' He also emphasised Palantir does not 'derive any economic benefit from the data, the data belongs to the customer'. Mr Mosley claimed that medics who oppose Palantir's involvement in the FDP as choosing 'ideology over patient interest'. NHS staff blockade the entrance to NHS England's headquarters in central London in April 2024, demanding the cancellation of its contract with Palantir (Victoria Jones/PA) It comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) passed a motion stating the company is an 'unacceptable choice' for the FDP at its annual representative meeting in Liverpool last month. The union's members voted in favour of the BMA lobbying against the introduction of Palantir software in the health service, and called for the Department of Health and Social Care to create an audit of the progress of the uptake of the systems throughout the NHS. When asked about this, Mr Mosley said: 'I was very disappointed to see that. I think the accusation that we lack transparency or this is secretive is wrong. 'I think the BMA has, if I may be frank, chosen ideology over patient interest. 'I think our software is going to make patient lives better; so making their treatment quicker, more effective, and ultimately the healthcare system more efficient. 'And I, as a patient, and a user of the NHS, I want it to be as quick and efficient as possible. 'I'm very sad, frankly, that the ideology seems to have taken precedence over those interests.' The BMA vote comes a little over a year since health workers blockaded the entrance to NHS England's headquarters to call for an end to Palantir's contract. In April 2024, hundreds of NHS workers protested in central London, holding placards which read 'No Palantir in the NHS' and 'Palantir aids apartheid'. Mr Mosley also pushed back against claims about Palantir's reputation. It was put to Mr Mosley that Palantir has a 'reputational difficulty' by Conservative MP Kit Malthouse. 'Everybody's slightly suspicious of what you do,' he said. 'And part of that reputational difficulty has been caused by your software being used in war on Gaza and the targeting of Palestinians with particular characteristics. 'What protections would you put in place for UK programmes to make sure they're not complicit in the commission of war crimes?' Mr Mosley said he would 'push back' on the question around reputation, adding: 'I think much of that concern and suspicion that you mentioned is the result of misunderstandings about the nature of our software, the nature of our business model and the kind of work we support. 'I would emphasise the fact that we have never worked and will never work in countries that are adversarial to the west, like China or Russia or Iran. 'We do work in Israel. We're proud of the work that we do there. We have provided the Israelis with support since October 7, but also our work there predates those events. 'I can't go into operational details of the way in which our software is used, but I can assure you that I think the systems to which you would think, like Lavender, for example, are not ones that we are involved in.'

One street wins £1m as latest postcode lottery winners in Wales revealed

Hashtags

Try Our AI Features

Comments

Related Articles

Palantir accuses UK doctors of choosing ‘ideology over patient interest' in NHS data row

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

One street wins £1m as latest postcode lottery winners in Wales revealed

Hashtags

Try Our AI Features

Comments

Related Articles

Palantir accuses UK doctors of choosing ‘ideology over patient interest' in NHS data row

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

Doctors against Palantir's NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest'

Get Started Now: Download the App