Burnham expected to review Palantir’s NHS contract and UK AI strategy

Andy Burnham is expected to review the NHS’s £330 million contract with Palantir if he becomes prime minister later this month, while preparing a broader overhaul of the UK’s artificial intelligence strategy that would place greater emphasis on British technology companies.

The Telegraph reported that Burnham, who is expected to succeed Sir Keir Starmer following the Labour leadership transition, is minded not to award future government work to the US software company, reflecting his record as Greater Manchester mayor, where no contracts were awarded to Palantir during his nine years in office.

The existing seven-year NHS Federated Data Platform contract, signed in 2023, includes a break clause next March, requiring ministers to notify the company by December if they choose not to continue the agreement.

The Federated Data Platform is now used by more than half of NHS trusts in England. NHS figures cited by The Telegraph suggest it has supported more than 110,000 additional operations since the programme began, while pilot trusts have reported higher operating theatre utilisation, faster cancer diagnoses and fewer delayed patient discharges.

According to the Financial Times, Burnham’s advisers are simultaneously preparing a revised AI strategy that would shift policy away from what they describe as a US-focused approach and place greater emphasis on technology sovereignty, domestic companies and regional economic growth. One person involved in the discussions told the newspaper that “unfettered tech boosterism is a vote-loser” and argued AI policy should work “for British companies and the UK public rather than US tech giants”.

Burnham signalled a similar direction in a keynote speech on Monday, saying government procurement should place greater weight on social value and promising to unlock “good growth in every British postcode” through stronger regional investment and reindustrialisation.

The prospect of ending the NHS contract has drawn criticism from the Conservative opposition. Stuart Andrew, shadow health secretary, told The Telegraph: “If Andy Burnham tears up a programme that is improving patient care, he will have to explain why he chose politics over patients.” Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, questioned whether removing Palantir would mean accepting “a trade-off which is measured in more Brits dying”.

The Telegraph reported that Labour MPs, trade unions and campaigners have called for Palantir’s NHS role to end because of the company’s work with the Israeli military and US immigration authorities. Health secretary James Murray has previously said any review of the contract would be “part of normal business”, while technology secretary Liz Kendall has criticised the company’s leadership without confirming whether Palantir should retain a long-term role in the NHS.

Some of the programme’s reported performance has also come under fresh scrutiny. The Londoner reported that figures cited for Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, which has been promoted as an early example of the Federated Data Platform’s success, may reflect changes in how outpatient waiting lists are managed rather than an overall reduction in the number of patients waiting for treatment.

According to Freedom of Information data obtained by the publication, the trust’s overall waiting list has increased over the past three years, prompting calls from a member of Parliament’s Health Committee for an investigation.