openDemocracy reports that the former head of MI6 introduced Palantir to a top government official in the Cabinet Office a year before the US spy tech firm won a £27m contract with the department.
The article reveals that Sir John Sawers set up a meeting between Palantir’s CEO and the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, John Manzoni, in 2019, when the company was pitching for new business. Palantir went on to win a data deal – without competitive tender – from the Cabinet Office, having touted the benefits of its “unique software” in subsequent correspondence to the department.
Concerns about Palantir’s deep ties to British and American security agencies are underscored by the involvement of Sawers, a one-time spymaster who led the Secret Intelligence Service from 2009 to 2014.
Full article in openDemocracy, 4 September 2023
