Palantir Lobbied for £330 Million NHS Deal to Reach GP Records via WhatsApp

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 9

WhatsApp messages from July 2025 to March 2026 show Palantir pressing former health minister Zubir Ahmed to bring GP records into the NHS data platform, even though those records were excluded from its existing contract.
In a February push, the company said linking primary and secondary care data was “unarguable,” called its Foundry software “ideal,” and urged Ahmed to get ahead of expected political opposition from doctors and critics.
That expansion would go beyond the 2023 pledge that GP data would not be part of the national platform tied to Palantir’s £330 million federated data platform contract with NHS England.
The British Medical Association, Foxglove and NHS data officials said the messages point to scope creep that could erode patient trust, while Palantir said data sharing can improve care and that rollout decisions rest with government.
The lobbying surfaced as ministers review Palantir’s NHS role and are reportedly unlikely to end the contract soon, though the government has signaled interest in a UK sovereign AI replacement by 2029.