FOI request exposes extent of Palantir’s ‘tentacles’ in UK – and it’s not even answered, yet

As Keir Starmer moves to impose ‘digital ID’ on the UK, anti-surveillance and anti-freeport activist and Canary writer David Powell has submitted a major Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request to the government demanding clear information about the influence and contracts held by US spy firm Palantir in the machinery of the British surveillance state.

And just his announcement that he has submitted the FOI request gives a sketch of the extent of the ‘tentacles’ of one of the world’s most sinisterly worrying firms throughout the fabric of UK officialdom.

Palantir: many tentacles into the UK

As a company, Palantir has paid out after being sued for racial discrimination, been linked with disgraced UK spy firm Cambridge Analytica, been condemned by Amnesty International for helping to violate the human rights of asylum seekers, contracted with the US government to help develop potentially lethal drones; it provides the Israeli military with surveillance and intelligence services and employs the former CEO of CIA front Radio Free Europe.

The issues are not just with the firm itself. Its CEO and co-founder Alex Karp – an ardent supporter of Israel who has attacked anti-genocide protest as “an infection inside our society” – has boasted about killing people for money and says that he and the firm want to “scare the crap out of [their] adversaries” and are “active in defending the values of the left”.

His co-founder Peter Thiel, a major supporter of Donald Trump, has said that “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible”; he promotes political views based on ‘national and cultural identity’ underpinned by militarism and has been accused by a Black lawyer of positive comments about South Africa’s apartheid.

Despite the firm’s activities and those of the people running it, and opposition from British doctors, Palantir has been awarded a major contract to control NHS patient data.

A huge list

Powell’s announcement of his FOI request touches on what is almost certain to be only a partial list of Palantir’s influence and ‘tentacles’ in the UK. He wrote:

BREAKING: I have just submitted an FOI to the Home Office demanding FULL TRANSPARENCY on Palantir’s role in tomorrow’s “Brit Card” mandatory digital ID scheme 🚨

WHY THIS MATTERS: Palantir already has its surveillance tentacles deep in UK infrastructure with 24+ government contracts including:

🏥 NHS – patient data analytics
🛡️ Ministry of Defence – military intelligence
👮 Police Forces – “predictive policing” systems
🏛️ Cabinet Office – cross-govt data platform
🏘️ DLUHC – local authority surveillance
🏛️ Coventry City Council – citizen monitoring
PALANTIR’S TRACK RECORD:
•Built CIA’s tracking systems
•Created NSA mass surveillance tools
•“Predictive policing” = racial profiling algorithms
•Founded by Peter Thiel (Trump mega-donor)
•Profits from border surveillance & deportations
•Turns citizen data into surveillance gold

Given this EXTENSIVE presence across UK institutions, Palantir involvement in Brit Card is not just possible – it’s PROBABLE.

MY FOI DEMANDS ANSWERS ON

✅ Is Palantir contracted for Brit Card technology?
✅ What’s the contract value & scope?
✅ How will our biometric/personal data be used?
✅ What surveillance capabilities are being built?
✅ Where are the privacy safeguards?
✅ Who else is profiting from this scheme?
⏰ URGENT: Starmer announces this TOMORROW
⏰ Government has 20 days to respond under FOI law
⏰ Every UK adult will be forced onto this database

This isn’t immigration control – it’s INFRASTRUCTURE for a surveillance state.

When the same company tracking CIA targets builds your “ID card” system, you’re not getting documentation – you’re getting MONITORED.

#BritCard #Palantir #DigitalSurveillance #FOI #Privacy #MassSurveillance #DigitalRights
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Featured image via the Canary