Health justice charity MedAct and medical campaign group Just Treatment are organizing demonstrations at this week's Labour Party conference in Liverpool as ministers weigh whether to extend the NHS's arrangement with US spy-tech firm Palantir, according to a report published Monday. The activists are pushing the government to reject an extension of the Federated Data Platform contract, which could reach up to £330 million over seven years. In June, the cross-party Science, Innovation and Technology Committee recommended that Palantir should not hold such a substantial position in UK public services and called on the government to skip extending the FDP arrangement in 2027, instead building an in-house alternative or finding a UK-based provider.

Palantir secured the lead position in the £330 million FDP deal in November 2023 after a procurement process that NHS England says was open and fair, the report notes. That award came after £60 million in COVID-era NHS contracts given without competition. Campaign groups say September 30 marks the contractual deadline for Palantir to deliver an exit plan to NHS England should the government decide against continuing the relationship. The contract's first term concludes early next year, after which the government can add two years, then two additional one-year extensions. Earlier this month, Palantir brought on former Labour Party deputy Tom Watson to help steer its work with UK government officials. More than 85,000 patients have filed formal complaints to their hospitals about the arrangement.

"Patients and NHS staff are united in their opposition to this contract, and the last three years have seen unprecedented levels of professional and patient campaigning," Dr Rhiannon Mihranian Osborne, a No Palantir in the NHS campaigner at MedAct, said in a statement. The Chief Data and Analytics Officers Network, representing senior NHS data staff, has also called on the government to "consider the break clause," writing that the FDP "has been unable to demonstrate the level of evidence, confidence and realised value that should be expected following sustained investment and extensive policy support." Dame Chi Onwurah, committee chair, stated that "vendor lock-in isn't inevitable, and the current position leaves us seriously exposed." Organizations opposing the rollout include the British Medical Association, public sector union UNISON, and the United Tech and Allied Workers Union.

Questions are being raised about the evidence backing claims for the FDP's performance, according to the report. NHS England and Palantir maintain the platform connects data stored in separate systems, helping hospitals deploy beds and operating theatres more efficiently and address the care backlog. The BMA has recommended members think about avoiding the platform for purposes unrelated to direct care, pointing to risks to patient trust and data security. Just Treatment spokesperson Hope Worsdale argued that "a company with a track record in surveillance, military technology and complicity in human rights abuses shouldn't be anywhere near our personal health data." Palantir counters that its software is assisting UK public bodies in carrying out more NHS operations, keeping Royal Navy ships at sea longer, and tackling domestic violence, and that data processed through the FDP belongs to the NHS—disclosing it to anyone else would breach its contract. The government now faces an urgent decision point as the contractual deadline arrives and pressure mounts from medical professionals, unions, and patient advocates to choose a different path. The choice between vendor dependency and the complexity of building domestic capability will define how sensitive health data is managed for years to come.