Palantir lobbied UK minister to extend AI tools into GP records

Software firm Palantir lobbied a UK health minister to consider extending its artificial intelligence (AI) technology into patients' general practice records, according to WhatsApp messages published by the Guardian on 9 November 2026.

The messages were obtained by the group Foxglove under the Freedom of Information Act, a law that lets members of the public request government records, and were shared with the Guardian. They appear to be between Louis Mosley, Palantir's UK boss, and former health minister Zubir Ahmed. They span several months, from July 2025 to March 2026, and Palantir used a direct WhatsApp channel to make its case to the minister.

The background is a £330m contract between Palantir and NHS England, the body that runs the publicly funded health service in England. Under that deal, Palantir runs what is called the federated data platform (FDP). Palantir says its software helps organise information held by NHS hospital trusts that sits in separate databases. GP records were expressly ruled out of the scope of that contract. GPs, or general practitioners, are the family doctors people usually see first.

In the messages, Palantir argued that "the logic of joining up primary and secondary [care] data is unarguable", meaning data from GP surgeries and from hospitals. It described its software as "ideal" for the job. The platform it pitched for GP data is called Foundry. Palantir said applying Foundry to GP data could bring faster access to GPs, more effective management of frail patients and more effective preventative care.

Palantir also told Ahmed that the FDP "will deliver even more benefits faster with the right ministerial sponsorship". It urged him to "get out ahead of" likely political opposition from doctors and critics, including Green Party leader Zack Polanski. The company named Your Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, as vocal critics.

Palantir's executive was redacted in Department of Health documents. Palantir did not deny that the executive was Louis Mosley.

Zubir Ahmed has called for a "forensic" review of the £330m NHS deal with Palantir, LBC reported. Earlier, while he was health minister, Ahmed signalled that the government could consider alternatives to Palantir's federated data platform.