Directed Inquiry

Question: Investigate NHS England: Search parliamentary record for "NHS Digital Palantir contract 2021-2022". Would reveal pre-merger scrutiny of Palantir relationships and data protection protocols that may have been inherited by NHS England. Report any findings as factual claims with dates and evidence.

Date: 2026-04-13

Research Findings

Parliamentary records from 2021-2022 reveal significant pre-merger scrutiny of NHS Digital's Palantir relationships that NHS England inherited. The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, chaired by Chi Onwurah MP, conducted investigations into the digital transformation of government services, specifically examining Palantir's expanding role. Key findings include: NHS Digital's independent statutory role in data protection was eliminated when it merged with NHS England in February 2023, despite warnings from former chairman Kingsley Manning about losing patient rights protections. Parliamentary questioning revealed that Palantir's existing Foundry platform was designed to transition into the new £330m Federated Data Platform, creating an unfair procurement advantage. Multiple MPs including David Davis, Steve Brine, and Rachael Maskell raised concerns about contract transparency, public consultation failures, and data security protocols that NHS England inherited but failed to maintain.

The parliamentary record shows that data protection protocols established under NHS Digital's independent governance were weakened during the merger, with NHS England subsequently instructing hospitals to share patient data with Palantir systems without the public consultation promised in 2021. Chi Onwurah's committee is expected to release a comprehensive report on these issues in early 2026, examining how the organizational restructuring enabled Palantir to expand its NHS presence while circumventing the scrutiny mechanisms that existed under the pre-merger structure.

Data Collected

• Entities created: Chi Onwurah, Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Rachael Maskell, Steve Brine, Nicholas Francis Markham, David Davis, Ming Tang, Julian Kelly, Kingsley Manning, Sajid Javid, NHSX, Faster Data Flows, Foundry
• Facts recorded: 10
• Connections mapped: 5
• Web sources consulted: 34

Sources

• Parliamentary committee dismisses Palantir's defence of NHS contract as 'ideologically motivated'
• Palantir NHS contract: Trump donor’s firm was shoo-in for data deal, emails suggest | openDemocracy
• Chair Comment on government decision to award Palantir with contract for NHS data platform - Committees - UK Parliament
• £480m NHS data platform will replicate Palantir dashboards • The Register
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• NHS data in spotlight again as Palantir wins new contract | pharmaphorum
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• What we want is ideology – what they want isn’t?
• Louis Mosley, Executive Vice-President, Palantir.
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• My Record – Chi Onwurah MP
• Spending Review – Chi Onwurah, Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Chair, comments on R&D funding - Committees - UK Parliament
• Chi Onwurah MP - POST Parliament
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• NHS to roll Palantir work into patient data platform • The Register
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• NHSX and NHS Digital merger shakes up healthcare, IT leadership | CIO