MPs Raise Concerns About Palantir’s Role in the UK

Another MP known to oppose the company is Clive Lewis, a vocal supporter of Burnham’s promotion to Downing Street. “By taking on contracts across the NHS, police, defence, and other public services, Palantir has followed a strategy tailored to become increasingly embedded in the British state,” he told WIRED. “This leaves us at risk of the whims of shady spy-technology companies that operate under U.S. law rather than our own.”

However, a number of politicians and advisers close to Mr Burnham have quietly defended Palantir’s efforts in the UK. One of them is Varun Chandra, who is primarily responsible for maintaining Westminster’s relationship with Big Tech.

Who Is Varun Chandra?

Chandra made his name working at Hakluyt, a corporate intelligence firm that later expanded into venture capital. When he was promoted to managing partner at just 34 years old, he became the first person to hold the role without having worked for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Shortly after taking over, he launched Hakluyt Capital, a venture capital fund led by the firm that has made numerous investments in and around artificial intelligence.

Chandra also plays a key role in the UK government’s dealings with the United States and MAGA figures. During Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington in 2025, Michael Elam, a senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office, said he told the British ambassador at the time that Chandra claimed to be “stylistically” better at dealing with decision-makers in the Trump campaign than career diplomats such as himself.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick singled out Chandra for praise, saying he had played an “indispensable” role in the 2025 U.S. trade deal. Meanwhile, the New Statesman reported that Chandra maintains a particularly strong relationship with controversial Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller.

Chandra’s Reported Links to Palantir

Chandra also appears to be a key figure in Palantir’s management and wider network.

Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir who remains close to the company’s leaders, said: “I had dinner with Chandra.”

Shortly afterwards, Lonsdale said on the Sean Ryan Show podcast that his friends who work for Keir Starmer fully agreed with the DOGE-adjacent view that Palantir has thrived in the United States.

“I was with someone in Keir Starmer’s government. I have some issues with the UK, but they are really far left. Even the people there know they have to cut down on bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is like a cancer.”

Palantir’s NHS Contracts and Conflicts of Interest

Elsewhere, the Financial Times has reported a number of potential conflicts of interest involving civil servants and Palantir. These included the Department of Health’s permanent secretary having previously worked for Palantir’s consortium partner, Carnall Farrar, while the company was bidding for the NHS data platform contract. She subsequently resigned.

Palantir’s UK CEO, Louis Mosley, the grandson of Britain’s prominent fascist Sir Oswald Mosley, has been a vocal critic of the company’s opponents, accusing them of putting politics before performance. He has also been quoted as saying, “If NATO starts a war, they will use Palantir to start a war.”