London Mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked a £50 million deal between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir, citing a "clear and serious breach" of procurement rules. The mayor's office mandated a new procurement process but approved a 12-month extension for a pilot project focused on detecting officer misconduct.

The Metropolitan Police had sought a long-term contract with Palantir for a system intended to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. A spokesperson for the mayor of London said, "The deputy mayor has required the Met to run a new procurement process, open to a wide range of potential suppliers, to choose the long-term provider of this capability." The spokesperson added, "Recognising the Met's current needs, the Met may extend the current pilot to retain existing capability while this procurement takes place."

The pilot program uses an AI system called Customer Service Engine to scan for abuse of rosters and other systems to identify potential misconduct by officers. Met Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said, "We are pleased Mopac has approved the Met to continue to use this capability for a further 12 months to strengthen professional standards, root out misconduct and increase public confidence." Williams added, "This work has allowed the Met for the first time to bring together data it already lawfully holds in one place to identify potential standards, welfare or cultural concerns." She stated, "A pilot project earlier this year focused on identifying potential conduct issues and a significant number of matters are now being progressed by our professional standards team." Williams concluded, "We will continue to work with Mopac over procurement of technology at pace for the longer term."

Palantir's lawyers wrote to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, stating their intention to challenge the decision in court.