British people don’t trust Palantir – it’s not too late to reverse the NHS’s dependence on it | Ben Coleman

We can’t allow our health data to be locked into the control of a US tech firm. It won’t be easy, but next spring the job of clawing it back must begin

Ben Coleman is Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham and a member of the health and social care committee

Next March, Palantir’s £330m contract to run NHS England’s federated data platform (FDP) ends. Ministers must decide by Christmas whether to extend it. They should move on from Palantir, and transition to new suppliers that put the NHS in full control of its technology and patient data.

I sit on the health and social care committee. In June, we recommended no extension – people don’t trust Palantir, its benefits are contested and other tools could deliver the same or similar advantages. The debate so far has been whether to drop Palantir. The harder question is what replaces it. The tempting solution is to hire a single British firm. …