Freedom of Information documents obtained by Foxglove and shared with the Guardian reveal that Palantir used a direct WhatsApp channel with health minister Zubir Ahmed to lobby for extending its AI software into NHS GP records. The messages, spanning July 2025 to March 2026, show a Palantir UK executive — believed to be UK boss Louis Mosley — arguing that the logic of joining primary and secondary care data was "unarguable" and that Palantir's Foundry platform was "ideal" for the job. GP data was expressly excluded from Palantir's existing £330m federated data platform contract with NHS England. The lobbying documents show Palantir coaching the minister on political strategy. The company urged Ahmed to "get out ahead of" opposition from doctors, the Green party's Zack Polanski, and Your Party leaders Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. It advised that "the politics is not straightforward" since the previous Conservative government had explicitly ruled GP data out of scope, and warned that "opponents described above will make hay with it." The minister, for his part, praised a Palantir TV appearance: "Great work [on] Kuenssberg btw." Palantir's pitch promised benefits including faster GP access, more effective management of frail patients, and better preventative care, while claiming its platform would "maintain local control of data." The company also told Ahmed the FDP would "deliver even more benefits faster with the right ministerial sponsorship" — a phrase that frames democratic oversight as a bottleneck rather than a safeguard. The briefing document explicitly identified critics by name and framed their concerns as political obstacles to be managed. The British Medical Association, the NHS Chief Data and Analytical Officer Network, and patient groups have opposed the move. BMA council chair Dr Tom Dolphin warned of "scope creep" that could "undermine patient trust and threaten the doctor-patient relationship." Marc Farr of the NHS data network noted Palantir "appears to be bidding to stretch the scope" beyond ministerial and NHS leadership statements, and that public trust is essential. The concerns are sharpened by Palantir's other clients: the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The timing is loaded. Last week, reporting from the Financial Times indicated ministers were unlikely to end the Palantir contract imminently, despite two House of Commons committees recommending the company be forced out by spring. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament the review was ongoing while signalling interest in "UK sovereign AI" — hinting at a possible UK replacement by the contract's 2029 end point. Meanwhile, Labour peer Tom Watson, hired as a full-time Palantir lobbyist in September, wrote to Cooper urging contract continuity. The structural picture is clear: a US defence and intelligence contractor with a £330m NHS contract is using private messaging channels, former Labour insiders, and political coaching to expand its access to the most sensitive data in the British health system — data that doctors and two parliamentary committees say should be off-limits. Palantir's public response was that it has "always been clear that it is for the government to decide how they roll the software out," which is technically true and entirely beside the point. The question is not whether the government decides, but how much the decision is shaped by privileged WhatsApp access that most citizens, doctors, and MPs do not have. The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment.
