UK says military data remains sovereign under Palantir deal

The Ministry of Defence has said that all data analysed using Palantir software remains under UK control, following concerns raised in Parliament over the risk of foreign government access, according to the department.

The issue was raised by Jon Trickett, Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, who asked what steps were being taken to ensure data processed by Palantir is protected from access by overseas governments. Responding on behalf of the government, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the MOD retains ownership and control of all data used within Palantir systems deployed for defence purposes.

“All data used and developed in Palantir’s software deployed across the Ministry of Defence will remain under the ownership of the MOD,” he said.

Pollard said extensive security and protection measures are in place to ensure defence information remains appropriately managed, adding that UK defence data processed through Palantir systems remains sovereign.

“UK Defence data used and developed in Palantir’s software remains sovereign and under the control of the MOD,” he said. The minister added that contractual safeguards and system-level controls are in place, with any change to data arrangements requiring explicit MOD consent.

“We have clear contractual controls in place to ensure this as well as control over the data system that Palantir software sits upon,” Pollard said. He also stated that defence data would remain accessible across the department and wider defence ecosystem where required.

“All data will remain sovereign, freely available across the MOD to be exploited wherever it is needed, including the broader supply chain and technical ecosystem,” he said.

The parliamentary exchange follows the Ministry of Defence’s decision in December to directly award Palantir a £240 million, three-year contract for data analytics supporting strategic, tactical and operational decision-making. The agreement, awarded without a competitive process, significantly expands Palantir’s role within UK defence compared with a previous contract signed in 2022. The company has also been named as a strategic partner under a wider technology agreement announced during President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK in September.

Under that partnership, Palantir committed to investing £1.5 billion and creating 350 UK-based jobs, while the government said it would explore further defence and technology opportunities over the next five years.