UK court filing alleges Met Police and Palantir planned £50m contract outside procurement rules (politico.eu)

• MOPAC pre-trial defence contends Met Police and Palantir kept pilot under £500,000 approval threshold then planned direct £50m award.
• Palantir's June High Court claim argues mayoral veto was unlawful; Palantir spokesperson calls defence statement false.
• Trial scheduled January 2027; MOPAC plans competitive tender in which Palantir may bid.

"Lawyers for London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Office for Policing and Crime have told the High Court that the Metropolitan Police and Palantir designed a 2025 pilot so its value stayed below the £500,000 threshold requiring mayoral approval, then moved to award the US technology firm a £50 million AI and data-analysis contract without a transparent competition. A pre-trial defence statement says the force intended at each stage to hand Palantir the larger contract and gave misleading information to oversight officials. Palantir calls the claim false and says it followed government guidance. Trial is set for January 2027."