bing news | MPs urge UK government to halt contract giving Palantir FCA data access by undefined

MPs have urged the UK government to halt a new contract that gives US data‑analytics firm Palantir access to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) internal intelligence. The FCA intends to use Palantir’s AI to analyse two years of sensitive regulatory data in a 12‑week trial aimed at combating financial crime. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper and Green Party MP Siân Berry warned that awarding such a contract to a firm closely tied to billionaire Peter Thiel and former President Donald Trump could be a “huge error of judgment” and pose a national‑security risk.

Critics stress that Palantir would act only as a “data processor”, with the FCA retaining exclusive control over encryption keys and UK‑based storage, and that all data must be destroyed after the trial. However, insiders say details on how the “obvious risks” will be mitigated are sparse, and there are fears that the company could inadvertently gain access to investigations involving high‑profile figures such as former banker Jes Staley and hedge‑fund boss Crispin Odey. The contract also raises concerns about creating a “single behemoth” that could lock the public sector into a US‑owned platform, limiting domestic competition.

Palantir’s European chief Louis Mosley has sought meetings with MPs to dispel “misconceptions”, insisting the firm cannot use customer data for its own purposes and that the software will only process data under the FCA’s strict instructions. The FCA maintains that the trial will not include trading records, that data cannot be commercialised, and that the controls in place will prevent any “lock‑in”. Nonetheless, watchdogs and opposition parties continue to call for an immediate investigation and for the contract to be stopped before it proceeds.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/23/mps-urge-uk-government-halt-palantir-contract-fca

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