Metropolitan Police: Palantir
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the comments from Sir Mark Rowley on Times Radio on 11 June 2026, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the decision by the Mayor of London not to adopt technology from Palantir on the level of police numbers in the Metropolitan Police.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The government does not direct what technology police forces can procure and deploy. This is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, accountable to locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners. However, the Home Office recognises the importance of being able to better link data across multiple systems and using cutting edge technology to improve operational outcomes. That’s why in the White Paper From Local to National: A New Model for Policing published in January this year we announced reforms to policing including launching a new National Data Integration and Exploitation Service, introducing a new National Centre for AI in Policing (“PoliceAI”) which is investing £115 million over the next 3 years. Police AI will provide a platform for identifying, testing and then scaling AI technology, as well as enabling Chief Constables to deploy AI responsibly and in a way which builds and maintains public consent.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →