00:00High court documents have claimed that part of the London Mayor's office unlawfully blocked the Metropolitan Police's £50 million deal
00:09with technology firm Palantir because of an alleged mismatch between Palantir's values and ethics and what's been described as London's
00:19values.
00:20For context, Palantir, which was founded by tech magnate Peter Thiel, a prominent conservative political activist and a man historically
00:29supportive of Donald Trump, is suing the Mayor's office for policing and crime after it refused to approve the deal
00:36earlier this year.
00:37The Met had sought approval for the deal to provide artificial intelligence technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations,
00:47with AI technology already available to other police forces, the NHS and the Ministry of Defence.
00:54But the office blocked the move, claiming that Palantir was the only supplier the Met had seriously considered for the
01:01proposed contract and the force failed to present its procurement strategy to the office for approval in what was described
01:09as a clear and serious breach of procedure, meaning City Hall could not ensure value for money.
01:15After the decision in May, the Met warned that it would have to reduce officer numbers, with Palantir's UK chief
01:23executive claiming Sir Sadiq was putting politics over public safety.
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