Palantir Lobbied a UK Minister to Bring NHS GP Records Into Its Software, Messages Reveal

Palantir lobbied a UK health minister to extend its NHS software into GP records, according to WhatsApp messages reported by the Guardian on 9 November 2026. The messages show the US technology company pushing to widen its role in the health service, even though GP data was expressly left out of its £330 million contract with NHS England.

The messages were obtained by the campaign group Foxglove under the Freedom of Information Act and shared with the Guardian. They span July 2025 to March 2026 and appear to be exchanges between Palantir's UK head, Louis Mosley, and Zubir Ahmed, who was a health minister at the time. The specific push to include GP records came in February 2026. Palantir did not deny that Mosley was the executive involved, and the sender's name was redacted in the documents released by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The story matters because GP records hold some of the most sensitive health data in England, from childhood vaccinations to ongoing prescriptions. The government promised when it signed the deal in 2023 that this data would stay out of the national platform. The messages show Palantir trying to revisit that promise through a direct channel to a minister.

What the messages show

In the February 2026 exchange, Mosley argued that joining GP records with hospital data would bring faster access to GPs, better management of frail patients, and more preventative care. He told the minister that "the logic of joining up primary and secondary [care] data is unarguable" and that Palantir's software was "ideal" for the job.

He also urged Ahmed to "get out ahead of" the political opposition such a move would face, including from doctors and critics of the company such as the Green Party leader, Zack Polanski. The Guardian reported that the pitch had three parts: a case for linking the data, a warning that opponents would push back, and a suggestion that the minister should prepare the ground in advance.

Palantir's existing agreement covers NHS England's Federated Data Platform, known as the FDP. The platform pulls together information held by hospital trusts in separate databases so staff can see it in one place. Palantir says it has helped cut surgery waiting times and discharge delays. GP data, however, is expressly outside its scope.

Why GP records are different

The reason GP records sit outside the contract is legal, not technical. Under UK data protection law, each GP practice is the controller of its patients' records. NHS England does not own them, and it cannot hand them to anyone else. England has 6,170 active GP practices, according to NHS England figures from January 2026, and each one would have to agree separately.

That structure is also why Palantir went to a minister rather than to a customer. There is no single customer to pitch. The only route to GP data at national scale runs through legislation, such as the planned Single Patient Record, and that makes it a political question as much as a technical one.

The contract and the money

NHS England awarded the Federated Data Platform contract in November 2023 to a consortium led by Palantir Technologies UK, working with Accenture, PwC, NECS and Carnall Farrar. The deal is worth up to £330 million over as long as seven years, and its initial term runs to March 2027, with options to extend it further.

When the agreement was announced, the then government stated plainly that "GP data will not be part of the national platform". That line was meant to reassure patients and doctors who worried about a US company holding their medical records. The newly disclosed messages show the company asking a minister to reconsider that boundary less than three years later.

The contract is already under political scrutiny. Labour MP Louise Haigh signalled in September that the government could end its Palantir partnership after a government report found that it could fail to generate any net value for the country. In the same month, the firm hired the Labour peer Tom Watson as a full-time lobbyist. He has since written to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper urging her to keep the contract.

Doctors warn about trust

Doctors' groups have pushed back against the idea of widening the platform's reach. The British Medical Association's council chair warned about scope creep and patient trust, arguing that patients share information with their GP on the understanding that it stays with their practice. Marc Farr, who chairs the NHS Chief Data and Analytical Officers Network, also raised concerns.

Palantir told the Guardian it has long argued that sharing data improves the NHS, that its software leaves organisations in full control of their data, and that the government decides how software is rolled out. The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment on the messages.

What happens next

Nothing in the messages suggests the expansion was approved. The proposal was not agreed, and doctors and data governance leaders warned that access to identifiable GP records would need legislative change. The lobbying push is a matter of record now, but the boundary set in 2023 still stands.

The timing is awkward for the government. Ministers are weighing whether to extend the Federated Data Platform contract when its initial term ends in March 2027, and the health secretary has spoken about building British sovereign AI in the NHS. A decision to keep Palantir, extend it, or end it will now be taken in the open, with the lobbying on the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Palantir ask for in the messages?

Palantir's UK head, Louis Mosley, asked then health minister Zubir Ahmed to consider extending the company's Foundry software to GP records, linking primary care data with hospital data. The push came in February 2026, in messages spanning July 2025 to March 2026.

Are GP records part of Palantir's NHS contract?

No. GP data was expressly ruled out of the £330 million Federated Data Platform contract awarded in November 2023. The government stated at the time that GP data would not be part of the national platform, and that boundary still stands.

Why can't NHS England just share GP records?

Each of England's 6,170 GP practices is the legal controller of its patients' records under UK data protection law. NHS England does not own the data and cannot hand it over. Only Parliament could change that through new legislation, such as the planned Single Patient Record.