Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what date did the partnership between Palantir and the UK armed forces start.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence’s relationship with Palantir Technologies has developed over the last decade. The first formal Enterprise Agreement between Defence and Palantir was signed in November 2022 under the previous government following earlier operational use of Palantir software within Defence.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's definition is of a strategic supplier; and what criteria his Department uses to designate strategic suppliers.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A Ministry of Defence strategic supplier is a supplier whose goods or services are critical to the delivery of Defence objectives, and where a more structured and senior level of engagement is required to manage risk, performance and value for money.
Strategic suppliers are identified through a structured supplier segmentation process, aligned with cross‑Government Strategic Supplier Relationship Management (SSRM) best‑practice criteria. These criteria include considerations relating to risk, the scale and scope of engagement with the supplier, contract duration, the opportunity to deliver additional value, and strategic alignment. Spend is considered as one factor among several and is not, in itself, determinative.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 17 February 2026 to Questions 111951 and 111952, if he will place in the Library a summary of (a) the due‑diligence criteria applied to Palantir contracts, (b) any recusal decisions taken involving Ministers, special advisers or officials, and (c) the Department’s assessment of alternative suppliers considered at final gateway.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has carried out appropriate due diligence and conflict-of-interest checks in line with statutory procurement, propriety and governance requirements.
Information relating to due diligence criteria, individual recusal decisions, and consideration of alternative suppliers forms part of the Department’s internal commercial and assurance processes. As such, it would not be appropriate to place this material in the Library. Relevant information about the Department’s processes has already been set out through published Transparency Notices and responses to Parliament.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 17 February 2026 to Questions 111951 and 111952 on Ministry of Defence: Palantir, whether his Department has updated its conflict‑of‑interest procedures and supplier‑engagement rules for data‑platform procurements to address risks arising from external advisers with connections to incumbent suppliers.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates robust and mandatory conflict of interest requirements for all data platform procurements, in line with the Procurement Act 2023 and MOD ethics and propriety policy. These require the identification, assessment and mitigation of any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest, including those arising from external advisers, and apply equally to all suppliers. These arrangements are kept under review as part of ongoing procurement governance.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procurement process was followed for the agreement with Palantir Technologies for defence data analytics capabilities; and whether any Ministers and former officials with prior links to Palantir were involved at any stage of that process.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) let the Palantir Enterprise Agreement contract in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. The contract was direct awarded under the justifications outlined in Section 41, Schedule 5.The Direct award justifications were as follows:
- Paragraph 6:
o The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract—
(a)due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and
(b)there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.
- Paragraph 7:
o The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services or works in circumstances where—
(a)a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and
(b)the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.
The MOD can confirm that no Ministers and former officials with prior links to Palantir were involved at any stage of that process. The decision to award this contract was the Secretary of State for Defence’s.
The MOD conducts continuous conflict-of-interest assessments for all individuals involved in commercial activity of any manner.
The MOD conducts comprehensive due diligence upon the notification of any business appointments that may lead to concern. MOD holds a Business Appointments Policy under JSP 492 that outlines the processes and guidelines for assessing these situations. Should an appointment create a concern MOD can place conditions upon that individual that can include:
- Restricting the sharing of information
- Prohibition of lobbying for a set period of time
- Restrictions on advising on ongoing commercial activity
- Seeking clearance of ongoing commissions
The conditions and associated timeframes for them are set based upon the seniority of the individual involved and the nature of the appointment. MOD continues to work diligently to ensure this is appropriately managed and enforced.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department conducted a conflict‑of‑interest assessment prior to awarding recent defence contracts to Palantir Technologies.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) conducts continuous conflict-of-interest assessments for all individuals involved in commercial activity of any manner.
In addition, the MOD conducts comprehensive due diligence upon the notification of any business appointments that may lead to concern. MOD holds a Business Appointments Policy under JSP 492 that outlines the processes and guidelines for assessing these situations. Should an appointment create a concern the MOD can place conditions upon that individual that can include:
- Restricting the sharing of information
- Prohibition of lobbying for a set period of time
- Restrictions on advising on ongoing commercial activity
- Seeking clearance of ongoing commissions
The conditions and associated timeframes for them are set based upon the seniority of the individual involved and the nature of the appointment.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria his Department uses to assess requirements to rebuild underlying data analytics architecture, undertake fresh security accreditation and retrain personnel.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) keeps its data analytics infrastructure, security assurance processes and workforce skills under continual review. Decisions to rebuild underlying data analytics architecture are based on whether current systems remain aligned with Defence's enterprise data principles, architectural standards (Exploitable by Design), resilience requirements, and operational needs.
The MOD has replaced accreditation with Secure by Design in line with National Cyber Security Centre guidance on assuring systems and services. The MOD's Cyber Security Design Authority provides a reliable, curated source of standards and policies to enable secure design.
Personnel are retrained when new tools, platforms or security standards are introduced, or when capability reviews identify changing skills requirements across Defence's digital and data workforce.
These processes ensure Defence maintains secure, resilient, and modern data capabilities that can effectively support Defence outcomes.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82467 on Unmanned Air Systems: Testing; whether his Department will support the Civil Aviation Authority in making sure there is a decreased time taken in quarterly statistics on Airspace Change Proposal throughput regarding decision times for uncrewed air system-related Special Use Airspace applications.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority to refine the airspace change processes in CAP1616 to improve the speed and efficiency at which both permanent and temporary Special Use Airspace can be established for uncrewed air systems.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October to Question 8246 on Unmanned Air Systems: Delivery Services, whether his Department has assessed the operational impact of Civil Air Publication 1616 timelines on (a) scheduling of uncrewed air system test and (b) evaluation activities.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To facilitate planned test and evaluation activities the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is able to operate uncrewed air systems in established permanent Special Use Airspace. The MOD utilises the CAP1616 processes to establish temporary and trial Special Use Areas for periods of up to 90 days.
However, for emerging test and evaluation activity out-with the CAP1616 timelines, the MOD may reserve airspace pursuant to Article 239 of the Air Navigation Order.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help support the Wessex Reserve Forces and Cadets Association.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government greatly appreciates all its Reserves and Cadets and is committed to making sure all Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations (RFCAs) receive the support they both need and deserve.
All RFCAs from across the thirteen regionally focused RFCAs, including Wessex, receive the same level of support from the Ministry of Defence (MOD). While the MOD provides policy guidance and the appropriate budget to cover the RFCAs’ operating costs and contractual requirements, it is the single Service commands and the supporting agencies (such as the Defence Infrastructure Organisation) that provide the bulk of support on a day-to-day basis. That support is driven by formalised Service Level Agreements with agreed Key Performance Indicators; these are regularly reviewed to ensure compliance and delivery.