Ministry of Defence: Palantir Contracts

Debate between Shockat Adam and Luke Pollard

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is the role of defence to keep our country safe; as part of that, we do procure lethal capabilities, but not all the capabilities we procure are physical capabilities to secure our national security. AI will continue to be an increasingly large area.

Turning to the hon. Gentleman’s question about the transparency of our shareholdings, Defence Ministers have to publish all of our shareholdings with the relevant standards commissioner. I do not hold shares in Palantir, and no Defence Ministers are allowed to hold any shares in a company that interacts with defence businesses.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

In 2024, Leicestershire police signed a contract with Palantir worth close to £1 million for an intelligence and investigation platform. From what I can deduce through the work I have done, there was absolutely no formal tender process. I raised this concern in the Chamber in June 2025, along with my concerns about Palantir’s racial profiling and civil liberty abuses, which we are seeing in ICE raids now. The written response I received did not address any of my concerns, so will the Government now ensure that all the information about that contract is released immediately? Can the Minister confirm that Peter Mandelson played absolutely no role in unleashing this dystopian contract on the residents of Leicestershire?

[Luke Pollard]

I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s focus on that particular contract. As a Defence Minister, I do not know about Home Office policing contracts that were secured by individual forces, but I can direct him to my colleagues in the Home Office, who might be able to help more.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shockat Adam and Luke Pollard

Monday 30th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

T2. In response to my written parliamentary question, the Minister for the Armed Forces said that the Ministry of Defence assesses support to foreign forces on “a case-by-case basis. UK training courses promote British values, including human rights…and…international humanitarian law.”How does that response square with our continued support of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza? Will dual nationals serving in the Israel Defence Forces be held accountable?

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)]

All actions of the UK Government are in compliance with international humanitarian law. We want to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We have fewer than five personnel from Israel on non-combat academic courses currently, but we keep all our training under review.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shockat Adam and Luke Pollard

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

I am grateful for the question, because we know that there is a recruitment and retention crisis in the UK armed forces. It is precisely for that reason that the Defence Secretary set out at the Labour party conference a series of changes, including scrapping 100 outdated recruitment policies and creating a new direct entry route for cyber. There is a lot more work to be done in this area, and the Department will be making further announcements in due course.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

T4. The 2,000 lb bombs dropped on innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon led to the heinous and unimaginable scenes we saw over the weekend of newborn babies being killed and young children being burned alive. These bombs are being dropped by F-35 fighter jets, and we supply parts for F-35 fighter jets. When will we stop doing that and adhere to international conventions?