Deputy mayor questioned over blocked Palantir deal

London's deputy mayor for policing and crime has defended her decision to block a proposed contract between the Metropolitan Police and US technology firm Palantir, despite warnings the move could lead to cuts to frontline policing.

Kaya Comer-Schwartz was questioned by the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee over her refusal to approve the deal, which the Met says is needed to modernise investigations and root out corrupt officers.

The force had proposed a £25.3m deal for 2026-27, with an optional one-year extension, to support criminal investigations and internal reform.

Comer-Schwartz declined to approve the agreement last month over value-for-money concerns.

"I make no apologies for making sure that we have the right oversight over significant amounts of money," she told the committee.

"Our job is to make sure that, on behalf of Londoners, there is value for money in these contracts."

The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) also said the Met had engaged seriously with only one supplier and raised concerns about the firm's values and ethics - although it has said this could not legally influence the decision.

Palantir, which already supplies technology used in Met misconduct investigations, has rejected the criticism and maintains its bid offered value for money.

Conservative Assembly member Susan Hall challenged Comer-Schwartz over the potential impact.

"Are you going to apologise when we get a load more cuts that we can't afford to have as Londoners?" she said.

The Met has been using Palantir's artificial intelligence technology in a pilot scheme aimed at identifying corrupt officers and speeding up investigations.

Palantir had said it was considering legal action over the decision, and has since signalled a formal legal challenge to overturn it.

Speaking at the London Policing Board last week, the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, warned the delay would have consequences.

He said headcount reductions needed to meet this year's and next year's budgets would now be made "through tough choices which is going to affect the service to London's communities".

Those choices could include up to 750 job cuts, he said, with decisions due within the next two weeks.

The committee's deputy chair, Liberal Democrat Gareth Roberts, pressed the deputy mayor on how much she knew about where any cuts might fall.

He asked whether she had seen the contingency list setting out the options available to the commissioner.

"Not at this stage," Comer-Schwartz replied.

When Roberts asked whether the commissioner had shared "what might be next for the chop", she said the details were still being worked through and that she was working closely with the Met.

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