Palantir privately urged a UK health minister to consider bringing GP records within the reach of its NHS data software, according to correspondence obtained under freedom of information laws and reported by the Guardian.
The messages, disclosed following requests by technology campaign group Foxglove, raise questions about the future scope of the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP). They do not establish that ministers approved the proposal or that Palantir has acquired unrestricted access to patients’ GP records.
What the disclosed messages show
In an investigation published on 9 November 2026, the Guardian reported WhatsApp exchanges spanning July 2025 to March 2026 between former health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed and an executive understood to be Palantir’s UK chief, Louis Mosley. The executive’s name was redacted in the released records, although Palantir did not deny the identification when approached by the newspaper.
The correspondence included arguments for connecting information from general practice with hospital data. According to the Guardian, Palantir suggested that using its Foundry software more widely could support quicker GP access, preventative care and the management of frail patients, while allowing NHS bodies to retain local control of their information.
The messages also acknowledged that GP records were a politically sensitive issue and anticipated objections from doctors and critics of the company. Those discussions show lobbying for a potential change, rather than a confirmed change in government policy.
What ministers promised in 2023
The distinction matters because the original contract was accompanied by a specific government assurance. In a written parliamentary statement of 21 November 2023, ministers said GP data would not be part of the national FDP platform.
In November 2023, NHS England awarded a contract worth up to £330 million over seven years to a consortium led by Palantir. The platform is intended to help NHS organisations connect information held in separate systems, manage waiting lists, schedule treatment and plan services. It is not a single national database containing every patient’s complete medical record.
Does the NHS platform already use any GP data?
Yes, but the rules are more specific than a simple nationwide ban. NHS England’s published guidance says some information originating in GP records, such as vaccination details, can be used in certain FDP products. Any such information entering the national instance is de-identified before analysis.
The guidance also says NHS trusts and integrated care boards can include GP datasets they lawfully hold in their local FDP instances where appropriate data-sharing agreements exist. Responsibility for those local instances remains with the relevant NHS organisations.
NHS England states that the supplier cannot use, share or commercialise patient information for its own purposes, including training its own AI models on NHS data. These are the published rules. They should not be confused with a finding that the proposed wider use of GP records has been authorised.
Why doctors and campaigners are concerned
The British Medical Association has raised concerns about a possible expansion into identifiable GP information. Its council chair, Dr Tom Dolphin, told the Guardian that widening the platform’s scope could harm patient confidence and the relationship between doctors and patients.
Foxglove, which obtained the messages, criticised Palantir for seeking to widen its role through private access to a minister. These are the campaign group’s objections, not findings that patient data has been misused.
There are potential clinical benefits from better-connected records, particularly when patients move between GP and hospital care. The question is what information would be shared, with whom, for what purpose and under which safeguards. Those details would need to be established before the merits and risks of any expansion could be properly assessed.
What Palantir and the Government have said
Palantir told the Guardian that sharing information between NHS organisations could improve services for patients and taxpayers, and that its software is designed to preserve local NHS control. It said decisions about deploying the technology belong to government.
The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment on the exchanges when approached by the newspaper. No formal government decision to extend the FDP into a broader national collection of identifiable GP records was established by the reporting.
A contract decision is approaching
The House of Commons Library’s briefing of 29 October 2026 explains that the FDP contract began in March 2024 with an initial three-year term, ending in March 2027, and options to extend it. The Government is expected to decide by December 2026 whether to continue with the supplier for the next term.
Two parliamentary committees have recommended that the Government should not extend the arrangement, citing concerns including public trust and reliance on a single supplier. Palantir and NHS England dispute some criticisms and argue that the platform provides operational benefits, although assessing how much of any improvement is caused by the technology remains contested.
Giving evidence to MPs on 4 November 2026, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said the contract review remained under way and declined to pre-empt its conclusion. She also discussed the longer-term development of British-controlled AI capabilities in healthcare.
Fish 4 News has previously reported on questions about how widely the FDP was being used by NHS trusts. The new correspondence concerns a separate issue: whether the platform’s scope should be expanded into GP information.
What remains unknown
- Whether ministers ever agreed to pursue Palantir’s proposed wider use of GP records.
- Whether any formal proposal, legal assessment or revised data-sharing framework resulted from the messages.
- Whether the Government will extend Palantir’s existing FDP contract beyond March 2027.
For now, the verified distinction is clear: the messages document an attempt to influence policy, not proof that the proposed access was granted.
Sources
- The Guardian, 9 November 2026: original reporting on the disclosed WhatsApp messages and responses
- UK Parliament: ministerial statement on the FDP, 21 November 2023
- NHS England: FDP frequently asked questions, including GP data and supplier access
- House of Commons Library: FDP contract and oversight briefing, 29 October 2026
- Health and Social Care Committee: oral evidence, 4 November 2026
