A lobbyist whose company recently worked for the controversial American tech firm Palantir held a senior position in Andy Burnham’s campaign to become prime minister, according to The Guardian – UK news.
Martha Dalton, co-founder of the lobbying firm Lodestone, took six weeks’ unpaid leave to work on strategic communications and rebuttals for Burnham’s Makerfield byelection campaign, which secured his return to parliament. Her company had worked for Palantir throughout 2024 and into 2025, only months before she joined the campaign team.
Lodestone’s work for the US tech giant, valued at $450 billion, included promoting Palantir software at parliamentary events where engineers demonstrated artificial intelligence systems designed for British public services to MPs. Dalton was among supporters who accompanied Burnham to Downing Street in July when he became prime minister.
The revelation comes as Palantir battles to retain its £330 million contract with NHS England to operate the federated data platform, a national medical records system. A break clause in the contract is due in February 2027, giving the government an opportunity to terminate the arrangement.
Pressure mounts over Palantir’s other clients
Burnham’s government faces mounting pressure from campaigners to cancel the NHS deal. Critics cite Palantir’s work for the Israeli military in Gaza and its involvement in Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations through ICE, America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, has acknowledged concerns that the public health benefits may not be as substantial as originally claimed. Health workers protested at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, whilst Labour members tabled a motion demanding the contract be scrapped, alleging Palantir faces “numerous allegations of involvement in serious breaches of human rights”.
The company’s executive vice-president for the UK and Europe, Louis Mosley, stated that Palantir’s technology was used to locate hostages but not to identify military targets in Gaza. This appears to contradict earlier remarks by the firm’s chief executive, Alex Karp, who responded to a protester’s accusation that “Palantir kills Palestinians” by saying: “Mostly terrorists, that’s true.”
Latest in series of Labour-Palantir connections
Dalton’s involvement represents the latest connection between Labour and the tech firm, which was co-founded by Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel and also works for the US and UK militaries. Labour peer Tom Watson took a full-time lobbying position with Palantir earlier this month, having previously served on Lodestone’s “strategic advisory council”.
The company previously employed Global Counsel, the lobbying firm run by former Labour trade secretary Peter Mandelson, before it collapsed following revelations about Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein.
A Lodestone spokesperson confirmed that Dalton had no contact with clients during her campaign work and took the leave “because she believes Andy Burnham is the best person to lead the Labour party and the country”. A Labour spokesperson stated that “robust rules and procedures” exist to manage potential conflicts of interest and were followed in this case.
Beyond the NHS contract, Palantir holds a £240 million agreement with the Ministry of Defence and has been marketing its services to police forces and local councils. London mayor Sadiq Khan is currently in a legal dispute with the firm after blocking the Metropolitan Police from awarding it a £50 million contract for AI-powered criminal investigation tools.
What this means for Poles in the UK
The controversy over Palantir’s NHS contract directly affects anyone registered with the health service, including Polish residents and workers in Britain. The federated data platform managed by Palantir consolidates medical records across England, meaning your GP visits, hospital treatments and test results are stored in systems operated by the American company. If you use the NHS, your health data is part of this system.
The contract’s break clause in February 2027 means the government could terminate the arrangement within the next few months. This decision will determine whether a US tech firm with military contracts continues to manage sensitive medical information for millions of patients. Those concerned about data privacy can find information about NHS data sharing and opt-out options on the official NHS website under “National data opt-out”.
Polish healthcare workers employed by the NHS should be aware that debates over this contract may influence future technology procurement decisions across the health service, potentially affecting the digital systems and tools used in daily clinical practice.
