Noel Bell

This is profoundly disturbing. A former Labour deputy leader and life peer joins a US surveillance and defence contractor embedded in our NHS, police and military and immediately announces that some criticism is “propaganda” which he will “correct”. Tom Watson has not been hired for his engineering expertise. He has been hired for his political relationships, credibility and access and to neutralise opposition to Palantir’s expansion through the British state. Privacy, security and national sovereignty cannot be guaranteed by a corporate promotional video. They require: • publication of contracts and government meetings; • independent audits and impact assessments; • strict control over data access and transfers; • open standards and a credible exit route; • protection against vendor lock-in; • parliamentary and public scrutiny. If Palantir genuinely respects British sovereignty, it should welcome those safeguards. Instead it hires a former Labour deputy leader to classify its critics and “correct” them and demonstrates precisely why the scrutiny is necessary.