How Palantir’s deepening ties with the UK Ministry of Defence are reshaping British defence policy |
The growing relationship between the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the US data analytics and surveillance firm Palantir has ignited an intense debate about transparency, accountability, and national sovereignty in British defence policy. At the heart of this controversy lies a familiar but deeply contentious phenomenon: the “revolving door” between senior public officials and powerful private contractors. Over the past few years-and with particular intensity in 2025-Palantir has systematically recruited former high-ranking defence officials while simultaneously securing some of the most lucrative public contracts in the UK’s modern defence history.
Palantir, founded by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, is no ordinary technology company. It specialises in AI-driven data analytics platforms used by military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies worldwide. The firm has long been associated with US national security interests, having received early backing from the CIA’s venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, and it maintains close ideological and political ties to former and current US President Donald Trump. Its expansion within the UK defence and public sector ecosystem therefore raises questions that extend well beyond procurement rules and into the realm of geopolitical alignment and democratic oversight.
In August 2025, Barnaby Kistruck concluded an almost two-decade career in the British civil service when he stepped down as the Ministry of Defence’s director of industrial strategy, prosperity and exports. During his tenure, Kistruck worked extensively on defence policy, national security, and industrial planning. Notably, he played a key role in drafting the UK’s Strategic Defence Review and the accompanying Defence Industrial Strategy, both published in the summer of 2025. These documents emphasised the expanded use of artificial intelligence, data integration, and advanced analytics as central pillars of future defence capability.
Just nine days after leaving public office, Kistruck took up a new role as a senior counsellor at Palantir. Within three months of his appointment, the company was awarded a three-year MoD contract worth £240 million to “modernise defence” through advanced data analytics systems designed to support strategic, tactical, and real-time operational decision-making across the armed forces. The contract-Palantir’s largest ever with the MoD-was awarded without a competitive tender.
While no allegations of wrongdoing have been made against Kistruck, the timing of his transition from policymaker to corporate adviser has drawn sharp scrutiny. Critics argue that such moves exemplify the risks inherent in revolving-door recruitment, where individuals........