Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson appointed senior VP at Palantir

Tom Watson, a Labour peer and former deputy leader, has been hired as senior vice-president of Palantir, joining UK-Europe chief executive Louis Mosley. The move comes as Palantir faces pressure to drop its £330 million NHS contract and is fighting a court case with Mayor Sadiq Khan over a £50 million AI system for Metropolitan Police investigations. The US AI company, founded by Peter Thiel, generates £427 million a year from UK public-sector work and maintains a £240 million Ministry of Defence contract.

Watson, who left the House of Lords in 2019 and has advised the gambling and music sectors, began part-time work for Palantir in 2024 and will now focus on expanding public-service value, jobs and skills. He has taken a leave of absence from the Lords and surrendered his parliamentary pass while based in London. The appointment highlights the ongoing revolving-door trend between British politics and major tech firms.