UK health department official faces reprimand over lobbying rule breaches linked to Palantir

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UK health official lobbying breach

Highlights

Samantha Jones, Department of Health and Social Care permanent secretary, was reprimanded for breaching Whitehall rules by failing to seek clearance for consultancy work with four healthcare firms between 2023 and 2024.
While Jones advised Carnall Farrar, Carnall Farrar was part of a consortium involving Palantir that won a contentious £330 million NHS contract in November 2023, raising governance scrutiny.
Palantir faces UK regulatory pressure beyond healthcare, launching a High Court challenge after being blocked from a £50 million Metropolitan Police contract due to procurement process concerns.

Inquiry details and undeclared consultancy work

As first reported by the Financial Times, Samantha Jones, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, has been reprimanded by the Civil Service Commission after failing to seek prior clearance for consultancy work while serving as a non-executive director at the department.

Jones worked for four healthcare companies without applying in advance to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, or Acoba, and accepted that this breached Whitehall rules. Baroness Gisela Stuart, the first civil service commissioner, opened the inquiry after it emerged that Jones had advised Carnall Farrar, a healthcare consultancy that was part of a consortium with Palantir on the NHS Federated Data Platform.

She had also advised other private healthcare providers that benefited from public contracts with the department or related health bodies, including as an operating partner to G-Square Capital, owner of Keys Group. Jones resigned from those roles soon after her promotion last year.

Stuart wrote that Jones took up work with Carnall Farrar before the Acoba process was completed and also carried out work for Huma, System C and Newmarket without seeking prior advice. That work took place between 2023 and 2024, before she became permanent secretary in June last year. In her reply, Jones blamed administrative oversights, said she acted in good faith and acknowledged the importance of meeting all requirements.

Palantir contract scrutiny and wider governance concerns

Palantir's position in UK public sector technology procurement is already under heavy scrutiny. The U.S. technology company won a contentious 330 million pound NHS contract in November 2023 while Jones was advising Carnall Farrar and serving as lead non-executive director on the department's board, although Carnall Farrar said she did not work on the Palantir contract.

Campaign group We Own It said Jones should resign, while Foxglove called on her to recuse herself from decisions linked to the upcoming break clause in Palantir's NHS deal. The Department of Health said Jones was transparent during the process, that her interests were declared in good faith and that the department remains committed to high standards of integrity.

Pressure on Palantir extends beyond the NHS contract. The company has also launched legal action in the High Court to overturn a ban on signing a 50 million pound, two-year contract with London's Metropolitan Police, arguing that concerns about its values are not valid grounds for blocking the award, while the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime says its objections relate to the closed procurement process.

In our earlier analysis of Palantir (PLTR) shares, we noted that the stock was under near-term pressure as heavy insider selling outweighed positive momentum from new public-sector partnerships. The piece also highlighted a bearish technical setup, with PLTR trading below key moving averages and a likely short-term range unless resistance levels were reclaimed.

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