UK’s Digital Strategy and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Last week, Sir Tony Blair, the Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and a former Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party, published (on the Institute’s website) a critical essay about the current Labour Government. He also talked to the media about his gloomy account of the political situation. The former PM stresses that there is no coherent plan for the country in a fast-changing world, and that the government must prioritise policy over politics. In response, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, defended his policy decisions.
This conflict between the UK’s current leader and its former leader has sparked my interest for one reason: the centrality of technology in modern societies and the ability of extremists to destabilise technological solutions to pressing problems. Solutions that are critical for all members of UK society, and even more so for the most vulnerable people in society.
Blair talked about the need for the government’s support of the Artificial Intelligence Revolution, bearing in mind that it entails both risks and opportunities. The former PM compared the AI revolution to the Industrial Revolution, saying that everything has changed.
The roadmap for modern digital government (2025–2030) is ambitious. The vision for 2030 is to improve citizens’ lives through digital transformation. The Government has adopted technological solutions to major problems, such as border management, terrorism threats, refugee integration, data protection in the National Health Service (NHS), and has expanded the number of scholarships in AI and data technology. The integration of technology across almost every realm became evident primarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, as happened in other countries around the globe.
There are many risks. There always have been. Cyber threats, ethical issues regarding surveillance and human rights, technical failures, and more. But, in the last few years, extremists have relentlessly undermined the implementation of the UK Digital Strategy and the integration of advanced AI solutions.
A week ago, London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a £50 million contract between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir, a data analysis and technology firm and military contractor co-founded by Peter Thiel, the entrepreneur and supporter of US President Donald Trump.
Sadiq Khan claims that the Metropolitan Police could not evidence that they had undertaken an adequate process of market testing to determine whether Palantir was the best, most economical provider of the Artificial Intelligence services being procured.
Scotland Yard has warned that the decision of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) prevents it from using technology already available to the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, and other police forces.
Palantir is providing AI services to the most vital UK organisations. At the same time, the technology giant is controversial. Human rights organisations and other campaigners have launched global campaigns against Palantir. Amnesty International is leading a campaign, ‘No Palantir in Our NHS’, in collaboration with Medact and the BDS Movement. The NHS contract with Palantir is estimated to be worth £330m. The American Friends Service Committee in the US is protesting contracts for Palantir services in the US and Israel.
After the October 7th terrorist attacks on Israeli soil, Alex Karp, the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, visited Israel and held the first board meeting of 2024 in Tel Aviv. He shared his optimistic approach regarding the future of the Israeli hi-tech industry. In a country that suffers from an economic deficit following the war, and must protect its citizens while fighting on multiple fronts, the support of influential industry leaders like Alex Karp is particularly important.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK (PSC), a leader of the BDS and anti-Israel campaigns in the UK, declared a massive win for its campaign as the London Mayor blocked the contract between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir. PSC activists demanded that the Mayor intervene in the lead-up to his decision. Encouraged by the decision of London’s Mayor, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is now demanding that the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, cancel all contracts with Palantir.
But Palantir is not alone, as the threat to additional business contracts is spreading like wildfire. A new campaign has launched, and protests have erupted outside the Foreign Office demanding that the British Government stop business cooperation with Ithaca Energy, owned by Delek Group, based in Israel. Ithaca Energy stands as one of the largest independent oil and gas operators in the UK North Sea.
In two weeks’ time, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will march across the UK, leading its campaign, ‘Delete Genocide Tech’. The demand: to end contracts between technology companies, including Palantir, Oracle, and Cisco, and the UK government, local councils, universities, and workplaces. In January 2026, Oracle announced its expanding collaboration with the UK Ministry of Defence, adopting new AI capabilities to strengthen the UK’s national security. The UK Government’s ambitious roadmap aims to transform public services, with designated plans for veterans, and to harness AI for the public good. The NHS is already using AI to predict demand, helping to keep waiting times down when wards get busy. If additional contracts with technology companies are not renewed, the implications for the livelihoods and safety of UK citizens could be devastating.
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