by our Political Correspondent
There is a particular kind of chill that settles over the soul when the machinery of war and the ledgers of a private healthcare system begin to merge. We are talking about the commodification of our most intimate secrets, the records of our births, our cancers, and our mental collapses, and the hands currently reaching for the “on” switch.
The SNP has fired a warning shot this week, and while the cynical might dismiss it as pre-election histrionics, the substance of their alarm is bone-deep. The target is Palantir. If you have not heard the name, you should. It sounds like something plucked from the dark tower of a Tolkien novel, and the reality is not much more comforting. This is the US tech giant founded by Peter Thiel, a man whose world-view makes most libertarians look like socialists, and it is currently tightening its grip on the throat of NHS England.
Now, the pressure is on Anas Sarwar. The Scottish Labour leader is being cornered by Amnesty International to answer a simple, terrifying question: Will he keep these data ghouls out of Scotland’s NHS, or is the door already unlatched?
To understand the fear, you have to look at Palantir’s CV. This is not just a software firm; it is a surveillance titan. Amnesty International does not mince words, warning of the company’s involvement in “a range of human rights abuses.”
The Global Footprint: Their tech has been used by the Israeli military and Donald Trump’s ICE to facilitate deportations.
The British Inroad: They have already bagged a £330 million contract with the UK Government to run the “Federated Data Platform” for NHS England.
The Inner Circle: The links to the “Old Labour” vanguard are galling. Peter Mandelson, Sarwar’s “old friend,” has represented the firm through his lobbying outfit. Even Tony Blair’s son is in the mix, with his company running Palantir-linked apprenticeships.
The stench of cronyism is thick enough to choke on. When Sarwar talks about “increasing digitisation” and working closer with the NHS south of the border, he is not just talking about better apps. He is talking about a pipeline.
Neil Cowan, Amnesty’s Scotland Programme Director, put it bluntly. He stated that a company accused of disregarding international law has “no place in Scotland’s NHS.” He is right. The NHS is meant to be a temple of care, not a data-mine for a company that builds tools for border raids and drone strikes.
The SNP’s Clare Haughey was quick to twist the knife, branding Palantir “sinister” and vowing that the Nationalists would never let them near Scottish wards. It is a potent line of attack because it touches on the one thing Scots value above almost all else: the integrity of our public services against the creeping rot of US-style privatisation.
”Palantir already has its fingerprints all over the NHS in England… the Labour Party would leave the door wide open for them to do likewise here.” — Clare Haughey, SNP
Sarwar is in a bind. If he disavows Palantir, he creates a rift with the Starmer machine in Westminster, which has already embraced the tech-bro future. If he stays silent, he confirms the suspicion that “Scottish” Labour is merely a regional branch office for a project that views our medical data as a liquid asset.
We are at a crossroads. On one side, the promise of “efficiency” through big-tech surveillance. On the other, the tattered remains of medical privacy and public ethics.
If Sarwar wants to lead this country, he needs to decide whose side he is on: the patients in our wards, or the billionaires in Silicon Valley. The 7th of May is coming, and “no comment” will not save him from the judgement of a public that smells a rat in the server room.
