“The court has ruled that the government’s authoritarian ban on Palestine Action was unlawful. Now it is time for the government to stop criminalising the people protesting a genocide – and start ending the UK’s complicity.

“Over 2,700 people have so far been arrested for holding a sign opposing genocide and the proscription of Palestine Action. Those already charged should have those charges dropped, and the Crown Prosecution should discontinue action against all those arrested.”

Green MPs have written to the Cabinet Secretary to demand that the government scrap its NHS and MoD contracts with spy tech firm Palantir [1]. The MPs have also called for an independent inquiry into Peter Mandelson’s involvement in contracts between the UK Government and Palantir, and to review the extent of UK dependence on private contractors such as Palantir to secure the UK’s digital sovereignty.

Green MP, Sian Berry, said:

“Palantir’s vice-like grip on our Government, and the role played by disgraced Peter Mandelson in brokering it, must be investigated urgently and, meanwhile, all government contracts with this Trump-supporting spy tech company suspended immediately.

“The Prime Minister has questions to answer about how this military surveillance outfit, with clear ties to Mandelson’s own lobbying firm, has been handed record-breaking multi million pound contracts from public money without competition.

“It would be unbelievably inappropriate for any member of this Government to attend tomorrow’s red carpet party for this company. It already was, given how much we know about how Palantir has facilitated genocide in Gaza and been complicit in fascist deportations in the USA. But in the light of these contract revelations, these social contacts become even more unacceptable.”

The letter states: Palantir technology has reportedly been used by U.S. immigration authorities to profile and target migrants and has been used by the Israeli military in Gaza – it has no place in our NHS or any of our public services… Palantir is now deeply embedded in the NHS and Ministry of Defence – and the longer they are in place, the harder and more expensive it becomes to remove them and the more the risk of poor value for money increases.

Green MPS are calling on the government to:

• Conduct an internal and independent inquiry into Mandelson’s involvement in contracts between the UK Government and Palantir and publish the findings, including whether Mandelson shared privileged information with Palantir and the extent to which he used his role in Government for personal gain
• Scrap its NHS and MoD contracts with Palantir at the earliest opportunity 
• Review UK dependence on contractors such as Palantir to secure the UK’s digital sovereignty

 Notes

1. Letter to Cabinet Secretary from Green MPs attached

Green MPs have written to the Cabinet Secretary to demand that the government scrap its NHS and MoD contracts with spy tech firm Palantir [1]. The MPs have also called for an independent inquiry into Peter Mandelson’s involvement in contracts between the UK Government and Palantir, and to review the extent of UK dependence on private contractors such as Palantir to secure the UK’s digital sovereignty.

Green MP, Sian Berry, said:

“Palantir’s vice-like grip on our Government, and the role played by disgraced Peter Mandelson in brokering it, must be investigated urgently and, meanwhile, all government contracts with this Trump-supporting spy tech company suspended immediately.

“The Prime Minister has questions to answer about how this military surveillance outfit, with clear ties to Mandelson’s own lobbying firm, has been handed record-breaking multi million pound contracts from public money without competition.

“It would be unbelievably inappropriate for any member of this Government to attend tomorrow’s red carpet party for this company. It already was, given how much we know about how Palantir has facilitated genocide in Gaza and been complicit in fascist deportations in the USA. But in the light of these contract revelations, these social contacts become even more unacceptable.”

The letter states: Palantir technology has reportedly been used by U.S. immigration authorities to profile and target migrants and has been used by the Israeli military in Gaza – it has no place in our NHS or any of our public services… Palantir is now deeply embedded in the NHS and Ministry of Defence – and the longer they are in place, the harder and more expensive it becomes to remove them and the more the risk of poor value for money increases.

Green MPS are calling on the government to:

• Conduct an internal and independent inquiry into Mandelson’s involvement in contracts between the UK Government and Palantir and publish the findings, including whether Mandelson shared privileged information with Palantir and the extent to which he used his role in Government for personal gain
• Scrap its NHS and MoD contracts with Palantir at the earliest opportunity 
• Review UK dependence on contractors such as Palantir to secure the UK’s digital sovereignty

 Notes

1. Letter to Cabinet Secretary from Green MPs attached

Reacting to news of Israel expanding control over the West Bank, leader of the Parliamentary Green Party, Dr Ellie Chowns MP, said:

“The reported decisions by Israel’s security cabinet to make it easier for settlers to buy land in the West Bank and to expand enforcement powers over Palestinians are a profound assault on Palestinian rights, further entrenching occupation and legitimising illegal settlement expansion.

“These measures are built on the foundation of decades of dispossession, subjugation, and military control of Palestinians, and stand against the stark backdrop of the catastrophic genocide committed in Gaza, where swathes of the population remain deprived of vital aid, medical care, and adequate nutrition, and Palestinians in Gaza continue to be killed by Israeli forces despite a ceasefire being in place. These are not the actions of a state seeking peace; they are the latest extension of a long-upheld system that denies Palestinians the right to determine their own future.

“When the Green Party welcomed the UK’s recognition of the state of Palestine last year as a necessary and long-overdue step, we also warned that recognition alone was not enough – it must be accompanied by meaningful action to uphold Palestinian rights. The UK must take those actions now – ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine, halt all arms sales to and military cooperation with the Israeli Government, drive independent investigations into war crimes and support justice mechanisms for victims, and impose sanctions on those Israeli Government officials who are responsible, including Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior figures, given the flagrant disregard for international law displayed through the expansion of illegal settlements.”