US data analytics company Palantir has notified the Mayor of London that it intends to take legal action after Sadiq Khan blocked a £50 million contract with the Metropolitan Police, the Times has reported.

The Met had planned to use Palantir's software to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, until Khan intervened in late May. The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime concluded that the Met had only engaged with one potential supplier, had failed to present its procurement strategy to the deputy mayor for approval as required, and had not adequately demonstrated value for money.

The lawsuit threat lands amid wider scrutiny of Palantir's UK public sector relationships. Technology secretary Liz Kendall confirmed the government is conducting a full review of Palantir's £330 million NHS contract, assessing whether to extend it or activate a break clause in early 2027. A parliamentary committee last week urged the government to trigger that break, calling Palantir's presence an "unacceptable point of weakness" in a public sector increasingly dependent on a small number of US technology firms.

Agentic AI’s Hidden Tax: Why $50K Token Bills Are Catching Firms Off Guard
Are you prepared for the AI cost line that doesn’t yet appear on your budget? Rick Doten founded Prescient Cyber Risk earlier this year, and his first months advising boards, VC firms, and startups have surfaced a critical blind spot: agent token cost. Only 2% of the people he speaks with currently run agents in production— yet those who deploy without a token cost strategy are discovering monthly bills of $50,000 before anyone raises the alarm. Meanwhile, 90% of AI security is work organisations already know how to do. The gap is in what they’re not yet planning for. Speakers: Rick Doten, AI & Cybersecurity Advisor, Prescient Cyber Risk; interviewed by Stewart Tinson, Project Director, AI-360 at Newton Media. You’ll learn: • Why 90% of AI security is traditional cybersecurity—asset management, identity, data protection, and vulnerability management • How to manage agent token costs before they become an unplanned CFO problem • The 7-step automated remediation framework replacing manual security patching • Why AI enablement and AI governance are not the same thing—and how to sell the reframe internally • What VCs now require before funding AI security startups, and what it signals for enterprise buyers • How to structure board-level AI strategy around three questions: plan, compliance, and security Key topics: Agentic AI adoption • Agent token cost • AI governance frameworks • Automated remediation • AI enablement vs governance • Board AI strategy • VC investment dynamics • AI security startups • Third-party AI risk • Crowdsourced threat intelligence For CISOs, CIOs, CFOs, and enterprise risk leaders preparing for the shift from AI pilots to production in 2026.
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