OVER 100 people protested outside St Thomas’ Hospital by Westminster Bridge yesterday to demand that NHS England end its £330 million contract with the US data firm Palantir.
The demonstration was one of dozens across England on a day of action coordinated with campaigners in North America, South America, Europe and Australia, calling for an end to all contracts and partnerships with the company.
Local actions were organised by Amnesty International groups together with organisations including Keep Our NHS Public, Health Workers for a Free Palestine, Medact, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and We Own It, culminating in a rally outside Palantir’s headquarters in Soho Square.
A group of Zionists staged a counter-protest, and police formed a line down the middle of the pavement.
As the anti-Palantir demonstration grew, protesters crossed the road to where there was more space, away from the counter-protest.
There were loud chants of ‘Free, free Palestine, Zionism is a crime’ and ‘End apartheid, end the occupation’.
Palantir’s technology is used by the Israeli military in its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the company supplies US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with tools used to track and surveil migrants.
NHS England awarded it the £330 million contract for a new data platform in 2023.
The contract’s review date is February 2027, but campaigners say the decision will be taken much sooner, and they are pressing every NHS trust and integrated care board to refuse to use Palantir’s technology.
Mahmoud, from the Institute of Cancer Research, where workers have won a historic victory in their pay struggle, told News Line: ‘There is no space in the NHS for Palantir. Our data is very important and should be in public hands.
‘The value of the contract is £330 million, but this is nothing compared to what they get from using our data.
‘All these struggles are connected.
‘We call on the whole labour movement to back this campaign.’
Steve Hedley said: ‘I’m here as a member of the London Irish Brigade in solidarity with Palestine. Palantir is in the NHS in the north of Ireland.
‘They have tentacles everywhere. And in the Republic of Ireland, government investment funds have invested millions of euros.’
Anna Wall said: ‘It’s a shame they have employed Zionists to run the NHS.’
