Starmer in hot water over Palantir meeting
Key Points
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been accused of breaching the ministerial code by failing to declare a February 2025 meeting at Palantir’s Washington headquarters with Lord Mandelson
- The visit occurred while Mandelson was UK ambassador and Palantir was a client of his lobbying firm Global Counsel; no record or minutes were taken
- Downing Street claims it was not a formal meeting requiring declaration, despite the Ministry of Defence describing it as one
- Palantir later secured a major £750 million five-year UK Ministry of Defence contract
- The controversy adds to pressure on Starmer amid the ongoing Mandelson vetting scandal and ahead of expected heavy Labour losses in May local elections
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been accused of breaking the ministerial code by failing to declare a meeting with a client of Lord Mandelson’s lobbying firm.
The Telegraph reports that Starmer and Mandelson attended the tech firm Palantir’s headquarters in Washington in February 2025 while Lord Mandelson was Britain’s ambassador to the United States.
The ministerial code requires ministers, including the Prime Minister, to publish details of meetings with external organisations. But no record of the Palantir briefing was logged, and no minutes were taken.
Downing Street has insisted the visit was not a formal “meeting” and therefore did not require official declaration. However, the Ministry of Defence described it as a meeting in its own parliamentary response.
At the time of the visit, Palantir was a client of Mandelson’s lobbying firm Global Counsel, which he founded in 2010. Mandelson held shares in the company until shortly before its collapse earlier this year.
Palantir has longstanding contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence and later in 2025 secured a major five-year £750 million deal.
The Palantir story comes as Starmer battles to stabilise his leadership following a damaging period dominated by the Mandelson appointment scandal.
He recently sacked Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s top civil servant, after revelations that Mandelson was appointed ambassador despite failing security vetting.
Labour faces the prospect of significant losses in next month’s local elections, with internal plotting intensifying.
Some MPs are reportedly preparing to demand that Starmer set out a timetable to stand down before the party conference in September. Allies of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are said to be eyeing potential seats where northern Labour MPs might step aside to allow his return to Westminster. Sources suggest the Mandelson affair has shifted views even on the party’s National Executive Committee.
