London Mayor Sadiq Khan has agreed to a search of his text messages and emails as part of a legal battle with Palantir, a US technology company. The High Court was informed of this decision after Mr Khan prevented Palantir from working with the Metropolitan Police.
The legal dispute follows Mr Khan's intervention in May to block a proposed £50m deal between Palantir and the Met. Palantir, an artificial intelligence developer, subsequently sued the Mayor's office over the decision.
Legal representatives for the Mayor initially did not believe it was necessary for Mr Khan to be among those whose communications would be searched ahead of next year's court case. However, they consented due to Palantir's persistence. Sarah Brown, Mr Khan's former director of communications who now works for Prime Minister Andy Burnham, will also have her correspondence searched.
The proposed two-year deal would have seen Palantir provide AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. However, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) stated there had been a "clear and serious breach" of procurement rules, alleging that police had seriously considered only one supplier.
At a preliminary hearing on Thursday, the High Court heard that Mr Khan and more than a dozen other Mopac and Greater London Authority officials would be designated as "custodians." This means their digital communications, including text messages, WhatsApp messages, and Microsoft Teams chats, will be searched for relevant information and disclosed to Palantir.