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Today in Parliament

10/02/2026

Today in Parliament

BBC

Government

4.4162 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Alicia McCarthy reports from Westminster as MPs demand answers about the UK's multi-million pound defence deal with the US tech giant, Palantir.

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:06.0

Order. Order.

0:08.7

Hello, I'm Alicia McCarthy, and this is today in Parliament from BBC Radio 4 for Tuesday the 10th of February,

0:15.6

where MPs want answers about a deal between the Ministry of Defence and a US tech company.

0:20.5

Was the Prime Minister aware that Palantir was a client of Mandelson's firm?

0:26.4

But a minister defends the multi-million pound decision.

0:29.8

As the Defence Secretary has said, the contract was his decision and his decision alone.

0:35.1

Peter Mandelson had no influence on the decision to award this contract.

0:39.0

And the Mets top officer on the dangers of policing modern day protests.

0:43.6

We had an officer have a pro-Palestine sticker stuck on his arm, get photographed and then get death threats for supporting Palestine in the papers.

0:51.5

But first, MPs have demanded more clarity from the government

0:55.3

about a £240 million contract,

0:58.6

the Ministry of Defence handed to the US tech firm Palantir,

1:02.7

with one calling for the deal to be cancelled altogether.

1:06.5

Palantir was a client of the lobbying company Global Council,

1:10.5

co-founded by Peter Mandelson.

1:12.7

He stepped down from the board of Global Council two years ago and this month stopped being a shareholder.

1:19.1

In the Commons, the Conservative said the Palantir deal had been agreed without a competitive process.

1:25.7

The Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge set out his concerns.

1:29.8

The question is to what extent Peter Mandelson and his firm Global Council

1:33.4

in which, at the time, he was a controlling shareholder,

1:37.0

benefited from privileged access not available to potential UK competitors,

...

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