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Hello, I'm Sean Curran, and this is yesterday in Parliament from BBC Radio 4.

There were more questions about Peter Mandelson on Tuesday, the 10th of February.

A defence minister insisted the former ambassador had not influenced a deal with an American tech giant,

after the Conservatives asked about the former Labour peers' links to the company.

The government has promised to harness the power of artificial intelligence,

and it's using the technology in courts, hospitals and schools.

But ministers also want the armed forces

to have access to AI systems. And last year, the Defence Secretary John Healy signed a so-called

strategic partnership with Palantir, a US tech company. The deal was agreed a few months

after Sequea Starma visited Palantir in Washington with the then British ambassador Peter Mandelson.

At the time of the visit a year ago, Lord Mandelson held shares in Global Council, a lobbying company.

At the time of the meeting, was the Prime Minister aware that Palantir was a client of

Mandelson's firm? He must answer that. That was the shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge,

who'd asked an urgent question about the contracts with Palantir. A defence minister,

Luke Pollard, said the government was building on the work of the last Conservative government,

which had signed an agreement with the US firm in 2022.

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

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

The deal we struck with Palantir is going to significantly reinforce the innovation

of our forces and it will reinforce the safety of this country as we move towards warfighting

readiness. James Cartilage said this was a question about transparency. Given the public interest

...