--- title: "London Mayor Sadiq Khan's emails to be searched in Palantir legal row" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/london-mayor-sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-row" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/london-mayor-sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-row" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/london-mayor-sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-row.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/london-mayor-sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-row" category: "Politics" area: "United Kingdom" published: "2026-09-04T05:46:18.481Z" source_reported: "2026-09-04T05:03:00.000Z" updated: "2026-09-04T05:46:18.481Z" trust_score: 60 critic_score: 70 hype_score: 20 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-09-04T06:30:22.224941+00:00" --- # London Mayor Sadiq Khan's emails to be searched in Palantir legal row *High Court orders search of communications in dispute over blocked £50m Metropolitan Police contract.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 60 of 100, higher is better. The central claim is attributed to named bodies, and two independent outlets corroborate the reporting. - Craft 70 of 100, higher is better. The reporting includes quotes from legal representatives and details the next steps in the legal process. - Hype 20 of 100, lower is better. The language used is neutral and factual, with no sensationalism or exaggeration. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - London Mayor Sadiq Khan's emails and text messages will be searched as part of a legal dispute with Palantir. - The legal battle concerns a £50 million deal for artificial intelligence technology between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir, which the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) blocked. - Palantir is suing Mopac, claiming the decision to block the contract was unlawful. - A full court hearing on the case is scheduled for January next year. London Mayor Sadiq Khan's digital communications, including emails and text messages, will be searched as part of a legal dispute with technology firm Palantir. The High Court has ordered that Khan and more than a dozen other officials from Mopac and the Greater London Authority be classified as "custodians" whose digital messages will be disclosed to Palantir. The search will cover communications from 1 September 2025 to 28 May 2026. The legal battle stems from Mopac's decision in May to block a two-year, £50 million deal between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir for artificial intelligence technology. Palantir is suing Mopac, alleging the decision to block the contract was unlawful. A full hearing of the case is scheduled for January next year. ## Disagreement over reasons for blocking the contract Palantir claims in court documents that Mopac introduced an "unlawful veto" by wrongly considering the firm's "values and ethics" when blocking the contract. Mopac, however, stated that Palantir was the only supplier the Met had seriously considered. Mopac also said the police force failed to present its procurement strategy for approval in a "clear and serious breach" of procedure, preventing City Hall from ensuring value for money. Mopac's lawyers argued that the Met's procurement strategy was unlawful or carried an unacceptable risk of unlawfulness, leaving Mopac with the only lawful or realistic decision. ## What the coverage left out None of the centre-rated reports mention the concerns raised by unions and activists regarding Palantir's links with the IDF and the Trump administration, which was noted in The Jewish Chronicle. ## Who covered it Shares of the 7 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 57% (4) - Right: 43% (3) 1 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-09-04T06:30:22.224941+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 7 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-09-04T07:30:32.501Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre - Centre-rated reports focused on the High Court's order for London Mayor Sadiq Khan's emails and text messages to be searched. The Evening Standard, in its full report, detailed that Khan and other officials would be classified as "custodians" whose digital communications would be disclosed. Law360, The Times, and BBC News, in their digests, also highlighted the search of Khan's messages as a key element of the legal dispute over the £50 million contract with the Metropolitan Police. ### Right - The right-rated report from The Jewish Chronicle mentioned that Sadiq Khan's texts and emails would be searched. It also included a statement that unions and activists have urged the government to drop the US-based AI firm's contracts due to its links with the IDF and the Trump administration. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 2 - high: 3 - unknown: 1 - veryHigh: 2 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Law360](https://law360.com/articles/2521137/london-mayor-to-disclose-docs-in-palantir-s-50m-police-row) — London Mayor To Disclose Docs In Palantir's £50M Police Row - [The Times](https://thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/sadiq-khan-legal-battle-palantir-dp0ld60r9) — Sadiq Khan’s messages to be searched in Palantir legal row - [London Daily News](https://londondaily.news/sadiq-khans-messages-to-be-searched-in-palantirs-50m-met-contract-case) — Just a moment please.. - [Evening Standard](https://standard.co.uk/news/london/sadiq-khan-emails-searched-palantir-legal-battle-met-ai-deal-b1295675.html) — Sadiq Khan’s emails to be searched in Palantir legal battle over Met AI deal - [The Jewish Chronicle](https://thejc.com/news/uk/sadiq-khan-texts-emails-searched-palantir-met-police-vafnplwa) — Sadiq Khan’s texts and emails to be searched amid Palantir Met Police row - [BBC News](https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crerqz15zepo) — Mayor of London's emails to be searched in Palantir legal battle - [ITV](https://itv.com/news/london/2026-09-03/sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-battle-over-met-deal) — Sadiq Khan's emails to be searched in Palantir legal battle over Met deal - [The Telegraph](https://telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/09/03/sadiq-khan-to-hand-over-messages-in-palantir-row) — Sadiq Khan to hand over WhatsApp messages in Palantir row ## Questions **Why will Sadiq Khan's emails and texts be searched?** Sadiq Khan's digital communications will be searched as part of a legal battle between Palantir and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac). Palantir is suing Mopac over its decision to block a £50 million deal for artificial intelligence technology with the Metropolitan Police. **What is the legal dispute about?** Palantir is suing Mopac for allegedly blocking a £50 million contract for artificial intelligence technology with the Metropolitan Police unlawfully. Palantir claims Mopac wrongly considered the firm's values and ethics, while Mopac cites a breach of procurement procedure and concerns over value for money. **When will the court hear the case?** A full hearing of the legal case between Palantir and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) is scheduled to take place in January next year. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/london-mayor-sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-row. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "London Mayor Sadiq Khan's emails to be searched in Palantir legal row", https://mediabias.news/politics/london-mayor-sadiq-khans-emails-to-be-searched-in-palantir-legal-row