PALANTIR can have no role in the NHS if Andy Burnham is to make good on his plans to “put the public before the interests of US Big Tech,” campaigners warned today.

Britain’s tech and AI strategy under Mr Burnham would put local companies and workers ahead of US firms, the incoming PM’s team claimed.

This would represent a break from Sir Keir Starmer’s previous approach, brokered in large part by former Washington ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson.

Mr Burnham’s team, including former tech minister Josh Simons, said Lord Mandelson’s plans were “at odds” with the “vast majority of the British public,” key advisers told the FT.

Tech-justice campaigners with Foxglove urged the likely PM to follow through on these plans, warning that any move to rein in Big Tech must start with ending the NHS contract with Palantir.

Foxglove advocacy director Donald Campbell told the Morning Star: “If Andy Burnham is genuinely going to start putting the interests of the public ahead of those of US Big Tech, then that would be a welcome change from the Mandelson-inspired approach of his predecessor.

“But we need to see real action to back this up as soon as he is in office.

“First, he must take the opportunity this year to tell Palantir that they will no longer have a place in England’s health service, and end their NHS contract.

“Palantir’s leaders are in lock-step with Donald Trump in their aim to establish ‘unchallenged global technological dominance’ for US firms.

“This is clearly not a company which should have a role at the heart of the UK’s public services.”

Mr Campbell added that Mr Burnham must bring the “uncontrolled roll-out” of polluting Big Tech data centres under control, adding that it has “largely ignored the huge environmental and social cost of these facilities pushing them through the planning system against local concerns.”

Mr Campbell highlighted the urgent need “to end Big Tech’s dangerous influence” in government.

He said: “In the last few years, ministers have endlessly announced new partnerships with firms like Google, or given key advisory roles to executives from Microsoft.

“They need to realise that there’s no such thing as a free lunch with this industry — and ensure decisions are taken from now on with the public, and planet, put first.”

Global Action Plan campaigns manager Owen Espley told the Star: “We urgently need a moratorium on new hyperscale data centres to give us the space to get a proper plan in place that sets out how much computing power we actually need, for what, where it should go and how negative water and climate impacts will be properly managed.

“Voters don’t want data centres on their doorsteps, so it would be wise for Burnham to not get on the billionaire AI hype train and prioritise people and the environment over Big Tech’s profits.

“It’s high time the government’s AI strategy was subject to at least basic scrutiny.

“Data centres’ enormous energy demand risks a dangerous return to fossil fuels and abandoning our climate targets. We can’t risk data centres raising electricity bills, taking grid connections away from much-needed housing or jeopardising efforts to decarbonise, based on job creation figures that don’t stand up. AI Growth Zones risk further clustering data centres in communities where access to crucial resources is already a concern, putting disproportionate strain on local people.”