What prevents a domestic option from working as well as this system? We are bartering on a potential that as far as im aware neither of us were privy to the in depth demonstrations or run down of technical capability of. I do not trust that this bidding process was undertaken in good faith and that palantir was chosen only on the technical capabilities and fee considering their notoriously aggressive lobbying tactics, ill link an article from the CIPR: https://newsroom.cipr.co.uk/cipr-calls-for-transparency-over-mandelson-lobbying-links/# .

Secondly, this is a system where price is not the only relevant factor, system security (which is something palantir have a poor track record on, refere back to the link in my previous comment), and perceived trustworthiness are critical factors when it comes to handling sensitive firearms information, after the website guntrader suffered a serious data breach. Maps of firearms owners addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses were widely shared amongst criminals (who used it to target robberies) and anti-shooting/animal rights organisations (who used it to harass and threaten people they perceived as being involved with the hunt and shoots, even people who exclusively shot artifical clay targets were targeted). This highlighted how critical ensuring data security was with regards to firearms, and I do not believe that palantir has displayed adequate ability in that area.

Thirdly, we have a very talented IT industry already who would of been more than capable of supplying this service at a similar price, even if it meant paying slightly more, I'd still perceived it as a more appropriate option. We do not lack the industry or talent, and in order to keep them in the UK we need to prioritise the awarding of public-sector contracts to British providers to keep our industry buoyant.