Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader and peer, has taken a full-time position as senior vice-president at Palantir, the controversial US artificial intelligence company. The appointment comes as Palantir faces pressure from Andy Burnham's government to abandon its £330m NHS contract and battles Sadiq Khan in court over a blocked £50m Metropolitan police contract. Watson's hiring exemplifies the broader "revolving door" between British politics and major technology firms, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and ministers leveraging privileged government knowledge for corporate gain.

Watson, who served as defence minister and digital engagement minister under Gordon Brown, has been a part-time adviser to Palantir since 2024. The company, co-founded by Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel, operates significant UK contracts including a £240m defence ministry deal and generates annual UK turnover of £427m. Watson has taken leave of absence from the House of Lords and surrendered his parliamentary pass. The appointment follows similar moves by former government figures, including Rishi Sunak joining Anthropic and Microsoft, George Osborne taking a position at OpenAI, and Nick Clegg's lengthy tenure at Meta—a pattern that critics argue warrants an enforceable five-year ban on former ministers taking industry posts.