Adding some grist to the Mandelson rumour mill – deep connections to Palantir
smoke/Fire - Fire/Smoke?
The extent of the Mandelson saga continues to gather pace
Here are some fun facts:
“Global Counsel is a strategic advisory firm chaired by Peter Mandelson. The company specializes in regulatory, political risk, and public policy advisory services, with offices in London, Brussels, and Singapore. Mandelson, a former European Trade Commissioner and British First Secretary of State, co-founded the firm and serves as its Chairman. He is also a Senior Adviser to Lazard and holds leadership roles in several other organizations, including the Design Museum and Manchester Metropolitan University.
“The main shareholders of Global Counsel Ltd are:
Benjamin Charles Wegg-Prosser – Largest shareholder with a 30.2% stake.
Tmg Llc – A significant shareholder, though the exact percentage is not specified in the provided data.
These two entities hold the most substantial ownership interests in the company, which was founded in December 2016 and operates as a strategic advisory firm specializing in public policy and regulatory affairs.
“Benjamin Charles Wegg-Prosser (born June 1974) is a British consultant and political adviser, currently serving as CEO and co-founder of Global Counsel, a London-based strategic consultancy and lobbying firm chaired by Peter Mandelson. He previously held key roles in UK politics and media, including Director of Strategic Communications at 10 Downing Street under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2005 to 2007, where he oversaw the launch of Downing Street’s e-petitions service and the UK’s first official YouTube channel for a head of government.
Before his government role, Wegg-Prosser worked as a political adviser to Peter Mandelson and held leadership positions at The Guardian, including publisher of Society Guardian and general manager of EducationGuardian.co.uk. Wegg-Prosser has been involved in Labour Party politics, funding Labour Tomorrow, a group opposing Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and was considered for a senior government role in Keir Starmer’s administration. His career reflects a blend of high-level political strategy, media innovation, and international advisory work.”
We could check out all the clients of General Counsel but let’s focus on one in particular – Palantir.
“Palantir Technologies is an American publicly traded software company founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, and Nathan Gettings. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, it specializes in developing data integration and analytics platforms that enable governments, militaries, and corporations to combine and analyze data from multiple sources.”
“The company’s flagship products are:
Palantir Gotham: Used by intelligence, defense, and law enforcement agencies for counterterrorism, national security, and crime analysis.
Palantir Foundry: A platform for commercial and civil use, helping enterprises streamline data operations and improve decision-making.
Palantir Apollo: A platform for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) across environments.
Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP): Provides unified access to large language models (LLMs) to transform data into actionable insights.
Palantir serves a diverse client base, including the U.S. Department of Defense, CIA, NSA, UK Home Office, NHS (UK), and major corporations like Morgan Stanley, Merck, Airbus, and PG&E. It reported $2.87 billion in revenue in 2024 and achieved its first GAAP net income in Q1 2023.
While Palantir emphasizes that it does not collect, store, or sell data—only enabling clients to analyze data they already possess—its work has sparked controversy over surveillance, immigration enforcement, predictive policing, and data privacy. Critics, including civil liberties groups, have raised concerns about its role in enabling mass surveillance and targeting marginalized communities.
Despite these controversies, Palantir has grown into a major player in enterprise AI and data analytics, with a market capitalization exceeding $80 billion as of 2025.”
Not insubstantial – it is now worth some US$376 billion (@155.6/share
So what?
Let’s see if we can tie Palantir, Mandelson and the UK Labour government together:
From Brave AI:
“Peter Mandelson has multiple significant connections to Palantir Technologies, primarily through his consultancy firm Global Counsel, which represented Palantir as a client.
“Lobbying and Advisory Role: Mandelson co-founded Global Counsel, a strategic advisory firm that has represented Palantir among other major corporations like Shell, TikTok, and Alibaba. He served as president and chairman of the firm’s International Advisory Board, even after stepping down as CEO.
Facilitating High-Level Access: Mandelson arranged Keir Starmer’s visit to Palantir’s Washington offices in February 2025, reportedly through the British Embassy in the U.S., where he was serving as ambassador. The meeting was not formally recorded, raising concerns over transparency.
Influence on Government Contracts: Mandelson played a key role in enabling Palantir’s access to the UK government. The firm secured a £240 million defence contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in late 2025 without competitive tender, a move linked to Mandelson’s influence via Global Counsel.
Financial Interests: While Mandelson has taken leave from the House of Lords, he reportedly retained shares in Global Counsel, which has financial stakes in Palantir’s success, creating a potential conflict of interest.
Controversy and Scrutiny: His ties to Palantir have drawn intense scrutiny due to the company’s links to Peter Thiel—a major donor to Donald Trump—and its controversial use in military surveillance, immigration enforcement, and AI-driven policing. Critics argue this relationship undermines democratic oversight and national security.
“Global Counsel does not hold a direct financial stake in Palantir Technologies.
However, Global Counsel—a lobbying and advisory firm co-founded by former UK Labour minister Peter Mandelson—has acted as a strategic intermediary for Palantir in the UK. Palantir became a client of Global Counsel in 2018, and the firm has helped facilitate Palantir’s access to UK government contracts, including high-profile projects involving NHS data.
Key connections include:
Matthew Swindells, a former deputy CEO of NHS England, joined Global Counsel in 2019 and later became Chair of several NHS hospitals, including Chelsea and Westminster, a major Palantir user.
Nicola Blackwood, a former UK health minister, was also associated with Global Counsel and advised on NHS digital transformation.
The firm hosted events featuring NHS data officials and Palantir executives, reinforcing the relationship.
While there is no evidence of a direct equity stake, the revolving door between Global Counsel, the NHS, and Palantir has raised concerns about influence and transparency, particularly given Mandelson’s political connections and ongoing financial interest in Global Counsel.
Of interest:
“Palantir has confirmed partnerships with both Pfizer and Moderna, primarily focused on leveraging its data analytics platforms to support vaccine development, distribution, and pandemic response efforts.
Pfizer: Palantir has worked with Pfizer to accelerate drug development, including managing complex processes from research and clinical trials to regulatory approval. The collaboration also involved supporting the U.S. government’s vaccine distribution efforts during the pandemic, using Palantir’s software to track and allocate doses.
Moderna: While not explicitly detailed in the provided context, Palantir’s involvement in the broader U.S. vaccine rollout—particularly through systems like Tiberius and HHS Protect—included coordination with Moderna’s vaccine distribution. Palantir’s platforms were used to track vaccine supply chains and optimize delivery, which inherently involved both Pfizer and Moderna.
Additionally, Palantir has publicly disclosed strategic partnerships with major companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, through its Foundry platform, which integrates with corporate systems for data-driven decision-making. These partnerships are part of Palantir’s broader role in healthcare and government operations, where it helps manage large-scale data across public health and biotech sectors.
Looks like a veritable rat’s nest of corruption – especially in the UK’sNHS – how ‘guilty Palantir is In aiding and abetting the toxic and experimental modified mRNA vaccines bears scrutiny particularly in terms of money received from US and UK governments from each operating division of Palantir!
Onwards!
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Sounds to me like Global Counsel is a conduit for funneling taxpayers money to the horde of grifters at the other end of the conduit. These people really are scum.