Samantha Jones, the top civil servant at the Department of Health, has stepped aside from deciding whether to extend Palantir's £330mn NHS data contract amid mounting pressure from MPs. Jones previously advised Carnall Farrar, a healthcare consultancy that partnered with Palantir on the controversial Federated Data Platform deal awarded in November 2023.

The US tech company's NHS role has attracted criticism due to its defence sector ties and CEO Alex Karp's political positions. Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Ben Coleman argued Jones should recuse herself to maintain parliamentary trust in public spending oversight worth £250bn.

Jones apologized last month after the Civil Service Commission reprimanded her for accepting consulting work without proper clearance while serving as non-executive director. She worked for four healthcare firms without authorization from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, breaching Whitehall rules.

Conservative shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew called for full transparency, noting MPs have raised serious questions about the decision-making process. The DHSC maintained all interests were declared in good faith, though NHS England awarded the original contract before Jones took her current role.