THE NHS data chief said she would ignore any concerns surrounding patients’ data management by the controversial US tech firm Palantir, according to an internal memo.

Ming Tang told colleagues that Palantir-built system which collates patient information in a single place was delivering “outstanding results.”

NHS England’s data lead said the Federated Data Platform was speeding up surgery and allowing doctors to send patients home faster.

Known to have pushed for the scheme inside of the NHS, Ms Tang wrote her support for the tech company in an internal memo, according to the FT.

In it she highlighted her team’s plan to “maintain focus” on the platform’s deployment despite controversy over Palantir’s use in US defence and in Donald Trump’s immigration raids.

Amnesty International UK’s crisis response manager Kristyan Benedict told the Star: “It is deeply troubling that a senior NHS official would instruct colleagues to ‘maintain focus’ in the face of legitimate and well-documented human rights concerns.

“This is not noise to be managed — it is evidence to be reckoned with.

“Palantir’s tools are being used by the Israeli military as they commit genocide against Palestinians in occupied Gaza. The same company supplies Ice with surveillance technology used to track and detain migrants in the United States.

“The NHS constitution states that it belongs to the people, underpinned by core values of compassionate care, dignity and humanity.

“Those values cannot stop at the ward door. They must extend to every contract signed with taxpayers’ money.

“With the contract renewal approaching in February 2027, NHS England has a clear choice: embed a company deeply involved in human rights abuses further into our health infrastructure or take the break clause and start again with a partner the public can trust. There is only one ethical option.”

A Privacy International spokesperson told the Star: “Ignoring how controversial the use of Palantir by the NHS is creates significant risks for both the NHS and its patients.

“Trust is vital to healthcare, and serious considerations of the risks and harms of the ongoing use of this technology seems to be the least we can ask of our national health service.”