Laura Hughes
@laurahughesft.bsky.social
Public Policy Correspondent, Financial Times. laura.hughes@ft.com
EXC: British govt is searching for a UK alternative to Palantir, as the PM’s “buy British” push triggers hunt for homegrown replacement for the controversial US software group in NHS and MoD w/ @chris-smyth.bsky.social & @laurahughesft.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/9a6e...
Andy Burnham searches for UK alternative to Palantir
Prime minister’s ‘buy British’ push triggers hunt to find replacement for controversial US tech group awarded health service and defence contracts
ft.com
SCOOP: Patient data from GP surgeries is being added to the NHS’s Palantir-built data platform in a significant expansion beyond its current use in hospitals. as.ft.com/r/e5426fa4-e...
GP data quietly added to Palantir’s NHS data platform
Pilot marks significant expansion of the controversial software beyond its current use in hospitals
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🚨NHS hospitals have admitted to a litany of errors in the data behind a headline claim about the success of the controversial £330mn Palantir contract after a @financialtimes.com investigation found dozens of irregularities. Scoop w/ @laurahughesft.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/7ab92d75-3...
The top civil servant at the Department of Health has recused herself from any decision to extend Palantir’s contract with the NHS, after MPs raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest related to her previous consulting work. as.ft.com/r/14df19c6-e...
Top official recuses herself from NHS Palantir contract decision after business links
MPs had raised concerns over Samantha Jones’s previous consulting work
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Our latest @financialtimes.com film looks at the rise of Palantir and the mounting scrutiny the company is facing on both sides of the Atlantic. @dangarrahan.bsky.social @joemillerjr.ft.com @cynthiao.bsky.social #palantir #nhs #technology #data www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ5X...
Palantir: profits, procurement and power | FT Film
YouTube video by Financial Times
youtube.com
We really couldn’t have made Toxic Legacy without all the families, academics and experts who spoke to us. Honoured to be shortlisted for a British Podcast Award.🙌 🎧Full series of Untold: Toxic Legacy here: lnkd.in/eaYMtHgT www.britishpodcastawards.com/longlist-2026
Longlist 2026
britishpodcastawards.com
Interesting argument here around the impact of Palantir winning the NHS Federated Data Platform contract... From @laurahughesft.bsky.social and Madhumita Murgia's piece in the FT today. as.ft.com/r/e3df8845-d...
NHS admits the 'Uptake and Benefits' page for the Federated Data Platform... does not in fact prove Palantir's kit has delivered any benefits to the NHS. We've written to Health Sec James Murray asking for an explanation. Great reporting from @laurahughesft.bsky.social: www.ft.com/content/9348...
ft.com
New: Matthew Swindells, who privately urged colleagues to add more patient data into a Palantir-built platform at the same time as he was being paid to advise the US technology company, is stepping down from the health service. www.ft.com/content/3d1d...
Senior NHS manager who advised Palantir to step down from role
[FREE TO READ] Matthew Swindells was joint chair of four major London hospital trusts while also advising the US tech group
ft.com
A lobbyist who worked directly for Peter Mandelson, on the Palantir board, and on the board of *four* NHS trusts. Lobbying the NHS to hand over even more patient data to Palantir. This absolutely stinks. Get Palantir out of the NHS. Sign my petition: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
SCOOP: A senior NHS official privately urged colleagues to add more patient data into a Palantir-built platform at the same time as he was being paid to advise the US technology company. as.ft.com/r/ab744740-5...
NHS official pushed to add patient data to Palantir platform while also advising company
[FREE TO READ] Matthew Swindells has been joint chair of four major hospital trusts in north-west London since April 2022
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Is maternity care in the UK broken? This chart provides a good example of how throwing money at an NHS problem is not guaranteed to fix it. Both NHS culture and policy are other factors at play. Well done to FT’s Laura Hughes for shining a light on this. 👏 #wato @laurahughesft.bsky.social
If you want to be scandalised, listen to @laurahughesft.bsky.social's Toxic Legacy podcast, which describes some of the harm being suffered and the failure of institutions to take it seriously. Thanks to her covering the letter, and keeping the story alive.
For women, giving birth In England is becoming riskier. Maternal deaths in the UK have increased since the pandemic and are now higher than they have been for more than a decade. as.ft.com/r/a4fc58ff-6...
Maternity care is broken. Who can fix it?
[FREE TO READ] Giving birth is getting riskier, midwives are stretched to exhaustion and families must navigate a lottery of care
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SCOOP: University College London has agreed to pay £21mn to settle a lawsuit brought by students over Covid disruption, a watershed move that is set to put pressure on other institutions to compensate graduates. as.ft.com/r/50cd12f9-3...
UCL students win £21mn over Covid disruption in watershed UK settlement
[FREE TO READ] Move involving 6,500 claimants is set to put pressure on other universities to compensate graduates
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This is v important piece on UK maternal care by @laurahughesft.bsky.social but makes for difficult reading My wife encountered this with our second child, thankfully everything ended up OK but there were a series of very dangerous mistakes made as.ft.com/r/24e63817-d...
We couldn’t have made Toxic Legacy without the generosity and courage of the families, academics and experts who spoke to us. Honoured to be shortlisted for News Podcast of the Year at the British Press Award. 🎧Full series here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...
Millions of women in England only have access to one round of IVF on NHS, writes @laurahughesft.bsky.social giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Millions of women in England only have access to one round of IVF on NHS
Health authorities continue to cut back the availability of fertility treatment despite official policy
giftarticle.ft.com
The rise of the ‘National Health State’ - fascinating stuff from @laurahughesft.bsky.social and @amyborrett.ft.com. Calls to mind teachers bringing in food, toiletries and clothes for pupils, albeit on a less institutionalised basis. (Source: www.ft.com/content/cb76...)
The head of England’s drinking water watchdog has called for domestic fittings to be tested for lead as a mandatory part of homebuyers’ reports, after a @financialtimes.com investigation revealed millions of people may be unknowingly exposed to the toxic metal. as.ft.com/r/56e04bf8-f...
Homes on sale in England should be tested for lead, says water watchdog
[FREE TO READ] Call by Drinking Water Inspectorate comes after FT revealed millions of people may be unknowingly exposed to toxic metal
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This is potentially huge. The UK is launching its first screening study for lead poisoning, targeting hidden exposure in children and laying the groundwork for nationwide testing. www.ft.com/content/f2bb...
UK to launch first lead poisoning screening study of children after FT investigation
Leeds examination to target hidden exposure in the young and lay groundwork for national testing
ft.com
The UK government is reconsidering whether to routinely test children for lead exposure following a two-year @financialtimes.com investigation that revealed millions may be unknowingly at risk from the toxic metal. 🎧Full series here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...
Untold: Toxic Legacy
News Podcast · Weekly series · The Financial Times’ Laura Hughes has uncovered a lead poisoning epidemic across the UK. Lead is leaching into the environment and lurking in our homes - but most people...
podcasts.apple.com
Thirty years ago, horses died and a girl’s gums turned green in West Wales. The cause? Lead poisoning. Now, it’s happening again. Episode 1 of Untold: Toxic Legacy is out now. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Silent Danger
Podcast Episode · Untold: Toxic Legacy · S3 E1 · 41m
podcasts.apple.com
You might be living with lead poisoning and not know it: the toxin is often invisible to the eye, but wreaks havoc on our bodies once we're exposed. @laurahughesft.bsky.social uncovers a lead poisoning epidemic in Toxic Legacy, a new season of our Untold podcast: on.ft.com/3WU8YS8
Lead is leaching into the environment and lurking in our homes. It's in soil, in water, in food, in our housing. And it's poisoning people. The first episode of Untold: Toxic Legacy launches October 22. Trailer here: open.spotify.com/episode/6M4H...
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
This means the absolute world to me. Very grateful to sources and academics who are STILL helping me uncover the legacy of lead in our environment, as well as the impact it’s having on our health. Feel very lucky (as always) to work at the @financialtimes.com and with such brilliant editors. 🙏
New: The government wants a technological revolution in healthcare. But from paper notes to inconsistent data sharing and dozens of IT systems, digitising the NHS will not be easy. W/ @laurahughesft.bsky.social @upyorkshire.ft.com @carolinenevitt.bsky.social @emmalewis.ft.com 👉 on.ft.com/4dqrVDG
