MPs raised security concerns over Palantir today after investigators said Swiss army experts could not rule out a potential data leak at the controversial US tech firm.

Palantir was rejected at least nine times by different Swiss agencies as it spent seven years trying to convince Swiss authorities to use its products, journalists at Republik and the WAV research collective found.

The NHS, however, began using the data firm’s tools during the pandemic and the Ministry of Defence signed its first £75 million contract with Palantir in 2022.

The year-long investigation and freedom of information requests revealed an internal Swiss army report presented to the country’s army chief last December stated: “There is a possibility that sensitive data could be accessed by the American government and intelligence services.”

The revelations have sparked debate across Europe.

Labour MP Clive Lewis told the Guardian: “Palantir … is an organisation that the British government, in terms of the NHS, in terms of contracts, should stay very far away from.”

York Central MP Rachael Maskell urged ministers “to undertake transparent due diligence” on the conduct of Palantir and other big tech companies.

“I, as a politician, want to know that these companies are making ethical choices. And if they’re not — whether around weaponry, minerals or the climate — I think we as Parliament should be given greater transparency around this.”

Open Rights Group executive director Jim Killock told the Morning Star: “Palantir and many other US companies should be causing the UK concerns about access to data and whether services might ever be cut off, reduced or be subject to threats. 

“The UK is extremely dependent on US tech, and we should be taking steps to make sure the UK is in fact able to act in a sovereign and independent fashion. 

“It is high time we started asking serious questions.”

A spokesman for Med Confidential, which campaigns for confidentiality and consent in health and social care, added: “The Swiss government recognises the importance of independence and having trustworthy suppliers, whereas the UK government is happy to become dependent on US suppliers. 

“Or, as Palantir’s ads phrase it ‘making Americans irreplaceable’.”

A Palantir spokesperson said: “There is no basis to the claim in the report by the Swiss army about potential access to sensitive data and no truth to it whatsoever.”