The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said that ministers and government officials played “fast and loose” when awarding £777m in Covid contracts to a healthcare firm that … Read more
conflict of interest
The former health secretary Matt Hancock was given an overnight stay at a country estate owned by the head of Randox, the healthcare firm that had hired the MP Owen Paterson as a … Read more
NHS Digital paid at least £3m to Axiologik, whose co-founder and director Ben Davison also served as NHS Digital’s executive director of product delivery – for which he received annual … Read more
The Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI), an independent thinktank, has identified 481 consultants in England with shares in 34 private ventures set up in partnership with providers ranging from … Read more
David Meller, a Conservative party donor who supported Michael Gove’s Tory leadership bid, won £164m in Covid contracts after the minister referred his firm to a “VIP lane” that awarded … Read more
Alun Cairns, a former Welsh secretary, took a £15,000-a-year job at a diagnostics company a few weeks before it was part of a consortium that secured a £75 million government … Read more
The Guardian has seen internal emails that suggest the government gave “VIP treatment” to a firm offering Covid testing facilities which had entered the system “informally” because Matt Hancock was “a good … Read more
The Guardian reports that Matt Hancock’s use of private emails that bypassed disclosure rules when doing government business have come under scrutiny, as exchanges emerged showing the former health secretary … Read more
A court has heard that ministers “lobbied” officials to chase the progress of contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment that were being processed through a government “VIP lane” … Read more
A growing list of NHS leaders have joined Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as components in the lobbying scandal that has engulfed the government … Read more
A report by Transparency International UK said a “seriously flawed” arrangement, whereby companies bidding for contracts were prioritised if they were referred into a “VIP lane” by their political connections, … Read more
Sir David King, a former government chief scientist, in an interview in The Guardian has accused Boris Johnson’s government of corruption, privatising the NHS by stealth, operating a “chumocracy” and … Read more
Byline Times and The Citizens overview of contract awards reveals that one year after the first COVID-19 lockdown almost a billion pounds in Government contracts has been awarded to 15 … Read more
Hinpack, which is owned by Alex Bourne, an acquaintance of Matt Hancock and the former landlord of his local pub, which won a contract to produce Covid test vials for the NHS is … Read more
Transparency in public office is essential to any democracy, but the UK government’s aversion to scrutiny of its procurement track record during the pandemic – an aversion now the focus … Read more
The Times reports that Andrew Mills, a former government adviser who brokered the bungled £250 million PPE contract with Ayanda Capital, has used an obscure change in company status to … Read more
The Guardian reveals that PPE Medpro, a company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man, was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal … Read more
The New York Times analysis of the British government’s spending on PPE, ventilators, coronavirus tests and other supplies critical to containing the surge in virus infections, has found that the … Read more
The Guardian reports that questions are being asked of Kate Bingham, chair of the government’s vaccine taskforce, over whether she will benefit from a $65m (£49m) UK taxpayer-backed investment into … Read more
In a crisis we need quick thinking and resourcefulness. There’s no time to explain decisions. That’s the justification for the government by-passing scrutiny and transparency, but revelations about dubious deals … Read more
