This story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.net/en/.
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Labour demands investigation into Michael Gove over ‘unlawful’ COVID contract
By: []
Date: None
The Labour Party has called for an investigation into whether Michael Gove broke the Ministerial Code over an “unlawful” COVID contract given to his “friends”.
It follows a joint investigation by openDemocracy and The Guardian, which revealed the £560,000 deal to hold focus groups on the government’s health messaging was handed to a PR firm, Public First, which is run by close associates of Gove’s.
Earlier this month, the high court ruled that the contract was “unlawful” and “gave rise to apparent bias”, because it was awarded without competitive tender.
One of the firm’s directors, Rachel Wolf, used to be Gove’s adviser and co-authored the 2019 Conservative manifesto. The other director, James Frayne, was also previously hired by Gove – and was a friend of Boris Johnson’s former adviser, Dominic Cummings.
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When openDemocracy first revealed the personal links between Gove, Cummings and Public First, the Cabinet Office said it was “nonsense” to suggest this was a factor in the firm being awarded the contract.
At the time, a spokesperson said: “Public First was contracted to undertake this work because of their wealth of experience in the area.”
But Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has now sent Gove a series of questions about the contract, saying that statements and evidence heard in court “clearly contradict” earlier claims from the Cabinet Office.
[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/labour-demands-investigation-into-michael-gove-over-unlawful-covid-contract/
