It would be nice to think Government might now listen to the scientists who have been warning for months that it is dangerous for it to misuse lateral flow tests in such a way that they deliver huge numbers of false negatives.
This ITV report from 10 September identified the problems that have come to pass. But Government nevertheless pressed on. itv.com/news/2020-09-1…
On 17 September lawyers for @GoodLawProject wrote to Government asking for an explanation of who gave the go ahead for the programme and why with these weird counterparties. We have issued proceedings but three months later still have no good explanation. crowdjustice.com/case/operation…
The story - of vast contracts going to weird counterparties without proper procurement (see below) - is a familiar one.

When @DavidRoseUK wrote this piece on 13 November Innova had £440m. @GoodLawProject now knows it has £676m of contracts.
You only had to read the introduction to the Innova documentation - I tweeted it in October - to see even the manufacturer said the tests should not be used by untrained staff to test patients without symptoms.

Yet Government went ahead.
The story with PPE was and is one of misuse of public money on an epic scale. But with misuse of tests there is far more than merely money at stake.
The story - of vast contracts going to weird counterparties without proper procurement (see below) - is a familiar one.

When @DavidRoseUK wrote this piece on 13 November Innova had £440m. @GoodLawProject now knows it has £676m of contracts.

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More from @JolyonMaugham

19 Dec
"Failing to act will result in natural catastrophes and changing weather patterns, as well as significant economic damage, supply chain disruption and displacement of populations": @AlokSharma_RDG crowdjustice.com/case/heathrowh…
Earlier this year, @GoodLawProject brought litigation to force Government to review its planning policy in relation to Energy infrastructure because that policy predated its June 2019 NetZero 2050 commitment.

Earlier this month Government conceded. goodlawproject.org/update/victory…
We believe there is a similar challenge to be brought in relation to Heathrow Airport expansion. The reasoning of the Supreme Court earlier this week is explicitly confined to the state of the world as it existed in June 2018 - before the NetZero target.
Read 6 tweets
18 Dec
I was wondering what kind of a 'Christian' you'd have to be to look at people not having food to eat and be outraged that UNICEF was feeding them. But then I remembered when Rees-Mogg said that the people who died at Grenfell died because they lacked his commonsense.
I mean, @Jacob_Rees_Mogg really did say that (bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…).
(This is absolutely not an attack on the Church, by the way. I am not religious but we live very near a church and I know full well the incredible work @churchofengland does in my parish.)
Read 4 tweets
18 Dec
This promise to focus on "increasing openness and transparency" can't have been made by a Cabinet Minister whose advisor scooped the jackpot in the VIP lane she refuses to come clean about? Can it?
Reader, it can.

It's from Liz Truss' speech boldly entitled "Fight for Fairness" (fairness here meaning, one assumes, fairness for those connected to Cabinet Ministers.) #OneRuleForThem
I have to say, @trussliz, I rose to my feet in applause at this bit.
Read 5 tweets
15 Dec
"The end of the Transition Period provides an historic opportunity to overhaul our outdated public procurement regime," writes Lord Agnew in this long awaited Green Paper assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…. If these words don't strike terror into your heart they should.
Remember, the Government's position is that no one has the ability to bring a public interest challenge to it giving contracts worth hundreds of millions to its mates. Only disaffected bidders, Government says, can bring those challenges.
We don't yet know whether Government's position is right. The position of the Administrative Court so far, is that it is arguable we do have standing. But we have no *financial* interest in pursuing procurement claims in the public interest.
Read 15 tweets
15 Dec
"I've moved a long way in my conceptualisation of what privilege really means, and quite how extraordinarily stupid and thoughtless and arrogant my tribe can be" vice.com/en/article/qjp…
I am really pleased I gave this interview to @RubyJLL. I haven't wanted to do media and have turned down a lot of bids - our media generally is in a terrible place - but there were two things I really wanted to say.
The first - and I feel this point keenly and have the proselytising zeal of the newly converted - is that people of privilege really, really, really need to get better at actually listening to those without it.
Read 7 tweets
15 Dec
We need to talk about the 'expert' witness statement evidence led by Ms Bell in her successful case before the Tavistock. THREAD
You can see who gave evidence in her support from these extracts from the Tavistock's Skeleton Argument.
Helpful for you to bear in mind that her solicitor was a man called Paul Conrathe, who has a long association with the religious right in the US (I have talked about him a number of times but this is as good a starting point as any).
Read 31 tweets

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