Thread by @GoodLawProject

Jason Coppel QC is taking the Court through our skeleton argument now: THREAD

“In a claim about the transparency of government spending, the Claimants find it astonishing that the Defendant has filed a statement of costs of over £200,000 for a one-day JR in which a significant part of the breaches alleged are admitted.”

We believe transparency is fundamental to ensuring public money is well spent. The @NAOorguk 'Investigation into Government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic' backs up our concerns - para 3.24: nao.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

"We have not been able to identify who was accountable for decision-making in this area" - an extraordinary admission from the Government on PPE procurement.

We are keeping our case page updated with the key documents referred to in our barristers' - and the Government's barristers' - submissions: goodlawproject.org/case/fight-for…

Here's that damning Department for Health and Social Care email in full, with the phenomenal admission that on PPE: "we have not been able to identify who was accountable for decision making in this area" rebrand.ly/upc-email-1

Our Counsel Jason Coppel QC continues with this damning statistic from the Government's own figures: "Only 28% of contracts were published in accordance with regulation 50...that's the figure for lawful publication."

“We don’t accept that the total number of awards is correct and the defendant has in fact publicised 100% of the total awards. There are some contracts which are not included in these figures.” - Jason Coppel QC

Question from the judge: "You say, it's even more important when you're making a direct award to comply with the transparency obligations because there's no other way for members of the public to get the information they need?"

“This publication obligation applies even in situations of extreme urgency… one might surmise that the reason this applies in all cases is because it doesn’t take very much to comply with it.” - Jason Coppel QC rebrand.ly/2701-skele

"What is clear beyond doubt is that the defendant failed to establish and then to enforce a simple system whereby the people who were responsible for awarding these contracts for tens or hundreds of millions of pounds routinely published the information.”

A civil servant had a good go at securing compliance, but it seems his email was not taken seriously rebrand.ly/upc-email-3

"It's only after the litigation starts that someone senior gets hold of this and requires something to be done"

"Even in October there are emails saying 'don't publish now. wait until there is a slot in the communications grid.'" 😱

"The Defendant is responsible for all of his officials in his closing team. And the senior officials in the department. None of whom took ownership of this." - Jason Coppel QC 🔥

"What I am inviting the court to do is to look at the evidence and how the defendant ended up in this position. It was only once litigation was brought that the stops were pulled out. That is indicative of an implicit, if not an explicit decision, to deprioritise." Coppel

'Standing is possibly a point of significance - not just in this case but in other cases' - the Judge (from our recollection)

“This is about transparency - where it’s simply not right to say that economic operators could and would be expected to challenge. This is a Judicial Review point, and it’s for people like the claimants to make challenges like this.” - Jason Coppel QC

WE ARE BACK: The afternoon session in our judicial review starts with the judge chiding Government for failing to comply with its obligation to hand over its skeleton argument to the Press.

The death of irony.

@CarolineLucas @Debbie_abrahams @LaylaMoran

Our barristers have now handed over the Government's barristers. Next up - the defence:

“In the drive to protect NHS and save lives through securing emergency supplies, the procurement notification paperwork fell behind.” - Philip Moser QC for Government

Judge is asking the Government's barristers for references of where the Health Secretary accepts breached obligations. Philip Moser QC: “It is common ground that not all Contact Award Notices were published within the time limits.”

Philip Moser QC reading from a GLD letter: “it is acknowledged that in the extraordinary circumstances of the current crisis there have been technical breaches of regulation 50 of the PCR, but there is no unlawful policy of non-publication.”

"Regulations 50 and 108 are somewhat obscure provisions" says the Government.🧐

https://twitter.com/JolyonMaugham/status/1356994099019186177?s=20

Counsel for the Government has just accepted that if
we @LaylaMoran @CarolineLucas & @Debbie_abrahams
have "standing" the only question is whether we should be entitled to a remedy because he accepts that Government has broken the law.