Thread by @LevinsLaw

The government's award of a contract worth >£500k to Public First Ltd to conduct focus groups was unlawful on the ground of apparent bias.

https://twitter.com/CrimeLineLaw/status/1402563546135904259

The govt was entitled, in the exceptional circs of a pandemic, to award the contract directly i.e. without notice or competition, but the absence of competition made it all the more important for the govt to use a fair process for selecting Public First.
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The govt did not properly consider whether other providers could have done the work, and its failure to do so would cause a fair-minded observer to conclude there was a real risk that the award of the contract to Public First was biased.
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The court stressed that there was no suggestion that Dominic Cummings was actually biased by virtue of his long-standing friendships with the directors of Public First.