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9 Aug, 5 tweets, 2 min read
The strange tale of Qured, the Government approved Covid testing firm that seems to have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

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Qured whose company name is Health Technologies Ltd lists Stephen Catlin as a director.

Catlin, a member of the Tories ‘Leader’s Group’ has handed the party £450,000 including a £50k donation in Feb 21. He became a director at Qured in April 2020.
bit.ly/2VEFwDJ
Qured hit the news last week after it was heavily criticised by customers for 'chaotic' service - sparking calls for them to be axed from the Government’s approved list. inews.co.uk/news/sajid-jav…
Reports suggest that during the first wave of the pandemic Qured supplied tests to Tory co-chair Ben Elliot’s Quintessentially company - who sold them for £295 - at a time when essential workers were struggling to get tested. thetimes.co.uk/article/ben-el…
Qured remains on the Government approved list of Covid testing suppliers. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…

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Good Law Project Profile picture
9 Jun
BREAKING: The High Court has ruled Michael Gove broke the law in handing a public contract to associates of his and Dominic Cummings at Public First.

The Court ruled a reasonable observer would think there was a real risk they won the contract because of favouritism.
The High Court found: "the existence of personal connections between (Michael Gove), Mr Cummings and the directors of Public First was a relevant circumstance that might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and independence..." glplive.org/judgment
The Judge continued: "failure to consider any other research agency...would lead a fair minded and informed observer to conclude that there was a real possibility, or a real danger, that the decision maker was biased" (paragraph 168). glplive.org/pf-judgment
Read 7 tweets
Good Law Project Profile picture
25 May
🚨 The final day of our High Court hearing over huge PPE contracts to firms with no prior experience and the 'VIP lane' is underway. 🚨

It begins with Government trying to submit new evidence... at what some might say is a rather late stage in proceedings🧐
The Judge has refused the application on the basis that the evidence comes too late and effectively provides a "moving target" for us and @EveryDoctorUK. Which is simply not fair in a hearing of this kind.
Government lawyer tells the Court that the offers on the High Priority Lane tended on average to be better, bigger offers, so they had an advantage because of their nature.

Judge asks if there is any evidence on this
Read 16 tweets
Good Law Project Profile picture
24 May
Day 4 of our legal challenge over PPE contracts and preferential treatment to 'VIPs' is now underway. Today, Government's lawyers will set out their defence.

Here's our recap on what's happened so far:
Michael Bowsher QC, barrister for the Government, tells the Court that Government has never said this was a perfect procurement. Acknowledge that "this was a procurement conducted in a particular context of stress".
Government claiming "all the High Priority Lane was was a different route into the decision-making process...It is not apparent that these contracts benefited..." 🧐

But emails from civil servants show otherwise - VIPs got quicker response times, 'handholding' and escalation:
Read 12 tweets
Good Law Project Profile picture
20 May
💥 UK government told PPE deals were lined up with ‘bribes’ in China | Evening Standard

Follow the updates from day 3 of 5 in the High Court - from 10.30am. standard.co.uk/news/uk/ppe-br…
🚀WE'RE OFF.

First update - the Press Association have submitted an application in support of our request for the total amount of public money Government wasted on PPE not fit for purpose to be unredacted and released from the confidentiality ring.
JCQC: Perfectly understandable to prioritise large companies offering large volumes of certain material, or any volume of urgently needed material, but it's not justifiable to select for negotiation somebody who’s a contact of a minister. That shouldn’t be a ground for selection
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Good Law Project Profile picture
19 May
🚨 Day 2 of our High Court hearing over the PPE procurement scandal has begun 🚨

Starting with Ayanda - the hedge fund with political connections awarded £252 million worth of contracts and put through the 'VIP Lane'. THREAD ⬇️standard.co.uk/news/uk/ayanda…
The contract with Ayanda resulted from communications from Mr Mills, a former advisor to the Department for International Trade. Their allocation to the VIP lane worked as follows:
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Read 28 tweets
Good Law Project Profile picture
19 May
Government has consistently said that although ministers could refer offers from people to supply PPE, they were not involved in the award of contracts.

We've uncovered Whatsapps showing Ministers “lobbied” officials to chase the progress of VIP contracts
theguardian.com/politics/2021/…
One WhatsApp shows an official saying that if they had a tracking system for PPE offers from companies referred by ministers, MPs or civil servants, it would save the procurement team from “being lobbied further by ministers/VIPs etc and the like”.
Internal documents released as part of our legal action reveal that Ayanda, a “family office” finance house, was awarded two PPE contracts for a total £252m having been referred to the VIP lane. Its representative, Andrew Mills, was an adviser to Liz Truss, the trade secretary.
Read 5 tweets

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