2021-02-21
"Matt Hancock acted unlawfully when his department did not reveal details of contracts it had signed during the Covid pandemic, a court has ruled"
When the Covid pandemic struck the government allegedly threw all its normal procurement processes out of the window as it seemingly fell over itself to place orders for PPE.
Many questioned the rationale for placing such orders with suppliers who appeared to be manifestly unsuitable under all normal sourcing criteria, but in any event the government was still under a legal obligation to publish details of its procurements within 30 days after the event.
It appears that this obligation was not fulfilled.
The Guardian has a slightly fuller report.
The BMJ also has an excellent report.
The Crowdfunder site for this case is here, but has not at time of writing been updated with this result.