- Rayner demands government recoups taxpayers’ money unlawfully
handed out to Conservative Party friends and associates
Following the court ruling that the government acted unlawfully
when it awarded a contract to a company run by Conservative Party
figures who have close relationships with , Labour has demanded an investigation into whether Mr
Gove has breached the Ministerial Code.
Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor for the Duchy of
Lancaster has written to the Prime Minister arguing that the
judge’s ruling that a “fair minded and informed observer” would
conclude that there was a “real possibility, or a real danger” of
bias in the awarding of this contract to associates and close
friends of Mr Gove represents a “clear case of the Ministerial
Code being breached”.
Rayner’s letter also demands that the Prime Minister recoups the
taxpayers’ money that the government has “handed out unlawfully
to Conservative Party friends and associates at Public First”.
Pointing to the fact that the government’s legal fees defending
the case were predicted to cost more than the value of the
contract, Rayner asked the Prime Minister to explain why the
government is spending “hundreds of thousands of pounds on
lawyers in an effort to cover up the government breaking the law”
whilst investing less than £1 per child per day in a catch-up
plan to help our country’s children recover.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Full text of letter below
Dear Prime Minister
I am writing to you regarding the judgement of Mrs Justice
O’Farrell in the hearing before the Royal Courts of Justice
regarding the awarding of a contract to Public First worth
£564,393.
As you will be aware, the court ruled that the decision by the
Cabinet Office to award the contract to Public First was unlawful
and “gave rise to apparent bias”, in light of the longstanding
and close personal and professional connections between the
Directors of Public First and , Minister for the Cabinet Office.
It is a matter of public record that Public First’s , James Frayne
and Gabriel Milland have all worked with Mr Gove and have a
personal relationship with Mr Gove.
The court concluded that a “fair minded and informed observer”
would conclude that “there was a real possibility, or a real
danger, that the decision-maker was biased” in the awarding of
this contract without tender, competition or the consideration of
any other research agency.
The Ministerial Code, which Mr Gove is supposed to be the
guardian of as Minister for the Cabinet Office, is clear on these
matters. Point 7.1 states “Ministers must ensure that no conflict
arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their
public duties and their private interests”.
In this case, a judge has ruled that a “fair minded and informed
observer” would conclude that there was a “real possibility, or a
real danger” of bias in the awarding of this contract to
associates and close friends of Mr Gove.
On this basis, this appears to be a clear case of the Ministerial
Code being breached. I would urge you, in line with the terms of
reference for the independent adviser on Ministers’ Interests, to
instruct the independent adviser to investigate whether the
Minister for the Cabinet Office has breached the Ministerial
Code.
I would also urge you to set out what steps you are taking to
recoup the taxpayers’ money that your government has handed out
unlawfully to Conservative Party friends and associates at Public
First.
In February, the Government Legal Department stated that its
costs for defending this case council reach £600,000, more than
the original contract was worth. What is the total amount of
taxpayers’ money that the government has spent trying to cover up
the fact that your government acted unlawfully in awarding this
contract? When the government is investing less than £1 per child
per day in a catch-up plan to help our country’s children, why is
the government spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on
lawyers in an effort to cover up the government breaking the law?
Yours Sincerely
Rt Hon
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
