Angela Rayner comments on the High Court ruling two Government appointments were unlawful

Angela Rayner MP, Labour's Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, commenting on the High Court ruling that then health secretary Matt Hancock did not comply with a public sector equality duty in relation to appointments of Conservative peer Baroness Dido Harding and Mike Coupe to posts in 2020, said:

"Boris Johnson and his Cabinet seem to find themselves on the wrong side of the law time after time. From crony contracts to ministers' mates landing top jobs, it's always the public who pay the price for Tory sleaze. This time they have failed in their duties to those from disabled and Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

"That is why Labour has set out a plan to clean up public life, starting with a single Ethics and Integrity Commission to replace the current failing system.

"We need to see the public inquiry into Covid begin right now, with Terms of Reference that will allow them to uncover exactly how this Government made decisions in a national emergency."

Ends


Notes to editors:

• 'High Court rules Dido Harding and Mike Coupe appointments were unlawful' - Good Law Project, 15 February