\n \n \n “. concat(self. i18n. t(‘search. voice. recognition_retry’), “\n
Conservative MP Dr Liam Fox won a £20,000 donation earlier this year from a Covid-19 company which he reportedly contacted the former fitness secretary.
According to an email notified by the BBC and the legal crusade organisation Good Law Project, Dr Fox SureScreen Diagnostics to then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock in 2020.
SureScreen Diagnostics would subsequently receive a £500 million contract through the Department of Health and Social Care.
The £20,000 donation to Dr Fox, the former Defence Secretary, is indexed in the MPs’ Interest Register and registered as won in June 2022.
According to the BBC, a Director of SureScreen sent an email to former head doctor Dr. Fox in June 2020 to tell him that the company was sending “millions of antibody tests” for use in hospitals in Germany, Spain and Sweden.
The director also complained that it is “crazy” that the tests simply cannot be used in the UK, due to the lack of approval through Public Health England.
The BBC reports that Dr Fox sent this to Mr Hancock, then Health Secretary.
It’s unclear if anything was a direct result of Dr. Fox’s email, however, several months later, SureScreen received a contract for another type of antigen test.
A spokesman for North Somerset MP Dr Fox said: “This is baseless smear invented through political activist Jolyon Maugham and the Good Law Project. It’s terrible that this is spreading through the BBC. “
“Dr. Fox will record a formal with the BBC and take legal recommendations on it. “
Mr. Maugham is the executive director of The Good Law Project, which has sued the government over using emergency powers during the pandemic to participate in contracts without opening them up to competition.
In a message to the BBC, SureScreen said: “The donation to Dr Fox’s workplace, and not to Dr Fox personally, was made through one of the company’s directors. This donation was intended in particular to assist in a number of events that aggregate educational conferences through qualified guests. “.
“The payment is not similar to lobbying. “
Mr Hancock denied wrongdoing.
All suppliers, in addition to SureScreen Diagnostics, were evaluated prior to contract award, according to strict procurement rules and transparency guidelines.
Department of Health and Social Affairs
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: “All DHSC (Department of Health and Social Welfare) contracts are decided, quoted and signed through the civil service, which is independent of Mr Hancock. Hancock.
“If Mr. Hancock had won an email related to the extent of the evidence, he would of course have acted accordingly, regardless of the source.
“Not doing so would have been absolutely irresponsible. Remember: what happened at that time was a national effort to expand testing, and all of this shows that other people are running in combination to save lives. “
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said: “All providers, including SureScreen Diagnostics, were assessed prior to the award of contracts, in accordance with strict procurement rules and transparency guidelines.
“The tests provided through the UK government also underwent a rigorous clinical assessment procedure prior to distribution to be highly effective in detecting Covid-19. “