Britain Today.

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Remember this guy...? He's Matt Hancock the Health Secretary for the UK and doled out billions of pounds-worth
of contracts to 'companies' that could acquire Personal Protective Equipment for many of the hospitals.



Well it now turns out that the age-old cronyism of the Conservative Party has raised its head again and it seems
Mr Hancock had his turn at the wheel.

Matt Hancock acted unlawfully over Covid contracts, judge rules

'The Government unlawfully failed to publish details of billions of pounds’ worth of coronavirus-related contracts,
the High Court has ruled. The Good Law Project took legal action against the Department of Health and Social
Care (DHSC) for its ‘wholesale failure’ to disclose details of contracts agreed during the pandemic.

The Government is required by law to publish the procurement of any contracts for public goods or services worth
more than £120,000 within 30 days. In a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said: ‘There is now no dispute that,
in a substantial number of cases, the Secretary of State (Matt Hancock) breached his legal obligation to publish
contract award notices within 30 days of the award of contracts.

‘There is also no dispute that the Secretary of State failed to publish redacted contracts in accordance with the
transparency policy.’ The Good Law Project and three MPs – Labour’s Debbie Abrahams, the Green Party’s Caroline
Lucas and Liberal Democrat Layla Moran – argued there had been a ‘dismal’ failure by the DHSC to comply with their
contract obligations.

As well as missing the 30-day deadline, they claimed the Government was breaching its own transparency policy,
which requires the publication of details of public contracts worth more than £10,000.
The judge said the Government spent ‘vast quantities of public money on pandemic-related procurements’ last year,
and that the public was entitled to see ‘who this money was going to, what it was being spent on and how the relevant
contracts were awarded’.

He added: ‘This was important not only so that competitors of those awarded contracts could understand whether the
obligations … had been breached, but also so that oversight bodies such as the National Audit Office, as well as
Parliament and the public, could scrutinise and ask questions about this expenditure.’

The Government has awarded contracts for things like manufacturing PPE, Covid 19 testing and Test and Trace during
the pandemic. Opposition politicians have accused ministers of running a ‘chumocracy’ with contracts, with deals often
given to people with family or business links to those in power...'

Archived Metro Source:

I suppose many of us here would think the public's monies were squandered on cigar-smoking business men chortling
in oak-panelled offices. No Sir, the illegal act involved his favourite Barman... that's the guy from long ago that used to
serve ales and spirits.


So now they're investigating the dealings of the Landlord of The Cock Inn. Which reminds me of the eternal question...
Just how far is the Cock Inn?

Matt Hancock's pub landlord neighbour who won £30million contracts to make Covid test tubes faces probe
by UK's medical regulator

*Alex Bourne probed by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
*His company Hinpack has supplied NHS with millions of NHS Covid tests
*A law project took legal action against Department of Health and Social Care 
*The Government is required by law to publish a 'contract award notice'
*The Good Law Project argued there had been a 'dismal' failure to comply

'Matt Hancock's former neighbour and pub landlord is under investigation by the UK's medical regulator, it has
been revealed.


Alex Bourne (pictured together Matt Hancock) supplied tens of millions of Covid tests through his
company Hinpack after exchanging a Whatsapp messages with the Health Secretary

Alex Bourne, who crossed paths with the Health Secretary while running the Cock Inn in Thurlow, West Suffolk,
began producing millions of NHS Covid test vials during the pandemic after exchanging a personal WhatsApp
message with Mr Hancock.

His company, Hinpack, which was originally a packaging manufacturer, won around £30million in work to supply
a distributor contracted by the NHS with two million test tubes a week, as well as around 500,000 plastic funnels
for test samples.

However the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has now confirmed it has launched
a probe into Mr Bourne's company - which had no previous experience of making medical supplies prior to the
pandemic.
It comes after the High Court ruled the Health Secretary unlawfully failed to publish details of billions of pounds'
worth of coronavirus-related contracts. 

MHRA Director of Devices, Graeme Tunbridge said: 'We take all reports of non-compliance very seriously. 
'We are currently investigating the allegations about Hinpack and will take appropriate action as necessary.
Patient safety is our top priority.
'As this is an ongoing investigation we are unable to disclose further information at this time'. 

It is understood that the investigation was launched after South Cambridgeshire council officers received concerns
about the company's hygiene and safety standards and passed them onto the MHRA, The Guardian reports.

Last year it was revealed that Mr Bourne sent a WhatsApp to Mr Hancock's mobile number on March 30 offering
his services after a nationwide call to manufacturers to respond to the pandemic, beginning the exchange with:
'Hello, it's Alex Bourne from Thurlow'.

Mr Bourne said Mr Hancock responded to his WhatsApp message by directing him to the Department of Health
and Social Care's (DHSC) website where he could fill out a form detailing his company's manufacturing capabilities.
The businessman insisted at the time that his relationship with Mr Hancock had no role in his company supplying
goods to the NHS.

He had initially hoped to produce PPE but later decided his company would be more suited to making test tubes
thanks to the skills some employees had developed in previous jobs. The latest revelations come after it was
revealed the Health Secretary unlawfully failed to publish details of billions of pounds' worth of coronavirus-related
contracts...'

Archived Mail Source: (More in link)