Cases

The Covid testing lab Immensa, based in the West Midlands, told tens of thousands of people that they had tested negative for Covid – when they had in fact tested positive. This led to dozens of deaths. We challenged the awarding of the contract and failure by the Government to ensure the lab met basic standards.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government recklessly announced that all children should return to school, even if they had previously been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable. We successfully put pressure on the Education Secretary to guarantee support for vulnerable children and families.

We’re taking legal action against the awarding of a £22.6m PPE contract to Bunzl Healthcare, a client of a close associate of the Conservative health minister Lord Bethell. The contract was awarded with no competition.

Time and again local authorities are placing children in care in the cheapest accommodation, rather than the accommodation that best meets their needs. For more than 30,000 children last year, this meant being torn away from their schools, loved ones and support networks – placed miles outside of their local area, often with no warning.

Boris Johnson hijacked a Downing Street press conference – paid for by the British taxpayer and intended to provide the public with a vital COVID-19 update – to attack one of his political opponents.

A firm linked to Samir Jassal, a two-time Conservative Party parliamentary candidate and former councillor, was awarded a £102.6 million Government PPE contract without any competition in July last year. It was only after our lawyers wrote to Government in March this year to ask about Pharmaceuticals Direct that this contract was disclosed, long after Boris Johnson had insisted all contract details were on record.

In every corner of public life, the Tories are or look to be bending the resources of the state to their own private advantage.

Leaked documents revealed that ‘Operation Moonshot’, the Government’s plan to increase its Coronavirus testing programme, was based on technology that didn’t even exist yet – and would cost over £100 billion. But, in March 2021, the courts refused permission for a judicial review.

In 1539, Henry VIII gained the right to legislate by decree, enabling him to bypass Parliament altogether. And now Boris Johnson, the man who has already tried and failed to suspend Parliament, is taking further cues on democracy from a Tudor King.

We challenged the Government to ensure that all children had the resources to learn online from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. While we did not achieve all we had hoped, we kept up pressure on the Education Secretary.

We challenged the Government to review its Clean Air Strategy – but we were denied permission to bring that challenge. But there’s a silver lining, as the judge left the door open for further challenges on the ‘precautionary principle’ on environmental hazards.

With noted environmentalist, Dale Vince, we have written to the Government to require that it reviews the Airports National Policy Statement – or face legal proceedings. The claim, if successful, will mean Heathrow Airport expansion will have to meet much tougher environmental standards to get the go-ahead.

The NHS commissions Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) to provide specialist assessment, consultation and care for children and young people to help reduce the distressing feelings of a mismatch between their assigned sex and their gender identity.

Together with EveryDoctor, we launched legal proceedings against the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over the award of a PPE contract to a jeweller from Florida, who had no previous experience supplying PPE.

In April, Government announced that they supported the creation of the UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC). The idea was that the companies and institutions involved would create a rapid antibody test. On 2nd June, Government awarded a contract worth £10 million to Abingdon Health for the materials needed to produce the test. On 14th August, they handed Abingdon Health another contract worth a staggering £75 million.

Each week it seems another individual secures a role of vital public importance without any advertisement or fair process – and very often that individual has personal and political connections to Government.