Bingham’s appointment shares similarities with that of Dido Harding, to head the NHS test and trace operation in May. Both the initial Randox deal for tests, and its recent extension, were awarded under the emergency Covid-19 regulations that waive standard rules requiring competitive tenders for public contracts, enabling Johnson’s government to directly hire chosen firms at speed. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A member of testing staff holds a Randox Covid-19 test kit at a drive-through centre in Belfast. The upper limit for the Cabinet Office contract was £840,000, but Frayne said they had billed about £550,000 in total, and that the work had a “low margin” of profit. ConnectionsThe Good Law Project has challenged some government contract awards to companies with Tory connections, and is increasingly focused on those for PPE.

Source: The Guardian November 15, 2020 12:33 UTC