A PR firm owned by Matthew Freud, who was closely associated with the Conservatives during David Cameron’s time as prime minister, was awarded a contract to provide “strategic communications”, including “reputation management”, for England’s beleaguered coronavirus test-and-trace system without a tender process, the Guardian can reveal. Although the start date for the £55,000 contract with Freud Communications was 1 November, the government website says it was awarded on 8 February 2021. “For the sake of good governance and protecting taxpayers’ money, government must get its house in order on procurement.”The £12bn NHS test-and-trace system, which despite its moniker has been outsourced to private contractors, has been beset by criticism. Last month, Freuds announced it had hired Sheila Mitchell, who was the Public Health England (PHE) marketing chief before leaving in September last year. As Mitchell only commenced work with Freuds this month, she was not involved in the NHS test-and-trace contract.

Source: The Guardian March 01, 2021 11:10 UTC