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SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Cronyism and Corruption
Byline Times uncovers the nepotism that greases the wheels of British politics.
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‘Crony Bill’ To Tackle Procurement Scandal Passes First Commons Hurdle After Government ‘Handed Out Public Contracts Like Sweeties to Friends’
The proposed law would ensure that ministers cannot get away with awarding contracts to friends of the Government without facing scrutiny, reports Sam Bright
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‘No Profiteering’ But Government Paying £1,000 a Day for Test and Trace Consultants
One private consultancy firm is being paid £900,000 a-day to work on Baroness Dido Harding’s operation, an official has revealed
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New £2 Million School Laptop Deal Awarded to Firm That Gave £105,000 to Tory Party
Sam Bright reports on the latest Government contract awarded to a firm that has funded the Conservative Party
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Former ‘Test and Trace’ Boss Given Green Light to Lobby Government After Just Four Months in New Corporate Role
A senior member of Baroness Dido Harding’s team has joined a company previously awarded £140 million in COVID-19 contracts – and will be able to begin lobbying her former colleagues sooner than the rules usually allow
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£100 Million Deals for School Laptops Awarded to Conservative Donor’s Firm
As a shortage of laptops ostracises children from education, Sam Bright reports on new contracts awarded to a company with Tory ties
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Government Reveals Total Number of Private Sector Consultants Working for ‘Test and Trace’
There are more private sector consultants working for Baroness Dido Harding’s operation than civil servants working for the Treasury, reveals Sam Bright
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2020 SPOTLIGHT: The Great Procurement Scandal
Sam Bright investigates the trends that underpin the Government’s outpouring of contracts to corporate giants and friends of the regime
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The 12 Contracts of Christmas
Byline Times and The Citizens catalogue the 12 most notorious contracts awarded to private sector firms during the Coronavirus pandemic so far
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‘Test and Trace’ Replacing Corporate Giants With £800-a-day In-House Consultants
Sam Bright has the inside track on a new Government hiring blitz and its attempts to oust expensive, controversial consultancy giants
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Hotel Carpeting Company Awarded Contract to Supply COVID-19 Tests
A small carpeting supplier has been contracted again by the Government, having already being awarded deals for personal protective equipment worth £5.3 million
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Firm with Links to Matt Hancock’s Family Awarded £5.5 Million COVID Testing Deal
The chairman of the healthcare firm is the former business partner of Matt Hancock’s mum and step-father
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‘I Contacted Cabinet Office and Offered to Buy a Machine in China’ says Marine Firm Owner Given £5 Million Contract for Masks
Sam Bright speaks to the owner of a naval design firm about how he acquired a contract to supply face masks – who also appears to reject the consensus of scientists and officials on the Coronavirus pandemic
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Government Outsources Responsibility for Outsourcing
The professional services giant Deloitte is being employed to help the Government to interpret and implement its own ‘Outsourcing Playbook’
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Frontline Workers Failed By Wasteful, Inefficient £15 Billion PPE Procurement Effort
The majority of protective equipment bought by the Government still hasn’t arrived, the National Audit Office has revealed
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Dominic Cummings’ Role in The Great Procurement Scandal Shows He is Not a Mastermind
Dominic Cummings failed to reform the procurement process, and in doing so exposed his hollow intellectual posturing, argues Sam Bright
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Serco Lands Place on £7.5 Billion Government Contract to Provide ‘Employment Services’
After facing criticism for its work during the pandemic, the outsourcing giant is set to be paid millions of pounds more to assist the post-Coronavirus clean-up operation, reports Sam Bright
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61 Pork Barrels: Jenrick Funnelled Billions of Public Money to Conservative Target Seats
David Hencke’s analysis of the Government’s Town Fund scheme suggests politically motivated deals that paid off in the 2019 General Election
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Government’s Rushed, Biased Procurement Process Exposed by Spending Watchdog
A new National Audit Office report – which found that the Government established a ‘high-priority’ lane for PPE suppliers with political links – does little to dispel the notion of cronyism at the heart of the Boris Johnson administration, explains Sam Bright
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Health Ministers’ COVID-19 Meetings with Conservative & Vote Leave Allies Revealed
MP alleges ‘special treatment’ as two former Vote Leave chiefs were drafted in by Matt Hancock’s department, reports Sam Bright
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What I Learnt About the Great Procurement Scandal: Building ‘My Little Crony’
Sophie Hill explains how she found the Conservative Party, Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings at the centre of her vast interactive map of Government contracts
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Miami Vice: Florida Fashion Designer Awarded New PPE Contracts Worth £197 Million
A Miami-based firm owned by a jewellery entrepreneur has been awarded UK PPE deals worth hundreds of millions, reports Sam Bright
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson Confronted About the Great Procurement Scandal
The Prime Minister was finally forced to answer questions about his Government’s controversial, multi-billion-pound splurge on private sector contracts, reports Sam Bright
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Robert Jenrick: Government Suppress Key Documents from MPs in Constituency Payoff Scandal
David Hencke reports on accusations of ‘political bias’ on how public funds were allocated to constituencies by Conservative ministers
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£119 Million COVID-19 Testing Contract Awarded to Four-Month-Old DNA Analysis Firm
A company incorporated on 18 May was awarded a huge Government contract to ramp-up Coronavirus testing, reports Sam Bright
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Government Buys PPE Made by Uyghur Muslims Under Chinese Labour Programme
The conditions of the Uyghurs forced to work in factories “strongly suggest forced labour”, Sam Bright reports
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‘Informal Arrangements’ Used for Government PPE Procurement, Says Health Minister
Lord James Bethell’s comments appear to validate leaked documents revealing an expedited system of the awarding contracts to “high profile contacts” of the Boris Johnson administration
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Minister’s Meetings Fuel the Conservative Procurement Scandal
Records show that a Conservative MP, paid £100,000 a-year to advise a major healthcare firm, attended a ministerial meeting with that company just days after it was awarded a £133 million Government contract
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‘High Profile’ Government Contacts Given Priority in PPE Procurement, Leaked Documents Reveal
Questions should be asked about “whether politically connected ‘VIPs’ benefitted from lucrative inside information”, says the director of the Good Law Project, which was handed the documents
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Outsourcing Giant Paid £1,800-A-Day for Test and Trace Role
The Government shelled out £120,250 for a senior Test and Trace consultant to work for 66 days, Sam Bright reveals
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£40.5 Million in PPE Contracts Awarded to ‘Micro’ Firm
The company has £134,500 assets yet has been awarded contracts worth tens of millions by the Government, reports Sam Bright
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Half a Billion Pounds in Government PPE Deals Goes to Conservative Backers
The Shadow Cabinet Office Minister has condemned the awarding of procurement contracts to Conservative-linked firms without competition as ‘outrageous’
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Hotel Carpeting Company Grabs £5 Million in PPE Deals
The firm has £20,000 in assets and supplies carpeting and tiling for hotels, offices and boats, reports Sam Bright
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Miami Fashion Designer Awarded £148 Million in PPE Contracts
In the first of a new series of procurement exposés, Sam Bright reveals how a Florida-based fashion brand founder has been awarded huge deals by Boris Johnson’s Government
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Business Associate of Government ‘PPE Tsar’ Awarded £300,000 Contract
The man leading the Government’s personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement has seen an internal contract handed to a close business associate
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Is the Government in Breach of its Own Anti-Corruption Strategy?
Sam Bright reports on how Boris Johnson’s Government appears to be violating several elements of its own anti-corruption agenda
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£2.3 Billion of PPE Supplied by Company With Just 25 Employees
The company has supplied a fifth of the Government’s PPE stockpile, yet virtually none of the contracts are publicly available, reports Sam Bright
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Government Dodges PPE Procurement Scrutiny
Boris Johnson’s administration is stubbornly refusing to answer questions from MPs about the PPE procurement scandal, reports Sam Bright
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£70 Million Government PPE Contract for Small ‘Luxury Packaging’ Firm
The Government awarded the deal to a firm with just £46,000 in the bank, reports Sam Bright
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‘A Single Source of Truth’: More Government Outsourcing Projects to Controversial Tech Firms Revealed
A new report lays bare details of the Government’s Coronavirus work conducted by Dominic Cummings’ favourite tech companies
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‘Like Fish Markets’: PPE Supplier Lifts the Lid on Government Procurement ‘Scramble’
A business owner asked to provide £22 million of PPE by the Government sheds light on the frantic, high-stakes process
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The COVID Chumocracy
The UK under Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings is being governed by party stooges and corporate blobs lacking experience but offering loyalty, argues Sam Bright
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Government Spending on PPE Deals to Conservative Backers Rises to £364 Million
As the amount of taxpayers’ money the Government has awarded to Conservative donors and politicians in PPE procurement rises, health professionals continue to call for adequate protection as a second Coronavirus wave approaches
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Firm Owned By Conservative Donor Nets Additional £81.8 Million Government PPE Deals
The Government has awarded massive COVID-19 contracts to a firm owned by a Conservative backer without competition, reports Sam Bright
