THE Cabinet Office has said there "will be no investigation" into Michael Gove's unlawful awarding of a contract to a company closely linked to Dominic Cummings.
Labour had demanded an investigation into Gove after a judge ruled the UK Government acted unlawfully in awarding the contract.
The party's deputy leader Angela Rayner called for Boris Johnson to open an investigation into whether the senior Cabinet member breached the ministerial code over the decision.
But the Cabinet Office said “there will be no investigation”, arguing that Gove “was not involved in the decision to award this contract”.
The demand came after a High Court judge determined the move to hand a £500,000 contract to a firm whose bosses were friends with former Downing Street adviser Cummings gave rise to “apparent bias” and was unlawful.
READ MORE: Ruling UK Government's cronyism was unlawful will 'not be the last', SNP warn
Campaigners took action against Gove over the contract handed to market research firm Public First following the start of the pandemic.
Rayner claimed the Cabinet Office minister breached the code stating ministers must ensure there are no appearances of any conflict arising during their public duties.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, she noted Justice O’Farrell found that a “fair-minded and informed observer” would conclude that there was a “real possibility, or a real danger” of bias in the awarding of the contract.
“On this basis, this appears to be a clear case of the ministerial code being breached,” Rayner said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
“I would also urge you to set out what steps you are taking to recoup the taxpayers’ money that your government has handed out unlawfully to Conservative Party friends and associates at Public First.”
Gove and Cummings disputed the claim brought by the Good Law Project.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The minister was not involved in the decision to award this contract. Questions concerning the ministerial code therefore do not arise, and there will be no investigation.
"Any suggestion that there has been a breach of the ministerial code is wrong.”
The SNP's Westminster deputy leader Kirsten Oswald said the UK Government's handling of contracts "has been riddled with a catalogue of cronyism".
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel