The Labour Party has called for an investigation into whether Michael Gove broke the Ministerial Code over an “unlawful” COVID contract given to his “friends”.
It follows a joint investigation by openDemocracy and The Guardian, which revealed the £560,000 deal to hold focus groups on the government’s health messaging was handed to a PR firm, Public First, which is run by close associates of Gove’s.
Earlier this month, the high court ruled that the contract was “unlawful” and “gave rise to apparent bias”, because it was awarded without competitive tender.
