The contract with Freud Communications Limited was for services to be carried out between 1 November last year and 15 January this year but it only came to light after details were published on a government website on 19 February.
They appeared on the same day as a high court judge ruled that Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to publish details of multibillion-pound Covid-19 government contracts within the 30-day period required by law, amid allegations of “chumocracy” and lack of transparency in the awarding of contracts during the pandemic.
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. [Yet another lie in a feeble attempt to cover-up Tory government unlawful activities.]
Gemma Abbott, the legal director of Good Law Project, which brought the high court action against the government, said of the contract:
“Another day, another deal awarded with only a handshake and documented later. The fact we are just seeing the details of this arrangement now, months after work began and after the work has already been completed, speaks volumes about this government’s complete disregard for transparency.
“For the sake of good governance and protecting taxpayers’ money, government must get its house in order on procurement.”
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