U.K. Judge Won’t Force Government to Release Mask-Contract Terms
U.K.’s $135 Million PPE Deal for Pest-Control Firm Challenged
(Bloomberg) --
A U.K. judge declined to force the government to immediately release the details of protective equipment contracts it awarded during the early days of the pandemic, saying the request by a public-interest group was too broad.
Judge Nerys Jefford on Tuesday rejected the request of the Good Law Project as a “fishing expedition.” The group wants the government to provide the details on contracts given to companies that had little to no experience in providing health-care products. She said the case will be heard over several days early next year.
The scarcity and effectiveness of equipment such as face masks, goggles, gloves and gowns for doctors and nurses has been one of the major criticisms of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the pandemic. The Good Law Project, founded by anti-Brexit lawyer Jo Maugham, is suing over deals with Crisp Websites Ltd., trading as PestFix, and other suppliers.
The Good Law Project wants to know how the contracts were advertised, awarded and whether the process met criteria for a direct award that requires extreme urgency.
“We obviously wanted a bit more expediency, but certainly one of our primary concerns is around transparency, and we will get a lot of information through the process,” Maugham said after the hearing.
PestFix declined to comment Tuesday. The company, which markets bird, rodent and insect control products alongside PPE on its website, said it delivered all of the items covered by the contract in question, 2 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule.
The Good Law Project said in its legal filings that the government gave PestFix a 32 million-pound contract ($42.3 million) for isolation suits.
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