MICHAEL Gove broke the law by handing a half a million pound Covid contract to friends of Dominic Cummings, a judge ruled today.
The High Court said the Government showed “apparent bias” in giving the £560,000 tender to comms firm Public First without competition.
Public First is run by old colleagues of Mr Gove and Mr Cummings from their days at the Education Department.
The Cabinet Minister insisted there was no favouritism involved in their selection – and that the contract was awarded in the heat of the pandemic.
But the judge said this “did not exonerate the Defendant from conducting the procurement so as to demonstrate a fair and impartial process of selection.”
Legal action was brought against the Government by lefty crowdfunders the Good Law Project.
The Good Law Project is run by Jo Maugham, who memorably clubbed a fox to death on Boxing Day while wearing his wife’s kimono.
Mr Cummings admitted during the action he was friends with Public First partners James Frayne, Rachel Wolf and Gabriel Milland.
In his witness testimony he defended picking the firm, saying: “I knew they would give us honest information unlike many companies in this sector.”
Today’s ruling leaves the former Downing St adviser with egg on his face after only last month blasting Health Secretary Matt Hancock for acting unlawfully.
