Test giant Randox ‘did not benefit’ from ex-MP Owen Paterson

A government official said today that testing giant Randox was “not taking advantage” of former lawmaker Owen Paterson, who pressured ministers to use Covid swabs.

Mr Paterson urged Matt Hancock, his former health secretary, to accept Randox’s offer, which paid him more than £8,000 a month for 16 hours of work to produce virus tests for the UK.

A week after the country’s initial quarantine, the company was awarded a £133m contract to manufacture the test without a competitive bidding process.

By February 2022 the company had received £600 million.

But Shona Dunn, the second permanent secretary of the Department of Health, told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee today that Randox has not benefited from her partnership with Mr. Paterson.

His comments came in response to a question from Labor’s Nick Smith, who asked if Paterson was “playing with the system” in favor of Randox.

“I do not believe that I have seen from the documents that Randox has benefited from direct dealings with Mr. Paterson or with anyone else,” said Ms. Dunn.

Mr. Paterson resigned from the House of Commons last November after it was revealed that he had lobbied – in violation of parliamentary rules – on behalf of Randox, a healthcare company for which he was a paid consultant.

Messages between the two were later published in February. They showed that between January and September 2020, Mr Paterson had sent a series of text messages to Mr Hancock requesting that Randox be included in the UK testing programme.

Paterson, MP from North Shropshire since 1997, resigned from the House of Commons last year after it was revealed that he had been lobbying for Randox against parliamentary rules.

The saga sparked a scandalous scandal at Westminster after the Boris Johnson government began defending Mr Paterson and tried to get him out of a 30-day suspension, but Paterson withdrew under significant pressure.

Messages between the two were later published in February.

They showed that between January and September 2020, Mr Paterson had sent a series of messages to Mr Hancock requesting that Randox be included in the UK testing programme.

SAI also found that there was insufficient documentation to demonstrate the decision-making process regarding Randox’s bid from Ulster.

The NAO, which controls government services, said this meant it could not verify whether the contract was awarded in accordance with the rules.

However, the agency noted that it saw no “evidence” that the contracts were “wrongly awarded”.

The Public Accounts Committee, which investigates government contracts with Randox, heard evidence today from UK Health and Health Safety Agency officials.

Miss Dunn, the company’s Mr. Paterson.

But Labor MP Dame Meg Hillier noted that Randox chiefs had met with the Prime Minister and other officials.

There are very important names, but neither discussed nor agreed upon in this meeting. So you’re saying it for sure, but you don’t know, right?’

But Dunn said, “Everything we’ve done, all the work we’ve done to negotiate with suppliers, has gone through the same process.”

“The other reason I say this is because some of these meetings and a chairperson are a good example, several vendors attend.

During the oral rehearsal session, health chiefs were also targeted to seek out expensive counselors during the pandemic. Dr Jenny Harries, CEO of the UK Health Security Agency, said the agency had employed 1,476 management consultants as of 31 January.

“Randox was one of the few companies already known to the NHS that already provided some services to the NHS, already had a network of laboratories and was able to meet the need.

“And so it made sense for them to be involved in these discussions among so many others.

“I certainly saw nothing to suggest that the reason they were in those talks or signing the contract was because they were trying to get an improper advantage.”

During the oral rehearsal session, health chiefs were also targeted to seek expensive counselors during the pandemic.

Dr Jenny Harries, CEO of the UK Health Security Agency, said the agency had employed 1,476 management consultants as of 31 January.

These consultants are paid between £706 and £3,100 per day, while the average management consultant earns £1,244 per day.

When asked about the numbers, Dr. Harries: “All these costs are standard contract costs, which I know will be very high for many viewers… so we use all systems to make sure we get the best bang for your buck.”