Jo Maugham has hit out at the BBC for its coverage of a High Court case involving Boris Johnson’s former senior advisor Dominic Cummings.
A judge will consider whether a Government decision to award a market research contract to a company whose bosses were friends of Cummings was unlawful after hearing evidence this week.
Campaigners took legal action against the Cabinet Office over the decision to pay more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money to research firm Public First, following the start of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020, and questioned the involvement of the political Svengali.
Lawyers representing the Good Law Project say Mr Cummings, then Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, wanted focus group and communications support services work to be given to a company whose bosses were his friends.
The Good Law Project told Mrs Justice O’Farrell that a “fair-minded” and “informed” observer would conclude there was a “real possibility of bias”, and argued the decision was unlawful.
It comes amid several accusations of cronyism during the pandemic, where contracts have been handed out via VIP lanes to people known to ministers and people within the government.
But lawyers representing the Cabinet Office told the judge yesterday that Mr Cummings made a recommendation, not a decision, and the Good Law Project’s claim should be dismissed.
They said that during a national emergency Mr Cummings “recommended a firm he knew could get the job done”.
Mr Cummings said he “obviously” did not ask for Public First to be brought in because they were friends, adding he would “never do such a thing”.
The BBC’s coverage of the case seemed to have been weighted in favour of the former government aid, with Jo Maugham, a director at The Good Law Project, tweeting:
“Short of posting a photo with a halo around his head it’s hard to see what more the BBC could have done to made Cummings look good.”
Read the piece for yourself below:
Amongst the most extraordinary piece of reporting I’ve ever seen. Short of posting a photo with a halo around his head it’s hard to see what more the BBC could have done to made Cummings look good. https://t.co/8Pul28wGU5
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) February 15, 2021
Related: Tory MP ruthlessly mocks ‘Boris burrow’ plans connecting Scotland and N Ireland
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
