Breaking the law! (again)

This afternoon in the High Court, it was ruled that the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, acted unlawfully in failing to publish contracts within the legally mandated 30 day period as specified in the relevant law.

Which surprises no one, really, anyone who has been following the case, som £32 billion spaffed on PPE via a VIP route for party doners and friends enabling them all to get their snouts in the trough to make huge profits out of a global pandemic, while tens of thousands of people died.

“The Secretary of State acted unlawfully by failing to comply with the Transparency Policy” and “there is now no dispute that, in a substantial number of cases, the SoS breached his legal obligation to publish Contract Award Notices within 30 days of the award of contracts.”

“The obligations imposed by reg. 50 (in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) and by the Transparency Policy and Principles serve a vital public function and that function was no less important during a pandemic. (para 140)

The public "were entitled to see who this money was going to, what it was being spent on and how the relevant contracts were awarded."

This was important: “so that oversight bodies such as the NAO, as well as Parliament and the public, could scrutinise and ask questions"

“I have no doubt that this claim has speeded up compliance.” (para 149).

The Judge concluded: "if the publication had been on time…the First Claimant would have been able to scrutinise CANs and contract provisions, ask questions about them and raise any issues with oversight bodies such as the NAO or via MPs in Parliament" para 158.

But what will happen, if anything? Will Hancock be thrown in the Tower of London? Will he regign? Will he ba sacked?

Probably nothing will happen. What use is a law if there are no real consequences for breaking it? Like election law. The law was broken, billions in profits made, or a refendum won due to lies, and nothing is done.

If this happened in a third world state we would call it a failed state. That is what we are, really.

World leaders in failing.