Former health secretary Matt Hancock broke the law when he appointed Tory peer Dido Harding to a top job during the Covid pandemic, the High Court has ruled.
Two judges have ruled that then health secretary did not comply with a public sector equality duty when he appointed Harding as interim chair of the National Institute for Health Protection in August 2020, and former Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe as director of testing at NHS test and trace a month later.
The High Court ruling was made in relation to a case brought by the race and equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust.
Campaign group the Good Law Project joined the trust in making complaints – arguing that the Government had not adopted an “open” process when making appointments to posts “critical to the pandemic response” – but their claim was dismissed.
Lawyers acting for the two organisations argued that people “outside the tight circle” of senior Conservative politicians were not being given opportunities — a claim denied by ministers.
Jason Coppel QC said the government had a “policy or practice” of making appointments to posts “critical to the pandemic response” without adopting a sufficient “fair or open competitive processes”.
People “less likely to be known or connected to decision-makers” were put at a disadvantage, he added.
He also said the government was failing to offer “remuneration for high-level full-time roles” and “excluding all candidates who were not already wealthy” or held other posts for which they would continue to be paid.
In a written ruling, the two judges said:“It is the process leading up to the two decisions which has been found by this court to be in breach of the public sector equality duty.
“For those reasons we will grant a declaration to the Runnymede Trust that the secretary of state for health and social care did not comply with the public sector equality duty in relation to the decisions how to appoint Baroness Harding as interim executive chair of the NIHP in August 2020 and Mr Coupe as director of testing for NHSTT in September 2020.”
Runnymede Trust chief executive Dr Halima Begum said the judgment “shows the importance of the public sector equality duty and its role in protecting the people of this nation from the closed shop of government appointments”.
Jo Maugham, director of the Good Law Project, added: “Change doesn’t happen, things don’t get better for those who are disadvantaged, unless those in power care.
“That means making sure they ask themselves: ‘how do I level society up for the disabled and ethnic minorities?’
“And it means taking the time to find the best people – not the best-connected people – for the job.”
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Boris Johnson and his Cabinet seem to find themselves on the wrong side of the law time after time. From crony contracts to ministers’ mates landing top jobs, it’s always the public who pay the price for Tory sleaze.”