It has become an everyday occurrence of late, unearthing and reporting on ‘favours’ carried out by government ministers that subsequently, line their own pockets, and those of their friend’s and family.
Today’s revelation, that Matt Hancock owns 20% of a company awarded £300,000 of NHS contracts not only smacks of cronyism, but is also an insult to most fair minded people.
Fair minded people who work in hospitality that while enduring the worst of the financial storm resulting from the pandemic, are now it seems forced to look on as many in government were busy isolating themselves, their family, and their friends from it, ahead of their responsibilities of office.
Hancock’s sister Emily Gilruth, a horse trainer also owns shares in the company. Ms Gilruth and the company’s managing director Thomas Gilruth, husband of Emily, each own 40% of the company now supplying the NHS, while the remaining 20% is owned by The Health Secretary.
Adding insult to injury, an ‘anonymous’ government spokesperson commenting on the scandal said: “Mr Hancock has acted ‘entirely properly’ in these circumstances”.
The fact that Matt Hancock seems to have navigated his way around government and civil service guidelines that govern ministerial conduct, only highlights the need for new ones. And does not translate in any language to acting entirely properly.
The civil service has always, at least supposedly, been an arbiter to isolate government ministers and government contracts from one another, to at least maintain a perception of integrity. The flood of exposes recently casting clouds over the offices of government in Downing Street, and the civil service in Whitehall are a disgrace and must be dealt with.
If you work with or run a hospitality business, you will almost undoubtedly have suffered financially during the pandemic. You will have been told by government to close your business and endure the hardships that stem from that action. To now learn that at the same time, government ministers avail themselves of loopholes in systems intended to prevent the manipulation of government coffers and divert pandemic money to personal advantage, is just too much.
Government and Whitehall have lost sight of boundaries, and integrity. Integrity – Noun – The quality of being honest and having moral principles.
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Hospitality & Catering News: Government and Whitehall lose sight of boundaries, and integrity. – 16 April 2021 – Government and Whitehall lose sight of boundaries, and integrity.
