The details of 100 government Covid contracts have still not been published

A hundred Covid government contracts are still unpublished, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling MPs they were “on the record for everyone to see”, campaigners say.

The revelation arrives after a High Court judge found Health Secretary Matt Hancock had acted unlawfully by handing out contracts without publishing details in a timely way, after a case was brought against the Government by the Good Law Project.

The group said the Prime Minister’s assurance to MPs last month was “not true”, because government lawyers had said 100 contracts were yet to be revealed.

Within the law, the Government has 30 days to publish a “contract award notice” for any contracts for public goods or services worth more than £120,000.

100 contracts not yet published

Speaking in the House of Commons on 22 February, Boris Johnson said: “All the details are on the record,” adding, “the contracts are there on the record for everybody to see”.

Three days later, in a written response to the Good Law Project which was seen by the BBC, government lawyers admitted that 100 contracts for suppliers and services relating to Covid-19 signed before 7 October had yet to be published.