Senior Tory MP ‘lobbied head of NHS’ on behalf of firm paying him £1,600-a-month as critics call it ‘yet another Tory scandal’
A senior Tory MP lobbied the head of the NHS on behalf of a firm paying him £1,600 a month, leaked WhatsApp messages suggest.
Steve Brine, the chairman of the Health Select Committee, said in a text to Michael Gove that he had been “trying for months” to convince the health service to hire anaesthetists through Remedium, a recruitment company he worked for.
The messages, revealed as part of the Telegraph’s “lockdown files”, have been described as “yet another Conservative scandal” and have prompted calls for him to step down.
According to the newspaper, Mr Brine contacted Simon Stevens, then chief of NHS England as well as the Department of Health, in February 2021, when the nation was in its third national lockdown.
The message, which was forwarded to then health secretary Matt Hancock by Mr Gove, reportedly said: “Dear Michael… sorry to raise this but having tried the Dept of Health (seemed logical) and the Chief Exec of NHSE (ditto) I am at a loss.
“Long story short, I have been trying for months to help the NHS through a company I am connected with – called ‘Remedium’. They have 50 anaesthetists right now who can be in the country and on the ground in the NHS if someone only said let’s us help. They just want to assist and asked me how they might.
The message adds: “Despite offering this to health and to Simon Stevens I’ve had nothing despite SS telling the press conference last week this is an acute problem, despite the PM telling the Liaison Committee this is his biggest problem etc etc.
“How might I progress this or does the NHS just not need the help? S.”
The MPs’ register of interests shows Remedium began paying Mr Brine £1,600 for eight hours of work each month in July 2020, with the arrangement continuing until the end of December 2021.
The message means the former health minister may have breached advocacy rules set by parliament, which state MPs are not allowed to lobby for an organisation from which they are receiving “a reward” for six months after receiving a payment.
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‘The whole thing stinks’
Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, called the revelation “yet another Conservative scandal”.
She said: “Steve Brine should immediately step down from the Health Select Committee to allow an independent investigation to take place. He cannot be in post whilst these allegations hang over his head.
“These messages suggest Steve Brine was desperate to help his corporate employers whilst the country was pulling together during a pandemic, and leaves him with serious questions to answer.
“Frankly, the whole thing stinks.
“Rishi Sunak should launch an independent investigation into this damning evidence immediately.”
According to the Telegraph, separate messages between Mr Hancock and his team show that Mr Brine’s request was passed to NHS England via Allan Nixon, the health secretary’s special adviser.
Mr Nixon appeared to complain about the volume of requests the Conservative MP had sent to the Department of Health, saying: “Steve’s being a n*b right now and I’ve no idea why. Been chasing my tail trying to sort loads of stuff for him (not least his hospital) and he still acts like this.”
The exchanges are among more than 100,000 messages leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who was given them by Mr Hancock while they were collaborating on his memoir.
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‘People not interested in Hancock’s reputation’ says Isabel Oakeshott
Sky News has contacted Mr Brine and Remedium for comment.
In a statement provided to the Telegraph, Mr Brine said: “This was about responding in the national interest to an urgent public call from ministers and the NHS in a national crisis even if, ultimately, it led nowhere let alone secure any business for Remedium.”
There remain major unresolved issues around the confluence of money, influence, and power in Westminster – in particular, the question of MPs’ outside interests, or in lay terms, second jobs.
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The debate has been raging for many years, but it came to a head when former prime minister Boris Johnson tried to defend an MP who was found to have broken lobbying rules.
The Owen Patterson scandal sparked a major row over standards in public life, marking the beginning of the end of Mr Johnson’s government.
World
Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Read more: What’s a bear market?
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
World
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
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