Tory-linked firm involved in testing failure given new £347m Covid contract

Exclusive: Hancock has backed transfer of nearly 500m to Randox during pandemic

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The UK government has awarded a new 347m Covid-19 testing contract to Randox, the Tory-linked private healthcare company whose testing kits had to be recalled over the summer because of concerns about contamination.

The deal is a six-month extension of an existing contract and was agreed without other companies being invited to bid. It means the health secretary, Matt Hancock, has now approved transfers of nearly half a billion pounds in taxpayer funds to the Northern Ireland-based company since the pandemic began.