Why everyone’s talking about the government Covid lobbyists scandal

Consultant hired by No. 10 sent advance information on policy to banks and pharmaceutical firms

Boris Johnson chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at the Foreign Office
Consultant hired by No. 10 sent advance information on policy to banks and pharmaceutical firms
(Image credit: Eddie Mulholland/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Calls are growing for an inquiry into whether lobbyists quietly hired by Downing Street during the early days of coronavirus pandemic used their insider access to help benefit the outside companies that also employ them.

The Sunday Times reports that one of these influential lobbyists, Portland Communications chair George Pascoe-Watson, sent “advance information about policy to paying clients”.

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