Group continues ‘crony contract’ court claim after ruling on costs
CAMPAIGNERS HAVE won an opening round of a legal fight with the Government after complaining about a decision to award a polling contract to a company they say has connections to minister Michael Gove and former adviser Dominic Cummings.
A judge has ruled that the Good Law Project’s liability for paying Government legal costs should be limited if its High Court challenge is unsuccessful.
The Good Law Project has challenged a decision by Mr Gove, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to award a polling contract to Hanbury Strategy and Communications in June, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bosses say the company’s owners have “long-standing personal and professional connections” to Mr Gove and Mr Cummings, who used to be Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser.
Lawyers representing the Cabinet Office are fighting the claim.
Mrs Justice O’Farrell yesterday ruled that the Good Law Project should have to pay no more than £120,000 worth of Government legal bills if it lost the fight.
She said the Government’s liability for the Good Law Project’s costs would also be limited to £120,000.
Lawyers representing the
Good Law Project had asked for a “cost capping order” after raising concerns about the size of legal bills the Government was running up.
They told the judge that lawyers representing the Cabinet Office had said Government legal costs could exceed £450,000.
The Good Law Project said it would have to withdraw the claim if threatened with liability for such “enormous costs”.
Mrs Justice O’Farrell decided that the challenge was in the public interest and said the Good Law Project had limited resources.
The judge, who is based in London, considered evidence at an online hearing.
She has yet to oversee a trial or reach any conclusions about the merits of the Good Law Project’s complaint about the contract award.
Mr Cummings left the Government in November amid tensions among senior Downing Street figures.