Labour has called for a “speedy investigation” into claims a senior Conservative MP lobbied the head of the NHS on behalf of a firm paying him £1,600 a month.
According to leaked WhatsApp messages revealed as part of The Telegraph‘s “lockdown files”, 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 a recruitment company he worked for.
The firm, Remedium, had begun 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 MPs’ register of interests show.
According to The Telegraph, Mr Brine contacted Simon Stevens, then chief of NHS England as well as the Department of Health, in February 2021, on behalf of the company.
The message, forwarded to then-health secretary Matt Hancock by fellow cabinet minister Michael 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”
Shadow equalities minister Anneliese Dodds said the claims about Mr Brine show “there was a fast lane for companies that had Conservative MPs on their books” during the pandemic.
She added: “If Steve Brine broke lobbying rules then obviously he needs to face the consequences, we need Rishi Sunak to act as well, break the habit of a lifetime and take decisive action on this case”.
But pressed if Mr Brine should step down she said “if it’s necessary while that [investigation] takes place than that should occur, but the critical thing is a speedy investigation”.
It follows the Liberal Democrats call for Mr Brine to step down as chair of the health select committee.
The Liberal Democrats said the disclosure raised “serious questions” about his conduct and called on him to step aside from chairing the Health Committee while the claims were investigated.
Party health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said Mr Brine should immediately step down from the health committee to allow an independent investigation to take place.
“He cannot be in post whilst these allegations hang over his head”, she said.
“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.”
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”.
