THE CASE GLP LOST COMPLETELY

In 2020, the Department of Health awarded Abingdon Health contracts connected to the development and manufacture of Covid-19 antibody tests. The company was part of a consortium assembled to expand Britain's diagnostic capacity during the pandemic.

Good Law Project launched a judicial review challenging the contracts. Its public campaign described preferential treatment, suppressed evidence and millions of pounds being wasted. GLP published repeated updates, raised money for the litigation and distributed its allegations through national media.

Abingdon disputed that presentation. It said it was an established diagnostics company responding to a national emergency, that its prices reflected normal commercial terms and that neither its directors nor the company had donated to the Conservative Party.

The legal case examined allegations including apparent bias, unlawful state aid, national preference and failures to comply with public-law principles.

On 7 October 2022, the High Court dismissed every ground brought by Good Law Project.

Mr Justice Waksman found that the contract-award decisions were lawful. The allegation of unlawful state aid failed. So did the claims of apparent bias and national preference. GLP acknowledged simply: "We lost."

Abingdon's chief executive, Chris Yates, said the company's reputation had been called into question by GLP and that its unsubstantiated accusations had been broadcast widely through the media. He described the company as having been caught in political crossfire.

Abingdon's board said the campaign had affected employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. It also accused GLP of continuing after the company had provided information addressing factual inaccuracies in its public claims.

Scrutinising pandemic expenditure was legitimate. Presenting suspicion as an established scandal was something different.

Good Law Project created the public case, supplied the moral framing and amplified the allegations. When the evidence was finally tested, every legal ground was dismissed.

The campaign received months of updates. The complete defeat received one: "We lost."

SOURCES