(nope – not satire)
The Cameron government has awarded an £80 million NHS contract to a private firm despite the company charging taxpayers £7 million more than an NHS consortium bidding against it:
Stoke NHS hospital scanning contract won by private firm
The government, however, hasn’t said why the firm – Alliance Medical Group – won the contract despite its bid being so much more expensive.
That’s because the bidding process was for some reason secret.
Ian Syme, co-ordinator of pressure group North Staffordshire, said of the awarding of the contract:
“This whole process has been shrouded in secrecy. We don’t even know who – expert adviser or public representative – were on the panel.”
This, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that a director of the firm is none other than disgraced ‘cash for access‘ Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind.
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The Coalition Government Colouring and Activity Book is now available for download as a PDF and in print:
Pride's Purge 
Backhanders dear boy backhanders
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Ain’t that a coincidence.
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Recall the contract.
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Pingback: Rifkind firm awarded NHS contract despite charging £7 million more than NHS | Alternative News Network
Well well – who would have thought things like this go on…
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Reblogged this on Jay's Journal and commented:
Malcolm and his groupies…
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It’s another “error of judgment” I suppose
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Where is the transparency and oversight?
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Pingback: Rifkind firm awarded NHS contract despite charging £7 million more than NHS – Pride’s Purge | Vox Political
And the fact that Rifkind cousin Leon Brittan kicked the bucket recently too
What with that and Rifkind replacing his cousin on the board of Unilever as well before Brittan timely death
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Btw didn’t Mr Straw have a brother who was
done for sex offences as well?
Even ironic was when Jack was a bit of a radical security bods had files on him
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Pingback: Rifkind resigns, says being in pay of Chinese not relevant to being chair of intelligence committee | Pride's Purge
Reblogged this on sdbast.
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Reblogged this on Britain Isn't Eating.
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Doesn’t this breach EU rules?
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Pingback: Rifkind Earns Almost £400,000. Not Bad To Be Self Employed Is It! | Alternative News Network
The people who comment on this topic doesn’t seem to understand bid assessment. The process is always secret it has to be but normally the assessment criteria are made known to the bidders. The losing bidders can ask for a debrief as to why they lost. NHS contracts are such a sensitive issue that there’s no way the bid assessment process would be biased that’s just a silly conspiracy theory.
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It was the last Labour government who awarded Alliance medical their first scanner contract as part of a plan to reduce waiting times for patients.
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Reblogged this on markcatlin3695's Blog.
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Reblogged this on aspiblog and commented:
This is an absolutely searing account of a scandal – it will make your blood boil!
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This is an absolute disgrace. It would be wrong for a private company who are charging more than the NHS to get the contract anyway. When you then throw in a bidding process shrouded in secrecy and the fact that the company awarded the contract is run by Mr Cash-for-Access himself. I have reblogged this post on aspiblog and also shared it with my twitter followers (@aspitweets).
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Reblogged this on Beastrabban’s Weblog and commented:
This is far from being the first time this has happened. Private Eye in their ‘In the Back’ column has numerous examples of private firms being awarded NHS contracts, despite charging much more than the local NHS trust. And Rifkind is certainly not the only Tory MP with a post working for a private medical firm: there are about 92 Tory and Lib Dem MPs working for such companies, and who stand to gain materially from the NHS’ privatisation. See the lists published by Mike over at Vox Political, and the Angry Yorkshireman. Once again the Tories prove the truth of their nicknames ‘the Self-Servatives’. And they are very definitely for the ‘privileged few’.
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MPs do what they want because they can – UK has no reasonable constitution and no means to control MPs – other than voting them out every 5 years or so – system is corrupt, anti-democratic and been known about forever – but the UK population don’t care too much to change it as it would mean standing up and taking responsibility – something that appears to be less and less interesting to the population in general. This approach – non-questioning by the UK people – has led us to acquire state terrorism against its own people by the elites where justice is meaningless and everything is couched in the ideology of the elites. ROTTEN TO THE CORE
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hey cliveradley – when it’s the British people who are paying for these things I think we have the right to know ‘how much’ and to who’ – good economic sense don’t you think – the tories on this blog have to remember that the UK doesn’t solely belong to them!!
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Reblogged this on stewilko's Blog and commented:
Absolutely shocking
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See also: colinblundell.wordpress.com Save the NHS
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@Tom Pride I see Hugo Rifkind mentions how brave his dad is with struggling to cope with all this stuff about him awww poor thing. I almost feel sorry for him… Nah.
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PMQs: David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash over second jobs for MPs – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31624695
SCAMERON CLAIMS ITS GOOD TO HAVE MPs WITH DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES. WHAT? APART FROM BEING TWO FACED LYING SNOUTS IN TROUGH TOERAGS??
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Isn’t it a bit premature to refer to him as ‘disgraced’.
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mp’s should not be allowed to have business interests….and should be open to public scrutiny after they leave office so as to be shown not to have profited from their time as mp’s….
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But its not against the rules….. (the rules that they made).
We are getting dry bummed without the common cortousy of a reach around.
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Nothing to do with political leanings, I am a confirmed centrist. The rules of commercial confidence are the rules and apply to all government contracts and were exactly the same under the last Labour government. No doubt the reason for the decision will come out fairly soon. The winning company seem to be the UK CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE for scanning etc.
I am perhaps unusual for this blog in that I ACTUALLY took part in and managed the technical aspects of a number of bid assessments for government contracts in my case the MOD when I worked at DRA/DERA. I THEN ATTENDED THE MOD TENDER DECISION meetings. The rules were just the same then. We all had had lunches from bidding companies prior to the bidding period. They had zero influence on us and the MOD staff and serving RAF/NAVY officers involved .
The process was completely evenhanded. Sometimes the lowest price bid lost because the lowest one was non compliant in important areas or offered poorer value for money. This was not unusual.
There is no reason to think there was any corruption in the scanner contract.
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lots of tory boys here, defending there friends
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The idea that those of us who are objective and not prejudiced like most of the left wing bloggers are defending friends is just plain daft. Tom Pride is notorious for rumour and is not known for blogging facts.
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Is that a fact or just a rumour?
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cliveradley
I’m sorry, but it’s public money, the public has a right to know the process.
It’s not Defense in which there is a case for confidentially on grounds of military secrecy. It’s medicine, there are far fewer grounds for secrecy, and we have to establish trust in the process. Secrecy without good reason implies corruption, especially if multi-million pound contracts are being given to companies with MPs on the boards.
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Jack Straw must be Questioned on his involvement or not with the£300 million Angel Group Asylum Seekers Scam. Brains Julia Davey, Rich list £131 million, now hiding in Israel, quell Surprise ! Davey was previously involved in Drugs, stolen Credit Cards and running a Disorderly House.
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We are all in it together does not apply to the Army . There are Ten Times more tGenerals than are needed , ex Public School to a man ! The average General has up to 5 Trained Soldiers as Servants! They do not eat Army Grub . It is estimated that the MoD spend £250,000 a week on Food and Wine in the Clubs and Resturants in the West End.
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Eton toff 1: ” My father just made a packet from the NHS”
Eton toff 2:” NHS? What’s that? ”
Eton toff 1: ” I dunno Norfolk Horse Something I think “
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UK spy watchdog ‘taken in’ by security agencies – MP – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-31665312
I just love the bit where Rifkind refutes Davis point about him being taken in by spooks and then goes on about the Lee Rigby murder claiming info posted on Facebook which spooks not party too
Oh please. Like security bods are not aware or allowed to see what people post on their Facebook account??
That has to be the stupidest thing I’ve read in a long time.
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Reblogged this on Citizens, not serfs.
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Rifkind is an Israeli Agent but it’s that Elephant in the Room again!
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