The formal note of a meeting between a minister, the healthcare firm Randox and the MP Owen Paterson has been lost, the government has said. Paterson resigned as a backbencher this month after he was found to have lobbied on behalf of Randox, which paid him more than £100,000 a year and which also secured contracts during the pandemic. Randox has said lobbying played no role in the awarding of the contracts. Details of what was discussed during an April 2020 call between the health minister Lord Bethell, Paterson and Randox have remained secret. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) failed for more than a year to respond to a freedom of information request from the Guardian. Public bodies are required to answer requests within 20 working days. The admission of the lost note followed a Labour motion seeking to force the government to disclose the documents. The motion was approved unopposed after the government abstained but the health minister Gillian Keegan said on Wednesday that it had been “unable to locate” a record of the meeting, which took place on 9 April 2020.
Speaking in the Commons, Keegan told the Labour MP Tony Lloyd: “The meeting he refers to was a courtesy call from the minister to Randox to discuss RNA extraction kits. That was declared on the ministerial register of calls and meetings, and we have been unable to locate a formal note of that meeting, but all the other notes that are available with regard to this – and that meeting, by the way, was after any contracts were let with Randox.” Keegan added: “We have been unable to locate a formal note of the meeting. That is what I have been told so far. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. It has been unable to locate one. But of course everything we have will be put in the House of Commons Library.” The Lib Dem Alistair Carmichael said: “I wonder if the search by these ministers extends to the shredding room.” Raising a point of order, Labour’s Angela Eagle said the admission was “astonishing” and the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, said he hoped ministerial officials would look into it, adding: “I would expect that government meetings that take place with people around would always be minuted. If not, I think it opens up another question and I don’t want that question to be opened up – I’d sooner for it to be answered.” Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said Randox was awarded nearly £600m of taxpayers’ money without a tender, under emergency pandemic rules, adding: “Frankly we have every reason to be concerned about how procurement decisions were being made and the lack of any paper trail showing that they were made properly. So the question is very simple. What are ministers hiding?” After the motion was approved, a Randox spokesman said: “Randox will be pleased to cooperate fully in laying before the house all the material required. Public disclosure will demonstrate the efficiency and value for money provided by Randox through contacts awarded in full compliance with government regulations at a time of national crisis. Contrary to much of what has been written and broadcast, lobbying played no role in the awarding of these contracts.” The Guardian submitted an FOI request on 4 November last year and asked for all documents held in relation to the 9 April 2020 meeting. This means that the request sought more than just the minutes of the meeting. The DHSC said it held “relevant information” but has repeatedly said it needed more time to consider whether to disclose any of it. Despite a complaint from the Guardian, the DHSC has still not made a formal decision on whether to disclose or keep secret the information. Last month, a DHSC spokesperson said: “It is inaccurate to accuse the department of withholding information. We are working hard to respond to freedom of information requests, of which we’ve experienced unprecedented volumes over the last 18 months.”