- Published
A former councillor has been found guilty of running a bogus coronavirus testing laboratory during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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councillor → publish → pandemic
Faisal Shoukat, who served on Calderdale Council, was convicted of causing public nuisance, fraudulent trading and money laundering after a trial at Bradford Crown Court.
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who → serve → Court
Four other people on trial alongside Shoukat - former justice minister Shahid Malik, Lynn Connell, Paul Moore and Dr Alexander Zarneh - were cleared of any wrongdoing.
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people → clear → wrongdoing
The verdicts were returned by His Honour Judge Chris Smith after the jury was discharged in April during their deliberations, when one member of the panel was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
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member → return → justice
Judge Smith criticised a catalogue of "systemic failures" at the business, for which Shoukat was responsible for the day-to-day running, telling the court: "The overriding thought at the time was simply to make money.
"
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thought → criticise → money
Put simply, profit was put before professionalism and public safety."
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profit → Put → professionalism
RT Diagnostics was set up in March 2021 with Shoukat and Mr Malik named among the directors, after the government invited private companies to help meet the demand for testing, including so-called 'Fit-to-Fly' tests.
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government → set → tests
Prosecutors said 39-year-old Shoukat - who was a Labour councillor at the time - was the "controlling mind" of the Halifax-based firm.
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who → say → firm
However, the court heard that test kits sent out to customers - sourced from Turkey - did not meet the required standards in the UK.
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kits → hear → UK
It was also said the lab had returned a "suspiciously low" number of positive tests.
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lab → say → tests
Between May and July 2021 it reported 138,738 tests, but only 45 of these were positive, with 123,058 showing as negative and one indeterminate.
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one → report → these
A video published by The Sun newspaper in July of that year alleged tests were being dumped in a side room.
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tests → publish → room
The video also showed the firm's laboratory at Park Works to be in poor condition, with rubbish strewn across the floor, its ceiling exposed and bin bags dumped outside.
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bags → show → floor
Medical safety inspectors described the site on Lister Lane as a "building site" and said there was evidence of people living there.
Delivering his verdicts, Judge Smith criticised the company's "cavalier" and "careless" approach to the accreditation process, which would allow it to conduct testing.
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it → describe → testing
There were also "systemic failures" with the company and the service it provided, he added.
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he → be → company
Customers experienced a "multitude of problems", the judge said, from test kits being delivered in unsealed boxes to results not being issued.
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judge → experience → results
Describing the testing and reporting systems at RT Diagnostics as "profoundly flawed", he said there was also evidence some samples "had simply not been tested".
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samples → describe → Diagnostics
One customer was told he and his wife had tested positive for the virus, only to later receive an email from RT Diagnostics which said they had tested negative.
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they → tell → Diagnostics
Despite the firm only trading for a two-month period, almost 80% of the 1,218 Trustpilot reviews it received were one star.
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it → trade → reviews
Shoukat, a pharmacist, told the trial he was paid about £1.5m in shares from the firm.
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he → tell → firm
Mr Malik, who cried after he was cleared of wrongdoing, was also paid a similar amount as a co-director, the court heard.
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court → cry → director
He was not involved in the day-to-day running of the company, and lived outside of the UK for part of its short-lived tenure.
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He → involve → tenure
Mr Malik, 58, of Colne Rd, Burnley, was found not guilty of causing a public nuisance, fraudulent trading and money laundering.
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Malik → find → nuisance
Ms Connell, 65, of Wagon Farm, Ripponden, Mr Moore, 57, of Plober Street, Burnley, and Dr Zarneh, 71, of Wood Lane, Halifax, were all found not guilty of causing a public nuisance and fraudulent trading.
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Connell → find → nuisance
The Aporia
