The Lockdown Files could soon claim their first scalp. Conservative MP and chairman of the Health Select Committee Steve Brine is facing calls to stand down from the role after the Telegraph revealed he had lobbied the government for cash during the pandemic. In February 2021, Brine approached Michael Gove and an adviser in the Department of Health to convince the NHS to hire anaesthetists from Remedium. A firm paying him £1,600 per month.

Brine claimed he had been “trying for months” to secure taxpayer cash for Remedium’s business. This could fall foul of two separate sets of rules – one which prohibits ex-ministers from using their contacts for two years after they leave government, and another which bans MPs from lobbying for any firm within six months of receiving a reward. This isn’t even Brine’s first lobbying charge. He was previously investigated for rule breaking after trying to convince Hancock to hire Remedium staff for Nightingale Hospitals. The only reason he was cleared was that he didn’t pay VAT…

In response, Brine has faced calls to resign his committee chairmanship from across the political divide – Stephen Dorrell, a former Health Minister under John Major, told Sky News Brine should “consider his position”. Guido thinks so too…