On Monday 2nd November, the Runnymede Trust and Good Law Project announced that they have launched legal proceedings against Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock. The Tory ministers are being sued for lack of proper selection process and appointment of individuals who are connected to the Conservative Party – without advertising these roles allowing others, possibly more suited, to apply for the position. They argue that the government is reportedly ignoring its public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 by allegedly filling senior public sector roles with their friends. A fundraiser has already raised £40,000 off the targeted £100,000.
The fundraiser titled ‘It's time for an end to cronyism’ has challenged the appointment of Dido Harding, as well as a string of other appointments which were made with seemingly no advertisement or fair recruitment process. The organisations have also claimed that the Government’s approach discriminates against those born without a silver spoon in their mouth. It’s unfair to those who don’t rub shoulders with high-ranking Ministers. And it’s unfair to groups who the data shows are shut out of public life.
The judicial review raises two legal arguments:
Recruitment without open competition is indirect discrimination on grounds of, in particular, race and disability, contrary to the Equality Act 2010; and Government appears to have breached its public sector equality duty in s. 149 of the Equality Act 2010 in filling senior public sector roles without paying due regard to the impact of its recruitment approach on those with protected characteristics.
