Priti Patel has been accused of breaching ministerial code for second time. The home secretary, is urged to withdraw from cabinet discussions about a £6bn defence contract, after it had emerged that the US company, Viasat that paid her £1,000 an hour to advise it, plans to bid for the work.
Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson, said the fact that Patel had worked for Viasat in the period running up to her appointment as home secretary created the risk of a conflict of interest now that she was in government.
The Californian company has declared it wants to bid on the contract to supply next-generation military satellite communication systems, called Skynet 6. The bidding process run by the Ministry of Defence is expected to start next year.
Patel originally declared on 3 June, when she was a backbencher, that she worked as a “strategic adviser” to Viasat from 1 May to 31 July, earning £5,000 a month for “an expected commitment” of about five hours a month.
Home Office sources said that Patel had been “through a full process” of examination by the advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba). Acoba monitors private sector employment by ministers and ex-ministers, and “no issues were raised”.
