Private Correspondence Reveals How David Cameron Helped Old Etonian School Friend Fast-Track COVID Testing Firm
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Correspondence newly released to Byline Times reveals how former Prime Minister David Cameron helped an old Etonian school friend and former hedge funder get a fast track into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) advisors at the start of the pandemich.
The friend was Hugh Warrender, who attended Eton with Cameron in the 1980s and who was then representing a South Korean COVID testing firm. After being contacted by Warrender, Cameron introduced him to Lord Feldman, another close friend of Cameron's, who was working as an advisor to health ministers at the time.
Knightsbridge based consultancy firm, Fin De Guerre Strategies, owned by Warrender, was ultimately unsuccessful in securing the contract for their clients from the DHSC. However, the companies "referral" from Cameron sheds new light on how businesses backed by senior Conservative Party figures were able to circumnavigate the usual procurement process.
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Emails released to Byline Times via a Freedom of Information request reveal how within three days of lobbying the former PM, the Fin De Guerre's offer to supply South Korean produced COVID Tests was emailed directly to Health Minister Lord Bethell.
In the early hour of 3 April 2020, Cameron received an email from representatives of Fin De Guerre, the subject header of the email read: "Need your help - I have a supplier of COVID-19 tests but we can't contact anyone who replies to offer them."
The email included a plea to help provide contact details for somebody in government with the "wherewithal to address" their offer to supply COVID tests "seriously".
Later the same morning, Cameron obliged and forwarded the offer onto Lord Feldman - A Conservative Peer who was also working as an advisor to Matt Hancock and Lord Bethell during the early months of the pandemic.
Cameron told the supplier: "Hi there. Try Andrew Feldman - an old friend of mine and my former party chairman who runs a business but is currently working in the NHS, for Matt Hancock, sorting out various procurements". Cameron signed off the email "All good wishes. Dc."
The day after Cameron's introduction to the Conservative Peer, the supplier emailed Lord Feldman directly on what appears to be his personal email address rather than his official DHSC account to request Feldman give its submission "more prompt at
To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis.
Help us build the better media Britain deserves
Correspondence newly released to Byline Times reveals how former Prime Minister David Cameron helped an old Etonian school friend and former hedge funder get a fast track into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) advisors at the start of the pandemich.
The friend was Hugh Warrender, who attended Eton with Cameron in the 1980s and who was then representing a South Korean COVID testing firm. After being contacted by Warrender, Cameron introduced him to Lord Feldman, another close friend of Cameron's, who was working as an advisor to health ministers at the time.
Knightsbridge based consultancy firm, Fin De Guerre Strategies, owned by Warrender, was ultimately unsuccessful in securing the contract for their clients from the DHSC. However, the companies "referral" from Cameron sheds new light on how businesses backed by senior Conservative Party figures were able to circumnavigate the usual procurement process.
The Sheer Scale of the COVID 'VIP Lane' PPE Scandal Has Still Not Been Revealed Five Years On
New evidence published by the COVID Inquiry suggests that at least 20 more politically-connected suppliers received contracts worth £1 billion
Russell Scott
Emails released to Byline Times via a Freedom of Information request reveal how within three days of lobbying the former PM, the Fin De Guerre's offer to supply South Korean produced COVID Tests was emailed directly to Health Minister Lord Bethell.
In the early hour of 3 April 2020, Cameron received an email from representatives of Fin De Guerre, the subject header of the email read: "Need your help - I have a supplier of COVID-19 tests but we can't contact anyone who replies to offer them."
The email included a plea to help provide contact details for somebody in government with the "wherewithal to address" their offer to supply COVID tests "seriously".
Later the same morning, Cameron obliged and forwarded the offer onto Lord Feldman - A Conservative Peer who was also working as an advisor to Matt Hancock and Lord Bethell during the early months of the pandemic.
Cameron told the supplier: "Hi there. Try Andrew Feldman - an old friend of mine and my former party chairman who runs a business but is currently working in the NHS, for Matt Hancock, sorting out various procurements". Cameron signed off the email "All good wishes. Dc."
The day after Cameron's introduction to the Conservative Peer, the supplier emailed Lord Feldman directly on what appears to be his personal email address rather than his official DHSC account to request Feldman give its submission "more prompt at
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