Former Labour MP Shahid Malik Faces Trial Over Inadequate Covid Testing Lab Fraud

Shahid Malik, a former Labour minister and MP for Dewsbury, is on trial along with four others for allegedly running a substandard Covid-19 testing company called RT Diagnostics. Prosecutors allege the defendants exploited the UK government's urgent need to expand testing in 2021 by operating a lab that did not meet British standards, generating £6.67 million in just three weeks. The laboratory, based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was described as "shoddy and inadequate," with poor premises, untrained staff, lack of protective equipment, and no social distancing measures. RT Diagnostics falsely claimed accreditation and a modern facility on its website but never completed the official accreditation process. The company reportedly imported inadequate testing kit components from Turkey and provided suspiciously low positive test results, undermining the NHS Test and Trace system. The defendants face charges including fraudulent trading, causing public nuisance, and money laundering, all of which they deny.