Ex-Labour MP Shahid Malik Faces Trial Over Alleged £6.6M Covid Testing Fraud

Shahid Malik, a former Labour MP and justice minister, is on trial at Bradford Crown Court along with four others over allegations of running a fraudulent Covid-19 testing firm, RT Diagnostics, which made over £6.6 million in three weeks using non-compliant PCR test kits sourced from Turkey. Prosecutors allege Malik, in partnership with pharmacist Faisal Shoukat and others including Malik's former office manager Paul Moore, operated the business from inadequate premises that were falsely represented as accredited and modern, while employing untrained staff without proper safety measures. The firm was listed on a government website as an approved private PCR test provider, which facilitated significant revenue, but it reportedly submitted an implausibly low number of positive test results to NHS Test and Trace, raising concerns about the reliability and safety of their testing. Malik and Shoukat also allegedly controlled a second company used to hold RT Diagnostics' revenue and later established a third company to continue operations after RT Diagnostics was removed from the government list. Charges include fraudulent trading, causing a public nuisance, and money laundering, all of which the defendants deny. The trial highlights serious concerns about the integrity and compliance of some private Covid testing operations during the pandemic.