Former Labour MP accused of running unsafe and ‘shoddy’ Covid testing lab in Yorkshire

A former Labour MP is on trial over claims he helped run a “shoddy and inadequate” Covid-19 testing lab during the pandemic.

Shahid Malik, ex-MP for Dewsbury and a former justice minister, is accused alongside four others of profiting from an unregulated lab in Halifax that failed to meet UK standards. Prosecutors say the lab, RT Diagnostics, made £6.7 million in just three weeks during 2021—while mishandling test samples and giving out potentially false negative results.

The court heard the premises were in poor condition, staff were untrained and unprotected, and test kits were sometimes left unprocessed. Some results were allegedly made up to satisfy complaints.

Jurors were told that when scrutiny increased, the group tried to set up new companies to keep operating under different names.

All five defendants deny the charges. The trial continues.