Steve Brine is a British Conservative Party politician and former health minister, who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester since 2010. Prior to his political career, he worked as a BBC Radio journalist and in public relations.
Brine has recently been in the news due to claims that he lobbied the NHS during the Covid-19 crisis while he was chairman of the Commons Health Committee. The allegations suggest Brine was lobbying for a recruitment firm that was paying him £1,600 per month to hire anaesthetists through them. Brine denies any wrongdoing and argued that he was responding to government calls to help the NHS during the pandemic.
These allegations have led to calls from both Conservative and opposition MPs for Brine to step down as the chairman of the committee, at least while the investigation is ongoing. Furthermore, the leaked messages have raised serious concerns about whether Brine has breached parliamentary standards, and he has been referred to the parliamentary standards commissioner by the chair of the Labour Party, Anneliese Dodds.
Prior to this, Brine was best known for his tenure as the Minister for Public Health and Primary Care from 2018 to 2019, during which time he worked on the government's childhood obesity strategy and was supportive of vaping as a tool for smoking cessation. Brine has also been an advocate for HS2, a proposed high-speed railway line which has been the subject of much debate and controversy in recent years.
UK Tory MP Steve Brine investigated over lobbying NHS during Covid crisis
Tory MP Steve Brine is being investigated over claims of lobbying the NHS during the Covid crisis while he was chairman of the Commons Health Committee.
The investigation was opened by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, and involves "paid advocacy" and a "declaration of an interest".
Brine allegedly lobbied the NHS Chief Executive to hire anaesthetists through Remedium, a company he had worked for, and received £1,600-a-month for his work as a "strategic adviser".
The probe was prompted by leaked WhatsApp messages from former health secretary Matt Hancock.
While Downing Street refused to comment, some are calling for Brine to step down from his committee role.
Tory MP Steve Brine faces investigation over alleged NHS lobbying
Following leaked messages that were exchanged in 2021, Steve Brine, a senior Conservative MP, is facing an investigation over claims he lobbied the NHS on behalf of a recruitment firm that was paying him £1,600 per month.
Several sources have reported the story with some suggesting that the messages raise questions over whether he broke lobbying rules.
Brine has maintained that he was merely responding to a call from the government to help the NHS during the Covid pandemic.
Senior Tory MP reported to parliamentary standards commissioner over potential conflict of interest
Chairman of the Labour Party, Anneliese Dodds, reported Conservative MP and former health minister Steve Brine to the parliamentary standards commissioner over claims that he lobbied the head of the NHS on behalf of a company paying him £1,600 per month.
Leaked messages appeared to show Brine attempting to persuade the NHS to hire anaesthetists through the recruitment company Remedium.
Brine now faces calls to step down as chairman of the Commons health committee while Commissioner Daniel Greenberg will decide whether to investigate the matter further.
Plans for major childcare system overhaul postponed indefinitely
Plans to reform childcare to reduce costs to parents and help them return to work have been postponed indefinitely.
The reforms, spearheaded by Liz Truss, were due to include an increase in free childcare support by 20 hours a week and the removal of staff-child ratios.
However, the scale of the changes has been reduced, and a new timescale for introducing any reforms has not been set.
The decision has been criticised by some Conservative MPs and Labour as "feeble".
UK imposes Covid-19 testing requirement on travellers from China
The UK Government has announced that travellers from China must produce a negative pre-departure Covid-19 test before entering the country, in line with other nations who have imposed new controls upon China reopening its borders.
Some scientists argue that such measures are unlikely to prevent new variants reaching the UK, whilst concerns have been raised that this could mark the first step on a return to domestic controls.
Steve Brine, a Conservative MP and former health minister, dismissed these concerns, stating that the measures are necessary as Chinese authorities would not share their data with other countries.