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Ben Warner: 2 years ago he was doing physics postdoc. Now he’s a ‘data scientist’ advising govt & sitting on SAGE. His brother, Marc - who worked with Cummings on Vote Leave - won £250m NHS contract when Cummings entered Downing Street. And now the contract for NHS tracking app
There are so many questions about Marc Warner’s firm, Faculty, & its role now with NHS & its previous work for Vote Leave & Conservatives. But first the back story..
Cummings boasted on his blog how ‘physicists’ won it for Leave. But who were they?? A mystery until I found invoice on Electoral Comm website for ‘Advanced Skills Initiative’. Eventually realised this was ASI - now Faculty - & put in inquiry. A day later, they outed themselves
We still don't know what ASI/Faculty did for Leave because Cummings refused to answer parliament's questions. The invoices didn't add up. (Literally, £42k appeared on invoices but not on Electoral Commission register). See @brexitsham's write-up here http://www.brexitshambles.com/who-were-vote-leaves-mysterious-data-scientists/
So then, in December, we hear Ben Warner, a principal with Faculty, is working with Cummings on the general election. I didn't manage to write about that because one of these turned up...
A week later, *after* the general election, it's revealed through the usual channels: @ShippersUnbound. Ben Warner had left Faculty, had run 'the Tories' private election model' & was now the new 'data geek' at Number 10 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/leave-campaigns-data-geek-joins-no-10-3klj3566j
And then, earlier this month @PaulLewis & team reveal Faculty - that's Ben's brother, Marc, remember - has won govt contract along with Peter Thiel's Palantir to model NHS confidential data, including impact of 'herd immunity' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/12/uk-government-using-confidential-patient-data-in-coronavirus-response?CMP=share_btn_tw
Faculty - speaking through its lawyers - tells @guardian that it won the contract through a competitive tender process & Cummings had nothing to do with it
Except that's not what NHS England told @davidhencke. Faculty & Palantir contracts did not go to competitive tender. NHS England said wasn't required because of pre-existing contracts from Aug 2019 - just after Cummings entered No 10 - for £250m NHS deal https://bylinetimes.com/2020/04/22/palantir-coronavirus-contract-did-not-go-to-competitive-tender/
So that's Ben Warner. Who now either sits 'on' SAGE. Or 'at' SAGE. Or whatever you want to call it. While his brother now has access to entire our health data & is modelling the pandemic. Alongside Peter Thiel's Palantir.
A couple more points. GMG Ventures, the Guardian's venture arm, invested in Faculty back in November. No, I don't know why, you'll have to ask them. It certainly hasn't stopped the reporting though. @PaulLewis's investigations team doing stellar job https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/11/29/home-office-partner-faculty-raises-fresh-cash-investors-pile/
