DfE 'gave £1m to IT firm linked to Keegan's husband'

Education secretary Gillian Keegan has "serious questions to answer", said Labour, after it emerged that a company linked to her husband was handed a £1m contract from a schools rebuilding fund.

- ADAM FORREST

The cabinet minister's husband Michael Keegan states on his LinkedIn social media page that he is a non-executive director at technology firm Centerprise. The company was one of six suppliers awarded IT contracts earlier this year to replace server infrastructure at schools, with the money coming from the school rebuilding programme (SRP) fund, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Department for Education (DfE) said no ministers had had any involvement in the procurement process for these contracts but shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson claimed that the optics are not good for the government. "This appears to be a gross conflict of interest, and eyebrows will be raised that the Keegans appear to have gained from a shrinking pot of school rebuilding money," she said.