Company connected with Iraq abuse claims wins Covid marshals contracts
A company that employed private investigators to probe the conduct of British troops in Iraq has been awarded a series of contracts to recruit Covid marshals.
Red Snapper recruitment, which has a turnover of almost £30 million, is advertising for applicants for the posts across a number of local authorities in England.
Successful candidates are told they can expect to earn around £100 a day for the four-month, full time contracts.
They will be expected to patrol town centres to ensure people are not breaking the rules around social distancing and complying with the laws on wearing face coverings in public places.
With a new and varying tier system about to replace the lockdown, Covid marshals will also be on hand to explain what the rules are to those who are confused, but will not have the powers to fine people.
The use of Covid marshals is controversial and unpopular with the public and MPs alike.
Tory MP, Steve Baker, warned that the introduction of marshals would mean a trip to the town centres would be like going through airport security.
Red Snapper is one of a number of recruitment specialists that have been hired after local authorities were handed £30 million by the Government to help with Covid enforcement plans.
The firm hit the headlines in 2016 when it emerged that it had been awarded millions of pounds of taxpayers' money for helping to provide staff for the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT).
They employed dozens of retired police officers to investigate allegations of abuse, torture and murder by the British military during the Iraq war.
But the IHAT inquiry came in for intense criticism over the length of time it took to carry out investigations, with many of those accused left in limbo for years not knowing what the outcome was likely to be. MPs denounced IHAT as a “witch hunt”. Red Snapper, itself, was not blamed for the length of the inquiry.
At the time, the company - which supplied 127 investigators to IHAT - insisted their contract returned a small profit of three per cent, and that the company had other successful contracts.
Red Snapper has won the contracts to supply Covid marshals for at least five local authorities, but the company refused to disclose the full list.
Recent advertisements have appeared for roles in Sandwell in the West Midlands, Bedford, Slough, Staffordshire and Bristol.
Candidates are asked to demonstrate strong communication and interpersonal skills, and must be able to manage conflict and deal with difficult situations.
They are offered up to £103.76 per day for the role, and expected to work between 2pm and 11pm five days a week.
Major Robert Campbell, who was subjected to a lengthy investigation by Ihat - which is separate to Red Snapper - over the death of an Iraqi in 2003 and subsequently exonerated in a separate judge-led inquiry, said: “Red Snapper has shown there is no human misery they cannot exploit for a profit.”
A spokesman for Red Snapper said: “RSG is supplying a small number of workers to a small number of local authorities to fulfil the role of Covid marshal. We believe we are one supplier of many who are meeting this demand.”
