Labour ex-councillor faces jail after bogus Covid testing firm sent fake results to 123,000 customers

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026 · last updated 10 October 2026.

Faisal Shoukat, 39, a pharmacist and former Labour councillor, was found guilty of fraudulent trading, causing public nuisance and money laundering after running Halifax-based RT Diagnostics, which raked in £6.67 million in three weeks. The judge warned Shoukat is facing a custodial sentence ahead of his December 4 sentencing hearing. Tests were simply dumped unopened in bin bags while customers received false negative results and fit-to-fly certificates.

Of 123,000 test results submitted to the national database between May and July 2021, just 45 were reported positive.

The judge said it was 'inevitable' that people contracted Covid-19 after mixing with those who had received false negatives from the firm.

Former Labour MP and justice minister Shahid Malik, who co-founded the business with Shoukat, was cleared of all three charges by the judge after the jury was discharged.