Dominic Cummings tried to SLOTXO bypass the usual awarding process and fast-track a £530,000 government grant at the start of the pandemic, leaked emails suggest.

In an email, the PM's ex-top aide told civil servants to "immediately" issue the cash with "no procurement, no lawyers, no meetings, no delay".

Further emails show civil servants had concerns about the timeframe and whether it was in line with the rules.

The government said due diligence was followed in awarding the grant.

"We take these checks extremely seriously to ensure our contracts deliver results and value for money," the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

The grant was eventually issued to the project Our World in Data, a research project run by a charitable organisation with academics at Oxford University, in four instalments from summer 2020.

In response, Mr Cummings wrote on Wednesday on his blog: "I sent that email because I wanted the problem solved instantly without distracting key people from other aspects of the emergency."

"I do not regard it as 'damaging' that I tried to throw 'due process' out the window - sticking with 'due process' was killing people," he said.

Mr Cummings left his role in Downing Street in November 2020.