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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jordan King

Essex council paid social media prankster nearly £500,000 during pandemic

Essex County Council (ECC) paid close to £500,000 for a social media comedian to run "community engagement" throughout three years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finance documents released by the council show that Simon Harris, 40, made a total of £493,000 between June 4, 2020, and April 24, 2023.

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