The chairman of an east London NHS trust’s board of directors has blocked a vote on bring the jobs of nearly 300 hospital support staff back in-house.

Sir John Gieve admitted there was a “social justice” argument for Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust insourcing the ISS contract as he intervened in the crunch vote on Thursday night.

Campaigners had rallied outside Homerton University Hospital ahead of a vote by its council of governors, who advise the trust’s board, in support of a Unison campaign for the company to pay its employees a so-called Covid bonus of £1,655, which directly employed NHS staff have received.

Half of the 22-strong council is understood to favour the insourcing of the cleaning, catering and maintenance staff currently employed by multinational contractor ISS, whose contract expires next year.

But the career civil servant, formerly deputy governor of the Bank of England and permanent secretary at the Home Office, succeeded in blocking the vote, a source told the Morning Star.

The trust was contacted for comment.