I Cook boss Ian Cook to run against Premier Daniel Andrews in the seat of Mulgrave

The man whose business was ruined in the “slug gate” scandal will run against Daniel Andrews on an anti-corruption ticket, as a senior Labor MP defended the Premier’s integrity.

Ian Cook – the man at the centre of the long-running “slug gate” scandal – will run against Premier Daniel Andrews in the seat of Mulgrave on an anti-corruption ticket.

Mr Cook is standing as an independent candidate at November’s state election more than three years after the controversial closure of his family-owned catering business.

The scandal began when a Greater Dandenong Council health inspector was accused of planting a slug inside the I Cook Foods facility, which the council denies.

“This is not a stunt and it’s not about revenge,” Mr Cook said.

“After three years of seeing first-hand how corruption is devastating Victoria, I can’t sit by and let Daniel Andrews pretend that he is fit for public office.”

Mr Cook hit the hustings in Mulgrave on Friday and Saturday in a campaign dubbed by his supporters as “Cook versus Crook”.

Ian Cook will run against Premier Daniel Andrews in the seat of Mulgrave at the 2022 state election. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Housing Minister Danny Pearson said the Premier shouldn’t be worried about Mr Cook’s challenge.

“It’s a question of who do you trust. Who do you think is the best person to lead this state over the next four years?”, Mr Pearson said on Monday.

“The Premier has always acted with integrity and has worked incredibly hard, particularly over these last few years.

“The people of Mulgrave will have a very clear choice on polling day on the last Saturday of November in terms of who they want to represent them.”

Mr Pearson said Mr Cook’s decision to run in the state election was “a sign of a vibrant, robust democracy”.

Forty-one workers lost their jobs due to the forced closure of Mr Cook’s company in February 2019, ­ordered by then acting chief health officer Brett Sutton.

Mr Cook is continuing to fight in the Supreme Court to prove the closure of the Dandenong South business was unlawful. He is suing the Department of Health and the City of Greater Dandenong for $50m in lost earnings.

His legal team, headed by top silk Robert Richter, QC, will this week seek orders for Victoria

Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton to be held in contempt of court for failing to hand over key documents.

Mr Cook says Daniel Andrews isn’t fit for public office. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“We have been seeking documents, under subpoena, from Victoria Police in relation to its investigation into the I Cook closure and the ­allegations relating to that,” Mr Cook’s solicitor David Brett told the Herald Sun.

“To date, the police have not properly responded. Certain documents have been produced, but not all documents, and we have threatened contempt proceedings on at least two occasions to try to obtain them.”

Mr Cook said his three-year ordeal had convinced him Victorian voters deserved better. Mr Andrews holds the seat of Mulgrave on a margin of 8.2 per cent.

“A hell of a lot has happened since 2018,” Mr Cook said. “The person the people of Mulgrave thought they were voting for back then is not the Daniel Andrews we all know now.

“This government is stained by countless corrupt acts, including what happened to me, and I’m asking my electorate to make sure that the frontman of it all is forced from the parliament. The fish rots from the head.”

The boss of I Cook Foods, Ian Cook, with retired Detective Sergeant Paul Brady and retired Detective Inspector Rod Porter at the I Cook Foods facility. Picture: Alex Coppel

The original photo sent to I Cook shows some tissue near the slug but images later produced by a health inspector do not.

Mr Cook, 62, said he ­intended to doorknock thousands of homes and speak at community events, churches and clubs in the lead-up to the November 26 poll.

His legal team claims in the court proceedings the slug-gate saga is linked to I Cook Foods’ commercial rival, Community Chef, which was partly-owned by the local council and used state government funds.

The council and state are defending the proceedings.

Mr Cook says Professor Sutton wrongly ordered the company to be shut after the death of a woman at Knox Private Hospital, where I Cook Foods was a caterer.