In May 2020, Ms Patel wrote a letter to Mr Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, about a company called Pharmaceuticals Direct Ltd that was in talks with the government about an order for face masks.
She said the government's "late stage" decision not to use the company had caused problems for the firm.
"I would be most grateful if you could review this matter urgently," she wrote in the letter to Mr Gove.
The contact at Pharmaceuticals Direct Ltd was a man called
Samir Jassal +, a Conservative activist who Ms Patel knew. According to his LinkedIn, he worked as an
adviser to Ms Patel between 2014 and 2015 and on social media describes her as a "good friend".
Health Secretary Matt Hancock wrote back to Ms Patel to say the masks being offered by the firm were "not suitable for use in the NHS".
But
the company was later awarded a contract in July 2020, worth just under £103m *, to supply a different type of mask.
The letters have come to light as part of a legal challenge by the Good Law Project. Jolyon Maugham, director of the campaign, said: “Why did Jassal, a man connected to past and present Tory PMs, ministers and peers, reach out to Priti Patel for help? What was his role in winning the £103 million contract? What relationship did his connections with the party have to the £103 million contract won by Pharmaceuticals Direct?"