Boris Johnson’s government wasted almost £10bn as it scrambled to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) that was eventually found to be unusable, the Covid inquiry has found.
In the fifth report of her investigation, Heather Hallett criticised the “vast” waste of taxpayers’ money in pandemic procurement, and revealed that of approximately £14.9bn spent on medical equipment – including masks, gloves and gowns – nearly two-thirds was wasted.
Meanwhile, the government’s highly controversial “VIP lane”, which prioritised offers of PPE referred by senior politicians or officials, was branded “misguided” and found to have been “inherently biased” towards suppliers with political connections.
Baroness Hallett issued a withering assessment of the government’s wastage, saying: “The public must be able to trust that their money is being spent with propriety, fairness and transparency.
“Public confidence – so important in an emergency – was undermined by failures in procurement.”
However, Lady Hallett said there was “no evidence of cronyism or corruption” by ministers or officials when awarding contracts.
Other key findings from the damning report included:
- VIP Lane suppliers were 13 times more likely to be awarded contracts – but also more likely to have issues with performance
- Frontline workers were left without adequate PPE to protect themselves and loved ones
- The UK’s over-reliance on China for PPE left it dangerously exposed
- A lack of government transparency and the “unfair” VIP lane diminished public trust
- The UK’s existing stockpiles of PPE were “in a perilous state” when the Covid pandemic hit
- Lady Hallett said her findings showed the need for a “fundamental change in how the UK prepares for emergency procurement”
- Of the 32 people who referred successful offers to the VIP lane, 15 had a connection with the Conservative Party and none came from any other party
The report describes a procurement system working under “immense pressure”, with no effective system for triaging offers of PPE.
That system was “deluged” with offers, receiving 25,000 offers over 15 weeks, peaking at 300 offers a day.
Against that background, officials established a “high priority” or “VIP” lane that prioritised offers that had been referred by politicians, healthcare leaders and others in order to prioritise credible offers.
The report sets out how potential suppliers put through the government’s “VIP Lane” were 13 times more likely to be awarded government contracts, but were also more likely to have issues with performance.
Of the 15,194 suppliers who offered the government PPE through the non-high priority lane, just 160 were awarded contracts.
Meanwhile, 54 of the 430 suppliers who went through the “VIP Lane” were awarded contracts.
The report found that, of the 32 people who referred successful offers to the VIP lane, 15 had a connection with the Conservative Party and none came from any other party, although politicians from other parties were referred to it.
However, the Department of Health and Social Care found that proportionally, more VIP Lane contracts were judged to have had issues with contractual performance, with issues ranging from incorrect technical documents to the supply of the wrong type of equipment.
Lady Hallett described the VIP lane as “a misguided attempt at prioritisation that embedded unfairness in emergency procurement” that saw offers from politically-connected individuals more likely to receive a contract than others.
She said her inquiry had found “no evidence of cronyism or corruption on the part of ministers or officials in the final decision of whether to award or reject a contract”, but noted the system was “inherently biased towards those with connections to the UK government”.
She said: “This heightened the risk of abuse. It damaged the reputation of those involved in procurement during the pandemic and undermined public trust in the UK government’s emergency procurement system, in the UK government itself and in its response to the pandemic.
“The High Priority Lane should not be repeated.”
In her report, Lady Hallett also found the UK was underprepared for the pandemic, with existing stockpiles of PPE “in a perilous state”, with large quantities of expired equipment.
She found only a third of the masks in England’s pre-pandemic stockpile were usable, while Scotland had no supplies of the top-level FFP3 masks needed by healthcare professionals.
It found that as equipment was being distributed, health and social care workers were forced to report shortages and concerns about the quality and safety of the equipment that was being supplied.
“There were also no proper plans for the procurement and distribution of key healthcare equipment in any emergency,” it said. “This left health and social care workers without adequate PPE to protect themselves, and those for whom they cared, from infection.”
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said the report makes for "difficult reading" and added: “The pandemic had a profound and lasting impact across our society and this government is committed to learning the lessons from the Covid inquiry so we are protected and prepared for the future.”
Nicola Brook, a solicitor at law firm Broudie Jackson Canter, which represents the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaign group, attacked the inquiry’s findings.
She said: “Today’s report reveals the shocking level of corruption and cronyism at the heart of government, resulting in billions of pounds lost as companies sought to profit while thousands died.
“What is equally shocking is the chair’s failure to call this corruption out after she inexplicably failed to call crucial witnesses involved in some of the most scandalous contracts.”
During the inquiry’s investigation into procurement, Lady Hallett also heard evidence on PPE Medpro, which was ordered to repay £148m to the government last year after the High Court found it had breached a contract to supply millions of surgical gowns.
But Tuesday’s report did not include her findings on Medpro due to an ongoing National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into the firm, which is linked to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone via her husband Doug Barrowman.
Both Lady Mone, 54, and Mr Barrowman, 61, deny wrongdoing and the inquiry has said it will release its findings on Medpro once any criminal proceedings have concluded.
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