Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
£1.46bn blown on flawed PPE bought through VIP lane
Labour pressure reveals full extent of Tory waste
NEARLY £1.5billion of taxpayers cash was blown on useless Covid PPE bought through the Government’s so-called “VIP lane”.
The total was officially revealed by the Department of Health and Social Security this week after pressure from two Labour MPs.
And the money wasted on inadequate masks, gowns, goggles and gloves desperately needed by the struggling NHS would have paid for 58,400 new nurses.
The junk, some of which is being burned, was bought through a Government High Priority Lane for PPE buying set up by Boris Johnson at the start of the pandemic.
It let Tory MPs and top civil servants recommend companies to supply PPE.
Michael Gove, shamed ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock and former minister Esther McVey were the biggest names among 10 Tories who brought contracts in – but they are not accused of any wrongdoing.
The true depth of the scandal emerged after Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and Public Accounts Committee MP Dan Carden put a written question to DHSC minister Edward Argar. His Commons reply confirmed that £1.46bn of £3.27bn worth of PPE “which cannot be used” or “was not suitable for use in the health and social care sector” had been bought through the VIP lane.
The lane was ruled unlawful by High Court judge Mrs Justice O’Farrell in January. Mr Carden said all suppliers of PPE products not fit for purpose should be made to return the money.
He said. “Those responsible must be held to account and steps taken to recover losses.”
Ms Rayner added: “Unusable masks, gowns, goggles and gloves our frontline key workers desperately needed are now literally going up in flames, along with billions of taxpayers’ cash spent on it.
“The next Labour government will establish an Office for Value for Money that would ensure taxpayers’ cash is treated with respect.”
The DHSC claims around £360m of PPE was not fit for use and a further £1.1bn was unsuitable for NHS staff. That meant it could only be used in settings such as schools.
A spokesman said: “We have delivered over 19.1 billion items of PPE to frontline staff to keep them safe.
“Of the PPE we procured, 97% is fit for use.”
Those responsible must be held to account and steps taken to recover losses
DAN CARDEN MP WHO PUT WRITTEN QUESTION TO MINISTER