£2bn PPE deals for firms with Tory links

MORE than £2billion of PPE and testing contracts were awarded by the Government to companies with links to prominent Tories, a damning report has found.

Astonishingly, hundreds of millions of pounds went to companies which were less than 60 days old, raising questions over whether they had any experience in producing the supplies.

And almost all of the contracts given out between February and November last year were awarded with no competition whatsoever.

The report, by anti- corruption campaigners Transparency International UK, said the way the Government handled supply bids during the pandemic appeared ‘systematically biased’ in favour of those with political access.

It said that as many as one in five Covid contracts were potentially corrupt. Its report found 73 contracts worth almost £ 4billion raised at least one ‘red flag’, such as uncompetitive tendering, companies being unsuitable for work and abnormally high pricing.

The report, which will trigger fresh allegations of Tory cronyism, comes after the National Audit Office raised concerns about a ‘high-priority’ lane for companies which had contacts with MPs.

The Mail has previously revealed how a number of firms have made millions from Covid contracts.

In one example, ministers ignored legal advice to give a failing company a test contract leaving taxpayers with a £87million bill when the tests did not work. Pigeon pest controllers and yoghurt makers were granted huge contracts despite having little previous experience in PPE production.

Daniel Bruce, chief executive of Transparency International UK, said: ‘There are now very serious questions for the Government to answer. We must have full accountability for the eye- watering amounts of taxpayers’ money spent on the response.

‘The frequency with which Covid-related contracts were awarded to those with political connections is deeply concerning.

‘Given it appears only a select group knew about the VIP lane, with those politicians in the know confined to one side of the House, it is our conclusion that the system for handling PPE offers was pre-loaded with bias.

‘With more spent on PPE than the annual budget of the Home Office, the public have a right to know if their money was spent wisely and properly.’

The organisation’s report, entitled Test and Trace, involved a painstaking review of nearly 1,000 contracts worth a total £18billion.

It said critical safeguards to prevent corruption were suspended without adequate justification.

It found 24 contracts worth £1.6billion were awarded to those with known political connections to the Conservative Party. Another three contracts worth £536million went to politically connected companies for testing-related services.

From February to November 2020, 98.9 per cent of Covid-related contracts by value – £17.8billion – were awarded without any form of competition.

Many were awarded to companies with no track record of supplying goods or services. Fourteen companies incorporated in 2020 received contracts worth more than £620million, of which 13 contracts totalling £255million went to ten firms under 60 days old.

Details of contracts awarded to politically connected companies often took longer to emerge, in several cases not being published for more than 100 days.

Labour shadow cabinet member Rachel Reeves said: ‘The scale of corruption risk to vast amounts of taxpayer money revealed in this report is shocking, as is the evidence of cronyism flowing through the Government’s contracting.

‘They’ve let cronyism and sleaze run through the core of their procurement and contracting.’

‘System pre-loaded with bias’