Campaigners are highlighting corruption concerns over multi-billion-pound contracts awarded for PPE and related services as the long-running UK Covid-19 Inquiry resumes.
The report states: “Our research found 135 high-risk COVID-19 contracts with three or more corruption red flags, totalling £15.3 billion, whose awards merit further investigation. Individually, these red flags may be explained away. However, in combination and with growing evidence from litigation and public interest reporting, they illustrate the extent to which public money may have been spent improperly.”
‘VIP Lane’ Deemed Unlawful
The research raises red flags about contracts awarded through the VIP lane, a system deemed unlawful by the High Court, of which 15 contracts worth £1.7 billion were awarded to suppliers with political connections.The reports raises further concerns about contracts made by the government with “new inexperienced suppliers” and uncompetitive tender processes. Eight contracts worth a total of £500 million went to suppliers that were no more than 100 days old.
The analysis comes as the Inquiry is set to reconvene for its third module, examining the impact of COVID-19 and the response to it on the UK’s health services.
Daniel Bruce, chief executive of Transparency International UK, said in a statement, “The scale of corruption risk in the former government’s approach to spending public money during the years of the COVID pandemic was profound.”
He added: “The COVID procurement response was marked by various points of systemic weakness and political choices that allowed cronyism to thrive, all enabled by woefully inadequate public transparency.
‘COVID Corruption Minister’ to Be Appointed
He urged the authorities to “ensure full accountability,” with the government having announced plans to appoint a COVID “corruption commissioner.”The report, titled “Behind the Masks,” was due to be launched in Parliament on Monday afternoon, and urges ministers to fully investigate its concerns, and bolster its procurement practices and safeguards against future impropriety.
The report states: “By analysing publicly available data on over 5,000 UK contracts, alongside official reports, litigation in the courts, and public interest journalism, we identified 135 high-risk contracts worth £15.3 billion. These contracts, which represent nearly one in every three pounds spent, raise serious concerns and warrant further investigation by relevant authorities.”
Official government data show £48.1 billion related to the COVID-19 response involved over 400 public bodies and 5,000 contracts. Over 85 percent (£41 billion) of these by value went through five bodies, namely the Department of Health and Social Care, Collaborative Procurement Partnership LLP, the UK Health Security Agency—including its predecessor, Public Health England—NHS England, and Crown Commercial Service, the report found.
A Conservative spokesman said, “Government policy was in no way influenced by the donations the party received – they are entirely separate.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Commons in July that a COVID anti-corruption probe would go ahead, aimed at clawing back money from fraud around PPE and other related areas.
A spokesperson for the Treasury, which is now leading efforts on investigating COVID-era corruption, said: “The chancellor has been clear that she will not tolerate waste and will appoint a COVID corruption commissioner to get back the money that is owed to the British people.
“The commissioner will report directly to the chancellor, working with the secretary of state for health and social care, and their report will be presented to Parliament for all members to see.”
The public hearings of Module 3 of the Inquiry will run for 10 weeks, until Nov. 28, with leaders from the Health and Safety Executive and Unison due to give evidence this week.
