Chumocracy

[JohnD]

"The role of a former Tory parliamentary candidate and party donor in a £100m government deal to buy PPE has been revealed after an apparent admin error.

The deal for face masks was signed in July, but the names of those involved were blacked out when the contract was finally published seven months later.

A second document listed Samir Jassal, an ex-councillor who has campaigned with the PM, as the supplier's contact.

The government has said ministers have no part in deciding who gets contracts.

But it is the latest in a series of revelations about PPE deals awarded to those with government connections.

A 'good friend'
Although the deal, for protective masks for hospital workers, was signed last year, the details only came to light in March after a court rebuked the government for failing to publish contracts within the legal time frame. Health Secretary Matt Hancock was found to have acted unlawfully for this failure."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56667960

"Despite costing more than £100m, at least two hospital trusts have reported issues with the fit of the model of masks supplied under the contract"

 

[JohnD]

2020
May

A healthcare firm, which employs Conservative MP Owen Paterson as a paid consultant, won a £133m contract unopposed to produce Covid-19 testing kits, the Guardian reveals.

State contracts worth more than £1bn have been awarded to private companies dealing with the pandemic, without offering other firms the chance to bid for the work, the Guardian reports.

 

[JohnD]

June

The Financial Times reports that the UK government handed contracts worth at least £1.7bn to private companies in the previous three months, mostly without a competitive tender process.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56667960

 

[Mottie]

That’s all old news, isn’t it?

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

That’s all old news, isn’t it?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56667960

 

[Mottie]

I’d call May and June 2020 old news though, wouldn’t you?

 

[JohnD]

Let me know when you start to see the pattern.

"July

The BBC reveals that a Tory councillor received major PPE contracts to supply face shields worth £120m in total.

The Sunday Times goes on to report in November that the same man, then a former Tory councillor, was awarded a further £156m to provide gowns and masks and bought a £1.5m Cotswold mansion with the proceeds."

 

[JohnD]

August

Fifty million masks are withdrawn because of safety concerns, the BBC finds. The masks were bought by the UK government in April as part of a £252m contract and could not be used because they did not meet its specifications.

 

[JohnD]

November

The BBC discovers that Britain's safety watchdog felt political pressure to approve the use of PPE suits, which had not been tested to the correct standard.

A Spanish businessman acted as a go-between to secure protective garments for NHS staff in the coronavirus pandemic and was paid $28m (£21m) in UK taxpayer cash, the BBC reports.

The Times says a report revealed that ministers set up a VIP fast-track channel to buy billions of pounds of PPE from companies who had political contacts with the government and MPs.

 

[JohnD]

December

Millions of hospital gowns that cost £122m were never used, the BBC reports. They were bought at the end of the first lockdown from a supplier which had set up just a month earlier and the contract was not opened to competition due to the exceptional urgency of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

[JohnD]

July

The BBC reveals that a Tory councillor received major PPE contracts to supply face shields worth £120m in total.

The Sunday Times goes on to report in November that the same man, then a former Tory councillor, was awarded a further £156m to provide gowns and masks and bought a £1.5m Cotswold mansion with the proceeds.

 

[JohnD]

August

Fifty million masks are withdrawn because of safety concerns, the BBC finds. The masks were bought by the UK government in April as part of a £252m contract and could not be used because they did not meet its specifications.

 

[JohnD]

November

The BBC discovers that Britain's safety watchdog felt political pressure to approve the use of PPE suits, which had not been tested to the correct standard.

A Spanish businessman acted as a go-between to secure protective garments for NHS staff in the coronavirus pandemic and was paid $28m (£21m) in UK taxpayer cash, the BBC reports.

The Times says a report revealed that ministers set up a VIP fast-track channel to buy billions of pounds of PPE from companies who had political contacts with the government and MPs.

 

[JohnD]

December

Millions of hospital gowns that cost £122m were never used, the BBC reports. They were bought at the end of the first lockdown from a supplier which had set up just a month earlier and the contract was not opened to competition due to the exceptional urgency of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

[JohnD]

2021
February

The use of 10 million sterile surgical gowns is suspended because of concerns over how the items were packaged. The gowns were bought for £70m from a US firm in 2020.

A court rules Matt Hancock acted unlawfully when his department did not reveal details of contracts it had signed during the Covid pandemic.

The Department of Health and Social Care tells the BBC that 1.12 million masks had been withdrawn because they did not meet the right safety standards. The distribution of some gloves was also suspended because they may not have met technical requirements.

The medicines regulator announces it is investigating a £30m Covid contract that was awarded to a firm owned by a man who used to run a pub near Matt Hancock's old constituency home in West Suffolk and which had no history of medical goods.