Matt Hancock and Three Conservative Peers Referred 60 Suppliers Onto the PPE COVID VIP Lane
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In March, the COVID Inquiry completed four weeks of hearings centred on the controversial procurement decisions made by Boris Johnson's Government during the pandemic.
Of particular interest was the use of a VIP lane by the Cabinet Office and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to procure PPE - a system that fast tracked offers from politically connected companies, many of whom had never previously supplied PPE to the NHS.
The previous Conservative Government was forced by the Good Law Project to reveal the names of the suppliers who benefited from the VIP Lane, and in November 2021, published the list of 51 names following a long-running battle.
Private Correspondence Reveals How David Cameron Helped Old Etonian School Friend Fast-Track COVID Testing Firm
Emails released to Byline Times reveal the close connections between senior Conservatives and those prioritised for multimillion pound COVID contracts
Russell Scott
However, those 51 suppliers declared by the DHSC may just be the tip of the iceberg - new evidence published by the COVID Inquiry and analysed by the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition (UKACC) suggests "20 other suppliers who received 48 contracts worth £1 billion" Via the VIP route. So, half a decade on we still don't know the scale of the VIP lane operation.
However, new documents published by the COVID Inquiry and additional documents obtained by Byline Times via Freedom of Information requests have shed new light on the political interference involved in the VIP lane and alarming evidence that suggests the public may never know the VIP lane's true extent.
Byline Times can now reveal:
Gareth Rhys Williams, the Government's Chief Commercial Officer during the pandemic has confessed in his witness statement to the inquiry that the true scale of the VIP lane remains unknown.
Williams, in his statement to the inquiry confirmed that "approximately 450 companies and individuals made offers" that were fast-tracked into the VIP lane - "leading to the award of contracts to 52 currently identified suppliers". However, in the footnote of the statement an alarming admission was included…
Williams claims: "The use of spreadsheets to record the actions of the PPE Buy Cell before 16 April 2020 means that there may be some offers/contracts which went through the HPL but which have not been recorded or subsequently identified as having done so."
Max Cairnduff, a senior civil servant working within the VIP lane has confirmed in his witness statement to the Inquiry that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, along with Conservative Party Peers Lord Feldman, Lord Deighton and Lord Agnew were re
For digital and print editions, packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, features, and columns….
SUBSCRIBE
In March, the COVID Inquiry completed four weeks of hearings centred on the controversial procurement decisions made by Boris Johnson's Government during the pandemic.
Of particular interest was the use of a VIP lane by the Cabinet Office and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to procure PPE - a system that fast tracked offers from politically connected companies, many of whom had never previously supplied PPE to the NHS.
The previous Conservative Government was forced by the Good Law Project to reveal the names of the suppliers who benefited from the VIP Lane, and in November 2021, published the list of 51 names following a long-running battle.
Private Correspondence Reveals How David Cameron Helped Old Etonian School Friend Fast-Track COVID Testing Firm
Emails released to Byline Times reveal the close connections between senior Conservatives and those prioritised for multimillion pound COVID contracts
Russell Scott
However, those 51 suppliers declared by the DHSC may just be the tip of the iceberg - new evidence published by the COVID Inquiry and analysed by the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition (UKACC) suggests "20 other suppliers who received 48 contracts worth £1 billion" Via the VIP route. So, half a decade on we still don't know the scale of the VIP lane operation.
However, new documents published by the COVID Inquiry and additional documents obtained by Byline Times via Freedom of Information requests have shed new light on the political interference involved in the VIP lane and alarming evidence that suggests the public may never know the VIP lane's true extent.
Byline Times can now reveal:
Gareth Rhys Williams, the Government's Chief Commercial Officer during the pandemic has confessed in his witness statement to the inquiry that the true scale of the VIP lane remains unknown.
Williams, in his statement to the inquiry confirmed that "approximately 450 companies and individuals made offers" that were fast-tracked into the VIP lane - "leading to the award of contracts to 52 currently identified suppliers". However, in the footnote of the statement an alarming admission was included…
Williams claims: "The use of spreadsheets to record the actions of the PPE Buy Cell before 16 April 2020 means that there may be some offers/contracts which went through the HPL but which have not been recorded or subsequently identified as having done so."
Max Cairnduff, a senior civil servant working within the VIP lane has confirmed in his witness statement to the Inquiry that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, along with Conservative Party Peers Lord Feldman, Lord Deighton and Lord Agnew were re
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