Britain wasted almost £10 BILLION buying PPE during Covid pandemic

Britain wasted almost £10billion buying PPE during the coronavirus pandemic, the Covid inquiry has found.

Around two-thirds of the total £14.9billion of taxpayer money spent on personal protective equipment went towards masks, gloves, and gowns, which were inadequate and unusable.

In the fifth official report, published today, the inquiry's chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, heavily criticised the "vast" financial waste and structural failures of the pandemic.

It highlighted the "VIP lane" which prioritised certain suppliers for NHS PPE, describing it as "misguided" and said it must "never be repeated".

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The inquiry found the system was "inherently biased" and resulted in contracts that were significantly more expensive and plagued by performance issues.

It was also discovered that the UK’s supplier base was "too concentrated in China", and that Britain was unprepared to rely on domestic manufacturers.

The inquiry "found no evidence of cronyism or corruption on the part of ministers or officials in the final decision of whether to award or reject a contract”.

However, the allegations and lack of transparency did "damage the reputation of those involved in procurement during the pandemic and undermined public trust”.

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