Corruption 'red flag' on £15bn Covid contracts

Corruption "red flags" in government Covid contracts worth more than £15bn have been uncovered, representing nearly one in every three pounds awarded by the Conservative administration during the pandemic, according to a detailed study.

- Daniel Boffey

The analysis, billed as the most indepth look yet at public procurement during the crisis, warns that systemic bias, opaque accounting and uncontrolled pricing resulted in vast waste of public funds on testing and personal protective equipment (PPE).

The review of more than 5,000 contracts across 400 public bodies identifies 135 high-risk contracts with a value of £15.3bn where investigation is merited due to the identification of three or more "red flags" for corruption, including a lack of competition, delays or failure to release information on procurement and conflicts of interest in the award of contracts.

The findings, from Transparency International UK, will pile pressure on the Labour government to fulfil a pledge to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner and recoup lost billions. The report finds: ● At least 28 contracts worth £4.1bn went to those with known political connections to the Tory party. This amounts to almost one in 10 pounds spent on the pandemic response.

● A total of 51 contracts worth £4bn went via the "VIP lane", a vehicle through which some suppliers got priority, of which 24 worth £1.7bn were referred by politicians from the Conservative party or their offices.

A total of £1bn was spent on PPE from 25 VIP lane suppliers that was later deemed unfit for use. The VIP lane was found to be unlawful by a high court judge in a 2022 ruling.