Full cost of failed pandemic-era PPE contracts finally revealed after major fraud probe

Failed pandemic-era PPE contracts cost the British taxpayer £1.4billion.

The Covid counter-fraud commissioner uncovered the figure in the first phase of his probe into wasteful Tory spending during the pandemic. Some £762million is unlikely to ever be recovered,

These failures saw substandard PPE, including gowns, masks and visors, not inspected for two years, meaning public money could no longer be recouped. Most of the wasted money went on surgical gowns, with more than half (52%) of them being non-compliant.

Chancellor is now urgently trying to claw back £468million that could still be recovered, which she wants to reinvest in public services and local communities.

READ MORE:

The next phase of Tom Hayhoe’s investigation will look into fraud and error in other pandemic spending programmes such as furlough, bounce-back loans, Business Support Grants and ’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Mr Hayhoe’s final report is due to conclude in December.

Recovery action has so far resulted in £182million being returned to the public purse, with some PPE suppliers having been referred to the National Crime Agency for suspected fraud.

Ms Reeves said: “The country is still paying the price for the reckless handling of Covid contracts which saw taxpayer pounds wasted and criminals profit from the pandemic. This investigation and plan to recover public money underlines our commitment to ensure that every penny spent during the pandemic is fully accounted for.”

The Chancellor confirmed her Covid fraud crackdown at ’s annual conference last September. At the time, she said: “I won’t turn a blind eye to rip-off artists and fraudsters.

“I won’t turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools.”

In December, she tasked Mr Hayhoe with the job of trying to claw back lost money.

The Tory Government has always insisted that it was operating in a crisis, with global PPE shortages driving up prices for kit that was essential for frontline workers.

Former Health Secretary told the in March: "I have been subject to enormous amounts of conspiracy theories about what went on here, when in fact what happened was so many people working as hard as they could to save lives, and they bought more PPE as a result. And therefore people are alive who would otherwise be dead."

READ MORE: