An anti-corruption organisation has highlighted serious issues surrounding contracts exceeding £15.3 billion that were awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, which amounts to one in every £3 spent. Transparency International UK has flagged 135 contracts as “high-risk,” each exhibiting at least three indicators of potential corruption.Twenty-eight contracts, valued at £4.1 billion, were given to companies with known political connections, while 51 contracts, worth £4 billion, were routed through a “VIP lane” for businesses recommended by MPs and peers— a process later ruled unlawful by the High Court.
A Conservative Party spokesperson commented: “Government policy was in no way influenced by donations received by the party – the two are completely unrelated.”
Transparency International UK examined 5,000 contracts in search of red flags. Their research suggested that nearly two-thirds of high-value contracts for supplies such as masks and protective medical equipment—amounting to £30.7 billion—were awarded without competitive bidding. Furthermore, eight contracts worth a total of £500 million were given to suppliers that had been established for less than 100 days—another signal of potential corruption.
Standard procedures meant to safeguard the process of bidding for government contracts from corruption were set aside during the pandemic. The government, led by Boris Johnson, defended this action, arguing that bypassing the normal bidding process was essential to speed up the procurement of vital supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE).
However, Transparency International UK, a key participant in the Covid-19 inquiry, which starts its third phase on Monday, said that suspending these protections was often unnecessary, leading to a loss of billions of pounds and damaging trust in government institutions. The organisation is urging authorities to look into the high-risk contracts it has identified. It has sent a detailed report on its findings, including the contracts in question, to the National Audit Office, the Public Accounts Committee, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Daniel Bruce, the CEO of the charity, remarked: “The fact that we have uncovered multiple red flags in more than £15 billion of contracts—around a third of all pandemic-related spending—points to something more serious than mere coincidence or incompetence.”
He added that “the government’s procurement response during Covid was marked by several systemic flaws and political decisions that encouraged cronyism, exacerbated by a lack of transparency.
“As far as we know, no other country used a system like the VIP lane employed in the UK’s Covid response. The financial cost is already becoming clear, with substantial amounts wasted on unusable PPE from suppliers lacking proper qualifications,” Mr Bruce continued. “We strongly encourage the Covid-19 inquiries and the future Covid corruption commissioner to hold those responsible to account, and for the next government to swiftly act on the lessons learned.”
Of the £48.1 billion in public money spent on private sector contracts related to the Covid-19 pandemic, £14.9 billion was written off by the Department of Health & Social Care. Of that total, approximately £1 billion was spent on PPE deemed unsuitable for use, according to another non-governmental organisation, Spotlight on Corruption.
A report by the National Audit Office on public procurement during the pandemic, published in November 2020, found no evidence of ministers being involved in procurement decisions or contract management.
