Former health secretary Matt Hancock and former Conservative Party chairman Lord Feldman are among several Tories who helped nearly 50 companies secure PPE contracts worth millions during the pandemic, according to a report by Politico. The companies used a controversial 'VIP fast lane' system to access untendered contracts.
Lord Feldman referred three businesses—Maxima Markets, SG Recruitment, and Skinnydip—which later won contracts totalling £65 million. He denied any wrongdoing, stating he was an unpaid volunteer who passed credible offers to officials. Mr Hancock referred four companies: Excalibur Healthcare, JD.com, Monarch Acoustics Ltd, and Nine United Ltd. He believes he followed due process.
The list of 47 businesses also includes referrals by Dominic Cummings and senior ministers such as Michael Gove. There is no suggestion that the politicians played a role in awarding contracts. However, the Good Law Project's director, Jolyon Maugham, criticised the system, saying it 'funnelled vast sums of public money into the pockets of those with Tory links' and hindered the NHS from buying proper PPE.
SG Recruitment has since become Sumner Group Health Ltd, linked to a gold mining operation in Peru whose senior members have been accused of laundering cocaine trafficking cash. Analysis for Labour highlighted £50 million paid to Sumner Group Health via tax havens. The government has faced repeated cronyism claims over its £18 billion PPE procurement during the Covid crisis.
